PR 2204.895™"""'"™'""-"'"^^ 
 'llSmiffimil?!*^*'"'''* * 'yP* transcript of 
 
hH 
 
 
Collotype Facsimile and Type Transcript 
 
 OF AN 
 
 ELIZABETHAN MANUSCRIPT 
 
 PRESERVED AT 
 
 ALNWICK CASTLE, NORTHUMBERLAND. 
 
Printed by Truslove & Bray, 
 West Norwood, S.E. 
 
J^a«o>^ ,r-*T»vvC«-3 
 
 ^/ 
 
 inortbumbetlan6 flDanuscclpte. 
 
 COLLOTYPE FACSIMILE & TYPE TRANSCRIPT 
 
 OF AN 
 
 Elizabethan Manuscript 
 
 PRESERVED AT 
 
 ALNWICK CASTLE, NORTHUMBERLAND, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 Of Tribute, or giving what is due, by Francis Bacon. 
 
 Of Magnanimitie, by Francis Bacon. 
 
 Advertisement touching private censure, by Francis Bacon. 
 
 iv. Advertisement touching the controversies of the Church, by Francis Bacon. 
 
 V. Letter to a French gentleman touching the proceedings in England in 
 Ecclesiastical causes, by Francis Bacon. 
 
 vi. Speeches for a Device presented a.d. i5'9^, by Francis Bacon. 
 
 vii. Speech of the Earl of Sussex. 
 
 viii. Letter from Sir Philip Sidney to Queen Elizabeth on her proposed 
 marriage to the Duke of Anjou. 
 
 ix. Leicester's Commonwealth. 
 
 Transcribed and Edited with Notes and Introdudtion 
 
 BY 
 
 Frank J. Burgoyne, 
 
 LIBRARIAN OF THE LAMBETH PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 
 
 LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 
 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON 
 NEW YORK AND BOMBAY 
 1904 
 
>, 
 
 <> 
 
 -% 
 
 
 A45"-I,S^O 
 
DEDICATED TO 
 
 His Grace the Duke of Northumberland, 
 
 K.G., P.C., D.C.L., F.R.S., etc., 
 
 BY WHOSE KIND PERMISSION 
 
 THE MANUSCRIPT HAS BEEN PHOTOGRAPHED 
 
 AND PUBLISHED, 
 
 AND TO 
 
 Sir Edwin Durning-Lawrence, Bt, M.P., 
 
 OF 
 KING'S RIDE, ASCOT, 
 
 WITHOUT WHOSE AID AND ENCOURAGEMENT 
 
 THIS VOLUME COULD NOT HAVE 
 
 BEEN PUBLISHED. 
 
This Edition is timiied to Two Hundred and 
 Fifty Copies, of 'which this is No. '^...'rf- 
 
Table of Contents. 
 
 Introduction 
 
 Of Tribute, or giving what is due. By Bacon 
 
 i. The praise of the worthiest virtue, Fortitude 
 
 ii. The praise of the worthiest affection, Love 
 
 iii. The praise of the worthiest power, Knowledge 
 
 iv. The praise of the worthiest person. Queen Elizabeth 
 
 Of Magnanimitie or heroicall virtue. By Bacon 
 
 An advertisement touching private censure. By Bacon .... 
 
 An advertisement touching the controversies of the Church of England. 
 By Bacon 
 
 A letter to a French gentleman touching the proceedings in England in 
 Ecclesiastical causes, translated out of French into English by 
 W. W. By Bacon 
 
 Speeches written by Bacon and spoken in a "Device" before Queen 
 Elizabeth in i^g^, .... 
 
 i. The Hermit's first speech 
 
 ii. The Hermit's second speech 
 
 iii. The Soldier's speech 
 
 iv. The Secretary's speech 
 
 V. The Squire's speech . 
 
 Speech for the Earl of Sussex at the tilt 
 
 A letter dissuading Queen Elizabeth from marrying the Duke of Anjou 
 By Sir Philip Sidney 
 
 Leicester's Commonwealth 
 
 Page. 
 
 ix. 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 13 
 
 I? 
 
 28 
 30, 32 
 
 30, 34 
 
 so 
 
 ^? 
 
 S7 
 S7 
 ?8 
 
 ?9 
 61 
 
 64 
 
 66 
 
 7? 
 
 LIST OF FACSIMILES. 
 
 Modern Script rendering of Folio i 
 
 Enlarged Facsimile of part of Folio i . . . . 
 Enlarged modern Script rendering of part of Folio i 
 Collotype Facsimile of the Manuscript, Folio 1-90 . 
 
 XV., 168 
 
 xviii. 
 
 xix. 
 
 to folloiso p. 168 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE attention of scholars is specially called to the manuscript which is 
 now for the first time photographically facsimiled. In the year 1870 
 the first few pages of it were printed by Mr. James Spedding under the 
 title of "A Conference of Pleasure," but this publication is now scarce, as 
 only a limited edition was issued. 
 
 All that is known of the manuscript is contained in a letter dated August 
 14, 1869, written by Mr. John Bruce, who had been commissioned by the late 
 Duke of Northumberland to examine his manuscripts and report upon any of 
 historical or literary interest. 
 
 " Up to about two years ago, there had remained at Northumberland House, 
 for a long time, two black boxes of considerable size, presumed to contain papers, 
 but nobody knew of the boxes having ever been opened, or could give any infor- 
 mation respedling their history, or tell what kind of papers they contained. These 
 boxes were opened at the time I have indicated, and the contents, which turned 
 out to be papers, as had been supposed, were taken out that I might inspedl 
 them. I did so in the month of August, 1867. I found them to be of a very 
 miscellaneous charadter, many of them more or less connedled with the history of 
 the Percys, and others of a more general historical interest. 
 
 " Upon some of them were found notes in reference to their contents, written 
 by the hand of Bishop Percy, the editor of the Reliques, who was domestic 
 chaplain at Northumberland House from about 1765 to 1782. He occupied 
 apartments in the House, and gave considerable attention to the old papers 
 belonging to the family. It is probable that he looked through all the papers now 
 under consideration, and that it was under his diredton that they were placed in 
 the boxes alluded to. 
 
 " Among the papers taken out of these boxes I found the transcripts of the 
 papers of Bacon. They formed part of a miscellaneous coUedlion, or unbound 
 volume, of transcripts, containing among other things a copy of Leicester's 
 Commonwealth and other pamphlets and documents relating to the reign of 
 Queen Elizabeth. Looking hastily at the Bacon transcripts, I saw at once some 
 matter which I recolledled as already in print. Other parts of them seemed new 
 to me. I mentioned this circumstance at the time to some members of the family 
 of the Duke of Northumberland, who took an interest in what I was about. I 
 pointed it out as a subjedl for further inquiry, and at the same time direded 
 attention to the oddity of the recurrence and combination of the names of Bacon 
 and Shakespeare in the scribble on the fly-leaf of the MS. 
 
X. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 "A good many of the papers taken out of the boxes had been subjedled to 
 the adlion of fire. Their edges were found burnt and singed in the same way as 
 the Bacon transcripts. Among the papers thus damaged was a colledlion of 
 transcripts of accounts of public ceremonials, such as royal marriages, funerals, 
 and coronations. With this colledtion was found a paper on which was written, 
 in a hand of the last century, perhaps that of Bishop Percy, although larger than 
 his ordinary hand, a memorandum that those papers relating to ceremonials had 
 been purchased at ' Anstis's sale,' which I understood to allude to the sale of the 
 MSS. of the two Garters Anstis, the father and son, which took place in 1768. 
 
 " This memorandum seemed to point to the possibility that the Bacon tran- 
 scripts might have come to Northumberland House in the same manner as those 
 relating to ceremonials. I thought it right therefore to endeavour to inspedl a 
 copy of the Anstis sale catalogue. For a considerable time I was unsuccessful. 
 There is no copy at the British Museum, nor at the Society of Antiquaries, nor in 
 several other likely places. Ultimately one was found at the College of Arms. 
 Unfortunately, like most of the sale catalogues of that period, the lots are 
 described in terms so general and unprecise that it is quite impossible to say 
 what may not have been included under words so vague. Certainly the Bacon 
 MS. is not diredlly mentioned. In a miscellaneous colledtion of papers, thrown 
 together into one lot, there is mention of a copy of his argument, De rege inconsulto; 
 and in the course of the catalogue there are several copies of Leicester's Common- 
 wealth, but they do not occur in lots which can be identified with the MS. you are 
 dealing with, but rather the contrary. 
 
 "What I have stated seems to lead to the conclusion that the papers were 
 deposited in boxes after 1768. That inference is strengthened by the circum- 
 stance that the Anstis MS. is so much injured by fire that — its contents not being 
 highly valuable — it is unlikely that it would have been bought for the Ducal 
 library in its burnt condition. The same conclusion is rendered more probable by 
 the circumstance that there occurred a fire in Northumberland House on the i8th 
 of March 1780, which destroyed a very considerable part of the front towards 
 Charing Cross,^ including the apartments occupied by Dr. Percy, then Dean of 
 Carlisle. The Gent. Mag. of the day takes pains to inform its readers that ' the 
 greatest part of the Dean's invaluable library was fortunately preserved.' It says 
 nothing of any MSS. of the Duke's, but I think we may safely infer that in all 
 probability this was the fire in which the Anstis MSS., the Bacon transcript, and 
 several other manuscripts were injured ; and if so, that they were not put into the 
 black boxes until after March 1780. 
 
 " We may also I think find another limit. Dr. Percy was in 17&2 appointed 
 Bishop of Dromore, ' where he continually resided ' (Nichols's Lit. Anecd. iii. 754) 
 from his appointment to his death in 181 1. The putting these papers into the 
 boxes, looks very like the adl of Dr. Percy when taking leave of Northumberland 
 House and about to remove to Dromore. 
 
 " From 1782 to 1867 the history of these papers is pretty clear ; I will only 
 add that nothing has been done with them since they were found, except that the 
 burnt and singed edges have been carefully repaired by a trustworthy person 
 accustomed to that kind of work, and very skilful in it." 
 
 ' Annual Register for 1780, p. 202. Gent. Mag. for March, 1780, p. 151. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xi. 
 
 The manuscript found by Mr, Bruce is described by Mr. Spedding as 
 follows, viz. : •' It is a folio volume of twenty-two sheets which have been 
 laid one upon the other, folded double (as in an ordinary quire of paper), and 
 fastened by a stitch through the centre. One leaf . . . the tenth, is missing, 
 and one . . . appears to have been glued or pasted in." 
 
 Since Mr. Spedding wrote, the manuscript has been taken to pieces and 
 each leaf carefully inlaid in stout paper, and these have been bound up with 
 a large paper copy of his pamphlet entitled "A Conference of Pleasure." The 
 manuscript in its present condition contains 45 leaves, so Mr. Spedding does 
 not appear to have included the outside page in his enumeration. The pages 
 are not numbered, and there are no traces of stitching or sewing ; it is 
 therefore quite impossible even to conjecfture what was the number of sheets 
 in the original volume. 
 
 The manuscript in its present state consists of : — 
 
 1. A much be-scribbled outer page, or cover, which 
 
 appears to be the original list of the transcripts 
 
 within Folio i-2 
 
 2. Of Tribute, or giving what is due. By Bacon Folio 3-25 
 
 i. The praise of the worthiest vertue. 
 
 ii. The praise of the worthiest affecftion. 
 
 iii. The praise of the worthiest power, 
 
 iv. The praise of the worthiest person. 
 
 3. Of Magnanimitie or heroicall vertue. By Bacon . Folio 25-26 
 
 4. An advertisement touching private censure. By Bacon. Folio 26-29 
 
 5. An advertisement touching the controversies of the 
 
 Church of England. By Bacon .... Folio 29-44 
 
 6. A letter to a French gent : touching y« proceedings in 
 
 Engl : in Ecclesiasticall causes, translated out of 
 
 French into English by W. W. By Bacon . Folio 44-45 
 
 A blank page Folio 46 
 
 7. Speeches spoken in a "Device" before Queen Elizabeth 
 
 in 1595. The Device was presented by the Earl of 
 
 Essex and the speeches were written by Bacon . Folio 47-53 
 
 i. The Hermitt's fyrst speach. 
 
 ii. The Hermitt's second speach. 
 
 iii. The Soldier's speach. 
 
 iv. The Secretarie's speach. 
 
 V. The Squyre's speach. 
 
xii. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 8. For the Earle of Sussex at y" tilt, an : 96 . Folio 53-54 
 
 9. A letter dissuading Queen Elizabeth from marrying the 
 
 Duke of Anjou. By Sir Philip Sidney . Folio 55-6J 
 
 A blank page Folio 62 
 
 10. A copy of " Leicester's Commonwealth," imperfe(5t both 
 
 at the commencement and the end .... Folio 63-90 
 
 The index, or page of contents, which forms the outer sheet and which is 
 termed Folio i, appears from its dust-begrimed condition, to have always 
 formed the outside cover of the colle(5lion. It is probable that the page was 
 folded in the centre longitudinally, and short titles of the contents written 
 upon the right-hand side of the leaf. Although the page has been scribbled 
 over, and damaged severely by fire and dust, the following titles can still be 
 read upon it. 
 
 Mr. ffrauncis Bacon. 
 
 Of tribute or giving what is dew. 
 
 The praise of the worthiest vertue. 
 The praise of the worthiest affedtion. 
 The praise of the worthiest power. 
 The praise of the worthiest person. 
 
 Philipp against Monsieur. 
 
 Earle of Arundell's letter to the Queen. 
 
 Speaches for my Lord of Essex at the tylt. 
 
 A speach for my Lord of Sussex, tilt. 
 
 Leycester's Commonwealth. Incerto autore. 
 
 Orations at Graie's Inne revells. 
 
 .... Queene's Ma'^ . . . 
 
 By Mr. ffrauncis Bacon. 
 
 Essaies by the same author. 
 
 Rychard the second. 
 
 Rychard the third. 
 
 Asmund and Cornelia. 
 
 He of dogs frmnt,' 
 
 ^ This entry is followed by some almost illegible words. It is probable that the original entry was " The 
 He of Dogs, a fragment by Thomas Nashe, and inferior plaiers." 
 
INTRODUCTION. xiii. 
 
 On comparing this list with the adlual contents of the book as given on 
 pages xi.-xii., it will be seen that four of the articles now contained in the 
 volume are not mentioned, viz. : — 
 
 No. 3. Of Magnanimitie. 
 
 No. 4. Advertisement touching private censure. 
 
 No. 5. Advertisement touching the controversies of the Church. 
 
 No. 6. Letter to a French gent, touching Ecclesiastical causes in 
 England. 
 
 On the other hand, nine articles mentioned on the contents page or cover 
 have disappeared. They may have been separated from what is left by 
 accident or by design. The missing portion contained the following:— 
 
 i. The Earle of Arundell's letter to the Queen. 
 
 ii. Orations at Gray's Inn revells. 
 
 These are probably the speeches of the six councillors to the " Prince of 
 Purpoole," presented at Gray's Inn in 1594. 
 
 iii. An address or letter to the Queen, written by Bacon. 
 
 iv. Essays by Bacon. 
 
 v.-vi. The Shakespeare plays of Richard II. and Richard III. 
 
 vii. Asmund and Cornelia. 
 
 Probably a play, but nothing is known respecting it. 
 
 viii. The He of Dogs; a play by Thomas Nashe. 
 ix. The missing portion of "Leicester's Commonwealth." 
 
 The date when the manuscript was written cannot be fixed with cer- 
 tainty. Mr. Spedding says that while it is impossible to give an exadt date, 
 he could find nothing either in the scribbling upon the outside page, nor in 
 what remains of the book itself to indicate a date later than the reign of 
 Queen Elizabeth. 
 
 The list of contents on the outside page shows that the manuscript 
 originally contained a copy of Bacon's Essays. The first edition of these 
 appeared in 1597, but they were circulated in manuscript several years prior 
 to that date. Bacon in his "Epistle Dedicatorie" to the first edition, dated 
 
xiv. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 January 30, 1597, complaining of some piratical publisher who contemplated 
 printing them without his consent, writes as follows : — 
 
 " I doe nowe like some that hauean Orcharde ill neighbored, that gather their 
 fruit before it is ripe, to preuent stealing. These fragments of my conceites were 
 going to print. . . . Therefore I helde it best discreation to publish them my 
 selfe as they passed long agoe from my pen." 
 
 This letter points to the extensive circulation of the essays in manuscript 
 form, which would cease on their issue as a book. They were printed in 
 January, 1597, and again in 1598, and so were easily to be procured in book 
 form after February, 1597. This appears to fix the date of the manuscript as 
 about that period, for it is not reasonable to suppose that the expensive and 
 imperfedt method of copying in manuscript would be continued after the 
 printed editions had appeared. The same argument applies to the plays of 
 "Rychard II." and "Rychard III.," which are included in the list of contents. 
 These also were first printed in 1597, and issued at a published price of six- 
 pence each. It seems, therefore, reasonable to conclude that the manuscript 
 was written not later than January, 1597, and it seems more probable that no 
 part of the manuscript was written after 1596. Corroboration for this approxi- 
 mate date is obtained from the composition of the various parts of the 
 manuscript. The first item, " Of Tribute," was written by Bacon for a masque 
 or device played in 1592. The "Controversies of the Church of England," was 
 written in 1589. The " Letter to a French gent." was written between 1589 and 
 1590. The "Speeches of the Hermit, the Soldier, the Secretary, and the Squire," 
 were spoken in a masque performed in 1595. The Earl of Sussex's speech was 
 spoken " an. [15] 96." The " Letter of Sir Philip Sydney to Queen Elizabeth " 
 was written about 1580. The stinging political pamphlet, " Leicester's 
 Commonwealth," part of which concludes the manuscript in its present 
 state, was printed secretly on the Continent in 1584. We know that its 
 circulation was forbidden, the copies seized and the printers prosecuted. This 
 being so, there would be difficulty in obtaining the printed book in England, 
 and it was therefore necessary to continue to produce manuscript copies of the 
 pamphlet. 
 
 If the front page or outside cover, which is here called folio i, be carefully 
 examined it will be seen that, in addition to a list of the contents of the 
 manuscript, there are various other words, marks and sentences scribbled 
 upon it. Some portions are difficult to decipher on account of the page having 
 been damaged by dust and fire. A modern script rendering of the words and 
 

 
 ^i/nc- 
 
 6i<lfjuefi, oat 
 
 *9UK>/- 
 
 
 
 
 '--T/yy^fiy 
 
 
 J^J^ 
 
 '^ /iii£/^,tt<X^Ml£y <X^<'C'^Z.£>-iy 
 
 
 Uj^y^^^a-my r^^^aiAi 
 
 .-^lA-t^ti^^c^cy 
 
 ea^ 
 
 t^ 
 
 ',ji^-eci:>-»2^ 
 
 Jda.cc-? 
 
 J^pt<it*on<^^ 
 
 
 ■Pun^t^ru^ 
 
 yMuOf*'^ 
 
 ' ■Tru/k 
 
 C'^^:f 
 
 
 5^ 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 -a«?*-t^/ 
 
 
 
 -c;^^^^ 
 
 
 (^V 
 
 
 y^:z^yi^i^ 
 
 ^0"^^^. 
 
 >>^ 
 
 -ifAaJaea^'^eaAy 
 
 Modern Script Rendering of MS. Folio 1. 
 
xvi. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 sentences which can still be read is here inserted so that their exa(5t position 
 can easily be seen. 
 
 On the left-hand corner of the page of contents the name Nevill can be 
 traced in two places, and near it the punning motto of the family, Ne vile velis. 
 Perhaps this gives a clue to the original ownership of the volume, as it seems 
 to indicate that the colleftion was written for, or was the property of, some 
 member of the Nevill family. Who this was is uncertain, but it seems 
 probable that it was Bacon's nephew, Sir Henry Nevill. 
 
 The relationship is shown below : — 
 
 SIR NICHOLAS BACON. 
 
 born I 510. 
 died 1579. 
 
 Elizabeth, Anthony. Francis, 
 
 who was thrice married. born 1561. 
 
 i. ii. iii. died 1625. 
 Sir R. D'oylie. Sir Henry Nevill. Sir W. Peryam. 
 
 Sir Henry Nevill. 
 born 1564. 
 died 1615. 
 
 The younger Nevill, for whom it is suggested the manuscript was pre- 
 pared, was therefore but three years the junior of Francis Bacon. They both 
 entered Parliament in 1584, and were doubtless on intimate terms. It is 
 probable that Nevill was on the Continent some time between 1590 and 1598, 
 for he was sent as ambassador to Paris in 1599, and it is hardly likely that 
 a man unacquainted with foreign countries would have been selecfted. 
 
 Anthony comfort and consorte. 
 
 Probably a reference to Francis Bacon's elder brother, who on various 
 occasions obtained advances of money for him and was associated with him 
 in many of his literary labours. 
 
 Honorificahitetudine. 
 
 A variant of this interesting word occurs in a charter dated A.D. 1187. 
 It is used also in the "Complaynt of Scotland," 1548-9," and another form of it, 
 " Honorificabilitidinitatibus," is found in Love's Labour Lost, which we know 
 to have been a(5led at Christmas, 1597. In the pamphlet "Lenten Stuffe," 
 
INTRODUCTION. xvii. 
 
 printed about 1599, it is used by Nashe, who writes : " Physitions deafen our 
 eares with the Honorificabilitudinitatibus of their heavenly Panachaea." 
 
 Multis annis jam transactis. 
 Nulla, fides est in padis, 
 Mell in ore. Verba ladis, 
 ffell in corde. ffraus in fadis. 
 
 This verse was known to Anthony Bacon, for a letter from Rodolphe 
 Bradley has been preserved, in which he writes : — ^ 
 
 "Your gracious speeches concerninge the gettinge of a prebendshippe for me 
 . ... be the words of a faithful! friende and not of a courtiour, who hath Mel 
 in ore at verba laftis, sed fel in corde et fraus in fadlis." 
 
 This letter is dated April 2, 1597 ; which is about the date suggested for 
 the writing of the manuscript. The lines in a slightly different form also 
 appear on the title page of Ulpian Fulwell's book, "The first parte of the 
 Eyghth liberall Science . . . Ars Adulandi," published about 1580; and in 
 Tabouret's " Les Bigarrures et Touches," Paris 1608, 
 
 revealing 
 day through 
 every crany 
 peepes and 
 see 
 Shak 
 
 This is pradtically line 1,086 of the " Rape of Lucrece." The only 
 difference being that the word "spies" is there employed instead of "peepes." 
 It seems, therefore, probable that "see Shak" was intended by the scribbler to 
 refer to the poem of "Lucrece," which was first published in 1594. It has 
 already been stated that the date of the writing of the manuscript is pro- 
 bably before 1597. If this be so, this quotation is interesting as an almost 
 contemporary notice of the poem. 
 
 The name Shakespeare or William Shakespeare and the name Baco, Bacon, or 
 Frands Bacon have been written upon the page eight or nine times. The initial 
 letters S, Wlm, B, Sh and Mr, also frequently occur. This association of the 
 names and their conjunaion on the title-page of a colleaion of manuscripts 
 ascribed to each, must be of deep interest to all students of English literature. 
 
 ' Tenison MSS., Lambeth Palace Library, vol. 15, folio no. 
 
XVlll. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 It should be remembered that no trace of any original manuscript of any play 
 or poem ascribed to Shakespeare has ever been discovered. On the title-page, 
 however, of the collecStion of manuscripts here facsimiled, mention is made of 
 Shakespeare's plays of Richard II. and Richard III., as having formed part 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 -'■C^V^vJ^' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 of the original contents. And the facft that this title-page is scribbled over 
 in a contemporary handwriting, with the names of " Bacon " and of 
 "Shakespeare" in close proximity and seemingly of set purpose, has caused 
 believers in the Baconian authorship of the Shakespeare plays to cite this 
 page as confirmatory evidence of their theory. In order that the exacSl 
 
INTRODUCTION. xix. 
 
 position of the words quoted may be the more easily seen, several facsimiles 
 with interpretations in modern writing have been prepared. Facsimile lb 
 (p. 170) is photographed from the facsimile published by Mr. Spedding in 1870, 
 when the manuscript was a little brighter and more could be made out than 
 
 0£ 
 
 
 (2 
 
 
 
 at the present time. In facsimile la (p. 169) the negative was much over 
 intensified in order to dissolve out the background, but many of the finer 
 lines have disappeared in the process. Facsimile Ic (p. 171) is photographed 
 from the manuscript in its present condition. An enlarged facsimile of a 
 portion of folio i is shewn on p. xviii., and a script rendering of the same is 
 
XX. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 printed on the opposite page, in order that the Shakespeare entries may be 
 more easily studied. 
 
 Attention is more particularly called to the line written above the entry 
 "Rychard the Second." 
 
 By Mr. ffraands William Shakespeare. 
 
 The word " ffrauncis " has been twice written (the second entry being 
 upside down and over the first) as if by this device it had been intended to 
 emphasise the name. It is worthy of notice that the name of " Shakespeare " 
 does not appear upon any of the plays printed prior to 1598. The writing 
 upon folio I would seem therefore to be one of the earliest ascriptions of 
 authorship, and it is specially remarkable that the author's name appears as 
 *'Mr. ffrauncis William Shakespeare." Where the name "William Shake- 
 speare" is repeated lower down, another device is employed to emphasise the 
 
 entry. The word " Your " being twice written across the name, so that it 
 
 "Your" "your" 
 
 reads " William Shakespeare." Mr. Spedding seemed to think that much 
 
 of this writing was mere scribble, but the scribble is contemporary and it is 
 
 difficult to imagine that it was written without intelligent purpose. 
 
 The back of the contents page, or folio 2 of the manuscript (see folio 2 of 
 the Facsimiles), contains very little. The words written upon it are as follows:— 
 
 Thomas 
 
 Imita 
 
 g ofising turner 
 
 Imitatio refusing 
 
 Imprising 
 
 Imprisonm* 
 
 resolved in the 
 
 But yo''self in prince 
 
 Anthonie ffitzherbert 
 
 As to the penmen who adtually wrote the manuscript nothing certain is 
 known. The writing on the contents page is chiefly in one hand, with 
 occasional words in another, and a few words mostly scrawled across the 
 page at an angle, appear to be written by a third. The main body of the 
 work is in two or more handwritings, and the difference is especially to be 
 noted in "Leycester's Commonwealth," which appears to have been written 
 in a hurry, for the writing has been overspaced on some pages and over- 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxi. 
 
 crowded in others, as if different penmen had been employed. There are also 
 noticeable breaks on folios 64 and 88, and the difference in penmanship on 
 these pages is specially remarkable. 
 
 This points to the colle<5lion having been written at a literary workshop 
 or professional writer's establishment. It is a ia€t worthy of notice, that 
 Bacon and his brother Anthony were interested in a business of the kind about 
 the time suggested for the date of the writing of this book. Mr. Spedding 
 states : — ^ 
 
 " Anthony Bacon appears to have served [Essex] in a capacity very like that 
 of a modern under-secretary of state ; receiving all letters, which were mostly in 
 cipher ; in the first instance ; forwarding them (generally through his brother 
 Francis's hands) to the Earl, deciphered and accompanied with their joint sugges- 
 tions ; and finally, according to the instructions thereupon returned, framing and 
 dispatching the answers. 
 
 Several writers must have been employed to carry out with promptitude 
 such work as here outlined, and we find in a letter from Francis Bacon to 
 his brother,^ dated January 25th, 1594, that the clerks were also employed upon 
 other w^ork. The concluding paragraph of Bacon's letter reads : — 
 
 " I have here an idle pen or two, specially one that was cozened, thinking to 
 have got some money this term. I pray send me somewhat else for them to write 
 out besides your Irish colledtion, which is almost done. There is a colledlion of 
 Dr. James of foreign states, largeliest of Flanders, which, though it be no great 
 matter, I would be glad to have it." 
 
 In a letter to Tobie Matthew, Bacon writes : — " My labours are now most 
 set to have those works, which I had formerly published . . . well translated 
 into Latin by the help of some good pens, which forsake me not." We have 
 but little information as to the writers employed by Anthony and Francis, 
 but Ben Jonson formed one of the group, for Archbishop Tenison writes*:— 
 "The Latine translation of [the Essays] was a work performed by divers 
 hands ; by those of . . . Mr. Benjamin Johnson (the learned and judicious 
 poet) and some others whose names I cannot now recall." In this conne(5tion 
 it is worthy of notice that in "The Great Assises holden in Parnassus by 
 Apollo and his Assessours," printed in 1645, the "Chancellor" is declared to 
 be "Lord Verulan," and "Ben Johnson" is described as the "Keeper of the 
 Trophonian Denne." It seems not unlikely that this literary workshop was 
 the source of the "Verulamian Workmanship," which is referred to by Isaac 
 Gruter, in a letter to Dr. William Rawley (Bacon's secretary and executor) 
 1 Life of Bacon, vol i., p. 250-1. * ibid., vol. i, p. 349- ' Baconiana, 1679, p. 60. 
 
xxii. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 written from Maestricht, and dated March 20, 1655. The letter was written 
 in Latin, and both the original and the translation are printed in " Baconiana, 
 or certain genuine Remains of S"^ Francis Bacon," London, 1679, An extract 
 reads as follows : — 
 
 "If my Fate would permit me to live according to my Wishes, I wolud flie 
 over into England, that I might behold whatsoever remaineth, in your Cabinet, of 
 the Verulamian Workmanship, and at least make my Eyes witnesses of it, if the 
 possession of the Merchandize be yet denied to the Publick. 
 
 "At present I will support the Wishes of my impatient desire, with hope of 
 seeing, one Day, those [Issues] which being committed to faithful Privacie, wait 
 the time till they may safely see the Light, and not be stifled in their Birth." 
 
 While this work was passing through the press, a pamphlet has been 
 published, in which the suggestion is made that the penman of the con- 
 tents page may have been John Davies, of Hereford, poet, and teacher of 
 penmanship. Amongst his pupils he numbered several members of the 
 Northumberland family. He was well acquainted with Sir Henry Nevill, 
 for in his work entitled " Microcosmos," published in 1603, he dedicates a 
 sonnet "7b the Noble, discreete and ivetlbetoved Knight, Sir Henry NeviU." It is 
 interesting to note that Bacon was also a friend of the poet, and Davies in 
 "The Scourge of Folly," published about 1610, apostrophises him in the 
 following sonnet : — 
 
 " To the royall, ingenious, and all-learned Knight, S' Francis Bacon. 
 
 Thy bounty and the Beauty of thy Witt 
 Comprisd in Lists oi Law and learned Arts, 
 Each making thee for great Imployment fitt 
 Which now thou hast, (though short of thy deserts) 
 Compells my pen to let fall shining Inke 
 And to bedew the Bales that deck thy Front ; 
 And to thy health in Helicon to drinke 
 As to her Bellamour the Muse is wont : 
 For, thou dost her embozom ; and, dost vse 
 Her company for sport twixt grave affaires : 
 So vtterst Law the liuelyer through thy Muse. 
 And for that all thy Notes are sweetest Aires; 
 My Muse thus notes thy worth in ev'ry Line, 
 With yncke which thus she sugers ; so, to shine. 
 
 In the list of contents (folio i) a copy of a play entitled "The He of Dogs," 
 written by Thomas Nashe, is included. Of this work but little is known. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxiii. 
 
 and no copy has been found. We learn that it existed from the following 
 reference to it in Nashe's pamphlet "Lenten Stuffe," which he published in 
 1599- The pamphlet commences : — 
 
 " The straunge turning of the He of Dogs fro a commedie to a tragedie two 
 summers past, with the troublesome stir which hapned aboute it, in a generall 
 rumour that hath filled all England, and such a heavie crosse laid upon me, as 
 had well neere confounded mee : I meane, not so much in that it sequestred me 
 from my woonted meanes of my maintenance, which is as great a maime to any 
 mans happinesse as can bee feared from the hands of miserie ; or the deepe pit of 
 dispaire wherinto I was falne, beyond my greatest friendes reach to recouer mee ; 
 but that in my exile and irkesome disconted abandonment, the silliest millers 
 thombe, or contemptible sticklebanck of my enemies, is as busie nibbling about 
 my fame, as if I were a deade man throwne amongst them to feede upon. . . 
 That infortunate imperfit embrion of my idle houres, the He of Dogs before 
 mentioned, breeding unto me such bitter throwes in the teaming as it did. . . . 
 1 was so terrifyed with my owne encrease . . . that it was no sooner borne, 
 but I was glad to runne from it. An imperfit Embrio I ma well call it, for I 
 hauing begun but the indudlion and first aft of it, the other foure a6ts, without my 
 consent, or the least guesse of my drift or scope by the players were supplied, 
 which bred both their trouble and mine to." 
 
 Mr. Grosart states that "the play when produced roused the anger of the 
 Queen's Privy Council, who withdrew their licence from the theatre and flung 
 Nashe into jail." In the "Aas of the Privy Council" for 1597, edited by 
 Mr. J. R. Dasent, an account appears of a meeting held at Greenwich on 
 August 15th, 1597. Amongst other business, a letter was sent to Richard 
 TopclyflFe and four other magistrates, in the following terms :— 
 
 " Uppon informacion given us of a lewd plaie, that was plaied in one of the 
 plaiehowses on the Bancke Side, contanynge very seditious and sclanderous 
 matter, wee caused some of the players to be apprehended and comytted to 
 pryson ; whereof one of them was not only an ador but a maker of parte of the 
 said plaie . . . these shalbe therefore to require you to examine ... the 
 plaiers . . . Wee praie you also to peruse soth papers as were fownde in Nash 
 his lodgings . . . which Ferrys . . . shall delyver unto you. . . ." 
 
 No doubt the play above referred to was the "He of Dogs," for Gabriel 
 Harvey in his pamphlet "The Triming of Thomas Nashe," printed in 1597, 
 writes : " Since that thy He of Dogs hath made thee thus miserable, I cannot 
 but account thee a dog and chide and rate thee." This pamphlet contains a 
 rough wood-cut of Nashe in fetters. It will be noted that the entry on folio i 
 has the words "inferior plaiers" written after it, which may be a reference to 
 the quality of the work ascribed to Nashe. None of the references to " The 
 
xxiv. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 He of Dogs " which appear in " The Diary of Philip Henslowe," edited by 
 John Payne Collier in 1845, are of value, as the researches of Mr. Warner 
 have proved them to be forgeries. 
 
 Passing from this description of the Manuscript and its outside page or 
 cover, a word must be said as to the method adopted in the type rendering 
 of the work. Fire has destroyed several lines of the bottom of every page, 
 but the remainder of each left-hand page is pracStically perfedt owing to the 
 copyist having left a liberal margin. The right-hand pages have suffered 
 much more, as the writing was taken to the edge of the paper, and thus the 
 last two or three words of each line are missing. After some consideration, 
 the plan suggested by Mr. Spedding was adopted for the first portion of the 
 manuscript comprising folios 3 to 62. Each page is printed line for line with 
 the original, and the words missing at the sides of each redo have been 
 supplied from other copies, or by conjedture where other copies do not exist. 
 All additions thus made are marked by the insertion of [ ], a square bracket. 
 The same course has been adopted with regard to the half-dozen lines de- 
 stroyed at the bottom of each page. It has not been deemed possible to do 
 this upon folios 3 to 12, and 25 to 28, as no other copies either in print or in 
 manuscript of the parts missing are known to exist. 
 
 It will be noticed that the number of lines written upon different pages 
 varies from thirty-seven on folio 17 to forty-nine on folio 56. As the type 
 transcription of the first 62 folios are printed page for page with the manu- 
 script, the lack of uniformity in their appearance is thus accounted for. The 
 writing on folios 63 to 90, comprising what remains of " Leycester's Common- 
 wealth," is in smaller writing, and the lines are placed nearer together, so it 
 has not been thought advisable to keep this portion page for page, and line 
 for line, in the same way, as the earlier folios. The lacunx have been supplied 
 from the printed edition of 1641, and inserted in square brackets. The com- 
 mencement of each folio is marked by a headline, so that the transcript may 
 easily be compared with the facsimile. In order to avoid confusion it has 
 been deemed advisable not to follow stri(Stly the pundluation or the capital 
 letters of the original. Mr. Spedding, on this point, writes that "the tran- 
 scriber was probably accustomed to copy legal documents, in which points 
 had no value, and sentences were not divided. For though it cannot be said 
 that there is no pun^uation at all, it is introduced so irregularly that it serves 
 rather to confuse than to explain the construdtion." With this exception the 
 transcript is an accurate copy of the original manuscript. 
 
Mr. ffr. Bacon of Tribute or 
 giving that w'^ is due. 
 
 1 HIS portion of the manuscript which occupies folios 3 to 25 cannot be 
 better described than in the following words of Mr. Spedding: — 
 
 " In the supplement to a volume of "Letters of the Lord Chancellor 
 Bacon," published in 1734, and commonly referred to as " Stephens's 
 second colleftion," several of his smaller pieces, both political and 
 philosophical, appeared in print for the first time : among the rest, 
 two of the most remarkable of his early compositions — namely, 
 " Mr. Bacon's discourse in prayse of his Soveraigne " and "Mr. Bacon 
 in prayse of knowledge ; " — of which the history and true character 
 has been hitherto doubtful." 
 
 "They were found among the papers submitted to Stephens by 
 Lord Oxford, and printed by Locker in the supplement to his second 
 collection in 1734. The MSS. are still to be seen in the British 
 Museum ; fair copies in an old hand, with the titles given above, but 
 no further explanation. My reason for suspecting that they were 
 composed for some masque, or show, or other fidtitious occasion, is 
 partly that the speech in praise of knowledge professes to have been 
 spoken in " a conference of pleasure," and the speech in praise of 
 Elizabeth appears by the opening sentence to have been preceded by 
 three others, one of which was in praise of knowledge ; partly that, 
 earnest and full of matter as they both are, (the one containing the 
 germ of the first book of the " Novum Organum," the other of the 
 " Observations on a Libel," which are nothing less than a substantial 
 historical defence of the Queen's government,) there is nevertheless 
 in the style of both a certain affeftation and rhetorical cadence, 
 traceable in Bacon's other compositions of this kind, and agreeable 
 to the taste of the time ; but so alien to his own individual taste and 
 natural manner, that there is no single feature by which his style is 
 more specially distinguished, wherever he speaks in his own person, 
 whether formally or familiarly, whether in the way of narrative, 
 argument, or oration, than the total absence of it. That these pieces 
 were both composed for some occasion of compliment, more or less 
 fanciful, I feel very confident ; and if it should ever appear that about 
 the autumn of 1592 (the date to which the historical allusions in the 
 
discourse in praise of Elizabeth point most nearly) a "device" was 
 exhibited at Court, in which three speakers came forward in turn, each 
 extolling his own favourite virtue, — the first delivering an oration in 
 praise of magnanimity, the second of love,- the third of knowledge, — 
 and then a fourth came in with an oration in praise of the Queen, 
 as combining in herself the perfedtion of all three ; I should feel little 
 doubt that the pieces before us were composed by Bacon for that 
 exhibition. Unfortunately we have no detailed account of the Queen's 
 day in 1592; we only know that it was "more solemnised than ever, 
 and that through my Lord of Essex his device." 
 
 Such was the state of the question up to 1867, when the discovery of this 
 manuscript threw fresh light upon it. The first portion proved to be a copy 
 of the entire device of which the "Praise of Knowledge" and the "Praise 
 of his Sovereign " formed part. 
 
 "It did not indeed throw any new light upon the date or the 
 occasion, but it completely explained the order and plan of it ; which 
 is very simple. Four friends, distinguished as A, B, C, and D, meet 
 for intelleftual amusement. A assumes the direction of their pro- 
 ceedings, and proposes that each in turn shall make a speech in 
 praise of whatever he holds most worthy. Upon which B (after a 
 word or two of protest in favour of satire, as better suited to the 
 humour of the time than praise) begins with a speech in praise of 
 " the worthiest virtue," namely. Fortitude. C follows with a speech 
 in praise of " the worthiest affeftion," namely. Love. D with a 
 speech in praise of " the worthiest power," namely. Knowledge. And 
 A himself concludes with a speech in praise of " the worthiest 
 person," namely, the Queen." 
 
 It is difficult to understand the history of the title, which is not suggested 
 by any conspicuous expression in the work, and can hardly be called 
 descriptive of the argument. The piece may have formed part of some 
 larger entertainment, in the course of which " the payment of tribute to 
 whom tribute was due " may have been enjoined as a task upon one or more 
 of the performers. 
 
MS. Folio 3. 
 
 My ffr : Bacon of tribute 
 or gluing that w''' is due. 
 
 the praise of the worthiest vertue. 
 the praise of the ivorthiest affeccon. 
 
 3. the praise of the wortliiest power. 
 
 4. the praise of the wortliiest person. 
 
 I. 
 2. 
 
 A 
 
 C 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 B 
 
 D 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 A . Since we are mett lett me ^oiierne our ley sure. B. C. D : Coma [unde. A . Let 
 eurie man do honor to that w''' he estemeth most and c [an most worthilie 
 praise. B. vaine motion and ignorance of times! Are not sa [tires of more 
 price then hinines ! A . Obey. 
 
 The praise of ffortitude. 
 
 My praise shalbe dedicated to the noblest of the vertues. Pr [udence to 
 discerne betweene good and euill. Justice to stande indifferent [betweene 
 selfe-loue and societie. Temperance to deside aright betweene [desire & 
 reason. Theise be good innocent things. Butt the vertue of a [£tion, the 
 vertue of resolucon, the vertue of effecSl, is ffortitude. Pres [ent unto 
 a man largelie endued w"* prudence the tempest of a so [ddaine and 
 greate daunger, and lett ffortitude absent her selfe ; wh [at use hath 
 he of his wisedome ? hath he the power eyther to beholde the [daunger 
 or to entende the remedye ? or rather doth not the first im [pression 
 disable him to take a true viewe of the pill, and the appreh [ension of 
 the pill so attache and seaze his sences that he cannott in [vent meanes 
 for his deliuerance ? Where be the goodlie groundes of rea [son, the obser- 
 uacons of experience, rules, preceptes, and cautions, [uppon which he 
 was wont at leysure to consider, compare, and conclud [e? His ordered and 
 
 thoughts 11' 
 
 digested^are confounded: their printes are defaced. A [soddame cry and 
 alarme of perill hath, as Berecinthia's home, drowne [d all their sweete 
 musicke, or else a blast of winde disordered Sibilla's le [aues. His very 
 wisedome is the first thing that flies. His spiritts tha [t sate together 
 in councel in his braine are gone to succor his h [eart : and therewith he 
 is] lefte abandoned to his perills by the treason of [his judgement, 
 his wisedome could haue tould him h 
 in the face while he consid 
 
 Theise he good innocent things. 
 Compare Negative istce 
 virtutes non flacent; 71am 
 imiocentiam prastant, non 
 merita. — De Adgmentis, 
 
 LIBER SEXTUS, Xxii. 
 
 the vertue of action. Com- 
 pare A mo virtutes qua ex- 
 cellentiam actionis inducunt, 
 non hebetudinem passionis. 
 — De Augmentis, liber 
 SEXTUS, xxii. 
 
 pill = peril. 
 
 (The MS. is imperfect, several lines destroyed.) 
 
jfr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 MS. Folio 4. 
 
 understandings. This word 
 omitted by the original 
 transcriber is inserted 
 above the line in a later 
 hand. 
 
 viocios = movements. 
 
 looketh thorough . . . that 
 psrill. Compaxe Qui firi- 
 ciiln apertis ocuHs intuetnr 
 ut excipiat, advertit et ut 
 evitet.—'D'E. Augmentis. 
 
 pteccon = protection. 
 
 appeaU = accuse. Compare 
 / appeal you of murder. — 
 Ben Jonson. 
 
 legnneth = beginneth. 
 
 devocion = bidding. 
 
 The last few lines which 
 are lost appear to have 
 treated of the value of 
 Temperance without for- 
 titude, and to have begun 
 with an exposure of the 
 weakness of the Stoicism 
 which affects to divest 
 itself of wants by re- 
 nouncing desires. See 
 the second book of the 
 Advancement of learning. 
 
 good entertayments to perswade men of the strength of their [under- 
 standings], but deceiptfull in the execucon and triall. What price then 
 or regard can wisdome carrie, w"'' tyreth a mans thoughts 
 w* forecasting and providing for perills w"*" neuer come 
 as if it could imbrace all accidents, but when daunger 
 commeth unexpected it leaueth a man in pray to his adventurs ! 
 But now lett Prudence, this weak ladie, rauished by euerie 
 inuasion and assault of soddaine daunger, obtaine for her 
 champion and knight, fortitude ; and then see how she en- 
 tertayneth the challenges of fortune. Doth a man flie 
 before he knoweth ? or suffer before he feeleth ? Noe : but 
 straightwaies the discouerie of the perrill maketh a man more 
 than himself. It awaketh his sences. It quickeneth his mocios. 
 It redoubleth his forces. He looketh thorough & thorough y' pill. 
 He taketh hold of euerie light of remedie. He discerneth w' must 
 be concluded, w' may be differed. He ceaseth not to device for y° 
 rest, while he executeth that w°^ is instant, nor to execute y" 
 present while he deuiseth for y' to come. But he is allwaies 
 in his owne power, reioycing in the proofe of himself and well- 
 coming necessitie. Thus is ffortitude the marshall of thoughts, 
 the armor of the will, & the fort of reason. Lett us turne o' 
 consideracon & behold Justice, the sacred vertue, y" vertue of 
 refuge, the vertue of Societie. Doth not she also shrowde her- 
 self under the pteccon of ffortitude ? Lett a man be abstinent 
 from wrong, exadt in duetie, gratefull in obligacon, & yet 
 dismantled & open to feare or dolor, what will ensue ? Will 
 not the menace of a tirant make him condemne y" innoce [nt ? 
 will not the sence of torture make him appeale his dear [est 
 frends and that untrulie ? But paine hath taught him [a new 
 philosophic. He begnneth to be perswaded y' it is Justice [to pay 
 tribute to nature, to yelde to the rigor of paine, to be [merciful 
 to himselfe. He would giue others leaue to doe the like by [him : he 
 would forgiue them if they did. So that now his ba [llance, where- 
 w* he was wont to weigh out euerie man h [is own, is fallen 
 out of his hands. He is at y' devocion of the mig [htiest. His wisdom 
 remayneth w"" him but as a furie to upbr [aid his weakenesse and in- 
 crea] se his torment. As for Temper] ance 
 m] agnanimitie and what shall 
 
 {The MS. is imperfect, several lines destroyed.) 
 
ffr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 MS. Folio 5. 
 
 you cannot submitt yo' selfe to the condicions of obtay [ning thereof, and 
 therfor fall to despise. Will you affedl to be admirab [le ? Will you 
 neither foUowe others nor spare your selfe? Will you [make yo"^ life 
 nothing but an occasion and censure of others? Oh but [I mean no such 
 matter : no vain glorie : no malignitie : no diffidence : [no censure. 
 I desire but a release from perturbations. I seeke b [ut an euen 
 tenor of minde. I will not use because I will not desir [e. I will not 
 desire because I will not feare to want. Loe we see a [11 these circum- 
 stances, all this pparacon, is but to keepe afarr of f[eare and griefe, 
 w'='' ffortitude reioyceth to challenge & to chase: bu [t when once a 
 feare & greife commeth, such as all men are subiedl [unto, if it be 
 a feare & greife w"'' ariseth not of y= destitucon of a pi [easure but y-^ 
 accesse of a disfortune, then what use hath he of his temp [erance ? Will 
 he not then esteeme it a great follie y' he hath pvided a [gainst heat 
 of sunshine & not of fyre ? doth he not take it for a mad [ness to think 
 if a man could make himself impassible of pleasure, he sh [ould make him- 
 self at one labor impassible of paine ? wheras contrariwi [se it is an 
 introduccon to beare stronger greifes, to desire often w"' [out hauing. But 
 lett ffortitude and strength of minde assist Temperance [, and see what 
 foUoweth then ? a man is able to use pleasures and to spa [re them ; to 
 containe himselfe in the entry or greatest downfall an [d to enter- 
 taine himselfe euer in pleasure ; hauing in prosperitie se [nee of joy, 
 & in adversitie sence of strength. Therefor it is ffortitude [that must help 
 or consumate, or enable all vertues. Of Pleasure no [w lett us 
 inquire, w"*" being limitted and goued, no sevitie of conceipt [nor harshnes 
 of language shall make, but it is, the blessing of nat [ure, the true 
 marriage of the sences, the feast and holliday of this o"' [work-day and 
 unquiett life. Onelie lett men discerne the psent sign [al and want of 
 nature from the bayte of affeccon, let them discerne [that which is 
 pleasant in the some and totall from that w'='' is pleasant [at y^ moment. 
 N] ow what true and soUid pleasure can there b [e where feare is ? 
 Mark] I pray you w' sporte feare maketh w"" y" t 
 f his pleasures & desires, hope he 
 
 Evidently some errors in 
 transcription in lines 2 
 and 3. The meaning is 
 " Will you pretend to 
 despise all that other men 
 value." 
 
 men tenor of minde. Com- 
 pare The Stoics were of 
 opinion that there ivas no 
 ivay to attain to this even 
 temper of mi'id bnt to he 
 senseless. —Letter to the 
 Earl of Rutland, 
 Spedding's Bacon, vol. it., 
 p. 8. 
 
 destitucon — forsaking. This 
 word has been altered by 
 a later writer to recess. 
 
 against heat of sunshine, etc., 
 that is heat which warms 
 and comforts, but not 
 against heat of fire, which 
 burns and hurts. 
 
 able to use pleasures, &-c. 
 Compare Diogenes . . 
 commended . . them 
 
 which sustained, and could 
 refrain their minde, in pra- 
 cipitio. and could give unto 
 the mind . . the shortest 
 stop or turne. — Adv. of 
 Learning. 
 
 goued = governed. 
 
 of language shall ma he. Some- 
 thing is omitted here It 
 probably should read 
 ' ' shall make me doubt, but 
 it is." 
 
 The lost lines probably 
 refer to the impossibility 
 of enjoying pleasure with- 
 out help from fortitude. 
 Compare ' ' Nil ant in 
 voluptate solidum aut in 
 virtute munitum, ubt timor 
 infestat.' ■ — De Augmen- 
 lis. 
 
 {The MS. is imperfect, several lines destroyed.) 
 
jfr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 MS. Folio 6. 
 
 A later hand has altered the 
 first line into the singular, 
 viz., "he is as a deare yt 
 is come . . and stands 
 axidfeeis." 
 
 fleasiins be has also been 
 altered to pleasure is. 
 
 In the MS. to nature is re- 
 peated and struck out, 
 and so li^htl%e is written in 
 the margin as the correc- 
 tion. 
 
 should is omitted in the 
 MS. 
 
 extreame seems to be a mis- 
 take for " «;fto'H«." The 
 meaning being that the 
 reconcilement of virtue 
 with pleasure answers to 
 the compounding of civil 
 dissensions ; the conquest 
 of externe or outward 
 evils, to the defeating of 
 foreign enemies. 
 
 In the lost lines the speaker 
 seems to have referred to 
 the relief which nature 
 has provided against ex- 
 cess of bodily suffering 
 by inducing insensibility ; 
 and that outward evils 
 are made intolerable 
 chiefly by apprehension, 
 and can be overcome by 
 courage and patience. 
 
 and fruition of his pleasure, then he is in a maze : he is as deare y' 
 come unto an unwonted good pasture, and stand at a gaze, & scantlye 
 feede ; so he euer imagineth some ill is hid in euerie good : so as his 
 pleasures be as solid as the sandes, being corrupted w"" continuall feares 
 and doubles ; and when the pleasure is past then he thinketh it a dreame, 
 a surfait of desire, a false ioye : he is ungratefull to nature: for still 
 the sence of greife printeth so deepe and the sence of delight [so 
 lightlie, as the one seemeth unto him a truth, the other a deceipt. Judge 
 then how natiue and perfeft pleasures are to him to whom expedlacon 
 is a racke, enioyeng is an amazement, remembrance is a distast & 
 bitternes. Againe w' doth somuch encrease and enrich all pleasures 
 as noveltie ? but it is a rule that to a fearfull man whatsoeuer is 
 new is suspeft : so as that w"'' Tshould] season and enrich pleasures, doth 
 taint and embase them. But now lett us take breath awhile, and 
 looke about if we can see any thing else good in nature. Vertue, 
 the perfeccon of nature ; pleasure, the fruit of nature. Is there 
 any thing else ? O beautie the ornament of nature. I cannot 
 say that ffortitude will make a crooked man straight, nor a fowle 
 person faire. But this I may say, y' feare is the mother of deformitie, 
 and y' I neuer saw a man comelie in feare. So it is ffortitude that 
 giueth a grace, a maiestie, a beautie to all accons. But whie doe 
 we stale so long upon the merritts of ffortitude in shewing how it is 
 a protestor and benefaftor to all y' is good, and do not hasten to y'' 
 conquests & vi6lories thereof? Have we not donne well, because its 
 more meritorious to succor then to subdue, and more excellent [to 
 compound ciuill dissensions then to defeate forraigne enemies [ ? And 
 therfor now we haue shewed how ffortitude maketh y" minde b [ring y" 
 workes and accons of vertue to the tast and fruition of pleasur [e, it is 
 time to sett forth what it can doe against those extreame things [called euills. 
 Theise euills, lett them be mustered. Are they paine of bodie? g[riefe of minde? 
 slaunder of name ? scarsitie of meanes ? solitude of frendes [? feare of death ? 
 Whie none of theise are ill w"" ffortitude, w'^'' can bea [re pain of bodie w"'out 
 violating the repose of our mindes in themselves or om [itting our care for 
 others. It conditeth them : it taketh away their vene [mousqualitie : it re- 
 concileth them to nature. Lett no man quarr [ell with the decree of 
 prouidence w"** hath included in euerie ill 
 stu] pefaccon of y'= parts and the weak 
 apprehension and 
 
 {The MS. is imperfect, several lines destroyed.) 
 
ffr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 :MS. Folio 7. 
 
 but it is feare and impatience that are the sergeants of for [tune and do arrest 
 and subdue us to those things, being otherwise freemen : so as [that w'' doth 
 drawe from men lamentacons, outcries, excess of greife, it is [not y^ outward 
 enemie, but the inward traitor. Nothing is to be feared but feare [itself. Nothing 
 greivous but to yelde to greife. ffor lett us remember how m [en endued w* 
 this vertue ffortitude haue entertayned death, the mightiest of [all enemies. 
 Consider whether it wrought any alteracon in them ; whether it h [ath trobled 
 and putt out of frame their ordinarie fashions and behauiours. [I do wonder 
 at the Stoickes, that accompted themselves to hold the masculi [ne vertues, 
 esteeming others seftes, delicate, tender and effeminate, w' they [sh'^soe urge 
 and advise men to the meditacon of death. Was not this to incr [ease y^ feare 
 of death, w'^'' they professed to assuage? Must it not be a terribl [e foe against 
 whom there is no ende of preparacon ? Ought they not to haue [taught men to 
 die as if they had lined, and not to Hue as though they continua [Ihe sh*^ die ? 
 More manfullie thought the voluptuous sedte that counted it as [one of y'^ ordi- 
 narie workes of nature. But to returne : letts leade about our [consideracon 
 to take veiwe of those w'''' haue been men of knowen valewe and [courage, and 
 see whether death presented, hath somuch as untuned their ordi [nary fashion 
 of conceipte and custome. Julius CcBsar, the worthiest man th [at euer lined, 
 the brauest souldier, a man of the greatest honor, and one that h [ad the most 
 reall and effeftuall eloquence that euer man had; not a sounding [and flowing 
 eloquence for a continuate speach, but an eloquence of accon, [an eloquence 
 of affairfes, an eloquence that had suppressed a great mutinye [with a single 
 word (Quirites), an eloquence to imprint and worke upon any [man y' w'^" he 
 spake. Seenowwhetherhevariedfromhimselfathisdeath. The [firstwounde 
 that was giuen him on the necke by Casca, that stoode behind his [chaire, he 
 turned about and caught hold of his arme : Traitor Casca wha [t doest thou ? 
 the wordes were but plaine, but yett w' could upon studie ha [ue been said 
 more apt to daunte the conspirator and to incite succors ? Should [he implore 
 helpe ? he would rather haue lost a thousand hues. Should he h [aue cried out? 
 that had ben also an imploring of aide. Should he haue said wh [ 
 in the temple of the gods ? it was not decent for Caesar to cl [aime for himself y' 
 his person was more venerable then the place. Therfor he [chose a word y' 
 was as effeftual to invite succors but yet retainde y^ mai [estie of Csesar. 
 He] added Casca. He was nothing astonished : he singled him out [at once. Who 
 knoweth not, that is any thing skillfull in the weight and [effeft of words, 
 that] compellation by name giueth as it were a po [int 
 and penetrate and what 
 
 Compare Martyrs for re- 
 ligion, heathen for glory, 
 some for love of their coun- 
 try, others for affection to 
 one special person, have en- 
 countered death without fear, 
 and suffered it without show 
 of alteration. — Letter to 
 THE Earl of Rutland. 
 
 wonder at the Stoickes, Com- 
 pare The Stoicks bestowed 
 too much cost upon death, 
 and . . . made it af'pear 
 more fearful. — Essays. 
 
 to live as though they continu- 
 allie should die. Compare 
 That lie which dies nobly 
 doth live for ever, and he 
 that lives in fear doth die 
 continually. — Letter to 
 the Earl of Rutland. 
 
 This hiatus cannot be filled 
 satisfactorily. The prob- 
 lem is to insert words of 
 not more than fifteen 
 letters, such as Caesar 
 might naturally have ut- 
 tered, had it not been 
 that they would have 
 implied an assumption 
 that ' ' his person was 
 more venerable than the 
 place." 
 
 (r/j£ MS. is imperfect, several lines destroyed.) 
 
ffr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 MS. Folio 8. 
 
 ympoining = probably from 
 the French empoigner, to 
 grasp. 
 
 This passage compares with 
 Bacon's Essay of 
 Death. "How little al- 
 teration in good spirits, the 
 approaches of death vtake. 
 Augustus Ccesar died 
 ill a complement, ' Livia, 
 conjngii, nostri memor, vive 
 et vale.'* Tiberius in dis- 
 slmtdation, as Tacitus saith, 
 'Jam Tiberium vires, ct 
 corpus, Hon dissimulatio , 
 deserehant.' Vespasian in 
 a jest, sitting upon the stoole, 
 ' Ut puto Deus fio,' ■ . . 
 Seplimius Severus in dis- 
 patch, ' Adeste si quid jnihi 
 restat agendum.' " 
 
 dicacitie = raillery and ban- 
 ter. 
 
 The missing portion proba- 
 bly contained an anecdote 
 illustrating the same free- 
 dom from alteration of 
 demeanour or fear at 
 the immediate prospect 
 of death, in the case of 
 some philosopher of the 
 time of Caligula. 
 
 selfe and thy complices. Well, they came about him being unarmed, and as 
 a stagg at bay yett he neuer ceased to putt himself in defence ympoining of their 
 weapons and all the means of an unarmed man. A forme excellentlie well 
 becomming a militarie man, thoughe he knew it would not helpe. At last 
 when Marcus Brutus gaue him a wounde, {and thoti my sonne). Noble 
 Caesar, he had no weapon to wounde Brutus againe, but this word wounded, 
 this word perced him, this word enchannted him, this worde made him euer 
 dispaire of a finall good successe of the warr, although the cause was iust and his 
 proceeding at the first prosperous. This word inspired him once at his birthday, 
 when his affaires stoode in most prosperous termes, to breake out causeles into 
 this verse : at me sors misera et LatoncB perdidit infans. This word turned it 
 self afterwardes into the likenes of an ill spirritt that appeared unto him in 
 his tent. In the ende when his strength failed him, yett he tooke an honorable 
 regard to fall in comelie manner, and couered after the manner of the 
 apparell of that tyme. So as that complement, that point of honor, w"*" it had 
 ben much for a ladie to have remembred, unto whom modestie and honor of pson 
 were sinnmu bonu, so great a monarch, so great a captaine, in so strong and 
 violent an assault, forgott not, at the pointe of death. Augustus Ccesar 
 his nephew, a man nothing of that strength and corrage, but of greate 
 assurance and serenitie of mynd, he that by the caulmes and repose of 
 his countenance had appalled a barbarous conspirator, he that would 
 euer wishe himself Euthanasiatn ; in summe, a daintie and a fine man ; was 
 he not the same man at his ende ? Livia beare in mind our mnrriadg, line 
 and farewell, a farewell at length for a large absence. Vespasian, a man 
 exceedinglie giuen to the humor of dicacitie and iesting, his last words were, 
 // / be not much deceyued I am upon the point to be made a god. [Scof [finfy 
 at death, at himself, and at the times. Seuerus {Septimius I me [ane) 
 a man of infinite pursuite of accion and dispatch [if there be any [thing 
 for me to doe) and further he could not goe. The like wordes he [would 
 haue used if he had ben but going to sleepe. Socrates, that w [ould neuer 
 affirme any thing, in his last wordes to the iudges said {It [is now time to 
 conclude, that I tnay be dismissed to dye and you to line, but [wlf for the best 
 knowes Jupiter). He lefte not his Ironye, for himse [If had told his 
 opinion to his frendes before. So the Romaine 
 delyghted so much in the inquisition of the truth 
 by comaundment of Caius Cali [gula 
 t to person and dis 
 
 {The MS. is imperfect, several lines destroyed.) 
 
ffr. Bacon of Tribute. MS. Folio 9. 
 
 So that by all these examples it appeareth, how ffortit[ude doth arme 
 men's mynds in such sort that euerye stria habitt or fashion [is stronger than 
 feare of death or sence of his approches. Neyther will I so m [uch disparage the 
 praise of this noble vertue ffortitude, that I make it the [glorie and the 
 principall coate of honor thereof to oucome the feare of death [: seeing that 
 barbarous customes, false superstitions, violent passions, are a [ble to do as 
 much. But all these doe it as madnes sometimes doth it ; th [ey expell one 
 Tirant by another; but they leaue not the minde in entire [possession, y' is 
 the onelie worke of ffortitude : other vertues deliuer us fr [om y'= rule of 
 vices, but ffortitude alone deliuereth us from the servitude [of fortune. 
 
 A . Your speache were able to ivarme the harte of a coward : for eyther it [w^put courage 
 into him, or else yf nothing could prevaile u>"' him but feare, yett it [w'^ make him 
 more afraid of feare it selfe then of any perill. C. he deserueth to be [ 
 speach. A. Letts heare what you will deserue. 
 
 The praise of Loue. 
 
 My praise shalbe dedicated to the happiest state of the minde ; to [the ele- 
 uacon of mynde to the noblest affeccon. The vertues are m [oderators : 
 they are lawes of the mynde ; they restraine it, they limitt it, they [gouern it, 
 they amplifie it not. They are as the mill when it is sett uppon a ry [ch stone : 
 heere it grindeth out a race & there a graine, to make it weare m [ore faire: 
 but in the meane while the stone looseth caraques, leaseth substan [ce. So w"^ y^ 
 vertues ; they pollyshe the mynde, they make it w'^'out blemishe, they [giue it 
 excellent forme; but commonly they take of much of the naturall [vigour: 
 They be the affeccions w"^' make the mynde heroicall, that giues [it power to 
 exceede it selfe, and to fastinate and binde others. Doe we not [see that no 
 agilitie of bodie, no sleight nor pradtize, can bring a man to doe [that w'' 
 sometimes feare or fury makes him doe ? In the melting of an h [orse-shoe 
 can a mightie dead fyre doe as much as a small fyre blowne ? I [n shaping 
 mettalls, can a mightie huge weight doe as much as the blowe of [a hammer? It 
 is motion therfor that animateth all things : it is vaine to think [that any 
 strength of nature can counteruaile a violent mocon. The affe [ccons are the 
 motions of the minde : the vertues pray in ayde of the affecco [ns. Fearing 
 and wondering is the life of prudence. Modestie is the life o [f temperance. 
 Indignacon the life of ffortitude. All vertues take meas 
 power and strength from the affeccons. Therfor 
 happines and height of mynde. but 
 ert the true steppes of 
 
 other vertues deliver us from 
 the rule of vices. Compare 
 CiBtcrm virtutes nos a domi- 
 natii liberant vitionim . 
 fortitudo sola a dominatu 
 fortima.—'DE Augmen- 
 
 TIS, LIBER SEXIUS, Xxi. 
 
 It is difficult to suggest 
 words short enough for 
 this hiatus. Crowned for 
 his would occupy too 
 much room. 
 
 grindeth out a race. Mr. 
 Aldis Wright suggested 
 this should read an ice. 
 Compare And therefore 
 men are to imitate the wise- 
 dome of jewellers ; who, if 
 there be a graine, or a cloud, 
 or an ise which may be 
 ground forth without taking 
 to much of the stone, they 
 help it, if it should lessen 
 and abate the stone to much, 
 they mil not meddle with 
 it — ■ Advancement of 
 Learning, 1605, p. 75. 
 
 {The MS. is imperfect, several titles destroyed.) 
 
ffr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 lO 
 
 MS. Folio 10. 
 
 then is the season . . . and the 
 spring of love. Compare 
 This passion hath his flouds 
 in the very times of weak- 
 nesse; which are great pros- 
 peritie, and great adversitie; 
 though this latter hath been 
 less observed. Both which 
 times kindle love and make 
 it more fervent. — Essay of 
 Love. 
 
 ■commend virtue probably 
 should read commend the 
 virtue. 
 
 directed, query diverted. 
 
 ihats the reasons. This sen- 
 tence probably should 
 read And that's the reason 
 that barbarous custom and 
 false superstitions, which 
 you would in no wise admit 
 to be competitors with forti- 
 tude in this honor, do this 
 notwithstanding more easily 
 and effectually than that 
 virtue. 
 
 Hercules. Compare Ne Her- 
 cules quidem contra duos. 
 
 The lost lines apparently 
 referred to the appetite 
 of the human mind for 
 variety, as shown in the 
 taste for travel, adven- 
 ture, news, etc. 
 
 for as for the other affeccons they be but sufFeringe of nature : they seeke 
 rannsomes and rescues from that w"^ is evill, not enioyeng an union w* that 
 w'^'' is good : they seeke to expell that w"*" is contrarie, not to attradl: that w"^ 
 is agreeable. Feare and greife, the traitors of nature; bashfuUnes, a thraldom 
 to euerie man's conceipt and countenance ; pittie, a confederacie w^y^ miserable ; 
 desire of a reuenge, the supplieng of a wounde ; all theise they endevor to keepe 
 the maine stocke of nature, to preserue her from losse & diminucon. But loue 
 is a pure gaine and advancem' in nature ; it is not a good by comparrison, but 
 a true good; it is not an ease of payne, but a true purchase of pleasures ; and 
 therfor when our mindes are soundest, when they are not as it were in sicknes 
 and therfor out of tast, but when we be in prosperitie, when we want no 
 thing, then is the season the opportunitie and the spring of loue. And as it 
 springeth not out of ill, so is it not entermixt w"" ill : it is not like the vertues 
 by a steepe and cragged way condudl us to a plaine, and are hard 
 
 w 
 
 ch 
 
 taske-m" at first, and after giue an honorable hyre ; but the first aspedt 
 of loue and all that followeth is gracious and pleasant. And now to you 
 sir that somuch commende vertue ffortitude, and therein cheiflie commended 
 it because it doth enffranchise us from the tirannyes of fortune, yett doth 
 
 indeede 
 
 it not in such perfeccon as doth loue. For ffortitude ^strengtheneth y^ mynd, 
 but it giueth it no feeling, it leaueth it emptye, it ministreth unto it no apt 
 contemplacon to fix it self uppon that it may the more easilie be directed 
 from the sence of dolours, and thats the reasons w'^'' you would in no wise 
 admitt to be competitors w"" ffortitude in this honor (as barbarous customes 
 and false superstitions do this notw"'standing more easilie and effedluallie 
 then that vertue. Butt loue doth so fill and possesse all the powers of the 
 minde as it sweetneth the harshnes of all deformities. Lett no man feare y'= 
 yoke of fortune that's in the yoke of loue. W fortune can be such a He [rcules 
 as shalbe able to ouercome two ? When two soules are ioynd in one, wh [en one 
 hath another to devide his ffortune w"'all, no force can depress [e him. 
 Therfor since loue hath not^seate in ill as haue other affeccons; since [it hath 
 no part in ill as vertue hath the beginnyng; synce it admitteth n[o sense of 
 ill and therin excelleth ffortitude ; now lett us see whether it [be not as rych 
 in good as exempt in ill ? Now therfor will I teache louers to [loue, y' haue 
 all this while loued by roate. I will giue them the Alphabet [of loue. I will shew 
 them how it is spelled. For this is a principle, y= nature [of man is com- 
 pound and full of multiplicitye, so as it is not somuch 
 any simple pleasure that affefteth as the co 
 ffirme then and that trulie (that it 
 
 {The MS. is imperjed, several lines destroyed.) 
 
ffr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 II 
 
 MS. Folio II. 
 
 verie generallie in peregrinacons to straunge countries, [in doing un- 
 wonted accions, listening after newes, gaines of chaunce, \v[ith the like 
 particulers. This delight doth also winde it selfe like a [serpent into 
 their affeccons, in such sorte as few delights have grace lon[g, unless this 
 commendeth them to the apprehencon. Now therfor loue is [a fountain of 
 curiositie, a most sweet grounde sett w'' infinite changes, a [journey of stran- 
 gest and most various adventurers. I demaunde in loue w' [are all these mu- 
 tacons by absences, theise redintegracons by unkindnesses, t [hese surprises 
 by alteracon of attyre and change of presences, but as it w[ere changes 
 uppon this stopp ? But aboue all others, newe merritt and dem [aund on affec- 
 tion is the gratefullest noueltie : and it is not onelie the va[riety of y" know- 
 ledge that pleaseth, but the certaintie. For assuredlie no p[erson ever saw 
 at any time the minde of another, but in loue. Loue is the one [ly passion y' opens 
 the harte. So as wee see w' rich tribute, curiositie and des [ire of noueltie 
 pay unto loue : being indeed, if not the hyest, yett the swee [test affec- 
 con of all others. Now turne we o"' veiw uppon ambition; an a£f[eccon potent 
 and generall. Dionisius, when he was chased from his tiran[nie, became 
 a Pedantius : a child will lord it ouer his dog and bird. Is not [ambition so 
 mightie as it infedleth the sence ? haue we not heard of ambit[iosce ccsnce,] 
 when men desire not the meate of the best tast but y' w'='' is de [arest to buy 
 or hardly procured; not unlike the receipt Aurum potabile? Con [trariwise 
 is not loue a gaole of ambition, a perfeccon of commaundm', inclu [ding not 
 onelie the commandm' of the person but of the will ? Do we not s [ee y' in po- 
 puler states. Ambition is most sweet, because honor is more vo [luntarie? Do 
 we not obserue how the HeresiarchcB and beginners of sedtes, m [aking it their 
 summu bonu to raigne in mens myndes, are therfor iustlie ca[lled stupra- 
 tores mentium, the deflowrers of understandings ? So that as it is [y^ disease 
 of such extrauagant and straung spirritts to seeke a comaunde [ment ouer 
 reasons & beleefes, so it is naturall in man to aspire to comaund [em' of minds 
 and especiallie of affeccons and willes. Another delight ministr[ed unto the 
 nature of man by this condicon is to haue such as may be com [panions unto 
 him. Many are the greifes and diseases wherto mens states are [subjedt ; 
 the verie representacon of them by foresight doth disrelli[sh their present 
 prosperities. But then when one forseeth w^'all, that to his m [anie griefes 
 cannot be added soUitude, but that he shall haue a partner [to beare y", this 
 quieteth the mind. A further inward and deepe affeccon [proper to y° mind 
 of m]an, is the continewing and if it myght be the perpet [uation of his 
 stocke, being] the common and naturall desire of children 
 
 favorites and co 
 
 gaines probably games. 
 
 adventurers probably adven^ 
 
 tiires. 
 redintegracons = restorations. 
 
 The missing words might 
 probably be dem[onstra- 
 tion ofaffec] tion, but there 
 is not room for so many 
 letters in the space. 
 
 Heresiarcha. This word 
 seem s to have been coined 
 by Bacon. The earliest 
 uses of it noted in the 
 New English Dictionary are 
 dated 1624 and 1638. 
 
 miles. The word natures 
 has been struck out and 
 miles inserted. 
 
 (The MS. is imperfect, several lines destroyed.) 
 
 In the lost portion the 
 speaker seems to have 
 referred to the pleasure 
 men take in seeing their 
 merits reflecfted in the 
 opinions of others ; 
 whence the delight of 
 princes in favourites. 
 
12 
 
 endernd = recent. 
 
 One said well, etc. Compare 
 For whereas it hath been 
 well said, that the arch- 
 flatterer, with whoin all the 
 petty flatterers have intelli- 
 gence, is a man' s self ; cer- 
 tainly thelovcrismore. For 
 there never was proud man 
 thought so absurdly well of 
 himself as the lover doth of 
 ■ the person loved : and, there- 
 fore, it was well said, " That 
 it is impossible to love and 
 to be wise." — Essay of 
 Love. 
 
 languishing and weariness. 
 Compare Vita sine pro- 
 posito languida et vaga est. 
 — Advancement of 
 Learning, 1605, p. 73. 
 
 pposicons = propositions. 
 
 represented to his imagination 
 has been writtea over 
 again and struck out with 
 the pen. 
 
 ffr. Bacon of Tribute. MS. Folio 12. 
 
 taking a hie and comfortable impression of a mans self from the admiracon 
 and enderred estimation of others. Was not flatterie euer in grace ? but 
 there is no flatterie like that of a louer. One said well that a man's selfe 
 was the Archflatterer, but he should haue excepted his louer : for the 
 proudest man that euer was neuer thought so well of him as the louer thin- 
 keth of the person loved. Consider againe the dehghte of concurrence in desire 
 w'^-out emulation. If two be but sett at one game they loue, or labor togeath' 
 in some one work or invention, marke how well pleased, how well disposed, 
 how contented they be. So then if mindes are sharpened against mindes, as Iron 
 is against Iron, in euerie accon, what shall we thinke of that union & coniuncon 
 of mindes w"*" loue worketh ? W vigor, what alacritie, must it giue. Behold fur- 
 ther the nature of the minde of man. It is everie man's observacon, y* remission 
 and relaxacon of minde is a most necessarie part of life. It is noted also that 
 absolute Idlenes and leysure when the mind is altogeather w"'out obiedl is but 
 languishing and wearines. How precious then is loue w^*" is the sweetest repose 
 from travailes and affaires, and the sweetest imploym' in leysure & Idlenes. 
 So as in one respedl it is like the earth Aniens, in the other it is like Penelopes 
 webb w'^'' entertaineth time and putteth of expedlacon. For it is not an ill 
 commendation to say y' loue is an idle mans occupation : but it catcheth the busiest. 
 Can a tirant be idle the first yeare of his usurpacon ? See Apphis & Virginia. Could 
 the state and enleagued enemie of Odlauius Csesar want w' to thinke ? See Anto- 
 I'lie and Cleopatra. So it is not the fruite of idlenes but the remedie. Lastly to 
 leaue where loue beginneth, who discerneth not y' y^ eye is the most afifedling sence? 
 They be tales y'' pposicons to the contrarie. The humor of melancholie importu- 
 neth those y' are oucome w"" it w"" the memorie of the most affefting dislike. Con- 
 ferr w"" one that is entering to be mellancholie ; shall you heare him complayne of 
 harsh soundes or odious fauors represented to his imagination ? 
 
 Noe, but allwaies meditating of fearefuU and disliking formes. 
 Who denieth but the eye is first contented in loue, being fed and feasted by fre [sh 
 portionableshapesanddecentmocons? Therforif all delights of sence afi [eftloueify- 
 understanding be tributarie to loue, if loue offereth the sweetest con [tentment 
 to him that desireth to know, the exadlest commaundm' to him that [desireth to 
 rule, the comfortablest promise to him that looketh into his fortune, [the surest hopeto 
 him that seeketh to suruiue himself, the most flattering glasse to [him that loueth to 
 
 self 
 
 view him ^w"' aduantage, the greatest union of minde to him y' [desireth y^ most 
 refreshing repose from accon, the most acceptable entertayn [m' to him y' w'' offer y^ most 
 pleasing obiect to the most imprinting sence : Let us m [ake our suit to loue, 
 that gathereth the beames of so many pleasures into 
 flame the sowle, and letts conclude that the 
 
 {The MS. is imperfect, several lines destroyed.) 
 
ffr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 13 
 
 MS. Folio 13. 
 
 A. I was thinking what you did deserue; and hearing you speake so [wiselie of lone 
 y* is of y* nature as a man cannot well tell who should knowe it [best, he y' hath 
 tryed it or he that hath not tryed it, I thought you deserued a pat [ent that hath 
 ben graunted but seldome, and that is Amare et sapere. he had re[quited 
 his ladies fauor. but heere sitteth one as if he neither gaue much [eare nor meant 
 to speake. D. / was neuer niggard of myne eare but I would [gladlie spare 
 my speache. A. The wrong were not to us but to y' you hono[r, if now you 
 shall deceaiie it of your praise and celebracon. 
 
 The praise of knowledg. 
 D. Silence were the best celebracon of that w'='' I meane to com [mend ; for who 
 
 not '- ' 
 
 would^vse silence there where silence is not made, and what [cryer can make 
 silence in such a noyse and tumult of vaine and populer opin [ions? My praise 
 shalbe dedicate to the mynd itselfe. The mind is the man, an [d knowledg mind. 
 A man is but what he knoweth. The minde it self is but an ace [ident to know- 
 ledge, ffor knowledge is a double of y' w'='' is. The truth of bei [ng and y'= truth 
 of knowing is all one. Are the pleasures of the aflfeccons great [er then y^pleasures 
 of the sences, and are not the pleasures of the intelledl gre[ater then the 
 pleasures of the affeccons ? Is not that onelie a true and na[tural plea- 
 sure whereof there is no sacietie ? Is not that knowledg alone [that doth clear 
 the mind of all perterbacons ? How many things be there w"*" we [imagine 
 
 they 
 
 are not? how many things do we esteeme and valewmore then ^ a [re. These 
 vaine imaginations, these ill proportioned estimations, these be the [clowdes of 
 error, that tourne into the stormes of perturbacons. Is there then [any such 
 happines as for a mans minde to be raised aboue the confusion [of things, 
 where he may haue a respedl: of the order of nature and the er [ror of men ? 
 Is there but a view onelie of delight and not of discouerie ? of c [ontentm', and 
 
 aswell 
 
 not of benifitt? shall we not discerne^the riches of natures wa [rehouse 
 as the beautie of her shopp? Is truth barren? shall we not therby [be able to 
 produce worthy effefts and to endow the life of man w"" infinit[e com- 
 modities? But shall I make this garland to be put vpon a wrong [head? 
 Would any man beleeue me if I should verifie this vpon the [knowledge that 
 is now in vse ? Are we the richer by one poore invention by [reason of all 
 the learning that hath ben this many hundred yeares ? The in [dustrie of 
 artificers maketh some smale improuments of things invent [ed, and chance 
 sometimes in experimenting makes vs stumble vpon somew* th [at is new. But 
 all the] disputations of the learned neuer brought to lyg [ht one effeft of nature 
 before] unknowen. When things are knowen and found [out, then they can 
 descant upon them : they can knitt them into certain causes : they can reduce 
 them to their principles. If any instance of experience stand against them, they 
 can range it in order by some distindions. But all this is but a web of the 
 wit: it can worke nothing. I do not dowbt but that common notions 
 which we call reason, and the knitting of them together which we call] 
 
 he had requited, etc. Probably 
 this remark is interjedled 
 by speaker B or C, other- 
 wise the transition from 
 the second to the third 
 person is unaccountable. 
 
 The letter D is inserted in 
 the margin in alaterhand, 
 
 not is inserted in a later 
 hand. 
 
 Compare Job, chap, ii., vv. 
 5-6: But oh that God 
 would speak and open his 
 lips against thee ; and 
 that he would shew thee 
 the secrets of wisdom, 
 that they are double to that 
 which is. 
 
 these struck out in the MS. 
 
 a respect. The other MS. 
 has prospect, which is the 
 form of the word used by 
 Bacon in later years. It 
 is used by him nearly in 
 the same sense in the 
 speech of the first coun- 
 sellor of the Prince of 
 Purpoole, circa 1593, who 
 says, ' ' in your later years 
 you shall find a sweet 
 respeft into the adven- 
 tures of your youth," 
 using the word as we now 
 use retrospefl; = looking 
 back upon. The word 
 here means " looking 
 down upon." See Bacon's 
 quotation from Lucretius, 
 p. 44, Book I. of The Ad- 
 
 VAN'CEJIENI OF LEARN- 
 ING, 1605. 
 
 The lost words throughout 
 this speech and the next 
 are supplied from a tran- 
 script in the British 
 Museum, Harleian Manu- 
 sc-iipts, No. 6797. 
 
^r. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 14 
 
 MS, Folio 14. 
 
 heaves = heavens. 
 
 refinde is interlined, the 
 word brought was first 
 written and then struck 
 out. 
 
 should know not season. There 
 is a difference of readings 
 here, which causes a dif- 
 ficulty. The Museum 
 MS. has "in sort that 
 pretending to know much, I 
 should forget what is season- 
 able." In this MS. the 
 words are distinftly writ- 
 ten / should know, and 
 there is only room on the 
 lost portion for 16 or 18 
 letters at most. The 
 word we in the next line 
 implies some verb prece- 
 ding it, and the authority 
 of the other MS. makes 
 pardon the most likely. 
 
 Logique or the arte of reason, may haue vse in popular studies, but they 
 rather cast obscuritie then giue light to the contemplacon of nature. All 
 the Philosophie of nature w'^'' is now receaued is eyther the Philosophie 
 of the Gretians or that other of the Alchimists. That of the Grecians 
 hath the foundation in words, in ostentation, in confutacon, in se6les, in 
 Auditories, in schooles, in disputacons. The Gretians are, as one of them 
 saith, you Gretians etter children. They knew little antiquitie. They knew 
 (except fables) not much aboue 500 yeares before themselues. They knew 
 but a smale porcon of the world. That of the Alchimists hath the foun- 
 dation in imposture, in auriculer tradicons, and obscuritie. It was 
 catching holde of religion, but the best principle of it is populus vult 
 decipi : so as I knowe no great difference betweene theise great Philo- 
 sophers, but that the one is a loude crieng follie, the other a whispering 
 folly : the one is gathered out of a few vulgar obseruacons, and the other 
 out of a few experim'^ of the furnace : the one neuer faileth to multiplie 
 
 not 
 
 words and the other ofte faileth to multiplie gold. Who would ^ smile at 
 Aristotle, when he admireth y^ eternitie and inuariablenes of the heaves, 
 as if there were not the like in the bowells of the earth. They be the 
 confines and borders of theise 2 great kingdomes, where the continewall 
 alteracons and incursions are. The superficies and vpper part of y^ earth 
 is full of varietie, the supficies and lower parte of the heauens w"'' we 
 call the middle region of the ayre, is full of varieties. There is much 
 spiritt in the one place w"*" cannot be brought into masse, there is much 
 massie bodie in the other place w""* cannot be refinde into spiritt : the comon 
 ayre is as the wast ground betweene the borders. Who would not 
 smile at the Astronomers, I meane not theise new car men w'^'' driue 
 the earth about, but the auncient Astronomers, y' faine the moone to be y^ 
 swiftest of the planets in mocon, and y^ rest in order, the hier the [slower, 
 and so are compelled to imagine a dooble mocon, whereas how euiden [t is it y' 
 yt w"'' they call a contrarie mocon is but an abatement of moc[on. The 
 fixed starres ouergoe Saturne, and Saturne leaueth behind him J [upiter, and 
 so in them and the rest all is but one mocon, and the nearer the [earth y^ slower. 
 A mocon also whereof the aire and the water do participate t [hough much inter- 
 rupted. But whie do I in a conference of pleasure enter [into these great matters 
 in sort that pretending to knowe much I should know [not season ? Pardon 
 me, it was because almost all things may be indued [and adorned w"" speaches, 
 but] knowledge it self is more beautifuU the [n any apparel of wordes y' can 
 be putt uppon it. And lett me not seeme arrogant w^'owt respedl to these great 
 reputed authors. Lett me so giue everie man his due, as I giue time his 
 due, which is to discouer truth. Manie of these men had greater wittes, farre 
 aboue mine owne, and soe are manie in the Universities of Europe at this day.] 
 
ffr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 15 
 
 MS. Folio 15. 
 
 But alas they learne nothing there but to beleeue. ffirst [to beleeve 
 that others know that w'='' they knowe not; and after [themselves know y' 
 w'=^ they knowe not. But indeede facilitie to beleeue, impat [ience to doubt, 
 timeritie to asseuer, glorie to knowe, doubte to contradidt, en[d to gain, sloth 
 to search, seeking things in wordes, resting in a part of natur[e, these and 
 the like haue ben in things w""" haue forbidden the happie ma [tch between y^ 
 minde of man and the nature of things, and in place therof ha[ue married it 
 to vaine nocions and blynde experim*^ And what the posteritie [and issue of 
 so honorable a match may be, it is not harde to consider. Printing, [agross inven- 
 tion ; Artillerie, a thing not farr out of the way ; the needle, [a thing partly 
 knowne before : w' a chaunge haue these 3 made in the world [in these times, 
 the one in the state of learning, the other in the state of the [warre, the 
 thirde in the state of treasure, commodities and nauigation. [And these were 
 as I say but stumbled vpon and lighted on by chaunce. Therfor [no doubt 
 the soueraingtye of man lieth hid in knowledge, wherin many [things are 
 Teserued w""'' kings w"" their treasure cannot buy, nor w"" th [eir force 
 ■commaund : their spies and intelligencies can giue no newes of [them : their 
 seamen and discouerers cannot saile where they grow. Now [we governe 
 nature in opinions but are thrall to her in necessities. But if [we would be 
 led by her inuention we should command her in accon. 
 
 asseuer = assert. The Mu- 
 seum MS. has answer. 
 
 resting in a part. The Mu- 
 seum MS. omits the a. 
 
 have ben in things. The 
 Museum MS. reads have 
 been the things, but Mr. 
 Spedding thinks both 
 readings are incorreift. 
 
 match may be. The word be 
 is inserted by another 
 hand. 
 
 This speache deserueth to be understood. B : now S' you {that first 
 made this mocion : I wishe you no greater reiienge, but th \_at one of 
 vs 3 had intercepted your choise. A : that were smale r [euenge ; 
 for then I would be silent. B : that were against your owne [comaund. 
 but I should smile to see you put to goe ouer the same ma[iter. 
 
 The praise of his Soueraigne. 
 
 No praise of magnamitie, nor of loue, nor of knowledg, can in[tercept her 
 praise y' planteth and norrisheth magnanimitie by her exam [pie, love by her 
 person, and knowledge by the peace and serenitie of her tim [es. And if these 
 rich peeces be so faire vnsett, w' are they sett ? and sett in [all perfeccon ? 
 Magnanimitie no doubte consists in contempt of perrill, [in contempt of 
 profit,] and in merriting the times wherin we liue. [For contempt of pernll, see 
 a Ladie.J that cometh to the crowne [after the experience of some adverse 
 fortune, which for the most part extenuateth the minde and maketh it appre- 
 hensiue of feares. No sooner she taketh the scepter into her sacred handes, 
 but she putteth on a resolution to make the greatest, the most important,] 
 
 merriting the times. The 
 British Museum MS. 
 reads merriting of the times. 
 
i6 
 
 reunite her realme. The MS. 
 reads revincc her realme. 
 
 pceedings. This is in the 
 plural in the MS., al- 
 though it is followed by 
 a verb in the singular. 
 
 . amitie. This word may be 
 amities. The final letter 
 appears to have been in- 
 serted by another hand. 
 
 subtile. Thisisacorredlion, 
 the word was written 
 suible. 
 
 jfr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 MS. Folio 1 6. 
 
 travel = travail. 
 
 the most daungerous alteracon that can be in a state, the alteracon of religion. 
 This she doth, not after a soueraigntie establisht & continewed by sundrieyeares, 
 when custome might haue bred in her people a more absolute obedience, when 
 triall of her seruants might haue made her more assured whom to employ, 
 when the reputacon of her pollicie and vertue might haue made her gouerm' 
 more redoubted ; but at the verie entrance of her raigne, when she was 
 grene in authoritie, her seruants scant knowen vnto her, the adverse part 
 not weakened, her owne part not confirmed. Neyther doth she reduce or 
 revnite her realme to the religion of the states about her, that the euill in- 
 clinacon of the subietSl might be countervailed by the good correspondence in 
 forraigne parts : but contrariwise she introduceth a religion exterminated 
 and persecuted both at home and abroade. Her pceedings herein is not by 
 degrees and by stealth, but absolute and at once. Was she encorraged ther- 
 to by the strength she found in leagues and alliances w"" great persons & potent 
 confederates ? no, but she found her realme in warres w"" her neerest 
 and mightiest neighbors : she stoode single and alone, in league onelie w* 
 one, that after her people had made his warres, lefte her to make her 
 owne peace ; one that could neuer by any sollicitacon be moued to renew 
 the treaties, and one that since hath pceeded from doubtfull termes of 
 amitie to the hiest adts of hostilitie. Yet notw"'standing all this, 
 the opposition so great, the support so weake, the season so vnproper, yet 
 I say because it was a religion wherin she was nourished and brought 
 vp, a religion that freed her subiedts from pretence of forraigne powers, 
 and indeed the true religion, shee brought to passe this great worke 
 w**" successe aunswereablee to so noble a resolution. See againe a Q [ueene 
 
 when 
 
 that ^ a deepe and secreat conspiracie was plotted against her sac [red pson, 
 pradtized by subtile instrum", embraced by violent and desperate [humors, 
 bound and strengthed by vowes and sarcam'% and the same was [revealed 
 vnto her, and yet the nature of the affaires required fur[ther ripening 
 before the apphension of any of the pties, was content [to put herselfe 
 in guarde of the divine pvidence and her owne prudence, [to have some 
 of the conspirato" in her eye, to suffer them to ap [proach to her pson, to 
 take a peticon of y" hand y' was coniured for her d [eath ; and that w"'such 
 ma"° of countenance, such mildnes and serenitie [of gesture, such art and 
 imp] ression of wordes, as had ben suffici [ent to have represt and 
 bound the hand of a conspirator if he had not been discouered. Lastly 
 see a Queene that when her realme was to haue been invaded by an 
 armie, the preparation whereof was like the travel of an Elephant,] 
 
17 
 
 jfr. Bacon of Tribute. ,,c t? i- 
 
 •' MS. Folio 17. 
 
 the prouisions infinite, the setting forth wherof was the [terror and wonder 
 of Europe ; it was not seene that her cheare, her fash [on, her ordinary 
 iTtt:^"u:.'enrce ^"^" '^^"§ ^^'"^"^= ^°^ ^ ^l°^d« °f that s[torme did appeare 
 ^wherein peace doth euer shine. But w'" excellent ass [urance and advised 
 securitie she inspird her counsell, animated her nobilitie, re [doubled y« courage 
 of her people ; still having this noble apphension not onelie [that she would 
 communicate her fortune w"' them, but y' it was she that [W proteft them, 
 and not they her ; w-^"" she testified w'" no lesse demonstrati [on then her 
 psence in campe. Therfor that magnanimitie that neith [er feareth 
 greatnes of alteracon, nor the vowes of conspirato'' nor th [e power of 
 enemies, is more then heroicall. For contempt of pfitt, [consider her 
 offers, consider her purchases. She hath raigned in a [most populous 
 and welthie peace, her people greatelie multiplied, welth [ily appointed, 
 and singularlie denoted. She wanted not the examples of [the power of 
 her armies in the memorable voyages and inuasions prosper [ously made 
 and atchieued, by sundrie her noble progenito'^ She hath [not wanted 
 ptences as well of claime and right, as of quarrell and reu[enge. She 
 hath raigned during the minorities of some of her neighbo' [princes, and 
 during the faccons and divisions of their people vpon deepe and [irreconcile- 
 able quarrells, and during the embracing greatnes of some on [e that hath 
 made himself as weake thorough to much burthen, as others [are through 
 decaie of strength. And yett see her sitting w'^n the compas [se of her sands. 
 Scotland that doth in a manner ecclipse her Island, the vnited [provinces of 
 the lowe Countries, w'='' for scite, wealth, comoditie of traffiq[ue, affedlion 
 to our nacion, were most meete to be annexed to this Crowne, [she left the 
 possession of the one and refused the soveraingtie of the other. [So that notwith- 
 standing y* greatnes of her meanes, the iustice of her prete[nces, and the 
 rarenes of opportunities, she hath continewed her first [mynde : she hath 
 made the possessions she receyued the limitts of her dominion, [and the world 
 the limitts of her name, by a peace that hath stained all vidlories. For 
 
 not 
 
 her meritt, who doth ^ acknowledge that she hath ben as a [star of most 
 fortunate influence vpon the adge whereon she hath shine [d ? Shall we 
 speake] of merritts of clemencie or merritts of benefic [ence ? Where shall 
 a man take] the most proper and naturall [tryal of her royal clemencie ? 
 Will it best appeare in the injuries that were done unto her before she 
 attayned the crowne ? or after she is seated in her throne, or that 
 the commonwealth is incorporated in her person, then clemencie] 
 
 in that countenance. These 
 words are inserted in the 
 margin in the hand of the 
 original transcriber 
 
 Compare "Now fas you have 
 heard before) the campe in 
 this meane time, being kept 
 at Tilbury in Essex, under 
 the charge of the erl of 
 Leicester L. Steward, S-c. ; 
 the 9 of A ugust, hir Majesty 
 repaired thither, where at 
 the whole campe being set in 
 order of battell, both horse 
 and footemen, she passed 
 through every rankeofthem, 
 to their great comfort and 
 rejoycing, and was lodged 
 that night and the night 
 next following, in the house 
 of Master Edward Rich, a 
 justice of the shire, in the 
 parish of Hornedon." — 
 Stow. 
 
 dge. This has been struck 
 out by a later hand and 
 age written above. 
 
 Probably a line or clause is 
 missing at the end of this 
 page. 
 
i8 
 
 jfr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 MS. Folio 1 8. 
 
 of the iwongs. The word of 
 is struck out. 
 
 princes should not neglect. 
 This clause reads in the 
 Museum MS. that princes 
 should not neglect (that the 
 commonwealth's mrong is 
 included in themselves j, etc. 
 
 deuorsing = divorcing. 
 
 coosenages = cheatings. 
 
 myne = mint. 
 
 is drawen in question as a daungerous incounter betweene Justice & pollicie. 
 And therfor who did euer note that she did rescent after she was established 
 in her kingdome of the wrongs done in her former state? Who doth not re- 
 member how she reuenged the rudenes and rigor of her Jailer by a worde ? 
 and that not bitter but salte, and such as shewed rather the excellencie of her 
 wit, then any impression of the wrong. Yea and farther, it is not too mani- 
 fest, that since her raigne, notw'^standing that principle that princes should 
 not negleEl the commonwealthes wronges included in themselues, yett when it is 
 question of drawing the sworde, there is euer a conflidl betweene the iustice of 
 her place, ioyned w"" the necessitie of her estate, and her owne royall clemecie, 
 w"'' as a soueraigne and precious balme continuallie distilleth from her faire 
 handes, and falleth into the woundes of manie that haue incurred the offence 
 of her lawes. Now for her beneficence, what kinde of persons haue euer 
 breathed during her most happie raigne, but haue had the benifite of her 
 vertues conveyed vnto them ? Take a veiwe and consider whether they haue 
 
 remote 
 
 not extended to subiedtes, to neighbors, to^straungers, yea to her greatest 
 enemies. For her subiedles, where shall we beginne in such a maze of be- 
 nifites as presenteth it selfe to our remembrance ? Shall we speake of the 
 purging away the drosse of religion, the heauenlie treasure? or that of monies, 
 the earthlie treasure ? the greater was touched before and the latter deserueth 
 not to be forgotten. B^or who knoweth not, that knoweth anie thing in matters 
 of estate, of the greate absurdities and fraudes that arise of the deuorsing y^ 
 legall estimacon of monie from the generall, and (as I may terme it) naturall 
 estimacon of the mettalls, and againe of the incertaine and wavering valewes 
 of coines, a verie laborinth of coosenages and abuses, and yett such as great [e 
 princes haue made their proffitt of towards their owne people. Passe [on from 
 the myne to the revenewes and receiptes, there shall you fynd no [raysing 
 of rentes notw"'standing the alteracon of prizes and the vsage of the [times, 
 but the ouervalewe, besides a reasonable fine, lefte for the releef [of tenants 
 and rewarde of seruantes. No raising of customes notw"'stand [ing her con- 
 tinuall charges of setting to sea. No extremities taken of for[feiture and 
 penall lawes, a meanes vsed by some kings for the ga[thering of great 
 treasures. A few forfeitures indeede, not taken [to her owne purse 
 but sett ouer to some others for triall onelie whether [gaine could brincr 
 these lawes to be well executed, w^*" the ministers [of justice did negledl. 
 But] after it was founde that onelie com [passions were used, and the law 
 nev"' the nerer the execution, the course was straight suppressed and discon- 
 tynewed. Yea there have been made laws more than one in her time for the 
 restrainte of the vexation of informers and promoters : naye, a course 
 
jfr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 19 
 
 [taken by her own diredion for the repealing of all heavie and snared laws, if 
 It had not bene crossed by those to whom the benefit should have redounded. Ther 
 shall you finde, no new taxes, impositions nor devyces ; but the benevolence of 
 the subjea freely ofifred by assent of Parliament according to the ancient rates, 
 and with great moderation in assessement ; and not so only, but some new formes 
 of contribution ofifred likewise by the subjeft in Parliament ; and the demonstration 
 of their devotion only excepted, but the thing never put in ure. Ther shall you 
 finde loanes, but honourablie answered and payd as it were the contrafte of 
 a private man. To conclude, there shall you find moneys levied upon sales 
 of lands, alienations (though not of the ancient patrimonie) yet of the rich and 
 commodious purchases and perquisites of the Crowne only because she will not 
 be grevous and burthensome to the people. This treasure, soe innocentlv levyed, 
 so honorablye gathered and raysed, with such tendernes to the subjeft, wi'*out any 
 basenes or drynes at all ; how hath it bene expended andimployed ? Wher be 
 the wasteful buildings, and the exorbitant and prodigal donatives, the sumptuous 
 dissipations in pleasures and vaine ostentations, which we finde have exhausted the 
 coffers of so many Kings ? It is the honour of her house, the royal remunerating 
 of her servants, the preservation of her people and state, the proteftion of her 
 suppliants and allies, the encounter, breaking and defeating the enemyes of her 
 realme, that hath bene the only pores and pipes whereby the treasure hath yssued. 
 Hath it bene the sinewes of a blessed and prosperous peace ? hath she bought 
 her peace ? hath she lent the King of Spain money upon some cavillation not to 
 be repeated ? and soe bought his favour ? and hath shee given large pensions to 
 corrupt his Counsel ? Noe, but shee hath used the most honorable divertion of 
 trebles that canne be in the world. Shee hath kept the fyer from her own 
 walles by seeking to quench it in her neighbors. That poor brand of the state 
 of Burgundy, and that other of the crowne of France that remayneth, had bene 
 in ashes but for the readie fountaine of her continewall benignitie. For the honor 
 of her house, it is well known that almost the universal manners of the times 
 doth incline to a certain parsimonie and drines in that kind of expence : yet 
 shee retayneth the auncient magnificence, the allowance as full, the charge 
 greater than in time of her father, or anie king before. I'he bookes appeare, 
 the computation will not flatter. And for the remunerating and rewarding of 
 her servants and the attendance of the Court, let a man cast and some up 
 all the bookes of gifts, fee farmes, leases and custodies that have passed her 
 bountiful hands. Let him consider again what a number of commodious and 
 gaineful offices heretofore bestowed upon men of other education and profession 
 have bene withdrawen and conferred upon her Courte. Let him remember what 
 a number of other giftes, disguised by other names but in effeft as good as monie 
 given out of her cofers, have bene granted by her : and he will conclude that 
 her royal] minde is farre above her meanes. The other benefits of her politick,] 
 
 The leaf containing pp. 19 
 and 20 is missing from 
 the Northumberland MS. 
 and the text is supplied 
 from the British Museum 
 copy. 
 
 excepted Probably accepted. 
 On March nth, 1586-7, 
 the House of Commons 
 oflered to sandtion the 
 colleflion of a benevo- 
 lence or voluntary con- 
 tribution towards the 
 expenses of the vtax in 
 the Low Countries, which 
 the Queen declined. 
 
 emulation = chicanery, 
 tricliery, or overreaching 
 sophistry. 
 
 drines = absence of embel- 
 lishment. Compare Their 
 new flowers and sweetness do 
 as much corrupt as others 
 dryness and squalor. — Ben 
 Jonson's Discoveries. 
 
20 
 
 See note on preceding page. 
 
 humorous = moody or peev- 
 ish. Compare as can- 
 tankerous and humorous 
 (in the old Shakesperian 
 sense) as Cassius himself. — 
 
 L'ESTRANGE'S LiFE OF 
 
 Miss Mitford. 
 
 ffr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 [clement, and gratious government towards the subjedls are without number; the state 
 of justice good, notwithstanding the great subtiltie and humorous affections of 
 these times ; the securitie of peace greater than can be described by that verse, 
 
 to set forth the merit. Mean- 
 ing she has merited of 
 her neighbours, not what 
 her neighbours have 
 merited. 
 
 this realme should read that 
 realme. 
 
 restoredthenobilitie. Alluding 
 to the peace concluded in 
 July, 1560. 
 
 afterwards, viz., in 1570. 
 
 by the King's best and truest 
 servants should follow 
 required. 
 
 place. The Museum MS. 
 
 readiS peace . 
 cunctations = delay. 
 
 sinceritie. The Museum MS. 
 reads securitie. 
 
 or that other 
 
 Tutus bos etenim rura perambulat : 
 Nutrit rura Ceres almaque Faustitas: 
 
 Condit quisque diem collibus in suis. 
 
 The opulencye of the peace such as if you have respedl (to take one signe 
 for manie) to the number of faire houses that have 'bene built since her 
 raigne. As Augustus said that he had receyved the city of brick and 
 lefte it of marble, so shee maye saye shee receyved it a realme of cottages 
 and hath made it a realme of palaces ; the state of trafifique great and rich : 
 the customes, notwithstanding these warres and interruptions, not fallen : 
 manie profitable trades, manie honorable discoveries : and lastly, to make an 
 end where no end is, the shipping of this realme soe advanced and made soe 
 mighty and potent, as this Hand is become (as the natural scite thereof deserved) 
 the ladie of the sea ; a point of soe high consequence, as it may be truly said 
 that the commaundement of the sea is an abridgement or a quintessence of an 
 universal monarchy. This and much more hath shee merited of her subjects : 
 now to set forth the merit of her neyghbors and the states about her. It semeth 
 the tymes have made themselves purveyors of continual newe and noble occasions 
 for her to shewe them benignitie, and that the fyers of trobles abrode have 
 bene ordayned to [be] as lights and tapers to make her vertew and magnanimitie 
 more apparant. For when that one, stranger borne, the familie of Guise, being 
 as a hastie weed sprung up in a night, had spred itselfe to a greatnes not civil 
 but seditious ; a greatnes, not of encounter of the auncyent nobilitie, not of 
 preheminencie in the favor of kings, and not remisse of affayres from kings ; but 
 a greatnes of innovation in state, of usurpations of audlhoritye, of affefting of 
 crownes ; and that accordingly under color of consanguinitie and religion they 
 had brought French forces into Scotland, in the absence of their King and Queen 
 being within their usurped tutell : and that the auncient nobilitie of this realme 
 seeing the imminent danger of reducing that kingdom under the tyranny of 
 foreinors and their fadlion, had according to the good intelligence betwixt the 
 two crownes prayed her neyghbourly succours : shee undertooke the adtion, 
 expelled the strangers, restored the nobilitie to their degree ; and leste anie man 
 should think her intent was to unnestle ill neyghbors, and not to ayde good 
 neygbors, or that shee was readyer to restore what was invaded by others 
 then to render what was in her owne hands. See if the time provided 
 not a newe occasion afterwards, when through their owne devisions (without 
 the intermise of strangers) her forces were again sought and required ; 
 shee forsooke them not, prevailed so far as to be possessed of the castell of 
 Edenborough, the principall strength of that kingdome, w'='' place 
 incontinently, without cundations or cavillations (the preambles of a wavering 
 fayth) she rendered with all honour and sinceritie ; and his person so safe and] 
 
21 
 
 ifr. Bacon of Tribute. ^,^ ^ ,. 
 
 •^ ■' MS. Folio 19. 
 
 faithfull handes ; and so euer after during his minoritie con [tinewed his princi- 
 pal! guardian and protedor. In the times betweene theese [two occasyons of 
 Scotland, when the same faccon of Guise, couered still w* a pr [etence of religion, 
 and strengthened by desire of retaining goverm' in the mothe [r Queene of 
 Fraunce, had raised and moued ciuell warres in y' kingdome, [only to extir- 
 -pate the auncient nobilitie by shocquing them one against ano [ther, and to waste 
 y' Realme as the candle that is lighted at both endes, and that [those of y« ReH- 
 gion, being neare of the bloude royall and otherwise of the gre[atest howse 
 in Fraunce, and great officers of the Crowne, opposed the[mselves only 
 against their insolencie, and to their support called in their [aides, giving 
 vnto them new-Hauen for a place of securitie, see w"" w' [alacritve in 
 
 ye fortune of L J 7 
 
 tender regard towardes^that young king, whose name was v [sed to y^ supplan- 
 -ting of his owne strength, she embraced the enterprize, [by the support and 
 reputacoa whereof the same ptie suddenlie made great pceed[ings and in 
 conclusion made their peace as they would themselues. An[d although 
 they ioyned themselues against and pfourmed y^ parts rather of [good patriots 
 then of good confederates, and that after great demonstration [of valour in 
 her subiedls (as the French to this dale will reporte), especia[lly by 
 y' great mortalitie, and by the hand of god, and the rather bec[ause it 
 is knowen she did neuer much affedl the holding of that towne [to her 
 owne vse, it was lefte & her forces w'Mrawen, yett that did [nothing 
 diminishe the merritt of y' crowne, and namelie of that ptie, [who recovered 
 by it such strength, as by y' and no other thing they subsisted [long after. 
 And least any man should sinesterlie and maliciouslie enterp[ret that she 
 did nourish these diuisions, who knoweth not w' faithfull advice, [continual 
 and earnest sollicitacon she vsed by her Embassado"^ and minister [s to y^ French 
 ks successiuelie, and to their mother, to moue them to keepe the [ir edifts 
 of Pacificacon and to retaine their owne au6thoritie and gre[atnes by 
 the vnion of their subjefts. W"'' councell (if it had been as h [appily 
 followed as it was prudentlie and sincerelie given,) Fr[aunce had bene 
 at this day a most florishing kingdome, w""" is now a theat[er of miserye. 
 And now at last when the same house of Guise, being one of [the whippes 
 of god (whereof themselues are but y= cordes and Spaine y'^ [stocke) had by 
 their infinite aspiring praftises wrought y' miracle of st[ates, to make a 
 king in possession long established to play againe for his [crowne, without 
 any] title of a competitor, w"'out any maine inuasion [of a foreine enemye, 
 yea] w'^'out any combinacon in substaunce of any bloud [royall or nobiHtie, 
 but onehe by f[urring in audacious persons in [to sondry government, and 
 by making the populace of townes drunke with seditious preachers. And 
 that King Henry the third, awaked by those pressing dangers, was compelled 
 to execute the Duke of Guise without ceremony, and yet nevertheless found 
 the despayre of soe manie persons embarked and engaged in that conspiracye] 
 
 faithfull handes. A later pen 
 has attempted to improve 
 the sense by altering this 
 to faithless hands, and 
 striking out the remain- 
 der of the sentence ; so 
 giving the opposite mean- 
 ing to what Bacon in- 
 tended. The allusion is 
 to the troubles of 1573 
 following the murder of 
 Murray. 
 
 theiy aides should read her 
 aide. 
 
 supplanting of his owne 
 strength. Compare The 
 Queen's Majesty took unto 
 her protection the French 
 King's subjects in Nor- 
 mandy, being oppressed by 
 the tyranny of the House of 
 Guise, and published a 
 declaration. — Diary of 
 Lord Burghley, Sep. 
 27, 1562. 
 
 sinesterlie = sinisterly. 
 
 ks = kings. 
 
 furring in, etc. Probably 
 spurring on audacious per- 
 sons against his government. 
 
ffr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 22 
 
 MS. Folio 20. 
 
 death of Guise has been 
 struck out. The Museum 
 MS. reads blood of Guise. 
 
 fsened. The Museum MS. 
 rea.Asf referred. 
 
 treasure. The first treasure 
 has been struck out. 
 
 the offering of Don Ant. 
 This has been correfled 
 to her endevor to settle Don 
 Ant in his fortune. The 
 allusion is to the expedi- 
 tion against Spain in 1589 
 under Norris and Drake. 
 
 the hands of her reputacon. 
 This was in 1590. Com- 
 pare The Turk had not he 
 been prevented by our am- 
 bassador, intended to set 
 upon the King of Poland 
 with 60,000 men ; but under- 
 standing her Majesty had 
 great need of many things 
 from that country necessary 
 for her navy, he withdrew 
 his force, though he were 
 assured of victory ; and the 
 Turk himself, hath written 
 to her Majesty, assuring 
 her that if she would write 
 her letters to him to require 
 him, he will make the King 
 of Spain humble himself to 
 her. — Lodge's Illus- 
 trations OF British 
 History, Vol. 3, 1791. 
 
 with one chardge. Meaning 
 without incurring any 
 greater charge or danger 
 than already incurred. 
 
 onelie by passion. The Mu- 
 seum MS. reads upon 
 passion. 
 
 SO violent, as the fflame therby was little asswadged, so as he was inforced 
 to implore her aydes and succors, consider how benigne eare & correspon- 
 -dence she gaue to the distressed requests of y' king : and he soone after 
 being by the sacrilegious hand of a wretched Jacobine lifted vp against 
 the sacred person of his naturall soueraigne, taken away (wheerin not 
 the criminous death of Guise but the innocent bloude w'^'' he had often 
 spilt by the instigacon of him and his howse was revenged,) and y' this wor- 
 -thie gent who now raigneth came to the crowne, it will not be for- 
 -gotten by so gratefull a king nor by so observing an adge, how readie, 
 how opportune and seasonable, how royall and sufficient her succors 
 were, wherby she inlarged him at that time and pserved him to his better 
 fortune. And euer since in these tedious warres wherin he hath to doe w"" 
 a Hidra or monster with manie heades, she hath supported him w"" trea- 
 sure w"' treasure, w* forces, and w"* imploym' of one whom she favoreth 
 most. What shall I speake of the offering Don Ant : to his fortune, a 
 denoted Catholique onelie commended vnto her by his oppressed State? What 
 should I speake of the great storme of a mightie inuasion, not in ppara- 
 -con but in afte by the Turke vppon the king of Poleland, latelie dissipated 
 onelie by the hands of her reputacon w'''' w"" the grand Seignior is greater 
 then that of all the States of Europe put together. But lett me 
 rest upon the honorable and continuall ayde and releife she hath given 
 to the distressed and desolate people of the lowe countries, a people com- 
 -mended vnto her by auncient confederacie and dailie entercourse, by their 
 cause so innocent and their fortune so lamentable. And yett notw"'standing, 
 to keepe the conformitie of her owne pceedings neuer stained w"" the least 
 noate of ambition or malice, she refused the soveraigntie of diners goodlie p- 
 vinces, offred vnto her w"" great instance, to haue ben accepted w"" grea[te 
 contentm' both of her owne people and theirs, and iustlie to be deriu[ed ei- 
 ther in respedt of the hostilitie of Spaine, or in respedle of the cond [icons 
 liberties and priviledges of these subiedls, and w"" one chardge daung [er & offence 
 to the king of Spaine and his ptizans : she hath taken vpon her one [lie their 
 defence and proteccon, w^'out any further auaile or pffitt vnto he[rself then 
 the honor and merritt of her benignitie : a people that haue ben [psued by 
 
 he hath 
 
 their naturall king onelie by passion and wrath in sort that^ [according to y'^ 
 proverbe {aratro iaculari) consumed his meanes vpon re [venge. And (having 
 to verifie that w"*" I haue said, y' her merritts haue [extended to her grea- 
 test enemies) lett it be remembred w' hath passed [in y' matter betweene 
 the king of Spaine and her. First how in the [beginning of y° trebles there she 
 gaue and imparted to him faithfull and [friendly advice touching y'= course 
 that was to be taken for the quiet [ing and appeasing of them. Then 
 shee interposed her selfe to most just and reasonable capitulations, 
 wherein alwayes should have bene preserved unto him as ample in- 
 -terest jurisdiction and superioritie in those countries as he in right could 
 claime, or a Prince well minded would seek to have, and (w"" is the greatest point)] 
 
ffr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 23 
 
 MS. Folio 21. 
 
 she did by her advice, creditt, and poUicie, and all good meane [s intrupt & 
 impeache that the same people by despaire should not vtt [erly alien and 
 distradle themselues from the obedience of the king of Sp : a[nd cast them 
 selues into the armes of a straunger, insomuch as it is most [true that she 
 did euer dissuade the Duke of Aniou from that accon notw'^ [standing the 
 affecconshe [barey^] said Duke and the obstinaciew"*" she sawedailie [growing in y^ 
 king of Sp : Lastlie to touch the mightie and generall merrit [of this Queene 
 beare in mynde that her benignitie hath ben as large [as the oppressi- 
 on and ambition of the Sp : For to beginne w"" the Church of [Rome, y' ptended 
 Apostolicke sea is become but a donative cell of the kyng of [Spayne : the vicar of 
 Christ is become the king of Sp^ chapleyne : he pteth the com [ing in of the 
 new pope for the treasure of the olde. He was wont to exclude [but some 2 or 3 
 cardinalls, and to leaue the eleccon free of the rest. But now h [e doth include 
 and present diredllie some smale nomber, all incapable and inc [ompatible 
 w"" the Conclaue, put in onelie for culler, except one or two [. The states of 
 Italie, they be like little quilletts of freeholds lieing interrupte w[ithin 
 a great Lordshipp. ffraunce is turned vpside downe, the sub[je£l against 
 the king, cutt and mangled infinitelie : a countrey of Rodam [onts & Roytelets, 
 ffarmers of the warres. Portugall vsurped by no other [title then 
 strength and vicinitie. The lowe countries warrd vpon, because [he seeketh, 
 not to possesse them (for they were possessed by him before) but to p [lant there 
 an absolute and martiall goverm' to suppresse their liberties [ : the like at 
 this day attempted vpon Arragon ; the poor Indies, wheras [y^ christian 
 religion generallie brought infranchisem" of slaues where it [came, in a 
 
 by it men 
 
 contrarie courseware brought from free men to be slaues and [slaves of 
 most miserable condicon. The sundrie pradtises and tirannies [of this King's 
 ambition in Germanie, Denmarke, Scotlande, the east town[es, are not 
 vnknowen. Then it is her goverm' and her gverm' alone that hath [bene y'= 
 sconse and forte of all Europe, w"^ hath lett this proud nat[ion 
 from oncoming all. If any state be yett free from his faccons [erefted in y" 
 bowells thereof, if there be any state where this faccon is er [efted, y' is not yet 
 fired w**" ciuell troubles, if there be anie state vnder his prote [ftion upon 
 whom he vsurpeth not, if there be anie state subieft to him th [at enjoyeth 
 moderate libertie vppon whom he tirannizeth not, lett them [all knowe it 
 to be the merritt of this renowned Queene, that standes b [etweene them 
 and their disfortunes. Theise be some of the beames of her [noble and radiant 
 magnanimitie, in contempt of perrill w^" so many flie, in c [ontempt 
 of pro] fitt w'='' so manie admire, and in merritt of the [worlde w'^'' soe manie 
 include in] themselues, sett forth in my simpHcitie [of speech w"' much 
 loss of lustre, but] w"- neare approach of truth ; as [the sunne is seene in the 
 water. Now to passe to the excellences of her person ; the viewe of them wholly 
 and not severallie doe make soe sweete a wonder as I feare to diuide them 
 againe : nobilitie extrafled out of the royall and viftorious lyne of the kings 
 of England ; yea both roses white and red do as well florishe in her nobilitie as in] 
 
 did beare ye is interlined in 
 another handwriting. 
 
 The MS. read beare in mind 
 that goodwill, but the last 
 word has been struck out. 
 
 But now he doth include, etc. 
 This was first done upon 
 the election of Gregory 
 XIV., in December, 1591. 
 It was repeated on tliat 
 of Innocent IX., October, 
 1591, and Clement VIII., 
 in January, 1591-2. — 
 Ranke's Popes, Book vi. 
 
 attempted upon Ayragon. In 
 1592 Standen wrote to 
 Anthony Bacon the citadel 
 of Shiita in Arragon, the 
 frontier of France and 
 Beam, was already put into 
 a state of defence and 300 
 soldiers in it ; and at Sara- 
 gossa, the metropolis of that 
 kingdom, they u'cre building 
 another citadel ; so that 
 Arragon might be saddled 
 whenever they pleased, being 
 already bridled. — Birch's 
 Memoirs of Elizabeth. 
 
 disfortunes has been struck 
 out and misfortunes in- 
 serted probably wrongly, 
 as this form of the word 
 is used before on Folio 5. 
 
ffy. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 24 
 
 MS. Folio 22. 
 
 unibratill life =: a secluded 
 life. 
 
 longe to thinke. Originally 
 written tonge to thinke. 
 Some corrector has writ- 
 ten in the margin tyme. 
 The Museum copy has 
 longe. 
 
 was received probably should 
 be was conceived. The 
 Museum copy has is 
 received. 
 
 The Museum MS. omits 
 small. 
 
 her beautie : a health such as is hke she should haue, that was brought forth 
 betweene two of the goodhest princes of the world, in strength of their yeares, 
 in heate of their loue ; y' hath not been iniured neyther w**" an ouer liberall nor 
 an ouer curious diett ; that hath not ben softened by an vmbratill life still vnder 
 the rooffe, but strengthened by use of the pure and open aire, that still retaineth 
 flower and vigor of youth, ffor the beautie and manie graces of her psence 
 what cullors are fine enough for such a portraiture ? Let no light Poett be 
 vsed for such a description, but the chastest and the royallest. 
 
 of her gate 
 et vera incessu patuit deu 
 
 of her voice 
 nee vox hominen sonat 
 
 of her eye 
 et IcBtos oculis afflarat honores 
 
 of her couler 
 Indu sanguineo veluti violauerit ostro, siquis Ebur 
 
 of her necke 
 et rosea ceruice refulsit 
 
 of her breasts 
 veste sinus collecta ffuentes 
 
 of her hair 
 ambrosiceq comae diuinu vertice odorem spirauere 
 
 If this be psumption lett him beare the blame that oweth y^ verses. W shall I 
 speake of her rare qualities of complem'% w"^ as they be excellent in y^ things 
 themselues so they haue alwaies besides somew' of a Queene ; and as Queenes 
 vse shadowes and vailes w"" their rich apparell, so methinks in all her quallities 
 there is somew' that flieth from ostentation and yett inviteth the minde to con- 
 -template the more. W should I speak of her excellent guifte of speach [bea 
 -ring a caradter of the greatenes of her conceipte, the height of her degre [e, 
 and the sweetnes of her nature? W life, w' grace, w' edge is there [in 
 theise wordes and glaunces wherw"" at pleasure she can giue a [man 
 longe to thinke ? be it y' she meane to daunt him, to encorrage him [or to a- 
 maze him. How admirable is her discourse, whether it be in lea [rning, state, 
 or loue. W varietie of knowledge? w' rarenes of conceypt? [what choice 
 of words ? v/ grace of vtterance ? Doth it not appeare, th [at though her 
 witt be as the adamant of excellencies w""" draweth out of a [nie book auncient 
 or new, out of any writing or speach the best, yett [she refineth it, 
 she enricheth it farr aboue y^ valewe wherein it wa [s received. And is 
 her speach onehe y' language w-^*" the child [learneth w"" pleasure, and not 
 that w'='' the studious learne w"" Industrie? [Hath she not attayned be- 
 side] her rare eloquence in her owne Ian [guage, infinitely polished since her 
 happy times, changes of] other [languages both learned and moderne : so that she 
 is able to negotiate w"" divers ambassadors in their owne languages, and that 
 w"" no [sm all] disadvantage unto them : wh o I thinke cannot but have a great part of] 
 
ffy. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 25 
 
 MS. Folio 23. 
 
 their witts distrafted from their matters in hand to the contem [plation & admi- 
 -ration of such perfeccons. W should I wander on to speak of y"= ex [cellencies of her 
 nature \v'='' cannot endure to be looked on w"' a discontented eye ? [of y'= constancy 
 of her favo'" w'*" maketh her seruice as a iorney by land, wh [eras y^ service 
 of other Princes is like an imbarcquing by sea. As for her roya [1 wisdom and 
 pollicie, he that shall note the prudent temper she vseth in ad [mitting accesse, of 
 the one side maintayning the ma"^of her degree, andon the other si [de not pjudicing 
 herself by looking into her estate thorough too few windowes: her [exquisite] udgm' 
 in choosing and finding good servants (a pointe wherein her father [excelled) : her 
 poUitique skill in making and trayning good servants (a point be [yond y^ former) : 
 aprofound discretionin assigning and appropriating everie of them [to their aptest 
 imploym': her penetrating sight in discoueringe euerie mans ends [& drifts : her 
 wonderfuU art in keeping her servants in satisfaccion and yett in [appetite: her 
 intentiue witt in contriving plots and outournes : her exadl ca [ution in cen- 
 -suring the proposicons of others : her secreacie : her forseeing [events, her 
 vsing occasions : he that shall consider of these and other thing [s y' may 
 not well be touched, as he shall neuer cease to wonder at such a [Queene, soe 
 he shall wonder the lesse y' in so daungerous times, when witts [are so cun- 
 ning, humo" so extrauagant, passions so violent, corrupcons so [great, dissi- 
 mulacons so deepe, faccons so many, she hath notw"'standing d [one such great 
 things & raigned in such felicitie. For to speake of her fortune, [let no man 
 obiedl to me as a defedt in her fortune y' w'*" I did reserue for [a garlande 
 of her honor, and y' is that she liueth a virgin and hath no [children, 
 ffor it is that w"'' maketh all other virtues ^ more sacred, more [august, more 
 devine. Lett them leaue children y' leaue no other memorie in the [ir times. Bru- 
 -toru cBternitas fuboles. Revoke in histories the memories of happie [men, and 
 you shall not fynde any of rare felicitie but eyther he died ch [ildless or 
 his lyne soone spent after his death, or else was vnfortunate in [his chil- 
 -dren. Should a man haue children to be slayne by his vassall [s, as the 
 Posthumus of Alexander y-^ great was ? or to call them his [imposthumes, 
 as Augustus Ccesar called his? Pervse the catalogue. Corne[lius Sylla, 
 Julius CcBsar, Flauius Vespasian, Septimus Seuerus, Constan[tinus the 
 greate; and the rule holdeth. Generare et liberi humana, cre[are et ope- 
 ra diuina. And therfor (this obieccon remoued) letts pceed[e to take 
 a veiw of her felicitie. A mate of ffortune she neuer [tooke : onely 
 some adversitie she passed at the first, to giue her [a quicker sense of 
 the psperitie that should follow, and to make her [more reposed in the 
 dijvine pvidence. Well she commeth to y" crowne. [It was noe small for- 
 -tune to] fynde at her entrance some such servants [and counsellers 
 as shee then found. The French Kinge, who at this time by reason of the 
 peace concluded with Spayne and of the interest he had in Scotland 
 mought have proved a daungerous neyghbour, by howe strange an 
 accident was he taken away. The Kinge of Spayne, who if he would have 
 :lyned to reduce theLoweCountries by lenitie.consydering the goodly revenewes] 
 
 a profound discrition. The 
 Museum MS. has her 
 frofound\ 
 
 intentive witt. Probably in- 
 ventive wit. and outournes 
 = overturns. A later 
 pen has altered the word 
 to overtures, which must 
 be wrong. 
 
 notwithstanding done suck 
 great. This is as in the 
 Museum MS. The later 
 pen has however inserted 
 after notwithstanding the 
 word brought. The re- 
 mainder of his corredtion 
 is burnt. 
 
 The Museum MS. reads 
 imposters for imposthumes, 
 but the latter is the cor- 
 rect reading. Compare 
 Augustus Cmsar, out of 
 great indignation against 
 his two daughters, and 
 Posthumus Agrippa, his 
 grandchild; whereof the first 
 two were infamous, and the 
 last otherwise unworthy, 
 would say, " That they were 
 not his seed, hut some im- 
 posthumes that had broken 
 from him." — Bacon ' s 
 Apophthegmes, No. 246. 
 
 end 
 
ffr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 26 
 
 MS. Folio 24. 
 
 preutnted = anticipated or 
 forestalled. 
 
 though some think, etc. Com- 
 pare it seemeth he had a 
 good mind to make himself 
 a way into that kingdom 
 (Spain), seeing that (for 
 that purpose as he reporteth) 
 he did artificially nourish 
 the young King Sebastian 
 ill the voyage to Africa, 
 expecting that overthrow 
 which followed. — Bacon's 
 Observations on a 
 Libel. 
 
 they contrariwise . . . y' 
 advise. The Museum MS. 
 reads shee contrariwise . . 
 . advised him. 
 
 Dawbeny. TheMuseumMS. 
 which is the sole authority 
 for the missing lines reads 
 Darleigh. This is wrong. 
 The name of the Duke of 
 Lenox was D'Aubigny, 
 commonly spelt Daw- 
 beny. 
 
 w'='' he drew from those countries, the greate commodites to annoy her 
 state from them, might haue made a mightie & perillous machinacon 
 against her repose, putteth on a resolucon not onelie to vse the meanes 
 of those lowe countries but to spende and consume all his other meanes, 
 the treasures of his Indies, and the forces of his ill compadled dominions, 
 there and vpon them. The Earles y' rebelled in the North before the 
 Duke of Norff: plotte (w"'' indeed was the strength and Steele of y' com- 
 motion) was fuUie ripe, brooke forth and preuented their time. The king 
 Sebastian of Portugall, whom the king of Sp : would faine haue per- 
 swaded, that it was a devouter enterprize to purge Christendome then to 
 enlardge it, though some thinke he did artificiallie nourish him in y' voyadg, 
 is cutt in peeces w"" his army in Affriq. Then hath the king of Sp : wo'ke 
 cutt out to make all things in readdines during the olde Cardinalls 
 time for the conquest of Portugall, whereby his desire of inuading 
 England was slacked and put of some yeares, and by y' meanes was put 
 in excucon at a time for some respedts more to his disadvantadg. And y^ same 
 inuasion, like as if it had ben attempted before, it had the time much more 
 proper and favourable, so likewise had it (in true discourse) had a better 
 season afterwards. ffor if it had ben deferred till time that the league 
 had ben better confirmed in fifr : w"*" no doubte it would haue ben if y^ 
 Duke of Guise (who was the onelie man of worth on that side), had lined, 
 (and the ffr: K: durst neuer haue layd hands on him had he not ben ani- 
 -mated by the English vidlorie against the Sp : pcedent : ) and then some 
 maritime townes had ben gotten into the hands of the league, it had ben a 
 great suertie and strength to that enterprize. The Popes to consider 
 of them, whose course and pollicie it had ben, to haue temporized and [to 
 haue dispensed w"" y= papists coming to Church, that through the 
 maske of their hipocrisie, they might haue ben brought into pi [aces 
 of goverm' in State and in the countrey, they contrariwise [by the 
 instigation of some fugitive schollers y' advise them not w' w [as best 
 for the sea of Roome but w' agreed best w"' their owne eag [er humours 
 and desperate states, discouer and declare themselues so f[arre by sending 
 in of Seminaries and taking reconcilem', as there is ne [w severitie of 
 lawes introduced for y^ repressing of that sort, and [men of that religion 
 are become y^ more suspedt. W should I say of [soe manie secreate con- 
 spiracles miraculouslie detedled ? The record [s shew the treasons ; but 
 it is yett hidden in many of them how [they came to light. What should 
 I spea] ke of the death of her ene [mies and the wicked instrum'^ towards 
 her estate ? Don Juan dyed not amisse: Dawbeny, Duke of Lenox, who was 
 used as an instrument to divorce Scotland from the amitye of England, dyed 
 in no ill season, a man withdrawen indeed at that time to France; but 
 not without greate helpe. I maye not mention the death of some] 
 
jfr. Bacon of Tribute. 
 
 27 
 
 MS. Folio 25. 
 
 that occurr to my minde, but still me thinks they liue [that should live, 
 
 and they die that should die. I would not haue the [K of Spain dye yet : 
 
 he is feges glories. But when he groweth daungerous, or any [other besides 
 
 him, I am perswaded they will die. What should I [speake of the fortunes 
 
 and honor of her armies ? w* notw"'standing the [inward peace of 
 
 this nation, were neuer more renowned. What sh [ould I recount 
 
 Leeth, Newhauen, I say Newhauen, . for the honorable s [kirmishes and 
 
 seruices there are no blemishe at all to the militia of [England. In 
 
 the lowe countries, the Lammas day, the retrait of [Gante, the daye 
 
 at Sutphen, and the prosperous progress of this s [ummer : The 
 
 brauado in Portugall and the honorable exploits in [the ayde of the 
 
 French kyng ; besides the memorable voiages into the [Indies, and 
 
 lastlie the good entertainem' of the invincible navie, [w'''' was chased till 
 
 the chasers were wearie, after infinite loss, w^out t [aking a cock- 
 
 -boate, w^ut firing a shipcoate, sailed on at the mercie of the [winde and the 
 
 discreacon of their adventurers, making a perambulacon or [pilgrimage about 
 
 the northren seas, and ennobling many shoores and points [of lande 
 
 by shipwrackes, and so returned home w"" scorne & dishonor [much grea- 
 
 -ter than the terror and expeftacon of their setting forth. T[hese vertues 
 
 and perfeccons, ioyned w* so great felicitie, haue made he [r the honour 
 
 of her times, the admiracon of the world, the suite and [aspiring of the 
 
 greatest kyngs and princes, who yett durst neuer haue aspi [red unto 
 
 her as worthy of her, but as' their mindes were raised by 1 [ove. But 
 
 whie do I forgett that words doe extenuate and embase ma[tters of 
 
 that height ? Time is her best commender, w"'' neuer broug [ht forth 
 
 such a prince, whose imperiall vertues contende w* the [excellencie 
 
 of her person, both vertues contende w"" her fortune, and [both ver- 
 
 tue and fortune contende w"" her fame. 
 
 orbis amor, famce carmen, cceliq pupilla, 
 tu decus omne tuis: tu decus ipfa tibi. 
 
 Leeth = the siege of Leith 
 in 1560. Newhauen = the 
 unfortunate mishaps at 
 Newhaven could not be 
 mentioned -without apo- 
 logy. 
 
 Lammas Day, the retrait of 
 Gante. Compare In the 
 yeare 1578 was that famous 
 Lammas Day, which buried 
 the I eputation of Don Jhuan 
 d' Austria. And also, In 
 the ysare 1582 was that 
 memorable Retreit of Gaunt, 
 than the which there hath 
 >wt beene an Exploit of 
 Warre more celebrated. For 
 in the true Judgment of Men 
 of . Warre, honourable re- 
 treaits are in no wayes in - 
 feriour to brave charges, as 
 having lesse of Fortune, 
 more of Discipline, and as 
 much of Valour. There 
 were to the number of 300 
 Horse, and as many thou- 
 sand Foot English, (com- 
 manded by Sir John N orris,) 
 charged by the Prince of 
 Parma, camming upon them 
 with 7000 Horse: besides 
 that the whole Army of 
 Spaniards was ready to 
 march on. Nevertheless Sir 
 John Norris maintained a 
 retreit without disarray, by 
 the space of some miles, unto 
 the City of Gaunt, with less 
 loss of men than the enemy. 
 The D. of AnjoH and the 
 Prince of A urange, beholding 
 this noble action from the 
 wals of Gaunt, as in a 
 Theatre, with great admira- 
 tion — Certaine Mis- 
 CELLANY Works of 
 Francis Bacon. 1629. 
 
Of Magnanimitie or Heroicall Vertue. 
 
 MS. Folio 25-26. 
 
 No other copy of this short essay by Bacon is known either in manuscript 
 or in print, so it is impossible to supply the missing lines at foot of folio 25, 
 and the words supplied in square brackets are only conje(5tured. The general 
 ideas expressed in the essay were afterwards enlarged and used in the 
 "De Augmentis Scientiarum." The following translation by Mr. Francis 
 Headlam of a portion of Chapter III. of Book VII. is of interest as showing 
 how Bacon utilised this early producStion nearly thirty years after it was first 
 written. 
 
 " For if these two things be supposed, that a man set before him 
 honest and good ends, and again that his mind be resolute and 
 constant to pursue and obtain them, it will follow that his mind shall 
 address and mould itself to all virtues at once. And this indeed is 
 like the work of Nature ; whereas the other courses I have mentioned 
 are like the work of the hand. For as when a carver makes an 
 image, he shapes only that part whereon he works, and not the rest 
 (as if he be upon the face, that part which shall be the body is but 
 a rude and unshaped stone still, till such time as he comes to it) ; 
 but contrariwise when Nature makes a flower or living creature, she 
 forms and produces rudiments of all the parts at one time; so in 
 obtaining virtue by habit, while we pradlise temperance, we do not 
 advance much in fortitude, nor the like ; but when we dedicate and 
 apply ourselves entirely to good and honest ends, what virtue soever 
 the pursuit and passage towards those ends suggests and enjoins, we 
 shall find ourselves invested with a precedent disposition and propensity 
 to conform thereto." 
 
 (28) 
 
MS. Folio 25. 
 
 Ojf Magnanimitie or Heroicall Vertiie. 
 
 The vertues receiue 3 sortes of commondations, f[irst 
 they conforme vs to the will and similitude of the [ 
 second] they make vs apt for societie, abstinent fro w[rong doing 
 . . .J publique from Nature as they free our m [inds from 
 
 ] compleat in themselues, and 
 
 externe 
 
 {The MS. is imperfect, several lines destroyed.) 
 
 Compare Magnanimitie no 
 doubte consists in contempt 
 of ferill, in contempt of 
 profit, and in merriiing the 
 times wherein we live. — 
 Folio 15 of this MS. 
 
 MS. Folio 26. 
 
 indisposicon and as we see in the mocons of the bodie, that passions of feare 
 and furie do enable men to that w'='' longe pradlize and sleight cannot 
 overcome, so it hath ben trulie obserued by one of the auncien'% y' vtues 
 and not onelie seu, all habitte attained by reason, right, and custome. 
 But that there is a state of minde in apphension w""" to w' occasion soew 
 it occurreth, straight casteth it into that vertue w'** is conversant 
 about the accon, so as it is in itself, all the vertues and more. W"'' 
 state of minde may be termed (as it hath ben) magnanimitie or heroi- 
 call vertew. 
 
 The former w'*" is by habitte as it is open almost to the meanest spirritte, 
 so it is full of imperfeccons and inequalitie. Great is the varietie of y° 
 pcepte neither are they streight applied to the particuler or occurring 
 accons. Then behoueth much labour to frame the witt, sometimes by 
 pceeding by so smale and familiar degrees that y* minde pceiueth not 
 the chaunge. Sometimes by gathering strength of minde ayded by occasio 
 to make as it were some good leape or violent progresse, and the 
 entertayning the mind w"' the remembrance of that from receiving 
 all together, till a new advantadge may be taken for mending the 
 former, and so comforting the minde w"" emulacon, verecundacons, & 
 praises, and such other delicate helpes. But the other though it excludeth 
 best spiritte yett it possesseth the mind capable thereoff, w"" the seede of 
 all vertue at once, so as the one seemeth to be y^ worke of art and 
 the other the art of nature, ffor as in carving a statua by the hande 
 while the face is informing, the residue is in rude stone ; but in nature 
 
 partes 
 
 there followeth straight the rudem'^ of all ^ at once w* are led by 
 time to maturitie and perfeccon, so in pceeding by habitte whilst a 
 man fraraeth himself to temperance, he doth not much proffitt to [ffor- 
 -titude, and much lesse by accustoming ffortitude doth so pffit to [ur- 
 -banitie. But in possessing the minde of those apphencons wherof [mag- 
 -nanimitie consisteth, the strength of his spiritt will worke out y= [more 
 inferior vertues more naturallie and liuelie then any by it [can ever 
 be obtayned. 
 
 enable men to that. Proba- 
 bly enable men to do that. 
 
 all habitte attained. Probably 
 all habits are obtained by 
 reason. Compare Mihi, qui 
 omnem detatem in optimus 
 artibus egi, bene facere jam 
 ex constieUidine in naturam 
 wWiX— Sallost. 
 
 verecundacons = modesty. 
 
 work of art, etc. This ori- 
 ginally was written Work 
 of nature and the other the 
 art of nature. The altera- 
 tions have been made by 
 a contemporary pen. 
 
 informing = in form, or 
 finished. 
 
 finis. 
 
 (29) 
 
An Advertisement touching private Censure. 
 
 MS. Folio 26-29. 
 
 L HIS essay is an enquiry concerning the limits and bounds of what would 
 now be called toleration in religious opinions. No other copy of it is known, 
 so it is impossible to supply the lines destroyed by fire. It is probable that 
 Bacon wrote it, as a rough draft of the "Advertisement touching the con- 
 troversies of the Church of England," which also appears in this volume, 
 and is printed at page 34. 
 
 An Advertisement touching the Controversies 
 of the Church of England. 
 
 MS. Folio 29-44. 
 
 1 HIS political pamphlet was written by Francis Bacon in 1589, when the 
 Marprelate controversy was at its height. This bitter theological discussion 
 has been well described as a pamphlet war "between the revilers of the 
 bishops on one side, and the revilers of the Puritans on the other, and in 
 which the appeal was made by both parties to the basest passions and 
 prejudices of the vulgar." 
 
 Bacon's position was that of a peace-maker, who could see faults on both 
 sides. His mother was an ardent Puritan, and so his sympathies would 
 naturally be enlisted on the side of the party of reform. At the same time 
 his position in Parliament and at Court would cause him to give full con- 
 sideration to the arguments of the High Church party. This being so, we 
 can understand how deep his interest in the matter must have been and his 
 keen wish to find some via. media for the disputants. The " advertisement " 
 was only circulated in manuscript, a few copies of it have survived and are 
 to be found in the national libraries. They vary slightly, not indeed in 
 
 (30) 
 
31 
 
 meaning, but in wording, and the copy here transcribed may be described as 
 fairly good. 
 
 The missing portions of the pamphlet have been restored from a manu- 
 script in the possession of Sir Edwin Durning-Lawrence, Bart., M.P. It is 
 bound up with six quarto pamphlets, comprising Bacon's "Miscellany Works," 
 published by Rawley in 1629 ; " Certaine considerations touching the better 
 pacification ... of the Church of England," without date, but probably 
 published in 1604 ; and four works by other authors. The binding is the 
 ordinary half vellum with Dutch paper sides, of the xviii"^ century. 
 
 The Manuscript itself consists of 24 quarto pages of stout writing paper, 
 closely written in a remarkably pretty and legible hand. The "Advertise- 
 ment," as here printed ends upon page 22, and on the next folio is written 
 the following memoranda relative to Bacon : — 
 
 fFr Bacon 
 
 the f^ of May 1617. 
 
 The long vacation will I reserve to my selfe for my recreation, or 
 studdy of Arts and Sciences, which ought to be predominant. 
 
 The Lars beginning to take roote. Three at this time in place of 
 great service with His Majesty, Lawyers by descent. Mr. Attorney the 
 Sonne of a Reverend Judge, (Sir Henry Yelverton). Mr. Sollicitor, the 
 Sonne of a Judge as Reverend, (Sir Thomas Coventrey), since L"^ Keeper; 
 and my selfe the sonne and successor of a L'^ Keeper. 
 
 I will then heare a judge's sonne before a Serjeants, and a Serjeants 
 before any other. 
 
 Bacon took his seat in the Court of Chancery on the 7th of May, 1617. 
 The speech he made is printed by Rawley in the " Resuscitatio," and con- 
 tains the following sentences :— " And since I am upon the point whom I 
 will hear, your Lordships will give me leave to tell you a fancy. It falls 
 out that there be three of us, the King's servants, that are lawyers by descent. 
 Mr. Attorney, son of a Judge, Mr. Solicitor likewise son of a Judge, and 
 myself a Chancellor's son. Now because the law roots so well in my time, 
 I will water it at the root thus far, as beside these great ones, I will hear 
 any Judge's son before a Serjeant, and any Serjeant's son before a Reader 
 [if there be not many of them] . 
 
 It is a remarkable tribute to the statesmanship of Bacon that this 
 pamphlet was reprinted in 1640 when the Long Parliament was discussing 
 a similar question, and again in 1663 when the subject of toleration to the 
 Dissenters was raised during the reign of Charles II. 
 
MS. Folio 26. 
 
 lire = operation. Compare, 
 His Majesty could wish 
 the ancient statutes were 
 in nre of holding a Par- 
 liament every year. — 
 Bacon : Draft of the 
 King's Speech, 1614. 
 
 some. Probably some one. 
 
 meane = medium. Compare 
 
 his friend was the meane of 
 communication between the 
 liing and the Commons. 
 
 affectionate = earnest, eager. 
 Compare / am zealous and 
 affectionate to recede as little 
 from antiquity. — Bacon : 
 Advancement of 
 Learning. 
 
 An advertising touching private censure. 
 
 fforasmuch as men complaine of y^ want of censure in [the Church of 
 England duelie put in vre, they runne into a further [extreme, so 
 that euerie perticuler person taketh vppon himself [to request the 
 Church to censure and to excommunicate for [divers reasons and 
 offences, and sometimes to estraunge and [excommunicate 
 in] respecte of such offences; a matter [ 
 
 {The MS. is imperfect, several lines destroyed.) 
 
 MS. Folio 27. 
 and to societie, both that societie w"'' is gathered in ge[neral 
 and likewise that w"*" is gathered in soveraigntie and [to do 
 also the ordinaunce of God. I haue thought good to the [under 
 standing, to sett downe the limitte and bounde of Christian re- 
 -garde of private censures onelie in breife noates, to [allow 
 some that is by profession a devine, and of greater learning [judge in 
 the matter as it deserueth. 
 
 The first position is that no man ought in absence to [reprove 
 the fault or offences of an other, though trulie, exc [ept for 
 some good occasion. And therfor if I would disswade [my 
 kinsman from the companie of another. If I would [keep hiiv. 
 from matching w"* such an howse, or from following [such a 
 person, I may in modest and discreat sort (if ge[ntleness do 
 not pvaile) reporte and repeate to him the particu [lar 
 vice of such a person for his better caution and infor [mation. If 
 I be desirous to admonish another of a private fault [perhaps 
 it may be better done by a meane then by my selfe, [ac- 
 quaint some apt person therevv"", w'='' may performe y' [for 
 me. In theise and the like cases when I speake vpon [them 
 I speake as a ptie. When I speake w'^'out occasion I [first 
 iudge, and then tii quis es qui iudicas seruu alieni'i domino 
 cadit, and of princes it is said, accuse not thy rider no not in private. 
 Therfore all evill speaking in absence, though it be truth, yett 
 vpon occasion is no Christian duetie but the part of busie 
 whisperers. The nexte position is concerning admonitio[n, a 
 parte whereof is that the fault whervpon ones admonitio[n is 
 grounded be well and stronglie knowen vnto us. Salo [mon says, he 
 that speaketh before he knoweth, it is follie and shame. [As St. 
 James saith, lett euerie man be swifte to heave and {slow to speake 
 or affirme, and St. Jude saith of that they knowe not [they speak 
 evill, and in that they knowe they are perverted, as inde [ed 
 they goe together. ffor when men are of fashe censure [or 
 not, they are for the most part affectionate in that they [agree. 
 For let none that is vnlearned psume to admonish [another 
 in controuersies of religion. Let not one that liueth [alone and 
 seeth not into the affaires of the world psume to ad [vise others 
 of their pceedinge in such cases w°^ commonlie [ 
 prooued upon many circumstaunces wher [ 
 ble. Soe farther, if it be matter in [ 
 of euerie mans knowledge [ 
 
 {The MS. is imperfect, several lines destroyed.) 
 
 (32) 
 
jfr. Bacon of Censure. 
 
 33 
 
 MS. Folio 28. 
 
 comlines = seemliness. Com- 
 pare How many things are 
 there which u man cannot 
 with any face or comlines say 
 or doe himself e. — Bacon 
 Essay on Friendship. 
 
 The second article or parte is, that we performe it w'^out pucacon of /"m^o" = provocation 
 
 the ptie admonished. It must be don w^ut pride on our parte & w"'out 
 
 disgrace on their part. Parents that of all others have most authoritie 
 
 to admonish their children, yett are expressly admonished by St. 
 
 Paule not to provooke them. 3. The third part or article is that it be 
 
 donne w"" comlines. Admonicon is a Church accon, and therfor must 
 
 be donne decenter. Lett men beware how they draw into contempt 
 
 any good accion, by absurd and ridiculous handling, manie pcepte 
 
 throughout all parts of the service of God. Stay one for anothe^, 
 
 a pcept of decoru. Goe not from howse to howse, a pcept likewise of 
 
 decoru and to avoid contempt. Therfor a man of a verie austere & 
 
 straight life may admonish for a smale fault, a man y' liveth at 
 
 more libertie cannot. A familiar frend may admonishe; a straunge'' 
 
 in case may not. At one time and at one place, a man may ad- 
 
 -monishe; at another time and another place a man may not. 4. The 
 
 last article or parte touching admonicon is, that men neyther reite- 
 
 -rate it vnseasonablie nor combersomelie, nor giue it ouer easilie. 
 
 Have you admonisht ? Doth he offende straight in the same fault 
 
 againe ? W ! a medicine must have time to worke, despaire not 
 
 though you see noe sudden proofe. Charitas omnia sperat. Yet after 
 
 you have expedted a convenient time, then you may redouble it. 
 
 Give it not over. Charitas omnia susttnet. The last posicon is touching 
 
 separacon. There be 2 considerations whie men should separate & 
 
 divide 
 
 themselues from the companie of those men that offende. The first 
 is for doubte of contagion, the next is for the humiliation and recouie 
 of the offender. The former is generall and reacheth as well to those 
 w"*" are out of the Church as those y' are in the Church, and euerie 
 man ought in sobrietie to measure his owne strength whether [by 
 companie he is likelier to winne them or to be weakened himself. 
 Amongst those that are tied w"" anie pticuler strict bond no [action 
 in this respect of contagion is iustifiable. A good sonne [may not 
 separate himself from an ill father, no more then a be [leeuing wo- 
 -man may separate herselfe from an unbeleeving [housbande. The 
 like holdeth in other civell bonde of bloude alliaunce, [for obli- 
 gacon, seruice, and subieccon, men may not breake [their word 
 wherin the pvidence of God hath tied them vnto [one place to 
 walke carefullie, to pserve themselues, and [endeavour to save 
 and reclaime the other ptie. For the other [parties sins and errors 
 extendeth onelie to them w*in the Church; which is [according to the 
 saieng of St. Paule, what haiie I {to do to judge them also, but if any 
 y* is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, 
 or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one, no not to eat. 
 
 Divide is written in the 
 margin before themselves. 
 
 {The MS. is imperfect, several lines destroyed.) 
 
 £ 
 
ffr. Bacon of Censure. 
 
 34 
 
 MS. Folio 29. 
 
 audlhoritie to make a man descende into himself [and be conci- 
 -liate ; and therfor leaving the lawe of separacon [alone so that in 
 euerie pticuler, man must keepe the rule of c [ensure. 
 
 This advertisem' touching private censures I ha[ve not tried to 
 represse those censures w'='' may be rather called [the out- 
 -come of envie and malice, but onelie those y' pceede [from 
 pposterous zeale. 
 
 proveth them, etc. The 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 reads provelh whether they 
 hnowe God aright, even as 
 that other of afflictions dis- 
 covereth whether they love 
 God aright. 
 
 assumed by this aucthority. 
 The Durning-Lawrence 
 MS. reads assumed and 
 counterfeited, but his au- 
 thority and, etc. 
 
 conciliables = a secret as- 
 sembly. 
 
 and to us to endure. The 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 reads and not to endure. 
 
 The last seven lines of MS. 
 Folios 29 to 44 are sup- 
 plied from the Durning- 
 Lawrence copy. 
 
 An advertism^ touchinge the controue[rsies 
 of the Church of England. 
 
 It is but ignorance (if any man finde it straunge) [that the state of 
 religion (especiallie in the dales of peace) should be [exercised and troubled 
 w"" controuersies. For as it is y^ condiccon of the Church [militant to 
 be euer vnder trialls, soe it commeth to passe that when [the fiery trial of perse- 
 -cuton ceaseth, there succedeth another triall, w'='' as it were [by contrary 
 blastes of dodlrine, doe sifte and winnowe men's faithe, and [proveth them 
 whether they knowe aright, even as that other of affliccons [discovereth 
 whether they love him better then y" world. Accordinge [was it 
 foretold by Christ, saieng, that in the latter times it should [be said loe, 
 heere is Christ, loe there is Christ: w'='' is to be vnderstood [not as if 
 the verie pson of Christ should be assumed by this audlh [ority and 
 
 bul that 
 
 pheeminence ^ w°^ is Truth it selfe, y' should be challe [nged and pre- 
 -tended. Thus have we redd and seen to be fullfilled y' [which followeth, 
 Ecce in deserto,eccein penetralibus ; while some haue sought [Truth, in the 
 conuenticles and conciliables of heretiques and sedtaries, [and others in 
 the externe face and repsentacon of the Church, and being [both sorts 
 seduced. Were it then that the controuersies of the Church [of England 
 were such as did devide the vnitie of the spiritt, and not on [ly such as 
 doe vnswath her of her bandes, the bandes of peace ; yet could it 
 be no occasion for any ptended Catholicke to indge vs, or [for any irre- 
 ligious persons to despise vs. Or (if it be), it shall butt [happen to 
 vs all, as it hath vsed to doe ; to them to be hardened, and to [us to endure 
 the good pleasure of God. But now that o"' contentions [are such, as 
 we neede, not somuch that generall cannon and sente [nee of Christ pro- 
 nounced against] heretiques : Erratis, nescientes, Script \uras, nee potest- 
 atem Dei] , as we neede the admonicion of S' James, Let [every man be slow 
 to] speak, swift to heare, slowe to wrath : And [that the wound is 
 nowaydangerjous, except we poison it w"' [our remedies; as the former sort of 
 men have less reason to make themselves music in our discord, so I 
 have good hope that nothing shall displease ourselves which shall sin- 
 cerely and modestly be propounded for the appeasing these dissensions. 
 For if any shall be offended at this voice, " Vos estis fratres ; ye are 
 brethren^ why strive ye " ? he shall give a great presumption 
 against himself, that he is the party that doth his brother wrong. 
 
jfr. Bacon on Church controversies. MS. Folio 30 
 
 The controuersises themselues I will not enter into, as iudging that y" 
 disease requireth rather rest then any other cure. This much we all know 
 and confesse, y' they be not of the hiest nature ; ffor they are not 
 of the highest misteries of faith, such as deteined y= Churches 
 after their first peace for many yeares ; w' time the Heretiques mo 
 -ued curious questions, and made straunge anatomies of the nature 
 and person of Christ ; and the Catholique ffathers were compelled to 
 follow them w"- all subtleties of decisions and determinacons, to exclude 
 them from their evasions and to tak them in their laborinthes ; so as 
 It is rightlie said, I His temporibus ingeniosa resfutt esse Christianus. Ney- 
 -ther are they concerning the greate parte of the worshipp of God, 
 of w'='' it is true y' non servatur vnitas in credendo nisi eadem sit in 
 colendo : such as were the controuersies of the East and West 
 Churches touching images ; and such as are manie of those betweene 
 the Church of Rome and vs ; as about the adoracon of the Sacram', 
 and y'' like. But we contende about ceremonies and things in- 
 different ; about the externe pollicie and goverm' of the Church. 
 In w"*" kinde (if wee would but remember that the auncient and 
 true bands of vnitie, are one faith, one baptisme, and not one 
 
 .... yt league 
 
 ceremonie, one pollicie ; if we would obserue ^ amongst Christias 
 w''*' is penned by our Sauior, he that is not against vs is w"" vs. If 
 we could but comprehende y^ saieng, differentia rituu comendatum : 
 tatem do6lrincB and y' habet religio qua sunt CEternitatis, habet quce sunt- 
 temporis. If we did but knowe y'^ vertue of Silence and slownes to 
 speake, commended by St. James ; controuersies of themselues would 
 close vpp and grow togeather. But most especiallie, if we would 
 leaue the ouerweening and turbulent humors of these times, [and 
 receiue y* blessed pceedings of the Apostles, and Fathers of the [primi- 
 tiue Church, w"*" was in the like and greater causes, not to [enter 
 into] assertions and posicons, but to deliver counsells and advice, [we 
 should] neede no other remedie at all. Si eadem consulis, frater, qucB 
 affirmas,} debetur consulenti reuerentia cum, non debeatur fides affirmanti. 
 St. Paul] was contented to speake thus. Ego, non doius; I and not [the Lord 
 Et,"] secundu cosila nieu ; according to my counsell. But [now men do too 
 lightly] say, Non ego sed doius; not I but the Lorde ; yea and bynd [it with 
 heavy] denuticons of his Iudgm'^ to terrifie the simple, [which have not 
 suffici] entlie vnderstoode out of Salomon, that the causeless [curse shall 
 not come.] Therfor seeing the accidents are they w"'' being [the peril, and 
 not the] things themselues in their owne nature, [it is meet the 
 remedies] be applied vnto them, by [opening what is on either 
 part, that keepeth the wound green, and formalizeth both sides 
 to a further opposition, and worketh an indisposition in men's 
 minds to be reunited. Wherein no accusation is pretended ; but 
 I find in reason, that peace is best built upon a repitition of 
 wrongs; and in example that the speeches which have been made 
 
 of theMghest misteries of faith. 
 The word touching has 
 been written in the mar- 
 gin and o/has been struck 
 out. misteries of faith has 
 also been written twice 
 and the first entry deleted. 
 deteined = kept the atten- 
 tion of. 
 
 The Durning - Lawrence 
 MS. gives the quotation 
 Differentia ritmtm com- 
 mendat tinitatem doctnna. 
 
 The Durning - Lawrence 
 MS. leaves out and advice, 
 we should neede no other 
 remedie at all. 
 
 doius — dominus. 
 
 denuticons = denunciations. 
 
 being should be breed 
 
ffr. Bacon on Church controversies. 
 
 36 
 
 MS. Folio 31. 
 
 Ani first of all. A new 
 paragraph is commenced 
 at this point in the 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 
 For bitter, etc. The Durning- 
 Lawrence MS. reads 
 Indeed bitter and earnest 
 writing may not hastily be 
 condemned. 
 
 zeale or love. The Durning- 
 Lawrence MS. reads hate 
 or love. 
 
 the contempt and deformitie, 
 etc. The Durning-Law- 
 rence MS. leaves and the 
 contempt out and begins a 
 new paragraph at Two 
 principal causes. 
 
 could not nceiue it. The 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 reads could not perceive it. 
 
 invention = counsel. 
 
 Sansovino. In most of the 
 manuscript copies this 
 name is left blank. It 
 appears in the Durning- 
 Lawrence copy and in 
 the Resuscitatio. 
 
 by the wisest men de concordid ordinu haue not abstai [ned from reducing 
 to memorie the extremities vsed on both parts. So as it [is true which is said, 
 Qui pacem tractat non repetitis conditionibus dissidii, is magis [animos hominmn 
 dulcedine pads fallit, quani cBquitate componit. And first [of all, it is 
 more then time, there were an ende and surcease made [of this immo- 
 -dest and deformed manner of writting latelie enter [tained, whereby 
 matter of religion is handled in the stile of the stage. For, [bitter and 
 earnest writing must not be condemned ; for men [cannot contend 
 coldlie and w"'out affeccon about things w"*" they hold [dear and precious. 
 A poUitque man may write from his braine, without [touch and sense 
 of his hart, as in a speculacon that apperteyneth not [unto him ; but 
 a feeling Christian will expresse in his words a char [acter either of 
 zeale or love. The latter of w"*" as I could wishe r [ather embraced, 
 being more pper for theise times, yett is the former [warrented 
 also by great examples. But to leave all reuerent and [religious 
 compassion towardes eville, or indignacon towards fav[lts, and to 
 tourne religion into a comedie or satyre ; to search [and rip up 
 woundes w* a laughing countenance ; and enter [mix Scripture 
 and scurrilite sometime in one sentence ; is a thinge [far from a 
 deuote reuerence of a Christian, and scant beseeming [the honest re- 
 -garde of a sobre man. Non est inaior confusio, quam serii \et joci ; The 
 ma"® of religion, and the contempt and deformitie of [things re- 
 -diculous, are as distaunt as things may be. Two princ[ipal cau- 
 ses haue I euer knowne of Atheisme ; curious questioning [and profane 
 scoffing. Now that theise 2 are ioyned in one, no doubt [that sect 
 will make no small pgression. And heere, I doe much [esteem 
 the wisdome and religion of that Bishopp w"'' replied to [the first 
 pamplett of this kinde, who remembered that a foole was aim- 
 swered, but not in becomming like vnto him ; and con [sidered the 
 matter w"*" he handled, and not the pson w* whom he [dealt. Job, spea- 
 -king of the ma"® and grauitie of a Judge in himself, [saith, // I 
 did smile, they beleeued it not ; as if he should have [said, If I di- 
 verted, or glaunced vnto conceipt of mirth, [raanie minds 
 were so possessed w"' a reuerence of the accion in [hand, as they 
 could not receiue it. Much more ought this to be [amongst bishops 
 and divines disputing about hollie things. And therefore [do I much 
 dislike the invention of him who (as it seemeth) [pleased himself in 
 it as] in no meane pollicie, that theis men are to be dealt withal at their 
 own weapons, and pledged in their own cup. This no doubt seemed to 
 him as profound a device, as when the Cardinal [Sansovino] counselled 
 Julius II. to encounter the Council of Pisa with the Lateran Council ; or 
 as lawful a challenge as Mr. Jewel made to confute the pretended Catholics 
 by the Fathers. But these things will not excuse the imitation of evil 
 
37 
 ffr. Bacon on Church controversies. MS. Folio 32 
 
 in another. It should contrarwise be w'" vs as C^sar said, Nihil malo 
 quam eos esse similes sui, et me mei. But now Dum de bonis contendimus in 
 malis consentimus ; while we differ in good things, we resemble in evill. 
 Surelie, yf I were asked of these men who were the more to be blamed, 
 I should pease remember the puerbe, that the second blow maketh y' 
 fray, and the saieng of an obscure fellow, Qui replicat multiplicat. But 
 would determyn the question w'" this sentence ; Alter principia malo 
 dedit, alter modu abstulit. And trulie, as I doe marueile that some of those 
 preachers that call for reformacon (whom I am farr from wronging 
 so farr as to ioyne them w* these scoffers) doe not publish some de- 
 claracon wherby they may satisfie the world that they dislike their 
 cause should be thus sollicited ; so I hope assuredlie that my Lords of y' 
 clergie have no intelligence w"" this interlibelling, but doe allto- 
 gether disallow that their creditt should be ^defended. For though 
 I obserue in one of them many glosses, wherby the man would insi- 
 nuate himself into their favors, yett I finde it to be ordinarie, that 
 manie pressing and fauning persons do misconiecture of y" humo" 
 of men in audlhoritie, and manie times Vejteri imolant suem, they 
 seeke to gratifie them w"' f they most mislike. For I have great 
 reason to satisfie myself touching y' indgmt^ of my lords the Bishops 
 in this matter, by that w'='' was written by one of them, w'='' was 
 mentioned before w"" honor. Neuerthelesse I note, there is not 
 an indifferent hand carried towards those pamphetts as they deserue. 
 For the one sorte flieth in the darke, and the other is vttered openlie; 
 wherein I might advise that side out of a wise writer, who hath sett it 
 downe that punitis ingeniis gliscit authoritas. And indeed we see it [ever 
 
 haue 
 
 falleth out, that y^ forbidden writting is alwaies thought to ^ be 
 sparke of truth 
 
 as seeme to flie up into the faces of those y' see to chooke it and treade it out ; 
 whereas a booke audlhorized, is thought to be but temporis \voces, the 
 language of the time ; but in plaine truth I doe finde [(to my under- 
 standing) theise pamphletts as meete to be suppressed [as the other. First 
 because as the former sort do deface the goverm' of y^ Church [in the persons 
 of y^ Bishopps and Prelatts, so the other leads in [to contempt 
 the exercises of religion in the psons of sundrie priests ; [so as it dis- 
 graceth a higher matter, though in a meaner pson. [Next I find 
 certain] indiscreate and daungerous amplificacons, [as if the civil govern- 
 ment itself] this state had neere lost the force of her [sinews, and were 
 ready to en]ter into some convulsion, all thinges [being full of 
 fadlion and disorder ; which is as unwisely acknowledged as untruely 
 affirmed. I know his meaning is to enforce this irreverent and violent 
 impugning of the government of the bishops to be a suspedled forerunner 
 of a more general contempt. And I grant there is sympathy between the 
 states; but no such matter in the civil poHcy as deserveth so dishonourable 
 
 men. The Burning- Law- 
 rence MS. reads fellowcs. 
 
 pease = percase, i.e., per 
 chance, puerbe = proverb. 
 
 Alter . . . abstulit. The 
 Durning-Lawrence copy 
 inserts the translation. 
 By the one's meanes we have 
 a beginning, and by the 
 others we have not end. 
 
 have no intelligence. The 
 Durning-I^wrence MS. 
 reads have not intelligence 
 with this other libeller. 
 
 gratifie them, etc. The 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 reads they seeke to gratify 
 them with that which they 
 most dislike. 
 
 The interlined have is by a 
 later hand. There is 
 some error here, and the 
 first portion of the next 
 line was written twice 
 and one entry deleted. 
 The Durning-Lawrence 
 MS. reads the forbidden 
 writing is thought to be 
 certain sparkes of a truth, 
 that Hye tip in the faces of 
 them that seeke to choke it. 
 
 priests. The Durning-Law- 
 rence MS. reais preachers. 
 
ffr. Bacon on Church controversies. 
 
 38 
 
 MS. Folio 33. 
 
 conscience. The Durning- 
 Lawrence MS. reads 
 reasoti. 
 
 their owne harte, etc. The 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 reads their owne hearts and 
 make them as high wayes. 
 
 But this perchamice. The 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 reads But this perhaps is 
 one of. 
 
 accidences = accidents. 
 
 imputacon = reprehension 
 
 causes = courses. 
 
 Now concerning commences 
 a new paragraph in the 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 
 and their substitutes is in- 
 serted in a later hand ; it 
 is not in the Durning- 
 Lawrence MS. 
 
 a taxacon. To conclude this pointe : As it were [to be wished that these 
 writings had ben abortiue and, neuer seene y^ sonne ; [so the next is, 
 since they be come abroade, that they be censured, [(by all that have 
 vnderstanding and conscience) as vntemperate ex [travagencies of 
 some light psons. Yea farther, that men beware ([except they mean 
 to adventure to depriue themselues of all sence of religion, [and to pave 
 their owne harte, and to make them as the high way), [how they be con- 
 versant in them, and much more how they delight in [that vein ; but 
 rather to turne their laughing into blushing, and [to be ashamed, as 
 of a short madnes, that they haue in matters of religion [taken their 
 disport and solace. But this perchaunce is of those faults [which will be 
 sonest acknowledged ; though I perceiue neuertheless [that there want 
 not some who seeke to blaunch and excuse it. But to [descend to a 
 sinceare veiw and consideracon of the accidences and [circumstances 
 of theise controuersies, wherin eyther parte deserueth [blame or 
 imputacon : I finde generaUie, in causes of Church matters [that men do 
 
 L:ofFende in some or all of theise 5 points, i. The giving [occasion unto 
 theise controuersies ; and also the inconsiderate & vng[uarded taking 
 
 J : of occasion. ' The next is, the extending and multiplieng [the controversies 
 to a more generall opposicon and contradicon, then ap [peareth at the first 
 ppounding of, them, when mens iudgm^^ are lesse parteal. [The Third 
 
 5: is, the passionate and vnbrotherlie pradlises and procee [dings of both 
 the parts towardes the persons each of other, for their d [iscredit and 
 
 ^: suppression. The 4 is, the causes houlden and entertay [ned on either 
 side, for the drawing of their ptizans to a more straight [union with 
 themselues w"*" euer importeth a farther distraccon [with the entire 
 
 ;:bodie. The Last is, the vndue and inconvenient ppounding, [publishing 
 
 .and debating of the controusies. In w"*" pointe the most [palpable 
 error hath ben alreadie spoken of; as that w"*" through y- [strangness 
 and freshnes of the abuse first ofTreth it self to the con [ceits of all 
 Now concerning the occasion of controusies, it [cannot be de- 
 
 men. 
 
 imposed upon them = com- 
 mitted to them. 
 
 as having aucthoritie is omit- 
 ted in the Durning-Law- 
 rence MS. 
 
 -nied but that the imperfeccons in the conversation and [government of 
 
 and their substitutes 
 
 those w"** haue cheife place in the Churchy haue euer [been principal 
 causes and motiues of Schismes and divisions. For [while the 
 Bishopps and governors of the Church continewe full [of knowledge 
 and good workes ; while they feede the fflocke indeede ; [whilst they 
 deale w"" the secular states in all libertie and resolution, [according to 
 the ma"® of their calling, and the precious care [of souls imposed 
 vpon them ; so long the Church is situated as it were upon a hill ; 
 no man making] question of it, or seeketh to departe from it. [But when these 
 virtues in the] ffathers and leaders [of the Church have lost their 
 light, and that they wax worldly^ lovers of themselves, and pleasers 
 of men, then men begin to grope for the Church as in the 
 dark; they are in doubt whether they be the successors of the 
 Apostles, or the Pharisees; yea, howsoever they sit in Moses' seat, 
 yet they can never speak tanquam au5loritatem habentes, as havino^ 
 
ffr. Bacon on Church controversies. 
 
 39 
 
 MS. Folio 34. 
 
 auClhoritie, because they have lost their reputacon in y" consiences of 
 men, by declining their steppes from the waie w'^'' they trace out to 
 
 haue sounding 
 
 others. Soe as men had neede continuallie^in their ears : Nolite excire, 
 
 they 
 
 goenotout; so readie are ^ to departe from the Church vpon euie voice: 
 And therfor it is truelie noted by one that writeth as a naturall man, y' 
 the Hiprocrisie of jfriers did for a great time maintaine & beate 
 out the irreligion of Bishops and Prelatts. For this is y* double pollicie 
 of the spirituall enemie, eyther by counterfait Holines of life to esta- 
 -blish and authorize errors ; or by corruption of maners to discreditt & 
 draw in question truth and lawfuU things. This concerneth my Lords 
 the Bishops, vnto whom I am witnesse to my selfe that I stand affected 
 as I ought. No contradiccon hath supplanted in me that reuence that I 
 owe to their calling ; neither hath any detracon or calumy embased 
 myne opinion of their persons I knowe some of them, whose names 
 are most perced w"* these accusations, to be men of great vertues ; 
 although the indispositions of the times, and the want of correspondece 
 manie wais, is enough to frustrate the'"" best indevors in the edifieng 
 of the Church. And for the rest generallie I cann condemne none. I 
 am no iudge to them that belonge to so high a M' ; neyther haue I wit- 
 nesses. And I knowe it is trulie said of fame, y' Pariterjacta, atque infecta 
 canebat. Their taxacons arise not all from our coast ; they haue manye 
 and different enemies, readie to invent slaunder, more readie to 
 amplifie it, and most readie to beleeue it. And Magnes mendacij credu- 
 
 there 
 
 -litas : But if any ^ be, against whom the supreame Bishopp hath not a 
 few things but manie things ; if any haue lost his first lotie ; if any be 
 neither whott nor cold; if any haue stumbled too low at the threshold, 
 in sorte that he cannot sittwell, w°" entred ill ; it is time they returne 
 whence they are fallen, and confirme the things that remaine. 
 
 homines Domini 
 
 Create is the waight of this fault ; et eoru causa abborrebant asacrijicio^ 
 and for their cause did men abhorr y' adoracon of God. But [howsoever 
 it be, those w'^'^have sought to deface them, and cast contempt [upon 
 them, are not to be excused. It is the pcept of Salomon [that the ru- 
 
 or 
 
 lers be not reproached; no, not injhought; but that we d [raw our 
 verie conceipt into a modest interptacon of their doings. [The holy 
 Aungle would give no sentence of blasphemie against [the common 
 slanderer, but said, Increpet te Dolus; the Lord rebuke [thee. The Ap. 
 S' Paule, though against him that did pollute sac [red Justice with 
 tiraunous violence, he did iustlie denounce y' ind[ignation of God, in 
 saying] Percutiet te Dolus; the Lo : will strike thee; yet [in saying paries 
 dealbate] bethought he had gone to farr, and retra[cted it; whereupon 
 a learned] father; ipstl quamvis inanie nomen et [umbram sacerdotis 
 cogitansexpavit. The] auncient councells andsinodes [(as is noted by the 
 ecclesiastical story), when they deprived any bishop, never recorded 
 the offence, but buried it in perpetual silence. Only Cham purchased 
 his curse with revealing his father's disgrace. And yet a much greater 
 fault is it to ascend from their person to their calling, and draw that in 
 
 haue sounding. This is in 
 the same handwriting as 
 the body of the MS. 
 
 The reference is to Machia- 
 velli's "Discorsi." irre- 
 ligion is an error, the 
 word should read religion. 
 The passage is quoted by 
 Bacon for another pur- 
 posein the Advancement 
 OF Learning, 1605 ed., 
 p. 12, and given thus : 
 " That the kingdom of the 
 clergy had been long before 
 at an end, if the reputation 
 and reverence toward the 
 poverty of Friars had not 
 borne out the scandal of the 
 superfluities and excesses of 
 the Bishops and Prelates. 
 
 and lawful things is omitted 
 in the Durning-Lawrence 
 
 embased = lowered. [MS. 
 
 perced — pierced. 
 
 correspondece manie wais. The 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 reads want of correspon- 
 dence is often enough. 
 
 I am no iudge to them. The 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 reads / am no judge of them 
 that belong to sn high a 
 Master neither have I two 
 witnesses 
 
 there is inserted in a later 
 hand. 
 
 stumbled too low. All other 
 copies read too foully. 
 This has been altered by 
 a later hand. 
 
 not in or thought The word 
 or is inserted in a later 
 hand and destroys the 
 tense. 
 
 The Burning - Lawrence 
 MS. reads The Apostle 
 Paul, though against him 
 that did pollute sacred jus- 
 tice with tyrannous violence 
 in saying • ' Percutiet te 
 Dominus paries dealbate " 
 thought he had gone too far 
 and retracted it. In the 
 Harleian MS. 3795, the 
 ■words he offended not are 
 written in the margin to be 
 inserted after strike thee. 
 
 Cham = Ham, son of Noah. 
 
jfr. Bacon on Church controversies. 
 
 40 
 
 MS. Folio 35. 
 
 rcligiimslie. So in MS., but 
 should be rigorously. 
 
 The Burning - Lawrence 
 MS. commences a new 
 paragraph at The second 
 occasion. 
 
 The Durning - Lawrence 
 MS. reads and such whom 
 zeal marvelously trans- 
 porteih for those whom, etc. 
 
 The Durning - Lawrence 
 MS. reads are wreathed 
 accidental and private emu- 
 lations. 
 
 applie themselves has been 
 struck out. 
 
 The Durning - Lawrence 
 MS. reads after preiu- 
 dicium, they leap from ig- 
 7Wrance to a frejudicate 
 opinion, and never take a 
 sound judgment in their way . 
 But as it is well noted, inter 
 juvenile judicium et senile 
 prejudicium omnis Veritas 
 corrumpitur, when men are 
 indifferent, and not partial, 
 then their judgment is weak 
 and unripe through want of 
 years, and by the time it 
 groweth to strength and 
 ripe7iess, by that time it 
 is so forestalled with such 
 a number of frejudicate 
 opinions, as it is made un- 
 proffittable : so as betweene 
 these two all truth is cor- 
 rupted. In the meanwhile, 
 etc. 
 
 question. Many good ffathers spake religiouslie, and [severely of the un- 
 worthiness of Bishopps, as if psentlie it did forfaite [and cease their 
 office ; One saith, Sacerdotes nominamur et non sumus ; An [other saith, Nisi 
 bona opus amplectaris, episcopus esse non potes ; Yett they [meant nothing 
 lesse then to moue doubt of their calling or ordinacon. [The second occa- 
 sion of controusies, is the nature and humors of some [men. The church 
 neuer wanteth a kinde of person w"'' loueth the salut [ation of Rabbi, master, 
 not in ceremonie or complem', but in an inward auch [ority which they 
 seeke ouer men's mindes, in drawing them to depend [upon their opini- 
 ons, and to sucke knowledge at their lippes: These men [are the true suc- 
 cessors of Diotrephes, the louer of preheminence, and not [lords bishops. 
 Such spirritts do light vpon another sorte of natures, [which do adhere 
 to them ; men quora gloria in obsequio ; stiffe followers, and \such as zeal 
 marveilouslie for those whom they haue chosen for their \_masters. This latter 
 sorte, for the most parte, are men of yonge yeares, and [superficial 
 vnderstanding, carried away w"" partiall respecte of p [ersons, or with 
 the inticing appearaunce of goodlie names & ptences. Pauci [res ipsas 
 sequuntur, plures nuia rem, plurimi noia magistrorn. About [these 
 generall affeccons, are wreathed and enterlaced accidentes [and private 
 emulacons and discontentm*^, all w""" together breake for [th into content- 
 cons ; such as either violate truth, sobrietie, or peace. These [generalities 
 applie themselves. The vniuersities are the seates and y^ c [ontinent of 
 this disease, whence it hath ben and is derived vnto the rest [of the realm. 
 Theresomewill be nolonger^7iMmcro,of thenomber. There [someothers side 
 themselues before they knowe their right hand from their left. [So it is 
 true w''"' is said, transeunt ab ignorantia ad preiudiciu, and [never take a 
 sound iudgm' in their way. But as it is well noted, inter [juvenile judi- 
 diciii et senile preiudiciu, vis Veritas corrapittir : In the mean [time, the 
 honorable names of sinceritie, reformacon, and discipline [are put in 
 the forwarde ; so as contentions and evill zeales ca[nnot be tou- 
 ched, excepte theise hollie things be thought first to be [violated. But 
 howsoeu they will inferr the soUicitacon of y* peace of [the church 
 to pceede from carnall sence, yett I will eu conclude [with the 
 Apostle Paule, cil sit inter vos zelo et contentio, nonne [carnales estis ? 
 And howsoeu they esteeme the compounding of contro [versies to savour 
 of man's wisedome and humaine pollicie, and think [themselues led 
 by the wisedome w'^'' is from aboue, yett I say [with St. James 
 Non'\ est ista sapientia de sursu descendens, sed terrena, animalis diabolica ; 
 ubi enim zelus et contentio, ibi inconstantia et [omne opus pravum. 
 Of this] inconstancie, it is said by a learned [father, Procedere volunt 
 non ad perfectionem,] sed ad pmutationem : [they seek to go forward still, not to 
 perfection, but to change. 
 
 The third occasion of controversies, I observe to be, an extreme and 
 unlimited detestation of some former heresy or corruption of the church 
 already acknowledged and convicted. This was the cause that produced 
 the heresy of Arrius, grounded chiefly upon detestation of Gentilism, lest 
 the Christians should seem, by the assertion of the co-equal divinity of our 
 
jfr. Bacon on Church controversies. 
 
 41 
 
 MS. Folio 36. 
 
 SaviourChrist , to approach vnto the acknowledgm' of more gods then one. 
 The detestacon of the heresie of Arrius pduced that of Sabellius; who, hol- 
 ding for execrable, y' dissimilitude w"* Arrius ptended in the Trinitie, 
 fled so farr from him, as he fell upon that other extremitie, to denie y'= 
 distinccon of persons ; and to say they were but onehe names of seuall 
 offices and dispensations. Yea, most of the heresies and schismes of y" 
 Church haue sprong vp of this roote ; while men haue made it as it 
 were their scale, by w"'' to measure the bounds of the most perfeft 
 religion; taking it by the farthest distaunce of the error last condemned. 
 These be posthumi heresiufilij, heresies that arise out of the ashes of other 
 heresies, that are extinct and amortised. This manner of apphencon 
 doth in some degree possesse manie in our times. They thinke it 
 the true touchstone to trie what is good, bv measuring what 
 is more or lesse opposite to the Church of Rome ; be it ceremonie, 
 be it pollicie or goverm', yea be it other institucon of greater waight. 
 That is euer most perfedl, w"** is removed most degrees from that 
 Church ; and that is ever polluted and blemished w°'' pticipateth 
 in anie appearance w"" it. This is a subtile and a daungerous 
 conceipt for men to entertaine, apt to delude themselues, more 
 apt to seduce the people, and most apt of all to calumniate 
 their adversaries. This surelie (but that a notorious condemna- 
 -con of that posicon was before our eies) had long since brought 
 vs to the rebaptizacon of children baptized according to the pten- 
 ded Catholique religion. For I see that w"*" is a matter of much 
 like reason, w"'' is the reordaining of priests, a matter alrea- 
 die resolutelie maintained. It is verie meete that men beware 
 how they be abused by this opinion ; and that they know y' it is a 
 consideracon of much greater wisedome and sobrietie, to be well 
 advised, whether in the generall demolition of the institutions of [the 
 Church of Rome there were not (as men's actions are imper[fect) 
 some good purged w"" the bad, rather then to purge y° Church, [as they 
 ptended, euerie dale anew; w* is the waie to make a [wound in 
 her bowells, as is alreadie begonne. 4. The fourth and last occasion 
 of theise controusies (a matter w'='' did also trouble the [Church in 
 former times), is the partiall affectacon and imitacon [of foreign 
 Churches. For manie of our men, during the time [of persecution 
 and since, having ben conversant in Churches [abroad, and recvd 
 a great impression of goverm' there ord[ained, have violently 
 sought to intrude the same vpon our Church. [But I answer, Con- 
 sentiamus in eo quod convenit, non in eo q^ [receptum est; let 
 us agree in this] that euerie Church do y* W' [is convenient for 
 the state of itself, and not in particular customs. Although their Churches 
 have received the better form, yet many times it is to be sought,nonquid 
 optimum, sed e bonis quid proximum ; not what is best, but of good things 
 what is next and rediest to be had. Our Church is not now to plant ; 
 it is settled and established. It may be, in civil states, a republic is 
 better than a Kingdom : yet God forbid that lawful Kingdoms should 
 
 Arrius. In all the MS. 
 copies examined the 
 name is spelt thus: 
 
 of the error = from the error. 
 
 opposite to the Church. The 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 reads opposite to the insti- 
 tutions of the Church. 
 
 The Durning - Lawrence 
 MS. begins a new para- 
 graph at The fourth. 
 
 impression of gover' reads in 
 the Durning - Lawrence 
 MS. impression of the 
 forms of government there 
 obtained. 
 
jfr. Bacon on Church controversies. 
 
 42 
 
 MS. Folio 37. 
 
 he compelled to. This manu- 
 script and the Durning- 
 Lawrence MS. also reads 
 61! tied to. The alteration 
 has been made by a later 
 pen. 
 
 The interlineations are by 
 a later pen and probably 
 are incorrect. They do 
 not occur in the other 
 manuscripts examined. 
 
 The Durning - Lawrence 
 MS. commences a new 
 paragraph at Now 
 breiffiie. 
 
 contention. The Durning- 
 Lawrence MS. reads con- 
 
 compelled 
 
 be^to innovate and make alteracons. Qui m[ala introducit, volun- 
 tatem Dei oppugnat reuelatam in verbo; qui nova [introducit, voluntateni 
 Dei oppugnat revelatam in rebus ; He that bringeth [in evil customs, 
 resisteth the will of God reiiealed in his word; He [that bringeth in 
 new things resisteth the will of God revealed in the [things themselves. 
 Consule providentiam Dei en verbo Dei ; take counsell [of the providence 
 of God as wellf^of his word. Neither yet do I admitt [that their form 
 (though it were possible and convenient) is better than [ours, if some 
 abuses were taken awaie. The parietie and equalhtie [of ministers 
 is a thing of wonderfull great confusion ; and so is [an ordinary 
 goverm' by Sinods, ^n"^ doth necessarilie ensue vpon [the other. It 
 is hard in all causes, but especiallie in religion, when [voices shall be 
 nombred and not waighed. Equidem (saith a wise [father) ut 
 vere (f res est scribam, prorsus decrevi fugere omnem conen [turn epi^copo- 
 m ; nullius enim concilii bonu exitu vnqua vidi ; concilia \enim non 
 minuunt mala, sed augent potius, w"*" is to be vnderstood [not so much 
 of generall counsells, as of Sinods gathered for the [ordinary 
 goverm' of the Church ; As for the depriuacon of Bishops, [and 
 
 the therof 
 
 such like causes;^ w""" mischeife^ hath taught the vse of [archbishops, 
 Patriarkes, and Primates, as the abuse of them since [hath taught 
 men to dislike them. Butitwilbesaid, Looke to the fruits [of the Churches 
 abroade and ours. To w"*" I say, that I beseeche the Lord [to multiply 
 his blessings and graces vpon theise Churches an hundred [fold. But 
 yett it is not good, that we fall a nonibring of them. It [may be our 
 peace hath made vs more wanton : It male be also (though [I would 
 be loath to derogate from the honor of those Churches, [were it not to 
 remoue scandells,) that their fruites are as torches in the [dark, which 
 appeare greatest afar of. I knowe they maie haue s [ome more 
 stridl orders for the repressing of sundrie excesses. But [when I 
 consider of the censures of some psons, aswell vpon p [articular men 
 as vpon Churches, I thinke of y^ saieng of a Platonist, [who saith 
 Certe vitia, irascibilis partis animce, sunt gradu praviora quam [concupis 
 cibilis, tametsi occultiora ; a matter that appeared well [by the 
 auncient contentions of Bishopps. God graunt y' we [may con- 
 -tend w"" other Churches, as the vine w"" the oliue, [which of us beareth 
 best fruit ; and not as the brier w"" y^ thistle, w"*" of [us is more un- 
 pflitable. And thus much touching y'' occasions of [the controversies. 
 2. Now breifflie to sett downe the growth and p[rogress of 
 these] controusies;wherebiewilbeverefied,thesaiengof [Solomon, that the 
 course of] contention is to be stopped at first ; [being else as the waters, 
 which if they gain a breach, it will hardly be ever recovered. It may 
 be remembered, that on their part that call for reformation, was first 
 propounded a mislike of certain ceremonies supposed to be super- 
 stitious ; some complaint of dumb ministers who possessed rich 
 benefices; and some were invedlives against the idle and monastical 
 living in the Universities, by those who had livings to be resident 
 
ffr. Bacon on Church controversies. 
 
 43 
 
 MS. Folio 38. 
 
 elsewhere ; 
 
 vpon^and such like abuses. Thence they went on to condemne y" goverm' 
 of Bishopps as an Hierarchie remayneng to vs of the corrupcons of the 
 Ro : Church, and to except to sundrie institucons in the Church as not 
 sufficientUe deliuered from the pollucons of former times. And lastUe, 
 they are advaunced to define of an onehe and ppetuall forme of polHcie 
 in the Church, w"*" (w"'out consideracon of possibihtie, or foresight 
 of perrill and perturbacon of the Church and state) must be erected 
 and planted by the magistrate. Heere they stay. Others (not able to keepe 
 footing in so steepe a grounde) descende farther ; that y" same must be 
 entred into and attempted by the people, at their perrill, w"'out atten- 
 ding the establishm* of aucthoritie : and some in the meanetime refuse 
 to communicate w"" vs, reputing vs to haue no Church. This hath 
 ben the pgression of that side : I meane of y= generahtie. For I 
 knowe, some psons (being of the nature, not onelie to love extremities, 
 but also to fall to them w"'out degrees) were at the highest straine at 
 
 Neither hath 
 
 first. ^ The other part, w'=^ maintaineth the present goverm' of y° 
 Church, kept one tenor. First those ceremonies w°'' 
 
 were ptended to be corrupt they maintained to be things indifferet, 
 and opposed the examples of the good times of the Church, to y' challendge 
 w'^b was made vnto them, because they were vsed in the latter super- 
 stitious times. Then were they also content mildlie to acknowledge 
 many impfeccons in the Church ; as tares come vp amongst y° corne, 
 w*^'' yett (according to the wisedome taught by our Sauio" Christ) 
 were not w*'' strife to be pulled vp, least it might spoile and sup- 
 -plant the good corne, but to growe on together vntill the harveste. 
 After, they growe to a more absolute defence and maintenance of 
 all the orders of the Church, and stifflie to hold that nothing was [to 
 be innouated ; ptlie because it need not, ptlie because it would [make 
 
 Thence 
 
 a breach vpon the rest. ^ (exasperate through contencons) they [are 
 fallen to a diredl condemnacon of y^ contrairie parte, as of a [sect. Yea, 
 and some indiscreat psons, haue ben bould in open preaching [to use 
 dishonorable and derogatorie speach, and censure of [y'= Churches a- 
 broade ; and that so farr as some of our men (as I haue [heard) ordain- 
 ned in forraigne parts, haue ben pnounced to be [no lawful mini- 
 sters. Thus we see the beginnings were modest, but [the extremes are 
 violent; so as there is almost as great a distaunce [now of either 
 side from it selfe, as was at the first of one f [rom the other. And sure 
 lie, though my meaning and scope be not [as I have said before) to enter 
 into the controusies themselues, yett I [do admonish the maintainers 
 of the discipline to weigh, and consult [diligently and attentively 
 how] neare they are vnto them [with whom I know they will not- 
 join. It is very hard to affirm that the discipline which they say wee 
 want is one of the essential parts of the worshipping of God, and not 
 to affirme withal that the people themselves upon perill of salvation, 
 without staying for the magistrate, are to gather themselves to it. 
 
 ehewhcye. This correction 
 is in a later hand and 
 does not appear in the 
 other copies examined. 
 
 except = talie exception to. 
 
 the estahlishment, etc. The 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 reads any establishing by 
 authority and so in the 
 meantime. 
 
 neither hath has been in- 
 serted by a later hand 
 and words in the next 
 line struclc out. It ori- 
 ginally read ye Church 
 hath not kept one tenor also. 
 
 Thence exasperate. The word 
 thence is supplied from 
 the Durning - Lawrence 
 MS. 
 
 of the discipline. The Durn- 
 ing-Lawrence MS. reads 
 
 of the allowed discipline. 
 
jfr. Bacon on Church controversies. 
 
 44 
 
 MS. Folio 39. 
 
 The interlineation is in the 
 hand of the writer of the 
 MS. 
 
 To take away manie abuses. 
 The word manie does not 
 occur in other copies of 
 the manuscript. 
 
 Husband = husbandman. 
 
 The Burning - Lawrence 
 MS. reads It being the 
 greatest judgment next to 
 the general and universall 
 judgment at the last day ! 
 
 pphosieng = prophesying. 
 
 The Durning - Lawrence 
 MS. commences a new 
 paragraph with Now as 
 to the third point. 
 
 I demaunde, if a civell state should receiue the pr [eaching of the word 
 and Baptisme, and interdict and exclude the [sacriment of the Ld's 
 supper, were not men bounde vppon daunger of their [souls to draw 
 themselues into congregations, wherin they might [celebrate that 
 misterie,and not to content themselues w"" that part [of the worshipof God 
 w°'' the magistrate had authorised? This I speake, not [to draw them 
 
 to draw them 
 
 intoa dislike of others, but^into a more cleere considera[tion of themselves: 
 Fortasse non redeunt, quia sun progressu nan intelligunt. [Again to my 
 Lo: theBishopps,itis harde,forthemto auoide y^ blame [(in the opinion 
 of an indifferent pson) in standing so preciselie vpon [altering nothing. 
 Leges, itovis legibus non recreates, acescunt; Lawes not [refreshed with 
 new Lawes waxe sowre. Qui mala non permutat, in bonis [non perseverat ; 
 w"'out chaunge of the ill, a man cannot continewe in [the good. To take 
 away manie abuses supplanteth not good orders, but [establisheth 
 them. Morosa moris retentio res turbulenta est, ceque ac no [vitas a con- 
 tentious retaining of custome is a turbulent thifig, [as well as in- 
 -nouacon. A good Husband is euer pruning and stirring [in his vineyard 
 or feild; not vnseasonablie (indeed) nor vnskillfuUie. But [lightly he 
 findeth somewhat to doe. We haue heard of noe offers of [bishops of 
 bills in parleam'; w'''' (no doubt pceedingfromthem,to whom [properly it 
 belongeth would haue eueriewhere receyued acceptacon. [There own 
 constitutions and orders haue reformed little. Is not [hing amis ? 
 can anie man defende y^ use of excomunicacon as a base [process to 
 lackey vp and downe for dueties and fees ; If being a [greatest 
 iudgm' of the latter dale ? Is there no meanes to traine [and nurse 
 vp ministers (for the yelde of the vniusities will not serve, [though 
 they were neuer so well governed,) to traine, I say, not [to preach 
 (for that, euie man confidentlie adventureth to do), but [to prekch 
 soundlie and handle the Scriptures w"" wisedome and [judgment ? I 
 knowe pphosieng was subiect to great abuse, and w[ouId be more 
 abused now; because y^ heate of contentions is increased. [But I say 
 the onelie reason of the abuse was, because there was ad [mitted to 
 it a popular auditorie, and was not contained w'^n [a private 
 conference of ministers. Other things might be spoke [n of. I pray 
 God to inspire the Bishopps w"" a feruent loue and [care of the people; 
 and y' they may not so much vrge things in controu [ersy, as things 
 out of controusie, w'^'' all men confesse to be gratio[us and good. 
 And this] much for the second pointe. Now as to the 3 [point, of 
 unbrotherly] pceedingon eyther side. It is directlie con[trary to my 
 purpose to] amplifie wronge; it is enougheto [note and number them; 
 which I do also to] moue c [ompassion and remorse on the offending 
 side, and not to animate challenges and complaints on the other. 
 And this point (as reason is) doth chiefly touch that side which can 
 do most. Injuria; potentiorum sunt; injicries come from them which 
 have the upper hand. 
 
 The wrongs of them which are possessed of the government 
 of the Church towards the other may hardly be dissembled 
 or excused. They have charged them as though they 
 
ffr. Bacon on Church controversies. 
 
 45 
 
 MS. Folio 40. 
 
 denied tribuie to Ccesar, and w"'drew from the civell magistrate 
 the obedience w* they haue euer performed and taught. They haue 
 sorted and coupled them w'^ the FamiHe of loue, whose heresies they 
 haue laboured to descrie and confute. They haue ben swift of creditt to 
 receiue accusacons against them, from those that haue quarrelled against 
 them but for speaking against synne and vice. Their accusacons and 
 inquisicons haue ben stridl. Swearing men to blankes, & generalities 
 (not included w'^n compasse of matter certaine, w"'' the ptie y' is 
 to take the oath may com^prehende) is a thing captious and straina- 
 ble. Their vrging of subscription to their owne articles is but lacessere 
 et irritare inorbos ecclesicB, w"^ otherwise would spende and crush them- 
 selues. Non consensu qucsrit sed dissidia, qui q''^ fa6lis prcestatur in verbis 
 exigit. And it is true, there are some w"'' (as I am perswaded) will 
 not easilie offende by inconformitie, who notw*standing make some 
 
 the 
 
 conscience to subscribe. For they know this^note of inconstancie 
 and defeccon from that w°'' they haue long helde shall disable them 
 to doe that good w"*" otherwise they might doe : for such is the weaknes 
 
 they thinke 
 
 of manie that^their ministerie should therby be discredited. As for 
 their easie silencing them, in such great scarsitie of preachers, it is 
 to punnishe y" people, and not them. Ought they not (I meane the 
 B^^) to keepe one eye open, to looke vpon the good that these men doe, 
 but to fix them vpon the hurte that they suppose cometh by them ? 
 Indeede, such as are intemperate and incorrigeable, God forbid they 
 should be permitted to teach. But shall euerie inconsiderate worde, 
 sometimes captiouslie watched, and for the most parte hardlie enforced, 
 be as a forfaiture of their voice and guifte in preaching ? As for sundrie 
 particuler molestacons, I take no pleasure to recite them. If a 
 minister shalbe troubled for saieng in Baptisme doe you beleeue[? for 
 doest thou beleeue ? If another shalbe brought in question [for pray- 
 eng for her Ma"^ w"'out the addicon of her stile ; whereas [the 
 forme of praier in the Booke of Common Praier hath [thy Subject 
 
 accused 
 
 Elizabeth) and no more? If a third shall be^vppon [these words 
 vttered touching the controuersies, tollatur Lex et fiat [certamen, 
 (whereby was ment y' the piudice of the Law remoued [either rea- 
 
 shall be accused , 
 
 sons should be equallie compared^) of calling y* people to [sedition & 
 mutinie, as if he had said, Awaie w"' the Lawe, and [try it out by 
 force; If theise and other like pticulers be true, [which I have but by 
 rumor, and cannot affirme; it is to be lamented [that they should labour 
 amongst vs w"" so little comefort. I knowe [restrained govern" are 
 better then remisse ; and I am of his mind [that said. Better it 
 is to live whe'jre nothing is lawfull then wh[_ere all things are lawfid. 
 I dislike that laws be contemned or disorders unpunished. But 
 laws are likened to the grape, that being to much prest yield an hard an 
 unwholesome wine. Of these things I must say : Ira viri non operatur 
 justitiam Dei ; the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 
 
 As for the injuries of the other part, they are 
 it were ictus inerimitim ; headless arrows ; they are 
 
 quayrelled against them. The 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 reads quarrelled with them. 
 
 Their accusacons, etc. The 
 same MS. reads Their 
 examinations and inquisi- 
 tions have been straight. 
 
 comprehenie. The five in- 
 terlineations upon this 
 page have been made by 
 a much later hand, they 
 can hardly be called im- 
 provements 
 
 spende and crush themselves. 
 Each MS. consulted has 
 a different reading. The 
 Durning- Lawrence 
 leaves out aHicras/f. One 
 British Museum and 
 Bodleian reads spend and 
 crise. The Harleian 
 reads spend and waste, and 
 the Resuscitatio spend 
 and exercise but to fix them 
 upon. The Durning- 
 Lawrence MS. reads but 
 to fix them both upon the 
 hurte. 
 
 as 
 
jfr. Bacon on Church controversies. 
 
 46 
 
 MS. Folio 41. 
 
 mcinans = mercenary. 
 
 The Durning - Lawrence 
 MS. reads to have their 
 endowments and livings. Of 
 this I cannot, etc. 
 
 The Durning - Lawrence 
 MS. inserts J^wrf this much 
 touching the third point 
 after to riffle it : and com- 
 mences a new paragraph 
 with The 4th point. 
 
 impropried. So in the Mu- 
 seum and Bodleian MSB. 
 The Durning-Lawrence 
 and the " Resuscitatio " 
 read impropriated. 
 
 teacheth us othermse. The 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 reads teacheth us, contrari- 
 wise to judge . . accord- 
 ing to the second table's 
 worhs. 
 
 that it ought. This inter- 
 lineation is in a later 
 hand and does not appear 
 in any other MS. 
 
 fierie and eager inuectiues, and in some fond men [uncivil and ir- 
 reuerend behauior towardes their psons. This last [invention also which 
 exposeth them to derision and obloquie by libeells, chargeth [not (as I am 
 perswaded) the whole syde : neither doth that other, [which is yet more odi- 
 ous pradlised by the worst sorte of them, w'^'' is, to call [in, as it were 
 to their aides, certaine mcinarie bandes, w"*" imp[ugn bishops and 
 other ecclesiasticcall dignities, to haue the spoile of their [endowments and 
 livings. Of those I cannot speake to hardhe. It is an [intelligence 
 between incendiares and robbers, the one to fire the [house, the other 
 to riffle it. The 4*'' point wholie ptaineth to them [which impugn 
 the present ecclesiasticall goverm' ; who, although they [have not 
 cutt themselues of from the communion of the Church, [yet do they 
 affect certaine ceremonies and differences, where [in they seek to 
 make correspondence amongst themselues, and to [be] sep[arated from 
 others. And it is truelie said, tarn sunt mores quidam schis[}natica, quani 
 dogmata schismatica. First, they haue impropried vnto [themselues 
 the names of zealous, sincere, and reformed ; as if all [others were 
 cold, minglers of hollie and prophane things, and fr[iends of abuses. 
 Yea, be a man indued w"" great vertues and fruitful [in good 
 workes, yett if he concurr not fuUie w"" them they to [term him in 
 derogacon (a civell and morrall man, and compare [him to 
 Socrates or some Heathen Philosopher, whereas the [wisdom 
 of the scriptures teacheth vs otherwise ; to iudg and [denominate men 
 religious according to the workes of the second table ; [because 
 
 table 
 
 they of the first ^ were often counterfaited and pra6l[iced in Hy- 
 -pocrisie. So S' John saith, that a man doth vainelie boast of [loving 
 God whom he neuer saw if he loue not his neighbor whom he hath 
 seen. And S' James saith, this is true religion to visitt [the fatherless 
 and the widdow. So as that w"*" is w"* them but philosoph [icall and 
 morrall, is in the Apostles phrase true religion and [Christianity. 
 And as in affeccon they challendge the said vertues of [zeal and the rest 
 so in knowledge they attribute to themselues light and [perfection. 
 They sale, the Church of England in K : Ed : time, and in [the beginning 
 of her Ma'^ raigne, was but in the cradle; and that [the bishops 
 in those times did somewhat for daie-breake, but y' [maturity and 
 fulness of light pceeded from themselues. So Sabinus, [Bishop of He- 
 raclea, a Macedonian, said, that the ffathers in the [Council of Nice 
 were but infants and ignorant men ; that the [Church was not so 
 
 that it ought 
 
 to persist} in their decrees as ^ to refuse that [further ripeness of 
 knowledge} w"'' time hath reuealed: and [as they censure virtuous men by the 
 names of civil and moral, so do they censure men truely and godly wise (you 
 see into the vanity of their assertions) by the name of politiques ; saying that 
 their wisedom is but carnall and savouring of man's brain. So if a preacher 
 preach with care and meditation (I speak not of the vaine scholasticall 
 
jfr. Bacon on Church controversies. 
 
 47 
 
 MS. Folio 42. 
 
 doe 
 
 manner of preaching, but soundelie indeed^order the matter he 
 handleth distindlie, for memorie, deducinge and drawing it downe 
 for direccon, and auahorizing it w'" strong proofes and warrants) 
 they censure it as a fourme of speaking not becoming the simplicitie 
 of the Gospell, and referr it to the rephension of S' Paule, speaking 
 of the inticing speach of mans wisedome. Now for their owne 
 manner of teaching, w' is it? Surelie they exhort well, & worke com- 
 punccon of mind, and bring men well to the question, viri, fra- 
 tres quid agimus? But that is not enough, except they resolue y^ 
 question, they handle matters of controusie weakelie and obiter, 
 and as before a people y' will accept of any thing. In doctrine 
 of maners there is little but generallities and repeticons. The word 
 {the breade of life) they tosse it vp, and downe, they breake it not. 
 They drawe not their direccons downe ad casus conscienticB ; that 
 a man male be warranted in his perticcular accons, whether 
 they be lawfull or not. Neither indeede are manie of them able 
 to doe it, w' through want of grounded knowledge, w' through 
 want of studie and time. It is an easie and compendious thing 
 to call for the observacon of the Sabaoth day, or to speake against 
 unlawfull gaine ; but w' accons and workes may be done vpon 
 the Sabaoth dale, and w' not ; and w' courses of gaine are law- 
 full and in w' cases ? To sett this downe and to cleare the whole 
 matter w"* good distinccons and decisions, is a matter of great 
 knowledg and labor, and asketh much meditation & conuersing 
 in the Scriptures, and other helpes w'^'' God hath prouided and 
 preserued for instruccons. Againe, they carrie not an equall 
 hand in teaching the people their lawfull libertie, as well as their 
 restraints and phibitions : but they thinke a man cannot go 
 too farr in that w"*" hath a shew of a Qommandm'. They forgett 
 their are sinnes on the right hand, and on the lefte; and that the 
 word is double edged, and cutteth on both sides, as well [the superstitious 
 obseruacons as the pphane transgressions. Who doubteth [but that it is 
 as vnlawfull to shutt where God hath opened, as to open [where God 
 hath shut? to binde where God hath loosed, as to loose [where God 
 has bound ? Amongst men it is commonlie as ill to take or [to turn 
 backe favors as to disobey commaundem'^ In this [kind of zeal 
 (for example) they haue pnounced generallie, [and without difference, 
 all vntruthes vnlawfull; notw^standing that [the midwives are 
 directlie reported to haue benn blessed for [their excuse ; and Rahab 
 is said by faith to haue concealed the [spies; and Solomon's 
 selected iudgm' pceeded vpon a simulation ; and our Saviour, 
 the more to touch the hearts of the two disciples with a holy dalliance, 
 made as if he would have passed Emmaus. Further, I have 
 heard some sermons of mortification, which I thinke (with very good 
 meaning) they haue preached out of their own experience 
 and exercise, things in private counsells not unmeet ; 
 
 The interlineation is wrong. 
 The MS. read originally 
 preachins; but soundlie in- 
 deed, ordering the matter, etc. 
 
 conuersing = conversation, 
 or study. 
 
 The Burning - Lawrence 
 MS. reads sinnes on the 
 right hand as ivell as on 
 the left, 
 
 obseruacons — observancies. 
 
 The Durning - Lawrence 
 MS. reads Amongst men it 
 is commonly as evil taken to 
 turn back favours as to dis- 
 obey commands. 
 
 The words from spies to 
 Emmaus are omitted in the 
 Bodleian and Durning- 
 Lawrence copies. 
 
ffr. Bacon on Church controversies. 
 
 48 
 
 MS. Folio 43. 
 
 The word originally written 
 was mine, but it has been 
 struck out. The Bod- 
 leian copy reads mine into 
 all certainty of religion. 
 The Durning-Lawrence 
 MS. reads lead into all 
 uncertainty of Religion. 
 
 In the Bodleian and Dur- 
 ning-Lawrence copies the 
 two lines from service to 
 f reaching are omitted. 
 
 they moue no question - 
 make no enquiry. 
 
 they 
 
 fortify and enrich. The 
 Durning-Lawrence MS. 
 reads fortify and entrench 
 by being so greatly addicted 
 to their opinions and iin- 
 - patient to heare contradic- 
 tion. The reading an 
 addicted respect is supplied 
 from the Museum copy. 
 
 but surelie no sounde conceipte ; much like to P [arson's Resolutions, or 
 not so good ; apte to breede in men rather weake opinions [and perplexed 
 dispaires, than fiUiall and true repentaunce w"'' is [sought. Another 
 pointe of great inconvenience and perill, is to entitle [the people to 
 heare controusies and all kinds of doctrine. They saie [no part of the 
 counsell of God must be suppressed, nor the people def [rauded, so as the 
 difference w"'' the Apostle maketh betweene milke and [strong meat 
 is confounded : and his precept that the weake be not [admitted into 
 questions and controuersies taketh no place. But m [ost of all is it to 
 be suspected, as a seede of futher unconvenience, their [manner of 
 handling the Scriptures ; For whilst they seeke express [Scripture 
 for euerie thing ; and that they haue, (in a manner) d [eprived themselues 
 and the Church, of a speciall helpe and support by emb[asing the au- 
 thoritie of the ffathers ; they resort to naked examples, [conceited 
 
 myne 
 
 inferences, and forced allusions, such as doe ^ [lead into all incer- 
 taintie of religion ; Another extremitie is the expressiue [magnifying 
 of that w"*", though it be a principall and most hollie in [stitution, yet 
 hath limitts as all things else haue. We see whersoeu [ver (in manner) 
 they finde in the Scriptures the worde spoken of, they exp [ound it of 
 preaching. They haue made it in manner of the essence [of the Sacrement 
 of the Supper, to haue a sermon pceedent. They haue (in a sort) anni- 
 -hilated the vse of Liturgies, and fourmes of divine service, [as though 
 the house of God be denominated of the principall, domus \orationis, 
 a house of praier, and not a house of preaching. As for [the lives of 
 the good monks and hermitts in the primitive Church, [I know 
 they will condemne a man as halfe a Papist, if he sh [ould main- 
 taine them as other then pphane, because they heard no [sermons. 
 In the meane time, w' preaching is, and who may be said [to preach, 
 they moue no question. But as farr as I see, euerie man [that presu- 
 meth to speake in a chaire is accounted a Preacher. But [I am assured 
 that not a fewe that call hothe for a preaching ministrie [deserve 
 to be of the first themselues that should be expelled. All [these and other errors 
 and misproceedings, they doe fortifie and enrich by [an addicted re- 
 -spect to their owne opinions, and an impatience to hear [contradiction 
 or argum'. Yea, I know some of them would thinke it \a tempting 
 of God, to heare or reade w' maie be said against them ; [as if there 
 could be a <f bonnm est tenete, w^'out an omnia pro[bate going before. 
 This] may suffice to offer vnto themselues a veiw a[nd consideration, 
 whether] in theise things they doe well or no, and [to correct and 
 assuage the par] tiallitie of their followe[rs and dependants. For as 
 for any man that shall hereby enter into a contempt of their ministry, 
 it is but his own hardness of heart. I know the work of exhortation 
 doth chiefly rest upon these men, and they have zeal and hate of sinner. 
 But again, lett them take heed that it bee not true which one of their 
 adversaries said, that they have two small wants, Knowledge and Love. 
 
ffr. Bacon on Church controversies. 
 
 49 
 
 MS. Folio 44. 
 
 And so I conclude this pointe. The last pointe tonching y^ due publishing 
 ■and debating theise controusie needeth no long speach. This straunge 
 abuse of antiques and pasquills hath ben touched before. So likewise 
 I repeate y' w"^ hath ben said; a character of Loue is more pper for 
 debates of this nature then that of Zeale. As for all direct or indirect 
 glaunces or levells at mens persons, they were eu in theise cases disa- 
 -lowed. Lastlie whatsoeu be ptended, the people is no meet arbitrator, 
 but rather quiett modest and private assemblies and conference of 
 the Learned. The presse and pulpitt would be freed and discharged 
 from theise contentions, neither pmocon on the one side, nor glorie 
 nor heate on the other side ought to continewe those challenge and 
 cartells, at the Crosse and other places. But rather all preachers, 
 especiallie all such as be of good temper and haue wisedome and consciece 
 ought to inculcate and beate vpon a peace silence and surseasaunce. 
 Neither lett them feare Solon's lawe w"** compelled in faccons ouie 
 pticuler pson on thother side ; nor yett the fond calumnie of 
 newtralitie, but lett them knowe that it is true w'^'" is said by a wiseman 
 that newters in contencons are either better or worse then either 
 side. Theise things have I in all sinceritie and simplicitie sett 
 downe, touching the controusies w"'' now trouble the Church of Eng- 
 land and that w^ut all art or insinuacon and therfor not like to 
 be gratefull to eyther parte. Notw"'standing I trust w' hath ben said 
 shall finde a correspondence in their minds w"'' are not embarqued 
 in ptialitie, and w^"" loue the whole better than a part, wherfor I am 
 not out of hope that it male doe good. At the least I shall not repent 
 my selfe of the meditacon. 
 
 finis. 
 
 The Durning - Lawrence 
 MS. readstiniluejiublishiiig. 
 
 pfer = proper. 
 
 eu = ever. 
 
 Lastlie, etc. The Durning- 
 Lawrence MS. reads the 
 people is noe meek Judge or 
 Arbitrator, but rather the 
 private moieraior and qviett 
 Assemblies and in conference 
 of the Learned. Qui apud 
 iftcapacem loquitur, non dis- 
 ceptat, sed calumniator. 
 
 Crosse = St. Paul's Cross. 
 
 surseasaunce = cessation. 
 
 Solon's law, etc. The Dur- 
 ning- Lawrence M S . read s 
 which compelled in factions, 
 every particular person to 
 range himself on the one 
 side. 
 
 finde a correspondence . The 
 Durning-Lawrence MS 
 reads find a correspondence 
 with such as are not im- 
 barhed in partialitie ; which 
 love the whole better than a 
 part. 
 
A letter to a ffrench gent : touching y' proceedings 
 
 in Engl : in Ecclesiastical causes ; translated out 
 
 of french into English by W: W: 
 
 MS. Folio 44-45. 
 
 This letter is imperfe(St, the MS. ending abruptly at the bottom of the 
 second folio, the other side of which is blank, as if left for the transcription 
 to be completed at a future time. It has been printed in the "Cabala sive 
 Scrinia Sacra," Part ii., 1654, and also in "Burnet's History of the 
 Reformation." Both contain inaccuracies, but each helps to correcSl the 
 other. Mr. Spedding attributes the authorship to Bacon. The letter was 
 written circa 1589- go, probably soon after the Protestant Henry of Navarre 
 succeeded to the French throne. 
 
 Early in 1589 the French king had definitely joined the Protestant party, 
 and was at war both with Spain and the League. This alteration in the 
 political situation excited the greatest interest in England. A letter from 
 Lord Burghley to the Earl of Shrewsbury, dated May 27, 1589, has been 
 printed in Lodge's "Illustrations of British History," p. 400, vol. 2, 1791, 
 which gives an interesting side-light upon the question. He writes : — 
 
 My Lord, the state of the world is marveloosly changed, whan we 
 trew Englishmen have cause for our own quietnes to wish good succes to 
 a French Kyng, and a Kyng of Scotts ; and yet they both differ one 
 fro ye other in professio of relligion ; but seyng both are enemyes to our 
 eneymes, we have cause to joyen wt them in ther adlions ageyst our 
 enemyes ; and this is the work of God for our good, for the which ye Q. 
 and us all, ar most depely bound to acknolledg his miraculoss goodnes, 
 for no witt of man cold otherwise have wrought it. At this tyme ye Fr. 
 Kyng's paty, by the trew subjects of his Crown, both Catholicque and 
 Protestant, doth prosper in every place. 
 
 Elizabeth's advisers were anxious that needless distrust should not be 
 excited against the Queen, in the minds either of the Protestant or of the 
 moderate Catholic party in France, by her dealings with the religious parties 
 in England. The letter contains an explanation in narrative form of the 
 Queen's proceedings towards both the Catholics and the Puritans, and is 
 framed to prove that her adtion had been throughout consistent, and to set 
 forth and justify the course of her proceedings. 
 
 (50) 
 
51 
 
 A letter of Bacon's is printed in the " Resuscitatio," addressed to 
 Archbishop Whitgift, in which he says:— 
 
 I have considered the objeaions, perused the statutes, and framed 
 the alterations, which I send ; still keeping myself within the brevity of 
 a letter and form of a narration ; not entering into a form of argument 
 or disputation. For in my poor conceit it is somewhat against the 
 majesty of princes' adlions to make too curious and striving apologies, 
 but rather to set them forth plainly, and so as there may appear an 
 harmony and constancy in them, so that one part upholdeth another. 
 
 There is no date to this letter, but it may be taken for granted that the 
 enclosure sent with it is the letter to Monsr. Critoy, now printed. A further 
 proof of Bacon's authorship is found in the fact that he reproduced it almost 
 word for word in his "Observations on a Libel," written in 1592. 
 
 The date of its producSlion can be approximately fixed. There is an 
 allusion in it to the Marprelate controversy, which took place in 1589, and 
 Walsingham, in whose name it was sent, died on April 6th, 1590. 
 
 MS. Folio 44. 
 
 A letter to a ffrench gent : touching y' proceedings 
 in Engl : in Ecclesiasticall causes translated out 
 of french into English by W: W: 
 
 Whereas you desire to be aduertised, touching the pceeding in 
 ecclesiasticall causes, because you note in them some in[constancy and 
 variacon, as if we enclined sometimes to one side, and [sometimes to 
 another, and as if that clemencis and lenitie were [not used of late, which 
 was vsed in the beginning ; all w""" you imputed to y [our own superfi- 
 ciall vnderstanding of the affaires of this state, [having, notwithstan- 
 ding, her Ma'® doings in singuler reuerence, as [the real pledges which 
 she hath given vnto the world of her since [rity in religion, and if 
 her wisedome in goverm' well meriteth. [I am glad of this occasion 
 to imparte y" little I knowe in that [matter to you, both for your 
 own satis] faccon and to the ends [you may make use thereof towards 
 any that shall not be so modestly and so reasonably minded as you 
 are. I find therefore that her Majesty's proceedings have been 
 grounded upon two principles: — 
 
 The one that consciences are not to be forced, but to be won and 
 reduced by the force of truth, with the aid of time and the use of all good 
 
 The missing portions of the 
 letter have been supplied 
 from Mr. Spedding's re- 
 dacftion. Where the Nor- 
 thumberland manuscript 
 differs, a note has been 
 made of tlie alteration. 
 
 I find therefore. Bacon used 
 all which follows from 
 this point down to For 
 the other part (on page 53) 
 in his pamphlet, ' ' Obser- 
 vations upon a Libel," 
 published in 1592. 
 
Bacon's Letter to a ffrench gent. 
 
 52 
 
 MS. Folio 45. 
 
 leisc = loose. 
 
 terror and rigor, etc. Sped- 
 ding has terror and rigour 
 to seek commandment, etc. 
 
 renewed. Spedding has re- 
 vived. 
 
 supmcuie. Spedding has 
 allegiance. 
 
 ouflowe into outc = overflow 
 into overt. 
 
 maintaining, etc. Spedding 
 has maintaining and extol- 
 ling a foreign jurisdiction. 
 
 allotted. Probably altered. 
 
 The Bull was published on 
 May IS, 1570. 
 
 chaunged and purged. Sped- 
 ding his partly purged. 
 
 and bewitch. These words 
 are omitted by Spedding. 
 
 meanes of instruccon and persuacons. The other, [that the causes of con- 
 science, when they exceede their bounds, and growe to [be matter of faction, 
 lease their nature; and that soveraigne princes ought [distinctly to punish 
 the practise or contempt, though coullored w"* the [pretence of conscience 
 and religion. According to theise principles her Ma"* [at her coming 
 to the crowne, vtterlie misliking the tirannie of the Church [of Rome, which had 
 vsed by terror and rigor commandem'® of men's faithes [and consciences. 
 Although as a Prince of great wisedome and magnanimitie [she suffered 
 but the exercise of one religion, yett her pceedings towards [the Papists 
 was w"" great lenitie, exppecting the good effect w""* [time might work 
 in them. And therfor her Ma"* renewed not the Lawes [made in the 28 
 35 of her fathers raigne, wherby the oath of supm [acie might have 
 ben offered at the Kgs. pleasure to any subiect, though he [kept his conscience 
 neuer so modestlie to himself; and the refusall to take y* [same oath without 
 further circumstance was made treason. But contra [riwise her 
 Ma"*, not liking to make windowes into men's harts & [secret thoughts, 
 except y* aboundaunce of them did ouflowe into oute and [express acts 
 or affirmacons, tempered her lawe so as it restraineth [only manifest 
 disobedience, in impugning and impeaching advisedlie and [maliciously 
 her Ma"*^ supreame powre, and maintaining a forraigne [jurisdiction. 
 And as for the oath, it was allotted by her Ma"* into a grate [ful form ; 
 the harshnes of the name and appelacon of Supreame [Head removed, 
 and the penaltie of the refusall therof turned onelie into [disablement 
 to take anie pmocon or to exercise any chardg ; and yett [with liberty 
 of being reinstated therin if any man shall accept therof [during his 
 life. But after when Pius Quintus had excommunicated [her Majesty, 
 and the Bull of Excommunicacon was published in London, [whereby her 
 Ma"* was in sort pscribed ; and that thervpon as vpon [a principal 
 motiue or preparatiue, followed the Rebellion in the North ; [yet be- 
 cause the ill humo" of the Realme were by that rebellion [chaunged and pur- 
 ged, and that she feared at that time no forraigne inv[asion, and 
 much lesse the attempts of anie w"'in the Realme not [backed by some 
 potent succors from w^out, she contented herself [to make a 
 lawe against that speciall case of bringing in or pub[Iishing of any 
 Bulls or y* like instrum'^ ; whervnto was added a pro [hibition, upon 
 paine, not of treason, but of an inferior degree of puni[shment a^-ainst 
 the bringing in of the Agnus Dei, hallowed beades, and [such other 
 mchandise of Roome, as are well knowen not to be [any essential part 
 of the Romaine religion, but onelie to be vsed in pr[actice as love 
 tokens] to enchaunte and bewitch the peoples [affeccons from their 
 allegi]ance to their naturall soveraigne. [In all other points 
 her Majesty] continued her former lenitie. [But when about the 
 twentieth year of her reign she had discovered in the King of Spain an 
 intention to invade her dominions, and that a principal point of the plot was 
 to prepare a party within the realm that might adhere to the foreigner, and 
 
Bacon's Letter to a ffrench gent. 
 
 53 
 
 [that the seminaries began to blossom and to send forth daily, priests and 
 professed men, who should by vow taken at shrift reconcile her subjects from 
 their obedience, yea and bind many of them to attempt against her Majesty's 
 sacred person ; and that by the poison which they spread the humours of 
 most Papists were altered, and that they were no more Papists in conscience 
 and in softness, but Papists in faction ; then there were new laws made for 
 the punishment of such as should submit themselves to such reconcilements 
 or renunciations of obedience. And because it was a treason carried in the 
 clouds and in wonderful secrecy, and came seldom to light, and that there was 
 no presumption thereof so great as the recusance to come to divine service ; 
 because it was set down by their decrees that to come to Church before 
 reconcilement was to live in schism, but to come to Church after reconcile- 
 ment was absolutely heretical and damnable; therefore there were added new 
 laws containing a punishment pecuniary against such recusants, not to enforce 
 conscience, but to enfeeble and impoverish the means of those to whom it 
 rested indifferent and ambiguous whether they were reconciled or no. And when , 
 notwithstanding all this provision, this poison was dispersed so secretly as that 
 there was no means to stay it but by restraining the merchants that brought it 
 in, then lastly there was added another law whereby such seditious priests of the 
 new erection were exiled, and those that were at that time within the land 
 shipped over, and so commanded to keep hence upon pain of treason. 
 
 This hath been the proceeding with that sort, though intermingled not 
 only with sundry examples of her Majesty's grace towards such as in her 
 wisdom she knew to be Papists in conscience and not in faction, but also with 
 an ordinary mitigation towards the offenders in the highest degree convicted 
 by law, if they would but protest that in case this realm should be invaded 
 with a foreign army by the Pope's authority, for the Catholic cause, as they 
 term it, they would take party with her Majesty and not adhere to her 
 enemies. 
 
 For the other part, which have been offensive to the state, though in 
 another degree ; which named themselves Reformers, and we commonly 
 call Puritans; this hath been the proceeding towards them. A great while, 
 when they inveighed against such abuses in the Church as pluralities, non- 
 residence, and the like, their zeal was not condemned, only their violence was 
 sometimes censured ; when they refused the use of some ceremonies and rites 
 as superstitions, they were tolerated with much connivency and gentleness ; 
 yea, when they called in question the superiority of bishops, and pretended 
 to bring a democracy into the Church, yet their propositions were heard, 
 considered, and by contrary writings debated and discussed. Yea, all this, 
 while it was perceived that their course was dangerous and very popular. As 
 because Papistry was odious, therefore it was ever in their mouths that they 
 sought to purge the Church from the relics of Popery ; a thing acceptable 
 to the people, who love ever to run from one extreme to another. Because 
 multitudes of ogues and poverty were an eyesore and dislike to every man, 
 therefore they put into the people's head that if discipline were planted, there] 
 
 Mote. — All that follows 
 from this point to the end 
 of the letter is missing 
 from the Northumber- 
 land manuscript. It is 
 supplied from Mr. Sped- 
 ding's redaiftion. 
 
54 
 Bacon's Letter to a ffrench gent. 
 
 See Note on previous page, [should be no beggars nor vagabonds ; a thing very plausible. And in like 
 manner they promised the people many other impossible wonders of their 
 discipline. Besides, they opened the people a way to government by their 
 consistory and presbytery, a thing though in consequence no less prejudicial 
 to the liberties of private men than to the sovereignty of princes, yet in the 
 first show very popular. Nevertheless this (except it were in some few that 
 entered into extreme contempt) was borne with, because they pretended but 
 in dutiful manner to make propositions, and to leave it to the providence of 
 God and the authority of the magistrate. But now of late years, when there 
 issued from them a colony of those that affirmed the consent of the magis- 
 trate was not to be attended ; when, under pretence of a consession to avoid 
 slanders and imputations, they combined themselves by classes and subscrip- 
 tions ; when they descended into that vile and base means of defacing the 
 government of the Church by ridiculous pasquils ; when they began to make 
 many subjects in doubt to take an oath, which is in one of the fundamental 
 parts of justice in this land and in all places ; when they began both to vaunt 
 of the strength and number of their partisans and followers, and to use 
 comminations that their cause would prevail though with uproar and violence; 
 then it appeared to be no more zeal, no more conscience, but mere faction 
 and division ; and therefore, though the state were compelled to hold some- 
 what a harder hand to restrain them than before, yet it was with as great 
 moderation as the peace of the Church and State could permit. And there- 
 fore. Sir, to conclude, consider uprightly of these matters, and you shall see 
 her Majesty is no temporizer in religion. It is not the success abroad, nor 
 the change of servants here at home, can alter her ; only as the things them- 
 selves alter, so she applieth her religious wisdom to methods correspondent 
 unto them ; still retaining the two rules before mentioned, in dealing tenderly 
 with consciences and yet in discovering faction from conscience and softness 
 from singularity. Farewell. 
 
 Your loving Friend, 
 
 FRANCIS WALSINGHAM.J 
 
The Hermitt's fyrst speach. 
 The Hermitt's second speach. 
 The Souldier's speach. 
 The Secretarie's speach. 
 The Squyor's speach. 
 
 MS. Folio 47-53. 
 
 1 HESE are speeches written by Bacon to be spoken in a Masque or 
 Device, given by the Earl of Essex in 1595. In the Lambeth Palace library 
 there is a paper in Bacon's handwriting, without date, containing the rough 
 drafts and notes of portions of the speeches now printed, and a second paper 
 containing a fair copy of the last four of them. The chief difference between 
 the Northumberland manuscript and the Lambeth is, that the latter contains 
 a rough draft explaining the design of the Masque, and an extra speech 
 entitled " The Squire's speech in the tilt-yard." This was probably spoken 
 first at the Device, and was followed by "The Hermitt's fyrst speach," which 
 is only to be found in the colledtion here printed. Bacon's introdu(5tory note, 
 or suggestion for the composition of the Device was as follows : — 
 
 " The persons to be three : one dressed like an Hermit or 
 Philosopher, representing Contemplation. The second like a Captain, 
 representing Fame ; and the third like a Counsellor of Estate, repre- 
 senting Experience. The third to begin [speaking] to the Squire, as 
 being the master of the best behaviour or compliment, though he speak 
 last." 
 
 In order to make the Device complete, it has been thought well to 
 reprint the omitted " Speech of the Squire in the Tiltyard." 
 
 " Most excellent and glorious Queen, give me leave, I beseech your 
 Majesty, to offer my master his complaint and petition. Complaint — 
 that coming hither to your Majesty's most happy day, he is tormented 
 with the importunity of a melancholy dreaming Hermit, a mutinous 
 brain-sick Soldier, and a busy tedious Secretary. His petition is that he 
 may be as free as the rest, and at least whilst he is here, be troubled 
 with nothing but with care how to please and honour you." 
 
 (55) 
 
56 
 
 An interesting account of the entertainment was written by Rowland 
 Whyte, some four days after its occurrence, to Sir Robert Sydney. It is dated 
 November 22nd, 1595, and has been reprinted in Vol. I. of the " Sydney 
 Papers." 
 
 " My Lord of Essex's device is much commended in these late 
 triumphs. Some pretty while before he came in himself to the tilt, he 
 sent his page with some speech to the Queen, who returned with her 
 Majesty's glove. And when he came himself, he was met with an old 
 Hermit, a Secretary of State, a brave Soldier, and an Esquire. The 
 first presented him with a book of meditations ; the second with political 
 discourses ; the third with orations of brave fought battles ; the fourth 
 was but his own follower, to whom the other three imparted much of 
 their purpose before he came in. Another devised with him, persuading 
 him to this or that course of life, according to their inclinations. Comes 
 into the tiltyard unthought upon, the ordinary post boy of London, a 
 ragged villian all bemired, upon a poor lean jade, galloping and blowing 
 for life, and delivered the Secretary a packet of letters, which he presently 
 offered my Lord of Essex ; and with this dumb show our eyes were fed 
 for that time. In the after-supper, before the Queen, they first delivered 
 a well-penned speech to move this worthy Knight to leave his vain 
 following of Love, and to take him to heavenly meditation : the secre- 
 taries all tending to have him follow matters of state, the soldiers 
 persuading him to the war ; but the esquire answered them all, and 
 concluded with an excellent but too plain English, that this Knight 
 would never forsake his mistress's love, whose Virtue made all his 
 thoughts divine, whose Wisdom taught him all true policy, whose Beauty 
 and Worth were at all times able to make him fit to command armies. 
 He showed all the defects and imperfedlions of all their times, and there- 
 thought his course of life to be best in serving his mistress. The old 
 man was he that in Cambridge played Giraldy, Morley played the 
 Secretary, and he that played Pedantiq was the soldier, and Toby 
 Matthew acted the Squire's part. The world makes many untrue con- 
 strudlions of these Speeches, comparing the Hermit and the Secretary to 
 two of the lords, and the Soldier to Sir Roger Williams ; but the Queen 
 said that if she had thought there had been so much said of her, she 
 would not have been there that night, and so went to bed." 
 
MS. Folio 47. 
 
 The Hermitts fyrst speach. 
 
 Your ma'^ nature w'^'' loueth to be iust, and your lustice w"'' [used not 
 to be indifferent, will not suffer you to condemne any vnheard [. We do 
 beseech your ma"^ to assigne vs a tyme when we may before you [speak 
 for our selues, and so will it appeare whether this complaynte [is 
 just and our importunitie iniurious. 
 
 Note.— Alternate readings 
 from the Gibson Papers, 
 vol. 5, preserved in the 
 Lambeth Palace Library, 
 are marked Gibson. 
 
 The Hermitts second speach. 
 
 one 
 
 Thoiigh our endes be diuers, most sacred Queene ; and so/^may be [more 
 iust then another, yett y^ complaint of this Squior is generall, [and 
 therfor alike vniust against vs all. He is angry y' we offer our s [elves 
 vncalled vnto his [master] , and forgettsy' we come not of our selues but [as 
 y'= messengers of selfe-loue, for whom all y' comes should be well taken. 
 He sayeth that when we come we are importunate. If he meanes 
 that we erre in forme, we learne it of his m', who being a louer allows 
 of no other forme of solliciting. If he chardge vs to erre in matter, I 
 for my parte will prsentlie proue that I perswaded him to nothing 
 but for his owne good. For I wishe him to leaue turning ouer y'" 
 booke of fortune, w^'^ is but a play for children, when as there be so 
 many bookes of truth and knowledge better worthie the revolving, & 
 not to fix his veiwe onelie vpon a little pidlure in a tablett, when 
 there be so many goodly tables of histories, yea to life, excellent to 
 beholde and admire. Whether he beleeue me or no, there is no prison 
 to the prison of thoughts, w^*" are free vnder the greatest tyrants. 
 Shall any man make his conceipte as an auahoritie, mewed vp 
 w*in the compasse of one beautie ; that may haue the libertie of 
 all contemplations ? Shall he chaunge the sweet trauelhng through 
 the vniuersall varietie, for one wearisome rounde or laborinth ? Lett 
 thy m', Squior, offer his seruice to the Muses. It is long synce [they 
 receaued any into their court. They giue almes continuallie at 
 their gates, that men do come for to liue vpon, butt fewe haue ben 
 ad] mitted into theyr pallace. There maie he fynde secreats not dang 
 erous] to knowe, sydes and parties not faftious to houlde peep [ts 
 andl commaundem-notpenalltodisobey. The gardens ofloue[wherem he 
 now playeth] himself, are freshe to dale and fading to morrow, [as the 
 beamsof thesun] comforts them or is turned from them. But [thegardenso 
 the Muses keep] the priuiledge of the golden adge, they [ever flourish and 
 are in league] w- time. The monum'= of witt [survive the njonuments 
 of power: the verses of a poet] endure w^out [a syllab e lost 
 while states and empires pass many periods. Let him not think 
 he shall descend, for he is now upon a hill as a ship - — ^ed 
 upon the ridge of a wave ; but that hill of the Muses is 
 
 (57) 
 
 Though our endes be diverse 
 and therefore may be one 
 more just, etc. — Gibson . 
 
 master is omitted in the MS. 
 
 we have that of his master.- 
 Gxbson. 
 
 where there be so many boohs. 
 — Gibson. 
 
 upon a picture in a little table, 
 tc/icrfi. — Gibson. 
 
 his conceipte as an anchor, 
 mured up with the compass 
 of one beautie or person. — 
 Gibson. 
 
 wearisome and endless round. 
 — Gibson. 
 
 that many come to live upon. 
 — Gibson. 
 
 Note. — The missing por- 
 tions of Folios 47 to 53 
 are supplied from Bacon's 
 own manuscripts in the 
 Lambeth Palace library, 
 as transcribed by Mr. 
 Spedding. 
 
 H 
 
The Hermitts speach. 
 
 58 
 
 MS. Folio 48. 
 
 fnt = present. Yea, in seme 
 cliff ■piobably should read 
 Yea, as from a cliff 
 
 Set Note on previous page, above] all tempests, and windes, alwaies cleare and calme ; an hill of [the 
 goodliest discouerie that man can haue, being a prospect vpon [all 
 the errors and wanderings of this pnt and former times. Yea, in some [cliff 
 it leadeth the eye beyonde the horrizon of theise times, and giueth [no 
 obscure diuinacon of times to come. Soe that if he will indeede leade 
 vita]m vitalem, a life that vniteth safetie and dignitie, pleasure and 
 merritt ; if he will winne admiracon w*out enuie ; if he wilbe in 
 the feast and not in the throng ; in the light and not in the heate ; 
 let him embrace the life of studie and contemplacon. And if he will 
 accepte of no other reason, yet because the guifts of the Muses will 
 enworthie him in his loue, and wheras now he looketh vpon his 
 M'^ outsyde w* the eyes of sence, w'*" arodastled and amased, hee 
 shall then beholde her high perfeccons and heavenlie minde w"" y" 
 eyes of iudgm', w""* grow stronger by neerelie and directlie viewig 
 such an obiecte. 
 
 and where he now looks on 
 his mistress's outside with 
 the eyes of sense, which are 
 dazzled and amazed. — 
 Gibson. 
 
 sorry to leave to carry thy 
 master's shield. — Gibson. 
 
 to recorde is omitted in the 
 Gibson MS. 
 
 whether ever than didst see.- 
 Gibson. 
 
 such a sweet felicitie is in.- 
 Gibson. 
 
 tounterfeits and shadows. So 
 in the Gibson MS., but 
 the first two words could 
 only have been written 
 here if interlined , as there 
 was only space for about 
 seven letters in the de- 
 stroyed portion of the 
 manuscript. 
 
 The Souldiers speach. 
 
 Sqaior, the good olde-man hath said well to you, but I dare say 
 thou wouldst be sorrie to leaue thie m" shiede, and to carrie his 
 bookes, and I am sure thie m' had rather be a faulcon, a bird of pray, 
 then a singing birde in a cage. The Muses are to serue martiall 
 men, to recorde and sing their famous accons, and not to be served 
 by them. Then barken to me. It is the warres that giueth all 
 spirritts of valour, not onelie honor but contentm'. For marke 
 whether thou didst euer see a man growen to any honorable comandm' 
 in the warres, but when so euer he gaue it ouer he was readie to 
 die w* melancholie ? Such a secreat felicitie, there is in that noble 
 exercise, that he who tasteth it thoroughlie is distasted of all other. 
 And no marveile ; for if the hunter take such solace in his chase, if y' 
 matches and wagers of sporte passe away w"" such satisfaccon and 
 delight, if the lookers on be affected v/"" such pleasure in y'= repsentacon 
 of a fained tragdie, thinke w' contentm' a man receyueth when th^^ 
 that are equall to him in nature, from the hight of insolencie and 
 furie, are brought to the condition of a chased pray, when a v [idlory 
 
 counterfeits, and 
 
 is] obtained wherof the vidlories of exercises and games are but ^^ [shadows, 
 and when in a liuely tradgedie a mans enemies are sacrificed [before 
 his] eyes vnto his fortune. Then for the dignitie of millitary [profession, 
 is it] not y' truest and perfedlest practise of all vertues ? [of wisedom 
 in disp] osing those things w'''' are most subiect to con [fusion and accident ; 
 of justice,] in continuall distributing of [rewards ; of temperance, 
 in] exercise of the straigtest discipline ; [of fortitude, in toleration of 
 all labours and abstinence from effeminate delights; of constancy, in 
 bearing and digesting the greatest variety of fortune. So that when all 
 other places and professions require but their several virtues, a brave 
 
The Souldiers speache. 
 
 59 
 
 MS. Folio 49, 
 
 leader in the warres must be accomplished w"' all. It is the [war 
 that is the tribunall state, where the highest rights and posse [ssions 
 are decided. The occupacon of kyngs, the roote of nobilitie, the [protedion 
 of all seates ; and lastlie, louers neuer thought their pfession [suffi- 
 -cientlie graced, till they had compared it to a warrfarre. [All that in 
 any other pfession is to be wished for is but to Hue happelie; [but to be 
 a braue commander in the fielde, death it selfe doth crowne y*= 
 topp and heade of glorie. Therefor, Squior, lett thy m' goe w"" [me 
 and though he be resolued in the pursuite of his loue, lett him [aspire 
 vnto it by y° noblest meanes. For ladies count it no honor to [subdue 
 them w* their faire eyes, w'='' wilbe daunted w'" y= fierce encon [ter of 
 an enemie ; and they will quicklie discerne a champion meete to [wear 
 theyr gloue, from a page not worthie to carrie their pantaple. [Therefore 
 I sale againe, lett him seeke his fortune in the fielde, where he m [ay 
 eyther loose his loue, or finde new argum" to advaunce it. 
 
 See Note on page 57. 
 
 states reads estates in the 
 Gibson Manuscript. 
 
 death itself doth crown the 
 head with glory. — Gibson. 
 
 fairest eyes. — Gibson. 
 
 pantaple = slippers. Com- 
 pare Of the hinder parts of 
 their horse hides they make 
 very fine sandals and fan- 
 tofles. — Hakluyt. 
 
 The Secretaries speache. 
 
 Squior, my aduise to thie m"^ shalbe as a token wrapte up in words ; 
 but then will it show it selfe faire, when it is vnfoulded in his accons. 
 To wishe him to chaunge from one honor to another, were but as if 
 for the cure of a man in paine, one should aduize him to lye on the 
 other syde, but not to inable him to stande vpon his feete. If from 
 a sanguyne delightfull humor of loue he turne to a melancholie re- 
 -tired humor of contemplation, or a turbulent boyling humor of [the 
 warres, what doth he but chaunge tirants ? Contemplacon is a dream, 
 loue a traunce, and the humor of warr a raving. Theise be shifts of 
 humors, but no reclaiming to reason. I debarre him not studies, nor 
 bookes, to giue him store and varietie of conceipte, to refreshe his mind, 
 to cover slouth and indisposition, and to drawe to him from those y' 
 are studious, respecte and commendation. But lett him beware that 
 they possesse not too much of his time, that they abstradl not his iudgm' 
 from pnt experience, nor make him psume vpon knowing much [to 
 applye the lesse. For the warres, I denie him no enterprise that 
 shalbe worthie in greatenes, likely in successe, or necessarie in duetie ; 
 not] mixed w"" anie circumstances of jelosie, but duelie laid vpon h [im 
 But I] will not haue him take the allaru from his owne humor, [but 
 from the] occasion; and I woulde againe he should knowe an empl[oyment 
 from a discour] ting. And for his loue, lett him not soe disarme his he [art 
 within, as it m] ake him too credulous to favours, not too tender to [un- 
 kindness, not too ap] te to depende vpon theharteheknoweth n [ot. Nay in 
 his demonstra] tions of loue, let him not goe to [far; for these silly lovers, 
 when they profess such infinite affeftion and obligation, they tax 
 themselves at so high a rate that they are ever under arrest. It makes 
 their service seem nothing, and every cavil or imputation very 
 
 Note. — In the Gibson 
 Manuscript this speech 
 is headed " The states- 
 man's speech." 
 
 one humour to another. — 
 Gibson. 
 
 humor of war is raving.- 
 Gibson. 
 
 pnt = present. 
 
 nor too tender to unkiHd- 
 nesses, nor too apt to de- 
 pend vpon the heart he 
 knotvs of. — Gibson. 
 
6o 
 
 The Secretaries speache. 
 
 MS. Folio 50. 
 
 Set Note on page 57. 
 
 experimented counsellors. ■ 
 Gibson. 
 
 the winning of cheife ministers 
 about other princes without 
 Jealosie is omitted in the 
 Gibson Manuscript. 
 
 with treasure is omitted in 
 the Gibson Manuscript. 
 
 Spedding suggests that this 
 masque may have been 
 a sequel to some former 
 device of the kind ; in 
 which Philautia, the 
 goddess of Self - Love, 
 had been represented as 
 addressing some persua- 
 sion to the Queen (pro- 
 bably against giving way 
 to her affedions for Ero- 
 philus) and had been 
 answered by her Squire. 
 
 extenuate = entertain. 
 
 when a man doth not forgett 
 so much as a circumstance, 
 men do thinke. — Gibson. 
 
 that are not merely pertinent. 
 — Gibson. 
 
 greate. But, Squior, what is thy m'' ende ? If to make y= prince 
 hap] pie whom he serues, lett the instruccons to employed men, y^relacons 
 of] Ambassadors, the treaties betwixte princes, and y^ accons of the 
 present] time, be the bookes he reads. Lett the orations of wise Princes or 
 experienced counsellors in Councell or Parleam', and the finall 
 sentences of graue and learned iudges in waightie and doubtfull 
 causes, be the leftures he frequentes. Lett the holding of affeccon in 
 confederates w*''out chardge, the frustrating of y'= attemptes of ene- 
 m]ies w"'out battailes, the winning of cheife ministers about other 
 princes w"'out Jealosie, the intituling of the Crowne to newe 
 possessions w'^'out showe of wronge, the filling of y^ Princes' cofers 
 w"" treasure w*out grudging, the suppressing of tumults and 
 seditions w"'out violence, the keeping of men in appetite w"* out 
 impacience, be the inventions he seekes out. Lett pollices & matters 
 of state be the cheifest, and almost onelie things he intendes. But if 
 he will beleeue Philautia, and seeke most his owne happines, he must 
 not of them embrace all kyndes, but make choice, and auoid all matte" 
 of perrill, of displeasure, and chardge, and turne them ouer to some nouice 
 that knowes not manacles from braceletts, burthens from roabes. 
 For himself, lett him seeke for matters of comodities and strengthe, 
 thoughe they be ioyned w"" envie. Lett him not trouble himself too 
 laboriously to sounde into any matters depely, or to execute any thing 
 exadllie ; but lett him make himself cuning rather in the humors & 
 driftes of persons, then in y* nature of busines & affaires. Of that 
 it sufficeth onelie to know so much as may make him able to make- 
 vse of other men's witts, and to make againe a smoothe and pleasing 
 reporte. Lett him extenuate y" ppositions of others, and even rather 
 lett him haue an eye to y^ by circustances then to y'= matter it selfe ; 
 for then he shall ever seeme to adde somew' of his owne ; and besydes, 
 when a man doth not forgett, men do thinke his witt doth supabbonde 
 for the substance. In his councells lett him not be confident, for that 
 will make him obnoxious to the successe ; but lett him follow y'^wisedome 
 of oracles, w"*" vttered y' w"*" euer might be applied to y" event. And 
 ever rather lett him take y^ syde w"'' is likeliest to be followed, then y' w"'' 
 is soundest and best,y'euerie thing may seeme to be carried by his d [irection. 
 To conclude, lett him be true to himself, & avoide all tedious reaches 
 of state, that are not nearlie ptinent to his pticular. And if he 
 will neades pursue his affeccon, and go on his course, w' can [so much 
 advaunce him in his owne way ? The merritt of warr is too [outwardly 
 glorious to be inwardly grateful!, and it is the exile of y^ [eye, which 
 looking wi] th such affeccon vpon thepidture, cannot but w"'inf [inite content- 
 ment behold] y-^ life. But when his m"' shall pceaue his [endeavours 
 are to become a true suppo] rter of her,a dischardge of care,a [watchman of her 
 person, a scholar of her wisdom] an instrum' of [her operation, and 
 a conduit of her virtue, this with his diligences, accesses, humility and 
 patience, may move her to give him further degrees and approaches to her 
 favour. So that I conclude I have traced him the way to that which 
 hath been granted to some few, amare et sapere, to love and be wise. 
 
6i 
 
 MS. Folio 51. 
 
 The Squyors speach. 
 
 Wandering Hermit, Storming Souldier, and hollow penman, [the enchant- 
 -tmg Orators of Philautia, mv""" haue attempted by yor high [charms 
 to turne resolued Erophilus into a statua depriued of accon, or [into 
 a vulture attending about deade bodies, or into a monster w'" [a double 
 harte; w"' infinite assurance, but w"" iust indignacon, and for[ced 
 pacience, I haue suffered you to bring in play yor whole forces. [For 
 I would not vouchsalfe to combate you one by one, as if I trusted [to the 
 goodnes of my breath and not to y'= goodnes of my strength, w"" [little 
 needeth the advantadge of yo^seuering, and much lesse of yoMis [agreeing. 
 Therfor, first, I would learne of you all w* assurance you haue of [the 
 fruit whereto you aspire, You (Father) that ptende truth & kno [wledge, 
 how are you assured that you adore not vaine cimereas and imagine [tions? 
 that in your high pspefls, when you see men wander vp & down, [that 
 they stande not indeed still in their place, and it is some smoke [or cloud 
 betweene you and them that moueth, or else the dazeling of your [own 
 eyes? Haue not manie w'='' take themselues inward counsellors w"" [nature 
 proued but idle beleeuers, that tould vs tales y' were no such matter ? 
 And, souldier, w' securitie haue you for theise vidlories & garlandes w""" 
 you pmise to yo' selfe ? Knowe you not many w'='' haue made pulsion 
 lawrell for the vi6lorie, and haue ben fayne to chaunge it w"'cipres for [the 
 funeralls ! Of many w"*" haue bespoken fame to sounde their triumphes 
 and haue ben glad to pray her sale nothing of them, and not to discouer 
 them in theyr flyghtes ? Corrupte Statsman, you that thinke by yo' 
 by engins and mocons to governe the wheele of fortune; knowe ye not y' 
 clockes cannot be long in temper, that Juglers are no longer in re- 
 -quest when their trickes and sleightes are once perceaued? Nay do you 
 not see that neuer any man made his owne cuning and pradlize 
 (w^out regarde of religion, honor, or morrall honesty) his foundacon 
 but he ouerbuilt himselfe, and in the ende made his house but a windf [all? 
 But giue ear now to the comparison of my m"condicion, I acknowledge 
 such a difference as is betweene the melting hailestone and y' solyde 
 pearjle. Indeede it seemeth to depende as the globe of y^ earth seemeth to h[ang 
 in] the ayre ; but yett it is firme and stable in itselfe. It is like a c [ube 
 or die] forme, w'='' tosse it or throwe it any way, it euer lighteth vpp [on 
 a square.] Is he denied his hopes of favo'^"' of come? He can resorte to 
 the] chaunce of contentm'= past ; Destiny cannot repeale y' w"'' is [past. 
 Doth he find the] acknowledgm' of his affeccon the greater ; [fortune 
 cannot have power over that] w"'' is w"'in. Naie his falls are [like the falls 
 of Antaeus; they renew his strength.] His clowdes are like the [clouds of 
 harvest, which make] the [sun break forth with greater force; his wanes and 
 changes are like the moon, whose globe is all light toward the sun when it is all 
 dark toward the world ; such is the excellancy of her nature and of his estate. 
 
 See Note on page 57. 
 hollow statesman. — Gibson. 
 
 I would hnow. — Gibson. 
 pretend to truth. — Gibson. 
 
 high prospect. — Gibson. 
 
 which moveth. — Gibson. 
 to be inward. — Gibson. 
 
 to exchange it. — Gibson. 
 
 by engins. The word by 
 
 should be deleted 
 do you not mark that clocks. 
 
 — Gibson. 
 
 regarde of is omitted in the 
 Gibson Manuscript. 
 
 and acknowledge. — Gibson. 
 
 denied the hopes. — Gibson. 
 
 his affection small. — Gibson. 
 
The Squyors speach. 
 
 62 
 
 MS. Folio 52. 
 
 Sec Note on p. 57. 
 
 in a wilderness of variety, . . . 
 you are as a man rich in 
 pictures, medals. — Gibson. 
 
 weat = is weak. 
 
 pearles = peerless. 
 
 come out (man of war) you 
 must ever he in noise. — 
 Gibson. 
 
 so deprived. — Gibson. 
 
 exercise her lover. — Gibson. 
 
 outward person. — Gibson. 
 servitudes. — Gibson. 
 
 of your assurance and of your 
 values. — Gibson. 
 
 did yield /m'»».— Gibson. 
 
 flourishing reign. In thank- 
 fulness whereof— Gibson. 
 
 the receiving 
 Gibson. 
 
 instructions.- 
 
 Attende you beadesman of the Muses, you take yor pleasure in wit- 
 nesses of varietie ; but it is but of shadowes. You are a man richt in 
 pia] ures, mettalls, and christalls. Yor minde is as of water w'='' taketh 
 all] fourmes and impressions, but weat of substance. Will you .compare 
 shadowes w* bodies, piftures w* life, the varietie of many bewties 
 with y= pearles excellencie of one? Such is y" comparison betweene 
 knowledge and loue. Some one man of warr must euer be in noyse. You 
 will giue lawes, and advaunce forces, and trouble natios, and remoue 
 the landmarks of kingdomes, and hunt men, and pen tragedies in 
 bloude: and that w'^'' is worst of all, make all y* vertues accessarie to 
 your bloudshed. Hath y ^ pradtise of force depriued you of the vse of reason ? 
 as that you will compare y'= interrupcon of societie w"* y* perfeccon of 
 societie, the conquestes of bodies w*y* conquestes of spiritts, y' terrestriall 
 fyre w"='' destroyeth and dissolueth, w* the celestiall w"*" quickeneth 
 and giueth life ? Such is the comparison between the souldier & y* louer. 
 And as for you, vntrue polliticke, but trewest bondman to Philauiia, 
 you that psume to bynde occasion, and overworke fortune, I would ask 
 you but one question. Did euer any Ladie (hard to please, or disposed to ex- 
 ercise her loue) enioyne him so harde tasks & comandem'^ as Philautia 
 exafteth of you ? While yor life is nothing but a continuall adling 
 vpon a stage ; and that yor minde must serue your humor, and yett yo" 
 outward parts must serue your endes ; so that you carrie in one pson 
 two seuerall seruitors to two contrarie m^. But I will leaue you 
 to the scorne of that m™ whom you vndertake to governe ; y' is, to fortune, 
 to whom Philautia hath bounde you. And yett, you comissioners of Phi- 
 lautia, I will proceede one degree further. If I allowed both your assurance 
 and yor valewes as you haue sett them, may not my m' enioye his 
 owne felicitie, and haue all yors for advantadge ? I meane not y' hee should 
 deuide himselfe in both pursuites, as in yor fainting tales towardes the 
 conclusyon you did yelde to him. But because all theise are in the handes 
 of his m"^ more fullie to bestowe then they can be attayned by your 
 addresses, knowledge, fame, and fortune. For the Muses they are tributarie 
 to her Ma"° for y* greate libertie they haue enioyed in her kingdome 
 during her most florishing time. In regarde wherof they haue ad- 
 orned and accomplished her w* the guiftes of all y" sisters. W library 
 can present such a storie of great accons as hir Ma"* carrieth [in her 
 royall breast by the often returne of this happie daie ? W worthie 
 or favorite of the Muses is not familiar w"" her ? or w' language 
 the] Muses haue ben vsed to speake is vnknowen vnto her ? Th [erefore 
 the he] aring her, the obseruing her, the reasoning, the instruccon [from 
 her may] be to Erophile a lecture exceeding all deade monum" [of the 
 Muses. For Fame] , can all the exploytes of warr winne him s [uch a title, 
 as to have the name] favorite and selefted seruante to s [uch a Queen ? For 
 Fortune, can any insolent politique promise to himself such a fortune by 
 making his own way, as the excellency of her nature cannot deny to a care- 
 ful, obsequious, and dutiful servant ? And if he could, were it equal honour 
 
The Squyors speach. 
 
 63 
 
 MS, Folio 53. 
 
 to attaine it by a shape of cuning, then by the guifte of such a ha [nd. 
 Therfor ErophiVs resolution is fixed : He renounceth Philautia, and [all her 
 inchauntem'^ He expefteth nothing and all things from his m"^ [For her 
 recreacon he will conferr w"' the Muses ; for her defence and honor [he will 
 sacrifize his life in the warres, hoping to be embalmed in the swe [et odours 
 of her remembraunce ; to her service he will consecrate all his [watch 
 full indevors ; and will euer beare in his hearte, the pidlure of her beau- 
 tie, in his accons of her will, and in his fortune of her grace and favor. 
 
 See Note on page 57. 
 by a shop of cunning. — Gib- 
 son. 
 
 He expecteth nothing and all 
 things from his mistress. 
 This is omitted from the 
 Gibson Manuscript. 
 
ffor the Earle of Sussex at y^ tilt, an : 96. 
 
 MS. Folio 53-54. 
 
 JN OTHING is known of the authorship of this short speech, and no other 
 copy has been found either in print or in manuscript. The date [1596] on 
 which it was spoken has been preserved, and so it naturally follows the 
 preceding speeches, which were delivered in November, 1595. Mr. Spedding 
 suggests that "this is a speech made to be spoken at one of the Court 
 triumphs, and is written in the artificial style which it was the fashion to 
 affecft in them ; which makes it the more difficult to supply the lost words. 
 It is addressed to the Queen, and meant apparently to convey an apology 
 for the absence of the Earl of Essex, who was very likely keeping aloof in 
 one of his fits of discontent." 
 
 The speaker was Robert Ratcliffe, son of Henry Ratcliffe, the fourth 
 Earl, he was born circa 1570, and succeeded as fifth Earl of Sussex in 1593. 
 
 (64) 
 
ffor the Earle of Sussex at y' tilt 
 
 MS. Folio 53. 
 
 an : g6 
 
 Most devine and more mightie then y' Queene to whom all other Qu [eenes 
 are subiect, I meane fortune, y' making chaunce as firme as cert [ainty : 
 turnes each to other that both may be neyther. Y' in being y'= slaue of [her 
 who endes the misteries of her rule, commaundes death to beginne the 
 takeing away y" inioyers of ryches, bestowes them on others that can so 
 possesse them. Even she, most absolute Princesse, of her, hath made [the 
 knight himself before he was himselfe, who not able to rule her bounty 
 at y" greatest, now being lesse, they rule him, and he is become y" servant 
 of that he is lorde. So that in his power his servuice is limitted, while 
 his will is infinite. Often and most movinglie hath the graue genious 
 of yor Ma'^ most faithfuU servant his vncle, and of his honoured father un 
 -chaungeablie appeared vnto him, still obiecting to his yong & wandering 
 eyes the auncient and constant honor of his howse ; but sustaining in [most 
 of his accons, repulse of his indev"^ At last they invited sickenes, who is 
 strongest in weaknes, to apphe himself to his imperfeccons, and in sub [iedting 
 his sensuall parte, to giue his soule y^ conquest and mannadge of his acts. 
 By whose forcible importunitie, he then vowed to theise noble appariti [ons 
 vpon his recouerie, to retire himself so long from himselfe, till he loste [him 
 selfe in them, and then come forward to their perfeccions, In signe of [w'^'' 
 vnfained conversion he was pacient that sickenes should alter his forme, 
 as their counsells had reformed his minde. The woundes of whose disease 
 still sticking in his forheade, shalbe no maimes vnto his favor, yf yo [ur 
 high bounties intitle them the markes of yors. Then most deare sover [aigne 
 notw"'standing absence in affeccon will still sitt in yor servaunts bosom, 
 like heate and cold in the wombe of thunder, and be readie in concealm [ent 
 of his loue to lighten out his life w"' impulsion. Voutesalfe the formal [ity 
 of an] easie suite of his retreate, that in the humble rooflfe of a poore Ho [use 
 he may] liue as secure w* out pompe, as heere he was pompous w"' [out 
 pollicie, y' diredts favor, and state y' exades ryches ; w"* 
 dismisse him from personall attendaunce. Therfor making a 
 thoughts of yor favors past and w'soeuer present grace 
 to imparte in depth of his vncheerfuU sollitude he will 
 com forte as the eternall fountaine from whence it springs 
 he humblie resignes his consecrated launce 
 it offers vp his hearte for pledge 
 
 {The MS. is imperfect, several lines destroyed.) 
 
 MS. Folio 54. 
 feared and beloued most sweet and gratious soveraigne, to seeke 
 excuses for this my boldnes, and to arme the acknowledging the acknowled 
 reasons for might better showe. I knewe I did amisse amisse then ami 
 deminishe the attempt especiallie in your iudgm', who are able liuelie to looke 
 the thing downe y' were follie in your self scandale 
 
 in your h refusing 
 
 h himself 
 
 h h h h armes 
 he h h h h h ar armes 
 thirty 
 
 (65) 
 
 y' = that 
 
 obiecting = plainly present- 
 ing. 
 
 Note. — These five lines are- 
 unintelligible as they are 
 written. Probably the 
 writer, after making mis- 
 takes in lines two and 
 three, decided to rewrite 
 the page, and used the 
 paper for scribbling pur- 
 poses. The writing is. 
 much smaller than that 
 upon Folio S3, although 
 by the same hand. 
 
Letter to Queeji Elizabeth, dissuading her from 
 marrying the Duke of Anjou. 
 
 Written in 1580 by Sir Philip Sidney. 
 
 MS. Folio 55-61. 
 
 This letter was written by Sir Philip Sidney in opposition to the proposed 
 marriage of the Queen with the Duke of Anjou, the younger son of 
 Catherine de' Medici. Negotiations for the marriage began in 1571, when the 
 suitor (who was then Duke d'Alencon) was not seventeen years of age, and 
 Elizabeth was forty ; they continued for thirteen years, and were only 
 terminated by the death of the prince in 1584. 
 
 It has never been determined whether this lengthy courtship was mere 
 a(5ling on Elizabeth's part, or a case of absolute infatuation. The prince was 
 a dwarf and scarred with smallpox. His face was disfigured and his nose 
 had a double enlargement at its end, which prompted the wits to say that it 
 -was a symbol of his double-facedness. His appearance, as he sat, huddled 
 up in a chair, was so frog-like that the Queen gave him the nickname of 
 *' petite grenouilte," This he did not resent, as a letter (now preserved at 
 Hatfield) from Simier, the French ambassador, proves. Mr. Hume gives the 
 following translation of it in his book, "The Courtships of Queen Elizabeth": 
 
 "Madame, I must tell you how little rest your frog had last night, 
 he has done nothing but sigh and weep. At eight o'clock he made me 
 get up to discourse to him of your divine beauty, and of his great grief 
 at leaving your Majesty, the jailor of his heart, the mistress of his liberty. 
 Only his hope that he will soon see you again gives him some consolation. 
 He has sworn to me a thousand times, but for that he would not wish to 
 live another quarter of an hour. Do not then be so cruel to him, as he 
 desires only to preserve his life so long as you are kind. Before he was 
 out of bed he seized the pen and has ordered me to send off Captain 
 Bourg with this, pending my own return to you, which will be as soon as 
 I see him at sea with his sails spread. The weather is beautiful and the 
 sea calm and I expedl he will have a fair passage, unless he swell the 
 waves with the abundance of his tears. The monkey takes the liberty 
 of humbly kissing your lovely hands." 
 
 (66) 
 
67 
 
 It can well be understood that such a marriage would provoke opposition. 
 Many pamphlets were printed, vehemently denouncing the alliance, and the 
 Queen, in return, issued a fierce proclamation calling them "seditious and 
 lewde." John Stubbs, the author of one of them entitled "The discovery of 
 a gaping gulf wherein England is likely to be swallowed by another French 
 Marriage," had his right hand cut off for writing it, and was imprisoned for 
 eighteen months. 
 
 It was under these circumstances that Sidney penned the remarkable 
 letter here printed, and to Elizabeth's credit it must be said that she received 
 his nobly-worded remonstrance with less displeasure than could have been 
 expe«5ted. His punishment was exclusion from the Court for a year. He 
 spent the time in the country (according to Aubrey, at Ivychurch), and 
 solaced himself with literature, for to this date is attributed the composition 
 of his great work, the "Arcadia." 
 
 From 1580 to 1584 the letter had a limited circulation in manuscript. It 
 first appeared in print in the "Cabala, sive Scrinia Sacra," published in 1663, 
 but this must have been printed from a very imperfecSt copy, as it contains 
 many blunders. The missing portions of the letter have been supplied from 
 the edition of Sidney's Miscellaneous Works, edited by Mr. William Gray 
 in 1893. 
 
Sidney's letter to the Queen. 
 
 68 
 
 MS. Folio 55. 
 
 TSToTE. — Thealternate read- 
 ings from Mr. Gray's 
 edition are marked Gray. 
 
 Inn most honoring thy vertue 
 has been interlined by 
 another hand. 
 
 The first showe should be 
 deleted. 
 
 •who bein^ able to discerne 
 lively into the nature of the 
 thing done, it were folly to 
 hope by laying on, etc. — 
 Gray. 
 
 The word waightie has been 
 interlined by another 
 hand. Gray reads im- 
 portant. 
 
 I confess shallow, but coming 
 from the deep wellspring 
 of most loyal affection. — 
 Gray. 
 
 ihen will I answer. — Gray. 
 
 wont to call over them. — 
 
 Gray. 
 what needed they to die so 
 
 cruelly. — Gray. 
 
 hope is omitted by Gray. 
 
 the more dangerous. — Gray. 
 
 agent and omitted by Gray. 
 
 without being thrust at. 
 Gray. 
 
 The second yo'' subiects 
 should be deleted. 
 
 Mos' feared and beloued, most sweat and gratious Lady. 
 
 Inn mosth honoring thy vertue 
 Most feared and beloued, most sweete and gratious soueraigne. To s [eek 
 out excuses of this my boldnes, and to arme the acknowledging of a [fault 
 w"" reasons showe for it, might better showe I knewe I did amisse, [than 
 
 way 
 
 any ^diminish the attempt, especiallie in yo'^judgm', w"*" is able liuelie [to 
 discerne into the thing donne, y' were follie w"'laieing on better coul [ours, 
 to make it more acceptable. Therfor carrieng no other braunch of inter- 
 -cession, then the laieng me at yo' feet; nor no other insinuation eyther for 
 attention or pardon, but true vowed sacrifice of vnfained loue; I will, [in 
 simple and direct termes (as hoping they shall onelie come toyo'mer [ciful 
 
 waightie 
 
 eyes,) sett downe the ouerflowingof my minde in this most^matter, import[ing 
 as I thinke, the continuance of yo'saftetie; and as I knowe,the ioyes of [my 
 life. And because my wordes (shallow I must needes confesse, but coming 
 from the wellspring of, my loiall affeccon) haue deliuered to yo" gratious 
 eares w'is the some of my trauelling thoughts therein, I will but onelie declare 
 w' be the reasons that make me thinke the marriadge of Mounsieier to be vn- 
 proffitable for you ; then will aunswer, the obiections of those feares y* might 
 procure so violent a refuge. The good and evill that may come to you by [it 
 must be considered eyther according to yo' estate or persone. To yo'estate, 
 w'can be added to the being an absolute borne, and accordinglie respected, 
 Princesse ? But as they say the Irishmen are wont to tell them that die 
 that " they are ryche, they are faire.w'neede they dye : sotrewlie": notvn- 
 fittlie to you, endowed w"" felicities aboue all others, a man might well 
 aske "whie in such a calme you chaunge course; to so helthful a boddie 
 to applye so needelesse a medicine ; w' hope can recompence so hazardous 
 an adventure." Hazardous indeed were it for nothing but the altring 
 of a well maintained and well approued trade : for, as in bodies natu [ral 
 any sudden chaunge is not w"'out perrill ; so to this bodie polliticke 
 whereof you are the onelie heade, it is so much the more as there are 
 more humors to receyue hurtfull impression. But hazardes are 
 the more to be regarded, when the nature of the agent and patient are 
 fittly composed to occasion them. The patient I account the realme, the 
 agent Mounsieur and his followers ; for neither outward accidents do 
 much prevaile against a true inward strength; nor inwarde weaknes 
 lightlie subuert itselfe w^ut being hurt by some outward force. [Your 
 inward force (for as for yo' treasure the sinewes of yo' crowne, [your Majesty 
 doth best and onelie know) consisteth in yo' subie6ls, yo' subiedts [generally 
 vnexpert in warlike defence ; and as they are diuided into [mighty 
 faccons, (and faccions bounde vppon the neuer looseable knot [of religion) 
 the] one is of them, to whom yo' ma"^ hath graunted the [free exercise 
 of the eternal] truth ; w"" theise by the continuaunce of [time, by the mul- 
 titude of them, by the] principal! offices and strength [they hold, and lastly 
 by your dealings both at hoir.e] and abroade w"" the [adverse party: your 
 state is so entrapped, as it were impossible for you, without excessive 
 trouble, to pull yourself out of the party so long maintained. For such a course 
 once taken in hand, is not so much unlike a ship in a tempest, which how 
 
Sidney's letter to the Queen. 
 
 69 
 
 MS. Folio 56- 
 
 daungerouslie soeuerit be beaten w"^waues,yet is there no saftetie no^succo^ 
 w^out. Theise, therfor , as their soules Hue by yo"^ happie goverm', so are they 
 euer yo' cheif, if not yo^ sole, strength : theise, howsoeuer the necessetie of 
 human] life make them lacke, yet can they not look for better condition then 
 they psentlie enioy : theise, how their harts wilbe gald if not alienated, when 
 they shall see you take to a housband, a ffrench man and Papist, in whom 
 (howsoeuer fine witts male find evasion of daunger by painted excuses,) 
 
 • . t ur 
 
 the verie comons know that he is the^verie Jesabell of o^adge: that he is y^ 
 brother of him that made oblation of his owne sisters marriadge, the easier 
 to makes massacres of all sexes, that he himself contrarie to his oathe 
 to his owne promise, and against all gratefuUnes, having had his libertie 
 and principall estate chiefelie by theHugenottes' meanes did sacke LaCharitie, 
 and vtterlie fire it w"" fire and sworde. This, I say, euen at first sight, giues 
 occasion to all the true religious, to abhore such a M', and consequentlie to 
 diminishe much of that hopefull loue they haue long held to you. The other 
 faccon, most rightlie, indeed, to be called a faccon, is that of the Papists: men 
 whose spirritts are full of anguish, some being forced to oathes they accont 
 dampnable ; some having their ambition stopped, because they are not in the 
 way of advauncem' ; some in prison and disgrace ; some whose best frendes 
 are banisht pradtisers; manie judging you rightfullie disabled by the Popes 
 excommuicon ; all burthened w"" the wayght of their consciences; men of 
 great nombers, of greate riches, because the affaires of state haue not 
 layn vpon them : men of vnited mindes (as all men y' deeme themselues 
 oppressed are). W"" theise I would willinglie ioyne all discontented persons, 
 such as want and disgrace keepes lower then they haue sett their harts ; 
 such as are resolued w' to looke for at yo' handes ; such as Csesar saith, 
 '^quibus opus est bello civili," and are of Othus mind, "malle in acie quam 
 in cadere." Theise be men by somuch the more to be doubted, because, as 
 they do embrace all estates ; so are they commonlie of the brauest and 
 wakefullest sorte ; and that know the advantadge of the world most. 
 This double race of people, how their mindes haue stoode ; the Northron 
 rebellion, and diuers other practices, haue well taught you : w"" if it 
 be said, it did not preuaile, it is trew indeed : for if they had preuaild, 
 it were to late now to deliberate. But, at this pnt, they want nothing 
 so much as a heade, who in effecte needs but receiue their instruccons : 
 since they may do mischiefe enoughe but w* his countenance. [Let the 
 singing man in kyng H: the fourths time. Perky n Warbecke, [in your 
 graundfathers time ; but of all, the most liuelie and proper [is that of 
 Lewes, the fi-rench kings sonne, in k. H. the 3 time: who h [aving at 
 all no show of title, yett did halfe the nobilitie and more, to swear 
 direct] fealtie and vassalladge ; and deliuered the strongest [holds unto him. 
 Let these be] sufficient to proue. that occasion causeth mindes to [stranger 
 things] then euer would haue ben imagined. If then [the affectionate 
 side have their affe] con weakened, and the discontented a gap [to utter their 
 discontent : I think it will seem an ill preparative for the patients (I 
 mean your estate) to a great sickness. 
 
 Now the agent party, which is Monsieur; whether he be not apt to 
 work on the disadvantage of your estate, he is to be judged by his will 
 and power : his will to be as full of light ambition as is possible 
 
 See Note on previous page. 
 
 howsoever fine wits may find 
 farther dealings or painted 
 excuses — the very common 
 people well know this, that 
 he is the son of a Jezebel of 
 our age.— Gray, 
 
 massacres of our brethren in 
 belief, that he himself con- 
 trary to his promise and all 
 gratefulness, etc. — Gray. 
 
 some being infested by others 
 whom they account dam- 
 nable. — Gray. 
 
 many thinking you are an 
 usurper : many thinking 
 also you had disannulled 
 your right, because of the 
 Pope's excommunication. — 
 Gray. 
 
 and are of his mind, "malo 
 in acie, quam in foro ca- 
 dere." — Gray. 
 
 This double rank. — Gray. 
 
 the singing man. This was 
 the priest John Mag 
 dalen, chaplain to Rich- 
 ard II. 
 
 yet did he cause. — Gray. 
 
 minde and scope to stranger. 
 — Gray. 
 
Sidney's letter to the Queen. 
 
 70 
 
 MS. Folio 57. 
 
 See Note on page 68. 
 
 against his brother, his thrust- 
 ing, etc. — Gray. 
 
 There is something wrong 
 in this line. Gray reads 
 evil contentment a ground, 
 of any rebellion ; who have 
 seen no common wealth but 
 in factidn, etc. But this 
 must be incorrect. 
 
 should be content to come to 
 be. — Gray. 
 
 affected members.— Gray. 
 popular nation.— Gray. 
 
 Neither is King Philip's mar- 
 riage here any example. — 
 Gray. 
 
 K. H. = King Henry. 
 
 hath made vain. — Gray. 
 
 danger to your estate royal. 
 And as to your person, in 
 the scale of your happiness, 
 etc. — Gray. 
 
 the universall doubt, the race's 
 unfaithfulness.— Gray. 
 
 far less reputation than his 
 mind will well brook having 
 no other royalty to counten- 
 ance him with. — Gray. 
 
 The interlineation is from 
 the Cabala. There was 
 not room enough for so 
 many words in this 
 manuscript, unless it was 
 written in the margin. 
 
 besides the ffrench disposition, and his owne education ; his vnconstant [temper 
 against, his thrusting himself into the Lowe Countrie matters ; his some [time 
 seeking the Kyng of Spaine his daughter, and sometimes yo' Ma' ; [are 
 euident tokens and testimonies and his being carried away w"" every [wind 
 of hope. Taught to loue greatnes anie way gotten, and having for the [motioners 
 and ministers of his minde, onehe such younge men as haue showed [they think 
 euill discontentm' a sufficient ground of any rebelHon, whose adge gi [ 
 to have seen no commonwealth but in faccon ; and diuers of w"*" have [defiled 
 their handes in odious murthers. W"' such fauncies and favorites [what is to 
 be hoped ; that he wilbe conteyned w'^'in the limitts of yo' conditions. Since [in 
 truth he that cannot be content to be the second person in ffraunce, & heir 
 apparaunte, would come to be the second person in England where he [should 
 no way ptende soueraignetie. His power I imagine, is not to be [despised, 
 since he is come into a countrie, where the waie of euill doing wilbe [presented 
 vnto him ; where there wantes nothing but a heade, to drawe together [all the ill 
 affedted humors. Himself a prince of great revenewes, of the most 
 populous nation of the world, full of souldiers, and such as serue [without 
 paie, if they may haue showe of spoile. And w"'out question shall [have 
 his brother, in suche a case readie to healpe him, as well for ould revenge, [as 
 to diuerte him from troubling ffraunce, and to deliuer his owne country 
 from evill humors. Neither is K. Phi. of o"' adge heerein anie example ; 
 seeing it was betweene two of one relligion, so that he in England, stoode 
 onelie upon her strengthe, and had abroade K. H. of ffraunce, readie to 
 empeach anie enterprize he should make for his greatnes that waie. [And 
 yett w* euents time would haue brought forth of that marriadge, your [most 
 blessed raigne hath made voide all such consideracons. But things 
 holden in the psent state, I thinke I maie iustlie conclude that yo' [country 
 as well being by long peace, and fruites of peace, as by the poison of [division 
 where the faithfull shall by this meanes be wounded & the contrarie [enabled and 
 made fitt to receyue hurt ; and Mounsieur being euerie waie apt to vse [the 
 occacon to hurte, there can almost happion no worldlie thing of more [eminent 
 daunger to yo"^ estate roiall and to yo' person. The verie scale of y*^ hap [piness, 
 w' may there come to ballaunce the losse of so honorable a cons [tancy : 
 trewlie, yett I perceiue not. I will not shew so much mallice as to [object 
 the vniuersall doubt of all that races vnhelthfullnes ; neither will I [lay to 
 
 hot, 
 
 his] chardge the aguelike manner of proceeding, sometimes^sometimes cold, [in 
 the time] of pursuite w"*" alwaies rightlie is most fervent ; and I will tem [per 
 
 in 
 
 my spee]ches from anie other vnreuerent disgracing of him,^pticuler [(though 
 they might] be neuer so trew) this onelie will I sale, if he do come hither, [he must 
 live here in] farr meaner reputacon then his minde will brooke having [no 
 other royal] tie to content him w"* ; or else you must deliuer him [the keys of 
 your kingdom,] and Hue at his discreacon ; or lastlie he most sep [erate himself 
 
 . , J • 1 - r 1 1 hxve [I heard you with 
 
 With more dishonour and further disuni] ting of harte then euer before. Ofte^ 
 protestation say that] no priuate pleasure nor [self affedtion could lead you 
 to it ; but if it be both unprofitable for your kingdom, and unpleasant to 
 you, certainly it were a dear purchase of repentance. Nothing can it add 
 unto you, but the bliss of children, which I confess, were a most unspeak- 
 able comfort ; but yet no more appertaining unto him, than to any other 
 
Sidney's letter to the Queen. 
 
 71 
 
 MS. Folio 58. 
 
 son. — Gray. 
 
 the easing of your Majesty of 
 cases.— Gray. 
 
 most sweet words deliver : fear 
 of standing alone in res- 
 pect of foreign dealings; and 
 in them from whom you 
 should have respect, doubt 
 of contempt. Truly stand- 
 ing alone, with good fore- 
 sight of government both of 
 peace and warlike defence, 
 etc.— Gray. 
 
 [to whom the height of all good haps, were allotted to be your husband ; and] see Note on page 68. 
 
 there] for I maie assuredlie aflirme that w'good soeuer maie followe marriadge, 
 
 is] no more his then anie bodies; but the evills and daungers are perticulerlie peculiarly annexed to his pir- 
 
 his person and condicon. For as for the inriching yo' countrie w"' treasure, 
 
 which] eyther he hath not, or hath otherwise to bestowe it; nor the staieng of 
 
 your] servauntes mindes w"" new expeftacons and liberalitie, w"'' is more 
 
 daungerous than fruitful!; or the easing your Ma"^ of yo"^ cares, w'='' is as much 
 
 as to say] as the easing you to be a Queene and Soveraigne. I thinke euerie bodie 
 
 pe] rciues this waie to be eyther full of hurt or voide of helpe. Now resteth 
 
 to] consider w' be the motives of this sodaine chaunge, as I haue heard you in 
 
 m] oft wordes deliuer : feare of standing alone in respe£le, feare of contempte. 
 
 Trewlie as standing alone, w"' good foresight both of peace goverm' and 
 
 warr defence, is the honorablest that can be to a well established monarchic. 
 
 Those buildmgseuerbeingmost sure anddurablew''''leaningon^other,remainefirme 
 vpon their owne foundations. So yett in the pticularities of yo"^ estate psent, I will 
 not denie altogether denie but a trewe Masinissa were verie fitt to countermine the 
 enterprizes of mightie Carthage: but how this generall truth cann be applied to 
 Mounsieur, in truth I perceiue not. The wisest that haue giuen best rules, 
 w"" whom strongest leagues are to be made, haue ever said that it must be be- 
 tweene such as eyther vehement desire of a third thing, or a vehement feare 
 doth knitt their mindes together. Desire is counted the weaker bond, but yett that 
 knott so manie princes together to the expedition of the HoUie Lande, that 
 vnited the inuincible K. H. 5. w'" Phillipp the good Duke of Burgundy, the 
 one desirous to winne the Crowne of Fraunce from the Dolphin, the other 
 desirous to reuenge his fathers mother upon the Dolphin : both w'='' tended 
 to one. That coupled Lewes the 12 and Ferdinando of Naples, to the conquest 
 of Naples. Of feare theire are innuerable examples : Mounsieur's desires & 
 yo", how they should meet in publicke matters, I thinke no oracle can tell, 
 for as the Geometricians say, parallells because they maintaine generall 
 diuers, can neuer meete, so trewlie, two, having in their beginings diuerse 
 principles, to bring forth one doftrine, surelie must be some miracle. He 
 of the Romish religion; and therfor if he be a man, must needes haue that man- 
 licke disposition, to desire all men be of his minde. You, the erector and defender 
 of the contrarie, and the onelie sunne that dazeleth their eyes. He French, 
 and desiring to make Fraunce great: yo' Ma'- English, and desiring 
 
 but yet that bound so many 
 princes to the Holy Land. 
 — Gray. 
 
 K.H.5 = King Henry V. 
 
 Dolphin = Dauphin. 
 
 his father's murder.— Gray. 
 
 Ferdinando of Naples, should 
 read of Spain. 
 
 maintain divers lines can never 
 join. — Gray. 
 
 thinge 
 
 He both ly own fancy and 
 youthful governors. — Gray. 
 
 noTlesse than that Fraunce should waxe great. He both by his owne fancy 
 and youthfuU goverm', embracing all ambitious hopes having Alexa [nder's 
 image in his heade, but perchaunce ill painted. Yo^ Ma"« w'" excellent 
 vir]tue taught w'rshould hope, and by no lesse wisedome w' you may [hope. 
 W"' a counsell renowned ouer all christians for their well temp [ered ^ «...«« ./.w..-^-.-Gkay. 
 minds,] having sett the vttermost of their ambition in your favour, and [the 
 study of] their soules in yo' safetie. Feare hath as little shew of reason [or out- 
 ward appear]aunce to match you together. For in this state he is in, w[hom should 
 he fear,— his] brother? whie alas his brother is afraide of him, [smce the Kmg 
 of Navarre is to] stepp into his place. Neither can his brother [be safer by his 
 fall, but he] may be the greater by his brothers; whereto, [whether you will 
 be an accessary you are to] determine. The King of [Spain certamly 
 cannot make war upon him, but it must be upon all the crown of France, 
 
Sidney's letter to the Queen. 
 
 72 
 
 MS. Folio 59. 
 
 See Note on page 68. 
 
 if I had heard it proceed from 
 out of your mouth, which 
 of all other I do most dearly 
 reverence. — Gray. 
 
 danger of contempt, to whom 
 fortunes are tied by so long 
 descent, etc. — Gray. 
 
 found fit to blaze you by. — 
 
 Gray. 
 The sentence from As I io 
 
 followe thereof is omitted 
 
 by Gray. 
 
 the effects, as you term them, 
 appear by cherishing some 
 abominable speeches which 
 some hellish minds have 
 uttered. — Gray. 
 
 for it useth men. — Gray. 
 
 brings forth, certainly the 
 length of time, rather 
 breeds a mind to think 
 there is no other life but in 
 it, than that there is any 
 tediousness in so fruitful a 
 government. — Gray. 
 
 and your Majesty shall find. 
 
 — Gray. 
 A sfor the uncertainty — Gray. 
 
 common reason and profit 
 would teach us. — Gray. 
 
 said if your Majesty's speech 
 of the rising son. — Gray. 
 
 according to the flourish and 
 breath, — Gray. 
 
 [which is no hkehhood he will do. Well may Monsieur (as he hath 
 done) seek to enlarge the bounds of France upon this state : 
 which likewise, whether it be safe for you to be a countenance] 
 unto, cannot anie waie be seen. So that if neither feare nor desire be such [in him 
 as are to binde anie publicke fastness, it may be said, that the onelie fort [ress of 
 this marriadge is his priuate affeccon, a thing to incident to yo'' person 
 laieng it vp in such gordian knotts. The other objeccon of contempt in [your 
 subiedls I do assure y" Ma"°, if that I had not heard it proceede from [you 
 I do of all the rest most dearelie reuerence, it would as soone (consider [ing the 
 perfeccons of yo'' bodie and minde [have] sett to all mens eyes by the height [of your 
 estate) haue come to the possibilitie of my imagination, as if one [should 
 haue tould me on the contrarie side, that the greatest princesse of the [world 
 should envie the estate of some poore deformed pilgrime. W is w"'in y [ou, or 
 w"'out, that can possibly fall into the degree of contempte, to whom [our for- 
 tunes are tied by twoo long discent of yo" roill auncesto" ? Ou'' mindes [rejoice 
 w"" experience of yo'' inward vertues and o' eyes delighted w"" the sight [of you. 
 But because yo" owne eyes cannot see yo" selfe, neither can there be in the [world 
 any example founde fitt to ghuesse you by, I beseeche you to weigh the [grounds 
 thereof. As I imagine you suppose to naturall causes thereof, and two [efFedls 
 you thinke will followe thereof. The naturall causes be the length of gov [ernment, 
 and vncertaintie of succession ; the effedtes be as you terme it looking to y^ [face 
 of the sunne and some abhominable speaches certaine hellishe minded people 
 haue vttered. The longer a good prince doth raigne, ytt is certaine the more he 
 is estemed ; for there is no man that euer is wearie of well being. And good, 
 encreased to good, makes the same good greater and stronger, for it vseth them 
 to knowe no other course, when eyther men are borne in the time, and so 
 neuer saw other; or haue spent most part of their floreshing time, and so haue 
 no ioye to seeke other. In evill princes, abuse growing upon abuse, accor[ding 
 to the nature of evill, w"" increase of time, ruins itself. But in so r[are 
 a goverm', where neighbours fyres giues vs light to see o" owne quietnes, [where 
 
 or 
 
 nothing wants, that trew adminestracon of iustice brings forth ; ^ rather breed [s 
 a mind to thinke on no other life then but that then anie tediousenes of so fruit 
 full sweetenes. Examples of good princes do euer confirme this, who, the 
 longer they raigned, the deeper still they see into their subiedles' hartes. Ne [ither 
 will I trouble you w'^ examples, being so manie and so manifest. Looke in [to 
 yo" owne estate, see how willinglie they graunte, and how dutifullie they p[ay 
 such subsidies as you demaunde of them : how they are now lesse troublesome 
 to yo" Ma"^ in certaine requests, than they were in the begining of yo" raio-ne ; 
 and you shall fynd yo" ma"° hath a people more then euer denoted to you. 
 As for certaintie of succession, althoughe for my owne part I haue cast y'= [ut- 
 -termost anchor of my hope : yet for England's sake, I would not sale aniething 
 again] st such a determinacon ; but that vncertaine good should bring contem [pt 
 to a cer] taine good, I thinke it is beyonde all reache of reason ; naie, trewlie [if 
 there] were no other cause (as theire are infinite) verie common pffitt 
 would teach us] to hould that deare Jewell deare, the losse of w-^" should bring [us 
 to we know not what ; J w''" likewise is to be said of the rising sonne ; a speach 
 first used in Rome, by] Scilla, as then a populer Cittie where indeed ,[men were 
 to rise and fall, ac [cording to the fooHshe breath of manie headed [con- 
 fusion. But in so lineal a monar-] chie, where euer the infants [sucke the love of 
 
73 
 Sidney's letter to the Queen. 
 
 MS. Folio 60'. 
 
 [their rightful prince, who would leaue the beams of so fair a sun, for the 
 dreadful expeftation of a divided company of stars. Virtue and justice are 
 the only bonds of people's love ; and as for that point, many princes have 
 lost their crowns, whose own children were manifest successors; and some 
 that had their own children used as instruments of their ruin ; not that I] 
 deny] the blisse of children but onelie to show religion and equitie to be of 
 themselues sufficcent stale. Neyther is the loue was borne you anie fitt 
 addiccon herevnto ; for the oppression of that religion, lined in mapie 
 mens harts, you were knowen to be the favorer. By her losse was the excellentst 
 one to succeede ; by you all blindenes light upon a time, that sees not her 
 misery] . Lastlie, and most properlie to this purpose, she had made an odious 
 match w* a straunger (w'='' is now in question whether your Ma"^ should 
 do] or noe) so that if your subieftes do at this psent looke to any afterchaunpe, 
 it] is but as the pilott to the shipboate, if his shipp should perish ; driuen 
 by] extremitie to the one, but as long as he can w'" his life, tendring the other. 
 And this I sale, not onelie for the louelie partes w""" are in you ; but euen for 
 their owne sakes, since they must needes forsee w' tempest threatens them. 
 The last proofe of this contempt, should be the venimous matter, certaine harts 
 impostunied w"" wickednes should vtter against you. Certainelie not to be 
 evil) spooken of, neyther Christ's hollines nor Caesars might could ^warrant anie; 
 there b] eing for that no other rule but to doe soe, that they may not iustlie sale euill 
 of you ;] w'='' whether your Ma"=hath not done, I leaue it you, to the sincerenes of 
 your conscience, and wisedome of yo"' iudgm' in the world, to the most manifest 
 fruites and fame thoroughe Europe. Augustus was told, men spake much 
 hurt of him. ^'Itis no matter,'' said he, "so longas they are notable to do much hurt." 
 And lastlie Charles the 5, to one that tould him, " Les Hollandois parlent mal "; 
 " Mais ill parlient bien," answered he. I might make a schollerlike reckoning 
 of many such examples ; it sufficeth that theise great princes knew well enough 
 vpon w' winges they flew, and cared little for the barking of a few curres. 
 And trewlie in the behalfe of yo' subieftes, I durst w"" my bloud aunswer it, 
 that there was neuer monarche helde in more precious reckoning of her people ; 
 and before God how can it be otherwise? For my part, when I heare some lost 
 wretche hath defiled w"" such a matter, I consider the right nature of 
 blasphemy, whose vnbrideled soule doth delighte to teare that, w"*" generally 
 is accounted most high and hollie. No, no, most excellent Ladie, do not 
 raze out the impression you haue made in such a multitude of harts ; and lett 
 not the scume of such vile mindes beare anie witnes against yo'^ subiedle's 
 devotion : w"*" to proceede one point further, if it were otherwise, could little 
 be helped, but rather nourished, and in effect beganne by this. The onelie a- 
 voyding of contempt is loue and feare ; love, as you haue by diuers mea [ns 
 sent into the depth of their soules ; so if aniething can stale so true a for [m 
 it must be the bringing of yo^ not self into yo"^ owne likenes, but in 
 new colours] vnto them. Their feare by him cannot be increased, w^out ap- 
 pearance of] French forces, the manifest death of your estate. But well male [it 
 against] him, breade that face, w"*" [as the tragicke Seneca saith] "Metu[s in 
 authorem redit,"] Then it is daunger to yo' state, as well because by in [ward 
 weakness (princi] pallie caused by deuision) it is fitt to receyue h [arm. 
 
 See Note on page 68. 
 
 Neither is the love borne in 
 the Queen your sister's days, 
 any contradiction hereunto, 
 for she was the oppressor of 
 that religion which lived in 
 many men's hearts, where- 
 of you were known, etc. — 
 
 CJRAY. 
 
 the lively farts that be in you. 
 — Gray. 
 
 impostunied = swollen or 
 bloated. 
 
 toyourmost manifest. — Gray. 
 
 Mais ilsftitientbien. — Gray. 
 
 upon what way they flew. — 
 Gray. 
 
 hath defiled such a name with 
 his mouth. — Gray. 
 
 The only means of avoiding. 
 — Gray. 
 
 anything can stain. — Gray. 
 
 the trimming yourself, not in 
 your own likeness. — Gray. 
 
 bear that face. — Gray. 
 
 K 
 
Sec Note on page 68. 
 
 as because both in will and 
 power it is like to do harme. 
 This clause should follow 
 authorem redit, three lines 
 above. 
 
 those that still maintain the 
 same course. — Gray. 
 
 but Monsieur in might, and, 
 etc. — Gray. 
 
 the comfort of the afflicted, the 
 delyght of people, is omitted 
 by Gray. 
 
 Sidney's letter to the Queen. 
 
 74 
 
 MS. Folio 60. 
 
 [as because both in will] and power, it is like to do harme. Since to yo" pers[on it 
 can be no way comfortable,] you not desiring marriadge ; and ne [ither to person 
 or estate he is to bring any more] good than anie bodie ; [but more evil he may, 
 since the causes that should drive you to this, are either fears of that which cannot 
 happen, or by this means cannot be prevented : I do with most humble heart say 
 unto your Majestic (having assayed this dangerous help) for your standing alone,] 
 
 MS. Folio 61. 
 you must take it as a singular honor God hath donne, to be indeed the onelie[ protector 
 of his Church ; and yett in worldlie respects your kingdome verrie suffic [ient so 
 to doe, if you make that religion, upon w'^'' you.stand, to carrie the onlie [strength, 
 and haue abroade those that shall maintaine the cause; who as long as they [may 
 be kepte from vtter falling, yo' Ma"* is sure enoughe from yo' mightiest ene [mies. 
 As for this man, so long as he is but Mounsieur, and a Papist in profession, he [neither 
 can, nor will, greatelie steede you, and if he grow King, his defence wilbe [like 
 Aiax's shield, w'='' waighed downe, rather than defended those that ware it. [Against 
 contempt at home, if there be anie, (w"*" I will neuer belieue,) lett yo"" excellen [t vir- 
 tues of pietie, justice, and liberalitie, dailie, (if it be possible) more and more [shine. 
 Lett such pticuler accons be found out (w'^'' is easie I thinke to be done) by [which you 
 may gratifie all the heartes of your people: lett those in whom you find [trust, 
 and to whom you haue committed trust, in yo"^ waightie affaires, beheld [up in 
 the eyes of yo'' people. Lastlie, doing as you doe, you shalbe, as you be, y" [eye 
 of princes, the ornam' of this adge, the comfort of the afflidted, the delyght of 
 people, the most excellent fruit of all yo''pgenitors, the perfedl mirror to yo''pos[terity. 
 
 On the blank portion of the 
 page a later writer has 
 scribbled the lines here 
 printed. There are two 
 others of a gross char- 
 acter which have been 
 omitted. 
 
 the perfect 
 
 perfect 
 
 S-^ Phillip 
 
 The 
 
 Most ex. S" Ph 
 cellent fruit 
 
 excellent progenitors 
 
 excellent fruit of all yo"' progenitors the perfect M 
 all posteritie excellent fruit of all all your prog 
 
 held in more precious account than all yo" frends 
 And I will remayne in this sort disconsola 
 And most worthie to be most deare 
 
 This folio is blank except- 
 ing for the first line here 
 printed, which is written 
 in a small hand in the 
 right-hand side corner. 
 The second line is writ- 
 ten upside down in the 
 middle of the page. 
 
 The of first this that is to 
 The thousand pound of gold reverseth 
 And when the same remaineth in little 
 worth remayning in the full 
 Of such glories as will last not for a year 
 all eternitie remembered this yo'' th 
 and tread under yo' feet the 
 
 MS. Folio 62. 
 the third | reason of | the manner | of this [ ladies | death | maie be | 
 
 your frend | shipp cannot | bring. 
 
LEYCESTER'S COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 MS. Folio 63-go. 
 
 1 HIS MS. contains a little less than half of this celebrated political 
 pamphlet : about fourteen folios are missing from the beginning, and a similar 
 number at the end. It was first printed in 1584 upon the Continent and 
 most probably in Antwerp, under the title : — 
 
 T T-I K 
 
 COPI E OF A 
 
 LETER,VVRYTEN BY A 
 
 MASTER OF ARTE OF CAMBRIGE, 
 
 TO HIS FRIEND IN LoNDON, CON- 
 
 cerning fome talke paft of late between two wor- 
 
 f hipful and graue men,about the prefent state,ancl 
 
 fome procedinges of the Erie of Leycefter and 
 
 his friendes in England. 
 
 CON CRY V ED, SPOKEN 
 
 and publyfhed vvyth moft earneft protef- 
 tation of al duetyful good vvyl and affe- 
 ction, tovvardes her moft excellent Ma. 
 and the Realm, for vvhofe good onely it is 
 made common to many. 
 
 lob. Cap. 20. Verf. 27. 
 
 Reuelabunt coeli iniquitatem eius, & terra confurget 
 
 aduerfus eum. 
 
 Theheauens fhal reueile the wicked mans iniqui- 
 tie, and the earth fhal ftand vp to beare vvitnes 
 agaynft hym. 
 
 Anno m. d. lxxxiiii. 
 
 The title-page is surrounded by an ornamental border. It was immediately 
 translated into French and Latin, and reprinted in both languages. It circu- 
 lated in England extensively in manuscript, and was reprinted in 1641 without 
 a printer's name or place of publication. There has been preserved m the 
 
 (75) 
 
76 
 
 Public Record Office, a letter to the Wardens of the Company of Stationers, 
 dated October 13, 1641, in which the writer, Edward Nicholas, states: — 
 
 " I hear there is now printing at one Dawson's, a printer in 
 Thames Street, a book called Leicester's Commonwealth, which I am 
 told is very scandalous to divers of the Lord's ancestors, and a book 
 unfit to be divulged. ... I pray give order forthwith to stay the 
 printing or dispersing of any of those books until the Lords of Parliament 
 or the Lords of the Council shall meet." 
 
 It is to be presumed that this was done, but the result was that it was 
 reprinted by other printers, who succeeded in getting copies into the market. 
 Thus there are three editions dated 1641, one of which— the suppressed copy 
 — is much rarer than the others. 
 
 The first edition, although printed on the Continent, must have had a 
 considerable circulation in England, for the Queen in Council on June 20th, 
 1585, found it necessary to repudiate its assertions. In a letter addressed to 
 the Magistrates of Cheshire she writes : — 
 
 " Her Highness not only knoweth to assured certainty the books and 
 libels against the said Earl to be most malicious, false and scandalous, 
 and such as none but an incarnate devil himself could dream to be true. 
 
 The authorship of the pamphlet has never been settled. At the time of 
 publication, and for some years afterwards, it was attributed to Robert Parsons, 
 the Jesuit missionary and controversialist, so much so that it was colloquially 
 termed by his contemporaries, " Father Parson's Greencoat." This was in 
 allusion to the somewhat unusual colour of the binding and edges of the 
 book. It is interesting to note that one of the two copies preserved in the 
 British Museum, still retains the colour upon its edges. The second copy 
 (the Grenville) has, however, been recently rebound, and mirabile dictu, the 
 edges have been carefully gilt, and the distindlive feature of the work 
 destroyed. A letter has been preserved in the manuscript collecftions of 
 "William Cole, now in the British Museum, in which the authorship of the 
 book is discussed. It is addressed to the Rev. Dr. Mosse, at Gray's Inn, and 
 signed C. A. Internal evidence is adduced to prove that Parsons could not 
 have written the work, and Dr. Mosse notes upon the back of the letter that 
 
 "Parsons . . . many years after the death of L [eicester] 
 denies himselfe to be author of it. . . . In short the author is very 
 uncertain, and for any thing that appears in it, it may as well be a 
 Protestant's, as a Papist's. I sh"^ rather think it the work of some subtle 
 courtier, who, for safety got it printed abroad, and sent into England 
 under the name of Parsons." 
 
 It has been thought well to reprint the whole of the pamphlet. The 
 missing portions and the side notes are taken from the quarto edition of 1641. 
 
LEYCESTERS 
 
 Common-wealth : 
 
 CONCEIVED, SPO- 
 KEN AND PUBLI- 
 SHED WITH MOST EAR- 
 neft proteftation of all Du- 
 
 tifull good will and aflfedlion 
 towards this Realm, for whofe ' 
 
 good onely, it is made com- 
 mon to many. 
 
 Job the 20. verfe the 27. 
 
 The Heavens f hall reveale his iniquity, and the 
 Earth f hall rife up againft him. 
 
 
 Printed I 6 4 I. 
 
 ■■ (77) 
 
The Epistle Dire6tory ; 
 
 To M. G. M. In Gratious Street in London. 
 
 T~\EARE and loving friend, I received about tenne dayes agone your letter of the 9, of this 
 present : wherein you demand and solicite againe the thing, that I so flatly denied you, 
 at my late being in your chamber : I meane, to put in writing the relation which then I made 
 unto you, of the speech had this last Christmas in my presence, betweene my right worshipfull 
 good friend and patron, and his guest the ould Lawyer, of some matters in our state and 
 country. And for that you presse mee very seriously at this instant, both by request and many 
 reasons, to yeeld to your desire herein, and not onely this, but also to give my consent for the 
 publishing of the same, by such secret meanes as you assure mee you can there find out : I have 
 thought good to confer the whole matter with the parties themselves, whom principally it con- 
 cerneth (who at the receipt of your letter were not farre from mee :) A nd albeit at the first, 
 I found them averse and nothing inclined to grant your demand : yet after upon consideration 
 of your reasons, and assurance of secresie : (especially for that there is nothing in the same 
 contained, repugnant to charity or to our bounden duty toward our most gratiotis Princes or 
 Countrey, but rather for the special good of them both, and for the forewarning of some dangers 
 imminent to the same) they have referred over the matter to mee, yet with this Proviso, that 
 they will know nothing, nor yet yeeld consetit to the publishing hereof, for feare of some future 
 flourish of the ragged Staff e to come hereafter about their eares, if their names should breake 
 forth : which (I trust) you will provide, shall never happen, both for their security, and for 
 your owne. And with this I will end, assuring you that within these five or six dayes, you 
 shall receive the whole in writing by an other way and secret meanes, neither shall the bearer 
 suspe£i what hee carrieth : whereof also I thought good to premonish you. And this shall 
 suffice for this time. 
 
 (78) 
 
The Preface of the Conference. 
 
 T^ OT long before the last Christmasse, I was requested by a letter from a very 
 worshipfull and grave Gentleman, whose sonne was then my pupill in Cambridge, 
 to repaire with my said Scholar to a certaine house of his neare London, and there to 
 passe over the Holy-dayes in his company : for that it was determined that in Hillary 
 tearme following, his said sonne should bee placed in some Inne of Chancery, to follow 
 the study of the Common-law, and so to leave the Vniversity. This request was 
 gratefull unto mee in respedl of the time, as also of the matter, but especially of the 
 company. For that, as I love much the yong Gentleman, my pupile, for his 
 towardlines in religion, learning, and vertue : so much more I doe reverence his 
 Father, for the riper possession of the same ornaments, and for his great wisedome, 
 experience, and grave judgement in affaires of the World that doe occurre : but namely 
 touching our owne Countrey, wherein truly I doe not remember to have heard any 
 man in my life, discourse more substantially, indifferently, and with lesse passion, more 
 love and fidelity, then I have heard him : Which was the cause that I tooke singular 
 delight to be in his company, and refused no occasion to enjoy the same. Which also 
 hee perceiving, dealt more openly and confidently with mee, then with many other of 
 his friends, as by the relation following may well appeare. 
 
 When I came to the foresaid House by London, I found there among other 
 friends, an ancient man that professed the law, and was come from London to keepe 
 his Christmasse in that place, with whom at divers former times I had beene well 
 acquainted, for that hee haunted much the company of the said Gentleman my friend, 
 and was much trusted and used by him in matters of his profession, and not a little 
 beloved also for his good conversation, notwithstanding some difference in religion 
 betweene us. For albeit, this Lawyer was inclined to bee a Papist, yet was it with 
 such moderation and reservation of his duty towards his Prince and Countrey and 
 proceedings of the same : as hee seemed alwayes to give full satisfadtion in this point 
 to us that were of contrary opinion. 
 
 Neither did hee let to protest often times with great affedion, that as hee had 
 many friends and kinsfolke of contrary religion to himselfe : so did hee love them never 
 the lesse for their different conscience, but leaving that to God, was desirous to doe 
 them any friendship or service that hee could, with all affeftion, zeale, and fidelity. 
 Neither was hee wilfull or obstinate in his opinion, and much lesse reprochfull in 
 speech (as many of them bee) but was content to heare whatsoever wee should say to 
 the contrary (as often wee did :) and to reade any booke also that wee delivered him, 
 for his instruction. 
 
 Which temperate behaviour, induced this Gentleman and mee, to affeft the more 
 his company, and to discourse as freely with him in all occurrents, as if hee had beene 
 of our owne religion. 
 
 Scholar. 
 
 The occasion 
 of this con- 
 ference and 
 meeting. 
 
 The persons 
 and place of 
 this confer- 
 
 A temperate 
 Papist. 
 
 (79) 
 
The Entrance to the Matter. 
 
 The Booke of 
 justice. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 The Papists 
 practizes 
 against the 
 state. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 Two sorts 
 of dealing 
 against the 
 state. 
 
 Direftly. 
 
 Indireiftly. 
 
 /^NE day then of the Christmasse, we three retiring our selves after dinner, into a 
 ^-^ large Gallery, for our recreation, (as often we were accustomed to doe, when 
 other went to cards and other pastimes:) this Lawyer by chance had in his hand a 
 little booke, then newly set forth, containing A defence of the publique justice done of late 
 in England, upon divers Priests and other Papistes for treason : Which booke, the Lawyer 
 had read to himselfe a little before, and was now putting it up into his pocket ; But 
 the Gentleman my friend, who had read over the same once or twice in my company 
 before, would needs take the same into his hand againe, and asked the Lawyer his 
 judgement upon the booke. 
 
 The Lawyer answered : That it was not evill penned in his opinion to prove the 
 guiltines of some persons therein named in particular, as also to perswade in generall, 
 that the Papistes both abroad and at home, who meddle so earnestly with defence and 
 increase of their religion (for these are not all, said he) doe consequently wish and 
 labour some change in the state : but yet whether so farre forth, and in so deepe a 
 degree of proper treason, as here in this booke both in generall and particular is 
 presumed and inforced, that (quoth hee) is somewhat hard (I weene) for you or mee 
 (in respedl of some other difference betweene us) to judge or discerne with indifferency. 
 
 Nay truly said the Gentleman, for my part I thinke not so, for that reason is 
 reason in what religion soever. And for my selfe, I may protest, that I beare the 
 honest Papist (if there bee any) no malice for his deceived conscience, whereof among 
 others, your selfe can bee a witnesse : mary his Pradlizes against the state, I cannot in 
 any wise digest : and much lesse may the Common-wealth beare the same (whereof 
 wee all depend,) being a sinne of all other, the most heinous, the least pardonable. 
 And therefore seeing in this, you grant the Papist both in generall abroad, and at 
 home ; and in particular such as are condemned, executed and named in this booke 
 to bee guilty : how can you insinuate (as you doe) that there is more presumed or 
 enforced upon them by this booke, then there is just cause so to doe. 
 
 Good Sir, said the other, I stand not here to examine the doings of my superiours, 
 or to defend the guilty, but wish hartily rather their punishment that have deserved 
 the same. Onely this I say, for expHcation of my former speech : that men of a 
 different religion from the state wherein they live, may bee said to deale against the 
 same state in two sorts : the one, by dealing for the increase of their said different 
 religion, which is alwayes either diredtly, or indiredlly against the state. (Diredlly) 
 when the said religion containeth any point or article diredlly impugning the said state, 
 (as perhaps you will say that the Roman Religion doth against the present state of 
 England in the point of Supremacy : ) and (Indiredlly) for that every different religion 
 divideth in a sort and draweth from the state, in that there is no man who in his heart 
 would not wish to have the chiefe Governour and state to bee of his religion, if hee 
 could : and consequently misliketh the other in respedl of that : and in this kind, not 
 onely those whom you call busie Papists in England, but also those whom we call bote 
 Puritans among you, (whose difference from the state especially in matters of governe- 
 ment is very well knowne,) may bee called all traytors, in mine opinion : for that every 
 
 (80) 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 8i 
 
 one of these in deed, doe labour indiredlly, (if not more) against the state, in how much 
 soever each one endevoureth to increase his part or fadlion that desireth a Governour 
 of his owne reHgion. 
 
 And in this case also, are the Protestants in France and Flanders under C^tholique 
 Princes : the Calvinists (as they are called ; ) under the Duke of Saxony, who is a 
 Lutheran : the Lutherans under Casimere, that favoreth Calvinists : the Grecians and 
 other Christians under the Emperour of Constantinople, under the Sophy, under the 
 great Chame of Tartary, and under other Princes that agree not with them in religion. 
 All which Subjedls doe wish (no doubt) in their hearts, that they had a Prince and 
 state of their owne religion, in stead of that which now governeth them : and conse- 
 quently in this first sense, they may bee called all traytors, and every adt they doe for 
 advancement of their said different religion (dividing betweene the state and them) 
 tendeth to treason : which their Princes supposing, doe sometimes make divers of their 
 adts treasonable or punishable for treason. But yet so long as they breake not forth 
 unto the second kind of treason which containeth some adluall attempt or treaty 
 against the life of the Prince, or state, by rebellion or otherwise : wee doe not properly 
 condemne them for traytors, though they doe some a6ls of their religion made treason 
 by the Prince his lawes, who is of a different faith. 
 
 And so to apply this to my purpose : I thinke, Sir, in good sooth, that in the first 
 kind of treason, as well the zealous Papist, as also the Puritans in England, may well 
 bee called and proved traytors : but in the second sort (whereof wee speake properly 
 at this time) it cannot bee so precisely answered, for that there may bee both guilty 
 and guiltles in each religion. And as I cannot excuse all Puritans in this point : so 
 you cannot condemne all Papists, as long as you take mee and some other to bee as 
 wee are. 
 
 I grant your distindtion of treasons to bee true, (said the Gentleman,) as also your 
 application thereof to the Papists and Puritans (as you call them,) not to want reason, 
 if there bee any of them that mislike the present state (as perhaps there bee :) all bee 
 it for my part, I thinke these two kinds of treasons, which you have put downe, bee 
 rather divers degrees then divers kinds : wherein I will refer mee to the judgement of 
 our Cambridge friend here present, whose skill is more in logicall distindtions. But yet 
 my reason is this, that indeed the one is but a step or degree to the other, not differing 
 in nature, but rather in time, ability or opportunity. For if (as in your former examples 
 you have shewed) the Grecians under the Turke, and other Christians under other 
 Princes of a different religion, and as also the Papists and Puritans (as you terme them) 
 in England (for now this word shall passe betweene us for distindlion sake,) have such 
 alienation of mind from their present regiment, and doe covet so much a governour 
 and state of their owne religion : then no doubt but they are also resolved to imploy 
 their forces for accomplishing and bringing to passe their desires, if they had opor- 
 tunity : and so being now in the first degree or kind of treason, doe want but occasion 
 or ability, to breake into the second. 
 
 True Sir, said the Lawyer, if there bee no other cause or circumstance that may 
 with hold them. 
 
 And what cause or circumstance may stay them I pray you (said the Gentleman) 
 when they shall have ability and oportunity to doe a thing which they so much desire ? 
 
 The state of 
 all Subjedts, 
 in a state of 
 difterent re- 
 ligion. 
 
 The second 
 kind of trea- 
 son. 
 
 The applica- 
 tion of the 
 former ex- 
 ample. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Two degrees 
 of treason. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 82 
 
 Xatiyer. 
 
 France. 
 
 Flanders. 
 
 Fortugall. 
 
 The old ha- 
 tred of Hast 
 Grecians to- 
 -wards the 
 West Latins. 
 
 Scholar. 
 
 Not all Pa- 
 pists properly 
 traytors. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 The Priests 
 and Semina- 
 ries that -were 
 executed. 
 
 Divers causes (quoth the Lawyer) but especially and above all other (if it bee at 
 home in their owne Country,) the feare of servitude under forraine nations, may 
 restraine them from such attempts : As wee see in Germany that both Catholiques and 
 Protestants would joyne together, against any stranger that should offer danger to their 
 liberty. And so they did against Charles the fifth. And in France not long agoe, albeit 
 the Protestants were up in armes against their King, and could have beene content, by 
 the helpe of us in England, to have put him downe, and placed an other of their owne 
 religion : yet when they saw us once seazed of New-haven, and so, like to proceed to 
 the recovery of some part of our states on that side the Sea, they quickly joyned with 
 their owne Catholiques againe to expell us. 
 
 In Flanders likewise, though Monsieur were called thither by the Protestans, 
 especially for defence of their religion, against the Spaniard: yet wee see how dainty 
 divers chiefe Protestants of Antwerp, Gaunt, and Bruges were, in admitting him, and 
 how quick in expelling, so soone as hee put them in the least feare of subjedlion to the 
 French. 
 
 And as for Portugall, I have heard some of the chiefest Catholiques among them 
 say, in this late contention about their Kingdome : that rather then they would suffer 
 the Castilian to come in upon them, they would bee content to admit whatsoever aids 
 of a contrary religion to themselves, and to adventure whatsoever alteration in religion 
 or other inconvenience might befall them by that meanes, rather then endanger their 
 subje6lion to their ambitious neighbour. 
 
 The like is reported in divers histories of the Grecians at this day, who doe hate 
 so much the name and dominion of the Latines : as they had rather to endure all the 
 miseries which dayly they suffer under the Turke for their religion and otherwise : then 
 by calling for aid from the West to hazard their subjedlion to the said Latines. So 
 that by these examples you see, that feare and horrour of externall subjedlion may 
 stay men in all states, and consequently also both Papists and Puritans in the state of 
 England, from passing to the second kind or degeee of treason, albeit they were never 
 so deepe in the first, and had both ability, time, will, and oportunity for the other. 
 
 Here I presumed to interrupt their Speech, and said : that this seemed to mee 
 most cleare, and that now I understood what the Lawyer meant before, when hee 
 affirmed, that albeit the most part of Papists in generall might bee said to deal against 
 the state of England at this day, in that they deale so earnestly for the maintenance and 
 increase of their religion, and so to incurre some kind of treason : yet (perhaps) not so 
 far-forth nor in so deepe a degree, of proper treason as in this booke is presumed or 
 inforced: though for my part (said I) I doe not see that the booke presumeth or 
 inforceth all Papists in generall to bee properly traytors, but onely such as in particular 
 are therein named, or that are by law attainted, condemned or executed : and what will 
 you say (quoth I) to those in particular. 
 
 Surely (quoth hee) I must say of these, much after the manner which I spake 
 before : that some here named in this booke are openly knowen to have beene in the 
 second degreee or kind of treason : as Westmerland, Norton, Sanders, and the like. But 
 divers others (namely the Priests and Seminaries that of late have suffered,) by so much 
 as I could see delivered and pleaded at their arraingements, or heard protested by 
 them at their deaths, or gathered by reason and discourse of my selfe, (for that no 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 83 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 The consi- 
 derations. 
 
 forraine Prince or wise councellor would ever commit so great matters of state to such 
 instruments :) I cannot (I say) but thinke, that to the wise of our state, that had the 
 domg of this busines, the first degree of treason (wherein no doubt they were) was 
 sufficient to dispatch and make them away : especially in such suspitious times as 
 these are : to the end that being hanged for the first, they should never bee in danger 
 to fall into the second, nor yet to draw other men to the same : which perhaps was 
 most of all misdoubted. 
 
 After the Lawyer had spoken this, I held my peace, to heare what the Gentleman 
 would answer : who walked up and downe, two whole turnes in the Gallery, without 
 yeelding any word againe : and then staying upon the sudden, cast his eyes sadly upon 
 us both, and said ; 
 
 My Masters, how so ever this bee, which indeed appertaineth not to us to judge 
 or discusse, but rather to perswade our selves, that the state hath reason to doe as it 
 doth, and that it must often times, as well prevent inconveniences, as remedy the 
 same when they are happened : yet for my owne part I must confesse unto you, that 
 upon some considerations which use to come unto my mind, I take no small griefe of 
 these differences among us (which you terme of divers and different religions) for 
 which wee are driven of necessity, to use Discipline towards divers, who possibly other- 
 wise would bee no great malefadours. I know the cause of this difference is grounded 
 upon a principle not easie to cure, which is the judgement and conscience of a man, 
 whereunto obeieth at length his will and affedlion, whatsoever for a time hee may 
 otherwise dissemble outwardly. I remember your speech before of the doubtfull and 
 dangerous inclination of such as live discontented in a state of a different religion, 
 especially, when either indeed, or in their owne conceipte, they are hardly dealt 
 withall, and where every mans particular punishment, is taken to reach to the cause 
 of the whole. 
 
 I am not ignorant how that misery procureth amity, and the opinion of calamity, 
 moveth affedlion of mercy and compassion, even towards the wicked : the better 
 fortune alwayes is subjedl to envy, and hee that suffereth, is thought to have the better 
 cause, my experience of the divers raignes and proceedings of King Edward, Queene 
 Mary, and of this our most gratious soveraigne hath taught mee not a little, touching 
 the sequell of these affaires. And finally, (my good friends) I must tell you plaine a good wish 
 (quoth hee : and this hee spake with great asseveration) that I could wish with all my 
 heart, that either these differences were not among us at all, or els that they were so 
 temperatly on all parts pursued : as the Common-state of our Countrey, the blessed 
 raigne of her Majesty, and the common cause of true religion, were not endangered 
 thereby. But now : and there hee brake of, and turned aside. 
 
 The Lawyer seeing him hold his peace and depart, hee stepped after him, and Lawyer. 
 taking him by the gowne said merrily : Sir, all men are not of your complexion, some 
 are of quicker and more stirring Spirits, and doe love to fish in water that is troubled, 
 for that they doe participate the Black-moores humour, that dwell in Guinea (whereof 
 I suppose you have heard and scene also some in this Land) whose exercise at home 
 is (as some write) the one to hunt, catch, and sell the other, and alwayes the stronger 
 to make money of the weaker for the time. But now if in England we should live in 
 peace and unity of the state, as they doe in Germany, notwithstanding their differences 
 
 Misery mo- 
 veth mercy. 
 
 The nature 
 and pradize 
 of the Gui- 
 
■Gentleman. 
 
 The Tyrant 
 ■of English 
 state. 
 
 Three differ- 
 ences of re- 
 ligion in 
 England. 
 
 Scholar, 
 
 The Earl of 
 Leycester. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 The L. 
 
 Norths policy. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 A strange 
 speculation. 
 
 84 
 
 Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 of Religion, and that the one should not pray upon the other : then should the great 
 Fawcons for the Field (I meane the favorites of the time) faile whereon to feed, which 
 were an inconvenience as you know. 
 
 Truly Sir, said the Gentleman, I thinke you rove nearer the marke than you 
 weene : for if I bee not deceived the very ground of much of these broiles whereof wee 
 talke, is but a very pray : not, in the minds of the Prince or state (whose intentions no 
 doubt bee most just and holy) but in the greedy imagination and subtile conceipt of 
 him, who at this present in respeft of our sinnes, is permitted by God, to tyrannize 
 both Prince and state : and being himselfe of no religion, feedeth notwithstanding 
 upon our differences in religion, to the fatting of himselfe and mine of the Realme. 
 For whereas by the common distindtion now received in speech, there are three notable 
 differences of religion in the Land, the two extreames, whereof are the Papist and the 
 Puritan, and the religious Protestant obtaining the meane : this fellow being of neither, 
 maketh his gaine of all : and as hee seeketh a Kingdome by the one extreame, and 
 spoile by the other : so hee useth the authority of the third, to compasse the first two, 
 and the counter-mine of each one, to the overthrow of all three. 
 
 To this I answered : In good sooth Sir, I see now where you are : you are fallen 
 into the common place of all our ordinary talke and conference in the university : for I 
 know that you meane my L. of Leicester, who is the subjedl of all pleasant discourses at 
 this day throughout the Realme. 
 
 Not so pleasant as pittifull, answered the Gentleman, if all matters and circum- 
 stances were well considered, except any man take pleasure to jeast at our owne 
 miseries, which are like to bee greater by his iniquity (if God avert it not) then by all 
 the wickednesse of England besides : hee being the man that by all probability, is like 
 to bee the bane and fatall destiny of our state, with the eversion of true religion, 
 whereof by indiredl meanes, hee is the greatest enemy that the Land doth nourish. 
 
 Now verily (quoth the Lawyer) if you say thus much for the Protestants opinion 
 of him, what shall I say for his merits towards the Papists ? who for as much as I can 
 perceive, doe take themselves little beholding unto him, albeit for his gaine hee was 
 some yeares their secret friend against you : untill by his friends hee was perswaded, 
 and chiefly by the L. North by way of policy, as the said L. bosteth in hope, of greater 
 gaine, to step over to the Puritans, against us both, whom notwithstanding it is 
 probable, that hee loveth as much, as hee doth the rest. 
 
 You know the Beares love, said the Gentleman, which is all for his owne paunch, 
 and so this Beare-whelp, turneth all to his owne commodity, and for greedines thereof, 
 will overturne all if he bee not stopped or mouzeled in time. 
 
 And surely unto mee it is a strange speculation, whereof I cannot pick out the 
 reason (but onely that I doe attribute it to Gods punishment for our sinnes) than in so 
 wise and vigilant a state as ours is, and in a Countrey so well acquainted and beaten 
 with such dangers : a man of such a Spirit as hee is knowne to bee, of so extreame 
 ambition, pride, falshood and trechery : so borne, so bred up, so nooseled in treason 
 from his infancy, descended of a tribe of traytors, and fleshed in conspiracy against the 
 Royall bloud of King Henries children in his tender yeares, and exercised ever since in 
 driftes against the same, by the bloud and ruine of divers others : a man so well 
 knowen to beare secret malice against her Majesty, for causes irreconcileable, and 
 
Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 85 
 
 most deadly rancour against the best and wisest Councellours of her highnesse : that 
 such a one (I say so hatefull) to God and man, and so markeable to the simplest 
 subjedl of this Land by the publique insignes of his tyrannous purpose, should bee 
 suffered so many yeares without check, to aspire to tyranny by most manifest wayes, 
 and to possesse himselfe (as now hee hath done) of Court, Councell, and Countrey, 
 without controlement : so that nothing wanteth to him but onely his pleasure, and the 
 day already conceived in his mind to dispose as hee list, both of Prince, Crowne, 
 Realme, and Religion. 
 
 It is much truly (quoth I) that you say, and it ministreth not a little marvaile 
 unto many, whereof your worship is not the first, nor yet the tenth person of accompt 
 which I have heard discourse and complaine. But what shall wee say hereunto ? 
 there is no man that ascribeth not this unto the singular benignity and most bountifull 
 good nature of her Majesty who measuring other men by her owne Heroycll and 
 Princely sincerity : cannot easily suspedl a man so much bounden to her grace, as hee is, 
 nor remove her confidence from the place, where shee hath heaped so infinite benefites. 
 
 No doubt (said the Gentleman) but this gracious and sweet disposition of her 
 Majesty is the true originall cause thereof: which Princely disposition, as in her 
 highnesse it deserveth all rare commendation, so lieth the same open to many dangers 
 often times, when so benigne a nature meeteth with ingrate and ambitious persons : 
 which observation perhaps, caused her Majesties most noble Grandfather and Father 
 (two renowned wise Princes) to withdraw some time upon the sudden, their great favour 
 from certaine Subjedts of high estate. And her Majesty may easily use her owne 
 excellent vsrisedome and memory, to recall to mind the manifold examples of perilous 
 happes fallen to divers Princes, by to much confidence in obliged proditours : with 
 whom the name of a Kingdome, and one houres raigne, weyeth more, then all the 
 duty, obligation, honesty, or nature in the World. Would God her Majesty could see 
 the continuall feares that bee in her faithfull Subjects hearts, whiles that man is about 
 her noble person, so well able and likely (if the Lord avert it not) to bee the calamity, 
 of her Princely bloud and name. 
 
 The talke will never out of many mouths and minds, that divers ancient men of 
 this Realme, and once a wise Gentleman now a Councellour, had with a certaine friend 
 of his, concerning the presage and deepe impression, which her Majesties Father had 
 of the House of Sir lohn Dudley, to bee the ruine in time of his Majesties Royall house 
 and bloud, which thing was like to have beene fulfilled soone after (as all the World 
 knoweth) upon the death of King Edward by the said Dudley this mans Father : who 
 at one blow, procured to dispatch from a possession of the Crown, all three children of 
 the said noble King. And yet in the middest of those bloudy pradizes against her 
 Majesty that now is and her sister (wherein also this fellowes hand was so farre, as for 
 his age hee could thrust the same,) within sixteene dayes before King Edwards death 
 (hee knowing belike that the King should die) wrote most flattering letters to the Lady 
 Mary (as I have heard by them who then were with her) promissing all loyalty and 
 true service to her, after the descease of her brother, with no lesse painted words, then 
 this man now doth use to Queene Elizabeth. 
 
 So dealt hee then with the most deare children of his good King and Master, by 
 whom hee had beene no lesse exalted and trusted, then this man is by her Majesty. 
 
 Scholar. 
 
 The Queens 
 Majesties 
 most excel- 
 lent good 
 nature. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Feares that 
 subjecfts have 
 of my L. of 
 Leycester. 
 
 Sir Francis 
 Wahingham. 
 
 Deepe dissi- 
 mulation. 
 
Leycesier's Commonwealth. 
 
 86 
 
 Sir Francis 
 WaUin^ham. 
 
 Edmund 
 Dudley. 
 
 Robert Dudley. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 The Law a- 
 gainst talking 
 
 Adtions of 
 Leicester 
 whereof hee 
 would have 
 no speech. « 
 
 Scholar. 
 
 And so deepely dissembled hee then when hee had in hand the plot to destroy them 
 both. And what then (alas) may not wee feare and doubt of this his sonne, who in 
 outragious ambition and desire of raigne, is not inferiour to his Father, or to any 
 other aspiring Spirit in the World, but farre more insolent, cruell, vindicative, expert,, 
 potent, subtile, fine, and fox-like then ever hee was ? I like well the good motion 
 propounded by the foresaid Gentleman, to his friend at the same time, and doe assure 
 my selfe it would bee most pleasant to the Realme, and profitable to her Majesty to 
 wit, that this mans actions might bee called publiquely to triall, and liberty given to 
 good subjects, to say what they knew against the same, as it was permitted in the first 
 yeare of King Henry the eight against his Grandfather, and in the first of Queene Mary 
 against his Father : and then I would not doubt, but if these two his Ancestors were 
 found worthy to leese their heads for treason : this man would not bee found unworthy 
 to make the third in kindred, whose treacheries doe farre surpasse them both. 
 
 After the Gentleman had said this, the Lawyer stood still, somewhat smiling to^ 
 himselfe, and looking round about him, as though hee had beene halfe afeard, and then 
 said. My masters, doe you read over or study the statutes that come forth ? have 
 you not heard of the proviso made in the last Parliament for punishment of those who 
 speake so broad of such men as my L. of Leycester is ? 
 
 Yes, said the Gentleman, I have heard how that my L. of Leycester was very 
 carefull and diligent at that time to have such a Law to passe against talkers : hoping 
 (belike) that his L. under that generall restraint might lie the more quietly in harbour 
 froni the tempest of mens tongues, which tatled busily at that time, of divers his 
 Lordship's adions and affaires, which perhaps himselfe would have wished to passe 
 with more secresie. As of his discontentment and preparation to rebellion, upon 
 Monsieurs first comming into the Land : of his disgrace and checks received in Court : 
 of the fresh death of the noble Earle of Essex : and of this mans hasty snatching up of 
 the widdow, whom hee sent up and downe the Countrey from house to house by privy 
 wayes, thereby to avoid the sight and knowledge of the Queenes Majesty. And albeit 
 hee had not onely used her at his good liking before, for satisfying of his owne lust, but 
 also married and remarried her for contentation of her friends : yet denied hee the 
 same, by solemne oath to her Maiesty and received the holy Communion thereupon 
 (so good a conscience hee hath) and consequently threatned most sharp revenge towards 
 all subje6ls which should dare to speake thereof : and so for the concealing both of this- 
 and other his doings, which hee desired not to have publike, no marvaile though his^ 
 Lordship were so diligent a procurer of that law for silence. 
 
 Indeed (said I) it is very probable that his Lordship was in great distresse about 
 that time, when Monsieurs matters were in hand, and that hee did many thino-s and 
 purposed more, whereof hee desired lesse speech among the people, especially after- 
 wards, when his said designements tooke not place. I was my selfe that yeare not 
 farre from Warwicke when hee came thither from the Court a full Mal-Content and 
 when it was thought most certainely throughout the Realm, that hee would have taken 
 armes soone after, if the marriage of her Majesty with Monsieur had gone forward. 
 The thing in Cambridge and in all the Countrey as I rode, was in every man's mouth : 
 and it was a wonder to see not onely the countenances, but also the behaviour and to- 
 heare the bold speeches of all such as vv^ere of his fadlion. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 87 
 
 My Lord himselfe had given out a little before at Killingworth, that the matter 
 
 would cost many broken heads before Michelmasse day next : and my Lord of Warwick 
 
 had said openly at his table in Greenewich, Sir Thomas Hennige being by (if I bee not 
 
 deceived,) that it was not to bee suffered (I meane the marriage) which words of his 
 
 once comming abroad (albeit misliked by his owne Lady then also present) every 
 
 Serving-man and Common-companion, tooke then up in defence of his Lordships part 
 
 against the Queenes Majesty. Such running there was, such sending and posting 
 
 about the Realme, such amplification of the powers and forces of Casimere and other 
 
 Princes, ready, (as was affirmed) to present themselves unto his aid, for defence of 
 
 the Realme and Religion against strangers : (for that was holden to bee his cause) 
 
 such numbring of parties and complices within the Realme, (whereof himselfe shewed 
 
 the Catalogue to some of his friends for their comfort) such debasing of them that 
 
 favoured the marriage (especially two or three Councellors by name, who were said 
 
 to bee the cause of all, and for that were appointed out to bee sharpely punished to the 
 
 terrour of all others :) such letters were written and intercepted of purpose, importing 
 
 great powers to bee ready, and so many other things done and designed, tending all to 
 
 manifest and open warre : as I began heartily to be afeard, and wished my selfe backe 
 
 at Cambridge againe, hoping that being there, my Scholars gowne should excuse mee 
 
 from necessity of fighting, or if not, I was resolved (by my Lords good leave) to follow 
 
 Aristotle, who preferreth alway the Lyon before the Beare: assuring my selfe withall, 
 
 that his Lordship should have no better successe in this (if it came to triall) then his 
 
 Father had in as bad a cause, and so much the more for that I was privy to the minds 
 
 ■of some of his friends, who meant to have deceived him, if the matter had broken out. 
 
 And amongst other, there was a certaine Vice-president in the World, who being left 
 
 in the roome and absence of an other, to procure friends : said in a place secretly not 
 
 farre from Ludlow, that if the matter came to blowes, hee would follow his Mistresse, 
 
 and leave his Master in the briars. 
 
 Marry Sir (quoth the Gentleman) and I trow many more would have followed that 
 example. For albeit I know, that the Papists were most named and misdoubted 
 of his part, in that cause, for their open inclination towards Monsieur, and con. 
 sequently for greater discredit of the thing it selfe, it was given out every v\^here 
 by this Champion of religion, that her Majesties cause was the Papists cause, 
 {even as his Father had done in the like enterprise before him, though all upon 
 ■dissimulation, as appeared at his death, where hee professed himselfe an earnest 
 Papist :) yet was there no man so simple in the Realme, which discried not this Vizard 
 at the first: neither yet any good subjedl (as I suppose) who seeing her Majesty on the 
 one part, would not have taken against the other part, what so ever hee had beene. 
 And much more the thing it selfe in controversie (I meane the marriage of her Royall 
 Majesty with the brother and heire apparent of France,) being taken and judged by the 
 best, wisest and faithfulest Protestants of the Realme, to bee both honourable, 
 ■convenient, profitable and needfull. Whereby onely, as by a most soveraigne, and 
 present remedy, all our maladies both abroad and at home, had at once beene cured : 
 all forraine enemies, and domesticall conspirators, all differences, all dangers, all feares 
 had ceased together : France had beene ours most assured : Spain would not a little 
 have trembled : Scotland had beene quiet : our competitors in England would have 
 
 Leicester's pre- 
 paratives to 
 rebellion 
 upon Mon- 
 sieurs mar- 
 riage. 
 
 To Sir Tho. 
 Lay ton. 
 
 L. Treasurer. 
 L.Charaber- 
 laine. 
 M. Comp- 
 troller. 
 
 Sir Thomas 
 
 Hibbot. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Leycesters Fa- 
 ther a tray- 
 terous Pa- 
 pist. 
 
 The honour 
 and commo- 
 dities by the 
 marriage 
 with France. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 88 
 
 Ethelbert King 
 of Kent, con- 
 verted An. 
 dom. 603. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 ToUeration in 
 Religion.with 
 union in de- 
 fence of our 
 Country. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 quaked: and for the Pope hee might have put up his pipes. Our differences in religion 
 at home, had beene either lesse, or no greater then now they are, for that Monsieur 
 being but a moderate Papist, and nothing vehement in his opinions, was content with 
 very reasonable conditions, for himselfe and his strangers onely in use of their 
 conscience not unlikely (truly) but that in time hee might by Gods grace, and by the 
 great wisedome and virtue of her Majesty have beene brought also to embrace the 
 Gospell, as King Ethelbert an heathen was by noble Queene Bertha his wife, the first 
 Christian of our English Princes. 
 
 Vnto all which felicity, if the Lord in mercy should have added also some issue 
 of there royall bodies, (as was not impossible, when first this noble match was moved,) 
 wee then (doubtles) had beene the most fortunate people under heaven, and might have 
 beene (perhaps) the meane to have restored the Gospell throughout all Europe besides, 
 as our Brethren of France well considered and hoped. 
 
 Of all which singular benefits both present and to come, both, in Re and Spe, this 
 Tyrant for his owne private lucre (fearing lest hereby his ambition might be restrained, 
 and his treachery revealed) hath bereaved the Realme, and done what in him lieth 
 besides, to alienate for ever and make our mortall enemy this great Prince, who sought 
 the love of her Majesty with so much honour and confidence as never Prince the like, 
 putting twice his owne person to jeopardy of the Sea, and to the perill of his malitious 
 enviours here in England, for her Majesties sake. 
 
 When you speake of Monsieur (said the Lawyer) I cannot but greatly bee moved, 
 both for these considerations well touched by you, as also for some other : especially 
 one wherein (perhaps) you will thinke mee partiall, but truly I am not : for that I 
 speake it onely in respedl of the quiet and good of my Countrey, and that is, that by 
 Monsieurs match with our noble Princesse, besides the hope of issue (which was the 
 principall) there wanted not also probability, that some union or little tolleration in 
 religion, betweene you and us, might have beene procured in this state, as wee see that 
 in some other Countries is admitted to their great good. Which thing (no doubt) 
 would have cut of quite all dangers and dealings from forraine Princes, and would have 
 stopped many devises and plots within the Realme : whereas now by this breach with 
 France, wee stand alone as mee seemeth without any great unition or friendship abroad, 
 and our differences at home grow more vehement and sharp then ever before. Vpon 
 which two heads, as also upon infinit other causes, purposes, drifts and pretences, there 
 doe ensue dayly more deepe, dangerous and desperate pra6lizes, every man using 
 either the commodity or necessity of the time and state for his owne purpose, especially, 
 now when all men presume that her Majesty (by the continuall thwartings which have 
 been used against all her marriage) is not like to leave unto the Realme, that pretious 
 Jewell so much and long desired of all English hearts, I meane the Royall heires of her 
 owne body. 
 
 Thwartings call you the defeating of all her Majesties most honourable offers of 
 marriage ? (said the other) truly in my opinion you should have used an other word to 
 expresse the nature of so wicked a fa6t : whereby alone, if their were no other, this 
 unfortunate man, hath done more hurt to his Commonwealth, then if hee had 
 murdered many thousands of her subjedts, or betrayed whole armies to the professed 
 enemy. I can remember well my selfe, foure treatises to this purposes, undermined 
 
Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 89 
 
 by his meanes ; The first with the Swethen King : the second with the Archduke of 
 Austria: the third with Henry King of France that now reigneth: and the fourth with 
 the brother and heire of the said Kingdome. For I let passe many other secret 
 motions made by great Potentates to her Majesty for the same purpose, but these 
 foure are openly knowen, and therefore I name them. Which foure are as well knowen 
 to have beene all disturbed by this Dawes, as they were earnestly pursued by the other. 
 
 And for the first three Suters, hee drove them away, by protesting and swearing 
 that himselfe was contradled unto her Majesty, whereof her highnesse was sufficiently 
 advertised by Cardinall Chatilian in the first treaty for France, and the Cardinall soone 
 after punished (as is thought) by this man with poison. But yet this speech hee gave 
 out then, every where among his friends both strangers and other, that hee (forsooth) 
 was assured to her Majesty and consequently that all other Princes must give over 
 their sutes, for him. Whereunto notwithstanding, when the Swethen would hardly give 
 eare, this man conferred with his Privado to make a most unseemely and disloyall 
 proofe thereof for the others satisfaction, which thing I am enforced by duty to passe 
 over with silence, for honour to the parties who are touched therein : as also I am to 
 conceale his said filthy Privado, though worthy otherwise for his dishonestly to bee 
 displayed to the World : but my Lord himselfe, I am sure, doth well remember both 
 the man and the matter. And albeit there was no wise man at that time who knowing 
 my L. suspedled not the false-hood, and his arrogant affirmation touching this contract 
 with her Majesty, yet some both abroad and at home might doubt thereof perhaps : 
 but now of late, by his knowen marriage with his Minion Dame Lettice of Essex, hee 
 hath declared manifestly his owne most impudent and disloyall dealing with his 
 soveraigne in this report. 
 
 For that report (quoth the Lawyer) I know that it was common and maintained by 
 many, for divers yeares: yet did the wiser sort make no accompt thereof, seeing it 
 came only from himselfe, and in his owne behalfe. Neither was it credible, that her 
 Majesty who refused so noble Knights and Princes as Europe hath not the like : would 
 make choise of so meane a peere as Robin Dudley is, noble onely in two descents, and 
 both of them stained with the Block, from which also himselfe, was pardoned but the 
 other day, being condemned thereunto by law for his deserts, as appeareth yet in 
 publike records. And for the widdow of Essex, I marvaile Sir (quoth hee) how you 
 call her his wife, seeing the canon law standeth yet in force touching matters of 
 marriage v/ithin the Realme. 
 
 Oh (said the Gentleman laughing) you meane for that hee procured the poisoning 
 of her Husband, in his journey from Ireland. You must thinke that Do6tor Dale will 
 dispence in that matter, as hee did (at his Lordships appointment) with his Italian 
 physitian Doftor lulio, to have two wives at once: at the least wise the matter was 
 permitted, and borne out by them both publiquely (as all the World knoweth) and that 
 against no lesse persons then the Archbishop of Canterbury himselfe, whose overthrow 
 was principally wrought by this Tyrant for contrarying his will, in so beastly a demand. 
 But for this controuersie whether the marriage bee good or no, I leave it to bee tried 
 hereafter betweene my yong L. oiDenbighe, and M. Philip Sidney, whom the same most 
 concerneth. For that it is like to deprive him of a goodly inheritance if it take place, 
 (as some will say that in no reason it can,) not onely in respedl of the precedent 
 
 Divers mar- 
 riages of her 
 Ma. defeated . 
 
 Leycester de- 
 vises to drive 
 away all Su- 
 ters from her 
 Majesty. 
 
 Leycester con- 
 vinced him- 
 selfe of impu- 
 dency. 
 
 Laivyer 
 
 The basenes 
 of Leycesters 
 ancestors. 
 
 Anno 1. R. 
 Mary. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 Doaor Dale. 
 
 Doftor lulio. 
 
 The Arch- 
 bishops over 
 throw for not 
 allowing two 
 wives to Ley- 
 cester his Phy- 
 sitian. 
 
 M 
 
Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 90 
 
 The Lady 
 Sheffield now 
 Embassa- 
 desse in 
 France. 
 
 The death of 
 Leycesters first 
 Lady & wife. 
 
 Sir Richard 
 Vanity. 
 
 Bali Buttler. 
 
 The suspi- 
 cious death 
 of the Lord 
 Sheffield. 
 
 The poison- 
 ing of the 
 Earle of 
 Essex 
 
 The shifting 
 of a child in 
 Dame Lcttice 
 belly. 
 
 The divers 
 operation of 
 poyson. 
 
 adultery and murder betweene the parties : but also for that my L. was contradted, at 
 least, to an other Lady before, that yet liveth, whereof M.Edward Diar and M.Edmond 
 Tilney both Courtiers can bee witnesses, and consumated the same contradl by genera- 
 tion of children. But this (as I said) must bee left to bee tried hereafter by them Avhich 
 shall have most interest in the case. Onely for the present I must advertise you, that 
 you may not take hold so exadlly of all my L. doings in Womens affaires, neither 
 touching their marriages, neither yet their husbands. 
 
 For first his Lordship hath a speciall fortune, that when hee desireth any womans 
 favour, then what person so ever standeth in his way, hath the luck to die quickly for 
 the finishing of his desire. As for example : when his Lordship was in full hope to 
 marry her Majesty, and his owne wife stood in his light, as hee supposed : hee did but 
 send her aside, to the house of his servant Forster of Cumner by Oxford, where shortly 
 after shee had the chance to fall from a paire of staires, and so to breake her neck, but 
 yet without hurting of her hood that stood upon her head. But Sir Richard Varney 
 who by commandement remained with her that day alone, with one man onely, and 
 had sent away perforce all her Servants from her, to a market two miles of, hee (I say) 
 with his man can tell how shee died, which man being taken afterward for a fellony in 
 the marches of Wales, and offering to publish the manner of the said murder, was made 
 away privily in the prison. And Sir Richard himselfe dying about the same time in 
 London, cried pitiously, and blasphemed God, and said to a Gentleman of worship of 
 mine acquaintance, not long before his death: that all the Divels in Hell did teare him 
 in peeces. The wife also of Bald Buttler Kinsman to my L. gave out the whole fadl a 
 little before her death. But to returne unto my purpose, this was my Lords good 
 fortune to have his wife die, at that time when it was like to turne most to his profit. 
 
 Long after this, hee fell in love with the Lady Sheffield whom I signified before, 
 and then also had hee the same fortune to have her Husband die quickly with an 
 extreame reume in his head (as it was given out ; ) but as other say, of an artificial! 
 Catarre that stopped his breath. The like good chance had hee in the death of my 
 Lord oi Essex (as I have said before) and that at a time most fortunate for his purpose: 
 for when hee was comming home from Ireland, with intent to revenge himselfe upon my 
 Lord of Leycester, for begetting his wife vi^ith child in his absence (the child was a 
 daughter and brought up by the I^ady Shandoies, W. Knooles his wife: ) my Lord oi Ley 
 hearing thereof, wanted not a friend or two to accompany the Deputie, as among other, 
 a couple of the Earles owne servants, Crompton (if I misse not his name) yeoman of 
 his bottels, and Lloid his Secretary entertained afterward by my Lord of Leycester. 
 And so hee died in the way of an extreame Flux, caused by an Italian Recipe, as all 
 his friends are well assured : the maker whereof was a Surgion (as is believed) that 
 then was newly come to my Lord from Italy. A cunning man and sure in operation 
 with whom if the good Lady had beene sooner acquainted and used his helpe, shee 
 should not have needed to have sitten so pensive at home and fearefull of her husbands 
 former returne out of the same Countrey, but might have spared the yong child in her 
 belly, which shee was enforced to make away (cruelly and unnaturally) for clearinf the 
 house against the good mans arrivall. 
 
 Neither must you marvaile though all these died in divers manners of outward 
 diseases, for this is the excellency of the Italian art, for which this Surgion and D. lulio 
 
Leycester's Com?nonwealth. 
 
 91 
 
 were entertained so carefully, who can make a man die, in what manner or shew of 
 sicknesse you will ; by whose instrudions no doubt but his Lordship is now cunning, 
 especially adding also to these the counsell of his Doftor Bayly, a man also not a little 
 studied (as hee seemeth) in his art. For I heard him once my selfe in publique aft in 
 Oxford (and that in presence of my Lord of Leycester if I bee not deceived) maintaine, 
 that poison might so bee tempered and given as it should not appeare presently, and 
 yet should kill the party afterward at what time should bee appointed. Which 
 argument belike pleased well his Lordship and therefore was chosen to bee discussed 
 in his audience, if I bee not deceived of his being that day present. So though one 
 die of a Flux, and an other of a Catarre, yet this importeth little to the matter, but 
 sheweth rather the great cunning and skill of the Artificer. 
 
 So Cardinall Chatilian (as I have said before,) having accused my Lord of Leycester 
 to the Queenes Majesty, and after that, passing from London towards France about the 
 marriage, died by the way at Canterbury of a burning Fever: and so proved Do6tor 
 Baylies assertion true, that poison may bee given to kill at a day. 
 
 At this the Lawyer cast up his eyes to Heaven, and I stood somewhat musing and 
 thinking of that which had beene spoken of the Earle of Essex, whose case indeed 
 moved mee more then all the rest, for that hee was a very noble Gentleman, a great 
 Advancer of true Religion, a Patron to many Preachers and Students, and towards 
 mee and some of my friends in particular, hee had beene in some things very benefi- 
 ciall : and therefore I said that it grieved mee extreamely to heare or thinke of so 
 unworthy a death contrived by such meanes to so worthy a Peere. And so much the 
 more, for that it was my chance, to come to the understanding of divers particulars 
 concerning that thing, both from one Lea an Irish-man, Robin Honnies and other, that 
 were present at Penteneis the Marchants house in Beveling upon the kay, where the 
 Murder was committed. The matter was wrought especially by Crompton yeoman of 
 the bottels, by the procurement of Lloyd as you have noted before, and there was 
 poisoned at the same time and with the same cup (as given of curtesie by the Earle) 
 one Mistresse Ales Draykot a goodly Gentlewoman, whom the Earle affedlioned much, 
 who departing thence towards her owne house, (which was 18 miles of, the foresaid 
 Lea accompanying her, and wayting upon her,) shee began to fall sick very grievously 
 upon the way, and continued with increase of paines and excessive torments, by vomit- 
 ing, untill shee died, which was the Sunday before the Earles death, ensuing the 
 Friday after, and when shee was dead, her body was swolne unto a monstrous bignesse 
 and deformity, whereof the good Earle hearing the day following, lamented the case 
 greatly, and said in the presence of his Servants, Ah poore Ales, the cup was not 
 prepared for thee, albeit it were thy hard destiny to tast thereof. 
 
 Yong Honnies also whose Father is Master of the children of her Majesties 
 Chappell, being at that time Page to the said Earle, and accustomed to take the tast 
 of his drinke (though since entertained also among other by my Lord of Leycester for 
 better covering of matter) by his tast that hee then tooke of the compound cup, 
 (though in very small quantity, as you know the fashion is :) yet was hee like to have 
 lost his life, but escaped in the end, (being yong) with the losse onely of his haire : 
 which the Earle perceiving, and taking compassion of the youth : called for a cup of 
 drinke a little before his death, and drunk to Honnies, saying: I drinke to thee my 
 
 T>o&oT Bayly 
 the yonger. 
 
 Death of 
 Cardinall 
 Chatilian. 
 
 Scholar. 
 
 Lea. 
 Honnies, 
 
 Mistresse 
 Draykot poi- 
 soned with 
 the Earle of 
 Essex. 
 
Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 92 
 
 The Earle of 
 Essex speech 
 to his Page 
 Robin Hotmies. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Death of Sir 
 
 Nicholas 
 
 Throgmarton. 
 
 Sir Will. Cy- 
 cill now L. 
 Treasurer. 
 
 The poison- 
 ing of Sir 
 Nicholas in a 
 Salat. 
 
 The Lord 
 
 Chamber- 
 
 laine. 
 
 Monsieur 
 
 Simiers. 
 
 Robin, and be not afeard, for this is a better cup of drinke then that, whereof thou 
 tookest the tast when wee were both poisoned, and whereby thou hast lost thy haire 
 and I must loose my life. This hath yong Honnies reported openly in divers places, 
 and before divers Gentlemen of worship sithence his comming into England, and the 
 foresaid Lea Irishman at his passage this way towards France, after hee had beene 
 present at the forenamed Mistresse Draykots death, with some other of the Earles 
 Servants, have and doe most constantly report the same, where they may doe it with- 
 out the terrour of my Lord of Leycesters revenge. Wherefore in this matter there is no 
 doubt at all, though most extreame vile and intollerable indignity, that such a man 
 should bee so openly murdered without punishment. What Noble-man within the 
 Realme may bee safe if this bee suffered? or what worthy personage will adventure his 
 life in her Majesties service if this shall bee his reward? But (Sir) I pray you pardon mee, 
 for I am somewhat perhaps to vehement in the case of this my Patron and noble Peere of 
 our Realme. And therefore I beseech you to goe forward in your talke whereas you left. 
 I was recounting unto you others (said the Gentleman) made away by my Lord of 
 Leycester with like art, and the next in order I thinke was Sir Nicholas Throgmarton, who 
 was a man whom my Lord of Leycester used a great while (as all the World knoweth) 
 to over-thwart and crosse the doings of my Lord Treasurer then Sir Will. Cicill, a man 
 specially misliked alwayes of Leycester, both in respedl of his old Master the Duke of 
 Somerset, as also for that his great wisedome, zeale and singular fidelity to the Realme, 
 was like to hinder much this mans designements : wherefore understanding after a 
 certaine time that these two Knights were secretly made friends, and that Sir Nicholas 
 was like to dete6l his doings (as hee imagined,) which might turne to some prejudice 
 of his purposes : (having conceived also a secret grudge and griefe against him, for 
 that hee had written to her Majesty at his being Embassadour in France, that hee 
 heard reported at Duke Memorances table, that the Queene of England had a meaning 
 to marry her Horse-keeper) hee invited the said Sir Nicholas to a Supper at his house 
 in London and at Supper time departed to the Court, being called for (as hee said) 
 upon the sudden by her Majesty, and so perforce would needs have Sir Nicholas to sit 
 and occupie his Lordships place, and therein to bee served as hee was: and soone after 
 by a surfeit their taken, hee died of a strange and incurable vomit. But the day before 
 his death, hee declared to a deare friend of his, all the circumstance and cause of his 
 disease, which hee affirmed plainely to bee of poison, given him in a Salat at Supper, 
 inveying most earnestly against the Earles cruelty and bloudy disposition, affirming 
 him to be the wickedest, most perilous, and perfidious man under heaven. But what 
 availed this, when hee had now received the bait. 
 
 This then is to shew the mans good fortune, in seeing them dead, whom for causes 
 hee would not have to live. And for his art of poisoning, it is such now and reacheth 
 so farre, as hee holdeth all his foes in England and els where, as also a good many 
 of his friends in feare thereof, and if it were knowen how many hee hath dispatched 
 or assaulted that way, it would bee marvailous to the posterity. The late Earle of 
 Sussex wanted not a scruple for many yeares before his death, of some dramme received 
 that made him incurable. And unto that noble Gentleman Monsieur Simiers, it was 
 discovered by great providence of God, that his life was to bee attempted by that art, 
 and that not taking place (as it did not through his owne good circumspection,) it was 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 93 
 
 concluded that the same should be assaulted by violence, whereof I shall have occasion 
 to say more hereafter. 
 
 It hath been told me also by some of the Servants of the late Lady Lenox, who 
 was also of the bloud Royall by Scotland as all men know, and consequently little liked 
 by Leycester: that a little before her death or sicknesse, my Lord tooke the paines to 
 come and visit her with extraordinary kindnesse, at her house at Hackney, bestowing 
 long discourses with her in private : but as soone as hee was departed, the good Ladie 
 fell into such a Flux, as by no meanes could bee stayed so long as she had life in her 
 body, whereupon both shee her selfe, and all such as were neare about her, and saw 
 her disease and ending day, were fully of opinion, that my Lord had procured her 
 dispatch at his being there. Whereof let the Women that served her bee examined, 
 as also Fowler that then had the chiefe doings in her affaires, and since hath beene 
 entertained by my Lord of Leycester. Mallet also a stranger borne, that then was 
 about her, a sober and zealous man in religion, and otherwise well qualified, can say 
 somewhat in this point (as I thinke) if hee were demanded. So that this art and 
 exercise of poisoning, is much more perfedl with my Lord then praying and hee 
 seemeth to take more pleasure therein. 
 
 Now for the second point, which I named, touching marriages and contradls with 
 Women : you must not marvaile though his Lordship bee somewhat divers, variable 
 and inconstant, with himselfe, for that according to his profit or his pleasure, and as 
 his lust and liking shall vary (wherein by the judgement of all men, hee surpasseth, not 
 onely Sardanapalus and Nero, but even Heliogabalus himselfe :) so his Lordship also 
 changeth Wives and Minions, by killing the one, denying the other, using the third for 
 a time, and hee fawning upon the fourth. And for this cause hee hath his tearmes and 
 pretences (I warrant you) of Contradts, Precontradls, Postcontradls, Protradls, and 
 Retradls : as for example : after hee had killed his first wife, and so broken that 
 contradl, then forsooth would hee needs make himselfe Husband to the Queenes 
 Majesty, and so defeat all other Princes by vertue of his precontradt. But after this, 
 his lust compelling him to an other place, hee would needs make a postcontradl with 
 the Lady Sheffield, and so hee did, begetting two children upon her, the one a boy 
 called Robin Sheffi,eld now living, some time brought up at Newington, and the other a 
 daughter, borne (as is knowen) at Dudley Castle. But yet after, his concupiscence 
 changing againe (as it never stayeth) hee resolved to make a retradl, of this postcontradl, 
 (though it were as surely done (as I have said) as Bed and Bible could make the same) 
 and to make a certaine new, protra6l, (which is a continuation of using her for a time) 
 with the Widdow of Essex. But yet to stop the mouths of our criars, and to bury the 
 Synagogue with some honour, (for these two wives of Leycester, were merrily and 
 wittily called his old and new Testaments, by a person of great excellency within the 
 Realme) hee was content to assigne to the former a thousand pounds in money with 
 other petty considerations, (the pittifullest abused that ever was poore Lady) and so 
 betake his limmes to the latter, which latter notwithstanding, hee so useth (as wee see) 
 now confessing, now forswearing, now dissembling the marriage : and hee will alwayes 
 yet keepe a voyd place for a new surcontraft with any other, when occasion shall require. 
 
 Now by my truth Sir (quoth I) I never heard nor read the like to this in my life : 
 yet have I read much in my time, of the carnality and licentiousnesse of divers 
 
 The poison- 
 ing of the 
 Lady Lenox. 
 
 LeycssUrs 
 most variable 
 dealing with 
 Women in 
 contraifts and 
 marriages. 
 
 Contracfts. 
 
 Precontradls. 
 
 Post- 
 contraiJls. 
 
 Retracft. 
 
 Protraa. 
 
 Leycestirs two 
 Testaments. 
 
 Scholar. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 94 
 
 Variits Helio- 
 gdbttlus, and 
 his most in- 
 famous death. 
 
 An Epitaph. 
 
 A pittifuU 
 permission. 
 
 The extirpa- 
 tion of the 
 Tarquinians. 
 
 An. dom. 959. 
 
 Gmtltman. 
 
 The intoUer- 
 able ticen- 
 tiousnesse of 
 Leycesters 
 carnality. 
 
 Money well 
 spent. 
 
 Anne Vavisir. 
 
 outragious persons, in this kind of sinne, as namely these whom you have mentioned 
 before : especially the Emperour Heliogabalus who passed all other, and was called 
 Varius, of the variety of filth which hee used in this kind of carnality, or carnall 
 beastlinesse. Whose death was : that being at length odious to all men, and so slaine 
 by his owne Souldiers, was drawen through the City upon the ground like a dogge, and 
 cast into the common privy, with this Epitaph. Hie proje£lus est indomitce & rabidce 
 libidinis -catulus. Here is throwen in, the Whelpe of unruly and raging lust : which 
 Epitaph, may also one day chance to serve my Lord oi Leycester (whom you call the 
 Beare-whelp,) if hee goe forward as hee hath begunne, and die as hee deserveth. 
 
 But (good Sir) what a compassion is this, that among us Christians, and namely 
 in so well governed, and religious a Common-wealth as ours is, such a riot should bee 
 permitted upon mens wives in a subject : whereas wee read that among the very 
 Heathens, lesse offences then these, in the same kind, were extreamely punished in 
 Princes themselves, and that not onely in the person delinquent alone, but also by 
 extirpation of the whole family for his sake, as appeareth in the example of the 
 Tarquinians among the Romans. And here also in our owne Realme, wee have registred 
 in Chronicle, how that one King Edwin above six hundred yeares past was deprived of 
 his Kingdome, for much lesse scandalous fadls then these. 
 
 I remember well the story (quoth the Gentleman) and thereby doe easily make 
 conjedlure, what difference there is betwixt those times of old, and our dayes now: 
 seeing then, a crowned Prince could not passe unpunished with one or two outragious 
 adls, whereas now a subje6l raised up but yesterday from the meaner sort, rangeth at 
 his pleasure in all licentiousnesse, and that with security, void of feare both of God 
 and man. No mans wife can bee free from him, whom his firie lust liketh to abuse, 
 nor their Husbands able to resist nor save from his violence, if they shew dislike, or 
 will not yeeld their consent to his doings. And if I should discover in particular how 
 many good Husbands hee had plagued in this nature, and for such delights, it were 
 intollerable : for his concupiscence and violence doe runne joyntly together, as in 
 furious beasts wee see they are accustomed. Neither holdeth hee any rule in his lust 
 besides onely the motion and suggestion of his owne sensuality. Kindred, affinity or 
 any other band of consanguinity : religion, honour or honesty taketh no place in his 
 outragious appetite. What hee best liketh that hee taketh as lawfull for the time. So 
 that Kins-woman, allie, friends wife, or daughter, or whatsoever female sort besides 
 doth please his eye : (I leave out of purpose and for honour sake tearmes of kinred 
 more neare) that must yeeld to his desire. 
 
 The keeping of the Mother with two or three of her Daughters at once or succes- 
 sively, is no more with him, then the eating of an Henne and her Chicken together. 
 There are not (by report) two Noble women about her Majesty (I speake upon some 
 accompt of them that know much) whom hee hath not solicited by potent wayes : 
 Neither contented with this place of honour, hee hath descended to seeke pasture 
 among the waiting Gentlewomen of her Majesties great Chamber, offering more for 
 their allurement, then I thinke Lais did commonly take in Corinth, if three hundreth 
 pounds for a night, will make up the summe : or if not, yet will hee make it up 
 otherwise : having reported himselfe (so little shame hee hath) that hee offered to an 
 other of higher place, an hundreth pound lands by the yeare with as many Jewels as 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 95 
 
 most Women under her Majesty used in England : which was no meane bait to one 
 that used traffique in such marchandize : shee being but the leavings of an other man 
 before him, whereof my Lord is nothing squemish, for satisfying of his lust, but can 
 bee content (as they say) to gather up crummes when hee is hungry, even in the very 
 Landry it selfe, or other place of baser quality. 
 
 And albeit the Lord of his great mercy, to doe him good, no doubt, if hee were 
 revokeable, hath laid his hand upon him, in some chasticement in this World by 
 giving him a broken Belly on both sides of his bowels whereby misery and putrifadlion 
 is threatned to him dayly : and to his yong Sonne by the Widdow of Essex, (being 
 Filius peccati) such a strange calamity of the falling sicknesse in his infancy,* as well 
 may bee a witnesse of the Parents sinne and wickednesse, and of both their wasted 
 natures in iniquity : yet is this man nothing amended thereby, but according to the 
 custome of all old adulterers, is more libidinous at this day then ever before, more 
 given to procure love in others by Conjuring, Sorcery, and other such meanes. And 
 albeit for himselfe, both age, and nature spent, doe somewhat tame him from the a6l, 
 yet wanteth hee not will, as appeareth by the Italian Ointment, procured not many 
 yeares past by his Surgion or Mountibanck of that Country, whereby (as they say) hee 
 is able to move his flesh at all times, for keeping of his credit, howsoever his inability 
 bee otherwise for performance : as also one of his Physitians reported to an Earle of 
 this Land, that his Lordship had a bottle for his Bed-head, of tenne pounds the Pint 
 to the same effe6t. But my Masters whether are wee fallen, unadvised ? I am 
 ashamed to have made mention of so base filthinesse. 
 
 Not without good cause (quoth I) but that wee are here alone and no man heareth 
 us. Wherefore I pray you let us returne whereas wee left : and when you named my 
 Lord of Leycesters Daughter borne of the Lady Sheffield in Dudley Castle, there came 
 into my head a pritty story concerning that affaire : which now I will recompt (though 
 somewhat out of order) thereby to draw you from the further stirring of this unsavery 
 pudle, and foule dunghill, whereunto wee are slipped, by following my Lord somewhat 
 to farre in his paths and adlions. 
 
 Wherefore to tell you the tale as it fell out: I grew acquainted three Moneths past 
 with a certaine Minister, that now is dead, and was the same man that was used at 
 Dudley Castle, for complement of some sacred Ceremonies at the birth of my Lord of 
 Leycesters Daughter in that place : and the matter was so ordained, by the wily wit 
 of him that had sowed the seed, that for the better covering of the harvest and secret 
 delivery of the Lady Sheffield, the good wife of the Castle also (whereby Leycesters 
 appointed gossips, might without other suspition have accesse to the place) should 
 faigne herselfe to bee with child, and after long and sore travell (God wot) to bee 
 delivered of a cushion (as shee was indeed) and a little after a faire Coffin was buried 
 with a bundell of cloutes in shew of a child : and the Minister caused to use all 
 accustomed prayers and ceremonies for the solemne interring thereof: for which thing, 
 afterward, before his death hee had great griefe and remorse of conscience, with no 
 small detestation of the most irreligious devise of my Lord of Leycester in such a case. 
 Here the Lawyer began to laugh a pace both at the devise and at the Minister, 
 and said now truly if my Lords contrads hold no better, but hath so many infirmities, 
 with subtilties, and by-places besides : I would bee loth that hee were married to my 
 Daughter, as meane as shee is. 
 
 The punish- 
 ments of God 
 
 upon Lcyces- 
 ter, to do him 
 good. 
 
 • The chil- 
 dren of adul- 
 ters shall be 
 consumed, 
 and the seed 
 of a wicked 
 bed shall bee 
 root«d out, 
 saith God. — 
 Sap 3. 
 
 Leycesters 
 ointment. 
 
 Leycesters 
 bottell. 
 
 Scholar. 
 
 A petty de- 
 vise. 
 
 An aft of 
 Atheisme. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
Leycester^s Comnio7i wealth. 
 
 96 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 The first 
 reason why 
 Leycester slew 
 his wife by 
 violence, ra- 
 ther then by 
 poison. 
 
 The second 
 
 reason. 
 
 Doftor Bayly 
 the elder. 
 
 A pradise 
 for poisoning 
 the Lady 
 Dudley. 
 
 Doftor 
 
 Babington . 
 
 But yet (quoth the Gentleman) I had rather of the two bee his wife for the time 
 then his guest : especially if the Italian Surgion or Physition bee at hand. 
 
 True it is (said the Lawyer) for hee doth not poison his Wives, whereof I some- 
 what marvaile, especially his first wife, I muse why hee chose rather to make her away 
 by open violence, then by some Italian confortive. 
 
 Hereof (said the Gentleman) may bee divers reasons alleadged. First that he 
 was not at that time so skilfuU in those Italian wares, nor had about him so fit 
 Physitians and Surgions for the purpose : nor yet in trueth doe I think that his mind 
 was so setled then in mischiefe, as it hath beene sithence. For you know, that men 
 are not desperate the first day, but doe enter into wickednesse by degrees, and with 
 some doubt or staggering of conscience at the beginning. And so hee at that time 
 might bee desirous to have his wife made away, for that shee letted him in his designe- 
 ments, but yet not so stony harted as to appoint out the particular manner of her 
 death, but rather to leave that, to the discretion of the murderer. 
 
 Secondly, it is not also unlikely that hee prescribed unto Sir Richard Varney at his 
 going thither, that hee should first attempt to kill her by poison, and if that tooke not 
 place then by any other way to dispatch her, howsoever. This I prove by the report 
 of old Do6tor Bayly who then lived in Oxford (an other manner of man then hee who 
 now liveth about my Lord of the same name) and was Professor of the Physick 
 Ledlure in the same Vniversity. This learned grave man reported for most certaine, 
 that there was a pra6lize in Cumner among the conspiratours, to have poisoned the 
 poore Lady a little before shee was killed, which was attempted in this order. 
 
 They seeing the good Lady sad and heavy (as one that well knew by her other 
 handling that her death was not farre of) began to perswade her, that her disease was 
 aboundance of Melancholly and other humours, and therefore would needs counsaile 
 her to take some potion, which shee absolutely refusing, to doe, as suspecting still the 
 worst : they sent one day, (unawares to her) for Dodlor Bayly, and desired him to 
 perswade her to take some little potion at his hands, and they would send to fetch the 
 same at Oxford upon his prescription, meaning to have added also somewhat of their 
 owne for her comfort as the Dodtor upon just causes suspedled, seeing their great 
 importunity, and the small need which the good Lady had of Physick, and therefore 
 hee flatly denied their request, misdoubting (as hee after reported) least if they had 
 poisoned her under the name of his Potion : hee might after have beene hanged for a 
 cover of their sinne. Marry the said Dodlor remained well assured that this way 
 taking no place, shee should not long escape violence as after ensued. And the thing 
 was so beaten into the heads of the principall men of the Vniversity of Oxford, by 
 these and other meanes : as for that shee was found murdered (as all men said) by the 
 Crowners inquest, and for that shee being hastely and obscurely buried at Cumner 
 (which was condemned above as not advisedly done) my good Lord, to make plaine to 
 the World the great love hee bare to her in her life, and what a grief the losse of so 
 vertuous a Lady was to his tender heart, would needs have her taken up again and 
 re-buried in the Vniversity Church at Oxford, with great Pomp and solemnity : That 
 Dodlor Babington my Lords Chaplaine, making the publique funerall Sermon at her 
 second buriall, tript once or twice in his speech, by recommending to there memories 
 that vertuous Lady so pittifully murdered, instead of so pittifully slaine. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 97 
 
 MS. Folio 63. 
 
 A third reason of this manner of this la : death maie be the [disposition of my Lord's nature ; 
 w^" is bold & violent where it feareth no re'^staunce (as all [cowardly natures are by 
 kinde) and where any difficultie or daunger appeareth, there, [more ready to attempt 
 all by art, subtletie, treason or treacherie. And so for y' he doubt [ed no great resistance in the 
 poor la : to withstande the handes of them that should offer to [break her neck ; 
 he durst attempt the same more openlie. But in men whom he p [oisoned, for that they 
 were such vahant knights y« most part of them, as he durst a[s soon as eaten his 
 scabberd, as drawen his sword in publique against them (as all wretched 
 cowards are) : he was inforced to supplant them by fraud & other [men's hands, as 
 at other times, he hath sought to doe vnto diuss other noble and [valiant personages, 
 when he was afraid to haue mett them in the field as a knight should [have done. 
 His treacheries towards, the late noble Earle of Sussex in the[ir many breaches, is 
 notorius to all England. As also his bloudie pradlises against [diverse others. But 
 as amongst many, none were more odious & disliked of all, then those [against Monsieur 
 Simier] a straunger and Ambassadour ! whom first he practised to haue poisoned [as 
 hath been] touched before) and when that deuise tooke no place, then he appoint [ed that 
 Robin Tider] his seruaunt) was to haue slaine him at y^ Blackefriers at [Greenwich, as 
 he went] foath at y^ garden gate ; but missing also of that purpose, for y' he pro- 
 [found the Gentleman better pro-J uided & garded then he expreded, he delt with 
 certaine Flush [iners and other Pirates'] to sinke him at sea and other Englishe gent his 
 fauourers, y' accompanied [him at his] returne into Fraunce. And thoughe they missed 
 of this pradlise also [as not daring to] sett vpon him for feare of some of her Ma'^ ships, 
 who, to breake of th[is designment attended] by speciall commaundem', to wafte him 
 ouer in saftye) yett the foresa [id English gentlemen] were holden foure houres in chase 
 at their coming backe : as M"" Rawley [well knoweth] being then psent, and two of the 
 chasers named Clarke and Harris confess [ed afterward] y'= whole designm'. The Earle 
 of Ormond hath likewise often declared [, and will avouch it to my Lord] of Ley : face, 
 whensoeue' he shalbe called to y"' same, y' at such time as he [had a quarrel] w"" him and 
 therby was likelie to be inforced to the feild (w'='' he trembled [to think of)] he sought 
 by all meanes to haue him made away by secrett murder, o [fering ;^5oo for] the doing 
 thereof! And secondlie when y' deuice tooke no place, he appointed [with him the field, 
 but secretlie suborning Willm Killegrew his servaunt to lie in the waie wh [ere Ormond 
 should passe &, so to massacre him w* a calliv^', before he came to the place [appointed. 
 W* murder though ittooke no effea,fory'y'=matter was taken vp,beforey'=d[ayofthemeet- 
 ting ; yett was Killegrew placed afterwardes in her Ma" priuie chamber by [Leycester after 
 showing his readie minde, to doe for his m" so faithfull a service. 
 
 So faithfull a service? (quoth I) trulie, in my opinion, it was but an vnfit pre [ferment, 
 for so fa] cinorous an adl. And as I would be loath y' manie of his Italias, or other of 
 [that art, should come] neare about her Ma""'= kitchin : so much lesse would I, y' manie 
 such his bloudie [champions] should be placed by him in her Ma'' chamber. Albeit 
 for this gent in pticuler, it [may be, that with] chaunge of his place in service, he hath 
 chaunged also his minde and effeccons [and received] better instruccon in y" feare of 
 y^ Lord. 
 
 But yett in generall I must needes sale, y' it cannot but be piudiciall & exce [eding 
 dangerous] vnto o' noble Princes Realme, y' anie one man w'soeu' (especiallie such a one 
 
 Note.— The 
 side notes and 
 missing por- 
 tions are sup- 
 plied from the 
 1641 edition. 
 
 The intended 
 murder of 
 Monsieur Si- 
 miers by sun- 
 dry meanes. 
 
 The intended 
 murder of the 
 Earle of 
 Ormoni. 
 
 William Killi- 
 
 grew. 
 
 Scholar. 
 
 N 
 
Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 98 
 
 MS. Folio 63 [contd.) 
 
 Preoccupa- 
 tion of her 
 Majesties 
 person. 
 
 An ordinary 
 way of aspir- 
 ing by pre- 
 occupation of 
 the Princes 
 person. 
 
 A compari- 
 son. 
 
 The way of 
 aspiring in 
 Duke Dudley. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 [as the World] taketh this man to be) should grow to so absolute aufthoritie & com- 
 andrie in y^ C [ourt, as to place] about the Princes person (the heade, the harte, the liffe 
 of the lande) w'soeu [er people liked] him best, & y' not vpo their deserts towards y^ Prince, 
 but towards himselfe: wh[ose fidelity] being more obliged to their advauncer then to y"' 
 Soueraigne, do serue for [watchmen about] y'= same, for y" pfitt of him, by whose 
 appointm' they were placed. Who by their [means casting] indeede but netts and 
 chaines,& invisible bonds about that pson, whom he ptendeth [to serve,] he shutteth vp 
 his Prince in a prison most sure, though sweet and [senseless. Neither] is this arte of 
 aspiring new or straunge vnto any man y' is e [perience in affairs of former] times : fFor 
 y' it hath ben from y^ begining of all governm' [a troden path of all aspirers. In 
 Stories both] Sacred and Pphane, forreyne and domesticall of all [Nations, King- 
 doms, Countries, & States you] shall reade, y' such as ment to mount aboue [others, & to 
 govern all at their own discretion: did lay] this for the first ground and principle of [their 
 purpose : to possess themselves of all such as were in] place about the [principal : even 
 as hee who contending to hold a good City at his owne disposition, not dareth make open 
 warre against the same: getteth secretly into his hands or at his devotion, all the 
 Townes, Villages, Castles, Fortresses, Bulwarkes, Rampires, Waters, Wayes, Ports and 
 Passages, about the same, and so without drawing any sword against the said City, 
 hee bringeth the same into bondage to abide his will and pleasure. 
 
 This did all these in the Romane Empire, who rose from subjedts to bee great 
 Princes, and to put down Emperours. This did all those in France and other Kingdomes, 
 who at sundry times have tyrranized their Princes. And in our owne Country the 
 examples are manifest of Voriigern, Harold, Henry of Lancaster, Richard of Warwick, 
 Richard of Gloucester, John of Northumberland, & diverse others, who by this means 
 specially have pulled downe their lawful soveraignes.] 
 
 MS. Folio 64. 
 
 [And] to speake a word or two of the last, for y' he was this mans Father: doth 
 not all Eng : knowe, y' he [first over] othrew the good Duke of Somersett, by drawing 
 to his devocon y^ frends & servants of y^ Duke ? [And after] wards did he not possesse 
 himself of y^ king's owne person & brought him to y^ most shamefull [dis] inheriting of 
 his owne Roiall Sisters : and all this, by possessing fyrst the principall men y' were in 
 authoritie about him ? 
 
 Wherfor S' if my Lo : of Ley, haue y^ same plott in his heade (as most men thinke) 
 
 by the lyne 
 
 & y' he meane one [day] to giue y'= same push at the Crov^ne^oi Huntington, against all 
 y^ race & lyne of K. H. 7. in [ge] nerall w""* his Father gaue before him, by ptence of y° 
 house of Suffolke, against y^ children of K. H. 8: in pticuler : he wanteth not reason to 
 follow y" same meanes & plattforme of planting speciall psons, for his purpose about 
 the Prince for surelie his Fathers plott wanted no wittie deuice or pparacon, but 
 onelie y' God ouerthrew it at y'= instant : as happelie he male do this mans also 
 notw"'standing any dilligence y* humaine wisedome can vse to y^ contrarie. 
 
 To this said y" Gent y' my Lo. of Ley' hath a purpose to shoote one dale at the 
 diadem by y^ title of Count : is not a thing obscure in it selfe, and it shalbe more 
 
 , for yor instrucco 
 
 plamhe proued heerafter. But now will I shew vnto yo", ^ how well this fellow hath 
 followed his Fathers platforme (or rather passed y^ same) in possessing himself of all 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 99 
 
 MS. Folio 64 {contd.) 
 
 her Ma'^ servants, frends, & forces, to serue his turne at y' time for execucon, and in 
 the meane space for pparacon. 
 
 First, in the priuie chamber, next to her Ma'^ Persoun, y° most p' are his owne 
 creatures (as he calleth them) y' is, such as acknowledg their being in y' place, from 
 him : and y" rest he overruleth [ei] ther by fflatterie, or feare, as none maie dare but 
 to serue his turne. And his raigne is so absolute in this place, (as also in all other p'= of 
 
 by 
 
 y"" Courte) as nothing can passe but ^^ his admissio, nothing can be said, donne, or 
 signified, wherof he is not pticulerlie advertised : No bill, no supplicaco, no complaint, 
 no suite, no speach, can passe from anie man to y^ Princess (except it be from one of the 
 counsell) but by his good liking : or if there do, the being admonished therof (as psentiie 
 he shall,) y^ partie delinquent is sure after to endure the smart therof. Wherby he 
 holdeth as it were a locke vpon the [cares] of his Prince, and y° tongs of all Her Ma" 
 Seruants so surelie chained to his girdle, as no man dareth to speake anie one thing 
 y' maie offend him, though it be neuer so treu or be soonefull for her Ma'"= to know. 
 
 As well apeared in his late marriage w"" Dame Essex, w"*" albeit y' was celebrated 
 twyce : firste att Killingworth, and secondly att Wansteede (in the psence of the Earle 
 of Warwick, L. Northe, Sir Frauncs Knowells and others) and this expedlly known to the 
 whole courte, w"" the very day, the place, the witnesses, and the mynister thatt 
 marryed them togeather ; yet durst no man open his mouth to make her Ma''' privy 
 therevnto, vntill Mounsuer Simiers disclosed the same, (and thereby incurred his highe 
 displeasure) nor yet in many dayes after for feare of Leicester. W^ is a subiedlion 
 most dishonorable and daungerous to any P [rince] lyvinge, to stand att the devocon 
 of his subiedte, whatt to heare or not to heare, of things that passe w"'in his owne 
 
 [Realm.] And hereof y' followeth that noe sute can pvayle in [Court, be it] never soe 
 meane, excepte he firste be made a[cquainted] therew"", and receave not onely the 
 thanks, but also [bee admitted] vnto a greate pte of the gayne and comodetye th [ereof. 
 Which] as yt is a greate inivry to the suter : Soe is y' [far] greater to the bounty, 
 honor and securety of the [Prince, by] whose liberallity this man feedeth onely, and 
 
 [fortifieth himself,] deprivinge his souaigne of all grace, thank [s and goodwill of th] e 
 For w""" cause he giueth onl [ordinarily, to every suit]er, thatt her Ma'^ is 
 
 same. 
 
 nighe and Par [simonious of herself, and] very difficill to graunt any sute, [where it is 
 not only upon his] incessant sohcitacon. [Whereby he fiUith his owne purse the more, 
 and emptieth the hearts of such as receive benefit, from due thankes from their Princes 
 for the sute obtained. 
 
 Hereof also ensueth, that no man may bee preferred in Court (bee hee otherwise 
 never so well a deserving servant to her Majesty) except hee bee one of Leycester's faftion] 
 
 MS. Folio. 65. 
 or followers: none can be advaunced, excepte he [bee liked and] pferred by him : none 
 can receave grace, excepte he [stand in his] good favoure, noe one may lyve in coun- 
 tenance, or qu [iet of life,] excepte he take yt, vse yt, ane acknowledge yt fr [om him, so as 
 all the favoures, graces, dignityes, pfer, riches & [rewards,] w'*" her Ma''' bestoweth, or 
 the Realme can yeld : in [must serve] to purchase this man private frends, and favoure 
 [onely to] advance his pty, and to fortyfie his faftion. W^*" [faftion if] by theis meanes 
 y' be greate, (as in deede y' [is : ) you] may not marvaile, seeinge the riches and 
 
 Leyctslers 
 power in the 
 privy cham- 
 ber. 
 
 Leycester 
 married at 
 Wanstead; 
 when her Ma- 
 jesty was at 
 M. S toners 
 house. 
 Doftor 
 Culpepper, 
 Physitian 
 Minister. 
 
 No sute can 
 passe but by 
 Leycester. 
 
 Read Polidore 
 in the 7 yeare 
 of King Rich- 
 ard I. and you 
 shall find this 
 proceeding of 
 certain about 
 that K. to bee 
 put as a great 
 cause of his 
 overthrow. 
 
 No prefer- 
 ments but by 
 Leycester to 
 Leycestrians. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 lOO 
 
 MS. Folio 65 (contd.) 
 
 Leycesters 
 anger and 
 insolency. 
 
 LeycesUr's 
 
 peremptory 
 
 dealing. 
 
 Breaking of 
 order in her 
 Majesties 
 household. 
 
 wealth, [of so] worthie a comon weale, doe serve him but for a [price to] buy the 
 same. W* thinge himselfe well knowing, [frameth] his spyrits of pceadinge accord- 
 ingly. And first, upon confydence thereof, is becom soe Insolent and [impotent of 
 his ire that noe man may beare the same, how [justly] or vniustlie soever yt be 
 conceived : for albeyt he [begin to] hate may, vpon bare surmise onely (as comon [ly it 
 falleth] out. Ambition beinge alwayes the mother of [suspicion)] yet he psecuteth the 
 same, w"" suche implac [able cruelty,] as there is noe longe abidinge for the ptye [in that 
 place. As mighte be shewed by the examples [of many] whome he hathe chased 
 from the courte, [upon his] onely displeasure w"'oute other cause, being [known to 
 be otherwise moste zealous Protestants. As [Sir Jerome] Bowes, M' Gorge Scote, 
 and others that we [could name.] To this insolency is alsoe joyned (as by nature [it 
 followeth) moste absolute and pemptory de [aling] in all thinges wherof y' pleaseth 
 to dispose, w[ithout] respedte either of Reason, order, due, righte, s [ubordination, 
 custome, conueniency, or the like : whereof not [withstanding] Princes them selues are 
 wonte to haue regarde [in] disposicon of theire matters : As for example a [mong the 
 servants of the Q Ma. household, y' is an a[ncient] and most comendable order and 
 custome, that [when] a place of highere rowmes falleth voide, he that in succession is 
 nexte, and hath made pfe of his [worthiness] in an inferior place, shold rise and 
 possesse th [e same,] (except it be for som extraordinary cause) to [the end that 
 noeman vnexperienced or vntried, shold [be placed] in the higher Rowmes the 
 fyrste [day, to the prejudice] of others, and difference of the [Prince. Which 
 most rea] sonable custome, this man [contending and breaking at] his pleasure, 
 [thrusteth into higher rooms any person whatsoever, so he like his inclination or 
 feel his reward : albeit he neither be fit for the purpose, nor have been so 
 much as clerk in any inferior office before. The like he uses out of the court, in 
 all other places where matters should pass by order eledlion or degree : as in] 
 
 Leyeester's 
 violating of 
 all order in 
 the countrey 
 abroad. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 A Leycestrian 
 Common- 
 wealth. 
 
 MS. Folio 66. 
 
 the Uniuersities, in eleccon of Scholers & heades of houses, in Ecclessiastical 
 persons] for dignities of Church, in Officers, Maiestrates, Stewardes of land, Sheriffs 
 & Knights] of the Shires, in Burgesses of y* Pliam', in Comissioners, fudges, & 
 Justices of the peace, (wherof manie in euerie shire must weare his liu''ey) all 
 other] the like where this mans will, must stand for reason, & his Ires for absolu'^ 
 laws,] neyther is their any man, maiestrate, or cominer, in the Realme, who dareth 
 not] sooner denie, their peticco of her Ma'* Ires, vpon iust causes, (for that her 
 highnes is content afterwards to be satisfied w"" reason) then to resiste ye 
 com]amedm' of this mans Ires, who will admitt no excuse or satisfaio, but onely 
 the execucon of his sd comaundm' [bee it right or wrong.] 
 
 To this aunswered y"" Lawier now, verelie (S') yo" pointe vnto me a very straung 
 patt] erne of a pfedl Potentate in the Court : belike y' straunger, who calleth o" 
 Stat] e in his printed booke Leicestrense remp :, a Leycestrian Commowealth or the 
 comowelth of my Lo : of L:, knoweth much of theise matters. But to holde (S') 
 still] w^'in the Court : I do assure yo" y* by consideraco, w''^ yo" haue laid downe, I do 
 begin] now to pce3rve, y' his ptie must needes be verie great & strong w"'in the Court, 
 seing y* he hath so manie waies & meanes to increase, inrych, & incorradg y^ same. 
 
lOI 
 
 Leycestefs Commonwealth. j^S. Folio 66 {contd.) 
 
 and] also strong abilitie to treade downe his enemies. Y« Comon speach of mania want''"' 
 not] reason I pceyue, w^'' call him y« harte and life of y^ Court. 
 
 The]y w'-'call him y« harte (sd y'' Gent) vpon, a little occasion more, would call him 
 also the] heade, and then I mveile w' would be lefte for her Ma'- when they take from 
 her both] life, hart, & headshipp in her owne Realme ? But y^ truth is, y' he hath the 
 Court atj this daie in almost the same case, y' his father had it in K Ed: dales, by y« 
 same] deuice (y= Lo : forbid,) y' it eu come fullie to the same estate, for then we know w» 
 ensued] to y" principall :) and if yo" would have an evident demonstracco of this mans 
 colour & favour in that place : call yo"^ but to mynde y^ times when her Ma''^ vpo most 
 j]ust and vrgent occasions did w'Mraw: but a litle her wonted favour & countenance 
 to] wards him, did not all the Court as it were, mutiney psentlie ? did not euie man 
 hang the lipp ? except a few who afterwards paid sweetly for their mirth, were there 
 not euie daie new deuises wrought out, y* some should be on their kne^s to her M"^ 
 some should weepe & put finger in the eye : other should fynd out certaine cout 
 
 . of 
 
 manner of threatmng : other reasons ^pswasions of loue : other of profit: other 
 of hon [our other of necessitie ; and all to gett him recalled backe to favour againe ? 
 And] had her Ma"* any rest pmitted vnto her, vntill she had yelded and graunted 
 to] the same. 
 
 Consider then (I praie yo") y' if at y' time, in his disgrace, he had his faccon 
 so fast] assured to him self: w' hath he nowe in his prosperitie, after so manie years 
 of fo] rtificacon ? Wherin by all reason he hath not bee negligent, seing that in 
 
 good 
 
 poHcy the] first point of ^ fortificacon, is to make y' fort impregnable, w'='' once h] ath 
 been in] daunger to be lost. Wherof yo^ haue example in Ric D : of Yorke, in the time 
 of Henry the sixt] who being once in the Kings handes by his owne submissio, & as 
 then for his deserts, he should haue suffered : puided after, y' y" King [should 
 never be able to] oureache him y* seconde time, or haue him in his power [to do him hurt, 
 but made] himself strong enough to pull downe y* other w"" extirpac [of his 
 family. And] thus much of y* Court, houshold and chamber of her Ma"^ But now 
 if wee shall passe] from Court to counsell, we shall fynd him no lesse [fortified but 
 rather more : for albeit] the puidence of God hath ben such, y' in the most [honourable 
 assembly, there hath not] wanted some two or three of y* wisest, grauest, [& most experienced 
 in our State, that have scene] and marked this mansperillouspceeding [from the beginning 
 (whereof notwithstanding two are now deceased,] and their places supplied to Ley [cester's 
 good liking :) yet (alas) the wisdome of these worthy men, hath discovered alwayes 
 more, then their authorities were able to redresse : (the others great power and violence 
 considered) and for the residue of that bench and table, though I doubt not but there bee 
 divers, who in heart detest his doings (as there were also, no doubt among the Councillours 
 of King Edward, who misliketh this man's Father's attempts, though not so hardy as 
 to contrary the same :) yet for most part of the Council present, they are knowne to bee 
 so aflfedled in particular, the one for that hee is to him a brother, the other a father, the 
 other a kinsman, the other an allie, the other a fast obliged friend, the other a fellow] 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Leicester 
 called the 
 heart and life 
 of the Court. 
 
 A demonstra- 
 tion of Leyces- 
 ters tyrannic 
 in the Court. 
 
 Leycester pro- 
 videth never 
 to come in the 
 Queenes dan- 
 ger again. 
 
 AmioRegniSI. 
 
 Leycesters 
 puissance in 
 the privy 
 councell. 
 
 L. Keeper. 
 L. Chamber- 
 laine. 
 
 MS. Folio 67. 
 
 or follower in faccon, as now will stande in breach against [him: non dare resist 
 or encounter his designm": but euie man yeilding rather to y^ [force of his flow. 
 
Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 1 02 
 
 MS. Folio 67 {contd.) 
 
 Matters 
 wherein the 
 councell are 
 inforced to 
 winke at 
 Leycester. 
 
 Leycesters 
 intelligence 
 with the 
 rebellion in 
 Ireland. 
 
 Acteon's case 
 now come to 
 England. 
 
 Salvatour 
 slaine in his 
 bed. 
 
 Doughty 
 hanged by 
 Drake. 
 
 The story of 
 Gates hanged 
 at Tiborne. 
 
 pmitteth him to pearce, and passe at his pleasure, in w'soeu h [is will is once setled 
 to obtaine. 
 
 And wherof (were I not staied for respedte of some whom I will [not name) I could 
 alledge straunge examples, not somuch in affaires belonging t[o subjedls and to 
 priuate men, (as were y*' cases of Snowden forrests, Denbigh [of Killingworth, of 
 his faire Pastures fowlie pcured by Southam, of y^ Archbishop [of Canterbury, of the Lord 
 Barklie, of S"^ lohn Throckmorton, of M' Robynson & y" like ;) wh [erein those of the 
 counsell y' disliked his doings, least dared to oppose themselues to [the same ; but also 
 in things y'ptaine diredllie to y^ Crowne & dignitie, to y^ State and to [Commonweale, & to 
 
 anie 
 
 the saftie and continewaunce therof. It is not secure forgone c [ouncellour, or other 
 of audlhoritie to take notice of my Lo : errors or misdeeds, but w"" e [xtreme peril 
 of their owne ruine. 
 
 As for example : in the begining of the rebellio in Ireland, when my [Lord of Leycester 
 was] in some disgrace, and consequentlie, as he imagined but in fraile [state at home, 
 he thought it not unexpedient, for his better assurance, to hold some [intelligence 
 also y', waie, for all events, and so he did : wherof there was so good [evidence and 
 testimonie founde, vpon one of y^fyrst account, y* was there slaine (as hon [curable person- 
 ges of their knowledge haue assured me) as would haue ben sufficient, [to touch the 
 life of anie subieft in y^ lande, or any state Xrian, but onelie my Lo: of [Leycester: who is 
 a subiedt w^ut subieccon. 
 
 ifor w' thinke yo"? durst anie man take notice heerof, or auouch y' he h [ath seen thus 
 much ? durst he y' tooke it in Ireland, deliu the same where especiallie [he should have 
 
 in 
 
 done? or they who receyued it f^England, for it came to great hands) use [it to the 
 benefit] of their Prince & countrey ? No surelie ; for if it had ben but onelie sus [pedled, 
 that they] had but onelie seen such a thing, it would haue ben as daungerous to th [em, 
 as it] was to Acteon to haue seen Diana and her maidens naked : whose case [is so 
 common] now in England as nothing more, & so do y^ examples of dius well decl [are : 
 whose] vnfortunate knowledge of to manie secretts, brought them quicklie to [unfortunate 
 endes. 
 
 ffor we heare of one Salvato" slaine in his bed, long vsed in great mis [teries of base 
 affaires & dishonest accons, who afterwards vpon w' demeritts I know not) [sustained 
 a harde fortune for being late in his studie, well neare vnto midnight, [(if I be 
 rightlie informed) went home to his chamber, & y" next morninge was [found slaine 
 in his bed. We heare also of one Doughtie hanged in hast by Cap™ D [rake upon 
 y" sea, and y' by order (as is thought) before his depture out of England, [for that he 
 was] ouer priuie to the secretts of this good Earle. 
 
 There was also this last sommer past one Gates hanged at Tiborne [among 
 other, for robbing of carriers w"*" Gates had ben latelie clarke of my Lo : [rds kitching, 
 and had laied out (as he sd) much money of his owne for my Lo : pulsion, [being also 
 otherwise, in so great favo' and grace w"* his Lo : as no man living w [as thought to bee 
 more priuie of his secretts then this man, whervpon also it is to bee [thought that he 
 presumed the rather to comitt this robberie, (for to such things doth [my Lords good 
 favour] most extende : ) and he being apphended and in daunger for y^ same, [hee made 
 his recourse] to his honour for, pteccon, (as y= fashio is) and y' he might be le [borne 
 out, as divers of le] sse meritt had ben by his Lo : in more hieinous causes be [fore him. 
 
Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 103 
 
 MS. Folio 67 {contd.) 
 
 The good Ear]le aunswered his seruaunt & deare Priuado courtes[ly, and assured 
 him, for his life] , howsoeu for outward show or complent y^ forme of Law [might pass 
 against him, But] Gates seing himselfe condemned, & nothing now being [betweene 
 his head and the halter, but the] worde of y^ maiestrate w"*" might come [in an instant, 
 when it would bee too late to] sende to his Lo : remembring also [the small assurance 
 of his said Lords word by his former] deahngs [towards o] ther [men, whereof this 
 man was too much privy : hee thought good] to [sollicite his case] also [by some 
 other of his friends, though not so puissant as his Lord and Master, who dealing 
 indeed, both diligently and effectually in his affaire, found the matter more difficult 
 a great deale than either hee or they had imagined : for that my Lord of Leycester, 
 was not onely not his favorer, but a great hastener of his death under hand; 
 and that with such care, diligence, vehemency, and irresistable meanes, (having 
 the Law also on his side,) that there was no hope at all of escaping: which thing 
 when Gates heard of hee easily beleeved for the experience hee had of his Masters 
 good nature, and said, that he alwayes mistrusted the same, considering how] 
 
 MS. Folio. 68. 
 much his Lo : was indebt to him, & he made priuie to his Lo : sowle secretts w°'' 
 secrets hee] would there haue vttered pntlie in the face of all y^ World, but y' he 
 feared torment [or] speedie death, w"" some extraordinarie crueltie, if he should so 
 haue done, & ther[efore] he disclosed y^ same onelie to a Gent of Wo"', whom he 
 trusted especiallie whose nae I male nott vtter for some causes (but it begineth w"" H.) 
 and I am in hope eare it be long, by meanes of a frende of myne, to haue a sighte of 
 that discourse & reporte of Gates, w"*" hetherto I haue not seen nor never spake I w"" y'= 
 
 be 
 
 Gent that keepeth it, though I^well assured y' the whole matter passed in substaunce 
 as I haue heere recompted it. 
 
 Whervnto I aunswered, y' in good faith it were pittie y'this relacon should be lost, 
 
 rare 
 
 for y' it is verie like, y' manie^things be declared therin, seing it is done by a man so 
 priuie to the affaires themselues, wherin also he had ben vsed an instrum'. I will 
 haue it (quoth y^ Gent) or else my frends shall faile me, howbeit not so soone as I 
 would, for y' he is in the West Countrey y' should pcure it for me, and will not returne 
 for certaine monthes, but after I shall see him againe, I will not leaue him vntill he 
 pcure it for me, as he hath pmised. Well (quoth I,) but what is become of thy' 
 euiden^founde in Ireland vnder my Lo : hands, w* no man dare pursue, auouch, or 
 beholde. 
 
 Truelie (said y^ Gent) I am informed that it lieth safelie reserued in good 
 custodie, to be brought forth and auouched, whensoeu it shall please God so to dispose 
 of her Ma'^ hart, as to lende an indifferent eare, as well to his accusers, as to himself, 
 
 in judgm'. 
 
 Neither must yo" thinke, y' this is straunge, nor y' y^ things are few, w-^"" are in 
 such sort reserued in decke for the time to come, even among great psonages, & of high 
 calling, for seing y'= pst state of his power to be such, & the tempest of his tiranie to be so 
 strong and boistrous, as no man maie stande in the rage therof, vVout pill, for y' even 
 from her Ma''^ herself, in y-^ lenite of her Princelie minde, he extorteth w' he designeth. 
 
 Scholar. 
 
 This relation 
 of Gates, may 
 serve here- 
 after for an 
 addition in 
 the second 
 edition of 
 this booke. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 The deck re- 
 served for 
 Leycester. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 104 
 
 MS. Folio 68 (contd.) 
 
 Leyceskn 
 puissant vio- 
 lence with 
 the Prince 
 herself e. 
 
 The Earle of 
 Sussex his 
 speech of the 
 Earle of Ley- 
 cester. 
 
 The Lord 
 Bwghley. 
 
 Leycesters 
 power in the 
 countrey 
 abroad. 
 
 either by fraud, flatterie, false informaco, request, ptence, or violet importunitje^ to y^ 
 oubearing of all, whom he meaneth to oppresse : no mveile the though manie^of the 
 best and faithfullest subieds of y" Lande, do yeilde to y'' pnt time, & do keepe silence 
 in some matters, y' otherwaise they would take it for dutie to vtter. And in this kinde, 
 it is not longe sithence a Wo"^: and a Wise frende of mine told me a testimonie in 
 secreatt, from the mouth of as noble and graue a Counsello', as Englad hath inioyed 
 this manie hundredth yeares : I meane y^ late Lo Chamb ; w"' whom my said frend 
 being alone at his house in Londo, not xx"« daies before his death, conferred somew' 
 familiarlie about theise ^ matters, as w"" a true father of his Countrey and Common- 
 wealth : and after manie complaints in y^ behalfe of dius, who had opened their greife 
 
 no ■ J -L 1 - • 
 
 vnto counsellors, & saw y\ notice would be taken therof: y'= said noblema, turmng 
 himself somew' about from the water (for he sate neare his ponde side, [where] he 
 behelde y^ taking of a pike or carpe) said to my frend : it is no mveile (S") [for who 
 dareth intermeddle himself in my Lo : affaires ? I will tell yo" (quoth he([in confi- 
 dence betwixt yo" and me, their is as wise a man and as graue, & as fait [hfuU a 
 Consellor, as England breedeth (meaning therbie y* Lo : Trer who ha [th as much in 
 his keeping of Ley : owne hand writing, as is sufficient to hange h [im if either] he 
 durst psent the same to her Ma"% or her Ma"^ do Justice when [it should be pre] sented. 
 But in deed (quoth he) the time pmitteth neither of them [both, therefore] it is in 
 vaine for anie man to struggle w* him. 
 
 Theise were that noblemans words, wherbie yo" male consider [whether my Lord 
 of Leycester] be strong in counsell or no: and whether his fortificacon be suff[icient in 
 that place.] But now if out of y° counsell, we will turne buto'' eyes [in the countrey 
 abroad,] we shall finde as good fortificacon also there, as we ha [ve perused already in 
 cou] rte & counsell : and shall well pceiue y* this mans [plot, is no fond or indiscree] te 
 plott, but excellent well grounded, and [such as in all proportions hath his due corres- 
 pondence.] 
 
 [Consider then, the cheife and principall parts of this land for martiall affaires, 
 for use and commodity of armour, for strength, for opportunity, for liberty of the 
 people, as dwelling farthest of from the presence and aspect of their Prince, such parts 
 (I say) as are fittest for sudden enterprises, without danger of interception : as are 
 the North, the West, the Countries of Wales, the Hands round about the land, and 
 sundry other places within the same : Are they not all at this day at his disposition ?] 
 
 Yorke Earle 
 of Huntington. 
 
 Barwick. The 
 iMrdHunsden. 
 
 Wales. Sir 
 Henry Sidney. 
 The Earle of 
 
 Pimbrooke. 
 
 MS. Folio 69. 
 are they not all by his pcurm' in the onelie [hands of his friends and 
 aUies ? or of such, as by other matches, haue y" same complott and [purpose with him? 
 
 for 
 
 In Yorke is president, y" man y' of all other is fittest^y' place; y* is, his [nearest in 
 affinitie, his dearest in friendshipp, y'' heade of his faccon, & open [competitor of the 
 Scepter. In Barwicke is cap™, his wiues vncle, most assured to himself [and Huntington, 
 as one who at convenient time, male advaunce their designm*', as much as anie [one 
 man in England. 
 
 In Wales y" cheifest auflhoritie from the prince is in his owne brother [in law: but 
 among the people, of naturall affeccon, is the Earle of Pembrooke .: who [both by marriage 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 105 
 
 MS. Folio 69 {contd.) 
 
 adg of his sisters daughter is made his Allie, and by dependance is kept [to bee 
 wholie, at his dispositio. The west parte of England is vnder Bedford, [a man wholly 
 deuoted to his and y^ Puritan faccon. In Ireland was governo*^ [of late the 
 principall instrum* appointed for their purposes : both in respedle of [his heat and 
 affeccon towards their designm'% as also of some secrett discontent [ment, which he hath 
 towards her Ma"* and y* state put for certeine hard speaches & ingr [ate recompen- 
 ces, as he ptendeth : but indeed for y' he is knowen to be of nature fierie, and [impatient 
 of state, from seing y' commo wealth on foote, w"" the next competito" for [their gain, 
 haue painted out to him & such others more pleasant then y" terrestr [iall paradise 
 it selfe. 
 
 This then is the He£lor, this is y" Aiax appointed for the enterprise, wh [en the time 
 shall come. This must be (forsooth) another Ric of Warwicke, to gaine y° cro [wne for 
 Henry] the ix"" of the house of Yorke : as the other Ric did put downe Hen : ye vi"" of 
 [the House of] Lane: and placed Edward y*4, from whom Hunting: deriueth his title: 
 therfo [re this man] is necessarilie to be intertained from time to time, (as we see now 
 he is) in [some charge] and mciall accon, to y" ende his experience. Power, and creditt 
 male grow [the more, and] he be able at the time to haue souldiers at his comaundm*. 
 And for the [former charge] w'^'" he helde of late in Ireland, as this man had not ben 
 called awaie, for [exe] cucon of some other secrett purposes, for advauncm' of their 
 designm'^ : [so be well] assured y' for y"= time to come, it is to be furnished againe w"" a 
 sure and [fast friend] to Ley. and to y' faccon. 
 
 In y* He Weight I graunt y' Lei: hath lost a great frend & a trustie serv [ant by the 
 death of Cap™ Horseie, but yett y" matter is supplied by the successio of [another, 
 no lesse assured vnto him then y* former or rather more throughe y" ban [d of affini- 
 tie by his wife. The two Hands of Gersey & Gurnseie are in the possessio [n of two 
 frends and most obliged dependants. The one, by reason he is exceedinglie [addided to 
 the Puritan pceeding : the other, as now being ioyned vnto him by y* mar [riage of 
 M"= Besse his wiues sister, both daughters to S' ffraunces, Knowles, or (at least) to my 
 La. Knowles, and so become a Riuall, companio and brother, who was [before] (thoughe 
 trustie) yett but his servant. 
 
 And theise are the cheife Keies, Ffortresses and Bulwarks, w'^in, w"'out and [about the 
 Realme, w"" my Lo : of L ; possessing (as he doth,) he male be assured of y* [body within : 
 wh[ere notw"^standing (as hath ben shewed) he wanteth no due ppar[ation for 
 strength :] having at his disposicon (besids all other aides and helpes sped [fied before, 
 her Majesties] horse, & stables, by interest of his owne office : her Armo^ Artill [ery 
 and Munition, by] the office of his brother y^ Earle of Warm: y* tower of Lo : and 
 [treasure therein, by the] dependaunce of his sworne servaunt S^ Owen Hop: as [ready 
 to receive and] furnishe him w* y" whole (if occasio serued) as one of his pde[cessors 
 was, to receive his Father] in k. Ed: dales, for y« like effeft, against her Ma"% [and her 
 sister. And in the City of London itself wh] at this man at a pinch could doe, by y 
 h[elp of some of the principall men, and chief leaders,] and (as it were) comaunders 
 of [the Commons there, and by the bestirring of Fleetwood his made] Recorder, ana 
 other such [his instruments: and also in all other Townes, Ports, Cities, of importance,] 
 by such of his own setting up, as he hath placed there to serve his designements, and 
 justices of peace with other, that in most Shires doe weare his livery, and are at his 
 appointment : the simplest man within the Realme doth consider.] 
 
 The West. 
 Earle of Bed- 
 ford. 
 
 The Lord 
 Grey. 
 
 Her Majesty- 
 las he saith, 
 for stricking 
 of Master 
 Fortescue) cal- 
 led him lame 
 wretch : that 
 grieved him 
 so, (for that 
 hee was hurt 
 in her service 
 at Lieth) as 
 hee said, hee 
 would live to 
 be revenged. 
 
 In Scotland 
 or elswhere,. 
 against the 
 next inheri- 
 tours or pre- 
 sent posses- 
 sor. 
 
 Sir lolm 
 Parotte. 
 Sir Edward 
 Horsey. 
 
 Sir Amias 
 Paulet. 
 Sir Thomas 
 Lay ton. 
 
 Her Majes- 
 ties stable. 
 Her armour, 
 munition, 
 and artillery. 
 The Tower. 
 
 London. 
 
 Sir Rowland 
 Heyward, &c. 
 Madde Fleet- 
 wood. 
 
io6 
 
 Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 MS. Folio 69 (contd.) 
 
 Scholar. 
 My Lord of 
 Huntingtons 
 preparation 
 at Ashby. 
 
 KilUngworth 
 Castle. 
 
 Ralph Lane. 
 
 The offer and 
 acceptation of 
 KilUngworth 
 Castle. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 The preroga- 
 tive of my 
 Lord of Ley- 
 cesier. 
 
 [Whereunto if you adde now his owne forces and furniture, which hee hath in 
 KilUngworth Castle, and other places, as also the forces of Huntington in particular, 
 with their friends, followers, allies, and Compartenors : you shall find that they are 
 not behind in their preparations. For my Lord of Huntingtons forwardnesse 
 in the cause (said I) there is no man, I thinke, which maketh doubt :] 
 
 MS. Folio 70. 
 
 marie for his priuate forces, albeit they male be verie good, for anything I do [know] 
 to y" contrarie (especiallie at his house w'Mn 5 miles of Killing: where one [told] me 
 some yeares past, y' he had furniture readie for 5,000 men) yett do I not thinke, but 
 y' theies are farr inferior to my Lo : of Ley : who is taken to haue excessive stoore, 
 & y' in diuse places. And as for y^ castle last menconed by yo", th*'^ are men of 
 good intelligence, of no smale iudgm', who reporte, y' in y° same, he hath well to 
 furnish, ten 1,000 good souldiers, of all things necessarie both for horse and ma, 
 besides all other munitio, armor, and artillerie, (wherof great store was brought thither 
 vnder ptence of triumph, when her ma"* was there, & neuer as yett carried backe 
 againe) and besides y° greate aboundaunce of readie coine, there laid vp (as is said) 
 sufficient for any exploit to be done w* in the Realme. 
 
 And I knowe y' y* estimacon of this place was such, among diuse, manie yeares 
 agoe : as when at a time her ma"* laie daungerouslie sicke, & like to die, at Hapto 
 Court, a certen Gent of the Court came to my Lo : of Hunting : , & told him, y' for- 
 asmuch as he tooke him to be next in successio after her Ma''*, he would offer him a 
 meane of great helpe, for compassing of his purpose, after y" decease of her Ma"* w*"" 
 was, y* possessio of KilUngworth Castle (for at y' tyme theyse two Earls were not verie 
 frends, nor confederates together) and y* being had he shewed to y* Earle y* great 
 furniture & welth, w""" thereby he should possesse for y* pursuite of his purpose. 
 
 The pposicon was well liked, & y* matter esteemed of great importaunce & 
 consequentlie receyued w"' many thankes. But yett afterwards her Ma"* by y* good 
 prouidence of God, recouering again, letted the execucon of y* bargaine, & my Lo : of 
 Huntinge : hauing occasio to ioyne amitie w"" Ley : had more respedl to his owne 
 comoditie, then to his frends securitie (as comonlie in such psons & cases it falleth out) 
 and so discouered y* whole deuise unto him, who forgatt not after, to plague y'= deuiser 
 from time to time, by secreatt meanes, vntill he hath brought him to y' poor estate, as 
 all the World seeth ; thoughe manie men be not acquainted w"' y" cause of this 
 disgrace and bare fortune. 
 
 To this aunswered y* laweier : In good faith (Gent) yo" open great misteries vnto 
 me, w"*" eyther I knew not, or considered not pticularlie before, & no mveile for y' my 
 pfessio and exercise of law restraineth me from much companie keeping: & when 
 I happen to be amongst some y' would tell be much therein, I dare not either ask, or 
 heare if any of himself begynne to talke, least afterwards y* speach come to light, I 
 be fetched ouer the cooles (as y* pverbe is) for y* same, vnder pten [of] another thing. 
 But yo" (who are not suspedted for religio) haue much greater priuiledge in such 
 matters, both to heare and speake againe, w'^'' men of my [estate] dare not doe : onelie 
 this I know before, y' throughout all England my Lord [of Leycester is] taken for 
 Dominusfactotu: whose excellencie above others is infinite, whose authoritie is absolute 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 107 
 
 MS. Folio 70 (contd.) 
 
 whose commaundm* is dreadfull, whose disHke is daun[gerous, &] whose fauour is 
 omnipotent. And for his will, thoughe it be seldome 1 [aw yet always] is his power 
 aboue law, and therfor we Lawiers in all cases brought [unto us, have as] great regarde 
 to his inclinaco, as Astronoms haue to the planets [dominant, or as] seamen haue to 
 the North Pole. 
 
 For as they y* saile do direct their course, according to the s [ituation and direction 
 of] that Starr w'" guideth them at y« Pole, and as Astronoms [who make prognosti- 
 cations,] do fortell things to come, according to y" aspeft of y^ planets [dominant, as 
 bearing] rule for y" time : so we do guide our clients barke, and do p [rognosticate 
 which is like to ensue] of his cause, by the asped and inclinacon of my Lord [of 
 Leycester. And for that reason, as] soone as euer we heere a case ppounded, our custome 
 is to ask, what part my Lord of Leycester is like] to fauour in y'= matter (for in all 
 matters likely of any importance, he hath [a part) for what may be gathered] of his 
 inclinacon therin : [and according to that we give a ghesse, more or less, what end will 
 ensue. But this (my Masters) is from the purpose : and therefore returning to your 
 former speech again, I do say, that albeit I was not privy before to the particular 
 provisions of my Lord and his friends, in such and such places : yet feeling him 
 accompted Lord general over all the whole Realme, and to have at his commandment, 
 all these several commodities and forces pertaining to her Majesty which you have 
 mentioned before, and so many more as be in the Realme, and mentioned by 
 you (for in fine, he hath all : ) I could not but accompt him (as he is) a] 
 
 Leyeeste^ 
 the Starre 
 directory to 
 Lawyers in 
 their clients 
 affaires. 
 
 MS. Folio 71. 
 
 Potent Prince of our state, for all furniture needfuU [to defence or offence] or rather 
 the onelie Monarch of our nobilitie, who hath suf[ficient for himself] to plunge his 
 Prince, if he should be discontented, especi [ally for his aboun] daunce of monie, (w°\ 
 by y*" wise, is tearmed the sinewes of m [artiall aftions where] in by all mens iudgm'^ he 
 is better furnished at this dale, then [any other subjedt] of our land, either hath ben 
 heretofore, or lightlie male be [hereafter, both for] banckes w^out the Realme, and 
 stuffed coffers w'^n. Insom [uch that being my] self in y^ last Parliam', when the matter 
 was moued, for y* [grant of a subsi] die, after y', one for her Ma"* counsell had giuen 
 verie good reasons, [why her high] nes was in want of money, & consequentlie needed 
 y* assist [ance of her] faithfull subiedls therein, another y' satt next me of good accou [pt 
 said in mine] eare secreatlie : theise reasons I do allow, and am content [ed to give my 
 part] in money : but yett, for her Ma'* neede, I could make aunsw [er as one answe-] 
 red once the Emperor Tiberius in y° like case and cause: [Abunde ei pecuniam'] fore 
 si a liberto sua in societatem reciperetur : y' her Ma"^ shou [Id have money] enoughe, 
 yf one of her servaunts would voutsalfe to make [her highness par] take w"" him : 
 meaning therbie my Lo : of Ley:, whose treasor [re] must needes be greater than y* of 
 her Ma''^ : for y' he laieth [up whatsoever he] geteth, & his expence he casteth vpon y'= 
 purse of his Princes. 
 
 For y' (said y" Gent) whether he doe or no, it importeth little to the matter : seeing 
 both] y' w'^^ he spendeth, and y' he hordeth, is truelie & pperlie his Princes [Treasure : 
 and] seing he hath so manie and dius waies of gaining, w' should he make acco [mpt of 
 his] owne priuate expence ? If he laie out one for a thousand, w' can that make [him 
 
 Leycesters 
 furniture in 
 money. 
 
 The saying'of 
 a Knight of 
 the Shire 
 touching 
 
 Leycesters 
 money. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 The infinite 
 wayes of 
 gaining that 
 Leycesierhaih. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 1 08 
 
 MS. Folio 71 (contd.) 
 
 Sutes. 
 
 Lands. 
 
 Licenses. 
 
 Falling out 
 with her Ma- 
 jesty. 
 
 Offices. 
 
 Cleargy. 
 
 Benefices. 
 Vniversity. 
 
 Oppressions. 
 Rapines. 
 
 Princes fa- 
 vour. 
 
 Presents. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 LeycesUrs 
 home-gaine 
 by her Ma- 
 jesties favour. 
 
 the] poorer ? he y' hath so goodhe landes, possessios seigniouries and rich offices [of 
 
 hith 
 
 his own,] as he is knowen to haue : he that^so especial! fauour and au6lhoritie [with 
 the prince,] as he can obtaine w'soeu he Hketh to demaunde : he y' hath his parte & 
 [portion in] all suites besides, y' passe by grace or else (for y" most pte) are ended by 
 L[aw: he] male chopp and chaunge w' landes he listeth w"" her Ma"% dispoile the[m 
 of all their] woodes & other commodities, & racke them afterwardes to the vttermost 
 [penny], & then returne y" same, so tenterstretched & bare shorne, into her Ma"^ 
 [hands agine,] by freshe exchaunge, rent for rent, for other landes neu inhaunsed 
 before : [he that] possesseth so manie gainefull licenses to himselfe alone of wine, oiles, 
 c [urrants,] cloth, veluetts, w"" his new office for licence of alienacon, most pricious to 
 y' commonwelth, as he vseth the same, w"* manie other y* like, w"** were [sufficient] to 
 enrich whole townes, corporacons, countries, and commowelths : he [that hath] y* arte 
 to make gainefull to himselfe euerie offence, displeasure &f [ailing out] of her Ma"* w"" 
 him, and euie aungrie countenaunce cast upon him : [he that hath] his share in all 
 offices of great pffitt and holdeth an absolute Monopolie [of the same :] he that dis- 
 poseth at his will y'= Ecclesiastical linings of the Realme, may[keth Bishops, none,] 
 new but such as will do reason, or of his chaplens whom he lifteth, & re [taineth to 
 himself somuch of the liuing as liketh him best : he y' swepeth awaiey [the glebe from 
 so] manie benefices throughout the land & compoundeth w"" the pson for [the rest. 
 Hee that so] scoureth y* Uniusities & Colledges where he is chauncello", & selleth [both 
 headships] and schollo" places, & all other offices, Roomes & dignities, y' by art or 
 [violence can yee] Id money : he y' maketh title to w' land or other things he pie [ase 
 and driveth the parties to] compounde for the same : he that takith in whole Forrests 
 C [ommons, Woodes, and Pastures to] himself, compelling the Tenaunts to paie him 
 now re [nt and what hee cesseth : he that v] exeth and oppresseth whomsoeu he list, 
 and maketh his [owne claim, sute, and end as] he list : he y' selleth his fauour w* his 
 Prince, [both abroad in forraine countries, and] at home, and setteth y* price thereof 
 w' himself [will demand : hee that hath and doth] all this, & besides all this, hath 
 infinite presents [dayly brought unto him of great valew, both] in Jewells, Plate, all kinde 
 of Furniture [and ready coine : this man (I say) may easily] beare his owne expences, 
 [and yet lay up sufficiently also to weary his Prince when needs shall r [equire. 
 
 You have said much Sir, (quoth the Lawyer) and such matter as toucheth 
 neerly both her Majesty and the Common-wealth : and yet in my conscience if 
 I were to plead at the barre for my Lord : I could not tell which of all these 
 members to deny. But for that which you mention in the last part, of his gain- 
 ing by her Majesties favour, both at home and abroad : touching his home gain 
 it is evident, seeing all that he hath is gotten onely by the opinion of her Majes- 
 ties favour towards hiai : and many men do repair unto him, with fat presents] 
 
 A pretty 
 story. 
 
 MS. Folio. 72. 
 rather] for that they suppose, he male by his fauour doe them hurt if he [feele 
 no] t their rewarde, then for y* they hope he will labour a [nythi] ng in their affaires. 
 
 You remember (I doubt not) the storie of him, y' offred his Prince a great yearly 
 rent, to haue but his fauour onelie, y' he might come euerie daie in open audiece, to 
 sale in his eare God saue yo" Ma"^ assvring himself, that by y*opinion of confidence 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 log 
 
 MS. Folio 72 (contd.) 
 
 and secreatt fauour, w^^ hereby y" people would conceiue to be in y« Prince, towards 
 him, he should, easelie gett vp his rent againe doble told. Wherfor my Lo : Ley: 
 receyumg dailie from her Ma"« greater tokens of grace and fauour then [t] his, & 
 himself being no euill mchaunt, to make his owne bargaine for y" best of his 
 commoditie : cannot but gaine exceedinglie at home by his fauours. 
 
 And for his Lucre abroad vpon the same cause, I leaue to other men to conceiue, 
 
 , ye begininge of ' 
 
 w It maie be, sithence^her Ma'= Raigne, the times wherof and condicon of all Christen- 
 dome hath ben such, as all y= Princes and Potentates round about vs, haue ben 
 constrained at one time or other, to sue to her highnes for aide, grace, [or] fauour : in 
 all w-^" suites men vse not to forgett (as yo*- knowe) the pties most able by their creditt, 
 to further or lett y" same. 
 
 In pticuler onelie this I can sale, that I haue heard of sundrie Frenchmen y' at 
 such time as the treatie was betweene Fraunce & England, for y'= redeliuie of Callis, 
 vnto vs againe, in the first yeare of her Ma'= raigne y' now is, when the Frenchmen were 
 in great distresse and miserie, and King Phillip refused absolutlie to make peace w* 
 them, except Callis were restored to England (whether for y' purpose he had now 
 deliuered the French hostages) y^ Frenchmen do reporte (I sale) y' my Lo : of Ley : 
 stoode them in great steede at that necessitie for his reward, (w'^'' yo" maie imagine 
 was not small, for a thinge), y' peace might be concluded, w"" the release of Callis to 
 the French: w'='' was one of the most impious facts, (to sale the truth), y' eu could be 
 deuised against this Commowelth. A smalle matter in him (sd y" Gent) for in this he 
 did no more, but as Christ said of the Jewes, y' they filled vp the measure of his Fathers 
 sinnes. And so if yo" read the storie of King Edward's times, yo" shall finde it most 
 euident, y* this mans father before him sold Bullein to the French by like treacherie. 
 For it was deliud up vpon condicon, w"'out necessitie or reason, y= xxvth of Aprill in 
 the 4 yeare of K. Ed : 6, when he (I meane Duke Dudley) had now put in y^ Tower y^ 
 Lo : Pro,: and thrust out of the counsell whom he listed: as namelie the E^ of Ar : 
 and South [and] so inuaded the whole goverm' himself, to sell, spoile and dispose at his 
 pie [asure.j Wherfor this is but naturall to my Lo : of Ley : by descent, to make 
 mch [andize] of the state, for his Grandfather Edm : also, was such a kinde of copes- 
 ma [n] . An euill race of Marchaunts for y" Commowelth (quoth y^ Lawier) but [yet, 
 Sir, I] pray yo" (sd he) expounde vnto me somew' more at lardg y" nature of [these 
 licences] w"*" yo" named, as also of chaunging of lands w* her Ma"', if yo" sett [it 
 downe any] plainielier: for they seeme to be things of excessiue gaine: especi[ally 
 his way] of gaining by offending her Ma"^, or by her hyghnes offence [toward him, for 
 it seemeth to be a devise, aboue all skill or reason. 
 
 Not so (quoth the Gent) for yo" know that euie falling out must [have an attonment] 
 againe, whereof he being sure by the manie and puissant [meanes of his friends in 
 Couart, as I have shewed before, who shall not giue her Ma"° [rest until it be done: then 
 for] this attonem', and in pfect reconciliacon on her Ma" [part, she must grant my 
 Lord, some] suite or other, w"*" he will haue alwaies ready [provided for that purpose, 
 & this] shalbe well able to rewarde his ffrends, y' [laboured for his reconcilement & 
 leave also] a good remainder, for himself. And [this is now so ordinary a practice 
 with him as all the Realm observeth the same and disdaineth that her Majesty 
 should be so unworthily abused. For if her highness fall not out with him as] 
 
 Leycesters 
 forraine gain 
 by her Ma- 
 jesties favour. 
 
 Leycesters 
 bribe for 
 betraying of 
 Callis. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Leycesters 
 Father sould 
 Bttlloigne. 
 
 Earles of 
 A rttndel and 
 Southampton 
 put out of the 
 Councell by 
 D. Dudley. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 Leycesters 
 gaine by fall- 
 ing out with 
 her Majesty. 
 
no 
 
 Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 MS. Folio 72 (contd.) 
 
 [often as he desireth to gain this way, then he picketh some quarrel or other, to show 
 himself discontenteth with her, so that one way or other, this gainful reconciliation 
 must be maid, and that often for his commodity. The like art he exercises in inviting 
 her Majesty to his banquets and to his houses, where if she come, she must grant him 
 in suits, ten times so much as the charge of all amount unto : So that Robin playeth the 
 Broker in all his affaires, and maketh the uttermost penny of her Majesty every way.] 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Leycesters 
 fraudulent 
 change of 
 lands with 
 her Majesty 
 whereby hee 
 hath notably 
 endammaged 
 the Crowne. 
 
 Leycesters 
 licenses. 
 
 Silkes and 
 Velvets. 
 
 The Tyran- 
 nical 1 licence 
 of alienation. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 MS. Folio 73. 
 
 Now for his chaunge of lands, I thinke I haue ben reasonable plaine [before : yet for 
 your] fuller satisfaccon, yo" shall vnderstande his further dealing therein, [to be in this 
 sort.] Besides the good landes, & of auncien' possession to the crowne, pcured at her 
 [Majesty's hand, and] vsed as before was declared : he vseth the same tricke for his 
 worst landes, [that he possesseth] anie waie, whether they come to him, by extort 
 meanes & plaine oppre [ssion, or through] maintenance of broken titles, or by coosinage 
 of simple gent to make him their [heir or by] w' hard title or vnhonest meanes soeu 
 & for he pradtiseth score of such and [thinketh little] of y^ reckoning, after he hath 
 tried them likewise to the vttermost touch, & lefte [them out] to such as shall gaine 
 but little by the bargayne : then goeth he and chaunges [the same] w"* her Ma"^ for y* 
 best lande he can picke out of the Crowne, to the ende he [thereby] may both enforce 
 her Ma''* to the defence of his bad titles, and himself free [his coffers with] the fynes 
 & vttermost commoditie of both the lands. 
 
 certen 
 
 His licenses do stand thus: ffirst he gott license for a^great nomber of c [loaths, to 
 be] transported out of y* land, w"^*" might haue ben an vndoing to the mcha [nt subjedls, 
 if] they had not redeemed the same w"" great somes of money: so y\redo[nded to 
 great] damage of all y' occupied about that kind of commoditie. After- that he had 
 [the grant] for carieng ou of barrell staues & of some other such like wares. Then 
 [procured he] a monopolie, for bringing in of sweet wines, oiles, currants, & the like : 
 
 all 
 
 y" [gain whereof] is inestimable. He had also the forfeites of^wines to be drawne 
 aboue the ord [inary price,] w"" licence to giue audhoritie to sell aboue that price 
 wherein Cap*" Hersey [was his in] strum', by w"" meanes it is incredible w' treasure and 
 yearlie rent was [gathered] of y^ Vyntners throughout the lande. 
 
 To this ad now his license of silkes, and veluetts, w'='' onelie were enough to [enrich 
 the] Maior and Alderman of London, if they were all decayed (as I haue often heard 
 diuse mchaunts afifirme.) And his Licence of alienacon of landes, w""" (as [in part] I 
 haue opened before) serveth him not onelie to excessiue gaine, but also for an [ex- 
 treme] scourge wherw"" to plague whom he please in the Realme. For seing that 
 w'^out [this] license, no man can buie sell, passe or alienate, any lande that any wayes 
 [may be] drawen to y' teno^ as holden in cheife of y'' Prince (as commonlie now [most 
 land] may) w' he calleth into question w'soeu liketh him best, be it neu so7cl : [and 
 under] thys couler, not onelie enrycheth hymself w'^out all measure, but re [vengeth 
 himself shall so, where he will, w"'out all order. 
 
 Heere the Lawier stoode still a prettie while, byting his lipp, as he were 
 a [stonished,] & then said ; Verely I haue not heard so manie & so apparant things [or 
 so odious,] of any man that euer liued in our commowelth. And I mveile much 
 
Ill 
 
 Edmund 
 Dudley. 
 
 Leycester's Commonwealth. MS. Folio 73 {contd.) 
 
 of [my l^oxdLeycester, that his Graundfather's fortune doth not moue him much, who 
 
 lost his head [in the] begining of H ; 8 : dayes, for much lesse and fewer offences, in 
 
 the same kynde, [committed in] the tyme of H: 7: for he was thought to be y" inventor 
 
 of y" pollings & mo [lestation, where] w'" the people were burthened, in the latter daies of 
 
 the said K: And [yet had he] grate ptence of reason to alledge for himself: in y' those 
 
 exaccons [were made to the King's] vse, & not to his, (albeit no doubt) but his 
 
 oune gayne was also therin. [Master Stowe writeth] in his Chronicle, y' in the time of 
 
 his imprisonm' in the Tower, he [wrote a notable] booke, intituled The Tree of Comma Edmund Dud- 
 
 welth, w"^ booke, the sd Stowe [saith, that he hath delivered] to my Lo: of Ley: manie 
 
 yeares agoe. And if the sd booke [be so notable as M=' Stowe] affirmeth, I mveile, 
 
 whie his Lo: in so many yeares, [doth not publish the same, for] the glorie of his 
 
 auncestors ? 
 
 It may be (said the Gentleman) that] y' secretts therein conteyned, be such, as [it 
 seemeth good to my Lord, to use them only] hymselfe, & to gather the fruite of [that 
 tree into his owne house alone. For if the tree of] y' Commo in Edm: Dudley's [book, 
 be the Prince] and h is race : and the fruits to be gathered from that tree, be riches, honours, 
 dignities, and preferments : then no doubt, that as the writer Edmund was cunning 
 therein : so have his two followers, John and Robert, well studied and practised the same, or 
 rather have exceeded and far passed the author himself. The one of them gathering so 
 eagerly, and with such vehemency, as he was like to have broken down the main boughs 
 for greediness : the other yet plucking and keeping so fast to himself and his friends, as it is] 
 
 leis booke 
 written in 
 the Tower. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 MS. Folio 74. 
 
 and may be, most justlye doubted, that when they haue cropped all the sap [from] the 
 tree lefte them by their Father Edmud (I meane the race of K: H: 7 :) then will [they 
 plucke vp the stemm it self, by the rootes, as vnpffitable ; and pitch in his place [another 
 Fruncke, (y' is the lyne of Hunt:) y' may beginne to feede againe anew w"" [fre] sh fruites 
 againe, & so for a time content their appetites, vntill of gatherers [they] may become 
 trees, (w"*" is their finall purpose) to feede themselues at their disc [retion. 
 
 And howsoeu this be, it cannot be denied, but that Edmud Dudleis broode, haue 
 learned by this booke and by others meanes to be more cuning gatherers, then eu their 
 fyrst pgenito'' was y' made the booke. First for y' he made pfessio to gather to his 
 Prince [(tho] ugh wickedlie) & those men make demonstracon, y' y haue gathered for 
 themsel": [and] y' w* much more iniquitie. Secondlie, for that Edmud Dudley 
 thoughe he gott himself neere about the tree, yett was he content to stand on the 
 ground, & to serve himself from the tree, as commoditie was offred, but his children 
 not esteeming y* selfe gathering will needes mount alofte vpon the tree to pull crop and 
 ryffle at their pleasure. And as in this second point the Sonne John Dudley was mo'^ 
 subtle than Edmud the Father : so in a third point the Nephew Robt Dudley is more 
 craftie then they both. For y* he seeing the euill successe of those two y' went before 
 him, he hath pvided to gather so much in conuenient time & to make himself therw"* 
 so fatt and strong (wherin the other two failed) as he will neu be in daunger more, to 
 be called to account for the same. 
 
 In good faith S^ (quoth y'' Lawier) I thanke yo" hartelie for this pleasaunt discourse 
 vpon Edmund Dudleys tree of Commowelth. And by yo^ opinion of my Lo : of Ley : 
 
 The sup- 
 planting of 
 the race of 
 Henry the 7. 
 The inserting 
 ol Huntington. 
 
 Edmund Dud- 
 leis broode 
 more cunning 
 thenhimselfe. 
 
 Northumber- 
 land and Ley- 
 cester with 
 their Prince 
 will not bee 
 ruled. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
112 
 
 Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 MS. Folio 74 {contd.) 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Leycester 
 Master of art 
 and a cun- 
 ning Logitio- 
 ner. 
 
 SchoUar. 
 
 Leycesters 
 abusing and 
 spoiling of 
 Oxford. 
 
 The Lord 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Cambridge. 
 
 The disorders 
 of Oxford by 
 the wicked- 
 nesse of their 
 Chancellour. 
 
 is y^ most learned of all his kinred and a verie cuning Logitioner indeed, y* can draw 
 for himself so commodious conclusions out of y* perillous pmisses of his pgenito''. No 
 mveile (quoth y'= Gent) for y* his Lo : is M' of Art in Oxford, & Chauncellor besides 
 of the same Uniustie, where he hath stoore (as yo" know) of manie fine witts & good 
 Logitions, at his comaundem' : and where he learneth not onelie the rules and art of 
 cuning : gathering but also y= verie practize (as I haue touched before) seing there is 
 no one CoUedge or other thing of comoditie w^in that place, where thence he hath not 
 pulled, w'soeu was possible to be gathered, eyther by art or violence. Touching Oxford 
 (sd I) for y' I am an Uniusitie man myself, & haue both experience of Cambridge, 
 & good acquaintaunce with diuse students of the other Uniustie : [I] cann tell yo" 
 enough, but infyne all tendeth to this conclusio, y' by his Chancellorship, is cancelled 
 almost all hope of god in that Uniusatie : & by his pteccon, it is like soon [to] come 
 to destruccon. And surelie yf there were no other, to declare the [odds and difference 
 betwixt him, and o^ Chauncello"', (whom he cannot beare, for y' euerie [way he seeth 
 him, to passe him in all honor & vertue) it were sufficient to behold [the present state 
 of y^ two Uniusities, wherof they are heades and governors. 
 
 For our owne, I will not say much, least phaps I might seeme [partial : but let the 
 thing] speake for itself. Consider y^ fruite of y^ Garden, and therbie y^ may [judge 
 of the gardner's diligence. Looke vpon the Bishopricks, Pastors^^ & Pulpitts in 
 [England, & see whence] principallie they haue receyued their furniture for aduaunc- 
 [ment of the Gospel. And] on the contrairie syde, Looke vpon the Seminaries of 
 Papistry & Roome [& Rhems, upon the Colledge of Jesuists] and other companies of 
 Papists beyonde the seas, [and see where hence they are especially] fraught. The 
 Priests & Jhesuits heere ex[ecuted within the land, & other] eiher in prison, or abroad 
 in corners : [are they not all (in a manner) of the University ? I speak not to] y^ 
 disgrace of [any good that remain there, or that have issued out thence unto the Lord's 
 Vineyard : but for the most part there ; of this our time have that not either gone 
 beyond the seas, or left their place for discontentment in Religion, or else become 
 serving-men, or followed the bare name of Law or Physic, without profiting greatly 
 therein, or furthering the service of God's Church or their Commonwealth ?] 
 
 [And whence (I pray you) ensueth all this, but by reason that the 
 chief Governor thereof is an atheist himself, and uses the place only for 
 gain and spoil ? For here - hence it cometh, that all good order and 
 discipline is dissolved in that place, the fervour of study extinguished :] 
 
 MS. Folio 75. 
 y^ publique Ledlures abandoned (I meane of the more pte :) y* [Taverns and ordinary 
 tables frequented : y^ apparell of students growen monstrous : & [the statutes and good 
 ordinances, both of y" Uniusities & of euie Colledge & Hall, broken and [infringed by 
 my] Lo: gied pleasure, w"'out respedl eyther of oath, custome, or reason [to the con- 
 trary.] Th® heades & offices are put in and out onelie at his discrecon, & y^ [Schollers 
 places] ther sold, or disposed by his Ires, or by theise of his servaunts and followers : 
 [nothing] can be had there, now, w^ut money : it is as comon buyeing and selling [of 
 places in that] Uniusitie, as of horses in Smithfield ; wherby y^ good & vertuous are 
 [kept out, and com] panions thrust in, fitt to serue his Lo : afterward in all affaires 
 
T T O 
 
 Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 MS. Folio 75 {cotttd.) 
 
 y Shall occurre ] And as for Leases of Farmes, Woodes, Pastures, Psonages, Bene- 
 fices, [or the hke, which] belonge anie waie to anie pte of the Unitisitie, to lett or 
 bestowe, theese, his Servaunts haue so fleeced, shorne, and scrapt alreadie, y' there 
 remayneth, [httle to feed] vpon hereafter : albeit he want not still his spies and intelli- 
 gence [m that place,] to aduertize him from time to time, when any little new morsell 
 IS [offered. And the] Principall instrum-, w«- for his purpose, he hath had there 
 before [this, have been] two Phisicons Balie and Culpep, both knowen Papists, a little 
 [while ago,] but now iust of Galens religio, and so much y" fitter for my Lo : humor : 
 [for his Lordship] doth alwaies covett, to be furnished w'" certen chosen men about [him, 
 for diverse] affaires: as these two Galenists for agents in the UniQsitie: Dee & [Allen, two 
 Atheists, for figuring & coniuring ; Julio the Italia and Upas y" Jew, [for poisoning, 
 & for y-' art of destroieng chrildre in womens bellies : Vermes for [murdering : Digbies 
 for Baudes : and y'= like in other occupacons w* his Lo ? exercizeth. Wherfor to 
 returne to the speach where we beganne : most cleare it is, [that my Lord of Ley: 
 hath meanes to gaine and gather also by y" Uniusitie, as well as by [the country 
 abroad. Wherin (as I am told) he beareth himself so absolute a Lo ; as if [he were 
 their king, & not their chauncello' : Naie far more then, if he were [the general] and 
 pticuler founder of all their Colledges & other houses of y Uniusitie : [no man] daring 
 to contrarie or interrupt the least word or significacon of his [will, but] w* his ex- 
 treame daunger : w"'' is a pceeding more fitt for Phalaris [the Tyrant,] or some 
 Gouernor in Tartarie, then for a chauncello' of a learn'd [Universitie,] 
 
 To this aunswered the Lawier, for my Lo ; wrath, towardes such as will not 
 [stand to] his judgm' & opinion, I can my selfe be a sufficient witnes : who hauing 
 [had often] occasio to deale for compositio of matters, betwixt his Lo : and others, 
 haue [seen by] experience, y' y" alwaies haue sped best, who stood least in conten- 
 tion [with him,] w' soeu their cause were. For as a great & violent river, y"= more it 
 is [stopped or] contraried, y= more it swelleth & riseth bigg, & in y' ende, deiedleth w"" 
 [more force] the thing y' made resistaunce : so his Lo : being the great and mightie 
 Po[tentate of J this Realme, & accustomed now to haue his will in all things, 
 cannot bear [to be crossed] or resisted by any man, thoughe it were in his owne 
 necessarie [defence. Thereof] I haue seen examples, in the causes of Snowden forrest 
 in Wales, of {Denbigh, of Killing'] worth, of Drouton and others : where y= pties y' had 
 interest, or th [ought themselves] wronged, had ben happie, if they had yelded them 
 selues at first to his [Lordship's pleasure, without fu] rther questio : for then they had 
 escaped much trouble, pi char [ges, displeasure, and vex] atio, w"** by resistaunce they 
 incurred, to their great ruine, [and loss of life to some, and in] y'' ende were faine also 
 to submitt themselues vnto his [will, with far worse conditions] then at first were offred 
 vnto them, w''*' thing indeed [was pittiful to behold, but yet] such is my Lo : disposicon. 
 
 A noble disposition (quoth the] Gent) y' I must giue him my coat [if he demand 
 the same, and that quickly also, for fear lest I] stagger or make doub [t thereof, he 
 compel me to yield both coat and doublet in penance of my stay. I have read of 
 some such Tyrants abroad in the World. Marry their end was always in accordance 
 with their life, as it is very like it will be also in this man, for that there is small 
 hope of his amendment, and God passeth not over commonly such matters unpunished 
 in this life, as well as in the life to come.] 
 
 Leases. 
 
 Lq/eesters 
 instruments. 
 
 At Digbies 
 house in 
 Warmckshire 
 Dame Lettice 
 lay, and some- 
 other such 
 peeces of 
 pleasure. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 The perill of 
 standing with 
 Leycester in 
 any thing. 
 
 Poore men 
 resisting 
 Warmchs 
 inclosure at ' 
 North-hall 
 were hanged 
 for his plea- 
 sure by 
 Leycesters 
 authority. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Great 
 Tyranny. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 1x4 
 
 MS- Folio 75 (contd.) 
 
 J,awyer. 
 
 The Lordship 
 of Denbigh 
 and Liycesters 
 oppression 
 used therein. 
 
 The manner 
 of Killing- 
 worth and 
 L^cesUrs 
 oppression 
 there. 
 
 The case of 
 Snowden 
 forest most 
 pittifuU. 
 
 [But I pray you Sir, seeing mention is now made of the former oppressions^ so 
 much talked of throughout the Realm, that you will take the pains, to explain the] 
 
 MS. Folio 76. 
 substan] ce therof vnto me : for albeit in generall, euerie man doth know y* same & in 
 heart do det] est y* Tiraunie therof : yett we abroade in y^ countrie, do not vnderstande 
 it [so well and distindlly as] yo" y' be Lawiers, who haue seen and vnderstoode y' whole 
 pcesse of 5^ same. 
 
 The ca] se of Killingworth & Denbigh (sd y^ Lawier) are much a like in matter & 
 maner of [proceeding] thoughe different in time, place and importaunce. For y' y* Lo^: 
 of Denbigh [in No'] rthwales being giuen vnto him by her Ma"' a great while agoe att 
 y' begining of [his ris] ing (w'^'' is a Lo^ : of singula' great importaunce in y' countrey, 
 hauing (as I haue [heard)] well neare two hundred Gent freeholde'^ to the same :) y' 
 tenaunts of the place. [Consid] ering y'= estate of things, and hauing learned, y* hungrie 
 
 new 
 
 dispsicon of y*''^Lo: made [a common] purse of a 1000^, to pnt him w"'all at his first 
 
 entrance. W"'' though he re [ceiv] ed (as he refuseth nothing) yett accompted he 
 
 y' some of smale effefl for satisfacco of his appetite : & therfor applied himself, not 
 
 onelie to make y^ vttermost y' he could by this, and such like waies of comodities : but 
 
 £250 
 also would needes enforce y* freeholders, to [raise] their owne rent of the Lo^, from ^ a 
 
 yeare or therabouts (at w'''' rate he [had] received y' same in guift from her Ma"",) vnto 
 
 8 or 900^ by y" yeare. For y' he had fond [out] (for sooth) an old record (as he said) 
 
 wherby he could proue, y* in auncien' time long past, [the Lordship] had yelded 
 
 somuch old rent ; & therfor he would now enforce the said tenants, to [make] up 
 
 somuch againe vpon their Landes, w'='' they thought was against all reason [for] them to 
 
 doe: but my Lo: pforce, would haue it so, & in y" ende compelled them to yeld [to his 
 
 will to y" impouishing of all y" whole countrey about. 
 
 The like pceeding he vsed w* y' tenants about Killingworth, where he receyuing 
 
 y* sd [Lordship] and Castle from the Prince, in guift of 29^ yearlie rent or therabouts, 
 
 hath made [it] now better by 500 by y' : yeare : by an old record also founde by great 
 
 fortune in y= hole [of a w] all as is given out ffor he hath, singular good lucke alwaies 
 
 in finding out records [for] his purpose by vertue wherof, he hath taken from y* 
 
 tennants, rounde about, their lands, Woodes, Pastures, & Commons, to make himself 
 
 Parkes, Chases, & other commodies there [with, to the] subvsio of many a good familiie, 
 
 w'''" was maintemed ther, before this deuourer set foot in the countrey. 
 
 But the matter of Snowden Forrest, doth passe all the rest, both for cuning and 
 
 crueltie : y" tragedie wherof was this he had learned by his intelligencers abroade 
 
 (wherof he hath great stoore in euerie part of the Realme) y' there was a goodlie 
 
 auncient forrest in Nor*'' Wales, w'='' hath almost infinite borders about y"= same : for it 
 
 lieth almost in the middest of y'= countrey, begining at the hills of Snowden (wherof it 
 
 hath his name) in Carnaua[tishire and reache]th euerie waie towardes dius shires. 
 
 When my Lo : hard of this he entred pntly [into the con] ceit of a great praie : & going 
 
 to her Ma"" signified that her highnes was of [ten times] abusd by y' encroching of such 
 
 as dwelt vpo her Forrests, w'^" was necessarie to [be] restrained & therfor beseeched 
 
 her Ma"^ to bestowe vpon him y' incrochm'= oneli, [which he should be] able to fynd 
 
 out, vpon y" forrest of Snowden v/"^ was graunted. 
 
Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 115 
 
 MS. Folio 76 {contd. 
 
 And thervpon he chose out Comissione" fitt for y" purpose, and sent them into 
 Wales with the like Com] missio as a certen Emperor was wont to giue his Maiestrates, 
 when [they departed from him] to governe as Suetonius writeth: scitis quid velim et 
 quibus op [us habeo. You know what I wou] Id haue, and what I haue need of. W"'' 
 recomendacons, these [Commissioners taking to heart, o]mitted no dilligence in 
 executing the same : and so going [into Wales by such means as] they used, of setting 
 one man to accuse another; brought [quickly all the country round about in 3 or] 4 shires, 
 in compasse of forrest ground : [and so entered upon the same for my Lord of Leycester] . 
 When y'= people were [amazed : and expedted what order my Lord himself would take 
 therein: his Lordship was] so farr of from [refusing any part of that, which his 
 Commissioners had presented and offered him : as hee would yet further stretch the 
 Forest beyond the Sea, into the He oi Anglesey, and make that also within his compass 
 and bounder.] 
 
 [Which when the commonalty saw, and that they profited nothing, by their 
 complaining and crying out of this Tyranny : they appointed to send some certaine 
 number of themselves, to London, to make supplication to the Prince: and so they did : 
 choosing out for that purpose a dozen Gentlemen, and many more of the Commons of 
 the Countrey of Llin, to deall for the whole. Who comming to London and exhibiting 
 a most humble supplication to her Majesty for redresse of their oppression : received an] 
 
 MS. Folio 77. 
 aunswere by y^ pcurem' of my Lo : of Ley :, y' they should haue iustice if y* [com- 
 monalty would] returne home to their houses, & y* Gent remaine there to sollicite 
 y' cause. W" [as soon as they had] yelded vnto, y' Gent were all taken and cast 
 into prisonn, & there kept for a g[reat space, and after] wardes were sent downe to 
 Ludlow, (as y'= place most eminent of all those coun [tries) there to weare] paps of 
 peurie, and receiue other punishm" of infamie, for ther complaining. [Which 
 punishments not] w"'standing, afterwardes vpon great suite of y^ pties and their frends, 
 were [turned into great] fines of money, w""* they were constreyned to paie, & yett 
 besides to agree also [with my Lord of] Leyc for their owne landes, acknowledging 
 y" same to be his, & so to buy it of him [again, where] by not onelie theise priuate 
 Gent, but all y^ whole countrie therby, was and is [(in a manner)] vtterlie vndone. 
 And y^ pticipacon of this iniurie, reacheth so farr and wyde, [and is so general in 
 theise pties: as you shall scarse fynde a man that cometh from that coast, [who 
 feeleth not the] smart thereof: being eyther impouished, beggered, or ruinated therby. 
 Wher [eby I assure you that] y^ hatred of y' countrey, is so vniusall and vehem' against 
 my Lo : as I thinke [neve thing ere] atred by God, was so odious to y' Natio, as 
 y' verie name of my Lo : of Ley : is [which his Lordship well-] knowing, I doubt not, 
 but y' he will take heed how, he goe thether to dwell, [or send thither] his posteritie. 
 
 For his posteritie (quoth the Gent) I suppose he hath little cause to be sollici- 
 tous : for that God] himself taketh care commonlie, y' goods and honors so gotten and 
 maintayned, as [his bee, shall] neuer trouble y= third heire. Marie for himself, I 
 confesse (y" matter standing [as you say) that] he hath reason to forbeare y" countrey, 
 & to leaue of his building begonne at Dent [igh, as I] heare sale he hath donne. For 
 y' y« vniusall hatrad of a people, is a pilous [matter. And] if I were in his Lo : case, 
 
 An old Ty rati' 
 nicall com- 
 mission. 
 
 A ridiculous 
 demonstra- 
 tion of exces- 
 sive avarice. 
 
 A singular 
 oppression. 
 
 Leycester 
 extreameljr 
 hated in 
 Wales. 
 
 Gentleman, 
 
 The end of 
 Tyrants. 
 
Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 ii6 
 
 MS. Folio 77 {fontd.) 
 
 Nero. 
 
 Vittllius. 
 
 A most terri- 
 ble revenge 
 taken upon a 
 Tyrant. 
 
 Leycesttrs 
 oppression of 
 particular 
 men. 
 
 Master 
 Robinson. 
 
 I would often thinke vpon y"= ende of Nero, who after [all his glory,] vpon furie of 
 y* people was adiudged to haue his heade thrust into a Pillorie, & so [to be beatenj to 
 death, w* rodds and thongs. 
 
 Or rather I should feare y* successe of Vitellis the third Empror after Nero, [who 
 for his] wickednes and oppressio of y^ people, was taken by them at length, when 
 ffortune [began to] faile him & ledd out of his pallace naked w"" hookes of iron 
 fastened in his flesh, [and so drawn] through y* cittie w"* infamie where loaden in the 
 streets w* filth and ordure c [ast upon on] & a pricke put vnder his chinn to y'= ende 
 he should not looke downe nor hide his face, [was] brought to the bancke of Tiber 
 and there after manie woundes receyued was cast in y^ riuer. So implacable is the 
 furie of a multitude, when it is once stirred «& hath revenge. And so heauie is the 
 hande of God upon Tiraunts in this World, when it please [th His] diuine Ma"* to take 
 reuenge of y* same. 
 
 I haue read in Leander, in his descripco of Italie how y' in Spoleto (if I be not 
 deceived) y^ chiefe cittie of y^ cuntrey of Vmbria there was a straung Tyraunt : who in 
 y* t [ime of his] prosperitie contemned all men, & forbear to iniure no man y* came 
 w'^n his [clawes] : esteeming himself sure enoughe, for eu being called to render 
 accompt in this [life, and for] y* next he cared little. But God vpon y" sudden turned 
 vpside downe y* wheele [of his feli] citie, & cast him into peoples handes : who tooke 
 him and bound his naked body [upon a plank, in] the mkett place, w"" a fier and iron 
 tongs by him, & then made pclamacon y' seing [this man was] not otherwise able to 
 make satisfaccon, for y'= publique iniuries y' he had d [one : every private] person 
 annoyed by him, should come in order and w"" y'= hott burning ton [ges there ready, 
 shou] Id take of his fleshe so much, as was correspondent to y"" iniurie rece [ived, as 
 indeed they did] vntill y'= miserable man gaue vp y' ghost, & after to : as this [author 
 writeth. But to the purpose] seeing my Lo : careth little for such examples, and is 
 bee [ome so hardy now, as he maketh no] accompt to iniurie and oppresse who 
 countries & common [alities together : it shall be booties to] speake of his pceedings 
 towardes pticculer men, who have [not so great strength to resist, as] a multitude hath. 
 And yett I can assure yo", [that there are so many and so pitiful things] published 
 dailie of his Tirauny in this k [ind : as do move great compassion towards the 
 
 who 
 
 party that do suffer, &] horror against him, ^sham [eth not daily to offer such injury. 
 As for example : whose heart would not bleed to] heare [the case before mentioned, of 
 Master Robinson of Staffordshire : a proper young Gentleman, and well given both in 
 Religion and virtues, whose Father died at Newhaven in her Majesty's service, under this 
 mans brother the Earle of Warwick : and recommended at his death, this his eldest son, 
 to the special protection of Leycester and his Brother, whose servant also this Robinson hath 
 been, from his youth upward, and spent the most of his living in his service. Yet not- 
 withstanding all this, when Robinsons \dSids, were intangled with a c&rtdim& Londoner, upon 
 interest for his former maintenance in their service, whose title my Lord of Leycester 
 (though craftily, yet not covertly) under Ferris his cloak, had gotten to himselfe : hee] 
 
 MS. Folio 78. 
 ceased not to pursue y" sd gent euen to imprisonm', arraignm', and sentece of death, for 
 greedines of y" sd lining : together w'" y'' vexacon of his brother in law [Master 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 117 
 
 MS. Folio 78 (contd.) 
 
 Harcourt & all other his frends, vpon ptence, for sooth, y' there was a man slaine [by 
 Robinsons ptie in defence of his owne possessios against Ley : intruders, y' would by 
 violence breake into y* same. 
 
 What] shall I speake of others, wherof there would be no ende ? as of his dealing 
 w"> M' Ric [hard Lee] for his Manor of Hooknorton (yf I faile not of y' name : (w"" Mr 
 Lodow : Grevill, [by] seeking to bereaue him of all his liuing at once, yf y" drafte had 
 taken place? [With] Georg Whitney, in y^behalf of H; Leigh, forinforcing him to forgoe 
 y contro [11] orshP of Woodstoocke, w""" he holdeth by patent from kingH: 7? W" my 
 Lo : Barklie whom he enforced to yeld vp his lands to his brother W, w'*" his auncestors 
 had held quietlie for almost two hundred yeares together ? 
 
 What] shall I sale of his intoUerable Tyrauny vpo y* last Arch : of Can :, for Dr : 
 Julio [hi] s sake, & y'in so fowle a matter ? vpon S' John Trockmor"", whom he brought 
 pittifullie to his graue before his time, by continuall vexacon, for a peece of faithfull 
 
 K 
 
 ^eruice done by to his countrie, (to all y^ line oi^H against this mans Father in King 
 Edward and Queene Ma' dales ? Vpon diuse of y^ Lands for one mans sake before 
 menconed, y' ofFred to take Killing : Castle ? vpon some of y* Giffords, and other for 
 Throckmortons sake? (for y'is also his Lo disposicon, for one mans sakes whom he brok 
 keth not, to plague a whole generacon, y' anie way ptaineth, or is allied to y" same:) 
 His endles psecuting S"" Dew: Drew:, and manie other courtiers both men and women ? 
 All these (I sale) & manie other, who dailie suffer iniuries, rapines, & oppressios, 
 through out y' Realme, w' should it auaile to name them in this place : seeing neither 
 his Lo : careth anie thing for the same, neither the pties agreued are like to attaine 
 anie y^ least release of afifliccon therby, but rather double oppressio for their coplaining. 
 Wherfor, to returne againe wherat we beganne, yo" see by this little, who, & how gret, 
 •& w' manner of man, my Lo : of Ley : is this dale in the state of England. You see & 
 
 his strength, & 
 
 may gather in some pt, by y* w"*" hath ben spoken, his welth^his cuning,^his disposicon ; 
 His welth is excessiue in all kind of riches for a priuate man, and must needes be 
 much more, then anie bodie can lightlie imagine, for y^ infinite waies he hath of gaine, 
 so manie yeares together. 
 
 His Strength and power is irresistable, as hath ben shewed, both in chamber, 
 -court, counsell, & countrie. His cuning in plotting, & fortifieng y" same, both by Force 
 ■Si Fraude, by Mynes and countermyns, by Trenches, Bulwarkes, Flankers & by 
 Frends, Enemies, Allies, Seruants, Creatures & Dependants, or any other [that may 
 serve his turne : is verie rare^singuler. His disposicon to Crueltie, [Murder, Tre]son 
 and Trauny : & by all theise to Supreame Soueraigntie ouer other : is made [evident 
 .&] cleare. And then iudge yo" whether her Ma''= y' now raigneth (whose life may, ye 
 Lo: in mcie long pserue) haue not iust cause to feare, in respedt [to these things 
 ■onelie : if there were no other pticulers to proue his aspiring intent [beside ? 
 
 No doubt (quoth y*= Lawer) but theise are great matters, in y" question [of such a 
 cause] as is a crowne. And we haue seene by example, y' y" least of these [four, which 
 you] haue heere named, or rather some little braunch contained in [any of them, hath 
 been sufficient] to ffound just suspicon, distrust or iealousie, in y« [heads of most wise 
 Princes tow] arde the pceedings of more assured subieds, then my Lord [of Leycester, 
 ;in reason may be pre] sumed to be. For y' y^ safetie of a state & Prince, sta[ndeth 
 
 Master 
 Harcourt. 
 
 Master 
 Richard Lee. 
 Ludowich 
 Grivcll. 
 George Wittiey. 
 
 Lord Barkley. 
 
 Archbishop 
 of Canterhuny. 
 Sir lohn 
 Throgmartott. 
 
 Lane. 
 Gifford. 
 
 Sir Drew 
 Drewry. 
 
 The present 
 state of my 
 Lord of 
 Leycester. 
 
 Leycesters 
 Wealth. 
 
 Leyceiten 
 Strength. 
 Leycesters 
 Cunning. 
 
 Leycesters 
 disposition. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 Causes of just 
 feare for her 
 Majesty. 
 
Ii8 
 
 MS. Folio 78 {contd.y 
 
 A point of 
 necessary 
 policy for a 
 Prince. 
 
 SchoUar. 
 
 A philosphi- 
 call argument 
 to prove Ley- 
 testersiDtentoi 
 soveraignty. 
 
 The prepara- 
 tions of Ley- 
 cestcr declare 
 his intended 
 end. 
 
 Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 not only in the readiness and ability] to resist open attem.ts, when they shall [fall out : 
 but also (and that much more as Statutes] write in a certen prouident watch [fulnesse, 
 of preventing all possibilities and likelihood of] daunger or suppressio : for [that na 
 Prince commonly, will put himself to the courtesy of another man (be he never so- 
 obliged) whether he shall retain his crown or no: seeing the cause of a Kingdom, 
 acknowledgeth neither Kindreth, duty, faith, friendship, nor Society, 
 
 I know not whether I do expound or declare myself well or no, but my 
 meaning is, that whereas every Prince hath two points of assurance from 
 his subjea, the one, in that he is faithful and lacketh will, to annoy his sove- 
 reign : the other, for that he is weak and wanteth ability, to do the same : the 
 first is alway of more importance than the second, and consequently more to] 
 
 MS. Folio 79. 
 
 be eyed and obserued in Pollicie : for y' our will male be chaunged at once [pleasure 
 but] not our abilitie. 
 
 Considering then, vpon y' w'*" hath ben said & specified before, how y' my [Lord of 
 Leycester, hath] possessed himself of all y= strength, powers and sinewes of y= Realme, 
 hath [drawn all to] his owne direccon, and hath made his ptie so strong as it seemeth 
 not [resistable : you have] great reason to sale, y' her Ma"" maie iustlie conceiue some 
 doubt, for [that if his will were] according to his power, most assured it is, y* her 
 Ma"* were not in safe [ty. 
 
 Sale not so, good 8' (quoth I) for in such a case truelie, I would repose lit [tie 
 
 tia 
 
 upon his will, which] is so manie waies apparaunt, to be most insa^ble of ambitio. 
 Rather w [ould I think that] as yett his abilitie serueth not, either for time, place, or 
 some other circumstan : [than that any] pt of good will should want in him : seing 
 
 not 
 
 y'^onelie his desire of souerainty : [but also his] intent and attempt to aspire to y*^ 
 same, is sufficientlie declared (in [my conceit) by] y* verie pticulers of his power & 
 plotts alreadie sett downe. W'' yf yo" haue y" pacience to heare a Schollers argum*, I 
 will proue by a Principle [of our Philosophy ] For yf it be true as Aristotle saith, 
 there is no agent so simple in y" [World, which worketh] not for some finale ende, (as 
 y* bird buildeth not her nest but to dwell & he[tch her young ones] therein :) & not 
 onelie y' : but also y' y* same agent, doth alwaies frame his worke [according to the 
 pportion of his intended ende : (as when the Fox or Badger maketh a wide [earth or 
 denne] , it is a signe y' he meaneth to draw thether great stoore of pray:) then [must 
 we also in reason] thinke, y' so wise & polliticke an agent, as is my Lo : of Ley : for 
 himself, [wanteth not] his ende in these plottings & pparations of his : I meane an 
 ende p [portionable in] greatnes of his pparacons. W^ ende, can be no meaner nor 
 lesse then Su [preme Sover] aingtie, seing his puision and furniture do tend y' waie, & 
 are in euie point [fully corr] esponden* to the same. 
 
 W meaneth his so dilligent beseiging of y* Princes psoun ? his taking vp y'= [ways 
 and] passages about her ? his insolencie in court ? his singularitie in counsel ? [his 
 violent] pparacon of strength abroade ? his enriching of his Complices ? the band [ing- 
 of his fact] con, w* the aboundaunce of frends euiewhere ? W do theise things signifie 
 [(I say) and so] manie other, as yo" haue well noted & signified before : but onelie his 
 
iig 
 Leycester^s Commonwealth. MS. Folio 79 {oontd.) 
 
 intent [and purpose] of Supmacie ? W did y« same things portende in times past in 
 his Father, [but even that which] now y^" portende in the Sonne. Or how should we 
 thinke, y* y^ Sonne hath [no other meaning] in y= verie same accons, then had his Father 
 before, him whose steppes he f [olloweth.] I remember I haue heard, oftentimes of divs 
 auncient & graue men 'mC\ambndge, how] y'in K: Ed: dayesy'Duke oi Northuberland 
 this mans Father, was genallie [suspefted] of all men, to meane indeed as after he 
 shewed, especiallie when he had once [joined with] y^ house of Suff ; & made himself 
 principall of y' faccon by marriadge. [But] y* he was potent, & ptested euiewhere 
 and by all occasions his great loue, duty [and special] care, aboue all others, y' he 
 boore towards his Prince & countrey no man durst [accuse him] openlie, vntill it was 
 to late to w^-stande his power : (as commonlie it falleth [out] in affaires) & y= like is 
 euident in my Lo : of Ley : accons now (albeit to her Ma [jesty, I doubt not, but that 
 he will ptende and pteste, as his Father did to her Brother) especiallie [now after his 
 open] an associacon w"' y" faccon of Huntig : w'='' no lesse impugneth vnder [this man's 
 protedlion the] whole line of H 7 for right of y^ crowne, then y^ house of Suff: did 
 [under his Father the parti] culer pgenie of K. H. 8 : 
 
 Nay rather mu]ch more (quoth y* Gent) for y' I do not reade in K: Ed: re[ign, 
 {when the matter was in plotting] notw^standing) y' y° house of Suff: durst eu make 
 [open claim to the next succession. But now] y* house of Hastings is become so con- 
 fident, [upon the strength and favour of their favours, that] they dare both plott, 
 pradtize, and ptende, [all at once, and fear not to let out their title in] euie place 
 whereat they come. 
 
 And do they not fear the statute (said] y° Lawier) so rig [orous on this point, as it 
 maketh the matter treason to determine of titles ! 
 
 No, they need not (quoth the Gentleman) seeing their party is so strong and 
 terrible, as no man dare accuse them : seeing also they well know, that the pro- 
 curement of that stature, was only to endanger or stop the mouths of the true 
 Successors, whilst themselves, in the mean space, went about under-hand, to estab- 
 lish their own ambushment. Well, (quoth the Lawyer) for the pretence of my 
 Lord of Huntingdon to the Crowne, I will not stand with you, for that it is a 
 matter sufficiently known and seen through the Realm. As also that my Lord 
 of Leycester is at this day, a principal favourer and patron of that cause, albeit] 
 
 How the 
 Duke of 
 Northumber- 
 land dissem> 
 bled his end. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 The boldnes 
 of the titles 
 of Clarence. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 The abuse of 
 the statute 
 for silence in 
 the true suc- 
 cession. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 MS. Folio 80. 
 
 some years past, he were an adusarie an enemie to y^ same. But yett haue I heard 
 some frende of his, in reasoning of theise matters, denie stoutlie a point or two, w"" 
 yo" haue touched heere, and do seeme to belieue y^ same. 
 
 And y' is, first, y' howsoeu my Lo : of Ley : do meane to helpe his frend, when 
 time shall serve, yett, ptendeth he nothing to the Crowne himself. Y" second is, that 
 w'soeu maie be men' for y' tittle, or compassing y" Crowne after her Ma'= death, yett 
 nothing is ptended during her Raigne. And of both theise points they alledge reasons. 
 
 As for y* first, y' my Lo : of Ley : is verie well knowen, to haue no title to 
 y^ Crowne himself, eyther by descent in bloud, alliaunce or other waies. For y'' second, 
 y his LoP : hath no cause to be a Malcontent in y" present goverm', nor hope for more 
 
 Two excuses 
 alleadged by 
 Leycesters 
 friends. 
 
120 
 
 Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 MS. Folio 80 {contd.y 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Whether 
 Leycester 
 meane the 
 Crowne sin- 
 cerely for 
 Huntington 
 or for him- 
 selfe. 
 
 The words 
 of the Lord 
 North, to 
 Master Pooly. 
 
 Poo/y told this 
 to Sir Robert 
 lermine. 
 
 The words of 
 Sir Thomas 
 Layton bro- 
 ther in law to 
 my Lord. 
 
 The words 
 of Mistresse 
 Anne West 
 sister unto 
 this holy 
 Countesse. 
 
 pferm', if my Lo : of Hunt : were King to morrow next, then he receaueth now at her 
 Ma'^ handes : having all y* Realme (as hath ben shewed) at his owne disposicon. 
 
 For y= first (quoth y"= Gent) whether he meanes y' Crowne for himself, or for his 
 frend, it importeth not much : seing both waies it is euident, y' he meaneth to haue 
 all at his owne disposicon. And albeit now for y^ auoiding of envie, he gaue it out as. 
 a Craftie Fox, y' he meaneth not but to rune w'" other men, & to hunt w* Hunt: and 
 other hounds in y* same chase : yett it is^onlike, but y' he will plaie y* Beare, when 
 he cometh to deuiding of y= praie, & will snatch y" best pt to himself. Yea and theise 
 selfe same psons whom yo" call his frends, though in publicke to excuse his doings, &r 
 to cou Y' whole plott, y''' will and must denie y' matters be so meant yett otherwaies. 
 they both thinke, hope & know y'= contrarie, & will not stick in secreatt to speake it^ 
 and amongst theselues, it is their talke of consolacon. 
 
 The wordes of the speciall Counsellor y" Lo North, are knowen, w'" he spake to 
 his trustie Poolie ; vpon the receipt of a Ire from Court, of her Ma'" displeasure towards 
 him, fo his being a witnes at Ley : second marraidge w'" dame Lettice (althoughe I 
 knowe he was°^ignoraunt of y* first) at Wantstead : of w''*' displeasure, this Lo : making- 
 farr lesse account then, in reason he should, of y" iust offence of his souaigne, said 
 y* for his owne pte he was res olued to sink or swim w"" my Lo : of Ley : who (saith he) 
 if once y* cardes maie come but to shuffling (I will vse but his owne verie words) I 
 make no doubt but he alone shall beare awaie y' Bucklers ; 
 
 walking vpo ye Terrese 
 
 The words also of S' Tho : Leyton, to S' H ; Nevill ^a.t Windsore are knowen, who- 
 told him, after long discourse of their happie conceyued Kingdome, y' he doubted [not 
 but to see him one daie, hold y^ same office in Windsor, of my Lo : of Ley : w"^ now 
 my Lo : did hold of y^ Queene. Meaning therbie y'= goodlie office of Constableshipp 
 w"" all rich [Royal] ties & bono" belonging to the same, w"*" now y" sd S' Hen : exerciseth 
 onelie as Deputie to the Earle. W"*" was plainelie to signifie, y' he doubted not but [to- 
 see my] Lo ; of Ley : one daie King, or else his other hope could neu possibly take 
 [effedl or] come to passe. 
 
 of 
 
 To y^ same point, tended y* wordes^ Mis Anne West Dame Lettice sister, [unto the 
 La Anne Askew in y" great chamber vpon a daie when her brother {Robert Knowles 
 had daunced disgraciouslie and skornfuUie before y* Queene in [presence of the French. 
 W°'' thing for y' her Ma"° took to pceed of will in him, & for dislike of the [straungers. 
 in psence, & for y^ Quarrell of his sister Essex ; it pleased her h [ighness to check him 
 for y'= same, w"" addicon of a reproachfull worde or to full [well deserved as tho'] donne 
 for dispight of y^ forced absence, from y' place of ho [nour, of the good old Gentle- 
 woman (i] mittigate y^ wordes) his Sister. W"'" wordes y"= other [younger twig receiving 
 in de] epe dudgeon, brake forth in great choller to her [forenamed companion, and said^ 
 she no] thing doubted, but y' one daie she should see [her sister, upon which the Queen 
 railed now so] much (for so it pleased her to term [her Majesties sharp speech) to sit in 
 her place & throne,] being much [worthier of the same, for her qualities and rare virtues, 
 then was the other. Which undutiful speech, albeit it were overheard and condemned 
 of divers that set about them ; yet none durst ever report the same to her Majesty ; as I 
 have heard sundry Councellors affirm, in respect of the revenge which the reporters should 
 abide at my Lord of Leycester's hands whensoever the matter should come to light.] 
 
121 
 
 Leycestefs Commonwealth. -^^ P^jj^ g^ 
 
 And this is now concerning y«= opinio and secrett speaches of my Lord's [own 
 friends, who] cannot but vtter their conceipt & iudgm' in tyme and place con[venient, 
 whatsoever they] are willed to giue out publiquelie to y« contrarie, for deceiuig of such 
 as will believe] faire painted wordes against evident and manifest demonstracon [of 
 reason.] 
 
 I saie reason, for y* if none of theise signes & tokens were, none of these [prepara- 
 tions] nor anie of theise speaches & deteccons, by his frends y' know his hart : [yet in 
 force of] plaine reason, I could alledge vnto yo" three argum'' onelie w"*" to [any man 
 of intelli] gence, would easilie pswade and giue satisfaccon, y* my Lord of Ley: 
 meaneth best and] first for himself in this suite. W*" three argum'= for y' yo" seeme to 
 be attent. I will not] sticke to rune ou in all breuitie. 
 
 And y* fyrst is y^ nature and quallitie of ambitio it self, w"*" is such [as you know that 
 it neu staieth, but passeth from degree to degree, & y^ more it obteyn [eth the more it 
 coueteth & y"' more it esteemeth it self both worthie & able to obtaine. [And in our 
 matter] y' now we handle, even as in wooing, he y' sueth to a La: for another, & 
 obt [aineth her] good will, entreth easelie into conceipt of his owne worthines therby, 
 & so CO [mmonly into] hope of speding himself, while he speaketh for his frend : somuch 
 more in King[doms ; he that] seeth himself of power to put y^ crowne o anothers mans 
 heade, will quic [kly step to the] next degree w""" is, to sett ^ on his owne, seing y* alwaies 
 y'= charitie of such [good man, is] wont to be so orderlie, as (according to y" pcept^) it 
 beginneth w"" himself fyrst. 
 
 Add to this, that ambition is as suspitious, & fearefull of it self, especiallie [when 
 it is] ioyned w* a conscience loden w**" y^ guilt of manye crimes, wherof he would [be 
 loath to] be called to account, or be subiedt to any man y' might by audlhoritie take 
 re [view of his] life and accons, when it should please him. In w""" kynd, seing my Lo; 
 of Ley: hath [so much to] increase his feare, as before hath ben showed by his wicked 
 dealings : it is not, [that ever] he will putt himself to another mans courtesie, for 
 passing his Auditt in pt [icular recko] nings, w"*" he can nowaie aunswer or satisfie but 
 rather will stand vpo y" g [ross Sum] & generall Quietus est by making himself cheif 
 Audito"^ & M"' of all accomp'^ [for his own] pte in this life, howsoeu he do in the next : 
 wherof such humo" haue little reg [ard. And] this is for y^ nature of ambitio in it selfe. 
 
 The second argum* maie be taken from my Lo. pticuler disposicon ; w"** is su [ch, 
 which may] giue much light also to the matter in questio : being a disposicon much 
 liking [and inclined] to kingdome as it hath ben tampring about y^ same, from y^ first 
 daie y' he [came into] favour. Fyrst by seeking openlie to marrie w"" y^ Queenes Ma"= 
 her selfe & so [draw] y'= crowne vpon his owne heade, and to his posteritie. Secondlie, 
 when y' attem [pt took not] place, then he gaue it out, as hath ben showed before, 
 y* he was privilie cont [raded to] her Ma"^ (wherin as I told yo" his dealing before for 
 satisfaccon of a straunger, [so let him] w"' shame and dishono' remember now also, 
 y^ spadlacle he secrettlie made [for the per] swading of a subiedl and Counsellor of 
 great honor in the same cause) to the [end that if her] Ma"" should by anie waie haue 
 miscarried, then he might haue entitled [any one of his owne] broode (wherof he hath 
 stoore in manie places as is knowen) to y' [lawful succession] of y^ Crowne vnder 
 couler of y* priuie and secreatt marriadge, [pretending the same to be] by her Ma"" : 
 wherin he will want no witnes to depose w' he will. 
 
 Three argu- 
 ments of 
 LeyasUrs 
 meaning for 
 himselfe 
 before 
 Huntington. 
 
 The first 
 argument the 
 Nature of 
 ambition. 
 
 The second 
 
 argument, 
 
 Leycesters 
 
 particular 
 
 disposition. 
 
 Leycesters 
 disposition to 
 tamper for a 
 Kingdome. 
 
 I meane the 
 noble old 
 Earle of 
 Pembroohe. 
 
122 
 
 Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 MS. Folio 8i {contd.) 
 
 The unduti- 
 full devise of 
 Natural! 
 issue, in the 
 statute of 
 succession. 
 
 The marriage 
 of Arbella. 
 
 The third 
 argument. 
 The nature 
 of the cause 
 itself. 
 
 The nature 
 of old recon- 
 ciled enmity. 
 
 Thirdly] when he sais also y' this devise was subieft to daunger, for y' his [privy 
 contraa might be d] enied more easelie, then he able iustlie to proue the same a [fter her 
 Majesty's decease : he had a] new fetch to strengthen y^ matter y' & was to cause y^ [words 
 [of {Natural issue) to be put into] y= statute of successio for y= Crowne, against all [order 
 and custom of our Realme, and against] y* knowen commo stile of law, accustomed to 
 be u[sed in statutes of such matter: whereby he migh]t be able after y' death of her 
 Ma"" [to make legitimate to the Crown, any one bastard of his own] by any of so 
 many h[acknies as he keepeth, affirming it to be the Natural issue of her Majesty by 
 himself. For no other reason can be imagined why the ancient usual words of, Lawful 
 issue should so cunningly be changed into Natural issue; Thereby not only to endanger 
 our whole Realm with new quarrels of succession but also to touch (as far as in him 
 lieth) the Royal honour of his Sovereign, who had been to him but too bountiful a 
 Princes.] 
 
 [Fourthly, when after a time these fetches and devices, began to be 
 discovered, he changed his course, and turned to the Papists, and Scottish 
 faction, pretending the marriage of the Queen in prison. But yet after] 
 
 MS. Folio 82. 
 
 this againe, finding therin not such successe as contented him throughhe, and 
 hauing [in the] meane space new occasion offred of baite he betooke himself fiftlie 
 to y* ptie of Hunt : hauing [therein] (no doubt) as good meanig to himself, as his 
 Father had by ioyning w* Suffolke. Marie yett of late, he hath cast, anew about, once 
 againe, for himself in secreat, by treating y" marriadg [of you] ng Arbella w"" his Sonne 
 intituled y" Lo Denbighe. So y' by this disposicon of this man [bent wh] olie to a scepter. 
 And albeit in right title and desent of bloud (as yo" sale) he can iustlie claime neither 
 
 either 
 
 kingdome nor cottage (considering^the basenes or disloialtie of his Aunceste^) yett in 
 respeft of his put state and power, & of his naturall pride, ambition, and craftie con- 
 eyaunce receyued from his Father : he hath learned how first to put himself in cheif 
 rule, vnder other ptences, & after to deuise vppon y® title at his pleasure. 
 
 But now to come to the argum' : I sale more and aboue all y'% y' y" nature and 
 state of y" matter it selfe, pmitteth not, y' my Lo : of Lei: should meane sincerelie y'' 
 crowne for Hunt : speciallie seing there hath passed between them so manie yeares of 
 dislike and enmitie : w'^'' albeit, for y* time & present commoditie, be covrd and pressed 
 downe : yett by reason & experiece we knowe, y' afterwardes when they shall deale 
 together againe in matters of importance, & when iealousie shalbe ioyned to other 
 circumstaunces of y"'"' accons : it is impossible y' y° former dislike should not breake 
 out in higher degrees, then euer before. 
 
 As we saw in y" examples of reconcialicon, made betwixt this mans Father and 
 Ed: D : of S bearing rule vnder K: £; 6: & betweene Ric: D: of Yo: 81 Ed: D: of 
 Som:, bearing rule in y" time of K : //; 6 : Both w°'' Du : of Som, after reconciaco w"* 
 their old, craftie & [amb] itious enemies, were brought by y" same to y" destraccon 
 soone after. Wherof I doubt not, but my Lo : of Ley : will take good heede in ioyning 
 by reconciliacon w"" Hunt : after so long breach : & will not be so improuiden', as to 
 make him his Souaigne who now is but his dependant. He remembreth to well y" 
 successe of y" Lo : Stanley (who helped H. 7. to y" crowne) : of y° Duke of Buck : who 
 
123 
 
 Leycester's Commonwealth. MS. Folio 82 {contd.) 
 
 did y" same for Rye y 3, of y= Earle of Warwicke, who sett vp K: Ed: 4: and of y" 3 
 Percies who advaunced to y« Scepter K. H : 4. All w* Noble men vpo occasions w-^" 
 after fell out were rewarded w* death, by the self same Princes, whom y^'' had pferred. 
 
 And y' not w^'out reason as Seignio Matchiattell my Lo : Counsello' affirmeth. 
 For y' such Prince afterwardes can neu giue sufficcent satisfaccon to such frends, for so 
 great a benefitt receaued. And consequentlie least vpon discontm', they male chaunce 
 to do as much for others against them as they haue done for them against others : y^ 
 surest waie is to recompence them w"' such a reward as they shall neu after be able to 
 complaine of. 
 
 Wherfor I can neu thinke y' my Lo: oi Ley: will putt himself in daunger of y^ like 
 success [at] Hujtf: hands; but rather will follow y^ plott of his owne Father w"" the 
 D. of Suff:, when [no doubt] but he meant onelie to vse for a ptexte & helpe, wherbie 
 to place himself in supream [dignity] & afterwards w'soeu had befallen of y'' State, y= 
 other heade could neu haue come [to other] ende then it enioyed. For if Q. Ma : had 
 not cutt it of K. John of Northu : would [have done] y^ same in time, & so all men do 
 well know, that were priuie to anie of his [cunning deelings.] And w' Hunt : secreate 
 opinion of Ley: is (notw^'standing this outward show of [dependance] it was my 
 chaunce to learne, from y® mouth of a speciall man of y' hasty [King who was] leidger 
 or agen' in London ; and at a time falling in talke of his M'" title, [declared that he had] 
 heard him dius times in secreatt, complaine to his La : {Ley^: sister) [as greatly fearing] 
 y' in y" ende, he would offer him wrong & ptende some title for himselfe. 
 
 Well (quoth y* Lawier) it seemeth by this last pointe, y' theise two [Lords are 
 cunning pradlioners in] y^ art of dissimulacon : but for the former wherof yo" speak [in 
 truth I have heard men of] good discourse affirme, y' y^ Duke of Northu : had stra[nge 
 devices in his head for deceiving] of Suff: (who was nothing so fine as himself) & for 
 [bringing the crown to his own family.] And amongst other deuises it is thought, 
 y' [he had most certain intention to marry the Lady] Marie himself, (after once he had 
 br [ought her into his own hands) and to have bestowed her Majesty that now is upon 
 some one of his [children (if he should have been thought best to give her life,) and so 
 consequently to have shaken off Suffolk and his pedigree, with condign punishment, for 
 his bold behaviour in that behalf. 
 
 Verily (quoth I) this hath been an excellent stratageme, if it had taken place. 
 But I pray you (Sir) how could he himself have taken the Lady Mary to wife, 
 seeing he was already married to another? Oh (quoth the Gendeman) you ques- 
 tion like a Schollar. As though my Lord of Leycester had not a wife alive] 
 
 MS. Folio 83. 
 when he first begann to ptende marriadge to the Queenes Ma'^ Do yo^ not [re- 
 member the story] of K. i?; 3 : who at such time as he thought best for establishing of 
 his title : [to marry his own Neece, y' afterwards was married to K. H. 7., how he 
 caused secreatlie to [be given abroad] y* his owne wife was dead, whom all y-" World 
 knew then to be aliue and in good [health, but that yet] soone afterwardes she was 
 soone dead indead. Theise grea' psonages, in matters [of such weight] as is a King- 
 dome, haue priuiledges to dispose of Womens bodies, mariadge, 1 [ives and deaths] as 
 shalbe thought for y^ time most convenient. 
 
 The reason of 
 
 Machmell. 
 
 The meaning 
 of the Duke 
 of Northum- 
 berland with 
 Suffolhe. 
 
 South-house. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 The meaning 
 of the D. of 
 Northumber- 
 land towards 
 theD of 
 Suffolhe. 
 
 Scholar. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 The practice 
 of King 
 Richard for 
 dispatching 
 his Wife. 
 
Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 124 
 
 MS. Folio 83 {contd.) 
 
 A new 
 Triumvirat 
 betweene 
 Leycester, 
 Talbot, and 
 the old 
 Countesse of 
 Shrewsbury. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 Huntington. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 The flights of 
 Leycester for 
 bringing all 
 to himselfe. 
 
 Scambling 
 betweene 
 Leycester and 
 Huntington 
 as the upshot. 
 
 Richard 
 of Glocester 
 An. I. Edw.$. 
 
 1. That the 
 conspirators 
 meane in her 
 Majesties 
 dayes. 
 
 Foure con- 
 siderations. 
 
 And w* do yo" thinke (I praie you) of this new Triuvirat so latelie concluded [about 
 Arbella ?] (for so must I call y^ same, thoughe one of y* 3 psons be no Vir but Virago) 
 [I mean of the] marriadge betweene yong Denbigh and y" little daughter of Lenox, 
 wherby [the Father-in-Law,J y^ Grandmother & y^ Uncle of y^ new designed Q. haue 
 conceiued to themselfs [a singular] triuphant raigne. But w' do yo" thinke maie ensue 
 hereof? is there nothing [of the old plot] of Duke John of Northub : in this? 
 
 Marrie S' (quoth y^ laweier) if this be so, I dare assure yo" thers sequele enough 
 pretendeth] hereby. And fyrst no doubt, but their goeth a deepe drift, by y° wife & 
 Sonne, aga[inst old Abra]ham (y" Husband & Father) w"" y^ well lyned large pouch. 
 And secondlie, a farr [deeper by] trustie Robt against his best M"^ : but deepest of all 
 by y^ whole crew, against [the designments] of y^ hastie Earle : who thirsteth a 
 Kingdome, w* great intemperu*nce, and see [meth (if there] were plaine dealing) to 
 hope by theise good people to quench shortlie his drought. [But either] pt in truth, 
 seeketh to deceyue other & therfor it is hard to sale where y^ gaine [in fine will rest.] 
 
 how 
 
 Well^soeu y' be (quoth y Gent) I am of opinion, y' my Lo : of Ley :, will vse both 
 this p [ractice and] manie more, for bringing y^ Scepter finallie to his owne heade : & 
 y* he will not [only imploy] Hunt: to defeate Scottland, & Arbella to defeat Hunt: but 
 also would vse y* marr [iage of the] Q. imprisoned, to defeate them both, if she were in 
 his hande ; and anyone of all th [ree to dis] possesse her Ma''^ y' now is : as also the 
 audlhoritie, of all fower to bring it to him [self: with] manie other fetches, flings, and 
 friscoes, besides, w""" simple men do not as yett [conceive.] And howsoeuer these two 
 conioyned Earles, as seeme for y^ time to draw together, [and to play] bootie : yett 
 am I, of opinion, that the one will beguile, the other at the vpshott. And {Hastings 
 for ought I see, when he cometh to the standing, is like to haue no better lucke [by 
 the Beare,] then his Auncesto"^ once had by the Bore. Who vsing his helpe first in 
 murthering [the Son and] Heire of K : H : 6, and after in destroieng the faithfull 
 Frends & kinsmen of Ed. 5, for [his easier] waie to vsurpacon : made an ende of him 
 also in the Tower, at the verie same date [and hour,] y' the other were by his counsell 
 destroyed in Pomfrett Castle. So y' where y^ [Goale and] price of the game is a 
 Kingdome : there is neyther faith, nor good fellowshippe, [nor fair] plaie amongst 
 y^ Camsters. And this shall be enoughe for y= first pointe : (viz) [what good my Lord] 
 of Ley : meaneth to himselfe in respect of Hunt. Touching y* second, [whether the 
 attempt] y' be purposed in her Ma" dayes or no, the matter is much lesse doubt [full, 
 to him that knoweth] other can imagine, w' a torm' y* delaie of a Kingdome is, to such 
 a one [as sufi"ereth hunger the]reas and feare y' euerie hower maie breed some 
 alteracon, to y^ [prejudice of his conceiv]ed hope. We see oftentimes y' y'= child is 
 impacien' in this matter, [to expedl the natural] ende of his parents life. Whom, not 
 w*standing, by nature [he is enforced to love : and who] also by nature, is like long to 
 leaue y'= World before him : [and after his disease he is sure] to obtaine his desire : 
 butt most certeine of [dangerous event, if he attempt to get it, whi] le yett his paren' 
 liueth. W^'' foure con [siderations, are (no doubt) of great force to containe a] child 
 in dutie, & to bridle his desire: [albeit sometimes not sufficient to withstand the 
 greedy] appetite of raigning. 
 
 [But what shall we think, when none of these four considerations do restraine ? 
 when the present Possessor is no Parent ? where she is like by nature, to out-live the 
 
125 
 
 Leycester's Commonwealth. ^.^ ^ ,. „ , ^,, 
 
 MS. Folio 83 (contd.) 
 
 expeaor ? whose death must needs bring infinite difficulties to the enterprise ? and in 
 whose hfetime the matter is most easy to be achieved, under colour and authority of 
 the present Possessor ? shall we think that in such a case the ambitious man, shall 
 overrule his own passion, and leave his commodity. As for that, which is alledged 
 before for my Lord, in the reason of his Defenders : that his present state is so] 
 
 MS. Folio 84. 
 prospous, as he cannot expedl better in y« next chaunge w'soeu should be : is of smale 
 [moment in] y" concei' of an ambitious heade, whose eye and har* is alwaies vpon y', 
 he hopeth for, [and] enioyeth no' : & no' vpon y' w-^-- alreadie he possesseth, be it neuer 
 so good. Especiallie in marks of honor and aufthoritie, it is an infallible rule, y' one 
 degree desired & no' obtayned, afflideth more then fine degrees alreadie possessed, 
 can giue consolacon : y" storie of D. Aman, confirmeth this evidenthe, who being y" 
 greatest subied in y« world vnder K. Assuer, after he had reckoned vp all his pompe, 
 riches, glorie & feUcitie to his frends, yett he se, y' all this was nothing vnto him, vntill 
 he could obtaine y' revenge, w^'' he desired, vpo Mardecheus his enemy : and heerby it 
 cometh ordinarilie to passe, y' amongst highest in audlhoritie, are found y= greatest 
 stoore of Malcontents, y' most do endaunger their Prince & Contrey. 
 
 When y^ Percies tooke pt w"' H. of Boll :, against King Ric. 2. their lawful! 
 Souereigne : it was not for lacke of pferm' : for y^^ were exceedinglie advaunced by y^ 
 sd King, & possessed y" three Earldomes of North fiberland, Worster, and Staff, together, 
 besides manie other office & dignities of hono^ 
 
 In like sorte, when y= two Nevills, tooke vpon them to ioyne w' Ric of Yorke, to 
 pu' downe y^"^ most benigne Prince K: H.6: and after againe on y'= other side ; to putt 
 downe K. Ed. 4 : it was no' vpon wan' of advauncm' : they being Earls both of Salisb. 
 War:, and Lo : of manie notable places besides. Bu' it is was vpon a vaine imaginatio 
 of future fortune, wherby such men are comonlie lead : & yett had not they anie smell 
 in their nostrills, of getting y" kingdome for themselues, as this man hath to pricke 
 him forwarde. 
 
 If yo" sale y' theise men hated their soueraigne, & therby were led to pcure his 
 destruccon ; y*= same I aie aunswere of my Lo : living, though of all men living he hath 
 least cause so to doe. But ye' such is y^ nature of wicked ingratitude, y' were it oweth 
 most, & disdaineth to be bounde : there vpo euie little disconten'm', it tourne the 
 dooble obligacon into triple hatred. 
 
 This he shewed euiden"'^ in the time of this disgrace, wherin he did no' onelie 
 diminish, vilipend, & debase amongst his frends, y" inestimable benifitts he hath 
 receaued fro her Ma"*, butt also vsed to expbrate his owne good services & meritts, & 
 to touch her highnes w"" ingrate consideracos & recompence of y* same, w'*" behauio" 
 together w"" his hastie pparacon to rebellion, and assault vpon her Ma'^ Roiall person 
 & dignitie, vpon so smale a cause given : did well show w' minde inwardlie he beareth 
 to his soueraigne, & w' her Ma"" male expe6t, if by offending him, she should once fall 
 w"'in y" compasse of his furious pawes ; seing [such] a smoake of disdaine could no' 
 pceede, bu' from a fierie furnace of hatred w'^n. 
 
 And surelie it is a wonderfuU matter to consider w' a little checke, or rather y" bare 
 imagination of a smale outhwratt, male worke in a proude & disdainful! stomacke. 
 
 A thing 
 worthy to be 
 noted in 
 ambitious 
 
 Histor. 5. 
 
 The Percies. 
 
 The two 
 
 Neviles. 
 
 Leycesters 
 hatred to her 
 Majesty. 
 
 The evill 
 nature of 
 ingratitude. 
 
 Leycesters 
 speeches of 
 her Majesty 
 in the time of 
 his disgrace. 
 
The causes of 
 hatred in 
 Leycester 
 towards her 
 Majesty. 
 
 The force of 
 
 female 
 
 suggestions. 
 
 An evident 
 conclusion 
 that the 
 execution is 
 meant in time 
 of her 
 Majesty. 
 
 An errour of 
 the Father 
 now to bee 
 correifted by 
 the Sonne. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 126 
 
 Leycester's Commonwealth. MS. Folio 84 (contd.) 
 
 missed 
 
 [The remem]brance of his marriadge, y' he much ptended and desired ^w"" her Ma"% 
 [doth stick] deepehe in his breast & stirreth him dailie to revenge. As also doth dis- 
 daine of [certain checks] & disgraces receaued at some times, especiallie y' of his last 
 marriadge ; [which irketh him so] much y'= more, by howmuch greater feare and 
 danger it brought him into, [at that time, and did] putt his Widdow in such open 
 phrensie, as she raged manie monethes [after against her] Ma"^, & is not cold yett : 
 butt remaineth as it were a sworne enemie, for [that injury, and standeth] like a fiende 
 or furie a* y' elbowe of her Amadis, to stirr him forward [when occasion should] serue. 
 And w' effeft such female suggestios male worke, when y^ [find an humour proud and] 
 pliable to their purpose: yo" male remember by y^ example [of the Duchess of Somerset, 
 who i] nforced her Housband to cutt of y* heade, of his onelie deare [Brother; to his 
 own evident de] struccon for her contetacon. 
 
 [Wherefore,] to conclude y^ matter w"'ou' further dispute [or reason : saying there 
 is so much discovered in] y'= case as there is : so grea' desire of [raigne, so great 
 impatience of delay, so great hope and habiH]tie of successe yf it be att [empted, under 
 the good fortune and present authority of the competitours : seeing the plots be so 
 well laid, the preparation so forward, the favourers so furnished, the time so propitious, 
 and so many other causes conviting together: seeing that by differing, all may be 
 hazarded, and by hastening, little can be endangered, the state and condition of things 
 well weighed ; finding also the bands of duty so broken already in the conspirators, 
 the causes of mislike and hatred so manifest, and the solicitours to execution, 
 so potent and diligent, as women, malice and ambition, are wont to be ; it is 
 more than probable, that they will not leese their present commodity, especially 
 seeing they have learnt by their Archi-type or Proto-plot which they followed] 
 
 MS. Folio 85. 
 (I meane y" conspiracie of Northu. & Suff: in K. Ed : dales) y' hee [in there was some 
 error] comitted at y' time, w""" ouerthrew y" whole, and y' was, y® differing [of some 
 things until] after y^ King's death, w'''' should haue ben pu* in execucon before. For 
 
 [if in the time of their] plotting, when as yett their designm'^ were not published to 
 y" World, [they had under the] counten^unce of y" King (as well they might haue 
 done) gotten in to their [hands the two Sisters,] & dispatched some other few affaires, 
 before they had caused y^ yong [Prince to die : no doubt] but in mans reason y^ whole 
 designm' had taken place : consequentlie [it is to be preso] posed, y' theise men (being 
 no fooles in their owne affaires) will take heede [of falling into] y^ like error by delaie : 
 butt rather will make all sure, by stricking while [the iron is hot] , as our puerbe 
 warneth them. 
 
 Itt cannot be denied in reason (quoth y^ Lawier) bu' y' they haue many [helps of 
 doing] what they list now, vnder y'= pnt fauour, counten"nce & audlhoritie of her 
 
 [Majesty, which they] should no' haue after highnes decease : when each man should 
 remain [more at liberty] for his supreame obedience, by reason of y^ statute puided 
 for vncertein successor ; and therfor I for my pte, would rather counsell them, to make 
 
 [much of her Majesty's] life : for after y', they little knowe w' maie ensue, or befall 
 y'^''^ designes. 
 
 They will make y^ most thereof (quoth y^ Gent) for their owne advantadge, [but 
 
127 
 
 Leycester's Commomvcalth. MS. Folio 85 {contd.) 
 
 after that] w' is like to folio'', y« examples of Ed; and Ric 2, as also of H : and Ed. 6 do 
 [sufficiently] forwarne vs ; whose lifes were plonged vntill y"'' deathes were thought 
 [more profi] table for y^ conspirato"^' & no longer. And for y^ statute yo" spake of, 
 pcured [by themselves,] for establishing y^ vncerteintie of y-^ next ^successor (wheras all 
 our former [statutes] were won' to be made for y^ declaracon & certeintie of y" same) 
 it is well to [Proviso, (as you] know) y' it shall no' endure longer then y'= life of her 
 Ma"^ y' now raigneth : [that is, indeed,] no longer then vntill themselues be readie to 
 place another. For then, no doute, we shall see a faire pclamacon y' my Lo : of 
 Hunt : is y'= onelie next heire : w"" [a bundle of] halte" to hange all such as shall dare 
 once open their mouth for deniall of y" [same] . 
 
 Att theise wordes y" old Lawier stepped backe as somew' astonnied & began to 
 [make] crosses in the aire, after y^'" fashion, wherat we laughed, and then he said : 
 t[ruly my Masters] I had thought y' no man had conceyued so euill imaginacon of 
 this statute, [as myself :] but now I pceiue y' I alone am not malicious. For my owne 
 pte, I must confess [unto] yo", y' as often as I read ouer this statute, or thinke of y*= same 
 (as by diuse occas [ions] manie times I doe) I feele myself much greiued & afHidted in 
 mynd, vpon fears [which] I conceaue w' male be y^ ende of this statute to our 
 Countrie, & w' priuie me [aning the chief] pcurers therof might haue for y^'"' owne drifts, 
 against y^ Realme, and life of he[r Majesty that] now raigneth. 
 
 And somuch y'= more it maketh me to doubte, for y' in all o" records of lawe 
 yo" shall [not find (to] my remembrance) anie one example of such a deuise, for 
 concealing of y" true [inheritor : but] rather in all ages, states, & times (especiallie 
 from Ric i. downwards) yo" [shall find statu] tes, ordinances & pulsions, for declaracon 
 and manifestacon of y*" same, [as you have well ob] serued & touched before. And 
 
 ust 
 
 therfor y'^ straunge and new deuise must [needs have some stra] unge and vnacc^omed 
 
 not 
 
 meanig, and God of his mcie graunt, y' it haue ^ [some strange and unex] pedled 
 even'. 
 
 [In sight of] all men, y''' is alreadie evident, y' neu Countrie in y'= world was 
 [brought into more apparent] daunger of vtter ruine, then o" is at this dale, by ptence 
 of [this statute. For where as there is no] Gent so meane in y^ Realme y' canno' give 
 a [guess more or less who shall be his next heir,] & his tenunts soone coniedture, 
 w' mane'' of pt [shall be their next Lord : in the title of our no] ble Crowne, wherof all 
 rest dependeth ; [neither is her Majesty permitted to know or say, who] shalbe her 
 next successor, nor [her subjedts allowed to understand or imagine, who in right may 
 be their] future souaigne : [An intolerable injury in a matter of so singular 
 impjortance.] 
 
 [For (alas) what should become of this our native Country if God should 
 take from us her most excellent Majesty (as once he will) and so leave us 
 destitute upon the sudden what should become of our lives, of our states, and of 
 our whole Realm, or Government ? Can any man promise himself, one day 
 longer of rest, peace, possession, life or liberty, within the land, when God shall 
 lend us her Majesty to reign over us ? Which albeit, we do and are bound to 
 wish that it may be long : yet reason telleth us, that by course of nature, it cannot be 
 of any great continuance, and by a thousand accidents it may be much shorter.] 
 
 Her Majesties 
 life and death, 
 to serve the 
 conspiratoars 
 turne. 
 
 A proclama- 
 tion with 
 baiters. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 Papisticall 
 blessing. 
 
 The statute 
 of concealing 
 the heire 
 apparant. 
 
 Richard going 
 towards 
 Hierusalem 
 began the 
 custome by 
 Parliament, 
 as Polidore 
 noteth Anno 
 10. of Richard 
 the second 
 to declare the 
 next heire. 
 
 The danger of 
 our Countrey 
 by concealing 
 the next 
 heire. 
 
 Great in- 
 conveniences. 
 
Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 128 
 
 MS. Folio 86. 
 
 SiiChristopher 
 
 Hattons 
 
 oration. 
 
 IntoUerable 
 treasons. 
 
 The miseries 
 to follow upon 
 her Majesties 
 death. 
 
 The danger 
 to her 
 Majesty by 
 this statute. 
 
 And shall] then our most noble Commowelth & Kingdome, w"*" is of ppetuitie and must 
 continew [to ours]elues and our posteritie, hange onelie vpon y= life of her highnes 
 alone, well strooken in [year]s & of no great good helth or robustious & strong 
 complexion. 
 
 I was,] w^in hearing some six or seuen yeares agoe when S' X. Hatten in a verrie 
 great assemblie made an eloquent oracon (w"*" after I weene was putt in print) at y^ 
 pardoning & deli [veri] e of him from y" gallowes, y' by error as was, thought had 
 discharged his peece vpon her M' Barge & hurt certaine psons in her highnes psence. 
 And in y' oratio he declared & descri [bed] verrie efifedluallie, w' inestimable damadge 
 had insued to y" Realme, if her Ma"* by y' or any other meanes should haue ben taken 
 from vs. He sett forth most liuelie before y* eies of all men, w' diuision, w* dissent, 
 w' bloudshed had insued, & w' fatall daungers were most cten to fall vpon vs, whensoeu 
 y* dolefuU dale should happen wherin no man should be sure of his [life,] of his goodes, 
 of his wife, of his children ; no man certaine whether to flie when [to follow, or] where 
 to seeke repose and pteccon. 
 
 And as all y* hearers there psent did easelie graunt y' he therin said troth & farr 
 lesse then might haue ben said in y' behalf, things standing as they doe : so manie one 
 (I trow) y* heard theise vv^ordes pceede from a Councello'', y* had good cause to know 
 y* state of his Contrey : entred into this cogitatio w' punishm* they might deserue then, 
 at y* whole States & Comowelths handes, who first letting her Ma"* from marriadge & 
 therby pcuring this statute of dissembling y* next inherito' : had brought y* Realme 
 into so euiden' & ineuitable daungers ? For euie one well considered & weyed w"" him- 
 self y' y* things w"*" yett onelie letts these daungers and miseries sett downe by Sir Crer, 
 must necessarilie one daie faile vs all, y' is, y" life of her Ma"* : now pnt (and then sale 
 we) how falleth it out y' so generall a calamitie as must needes ouertake vs eare it be 
 long (and maie for anie thing we know to morrow next) is no' puided for, as well as 
 forseen. 
 
 Is there no remedie, bu' we must willinglie & wittinglie rune into our owne ruine 
 &, for y* fauour or feare of some few aspirato", betraie o*^ countrie & y* bloude of so 
 manie thousands innocen'*, as live w'^n y* lande ? 
 
 For tell me (good S") I praie yo". If her Ma"* should die to morrow next (whose 
 life God [long] pserue & blesse) but if she should be taken from vs, as by condicon of 
 nature & humaine frailtie she maie) w* would yo" doe ? w**" waie would yo" looke ? or 
 w* heade or pt, knew anie good subie6l in y" Realme to followe ? I speake not of y* 
 conspirat"" for I know they will be readie and resolued whom to follow : but I speake 
 of y* plaine simple & well meaning subie6l who following now y* vtter Ire of y'^ fraudu- 
 lent statute (fraudulent I meane in secreatt conceipt of y* cuning aspirou" ?) shalbe 
 taken on y* suddein & being put [in amaze] by y* vnexpedted contencon about y* 
 Crowne, shalbe brought into a wood, both of bodie & goodes, w'='' now are thought vpon, 
 them who are most in daunger for [the same.] And this is for y= commowelth and 
 countrey. 
 
 But vnto her Ma:, for whose good & saftey, y* statute is oneHe ptended to [be 
 made, no doubt,] but y' it bringeth farr more daunger, then anie deuise y' they haue 
 vsed be [sides. For hereby un] der couler of restra y* claimes & titles of trew suc- 
 cesso*^, (whose end [eavours, notwithstan] ding are comonlie more calme and moderate 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 129 
 
 MS. Folio 86 (cotttd.) 
 
 then of vsurpers, (they [make unto themselves,] a meane to foster and sett forward 
 their owne conspiracie w"'out co [ntrolment : seeing no] man of might maie expose 
 himself against him, but w"* suspicon, [that he meaneth to claim] for himself. And so 
 they being armed, on the one syde, w"" their a [uthority and force of present for] tune, 
 and defended, on y* other syde, by y^ ptence of y^ statute: [they may securely worke and] 
 plott at their pleasure, as yo" haue well proued before [that they do. And whensoever 
 their grounds and] foundations shalbe readie, it cannott be denied [but that her Ma- 
 jesties life, lieth much at their di] screatio, to take it, or vse it, to their best [com- 
 modity : (and there is no doubt, but they will,) as such men are] wont to do in such 
 [affaires. Marry one thing standeth not in their powers, so absolutely and that is, to 
 prolong her Majesties dayes or favour towards themselves, at their pleasures : whereof 
 it is not unlike but they will have due consideration, least perhaps upon any sudden 
 accident, they might bee found unready.] 
 
 [They have good care thereof I can assure you, (quoth the Gentleman) and 
 mean not to bee prevented by any accident, or other mishap whatsoever : they 
 will bee ready for all events : and for that cause, they hasten so much their pre- 
 parations at this day, more than ever before : by sending out their spies and] 
 
 MS. Folio 87. 
 soUicito'^ euie where, to proue and confirme their frends : by deliuing [their Common 
 Watch-j word : by complaining on all hands on our ptestant Bishops & Clergie, & [of all 
 the present state] of our irreformed religion, (as they call it :) by amplifieng onelie 
 y^ [danger of] Papists & Scottish faccon : by giving out openlie y' now her Ma*'^ is 
 past [hope of Child-] birth, and consequentlie seing God hath given no better successe 
 y' way [in two Women] one after y'= other: it were not convenien' (sale they) y' another 
 of y' sex should [ensue : with high] commendacon of y^ Law Salicke in Fraunce, wherby 
 women are forbidden to [succeed. Which] speach though in shew it be deliued in 
 shew against the Queene of Scotts [and other of Henry the 7] his line, y' discen"^ of 
 Sisters : yett all men see y' it toucheth as well y^ disabling [of her Majesty,] y' is pnt, 
 as others to come : & so tendeth direaiie to Maturacon of y= principal [purpose] w''*' I 
 haue declared before. 
 
 Heere said I, for y'= rest w"'' yo" speake of, besides y' Watchword, it is comon and 
 e [verywhere trea] ted in talke amongst them : but yett for y= Watchword it self (for 
 y' yo" name it) [I thinke (Sir)] manie knowe it not, yf I were the first y' told y" storie, 
 as phappes I was. [For in truth] I came to it by a rare hap (as then I told yo") y" 
 thing being vttered & exp[ounded by a Baron] of their owne faccon, to another Noble- 
 man of y* same degree & religio, though [not of the same] opinion in theise affaires. 
 And for y' I am requested no' to vtter y" second, who [told it mee in se] creatt, I must 
 also spare y" name of y'= first : w"*" otherwise I would no*, no^ y^ [time and place] where 
 
 he vttred y^ same. 
 
 To this (said y^ Lawier) yo" do well in y' : but yett I beseech yo" lett me know y" 
 W [atchword (if] there be anie such) for my instruccon and helpe, when neede shall 
 require. For [I assure you] y' this Gents former speach of halte'= hath so terrified me, 
 as if anie, should come [and aske or] see my inclinacon in theise matters, I would 
 aunswer them fullie to their [good content] m', if I knew y« Watchword, wherby to 
 know them. For of all things, I loue [not to be han] ged for quarrells of Kingdomes. 
 
 Gmtltman. 
 
 The hastning 
 of the Con- 
 spiratours. 
 
 SchoUar. 
 
 The Watch- 
 word of the 
 Conspira- 
 tours. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 130 
 
 MS. Folio 87 (contd.) 
 
 Schollar. 
 AreyousetUd? 
 
 A great 
 mistery. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 Assemblies at 
 communions. 
 
 Strangers 
 within the 
 Land. 
 
 The perill of 
 our Country 
 if Huntingtons 
 claime take 
 place. 
 
 Gtntleman. 
 
 The red rose 
 and the 
 white. 
 
 The Watchword is, (said I) whether yo" be settled or no? and yf yo" aunswer y% [and 
 seeme] to vnderstand y^ meaning therof : then are yo° knowen to be of their faccon, 
 and [so to bee accomp] ted and dealt w"" for things to come. But if yo" stagger or 
 doubt in aQswer [ing, as if] yo" know no* pfefllie y^ misterie (as y= Noblema my good 
 Lo:) imaginig y' it had [beene meant] of his rehgion, w'^'' was well knowen to be good and 
 settled in y* Ghospell) [then are] yo" descried therby, eyther no' to be of their side, or 
 else to be but a Puny no' well [instrudted,] & consequentlie, he y' moueth yo" y* 
 questio, will pntlie breake of y"= speach, [and turne to some other talke, vntill afterward 
 occasio be geven to pswade yo" or else [instruft] yo" better in y' afifaire. 
 
 Marrie y^ Noblem, whereof I spake before, pceiving by y* demaunding, y' [there 
 was some] misterie in covert, vnder y^ questio : tooke hold of y° wordes, & would not 
 [suffer the propou]nder to passe awai (as he indeuored) bu' w"" much intreatie, brought 
 him [at length, to expound] y'= full meaning and purpose of y* riddle. And this was 
 y^ first occasion [(as I think) whe]rby this secreatt came abroade. Albeit afterwardes 
 att y^ public [communions, which] were made thoroughou' so manie shires, y* matter 
 became more [common : especially] among the straungers y' inhabitt (as yo" know) in 
 great nombers [with us at this day. All] w'^'" (as yo" sale) are made most assured to 
 y'^ faccon, & ready [to assist the same with great] forces at all occasions. 
 
 [Good Lord (quoth the Lawyer)] how manie misteries & secreatts be there abroad 
 [in the World, whereof wee simple men] know nothing & suspec' lesse. This Watch- 
 [word should I never have imagined ; and for the great] & often assemblies vnder 
 ptence [of Communions, though of themselves and of their owne na] ture, they were 
 vnaccust [omed, and consequentlie subjedl to suspicion : yet did I never conceive so 
 far forward as nowe I doe ; as neither of the lodging and entertaining of so many 
 strangers in the Realme, whereof our Artizans doe complain everywhere. But now I 
 see the reason thereof, which (no doubt) is founded upon great policy for the purpose. 
 And by this also I see, that the house of Huntington, presseth farre forward for the game, 
 and shouldreth neare the goal to lay hands upon the same. Which to tell you plainely, 
 liketh mee but a little : both in respedt of the good will I beare to the whole line of King 
 Henry, which hereby is likely to bee dispossessed ; as also for the misery, which I doe 
 foresee, must necessarily ensue upon our Countrey, if once the chalenge of Huntington] 
 
 MS. Folio 88. 
 take] place in our Realme. W"*" challendge being deriued from y*^ title of Clarence 
 onelie [in the] house of Yorke, before y'' vnion of y^ two grea' Houses : raiseth vp againe 
 y^ old contetio [betweene] , y* families of Yorke and Lancaster wherin so much English 
 bloude was spilt in times past, and much more like to be poured out now if y* same 
 contentio should be sett on foote againe. Seing to y* controusie of titles, would be added 
 also y^ controusie of Religio, w"'^ of [all] other differences is most daungerous. 
 
 [Sir] (quoth y'= Gent,) now yo"" touch a matter of consequence indeed & such as 
 y'' verie naming therof, maketh my verie hart to shake & tremble. I remember well, 
 w' Philip Comines setteth downe in his historic of our Countries calamitie, by y*= con- 
 tentio of theise houses distinguished by y'' red rose and y'= white : but yett both in their 
 armes might iustlie haue borne y" colour of red w"" a fierie sworde in a blacke feild to 
 signifie y* aboundaunce of bloud [and] mortallitie w"" ensued in our Countrie, by y''' 
 most wofull and cruell contentio. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 131 
 
 MS. Folio 88 (contd.) 
 
 I will no' stand here to sett downe y^ pticule", obserued and gathered by y* foresaid 
 aufthor, though a straunger, w'='' for y' most pt he saw himself, while he lived about y'= 
 D. of Bur'' [and] Lewes oi ffraunce of y' time: namelie y^ pittifuU descripcon of diuers 
 right Nobleme of our Realme, who besides all other miseries were driuen to beg openlie in 
 forreigne pts, and y^ like. Myne owne obseruatios in reading ou o' Countries affaires, is 
 sufficient, to make me abhorr y^ memorie of y' time, and to dreade all occasions, y' maie 
 leade vs to y" like in time to come : seing y' in my iudgm', neither y'= Ciuill Warres of 
 Marius & Silla, or of Pompey & Ccesar among y" Romanes, nor yett y'= Guelphians and 
 Gibelines in among y= Italians did eu worke so much woe, as this did to o' poore 
 Countrey. Wherin by reason of y° contentio of Yorke & Lancaster were foughten 
 sixteen or 17 pitched fields in lesse than an 100 yeares, y' is from y" 11 or 12 yeare of 
 Ric y* 2 : his raigne (when this cotrousie first beganne to bud vp) vnto y^ 13 yeare of 
 H. 7. At w' time by cutting of y* chief titler of H : house, to witt, yong Ed. Plant. 
 Earle of War; sonne & Heire of G. D. of Clarence; y^ contentio most happelie was 
 quenched and ended, wherin so manie feilds (as I haue said) were foughten, between 
 Brethren and Inhabitants of our owne natio. And therein, and otherwise onelie about 
 y^ same quarrell , were slaine murthered & made awaie, ix or x Kings Sonnes besides, aboue 
 40 Earles, Marquesses, and Dukes of name : but manie more [Lords] , and Knightes, 
 and Gent, & cap^°', and of y^ commo people, w"'out nomber & by pticuler coniedture 
 verie neare about 200,000. For y' in one battaile fovghten by Ed. 4 : there are recorded 
 to be slaine on both pts 35,711, besides others wounded & taken prisoners to be putt 
 to death afterwardes at y* pleasure of y^ Conquero': at diuse battalleis [after,] 10,000 
 slayne at a battaile. As of those of Barnett, Tewksburie, fought both [in one] yeare. 
 This suffred o' affli(5led countrie in those daies, by this vnfortunate [and deadly] con- 
 tentio, w"** could neu be ended, but by ye happie conuncion of both those [houses 
 toge] ther, in H. y : neyther yett (so as appeareth by chronicle) vntill (as [I have said) 
 the state] had cutt of y* issue of y^ D : of Clarence, who was cause of diuse pills [of King 
 Henry VII, tho'] he were in prison. By whose sister ye faccon of Hunt, at this dale 
 doth [seek to raise up] y^ same contentio againe w"" farr greater daunger both to the 
 [Realme and to her] Ma"^ y' now raigneth, then euer before. 
 
 And for y'= Realme it is euident, by y' it geueth roome to straungers, [Competitors 
 of the] house of Lancaster, better able to mainteyne their own title [by sword than ever 
 was any] of y' linage before him. And for her M'^ perrill pnt, it [is nothing hard to 
 conjedlure:] seing y^ same title in y' foresed Earle of War: [was so dangerous and 
 troublesome] to her Graundfather (by whom she holdeth) as hee [was faine twice to take 
 armes in] defence of his right against y^ said title, [which was in those dayes preferred 
 and advanced by] y'ffrends oi Clarence, be [fore that oi Henry : as also this oi Hunting- 
 ton is at this day, by his fadlion before that of] her Ma"^ [though never so unjustly.] 
 
 [Touching Huntington's title, before her Majesty (quoth the Lawyer) I will say 
 nothing : because in reason, I see not by what pretence in the World, hee may thrust 
 himself so farre foorth : seeing her Majesty is descended, not onely of the House of 
 Lancaster : but also before him most apparently, from the House of Yorke itselfe, as from 
 the eldest daughter of King Edward IV, being the eldest brother of that House. Whereas 
 Huntington claimeth onely, by the daughter of George Duke of Clarence the younger 
 brother. Marry yet I must confesse that if the Earle of Warwick's title, were better] 
 
 The misery 
 of England 
 by the 
 contention 
 betweene 
 Yorke and 
 Lancaster. 
 
 Guelphians 
 and Gibilines. 
 
 Edward 
 Plantaginet 
 Earle of 
 Warmcli. 
 
 The Battel! 
 by Tadcaster 
 on Palme 
 Sunday, 
 An. 1460. 
 
 The danger of 
 Huntinglms 
 claime, to the 
 Realm and to 
 her Majesty. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 How 
 
 Huntington 
 maketh his 
 title before 
 her Majesty. 
 
Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 132 
 
 MS. Folio 89. 
 
 • The most 
 of Huntingions 
 Ancestours 
 by whom hee 
 maketh title, 
 attainted of 
 treason. 
 
 The infamous 
 device of K. 
 Richard the 
 third allowed 
 hyHiintin^ton . 
 
 Anno I. 
 Maria. 
 
 A point to be 
 noted by her 
 Majesty. 
 
 The joyning 
 of both 
 houses. 
 
 The Line of 
 Poriugall. 
 
 The old 
 estimation of 
 the House of 
 Lancaster. 
 
 Hinry Earle 
 of Richmond. 
 
 then y' of king H. 7, (w'*" is most false, though manie attempted to [defend the same 
 by sword:)] then hath H some wrong at this daie, by her Ma"^' Albeit in verie truth 
 [the *attaints of so] manie of his Auncestors by whom he claimeth : would aunswere 
 him [also sufficiently] in y' behalf, though his title were otherwise allowable. 
 
 But I know bysides this they haue another fetche of Rye 3 : , wh [ereby hee would 
 needs] proue, his elder brother k: Ed: to be a Bastard : and consequentlie his [whole 
 line as well] male as female to be voide. W""* deuise thoughe it be ridiculous, and 
 w[as at the time when it] was first invented: yett, as Rye found at y' tyme a Do: 
 Shawe y' sh [amed not to publish and] defende y" same, at Pauleys Crosse in a Sermon : 
 and John of North : my [Lord of Leycester's Father] founde ou' dius Preachers in his 
 time, to sett vp y^ right of Suff:, and to [debase the right of] H. daughters both in 
 London, Cambridge, Oxford, & other places, most app [arently against] all law and 
 reason : so I doubt not, but those men will finde ou' also, both Shaue & [Sands, and] 
 other, to sett out y* title of Clarence, before y"= whole interest of k : H. 7. and [his pos- 
 terity, if] occasion serued. W'' is a pointe of importaunce to be considered by her 
 Ma'^ [albeit for my] part, I meane no' now to stande thervpon, but onelie vppo y= 
 other of the [House of Lancaster, as] I haue said. 
 
 For as y' most honorable, lawfull, and happie coniundlio of y" two advsary 
 [Houses, in King] H 7 and his wife, made an ende of the shedding of innocen' bloude 
 w"'in [itself and brought] vs y' desired peace, w'^'' eu since we haue inioyed, by the reigne of 
 their [two most noble issue :] so y° plott that now is in hande for y' cutting, of y^ residue 
 of y' issue, & for [recalling back] of the whole to the onelie House of Yorke, againe : is 
 like to plunge vs deeper, [than ever] in civile discorde, and to make vs y^ baite of all 
 forreigne Princes : seing [there bee among] them at this daie, some, of no small power 
 (as I haue said) who ptende to [be the next heires] by y" house of Lan : & conse- 
 quentlie are not like to giue ouer or abandone y°'' [owne right,] if once the doore be 
 opened, to contencon for y" same, by disanulling y'= Line of king [Henry VH. wherein] 
 onelie y^ keies of all concord remaine knitt together. 
 
 And albeit I know well y' such as be of my Lo: of H: ptie will make smale 
 ace [ompt of the title] of Lancaster as, lesse rightfuU a grea' deale then y' of Yorke, and 
 I for my pte [meane not] greatlie to avow y"= same, as now it is placed, being myself no 
 fauourer of forraine [titles :] (yett indifferen' men haue to consider, how it was taken in 
 tymes past and [how it may] againe in time to come, yf contentio should arise : how 
 manie Noble pson [ages of our] Realme did offer themselues to die in defence thereof: how 
 manie oathes & laws [were] geven and receaued throughou' y Realme for maintenance 
 of y^ same, against [the House] of Yorke : for eu : how manie worthie Kings were 
 crowned, and raigned of that [House and race] to witt y° 4 most Noble H" one after 
 another, y^ 4 y* 5 y" 6 and y^ 7, who [both in number,] governt, sanflitie, couradge, & 
 feates of armes, were nothing inferior (if [not superiour) to those] of y= other house and 
 line of Yorke, after y® diuision betweene the families. 
 
 [It] is to be considered also, as a speciall signe of the fauour & affeccon, of our 
 [whole nation unto that fami] lie : y' H. Earle of Rychmond though descending but of 
 the last Sonne & [third wife of John of] Gaunt Du : of Lan : was so respedled, for that 
 onelie by y" vniusall [Realme : as they inclined] wholie, to call him from banishm' & to 
 make him King w"" the [deposition of Richard which then ruled] of the House of Yorke, 
 
133 
 
 Leycester's Commonwealth. ,,c r? v o / ^js 
 
 MS. Folio 89 {conid.) 
 
 vpon conditio onelie y' y<= said Henry [should take to wife a] daughter of the contrarie 
 famelie : so great was in those daies the [affedion of English hearts,] towards the hne 
 of Lan; for y« great worthines of [such Kings as had raigned of that] race, how good 
 or bad soeu their title were : w* I stand [not here at this time to discusse] but onelie to 
 insinuate, w' ptie the same found [in our Realme in times past, and conseq] uentlie 
 how extreame daungerous y'' contentio [for the same may bee hereafter : especially] seing 
 y' at this dale, y" remainder of y" title [is pretended to rest wholly in a stranger,] whose 
 power is verie great. W'='' we [lawyers are wont to esteeme as a point of no small] 
 importaunce, for [justifying any mans title to a Kingdom.] 
 
 [You Lawyers want not reason in that Sir (quoth I) howsoever you want right : for 
 if you will examine the succession of governments, from the beginning of the World, 
 unto this day, either among Gentile, Jewe, or Christian People, you shall find that 
 the sword hath beene alwayes better than halfe the title, to get, establish, or maintaine 
 a Kingdome: which maketh mee the more apalled to heare you discourse in such 
 sort of new contentions, and forraine titles, accompanied with such power and 
 strength of the titlers. Which cannot bee but infinitely dangerous and fatale to our 
 Realme, if once it come to aaion„both for the division that is like to bee at home and 
 the variety of parties from abroad. For as the Prince whom you signify, will not] 
 
 The Line of 
 Portiigalt. 
 
 Schollar. 
 
 The sword of 
 great force to 
 justifie.the 
 title of a 
 Kingdome. 
 
 MS. Folio 90. 
 faile (by all likelihoode) to pursue his title w"" all forces y' he can make if 
 [occasion were of]fred: so reason of state and pollicie will inforce other Princes 
 adioyning, to lett & hinder [him] therin w' they can : and so by this meanes shall we 
 become luda and Israeli among [ourselves,] one killing & vexing another w* y'' sworde, 
 and to forraine princes we shalbe as y^ [Hand] of Salamina was in old time to ye 
 Athenians and Megarians : and as y= Hand of [Cecilia] was afterwardes to y° Gretians, 
 Carthaginians, and Romaines : and as in our daies, [the] Kingdome of Naples hath ben to 
 y'= Spaniards, Frenchmen, Germanes & Venitians. [That is] a baite to feede vpon, and 
 a game to fight for. Wherfor I beseech the Lord to averte from vs [all] occasions of 
 such miseries. And I praie yo" S^ for y' we are fallen into mentio of these matters, to 
 
 Gontrousies, 
 
 take somuch paines as to open vnto me y^ ground of theise^so long now [quiet] 
 betweene Yorke and Lancaster : seing they are now like to be raised againe. For albeit 
 in generall I haue heard much therof, in pticuler, I either conceiue no', or imagine 
 [not,] ye foundacon of y'= same : and much lesse y^ state of their seuall titles at this 
 dale, for y' it is a studie no' pplie pteyning vnto my pfessio. 
 
 The controusie betwixt y^ House of Yorke and Lane (quoth Lawier) tooke his 
 actuall begining in y^ issue of K. Ed 3, who died somew' more then 200 yeares agone : 
 but y* occasio, ptence or cause of quarrell, began, in the chrildren of K. H. 3, who 
 died a 100 yeares before y' & lefte 2 sonns, Edward who was K. after him, by y* name 
 
 Edward 
 
 of^y" first, and Grandfather to Ed 3: and Ed[mond (for] his deformitie called 
 Crookebacke) Earle of Lane: and beginer of y' house, whose inheritance afterwards in 
 the 4"" descen' fell vpon a Daughter named Blaunch, who was married to y'= [fourth] 
 Sonne of K. Ed: 3, named lohn of Gaunt, for y' he was borne in y^ Cittie of Gaunt in 
 Flanders, and so by this his first wife he became D. of Lane : and heire of y' house. 
 And for y' his sonne H. [of] Bollingbrooke (afterward called King H. 4) ptended among 
 
 Great 
 
 dangers. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 The begin- 
 ning of the 
 controversie 
 betwixt York 
 and Lancaster. 
 
 Edmond 
 Crookeback 
 beginner of 
 the House of 
 
 Lancaster. 
 
 Blanch. 
 
 lohn of Gaunt. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 134 
 
 MS. Folio go (contd.) 
 
 How the 
 Kin8''ome 
 was first 
 brought to 
 the House of 
 Lancaster. 
 
 The issue of 
 JohntSlGauM. 
 
 The ped^ree 
 oiKmgHenyy 
 the?. 
 
 The two 
 Daughters 
 married to 
 PortugaU and 
 Castilt. 
 
 Other things y' Edpt : Crookebacke, great Graundfather to Blaunch his mother, was y" oldest 
 Sonne of K. H. 3, and vniustlie put by y" inheritaunce of y^ Crowne, for y' he was 
 Crookebacked and deformed : he tooke by force [the] Kingdome from Ric y 2, 
 Nephew to K.Ed:i by his first Sonne, & placed y^ same in y^ house of Lane, where it 
 remained for 3 whole dissents, vntill afterwards, Ed. D. of Yorke descended of lohn of 
 Gaunts yonger brother, making claime to y" Crowne by title of his Grandmo""^', y' was 
 heire to Lionell D. of Clarence, lohn of Gaunts elder Brother : tooke y* same by force 
 from H. 6 of y" House of Lan & brought it backe againe to y" House of Yorke : where 
 it continued w* much trouble in 2 Kings onelie, vntill both Houses were ioyned together 
 in K. H. 7 and his noble issue. 
 
 Hereby we see how y" issue of lohn of Gaunt D. of Lane, 4 Sonne to K. Ed. 3, 
 ptended {right to the] Crowne by Edm : Crookebacke, before y^ issue of all the other 
 3 sonnes of Ed. 3, albeit [they were] the elder brothers, whereof we will speake more 
 hereafter. Now lohn of Gaun' though he [had] mania children, yett had he foure 
 onelie of whom issue remaine, 2 Sonnes & 2 Daughters. [The] first Sonne was 
 H. of Bollingbroke Duke of Lane, who tooke y^ Crowne from Ric [the second, his 
 Unkles] Sonne, as hath ben saied, & first planted y' same in y" House of Lane : 
 y'. [remained in two discen"] after him, y« is in H. his Sonne H. 5, & in his Nephewe 
 H. 6, who afterward [was destroyed together] Mv*^Ed. Prince of Wales, his onelie Sonne 
 and Jieire, & consequentlie [all that Line of Henry] Bollingbrooke extinguished, by 
 Ed. 4 of y* House of Yorke. 
 
 The other Sonne of lohn of Gaunt was lohn D. of Somsett by Katherine [Sinsford, 
 his third wife :] lohn had issue another lohn, and he, Margarett his Daughter and [heir, 
 who being married] to Edmond Tedoer, Earle of Rich, had issue H. Earle of Rich, who 
 [after was named King Henry VH., whose] line yett endureth. 
 
 The Daughters of lohn of Gaun', were married to Port{ugall and Castile: that is, 
 Philip born of] Blaunch, heire to Edm Crookebacke, as hath ben [said, was married to 
 John King of Portugal, of whom is descended] y* K. y' now possesseth Por: and [the other 
 Princes which have or may make title to the same: and Katherin] borne of consequence 
 
 Forraine 
 titles. 
 
 The issae of 
 King Edward 
 the 3. 
 
 Heir of Castile was married back againe to Henry King of Castile in Spaine, of whom 
 King Philip is also descended. So that by this, wee see, where the remainder of the 
 House of Lancaster resteth, if the Line of King Henry the seventh were extinguished : 
 and what pretext forraine Princes may have to subdue us, if my Lord of Huntington 
 either now or after her Majesties dayes, will open to them the doore, by shutting out 
 the rest of King Henries Line, and by drawing back the title to the onely House of 
 Yorke againe : which hee pretendeth to doe, upon this that I will now declare. 
 
 King Edward the third, albeit hee had many children, yet five onely will wee 
 speake of, at this time. Whereof three were elder then lohn of Gaunt, and one yonger. 
 The first of the elder, was named Edward the black Prince, who died before his Father, 
 leaving one onely Sonne named Richard who afterward being King and named Richard 
 the second, was deposed without issue, and put to death by his Cosin germain, named 
 Henry Bolingbrooke Duke of Lancaster, Sonne to John of Gaunt as hath beene said, and 
 so there ended the Line of King Edwards first Son. 
 
 King Edwards second Sonne, was William of Hatfield that died without issue. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 135 
 
 His third Sonne, was Leonell Duke of Clarence, whose onely Daughter and Heire 
 called Philip, was married to Edmond Mortimer Earle of March: and after that, Anne 
 the Daughter and Heire Mortimer, was married to Richard Pldntaginet Duke of Ydrke, 
 Sonne and Heire to Edmond of Langtey the first Duke of Yorke : which Edmond was the 
 fift Sonne of King Edward the third, and yonger Brother to lohH of Gaunt. And this 
 Edmond of Langley may bee called the first beginnner of the House of Yorke : even as 
 Edmond Croockback the beginner of the House Lancaster. 
 
 This Edmond Langley then, having a Sonne named Richard, that married /4M«fi 
 Mortimer sole Heire to Leonell Duke of Clarence, joyned two Lines and two Titles in 
 one : I meane the Line of Leonell and of Edmond Langley, who were (as hath beene 
 said) the third and the fift Sonnes to King Edward the third. And for this cause, the 
 child that was borne of this marriage, named after his Father Richard Plantaginet Dukie 
 of Yorke, seeing himselfe strong, and the first line of King Edward the thirds eldest 
 Sonne, to bee extinguished in the death of King Richard the second : and seeing 
 William of Hatfield the second Sonne dead likewise without issue : made demand' of 
 the Crowne for the House of Yorke, by the title of Leonell the third Sonne of King 
 Edward. And albeit hee could not obtaine the same in his dayes, for that hee was 
 slaine in a Battell against King Henry the sixt at Wakefield : yet his Sonne Edward got 
 the same, and was called by the name of King Edward the fourth. 
 
 This King at his death left divers children, as namely two Sonnes, Edward the fift 
 and his brother, who after were both murdered in the Tower, as shall bee showed : and 
 also five Daughters : to wit Elizabeth, Cicily, Anne, Katherine, and Briget. Whereof, 
 the first was married to Henry the seventh. The last became a Nunne, and the other 
 three, were bestowed upon divers other husbands. 
 
 Hee had also two Brothers : the first was called George Duke of Clarence, who 
 afterward upon his deserts (as is to bee supposed,) was put to death in CalHs, by com- 
 mandement of the King, and his attainder allowed by Parliament. And this man l^ft 
 behind him a Sonne named Edward Earle of Warwick, put to death afterward without 
 issue, by King Henry the seventh, and a Daughter named Margaret, Countesse of 
 Salisbury, who was married to a meane Gentleman named Richard Poole, by whom shee 
 had issue Cardinall Poole that died without marriage, and Henry Poole that was attainted 
 and executed in King Henry the eight his time (as also herselfe was) and this Henry 
 Poole left a Daughter married afterward to the Earle of Huntington, by whom this 
 Earle that now is maketh title to the Crowne. And this is the effeft of my Lord of 
 Huntingtons title. 
 
 The second Brother of King Edward the fourth, was Richard Duke of Glbcester, 
 who after the Kings death, caused his two Sonnes to bee murdered in the Tower, and 
 tooke the Kingdome to himselfe. And afterward hee being slaine by King Henry the 
 seventh at Bosworth-field, left no issue behind him. Wherefore King Henry the seventh 
 descending as hath beene shewed of the House of Lancaster, by lohn of Gaunts Islst 
 Sonne and third Wife, and taking to wife Lady Elizabeth Eldest Daughter of King 
 Edward the fourth of the House of Yorke : joyned most hapyily the two Families 
 together, and made an end of all controversies about the title. 
 
 Now King Henry the seventh had issue three Children : of whom remaineth 
 posterity. First, Henry the eight, of whom is descended our soveraigne, her Majesty 
 
 Two Edmonds 
 the two 
 beginners of 
 the two 
 Houses ef 
 Lancaster and 
 Yorhe. 
 
 The claime 
 and title of 
 Yorke. 
 
 The issue of 
 King Edward 
 the fourth. 
 
 The Duke of 
 
 Clariita 
 attainted by 
 Parliament. 
 
 Huntingtons 
 title by the 
 Duke of 
 Clarence. 
 
 Kingp Richard 
 the third. 
 
 The happy 
 conjunAion 
 of the two 
 Houses. 
 
 The issue of 
 King ■Henry 
 the seventh. 
 
The Line 
 and Title of 
 Scotland by 
 Margaret 
 eldest 
 
 Daughter to 
 King Henry 
 the 7. 
 
 Arbella. 
 
 The Line and 
 Title of 
 Svffolke by 
 Mary, second 
 Daughter to 
 King Henry 
 the seventh. 
 
 The issue of 
 Francis, eldest 
 Daughter 
 to Charles 
 Brandon Duke 
 of Suffolke. 
 
 The issue of 
 Elennr second 
 daughter to 
 Charles 
 Brandon. 
 
 Schollar. 
 
 Huntington 
 tiehind many 
 other titles. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 136 
 
 Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 that now happily raigneth, and is the last that remaineth alive of that first Line. 
 Secondly, hee had two Daughters : whereof the first named Margaret, was married 
 twice, first to lames King of Scotland from whom are direftly discended the Queene of 
 Scotland that now liveth and her Sonne : and King lames being dead, Margaret was 
 married againe to Archibald Douglas Earle oi Anguish : by whom shee had a Daughter 
 named Margaret, which was married afterward, to Mathew Steward Earle of Lenox, 
 whose Sonne Charles Steward, was married to Elizabeth Candish Daughter to the present 
 Countesse of Shrewsbury, and by her hath left his onely Heire, a little Daughter named 
 Arbella, of whom you have heard some speech before. And this is touching the Line 
 of Scotland, descending from the first and eldest Daughter of King Henry the seventh. 
 
 The second Daughter of King Henry the seventh called Mary, was twice married 
 also : first to the King of France by whom shee had no issue : and after his death to 
 Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolke, by whom shee had two Daughters, that is, Francis, 
 of which the Children of my Lord of Hartford doe make their claime : and Elenore by 
 whom the issue of the Earle of Darby pretendeth right, as shall bee declared. For 
 that Francis the first Daughter of Charles Brandon by the Queene of France, was 
 married to the Marquesse of Dorset, who after Charles Brandons death was made Duke 
 of Suffolke in right of his Wife, and was beheaded in Queene Maries time, for his 
 conspiracy with my Lord of Leycesters Father. And shee had by this man three 
 Daughters : that is, lane, that was married to my Lord of Leycesters Brother, and pro- 
 claimed Queene after King Edwards death, for which both shee and her husband were 
 executed: Katherine the second Daughter, who had two Sonnes, yet living, by the 
 Earle of Hartford : and Mary the third Daughter, which left no Children. 
 
 The other Daughter of Charles Brandon by the Queene of France called Elenor, 
 was married to George Clifford Earle of Cumberland, who left a Daughter by her named 
 Margaret, married to the Earle of Darby, which yet liveth and hath issue. And this is 
 the title of all the House of Suffolke, descended from the second Daughter of King 
 Henry the seventh, married (as hath beene shewed) to Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolke. 
 And by this, you see also how many there bee, who doe thinke their titles to bee sat 
 before that of my Lord of Huntingtons, if either right, law, reason, or consideration of 
 home affaires may take place in our Realme : or if not, yet you cannot but imagine 
 how many great Princes and Potentates abroad, are like to joyne and buckle with 
 Huntingtons Line for the preeminence : if once the matter fall againe to contention by 
 excluding the Line of King Henry the seventh which God forbid. 
 
 Truly Sir (quoth I) I well perceive that my Lords turne is not so nigh as I had 
 thought, whether hee exclude the Line of King Henry, or no. For if hee exclude that, 
 then must hee enter the Cumbat with forraine titlers of the House of Lancaster : and 
 if hee exclude it not, then in all apparance of reason and in Law to (as you have said) 
 the succession of the two Daughters of King Henry the seventh (which you distinguish 
 by the two names of Scotland and Suffolke) must needs bee as clearely before him and 
 his Line, that descendeth onely from Edward the fourth his Brother : as the Queenes 
 title that now raigneth is before him. For that both Scotland, Suffolke, and her Majesty 
 doe hold all by one foundation, which is, the union of both Houses and Titles together, 
 in King Henry the seventh her Majesties Grandfather, 
 
 This is true (quoth the Gentleman) and evident enongh in every mans eye : and 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 137 
 
 therefore no doubt, but that as much is meant against her Majesty if occasion serve, 
 as against the rest that hold by the same title. Albeit her Majesties state (the Lord 
 bee praised) bee such at this time, as it is not safety to pretend so much against her, as 
 against the rest, whatsoever bee meant. And that in truth, more should bee meant 
 against her highnesse, then against all the rest, there is this reason : for that her 
 Majesty by her present possession letteth more their desires, then all the rest together 
 with there future pretences. But as I have said, it is not safety for them, nor yet good 
 policy to declare openly, what they meane against her Majesty : It is the best way for 
 the present, to hew downe the rest, and to leave her Majesty, for the last blow and 
 upshote to their game. For which cause, they will seeme to make great difference at 
 this day, betweene her Majesties title, and the rest, that descend in likewise from King 
 Henry the seventh : avowing the one, and disallowing the other. Albeit, my Lord of 
 Leycesters Father, preferred that of Suffolke, when time was, before this of her Majesty, 
 and compelled the whole Realme to sweare thereunto. Such is the variable policy of 
 men, that serve the time, or rather, that serve themselves, of all times, for their 
 purposes. 
 
 I remember (quoth I) that time of the Duke, and was present my selfe, at some of 
 his Proclamations for that purpose. Wherein my Lord his Sonne that now liveth : 
 being then a doer, (as I can tell hee was:) I marvaile how hee can deale so contrary 
 now : preferring not onely her Majesties title before that of Suffolke (whereof I wonder 
 lesse because it is more gainefull to him,) but also another much further of. But you 
 have signified the cause, in that the times are changed, and other bargaines are in 
 hand of more importance for him. Wherefore leaving this to bee considered by others, 
 whom it concerneth, I beseech you. Sir, (for that I know, your worship hath beene 
 much conversant among their friends and favourers) to tell mee what are the barres 
 and lettes which they doe alleadge, why the House of Scotland and Suffolke descending 
 of King Henry the seventh his Daughters, should not succeed in the Crowne of England 
 after her Majesty, who endeth the Line of the same King by his Sonne: for in my 
 sight the matter appeareth very plaine. 
 
 They want not pretences of barres and lets against them all (quoth the Gentle- 
 man) which I will lay downe in order, as I have heard them alledged. First in the 
 Line of Scotland there are three persons as you know that may pretend right : that is, 
 the Queene and her sonne by the first mariage of Margaret, and Arbella by the second. 
 And against the first marriage I heare nothing affirmed : but against the two persons 
 proceeding thereof, I heare them alledge three stops : one, for that they are strangers 
 borne out of the land, and consequently incapable of inheritance within the same : 
 another, for that by a speciall testament of King Henry 8. authorized by 2. severall 
 Parliaments they are excluded : the third for that they are enemies to the religion now 
 received among us, & therfore to be debarred. 
 
 Against the second marriage of Margaret with Archibald Douglas, whereof Arbella 
 is descended, they alledge, that the said Archibald had a former wife at the time of that 
 marriage, which lived long after: & so neither that mariage lawful, nor the issue therof 
 
 legitimate. 
 
 The same barre they have against all the house and Line of Suffolk, for first they 
 say, that Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolke, had a knowen wife alive when he married 
 
 The policy of 
 the Con- 
 spiratours for 
 the deceiving 
 of her 
 Majesty. 
 
 Schollar. 
 
 Leycesters 
 variabilitie. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Barres 
 pretended 
 against the 
 claime of 
 Scotland and 
 Suffolke. 
 
 Against the 
 Queene of 
 Scotland and 
 her Sonne. 
 
 Against 
 Arbella. 
 
Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 138 
 
 Against 
 Darby. 
 
 Against the 
 children of 
 Hartford. 
 
 Scholltr. 
 
 Leicesters 
 dealing with 
 the house of 
 Suffolke. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Bastardy. 
 
 Forrain birth. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 Bastardies 
 lawfull stops. 
 
 Mary Queene of Frame, and consequently, that neither the Lady Frances nor Elenor, 
 borne of that marriage, can be lawfully borne. And this is all, I can heare them say 
 against the succession of the Countesse of Darby descended of Elenor. But against 
 my Lord of Hartfords children, that come from Frances the eldest daughter, I heare 
 them alledge two or three bastardies more besides this of the first marriage, For 
 first, they affirme that Henry Marquesse Dorset, when he married the Lady Frances, 
 had to wife the old Earle of Arundels sister, who lived both then and many yeares 
 after, and had a provision out of his living to her dying day : whereby that marriage 
 could no way be good. Secondly, that the Lady Katherine daughter to the said Lady 
 Frances, by the Marques (by whom the Earle of Hartford had his children) was lawfully 
 married to the Earle of Pembroke that now liveth, & consequently, could have no 
 lawfull issue by any other during his life. 3ly. that the said Katherine was never law- 
 fully maried to the said Earle of Hartford, but bare him those children as his Concu- 
 bine, which (as they say) is desined and registred in the Archbishop of Canterburies 
 court, upon due examination taken by order of her Majesty that now reigneth, and this 
 is in effedl so much as I have heard them alledge, about these affaires. 
 
 It is much (quoth I) that you have said, if it may be all proved. Marry yet by the 
 way, I cannot but smile to heare my Lord of Leicester allow of so many bastardies now 
 upon the issue of Ladie Frances, whom in time past, when lane her eldest daughter 
 was married to his brother, he advanced in legitimation before both the daughters of 
 King Henry the eight. But to the purpose : I would gladly know what grounds of 
 veritie these allegations have, and how far in truth they may stoppe from inheritance : 
 for indeed I never heard them so distindlly alledged before. 
 
 Whereto answered the Gentleman, that our friend the Lawyer could best resolve 
 that, if it pleased him to speake without his fee : though in some points alledged every 
 other man (quoth he) that knoweth the state and common governement of England, 
 may easily give his judgement also. As in the case of bastardie, if the matter may be 
 proved, there is no difficulty, but that no right to inheritance can justly be pretended : 
 as also (perhaps) in the case of forraine birth, though in this I am not so cunning : but 
 yet I see by experience, that forreiners borne in other lands, can hardly come and 
 claime inheritance in England, albeit, to thd contrary, I have heard great and long 
 disputes, but such as indeed passed my capacity. And if it might please our friend 
 here present to expound the thing unto us more clearely : I for my part would gladly 
 bestow the hearing, and that with attention. 
 
 To this answered the Lawyer. I will gladly. Sir, tel you my mind in any that it 
 shall please you demand : and much more in this matter wherein by occasion of often 
 conference, I am somewhat perfeft. 
 
 The impediments which these men alledge against the succession of K. Henry 
 the 8 his sisters, are of two kindes, as you see : The one knowen and allowed in our 
 law, as you have well said, if it may bee proved : and that is bastardie : whereby they 
 seeke to disable all the whole Line and race of Suffolke: as also Arbella, of the second 
 and later house of Scotland. Whereof it is to small purpose to speake any thing here : 
 feeing the whole controversie standeth upon a matter of fa6l onely, to be proved or 
 improved by records and witnesses. Onely this I will say, that some of these bastar- 
 dies, before named, are rife in many mens mouths, and avowed by divers that yet live : 
 
Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 139 
 
 but let other men looke to this, who have most interest therein, and may bee most 
 damnified by them, if they fall out true. 
 
 The other impediments, which are alleadged onely against the Queene of Scots 
 and her Sonne, are in number three, as you recite them : that is, forraine birth, King 
 Henries Testament and Religion : whereof I am content to say some what, seeing you 
 desire it : albeit there bee so much published already in bookes of divers languages 
 beyond the sea, as I am informed, concerning this matter, as more cannot bee said. 
 But yet so much as I have heard passe among Lawyers my betters, in conference of 
 these affaires : I will not let to recite unto you, with this Proviso and Protestation 
 alwayes, that, what I speake, I speake by way of recitall of other mens opinions : not 
 meaning my selfe to incurre the statute of affirming or avowing any persons title to the 
 Crowne, whatsoever. 
 
 First then touching forraine birth, there bee some men in the World that will say, 
 that it is a common and general rule of our law. that no stranger at all may inherit any 
 thing, by any meanes, within the Land : which in truth I take to bee spoken without 
 ground, in that generall sense. For I could never yet come to the sight of any such 
 common or universall rule : and I know, that divers examples may bee alleadged in 
 sundry cases to the contrary : and by that, which is expresly set downe in the seventh 
 and ninth yeares of King Edward the fourth, and in the eleventh and foureteenth of 
 Henry the fourth, it appeareth plainely that a stranger may purchase lands in England, 
 as also inherite by his Wife, if hee marry an inheritrix. Wherefore this common rule 
 is to bee restrained from that generality, unto proper inheritance onely : in which sense 
 I doe easily grant, that our Common law hath beene of ancient, and is at this day, that 
 no person borne out of the allegiance of the King of England whose Father and Mother 
 were not of the same allegiance at the time of his birth, shall bee able to have or 
 demand any heritage within the same allegiance, as heire to any person. And this 
 rule of our Common law is gathered in these selfe same words of a statute made in the 
 five and twentieth yeare of King Edward the third, which indeed is the onely place of 
 efFe6l, that can bee alleadged out of our law against the inheritance of strangers in such 
 sense and cases, as wee now treat of. 
 
 And albeit now the Common law of our Countrey, doe runne thus in generall, yet 
 will the friends, of the Scottish claime affirme, that hereby that title is nothing let or 
 hindred at all towards the Crowne : and that for divers manifest and weighty reasons : 
 whereof the principall are these which ensue. 
 
 First it is common, and a generall rule of our English lawes, that no Rule, Axiome, 
 or Maxima of law (bee it never so generall) can touch or bind the Crowne, except 
 expresse mention bee made thereof, in the same : for that the King and Crowne have 
 great priviledge and prerogative, above the state and affaires of subjedls, and great 
 differences allowed in points of law. 
 
 As for example, it is a generall and common rule of law, that the wife after the 
 decease of her husband, shall enjoy the third of his lands : but yet the Queene shall 
 • not enjoy the third part of the Crowne, after the Kings death : as well appeareth by 
 experience, and is to bee scene by Law, Anno 5. and 21. of Edward the third: and 
 Anno 9. and 28. of Henry the sixt. Also it is a common rule, that the Husband shall 
 hold his wives lands after her death : as tenant by courtesie during his life, but yet it 
 holdeth not in a Kingdome. 
 
 The impedi- 
 ments against 
 Scotland three 
 in number. 
 
 A protesta- 
 tion. 
 
 Touching 
 the first 
 impediment 
 of 'forraigne 
 birth. 
 
 An Alien may 
 purchase. 
 
 The true 
 Maxima 
 against 
 Aliens. 
 
 The statute 
 of King 
 Edward 
 whence the 
 Maxima is 
 gathered. 
 
 Reasons why 
 the Scottish 
 title is not 
 letted by the 
 Maxima 
 against 
 Aliens. 
 
 The first 
 reason. 
 
 The rule of 
 thirds. 
 
 Tenant by 
 courtesie. 
 
Division 
 
 among 
 
 daughters. 
 
 Executors. 
 
 The 2 reason. 
 The Crowne 
 no such 
 inheritance 
 as is meant in 
 the statute. 
 
 The Crown a 
 corporation. 
 
 The third 
 reason. 
 The Kings 
 issue excepted 
 by name. 
 
 Libetorum. F. 
 de verb. sign. 
 
 140 
 
 Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 In like manner, it is a generall and common rule, that if a man die seased of Land 
 in Fee simple, having Daughters and no Sonne : his lands shall bee devided by equall 
 portions among his Daughters : which holdeth not in the Crowne : but rather the 
 eldest Daughter inheriteth the whole, as if shee were the issue male. So also it is a 
 common rule of our law, that the executour shall have all the goods and chattels of the 
 Testatour, but yet not in the Crowne. And so in many other cases which might bee 
 recited, it is evident that the Crowne hath priviledge above others, and can bee subjedl 
 to rule, bee it never so generall, except expresse mention bee made thereof in the same 
 law : as it is not in the former place and a statute alleaged : but rather to the contrary, 
 (as after shall bee shewed) there is expresse exception, for the prerogative of such as 
 descend of Royall bloud. 
 
 Their second reason is, for that the demand or title of a Crowne, cannot in true 
 sense bee comprehended under the words of the former statute, forbidding Aliens to 
 demand heritage within the allegiance of England : and that for two respecSs. The 
 one, for that the Crowne it selfe cannot bee called an heritage of allegiance or within 
 allegiance, for that it is holden of no superiour upon earth, but immediately from God 
 himselfe : the second, for that this statute treateth onely and meaneth of inheritance 
 by descent, as Heire to the same, (for I have shewed before that Aliens may hold 
 lands by purchase within our Dominion) and then say they, the Crowne is a thing 
 incorporate and descendeth not according to the common course of other private 
 inheritances : but goeth by succession, as other incorporations doe. In signe whereof, 
 it is evident, that albeit, the King bee more favoured in all his doings then any 
 common person shall bee : yet cannot hee avoid by law his grants and letters patents 
 by reason of his nonage (as other infants and common heires under age may doe) but 
 alwayes bee said to bee of full age in respect of his Crowne : even as a Prior, Parson, 
 Vicar, Deane, or other person incorporate shall bee, which cannot by any meanes in 
 law bee said, to bee within age, in respedl of their incorporations. 
 
 Which thing maketh an evident difference in our case, from the meaning of the 
 former statute : for that a Prior, Deane, or Parson, being Aliens and no Denizens : might 
 alwayes in time of peace, demand lands in England, in respedl of their corporations, 
 notwithanding the said statute or common law against Aliens, as appeareth by many 
 booke cases yet extant : as also by the statute made in the time of King Richard the 
 second, which was after the foresaid statute of King Edward the third. 
 
 The third reason is, for that in the former statute it selfe, of King Edward, there 
 are excepted expresly from this generall rule. Infantes du Roy, that is, the Kings off- 
 spring or issue, as the word Infant doth signifie, both in France, Portugall, Spaine, and 
 other Countries : and as the latin word Liberi (which answereth the same) is taken 
 commonly in the Civill law. Neither may wee restraine the french words of that 
 statute Infantes Dv Roy, to the Kings children only of the first degree (as some doe, 
 for that the barrennesse of our language doth yeeld us no other word for the same) but 
 rather, that thereby are understood, as well the Nephewes and other discendants of 
 the King or blood Royal, as his immediate children. For it were both unreasonable 
 and ridiculous to imagine, that King Edward by this statute, would goe about to 
 disinherit his owne nephewes, if hee should have any borne out of his owne allegiance 
 (as easily he might at that time) his sonnes being much abroad from England, and the 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 Ht 
 
 blacke Prince his eldest sonne having two children borne beyond the seas: and 
 consequently, it is apparent, that this rule or Maxime set downe against Aliens is no 
 way to be stretched against the descendants of the King or of the blood Royal). 
 
 Their fourth reason is, that the meaning of King Edward and his children (living 
 at such time as this statute was made) could not be, that any of their linage or issue 
 might be excluded in law, from inheritance of their right to the Crowne, by their 
 forreine birth wheresoever. For otherwise, it is not credible that they would so much 
 have dispersed their own blood in other countries, as they did: by giving their 
 daughters to strangers, and other meanes. As Leonel the kings third sonne was married 
 in Millan: and lohn of Gaunt the fourth sonne gave his two daughters, Philip and 
 Katherine to Portugall and Castile : and his neice loan to the King of Scots : as Thomas 
 of Woodstocke also the youngest brother, married his two daughters, the one to the 
 King of Spaine, and the other to Duke of Brittaine. Which no doubt (they being wise 
 Princes, and so neere of the blood Royal) would never have done: if they had 
 imagined that hereby their issue should have lost all clayme and title to the Crowne of 
 England: and therefore it is most evident, that no such barre was then extant or 
 imagined. 
 
 Their fift reason is, that divers persons borne out of all English dominion and 
 allegiance, both before the conquest and since, have beene admitted to the succession 
 of our Crowne, as lawfuU inheritors, without any exception against them for their 
 forraine birth. As before the conquest is evident in young Edgar Etheling borne in 
 Hungarie, and thence called home to inherit the Crowne, by his great Vncle King 
 Edward the Confessor, with full consent of the whole Realme, the Bishop of Worcester 
 being sent as Ambassadour to fetch him home, with his father named Edward the 
 out-law. 
 
 And since the conquest, it appeareth plainly in King Stephen and King Henry the 
 second, both of them borne of English dominions, and of Parents, that at their birth, 
 were not of the English allegiance : and yet were they both admitted to the Crowne. 
 Young Arthur also Duke of Bretaigne by his mother Constance that matched with 
 Geffray King Henry the seconds sonne, was declared by King Richard his Vncle, at his 
 departure towards lerusalem, and by the whole Realme, for lawfull heire apparent to 
 the Crowne of England, though he were borne in Britaine out of English allegiance, 
 and so he was taken and adjudged by all the world at that day : albeit after King 
 Richards death, his other Vncle lohn, most tyrannously took both his kingdome and his 
 life from him. For which notable injustice he was detested of all men both abroad 
 and at home : and most apparently scourged by God, with grievous and manifold 
 plagues, both upon himselfe and upon the Realme, which yeelded to his usurpation. 
 So that by this also it appeareth, what the praftice of our countrey hath beene from 
 time to time in this case of forraine birth : which pradice is the best Interpretor of 
 our common English law : which dependeth especially, and most of all, upon custome: 
 nor can the adversary alleage any one example to the contrary. 
 
 Their sixt, is of the judgement and sentence of King Henry the seventh, and of 
 his Councell: who being together in consultation, at a certaine time about the mariage 
 of Margaret his eldest daughter into Scotland : some of his Councell moved this doubt, 
 what should ensue, if by chance the Kings issue male should faile, and so the 
 
 The fourth 
 reason. 
 The Kings 
 meaning. 
 
 The matches 
 of England 
 with 
 forrainers. 
 
 The fift 
 reason. 
 Examples of 
 forrainers 
 admitted. 
 
 Flores hist. 
 An. 1066. 
 
 Pol. lib. 15. 
 Floy. hist. 
 1208. 
 
 King John 
 a Tyrant. 
 
 The sixt 
 reason. 
 The judge- 
 ment and 
 sentence of 
 K. Henry the 
 seventh. 
 
Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 142 
 
 The seventh 
 reason. 
 The Q. of 
 Scots and her 
 Sonne no 
 Aliens. 
 
 The second 
 impediment 
 against the 
 Q. of Scots. 
 and her son 
 which is K. 
 Henry the 
 eight his 
 Testament. 
 
 succession devolue to the heires of the said Margaret, as now it doth ? Whereunto 
 that wise and most prudent Prince made answer : that if any such event should be, it 
 could not be prejudicial! to England, being the bigger part, but rather beneficiall : for 
 that it should draw Scotland to England: that is, the lesser to the more : even as in 
 times past it hapned in Normandy, Aquitane, and some other Provinces. "Which 
 answer appeased all doubts, and gave singular content to those of his Councell, as 
 Polidore writeth, that lived at that time, and wrote the speciall matters of that reigne, 
 by the Kings owne instrudtion. So that hereby wee see no question made of King 
 Henry or his Counsellors touching forraine birth, to let the succession of Lady Margarets 
 issue : which no doubt would never have beene omitted in that learned assembly, if any 
 law at that time had been esteemed or imagined to barre the same. 
 
 And these are sixe of their principalest reasons, to prove, that neither by the 
 words nor meaning of our common lawes, nor yet by custome or practice of our 
 Realme, an Alien may be debarred from claime of his interest to the Crowne, when it 
 falleth to him by rightfuU descent in blood and succession. But in the particular case 
 of the Queene of Scots and her sonne, they doe adde another reason or two : thereby 
 to prove them in very deed to be no Aliens. Not onely in respect of their often and 
 continual! mixture with English blood from the beginning (and especially of late, the 
 Queenes Grandmother and husband being English, and so her sonne begotten of an 
 English father) but also for two other causes and reasons, which seeme in truth of very 
 good importance. 
 
 The first is, for that Scotland by all English men, (howsoever the Scots deny the 
 same) is taken and holden as subje6l to England by way of Homage : which many of 
 their Kings, at divers times have acknowledged : and consequently, the Queene and 
 her sonne being borne in Scotland, are not borne out of the allegiance to England, and 
 so no forrainers. 
 
 The second cause or reason is, for that the forenamed statute of Forrainers in the 
 five and twenty yeare of King Edward the third, is intitled of those that are borne beyond 
 the seas. And in the body of the same statute, the doubt is moved of children borne 
 out of English allegiance beyond the seas : whereby cannot be understood Scotland, {or 
 that it is a peece of the continent land within the seas. And all our old Records in 
 England, that talke of service to be done within these two-countries : have usually 
 these latine words, Infra quatuor maria, or in French, deins lez quatre mers, that is, 
 within the foure seas : whereby must needs be understood as well Scotland as England, 
 and that perhaps for the reason before mentioned, of the subjection of Scotland by way 
 of Homage to the Crowne of England. In respeft whereof it may be, that it was 
 accounted of old, but one dominion or allegiance. And consequently, no man borne 
 therein can be accounted an Alien to England. And this shall suffice for the first 
 point, touching forraine Nativity. 
 
 For the second impediment obje6led, which is the Testament of King Henry the 
 eight, authorized by Parliament, whereby they affirme the succession of Scotland to bee 
 excluded : it is not precisely true that they are excluded, but onely that they are put 
 back behind the succession of the house of Suffplke. For in that pretended Testament 
 (which after shall be proved to be none indeed) King Henry so disposeth, that after his 
 owne children (if they should chance to die without issue) the Crowne shall passe to 
 
Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 143 
 
 the heires of Frances, and of Elejiore, his neices by his younger sistei- Mary Queene of 
 France ; and after them (deceasing also without issue) the succession to returne to the 
 next heires againe. Whereby it is evident, that the succession of Margaret Queene of 
 Scotland his eldest sister is not excluded : but thrust back only from their due place 
 and order, to expeft the remainder, which may in time be left by the younger. 
 Whereof in mine opinion doe ensue some considerations against the present pretenders 
 themselves. 
 
 First, that in King Henries judgement, the former pretended rule of forraine birth, 
 was no sufficient impediment against Scotland : for if it had beene no doubt,, but that 
 he would have named the same in his alleaged testament, and thereby have utterly 
 excluded that succession. But there is no such thing in the Testament. 
 
 Secondly, if they admit this Testament, which allotteth the Crowne to Scotland, 
 next after Suffolke: then, seeing that all the house oi Suffolke, (by these mens assertion) 
 is excluded by Bastardie: it must needs follow, that Scotland by their owne judgement 
 is next, and so this Testament will make against them, as indeed it doth in all points 
 most apparently, but only that it preferreth the house of Suffolke, before that of 
 Scotland. And therefore (I thinke Sir) that you mistake somewhat about their opinion 
 in alleaging this Testament. For I suppose, that no man of my Lord of Huntingtons 
 fadlion, will alleage or urge the testimonie of this Testament : but rather some friend 
 of the house of Suffolke in whose favour, I take it, that it was first of all forged. 
 
 It may be (quoth the Gentleman) nor will I stand obstinatly in the contrary : for 
 that it is hard, sometime to judge of what fadlion each one is, who discourseth of these 
 affaires. But yet I marvell (if it were as you say) why Leicesters father after King 
 Edwards death, made no mention thereof in the favour of Suffolke, in the other Testa- 
 ment which then he proclaymed, as made by King Edward deceased, for preferment of 
 Suffolke before his owne sisters. 
 
 The cause of this is evident (quoth the Lawyer) for that it made not sufficiently 
 for his purpose : which was to disinherit the two daughters of King Henry himselfe, and 
 advance the house of Suffolke before them both, 
 
 A notable change (quoth the Gentleman) that a title so much exalted of late by 
 the father, above all order, right, ranke, and degree : should now be so much debased 
 by the sonne, as though it were not worthy to hold any degree, but rather to be troden 
 under foot for plaine bastardie. And you see by this, how true it is which I told you 
 before : that the race of Dudlies are most cunning Merchants, to make their gaine of 
 all things, men and times. And as wee have scene now two testaments alleaged, the 
 one of the Kings father, and the other of the Kings sonne, and both of them in preju- 
 dice of the testators true successors : so many good subiefts begin greatly to feare, that 
 wee may chance to see shortly a third testament of her Maiesty for the intituling of 
 Huntington, and extirpation of King Henries bloud, and that before her Majesty can 
 thinke of sicknesse : wherein I beseech the Lord I bee no Prophet. But now (Sir) to 
 the foresaid Will and Testament of King Henry ; I have often heard, in truth, that the 
 thing was counterfeit, or at the least not able to bee proved : and that it was dis- 
 covered, rejeaed, and defaced in Queene Maries time : but I would gladly understand 
 what you Lawyers esteeme or judge thereof. 
 
 Touching this matter (quoth the Lawyer) it cannot bee denied, but that in the 
 
 Forrain birth 
 no impedi- 
 ment m the 
 judgement of 
 K. Henry the 
 eight. 
 
 The succes- 
 sion of 
 Scotland next 
 by the 
 judgement 
 of the 
 competitors. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Law. 
 
 The Duke of 
 Northumber- 
 lands drift. 
 
 Gentleman, 
 
 The mutable 
 dealing of the 
 house of 
 Dudley. 
 
 'Lawyer. 
 
The authority 
 and occasion 
 of King 
 Henries 
 testament. 
 
 The Kings 
 Testament 
 forged. 
 
 The first 
 reason. 
 Injustice 
 and im- 
 probability. 
 
 The example 
 of France. 
 
 The second 
 
 reason. 
 
 Incongruities 
 
 and 
 
 indignities. 
 
 144 
 
 Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 twenty and eight, and thirty and sixt yeares of King Henries raigne, upon consideration 
 of some doubt and irresolution, which the King himselfe had shewed, to have about 
 the order of succession in his owne children, as also for taking away all occasions of 
 controversies in those of the next bloud : the whole Parliament gave authority unto 
 the said King, to debate and determine those matters himselfe, together with his 
 learned Councell, who best knew the lawes of the Realme, and titles that any man 
 might have thereby : and that whatsoever succession his Majesty should declare as 
 most right and lawfull under his letters patents sealed, or by his last will and testa- 
 ment rightfully made and signed with his owne hand : that the same should bee 
 received for good and lawfull. 
 
 Vpon pretence whereof, soone after King Henries death, there was shewed a will 
 with the Kings stamp at the same, and the names of divers witnesses, wherein (as hath 
 beene said) the succession of the Crowne, after the Kings owne children, is assigned to 
 the Heires of Frances and of Elenor, Neeces to the King, by his yonger sister. Which 
 assignation of the Crowne, being as it were a meere guift in prejudice of the elder 
 sisters right (as also of the right of Frances and Elenor themselves, who were omitted 
 in the same assignation, and their Heires intituled onely) was esteemed to bee against 
 all reason, law, and nature, and consequently not thought to proceed from so wise and 
 sage a Prince, as King Henry was knowne to bee : but rather, either the whole forged, 
 or at leastwise that clause inserted by other, and the Kings stamp set unto it, after his 
 death, or when his Majesty lay now past understanding. And hereof there wanteth 
 not divers most evident reasons and proofes. 
 
 For first, it is not probable or credible, that King Henry would ever goe about, 
 against law and reason, to disinherite the line of his eldest sister, without any profit or 
 interest to himselfe : and thereby, give most evident occasion of Civill warre and dis- 
 cord within the Realme, seeing, that in such a case of manifest and apparent wrong, in 
 so great a matter, the authority of Parliament, taketh little effedt, against the true and 
 lawfull inheritour : as well appeared in the former times and contentions of Henry the 
 sixt, Edward the fourth, and Richard the third : in whose raignes, the divers and con- 
 trary Parliaments made and holden, against the next inheritour, held no longer with 
 any man, then untill the other was able to make his owne party good. 
 
 So likewise, in the case of King Edward the third his succession to France, in the 
 right of his Mother, though hee were excluded by the generall assembly and consent of 
 their Parliaments: yet hee esteemed not his right extinguished thereby: as neither did 
 other Kings of our Countrey that ensued after him. And for our present case, if 
 nothing els should have restrained King Henry, from such open injustice towards his 
 eldest sister : yet this cogitation, at least, would have stayed him : that by giving 
 example of supplanting his elder sisters Line by vertue of a testament or pretence of 
 Parliament : some other might take occasion to displace his children by like pretence : 
 as wee see that Duke Dudley did soone after, by a forged testament of King Edward 
 the sixt. So ready Schollars there are to bee found, which easily will learne such 
 Lessons of iniquity. 
 
 Secondly, there bee too many incongruities aud indignities in the said predented 
 Will to proceed from such a Prince and learned Councell as King Henries was. For 
 first what can bee more ridiculous, then to give the Crowne unto the Heires of Frances 
 
Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 145 
 
 and Elenor, and not to any of themselves ? or what had they ofifended that their Heires 
 should enjoy the Crowne in their right and not they themselves ? What if King 
 Henries children should have died, whiles Lady Francis had beene yet alive ? who 
 should have possessed the Kingdome before her, seeing her Line was next ? and yet by 
 this testament shee could not pretend her selfe to obtaine it. But rather having married 
 Adrian Stokes her Horsekeeper, shee must have suffered her Sonne by him (if shee had 
 any) to enjoy the Crowne: and so Adrian of a serving man and Master of horses, 
 should have become the great Master and Protedlour of England. Of like absurdity is 
 that other clause also, wherein the King bindeth his owne Daughters to marry, by 
 consent and diredlion of his counsell, or otherwise to leese the benefit of their succes- 
 sion : but yet bindeth not his Neices Daughters, to wit, the Daughters of Francis and 
 Elenor (if that they had any) to any such condition. 
 
 Thirdly, there may bee divers causes and arguments alleadged in law, why this 
 pretended will is not authenticall : if otherwise, it were certaine that King Henry had 
 meant it : First, for that it is not agreable to the mind and meaning of the ParHament, 
 which intended onely to give authority, for declaration and explication of the true 
 title : and not for donation or intricating of the same, to the ruine of the Realme. 
 Secondly, for that there is no lawful! and authenticall Copy extant thereof, but onely a 
 bare inrolement in the Chancery, which is not sufficient in so weighty an affaire : no 
 witnesse of the Privy Councel or of Nobility to the same : which had beene convenient 
 in so great a case (for the best of the witnesses therein named, is Sir lohn Gates, whose 
 miserable death is well knowne : ) no publike Notary : no Probation of the will before 
 any Bishop, or any lawfull Court for that purpose : no examination of the witnesses : 
 or other thing orderly done, for lawfull authorizing of the matter. 
 
 But of all other things this is most of importance : that the King never set his 
 owne hand to the foresaid Will, but his stamp was put thereunto by others, either after 
 his death, or when hee was past remembrance : as the late Lord Paget in the beginning 
 of Queene Maries dayes, being of the Privy Councell, first of all other discovered the 
 same, of his owne accord, and upon meere motion of conscience, confessing before the 
 whole Councell, and afterward also before the whole Parliament, how that himselfe 
 was privy thereunto, and partly also culpable, (being drawen thereunto, by the instiga- 
 tion and forcible authority of others : ) but yet afterward upon other more godly 
 motions detested the device : and so of his owne free will, very honorably went and 
 offered the discovery thereof to the Councell. As also did Sir Edward Montague, Lord 
 chiefe justice, that had beene privy and present at the said doings, and one William 
 Clarke, that was the man that put the stamp unto the paper, and is ascribed among the 
 other pretensed witnesses, confessed the whole premisses to bee true, and purchased 
 his pardon for his offence therein. Whereupon Queen Mary and her Councell, caused 
 presently the said inrolement, lying in the Chancery, to be canceled, defaced and 
 abolished. 
 
 And sithence that time in her Majesties dayes that now liveth about the 11. or 12. 
 yeare of her raigne, (if I count not amisse) by occasion of a certaine little booke spred 
 abroad at that time, very secretly, for advancing of the house of Suffolke, by pretence 
 of this Testament : I remember well the place where the late Duke of Norfolke, the 
 Marquesse of Winchester (which then was Treasurer) the old Earles of Arundell and 
 
 Adrian Stokes. 
 
 The third 
 
 reason. 
 
 The 
 
 presupposed 
 
 Will is not 
 
 authenticall. 
 
 The 
 
 disproving of 
 the Will by 
 witnesses. 
 The Lord 
 Paget. 
 
 Sir Edward 
 Montague. 
 
 William 
 Clarke, 
 
 A meeting 
 together 
 about this 
 matter of the 
 nobility. 
 
Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 146 
 
 My Lord of 
 
 LeycesUr 
 
 againe 
 
 playeth 
 
 double. 
 
 The old Earl 
 of Pembrooks 
 admonition, 
 to the Earle 
 his Sonne yet 
 living. 
 
 The third 
 impediment 
 of Religion. 
 
 Princes of 
 Germany. 
 
 Quene Maiy. 
 
 Queene 
 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 * The Dudleis 
 Monsieur. 
 
 King of 
 Navarre 
 Prince of 
 Condy. 
 
 Penbrooke that now are dead, with my Lord of Penbrooke that yet liveth, (as also my 
 Lord of Leycester himselfe if I bee not deceived) with divers others, met together upon 
 this matter : and after long conference about the foresaid pretensed will, and many 
 proofes and reasons laid downe, why it could not bee true or authenticall : the old Earle 
 of Penbrooke protesting that hee was with the King in his Chamber from the first day 
 of his sicknesse unto his last houre, and thereby could well assure the falsification 
 thereof: at length it was moved, that from that place they should goe, with the rest of 
 the Nobility, and proclaime the Queene of Scotland heire apparent in Cheapside. 
 Wherein my Lord of Leycester (as I take it) was then as forward as any man els : how 
 bee it, now, for his profit, hee bee turned aside, and would turne back againe tomorrow 
 next, for a greater commodity. 
 
 And albeit, for some causes to themselves best knowne, they proceeded not in the 
 open publishing of their determination at that time : yet my Lord of Penbrooke now 
 living, can beare witnesse that thus much is true : and that his Father the old Earle at 
 that time, told him openly before the other Noblemen, that hee had brought him to 
 that assembly and place, to instrudl him in that truth, and to charge him, to witnesse 
 the same, and to defend it also, with his sword (if need required) after his death. And 
 I know that his Lordship is of that honour and nobility, as hee can not leave of easily 
 the remembrance or due regard of so worthy an admonition. And this shall suffice 
 for the second impediment, imagined to proceed of this supposed Testament of King 
 Henry the eight. 
 
 As for the third impediment, of religion, it is not generall to all : for that onely one 
 person (if I bee not deceived) of all the Competitours in King Henries line, can bee 
 touched with suspition of different religion, from the present state of England. Which 
 person notwithstanding (as is well knowne) while shee was in governement in her owne 
 Realme of Scotland, permitted all liberty of conscience, and free exercise of religion, to 
 those of the contrary profession and opinion, without restraint. And if shee had not : 
 yet do I not see, either by prescript of law, or pradlise of these our times, that diversity 
 of religion, may stay just inheritours from enjoying their due possessions, in any state 
 or degree of private men : and much lesse in the claime of a Kingdome : which alwayes 
 in this behalfe (as hath beene said before) is preferred in priviledge. 
 
 This wee see by experience, in divers Countries and parts of the World at this 
 day : as in Germany, where among so many Princes, and so devided in religion as they 
 bee : yet every one succeedeth to the state, whereunto hee hath right, without resist- 
 ance for his religion. The examples also of her Majesty that now is, and of her sister 
 before, is evident : who being knowne to bee of two different inclinations in religion, 
 and the whole Realme devided in opinion for the same cause : yet both of them at 
 their severall times with generall consent of all, were admitted to their lawfull inherit- 
 ance : excepting onely a few *traytours against the former, who withstood her right as 
 also in her, the right of her Majesty that is present, and that not for religion (as 
 appeared by their owne confession after) but for ambition and desire of raigne. 
 Monsieur, the Kings brother and heire of France, as all the World knoweth, is well 
 accepted, favored and admitted for successour of that Crowne, by all the Protestants 
 at this day of that Countrey, notwithstanding his opinion in religion knowne to bee 
 different. And I doubt not, but the King of Navarre or Prince of Condy, in the 
 
Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 147 
 
 contrary part, would thinke themselves greatly injuried by the state of France, which is 
 different from them in religion at this day, if after the death of the King that now is 
 and his brother without issue, (if God so dispose) they should bee barred from inherit- 
 ing the Crowne, under pretence onely of their religion. My Lord of Huntington him- 
 selfe also, is hee not knowne to bee of a different religion from the present state of 
 England ? and that, if hee were King to morrow next, hee would alter the whole 
 governement, order, condition, and state of religion, now used and established, within 
 the Realme ? 
 
 But as I said in the beginning, if one of a whole Family, or of divers Families, 
 bee culpable, or to bee touched herein : what have the rest offended thereby ? will you 
 exclude all, for the mislike of one ? And to descend in order : if the first in King 
 Henries line, after her Majesty may bee touched in this point, yet, why should the rest 
 hee damnified thereby ? The King of Scotland her Sonne, that next ensueth (to speake 
 in equity) why should hee bee shut out for his religion ? And are not all the other in 
 like manner Protestants, whose discent is consequent, by nature, order, and degree ? 
 
 For the yong King of Scotland (quoth I) the truth is, that alwayes for mine owne 
 part, I have had great hope and expedtation of him, not onely for the conceipt which 
 commonly men have of such Orient youths, borne to Kingdomes : but especially for 
 that I understood from time to time, that his education was in all learning, princely 
 exercises and instrudtion of true religion, under rare and vertuous men for that purpose. 
 Whereby I conceived hope, that hee might not onely become in time, an honourable 
 and profitable neighbour unto us, for assurance of the Gospell in these parts of the 
 World : but also (if God should deprive us of her Majesty without issue) might bee a 
 meane by his succession to unite in Concord and Governement, the two Realmes 
 together, which heretofore hath beene fought, by the price of many a thousand mens 
 bloud, and not obtained. 
 
 Marry yet now of late (I know not by what meanes) there is begun in mens hearts 
 a certain mislike or grudge against him, for that it is given out every where that hee is 
 inclined to bee a Papist, and an enemy to her Majesties proceedings. Which argueth 
 him verily, of singular ingratitude, if it bee true, considering the great helps and pro- 
 teaion which hee hath received from her highnesse ever sithence hee was borne. 
 
 And are you so simple (quoth the Gentleman) as to beleeve every report that you 
 heare of this matter ? know you not, that it is expedient for my Lord of Leycester and 
 his faaion, that this youth, above all other, bee held in perpetuall disgrace with her 
 Majesty and with this Realme ? You know, that Richard of Glocester had never beene 
 able to have usurped as hee did, if hee had not first perswaded King Edward the fourth 
 to hate his owne Brother the Duke of Clarence, which Duke stood in the way, betweene 
 Richard and the thing, which hee most of all things coveted. That is, the possibility 
 to the Crowne, and so in this case is there the like device to bee observed. 
 
 For truly, for the yong King of Scotlands religion, it is evident to as many as have 
 reason, that it can bee no other of it selfe but inclined to the best : both in respeft of 
 his education, instrudion, and conversation, with those of true religion : as also by his 
 former Aftions, Edifts, Governement, and private behaviour, hee hath declared. 
 Marry these men whose profit is nothing lesse, then that hee or any other of that race 
 should doe well : doe not cease dayly by all secret wayes, drifts, and molestations 
 
 My Lord of 
 
 Huntingtons 
 
 religion. 
 
 The title of 
 those which 
 ensue the 
 Queene of 
 Scots. 
 
 Schollar. 
 
 The yong 
 King of 
 Scotland. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 The device to 
 set out her 
 Majesty with 
 the yong King 
 of Scotland. 
 
Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 148 
 
 The 
 
 intollerable 
 proceedings 
 of certain 
 Ministers in 
 Scotland 
 against their 
 King by 
 subordination 
 of his enemies 
 in England. 
 
 Schollar. 
 
 Sir Patrick 
 AdamsoH 
 Archbishop 
 of Saint 
 Andrewes. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Treasons 
 plotted 
 against the 
 King of Scots. 
 
 possible, to drive him either to misHke of our religion, or els to incurre the suspition 
 thereof, with such of our Realme, as otherwise would bee his best friends : or if not 
 this : yet for very need and feare of his owne life, to make recourse to such other 
 Princes abroad, as may most offend or mislike this state. 
 
 And for this cause, they suborne certaine busie fellowes of their owne crew and 
 faftion, pertaining to the ministery of Scotland, (but unworthy of so worthy a calling) 
 to use such insolency towards their King and Prince, as is not onely undecent, but 
 intollerable. For hee may doe no thing, but they will examine and discusse the same 
 in Pulpit. If hee goe but on hunting, when it pleaseth them to call him to their 
 preaching : if hee make but a dinner or supper, when, or where, or with whom they 
 like not : if hee receive but a coople of horses or other present from his friends or 
 kinsmen beyond the seas : if hee salute or use courteously any man or messenger 
 which commeth from them (as you know Princes of their nobility and courtesie are 
 accustomed, though they come from their enemies, as often hath beene scene and 
 highly commended in her Majesty of England:) if hee deale familiarly with any 
 Ambassadour which liketh not them : or finally if hee doe say, or signifie, any one 
 thing whatsoever, that pleaseth not their humour : they will presently, as seditious 
 tribunes of the people, exclame in publique, and stepping to the Pulpit where the word 
 of the Lord onely ought to bee preached : will excite the commonalty to discontenta- 
 tion, inveying against their soveraigne with such bitternesse of speech, unreverend 
 tearmes, and insolent controlements, as is not to bee spoken ; Now imagine what her 
 Majesty and her grave councell would doe in England, if such proceedings should bee 
 used, by the Cleargy against them. 
 
 No doubt (quoth I) but that such unquiet Spirits should bee punished in our 
 Realme. And so I said of late to their most reverend and worthy Prelate and Primate 
 the Archbishop of Saint Andrewes, with whom it was my luck to come acquainted in 
 London, whither hee was come by his Kings appointment (as hee said) to treate 
 certaine affaires with our Queene and Councell. And talking with him of this disorder 
 of his ministery, hee confessed the same with much griefe of mind, and told mee, that 
 hee had preached thereof before the King himselfe, detesting and accusing divers heads 
 thereof, for which cause, hee was become very odious to them and other of their 
 fadlion, both in Scotland and England. But hee said, that as hee had given the reasons 
 of his doings unto our Queene : so meaneth hee shortly to doe the same unto Monsieur 
 Beza, and to the whole Church of Geneva, by sending thither the Articles of his and 
 their doings. Protesting unto mee that the proceedings and attempts of those fadlious 
 and corrupt men, was most scandalous, seditious and perilous, both to the Kings 
 person, and to the Realme : being sufficient indeed, to alienate wholly the yong Prince 
 from all affedion to our religion, when hee shall see the chiefe Professours thereof, to 
 behave themselves so undutifully towards him. 
 
 That is the thing which these men, his competitours, most desire (quoth the 
 Gentleman) hoping thereby, to procure him most evill will and danger, both at home 
 and from England. For which cause also, they have praftized so many plots and 
 treacheries with his owne subjefts against him : hoping by that meanes, to bring the 
 one in distrust and hatred of the other, and consequently the King in danger of 
 destruaion by his owne. And in this machination, they have behaved themselves so 
 
Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 149 
 
 dexterously, so covertly used the mannage and contriving hereof, and so cunningly 
 conveyed the execution of many things : as it might, indeed, seeme apparent unto the 
 yong Kmg, that the whole plot of treasons against his Realme and Person, doth come 
 from England, thereby to drive him into jealousie of our state, and our state of him : 
 and all this for their owne profit. 
 
 Neither is this any new device of my Lord of Leycester, to draw men for his owne 
 game, mto danger and hatred with the state, under other pretences. For T could tell 
 you divers stories and stratagemes of his cunning in this kind, and the one farre 
 different from the other in device : but yet all to one end. I have a friend yet living, 
 that was towards the old Earle of Arundell, in good credit, and by that meanes had 
 occasion to deal with the late Duke of Norfolke in his chiefest affaires before his 
 troubles. This man is wont to report strange things from the Dukes owne mouth, of 
 my Lord of Leycesters most treacherous dealing towards him, for gaining of his bloud, 
 as after appeared: albeit the Duke when hee reported the same, mistrusted not so 
 much my Lords malice therein. But the summe of all, is this in effeft : that Leycester 
 having a secret desire, to pull downe the said Duke, to the end that hee might have no 
 man above himselfe, to hinder him in that which hee most desireth : by a thousand 
 cunning devises drew in the Duke to the cogitation of that marriage with the Queene 
 of Scotland, which afterward was the cause or occasion of his ruine. And hee behaved 
 himselfe so dexterously in this drift, by setting on the Duke on the one side, and 
 intrapping him on the other : as ludas himselfe never played his part more cunningly, 
 when hee supped with his Master, and set himselfe so neere, as hee dipped his spoone 
 in the same dish, and durst before others aske, who should betray him? meaning that 
 night, to doe it himselfe, as hee shewed soone after supper, when hee came as a 
 Captaine with a band of conspiratours, and with a courteous kisse delivered his person, 
 into the hands of them, whom hee well knew to thirst after his bloud. 
 
 The very like did the Earle of Leycester with the Duke of Norfolke for the art of 
 treason, though in the parties betrayed there were great difference of innocency. 
 Namely, at one time, when her Majesty was at Basing in Hampshire, and the Duke 
 attended there to have audience, with great indifferency in himselfe, to follow or leave 
 off his sute for marriage : (for that now he began to suspedl. Her Maiesty liked not 
 greatly thereof:) my Lord of Leicester came to him, and counselled him in any case to 
 persevere and not to relent, assuring him with many oaths and protestations, that Her 
 Majesty must and should be brought to allow thereof, whether she would or no, and 
 that himselfe would seale that purpose with his blood. Neither was it to be suffered 
 that Her Maiesty should have her will herein ; with many other like speeches to this 
 purpose: which the Duke repeated againe then presently to my said friend: with often 
 laying his hand upon his bosome, and saying ; I have here which assureth me 
 sufficiently of the fidelity of my Lord of Leicester ; meaning not only the foresaid 
 speechs, but also divers letters which he had written to the Duke of that effedl, as 
 likewise he had done to some other person of more importance in the Realme ; which 
 matter comming afterward to light, he cousened most notably her Maiesty, by shewing 
 her a reformed copie of the said Letter, for the letter it selfe. 
 
 But now how well hee performed his promise, in dealing with her Majesty for the 
 Duke, or against the Duke in this matter, her Highnesse can best tell, and the event 
 
 Leycesters 
 cunning 
 device for 
 overthrowing 
 the Duke of 
 Norfolke. 
 
 The 
 
 impudency of 
 Judas. 
 
 The speeches 
 of Leicester to 
 the Duke of 
 Norfolke. 
 
 Leicest. 
 cousenage of 
 the Queene. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 150 
 
 The Duke of 
 
 Norfolkes. 
 flying into 
 Norfolke. 
 
 Machivilian 
 Sleights. 
 
 Leicesters 
 devices for 
 the overthrow 
 of Sir 
 Christopher 
 Hatton. 
 
 Leicesters 
 devices 
 against the 
 Earle of 
 Shrewsbury. 
 
 Leicesters 
 contempt of 
 the ancient 
 Nobility of 
 England. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 New men 
 most con- 
 temptuous. 
 
 Duke Dudlies 
 jest at the 
 Earle of 
 Arundel. 
 
 it selfe shewed. For the Duke being admitted soone after to Her Majesties speech, at 
 an other place, and receiving a far other answer then hee had in hope conceived upon 
 Leicesters promises : retyred himselfe to London, where the same night following hee 
 received letters both from Leycester, and Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, upon Leicesters 
 instigation (for they were at that time both friends and of a fadlion) that he should 
 presently flee into Norfolke as hee did, which was the last and finall complement of all 
 Leicesters former devices, whereby to plunge his friend over the eares in suspition and 
 disgrace, in such sort, as he should never be able to draw himselfe out of the ditch 
 againe, as indeed he was not, but died in the same. 
 
 And herein you see also the same subtile and Machivilian sleight, which I 
 mentioned before, of driving men to attempt somewhat, whereby they may incurre 
 danger, or remaine in perpetual! suspition or disgrace. And this pra6lice hee hath 
 long used, and doth daily, against such as he hath will to destroy. As for example : 
 What say you to the device he had of late, to intrap his well deserving friend, Sir 
 Christopher Hatton, in the matter of Hall his Priest, whom hee would have had Sir 
 Christopher to send away and hide, being touched and detected in the case of Ardent, 
 thereby to have drawne in Sir Christopher himselfe, as Sir Charles Candish can well 
 declare, if it please him, being accessary to this plot, for the overthrow of Sir Chris- 
 topher. To which intent and most devilish drift pertained (I doubt not) if the matter 
 were duly examined, the late interception of letters in Paris from one Aldred of Lyons 
 then in Rome, to Henry Vmpton, servant to Sir Christopher, in which letters. Sir Chris- 
 topher is reported to be of such credit and speciall favour in Rome, as if hee were the 
 greatest Papist in England. 
 
 What meaneth also these pernitious late dealings against the Earle of Shrewsbury, 
 a man of the most ancient and worthiest Nobility of our Realme ? what meane the 
 praftises with his nearest both in bed and blood against him ? what meane these most 
 false and slanderous rumours cast abroad of late of his disloyall demeanures towards 
 her Majesty and his countrey, with the great prisoner committed to his charge ? Is all 
 this to any other end, but only to drive him to some impatience, and thereby to commit 
 or say something which may open the gate unto his ruine ? Divers other things could 
 I recite of his behaviour towards other noble men of the Realm, who live abroad in 
 their countries much iniured and malcontented by his insolencie : albeit in respedl of 
 his present power they dare not complaine. And surely it is strange to see, how little 
 account hee maketh of all the ancient Nobility of our Realme : how he contemneth, 
 derideth and debaseth them : which is the fashion of all such as mean to usurpe, to the 
 end they may have none who shal not acknowledge their first beginning and advance- 
 ment from themselves. 
 
 Not only Vsurpers (quoth the Lawyer) but all others who rise and mount aloft 
 from base lynage, bee ordinarily most contemptuous, contumultuous, & insolent against 
 others of more antiquity. And this was evident in this mans father, who being a 
 Bucke of the first head (as you know) was intolerable in contempt of others : as 
 appeareth, by those whom hee trode downe of the Nobility in his time : as also by his 
 ordinary jests against the Duke of Somerset and others. But among other times, sitting 
 one day at his owne table (as a Counsellor told me that was present) hee tooke 
 occasion to talke of the Earle of Arundel whom he then had not only removed from 
 
Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 151 
 
 the Coutisell, but also put into the Tower of London, being (as is well knowne) the first 
 and chiefest Earle of the Realme. And for that the said Earle, shewed himselfe some- 
 what sad and affiifted with his present state (as I marvel not, seeing himselfe in prison, 
 and withm the compasse of so fierce a Bears pawes) it pleased this goodly Duke, to 
 vaunt upon this Earles misery, at his owne table (as I have said) and asked the noble 
 men and Gentlemen there present, what Crest or Cognizance my Lord of Arundel did 
 give ? and when every one answured, that he gave the white Horse : I thought so 
 (quoth the Duke) and not without great cause : for as the white Paulfrey when hee 
 standeth in the stable, and is well provendred, is proud and fierce, and ready to leape 
 upon every other horses back, still neying and prauncing, and troubling all that stand 
 about him : but when hee is once out of his boat stable, and deprived a little of his 
 ease and fat feeding, every boy may ride and master him at his pleasure : so it is 
 (quoth he) with my Lord of Arundel: Whereat many marvelled that were present, to 
 heare so insolent speech passe from a man of judgement, against a Peere of the 
 Realme, cast into calamity. 
 
 But you would more have marvelled (quoth the Gentleman) if you had seene that 
 which I did afterward, which was the most base and abjedl behaviour of the same 
 Duke, to the same Earle of Arundel at Cambridge, and upon the way towards London: 
 when this Earle was sent to apprehend and bring him up, as prisoner. If I should tell 
 you how hee fell downe on his knees, how he wept, how he besought the said Earle to 
 be a good Lord vnto him, whom a little before he had so much contemned and 
 reproached : you would have said, that himselfe might as well be compared to this his 
 white Paulfrey as the other. Albeit in this, I will excuse neither of them both, neither 
 almost any other of these great men, who are so proud and insolent in their prosperous 
 fortune, as they are easily led to contemne any man, albeit themselves be most 
 contemptible of all others, whensoever their fortune beginneth to change : and so will 
 my Lord of Leicester be also, no doubt at that day, though now in his wealth he 
 triumph over all, and careth not whom, or how many hee offend and injure. 
 
 Sir therein I beleeve you (quoth I) for wee have had sufficient tryall already of my 
 Lords fortitude in adversity. His base and abiedl behaviour in his last disgrace about 
 his marriage, well declared what he would doe, in a matter of more importance. His 
 fawning and flattering of them, whom he hated most : his servile speeches, his feigned 
 and dissembled teares, are all very well knowne : Then Sir Christopher Hatton, must 
 needs be inforced, to receive at his hands the honourable and great office of Chamber- 
 lainship of Chester, for that he would by any means resign the same unto him, whether 
 he would or no : and made him provide (not without his charge) to receive the same, 
 though his Lordship never meant it, as after well appeared. For that the present 
 pange being past, it liked my Lord to fulfill the Italian Proverbe, of such as in dangers 
 make vowes to Saints : Scampato il pericolo, gabbato il Santo, the danger escaped, the 
 Saint is deceived. 
 
 Then, and in that necessity, no men of the Realme were so much honoured, 
 commended and served by him, as the noble Chamberlaine deceased, and the good 
 Lord Treasurer yet living: to whom, at a certaine time, hee wrote a letter, in all fraud 
 and base dissimulation, and caused the same to bee delivered with great cunning in 
 the sight of her Maiesty ; and yet so, as to shew a purpose that it should not be seen : 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 The most 
 abje£l 
 
 behaviour of 
 duke Dudley 
 in adverse 
 fortunes. 
 
 Scholler 
 
 Leicester! base 
 behaviour in 
 adversity. 
 
 Leicesters 
 deceiving of 
 Sir Christo- 
 pher Hatton. 
 
 A pretty shift 
 of my Lord 
 
 Leicester. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 152 
 
 Her Majesties 
 speech of 
 Leicester to 
 theTreasurer. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 The danger 
 of her 
 Majestie by 
 oppression of 
 the favourers 
 of the 
 Scottish title. 
 
 A Similie 
 true. 
 
 Earle of 
 
 Leicester. 
 
 Earle of 
 Huntington. 
 
 The old 
 Countesse of 
 HuntingtoHS 
 speech of her 
 Sonne. 
 
 to the end, her Highnesse might the rather take occasion to call for the same and 
 reade it, as she did. For Mistris Frances Haward (to whom the stratagem was com- 
 mitted) playing her part dexterously, offered to deliver the same to the Lord Treasurer, 
 neere the doore of the with-drawing Chamber, hee then comming from Her Majesty. 
 And to draw the eye and attention of her Highnesse the more unto it, shee let fall the 
 paper, before it touched the Treasurers hand, and by that occasion brought her 
 Majesty to call for the same: Which after she had read and considered the stile, 
 together with the metall and constitution of him that wrote it, and to whom it was 
 sent : Her Highnesse could not but breake forth in laughter, with detestation of such 
 absurd and abiedl dissimulation : saying unto my Lord Treasurer there present : my 
 Lord beleeve him not, for if hee had you in like case hee would play the Beare with 
 you, though at this present hee fawne upon you never so fast. 
 
 But now, Sir, I pray you goe forward in your speech of Scotland, for there, I 
 remember you left off, when by occasion wee fell into these digressions. 
 
 Well then (quoth the Gentleman) to returne againe to Scotland (as you move) 
 from whence wee have digressed : most certaine and evident it is to all the world, that 
 all the broyles, troubles, and dangers procured to the Prince in that countrey, as also 
 the vexations of them, who any way are thought to favour that title in our owne 
 Realme, doe proceed from the drift and complot of these conspirators. Which be- 
 sides the great dangers mentioned before, both domesticall and forraine, temporall, 
 and of religion, must needs inferre great jeopardy also to Her Maiesties person and 
 present reigne, that now governeth, through the hope and heat of the aspirors ambition, 
 inflamed and increased so much the more, by the nearnesse of their desired pray. 
 
 For as souldiers entred into hope of a rich and well furnished Citie, are more 
 fierce and furious, when they have gotten and beaten downe the Bul-workes round 
 about : and as the greedy Burglarer that hath pearsed and broken downe many wals 
 to come to a treasure, is lesse patient of stay, stop and delay, when hee commeth in 
 sight of that which he desireth, or perceiveth only some partition of wane-skot or the 
 like, betwixt his fingers and the cofers or money bags : so these men, when they shall 
 see the succession of Scotland extinguished, together with all friends and favourers 
 thereof, (which now are to Her Majesty as Bulwarkes and Walles, and great obstacles 
 to the aspirors) and when they shall see only Her Majesties life and person, to stand 
 betwixt them and their fiery desires, (for they make little account of all other Com- 
 petitours by King Henries line : ) no doubt, but it will be to them a great pricke and 
 spurre, to dispatch Her Maiesty also : the nature of both Earles being well considered, 
 whereof the one killed his own wife (as hath beene shewed before) onely upon a little 
 vaine hope of marriage with a Queene, and the other being so farre blinded and borne 
 away, with the same furious fume, and most impotent itching humour of ambition : as 
 his owne mother, when she was alive, seemed greatly to feare his fingers, if once the 
 matter should come so neere, as her life had only stood in his way. For which cause, 
 the good old Countesse, was wont to pray God (as I have heard divers say) that she 
 might die JDefore Her Majesty, (which happily was granted unto her) to the end that 
 by standing in her sonnes way (who shee saw to her griefe, furiously bent to weare a 
 Crowne:) their might not some dangerous extremity grow to her, by that nearnesse : 
 And if his owne mother feared this mischance, what may her Majesty doubt, at his 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 153 
 
 and his companions hands, when she only shall be the obstacle of all their unbridled 
 and impatient desires ? 
 
 Cleare it is (quoth the Lawyer) that the nearnesse of aspirours to the Crowne, 
 endangereth greatly the present possessors, as you have well proved by reason, and I 
 could shew by divers examples, if it were need. For when Henry Bullingbrooke, Duke 
 of Lancaster saw, not only Richard the second to be without issue, but also Roger 
 Mortimer, Earle of March, that should have succeeded in the Crowne, to bee slaine in 
 Ireland: though before (as is thought) hee meant not to usurpe, yet seeing the possi- 
 bility and neere cut that he had : was invited therewith to lay hands of his Soveraignes 
 blood and dignity, as he did. The like is thought of Richard, Duke of Glocester, that 
 he never meant the murder of his nephewes, until he saw their father dead, and them- 
 selves in his owne hands : his brother also Duke of Clarence dispatched, and his only 
 Sonne and heire Earle of Warwicke, within his owne power. 
 
 Wherefore, seeing it hath not pleased Almighty God, for causes to himselfe best 
 knowne, to leave unto this noble Realme, any issue by her most excellent Majesty, it 
 hath beene a point of great wisdome in mine opinion, and of great safety to Her High- 
 nesse person, state, and dignity ; to preserve hitherto, the line of the next Inheritors 
 by the house of Scotland, (I meane both the mother and the son) whose deaths hath 
 beene so diligently sought, by the other competitours, and had beene long ere this 
 atchieved, if her Majesties owne wisedome and Royall clemency (as is thought) had 
 not placed speciall eye upon the conservation thereof, from time to time. Which 
 princely providence, so long as it shall endure, must needs be a great safety and fort- 
 resse to Her Majesty, not onely against the claimes, ayds, or annoyance of forraine 
 Princes who will not be so forward to advance strange titles, while so manifest heires 
 remaine at home, nor yet so willing (in respedl of policy) to helpe that hne to 
 possession of the whole Hand : but also against pradlices of domesticall aspirours (as 
 you have shewed) in whose afifaires no doubt but these two branches of Scotland are 
 great blocks, as also special Bulwarkes to her Majesties life and person : seeing (as you 
 say) these copartners make so little account of all the other of that line, who should 
 ensue by order of succession. 
 
 Marry yet of the two, I thinke the youth of Scotland be of much more importance 
 for their purpose, to be made away, both for that he may have issue, and is like in time 
 to be of more ability, for defence of his owne inheritance : as also for that hee being 
 once dispatched, his mother should soone ensue, by one sleight or other, which they 
 would devise unwitting to Her Majesty : albeit, I must needs confesse, that her High- 
 nesse hath used most singular prudence for prevention thereof : in placing her restraint 
 with so noble, strong, and worthy a Peere of our Realme, as the Earle of Shrewsbury 
 is : whose fidelity and constancy being nothing pliable to the others faftion, giveth 
 them little contentation. And for that cause, the world seeth, how many sundry and 
 divers devices they have used, and doe use daily to slaunder and disgrace him, and 
 thereby to pull from him his charge committed. 
 
 To this the Gentleman answered nothing at all, but stood still musing with him- 
 selfe, as though he had conceived some deepe matter in his head : and after a little 
 pause he began to say as followeth. 
 
 I cannot truly but much marvaile, when I doe compare some things of this time 
 
 Lawjier, 
 
 Nearnesse in 
 competitors 
 doth incite 
 them to 
 adventure. 
 
 Henry Buling- 
 hrooh after 
 King Henry 
 the fourth. 
 
 Richard duke 
 of Glocester 
 after King 
 Richard the 
 third. 
 
 The great 
 wisdome of 
 her Majesty 
 in conserving 
 the next 
 heires of 
 Scotland. 
 
 The King of 
 Scotland! 
 destrudtion 
 of more 
 importance 
 to the 
 
 conspirators, 
 then his 
 mothers. 
 
 The Earle of 
 Salisbury dis- 
 graced by the 
 competitors. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 V 
 
Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 154 
 
 The vigilant 
 eye that her 
 Majesties 
 ancestors had 
 to the cola- 
 terall line. 
 
 Persons 
 executed of 
 the House of 
 
 Clarence. 
 
 The example 
 of lulius 
 Casars 
 destruction. 
 
 Too much 
 confidence 
 very perilous 
 in a Prince. 
 
 and government, with the doings of former Princes, progenitors to Her Maiesty. 
 Namely of Henry the seventh, and Henry the eight : who had so vigilant an eye to the 
 laterall line of King Edward the fourth by his brother of Clarence, as they thought it 
 necessary, not only to prevent all evident dangers that might ensue that way, but even 
 the possibilities of all perill : as may well appeare by the execution of Edward Earle of 
 Warwicke before named, Sonne and heire to the said Duke of Clarence, and of Margaret 
 his Sister Countess of Salisbury, with the Lord Henry Montague her Sonne, by whose 
 Daughter the Earle of Huntington now claimeth. All which were executed for avoiding 
 of inconveniences, and that at such times, when no imminent danger could bee much 
 doubted, by that Line, especially by the latter. And yet now when one of the same 
 House and Line, of more ability and ambition, then ever any of his Ancestours were, 
 maketh open title and claime to the Crowne, with plots, packs, and preparations to 
 most manifest usurpation, against all order, all law, and all rightfull succession : and 
 against a speciall statute provided in that behalfe : yet is hee permitted, borne out, 
 favored, and friended therein : and no man so hardy, as in defence of her Majestie and 
 Realme, to controle him for the same. 
 
 It may be, that her Majesty is brought into the same opinion of my Lord of 
 Huntingtons fidelity, as lulius Ccesar was of Marcus Brutus, his dearest obliged friend : 
 of whose ambitious pradtises, and aspiring, when Ccesar was advertised by his carefull 
 friends : hee answered, that hee well knew Brutus to bee ambitious, but I am sure 
 (quoth hee) that my Brutus will never attempt any thing for the Empire, while Ccssar 
 liveth : and after my death, let him shift for the same among others, as hee can. But 
 what ensued ? Surely I am loth to tell the event, for ominations sake, but yet all 
 the World knoweth, that ere many moneths passed, this most Noble and Clement 
 Emperour, was pittifully murdered by the same Brutus and his Partners, in the pub- 
 lique Senate, when least of all hee expedled such treason. So dangerous a thing it is, 
 to bee secure in a matter of so great sequell, or to trust them with a mans life, who 
 may pretend preferment or interest, by his death. 
 
 Wherefore, would God her Majesty in this case, might bee induced, to have such 
 due care and regard of her owne estate and Royall person, as the weighty moment of 
 the matter requireth : which containeth the blisse and calamity of so Noble and worthy 
 a Kingdome, as this is. 
 
 I know right well, that most excellent natures are alwayes furthest off from diffi- 
 dence in such people, as proves love, and are most bounden by duty : and so it is 
 evident in her Majesty. But yet surely, this confidence so commendable in other men, 
 is scarse allowable often times in the person of a Prince : for that it goeth accompanied 
 with so great perill, as is inevitable to him that will not suspedl principally when 
 dangers are foretold or presaged, (as commonly by Gods appointment they are, for the 
 speciall hand hee holdeth over Princes affaires,) or when there is probable conje6lure, 
 or just surmise of the same. 
 
 Wee know that the forenamed Emperour Ca;sar, had not onely the warning given 
 him of the inclination and intent of Brutus to usurpation, but even the very day when 
 hee was going towards the place of his appointed destiny, there was given up into his 
 hands a detedion of the whole treason, with request to read the same presently, which 
 hee upon confidence omitted to doe. Wee read also of Alexander the great, how hee 
 
Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 155 
 
 was not onely forbidden by a learned man, to enter into Babylon (whether hee was 
 then going) for that there was treason meant against him, in the place, but also that 
 hee was foretold of Antipaters mischievous meaning against him, in particular. But 
 the yong Prince having so well deserved of Antipafer could not bee brought to mistrust 
 the man that was so deare unto him : and by that meanes was poisoned in a banquet, 
 by three Sonnes of Antipater, which were of most credit and confidence in the Kings 
 Chamber. 
 
 Here, truly, my heart did somewhat tremble with feare, horrour, and detestation 
 of such events. And I said unto the Gentleman. I beseech you. Sir, to talke no 
 more of these matters, for I cannot well abide to heare them named : hoping in the 
 Lord, that there is no cause, nor ever shall bee, to doubt the like in England: specially 
 from these men who are so much bounden to her Majesty, and so forward in seeking 
 out and pursuing all such, as may bee thought to be dangerous to her Majesties 
 person, as by the sundry late executions wee have scene, and by the punishments 
 every way of Papists, wee may perceive. 
 
 Truth it is (quoth the Gentleman) that justice hath beene done upon divers of 
 late, which contenteth mee greatly, for the terrour and restraint of others, of what seft 
 or religion soever they bee : And it is most necessary (doubtles) for the compressing of 
 parties, that great vigilance bee used in that behalfe. But when I consider, that onely 
 one kind of men are touched herein : and that all speech, regard, doubt, distrust, and 
 watch, is of them alone ; without reflexion of eye upon any other mens doings or 
 designements : when I see the double diligence, and vehemency of certaine instru- 
 ments, which I like not, bent wholly to rayse wonder and admiration of the people, 
 feare, terrour, and attention, to the doings, sayings, and meanings of one part or 
 fadlion alone, and of that namely and onely, which these conspiratours esteeme for 
 most dangerous and opposite to themselves : I am (believe mee) often tempted to 
 suspeft fraud and false measure : and that these men deale, as Wolves by nature in 
 other Countries are wont to doe : Which going together in great numbers to assaile a 
 flock of sheepe by night, doe set some one or two of their company upon the wind side 
 of the fold a farre ofl", who partly by their sent and other bruteling which of purpose they 
 make, may draw the dogges and shepheards to pursue them alone, whiles the other 
 doe enter and slay the whole flock. Or as rebels that meaning to surprise a Towne, 
 to turne away the Inhabitants from consideration of the danger, and from defence of 
 that place, where they intend to enter : doe set on fire some other parts of the Towne 
 further oflF, and doe sound a false alarme at some gate, where is meant least danger. 
 
 Which art, was used cunningly by Richard Duke of Yorke in the time of King 
 Henry the sixt, when hee to cover his owne intent : brought all the Realme in doubt of 
 the doings of Edmond Duke of Somerset, his enemy. But lohn of Northumberland, 
 Father to my Lord of Leycester, used the same art much more skilfully, when hee put 
 all England in a maze and musing of the Proteftour and of his friends : as though 
 nothing could bee safe about the yong King, untill they were suppressed : and conse- 
 quently, all brought into his owne authority, without obstacle. I speake not this, to 
 excuse Papists, or to wish them any way spared wherein they off"end : but onely to 
 signifie that in a Countrey, where so potent faflions bee, it is not safe, to suff"er the 
 one to make it selfe so puissant by pursuite of the other : as afterwards the Prince 
 
 The example 
 of Alexander 
 the great, 
 how he was 
 foretold his 
 danger. 
 
 SchoUer. 
 
 Late 
 executions. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Fraud to bee 
 feared in 
 pursuing one 
 part or faction 
 onely. 
 
 The 
 
 comparison 
 of Wolves 
 and Rebels. 
 
 Richard Duke 
 of Yorke. 
 
 'DnkeDtiiley. 
 
 A good rule 
 of pohcy. 
 
The speech 
 of a certaine 
 Lady of the 
 Court. 
 
 More 
 
 moderation 
 wished in 
 matters of 
 fa<5tion. 
 
 The speech 
 of a Courtier. 
 
 Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 must remaine at the devotion of the stronger : but rather as in a body molested and 
 troubled with contrary humours, if all cannot bee purged, the best Physick is, without 
 all doubt, to reduce and hold them at such an equality : as destrudlion may not bee 
 feared of the predominant. 
 
 To this said the Lawyer laughing, yea marry Sir. I would to God, your opinion 
 might prevaile in this matter : for then should wee bee in other tearmes, then now wee 
 are. I was not long since, in company of a certaine honourable Lady of the Court, 
 who, after some speech passed by Gentlemen that were present, of some apprehended^ 
 and some executed, and such like affaires : brake into a great complaint of the present 
 time, and therewith (I assure you) moved all the hearers to griefe (as women you know 
 are potent in stirring of affedtions,) and caused them all to wish that her Majesty, had 
 beene nigh to have heard her words. 
 
 I doe well remember (quoth shee) the first douzen yeares of her highnesse raigne, 
 how happy, pleasant, and quiet they were, with all manner of comfort and consolation. 
 There was no mention then of fadions in religion, neither was any man much noted or 
 rejedled for that cause : so otherwise his conversation were civill and courteous. No 
 suspition of treason, no talke of bloudshed, no complaint of troubles, miseries or 
 vexations. All was peace, all was love, all was joy, all was delight. Her Majesty 
 (I am sure) tooke more recreation at that time, in one day, then she doth now in a 
 whole weeke : and wee that served her highnesse, enjoyed more contentation in a 
 weeke, then wee can now in divers yeares. For now, there are so many suspitions, 
 every where, for this thing and for that : as wee cannot tell whom to trust. So many 
 melancholique in the Court, that seeme male-contented: so many complaining or 
 suing for their friends that are in trouble : other slip over the Sea, or retire themselves 
 upon the sudden : so many tales brought us of this or that danger, of this man 
 suspedted, of that man sent for up, and such like unpleasant and unsavery stuffe : as 
 wee can never almost bee merry one whole day together. 
 
 Wherefore (quoth this Lady) wee that are of her Majesties traine and speciall 
 service, and doe not onely feel these things in our selves, but much more in the griefe 
 of her most excellent Majesty, whom wee see dayly molested herewith (being one of 
 the best natures, I am sure, that ever noble Princesse was indued with all :) wee 
 cannot but mone, to behold contentions advanced so farre foorth as they are : and wee 
 could wish most hartily that for the time to come, these matters might passe with such 
 peace, friendship and tranquility, as they doe in other Countries : where difference in 
 religion breaketh not the band of good fellowship, or fidelity. And with this in a 
 smiling manner, shee brake off: asking pardon of the company, if shee had spoken 
 her opinion, over boldly, like a woman. 
 
 To whom, answered a Courtier, that sat next her : Madame, your Ladiship hath 
 said nothing in this behalfe, that is not dayly debated among us, in our Common 
 speech in Court, as you know. Your desire also herein is a publique desire, if it might 
 bee brought to passe : for there is no man so simple, that seeth not, how perilous these 
 contentions and divisions among us, may bee in the end. And I have heard divers 
 Gentlemen, that bee learned, discourse at large upon this argument : alleaging old 
 examples of the Athenians, Lacedemonians , Carthagenians, and Romans, who received 
 notable dammages, and destrudtion also, in the end, by their divisions and fadlions 
 
Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 157 
 
 among themselves : and specially from them of their owne Cities and Countries, who 
 upon faaions lived abroad with Forrainers : and thereby were always as fire-brands to 
 carry home the flame of Warre, upon their Countrey. 
 
 The like, they also shewed by the long experience of all the great Cities and States 
 of Italy : which by their faftious aud foruscites^ were in continuall garboile, bloudshed 
 and misery. Whereof our owne Countrey hath tasted also her part, by the odious 
 contention betweene the Houses of Lancaster and Yorke : wherein it is marvailous to 
 consider, what trouble a few men oftentimes, departing out of the Realme, were able 
 to worke, by the part of their faftion remaining at home (which commonly encreaseth 
 towards them that are absent,) and by the readines of forraine Princes, to receive 
 alwayes, and comfort such, as are discontented in an other state : to the end, that by 
 their meanes, they might hold an ore in their neighbours bote : "Which, Princes that 
 are nigh borderers, doe alwayes, above all other things most covet and desire. 
 
 This was that Courtiers speech and reason, whereby I perceived, that as well 
 among them in Court, as among us in the Realm.e and Countrey abroad, the present 
 inconvenience and dangerous sequell of this our home dissension, is espied : and 
 consequently most English hearts inclined to wish the remedy or prevention thereof, 
 by some reasonable moderation, or re-union among our selves. For that the prosecu- 
 tion of these differences to extremity, cannot but after many wounds and exulcerations 
 bring matters finally to rage, fury and most deadly desperation. 
 
 Whereas on the other side, if any sweet qualification, or small tolleration among 
 us, were admitted : there is no doubt, but that affaires would passe in our Realme, 
 with more quietnes, safety and publique weale of the same, then it is like it will doe 
 long: and men would easily bee brought, that have English bowels, to joyne in the 
 preservation of their Countrey, from ruine, bloudshed, and forraine oppression, which 
 desperation of fadtions is wont to procure, 
 
 I am of your opinion (quoth the Gentleman) in that, for I have scene the 
 experience thereof, and all the World beholdeth the same at this day, in all the 
 Countries of Germany, Polonia, Boemland, and Hungary : where a little bearing of the 
 one with the other, hath wrought them much ease, and continued them a peace, 
 whereof all Europe besides, hath admiration and envy. The first douzen yeares also 
 of her Majesties raigne, whereof your Lady of the Court discoursed before, can well 
 bee a witnesse of the same : Wherein the commiseration and lenity that was used 
 towards those of the weaker sort, with a certaine sweet diligence for their gaining, by 
 good meanes, was the cause of much peace, contentation, and other benefit to the 
 
 whole body. 
 
 Wee see in France, that by over much pressing of one part onely, a fire was 
 inkindled not many yeares since, like to have consumed and destroyed the whole : had 
 not a necessary molification beene thought upon, by the wisest of that Kmg's Councell, 
 full contrary to the will and inclination of some great personages, who meant perhaps 
 to have gained more by the other. And since that time, wee see what peace, wealth 
 and re-union, hath insued in that Countrey, that was so broken, dissevered and wasted 
 before. And all this, by yeelding a little in that thing, which no force can master, but 
 exulcerate rather, and make worse: I meane the conscience and judgement of men m 
 matters of religion. 
 
 This perill of 
 divisions and 
 faiSions ia a 
 Common- 
 wealth. 
 
 The 
 
 dangerous 
 sequell of 
 dissention in 
 our Realme. 
 
 Gentltman. 
 
 Examples of 
 tolleration 
 in matters of 
 Religion. 
 
 Germany. 
 
 The breach 
 and re-union 
 againe in 
 Francs. 
 
Flanders. 
 
 Moderation 
 impugned 
 by the 
 conspirators. 
 
 Cicero. 
 
 Catcline. 
 
 The 
 
 Conspirators 
 
 opportunity. 
 
 Leicester 
 to be called 
 to account. 
 
 158 
 
 Leycester^s Commonwealth. 
 
 The like also I could name you in Flaunders, where after all these broyles and 
 miseries, of so many yeares warres (caused principally by too much streyning in such 
 affaires at the beginning) albeit, the King be never so stridl-laced, in yeelding to 
 publike liberty, and free exercise on both parts : yet is he descended to this at length 
 (and that upon force of reason) to abstain from the pursuite and search of mens 
 consciences, not onely in the townes, which upon composition hee receiveth, but also 
 where hee hath recovered by force, as in Tornay, and other places : where I am 
 informed that no man is searched, demanded, or molested for his opinion or conscience, 
 nor any aft of Papistry or contrary religion required at their hands : but are permitted 
 to Hue quietly to God and themselves, at home in their owne houses : so they perform 
 otherwise, their outward obedience and duties to their Prince and countrey. Which 
 only qualification, tollerance, and moderation in our Realme (if I be not deceived, with 
 many more that be of my opinion) would content all divisions, faftions, and parties 
 among us, for their continuance in peace : be they Papists, Puritanes, Familians, or of 
 whatsoever nice difference or sedlion besides, and would be sufficient to retaine all 
 parties, within a temperate obedience to the Magistrate and governement, for conser- 
 vation of their countrey : which were of no small importance to the contentation of 
 Her Majesty, and weale publike of the whole kingdome. 
 
 But what should I talke of this thing, which is so contrary to the desires and 
 designments of our puissant Conspirators ? What should Cicero the Senator use per- 
 swasions to Captaine Cateline, and his crew, that quietnesse and order were better then 
 hurleburlies ? Is it possible that our Aspirours will ever permit any such thing, cause, 
 or matter, to be treated in our state, as may tend to the stability of Her Majesties 
 present government. No surely, it standeth nothing with their wisedome or policie : 
 especially at this instant, when they have such opportunity of following their owne 
 adlions in Her Majesties name, under the vizard and pretext, of her defence and 
 safety : having sowed in every mans head, so many imaginations of the dangers 
 present both abroad and at home: from Scotland, Flanders, Spaine and Ireland: so 
 many conspiracies, so many intended murders, and others so many contrived or con- 
 ceived mischieves : as my Lord of Leicester assureth himselfe, that the troubled water 
 cannot bee cleared againe, in short space, nor his baits and lines laid therein, easily 
 espied : but rather, that hereby ere long, hee will catch the fish he gapeth so greedily 
 after : and in the meane time, for the pursute of these crimes, and other that daily he 
 will find out, himselfe must remaine perpetuall Di6lator. 
 
 But what meaneth this so much inculcating of troubles, treasons, murders, and 
 invasions ? I like not surely these ominous speeches. And as I am out of doubt, that 
 Leicester the caster of these shadowes, doth looke to play his part, first in these trouble- 
 some affaires : so doe I heartily feare, that unlesse the tyrranie of this Leicestrian fury 
 be speedily stopped, that such misery to Prince, and people (which the Lord for his 
 mercies sake turne from us) as never greater fell before to our miserable countrey : is 
 farre nearer hand then is expedled or suspedted. 
 
 And therefore, for prevention of these calamities, to tell you plainely mine opinion 
 (good Sirs) and therwith to draw to an end of this our conference (for it waxeth late : ) 
 I would thinke it the most necessary point of all for Her Majesty to call his Lordship 
 to account among other, and to see what other men could say against him, at length, 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 159 
 
 after so many yeares of his sole accusing and pursuing of others. I know and am very 
 well assured, that no one aft which Her Majesty hath done since her comming to the 
 Crowne (as she hath done right many most highly to be commended) nor any that 
 lightly Her Majesty may doe hereafter, can be of more vtilitie to Her selfe, and to the 
 Realme, or, more gratefull unto her faithfuU and zealous subiedls then this noble aft of 
 Justice would bee, for tryall of this mans deserts towards his countrey. 
 
 I say it would be profitable to Her Maiestie, and to the Realme, not only in 
 respea of the many dangers before mentioned, hereby to bee avoyded, which are like 
 to ensue most certainely, if his courses be still permitted : but also for that Her 
 Maiesty shall by this, deliver Her selfe from that generall grudge and griefe of mind, 
 with great dislike, which many subiefts, otherwise most faithfull, have conceived 
 against the excessive favour shewed to this man so many yeares, without desert or 
 reason. Which favour, he having used to the hurt, annoyance and oppression both of 
 infinit severall persons, and the whole Common-wealth (as hath beene said:) the 
 griefe and resentiment thereof, doth redound commonly in such cases, not onely upon 
 the person dilinquent alone, but also upon the Soveraigne, by whose favour and 
 authority hee ofifereth such iniuries, though never so much against the others intent, 
 will, desire, or meaning. 
 
 And hereof we have examples of sundry Princes, in all ages and countries ; whose 
 exorbitant favour to some wicked subiedl that abused the same : hath beene the cause 
 of great danger and ruin : the sinnes of the Favourite, being returned, and revenged 
 upon the Favourer. As in the Historic of the Grecians is declared, by occasion of the 
 pittifull murder of that wise and victorious Prince Philip of Macedonia, who albeit, that 
 he were well assured to have given no offence of himselfe to any of his subjects, and 
 consequently feared nothing, but conversed openly and confidently among them : yet, 
 for that hee had favoured too much one Duke Attalus, a proud and insolent Courtier, 
 and had borne him out in certaine of his wickednesse, or at least, not punished the 
 same after it was detefted and complayned upon : the parties grieved, accounting the 
 crime more proper and hainous on the part of him, who by office should doe iustice, 
 and proteft other, then of the Perpetrator, who followeth but his owne passion and 
 sensuality: let passe Attalus, and made their revenge upon the blood and life of the 
 King himselfe, by one Pausanius, suborned for that purpose, in the marriage day of 
 the Kings owne daughter. 
 
 Great store of like examples might be repeated, out of the stories of other 
 countries, nothing being more usuall or frequent among all nations, then the affliaions 
 of Realmes and kingdomes, and the overthrow of Princes and great Potentates them- 
 selves, by their too much affeftion sowards some unworthy particular persons: a thing 
 indeed so common and ordinary, as it may well seeme to be the specialest Rock of all 
 other, whereat Kings and Princes do make their shipwracks. 
 
 For if wee looke into the states and Monarchies of all Christendome, and consider 
 the ruines that have bin of any Princes or Ruler within the same : wee shall find this 
 point to have beene a great and principall part of the cause thereof : and in our owne 
 state and countrey, the matter is too too evident. For whereas, since the conquest 
 wee number principally, three iust and lawfull Kings : to have come to confusion, by 
 alienation of their subjedl : that is, Edward the second, Richard the second, and Henry 
 
 The death of 
 King Philip 
 of Maceionie, 
 and cause 
 thereof. 
 
 Pmisanias. 
 
 Kings of 
 England 
 overthrowne 
 by too much 
 favouring of 
 some parti- 
 cular men. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 1 60 
 
 K. Edward 2. 
 K. Richard 2. 
 
 K Henry 6. 
 
 Pol. lib. 25. 
 hist. Angl. 
 
 Lattyer. 
 
 The 
 
 punishment 
 of William 
 Duke of 
 Suffolke. 
 
 the sixt, this only point of too much favour towards wicked persons, was the chiefest 
 cause of destrudlion in all three. As in the first, the excessive favour towards Peter 
 Gaveston and two of the Spencers. In the second, the like extraordinary, and indiscreet 
 affedlion towards Robert Vere, Earle of Oxford, and Marquesse of Dubline, and Thomas 
 Mowbray, two most turbulent and wicked men, that set the King against his owne 
 Vncles and the Nobility. 
 
 In the third (being a simple and holy man) albeit, no great exorbitant affedlion 
 was seene towards any, yet his wife, Queene Margarets too much favour and credit (by 
 him not controled) towards the Marques of Suffolke, that after was made Duke, by 
 whose instindl and wicked counsell, she made away first the noble Duke of Glocester, 
 and afterward committed other things in great preiudice of the Realme, and suffered 
 the said most impious & sinfuU Duke, to range & make havocke of all sort of subiedls 
 at his pleasure (much after the fashion of the Earle of Leicester now, though yet not in 
 so high and extreme a degree : (this I say was the principall and originall cause, both 
 before God and man, (as Polidore well noteth) of all the calamity and extreme desola- 
 tion, which after ensued both to the King, Queene, and their only child, with the utter 
 extirpation of their family. 
 
 And so likewise now to speak in our particular case, if there be any grudge or 
 griefe at this day, any mislike, repining, complaint or murmure against Her Majesties 
 government, in the hearts of her true and faithfull subiedls, who wish amendment of 
 that which is amisse, and not the overthrow of that which is well : (as I trow it were no 
 wisdome to imagine there were none at all : ) I dare avouch upon conscience, that 
 either all, or the greatest part thereof, proceedeth from this man : who by the favour 
 of her Maiesty so aflidleth her people, as never did before him, either Gaveston, or 
 Spencer, or Vere, or Mowbray, or any other mischievous Tyrant, that abused most his 
 Princes favour within our Realme of England. Whereby it is evident, how profitable 
 a thing it should bee to the whole Realme how honourable to Her Maiestie, and how 
 gratefuU to all her subiedls, if this man at length might be called to his account. 
 
 Sir (quoth the Lawyer) you alleage great reason, and verily I am of opinion, that 
 if her Majesty knew but the tenth part of this, which you have here spoken, as also her 
 good subiedls desires and complaint in this behalfe : shee would well shew, that Her 
 Highnesse feareth not to permit iustice to passe upon Leicester, or any other within her 
 Realme, for satisfaction of her people, whatsoever some men may thinke and report to 
 the contrary, or howsoever otherwise of her owne mild disposition, or good affedtion 
 towards the person, shee have borne with him hitherto. For so wee see, that wise 
 Princes can doe at times convenient, for peace and tranquillity, and publike weale : 
 though contrary to their owne particular and peculiar inclination. 
 
 As to goe no further, then to the last example named and alleaged by your selfe 
 before : though Queene Margaret the wife of King Henry the sixt, had favoured most 
 unfortunately many yeares together, William Duke of Suffolke (as hath beene said) 
 whereby he committed manifold out-rages, and afiflidted the Realme by sundry meanes : 
 yet shee being a woman of great prudence, when she saw the whole Communalty 
 demand justice upon him for his demerites, albeit shee liked and loved the man still : 
 yet for satisfadlion of the people, upon so generall a complaint : she was content, first 
 to commit him to prison, and afterward to banish him the Realme : but the providence 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 i6i 
 
 of God would not permit him so to escape : for that hee being incountred, and taken 
 upon the sea in his passage, hee was beheaded in the ship, and so received some part 
 of condigne punishment for his most wicked, loose, and licentious life. 
 
 And to seeke no more examples in this case, and wee know into what favour and 
 speciall grace Sir Edmond Dudley my Lord of Leycesters good Grandfather was crept, 
 with King Henry the seventh, in the latter end of his raigne : and what intollerable 
 wickednesse and mischiefe hee wrought against the whole Realme, and against infinite 
 particular persons of the same, by the polings and oppressions which hee pradtised : 
 whereby though the King received great temporall commodity at that time, (as her 
 Majesty doth nothing at all, by the present extortions of his Nephew:) yet for justice 
 sake, and for meere compassion towards his affiidted subjedls, that complained 
 grievously of this iniquity: that most vertuous and wise Prince King Henry, was 
 content to put from him, this lewd instrument, and devilish suggestour of new 
 exadlions : whom his Sonne Henry, that insued in the Crowne, caused presently before 
 all other businesse, to bee called publiquely to accompt, and for his deserts to leefe his 
 head : So as where the interest of a whole Realme, or common cause of many, taketh 
 place : the private favour of any one, cannot stay a wise and godly Prince, (such as all 
 the World knoweth her Majesty to bee) from permitting justice to have her free 
 passage. 
 
 Truly it should not (quoth the Gentleman) for to that end were Princes first 
 eledted, and upon that consideration doe subjedls pay them both tribute and obedience: 
 to bee defended by them from injuries and oppressions, and to see lawes executed, and 
 justice exercised, upon and towards all men, with indifferency. And as for our 
 particular case of my Lord of Leycester, I doe not see in right and equity, how her 
 Majesty may deny this lawfull desire and petition of her people. For if her highnesse 
 doe permit and command the lawes dayly to passe upon thieves and murderers, 
 without exception, and that for one faft onely, as by experience wee see : how then can 
 it bee denied in this man, who in both kinds hath committed more enormous adls, then 
 may bee well recounted. 
 
 As in the first, of theft, not onely by spoiling and oppressing almost infinite 
 private men : but also whole Townes, Villages, Corporations, and Countries, by 
 robbing the Realme with inordinate licenses, by deceiving the Crowne, with racking, 
 changing and imbezeling the lands, by abusing his Prince and soveraign in selling his 
 favour both at home and abroad : with taking bribes for matter of justice, grace, 
 request, supplication, or whatsoever sute els may depend upon the Court, or of the 
 Princes authority : with setting at saile and making open market, of whatsoever her 
 Majesty can give, doe, or procure, bee it spirituall or temporall. In which sort of 
 trafifique, hee committeth more theft, often times in one day : then all the way-keepers, 
 cut-purses, cousiners, pirats, burglares, or other of that art in a whole yeare, within 
 the Realme. 
 
 And as for the second, which is murder, you have heard before somewhat said 
 and prooved : but yet nothing, to that which is thought to have beene in secret 
 committed upon divers occasions at divers times, in sundry persons, of different 
 calling in both sexes, by most variable meanes of killing, poisoning, charming, 
 inchanting, conjuring and the like : according to the diversity of men, places. 
 
 The 
 
 punishment 
 of Edmond 
 Dudley. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 The causes 
 why Princes 
 were chosen 
 and doe 
 receive 
 obedience. 
 
 Leycesters 
 Thefts. 
 
 Leycesters 
 murders. 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 162 
 
 A heape of 
 Ltyeesten 
 enormities 
 that would 
 bee ready at 
 the day of his 
 triall. 
 
 SchoUar. 
 
 Her Majesties 
 tender heart 
 towards the 
 Realme. 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Leycesters 
 desire, that 
 men should 
 think her 
 Majesty to 
 stand in feare 
 of him. 
 
 oportunities and instruments for the same. By all which meanes, I thinke, hee hath 
 more bloud lying upon his head at this day, crying vengeance against him at Gods 
 hands and her Majesty, then ever had private man in our Countrey before, were hee 
 never so wicked. 
 
 Whereto now, if wee add his other good behaviour, as his intollerable licentious- 
 nesse in all filthy kind and manner of carnality, with all sort of Wives, Friends and 
 Kinswomen : if wee add his injuries and dishonours, done hereby to infinite : if wee 
 add his treasons, treacheries and conspiracies about the Crowne ; his disloyall 
 behaviour and hatred against her Majesty, his ordinary lying, and common perjuring 
 himselfe, in all matters for his gaine, both great and small ; his rapes and most violent 
 extortions upon the poore ; his abusing of the Parliament and other places of justice, 
 with the Nobility and whole communalty besides ; if we add also his open injuries 
 which hee offereth dayly to religion, and the Ministers thereof, by tithing them, and 
 turning all to his owne gaine : together with his manifest and knowne tyranny pradlized 
 towards all estates abroad, throughout all Shires of the Kingdome : his dispoyling of 
 both the Vniversities, and discouraging of infinite notable wits there, from seeking 
 perfedtion of knowledge and learning, (which otherwise were like to become notable) 
 especially in Gods word (which giveth life unto the soule,) by defrauding them of the 
 price and reward proposed for their travaile in that kind, through his insatiable 
 Simoniacall contradls : if I say, wee should lay together all these enormities before her 
 Majesty, and thousands more in particular, which might and would bee gathered, 
 if his day of triall were but in hope to bee granted. I doe not see in equity and 
 reason, how her highnesse sitting in throne, and at the Royall Sterne, as shee doth, 
 could deny her subjedts this most lawfull request : considering, that every one of these 
 crimes apart, requireth justice of his owne nature : and much more all together ought 
 to obtaine the same, at the hands of any good and godly Magistrate in the World. 
 
 No doubt (quoth I) but that these considerations, must needs weigh much with 
 any zealous Prince, and much more with her most excellent Majesty : whose tender 
 heart towards her Realme and Subjedts, is very well knowne of all men. It is not to 
 bee thought also, but that her highnesse hath intelligence of divers of these matters 
 alleaged, though not perhaps of all. But what would you have her Majesty to doe ? 
 perhaps the consultation of this affaire, is not, what were convenient, but what is 
 expedient : not, what ought to bee done in justice, but what may bee done in safety. 
 You have described my Lord before to bee a great man, strongly furnished and 
 fortified for all events. What if it bee not secure to bark at the Beare that is so well 
 britched? I speake unto you but that which I heere in Cambridge and other places, 
 where I have passed : where every mans opinion is, that her Majesty standeth not in 
 free choise to doe what herselfe best liketh in that case, at this day. 
 
 I know (said the Gentleman) that Leycesters friends give it out every where, that 
 her Majesty now, is their good Lords prisoner, and that shee either will or must bee 
 diredted by him for the time to come, except shee will doe worse: Which thing his 
 Lordship is well contented should bee spred abroad, and believed, for two causes : the 
 one to hold the people thereby more in awe of himselfe, then of their Soveraigne : and 
 secondly to draw her Majestie indeed by degrees to feare him. For considering with 
 himselfe what he hath done : and that it is impossible in truth that ever Her Majesty 
 
Leycester's Commonwealth. 
 
 163 
 
 should love him again, or trust him after so many treacheries, as he well knoweth are 
 come to Her Highnesse understanding : hee thinketh that he hath no way of sure 
 standing, but by terrour, and opinion of his puissant greatnesse ; whereby hee would 
 hold Her Majesty, and the Realme in thraldome, as his father did in his time before 
 him. And then for that he well remembreth the true saying, Malus custos diuturnitatis, 
 metus : he must provide shortly that those which feare him, be not able to hurt him : 
 and consequently you know what must follow, by the example of King Edward, who 
 feared Duke Dudley extremely, for that hee had cut off his two Vncles heads, and the 
 Duke tooke order that hee should never live to revenge the same. For it is a setled 
 rule of Machivel, which the Dudleis doe observe : That, where you have once done a great 
 injury, there must you never forgive. 
 
 But I will tell you (my friends) and I will tell you no untruth, for that I know 
 what I speake herein, and am privie to the state of my Lord in this behalfe, and of 
 mens opinions and affedtions towards him within the Realme. Most certaine it is, that 
 he is strong by the present favour of the Prince (as hath been shewed before) in 
 respedl whereof, hee is admitted also as chiefe patron of the Huntington fadtion, though 
 neither loved, nor greatly trusted of the same : but let her Majesty once turne her 
 countenance aside from him in good earnest, and speake but the word only, that 
 justice shall take place against him : and I will undertake with gaging of both my life and 
 little lands that God hath given me, that without sturre or trouble, or any danger in 
 the world, the Beare shall be taken to Her Majesties hand, and fast chained to a stake, 
 with mouzel cord, collar and ring, and all other things necessary: for that Her Majesty 
 shall baite him at her pleasure, without all danger of byting, breaking loose, or any 
 other inconvenience whatsoever. 
 
 For (Sirs) you must not thinke, that this man holdeth any thing abroad in the 
 Realme but by violence, and that only upon her Majesties favour and countenance 
 towards him. Hee hath not any thing of his owne, either from his ancestors, or of 
 himselfe, to stay upon, in mens hearts or conceits : he hath not ancient nobility, as 
 other of our Realme have, wherby mens affedtions are greatly moved. His father lohn 
 Dudley was the first noble of his line : who raysed and made himselfe bigge by 
 supplanting of other, and by setting debate among the Nobility : as also his Grand- 
 father Edniond, a most wicked Promoter, and wretched Petifoger, enriched himself by 
 other mens mines : both of them condemned Traytors, though different in quality, the 
 one being a Cousener, and the other a Tyrant, and both of their vices conioyned, 
 colledted, and comprised (with many more additions) in this man (or beast rather) 
 which is Robert, the third of their kinne and kind. So that, from his ancestors, this 
 Lord receiveth neither honour nor honesty, but only succession of treason and infamy. 
 
 And yet in himselfe hath hee much lesse of good, wherewith to procure himselfe 
 love or credit among men, then these ancestors of his had ; he being a man wholly 
 abandoned of humane vertue, and devoted to wickednesse, which maketh men odible 
 both to God and man. In his father (no doubt) there were to bee scene many 
 excellent good parts, if they had beene ioyned, with faith, honesty, moderation, and 
 loyaltie. For all the world knoweth, that he was very wise, valiant, magnanimous, 
 liberall, and assured friendly where hee once promised : of all which vertues, my Lord 
 his Sonne, hath neither shew nor shadow, but only a certaine false representation of 
 
 Cicero in 
 Officio. 
 
 A rule of 
 Machivell 
 observed by 
 the Dudlies. 
 
 Leycest. strong 
 only by Her 
 Majesties 
 favour. 
 
 An offer made 
 for taking and 
 tying the 
 Bear. 
 
 Leicester 
 what he 
 receiveth 
 from his 
 ancestors. 
 
 The 
 
 Comparison 
 of Leicester 
 with his 
 father. 
 
. Leycestefs Commonwealth. 
 
 164 
 
 The 
 
 weakenesse 
 of Leist. if 
 her Majesty 
 turne but her 
 countenance 
 from him. 
 
 Lawyer. 
 
 The end and 
 departure 
 from the 
 Gallerie. 
 
 the first, being crafty and subtile to deceive, and ingenious to wickednesse. For as for 
 valour, he hath as much as hath a mouse: his magnanimity, is base sordidity: his 
 liberality, rapine : his friendship, plaine fraud, holding only for his gaine, and no other- 
 wise, though it were bound with a thousand oaths ; of which he maketh as great 
 account, as hens doe of cackling, but only for his commodity ; using them specially, 
 and in greatest number, when most hee meaneth to deceive. Namely, if he sweare 
 solemnely by his George, or by the eternall God, then be sure it is a false lye : for these 
 are observations in the Court : and sometimes in his owne lodging ; in like case his 
 manner is to take up and sweare by the Bible, whereby a Gentleman of good account, 
 and one that seemeth to follow him (as many doe that like him but a little) protested 
 to me of his knowledge, that in a very short space, he observed him, wittingly and 
 willingly, to be forsworne sixteene times. 
 
 This man therefore, so contemptible by his ancestors, so odible of himselfe, so 
 plunged, overwhelmed,. and defamed in all vice, so envied in the Court, so detested in 
 the countrey, and not trusted of his own and dearest friends ; nay (which I am privie 
 to) so misliked and hated of his owne servants about him, for his beastly life, nigardy, 
 and Atheisme (being never scene yet, to say one private prayer within his Chamber in 
 his life) as they desire nothing in this world so much as his ruine, and that they may 
 be the first, to lay hands upon him for revenge. This man (I say) so broken both 
 within and without, is it possible that Her Majesty, and her wise Councell should 
 feare ? I can never beleeve it ; or if it be so, it is Gods permission without all cause, 
 for punishment of our sinnes : for that this man, if hee once perceive indeed that they 
 feare him, will handle them accordingly, and play the Beare indeed : Which incon- 
 venience I hope they will have care to prevent, and so I leave it to God, and them ; 
 craving pardon of my Lord of Leicester for my boldnesse, if I have beene too plaine 
 with him. And so" I pray you let us goe to supper, for I see my servant expecting 
 yonder at the gallerie doore, to call us downe. 
 
 To that, said the Lawyer, I am content with all my heart ; and I would it had 
 beene sooner, for that I am afraid, lest any by chance have over-heard us here since 
 night. For my owne part, I must say, that I have not beene at such a conference this 
 seven yeares, nor meane to be hereafter, if I may escape well with this; wherof I am 
 sure I shall dreame this fort-night, and think oftner of my Lord of Leicester, then ever 
 I had entended: God amend him and me both. But if ever I heare at other hands of 
 these matters hereafter, I shall surely be quak-britch, and thinke every bush a theefe. 
 And with that, came up the Mistris of the house, to fetch us downe to supper, and so 
 all was husht, saving that at supper a Gentleman or two began againe to speake of my 
 Lord, and that so conformable to some of our former speech (as indeed it is the 
 common talke at tables every where) that the old Lawyer began to shrink and be 
 appaled and to cast dry lookes upon the Gentleman our friend, doubting least 
 something had beene discovered of our conference. But indeed it was not so. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
PIA ET VTILIS MEDITATIO, 
 
 desumpta ex libro lobi. Cap. 20. 
 
 JLTOC scio a principio, ex quo positus est homo super terrain, quodlaus impiorum, brevis 
 fit, ex gaudmm hipocritce ad instar pun6ii. Si ascendent usq ad caelum superbia 
 eius, et caput eius nubes tetigerit : quasi sterqiiilinium in fine perdetur, et qui euni videranf, 
 dicent, ubi est ? velut soninium avolans non invenietur, transiet sicut visio no£lurna. Oculus 
 qui eum viderat, non videbit, neq ; ultra intuebitur eum locus suus. Filii ejus atterentur 
 egestate, & manus illius reddent ei laborem suum. Ossa ejus implebuntur vitiis adolescenties 
 eius, & cum eo in pulvere dormient. Panis eius in utero illius ; vertetur in fel aspidum 
 intrinsecus. Divitias quas devoravit, e. vomet, & de ventre illius extrahet eas Deus. Caput 
 aspidum surget, & occidet eum linguam viprce. Luet quce fecit omnia, nee tamen consumetur. 
 luxta multitudinem adinventionum suarum, sic & sustinebit. Quoniam confringens nudabit 
 pauperes : domum rapuit, & non cedificavit earn : nee est satiatus venter eius, & cum habuerit 
 qucB concupierit, possidere non poterit. Non remansit de cibo eius, & propterea non permanebit 
 de bonis eius. Cum satiatus fuerit, ar£labitur, cestuabit, & omnis dolor irruet super eum. 
 
 Vtinam impleatur venter eius, ut imitat in eum (Deus) iram furoris sui, & pluat super 
 ilium bellum suum. Fugiet arma ferrea, & irruet in arcum cereum. Gladius eduSlus & 
 egrediens de vagina sua, & fulgurans in amaritudine sua : Omnes tenebrace absconditce 
 sunt in occultis eius. Devorabit eum ignis qui non succenditur, affligetur reli6tus in taber- 
 naculo suo. Aperiumerit germen domus illius, detrahetur in die furoris dei. Hcsc est pars 
 hominis impii, a deo, & hcereditas verborum eius a domino. 
 
 (165) 
 
A GODLY AND PROFITABLE MEDITATION, 
 
 taken out of the 20 Chapter of the Books of Job. 
 
 The wicked 
 mans pompe. 
 
 His joy. 
 His pride. 
 His fall. 
 
 His children. 
 
 His old age. 
 
 His bread. 
 
 His 
 restitution. 
 
 His 
 punishment. 
 
 His 
 
 wickednesse. 
 
 His griefe. 
 His affliaion. 
 
 His 
 damnation. 
 
 His posterity. 
 
 nnHIS I know from the first, that man was placed upon earth, that the praise (or 
 -■■ applause) given to wicked men, endureth but a little, and the joy of an hypocrite, 
 is but for a moment. Though his pride were so great as to mount to heaven, and his 
 head should touch the skies : yet in the end shall hee come to perdition as a dung-hill, 
 and they who beheld him (in glory before) shall say, where is hee ? he shall bee found 
 as a flying dreame, and as a phantasie by night shall fade away. The eye that beheld 
 him before, shall no more see him, not yet shall his place (of honour) ever more behold 
 him. His children shall bee worne out with beggary, and his owne hands shall returne 
 upon him his sorrow. His (old) bones shall bee replenished with the vices of his youth, 
 and they shall sleepe with him in his grave. His bread in his belly, shall be turned 
 inwardly into the gaule of Serpents. The riches which hee hath devoured, hee shall 
 vomit foorth againe, and God shall pull them foorth of his belly. Hee shall suck the 
 head of Cocatrices, and the (venemous) tongues of adders shall slay him. Hee shall 
 sustaine due punishment for all the wickednesse that hee hath committed, nor yet 
 shall hee have end or consumation thereof. Hee shall suffer according to the multi- 
 tude of all his wicked inventions. For that by violence hee hath spoiled the poore, 
 made havock of his house, and not builded the same. His wombe is never satisfied, 
 and yet when hee hath that which hee desired, hee shall not bee able to possesse the 
 same. There remaineth no part of his meat (for the poore :) and therefore there shall 
 remaine nothing of his goods. When his belly is full, then shall hee begin to bee 
 straitened, then shall hee sweat, and all kind of sorrow shall rush upon him. I would 
 his belly were once full, that God might send foorth upon him the rage of his fury, and 
 raine upon him his warre. Hee shall flie away from iron weapons, and runne upon a 
 bow of brasse. A drawne sword comming out of his skabard shall flash as lightning in 
 his bitternesse. All darknesse lie hidden for him in secret : the fire that needeth no 
 kindling shall devoure him, and hee shall bee tormented alone in his tabernacle. The 
 ofi"-spring of his house shall bee made open, and pulled downe, in the day of Gods 
 fury. This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and this is the inheritance of his 
 substance from the Lord. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 (166) 
 
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