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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Commonwealth of Oceana + +Author: James Harrington + +Release Date: December 27, 2008 [EBook #2801] +Last Updated: November 7, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COMMONWEALTH OF OCEANA *** + + +Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer, and David Widger + + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + OCEANA + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By James Harrington + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION TO OCEANA </a> + </p> + <br /> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> <b>OCEANA</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PART"> PART I. THE PRELIMINARIES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PART2"> PART II. THE COUNCIL OF LEGISLATORS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PART3"> PART III. THE MODEL OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF + OCEANA </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PART4"> PART IV. THE COROLLARY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> DESCRIPTION OF OCEANA </a> + </p> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + INTRODUCTION TO OCEANA + </h2> + <p> + JAMES HARRINGTON, eldest son of Sir Sapcotes Harrington of Exton, in + Rutlandshire, was born in the reign of James I, in January, 1611, five + years before the death of Shakespeare. He was two or three years younger + than John Milton. His great-grandfather was Sir James Harrington, who + married Lucy, daughter of Sir William Sidney, lived with her to their + golden wedding-day, and had eighteen children, through whom he counted + himself, before his death, patriarch in a family that in his own time + produced eight dukes, three marquises, seventy earls, twenty-seven + viscounts, and thirty-six barons, sixteen of them all being Knights of the + Garter. James Harrington’s ideal of a commonwealth was the design, + therefore, of a man in many ways connected with the chief nobility of + England. + </p> + <p> + Sir Sapcotes Harrington married twice, and had by each of his wives two + sons and two daughters. James Harrington was eldest son by the first + marriage, which was to Jane, daughter of Sir William Samuel of Upton, in + Northamptonshire. James Harrington’s brother became a merchant; of his + half-brothers, one went to sea, the other became a captain in the army. + </p> + <p> + As a child, James Harrington was studious, and so sedate that it was said + playfully of him he rather kept his parents and teachers in awe than + needed correction; but in after-life his quick wit made him full of + playfulness in conversation. In 1629 he entered Trinity College, Oxford, + as a gentleman commoner. There he had for tutor William Chillingworth, a + Fellow of the college, who after conversion to the Church of Rome had + reasoned his way back into Protestant opinions. Chillingworth became a + famous champion of Protestantism in the question between the Churches, + although many Protestants attacked him as unsound because he would not + accept the Athanasian Creed and had some other reservations. + </p> + <p> + Harrington prepared himself for foreign travel by study of modern + languages, but before he went abroad, and while he was still under age, + his father died and he succeeded to his patrimony. The socage tenure of + his estate gave him free choice of his own guardian, and he chose his + mother’s mother, Lady Samuel. + </p> + <p> + He then began the season of travel which usually followed studies at the + university, a part of his training to which he had looked forward with + especial interest. He went first to Holland, which had been in Queen + Elizabeth’s time the battle-ground of civil and religious liberty. Before + he left England he used to say he knew of monarchy, anarchy, aristocracy, + democracy, oligarchy, only as hard words to be looked for in a dictionary. + But his interest in problems of government began to be awakened while he + was among the Dutch. He served in the regiment of Lord Craven, and + afterward in that of Sir Robert Stone; was much at The Hague; became + familiar with the Court of the Prince of Orange, and with King James’s + daughter, the Queen of Bohemia, who, with her husband the Prince Elector, + was then a fugitive to Holland. Lord Harrington, who had once acted as + governor to the princess, and won her affection, was James Harrington’s + uncle, and she now cordially welcomed the young student of life for his + uncle’s sake, and for his own pleasantness of outward wit and inward + gravity of thought. Harrington was taken with him by the exiled and + plundered Prince Elector, when he paid a visit to the Court of Denmark, + and he was intrusted afterward with the chief care of the prince’s affairs + in England. + </p> + <p> + From Holland, James Harrington passed through Flanders into France, and + thence to Italy. When he came back to England, some courtiers who were + with him in Rome told Charles I that Harrington had been too squeamish at + the Pope’s consecration of wax lights, in refusing to obtain a light, as + others did, by kissing his Holiness’s toe. The King told Harrington that + he might have complied with a custom which only signified respect to a + temporal prince. But his Majesty was satisfied with the reply, that having + had the honor to kiss his Majesty’s hand, he thought it beneath him to + kiss any other prince’s foot. + </p> + <p> + Of all places in Italy, Venice pleased Harrington best. He was deeply + interested in the Venetian form of government, and his observations bore + fruit in many suggestions for the administration of the Commonwealth of + Oceana. + </p> + <p> + After his return to England, being of age, James Harrington cared actively + for the interests of his younger brothers and sisters. It was he who made + his brother William a merchant. William Harrington throve, and for his + ingenuity in matters of construction he was afterward made one of the + Fellows of the newly formed Royal Society. He took pains over the training + of his sisters, making no difference between sisters and half-sisters, + and treating his step-mother as a mother. He filled his home with + loving-kindness, and was most liberal in giving help to friends. When he + was told that he often threw away his bounty on ungrateful persons, he + playfully told his advisers they were mercenary and that he saw they sold + their gifts, since they expected so great a return as gratitude. + </p> + <p> + James Harrington’s bent was for the study of life, and he made no active + suit for court employment. But he went to court, where Charles I liked + him, and admitted him as one of his privy chamber extraordinary, in which + character he went with the King in his first expedition against the Scots. + </p> + <p> + Because Charles I knew him and liked him, and because he had shown himself + no partisan of either side in the civil war, though he was known to be + inclined, in the way of abstract opinion, toward a form of government that + was not monarchy, the commissioners appointed in 1646 to bring Charles + from Newcastle named Harrington as one of the King’s attendants. The King + was pleased, and Harrington was appointed a groom of the bedchamber at + Holmby. He followed faithfully the fortunes of the fallen King, never + saying even to the King himself a word in contradiction of his own + principles of liberty, and finding nothing in his principles or in his + temper that should prevent him from paying honor to his sovereign, and + seeking to secure for him a happy issue out of his afflictions. Antony à + Wood says that, “His Majesty loved Harrington’s company, and, finding him + to be an ingenious man, chose rather to converse with him than with others + of his chamber: they had often discourses concerning government; but when + they happened to talk of a commonwealth the King seemed not to endure it.” + </p> + <p> + Harrington used all the influence he had with those in whose power the + King was, to prevent the urging of avoidable questions that would stand + in the way of such a treaty as they professed to seek during the King’s + imprisonment at Carisbrooke. Harrington’s friendly interventions on the + King’s behalf before the Parliament commissioners at Newport caused him, + indeed, to be suspected; and when the King was removed from Carisbrooke to + Hurst Castle, Harrington was not allowed to remain in his service. But + afterward, when King Charles was being taken to Windsor, Harrington got + leave to bid him farewell at the door of his carriage. As he was about to + kneel, the King took him by the hand and pulled him in. For a few days he + was left with the King, but an oath was required of him that he would not + assist in, or conceal knowledge of any attempt to procure, the King’s + escape. He would not take the oath; and was this time not only dismissed + from the King’s service but himself imprisoned, until Ireton obtained his + release. Before the King’s death, Harrington found his way to him again, + and he was among those who were with Charles I upon the scaffold. + </p> + <p> + After the King’s execution, Harrington was for some time secluded in his + study. Monarchy was gone; some form of commonwealth was to be established; + and he set to work upon the writing of “Oceana,” calmly to show what form + of government, since men were free to choose, to him seemed best. + </p> + <p> + He based his work on an opinion he had formed that the troubles of the + time were not due wholly to the intemperance of faction, the misgovernment + of a king, or the stubbornness of a people, but to change in the balance + of property; and he laid the foundations of his commonwealth in the + opinion that empire follows the balance of property. Then he showed the + commonwealth of Oceana in action, with safeguards against future shiftings + of that balance, and with a popular government in which all offices were + filled by men chosen by ballot, who should hold office for a limited term. + Thus there was to be a constant flow of new blood through the political + system, and the representative was to be kept true as a reflection of the + public mind. + </p> + <p> + The Commonwealth of Oceana was England. Harrington called Scotland + Marpesia; and Ireland, Panopea. London he called Emporium; the Thames, + Halcionia; Westminster, Hiera; Westminster Hall, Pantheon. The Palace of + St. James was Alma; Hampton Court, Convallium; Windsor, Mount Celia. By + Hemisna, Harrington meant the river Trent. Past sovereigns of England he + renamed for Oceana: William the Conqueror became Turbo; King John, Adoxus; + Richard II, Dicotome; Henry VII, Panurgus; Henry VIII, Coraunus; + Elizabeth, Parthenia; James I, Morpheus. He referred to Hobbes as + Leviathan; and to Francis Bacon, as Verulamius. Oliver Cromwell he renamed + Olphaus Megaletor. + </p> + <p> + Harrington’s book was seized while printing, and carried to Whitehall. + Harrington went to Cromwell’s daughter, Lady Claypole, played with her + three-year-old child while waiting for her, and said to her, when she came + and found him with her little girl upon his lap, “Madam, you have come in + the nick of time, for I was just about to steal this pretty lady.” “Why + should you?” “Why shouldn’t I, unless you cause your father to restore a + child of mine that he has stolen?” It was only, he said, a kind of + political romance; so far from any treason against her father that he + hoped she would let him know it was to be dedicated to him. So the book + was restored; and it was published in the time of Cromwell’s Commonwealth, + in the year 1656. + </p> + <p> + This treatise, which had its origin in the most direct pressure of the + problem of government upon the minds of men continues the course of + thought on which Machiavelli’s “Prince” had formed one famous station, and + Hobbes’s “Leviathan,” another. + </p> + <p> + “Oceana,” when published, was widely read and actively attacked. One + opponent of its doctrines was Dr. Henry Ferne, afterward Bishop of + Chester. Another was Matthew Wren, eldest son to the Bishop of Ely. He was + one of those who met for scientific research at the house of Dr. Wilkins, + and had, said Harrington, “an excellent faculty of magnifying a louse and + diminishing a commonwealth.” + </p> + <p> + In 1659, Harrington published an abridgment of his Oceana as “The Art of + Lawgiving,” in three books. Other pieces followed, in which he defended or + developed his opinions. He again urged them when Cromwell’s Commonwealth + was in its death-throes. Then he fell back upon argument at nightly + meetings of a Rota Club which met in the New Palace Yard, Westminster. + Milton’s old pupil, Cyriac Skinner, was one of its members; and its + elections were by ballot, with rotation in the tenure of all offices. The + club was put an end to at the Restoration, when Harrington retired to his + study and amused himself by putting his “System of Politics” into the form + of “Aphorisms.” + </p> + <p> + On December 28, 1661, James Harrington, then fifty years old, was arrested + and carried to the Tower as a traitor. His Aphorisms were on his desk, and + as they also were to be carried off, he asked only that they might first + be stitched together in their proper order. Why he was arrested, he was + not told. One of his sisters pleaded in vain to the King. He was falsely + accused of complicity in an imaginary plot, of which nothing could be made + by its investigators. No heed was paid to the frank denials of a man of + the sincerest nature, who never had concealed his thoughts or actions. + “Why,” he was asked, at his first examination by Lord Lauderdale, who was + one of his kinsmen, “why did he, as a private man, meddle with politics? + What had a private man to do with government?” His answer was: “My lord, + there is not any public person, nor any magistrate, that has written on + politics, worth a button. All they that have been excellent in this way + have been private men, as private men, my lord, as myself. There is Plato, + there is Aristotle, there is Livy, there is Machiavel. My lord, I can sum + up Aristotle’s ‘Politics’ in a very few words: he says, there is the + Barbarous Monarchy—such a one where the people have no votes in + making the laws; he says, there is the Heroic Monarchy—such a one + where the people have their votes in making the laws; and then, he says, + there is Democracy, and affirms that a man cannot be said to have liberty + but in a democracy only.” Lord Lauderdale here showing impatience, + Harrington added: “I say Aristotle says so. I have not said so much. And + under what prince was it? Was it not under Alexander, the greatest prince + then in the world? I beseech you, my lord, did Alexander hang up + Aristotle? did he molest him? Livy, for a commonwealth, is one of the + fullest authors; did not he write under Augustus Caesar? Did Caesar hang + up Livy? did he molest him? Machiavel, what a commonwealthsman was he! but + he wrote under the Medici when they were princes in Florence: did they + hang up Machiavel, or did they molest him? I have done no otherwise than + as the greatest politicians: the King will do no otherwise than as the + greatest princes.” + </p> + <p> + That was too much to hope, even in a dream, of the low-minded Charles II. + Harrington could not obtain even the show of justice in a public trial. He + was kept five months an untried prisoner in the Tower, only sheltered from + daily brutalities by bribe to the lieutenant. When his habeas corpus had + been moved for, it was at first flatly refused; and when it had been + granted, Harrington was smuggled away from the Tower between one and two + o’clock in the morning, and carried on board a ship that took him to + closer imprisonment on St. Nicholas Island, opposite Plymouth. There his + health suffered seriously, and his family obtained his removal to + imprisonment in Plymouth by giving a bond of £5,000 as sureties against + his escape. In Plymouth, Harrington suffered from scurvy, and at last he + became insane. + </p> + <p> + When he had been made a complete wreck in body and in mind, his gracious + Majesty restored Harrington to his family. He never recovered health, but + still occupied himself much with his pen, writing, among other things, a + serious argument to prove that they were themselves mad who thought him + so. + </p> + <p> + In those last days of his shattered life James Harrington married an old + friend of the family, a witty lady, daughter of Sir Marmaduke Dorrell, of + Buckinghamshire. Gout was added to his troubles; then he was palsied; and + he died at Westminster, at the age of sixty-six, on September 11, 1677. He + was buried in St. Margaret’s Church, by the grave of Sir Walter Raleigh, + on the south side of the altar. + </p> + <p> + H. M. <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + OCEANA + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART" id="link2H_PART"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PART I. THE PRELIMINARIES + </h2> + <h3> + Showing the Principles of Government + </h3> + <p> + JANOTTI, the most excellent describer of the Commonwealth of Venice, + divides the whole series of government into two times or periods: the one + ending with the liberty of Rome, which was the course or empire, as I may + call it, of ancient prudence, first discovered to mankind by God himself + in the fabric of the commonwealth of Israel, and afterward picked out of + his footsteps in nature, and unanimously followed by the Greeks and + Romans; the other beginning with the arms of Caesar, which, extinguishing + liberty, were the transition of ancient into modern prudence, introduced + by those inundations of Huns, Goths, Vandals, Lombards, Saxons, which, + breaking the Roman Empire, deformed the whole face of the world with those + ill-features of government, which at this time are become far worse in + these western parts, except Venice, which, escaping the hands of the + barbarians by virtue of its impregnable situation, has had its eye fixed + upon ancient prudence, and is attained to a perfection even beyond the + copy. + </p> + <p> + Relation being had to these two times, government (to define it de jure, + or according to ancient prudence) is an art whereby a civil society of men + is instituted and preserved upon the foundation of common right or + interest; or, to follow Aristotle and Livy, it is the empire of laws, and + not of men. + </p> + <p> + And government (to define it de facto, or according to modern prudence) is + an art whereby some man, or some few men, subject a city or a nation, and + rule it according to his or their private interest; which, because the + laws in such cases are made according to the interest of a man, or of some + few families, may be said to be the empire of men, and not of laws. + </p> + <p> + The former kind is that which Machiavel (whose books are neglected) is the + only politician that has gone about to retrieve; and that Leviathan (who + would have his book imposed upon the universities) goes about to destroy. + For “it is,” says he, “another error of Aristotle’s politics that in a + well-ordered commonwealth, not men should govern, but the laws. What man + that has his natural senses, though he can neither write nor read, does + not find himself governed by them he fears, and believes can kill or hurt + him when he obeys not? or, who believes that the law can hurt him, which + is but words and paper, without the hands and swords of men?” I confess + that the magistrate upon his bench is that to the law which a gunner upon + his platform is to his cannon. Nevertheless, I should not dare to argue + with a man of any ingenuity after this manner. A whole army, though they + can neither write nor read, are not afraid of a platform, which they know + is but earth or stone; nor of a cannon, which, without a hand to give fire + to it, is but cold iron; therefore a whole army is afraid of one man. But + of this kind is the ratiocination of Leviathan, as I shall show in divers + places that come in my way, throughout his whole politics, or worse; as + where he says, “of Aristotle and of Cicero, of the Greeks, and of the + Romans, who lived under popular States, that they derived those rights, + not from the principles of nature, but transcribed them into their books + out of the practice of their own commonwealths, as grammarians describe + the rules of language out of poets.” Which is as if a man should tell + famous Harvey that he transcribed his circulation of the blood, not out of + the principles of nature, but out of the anatomy of this or that body. + </p> + <p> + To go on therefore with his preliminary discourse, I shall divide it, + according to the two definitions of government relating to Janotti’s two + times, in two parts: the first, treating of the principles of government + in general, and according to the ancients; the second, treating of the + late governments of Oceana in particular, and in that of modern prudence. + </p> + <p> + Government, according to the ancients, and their learned disciple + Machiavel, the only politician of later ages, is of three kinds: the + government of one man, or of the better sort, or of the whole people; + which, by their more learned names, are called monarchy, aristocracy, and + democracy. These they hold, through their proneness to degenerate, to be + all evil. For whereas they that govern should govern according to reason, + if they govern according to passion they do that which they should not do. + Wherefore, as reason and passion are two things, so government by reason + is one thing, and the corruption of government by passion is another + thing, but not always another government: as a body that is alive is one + thing, and a body that is dead is another thing, but not always another + creature, though the corruption of one comes at length to be the + generation of another. The corruption then of monarchy is called tyranny; + that of aristocracy, oligarchy and that of democracy, anarchy. But + legislators, having found these three governments at the best to be + naught, have invented another, consisting of a mixture of them all, which + only is good. This is the doctrine of the ancients. + </p> + <p> + But Leviathan is positive that they are all deceived, and that there is no + other government in nature than one of the three; as also that the flesh + of them cannot stink, the names of their corruptions being but the names + of men’s fancies, which will be understood when we are shown which of them + was Senatus Populusque Romanus. + </p> + <p> + To go my own way, and yet to follow the ancients, the principles of + government are twofold: internal, or the goods of the mind; and external, + or the goods of fortune. The goods of the mind are natural or acquired + virtues, as wisdom, prudence, and courage, etc. The goods of fortune are + riches. There be goods also of the body, as health, beauty, strength; but + these are not to be brought into account upon this score, because if a man + or an army acquires victory or empire, it is more from their discipline, + arms, and courage than from their natural health, beauty, or strength, in + regard that a people conquered may have more of natural strength, beauty, + and health, and yet find little remedy. The principles of government then + are in the goods of the mind, or in the goods of fortune. To the goods of + the mind answers authority; to the goods of fortune, power or empire. + Wherefore Leviathan, though he be right where he says that “riches are + power,” is mistaken where he says that “prudence, or the reputation of + prudence, is power;” for the learning or prudence of a man is no more + power than the learning or prudence of a book or author, which is properly + authority. A learned writer may have authority though he has no power; and + a foolish magistrate may have power, though he has otherwise no esteem or + authority. The difference of these two is observed by Livy in Evander, of + whom he says that he governed rather by the authority of others than by + his own power. + </p> + <p> + To begin with riches, in regard that men are hung upon these, not of + choice as upon the other, but of necessity and by the teeth; forasmuch as + he who wants bread is his servant that will feed him, if a man thus feeds + a whole people, they are under his empire. + </p> + <p> + Empire is of two kinds, domestic and national, or foreign and provincial. + </p> + <p> + Domestic empire is founded upon dominion. Dominion is property, real or + personal; that is to say, in lands, or in money and goods. + </p> + <p> + Lands, or the parts and parcels of a territory, are held by the proprietor + or proprietors, lord or lords of it, in some proportion; and such (except + it be in a city that has little or no land, and whose revenue is in trade) + as is the proportion or balance of dominion or property in land, such is + the nature of the empire. + </p> + <p> + If one man be sole landlord of a territory, or overbalance the people, for + example, three parts in four, he is grand seignior; for so the Turk is + called from his property, and his empire is absolute monarchy. + </p> + <p> + If the few or a nobility, or a nobility with the clergy, be landlords, or + overbalance the people to the like proportion, it makes the Gothic balance + (to be shown at large in the second part of this discourse), and the + empire is mixed monarchy, as that of Spain, Poland, and late of Oceana. + </p> + <p> + And if the whole people be landlords, or hold the lands so divided among + them that no one man, or number of men, within the compass of the few or + aristocracy, overbalance them, the empire (without the interposition of + force) is a commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + If force be interposed in any of these three cases, it must either frame + the government to the foundation, or the foundation to the government; or + holding the government not according to the balance, it is not natural, + but violent; and therefore if it be at the devotion of a prince, it is + tyranny; if at the devotion of the few, oligarchy; or if in the power of + the people, anarchy: Each of which confusions, the balance standing + otherwise, is but of short continuance, because against the nature of the + balance, which, not destroyed, destroys that which opposes it. + </p> + <p> + But there be certain other confusions, which, being rooted in the balance, + are of longer continuance, and of worse consequence; as, first, where a + nobility holds half the property, or about that proportion, and the people + the other half; in which case, without altering the balance there is no + remedy but the one must eat out the other, as the people did the nobility + in Athens, and the nobility the people in Rome. Secondly, when a prince + holds about half the dominion, and the people the other half (which was + the case of the Roman emperors, planted partly upon their military + colonies and partly upon the Senate and the people), the government + becomes a very shambles, both of the princes and the people. Somewhat of + this nature are certain governments at this day, which are said to subsist + by confusion. In this case, to fix the balance is to entail misery; but in + the three former, not to fix it is to lose the government. Wherefore it + being unlawful in Turkey that any should possess land but the Grand + Seignior, the balance is fixed by the law, and that empire firm. Nor, + though the kings often sell was the throne of Oceana known to shake, until + the statute of alienations broke the pillars, by giving way to the + nobility to sell their estates. While Lacedaemon held to the division of + land made by Lycurgus, it was immovable; but, breaking that, could stand + no longer. This kind of law fixing the balance in lands is called + agrarian, and was first introduced by God himself, who divided the land of + Canaan to his people by lots, and is of such virtue that wherever it has + held, that government has not altered, except by consent; as in that + unparalleled example of the people of Israel, when being in liberty they + would needs choose a king. But without an agrarian law, government, + whether monarchical, aristocratical, or popular, has no long lease. + </p> + <p> + As for dominion, personal or in money, it may now and then stir up a + Melius or a Manlius, which, if the Commonwealth be not provided with some + kind of dictatorian power, may be dangerous, though it has been seldom or + never successful; because to property producing empire, it is required + that it should have some certain root or foothold, which, except in land, + it cannot have, being otherwise as it were upon the wing. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, in such cities as subsist mostly by trade, and have little + or no land, as Holland and Genoa, the balance of treasure may be equal to + that of land in the cases mentioned. + </p> + <p> + But Leviathan, though he seems to skew at antiquity, following his furious + master Carneades, has caught hold of the public sword, to which he reduces + all manner and matter of government; as, where he affirms this opinion + (that any monarch receives his power by covenant; that is to say, upon + conditions) “to proceed from the not understanding this easy truth, that + covenants being but words and breath, have no power to oblige, contain, + constrain, or protect any man, but what they have from the public sword.” + But as he said of the law, that without this sword it is but paper, so he + might have thought of this sword, that without a hand it is but cold iron. + The hand which holds this sword is the militia of a nation; and the + militia of a nation is either an army in the field, or ready for the field + upon occasion. But an army is a beast that has a great belly, and must be + fed: wherefore this will come to what pastures you have, and what pastures + you have will come to the balance of property, without which the public + sword is but a name or mere spitfrog. Wherefore, to set that which + Leviathan says of arms and of contracts a little straighter, he that can + graze this beast with the great belly, as the Turk does his Timariots, may + well deride him that imagines he received his power by covenant, or is + obliged to any such toy. It being in this case only that covenants are but + words and breath. But if the property of the nobility, stocked with their + tenants and retainers, be the pasture of that beast, the ox knows his + master’s crib; and it is impossible for a king in such a constitution to + reign otherwise than by covenant; or if he break it, it is words that come + to blows. + </p> + <p> + “But,” says he, “when an assembly of men is made sovereign, then no man + imagines any such covenant to have part in the institution.” But what was + that by Publicola of appeal to the people, or that whereby the people had + their tribunes? “Fie,” says he, “nobody is so dull as to say that the + people of Rome made a covenant with the Romans, to hold the sovereignty on + such or such conditions, which, not performed, the Romans might depose the + Roman people.” In which there be several remarkable things; for he holds + the Commonwealth of Rome to have consisted of one assembly, whereas it + consisted of the Senate and the people; that they were not upon covenant, + whereas every law enacted by them was a covenant between them; that the + one assembly was made sovereign, whereas the people, who only were + sovereign, were such from the beginning, as appears by the ancient style + of their covenants or laws—“The Senate has resolved, the people have + decreed,” that a council being made sovereign, cannot be made such upon + conditions, whereas the Decemvirs being a council that was made sovereign, + was made such upon conditions; that all conditions or covenants making a + sovereign being made, are void; whence it must follow that, the Decemviri + being made, were ever after the lawful government of Rome, and that it was + unlawful for the Commonwealth of Rome to depose the Decemvirs; as also + that Cicero, if he wrote otherwise out of his commonwealth, did not write + out of nature. But to come to others that see more of this balance. + </p> + <p> + You have Aristotle full of it in divers places, especially where he says, + that “immoderate wealth, as where one man or the few have greater + possessions than the equality or the frame of the commonwealth will bear, + is an occasion of sedition, which ends for the greater part in monarchy + and that for this cause the ostracism has been received in divers places, + as in Argos and Athens. But that it were better to prevent the growth in + the beginning, than, when it has got head, to seek the remedy of such an + evil.” + </p> + <p> + Machiavel has missed it very narrowly and more dangerously for not fully + perceiving that if a commonwealth be galled by the gentry it is by their + overbalance, he speaks of the gentry as hostile to popular governments, + and of popular governments as hostile to the gentry; and makes us believe + that the people in such are so enraged against them, that where they meet + a gentleman they kill him: which can never be proved by any one example, + unless in civil war, seeing that even in Switzerland the gentry are not + only safe, but in honor. But the balance, as I have laid it down, though + unseen by Machiavel, is that which interprets him, and that which he + confirms by his judgment in many others as well as in this place, where he + concludes, “That he who will go about to make a commonwealth where there + be many gentlemen, unless he first destroys them, undertakes an + impossibility. And that he who goes about to introduce monarchy where the + condition of the people is equal, shall never bring it to pass, unless he + cull out such of them as are the most turbulent and ambitious, and make + them gentlemen or noblemen, not in name but in effect; that is, by + enriching them with lands, castles, and treasures, that may gain them + power among the rest, and bring in the rest to dependence upon themselves, + to the end that, they maintaining their ambition by the prince, the prince + may maintain his power by them.” + </p> + <p> + Wherefore, as in this place I agree with Machiavel, that a nobility or + gentry, overbalancing a popular government, is the utter bane and + destruction of it; so I shall show in another, that a nobility or gentry, + in a popular government, not overbalancing it, is the very life and soul + of it. + </p> + <p> + By what has been said, it should seem that we may lay aside further + disputes of the public sword, or of the right of the militia; which, be + the government what it will, or let it change how it can, is inseparable + from the overbalance in dominion: nor, if otherwise stated by the law or + custom (as in the Commonwealth of Rome, where the people having the sword, + the nobility came to have the overbalance), avails it to any other end + than destruction. For as a building swaying from the foundation must fall, + so it fares with the law swaying from reason, and the militia from the + balance of dominion. And thus much for the balance of national or domestic + empire, which is in dominion. + </p> + <p> + The balance of foreign or provincial empire is of a contrary nature. A man + may as well say that it is unlawful for him who has made a fair and honest + purchase to have tenants, as for a government that has made a just + progress and enlargement of itself to have provinces. But how a province + may be justly acquired appertains to another place. In this I am to show + no more than how or upon what kind of balance it is to be held; in order + whereto I shall first show upon what kind of balance it is not to be held. + It has been said, that national or independent empire, of what kind + soever, is to be exercised by them that have the proper balance of + dominion in the nation; wherefore provincial or dependent empire is not to + be exercised by them that have the balance of dominion in the province, + because that would bring the government from provincial and dependent, to + national and independent. Absolute monarchy, as that of the Turks, neither + plants its people at home nor abroad, otherwise than as tenants for life + or at will; wherefore its national and provincial government is all one. + But in governments that admit the citizen or subject to dominion in lands, + the richest are they that share most of the power at home; whereas the + richest among the provincials, though native subjects, or citizens that + have been transplanted, are least admitted to the government abroad; for + men, like flowers or roots being transplanted, take after the soil wherein + they grow. Wherefore the Commonwealth of Rome, by planting colonies of its + citizens within the bounds of Italy, took the best way of propagating + itself, and naturalizing the country; whereas if it had planted such + colonies without the bounds of Italy it would have alienated the citizens, + and given a root to liberty abroad, that might have sprung up foreign or + savage, and hostile to her: wherefore it never made any such dispersion of + itself and its strength, till it was under the yoke of the Emperors, who, + disburdening themselves of the people, as having less apprehension of what + they could do abroad than at home, took a contrary course. + </p> + <p> + The Mamelukes (which, till any man show me the contrary, I shall presume + to have been a commonwealth consisting of an army, whereof the common + soldier was the people, the commissioned officer the Senate, and the + general the prince) were foreigners, and by nation Circassians, that + governed Egypt; wherefore these never durst plant themselves upon + dominion, which growing naturally up into the national interest, must have + dissolved the foreign yoke in that province. + </p> + <p> + The like in some sort may be said of Venice, the government whereof is + usually mistaken; for Venice, though it does not take in the people, never + excluded them. This commonwealth, the orders whereof are the most + democratical or popular of all others, in regard of the exquisite rotation + of the Senate, at the first institution took in the whole people; they + that now live under the government without participation of it, are such + as have since either voluntarily chosen so to do, or were subdued by arms. + Wherefore the subject of Venice is governed by provinces, and the balance + of dominion not standing, as has been said, with provincial government; as + the Mamelukes durst not cast their government upon this balance in their + provinces, lest the national interest should have rooted out the foreign, + so neither dare the Venetians take in their subjects upon this balance, + lest the foreign interest should root out the national (which is that of + the 3,000 now governing), and by diffusing the commonwealth throughout her + territories, lose the advantage of her situation, by which in great part + it subsists. And such also is the government of the Spaniard in the + Indies, to which he deputes natives of his own country, not admitting the + creoles to the government of those provinces, though descended from + Spaniards. + </p> + <p> + But if a prince or a commonwealth may hold a territory that is foreign in + this, it may be asked why he may not hold one that is native in the like + manner? To which I answer, because he can hold a foreign by a native + territory, but not a native by a foreign; and as hitherto I have shown + what is not the provincial balance, so by this answer it may appear what + it is, namely, the overbalance of a native territory to a foreign; for as + one country balances itself by the distribution of property according to + the proportion of the same, so one country overbalances another by + advantage of divers kinds. For example, the Commonwealth of Rome + overbalanced her provinces by the vigor of a more excellent government + opposed to a crazier. Or by a more exquisite militia opposed to one + inferior in courage or discipline. The like was that of the Mamelukes, + being a hardy people, to the Egyptians, that were a soft one. And the + balance of situation is in this kind of wonderful effect; seeing the King + of Denmark, being none of the most potent princes, is able at the Sound to + take toll of the greatest; and as this King, by the advantage of the land, + can make the sea tributary, so Venice, by the advantage of the sea, in + whose arms she is impregnable, can make the land to feed her gulf. For the + colonies in the Indies, they are yet babes that cannot live without + sucking the breasts of their mother cities, but such as I mistake if when + they come of age they do not wean themselves; which causes me to wonder at + princes that delight to be exhausted in that way. And so much for the + principles of power, whether national or provincial, domestic or foreign; + being such as are external, and founded in the goods of fortune. + </p> + <p> + I come to the principles of authority, which are internal, and founded + upon the goods of the mind. These the legislator that can unite in his + government with those of fortune, comes nearest to the work of God, whose + government consists of heaven and earth; which was said by Plato, though + in different words, as, when princes should be philosophers, or + philosophers princes, the world would be happy. And says Solomon: “There + is an evil which I have seen under the sun, which proceeds from the ruler + (enimvero neque nobilem, neque ingenuum, nec libertinum quidem armis + praeponere, regia utilitas est). Folly is set in great dignity, and the + rich (either in virtue and wisdom, in the goods of the mind, or those of + fortune upon that balance which gives them a sense of the national + interest) sit in low places. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes + walking as servants upon the earth.” Sad complaints, that the principles + of power and of authority, the goods of the mind and of fortune, do not + meet and twine in the wreath or crown of empire! Wherefore, if we have + anything of piety or of prudence, let us raise ourselves out of the mire + of private interest to the contemplation of virtue, and put a hand to the + removal of “this evil from under the sun;” this evil against which no + government that is not secured can be good; this evil from which the + government that is secure must be perfect. Solomon tells us that the cause + of it is from the ruler, from those principles of power, which, balanced + upon earthly trash, exclude the heavenly treasures of virtue, and that + influence of it upon government which is authority. We have wandered the + earth to find out the balance of power; but to find out that of authority + we must ascend, as I said, nearer heaven, or to the image of God, which is + the soul of man. + </p> + <p> + The soul of man (whose life or motion is perpetual contemplation or + thought) is the mistress of two potent rivals, the one reason, the other + passion, that are in continual suit; and, according as she gives up her + will to these or either of them, is the felicity or misery which man + partakes in this mortal life. + </p> + <p> + For, as whatever was passion in the contemplation of a man, being brought + forth by his will into action, is vice and the bondage of sin; so whatever + was reason in the contemplation of a man, being brought forth by his will + into action, is virtue and the freedom of soul. + </p> + <p> + Again, as those actions of a man that were sin acquire to himself + repentance or shame, and affect others with scorn or pity, so those + actions of a man that are virtue acquire to himself honor, and upon others + authority. + </p> + <p> + Now government is no other than the soul of a nation or city: wherefore + that which was reason in the debate of a commonwealth being brought forth + by the result, must be virtue; and forasmuch as the soul of a city or + nation is the sovereign power, her virtue must be law. But the government + whose law is virtue, and whose virtue is law, is the same whose empire is + authority, and whose authority is empire. + </p> + <p> + Again, if the liberty of a man consists in the empire of his reason, the + absence whereof would betray him to the bondage of his passions, then the + liberty of a commonwealth consists in the empire of her laws, the absence + whereof would betray her to the lust of tyrants. And these I conceive to + be the principles upon which Aristotle and Livy (injuriously accused by + Leviathan for not writing out of nature) have grounded their assertion, + “that a commonwealth is an empire of laws and not of men.” But they must + not carry it so. “For,” says he, “the liberty whereof there is so frequent + and honorable mention in the histories and philosophy of the ancient + Greeks and Romans, and the writings and discourses of those that from them + have received all their learning in the politics, is not the liberty of + particular men, but the liberty of the commonwealth.” He might as well + have said that the estates of particular men in a commonwealth are not the + riches of particular men, but the riches of the commonwealth; for equality + of estates causes equality of power, and equality of power is the liberty, + not only of the commonwealth, but of every man. + </p> + <p> + But sure a man would never be thus irreverent with the greatest authors, + and positive against all antiquity without some certain demonstration of + truth—and what is it? Why, “there is written on the turrets of the + city of Lucca in great characters at this day the word LIBERTAS; yet no + man can thence infer that a particular man has more liberty or immunity + from the service of the commonwealth there than in Constantinople. Whether + a commonwealth be monarchical or popular the freedom is the same.” The + mountain has brought forth, and we have a little equivocation! For to say + that a Lucchese has no more liberty or immunity from the laws of Lucca + than a Turk has from those of Constantinople; and to say that a Lucchese + has no more liberty or immunity by the laws of Lucca, than a Turk has by + those of Constantinople, are pretty different speeches. The first may be + said of all governments alike; the second scarce of any two; much less of + these, seeing it is known that, whereas the greatest Bashaw is a tenant, + as well of his head as of his estate, at the will of his lord, the meanest + Lucchese that has land is a freeholder of both, and not to be controlled + but by the law, and that framed by every private man to no other end (or + they may thank themselves) than to protect the liberty of every private + man, which by that means comes to be the liberty of the commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + But seeing they that make the laws in commonwealths are but men, the main + question seems to be, how a commonwealth comes to be an empire of laws, + and not of men? or how the debate or result of a commonwealth is so sure + to be according to reason; seeing they who debate, and they who resolve, + be but men? “And as often as reason is against a man, so often will a man + be against reason.” + </p> + <p> + This is thought to be a shrewd saying, but will do no harm; for be it so + that reason is nothing but interest, there be divers interests, and so + divers reasons. + </p> + <p> + As first, there is private reason, which is the interest of a private man. + </p> + <p> + Secondly, there is reason of state, which is the interest (or error, as + was said by Solomon) of the ruler or rulers, that is to say, of the + prince, of the nobility, or of the people. + </p> + <p> + Thirdly there is that reason, which is the interest of mankind, or of the + whole. “Now if we see even in those natural agents that want sense, that + as in themselves they have a law which directs them in the means whereby + they tend to their own perfection, so likewise that another law there is, + which touches them as they are sociable parts united into one body, a law + which binds them each to serve to others’ good, and all to prefer the good + of the whole, before whatsoever their own particular; as when stones, or + heavy things, forsake their ordinary wont or centre, and fly upward, as if + they heard themselves commanded to let go the good they privately wish, + and to relieve the present distress of nature in common.” There is a + common right, law of nature, or interest of the whole, which is more + excellent, and so acknowledged to be by the agents themselves, than the + right or interest of the parts only. “Wherefore, though it may be truly + said that the creatures are naturally carried forth to their proper + utility or profit, that ought not to be taken in too general a sense; + seeing divers of them abstain from their own profit, either in regard of + those of the same kind, or at least of their young.” + </p> + <p> + Mankind then must either be less just than the creature, or acknowledge + also his common interest to be common right. And if reason be nothing else + but interest, and the interest of mankind be the right interest, then the + reason of mankind must be right reason. Now compute well; for if the + interest of popular government come the nearest to the interest of + mankind, then the reason of popular government must come the nearest to + right reason. + </p> + <p> + But it may be said that the difficulty remains yet; for be the interest of + popular government right reason, a man does not look upon reason as it is + right or wrong in itself, but as it makes for him or against him. + Wherefore, unless you can show such orders of a government as, like those + of God in nature, shall be able to constrain this or that creature to + shake off that inclination which is more peculiar to it, and take up that + which regards the common good or interest, all this is to no more end than + to persuade every man in a popular government not to carve himself of that + which he desires most, but to be mannerly at the public table, and give + the best from himself to decency and the common interest. But that such + orders may be established as may, nay must, give the upper hand in all + cases to common right or interest, notwithstanding the nearness of that + which sticks to every man in private, and this in a way of equal certainty + and facility, is known even to girls, being no other than those that are + of common practice with them in divers cases. For example, two of them + have a cake yet undivided, which was given between them: that each of them + therefore might have that which is due, “Divide,” says one to the other, + “and I will choose; or let me divide, and you shall choose.” If this be + but once agreed upon, it is enough; for the divident, dividing unequally, + loses, in regard that the other takes the better half. Wherefore she + divides equally, and so both have right. “Oh, the depth of the wisdom of + God.” And yet “by the mouths of babes and sucklings has He set forth His + strength;” that which great philosophers are disputing upon in vain is + brought to light by two harmless girls, even the whole mystery of a + commonwealth, which lies only in dividing and choosing. Nor has God (if + his works in nature be understood) left so much to mankind to dispute upon + as who shall divide and who choose, but distributed them forever into two + orders, whereof the one has the natural right of dividing, and the other + of choosing. + </p> + <p> + For example: A commonwealth is but a civil society of men: let us take any + number of men (as twenty) and immediately make a commonwealth. Twenty men + (if they be not all idiots, perhaps if they be) can never come so together + but there will be such a difference in them that about a third will be + wiser, or at least less foolish than all the rest; these upon + acquaintance, though it be but small, will be discovered, and, as stags + that have the largest heads, lead the herd; for while the six, discoursing + and arguing one with another, show the eminence of their parts, the + fourteen discover things that they never thought on; or are cleared in + divers truths which had formerly perplexed them. Wherefore, in matter of + common concernment, difficulty, or danger, they hang upon their lips, as + children upon their fathers; and the influence thus acquired by the six, + the eminence of whose parts are found to be a stay and comfort to the + fourteen, is the authority of the fathers. Wherefore this can be no other + than a natural aristocracy diffused by God throughout the whole body of + mankind to this end and purpose; and therefore such as the people have not + only a natural but a positive obligation to make use of as their guides; + as where the people of Israel are commanded to “take wise men, and + understanding, and known among their tribes, to be made rulers over them.” + The six then approved of, as in the present case, are the senate, not by + hereditary right, or in regard of the greatness of their estates only, + which would tend to such power as might force or draw the people, but by + election for their excellent parts, which tends to the advancement of the + influence of their virtue or authority that leads the people. Wherefore + the office of the senate is not to be commanders, but counsellors, of the + people; and that which is proper to counsellors is first to debate, and + afterward to give advice in the business whereupon they have debated, + whence the decrees of the senate are never laws, nor so called; and these + being maturely framed, it is their duty to propose in the case to the + people. Wherefore the senate is no more than the debate of the + commonwealth. But to debate is to discern or put a difference between + things that, being alike, are not the same; or it is separating and + weighing this reason against that, and that reason against this, which is + dividing. + </p> + <p> + The senate then having divided, who shall choose? Ask the girls: for if + she that divided must have chosen also, it had been little worse for the + other in case she had not divided at all, but kept the whole cake to + herself, in regard that being to choose, too, she divided accordingly. + Wherefore if the senate have any further power than to divide, the + commonwealth can never be equal. But in a commonwealth consisting of a + single council, there is no other to choose than that which divided; + whence it is, that such a council fails not to scramble—that is, to + be factious, there being no other dividing of the cake in that case but + among themselves. + </p> + <p> + Nor is there any remedy but to have another council to choose. The wisdom + of the few may be the light of mankind; but the interest of the few is not + the profit of mankind nor of a commonwealth. Wherefore, seeing we have + granted interest to be reason, they must not choose lest it put out their + light. But as the council dividing consists of the wisdom of the + commonwealth, so the assembly or council choosing should consist of the + interest of the commonwealth: as the wisdom of the commonwealth is in the + aristocracy, so the interest of the commonwealth is in the whole body of + the people. And whereas this, in case the commonwealth consist of a whole + nation, is too unwieldy a body to be assembled, this council is to consist + of such a representative as may be equal, and so constituted, as can never + contract any other interest than that of the whole people; the manner + whereof, being such as is best shown by exemplification, I remit to the + model. But in the present case, the six dividing, and the fourteen + choosing, must of necessity take in the whole interest of the twenty. + </p> + <p> + Dividing and choosing, in the language of a commonwealth, is debating and + resolving; and whatsoever, upon debate of the senate, is proposed to the + people, and resolved by them, is enacted by the authority of the fathers, + and by the power of the people, which concurring, make a law. + </p> + <p> + But the law being made, says Leviathan, “is but words and paper without + the hands and swords of men;” wherefore as these two orders of a + commonwealth, namely, the senate and the people, are legislative, so of + necessity there must be a third to be executive of the laws made, and this + is the magistracy. In which order, with the rest being wrought up by art, + the commonwealth consists of “the senate proposing, the people resolving, + and the magistracy executing,” whereby partaking of the aristocracy as in + the senate, of the democracy as in the people, and of monarchy as in the + magistracy, it is complete. Now there being no other commonwealth but this + in art or nature, it is no wonder if Machiavel has shown us that the + ancients held this only to be good; but it seems strange to me that they + should hold that there could be any other, for if there be such a thing as + pure monarchy, yet that there should be such a one as pure aristocracy or + pure democracy is not in my understanding. But the magistracy, both in + number and function, is different in different commonwealths. Nevertheless + there is one condition of it that must be the same in every one, or it + dissolves the commonwealth where it is wanting. And this is no less than + that, as the hand of the magistrate is the executive power of the law, so + the head of the magistrate is answerable to the people, that his execution + be according to the law; by which Leviathan may see that the hand or sword + that executes the law is in it and not above it. + </p> + <p> + Now whether I have rightly transcribed these principles of a commonwealth + out of nature, I shall appeal to God and to the world—to God in the + fabric of the Commonwealth of Israel, and to the world in the universal + series of ancient prudence. But in regard the same commonwealths will be + opened at large in the Council of legislators, I shall touch them for the + present but slightly, beginning with that of Israel. + </p> + <p> + The Commonwealth of Israel consisted of the Senate, the people, and the + magistracy. + </p> + <p> + The people by their first division, which was genealogical, were contained + under their thirteen tribes, houses, or families; whereof the first-born + in each was prince of his tribe, and had the leading of it: the tribe of + Levi only, being set apart to serve at the altar, had no other prince but + the high-priest. In their second division they were divided locally by + their agrarian, or the distribution of the land of Canaan to them by lot, + the tithe of all remaining to Levi; whence, according to their local + division, the tribes are reckoned but twelve. + </p> + <p> + The assemblies of the people thus divided were methodically gathered by + trumpets to the congregation: which was, it should seem, of two sorts. For + if it were called with one trumpet only, the princes of the tribes and the + elders only assembled; but if it were called with two, the whole people + gathered themselves to the congregation, for so it is rendered by the + English; but in the Greek it is called Ecclesia, or the Church of God, and + by the Talmudist the great “Synagogue.” The word Ecclesia was also + anciently and properly used for the civil congregations, or assemblies of + the people in Athens, Lacedaemon, and Ephesus, where it is so called in + Scripture, though it be otherwise rendered by the translators, not much as + I conceive to their commendation, seeing by that means they have lost us a + good lesson, the apostles borrowing that name for their spiritual + congregations, to the end that we might see they intended the government + of the church to be democratical or popular, as is also plain in the rest + of their constitutions. + </p> + <p> + The church or congregation of the people of Israel assembled in a military + manner, and had the result of the commonwealth, or the power of confirming + all their laws, though proposed even by God himself; as where they make + him king, and where they reject or depose him as civil magistrate, and + elect Saul. It is manifest that he gives no such example to a legislator + in a popular government as to deny or evade the power of the people, which + were a contradiction; but though he deservedly blames the ingratitude of + the people in that action, he commands Samuel, being next under himself + supreme magistrate, “to hearken to their voice” (for where the suffrage of + the people goes for nothing, it is no commonwealth), and comforts him, + saying, “They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me that I + should not reign over them.” But to reject him that he should not reign + over them, was as civil magistrate to depose him. The power therefore + which the people had to depose even God himself as he was civil + magistrate, leaves little doubt but that they had power to have rejected + any of those laws confirmed by them throughout the Scripture, which, to + omit the several parcels, are generally contained under two heads: those + that were made by covenant with the people in the land of Moab, and those + which were made by covenant with the people in Horeb; which two, I think, + amount to the whole body of the Israelitish laws. + </p> + <p> + But if all and every one of the laws of Israel being proposed by God, were + no otherwise enacted than by covenant with the people, then that only + which was resolved by the people of Israel was their law; and so the + result of that commonwealth was in the people. Nor had the people the + result only in matter of law, but the power in some cases of judicature; + as also the right of levying war, cognizance in matter of religion, and + the election of their magistrates, as the judge or dictator, the king, the + prince: which functions were exercised by the Synagoga magna, or + Congregation of Israel, not always in one manner, for sometimes they were + performed by the suffrage of the people, viva voce, sometimes by the lot + only, and at others by the ballot, or by a mixture of the lot with the + suffrage, as in the case of Eldad and Medad, which I shall open with the + Senate. + </p> + <p> + The Senate of Israel, called in the old Testament the Seventy Elders, and + in the New the Sanhedrim (which word is usually translated “the Council”), + was appointed by God, and consisted of seventy elders besides Moses, which + were at first elected by the people, but in what manner is rather + intimated than shown. Nevertheless, because I cannot otherwise understand + the passage concerning Eldad and Medad, of whom it is said “that they were + of them that were written, but went not up to the tabernacle,” then with + the Talmudists I conceive that Eldad and Medad had the suffrage of the + tribes, and so were written as competitors for magistracy; but coming + afterward to the lot, failed of it, and therefore went not up to the + tabernacle, or place of confirmation by God, or to the session-house of + the Senate, with the Seventy upon whom the lot fell to be senators; for + the session-house of the Sanhedrim was first in the court of the + tabernacle, and afterward in that of the Temple, where it came to be + called the stone chamber or pavement. If this were the ballot of Israel, + that of Venice is the same transposed; for in Venice the competitor is + chosen as it were by the lot, in regard that the electors are so made, and + the magistrate is chosen by the “suffrage of the great Council or assembly + of the people.” But the Sanhedrim of Israel being thus constituted, Moses, + for his time, and after him his successor sat in the midst of it as prince + or archon, and at his left hand the orator or father of the Senate; the + rest, or the bench, coming round with either horn like a crescent, had a + scribe attending upon the tip of it. + </p> + <p> + This Senate, in regard the legislator of Israel was infallible, and the + laws given by God such as were not fit to be altered by men, is much + different in the exercise of their power from all other senates, except + that of the Areopagus in Athens, which also was little more than a supreme + judicatory, for it will hardly, as I conceive, be found that the Sanhedrim + proposed to the people till the return of the children of Israel out of + captivity under Esdras, at which time there was a new law made—namely, + for a kind of excommunication, or rather banishment, which had never been + before in Israel. Nevertheless it is not to be thought that the Sanhedrim + had not always that right, which from the time of Esdras is more + frequently exercised, of proposing to the people, but that they forebore + it in regard of the fulness and infallibility of the law already made, + whereby it was needless. Wherefore the function of this Council, which is + very rare in a senate, was executive, and consisted in the administration + of the law made; and whereas the Council itself is often understood in + Scripture by the priest and the Levite, there is no more in that save only + that the priests and the Levites, who otherwise had no power at all, being + in the younger years of this commonwealth, those that were best studied in + the laws were the most frequently elected into the Sanhedrim. For the + courts, consisting of three-and-twenty elders sitting in the gates of + every city, and the triumvirates of judges constituted almost in every + village, which were parts of the executive magistracy subordinate to the + Sanhedrim, I shall take them at better leisure, and in the larger + discourse; but these being that part of this commonwealth which was + instituted by Moses upon the advice of Jethro the priest of Midian (as I + conceive a heathen), are to me a sufficient warrant even from God himself, + who confirmed them, to make further use of human prudence, wherever I find + it bearing a testimony to itself, whether in heathen commonwealths or + others; and the rather, because so it is, that we who have the holy + Scriptures, and in them the original of a commonwealth, made by the same + hand that made the world, are either altogether blind or negligent of it; + while the heathens have all written theirs, as if they had had no other + copy; as, to be more brief in the present account of that which you shall + have more at large hereafter: + </p> + <p> + Athens consisted of the Senate of the Bean proposing, of the Church or + Assembly of the people resolving, and too often debating, which was the + ruin of it; as also of the Senate of the Areopagus, the nine archons, with + divers other magistrates, executing. + </p> + <p> + Lacedaemon consisted of the Senate proposing, of the Church or + congregation of the people resolving only, and never debating, which was + the long life of it; and of the two kings, the court of the ephors, with + divers other magistrates, executing. + </p> + <p> + Carthage consisted of the Senate proposing and sometimes resolving too, of + the people resolving and sometimes debating too, for which fault she was + reprehended by Aristotle; and she had her suffetes, and her hundred men, + with other magistrates, executing. + </p> + <p> + Rome consisted of the Senate proposing, the concio or people resolving, + and too often debating, which caused her storms; as also of the consuls, + censors, aediles, tribunes, praetors, quaestors, and other magistrates, + executing. + </p> + <p> + Venice consists of the Senate, or pregati, proposing, and sometimes + resolving too, of the great Council or Assembly of the people, in whom the + result is constitutively; as also of the doge, the signory, the censors, + the dieci, the quazancies, and other magistrates, executing. + </p> + <p> + The proceeding of the Commonwealths of Switzerland and Holland is of a + like nature, though after a more obscure manner; for the sovereignties, + whether cantons, provinces, or cities, which are the people, send their + deputies, commissioned and instructed by themselves (wherein they reserve + the result in their own power), to the provincial or general convention, + or Senate, where the deputies debate, but have no other power of result + than what was conferred upon them by the people, or is further conferred + by the same upon further occasion. And for the executive part they have + magistrates or judges in every canton, province, or city, besides those + which are more public, and relate to the league, as for adjusting + controversies between one canton, province, or city and another, or the + like between such persons as are not of the same canton, province, or + city. + </p> + <p> + But that we may observe a little further how the heathen politicians have + written, not only out of nature, but as it were out of Scripture: as in + the Commonwealth of Israel, God is said to have been king, so the + commonwealth where the law is king, is said by Aristotle to be “the + kingdom of God.” And where by the lusts or passions of men a power is set + above that of the law deriving from reason, which is the dictate of God, + God in that sense is rejected or deposed that he should not reign over + them, as he was in Israel. And yet Leviathan will have it that “by reading + of these Greek and Latin [he might as well in this sense have said Hebrew] + authors, young men, and all others that are unprovided of the antidote of + solid reason, receiving a strong and delightful impression of the great + exploits of war achieved by the conductors of their armies, receive withal + a pleasing idea of all they have done besides, and imagine their great + prosperity not to have proceeded from the emulation of particular men, but + from the virtue of their popular form of government, not considering the + frequent seditions and civil wars produced by the imperfection of their + polity.” Where, first, the blame he lays to the heathen authors, is in his + sense laid to the Scripture; and whereas he holds them to be young men, or + men of no antidote that are of like opinions, it should seem that + Machiavel, the sole retriever of this ancient prudence, is to his solid + reason a beardless boy that has newly read Livy. And how solid his reason + is, may appear where he grants the great prosperity of ancient + commonwealths, which is to give up the controversy. For such an effect + must have some adequate cause, which to evade he insinuates that it was + nothing else but the emulation of particular men, as if so great an + emulation could have been generated without as great virtue, so great + virtue without the best education, and best education without the best + law, or the best laws any otherwise than by the excellency of their + polity. + </p> + <p> + But if some of these commonwealths, as being less perfect in their polity + than others, have been more seditious, it is not more an argument of the + infirmity of this or that commonwealth in particular, than of the + excellency of that kind of polity in general, which if they, that have not + altogether reached, have nevertheless had greater prosperity, what would + befall them that should reach? + </p> + <p> + In answer to which question let me invite Leviathan, who of all other + governments gives the advantage to monarchy for perfection, to a better + disquisition of it by these three assertions. + </p> + <p> + The first, that the perfection of government lies upon such a libration in + the frame of it, that no man or men in or under it can have the interest, + or, having the interest, can have the power to disturb it with sedition. + </p> + <p> + The second, that monarchy, reaching the perfection of the kind, reaches + not to the perfection of government, but must have some dangerous flaw in + it. + </p> + <p> + The third, that popular government, reaching the perfection of the kind, + reaches the perfection of government, and has no flaw in it. + </p> + <p> + The first assertion requires no proof. + </p> + <p> + For the proof of the second, monarchy, as has been shown, is of two kinds: + the one by arms, the other by a nobility and there is no other kind in art + or nature; for if there have ‘been anciently some governments called + kingdoms, as one of the Goths in Spain, and another of the Vandals in + Africa, where the King ruled without a nobility and by a council of the + people only it is expressly said by the authors that mention them that + the, kings were but the captains, and that the people not only gave them + laws, but deposed them as often as they pleased. Nor is it possible in + reason that it should be otherwise in like cases; wherefore these were + either no monarchies, or had greater flaws in them than any other. + </p> + <p> + But for a monarchy by arms, as that of the Turk (which, of all models that + ever were, comes up to the perfection of the kind), it is not in the wit + or power of man to cure it of this dangerous flaw, that the Janizaries + have frequent interest and perpetual power to raise sedition, and to tear + the magistrate, even the prince himself, in pieces. Therefore the monarchy + of Turkey is no perfect government. + </p> + <p> + And for a monarchy by nobility, as of late in Oceana (which of all other + models, before the declination of it, came up to the perfection in that + kind), it was not in the power or wit of man to cure it of that dangerous + flaw; that the nobility had frequent interest and perpetual power by their + retainers and tenants to raise sedition; and (whereas the Janizaries + occasion this kind of calamity no sooner than they make an end of it) to + levy a lasting war, to the vast effusion of blood, and that even upon + occasions wherein the people, but for their dependence upon their lords, + had no concernment, as in the feud of the Red and White. The like has been + frequent in Spain, France, Germany, and other monarchies of this kind; + wherefore monarchy by a nobility is no perfect government. + </p> + <p> + For the proof of the third assertion: Leviathan yields it to me, that + there is no other commonwealth but monarchical or popular; wherefore if no + monarchy be a perfect government, then either there is no perfect + government, or it must be popular, for which kind of constitution I have + something more to say than Leviathan has said or ever will be able to say + for monarchy. As, + </p> + <p> + First, that it is the government that was never conquered by any monarch, + from the beginning of the world to this day, for if the commonwealths of + Greece came under the yoke of the Kings of Macedon, they were first broken + by themselves. + </p> + <p> + Secondly, that it is the government that has frequently led mighty + monarchs in triumph. + </p> + <p> + Thirdly, that it is the government, which, if it has been seditious, it + has not been so from any imperfection in the kind, but in the particular + constitution; which, wherever the like has happened, must have been + unequal. + </p> + <p> + Fourthly, that it is the government, which, if it has been anything near + equal, was never seditious; or let him show me what sedition has happened + in Lacedaemon or Venice. + </p> + <p> + Fifthly, that it is the government, which, attaining to perfect equality, + has such a libration in the frame of it, that no man living can show which + way any man or men, in or under it, can contract any such interest or + power as should be able to disturb the commonwealth with sedition, + wherefore an equal commonwealth is that only which is without flaw and + contains in it the full perfection of government. But to return. + </p> + <p> + By what has been shown in reason and experience, it may appear, that + though commonwealths in general be governments of the senate proposing, + the people resolving, and the magistracy executing, yet some are not so + good at these orders as others, through some impediment or defect in the + frame, balance, or capacity of them, according to which they are of divers + kinds. + </p> + <p> + The first division of them is into such as are single, as Israel, Athens, + Lacedaemon, etc.; and such as are by leagues, as those of the Achaeans, + AEtolians, Lycians, Switz, and Hollanders. + </p> + <p> + The second (being Machiavel’s) is into such as are for preservation, as + Lacedaemon and Venice, and such as are for increase, as Athens and Rome; + in which I can see no more than that the former takes in no more citizens + than are necessary for defence, and the latter so many as are capable of + increase. + </p> + <p> + The third division (unseen hitherto) is into equal and Unequal, and this + is the main point, especially as to domestic peace and tranquillity; for + to make a commonwealth unequal, is to divide it into parties, which sets + them at perpetual variance, the one party endeavoring to preserve their + eminence and inequality and the other to attain to equality; whence the + people of Rome derived their perpetual strife with the nobility and + Senate. But in an equal commonwealth there can be no more strife than + there can be overbalance in equal weights; wherefore the Commonwealth of + Venice, being that which of all others is the most equal in the + constitution, is that wherein there never happened any strife between the + Senate and the people. + </p> + <p> + An equal commonwealth is such a one as is equal both in the balance or + foundation, and in the superstructure; that is to say, in her agrarian law + and in her rotation. + </p> + <p> + An equal agrarian is a perpetual law, establishing and preserving the + balance of dominion by such a distribution, that no one man or number of + men, within the compass of the few or aristocracy, can come to overpower + the whole people by their possessions in lands. + </p> + <p> + As the agrarian answers to the foundation, so does rotation to the + superstructures. + </p> + <p> + Equal rotation is equal vicissitude in government, or succession to + magistracy conferred for such convenient terms, enjoying equal vacations, + as take in the whole body by parts, succeeding others, through the free + election or suffrage of the people. + </p> + <p> + The contrary, whereunto is prolongation of magistracy, which, trashing the + wheel of rotation, destroys the life or natural motion of a commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + The election or suffrage of the people is most free, where it is made or + given in such a manner that it can neither oblige nor disoblige another, + nor through fear of an enemy, or bashfulness toward a friend, impair a + man’s liberty. + </p> + <p> + Wherefore, says Cicero, the tablet or ballot of the people of Rome (who + gave their votes by throwing tablets or little pieces of wood secretly + into urns marked for the negative or affirmative) was a welcome + constitution to the people, as that which, not impairing the assurance of + their brows, increased the freedom of their judgment. I have not stood + upon a more particular description of this ballot, because that of Venice + exemplified in the model is of all others the most perfect. + </p> + <p> + An equal commonwealth (by that which has been said) is a government + established upon an equal agrarian, arising into the superstructures or + three orders, the Senate debating and proposing, the people resolving, and + the magistracy executing, by an equal rotation through the suffrage of the + people given by the ballot. For though rotation may be without the ballot, + and the ballot without rotation, yet the ballot not only as to the ensuing + model includes both, but is by far the most equal way; for which cause + under the name of the ballot I shall hereafter understand both that and + rotation too. + </p> + <p> + Now having reasoned the principles of an equal commonwealth, I should come + to give an instance of such a one in experience, if I could find it; but + if this work be of any value, it lies in that it is the first example of a + commonwealth that is perfectly equal. For Venice, though it comes the + nearest, yet is a commonwealth for preservation; and such a one, + considering the paucity of citizens taken in, and the number not taken in, + is externally unequal; and though every commonwealth that holds provinces + must in that regard be such, yet not to that degree. Nevertheless, Venice + internally, and for her capacity, is by far the most equal, though it has + not, in my judgment, arrived at the full perfection of equality; both + because her laws supplying the defect of an agrarian are not so clear nor + effectual at the foundation, nor her superstructures, by the virtue of her + ballot or rotation, exactly librated; in regard that through the paucity + of her citizens her greater magistracies are continually wheeled through a + few hands, as is confessed by Janotti, where he says, that if a gentleman + comes once to be Savio di terra ferma, it seldom happens that he fails + from thenceforward to be adorned with some one of the greater + magistracies, as Savi di mare, Savi di terra ferma, Savi Grandi, + counsellors, those of the decemvirate or dictatorian council, the + aurogatori, or censors, which require no vacation or interval. Wherefore + if this in Venice, or that in Lacedaemon, where the kings were hereditary, + and the Senators (though elected by the people) for life, cause no + inequality (which is hard to be conceived) in a commonwealth for + preservation, or such a one as consists of a few citizens; yet is it + manifest that it would cause a very great one in a commonwealth for + increase, or consisting of the many, which, by engrossing the magistracies + in a few hands, would be obstructed in their rotation. + </p> + <p> + But there be who say (and think it a strong objection) that, let a + commonwealth be as equal as you can imagine, two or three men when all is + done will govern it; and there is that in it which, notwithstanding the + pretended sufficiency of a popular State, amounts to a plain confession of + the imbecility of that policy, and of the prerogative of monarchy; + forasmuch as popular governments in difficult cases have had recourse to + dictatorian power, as in Rome. + </p> + <p> + To which I answer, that as truth is a spark to which objections are like + bellows, so in this respect our commonwealth shines; for the eminence + acquired by suffrage of the people in a commonwealth, especially if it be + popular and equal, can be ascended by no other steps than the universal + acknowledgment of virtue: and where men excel in virtue, the commonwealth + is stupid and unjust, if accordingly they do not excel in authority. + Wherefore this is both the advantage of virtue, which has her due + encouragement, and of the commonwealth, which has her due services. These + are the philosophers which Plato would have to be princes, the princes + which Solomon would have to be mounted, and their steeds are those of + authority, not empire; or, if they be buckled to the chariot of empire, as + that of the dictatorian power, like the chariot of the sun, it is glorious + for terms and vacations or intervals. And as a commonwealth is a + government of laws and not of men, so is this the principality of virtue, + and not of man; if that fail or set in one, it rises in another who is + created his immediate successor. And this takes away that vanity from + under the sun, which is an error proceeding more or less from all other + rulers under heaven but an equal commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + These things considered, it will be convenient in this place to speak a + word to such as go about to insinuate to the nobility or gentry a fear of + the people, or to the people a fear of the nobility or gentry; as if their + interests were destructive to each other. When indeed an army may as well + consist of soldiers without officers, or of officers without soldiers, as + a commonwealth, especially such a one as is capable of greatness, of a + people without a gentry, or of a gentry without a people. Wherefore this, + though not always so intended, as may appear by Machiavel, who else would + be guilty, is a pernicious error. There is something first in the making + of a commonwealth, then in the governing of it, and last of all in the + leading of its armies, which, though there be great divines, great + lawyers, great men in all professions, seems to be peculiar only to the + genius of a gentleman. + </p> + <p> + For so it is in the universal series of story, that if any man has founded + a commonwealth, he was first a gentleman. Moses had his education by the + daughter of Pharaoh; Theseus and Solon, of noble birth, were held by the + Athenians worthy to be kings; Lycurgus was of the royal blood; Romulus and + Numa princes; Brutus and Publicola patricians; the Gracchi, that lost + their lives for the people of Rome and the restitution of that + commonwealth, were the sons of a father adored with two triumphs, and of + Cornelia the daughter of Scipio, who being demanded in marriage by King + Ptolemy, disdained to become the Queen of Egypt. And the most renowned + Olphaus Megaletor, sole legislator, as you will see anon, of the + Commonwealth of Oceana, was derived from a noble family; nor will it be + any occasion of scruple in this case, that Leviathan affirms the politics + to be no ancienter than his book “De Cive.” Such also as have got any fame + in the civil government of a commonwealth, or by the leading of its + armies, have been gentlemen; for so in all other respects were those + plebeian magistrates elected by the people of Rome, being of known + descents and of equal virtues, except only that they were excluded from + the name by the usurpation of the patricians. Holland, through this defect + at home, has borrowed princes for generals, and gentlemen of divers + nations for commanders: and the Switzers, if they have any defect in this + kind, rather lend their people to the colors of other princes, than make + that noble use of them at home which should assert the liberty of mankind. + For where there is not a nobility to hearten the people, they are + slothful, regardless of the world, and of the public interest of liberty, + as even those of Rome had been without their gentry: wherefore let the + people embrace the gentry in peace, as the light of their eyes; and in + war, as the trophy of their arms; and if Cornelia disdained to be Queen of + Egypt, if a Roman consul looked down from his tribunal upon the greatest + king, let the nobility love and cherish the people that afford them a + throne so much higher in a commonwealth, in the acknowledgment of their + virtue, than the crowns of monarchs. + </p> + <p> + But if the equality of a commonwealth consist in the equality first of the + agrarian, and next of the rotation, then the inequality of a commonwealth + must consist in the absence or inequality of the agrarian, or of the + rotation, or of both. + </p> + <p> + Israel and Lacedaemon, which commonwealths (as the people of this, in + Josephus, claims kindred of that) have great resemblance, were each of + them equal in their agrarian, and unequal in their rotation, especially + Israel, where the Sanhedrim, or Senate, first elected by the people, as + appears by the words of Moses, took upon them ever after, without any + precept of God, to substitute their successors by ordination; which having + been there of civil use, as excommunication, community of goods, and other + customs of the Essenes, who were many of them converted, came afterward to + be introduced into the Christian Church. And the election of the judge, + suffes, or dictator, was irregular, both for the occasion, the term, and + the vacation of that magistracy. As you find in the book of Judges, where + it is often repeated, that in those days there was no king in Israel—that + is, no judge; and in the first of Samuel, where Eli judged Israel forty + years, and Samuel, all his life. In Lacedaemon the election of the Senate + being by suffrage of the people, though for life, was not altogether so + unequal, yet the hereditary right of kings, were it not for the agrarian, + had ruined her. + </p> + <p> + Athens and Rome were unequal as to their agrarian, that of Athens being + infirm, and this of Rome none at all; for if it were more anciently + carried it was never observed. Whence, by the time of Tiberius Gracchus, + the nobility had almost eaten the people quite out of their lands, which + they held in the occupation of tenants and servants, whereupon the remedy + being too late, and too vehemently applied, that commonwealth was ruined. + </p> + <p> + These also were unequal in their rotation, but in a contrary manner. + Athens, in regard that the Senate (chosen at once by lot, not by suffrage, + and changed every year, not in part, but in the whole) consisted not of + the natural aristocracy, nor sitting long enough to understand or to be + perfect in their office, had no sufficient authority to restrain the + people from that perpetual turbulence in the end, which was their ruin, + notwithstanding the efforts of Nicias, who did all a man could do to help + it. But as Athens, by the headiness of the people, so Rome fell by the + ambition of the nobility, through the want of an equal rotation; which, if + the people had got into the Senate, and timely into the magistracies + (whereof the former was always usurped by the patricians, and the latter + for the most part) they had both carried and held their agrarian, and that + had rendered that commonwealth immovable. + </p> + <p> + But let a commonwealth be equal or unequal, it must consist, as has been + shown by reason and all experience, of the three general orders; that is + to say, of the Senate debating and proposing, of the people resolving, and + of the magistracy executing. Wherefore I can never wonder enough at + Leviathan, who, without any reason or example, will have it that a + commonwealth consists of a single person, or of a single assembly; nor can + I sufficiently pity those “thousand gentlemen, whose minds, which + otherwise would have wavered, he has framed (as is affirmed by himself) in + to a conscientious obedience (for so he is pleased to call it) of such a + government.” + </p> + <p> + But to finish this part of the discourse, which I intend for as complete + an epitome of ancient prudence, and in that of the whole art of politics, + as I am able to frame in so short a time: + </p> + <p> + The two first orders, that is to say, the Senate and the people, are + legislative, whereunto answers that part of this science which by + politicians is entitled “of laws;” and the third order is executive, to + which answers that part of the same science which is styled “of the frame + and course of courts or judicatories.” A word to each of these will be + necessary. + </p> + <p> + And first for laws: they are either ecclesiastical or civil, such as + concern religion or government. + </p> + <p> + Laws, ecclesiastical, or such as concern religion, according to the + universal course of ancient prudence, are in the power of the magistrate; + but, according to the common practice of modern prudence, since the + papacy, torn out of his hands. + </p> + <p> + But, as a government pretending to liberty, and yet suppressing liberty of + conscience (which, because religion not according to a man’s conscience + can to him be none at all, is the main) must be a contradiction, so a man + that, pleading for the liberty of private conscience, refuses liberty to + the national conscience, must be absurd. + </p> + <p> + A commonwealth is nothing else but the national conscience. And if the + conviction of a man’s private conscience produces his private religion, + the conviction of the national conscience must produce a national + religion. Whether this be well reasoned, as also whether these two may + stand together, will best be shown by the examples of the ancient + commonwealths taken in their order. + </p> + <p> + In that of Israel the government of the national religion appertained not + to the priests and Levites, otherwise than as they happened to be of the + Sanhedrim, or Senate, to which they had no right at all but by election. + It is in this capacity therefore that the people are commanded, under pain + of death, “to hearken to them, and to do according to the sentence of the + law which they should teach;” but in Israel the law ecclesiastical and + civil was the same, therefore the Sanhedrim, having the power of one, had + the power of both. But as the national religion appertained to the + jurisdiction of the Sanhedrim, so the liberty of conscience appertained, + from the same date, and by the same right, to the prophets and their + disciples; as where it is said, “I will raise up a prophet; and whoever + will not hearken to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will + require it of him.” The words relate to prophetic right, which was above + all the orders of this commonwealth; whence Elijah not only refused to + obey the King, but destroyed his messengers with fire. And whereas it was + not lawful by the national religion to sacrifice in any other place than + the Temple, a prophet was his own temple, and might sacrifice where he + would, as Elijah did in Mount Carmel. By this right John the Baptist and + our Saviour, to whom it more particularly related, had their disciples, + and taught the people, whence is derived our present right of gathered + congregations; wherefore the Christian religion grew up according to the + orders of the Commonwealth of Israel, and not against them. Nor was + liberty of conscience infringed by this government, till the civil liberty + of the same was lost, as under Herod, Pilate, and Tiberius, a three-piled + tyranny. + </p> + <p> + To proceed, Athens preserved her religion, by the testimony of Paul, with + great superstition: if Alcibiades, that atheistical fellow had not showed + them a pair of heels, they had shaven off his head for shaving their + Mercuries, and making their gods look ridiculously upon them without + beards. Nevertheless, if Paul reasoned with them, they loved news, for + which he was the more welcome; and if he converted Dionysius the + Areopagite, that is, one of the senators, there followed neither any hurt + to him, nor loss of honor to Dionysius. And for Rome, if Cicero, in his + most excellent book “De Natura Deorum,” overthrew the national religion of + that commonwealth, he was never the further from being consul. But there + is a meanness and poorness in modern prudence, not only to the damage of + civil government, but of religion itself; for to make a man in matter of + religion, which admits not of sensible demonstration (jurare in verba + magistri), engage to believe no otherwise than is believed by my lord + bishop, or Goodman Presbyter is a pedantism that has made the sword to be + a rod in the hands of schoolmasters; by which means, whereas the Christian + religion is the furthest of any from countenancing war, there never was a + war of religion but since Christianity, for which we are beholden to the + Pope; for the Pope not giving liberty of conscience to princes and + commonwealths, they cannot give that to their subjects which they have not + themselves, whence both princes and subjects, either through his + instigation or their own disputes, have introduced that execrable custom, + never known in the world before, of fighting for religion, and denying the + magistrate to have any jurisdiction concerning it, whereas the + magistrate’s losing the power of religion loses the liberty of conscience, + which in that case has nothing to protect it. But if the people be + otherwise taught, it concerns them to look about them, and to distinguish + between the shrieking of the lapwing and the voice of the turtle. + </p> + <p> + To come to civil laws. If they stand one way and the balance another, it + is the case of a government which of necessity must be new modelled; + wherefore your lawyers, advising you upon the like occasions to fit your + government to their laws, are no more to be regarded than your tailor if + he should desire you to fit your body to his doublet. There is also danger + in the plausible pretence of reforming the law, except the government be + first good, in which case it is a good tree, and (trouble not yourselves + overmuch) brings not forth evil fruit; otherwise, if the tree be evil, you + can never reform the fruit, or if a root that is naught bring forth fruit + of this kind that seems to be good, take the more heed, for it is the + ranker poison. It was nowise probable, if Augustus had not made excellent + laws, that the bowels of Rome could have come to be so miserably eaten out + by the tyranny of Tiberius and his successors. The best rule as to your + laws in general is that they be few. Rome, by the testimony of Cicero, Was + best governed under those of the twelve tables; and by that of Tacitus, + Plurimoe leges, corruptissima respublica. You will be told that where the + laws be few they leave much to arbitrary power; but where they be many, + they leave more, the laws in this case, according to Justinian and the + best lawyers, being as litigious as the suitors. Solon made few, Lycurgus + fewer, laws; and commonwealths have the fewest at this day of all other + governments. + </p> + <p> + Now to conclude this part with a word de judiciis, or of the constitution + or course of courts; it is a discourse not otherwise capable of being well + managed but by particular examples, both the constitution and course of + courts being divers in different governments, but best beyond compare in + Venice, where they regard not so much the arbitrary power of their courts + as the constitution of them, whereby that arbitrary power being altogether + unable to retard or do hurt to business, produces and must produce the + quickest despatch, and the most righteous dictates of justice that are + perhaps in human nature. The manner I shall not stand in this place to + describe, because it is exemplified at large in the judicature of the + people of Oceana. And thus much of ancient prudence, and the first branch + of this preliminary discourse. + </p> + <p> + THE SECOND PART OF THE PRELIMINARIES + </p> + <p> + In the second part I shall endeavor to show the rise, progress, and + declination of modern prudence. + </p> + <p> + The date of this kind of policy is to be computed, as was shown, from + those inundations of Goths, Vandals, Huns, and Lombards that overwhelmed + the Roman Empire. But as there is no appearance in the bulk or + constitution of modern prudence, that it should ever have been able to + come up and grapple with the ancient, so something of necessity must have + interposed whereby this came to be enervated, and that to receive strength + and encouragement. And this was the execrable reign of the Roman emperors + taking rise from (that felix scelus) the arms of Caesar, in which storm + the ship of the Roman Commonwealth was forced to disburden itself of that + precious freight, which never since could emerge or raise its head but in + the Gulf of Venice. + </p> + <p> + It is said in Scripture, “Thy evil is of thyself, O Israel!” to which + answers that of the moralists, “None is hurt but by himself,” as also the + whole matter of the politics; at present this example of the Romans, who, + through a negligence committed in their agrarian laws, let in the sink of + luxury, and forfeited the inestimable treasure of liberty for themselves + and their posterity. + </p> + <p> + Their agrarian laws were such whereby their lands ought to have been + divided among the people, either without mention of a colony, in which + case they were not obliged to change their abode; or with mention and upon + condition of a colony, in which case they were to change their abode, and + leaving the city, to plant themselves upon the lands so assigned. The + lands assigned, or that ought to have been assigned, in either of these + ways, were of three kinds: such as were taken from the enemy and + distributed to the people; or such as were taken from the enemy, and, + under color of being reserved to the public use, were through stealth + possessed by the nobility; or such as were bought with the public money to + be distributed. Of the laws offered in these cases, those which divided + the lands taken from the enemy, or purchased with the public money, never + occasioned any dispute; but such as drove at dispossessing the nobility of + their usurpations, and dividing the common purchase of the sword among the + people, were never touched but they caused earthquakes, nor could they + ever be obtained by the people; or being obtained, be observed by the + nobility, who not only preserved their prey, but growing vastly rich upon + it, bought the people by degrees quite out of those shares that had been + conferred upon them. This the Gracchi coming too late to perceive found + the balance of the commonwealth to be lost; but putting the people (when + they had least force) by forcible means upon the recovery of it, did ill, + seeing it neither could nor did tend to any more than to show them by + worse effects that what the wisdom of their leaders had discovered was + true. For quite contrary to what has happened in Oceana, where, the + balance falling to the people, they have overthrown the nobility, that + nobility of Rome, under the conduct of Sylla, overthrew the people and the + commonwealth; seeing Sylla first introduced that new balance which was the + foundation of the succeeding monarchy, in the plantation of military + colonies, instituted by his distribution of the conquered lands, not now + of enemies, but of citizens, to forty-seven legions of his soldiers; so + that how he came to be perpetual dictator, or other magistrates to succeed + him in like power, is no miracle. + </p> + <p> + These military colonies (in which manner succeeding emperors continued, as + Augustus by the distribution of the veterans, whereby he had overcome + Brutus and Cassius to plant their soldiery) consisted of such as I + conceive were they that are called milites beneficiarii; in regard that + the tenure of their lands was by way of benefices, that is, for life, and + upon condition of duty or service in the war upon their own charge. These + benefices Alexander Severus granted to the heirs of the incumbents, but + upon the same conditions. And such was the dominion by which the Roman + emperors gave their balance. But to the beneficiaries, as was no less than + necessary for the safety of the prince, a matter of 8,000 by the example + of Augustus were added, which departed not from his sides, but were his + perpetual guard, called Pretorian bands; though these, according to the + incurable flaw already observed in this kind of government, became the + most frequent butchers of their lords that are to be found in story. Thus + far the Roman monarchy is much the same with that at this day in Turkey, + consisting of a camp and a horse-quarter; a camp in regard of the Spahis + and Janizaries, the perpetual guard of the prince, except they also chance + to be liquorish after his blood; and a horse-quarter in regard of the + distribution of his whole land to tenants for life, upon condition of + continual service, or as often as they shall be commanded at their own + charge by timars, being a word which they say signifies benefices, that it + shall save me a labor of opening the government. + </p> + <p> + But the fame of Mahomet and his prudence is especially founded in this, + that whereas the Roman monarchy, except that of Israel, was the most + imperfect, the Turkish is the most perfect that ever was. Which happened + in that the Roman (as the Israelitish of the Sanhedrim and the + congregation) had a mixture of the Senate and the people; and the Turkish + is pure. And that this was pure, and the other mixed, happened not through + the wisdom of the legislators, but the different genius of the nations; + the people of the Eastern parts, except the Israelites, which is to be + attributed to their agrarian, having been such as scarce ever knew any + other condition than that of slavery; and these of the Wester having ever + had such a relish of liberty, as through what despair soever could never + be brought to stand still while the yoke was putting on their necks, but + by being fed with some hopes of reserving to themselves some part of their + freedom. + </p> + <p> + Wherefore Julius Caesar (saith Suetonius) contented himself in naming half + the magistrates, to leave the rest to the suffrage of the people. And + Maecenas, though he would not have Augustus to give the people their + liberty, would not have him take it quite away. Whence this empire, being + neither hawk nor buzzard, made a flight accordingly; and the prince being + perpetually tossed (having the avarice of the soldiery on this hand to + satisfy upon the people, and the Senate and the people on the other to be + defended from the soldiery), seldom died any other death than by one horn + of this dilemma, as is noted more at large by Machiavel. + </p> + <p> + But the Pretorian bands, those bestial executioners of their captain’s + tyranny upon others, and of their own upon him, having continued from the + time of Augustus, were by Constantine the Great (incensed against them for + taking part with his adversary Maxentius) removed from their strong + garrison which they held in Rome, and distributed into divers provinces. + The benefices of the soldiers that were hitherto held for life and upon + duty, were by this prince made hereditary, so that the whole foundation + whereupon this empire was first built being now removed, shows plainly + that the emperors must long before this have found out some other way of + support; and this was by stipendiating the Goths, a people that, deriving + their roots from the northern parts of Germany, or out of Sweden, had, + through their victories obtained against Domitian, long since spread their + branches to so near a neighborhood with the Roman territories that they + began to overshadow them. For the emperors making use of them in their + armies, as the French do at this day of the Switz, gave them that under + the notion of a stipend, which they received as tribute, coming, if there + were any default in the payment, so often to distrain for it, that in the + time of Honorius they sacked Rome, and possessed themselves of Italy. And + such was the transition of ancient into modern prudence, or that breach, + which being followed in every part of the Roman Empire with inundations of + Vandals, Huns, Lombards, Franks, Saxons, overwhelmed ancient languages, + learning, prudence, manners, cities, changing the names of rivers, + countries, seas, mountains, and men; Camillus, Caesar, and Pompey, being + come to Edmund, Richard, and Geoffrey. + </p> + <p> + To open the groundwork or balance of these new politicians: “Feudum,” says + Calvin the lawyer, “is a Gothic word of divers significations; for it is + taken either for war, or for a possession of conquered lands, distributed + by the victor to such of his captains and soldiers as had merited in his + wars, upon condition to acknowledge him to be their perpetual lord, and + themselves to be his subjects.” + </p> + <p> + Of these there were three kinds or orders: the first of nobility + distinguished by the titles of dukes, marquises, earls, and these being + gratified with the cities, castles, and villages of the conquered + Italians, their feuds participated of royal dignity, and were called + regalia, by which they had right to coin money, create magistrates, take + toll, customs, confiscations, and the like. + </p> + <p> + Feuds of the second order were such as, with the consent of the King, were + bestowed by these feudatory princes upon men of inferior quality, called + their barons, on condition that next to the King they should defend the + dignities and fortunes of their lords in arms. + </p> + <p> + The lowest order of feuds were such, as being conferred by those of the + second order upon private men, whether noble not noble, obliged them in + the like duty to their superiors; the were called vavasors. And this is + the Gothic balance, by which all the kingdoms this day in Christendom were + at first erected; for which cause, if I had time, I should open in this + place the Empire of Germany, and the Kingdoms of France, Spain, and + Poland; but so much as has been said being sufficient for the discovery of + the principles of modern prudence in general, I shall divide the remainder + of my discourse, which is more particular, into three parts: + </p> + <p> + The first, showing the constitution of the late monarchy of Oceana; + </p> + <p> + The second, the dissolution of the same; and + </p> + <p> + The third, the generation of the present commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + The constitution of the late monarchy of Oceana is to be considered in + relation to the different nations by whom it has been successively subdued + and governed. The first of these were the Romans, the second the Teutons, + the third the Scandians, and the fourth the Neustrians. + </p> + <p> + The government of the Romans, who held it as a province, I shall omit, + because I am to speak of their provincial government in another place, + only it is to be remembered here, that if we have given over running up + and down naked, and with dappled hides, learned to write and read, and to + be instructed with good arts, for all these we are beholden to the Romans, + either immediately or mediately by the Teutons; for that the Teutons had + the arts from no other hand is plain enough by their language, which has + yet no word to signify either writing or reading, but what is derived from + the Latin. Furthermore, by the help of these arts so learned, we have been + capable of that religion which we have long since received; wherefore it + seems to me that we ought not to detract from the memory of the Romans, by + whose means we are, as it were, of beasts become men, and by whose means + we might yet of obscure and ignorant men (if we thought not too well of + ourselves) become a wise and a great people. + </p> + <p> + The Romans having governed Oceana provincially, the Teutons were the first + that introduced the form of the late monarchy. To these succeeded the + Scandians, of whom (because their reign was short, as also because they + made little alteration in the government as to the form) I shall take no + notice. But the Teutons going to work upon the Gothic balance, divided the + whole nation into three sorts of feuds, that of ealdorman, that of king’s + thane, and that of middle thane. + </p> + <p> + When the kingdom was first divided into precincts will be as hard to show + as when it began first to be governed. It being impossible that there + should be any government without some division. The division that was in + use with the Teutons was by counties, and every county had either its + ealdorman or high reeve. The title of ealdorman came in time to eorl, or + erl, and that of high reeve to high sheriff. + </p> + <p> + Earl of the shire or county denoted the king’s thane, or tenant by grand + sergeantry or knight’s service, in chief or in capite; his possessions + were sometimes the whole territory from whence he had his denomination, + that is, the whole county; sometimes more than one county, and sometimes + less, the remaining part being in the crown. He had also sometimes a + third, or some other customary part of the profits of certain cities, + boroughs, or other places within his earldom. For an example of the + possessions of earls in ancient times, Ethelred had to him and his heirs + the whole Kingdom of Mercia, containing three or four counties; and there + were others that had little less. + </p> + <p> + King’s thane was also an honorary title, to which he was qualified that + had five hides of land held immediately of the King by service of personal + attendance; insomuch that if a churl or countryman had thriven to this + proportion, having a church, a kitchen, a bell-house (that is, a hall with + a bell in it to call his family to dinner), a borough-gate with a seat + (that is, a porch) of his own, and any distinct office in the King’s + court, then was he the King’s thane. But the proportion of a hide-land, + otherwise called caruca, or a plough-land, is difficult to be understood, + because it was not certain; nevertheless it is generally conceived to be + so much as may be managed with one plough, and would yield the maintenance + of the same, with the appurtenances in all kinds. + </p> + <p> + The middle thane was feudal, but not honorary; he was also called a + vavasor, and his lands a vavasory, which held of some mesne lord, and not + immediately of the King. + </p> + <p> + Possessions and their tenures, being of this nature, show the balance of + the Teuton monarchy, wherein the riches of earls were so vast that to + arise from the balance of their dominion to their power, they were not + only called reguli, or little kings, but were such indeed; their + jurisdiction being of two sorts, either that which was exercised by them + in the court of their countries, or in the high court of the kingdom. + </p> + <p> + In the territory denominating an earl, if it were all his own, the courts + held, and the profits of that jurisdiction were to his own use and + benefit. But if he had but some part of his county, then his jurisdiction + and courts, saving perhaps in those possessions that were his own, were + held by him to the King’s use and benefit; that is, he commonly supplied + the office which the sheriffs regularly executed in counties that had no + earls, and whence they came to be called viscounts. The court of the + county that had an earl was held by the earl and the bishop of the + diocese, after the manner of the sheriffs’ turns to this day; by which + means both the ecclesiastical and temporal laws were given in charge + together to the country. The causes of vavasors or vavasories appertained + to the cognizance of this court, where wills were proved, judgment and + execution given, cases criminal and civil determined. + </p> + <p> + The King’s thanes had the like jurisdiction in their thane lands as lords + in their manors, where they also kept courts. + </p> + <p> + Besides these in particular, both the earls and King’s thanes, together + with the bishops, abbots, and vavasors, or middle thanes, had in the high + court or parliament in the kingdom a more public jurisdiction, consisting + first of deliberative power for advising upon and assenting to new laws; + secondly, giving counsel in matters of state and thirdly, of judicature + upon suits and complaints. I shall not omit to enlighten the obscurity of + these times, in which there is little to be found of a methodical + constitution of this high court, by the addition of an argument, which I + conceive to bear a strong testimony to itself, though taken out of a late + writing that conceals the author. “It is well known,” says he, “that in + every quarter of the realm a great many boroughs do yet send burgesses to + the parliament which nevertheless be so anciently and so long since + decayed and gone to naught, that they cannot be showed to have been of any + reputation since the Conquest, much less to have obtained any such + privilege by the grant of any succeeding king: wherefore these must have + had this right by more ancient usage, and before the Conquest, they being + unable now to show whence they derived it.” + </p> + <p> + This argument, though there be more, I shall pitch upon as sufficient to + prove: First, that the lower sort of the people had right to session in + Parliament during the time of the Teutons. Secondly, that they were + qualified to the same by election in their boroughs, and if knights of the + shire, as no doubt they are, be as ancient in the counties. Thirdly if it + be a good argument to say that the commons during the reign of the Teutons + were elected into Parliament because they are so now, and no man can show + when this custom began, I see not which way it should be an ill one to say + that the commons during the reign of the Teutons constituted also a + distinct house because they do so now, unless any man can show that they + did ever sit in the same house with the lords. Wherefore to conclude this + part, I conceive for these, and other reasons to be mentioned hereafter, + that the Parliament of the Teutons consisted of the King, the lords + spiritual and temporal, and the commons of the nation, notwithstanding the + style of divers acts of Parliament, which runs, as that of Magna Charta, + in the King’s name only, seeing the same was nevertheless enacted by the + King, peers, and commons of the land, as is testified in those words by a + subsequent act. + </p> + <p> + The monarchy of the Teutons had stood in this posture about 220 years; + when Turbo, Duke of Neustria, making his claim to the crown of one of + their kings that died childless, followed it with successful arms, and, + being possessed of the kingdom, used it as conquered, distributing the + earldoms, thane-lands, bishoprics, and prelacies of the whole realm among + his Neustrians. From this time the earl came to be called comes, consul, + and dux, though consul and dux grew afterward out of use; the King’s + thanes came to be called barons, and their lands baronies; the middle + thane holding still of a mesne lord, retained the name of vavasor. + </p> + <p> + The earl or comes continued to have the third part of the pleas of the + county paid to him by the sheriff or vice—comes, now a distinct + officer in every county depending upon the King; saving that such earls as + had their counties to their own use were now counts-palatine, and had + under the King regal jurisdiction; insomuch that they constituted their + own sheriffs, granted pardons, and issued writs in their own names; nor + did the King’s writ of ordinary justice run in their dominions till a late + statute, whereby much of this privilege was taken away. + </p> + <p> + For barons they came from henceforth to be in different times of three + kinds: barons by their estates and tenures, barons by writ, and barons + created by letters-patent. From Turbo the first to Adoxus the seventh king + from the Conquest, barons had their denomination from their possessions + and tenures. And these were either spiritual or temporal; for not only the + thanelands, but the possessions of bishops, as also of some twenty six + abbots, and two priors, were now erected into baronies, whence the lords + spiritual that had suffrage in the Teuton Parliament as spiritual lords + came to have it in the Neustrian Parliament as barons, and were made + subject, which they had not formerly been, to knights’ service in chief. + Barony coming henceforth to signify all honorary possessions as well of + earls as barons, and baronage to denote all kinds of lords as well + spiritual as temporal having right to sit in Parliament, the baronies in + this sense were sometimes more, and sometimes fewer, but commonly about + 200 or 250, containing in them a matter of 60,000 feuda militum, or + knights’ fees, whereof some 28,000 were in the clergy. + </p> + <p> + It is ill-luck that no man can tell what the land of a knight’s fee, + reckoned in some writs at £40 a year, and in others at £10, was certainly + worth, for by such a help we might have exactly demonstrated the balance + of this government. But, says Coke, it contained twelve plough-lands, and + that was thought to be the most certain account. But this again is + extremely uncertain; for one plough out of some land that was fruitful + might work more than ten out of some other that was barren. Nevertheless, + seeing it appears by Bracton, that of earldoms and baronies it was wont to + be said that the whole kingdom was composed, as also that these, + consisting of 60,000 knights’ fees, furnished 60,000 men for the King’s + service, being the whole militia of this monarchy, it cannot be imagined + that the vavasories or freeholds in the people amounted to any + considerable proportion. Wherefore the balance and foundation of this + government were in the 60,000 knights’ fees, and these being possessed by + the 250 lords, it was a government of the few, or of the nobility, wherein + the people might also assemble, but could have no more than a mere name. + And the clergy, holding a third of the whole nation, as is plain by the + Parliament-roll, it is an absurdity (seeing the clergy of France came + first through their riches to be a state of that kingdom) to acknowledge + the people to have been a state of this realm, and not to allow it to the + clergy, who were so much more weighty in the balance, which is that of all + other whence a state or order in a government is denominated. Wherefore + this monarchy consisted of the King, and of the three ordines regni, or + estates, the lords spiritual and temporal, and the commons; it consisted + of these, I say, as to the balance, though, during the reign of some of + these kings, not as to the administration. + </p> + <p> + For the ambition of Turbo, and some of those that more immediately + succeeded him, to be absolute princes, strove against the nature of their + foundation, and, inasmuch as he had divided almost the whole realm among + his Neustrians, with some encouragement for a while. But the Neustrians, + while they were but foreign plants, having no security against the + natives, but in growing up by their princes’ sides, were no sooner well + rooted in their vast dominions than they came up according to the + infallible consequence of the balance domestic, and, contracting the + national interest of the baronage, grew as fierce in the vindication of + the ancient rights and liberties of the same, as if they had been always + natives: whence, the kings being as obstinate on the one side for their + absolute power, as these on the other for their immunities, grew certain + wars, which took their denomination from the barons. + </p> + <p> + This fire about the middle of the reign of Adoxus began to break out. And + whereas the predecessors of this King had divers times been forced to + summon councils resembling those of the Teutons, to which the lords only + that were barons by dominion and tenure had hitherto repaired, Adoxus, + seeing the effects of such dominion, began first not to call such as were + barons by writ (for that was according to the practice of ancient times), + but to call such by writs as were otherwise no barons; by which means, + striving to avoid the consequence of the balance, in coming unwillingly to + set the government straight, he was the first that set it awry. For the + barons in his reign, and his successors, having vindicated their ancient + authority, restored the Parliament with all the rights and privileges of + the same, saving that from thenceforth the kings had found out a way + whereby to help themselves against the mighty by creatures of their own, + and such as had no other support but by their favor.. By which means this + government, being indeed the masterpiece of modern prudence, has been + cried up to the skies, as the only invention whereby at once to maintain + the sovereignty of a prince and the liberty of the people. Whereas, + indeed, it has been no other than a wrestling-match, wherein the nobility, + as they have been stronger, have thrown the King, or the King, if he has + been stronger, has thrown the nobility; or the King, where he has had a + nobility, and could bring them to his party has thrown the people, as in + France and Spain; or the people, where they have had no nobility, or could + get them to be of their party, have thrown the King, as in Holland, and of + later times in Oceana. + </p> + <p> + But they came not to this strength, but by such approaches and degrees as + remain to be further opened. For whereas the barons by writ, as the + sixty-four abbots and thirty-six priors that were so called, were but pro + temp ore, Dicotome, being the twelfth king from the Conquest, began to + make barons by letters-patent, with the addition of honorary pensions for + the maintenance of their dignities to them and their heirs; so that they + were hands in the King’s purse and had no shoulders for his throne. Of + these, when the house of peers came once to be full, as will be seen + hereafter, there was nothing more empty. But for the present, the throne + having other supports, they did not hurt that so much as they did the + King; for the old barons, taking Dicotome’s prodigality to such creatures + so ill that they deposed him, got the trick of it, and never gave over + setting up and pulling down their kings according to their various + interests, and that faction of the White and Red, into which they have + been thenceforth divided, till Panurgus, the eighteenth king from the + Conquest, was more by their favor than his right advanced to the crown. + This King, through his natural subtlety, reflecting at once upon the + greatness of their power, and the inconstancy of their favor, began to + find another flaw in this kind of government, which is also noted by + Machiavel namely, that a throne supported by a nobility is not so hard to + be ascended as kept warm. Wherefore his secret jealousy, lest the + dissension of the nobility, as it brought him in might throw him out, made + him travel in ways undiscovered by them, to ends as little foreseen by + himself, while to establish his own safety, he, by mixing water with their + wine, first began to open those sluices that have since overwhelmed not + the King only, but the throne. For whereas a nobility strikes not at the + throne, without which they cannot subsist, but at some king that they do + not like, popular power strikes through the King at the throne, as that + which is incompatible with it. Now that Panurgus, in abating the power of + the nobility, was the cause whence it came to fall into the hands of the + people, appears by those several statutes that were made in his reign, as + that for population, those against retainers, and that for alienations. + </p> + <p> + By the statute of population, all houses of husbandry that were used with + twenty acres of ground and upward, were to be maintained and kept up + forever with a competent proportion of land laid to them, and in no wise, + as appears by a subsequent statute, to be severed. By which means the + houses being kept up, did of necessity enforce dwellers; and the + proportion of land to be tilled being kept up, did of necessity enforce + the dweller not to be a beggar or cottager, but a man of some substance, + that might keep hinds and servants and set the plough a-going. This did + mightily concern, says the historian of that prince, the might and manhood + of the kingdom, and in effect amortize a great part of the lands to the + hold and possession of the yeomanry or middle people, who living not in a + servile or indigent fashion, were much unlinked from dependence upon their + lords, and living in a free and plentiful manner, became a more excellent + infantry, but such a one upon which the lords had so little power, that + from henceforth they may be computed to have been disarmed. + </p> + <p> + And as they had lost their infantry after this manner, so their cavalry + and commanders were cut off by the statute of retainers; for whereas it + was the custom of the nobility to have younger brothers of good houses, + mettled fellows, and such as were knowing in the feats of arms about them, + they who were longer followed with so dangerous a train, escaped not such + punishments as made them take up. + </p> + <p> + Henceforth the country lives and great tables of the nobility, which no + longer nourished veins that would bleed for them, were fruitless and + loathsome till they changed the air, and of princes became courtiers; + where their revenues, never to have been exhausted by beef and mutton, + were found narrow, whence followed racking of rents, and at length sale of + lands, the riddance through the statute of alienations being rendered far + more quick and facile than formerly it had been through the new invention + of entails. + </p> + <p> + To this it happened that Coraunus, the successor of that King, dissolving + the abbeys, brought, with the declining state of the nobility, so vast a + prey to the industry of the people, that the balance of the commonwealth + was too apparently in the popular party to be unseen by the wise Council + of Queen Parthenia, who, converting her reign through the perpetual love + tricks that passed between her and her people into a kind of romance, + wholly neglected the nobility. And by these degrees came the House of + Commons to raise that head, which since has been so high and formidable to + their princes that they have looked pale upon those assemblies. Nor was + there anything now wanting to the destruction of the throne, but that the + people, not apt to see their own strength, should be put to feel it; when + a prince, as stiff in disputes as the nerve of monarchy was grown slack, + received that unhappy encouragement from his clergy which became his utter + ruin, while trusting more to their logic than the rough philosophy of his + Parliament, it came to an irreparable breach; for the house of peers, + which alone had stood in this gap, now sinking down between the King and + the commons, showed that Crassus was dead and the isthmus broken. But a + monarchy, divested of its nobility, has no refuge under heaven but an + army. Wherefore the dissolution of this government caused the war, not the + war the dissolution of this government. + </p> + <p> + Of the King’s success with his arms it is not necessary to give any + further account than that they proved as ineffectual as his nobility; but + without a nobility or an army (as has been shown) there can be no + monarchy. Wherefore what is there in nature that can arise out of these + ashes but a popular government, or a new monarchy to be erected by the + victorious army? + </p> + <p> + To erect a monarchy, be it never so new, unless like Leviathan you can + hang it, as the country-fellow speaks, by geometry (for what else is it to + say, that every other man must give up his will to the will of this one + man without any other foundation?), it must stand upon old principles—that + is, upon a nobility or an army planted on a due balance of dominion. Aut + viam inveniam aut faciam, was an adage of Caesar, and there is no standing + for a monarchy unless it finds this balance, or makes it. If it finds it, + the work is done to its hand; for, where there is inequality of estates, + there must be inequality of power; and where there is inequality of power, + there can be no commonwealth. To make it, the sword must extirpate out of + dominion all other roots of power, and plant an army upon that ground. An + army may be planted nationally or provincially. To plant it nationally, it + must be in one of the four ways mentioned, that is, either monarchically + in part, as the Roman beneficiarii; or monarchically, in the whole, as the + Turkish Timariots; aristocratically that is, by earls and barons, as the + Neustrians were planted by Turbo; or democratically, that is, by equal + lots, as the Israelitish army in the land of Canaan by Joshua. In every + one of these ways there must not only be confiscations, but confiscations + to such a proportion as may answer to the work intended. + </p> + <p> + Confiscation of a people that never fought against you, but whose arms you + have borne, and in which you have been victorious, and this upon + premeditation and in cold blood, I should have thought to be against any + example in human nature, but for those alleged by Machiavel of Agathocles, + and Oliveretto di Fermo, the former whereof being captain-general of the + Syracusans, upon a day assembled the Senate and the people, as if he had + something to communicate with them, when at a sign given he cut the + senators in pieces to a man, and all the richest of the people, by which + means he came to be king. The proceedings of Oliveretto, in making himself + Prince of Fermo, were somewhat different in circumstances, but of the same + nature. Nevertheless Catiline, who had a spirit equal to any of these in + his intended mischief, could never bring the like to pass in Rome. The + head of a small commonwealth, such a one as was that of Syracuse or Fermo, + is easily brought to the block; but that a populous nation, such as Rome, + had not such a one, was the grief of Nero. If Sylvia or Caesar attained to + be princes, it was by civil war, and such civil war as yielded rich + spoils, there being a vast nobility to be confiscated; which also was the + case in Oceana, when it yielded earth by earldoms, and baronies to the + Neustrian for the plantation of his new potentates. Where a conqueror + finds the riches of a land in the hands of the few, the forfeitures are + easy, and amount to vast advantage; but where the people have equal + shares, the confiscation of many comes to little, and is not only + dangerous but fruitless. + </p> + <p> + The Romans, in one of their defeats of the Volsci, found among the + captives certain Tusculans, who, upon examination, confessed that the arms + they bore were by command of their State; whereupon information being + given to the Senate by the general Camillus, he was forthwith commanded to + march against Tusculum which doing accordingly, he found the Tusculan + fields full of husbandmen, that stirred not otherwise from the plough than + to furnish his army with all kinds of accommodations and victuals. Drawing + near to the city, he saw the gates wide open, the magistrates coming out + in their gowns to salute and bid him welcome; entering, the shops were all + at work, and open, the streets sounded with the noise of schoolboys at + their books; there was no face of war. Whereupon Camillus, causing the + Senate to assemble, told them, that though the art was understood, yet had + they at length found out the true arms whereby the Romans were most + undoubtedly to be conquered, for which cause he would not anticipate the + Senate, to which he desired them forthwith to send, which they did + accordingly; and their dictator with the rest of their ambassadors being + found by the Roman senators as they went into the house standing sadly at + the door were sent for in as friends, and not as enemies; where the + dictator having said, “If we have offended, the fault was not so great as + is our penitence and your virtue,” the Senate gave them peace forthwith, + and soon after made the Tusculans citizens of Rome. + </p> + <p> + But putting the case, of which the world is not able to show an example, + that the forfeiture of a populous nation, not conquered, but friends, and + in cool blood, might be taken, your army must be planted in one of the + ways mentioned. To plant it in the way of absolute monarchy, that is, upon + feuds for life, such as the Timars, a country as large and fruitful as + that of Greece, would afford you but 16,000 Timariots, for that is the + most the Turk (being the best husband that ever was of this kind) makes of + it at this day: and if Oceana, which is less in fruitfulness by one-half, + and in extent by three parts, should have no greater a force, whoever + breaks her in one battle, may be sure she shall never rise; for such (as + was noted by Machiavel) is the nature of the Turkish monarchy, if you + break it in two battles, you have destroyed its whole militia, and the + rest being all slaves, you hold it without any further resistance. + Wherefore the erection of an absolute monarchy in Oceana, or in any other + country that is no larger, without making it a certain prey to the first + invader is altogether impossible. + </p> + <p> + To plant by halves, as the Roman emperors did their beneficiaries, or + military colonies, it must be either for life; and this an army of + Oceaners in their own country, especially having estates of inheritance, + will never bear because such an army so planted is as well confiscated as + the people; nor had the Mamelukes been contented with such usage in Egypt, + but that they were foreigners, and daring not to mix with the natives, it + was of absolute necessity to their being. + </p> + <p> + Or planting them upon inheritance, whether aristocratically as the + Neustrians, or democratically as the Israelites, they grow up by certain + consequences into the national interest, and this, if they be planted + popularly, comes to a commonwealth; if by way of nobility, to a mixed + monarchy, which of all other will be found to be the only kind of monarchy + whereof this nation, or any other that is of no greater extent, has been + or can be capable; for if the Israelites, though their democratical + balance, being fixed by their agrarian, stood firm, be yet found to have + elected kings, it was because, their territory lying open, they were + perpetually invaded, and being perpetually invaded, turned themselves to + anything which, through the want of experience, they thought might be a + remedy; whence their mistake in election of their kings, under whom they + gained nothing, but, on the contrary, lost all they had acquired by their + commonwealth, both estates and liberties, is not only apparent, but + without parallel. And if there have been, as was shown, a kingdom of the + Goths in Spain, and of the Vandals in Asia, consisting of a single person + and a Parliament (taking a parliament to be a council of the people only, + without a nobility), it is expressly said of those councils that they + deposed their kings as often as they pleased; nor can there be any other + consequence of such a government, seeing where there is a council of the + people they do never receive laws, but give them; and a council giving + laws to a single person, he has no means in the world whereby to be any + more than a subordinate magistrate but force: in which case he is not a + single person and a parliament, but a single person and an army, which + army again must be planted as has been shown, or can be of no long + continuance. + </p> + <p> + It is true, that the provincial balance bring in nature quite contrary to + the national, you are no way to plant a provincial army upon dominion. But + then you must have a native territory in strength, situation, or + government, able to overbalance the foreign, or you can never hold it. + That an army should in any other case be long supported by a mere tax, is + a mere fancy as void of all reason and experience as if a man should think + to maintain such a one by robbing of orchards; for a mere tax is but + pulling of plum-trees, the roots whereof are in other men’s grounds, who, + suffering perpetual violence, come to hate the author of it; and it is a + maxim, that no prince that is hated by his people can be safe. Arms + planted upon dominion extirpate enemies and make friends; but maintained + by a mere tax, have enemies that have roots, and friends that have none. + </p> + <p> + To conclude, Oceana, or any other nation of no greater extent, must have a + competent nobility, or is altogether incapable of monarchy; for where + there is equality of estates, there must be equality of power, and where + there is equality of power, there can be no monarchy. + </p> + <p> + To come then to the generation of the commonwealth. It has been shown how, + through the ways and means used by Panurgus to abase the nobility, and so + to mend that flaw which we have asserted to be incurable in this kind of + constitution, he suffered the balance to fall into the power of the + people, and so broke the government; but the balance being in the people, + the commonwealth (though they do not see it) is already in the nature of + them. There wants nothing else but time, which is slow and dangerous, or + art, which would be more quick and secure, for the bringing those native + arms, wherewithal they are found already, to resist, they know not how, + everything that opposes them, to such maturity as may fix them upon their + own strength and bottom. + </p> + <p> + But whereas this art is prudence, and that part of prudence which regards + the present work is nothing else but the skill of raising such + superstructures of government as are natural to the known foundations, + they never mind the foundation, but through certain animosities, wherewith + by striving one against another they are infected, or through freaks, by + which, not regarding the course of things, nor how they conduce to their + purpose, they are given to building in the air, come to be divided and + subdivided into endless parties and factions, both civil and + ecclesiastical, which, briefly to open, I shall first speak of the people + in general, and then of their divisions. + </p> + <p> + A people, says Machiavel, that is corrupt, is not capable of a + commonwealth. But in showing what a corrupt people is, he has either + involved himself, or me; nor can I otherwise come out of the labyrinth, + than by saying, the balance altering a people, as to the foregoing + government, must of necessity be corrupt; but corruption in this sense + signifies no more than that the corruption of one government, as in + natural bodies, is the generation of another. Wherefore if the balance + alters from monarchy, the corruption of the people in this case is that + which makes them capable of a commonwealth. But whereas I am not ignorant + that the corruption which he means is in manners, this also is from the + balance. For the balance leading from monarchical into popular abates the + luxury of the nobility, and, enriching the people, brings the government + from a more private to a more public interest which coming nearer, as has + been shown, to justice and right reason, the people upon a like alteration + is so far from such a corruption of manners as should render them + incapable of a commonwealth, that of necessity they must thereby contract + such a reformation of manners as will bear no other kind of government. On + the other side, where the balance changes from popular to oligarchical or + monarchical, the public interest, with the reason and justice included in + the sane, becomes more private; luxury is introduced in the room of + temperance, and servitude in that of freedom, which causes such a + corruption of manners both in the nobility and people, as, by the example + of Rome in the time of the Triumvirs, is more at large discovered by the + author to have been altogether incapable of a commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + But the balance of Oceana changing quite contrary to that of Rome, the + manners of the people were not thereby corrupted, but, on the contrary, + adapted to a commonwealth. For differences of opinion in a people not + rightly informed of their balance, or a division into parties (while there + is not any common ligament of power sufficient to reconcile or hold them) + is no sufficient proof of corruption. Nevertheless, seeing this must needs + be matter of scandal and danger, it will not be amiss, in showing what + were the parties, to show what were their errors. + </p> + <p> + The parties into which this nation was divided, were temporal or + spiritual; and the temporal parties were especially two, the one + royalists, the other republicans, each of which asserted their different + causes, either out of prudence or ignorance, out of interest or + conscience. + </p> + <p> + For prudence, either that of the ancients is inferior to the modern, which + we have hitherto been setting face to face, that anyone may judge, or that + of the royalist must be inferior to that of the commonwealths man. And for + interest, taking the commonwealths man to have really intended the public, + for otherwise he is a hypocrite and the worst of men, that of the royalist + must of necessity have been more private. Wherefore, the whole dispute + will come upon matter of conscience, and this, whether it be urged by the + right of kings, the obligation of former laws, or of the oath of + allegiance, is absolved by the balance. + </p> + <p> + For if the right of kings were as immediately derived from the breath of + God as the life of man, yet this excludes not death and dissolution. But, + that the dissolution of the late monarchy was as natural as the death of + man, has been already shown. Wherefore it remains with the royalists to + discover by what reason or experience it is possible for a monarchy to + stand upon a popular balance; or, the balance being popular, as well the + oath of allegiance, as all other monarchical laws, imply an impossibility, + and are therefore void. + </p> + <p> + To the commonwealths man I have no more to say, but that if he excludes + any party, he is not truly such, nor shall ever found a commonwealth upon + the natural principle of the same, which is justice. And the royalist for + having not opposed a commonwealth in Oceana, where the laws were so + ambiguous that they might be eternally disputed and never reconciled, can + neither be justly for that cause excluded from his full and equal share in + the government; nor prudently for this reason, that a commonwealth + consisting of a party will be in perpetual labor for her own destruction: + whence it was that the Romans, having conquered the Albans, incorporated + them with equal right into the commonwealth. And if the royalists be + “flesh of your flesh,” and nearer of blood than were the Albans to the + Romans, you being also both Christians, the argument is the stronger. + Nevertheless there is no reason that a commonwealth should any more favor + a party remaining in fixed opposition against it, than Brutus did his own + sons. But if it fixes them upon that opposition, it is its own fault, not + theirs; and this is done by excluding them. Men that have equal + possessions and the same security for their estates and their liberties + that you have, have the same cause with you to defend both; but if you + will liberty, though for monarchy; and be trampling, they fight for you + for tyranny, though under the name of a commonwealth: the nature of orders + in a government rightly instituted being void of all jealousy, because, + let the parties which it embraces be what they will, its orders are such + as they neither would resist if they could, nor could if they would, as + has been partly already shown, and will appear more at large by the + following model. + </p> + <p> + The parties that are spiritual are of more kinds than I need mention; some + for a national religion, and others for liberty of conscience, with such + animosity on both sides, as if these two could not consist together, and + of which I have already sufficiently spoken, to show that indeed the one + cannot well subsist without the other But they of all the rest are the + most dangerous, who, holding that the saints must govern, go about to + reduce the commonwealth to a party, as well for the reasons already shown, + as that their pretences are against Scripture, where the saints are + commanded to submit to the higher powers, and to be subject to the + ordinance of man. And that men, pretending under the notion of saints or + religion to civil power, have hitherto never failed to dishonor that + profession, the world is full of examples, whereof I shall confine myself + at present only to a couple, the one of old, the other of new Rome. + </p> + <p> + In old Rome, the patricians or nobility pretending to be the godly party, + were questioned by the people for engrossing all the magistracies of that + commonwealth, and had nothing to say why they did so, but that magistracy + required a kind of holiness which was not in the people; at which the + people were filled with such indignation as had come to cutting of + throats, if the nobility had not immediately laid by the insolency of that + plea; which nevertheless when they had done, the people for a long time + after continued to elect no other but patrician magistrates. + </p> + <p> + The example of new Rome in the rise and practice of the hierarchy (too + well known to require any further illustration) is far more immodest. + </p> + <p> + This has been the course of nature; and when it has pleased or shall + please God to introduce anything that is above the course of nature, he + will, as he has always done, confirm it by miracle; for so in his prophecy + of the reign of Christ upon earth he expressly promises, seeing that “the + souls of them that were beheaded for Jesus, shall be seen to live and + reign with him;” which will be an object of sense, the rather, because the + rest of the dead are not to live again till the thousand years be + finished. And it is not lawful for men to persuade us that a thing already + is, though there be no such object of our sense, which God has told us + shall not be till it be an object of our sense. + </p> + <p> + The saintship of a people as to government, consists in the election of + magistrates fearing God, and hating covetousness, and not in their + confining themselves, or being confined, to men of this or that party or + profession. It consists in making the most prudent and religious choice + they can; yet not in trusting to men, but, next God, to their own orders. + “Give us good men, and they will make us good laws,” is the maxim of a + demagogue, and is (through the alteration which is commonly perceivable in + men, when they have power to work their own wills) exceeding fallible. But + “give us good orders, and they will make us good men,” is the maxim of a + legislator, and the most infallible in the politics. + </p> + <p> + But these divisions (however there be some good men that look sadly on + them) are trivial things; first as to the civil concern, because the + government, whereof this nation is capable, being once seen, takes in all + interests. And, secondly, as to the spiritual; because as the pretence of + religion has always been turbulent in broken governments, so where the + government has been sound and steady, religion has never shown itself with + any other face than that of its natural sweetness and tranquillity, nor is + there any reason why it should, wherefore the errors of the people are + occasioned by their governors. If they be doubtful of the way, or wander + from it, it is because their guides misled them; and the guides of the + people are never so well qualified for leading by any virtue of their own, + as by that of the government. + </p> + <p> + The government of Oceana (as it stood at the time whereof we discourse, + consisting of one single Council of the people, exclusively of the King + and the Lords) was called a Parliament: nevertheless the parliaments of + the Teutons and of the Neustrians consisted, as has been shown, of the + King, lords, and commons; wherefore this, under an old name, was a new + thing a parliament consisting of a single assembly elected by the people, + and invested with the whole power of the government, without any + covenants, conditions, or orders whatsoever. So new a thing, that neither + ancient nor modern prudence can show any avowed example of the like. And + there is scarce anything that seems to me so strange as that (whereas + there was nothing more familiar with these councillors than to bring the + Scripture to the house) there should not be a man of them that so much as + offered to bring the house to the Scripture, wherein, as has been shown, + is contained that original, whereof all the rest of the commonwealths seem + to be copies. Certainly if Leviathan (who is surer of nothing than that a + popular commonwealth consists but of one council) transcribed his doctrine + out of this assembly, for him to except against Aristotle and Cicero for + writing out of their own commonwealths was not so fair play; or if the + Parliament transcribed out of him, it had been an honor better due to + Moses. But where one of them should have an example but from the other, I + cannot imagine, there being nothing of this kind that I can find in story, + but the oligarchy of Athens, the Thirty Tyrants of the same, and the Roman + Decemvirs. + </p> + <p> + For the oligarchy, Thucydides tells us, that it was a Senate or council of + 400, pretending to a balancing council of the people consisting of 5,000, + but not producing them; wherein you have the definition of an oligarchy, + which is a single council both debating and resolving, dividing and + choosing, and what that must come to was shown by the example of the + girls, and is apparent by the experience of all times; wherefore the + thirty set up by the Lacedaemonians (when they had conquered Athens) are + called tyrants by all authors, Leviathan only excepted, who will have them + against all the world to have been an aristocracy, but for what reason I + cannot imagine; these also, as void of any balance, having been void of + that which is essential to every commonwealth, whether aristocratical or + popular, except he be pleased with them, because that, according to the + testimony of Xenophon, they killed more men in eight months than the + Lacedaemonians had done in ten years; “oppressing the people (to use Sir + Walter Raleigh’s words) with all base and intolerable slavery.” + </p> + <p> + The usurped government of the Decemvirs in Rome was of the same kind. + Wherefore in the fear of God let Christian legislators (setting the + pattern given in the Mount on the one side, and these execrable examples + on the other) know the right hand from the left; and so much the rather, + because those things which do not conduce to the good of the governed are + fallacious, if they appear to be good for the governors. God, in + chastising a people, is accustomed to burn his rod. The empire of these + oligarchies was not so violent as short, nor did they fall upon the + people, but in their own immediate ruin. A council without a balance is + not a commonwealth, but an oligarchy; and every oligarchy, except it be + put to the defence of its wickedness or power against some outward danger, + is factious. Wherefore the errors of the people being from their governors + (which maxim in the politics bearing a sufficient testimony to itself, is + also proved by Machiavel), if the people of Oceana have been factious, the + cause is apparent, but what remedy? + </p> + <p> + In answer to this question, I come now to the army, of which the most + victorious captain and incomparable patriot, Olphaus Megaletor, was now + general, who being a much greater master of that art whereof I have made a + rough draught in these preliminaries, had such sad reflections upon the + ways and proceedings of the Parliament as cast him upon books and all + other means of diversion, among which he happened on this place of + Machiavel: “Thrice happy is that people which chances to have a man able + to give them such a government at once, as without alteration may secure + them of their liberties; seeing it was certain that Lacedaemon, in + observing the laws of Lycurgus, continued about 800 years without any + dangerous tumult or corruption.” My lord general (as it is said of + Themistocles, that he could not sleep for the glory obtained by Miltiades + at the battle of Marathon) took so new and deep an impression at these + words of the much greater glory of Lycurgus, that, being on this side + assaulted with the emulation of his illustrious object, and on the other + with the misery of the nation, which seemed (as it were ruined by his + victory) to cast itself at his feet, he was almost wholly deprived of his + natural rest, till the debate he had within himself came to a firm + resolution, that the greatest advantages of a commonwealth are, first, + that the legislator should be one man; and, secondly, that the government + should be made all together, or at once. For the first, it is certain, + says Machiavel, that a commonwealth is seldom or never well turned or + constituted, except it has been the work of one man; for which cause a + wise legislator, and one whose mind is firmly set, not upon private but + the public interest, not upon his posterity but upon his country, may + justly endeavor to get the sovereign power into his own hands, nor shall + any man that is master of reason blame such extraordinary means as in that + case will be necessary, the end proving no other than the constitution of + a well-ordered commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + The reason of this is demonstrable; for the ordinary means not failing, + the commonwealth has no need of a legislator, but the ordinary means + failing, there is no recourse to be had but to such as are extraordinary. + And, whereas a book or a building has not been known to attain to its + perfection if it has not had a sole author or architect, a commonwealth, + as to the fabric of it, is of the like nature. And thus it may be made at + once; in which there be great advantages; for a commonwealth made at once, + takes security at the same time it lends money; and trusts not itself to + the faith of men, but launches immediately forth into the empire of laws, + and, being set straight, brings the manners of its citizens to its rule, + whence followed that uprightness which was in Lacedaemon. But manners that + are rooted in men, bow the tenderness of a commonwealth coming up by twigs + to their bent, whence followed the obliquity that was in Rome, and those + perpetual repairs by the consuls’ axes, and tribunes’ hammers, which could + never finish that commonwealth but in destruction. + </p> + <p> + My lord general being clear in these points, and of the necessity of some + other course than would be thought upon by the Parliament, appointed a + meeting of the army, where he spoke his sense agreeable to these + preliminaries with such success to the soldiery, that the Parliament was + soon after deposed; had he himself, in the great hall of the Pantheon or + palace of justice, situated in Emporium, the capital city, was created by + the universal suffrage of the army, Lord Archon, or sole legislator of + Oceana, upon which theatre you have, to conclude this piece, a person + introduced, whose fame shall never draw its curtain. + </p> + <p> + The Lord Archon being created, fifty select persons to assist him, by + laboring in the mines of ancient prudence, and bringing its hidden + treasures to new light, were added, with the style also of legislators, + and sat as a council, whereof he was the sole director and president. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART2" id="link2H_PART2"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PART II. THE COUNCIL OF LEGISLATORS + </h2> + <p> + OF this piece, being the greater half of the whole work, I shall be able + at this time to give no further account, than very briefly to show at what + it aims. + </p> + <p> + My Lord Archon, in opening the Council of legislators, made it appear how + unsafe a thing it is to follow fancy in the fabric of a commonwealth; and + how necessary that the archives of ancient prudence should be ransacked + before any councillor should presume to offer any other matter in order to + the work in hand, or toward the consideration to be had by the Council + upon a model of government. Wherefore he caused an urn to be brought, and + every one of the councillors to draw a lot. By the lots as they were + drawn, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The Commonwealth of Fell to + + Israel...... Phosphorus de Auge + Athens..... Navarchus de Paralo + Lacedaemon..... Laco de Scytale + Carthage.. Mago de Syrtibus + The Achaeans, AEtolians, and Lycians....Aratus de Isthmo + The Switz Alpester de Fulmine + Holland and the United Provinces Glaucus de Ulna + Rome...... Dolabella de Enyo + Venice..... Lynceus de Stella +</pre> + <p> + These contained in them all those excellencies whereof a commonwealth is + capable; so that to have added more had been to no purpose. Upon time + given to the councillors, by their own studies and those of their friends, + to prepare themselves, they were opened in the order, and by the persons + mentioned at the Council of legislators, and afterward by order of the + same were repeated at the council of the prytans to the people; for in + drawing of the lots, there were about a dozen of them inscribed with the + letter P, whereby the councillors that drew them became prytans. + </p> + <p> + The prytans were a committee or council sitting in the great hall of + Pantheon, to whom it was lawful for any man to offer anything in order to + the fabric of the commonwealth; for which cause, that they might not be + oppressed by the throng, there was a rail about the table where they sat, + and on each side of the same a pulpit; that on the right hand for any man + that would propose anything, and that on the left for any other that would + oppose him. And all parties (being indemnified by proclamation of the + Archon) were invited to dispute their own interests, or propose whatever + they thought fit (in order to the future government) to the council of the + prytans, who, having a guard of about two or three hundred men, lest the + heat of dispute might break the peace, had the right of moderators, and + were to report from time to time such propositions or occurrences as they + thought fit, to the Council of legislators sitting more privately in the + palace called Alma. + </p> + <p> + This was that which made the people (who were neither safely to be + admitted, nor conveniently to be excluded in the framing of the + commonwealth) verily believe, when it came forth, that it was no other + than that whereof they themselves had been the makers. + </p> + <p> + Moreover, this Council sat divers months after the publishing and during + the promulgation of the model to the people; by which means there is + scarce anything was said or written for or against the said model but you + shall have it with the next impression of this work, by way of oration + addressed to and moderated by the prytans. + </p> + <p> + By this means the Council of legislators had their necessary solitude and + due aim in their greater work, as being acquainted from time to time with + the pulse of the people, and yet without any manner of interruption or + disturbance. + </p> + <p> + Wherefore every commonwealth in its place having been opened by due method—that + is, first, by the people; secondly, by the Senate; and, thirdly, by the + magistracy-the Council upon mature debate took such results or orders out + of each, and out of every part of each of them, as upon opening the same + they thought fit; which being put from time to time in writing by the + clerk or secretary, there remained no more in the conclusion, than putting + the orders so taken together, to view and examine them with a diligent + eye, that it might be clearly discovered whether they did interfere, or + could anywise come to interfere or jostle one with the other. For as such + orders jostling or coming to jostle one another are the certain + dissolution of the commonwealth, so, taken upon the proof of like + experience, and neither jostling nor showing which way they can possibly + come to jostle one another, they make a perfect and (for aught that in + human prudence can be foreseen) an immortal commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + And such was the art whereby my Lord Archon (taking council of the + Commonwealth of Israel, as of Moses; and of the rest of the commonwealths, + as of Jethro) framed the model of the Commonwealth of Oceana. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART3" id="link2H_PART3"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PART III. THE MODEL OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF OCEANA + </h2> + <p> + WHEREAS my Lord Archon, being from Moses and Lycurgus the first legislator + that hitherto is found in history to have introduced or erected an entire + commonwealth at once, happened, like them also, to be more intent upon + putting the same into execution or action, than into writing; by which + means the model came to be promulgated or published with more brevity and + less illustration than are necessary for their understanding who have not + been acquainted with the whole proceedings of the Council of legislators, + and of the prytans, where it was asserted and cleared from all objections + and doubts: to the end that I may supply what was wanting in the + promulgated epitome to a more full and perfect narrative of the whole, I + shall rather take the commonwealth practically; and as it has now given an + account of itself in some years’ revolutions (as Dicearchus is said to + have done that of Lacedaemon, first transcribed by his hand some three or + four hundred years after the institution), yet not omitting to add for + proof to every order such debates and speeches of the legislators in their + Council, or at least such parts of them as may best discover the reason of + the government; nor such ways and means as were used in the institution or + rise of the building, not to be so well conceived, without some knowledge + given of the engines wherewithal the mighty weight was moved. But through + the entire omission of the Council of legislators or workmen that squared + every stone to this structure in the quarries of ancient prudence, the + proof of the first part of this discourse will be lame, except I insert, + as well for illustration as to avoid frequent repetition, three remarkable + testimonies in this place. + </p> + <p> + The first is taken out of the Commonwealth of Israel: “So Moses hearkened + to the voice of Jethro, his father-in-law, and did all that he had said. + And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the + people;” tribunes, as it is in the vulgar Latin; or phylarchs, that is, + princes of the tribes, sitting upon twelve thrones, and judging the twelve + tribes of Israel; and next to these he chose rulers of thousands, rulers + of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens, which were the steps + and rise of this commonwealth from its foundation or root to its proper + elevation or accomplishment in the Sanhedrim, and the congregation, + already opened in the preliminaries. + </p> + <p> + The second is taken out of Lacedaemon, as Lycurgus (for the greater + impression of his institutions upon the minds of his citizens) pretended + to have received the model of that commonwealth from the oracle of Apollo + at Delphos, the words whereof are thus recorded by Plutarch in the life of + that famous legislator: “When thou shalt have divided the people into + tribes (which were six) and oboe (which were five in every tribe), thou + shalt constitute the Senate, consisting, with the two Kings, of thirty + councillors, who, according as occasion requires, shall cause the + congregation to be assembled between the bridge and the river Gnacion, + where the Senate shall propose to the people, and dismiss them without + suffering them to debate.” The oboe were lineages into which every tribe + was divided, and in each tribe there was another division containing all + those of the same that were of military age, which being called the mora, + was subdivided into troops and companies that were kept in perpetual + discipline under the command of a magistrate called the polemarch. + </p> + <p> + The third is taken out of the Commonwealth of Rome, or those parts of it + which are comprised in the first and second books of Livy, where the + people, according to the institution by Romulus, are first divided into + thirty curias or parishes, whereof he elected, by three out of each curia, + the Senate, which, from his reign to that or Servius Tullius, proposed to + the parishes or parochial congregations; and these being called the + Comitia curiata, had the election of the kings, the confirmation of their + laws, and the last appeal in matters of judicature, as appears in the case + of Horatius that killed his sister; till, in the reign of Servius (for the + other kings kept not to the institution of Romulus), the people being + grown somewhat, the power of the Curiata was for the greater part + translated to the Centuriata comitia instituted by this King, which + distributed the people, according to the sense of valuation of their + estates, into six classes, every one containing about forty centuries, + divided into youth and elders; the youth for field-service, the elders for + the defence of their territory, all armed and under continual discipline, + in which they assembled both upon military and civil occasions. But when + the Senate proposed to the people, the horse only, whereof there were + twelve centuries, consisting of the richest sort over and above those of + the foot enumerated, were called with the first classes of the foot to the + suffrage; or if these accorded not, then the second classes were called to + them, but seldom or never any of the rest. Wherefore the people, after the + expulsion of the kings, growing impatient of this inequality, rested not + till they had reduced the suffrage as it had been in the Comitia curiato + to the whole people again; but in another way, that is to say, by the + Comitia tributa, which thereupon were instituted, being a council where + the people in exigencies made laws without the Senate, which laws were + called plebiscita. This Council is that in regard whereof Cicero and other + great wits so frequently inveigh against the people, and sometimes even + Livy as at the first institution of it. To say the truth, it was a kind of + anarchy, whereof the people could not be excusable, if there had not, + through the courses taken by the Senate, been otherwise a necessity that + they must have seen the commonwealth run into oligarchy. + </p> + <p> + The manner how the Comitia curiata, centuriata or tributa were called, + during the time of the commonwealth, to the suffrage, was by lot: the + curia, century, or tribe, whereon the first lot fell, being styled + principium, or the prerogative; and the other curioe, centuries or tribes, + whereon the second, third, and fourth lots, etc., fell, the jure vocatoe. + From henceforth not the first classes, as in the times of Servius, but the + prerogative, whether curia, century, or tribe, came first to the suffrage, + whose vote was called omen proerogativum, and seldom failed to be leading + to the rest of the tribes. The jure vocatoe, in the order of their lots, + came next: the manner of giving suffrage was, by casting wooden tablets, + marked for the affirmative or the negative, into certain urns standing + upon a scaffold, as they marched over it in files, which for the + resemblance it bore was called the bridge. The candidate, or competitor, + who had most suffrages in a curia, century, or tribe, was said to have + that curia, century, or tribe; and he who had most of the curioe, + centuries, or tribes, carried the magistracy. + </p> + <p> + These three places being premised, as such upon which there will be + frequent reflection, I come to the narrative, divided into two parts, the + first containing the institution, the second the constitution of the + commonwealth, in each whereof I shall distinguish the orders, as those + which contain the whole model, from the rest of the discourse, which tends + only to the explanation or proof of them. + </p> + <p> + In the institution or building of a commonwealth, the first work, as that + of builders, can be no other than fitting and distributing the materials. + </p> + <p> + The materials of a commonwealth are the people, and the people of Oceana + were distributed by casting them into certain divisions, regarding their + quality, their age, their wealth, and the places of their residence or + habitation, which was done by the ensuing orders. + </p> + <p> + The first order “distributes the people into freemen or citizens and + servants, while such; for if they attain to liberty, that is, to live of + themselves, they are freemen or citizens.” + </p> + <p> + This order needs no proof, in regard of the nature of servitude, which is + inconsistent with freedom, or participation of government in a + commonwealth. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +The second order “distributes citizens into youth and elders (such as +are from eighteen years of age to thirty, being accounted youth; and +such as are of thirty and upward, elders), and establishes that +the youth shall be the marching armies, and the elders the standing +garrisons of this nation.” + + A commonwealth, whose arms are in the hands of her +servants, had need be situated, as is elegantly said of Venice by +Contarini, out of the reach of their clutches; witness the danger run +by that of Carthage in the rebellion of Spendius and Matho. But though +a city, if one swallow makes a summer, may thus chance to be safe, yet +shall it never be great; for if Carthage or Venice acquired any fame +in their arms, it is known to have happened through the mere virtue of +their captains, and not of their orders; wherefore Israel, Lacedaemon, +and Rome entailed their arms upon the prime of their citizens, divided, +at least in Lacedaemon and Rome, into youth and elders: the youth for +the field, and the elders for defence of the territory. +</pre> + <p> + The third order “distributes the citizens into horse and foot, by the + sense or valuation of their estates; they who have above £100 a year in + lands, goods, or moneys, being obliged to be of the horse, and they who + have under that sum to be of the foot. But if a man has prodigally wasted + and spent his patrimony, he is neither capable of magistracy, office, or + suffrage in the commonwealth.” + </p> + <p> + Citizens are not only to defend the commonwealth, but according to their + abilities, as the Romans under Servius Tullius (regard had to their + estates), were some enrolled in the horse centuries, and others of the + foot, with arms enjoined accordingly, nor could it be otherwise in the + rest of the commonwealths, though out of historical remains, that are so + much darker, it be not so clearly probable. And the necessary prerogative + to be given by a commonwealth to estates, is in some measure in the nature + of industry, and the use of it to the public. “The Roman people,” says + Julius Exuperantius, “were divided into classes, and taxed according to + the value of their estates. All that were worth the sums appointed were + employed in the wars; for they most eagerly contend for the victory; who + fight for liberty in defence of their country and possessions. But the + poorer sort were polled only for their heads (which was all they had) and + kept in garrison at home in time of war; for these might betray the armies + for bread, by reason of their poverty, which is the reason that Marius, to + whom the care of the government ought not to have been committed, was the + first that led them into the field;” and his success was accordingly. + There is a mean in things; as exorbitant riches overthrow the balance of a + commonwealth, so extreme poverty cannot hold it, nor is by any means to be + trusted with it. The clause in the order concerning the prodigal is + Athenian, and a very laudable one; for he that could not live upon his + patrimony, if he comes to touch the public money, makes a commonwealth + bankrupt. + </p> + <p> + The fourth order “distributes the people according to the places of their + habitation, into parishes, hundreds, and tribes.” + </p> + <p> + For except the people be methodically distributed, they cannot be + methodically collected; but the being of a commonwealth consists in the + methodical collection of the people: wherefore you have the Israelitish + divisions into rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens; + and of the whole commonwealth into tribes: the Laconic into oboe, moras, + and tribes; the Roman into tribes, centuries, and classes; and something + there must of necessity be in every government of the like nature, as that + in the late monarchy—by counties. But this being the only + institution in Oceana, except that of the agrarian, which required any + charge or included any difficulty, engages me to a more particular + description of the manner how it was performed, as follows: + </p> + <p> + A thousand surveyors, commissioned and instructed by the Lord Archon and + the Council, being divided into two equal numbers, each under the + inspection of two surveyors-general, were distributed into the northern + and southern parts of the territory, divided by the river Hemisua, the + whole whereof contains about 10,000 parishes, some ten of those being + assigned to each surveyor; for as to this matter there needed no great + exactness, it tending only by showing whither everyone was to, begin, to + the more orderly carrying repair and whereabout to on of the work; the + nature of their instructions otherwise regarding rather the number of the + inhabitants than of the parishes. The surveyors, therefore, being every + one furnished with a convenient proportion of urns, balls, and + balloting-boxes—in the use whereof they had been formerly exercised—and + now arriving each at his respective parish, being with the people by + teaching them their first lesson, which was the ballot; and though they + found them in the beginning somewhat froward, as at toys, with which, + while they were in expectation of greater matters from a Council of + legislators, they conceived themselves to be abused, they came within a + little while to think them pretty sport, and at length such as might very + soberly be used in good earnest; whereupon the surveyors began the + institution included in— + </p> + <p> + The first order, requiring “That upon the first Monday next ensuing the + last of December the bigger bell in every parish throughout the nation be + rung at eight of the clock in the morning, and continue ringing for the + space of one hour; and that all the elders of the parish respectively + repair to the church before the bell has done ringing, where, dividing + themselves into two equal numbers, or as near equal as may be, they shall + take their places according to their dignities, if they be of divers + qualities, and according to their seniority, if they be of the same, the + one half on the one side, and the other half on the other, in the body of + the church, which done, they shall make oath to the overseers of the + parish for the time being (instead of these the surveyors were to + officiate at the institution, or first assembly) by holding up their + hands, to make a fair election according to the laws of the ballot, as + they are hereafter explained, of such persons, amounting to a fifth part + of their whole number, to be their deputies, and to exercise their power + in manner hereafter explained, as they shall think in their consciences to + be fittest for that trust, and will acquit themselves of it to the best + advantage of the commonwealth. And oath being thus made, they shall + proceed to election, if the elders of the parish amount to 1,000 by the + ballot of the tribe, as it is in due place explained, and if the elders of + the parish amount to fifty or upward, but within the number of 1,000, by + the ballot of the hundred, as it is in due place explained. But, if the + elders amount not to fifty, then they shall proceed to the ballot of the + parish, as it is in this place and after this manner explained. + </p> + <p> + “The two overseers for the time being shall seat themselves at the upper + end of the middle alley, with a table before them, their faces being + toward the congregation, and the constable for the time being shall set an + urn before the table, into which he shall put so many balls as there be + elders present, whereof there shall be one that is gilded, the rest being + white; and when the constable has shaken the urn, sufficiently to mix the + balls, the overseers shall call the elders to the urn, who from each side + of the church shall come up the middle alley in two files, every man + passing by the urn, and drawing out one ball; which, if it be silver, he + shall cast into a bowl standing at the foot of the urn, and return by the + outward alley on his side to his place. But he who draws the golden ball + is the proposer, and shall be seated between the overseers, where he shall + begin in what order he pleases, and name such as, upon his oath already + taken, he conceives fittest to be chosen, one by one, to the elders; and + the party named shall withdraw while the congregation is balloting his + name by the double box or boxes appointed and marked on the outward part, + to show which side is affirmative and which negative, being carried by a + boy or boys appointed by the overseers, to every one of the elders, who + shall hold up a pellet made of linen rags between his finger and his + thumb, and put it after such a manner into the box, as though no man can + see into which side he puts it, yet any man may see that he puts in but + one pellet or suffrage. And the suffrage of the congregation being thus, + given, shall be returned with the box or boxes to the overseers, who + opening the same, shall pour the affirmative balls into a white bowl + standing upon the table on the right hand, to be numbered by the first + overseer; and the negative into a green bowl standing on the left hand, to + be numbered by the second overseer; and the suffrages being numbered, he + who has the major part in the affirmative is one of the deputies of the + parish, and when so many deputies are chosen as amount to a full fifth + part of the whole number of the elders, the ballot for that time shall + cease. The deputies being chosen are to be listed by the overseers in + order as they were chosen, except only that such as are horse must be + listed in the first place with the rest, proportionable to the number of + the congregation, after this manner.” + </p> + <p> + Anno Domini + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + THE LIST OF THE FIRST MOVER + + A.A. Equestrian Order, First Deputy + B.B. Second Deputy, + C.C. Third Deputy, + D.D. Fourth Deputy, + E.E. Fifty Deputy, + + Of the parish of in the hundred of and the tribe + of, which parish at the present election contains twenty + elders, whereof one is of the horse or equestrian order. +</pre> + <p> + “The first and second in the list are overseers by consequence; the third + is the constable, and the fourth and fifth are churchwardens; the persons + so chosen are deputies of the parish for the space of one year from their + election, and no longer, nor may they be elected two years together. This + list, being the primum mobile, or first mover of the commonwealth, is to + be registered in a book diligently kept and preserved by the overseers, + who are responsible in their places, for these and other duties to be + hereafter mentioned, to the censors of the tribe; and the congregation is + to observe the present order, as they will answer the contrary to the + phylarch, or prerogative troop of the tribe, which, in case of failure in + the whole or any part of it, have power to fine them or any of them at + discretion, but under an appeal to the Parliament.” + </p> + <p> + For proof of this order, first, in reason, it is with all politicians past + dispute that paternal power is in the right of nature; and this is no + other than the derivation of power from fathers of families as the natural + root of a commonwealth. And for experience, if it be otherwise in that of + Holland, I know no other example of the like kind. In Israel, the + sovereign power came clearly from the natural root, the elders of the + whole people; and Rome was born, Comitiis curiatis, in her parochial + congregations, out of which Romulus first raised her Senate, then all the + rest of the orders of that commonwealth, which rose so high: for the depth + of a commonwealth is the just height of it— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “She raises up her head unto the skies, + Near as her root unto the centre lies.” + </pre> + <p> + And if the Commonwealth of Rome was born of thirty parishes, this of + Oceana was born of 10,000. But whereas mention in the birth of this is + made of an equestrian order, it may startle such as know that the division + of the people of Rome, at the institution of that commonwealth into + orders, was the occasion of its ruin. The distinction of the patrician as + a hereditary order from the very institution, engrossing all the + magistracies, was indeed the destruction of Rome; but to a knight or one + of the equestrian order, says Horace, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Si quadringentis sex septem millia desunt, + Plebs eris.” + </pre> + <p> + By which it should seem that this order was not otherwise hereditary than + a man’s estate, nor did it give any claim to magistracy; wherefore you + shall never find that it disquieted the commonwealth, nor does the name + denote any more in Oceana than the duty of such a man’s estate to the + public. + </p> + <p> + But the surveyors, both in this place and in others, forasmuch as they + could not observe all the circumstances of this order, especially that of + the time of election, did for the first as well as they could; and, the + elections being made and registered, took each of them copies of those + lists which were within their allotments, which done they produced— + </p> + <p> + The sixth order, directing “in case a parson or vicar of a parish comes to + be removed by death or by the censors, that the congregation of the parish + assemble and depute one or two elders by the ballot, who upon the charge + of the parish shall repair to one of the universities of this nation with + a certificate signed by the overseers, and addressed to the + vice-chancellor, which certificate, giving notice of the death or removal + of the parson or vicar, of the value of the parsonage or vicarage, and of + the desire of the congregation to receive a probationer from that + university, the vice-chancellor, upon the receipt thereof, shall call a + convocation, and having made choice of a fit person, shall return him in + due time to the parish, where the person so returned shall return the full + fruits of the benefice or vicarage, and do the duty of the parson or + vicar, for the space of one year, as probationer; and that being expired, + the congregation of the elders shall put their probationer to the ballot, + and if he attains not to two parts in three of the suffrage affirmative, + he shall take his leave of the parish, and they shall send in like manner + as before for another probationer; but if their probationer obtains two + parts in three of the suffrage affirmative, he is then pastor of that + parish. And the pastor of the parish shall pray with the congregation, + preach the Word, and administer the sacraments to the same, according to + the directory to be hereafter appointed by the Parliament. Nevertheless + such as are of gathered congregations, or from time to time shall join + with any of them, are in no wise obliged to this way of electing their + teachers, or to give their votes in this case, but wholly left to the + liberty of their own consciences, and to that way of worship which they + shall choose, being not popish, Jewish, or idolatrous. And to the end they + may be the better protected by the State in the exercise of the same, they + are desired to make choice, and such manner as they best like, of certain + magistrates in every one of their congregations, which we could wish might + be four in each of them, to be auditors in cases of differences or + distaste, if any through variety of opinions, that may be grievous or + injurious to them, shall fall out. And such auditors or magistrates shall + have power to examine the matter, and inform themselves, to the end that + if they think it of sufficient weight, they may acquaint the phylarch with + it, or introduce it into the Council of Religion; where all such causes as + those magistrates introduce shall from time to time be heard and + determined according to such laws as are or shall hereafter be provided by + the Parliament for the just defence of the liberty of conscience.” + </p> + <p> + This order consists of three parts, the first restoring the power of + ordination to the people, which, that it originally belongs to them, is + clear, though not in English yet in Scripture, where the apostles ordained + elders by the holding up of hands in every congregation, that is, by the + suffrage of the people, which was also given in some of those cities by + the ballot. And though it may be shown that the apostles ordained some by + the laying on of hands, it will not be shown that they did so in every + congregation. + </p> + <p> + Excommunication, as not clearly provable out of the Scripture, being + omitted, the second part of the order implies and establishes a national + religion; for there be degrees of knowledge in divine things; true + religion is not to be learned without searching the Scripture; the + Scriptures cannot be searched by us unless we have them to search; and if + we have nothing else, or (which is all one) understand nothing else but a + translation, we may be (as in the place alleged we have been) beguiled or + misled by the translation, while we should be searching the true sense of + the Scripture, which cannot be attained in a natural way (and a + commonwealth is not to presume upon that which is supernatural) but by the + knowledge of the original and of antiquity, acquired by our own studies, + or those of some others, for even faith comes by hearing. Wherefore a + commonwealth not making provision of men from time to time, knowing in the + original languages wherein the Scriptures were written, and versed in + those antiquities to which they so frequently relate, that the true sense + of them depends in great part upon that knowledge, can never be secure + that she shall not lose the Scripture, and by consequence her religion; + which to preserve she must institute some method of this knowledge, and + some use of such as have acquired it, which amounts to a national + religion. + </p> + <p> + The commonwealth having thus performed her duty toward God, as a rational + creature, by the best application of her reason to Scripture, and for the + preservation of religion in the purity of the same, yet pretends not to + infallibility, but comes in the third part of the order, establishing + liberty of conscience according to the instructions given to her Council + of Religion, to raise up her hands to heaven for further light; in which + proceeding she follows that (as was shown in the preliminaries) of Israel, + who, though her national religion was always a part of her civil law, gave + to her prophets the upper hand of all her orders. + </p> + <p> + But the surveyors having now done with the parishes, took their leave; so + a parish is the first division of land occasioned by the first collection + of the people of Oceana, whose function proper to that place is comprised + in the six preceding orders. + </p> + <p> + The next step in the progress of the surveyors was to a meeting of the + nearest of them, as their work lay, by twenties; where conferring their + lists, and computing the deputies contained therein, as the number of them + in parishes, being nearest neighbors, amounted to 100, or as even as might + conveniently be brought with that account, they cast them and those + parishes into the precinct which (be the deputies ever since more or + fewer) is still called the hundred; and to every one of these precincts + they appointed a certain place, being the most convenient town within the + same, for the annual rendezvous; which done, each surveyor, returning to + his hundred, and summoning the deputies contained in his lists to the + rendezvous, they appeared and received— + </p> + <p> + The seventh order, requiring, “That upon the first Monday next ensuing the + last of January, the deputies of every parish annually assemble in arms at + the rendezvous of the hundred, and there elect out of their number one + justice of the peace, one juryman, one captain, one ensign of their troop + or century, each of these out of the horse; and one juryman, one coroner, + one high constable, out of the foot. The election to be made by the ballot + in this manner. The jurymen for the time being are to be overseers of the + ballot (instead of these, the surveyors are to officiate at the first + assembly), and to look to the performance of the same according to what + was directed in the ballot of the parishes, saving that the high constable + setting forth the urn shall have five several suits of gold balls, and one + dozen of every suit; whereof the first shall be marked with the letter A, + the second with the letter B, the third with C, the fourth with D, and the + fifth with E: and of each of these suits he shall cast one ball into his + hat, or into a little urn, and shaking the balls together, present them to + the first overseer, who shall draw one, and the suit which is so drawn by + the overseer shall be of use for that day, and no other; for example, if + the overseer drew an A, the high constable shall put seven gold balls + marked with the letter A into the urn, with so many silver ones as shall + bring them even with the number of the deputies, who being sworn, as + before, at the ballot of the parish to make a fair election, shall be + called to the urn; and every man coming in manner as was there shown, + shall draw one ball, which, if it be silver, he shall cast it into a bowl + standing at the foot of the urn, and return to his place: but the first + that draws a gold ball (showing it to the overseers, who if it has not the + letter of the present ballot, have power to apprehend and punish him) is + the first elector, the second the second elector, and so to the seventh; + which order they are to observe in their function. “The electors as they + are drawn shall be placed upon the bench by the overseers, till the whole + number be complete, and then be conducted, with the list of the officers + to be chosen, into a place apart, where, being private, the first elector + shall name a person to the first office in the list; and if the person so + named, being balloted by the rest of the electors, attains not to the + better half of the suffrages in the affirmative, the first elector shall + continue nominating others, till one of them so nominated by him attains + to the plurality of the suffrages in the affirmative, and be written first + competitor to the first office. This done, the second elector shall + observe in his turn the like order; and so the rest of the electors, + naming competitors each to his respective office in the list, till one + competitor be chosen to every office: and when one competitor is chosen to + every office, the first elector shall begin again to name a second + competitor to the first office, and the rest successively shall name to + the rest of the offices till two competitors be chosen to every office; + the like shall be repeated till three competitors be chosen to every + office. And when three competitors are chosen to every office, the list + shall be returned to the overseers, or such as the overseers, in case they + or either of them happened to be electors, have substituted in his or + their place or places; and the overseers or substitutes having caused the + list to be read to the congregation, shall put the competitors, in order + as they are written, to the ballot of the congregation; and the rest of + the proceedings being carried on in the manner directed in the fifth + order, that competitor, of the three written to each office, who has most + of the suffrages above half in the affirmative, is the officer. The list + being after this manner completed, shall be entered into a register, to be + kept at the rendezvous of the hundred, under inspection of the magistrates + of the same, after the manner following: + </p> + <p> + Anno Domini + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + THE LIST OF THE NEBULOSA + + A.A. Equestrian Order, Justice of the Peace, + B.B. Equestrian Order, First Juryman, + C.C. Equestrian Order, Captain of the Hundred, + D.D. Equestrian Order, Ensign, + E.E. Second Juryman, + F.F. High Constable, + G.G. Coroner, + + Of the hundred of in the tribe of, which hundred + consists at this election of 105 deputies. +</pre> + <p> + “The list being entered, the high constable shall take three copies of the + same, whereof he shall presently return one to the lord high sheriff of + the tribe, a second to the lord custos rotulorum, and a third to the + censors; or these, through the want of such magistrates at the first + muster, may be returned to the orator, to be appointed for that tribe. To + the observation of all and every part of this order, the officers and + deputies of the hundred are all and every of them obliged, as they will + answer it to the phylarch, who has power, in case of failure in the whole + or any part, to fine all or any of them so failing at discretion, or + according to such laws as shall hereafter be provided in that case, but + under an appeal to the Parliament.” There is little in this order worthy + of any further account, but that it answers to the rulers of hundreds in + Israel, to the mora or military part of the tribe in Lacedaemon, and to + the century in Rome. The jurymen, being two in a hundred, and so forty in + a tribe, give the latitude allowed by the law for exceptions. And whereas + the golden balls at this ballot begin to be marked with letters, whereof + one is to be drawn immediately before it begins, this is to the end that + the letter being unknown, men may be frustrated of tricks or foul play, + whereas otherwise a man may bring a golden ball with him, and make as if + he had drawn it out of the urn. The surveyors, when they had taken copies + of these lists, had accomplished their work in the hundreds. + </p> + <p> + So a hundred is the second division of land occasioned by the second + collection of the people, whose civil and military functions proper to + this place are comprised in the foregoing order. + </p> + <p> + Having stated the hundreds, they met once again by twenties, where there + was nothing more easy than to cast every twenty hundreds, as they lay most + conveniently together, into one tribe; so the whole territory of Oceana, + consisting of about 10,000 parishes, came to be cast into 1,000 hundreds, + and into fifty tribes. In every tribe at the place appointed for the + annual rendezvous of the same, were then, or soon after begun those + buildings which are now called pavilions; each of them standing with one + open side upon fair columns, like the porch of some ancient temple, and + looking into a field capable of the muster of some 4,000 men; before each + pavilion stand three pillars sustaining urns for the ballot, that on the + right hand equal in height to the brow of a horseman, being called the + horse urn, that on the left hand, with bridges on either side to bring it + equal in height with the brow of a footman, being called the foot urn, and + the middle urn, with a bridge on the side toward the foot urn, the other + side, as left for the horse, being without one; and here ended the whole + work of the surveyors, who returned to the Lord Archon with this— + </p> + <p> + ACCOUNT OF THE CHARGE + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Imprimis: Urns, balls, and balloting-boxes for 10,000 parishes, + the same being wooden-ware, £20,000 + Item: Provision of the like kind for a thousand hundreds + + 3,000 + Item: Urns and balls of metal, with balloting-boxes for fifty + tribes, + + 2,000 + Item: For erecting of fifty pavilions, + + 60,000 + Item: Wages for four surveyors-general at £1,000 a man + + 4,000 + Item: Wages for the rest of the surveyors, being 1,000 at £250 a + man + + 250,000 + + Sum Total £339,000 +</pre> + <p> + This is no great matter of charge for the building of a commonwealth, in + regard that it has cost (which was pleaded by the surveyors) as much to + rig a few ships. Nevertheless that proves not them to be honest, nor their + account to be just; but they had their money for once, though their + reckoning be plainly guilty of a crime, to cost him his neck that commits + it another time, it being impossible for a commonwealth (without an exact + provision that it be not abused in this kind) to subsist; for if no regard + should be had of the charge (though that may go deep), yet the debauchery + and corruption whereto, by negligence in accounts, it infallibly exposes + its citizens, and thereby lessens the public faith, which is the nerve and + ligament of government, ought to be prevented. But the surveyors being + despatched, the Lord Archon was very curious in giving names to his + tribes, which having caused to be written in scrolls cast into an urn, and + presented to the councillors, each of them drew one, and was accordingly + sent to the tribe in his lot, as orators of the same, a magistracy no + otherwise instituted, than for once and pro tempore, to the end that the + council upon so great an occasion might both congratulate with the tribes, + and assist at the first muster in some things of necessity to be + differently carried from the established administration and future course + of the commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + The orators being arrived, every one as soon as might be, at the + rendezvous of his tribe, gave notice to the hundreds, and summoned the + muster which appeared for the most part upon good horses, and already + indifferently well armed; as to instance in one for all, the tribe of + Nubia, where Hermes de Caduceo, lord orator of the same, after a short + salutation and a hearty welcome, applied himself to his business, which + began with— + </p> + <p> + The eighth order requiring “That the lord high sheriff as + commander-in-chief, and the lord custos rotulorum as muster-master of the + tribe (or the orator for the first muster), upon reception of the lists of + their hundreds, returned to them by the high constables of the same, + presently cause them to be cast up, dividing the horse from the foot, and + listing the horse by their names in troops, each troop containing about + 100 in number, to be inscribed First, Second, or Third troop, etc., + according to the order agreed upon by the said magistrates; which done, + they shall list the foot in like manner, and inscribe the companies in + like order. These lists upon the eve of the muster shall be delivered to + certain trumpeters and drummers, whereof there shall be fifteen of each + sort (as well for the present as otherwise to be hereafter mentioned) + stipendiated by the tribe. And the trumpeters and drummers shall be in the + field before the pavilion, upon the day of the muster, so soon as it is + light, where they shall stand every one with his list in his hand, at a + due distance, placed according to the order of the list, the trumpeters + with the lists of the horse on the right hand, and the drummers with the + lists of the foot on the left hand; where having sounded awhile, each of + them shall begin to call and continue calling the names of the deputies, + as they come into the field, till both the horse and foot be gathered by + that means into their due order. The horse and foot being in order, the + lord lieutenant of the tribe shall cast so many gold balls marked with the + figures 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., as there be troops of horse in the field, + together with so many silver balls as there be companies, marked in the + same manner, into a little urn, to which he shall call the captains; and + the captains drawing the gold balls shall command the horse, and those + that draw the silver the foot, each in the order of his lot. The like + shall be done by the conductor at the same time for the ensigns at another + urn; and they that draw the gold balls shall be cornets, the left + ensigns.” + </p> + <p> + This order may puzzle the reader, but tends to a wonderful speed of the + muster, to which it would be a great matter to lose a day in ranging and + marshalling, whereas by virtue of this the tribe is no sooner in the field + than in battalia, nor sooner in battalia than called to the urns or the + ballot by virtue of— + </p> + <p> + The ninth order, “Whereby the censors (or the orator for the first muster) + upon reception of the lists of the hundreds from the high constables, + according as is directed by the seventh order are to make their notes for + the urns beforehand, with regard had to the lists of the magistrates, to + be elected by the ensuing orders, that is to say, by the first list called + the prime magnitude, six; and by the second called the galaxy, nine. + Wherefore the censors are to put into the middle urn for the election of + the first list twenty-four gold balls, with twenty-six blanks or silver + balls, in all sixty; and into the side urns sixty gold balls, divided into + each according to the different number of the horse and foot; that is to + say, if the horse and the foot be equal, equally, and if the horse and the + foot be unequal, unequally, by an arithmetical proportion. The like shall + be done the second day of the muster for the second list, except that the + censors shall put into the middle urn thirty-six gold balls with + twenty-four blanks, in all sixty; and sixty gold balls into the side urns, + divided respectively into the number of the horse and the foot; and the + gold balls in the side urns at either ballot are by the addition of blanks + to be brought even with the number of the ballotants at either urn + respectively. The censors having prepared their notes, as has been shown, + and being come at the day appointed into the field, shall present a little + urn to the lord high sheriff, who is to draw twice for the letters to be + used that day, the one at the side urns, and the other at the middle. And + the censors having fitted the urns accordingly, shall place themselves in + certain movable seats or pulpits (to be kept for that use in the pavilion) + the first censor before the horse urn, the second before the foot urn, the + lord lieutenant doing the office of censor pro tempore at the middle urn; + where all and every one of them shall cause the laws of the ballot to be + diligently observed, taking a special care that no man be suffered to come + above once to the urn (whereof it more particularly concerns the + sub-censors, that is to say, the overseers of every parish, to be careful, + they being each in this regard responsible for their respective parishes) + or to draw above one ball, which if it be gold, he is to present to the + censor, who shall look upon the letter; and if it be not that of the day, + and of the respective urn, apprehend the party, who for this or any other + like disorder is obnoxious to the phylarch.” + </p> + <p> + This order being observed by the censors, it is not possible for the + people, if they can but draw the balls, though they understand nothing at + all of the ballot, to be out. To philosophize further upon this art, + though there be nothing more rational, were not worth the while, because + in writing it will be perplexed, and the first practice of it gives the + demonstration; whence it came to pass that the orator, after some needless + pains in the explanation of the two foregoing orders, betaking himself to + exemplify the same, found the work done to his hand, for the tribe, as + eager upon a business of this nature, had retained one of the surveyors, + out of whom (before the orator arrived) they had got the whole mystery by + a stolen muster, at which in order to the ballot they had made certain + magistrates pro tempore. Wherefore he found not only the pavilion (for + this time a tent) erected with three posts, supplying the place of pillars + to the urns, but the urns being prepared with a just number of balls for + the first ballot, to become the field, and the occasion very gallantly + with their covers made in the manner of helmets, open at either ear to + give passage to the hands of the ballotants, and slanting with noble + plumes to direct the march of the people. + </p> + <p> + Wherefore he proceeded to— + </p> + <p> + The tenth order, “Requiring of the deputies of the parishes, that upon + every Monday next ensuing the last of February, they make their personal + appearance, horse and foot in arms accordingly, at the rendezvous of the + tribe, where, being in discipline, the horse upon the right, and the foot + upon the left, before the pavilion, and having made oath by holding up + their hands, upon the tender of it by the lord high sheriff, to make + election without favor, and of such only as they shall judge fittest for + the commonwealth, the conductor shill take three balls, the one inscribed + with these words (outward files), another with these words (inward files), + and the third with these (middle files), which balls he shall cast into a + little urn, and present it to the lord high sheriff, who, drawing one, + shall give the words of command, as they are thereupon inscribed, and the + ballot shall begin accordingly. For example, if the ball be inscribed + ‘Middle files,’ the ballot shall begin by the middle; that is, the two + files that are middle to the horse shall draw out first to the horse urn, + and the two files that are middle to the foot shall draw out first to the + foot urn, and be followed by all the rest of the files as they are next to + them in order. The like shall be done by the inward, or by the outward + files in case they be first called. And the files, as every man has drawn + his ball, if it be silver, shall behind at the urn to countermarch to + their places, but he that has drawn a gold ball at a side urn shall + proceed to the middle urn, where if the balls he draws be silver he shall + also countermarch, but if it be gold he shall take his place upon a form + set across the pavilion, with his face toward the lord high sheriff, who + shall be seated in the middle of the pavilion, with certain clerks by him, + one of which shall write down the names of every elector, that is, of + every one that drew a gold ball at the middle urn, and in the order his + ball was drawn, till the electors amount to six in number. And the first + six electors, horse and foot promiscuously, are the first order of + electors; the second six (still accounting them as they are drawn) the + second order, the third six the third order, and the fourth six the fourth + order of electors; every elector having place in his order, according to + the order wherein he was drawn. But so soon as the first order of electors + is complete, the lord high sheriff shall send them with a copy of the + following list, and a clerk that understands the ballot, immediately to a + little tent standing before the pavilion in his eye, to which no other + person but themselves, during the election, shall approach. The list shall + be written in this manner:” + </p> + <p> + Anno Domini + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + THE LIST OF THE PRIME MAGNITUDE, OR FIRST DAY’S ELECTION OF + MAGISTRATES + + 1. The Lord High Sheriff, Commander-in-Chief, + 2. Lord Lieutenant, + 3. Lord Custos Rotulorum, Muster-Master-General, + 4. The Conductor, being Quarter-master General, + 5. The First Censor, + 6. The Second Censor, + + Of the tribe of Nubia, containing at the present muster 700 horse + and 1,500 foot, in all 22,000 deputies. +</pre> + <p> + “And the electors of the first band or order, being six, shall each of + them name to his respective magistracy in the left such as are not already + elected in the hundreds, till one competitor be chosen to every magistracy + in the list by the ballot of the electors of the first order, which done, + the list with the competitors thereunto annexed shall be returned to the + lord high sheriff by the clerk attending that order, but the electors + shall keep their places; for they have already given their suffrage, and + may not enter into the ballot of the tribe. If there arises any dispute in + an order of electors, one of the censors or sub-censors appointed by them + in case they be electors, shall enter into the tent of that order, and + that order shall stand to his judgment in the decision of the controversy. + The like shall be done exactly by each other order of electors, being sent + as they are drawn, each with another copy of the same list, into a + distinct tent, till there be returned to the lord high sheriff four + competitors to every magistracy in the list; that is to say, one + competitor elected to every office in every one of the four orders, which + competitors the lord high sheriff shall cause to be pronounced or read by + a crier to the congregation, and the congregation having heard the whole + lists repeated, the names shall be put by the lord high sheriff to the + tribe, one by one, beginning with the first competitor in the first order, + thence proceeding to the first competitor in the second order, and so to + the first in the third and fourth orders. And the suffrages being taken in + boxes by boys (as has been already shown) shall be poured into the bowls + standing before the censors, who shall be seated at each end of the table + in the pavilion, the one numbering the affirmatives and the other the + negatives, and he of the four competitors to the first magistracy that has + most above half the suffrages of the tribe in the affirmative, is the + first magistrate. The like is to be done successively by the rest of the + competitors in their order. But because soon after the boxes are sent out + for the first name, there be others sent out for the second, and so for + the third, etc., by which means divers names are successively at one and + the same time in balloting; the boy that carries a box shall sing or + repeat continually the name of the competitor for whom that box is + carrying, with that also of the magistracy to which he is proposed. A + magistrate of the tribe happening to be an elector, may substitute any one + of his own order to execute his other function. The magistrates of the + prime magnitude being thus elected, shall receive the present charge of + the tribe.” + </p> + <p> + If it be objected against this order that the magistrates to be elected by + it will be men of more inferior rank than those of the hundreds, in regard + that those are chosen first, it may be remembered that so were the + burgesses in the former government, nevertheless the knights of the shire + were men of greater quality; and the election at the hundred is made by a + council of electors, of whom less cannot be expected than the discretion + of naming persons fittest for those capacities, with an eye upon these to + be elected at the tribe. As for what may be objected in point of + difficulty, it is demonstrable by the foregoing orders, that a man might + bring 10,000 men, if there were occasion, with as much ease, and as + suddenly to perform the ballot, as he can make 5,000 men, drawing them out + by double files, to march a quarter of a mile. But because at this ballot, + to go up and down the field, distributing the linen pellets to every man, + with which he is to ballot or give suffrage, would lose a great deal of + time, therefore a man’s wife, his daughters, or others, make him his + provision of pellets before the ballot, and he comes into the field with a + matter of a score of them in his pocket. And now I have as good as done + with the sport. The next is— + </p> + <p> + The eleventh order, “Explaining the duties and functions of the + magistrates contained in the list of the prime magnitude, and those of the + hundreds, beginning with the lord high sheriff, who, over and above his + more ancient offices, and those added by the former order, is the first + magistrate of the phylarch, or prerogative troop. The lord lieutenant, + over and above his duty mentioned, is commander-in-chief of the musters of + the youth, and second magistrate of the phylarch. The custos rotulorum is + to return the yearly muster-rolls of the tribe, as well that of the youth + as of the elders, to the rolls in emporium, and is the third magistrate of + the phylarch. The censors by themselves and their sub-censors, that is, + the overseers of the parishes, are to see that the respective laws of the + ballot be observed in all the popular assemblies of the tribe. They have + power also to put such national ministers, as in preaching shall + intermeddle with matters of government, out of their livings, except the + party appeals to the phylarch, or to the Council of Religion, where in + that case the censors shall prosecute. All and every one of these + magistrates, together with the justices of peace, and the jurymen of the + hundreds, amounting in the whole number to threescore and six, are the + prerogative troop or phylarch of the tribe. + </p> + <p> + “The function of the phylarch or prerogative troop is fivefold: + </p> + <p> + “First, they are the council of the tribe, and as such to govern the + musters of the same according to the foregoing orders, having cognizance + of what has passed in the congregation or elections made in the parishes + or the hundreds, with power to punish any undue practices, or variation + from their respective rules and orders, under an appeal to the Parliament. + A marriage legitimately is to be pronounced by the parochial congregation, + the muster of the hundred, or the phylarch. And if a tribe have a desire + (which they are to express at the muster by their captains, every troop by + his own) to petition the Parliament the phylarch, as the council, shall + frame the petition in the pavilion, and propose it by clauses to the + ballot of the whole tribe; and the clauses that shall be affirmed by the + ballot of the tribe, and signed by the hands of the six magistrates of the + prime magnitude, shall be received and esteemed by the Parliament as the + petition of the tribe, and no other. + </p> + <p> + “Secondly, the phylarch has power to call to their assistance what other + troops of the tribe they please (he they elders or youth, whose discipline + will be hereafter directed), and with these to receive the judges + itinerant in their circuits, whom the magistrates of the phylarch shall + assist upon the bench, and the juries elsewhere in their proper functions + according to the more ancient laws and customs of this nation. + </p> + <p> + “Thirdly, the phylarch shall hold the court called the quartersessions + according to the ancient custom, and therein shall also hear causes in + order to the protection of liberty of conscience, by such rules as are or + shall hereafter be appointed by the Parliament. + </p> + <p> + “Fourthly, all commissions issued into the tribes by the Parliament, or by + the chancery, are to be directed to the phylarch, or some of that troop, + and executed by the same respectively. + </p> + <p> + “Fifthly, in the case of levies of money the Parliament shall tax the + phylarchs, the phylarchs shall tax the hundreds, the hundreds the + parishes, and the parishes shall levy it upon themselves. The parishes + having levied the tax-money accordingly, shall return it to the officers + of the hundreds, the hundred to the phylarchs, and the phylarchs to the + Exchequer. But if a man has ten children living, he shall pay no taxes; if + he has five living, he shall pay but half taxes; if he has been married + three years, or be above twenty-five years of age, and has no child or + children lawfully begotten, he shall pay double taxes. And if there happen + to grow any dispute upon these or such other orders as shall or may hereto + be added hereafter, the phylarchs shall judge the tribes, and the + Parliament shall judge the phylarchs. For the rest, if any man shall go + about to introduce the right or power of debate into any popular council + or congregation of this nation, the phylarch or any magistrate of the + hundred, or of the tribe, shall cause him presently to be sent in custody + to the Council of War.” + </p> + <p> + The part of the order relating to the rolls in Emporium being of singular + use, is not unworthy to be somewhat better opened. In what manner the + lists of the parishes, hundreds, and tribes are made, has been shown in + their respective orders, where, after the parties are elected, they give + an account of the whole number of the elders or deputies in their + respective assemblies or musters; the like for this part exactly is done + by the youth in their discipline (to be hereafter shown) wherefore the + lists of the parishes, youth and elders, being summed up, give the whole + number of the people able to bear arms, and the lists of the tribes, youth + and elders, being summed up, give the whole number of the people bearing + arms. This account, being annually recorded by the master of the rolls, is + called the “Pillar of Nilus,” because the people, being the riches of the + commonwealth, as they are found to rise or fall by the degrees of this + pillar, like that river, give an account of the public harvest. + </p> + <p> + Thus much for the description of the first day’s work at the muster, which + happened (as has been shown) to be done as soon as said; for as in + practice it is of small difficulty, so requires it not much time, seeing + the great Council of Venice, consisting of a like number, begins at twelve + of the clock, and elects nine magistrates in one afternoon. But the tribe + being dismissed for this night, repaired to their quarters, under the + conduct of their new magistrates. The next morning returning to the field + very early, the orator proceeded to— + </p> + <p> + The twelfth order, “Directing the muster of the tribe in the second day’s + election, being that of the list called the galaxy; in which the censors + shall prepare the urns according to the directions given in the ninth + order for the second ballot; that is to say, with thirty-six gold balls in + the middle urn, making four orders, and nine electors in every order, + according to the number of the magistrates in the list of the galaxy, + which is as follows: + </p> + <p> + 1. Knight 2. Knight + </p> + <p> + To be chosen out of the horse. 3. Deputy 4. Deputy 5. Deputy + </p> + <p> + To be chosen out of the horse. 6. Deputy 7. Deputy 8. Deputy 9. Deputy + </p> + <p> + To be chosen out of the foot. + </p> + <p> + “The rest of the ballot shall proceed exactly according to that of the + first day. But, forasmuch as the commonwealth demands as well the fruits + of a man’s body as of his mind, he that has not been married shall not be + capable of these magistracies till he be married. If a deputy already + chosen to be an officer in the parish, in the hundred, or in the tribe, be + afterward chosen of the galaxy, it shall be lawful for him to delegate his + office in the parish, in the hundred, or in the tribe, to any one of his + own order being not already chosen into office. The knights and deputies + being chosen, shall be brought to the head of the tribe by the lord high + sheriff, who shall administer to them this oath: ‘Ye shall well and truly + observe and keep the orders and customs of this commonwealth which the + people have chosen.’ And if any of them shall refuse the oath, he shall be + rejected, and that competitor which had the most voices next shall be + called in his place, who, if he takes the oath, shall be entered in the + list; but if he also refuses the oath, he who had most voices next shall + be called, and so till the number of nine out of those competitors which + had most voices be sworn knights and deputies of the galaxy. (This clause, + in regard to the late divisions, and to the end that no violence be + offered to any man’s conscience, to be of force but for the first three + years only.) The knights of the galaxy being elected and sworn, are to + repair, by the Monday next ensuing to the last of March, to the Pantheon + or palace of justice, situated in the metropolis of this commonwealth + (except the Parliament, by reason of a contagious sickness, or some other + occasion, has adjourned to another part of the nation), where they are to + take their places in the Senate, and continue in full power and commission + as senators for the full term of three years next ensuing the date of + their election. The deputies of the galaxy are to repair by the same day + (except as before excepted) to the halo situated in Emporium, where they + are to be listed of the prerogative tribe, or equal representative of the + people; and to continue in full power and commission as their deputies for + the full term of three years next ensuing their election. But, forasmuch + as the term of every magistracy or office in this commonwealth requires an + equal vacation, a knight or deputy of the galaxy, having fulfilled his + term of three years, shall not be re-elected into the same galaxy or any + other, till he has also fulfilled his three years’ vacation.” + </p> + <p> + Whoever shall rightly consider the foregoing orders, will be as little + able to find how it is possible that a worshipful knight should declare + himself in ale and beef worthy to serve his country, as how my lord high + sheriff’s honor, in case he were protected from the law, could play the + knave. But though the foregoing orders, so far as they regard the + constitution of the Senate and the people, requiring no more as to an + ordinary election than is therein explained, that is but one-third part of + their knights and deputies, are perfect; yet must we in this place, and as + to the institution, of necessity erect a scaffold. For the commonwealth to + the first creation of her councils in full number, required thrice as many + as are eligible by the foregoing orders. Wherefore the orator whose aid in + this place was most necessary, rightly informing the people of the reason, + stayed them two days longer at the muster, and took this course. One list, + containing two knights and seven deputies, he caused to be chosen upon the + second day; which list being called the first galaxy, qualified the + parties elected of it with power for the term of one year, and no longer: + another list, containing two knights and seven deputies more, he caused to + be chosen the third day, which list being called the second galaxy, + qualified the parties elected of it with power for the term of two years, + and no longer. And upon the fourth day he chose the third galaxy, + according as it is directed by the order, empowered for three years; which + lists successively falling (like the signs or constellations of one + hemisphere, which setting, cause those of the other to rise) cast the + great orbs of this commonwealth into an annual, triennial, and perpetual + revolution. + </p> + <p> + The business of the muster being thus happily finished, Hermes de Caduceo, + lord orator of the tribe of Nubia, being now put into her first rapture, + caused one of the censor’s pulpits to be planted in front of the squadron, + and ascending into the same, spake after this manner: + </p> + <p> + “MY LORDS, THE MAGISTRATES AND THE PEOPLE OF THE TRIBE OF NUBIA: + </p> + <p> + “We have this day solemnized the happy nuptials of the two greatest + princes that are upon the earth or in nature, arms and councils, in the + mutual embraces whereof consists your whole commonwealth; whose councils + upon their perpetual wheelings, marches, and countermarches, create her + armies, and whose armies with the golden volleys of the ballot at once + create and salute her councils. There be those (such is the world at + present) that think it ridiculous to see a nation exercising its civil + functions in military discipline; while they, committing their buff to + their servants, come themselves to hold trenchards. For what avails it + such as are unarmed, or (which is all one) whose education acquaints them + not with the proper use of their swords, to be called citizens? What were + 2,000 or 3,000 of you, though never so well affected to your country, but + naked, to one troop of mercenary soldiers? If they should come upon the + field and say, ‘Gentlemen, it is thought fit that such and such men should + be chosen by you,’ where were your liberty? or, ‘Gentlemen, parliaments + are exceeding good, but you are to have a little patience; these times are + not so fit for them,’ where were your commonwealth? What causes the + monarchy of the Turks but servants in arms? What was it that begot the + glorious Commonwealth of Rome but the sword in the hands of her citizens? + Wherefore my glad eyes salute the serenity and brightness of this day with + a shower that shall not cloud it. + </p> + <p> + “Behold the army of Israel become a commonwealth, and the Commonwealth of + Israel remaining an army, with her rulers of tens and of fifties, her + rulers of hundreds and thousands, drawing near (as this day throughout our + happy fields) to the lot by her tribes, increased above threefold, and led + up by her phylarchs or princes, to sit upon fifty thrones, judging the + fifty tribes of Oceana! Or, is it Athens, breaking from her iron + sepulchre, where she has been so long trampled by hosts of Janizaries? For + certainly that is the voice of Theseus, having gathered his scattered + Athenians into one city. This freeborn nation lives not upon the dole or + bounty of one man, but distributing her annual magistracies and honors + with her own hand, is herself King People—(At which the orator was + awhile interrupted with shouts, but at length proceeded.) is it grave + Lacedaemon in her armed tribe, divided by her oboe and her mora, which + appears to chide me that I teach the people to talk, or conceive such + language as is dressed like a woman, to be a fit usher of the joys of + liberty into the hearts of men? is it Rome in her victorious arms (for so + she held her concio or congregation) that congratulates with us, for + finding out that which she could not hit on, and binding up her Comitia + curiata, centuriata, and tributa, in one inviolable league of union? Or is + it the great council of incomparable Venice, bowling forth by the selfsame + ballot her immortal commonwealth? For, neither by reason nor by experience + is it impossible that a commonwealth should be immortal; seeing the people + being the materials, never die; and the form, which is motion, must, + without opposition, be endless. The bowl which is thrown from your hand, + if there be no rub, no impediment, shall never cease: for which cause the + glorious luminaries that are the bowls of God, were once thrown forever; + and next these, those of Venice. But certainly, my lords, whatever these + great examples may have shown us, we are the first that have shown to the + world a commonwealth established in her rise upon fifty such towers, and + so garrisoned as are the tribes of Oceana, containing 100,000 elders upon + the annual list, and yet but an outguard; besides her marching armies to + be equal in the discipline, and in the number of her youth. + </p> + <p> + “And forasmuch as sovereign power is a necessary but a formidable + creature, not unlike the powder which (as you are soldiers) is at once + your safety and your danger, being subject to take fire against you as + well as for you, how well and securely is she, by your galaxies so + collected as to be in full force and vigor and yet so distributed that it + is impossible you should be blown up by your own magazine? Let them who + will have it, that power if it be confined cannot be sovereign, tell us, + whether our rivers do not enjoy a more secure and fruitful reign within + their proper banks, than if it were lawful for them, in ravaging our + harvests, to spill themselves? whether souls, not confined to their + peculiar bodies, do govern them any more than those of witches in their + trances? whether power, not confined to the bounds of reason and virtue, + has any other bounds than those of vice and passion? or if vice and + passion be boundless, and reason and virtue have certain limits, on which + of these thrones holy men should anoint their sovereign? But to blow away + this dust, the sovereign power of a commonwealth is no more bounded, that + is to say straitened, than that of a monarch; but is balanced. The eagle + mounts not to her proper pitch, if she be bounded, nor is free if she be + not balanced. And lest a monarch should think he can reach further with + his sceptre, the Roman eagle upon such a balance spread her wings from the + ocean to Euphrates. Receive the sovereign power; you have received it, + hold it fast, embrace it forever in your shining arms. The virtue of the + loadstone is not impaired or limited, but receives strength and + nourishment, by being bound in iron. And so giving your lordships much + joy, I take my leave of this tribe.” + </p> + <p> + The orator descending, had the period of his speech made with a vast + applause and exultation of the whole tribe, attending him for that night + to his quarter, as the phylarch with some commanded troops did the next + day to the frontiers of the tribe, where leave was taken on both sides + with more tears than grief. + </p> + <p> + So a tribe is the third division of land occasioned by the third + collection of the people, whose functions proper to that place are + contained in the five foregoing orders. + </p> + <p> + The institution of the commonwealth was such as needed those props and + scaffolds which may have troubled the reader; but I shall here take them + away, and come to the constitution which stands by itself, and yields a + clearer prospect. + </p> + <p> + The motions, by what has been already shown, are spherical; and spherical + motions have their proper centre, for which cause (ere I proceed further) + it will be necessary, for the better understanding of the whole, that I + discover the centre whereupon the motions of this commonwealth are formed. + </p> + <p> + The centre, or basis of every government, is no other than the fundamental + laws of the same. + </p> + <p> + Fundamental laws are such as state what it is that a man, and what the + means may call his own, that is to say, property; be whereby a man may + enjoy his own, that is to say, protection. The first is also called + dominion, and the second empire or sovereign power, whereof this (as has + been shown) is the natural product of the former, for such as is the + balance of dominion in a nation, such is the nature of its empire. + </p> + <p> + Wherefore the fundamental laws of Oceana, or the centre of this + commonwealth, are the agrarian and the ballot: the agrarian by the balance + of dominion preserving equality in the root; and the ballot by an equal + rotation conveying it into the branch, or exercise of sovereign power, as, + to begin with the former, appears by— + </p> + <p> + The thirteenth order, “Constituting the agrarian laws of Oceana, Marpesia, + and Panopea, whereby it is ordained, first, for all such lands as are + lying and being within the proper territories of Oceana, that every man + who is at present possessed, or shall hereafter be possessed, of an estate + in land exceeding the revenue of £2,000 a year, and having more than one + son, shall leave his lands either equally divided among them, in case the + lands amount to above £2,000 a year to each, or so near equally, in case + they come under, that the greater part or portion of the same remaining to + the eldest exceed not the value of £2,000 revenue. And no man, not in + present possession of lands above the value of £2,000 by the year, shall + receive, enjoy (except by lawful inheritance) acquire, or, purchase to + himself lands within the said territories, amounting, with those already + in his possession, above the said revenue. And if a man has a daughter or + daughters, except she be an heiress or they be heiresses, he shall not + leave or give to any. One of them in marriage, or otherwise, for her + portion, above the value of £1,500 in lands, goods, and moneys. Nor shall + any friend, kinsman, or kinswoman add to her or their portion or portions + that are so provided for, to make any one of them greater. Nor shall any + man demand or have more in marriage with any woman. Nevertheless an + heiress shall enjoy her lawful inheritance, and a widow, whatsoever the + bounty or affection of her husband shall bequeath to her, to be divided in + the first generation, wherein it is divisible according as has been shown. + </p> + <p> + “Secondly, for lands lying and being within the territories of Marpesia, + the agrarian shall hold in all parts as it is established in Oceana, + except only in the standard or proportion of estates in land, which shall + be set for Marpesia, at £500. And, + </p> + <p> + “Thirdly, for Panopea, the agrarian shall hold in all parts, as in Oceana. + And whosoever possessing above the proportion allowed by these laws, shall + be lawfully convicted of the same, shall forfeit the overplus to the use + of the State.” + </p> + <p> + Agrarian laws of all others have ever been the greatest bugbears, and so + in the institution were these, at which time it was ridiculous to see how + strange a fear appeared in everybody of that which, being good for all, + could hurt nobody. But instead of the proof of this order, I shall out of + those many debates that happened ere it could be passed, insert two + speeches that were made at the Council of legislators, the first by the + Right Honorable Philautus de Garbo, a young man, being heir-apparent to a + very noble family, and one of the councillors, who expressed himself as + follows: + </p> + <p> + “May it please your Highness, my Lord Archon of Oceana. + </p> + <p> + “If I did not, to my capacity, know from how profound a councillor I + dissent, it would certainly be no hard task to make it as light as the + day. First, that an agrarian is altogether unnecessary; secondly, that it + is dangerous to a commonwealth; thirdly, that it is insufficient to keep + out monarchy; fourthly, that it ruins families; fifthly, that it destroys + industry; and last of all, that though it were indeed of any good use, it + will be a matter of such difficulty to introduce in this nation, and so to + settle that it may be lasting, as is altogether invincible. + </p> + <p> + “First, that an agrarian is unnecessary to a commonwealth, what clearer + testimony can there be than that the commonwealths which are our + contemporaries (Venice, to which your Highness gives the upper hand of all + antiquity, being one) have no such thing? And there can be no reason why + they have it not, seeing it is in the sovereign power at any time to + establish such an order, but that they need it not; wherefore no wonder if + Aristotle, who pretends to be a good commonwealths man, has long since + derided Phaleas, to whom it was attributed by the Greeks, for his + invention. + </p> + <p> + “Secondly, that an agrarian is dangerous to a commonwealth is affirmed + upon no slight authority seeing Machiavel is positive that it was the + dissension which happened about the agrarian that caused the destruction + of Rome; nor do I think that it did much better in Lacedaemon, as I shall + show anon. + </p> + <p> + “Thirdly, that it is insufficient to keep out monarchy cannot without + impiety be denied, the holy Scriptures bearing witness that the + Commonwealth of Israel, notwithstanding her agrarian, submitted her neck + to the arbitrary yoke of her princes. + </p> + <p> + “Fourthly, therefore, to come to my next assertion, that it is destructive + to families: this also is so apparent, that it needs pity rather than + proof. Why alas, do you bind a nobility (which no generation shall deny to + have been the first that freely sacrificed their blood to the ancient + liberties of this people) on an unholy altar? Why are the people taught + that their liberty, which, except our noble ancestors had been born, must + have long since been buried, cannot now be born except we be buried? A + commonwealth should have the innocence of the dove. Let us leave this + purchase of her birth to the serpent, which eats itself out of the womb of + its mother. + </p> + <p> + “Fifthly but it may be said, perhaps, that we are fallen from our first + love, become proud and idle. It is certain, my lords, that the hand of God + is not upon us for nothing. But take heed how you admit of such assaults + and sallies upon men’s estates, as may slacken the nerve of labor, and + give others also reason to believe that their sweat is vain; or else, + whatsoever be pretended, your agrarian (which is my fifth assertion) must + indeed destroy industry. For, that so it did in Lacedaemon is most + apparent, as also that it could do no otherwise, where every man having + his forty quarters of barley, with wine proportionable, supplied him out + of his own lot by his laborer or helot; and being confined in that to the + scantling above which he might not live, there was not any such thing as a + trade, or other art, except that of war, in exercise. Wherefore a Spartan, + if he were not in arms, must sit and play with his Angers, whence ensued + perpetual war, and, the estate of the city being as little capable of + increase as that of the citizens, her inevitable ruin. Now what better + ends you can propose to yourselves in the like ways, I do not so well see + as I perceive that there may be worse; for Lacedaemon yet was free from + civil war: but if you employ your citizens no better than she did, I + cannot promise you that you shall fare so well, because they are still + desirous of war that hope that it may be profitable to them; and the + strongest security you can give of peace, is to make it gainful. Otherwise + men will rather choose that whereby they may break your laws, than that + whereby your laws may break them. Which I speak not so much in relation to + the nobility or such as would be holding, as to the people or them that + would be getting; the passion in these being so much the stronger, as a + man’s felicity is weaker in the fruition of things, than in their + prosecution and increase. + </p> + <p> + “Truly, my lords, it is my fear, that by taking of more hands, and the + best from industry, you will farther endamage it, than can be repaired by + laying on a few, and the worst; while the nobility must be forced to send + their sons to the plough, and, as if this were not enough, to marry their + daughters also to farmers. + </p> + <p> + “Sixthly, but I do not see (to come to the last point) how it is possible + that this thing should be brought about, to your good I mean, though it + may to the destruction of many. For that the agrarian of Israel, or that + of Lacedaemon, might stand, is no such miracle; the lands, without any + consideration of the former proprietor, being surveyed and cast into equal + lots, which could neither be bought, nor sold, nor multiplied: so that + they knew whereabout to have a man. But in this nation no such division + can be introduced, the lands being already in the hands of proprietors, + and such whose estates lie very rarely together, but mixed one with + another being also of tenures in nature so different, that as there is no + experience that an agrarian was ever introduced in such a case, so there + is no appearance how or reason why it should: but that which is against + reason and experience is impossible.” + </p> + <p> + The case of my Lord Philautus was the most concerned in the whole nation; + for he had four younger brothers, his father being yet living, to whom he + was heir of £10,000 a year. Wherefore being a man both of good parts and + esteem, his words wrought both upon men’s reason and passions, and had + borne a stroke at the head of the business, if my Lord Archon had not + interposed the buckler in this oration: + </p> + <p> + “MY LORDS, THE LEGISLATORS OF OCEANA: + </p> + <p> + “My Lord Philautus has made a thing which is easy to seem hard; if the + thanks were due to his eloquence, it would be worthy of less praise than + that he owes it to his merit, and the love he has most deservedly + purchased of all men: nor is it rationally to be feared that he who is so + much beforehand in his private, should be in arrear in his public, + capacity. Wherefore, my lord’s tenderness throughout his speech arising + from no other principle than his solicitude lest the agrarian should be + hurtful to his country, it is no less than my duty to give the best + satisfaction I am able to so good a patriot, taking every one of his + doubts in the order proposed. And, + </p> + <p> + “First, whereas my lord, upon observation of the modern commonwealths, is + of opinion that an agrarian is not necessary: it must be confessed that at + the first sight of them there is some appearance favoring his assertion, + but upon accidents of no precedent to us. For the commonwealths of + Switzerland and Holland, I mean of those leagues, being situated in + countries not alluring the inhabitants to wantonness, but obliging them to + universal industry, have an implicit agrarian in the nature of them: and + being not obnoxious to a growing nobility (which, as long as their former + monarchies had spread the wing over them, could either not at all be + hatched, or was soon broken) are of no example to us, whose experience in + this point has been to the contrary. But what if even in these governments + there be indeed an explicit agrarian? For when the law commands an equal + or near equal distribution of a man’s estate in land among his children, + as it is done in those countries, a nobility cannot grow; and so there + needs no agrarian, or rather there is one. And for the growth of the + nobility in Venice (if so it be, for Machiavel observes in that republic, + as a cause of it, a great mediocrity of estates) it is not a point that + she is to fear, but might study, seeing she consists of nothing else but + nobility, by which, whatever their estates suck from the people, + especially if it comes equally, is digested into the better blood of that + commonwealth, which is all, or the greatest, benefit they can have by + accumulation. For how unequal soever you will have them to be in their + incomes, they have officers of the pomp, to bring them equal in expenses, + or at least in the ostentation or show of them. And so unless the + advantage of an estate consists more in the measure than in the use of it, + the authority of Venice does but enforce our agrarian; nor shall a man + evade or elude the prudence of it, by the authority of any other + commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + “For if a commonwealth has been introduced at once, as those of Israel and + Lacedaemon, you are certain to find her underlaid with this as the main + foundation; nor, if she is obliged more to fortune than prudence, has she + raised her head without musing upon this matter, as appears by that of + Athens, which through her defect in this point, says Aristotle, introduced + her ostracism, as most of the democracies of Greece. But, not to restrain + a fundamental of such latitude to any one kind of government, do we not + yet see that if there be a sole landlord of a vast territory, he is the + Turk? that if a few landlords overbalance a populous country, they have + store of servants? that if a people be in an equal balance, they can have + no lords? that no government can otherwise be erected, than upon some one + of these foundations? that no one of these foundations (each being else + apt to change into some other) can give any security to the government, + unless it be fixed? that through the want of this fixation, potent + monarchy and commonwealths have fallen upon the heads of the people, and + accompanied their own sad ruins with vast effusions of innocent blood? Let + the fame, as was the merit of the ancient nobility of this nation, be + equal to or above what has been already said, or can be spoken, yet have + we seen not only their glory but that of a throne, the most indulgent to + and least invasive for so many ages upon the liberty of a people that the + world has known, through the mere want of fixing her foot by a + proportionable agrarian upon her proper foundation, to have fallen with + such horror as has been a spectacle of astonishment to the whole earth. + And were it well argued from one calamity, that we ought not to prevent + another? Nor is Aristotle so good a commonwealths man for deriding the + invention of Phaleas as in recollecting himself, where he says that + democracies, when a less part of their citizens overtop the rest in + wealth, degenerate into oligarchies and principalities; and, which comes + nearer to the present purpose, that the greater part of the nobility of + Tarentum coming accidentally to be ruined, the government of the few came + by consequence to be changed into that of the many. + </p> + <p> + “These things considered, I cannot see how an agrarian, as to the fixation + or security of a government, can be less than necessary. And if a cure be + necessary, it excuses not the patient, his disease being otherwise + desperate, that it is dangerous; which was the case of Rome, not so stated + by Machiavel, where he says, that the strife about the agrarian caused the + destruction of that commonwealth. As if when a senator was not rich (as + Crassus held) except he could pay an army, that commonwealth could expect + nothing but ruin whether in strife about the agrarian, or without it. ‘Of + late,’ says Livy, ‘riches have introduced avarice, and voluptuous + pleasures abounding have through lust and luxury begot a desire of lasting + and destroying all good orders.’ if the greatest security of a + commonwealth consists in being provided with the proper antidote against + this poison, her greatest danger, must be from the absence of an agrarian, + which is the whole truth of the Roman example. For the Laconic, I shall + reserve the further explication of it, as my lord also did, to another + place; and first see whether an agrarian proportioned to a popular + government be sufficient to keep out monarchy. My lord is for the + negative, and fortified by the people of Israel electing a king. To which + I say that the action of the people therein expressed is a full answer to + the objection of that example; for the monarchy neither grew upon them, + nor could; by reason of the agrarian, possibly have invaded them, if they + had not pulled it upon themselves by the election of a king. Which being + an accident, the like whereof is not to be found in any other people so + planted, nor in this till, as it is manifest, they were given up by God to + infatuation (for says he to Samuel, ‘They have not rejected thee, but they + have rejected me, that I should not reign over them,), has something in it + which is apparent, by what went before, to have been besides the course of + nature, and by what followed. + </p> + <p> + “For the King having no other foundation than the calamities of the + people, so often beaten by their enemies, that despairing of themselves + they were contented with any change, if he had peace as in the days of + Solomon, left but a slippery throne to his successor, as appeared by + Rehoboam. And the agrarian, notwithstanding the monarchy thus introduced, + so faithfully preserved the root of that commonwealth, that it shot forth + oftener and by intervals continued longer than any other government, as + may be computed from the institution of the same by Joshua, 1,465 years + before Christ, to the total dissolution of it, which happened in the reign + of the emperor Adrian, 135 years after the incarnation. A people planted + upon an equal agrarian, and holding to it, if they part with their + liberty, must do it upon good-will, and make but a bad title of their + bounty. As to instance yet further in that which is proposed by the + present order to this nation, the standard whereof is at £2,000 a year; + the whole territory of Oceana being divided by this proportion, amounts to + 5,000 lots. So the lands of Oceana being thus distributed, and bound to + this distribution, can never fall to fewer than 5,000 proprietors. But + 5,000 proprietors so seized will not agree to break the agrarian, for that + were to agree to rob one another; nor to bring in a king, because they + must maintain him, and can have no benefit by him; nor to exclude the + people, because they can have as little by that, and must spoil their + militia. So the commonwealth continuing upon the balance proposed, though + it should come into 5,000 hands, can never alter, and that it should ever + come into 5,000 hands is as improbable as anything in the world that is + not altogether impossible. + </p> + <p> + “My lord’s other considerations are more private, as that, this order + destroys families; which is as if one should lay the ruin of some ancient + castle to the herbs which usually grow out of them, the destruction of + those families being that indeed which naturally produced this order. For + we do not now argue for that which we would have, but for that which we + are already possessed of, as would appear if a note were but taken of all + such as have at this day above £2,000 a year in Oceana. If my lord should + grant (and I will put it with the most) that they who are proprietors in + land, exceeding this proportion, exceed not 300, with what brow can the + interest of so few be balanced with that of the whole nation? or rather, + what interest have they to put in such a balance? they would live as they + had been accustomed to do; who hinders them? they would enjoy their + estates; who touches them? they would dispose of what they have according + to the interest of their families; it is that which we desire. A man has + one son, let him be called; would he enjoy his father’s estate? it is his, + his son’s, and his son’s son’s after him. A man has five sons, let them be + called; would they enjoy their father’s estate? It is divided among them; + for we have four votes for one in the same family, and therefore this must + be the interest of the family, or the family knows not its own interest. + If a man shall dispute otherwise, he must draw his arguments from custom + and from greatness, which was the interest of the monarchy, not of the + family; and we are now a commonwealth. If the monarchy could not bear with + such divisions because they tendered to a commonwealth, neither can a + commonwealth connive at such accumulations because they tend to a + monarchy. If the monarchy might make bold with so many for the good of + one, we may make bold with one for the good of so many, nay, for the good + of all. + </p> + <p> + “My lords, it comes into my mind, that which upon occasion of the variety + of parties enumerated in our late civil wars, was said by a friend of mine + coming home from his travels, about the latter end of these troubles; that + he admired how it came to pass, that younger brothers, especially being so + many more in number than their elder did not unite as one man against a + tyranny, the like whereof has not been exercised in any other nation. And + truly, when I consider that our countrymen are none of the worst-natured, + I must confess I marvel much how it comes to pass that we should use our + children as we do our puppies—take one, lay it in the lap, feed it + with every good bit, and drown five; nay, yet worse, forasmuch as the + puppies are once drowned, whereas the children are left perpetually + drowning. Really, my lords, it is a flinty custom! and all this for his + cruel ambition, that would raise himself a pillar a golden pillar for his + monument, though he has children, his own reviving flesh, and a kind of + immortality. And this is that interest of a family, for which we are to + think ill of a government that will not endure it. But quiet ourselves; + the land through which the river Nilus wanders in one stream, is barren; + but where it parts into seven, it multiplies its fertile shores by + distributing, yet keeping and improving, such a propriety and nutrition, + as is a prudent agrarian to a well-ordered commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + “Nor (to come to the fifth assertion) is a political body rendered any + fitter for industry by having one gouty and another withered leg, than a + natural. It tends not to the improvement of merchandise that there be some + who have no need of their trading, and others that are not able to follow + it. If confinement discourages industry, an estate in money is not + confined, and lest industry should want whereupon to work, land is not + engrossed or entailed upon any man, but remains at its devotion. I wonder + whence the computation can arise, that this should discourage industry. + Two thousand pounds a year a man may enjoy in Oceana, as much in Panopea, + £500 in Marpesia; there be other plantations, and the commonwealth will + have more. Who knows how far the arms of our agrarian may extend + themselves? and whether he that might have left a pillar, may not leave a + temple of many pillars to his more pious memory? Where there is some + measure in riches, a man may be rich, but if you will have them to be + infinite, there will be no end of starving himself, and wanting what he + has: and what pains does such a one take to be poor Furthermore, if a man + shall think that there may be an industry less greasy or more noble, and + so cast his thoughts upon the commonwealth, he will have leisure for her + and she riches and honors for him; his sweat shall smell like Alexander’s. + My Lord Philautus is a young man who, enjoying his £10,000 a year, may + keep a noble house in the old way, and have homely guests; and having but + two, by the means proposed, may take the upper hand of his great + ancestors; with reverence to whom, I may say, there has not been one of + them would have disputed his place with a Roman consul. + </p> + <p> + “My lord, do not break my heart; the nobility shall go to no other ploughs + than those which we call our consuls. But, says he, it having been so with + Lacedaemon, that neither the city nor the citizens were capable of + increase, a blow was given by that agrarian, which ruined both. And what + are we concerned with that agrarian, or that blow while our citizens and + our city (and that by our agrarian) are both capable of increase? The + Spartan, if he made a conquest, had no citizens to hold it; the Oceaner + will have enow. The Spartan could have no trade; the Oceaner may have all. + The agrarian in Laconia, that it might bind on knapsacks, forbidding all + other arts but that of war, could not make an army of above 30,000 + citizens. The agrarian in Oceana, without interruption of traffic, + provides us in the fifth part of the youth an annual source or fresh + spring of 100,000, besides our provincial auxiliaries, out of which to + draw marching armies; and as many elders, not feeble, but men most of them + in the flower of their age, and in arms for the defence of our + territories. The agrarian in Laconia banished money, this multiplies it; + that allowed a matter of twenty or thirty acres to a man, this 2,000 or + 3,000; there is no comparison between them. And yet I differ so much from + my lord, or his opinion that the agrarian was the ruin of Lacedaemon, that + I hold it no less than demonstrable to have been her main support. For if, + banishing all other diversions, it could not make an army of above 30,000, + then, letting in all other diversions, it must have broken that army. + Wherefore Lysander, bringing in the golden spoils of Athens, irrevocably + ruined that commonwealth; and is a warning to us, that in giving + encouragement to industry, we also remember that covetousness is the root + of all evil. And our agrarian can never be the cause of those seditions + threatened by my lord, but is the proper cure of them, as Lucan notes well + in the state of Rome before the civil wars, which happened through the + want of such an antidote. + </p> + <p> + “Why then are we mistaken, as if we intended not equal advantages in our + commonwealth to either sex, because we would not have women’s fortunes + consist in that metal which exposes them to cutpurses? If a man cuts my + purse I may have him by the heels or by the neck for it; whereas a man may + cut a woman’s purse, and have her for his pains in fetters. How brutish, + and much more than brutish, is that commonwealth which prefers the earth + before the fruits of the womb? If the people be her treasure, the staff by + which she is sustained and comforted, with what justice can she suffer + them, by whom she is most enriched, to be for that cause the most + impoverished? And yet we see the gifts of God, and the bounties of heaven + in fruitful families, through this wretched custom of marrying for money, + become their insupportable grief and poverty. Nor falls this so heavy upon + the lower sort, being better able to shift for themselves, as upon the + nobility or gentry. For what avails it in this case, from whence their + veins have derived their blood; while they shall see the tallow of a + chandler sooner converted into that beauty which is required in a bride? I + appeal, whether my Lord Philautus or myself be the advocate of nobility; + against which, in the case proposed by me, there would be nothing to hold + the balance. And why is a woman, if she may have but £1,500, undone? If + she be unmarried, what nobleman allows his daughter in that case a greater + revenue than so much money may command? And if she marry, no nobleman can + give his daughter a greater portion than she has. Who is hurt in this + case?—nay, who is not benefited? If the agrarian gives us the sweat + of our brows without diminution; if it prepares our table; if it makes our + cup to overflow, and above all this, in providing for our children, + anoints our heads with that oil which takes away the greatest of worldly + cares; what man, that is not besotted with a covetousness as vain as + endless, can imagine such a constitution to be his poverty? Seeing where + no woman can be considerable for her portion, no portion will be + considerable with a woman; and so his children will not only find better + preferments without his brokage, but more freedom of their own affections. + “We are wonderful severe in laws, that they shall not marry without our + consent, as if it were care and tenderness over them; but is it not lest + we should not have the other £1,000 with this son, or the other £100 a + year more in jointure for that daughter? These, when we are crossed in + them, are the sins for which we water our couch with tears, but not of + penitence. Seeing whereas it is a mischief beyond any that we can do to + our enemies, we persist to make nothing of breaking the affection of our + children. But there is in this agrarian a homage to pure and spotless + love, the consequence whereof I will not give for all your romances. An + alderman makes not his daughter a countess till he has given her £20,000, + nor a romance a considerable mistress till she be a princess; these are + characters of bastard love. But if our agrarian excludes ambition and + covetousness, we shall at length have the care of our own breed, in which + we have been curious as to our dogs and horses. The marriage-bed will be + truly legitimate, and the race of the commonwealth not spurious. But + (impar magnanimis ausis, imparque dolori) I am hurled from all my hopes by + my lord’s last assertion of impossibility, that the root from whence we + imagine these fruits should be planted or thrive in this soil. And why? + Because of the mixture of estates and variety of tenures. Nevertheless, + there is yet extant in the Exchequer an old survey of the whole nation; + wherefore such a thing is not impossible. Now if a new survey were taken + at the present rates, and the law made that no man should hold hereafter + above so much land as is valued therein at £2,000 a year, it would amount + to a good and sufficient agrarian. It is true that there would remain some + difficulty in the different kind of rents, and that it is a matter + requiring not only more leisure than we have, but an authority which may + be better able to bow men to a more general consent than is to be wrought + out of them by such as are in our capacity. Wherefore as to the manner, it + is necessary that we refer it to the Parliament; but as to the matter, + they cannot otherwise fix their government upon the right balance. + </p> + <p> + “I shall conclude with a few words to some parts of the order, which my + lord has omitted. As first to the consequences of the agrarian to be + settled in Marpesia, which irreparably breaks the aristocracy of that + nation; being of such a nature, as standing, it is not possible that you + should govern. For while the people of that country are little better than + the cattle of the nobility, you must not wonder if, according as these can + make their markets with foreign princes, you find those to be driven upon + your grounds. And if you be so tender, now you have it in your power, as + not to hold a hand upon them that may prevent the slaughter which must + otherwise ensue in like cases, the blood will lie at your door. But in + holding such a hand upon them, you may settle the agrarian; and in + settling the agrarian, you give that people not only liberty, but lands; + which makes your protection necessary to their security; and their + contribution due to your protection, as to their own safety. + </p> + <p> + “For the agrarian of Panopea, it allowing such proportions of so good + land, men that conceive themselves straitened by this in Oceana, will + begin there to let themselves forth, where every citizen will in time have + his villa. And there is no question, but the improvement of that country + by this means must be far greater than it has been in the best of former + times. I have no more to say, but that in those ancient and heroic ages + (when men thought that to be necessary which was virtuous) the nobility of + Athens, having the people so much engaged in their debt that there + remained no other question among these than which of those should be king, + no sooner heard Solon speak than they quitted their debts, and restored + the commonwealth; which ever after held a solemn and annual feast called + the Sisacthia, or Recision, in memory of that action. Nor is this example + the phoenix; for at the institution by Lycurgus, the nobility having + estates (as ours here) in the lands of Laconia, upon no other valuable + consideration than the commonwealth proposed by him, threw them up to be + parcelled by his agrarian. But now when no man is desired to throw up a + farthing of his money, or a shovelful of his earth, and that all we can do + is but to make a virtue of necessity, we are disputing whether we should + have peace or war. For peace you cannot have without some government, nor + any government without the proper balance. Wherefore if you will not fix + this which you have, the rest is blood, for without blood you can bring in + no other.” + </p> + <p> + By these speeches made at the institution of the agrarian you may perceive + what were the grounds of it. The next is— + </p> + <p> + The fourteenth order, “Constituting the ballot of Venice, as it is fitted + by several alterations, and appointed to every assembly, to be the + constant and only way of giving suffrage in this commonwealth, according + to the following scheme.” + </p> + <p> + I shall endeavor by the following figure to demonstrate the manner of the + Venetian ballot (a thing as difficult in discourse or writing, as facile + in practice) according to the use of it in Oceana. The whole figure + represents the Senate, containing, as to the house or form of sitting, a + square and a half; the tribunal at the upper end being ascended by four + steps. On the uppermost of these sit the magistrates that constitute the + signory of the commonwealth, that is to say, A the strategus; B the + orator; C the three commissioners of the great seal; D the three + commissioners of the Treasury, whereof one, E, exercises for the present + the office of a censor at the middle urn, F To the two upper steps of the + tribunal answer G, G-G, G, the two long benches next the wall on each side + of the house; the outwardmost of which are equal in height to the + uppermost step, and the innermost equal in height to the next. Of these + four benches consists the first seal; as the second seat consists in like + manner of those four benches H, H-H, H, which being next the floor, are + equal in height to the two nethermost steps of the throne. So the whole + house is distributed into two seats, each consisting of four benches. + </p> + <p> + This distribution causes not only the greater conveniency; as will be + shown, to the senators in the exercise of their function at the ballot, + but a greater grace to the aspect of the Senate. In the middle of the + outward benches stand I, 12 the chairs of the censors, those being their + ordinary places, though upon occasion of the ballot they descend, and sit + where they are shown by K, K at each of the outward urns L, L. Those M, M + that sit with their tables, and the bowls N, N before them, upon the + halfspace or second step of the tribunal from the floor, are the clerks or + secretaries of the house. Upon the short seats O, O on the floor (which + should have been represented by woolsacks) sit: P, the two tribunes of the + horse. Q, the two tribunes of the foot; and R, R-R, R the judges, all + which magistrates are assistants, but have no suffrage. This posture of + the Senate considered, the ballot is performed as follows: + </p> + <p> + First, whereas the gold balls are of several suits, and accordingly marked + with several letters of the alphabet, a secretary presents a little urn + (wherein there is one ball of every suit or mark) to the strategus and the + orator; and look what letter the strategus draws, the same and no other is + to be used for that time in the middle urn F; the like for the letter + drawn by the orator is to be observed for the side urns L, L, that is to + say if the strategus drew a ball with an A, all the gold balls in the + middle urn for that day are marked with the letter A; and if the orator + drew a B, all the gold balls in the side urn for that day are marked with + the letter B, which done immediately before the ballot, and so the letter + unknown to the ballotants, they can use no fraud or juggling; otherwise a + man might carry a gold ball in his hand, and seem to have drawn it out of + an urn. He that draws a gold ball at any urn, delivers it to the censor or + assessor of that urn, who views the character, and allows accordingly of + his lot. + </p> + <p> + The strategus and the orator having drawn for the letters, the urns are + prepared accordingly by one of the commissioners and the two censors. The + preparation of the urns is After this manner. If the Senate be to elect, + for example, the list called the tropic of magistrates, which is this: + </p> + <p> + 1. The Lord Strategus; + </p> + <p> + 2. The Lord Orator; + </p> + <p> + 3. The Third Commissioner of the Great Seal; + </p> + <p> + 4. The Third Commissioner of the Treasury; + </p> + <p> + 5. The First Censor; + </p> + <p> + 6. The Second Censor; + </p> + <p> + this list or schedule consists of six magistracies, and to every + magistracy there are to be four competitors; that is, in all + four-and-twenty competitors proposed to the house. They that are to + propose the competitors are called electors, and no elector can propose + above one competitor: wherefore for the proposing of four-and-twenty + competitors you must have four-and-twenty electors; and whereas the ballot + consists of a lot and of a suffrage, the lot is for no other use than for + the designation of electors; and he that draws a gold ball at the middle + urn is an elector. Now, as to have four-and-twenty competitors proposed, + you must have four-and-twenty electors made, so to have four-and-twenty + electors made by lot, you must have four-and-twenty gold balls in the + middle urn; and these (because otherwise it would be no lot) mixed with a + competent number of blanks, or silver balls. Wherefore to the + four-and-twenty gold balls cast six-and-twenty silver ones, and those + (reckoning the blanks with the prizes) make fifty balls in the middle urn. + This done (because no man can come to the middle urn that has not first + drawn a gold ball at one of the side urns) and to be sure that the prizes + or gold balls in this urn be all drawn, there must come to it fifty + persons; therefore there must be in each of the side urns five-and-twenty + gold balls, which in both come to fifty; and to the end that every senator + may have his lot, the gold balls in the side urns are to be made up with + blanks equal to the number of the ballotants at either urn; for example, + the house consisting of 300 senators, there must be in each of the side + urns 125 blanks and twenty-five prizes, which come in both the side urns + to 300 balls. This is the whole mystery of preparing the urns, which the + censors having skill to do accordingly, the rest of the ballot, whether + the parties balloting understand it or not must of necessary consequence + come right; and they can neither be out, nor fall into any confusion in + the exercise of this art. + </p> + <p> + But the ballot, as I said, is of two parts, lot and suffrage, or the + proposition and result. The lot determines who shall propose the + competitors; and the result of the Senate, which of the competitors shall + be the magistrates. The whole, to begin with the lot, proceeds in this + manner: + </p> + <p> + The first secretary with an audible voice reads first the list of the + magistrates to be chosen for the day, then the oath for fair election, at + which the senators hold up their hands; which done, another secretary + presents a little urn to the strategus, in which are four balls, each of + them having one of these four inscriptions: “First seat at the upper end,” + “First seat at the lower end,” “Second seat at the upper end,” “Second + seat at the lower end.” And look which of them the strategus draws, the + secretary pronouncing the inscription with a loud voice, the seat so + called comes accordingly to the urns: this in the figure is the second + seat at the upper end. The manner of their coming to the side urns is in + double files, that being two holes in the cover of each side urn, by which + means two may draw at once. The senators therefore S, S-S, S are coming + from the upper end of their seats H, H-H, H to the side urns L, L. The + senators T T-T are drawing. The senator V has drawn a gold ball at his + side urn, and is going to the middle urn F, where the senator W, having + done the like at the other side urn, is already drawing. But the senators + X, X-X, X having drawn blanks at their side urns, and thrown them into the + bowls Y Y standing at the feet of the urns, are marching by the lower end + into their seats again; the senator a having done the like at the middle + urn, is also throwing his blank into the bowl b and marching to his seat + again: for a man by a prize at a side urn gains no more than right to come + to the middle urn, where, if he draws a blank, his fortune at the side urn + comes to nothing at all; wherefore he also returns to his place. But the + senator C has had a prize at the middle urn, where the commissioner, + having viewed his ball, and found the mark to be right, he marches up the + steps to the seat of the electors, which is the form d set across the + tribunal, where he places himself, according as he was drawn, with the + other electors e, e, e drawn before him. These are not to look back, but + sit with their faces toward the signory or state, till their number amount + to that of the magistrates to be that day chosen, which for the present, + as was shown, are six: wherefore six electors being made, they are + reckoned according as they were drawn: first, second, third, fourth, + fifth, sixth, in their order, and the first six that are chosen are the + first order of electors. + </p> + <p> + The first order of electors being made, are conducted by a secretary, with + a copy of the list to be chosen, out of the Senate, and into a committee + or council-chamber, being neither suffered by the way, nor in their room + (till the ballot be ended), to have conference with any but themselves; + wherefore the secretary, having given them their oath that they shall make + election according to the law and their conscience, delivers them the + list, and seats himself at the lower end of the table with his pen and + paper, while another secretary keeps the door. + </p> + <p> + By such time as the first order of electors are thus seated, the second + order of electors is drawn, who, with a second copy of the same list, are + conducted into another committee-chamber, by other secretaries performing + the same office with the former. + </p> + <p> + The like exactly is done by the third and by the fourth orders (or hands, + as the Venetians call them) of electors, by which means you have the + four-and-twenty electors divided according to the four copies of the same + list, by six, into four hands or orders; and every one of these orders + names one competitor to every magistracy in the list; that is to say, the + first elector names to the first magistracy, the second elector to the + second magistracy, and so forth. But though the electors, as has been + shown, are chosen by mere lot, yet the competitors by them named are not + chosen by any lot, but by the suffrage of the whole order for example, the + first elector in the first order proposes a name to be strategus, which + name is balloted by himself and the other five electors, and if the name + so balloted attain not to above half the suffrages, it is laid aside, and + the first elector names another to the same magistracy and so in case this + also fails, another, till one he has named, whether it be himself, or some + other, has attained to above half the suffrages in the affirmative; and + the name so attaining to above half the suffrages in the affirmative is + written to the first magistracy in the list by the secretary which being + done, the second elector of the first order, names to ‘the second + magistracy till one of his nomination be chosen to the same. The like is + done by the rest of the electors of the first order, till one competitor + be chosen, and written to every magistracy in their list. Now the second, + third, and fourth orders of electors doing exactly after the same manner, + it comes to pass that one competitor to every magistracy being chosen in + each order, there be in all four competitors chosen to every magistracy. + </p> + <p> + If any controversy arises in an order of electors, one of the censors + (these being at this game the groom-porters) is advertised by the + secretary who brings him in, and the electors disputing are bound to + acquiesce in his sentence. For which cause it is that the censors do not + ballot at the urns; the signory also abstains, lest it should deform the + house: wherefore the blanks in the side urns are by so many the fewer. And + so much for the lot, which is of the greater art but less consequence, + because it concerns proposition only: but all (except the tribunes and the + judges, which being but assistants have no suffrage) are to ballot at the + result, to which I now come. + </p> + <p> + The four orders of electors having perfected their lists, the face of the + house is changed: for the urns are taken away, and every senator and + magistrate is seated in his proper place, saving the electors, who, having + given their suffrages already, may not stir out of their chambers till the + house have given theirs, and the rest of the ballot be performed; which + follows in this manner: + </p> + <p> + The four lists being presented by the secretaries of each council of + electors to the signory, are first read, according to their order, to the + house, with an audible voice; and then the competitors are put to the + ballot or suffrage of the whole Senate in this manner: A, A named to be + strategus in the first order, whereupon eight ballotins, or pages, such as + are expressed by the figures f, f, take eight of the boxes represented, + though rudely, by the figures g, g, and go four on the one and four on the + other side of the house, that is, one to every bench, signifying “A, A + named to be the strategus in the first order..” and every magistrate or + senator (beginning by the strategus and the orator first) holds up a + little pellet of linen, as the box passes, between his finger and his + thumb, that men may see he has but one, and then puts it into the same. + The box consisting in the inner part of two boxes, being painted on the + outside white and green, to distinguish the affirmative from the negative + side, is so made that when your hand is in it, no man can see to which of + the sides you put the suffrage, nor hear to which it falls, because the + pellet being linen, makes no noise. The strategus and the orator having + begun, all the rest do the like. + </p> + <p> + The ballotins having thus gathered the suffrages, bring them before the + signory, in whose presence the outward boxes being opened, they take out + the inner boxes, whereof the affirmative is white, and the negative green, + and pour the white in the bowl N on the right hand, which is white also, + and the green into the bowl N on the left, which is also green. These + bowls or basins (better represented at the lower end of the figure by h, + i) being upon this occasion set before the tables of the secretaries at + the upper end N, N, the white on the right hand, and the green on the + left, the secretaries on each side number the balls, by which, if they + find that the affirmatives amount not to above one-half, they write not + the name that was balloted, but if they amount to above one-half, they + write it, adding the number of above half the suffrages to which it + attained. The first name being written, or laid aside, the next that is + put is BB named to be strategus in the second order; the third CC, named + to be strategus in the third order; the fourth DD, named to be strategus + in the fourth order and he of these four competitors that has most above + half in the affirmative, is the magistrate; or if none of them attain to + above half, the nomination for that magistracy is to be repeated by such + new electors as shall be chosen at the next ballot. And so, as is + exemplified in the first magistracy, proceeds the ballot of the rest; + first in the first, then in the second, and so in the third and fourth + orders. + </p> + <p> + Now whereas it may happen that AA, for example, being named strategus in + the first order, may also be named to the same or some one or more other + magistracies in one or more of the other orders; his name is first + balloted where it is first written, that is to the more worthy magistracy, + whereof if he misses, he is balloted as it comes in course for the next, + and so for the rest, if he misses of that, as often as he is named. + </p> + <p> + And because to be named twice, or oftener, whether to the same or some + other magistracy, is the stronger recommendation, the note must not fail + to be given upon the name, at the proposition in this manner: AA named to + be strategus in the first, and in the second order, or AA named to be + strategus in the first and the third, in the first and the fourth, etc. + But if he be named to the same magistracy in the first, second, third, and + fourth orders, he can have no competitor; wherefore attaining to above + half the suffrages, he is the magistrate. Or thus: AA named to be + strategus in the first, to be censor in the second, to be orator in the + third, and to be commissioner of the seal in the fourth order, or the like + in more or fewer orders, in which cases if he misses of the first + magistracy, he is balloted to the second; if he misses of the second, to + the third; and if he misses of the third, to the fourth. + </p> + <p> + The ballot not finished before sunset, though the election of the + magistrates already chosen be good, voids the election of such competitors + as being chosen are not yet furnished with magistracies, as if they had + never been named (for this is no juggling-box, but an art that must see + the sun), and the ballot for the remaining magistracies is to be repeated + the next day by new orders of electors, and such competitors as by them + shall be elected. And so in the like manner, if of all the names proposed + to the same magistracy, no one of them attains to above half the suffrages + in the affirmative. + </p> + <p> + The senatorian ballot of Oceana being thus described, those of the parish, + of the hundred, and of the tribe, being so little different, that in this + they are all contained, and by this may be easily understood, are yet + fully described, and made plain enough before in the fifth, sixth, + seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth orders. + </p> + <p> + This, therefore, is the general order, whence those branches of the + ballot, some whereof you have already seen, are derived; which, with those + that follow, were all read and debated in this place at the institution. + When my Lord Epimonus de Garrula, being one of the councillors, and having + no further patience (though the rulers were composed by the agent of this + commonwealth, residing for that purpose at Venice) than to hear the + direction for the parishes, stood up and made way for himself in this + manner: + </p> + <p> + “MAY IT PLEASE YOUR HIGHNESS, MY LORD ARCHON: + </p> + <p> + “Under correction of Mr. Peregrin, Spy, our very learned agent and + intelligencer, I have seen the world a little, Venice, and (as gentlemen + are permitted to do) the great Council balloting. And truly I must needs + say, that it is for a dumb show the goodliest that I ever beheld with my + eyes. You should have some would take it ill, as if the noble Venetians + thought themselves too good to speak to strangers, but they observed them + not so narrowly. The truth is, they have nothing to say to their + acquaintance; or men that are in council sure would have tongues: for a + council, and not a word spoken in it, is a contradiction. But there is + such a pudder with their marching and countermarching, as, though never a + one of them draw a sword, you would think they were training; which till I + found that they did it only to entertain strangers, I came from among them + as wise as I went thither But in the Parliament of Oceana you had no balls + nor dancing, but sober conversation; a man might know and be known, show + his parts, and improve them. And now if you take the advice of this same + fellow, you will spoil all with his whimsies. Mr. Speaker—cry you + mercy, my Lord Archon, I mean—set the wisest man of your house in + the great Council of Venice, and you will not know him from a fool. + Whereas nothing is more certain than that flat and dull fellows in the + judgment of all such as used to keep company with them before, upon + election into our house, have immediately chitted like barley in the vat, + where it acquires a new spirit, and flowed forth into language, that I am + as confident as I am here, if there were not such as delight to abuse us, + is far better than Tully’s; or, let anybody but translate one of his + orations, and speak it in the house, and see if everybody do not laugh at + him. + </p> + <p> + “This is a great matter, Mr. Speaker; they do not cant it with your + book-learning, your orbs, your centres, your prime magnitudes, and your + nebulones, things I profess that would make a sober man run stark mad to + hear them; while we, who should be considering the honor of our country + and that it goes now or never upon our hand, whether it shall be + ridiculous to all the world, are going to nine-holes or trow madam for our + business, like your dumb Venetian, whom this same Sir Politic your + resident, that never saw him do anything but make faces, would insinuate + to you, at this distance, to have the only knack of state. Whereas if you + should take the pains, as I have done, to look a little nearer, you would + find these same wonderful things to be nothing else but mere natural + fopperies, or capriccios as they call them in Italian, even of the + meanest, of that nation. For, put the case you be travelling in Italy, ask + your contadino, that is, the next country-fellow you meet, some question, + and presently he ballots you an answer with a nod, which is affirmative; + or a shake with his head, which is the negative box; or a shrug with his + shoulder, which is the bossolo di non sinceri. Good! You will admire + Sandys for telling you, that grotta di cane is a miracle: and I shall be + laughed at, for assuring you, that it is nothing else but such a damp + (continued by the neighborhood of certain sulphur mines) as through + accidental heat does sometimes happen in our coalpits. But ingratitude + must not discourage an honest man from doing good. There is not, I say, + such a tongue-tied generation under heaven as your Italian, that you + should not wonder if he makes signs. But our people must have something in + their diurnals; we must ever and anon be telling them our minds; or if we + be at it when we raise taxes, like those gentlemen with the finger and the + thumb, they will swear that we are cutpurses. Come, I know what I have + heard them say, when some men had money that wrought hard enough for it; + and do you conceive they will be better pleased when they shall be told + that upon like occasions you are at mumchance or stool-ball? + </p> + <p> + “I do not speak for myself; for though I shall always acknowledge that I + got more by one year’s sitting in the house than by my three years’ + travels, it was not of that kind. But I hate that this same Spy, for + pretending to have played at billiards with the most serene Commonwealth + of Venice, should make such fools of us here, when I know that he must + have had his intelligence from some corn-cutter upon the Rialto; for a + noble Venetian would be hanged if he should keep such a fellow company. + And yet if I do not think he has made you all dote, never trust me, my + Lord Archon is sometimes in such strange raptures. Well, good my lord, let + me be heard as well as your apple squire. Venice has fresh blood in her + cheeks, I must confess, yet she is but an old lady. N or has he picked her + cabinet; these he sends you are none of her receipts, I can assure you; he + bought them for a Julio at St. Mark’s of a mountebank. She has no other + wash, upon my knowledge, for that same envied complexion of hers but her + marshes, being a little better scented, saving your presence, than a + chamber-pot. My lords, I know what I say, but you will never have done + with it, that neither the great Turk, nor any of those little Turks her + neighbors, have been able to spoil her! Why you may as well wonder that + weasels do not suck eggs in swans’ nests. Do you think that it has lain in + the devotion of her beads; which you that have puked so much at popery, + are now at length resolved shall consecrate M. Parson, and be dropped by + every one of his congregation, while those same whimsical intelligences + your surveyors (you will break my heart) give the turn to your primum + mobile! And so I think they will; (for you will find that money is the + primum mobile) and they will turn you thus out of some £300,000 or + £400,000: a pretty sum for urns and balls, for boxes and pills, which + these same quacksalvers are to administer to the parishes; and for what + disease I marvel! Or how does it work? Out comes a constable, an overseer, + and a churchwarden! Mr. Speaker, I am amazed!” + </p> + <p> + Never was there goose so stuck with lard as my Lord Epimonus’s speech with + laughter, the Archon having much ado to recover himself in such a manner + as might enable him to return these thanks: + </p> + <p> + “In your whole lives, my lords, were you never entertained with so much + ingenuity, my Lord Epimonus having at once mended all the faults of + travellers. For, first, whereas they are abominable liars, he has not told + you (except some malicious body has misinformed him concerning poor Spy) + one syllable of falsehood. And, secondly, whereas they never fail to give + the upper hand in all their discourses to foreign nations, still jostling + their own into the kennel, he bears an honor to his country that will not + dissolve in Cephalonia, nor be corrupted with figs and melons, which I can + assure you is an ordinary obligation; and therefore hold it a matter of + public concern that we be to no occasion of quenching my lord’s + affections, nor is there any such great matter between us, but, in my + opinion, might be easily reconciled, for though that which my lord gained + by sitting in the house, I steadfastly believe, as he can affirm, was got + fairly yet dare I not, nor do I think, that upon consideration he will + promise for other gamesters, especially when they were at it so high, as + he intimates not only to have been in use, but to be like enough to come + about again. Wherefore say I, let them throw with boxes, for unless we + will be below the politics of an ordinary, there is no such bar to + cogging, it is known to his lordship that our game is most at a throw, and + that every cast of our dice is in our suffrages, nor will he deny that + partiality in a suffrage is downright cogging. + </p> + <p> + “If the Venetian boxes be the most sovereign of all remedies against this + same cogging, is it not a strange thing that they should be thrown first + into the fire by a fair gamester? Men are naturally subject to all kinds + of passions; some you have that are not able to withstand the brow of an + enemy, and others that make nothing of this, are less proof against that + of a friend. So that if your suffrage be barefaced, I dare say you shall + not have one fair cast in twenty. But whatever a man’s fortune be at the + box, he neither knows whom to thank, nor whom to challenge. Wherefore + (that my lord may have a charitable opinion of the choice affection which + I confess to have, above all other beauties, for that of incomparable + Venice) there is in this way of suffrage no less than a demonstration that + it is the most pure, and the purity of the suffrage in a popular + government is the health, if not the life of it, seeing the soul is not + otherwise breathed into the sovereign power than by the suffrage of the + people. Wherefore no wonder if Postellus be of opinion that this use of + the ball is the very same with that of the bean in Athens, or that others, + by the text concerning Eldad and Medad, derive it from the Commonwealth of + Israel. There is another thing, though not so material to us, that my lord + will excuse me if I be not willing to yield, which is, that Venice + subsists only by her situation. It is true that a man in time of war may + be more secure from his enemies by being in a citadel, but not from his + diseases; wherefore the first cause, if he lives long, is his good + constitution, without which his citadel were to little purpose, and it is + not otherwise with Venice.” + </p> + <p> + With this speech of the Archon I conclude the proof of the agrarian and + the ballot, being the fundamental laws of this commonwealth, and come now + from the centre to the circumferences or orbs, whereof some have been + already shown; as how the parishes annually pour themselves into the + hundreds, the hundreds into the tribes, and the tribes into the galaxies; + the annual galaxy of every tribe consisting of two knights and seven + deputies, whereof the knights constitute the Senate; the deputies, the + prerogative tribe, commonly called the people; and the Senate and people + constitute the sovereign power or Parliament of Oceana. Whereof to show + what the Parliament is, I must first open the Senate, and then the + prerogative tribe. + </p> + <p> + To begin with the Senate, of which (as a man is differently represented by + a picture drawer and by an anatomist) I shall first discover the face or + aspect, and then the parts, with the use of them. Every Monday morning in + the summer at seven, and in the winter at eight, the great bell in the + clock-house at the Pantheon begins, and continues ringing for the space of + one hour; in which time the magistrates of the Senate, being attended + according to their quality, with a respective number of the ballotins, + doorkeepers, and messengers, and having the ensigns of their magistracies + borne before them, as the sword before the strategus, the mace before the + orator, a mace with the seal before the commissioners of the chancery, the + like with the purse before the commissioners of the treasury, and a silver + wand, like those in use with the universities, before each of the censors, + being chancellors of the same. These, with the knights, in all 300, + assemble in the house or hall of the Senate. + </p> + <p> + The house or hall of the Senate being situated in the Pantheon or palace + of justice, is a room consisting of a square and a half. In the middle of + the lower end is the door, at the upper end hangs a rich state + overshadowing the greater part of a large throne, or half-pace of two + stages; the first ascended by two steps from the floor, and the second + about the middle rising two steps higher. Upon this stand two chairs, in + that on the right hand sits the strategus, in the other the orator adorned + with scarlet robes, after the fashion that was used by the dukes in the + aristocracy. At the right end of the upper stage stand three chairs, in + which the three commissioners of the seal are placed; and at the other end + sit the three commissioners of the treasury, every one in a robe or habit + like that of the earls. Of these magistrates of this upper stage consists + the signory. At either end of the lower stage stands a little table, to + which the secretaries of the Senate are set with their tufted sleeves in + the habit of civil lawyers. To the four steps, whereby the two stages of + the throne are ascended, answer four long benches, which successively + deriving from every one of the steps, continue their respective height, + and extend themselves by the side walls toward the lower end of the house, + every bench being divided by numeral characters into the thirty-seven + parts or places. Upon the upper benches sit the censors in the robes of + barons; the first in the middle of the right hand bench, and the second + directly opposite to him on the other side. Upon the rest of the benches + sit the knights, who, if they be called to the urns, distributing + themselves by the figures, come in equal files, either by the first seat, + which consists of the two upper benches on either side; or by the second + seat, consisting of the two lower benches on either side, beginning also + at the upper or at the lower ends of the same, according to the lot + whereby they are called; for which end the benches are open, and ascended + at either end with easy stairs and large passages. + </p> + <p> + The rest of the ballot is conformable to that of the tribe; the censors of + the house sitting at the side urn, and the youngest magistrate of the + signory at the middle, the urns being placed before the throne, and + prepared according to the number of the magistrates to be at that time + chosen by the rules already given to the censors of the tribes. But before + the benches of the knights on either side stands one being shorter, and at + the upper end of this sit the two tribunes of the horse. At the upper end + of the other the two tribunes of the foot in their arms, the rest of the + benches being covered by the judges of the land in their robes. But these + magistrates have no suffrage, nor the tribunes, though they derive their + presence in the Senate from the Romans, nor the judges, though they derive + theirs from the ancient Senate of Oceana. Every Monday this assembly sits + of course; at other times, if there be occasion, any magistrate of the + house, by giving order for the bell, or by his lictor or ensign-bearer, + calls a senate. And every magistrate or knight during his session has the + title, place, and honor of a duke, earl, baron, or knight respectively And + every one that has borne the same magistracy by his third session, has his + respective place and title during the term of his life, which is all the + honor conferred by this commonwealth, except upon the master of the + ceremonies, the master of the horse, and the king of the heralds, who are + knights by their places. And thus you have the face of the Senate, in + which there is scarce any feature that is not Roman or Venetian; nor do + the horns of the crescent extend themselves much unlike those of the + Sanhedrim, on either hand of the prince, and of the father of that Senate. + But upon beauty, in which every man has his fancy, we will not otherwise + philosophize than to remember that there is something more than decency in + the robe of a judge, that would not be well spared from the bench; and + that the gravest magistrate to whom you can commit the sword of justice, + will find a quickness in the spurs of honor, which, if they be not laid to + virtue, will lay themselves to that which may rout a commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + To come from the face of the Senate to the constitution and use of the + parts: it is contained in the peculiar orders. And the orders which are + peculiar to the Senate, are either of election or instruction. + </p> + <p> + Elections in the Senate are of three sorts: annual, biennial, and + extraordinary. + </p> + <p> + Annual elections are performed by the schedule called the tropic; and the + tropic consists of two parts: the one containing the magistrates, and the + other the councils to be yearly elected. The schedule or tropic of the + magistrates is as follows in— + </p> + <p> + The fifteenth order requiring, “That upon every Monday next ensuing the + last of March, the knights of the annual galaxies taking their places in + the Senate, be called the third region of the same; and that the house + having dismissed the first region, and received the third, proceed to + election of the magistrates contained in the first part of the tropic, by + the ensuing schedule: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The lord strategus, + The lord orator, + the first censor, + The second censor, + + Annual magistrates, + + The third commissioner of the seal, + The third commissioner of the Treasury, + + Triennal magistrates. +</pre> + <p> + “The annual magistrates (provided that no one man bears above one of those + honors during the term of one session) may be elected out of any region. + But the triennial magistrates may not be elected out of any other than the + third region only, lest the term of their session expire before that of + their honor; and (it being unlawful for a man to bear magistracy any + longer than he is thereto qualified by the election of the people) cause a + fraction in the rotation of this commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + “The strategus is first president of the Senate, and general of the army, + if it be commanded to march; in which case there shall be a second + strategus elected to be first president of the Senate, and general of the + second army, and if this also be commanded to march, a third strategus + shill be chosen, and so on, as long as the commonwealth sends forth + armies. + </p> + <p> + “The lord orator is the second and more peculiar president of the Senate + to whom it appertains to keep the house to orders. + </p> + <p> + “The censors, whereof the first, by consequence of his election, is + chancellor of the University of Clio, and the second of that of Calliope, + are presidents of the Council for Religion and magistrates, to whom it + belongs to keep the house to the order of the ballot. They are also + inquisitors into the ways and means of acquiring magistracy, and have + power to punish indirect proceedings in the same, by removing a knight or + magistrate out of the house, under appeal to the Senate. + </p> + <p> + “The commissioners of the seal being three, whereof the third is annually + chosen out of the third region, are judges in chancery. + </p> + <p> + “The commissioners of the Treasury being three, whereof the third is + annually chosen out of the third region, are judges in the exchequer, and + every magistrate of this schedule has right to propose to the Senate. + </p> + <p> + “But the strategus with the six commissioners is the signory of this + commonwealth, having right of session and suffrage in every council of the + Senate, and power either jointly or severally to propose in all or any of + them.” + </p> + <p> + I have little in this order to observe and prove but that the strategus is + the same honor both in name and thing that was borne, among others, by + Philopemen and Aratus in the Commonwealth of the Achaeans; the like having + been in use also with the AEtolians. The orator, called otherwise the + speaker, is, with small alteration, the same that had been of former use + in this nation. These two, if you will, may be compared to the consuls in + Rome, or the suffetes in Carthage, for their magistracy is scarce + different. + </p> + <p> + The censors derive their power of removing a senator from those of Rome, + the government of the ballot from those of Venice, and that of + animadversion upon the ambitious, or canvass for magistracy, from both. + </p> + <p> + The signory, with the whole right and use of that magistracy to be + hereafter more fully explained, is almost purely Venetian. + </p> + <p> + The second part of the tropic is directed by— + </p> + <p> + The sixteenth order” Whereby the constitution of the councils being four; + that is to say, the Council of State, the Council of War, the Council of + Religion, and the Council of Trade, is rendered conformable in their + revolutions to that of the Senate. As: First, by the annual election of + five knights out of the first region of the Senate into the Council of + State, consisting of fifteen knights, five in every region. Secondly, by + the annual election of three knights out of the third region of the + Council of State, to be proposed by the provosts, and elected by that + council, into the Council of War, consisting of nine knights, three in + every region, not excluded by this election from remaining members also of + the Council of State. The four tribunes of the people have right of + session and suffrage in the Council of War. Thirdly, by the annual + election of four knights out of the third region of the Senate into the + Council of Religion, consisting of twelve knights, four in every region; + of this council the censors are presidents. Fourthly, by the annual + election of four knights out of the third region of the Senate into the + Council of Trade, consisting of twelve knights, four in every region. And + each region, in every one of these councils thus constituted, shall weekly + and interchangeably elect one provost whose magistracy shall continue for + one week; nor shall he be re-elected into the same till every knight of + that region in the same council has once borne the same magistracy. And + the provosts being one in every region, three in every council, and twelve + in all, beside their other capacities, shall assemble and be a council, or + rather an Academy apart, to certain ends and purposes to be hereafter + further explained with those of the rest of the councils.” + </p> + <p> + This order is of no other use than the frame and turn of the councils, and + yet of no small one; for in motion consists life, and the motion of a + commonwealth will never be current unless it be circular. Men that, like + my Lord Epimonus, not enduring the resemblance of this kind of government + to orbs and spheres, fall on physicking and purging it, do no more than is + necessary; for if it be not in rotation both as to persons and things, it + will be very sick. The people of Rome, as to persons, if they had not been + taken up by the wheel of magistracy, had overturned the chariot of the + Senate. And those of Lacedaemon, as to things, had not been so quiet when + the Senate trashed their business, by encroaching upon the result, if by + the institution of the ephors they had not brought it about again. So that + if you allow not a commonwealth her rotation, in which consists her + equality, you reduce her to a party, and then it is necessary that you be + physicians indeed, or rather farriers; for you will have strong patients, + and such as must be haltered and cast, or yourselves may need + bone-setters. Wherefore the councils of this commonwealth, both in regard + of their elections, and, as will be shown, of their affairs, are uniform + with the Senate in their revolutions; not as whirlpits to swallow, but to + bite, and with the screws of their rotation to hold and turn a business + (like the vice of a smith) to the hand of the workman. Without engines of + which nature it is not possible for the Senate, much less for the people, + to be perfect artificers in a political capacity. But I shall not hold you + longer from— + </p> + <p> + The seventeenth order, “Directing biennial elections, or the constitution + of the orb of ambassador-in-ordinary, consisting of four residences, the + revolution whereof is performed in eight years, and preserved through the + election of one ambassador in two years by the ballot of the Senate to + repair to the Court of France, and reside there for the term of two years; + and the term of two years being expired, to remove from thence to the + Court of Spain, there to continue for the space of two years, and thence + to remove to the State of Venice, and after two years’ residence in that + city to conclude with his residence at Constantinople for a like term of + time, and so to return. A knight of the Senate, or a deputy of the + prerogative, may not be elected ambassador-in-ordinary, because a knight + or deputy so chosen must either lose his session, which would cause an + unevenness in the motion of this commonwealth, or accumulate magistracy, + which agrees not with equality of the same. Nor may any man be elected + into this capacity that is above five-and-thirty years of age, lest the + commonwealth lose the charge of his education, by being deprived at his + return of the fruit of it, or else enjoy it not long through the defects + of nature.” + </p> + <p> + This order is the perspective of the commonwealth, whereby she foresees + danger; or the traffic, whereby she receives every two years the return of + a statesman enriched with eight years’ experience from the prime marts of + negotiation in Europe. And so much for the elections in the Senate that + are ordinary; such as are extraordinary follow in— + </p> + <p> + The eighteenth order, “Appointing all elections upon emergent occasions, + except that of the dictator, to be made by the scrutiny, or that kind of + election whereby a council comes to be a fifth order of electors. For + example, if there be occasion of an ambassador-extraordinary, the provosts + of the Council of State, or any two of them, shall propose to the same, + till one competitor be chosen by that council; and the council having + chosen a competitor, shall bring his name into the Senate, which in the + usual way shall choose four more competitors to the same magistracy; and + put them, with the competitor of the council, to the ballot of the house, + by which he of the five that is chosen is said to be elected by the + scrutiny of the Council of State. A vice-admiral, a polemarch, or field + officer, shall be elected after the same manner, by the scrutiny of the + Council of War. A judge or sergeant-at-law, by the scrutiny of the + commissioners of the seal. A baron, or considerable officer of the + Exchequer, by the scrutiny of the commissioners of the Treasury: Men in + magistracy, or out of it, are equally capable of election by the scrutiny; + but a magistrate or officer elected by the scrutiny to a military + employment, if he be neither a knight of the Senate nor a deputy of the + prerogative, ought to have his office confirmed by the prerogative, + because the militia in a commonwealth, where the people are sovereign, is + not lawful to be touched injussu populi. + </p> + <p> + The Romans were so curious that, though their consuls were elected in the + centuriate assemblies, they might not touch the militia, except they were + confirmed in the parochial assemblies; for a magistrate not receiving his + power from the people, takes it from them, and to take away their power is + to take away their liberty. As to the election by the scrutiny, it is + easily perceived to be Venetian, there being no such way to take in the + knowledge; which in all reason must be best in every council of such men + as are most fit for their turns, and yet to keep them from the bias of + particular affection or interest under that pretence; for the cause why + the great Council in Venice scarce ever elects any other than the name + that is brought in by the scrutiny, is very probable to be, that they + may... This election is the last of those appertaining to the Senate. The + councils being chosen by the orders already shown, it remains that we come + to those whereby they are instructed and the orders of instruction to the + councils are two: the first for the matter whereupon they are to proceed, + and the second for the manner of their proceeding. The matter of the + councils is distributed to them by— + </p> + <p> + The nineteenth order “Distributing to every council such businesses as are + properly to belong to their cognizance, whereof some they shall receive + and determine, and others they shall receive, prepare, and introduce into + the house: as, first, + </p> + <p> + “The Council of State is to receive all addresses, intelligences, and + letters of negotiation; to give audience to ambassadors sent to, and to + draw up instructions for such as shall be sent by, this commonwealth; to + receive propositions from, and hold intelligence with, the provincial + councils; to consider upon all laws to be enacted, amended, or repealed, + and upon all levies of men or money, war or peace, leagues or associations + to be made by this commonwealth, so far forth as is conducible to the + orderly preparation of the same to be introduced by them into the Senate; + provided, that all such affairs, as otherwise appertaining to the Council + of State, are, for the good of the commonwealth, to be carried with + greater secrecy, be managed by the Council of War, with power to receive + and send forth agents, spies, emissaries, intelligencers, frigots, and to + manage affairs of that nature, if it be necessary without communication to + the Senate, till such time as it may be had without detriment to the + business. But they shall have no power to engage the commonwealth in a war + without the consent of the Senate and the people. It appertains also to + this council to take charge of the fleet as admiral, and of all + storehouses, armories, arsenals, and magazines appertaining to this + commonwealth. They shall keep a diligent record of the military + expeditions from time to time reported by him that was strategus or + general, or one of the polemarchs in that action; or at least so far as + the experience of such commanders may tend to the improvement of the + military discipline, which they shall digest and introduce into the + Senate; and if the Senate shall thereupon frame any article, they shall + see that it be observed, in the musters or education of the youth. And + whereas the Council of War is the sentinel or scout of this commonwealth, + if any person or persons shall go about to introduce debate into any + popular assembly of the same, or otherwise to alter the present + government, or strike at the root of it, they shall apprehend, or cause to + be apprehended, seized, imprisoned, and examine, arraign, acquit, or + condemn, and cause to be executed any such person or persons, by their + proper power and authority and without appeal. + </p> + <p> + “The Council of Religion, as the arbiter of this commonwealth in cases of + conscience more peculiarly appertaining to religion, Christian charity, + and a pious life, shall have the care of the national religion, and the + protection of the liberty of conscience with the cognizance of all causes + relating to either of them. And first as to the national religion: they + shall cause all places or preferments of the best revenue in either of the + universities to be conferred upon no other than such of the most learned + and pious men as have dedicated themselves to the study of theology. They + shall also take a special care that, by such augmentations as be or shall + hereafter be appointed by the Senate, every benefice in this nation be + improved at least to the value of £100 a year. And to the end that there + be no interest at all, whereby the divines or teachers of the national + religion may be corrupted, or corrupt religion, they shall be capable of + no other kind of employment or preferment in this commonwealth. And + whereas a directory for the administration of the national religion is to + be prepared by this council, they shall in this and other debates of this + nature proceed in manner following: a question arising in matter of + religion shall be put and stated by the council in writing, which writing + the censors shall send by their beadles (being proctors chosen to attend + them) each to the university whereof he is chancellor, and the + vice-chancellor of the same receiving the writing, shall call a + convocation of all the divines of that university being above forty years + of age. And the universities, upon a point so proposed, shall have no + manner of intelligence or correspondence one with another, till their + debates be ended, and they have made return of their answers to the + Council of Religion by two or three of their own members, that they may + clear their sense, if any doubt should arise, to the council, which done, + they shall return, and the council, having received such information, + shall proceed according to their own judgments, in the preparation of the + whole matter for the Senate: that so the interest of the learned being + removed, there may be a right application of reason to Scripture, which is + the foundation of the national religion. + </p> + <p> + “Secondly, this council, as to the protection of the liberty of + conscience, shall suffer no coercive power in the matter of religion to be + exercised in this nation; the teachers of the natural religion being no + other than such as voluntarily undertake that calling, and their auditors + or hearers no other than are also voluntary. Nor shall any gathered + congregation be molested or interrupted in their way of worship (being + neither Jewish nor idolatrous), but vigilantly and vigorously protected + and defended in the enjoyment, practice, and profession of the same. And + if there be officers or auditors appointed by any such congregation for + the introduction of causes into the Council of Religion, all such causes + so introduced shall be received, heard, and determined by the same, with + recourse had, if need be, to the Senate. + </p> + <p> + “Thirdly, every petition addressed to the Senate, except that of a tribe, + shall be received, examined, and debated by this council; and such only as + they, upon such examination and debate had, shall think fit, may be + introduced into the Senate. + </p> + <p> + “The Council of Trade being the vena porta of this nation, shall hereafter + receive instructions more at large. For the present, their experience, + attaining to a right understanding of those trades and mysteries that feed + the veins of this commonwealth, and a true distinction of them from those + that suck or exhaust the same, they shall acquaint the Senate with the + conveniences and inconveniences, to the end that encouragement may be + applied to the one, and remedy to the other. + </p> + <p> + “The Academy of the provosts, being the affability of the commonwealth, + shall assemble every day toward the evening in a fair room, having certain + withdrawing-rooms thereto belonging; and all sorts of company that will + repair thither for conversation or discourse, so it be upon matters of + government, news, or intelligence, or to propose anything to the councils, + shall be freely and affably received in the outer chamber, and heard in + the way of civil conversation, which is to be managed without any other + awe or ceremony than is thereto usually appertaining, to the end that + every man may be free, and that what is proposed by one, may be argued or + discoursed by the rest, except the matter be of secrecy; in which case the + provosts, or some of them, shall take such as desire audience into one of + the withdrawing-rooms. And the provosts are to give their minds that this + academy be so governed, adorned, and preserved, as may be most attractive + to men of parts and good affections to the commonwealth, for the + excellency of the conversation. + </p> + <p> + “Furthermore, if any man, not being able or willing to come in person, has + any advice to give which he judges may be for the good of the + commonwealth, he may write his mind to the Academy of the provosts, in a + letter signed or not signed, which letter shall be left with the + doorkeeper of the Academy. Nor shall any person delivering such a letter + be seized, molested, or detained, though it should prove to be a libel. + But the letters so delivered shall be presented to the provosts; and in + case they be so many that they cannot well be perused by the provosts + themselves, they shall distribute them as they please to be read by the + gentlemen of the Academy, who, finding anything in them material, will + find matter of discourse; or if they happen upon a business that requires + privacy, return it with a note upon it to a provost. And the provosts by + the secretaries attending shall cause such notes out of discourses or + letters to be taken as they please, to the end that they may propose, as + occasion serves, what any two of them shall think fit out of their notes + so taken to their respective councils; to the end that not only the ear of + the commonwealth be open to all, but that men of such education being in + her eve, she may upon emergent elections or occasions be always provided + of her choice of fit persons. + </p> + <p> + “Every council being adorned with a state for the signory, shall be + attended by two secretaries, two doorkeepers, and two + messengers-in-ordinary, and have power to command more upon emergencies, + as occasion requires. And the Academy shall be attended with two + secretaries, two messengers, and two doorkeepers; this with the other + councils being provided with their further conveniences at the charge of + the State. + </p> + <p> + “But whereas it is incident to commonwealths, upon emergencies requiring + extraordinary speed or secrecy, either through their natural delays or + unnatural haste, to incur equal danger, while holding to the slow pace of + their orders, they come not in time to defend themselves from some sudden + blow; or breaking them for the greater speed, they but haste to their own + destruction; if the Senate shall at any time make election of nine + knights-extraordinary, to be added to the Council of War, as a juncta for + the term of three months, the Council of War with the juncta so added, is + for the term of the same Dictator of Oceana, having power to levy men and + money, to make war and peace, as also to enact laws, which shall be good + for the space of one year (if they be not sooner repealed by the Senate + and the people) and for no longer time, except they be confirmed by the + Senate and the people. And the whole administration of the commonwealth + for the term of the said three months shall be in the Dictator, provided + that the Dictator shall have no power to do anything that tends not to his + proper end and institution, but all to the preservation of the + commonwealth as it is established, and for the sudden restitution of the + same to the natural channel and common course of government. And all acts, + orders, decrees, or laws of the Council of War with the junota being thus + created, shall be signed, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “DICTATOR OCEANAE.” + </pre> + <p> + This order of instructions to the councils being (as in a matter of that + nature is requisite) very large, I have used my best skill to abbreviate + it in such manner as might show no more of it than is necessary to the + understanding of the whole, though as to the parts, or further duties of + the councils, I have omitted many things of singular use in a + commonwealth. But it was discoursed at the council by the Archon in this + manner: + </p> + <p> + “MY LORDS, THE LEGISLATORS: + </p> + <p> + “Your councils, except the Dictator only, are proper and native springs + and sources, you see, which (hanging a few sticks and straws, that, as + less considerable, would otherwise be more troublesome, upon the banks of + their peculiar channels) derive the full stream of business into the + Senate, so pure, and so far from the possibility of being troubled or + stained (as will Undeniably appear by the course contained in the ensuing + order) with any kind of private interest or partiality, that it shall + never be possible for any assembly hearkening to the advice or information + of this or that worthy member (either instructed upon his pillow, or while + he was making himself ready, or by the petition or ticket which he + received at the door) to have half the security in his faith, or advantage + by his wisdom; such a Senate or council being, through the uncertainty of + the winds, like a wave of the sea. Nor shall it otherwise mend the matter + by flowing up into dry ditches, or referring businesses to be better + examined by committees, than to go further about with it to less purpose; + if it does not ebb back again with the more mud in it. For in a case + referred to an occasional committee, of which any member that is desirous + may get himself named, and to which nobody will come but either for the + sake of his friend or his own interest; it fares little better as to the + information of the Senate, than if it had been referred to the parties. + Wherefore the Athenians being distributed into four tribes, out of which + by equal numbers they annually chose 400 men, called the Senate of the + Bean, because the ballot at their election was performed by the use of + beans, divided them by fifties into eight parts. And every fifty in their + turn, for one-eighth part of the year, was a council apart called the + Prytans. + </p> + <p> + “The Prytans in their distinct council receiving all comers, and giving + ear to every man that had anything to propose concerning the commonwealth, + had power to debate and prepare all the businesses that were to be + introduced into the Senate. The Achaeans had ten selected magistrates + called the demiurgs, constituting a council apart called the synarchy, + which, with the strategus, prepared all the business that was introduced + into their Senate. But both the Senate of the Athenians, and that of the + Achaeans, would have wondered if a man had told them that they were to + receive all comers and discourses, to the end that they might refer them + afterward to the Prytans or the synarchy, much less to an occasional + committee, exposed to the catch that catch may of the parties interested. + And yet Venice in this, as in most of her orders, excels them all by the + constitution of her councils, that of the College, and the other of the + Dieci, or Council of Ten. The course of the College is exactly described + in the ensuing order: and for that of the Dieci, it so little differs from + what it has bestowed upon Our Dictator, that I need not make any + particular description of it. But to dictatorian power in general, and the + use of it (because it must needs be of difficult digestion to such as, + puking still at ancient prudence, show themselves to be in the nursery of + mother-wit); it is no less than necessary to say something. And, first, in + a commonwealth that is not wrought up, or perfected, this power will be of + very frequent, if not continual, use; wherefore it is said more than once, + upon defects of the government, in the book of Judges, ‘that in those days + there was no king in Israel.’ Nor has the translator, though for ‘no king, + he should have said ‘no judge,’ abused you so much; seeing that the + Dictator (and such was the Judge of Israel) or the dictatorian power being + in a single person, so little differs from monarchy, which followed in + that, that from the same cause there has been no other effect in any + commonwealth: as in Rome was manifest by Sylla and Caesar, who to make + themselves absolute or sovereign, had no more to do than to prolong their + magistracy, for the dictatorian power was reputed divine, and therefore + irresistible. + </p> + <p> + “Nevertheless, so it is, that without this power, which is so dangerous, + and subject to introduce monarchy, a commonwealth cannot be safe from + falling into the like dissolution; unless you have an expedient in this + case of your own, and bound up by your providence from recoiling. + Expedients in some cases you must not only have, but be beholden for them + to such whom you must trust at a pinch, when you have not leisure to stand + with them for security; which will be a thousand times more dangerous. And + there can never be a commonwealth otherwise than by the order in debate + wrought up to that perfection; but this necessity must sometimes happen in + regard of her natural slowness and openness, and the suddenness of + assaults that may be made upon her, as also the secrecy which in some + cases may be of absolute necessity to her affairs. Whence Machiavel + concludes it positively, that a commonwealth unprovided of such a refuge, + must fall to ruin; for her course is either broken by the blow in one of + those cases, or by herself, while it startles her out of her orders. And + indeed a commonwealth is like a greyhound, which, having once coasted, + will never after run fair, but grow slothful; and when it comes to make a + common practice of taking nearer ways than its orders, it is dissolved: + for the being of a commonwealth consists in its orders. Wherefore at this + list you will be exposed to danger, if you have not provided beforehand + for the safety of your resort in the like cases: nor is it sufficient that + your resort be safe, unless it be as secret and quick; for if it be slow + or open, your former inconveniences are not remedied. + </p> + <p> + “Now for our imitation in this part, there is nothing in experience like + that of the Council of Ten in Venice; the benefit whereof would be too + long to be shown in the whole piece, and therefore I shall take but a + pattern out of Janotti. In the war, says he, which the Venetians had with + Florence in Casentin, the Florentines, finding a necessity in their + affairs far from any other inclination in themselves to ask their peace, + sent ambassadors about it to Venice, where they were no sooner heard, than + the bargain was struck up by the Council of Ten: and everybody admiring + (seeing this commonwealth stood upon the higher ground) what should be the + reason of such haste, the council upon the return of the ambassadors + imparted letters to the Senate, whereby it appeared that the Turks had + newly launched a formidable fleet against their State, which, had it been + understood by the Florentines, it was well enough known they would have + made no peace. Wherefore the service of the Ten was highly applauded by + the Senate, and celebrated by the Venetians. Whereby may appear not only + in part what use there is of dictatorian power in that government, but + that it is assumed at the discretion of that Council; whereas in this of + Oceana it is not otherwise intrusted than when the Senate, in the election + of nine knights-extraordinary, gives at once the commission, and takes + security in a balance, added to the Council of War, though securer before + by the tribunes of the people than that of Venice, which yet never + incurred jealousy; for if the younger nobility have been often girding at + it, that happened not so much through the apprehension of danger in it to + the commonwealth, as through the awe of it upon themselves. Wherefore the + graver have doubtlessly shown their prudence in the law whereby the + magistracy of these councillors being to last till’ their successors be + created, the council is established.” + </p> + <p> + The instructions of the councils for their matter being shown, it remains + that I show the instructions for the manner of their proceeding, as they + follow in— + </p> + <p> + The twentieth order, “Containing the method of debates to be observed by + the magistrates and the councils successively in order to a decree of the + Senate. + </p> + <p> + “The magistrates of the signory, as councillors of this commonwealth, + shall take into their consideration all matters of state or of government; + and, having right to propose in any council, may, any one or more of them, + propose what business he or they please in that council to which it most + properly belongs. And, that the councils may be held to their duty, the + said magistrates are superintendents and inspectors of the same, with + right to propose to the Senate. + </p> + <p> + “The censors have equal power with these magistrates, but in relation to + the Council of Religion only. + </p> + <p> + “Any two of the three provosts in every council may propose to, and are + the more peculiar proposers of, the same council; to the end that there be + not only an inspection and superintendency of business in general, but + that every work be also committed to a peculiar hand. + </p> + <p> + “Any one or more of the magistrates, or any two of the provosts + respectively having proposed, the council shall debate the business so + proposed, to which they of the third region that are willing shall speak + first in their order; they of the second, next; and they of the first, + last; and the opinions of those that proposed or spoke, as they shall be + thought the most considerable by the council, shall be taken by the + secretary of the same in writing, and each of them signed with the name of + the author. + </p> + <p> + “The opinions being thus prepared, any magistrate of the signory, the + censors, or any two of the provosts of that council, upon this occasion + may assemble the Senate. + </p> + <p> + “The Senate being assembled, the opinions (for example, if they be four) + shall be read in their order, that is, according to the order or dignity + of the magistrates or councillors by which they were signed. And being + read, if any of the council introducing them will speak, they, as best + acquainted with the business, shall have precedence; and after them the + senators shall speak according to their regions, beginning by the third + first, and so continuing till every man that will has spoken; and when the + opinions have been sufficiently debated, they shall be put all together to + the ballot after this manner: + </p> + <p> + “Four secretaries, carrying each of them one of the opinions in one hand, + with a white box in the other, and each following the other, according to + the order of the opinions, shall present his box, naming the author of his + opinion to every senator; and one secretary or ballotin with a green box + shall follow the four white ones; and one secretary or ballotin with a red + box shall follow the green one; and every senator shall put one ball into + some one of these six boxes. The suffrage being gathered and opened before + the signory, if the red box or non-sincere had above half the suffrages, + the opinions shall be all cast out, for the major part of the house is not + clear in the business. If no one of the four opinions had above half the + suffrages in the affirmative, that which had fewest shall be cast out, and + the other three shall be balloted again. If no one of the three had above + half, that which had fewest shall be cast out, and the other two shall + ballot again. If neither of the two had above half, that which had fewest + shall be cast out, and the remaining opinion shall be balloted again. And + if the remaining opinion has not above half, it shall also be cast out. + But the first of the opinions that arrives at most above half in the + affirmative, is the decree of the Senate. The opinions being all of them + cast out by the non-sincere, may be reviewed, if occasion permits, by the + council, and brought in again. If they be cast out by the negative, the + case being of advice only; the house approves not, and there is an end of + it: the case being necessary, and admitting delay, the council is to think + again upon the business, and to bring in new opinions; but the case being + necessary, and not admitting delay, the Senate immediately electing the + juncta shall create the Dictator. ‘And let the Dictator,’ as the Roman + saying is, ‘take care that the commonwealth receives no harm.’” + </p> + <p> + This in case the debate concludes not in a decree. But if a decree be + passed, it is either in matter of state or government according to law + enacted already, and then it is good without going any further, or it is + in matter of law to be enacted, repealed, or amended; and then the decree + of the Senate, especially if it be for a war, or for a levy of men or + money, is invalid, without the result of the commonwealth, which is in the + prerogative tribe, or representative of the people. + </p> + <p> + “The Senate having prepared a decree to be proposed to the people, shall + appoint their proposers; and no other may propose for the Senate to the + people but the magistrates of the house; that is to say, the three + commissioners of the seal, or any two of them; the three of the Treasury, + or any two of them; or the two censors. + </p> + <p> + “The Senate having appointed their proposers, shall require of the + tribunes a muster of the people at a set time and place: and the tribunes + or any two of them having mustered the people accordingly, the proposers + shall propose the sense or decree of the Senate by clauses to the people. + And that which is proposed by the authority of the Senate, and resolved by + the command of the people, is the law of Oceana.” To this order, + implicitly containing the sum very near of the whole civil part of the + commonwealth, my Lord Archon spoke thus in council: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “MY DEAR LORDS: +</pre> + <p> + “There is a saying, that a man must cut his coat according to his cloth. + When I consider what God has allowed or furnished to our present work, I + am amazed. You would have a popular government; he has weighed it to you + in the present balance, as I may say, to a drachm; you have no more to do + but to fix it. For the superstructures of such a government they require a + good aristocracy: and you have, or have had a nobility or gentry the best + studied, and the best writers, at least next that of Italy, in the whole + world; nor have they been inferior, when so exercised, in the leading of + armies. But the people are the main body of a commonwealth; show me from + the treasuries of the snow (as it is in Job) to the burning zone a people + whose shoulder so universally and so exactly fits the corselet. + Nevertheless, it were convenient to be well provided with auxiliaries. + There is Marpesia, through her fruitfulness, inexhaustible of men, and men + through her barrenness not only enured to hardship, but in your arms. It + may be said that Venice, excepting only that she takes not in the people, + is the most incomparable situation of a commonwealth. You are Venice, + taking in your people and your auxiliaries too. My lords, the children of + Israel were makers of brick before they were builders of a commonwealth; + but our brick is made, our mortar tempered, the cedars of Lebanon are + hewed and squared to our hands. Has this been the work of man? Or is it in + man to withstand this work? ‘Shall he that contends with the Almighty + instruct him? He that reproves God, let him answer it.’ For our parts, + everything is so laid that when we come to have use of it, it is the next + at hand; and unless we can conceive that God and nature do anything in + vain, there is no more for us to do but to despatch. The piece which we + have reached to us in the foregoing orders, is the aristocracy. Athens, as + has been shown, was plainly lost through the want of a good aristocracy. + </p> + <p> + “But the sufficiency of an aristocracy goes demonstrably upon the hand of + the nobility or gentry; for that the politics can be mastered without + study, or that the people can have leisure to study, is a vain + imagination; and what kind of aristocracy divines and lawyers would make, + let their incurable running upon their own narrow bias and their perpetual + invectives against Machiavel (though in some places justly reprovable, yet + the only politician, and incomparable patron of the people) serve for + instruction. I will stand no more to the judgment of lawyers and divines + in this work, than to that of so many other tradesmen; but if this model + chances to wander abroad, I recommend it to the Roman speculativi (the + most complete gentlemen of this age) for their censure; or with my Lord + Epimonus his leave, send 300 or 400 copies to your agent at Venice to be + presented to the magistrates there; and when they have considered them, to + be proposed to the debate of the Senate, the most competent judges under + heaven, who, though they have great affairs, will not refuse to return you + the oracle of their ballot. The councillors of princes I will not trust; + they are but journeymen. The wisdom of these later times in princes’ + affairs (says Verulamius) is rather fine deliveries and shiftings of + dangers when they be near, than solid and grounded courses to keep them + off. Their councillors do not derive their proceedings from any sound root + of government that may contain the demonstration, and assure the success + of them, but are expedient-mongers, givers of themselves to help a lame + dog over a stile; else how comes it to pass that the fame of Cardinal + Richelieu has been like thunder, whereof we hear the noise, but can make + no demonstration of the reason? But to return: if neither the people, nor + divines and lawyers, can be the aristocracy of a nation, there remains + only the nobility; in which style, to avoid further repetition, I shall + understand the gentry also, as the French do by the word noblesse. + </p> + <p> + “Now to treat of the nobility in such sort as may be less obnoxious to + mistake, it will be convenient, and answerable to the present occasion, + that I divide my discourse into four parts: + </p> + <p> + “The first, treating of nobility, and the kinds of it; + </p> + <p> + “The second, of their capacity of the Senate; + </p> + <p> + “The third, of the divers kinds of senates; + </p> + <p> + “The fourth, of the Senate, according to the foregoing orders. + </p> + <p> + “Nobility may be defined divers ways; for it is either ancient riches, or + ancient virtue, or a title conferred by a prince or a commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + “Nobility of the first kind may be subdivided into two others, such as + hold an overbalance in dominion or property to the whole people, or such + as hold not an overbalance, in the former case, a nobility (such was the + Gothic, of which sufficient has been spoken) is incompatible with popular + government; for to popular government it is essential that power should be + in the people, but the overbalance of a nobility in dominion draws the + power to themselves. Wherefore in this sense it is that Machiavel is to be + understood, where he says, that these are pernicious in a commonwealth; + and of France, Spain, and Italy, that they are nations which for this + cause are the corruption of the world: for otherwise nobility may, + according to his definition (which is, ‘that they are such as live upon + their own revenues in plenty, without engagement either to the tilling of + their lands, or other work for their livelihood ‘), hold an underbalance + to the people; in which case they are not only safe, but necessary to the + natural mixture of a well-ordered commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + “For how else can you have a commonwealth that is not altogether mechanic? + or what comparison is there of such commonwealths as are, or come nearest + to mechanic—for example, Athens, Switzerland, Holland, to + Lacedaemon, Rome, and Venice, plumed with their aristocracies? Your + mechanics, till they have first feathered their nests, like the fowls of + the air whose whole employment is to seek their food, are so busied in + their private concernments that they have neither leisure to study the + public, nor are safely to be trusted with it, because a man is not + faithfully embarked in this kind of ship, if he has no share in the + freight. But if his share be such as gives him leisure by his private + advantage to reflect upon that of the public, what other name is there for + this sort of men, being a leur aise, but (as Machiavel you see calls them) + nobility? Especially when their families come to be such as are noted for + their services done to the commonwealth, and so take into their ancient + riches ancient virtue, which is the second definition of nobility, but + such a one as is scarce possible in nature without the former. ‘For as the + baggage,’ says Verulamius, ‘is to an army, so are riches to virtue; they + cannot be spared nor left behind, though they be impediments, such as not + only hinder the march, but sometimes through the care of them lose or + disturb the victory.’ Of this latter sort is the nobility of Oceana; the + best of all others because they, having no stamp whence to derive their + price, can have it no otherwise than by their intrinsic value. The third + definition of nobility, is a title, honor, or distinction from the people, + conferred or allowed by the prince or the commonwealth. And this may be + two ways, either without any stamp or privilege, as in Oceana; or with + such privileges as are inconsiderable, as in Athens after the battle of + Plataea, whence the nobility had no right, as such, but to religious + offices, or inspection of the public games, to which they were also to be + elected by the people; or with privileges, and those considerable ones, as + the nobility in Athens before the battle of Plataea, and the patricians in + Rome each of which had right, or claimed it, to the Senate and all the + magistracies; wherein for some time they only by their stamp were current. + </p> + <p> + “But to begin higher, and to speak more at large of nobility in their + several capacities of the Senate. The phylarchs, or princes of the tribes + of Israel, were the most renowned, or, as the Latin, the most noble of the + congregation, whereof by hereditary right they had the leading and + judging. The patriarchs, or princes of families, according as they + declared their pedigrees, had the like right as to their families; but + neither in these nor the former was there any hereditary right to the + Sanhedrim: though there be little question but the wise men and + understanding, and known among their tribes, which the people took or + elected into those or other magistracies, and whom Moses made rulers over + them, must have been of these, seeing they could not choose but be the + most known among the tribes, and were likeliest by the advantages of + education to be the most wise and understanding. + </p> + <p> + “Solon having found the Athenians neither locally nor genealogically, but + by their different ways of life, divided into four tribes—that is, + into the soldiery, the tradesmen, the husbandmen, and the goatherds—instituted + a new distribution of them, according to the sense or valuation of their + estates, into four classes: the first, second, and third consisting of + such as were proprietors in land, distinguished by the rate of their + freeholds, with that stamp upon them, which making them capable of adding + honor to their riches, that is to say, of the Senate, and all the + magistracies, excluded the fourth, being the body of the people, and far + greater in number than the former three, from all other right, as to those + capacities, except the election of these, who by this means became an + hereditary aristocracy or senatorian order of nobility. This was that + course which came afterward to be the destruction of Rome, and had now + ruined Athens. The nobility, according to the inevitable nature of such a + one, having laid the plot how to divest the people of the result, and so + to draw the whole power of the commonwealth to themselves; which in all + likelihood they had done, if the people, coming by mere chance to be + victorious in the battle of Plataea, and famous for defending Greece + against the Persians, had not returned with such courage as irresistibly + broke the classes, to which of old they had borne a white tooth, brought + the nobility to equal terms, and the Senate with the magistracies to be + common to both; the magistracies by suffrage, and the Senate (which was + the mischief of it, as I shall show anon in that constitution) by lot + only.” The Lacedaemonians were in the manner, and for the same cause with + the Venetians at this day, no other than a nobility even according to the + definition given of nobility by Machiavel; for they neither exercised any + trade, nor labored their lands or lots, which was done by their helots: + wherefore some nobility may be far from pernicious in a commonwealth by + Machiavel’s own testimony, who is an admirer of this, though the servants + thereof were more in number than the citizens. To these servants I hold + the answer of Lycurgus—when he bade him who asked why he did not + admit the people to the government of his commonwealth, to go home and + admit his servants to the government of his family-to relate: for neither + were the Lacedaemonians servants, nor, further, capable of the government, + unless, whereas the congregation had the result, he should have given them + the debate also; every one of these that attained to sixty years of age, + and the major vote of the congregation, being equally capable of the + Senate. + </p> + <p> + “The nobility of Rome, and their capacity of the Senate, I have already + described by that of Athens before the battle of Plataea, saving only that + the Athenian was never eligible into the Senate without the suffrage of + the people till the introduction of the lot, but the Roman nobility ever: + for the patricians were elected into the Senate by the kings; by the + consuls, or the censors, or if a plebeian happened to be conscribed, he + and his posterity became patricians. Nor, though the people had many + disputes with the nobility, did this ever come in controversy, which, if + there had been nothing else, might in my judgment have been enough to + overturn that commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + “The Venetian nobility, but that they are richer, and not military, + resemble at all other points the Lacedaemonian, as I have already shown. + These Machiavel excepts from his rule, by saying that their estates are + rather personal than real, or of any great revenue in land, which comes to + our account, and shows that a nobility or party of the nobility, not + overbalancing in dominion, is not dangerous, but of necessary use in every + commonwealth, provided it be rightly ordered; for if it be so ordered as + was that of Rome, though they do not overbalance at the beginning, as they + did not there, it will not be long ere they do, as is clear both in reason + and experience toward the latter end. That the nobility only be capable of + the Senate is there only not dangerous, where there be no other citizens, + as in this government and that of Lacedaemon. + </p> + <p> + “The nobility of Holland and Switzerland, though but few, have privileges + not only distinct from the people, but so great that in some sovereignties + they have a negative voice; an example which I am far from commending, + being such as (if those governments were not cantonized, divided, and + subdivided into many petty sovereignties that balance one another, and in + which the nobility, except they had a prince at the head of them, can + never join to make work) would be the most dangerous that ever was, but + the Gothic, of which it favors. For in ancient commonwealths you shall + never find a nobility to have had a negative but by the poll, which, the + people being far more in number, came to nothing; whereas these have it, + be they never so few by their stamp or order. + </p> + <p> + “Ours of Oceana have nothing else but their education and their leisure + for the public, furnished by their ease and competent riches: and their + intrinsic value, which, according as it comes to hold weight in the + judgment or suffrage of the people, is their only way to honor and + preferment. Wherefore I would have your lordships to look upon your + children as such, who, if they come to shake off some part of their + baggage, shall make the more quick and glorious march; for it was nothing + else but the baggage, sordidly plundered by the nobility of Rome, that + lost the victory of the whole world in the midst of her triumph. + </p> + <p> + “Having followed the nobility thus close, they bring us, according to + their natural course and divers kinds, to the divers constitutions of the + Senate. + </p> + <p> + “That of Israel (as was shown by my right noble Lord Phosphorus de Auge, + in the opening of the commonwealth) consisted of seventy elders, elected + at first by the people. But whereas they were for life, they ever after + (though without any divine precept for it) substituted their successors by + ordination, which ceremony was most usually performed by imposition of + hands; and by this means a commonwealth of as popular institution as can + be found became, as it is accounted by Josephus, aristocratical. From this + ordination derives that which was introduced by the Apostles into the + Christian Church; for which cause I think it is that the Presbyterians + would have the government of the Church to be aristocratical, though the + Apostles, to the end, as I conceive, that they might give no occasion to + such a mistake, but show that they intended the government of the Church + to be popular, ordained elders, as has been shown, by the holding up of + hands (or free suffrage of the people) in every congregation or ecclesia: + for that is the word in the original, being borrowed from the civil + congregations of the people in Athens and Lacedaemon, which were so + called; and the word for holding up of hands in the text is also the very + same, which signified the suffrage of the people in Athens, chirotonante; + for the suffrage of the Athenians was given per chirotonian, says Emmius. + </p> + <p> + “The Council of the Bean (as was shown by my Lord Navarchus de Paralo in + his full discourse), being the proposing Senate of Athens (for that of the + Areopagites was a judicatory), consisted of 400, some say 500 senators, + elected annually, all at once, and by a mere lot without suffrage. + Wherefore though the Senate, to correct the temerity of the lot, had power + to cast out such as they should judge unworthy of that honor, this related + to manners only, and was not sufficient to repair the commonwealth, which + by such means became impotent; and forasmuch as her Senate consisted not + of the natural aristocracy, which in a commonwealth is the only spur and + rein of the people, it was cast headlong by the rashness of her demagogues + or grandees into ruin; while her Senate, like the Roman tribunes (who + almost always, instead of governing, were rather governed by the + multitude), proposed not to the result only, but to the debate also of the + people, who were therefore called to the pulpits, where some vomited, and + others drank, poison. + </p> + <p> + “The Senate of Lacedaemon, most truly discovered by my Lord Laco de + Scytale, consisted but of thirty for life, whereof the two kings, having + but single votes, were hereditary, the rest elected by the free suffrage + of the people, but out of such as were sixty years of age. These had the + whole debate of the commonwealth in themselves, and proposed to the result + only of the people. And now the riddle which I have heretofore found + troublesome to unfold, is out; that is to say, why Athens and Lacedaemon, + consisting each of the Senate and the people, the one should be held a + democracy, and the other an aristocracy, or laudable oligarchy, as it is + termed by Isocrates; for that word is not, wherever you meet it, to be + branded, Seeing it is used also by Aristotle, Plutarch, and others, + sometimes in a good sense. The main difference was that the people in this + had the result only, and in that the debate and result, too. But for my + part, where the people have the election of the Senate, not bound to a + distinct order, and the result, which is the sovereign power, I hold them + to have that share in the government (the Senate being not for life) + whereof, with the safety of the commonwealth, they are capable in nature, + and such a government, for that cause, to be democracy; though I do not + deny but in Lacedaemon, the paucity of the senators considered, it might + be called oligarchy, in comparison of Athens; or, if we look on their + continuance for life, though they had been more, aristocracy. + </p> + <p> + “The Senate of Rome (whose fame has been heard to thunder in the eloquence + of my Lord Dolabella d’Enyo) consisting of 300, was, in regard of the + number, less oligarchical than that of Lacedaemon; but more in regard of + the patricians, who, having an hereditary capacity of the same, were not + elected to that honor by the people; but, being conscribed by the censors, + enjoyed it for life. Wherefore these, if they had their wills, would have + resolved as well as debated; which set the people at such variance with + them as dissolved the commonwealth; whereas if the people had enjoyed the + result, that about the agrarian, as well as all other strife, must of + necessity have ceased. + </p> + <p> + “The Senates of Switzerland and Holland (as I have learnt of my Lords + Alpester and Glaucus), being bound up (like the sheaf of arrows which the + latter gives) by leagues, lie like those in their quivers; but arrows, + when they come to be drawn, fly from this way and from that; and I am + contented that these concerned us not. + </p> + <p> + “That of Venice (by the faithful testimony of my most excellent Lord + Linceus de Stella) has obliged a world, sufficiently punished by its own + blindness and ingratitude, to repent and be wiser: for whereas a + commonwealth in which there is no senate, or where the senate is corrupt, + cannot stand, the great Council of Venice, like the statue of Nilus, leans + upon an urn or waterpot, which pours forth the Senate in so pure and + perpetual a stream, as being unable to stagnate, is forever incapable of + corruption. The fuller description of this Senate is contained in that of + Oceana; and that of Oceana in the foregoing orders. To every one of which, + because something has been already said, I shall not speak in particular. + But in general, your Senate, and the other assembly, or the prerogative, + as I shall show in due place, are perpetual, not as lakes or puddles, but + as the rivers of Eden; and are beds made, as you have seen, to receive the + whole people, by a due and faithful vicissitude, into their current. They + are not, as in the late way, alternate. Alternate life in government is + the alternate death of it. + </p> + <p> + “This was the Gothic work, whereby the former government (which was not + only a ship, but a gust, too) could never open her sails, but in danger to + overset herself, neither could make any voyage nor lie safe in her own + harbor. The wars of later ages, says Verulamius, seem to be made in the + dark, in respect of the glory and honor which reflected on men from the + wars in ancient times. Their shipping of this sort Was for voyages; ours + dare not launch, nor lies it safe at home. Your Gothic politicians seem to + me rather to have invented some new ammunition or gunpowder, in their King + and Parliament, than government. For what is become of the princes (a kind + of people) in Germany?—blown up. Where are the estates, or the power + of the people in France?—blown up. Where is that of the people in + Arragon, and the rest of the Spanish kingdoms?—blown up. On the + other side, where is the King of Spain’s power in Holland?—blown up. + Where is that of the Austrian princes in Switzerland?—blown up. This + perpetual peevishness and jealousy, under the alternate empire of the + prince and of the people, are obnoxious to every spark. Nor shall any man + show a reason that will be holding in prudence, why the people of Oceana + have blown up their King, but that their kings did not first blow up them. + The rest is discourse for ladies. Wherefore your parliaments are not + henceforth to come out of the bag of AEolus, but by your galaxies, to be + the perpetual food of the fire of Vesta. + </p> + <p> + “Your galaxies, which divide the house into so many regions, are three; + one of which constituting the third region is annually chosen, but for the + term of three years; which causes the house (having at once blossoms, + fruit half ripe, and others dropping off in full maturity) to resemble an + orange tree, such as is at the same time an education or spring, and a + harvest, too; for the people have made a very ill-choice in the man, who + is not easily capable of the perfect knowledge in one year of the + senatorian orders; which knowledge, allowing him for the first to have + been a novice, brings him the second year to practise, and time enough. + For at this rate you must always have 200 knowing men in the government. + And thus the vicissitude of your senators is not perceivable in the + steadiness and perpetuity of your Senate; which, like that of Venice, + being always changing, is forever the same. And though other politicians + have not so well imitated their patter, there is nothing more obvious in + nature, seeing a man who wears the same flesh but a short time, is + nevertheless the same man, and of the same genius; and whence is this but + from the constancy of nature, in holding a man to her orders? Wherefore + keep also to your orders. But this is a mean request; your orders will be + worth little if they do not hold you to them, wherefore embark. They are + like a ship, if you be once aboard, you do not carry them, but they you; + and see how Venice stands to her tackling: you will no more forsake them + than you will leap into the sea. + </p> + <p> + “But they are very many and difficult. O my Lords, what seaman casts away + his card because it has four-and-twenty points of the compass? and yet + those are very near as many and as difficult as the orders in the whole + circumference of your commonwealth. Consider, how have we been tossed with + every wind of doctrine, lost by the glib tongues of your demagogues and + grandees in our own havens? A company of fiddlers that have disturbed your + rest for your groat; £2,000 to one, £3,000 a year to another, has been + nothing. And for what? Is there one of them that yet knows what a + commonwealth is? And are you yet afraid of such a government in which + these shall not dare to scrape for fear of the statute? Themistocles could + not fiddle, but could make of a small city a great commonwealth: these + have fiddled, and for your money, till they have brought a great + commonwealth to a small city. + </p> + <p> + “It grieves me, while I consider how, and from what causes, imaginary + difficulties will be aggravated, that the foregoing orders are not capable + of any greater clearness in discourse or writing; but if a man should make + a book, describing every trick and passage, it would fare no otherwise + with a game at cards; and this is no more, if a man plays upon the square. + ‘There is a great difference,’ says Verulamius, ‘between a cunning man and + a wise man (between a demagogue and a legislator), not only in point of + honesty, but in point of ability as there be that can pack the cards, and + yet cannot play well; so there be some that are good in canvasses and + fractions, that are otherwise weak men.’ Allow me but these orders, and + let them come with their cards in their sleeves, or pack if they can. + ‘Again,’ says he, ‘it is one thing to understand persons, and another to + understand matters; for many are perfect in men’s humors that are not + greatly capable of the real part of business, which is the constitution of + one that has studied men more than books. But there is nothing more + hurtful in a State than that cunning men should pass for wise.’ His words + are an oracle. As Dionysius, when he could no longer exercise his tyranny + among men, turned schoolmaster, that he might exercise it among boys. + Allow me but these orders, and your grandees, so well skilled in the baits + and palates of men, shall turn rat-catchers. + </p> + <p> + “And whereas ‘councils (as is discreetly observed by the same author in + his time) are at this day, in most places, but familiar meetings (somewhat + like the Academy of our provosts), where matters are rather talked on than + debated, and run too swift to order an act of council,’ give me my orders, + and see if I have not puzzled your demagogues. + </p> + <p> + “It is not so much my desire to return upon haunts, as theirs that will + not be satisfied; wherefore if, notwithstanding what was said of dividing + and choosing in our preliminary discourses, men will yet be returning to + the question, Why the Senate must be a council apart (though even in + Athens, where it was of no other constitution than the popular assembly, + the distinction of it from the other was never held less than necessary) + this may be added to the former reasons, that if the aristocracy be not + for the debate, it is for nothing; but if it be for debate, it must have + convenience for it; and what convenience is there for debate in a crowd, + where there is nothing but jostling, treading upon one another, and + stirring of blood, than which in this case there is nothing more + dangerous? Truly, it was not ill said of my Lord Epimonus, that Venice + plays her game, as it were, at billiards or nine-holes; and so may your + lordships, unless your ribs be so strong that you think better of + football: for such sport is debate in a popular assembly as, + notwithstanding the distinction of the Senate, was the destruction of + Athens.” + </p> + <p> + This speech concluded the debate which happened at the institution of the + Senate. The next assembly is that of the people or prerogative tribe. + </p> + <p> + The face, or mien, of the prerogative tribe for the arms, the horses, and + the discipline, but more especially for the select men, is that of a very + noble regiment, or rather of two; the one of horse, divided into three + troops (besides that of the provinces, which will be shown hereafter), + with their captains, cornets, and two tribunes of the horse at the head of + them; the other of foot in three companies (beside that of the provinces), + with their captains, ensigns, and two tribunes of the foot at the head of + them. The first troop is called the Phoenix, the second the Pelican, and + the third the Swallow. The first company the Cypress, the second the + Myrtle, and the third the Spray. Of these again (not without a near + resemblance of the Roman division of a tribe) the Phoenix and the Cypress + constitute the first class, the Pelican and the Myrtle the second, and the + Swallow with the Spray the third, renewed every spring by— + </p> + <p> + The one-and-twentieth order, “Directing, that upon every Monday next + ensuing the last of March, the deputies of the annual galaxy arriving at + the pavilion in the halo, and electing one captain and one cornet of the + Swallow (triennial officers) by and out of the cavalry at the horse urn, + according to the rules contained in the ballot of the hundred; and one + captain with one ensign of the Spray (triennial officers) by and out of + the infantry at the foot urn, after the same way of balloting, constitute + and become the third classes of the prerogative tribe.” + </p> + <p> + Seven deputies are annually returned by every tribe, whereof three are + horse and four are foot; and there be fifty tribes: so the Swallow must + consist of 150 horse, the Spray of 200 foot. And the rest of the classes + being two, each of them in number equal, the whole prerogative (beside the + provinces, that is, the knights and deputies of Marpesia and Panopea) must + consist of 1,050 deputies. And these troops and companies may as well be + called centuries as those of the Romans; for the Romans related not, in so + naming theirs, to the number. And whereas they were distributed according + to the valuation of their estates, so are these; which, by virtue of the + last order, are now accommodated with their triennial officers. But there + be others appertaining to this tribe whose election, being of far greater + importance, is annual, as follows in + </p> + <p> + The twenty-second order, “Whereby the first class having elected their + triennial officers, and made oath to the old tribunes, that they will + neither introduce, cause, nor to their power suffer debate to be + introduced into any popular assembly of this government, but to their + utmost be aiding and assisting to seize and deliver any person or persons + in that way offending, and striking at the root of this commonwealth, to + the Council of War, are to proceed with the other two classes of the + prerogative tribe to election of the new tribunes, being four annual + magistrates, whereof two are to be elected out of the cavalry at the horse + urn, and two out of the infantry at the foot urn, according to the common + ballot of the tribes. And they may be promiscuously chosen out of any + classes, provided that the same person shall not be capable of bearing the + tribunitian honor twice in the term of one galaxy. The tribunes thus + chosen shall receive the tribe (in reference to the power of mustering and + disciplining the same) as commanders-in-chief, and for the rest as + magistrates, whose proper function is prescribed by the next order. The + tribunes may give leave to any number of the prerogative, not exceeding + 100 at a time, to be absent, so they be not magistrates nor officers, and + return within three months. If a magistrate or officer has a necessary + occasion, he may also be absent for the space of one month, provided that + there be not above three cornets or ensigns, two captains, or one tribune + so absent at one time.” + </p> + <p> + To this the Archon spoke at the institution after this manner: + </p> + <p> + “MY LORDS: + </p> + <p> + “It is affirmed by Cicero, in his oration for Flaccus, that the + commonwealths of Greece were all shaken or ruined by the intemperance of + their Comitia, or assemblies of the people. The truth is, if good heed in + this point be not taken, a commonwealth will have bad legs. But all the + world knows he should have excepted Lacedaemon, where the people, as has + been shown by the oracle, had no power at all of debate, nor (till after + Lysander, whose avarice opened a gulf that was not long ere it swallowed + up his country) came it ever to be exercised by them. Whence that + commonwealth stood longest and firmest of any other but this, in our days, + of Venice; which, having underlaid herself with the like institution, owes + a great, if not the greater, part of her steadiness to the same principle; + the great Council, which is with her the people, by the authority of my + Lord Epimonus, never speaking a word. Nor shall any commonwealth, where + the people in their political capacity is talkative, ever see half the + days of one of these, but, being carried away by vainglorious men (that, + as Overbury says, void more than they drink), swim down the stream, as did + Athens, the most prating of these dames, when that same ranting fellow + Alcibiades fell a-demagoguing for the Silician War. + </p> + <p> + “But whereas debate, by the authority and experience of Lacedaemon and + Venice, is not to be committed to the people in a well-ordered government, + it may be said that the order specified is but a slight bar in a matter of + like danger; for so much as an oath, if there be no recourse upon the + breach of it, is a weak tie for such hands as have the sword in them, + wherefore what should hinder the people of Oceana, if they happen not to + regard an oath from assuming debate, and making themselves as much an + anarchy as those of Athens? To which I answer, Take the common sort in a + private capacity, and, except they be injured, you shall find them to have + a bashfulness in the presence of the better sort, or wiser men, + acknowledging their abilities by attention, and accounting it no mean + honor to receive respect from them; but if they be injured by them, they + hate them, and the more for being wise or great, because that makes it the + greater injury. Nor refrain they in this case from any kind of + intemperance of speech, if of action. It is no otherwise with a people in + their political capacity; you shall never find that they have assumed + debate for itself, but for something else. Wherefore in Lacedaemon where + there was, and in Venice where there is, nothing else for which they + should assume it, they have never shown so much as an inclination to it. + </p> + <p> + “Nor was there any appearance of such a desire in the people of Rome (who + from the time of Romulus had been very well contented with the power of + result either in the parochial assemblies, as it was settled upon them by + him, or in the meetings of the hundreds, as it was altered in their regard + for the worse by Servius Tullius) till news was brought, some fifteen + years after the exile of Tarquin, their late King (during which time the + Senate had governed pretty well), that he was dead at the Court of + Aristodemus the tyrant of Cumae. Whereupon the patricians, or nobility, + began to let out the hitherto dissembled venom which is inherent in the + root of oligarchy and fell immediately upon injuring the people beyond all + moderation. For whereas the people had served both gallantly and + contentedly in arms upon their own charges, and, though joint purchasers + by their swords of the conquered lands, had not participated in the same + to above two acres a man (the rest being secretly usurped by the + patricians), they, through the meanness of their support and the greatness + of their expense, being generally indebted, no sooner returned home with + victory to lay down their arms, than they were snatched up by their + creditors, the nobility, to cram jails. Whereupon, but with the greatest + modesty that was ever known in the like case, they first fell upon debate, + affirming ‘That they were oppressed and captivated at home, while abroad + they fought for liberty and empire, and that the freedom of the common + people was safer in time of war than peace, among their enemies than their + fellow-citizens.’ It is true that when they could not get the Senate, + through fear, as was pretended by the patricians, to assemble and take + their grievances into consideration, they grew so much the warmer, that it + was glad to meet; where Appius Claudius, a fierce spirit, was of opinion + that recourse should be had to consular power, whereby some of the brands + of sedition being taken off, the flame might be extinguished. Servilius, + being of another temper, thought it better and safer to try if the people + might be bowed than broken. + </p> + <p> + “But this debate was interrupted by tumultuous news of the near approach + of the Volsci, a case in which the Senate had no recourse but to the + people, who, contrary to their former custom upon the like occasions, + would not stir a foot, but fell a-laughing, and saying, ‘Let them fight + that have something to fight for.’ The Senate that had purses, and could + not sing so well before the thief, being in a great perplexity, found no + possible way out of it but to beseech Servilius, one of a genius well + known to be popular, that he would accept of the consulship, and make some + such use of it as might be helpful to the patrician interest. Servilius, + accepting of the offer, and making use of his interest with the people, + persuaded them to hope well of the good intention of the fathers, whom it + would little beseem to be forced to those things which would lose their + grace, and that in view of the enemy, if they came not freely; and withal + published an edict, that no man should withhold a citizen of Rome by + imprisonment from giving his name (for that was the way, as I shall have + opportunity hereafter to show more at large, whereby they drew out their + armies), nor to seize or sell any man’s goods or children that were in the + camp. Whereupon the people with a mighty concourse immediately took arms, + marched forth, and (which to them was as easy as to be put into the humor, + and that, as appears in this place, was not hard) totally defeated the + Volsci first, then the Sabines (for the neighboring nations, hoping to + have had a good bargain of the discord in Rome, were up in arms on all + sides), and after the Sabines the Aurunci. Whence returning, victorious in + three battles they expected no less than that the Senate would have made + good their words, when Appius Claudius, the other Consul, of his innate + pride, and that he might frustrate the faith of his colleague, caused the + soldiers (who being set at liberty, had behaved themselves with such + valor) to be restored at their return to their creditors and their jails. + </p> + <p> + “Great resort upon this was made by the people to Servilius, showing him + their wounds, calling him to witness how they had behaved themselves, and + minding him of his promise. Poor Servilius was sorry, but so overawed with + the headiness of his colleague, and the obstinacy of the whole faction of + the nobility, that, not daring to do anything either way, he lost both + parties, the fathers conceiving that he was ambitious, and the people that + he was false; while the Consul Claudius, continuing to countenance such as + daily seized and imprisoned some of the indebted people, had still new and + dangerous controversies with them, insomuch that the commonwealth was torn + with horrid division, and the people (because they found it not so safe or + so effectual in public) minded nothing but laying their heads together in + private conventicles. For this Aulus Virginius and Titus Vetusius, the new + Consuls, were reproved by the Senate as slothful, and upbraided with the + virtue of Appius Claudius. Whereupon the Consuls having desired the Senate + that they might know their pleasure, showed afterward their readiness to + obey it, by summoning the people according to command, and requiring names + whereby to draw forth an army for diversion, but no man would answer. + Report hereof being made to the Senate, the younger sort of the fathers + grew so hot with the Consuls that they desired them to abdicate the + magistracy, which they had not the courage to defend. + </p> + <p> + “The Consuls, though they conceived themselves to be roughly handled, made + this soft answer. ‘Fathers conscript, that you may please to take notice + it was foretold some horrid sedition is at hand, we shall only desire that + they whose valor in this place is so great, may stand by us to see how we + behave ourselves, and then be as resolute in your commands as you will; + your fatherhoods may know if we be wanting in the performance.’ + </p> + <p> + “At this some of the hot young noblemen returned with the Consuls to the + tribunal, before which the people were yet standing; and the Consuls + having generally required names in vain, to put it to something, required + the name of one that was in their eye particularly; on whom, when he moved + not, they commanded a lictor to lay hands, but the people, thronging about + the party summoned, forbade the lictor, who durst not touch him; at which + the hotspurs that came with the consuls, enraged by the affront, descended + from the throne to the aid of the lictor; from whom in so doing they + turned the indignation of the people upon themselves with such heat that + the Consuls interposing, thought fit, by remitting the assembly, to + appease the tumult; in which, nevertheless, there had been nothing but + noise. Nor was there less in the Senate, being suddenly rallied upon this + occasion, where they that received the repulse, with others whose heads + were as addled as their own, fell upon the business as if it had been to + be determined by clamor till the Consuls, upbraiding the Senate that it + differed not from the market-place, reduced the house to orders. + </p> + <p> + “And the fathers, having been consulted accordingly, there were three + opinions: Publius Virginius conceived that the consideration to be had + upon the matter in question, or aid of the indebted and imprisoned people, + was not to be further extended than to such as had engaged upon the + promise made by Servilius; Titus Largius, that it was no time to think it + enough, if men’s merits were acknowledged, while the whole people, sunk + under the weight of their debts, could not emerge without some common aid, + which to restrain, by putting some into a better condition than others, + would rather more inflame the discord than extinguish it; Appius Claudius + (still upon the old haunt) would have it that the people were rather + wanton than fierce; it was not oppression that necessitated, but their + power that invited them to these freaks; the empire of the Consuls since + the appeal to the people (whereby a plebeian might ask his fellows if he + were a thief) being but a mere scarecrow. ‘Go to,’ says he, ‘let us create + the dictator, from whom there is no appeal, and then let me see more of + this work, or him that shall forbid my lictor.’ + </p> + <p> + “The advice of Appius was abhorred by many; and to introduce a general + recision of debts with Largius, was to violate all faith; that of + Virginius, as the most moderate, would have passed best, but that there + were private interests, that constant bane of the public, which withstood + it. So they concluded with Appius, who also had been dictator, if the + Consuls and some of the graver sort had not thought it altogether + unseasonable, at a time when the Volsci and the Sabines were up again, to + venture so far upon alienation of the people: for which cause Valerius, + being descended from the Publicolas, the most popular family, as also in + his own person of a mild nature, was rather trusted with so rigid a + magistracy. Whence it happened that the people, though they knew well + enough against whom the Dictator was created, feared nothing from + Valerius; but upon a new promise made to the same effect with that of + Servilius, hoped better another time, and throwing away all disputes, gave + their names roundly, went out, and, to be brief, came home again as + victorious as in the former action, the Dictator entering the city in + triumph. Nevertheless, when he came to press the Senate to make good his + promise, and do something for the ease of the people, they regarded him no + more as to that point than they had done Servilius. Whereupon the + Dictator, in disdain to be made a stale, abdicated his magistracy, and + went home. Here, then, was a victorious army without a captain, and a + Senate pulling it by the beard in their gowns. What is it (if you have + read the story, for there is not such another) that must follow? Can any + man imagine that such only should be the opportunity upon which this + people could run away? + </p> + <p> + “Alas, poor men, the AEqui and the Volsci and the Sabines were nothing, + but the fathers invincible! There they sat, some 300 of them armed all in + robes, and thundering with their tongues, without any hopes in the earth + to reduce them to any tolerable conditions. Wherefore, not thinking it + convenient to abide long so near them, away marches the army, and encamps + in the fields. This retreat of the people is called the secession of Mount + Aventin, where they lodged, very sad at their condition, but not letting + fall so much as a word of murmur against the fathers. The Senate by this + time were great lords, had the whole city to themselves; but certain + neighbors were upon the way that might come to speak with them, not asking + leave of the porter. Wherefore their minds became troubled, and an orator + was posted to the people to make as good conditions with them as he could; + but, whatever the terms were, to bring them home, and with all speed. And + here it was covenanted between the Senate and the people, that these + should have magistrates of their own election, called the tribunes, upon + which they returned. + </p> + <p> + “To hold you no longer, the Senate having done this upon necessity, made + frequent attempts to retract it again, while the tribunes, on the other + side, to defend what they had got, instituted their Tributa Comitia, or + council of the people; where they came in time, and, as disputes + increased, to make laws without the authority of the Senate, called + plebiscita. Now to conclude in the point at which I drive: such were the + steps whereby the people of Rome came to assume debate, nor is it in art + or nature to debar a people of the like effect, where there is the like + cause. For Romulus, having in the election of his Senate squared out a + nobility for the support of a throne, by making that of the patricians a + distinct and hereditary order, planted the commonwealth upon two contrary + interests or roots, which, shooting forth, in time produced two + commonwealths, the one oligarchical in the nobility, the other a mere + anarchy of the people, and ever after caused a perpetual feud and enmity + between the Senate and the people, even to death. + </p> + <p> + “There is not a more noble or useful question in the politics than that + which is started by Machiavel, whether means were to be found whereby the + enmity that was between the Senate and the people of Rome could have been + removed? Nor is there any other in which we, on the present occasion, are + so much concerned, particularly in relation to this author; forasmuch as + his judgment in the determination of the question standing, our + commonwealth falls. And he that will erect a commonwealth against the + judgment of Machiavel, is obliged to give such reasons for his enterprise + as must not go a-begging. Wherefore to repeat the politician very + honestly, but somewhat more briefly, he disputes thus: + </p> + <p> + “‘There be two sorts of commonwealths, the one for preservation, as + Lacedaemon and Venice; the other for increase, as Rome. + </p> + <p> + “‘Lacedaemon, being governed by a King and a small Senate, could maintain + itself a long time in that condition, because the inhabitants, being few, + having put a bar upon the reception of strangers, and living in a strict + observation of the laws of Lycurgus, which now had got reputation, and + taken away all occasion of tumults, might well continue long in + tranquillity. For the laws of Lycurgus introduced a greater equality in + estates, and a less equality in honors, whence there was equal poverty; + and the plebeians were less ambitious, because the honors or magistracies + of the city could extend but to a few and were not communicable to the + people, nor did the nobility by using them ill ever give them a desire to + participate of the same. This proceeded from the kings, whose + principality, being placed in the midst of the nobility, had no greater + means whereby to support itself than to shield the people from all injury; + whence the people, not fearing empire, desired it not; and so all occasion + of enmity between the Senate and the people was taken away. But this union + happened especially from two causes: the one that the inhabitants of + Lacedaemon being few, could be governed by the few; the other, that, not + receiving strangers into their commonwealth, they did not corrupt it, nor + increase it to such a proportion as was not governable by the few. + </p> + <p> + “‘Venice has not divided with her plebeians, but all are called gentlemen + that be in administration of the government; for which government she is + more beholden to chance than the wisdom of her law-makers; for many + retiring to those islands, where that city is now built, from the + inundations of barbarians that overwhelmed the Roman Empire, when they + were increased to such a number that to live together it was necessary to + have laws, they ordained a form of government, whereby assembling often in + council upon affairs, and finding their number sufficient for government, + they put a bar upon all such as repairing afterward to their city should + become inhabitants, excluding them from participation of power. Whence + they that were included in the administration had right, and they that + were excluded, coming afterward, and being received upon no other + conditions to be inhabitants, had no wrong, and therefore had no occasion, + nor (being never trusted with arms) any means to be tumultuous. Wherefore + this commonwealth might very well maintain itself in tranquillity. + </p> + <p> + “‘These things considered, it is plain that the Roman legislators, to have + introduced a quiet state, must have done one of these two things: either + shut out strangers, as the Lacedemonians; or, as the Venetians, not + allowed the people to bear arms. But they did neither. By which means the + people, having power and increase, were in perpetual tumult. Nor is this + to be helped in a commonwealth for increase, seeing if Rome had cut off + the occasion of her tumults, she must have cut off the means of her + increase, and by consequence of her greatness. + </p> + <p> + “‘Wherefore let a legislator consider with himself whether he would make + his commonwealth for preservation, in which case she may be free from + tumults; or for increase, in which case she must be infested with them. + </p> + <p> + “‘If he makes her for preservation, she may be quiet at home, but will be + in danger abroad. First, because her foundation must be narrow, and + therefore weak, as that of Lacedaemon, which lay but upon 30,000 citizens; + or that of Venice, which lies but upon 3,000. Secondly, such a + commonwealth must either be in peace, or war; if she be in peace, the few + are soonest effeminated and corrupted and so obnoxious also to faction. If + in war, succeeding ill, she is an easy prey; or succeeding well, ruined by + increase: a weight which her foundation is not able to bear. For + Lacedaemon, when she had made herself mistress upon the matter of all + Greece, through a slight accident, the rebellion of Thebes, occasioned by + the conspiracy of Pelopidas discovering this infirmity of her nature, the + rest of her conquered cities immediately fell off, and in the turn as it + were of a hand reduced her from the fullest tide to the lowest ebb of her + fortune. And Venice having possessed herself of a great part of Italy by + her purse, was no sooner in defence of it put to the trial of arms than + she lost all in one battle. + </p> + <p> + “‘Whence I conclude that in the ordination of a commonwealth a legislator + is to think upon that which is most honorable, and, laying aside models + for preservation, to follow the example of Rome conniving at, and + temporizing with, the enmity between the Senate and the people, as a + necessary step to the Roman greatness. For that any man should find out a + balance that may take in the conveniences and shut out the inconveniences + of both, I do not think it possible.’ These are the words of the author, + though the method be somewhat altered, to the end that I may the better + turn them to my purpose. + </p> + <p> + “My lords, I do not know how you hearken to this sound; but to hear the + greatest artist in the modern world giving sentence against our + commonwealth is that with which I am nearly concerned. Wherefore, with all + honor due to the prince of politicians, let us examine his reasoning with + the same liberty which he has asserted to be the right of a free people. + But we shall never come up to him, except by taking the business a little + lower, we descend from effects to their causes. The causes of commotion in + a commonwealth are either external or internal. External are from enemies, + from subjects, or from servants. To dispute then what was the cause why + Rome was infested by the Italian, or by the servile wars; why the slaves + took the capitol; why the Lacedaemonians were near as frequently troubled + with their helots as Rome with all those; or why Venice, whose situation + is not trusted to the faith of men, has as good or better quarter with + them whom she governs, than Rome had with the Latins; were to dispute upon + external causes. The question put by Machiavel is of internal causes; + whether the enmity that Was between the Senate and the people of Rome + might have been removed. And to determine otherwise of this question than + he does, I must lay down other principles than he has done. To which end I + affirm that a commonwealth, internally considered, is either equal or + unequal. A commonwealth that is internally equal, has no internal cause of + commotion, and therefore can have no such effect but from without. A + commonwealth internally unequal has no internal cause of quiet, and + therefore can have no such effect but by diversion. + </p> + <p> + “To prove my assertions, I shall at this time make use of no other than + his examples. Lacedaemon was externally unquiet, because she was + externally unequal, that is as to her helots; and she was internally at + rest, because she was equal in herself, both in root and branch; in the + root by her agrarian, and in branch by the Senate, inasmuch as no man was + thereto qualified but by election of the people. Which institution of + Lycurgus is mentioned by Aristotle, where he says that rendering his + citizens emulous (not careless) of that honor, he assigned to the people + the election of the Senate. Wherefore Machiavel in this, as in other + places, having his eye upon the division of patrician and plebeian + families as they were in Rome, has quite mistaken the orders of this + commonwealth, where there was no such thing. Nor did the quiet of it + derive from the power of the kings, who were so far from shielding the + people from the injury of the nobility, of which there was none in his + sense but the Senate, that one declared end of the Senate at the + institution was to shield the people from the kings, who from that time + had but single votes. Neither did it proceed from the straitness of the + Senate, or their keeping the people excluded from the government, that + they were quiet, but from the equality of their administration, seeing the + Senate (as is plain by the oracle, their fundamental law) had no more than + the debate, and the result of the commonwealth belonged to the people. + </p> + <p> + “Wherefore when Theopompus and Polydorus, Kings of Lacedaemon, would have + kept the people excluded from the government by adding to the ancient law + this clause, ‘If the determination of the people be faulty, it shall be + lawful for the Senate to resume the debate,’ the people immediately became + unquiet, and resumed that debate, which ended not till they had set up + their ephors, and caused that magistracy to be confirmed by their kings.” + For when Theopompus first ordained that the ephori or overseers should be + created at Lacedaemon, to be such a restraint upon the kings there as the + tribunes were upon the consuls at Rome, the Queen complained to him, that + by this means he transmitted the royal authority greatly diminished to his + children: “I leave indeed less,” answered he, “but more lasting.” And this + was excellently said; for that power only is safe which is limited from + doing hurt. Theopompus therefore, by confining the kingly power within the + bounds of the laws, did recommend it by so much to the people’s affection + as he removed it from being arbitrary.’ By which it may appear that a + commonwealth for preservation, if she comes to be unequal, is as obnoxious + to enmity between the Senate and the people as a commonwealth for + increase; and that the tranquillity of Lacedaemon was derived from no + other cause than her equality. + </p> + <p> + “For Venice, to say that she is quiet because she disarms her subjects, is + to forget that Lacedaemon disarmed her helots, and yet could not in their + regard be quiet; wherefore if Venice be defended from external causes of + commotion, it is first through her situation, in which respect her + subjects have no hope (and this indeed may be attributed to her fortune); + and, secondly, through her exquisite justice, whence they have no will to + invade her. But this can be attributed to no other cause than her + prudence, which will appear to be greater, as we look nearer; for the + effects that proceed from fortune, if there be any such thing, are like + their cause, inconstant. But there never happened to any other + commonwealth so undisturbed and constant a tranquillity and peace in + herself as are in that of Venice; wherefore this must proceed from some + other cause than chance. And we see that as she is of all others the most + quiet, so the most equal commonwealth. Her body consists of one order, and + her Senate is like a rolling stone, as was said, which never did, nor, + while it continues upon that rotation, never shall gather the moss of a + divided or ambitious interest, much less such a one as that which grasped + the people of Rome in the talons of their own eagles. And if Machiavel, + averse from doing this commonwealth right, had considered her orders, as + his reader shall easily perceive he never did, he must have been so far + from attributing the prudence of them to chance, that he would have + touched up his admirable work to that perfection which, as to the civil + part, has no pattern in the universal world but this of Venice. + </p> + <p> + “Rome, secure by her potent and victorious arms from all external causes + of commotion, was either beholden for her peace at home to her enemies + abroad, or could never rest her head. My lords, you that are parents of a + commonwealth, and so freer agents than such as are merely natural, have a + care. For, as no man shall show me a commonwealth born straight that ever + became crooked, so no man shall show me a commonwealth born crooked that + ever became straight. Rome was crooked in her birth, or rather prodigious. + Her twins, the patrician and plebeian orders, came, as was shown by the + foregoing story, into the world, one body but two heads, or rather two + bellies; for, notwithstanding the fable out of AEsop, whereby Menenius + Agrippa, the orator that was sent from the Senate to the people at Mount + Aventin, showed the fathers to be the belly, and the people to be the arms + and the legs (which except that, how slothful soever it might seem, they + were nourished, not these only, but the whole body must languish and be + dissolved), it is plain that the fathers were a distinct belly, such a one + as took the meat indeed out of the people’s mouths, but abhorring the + agrarian, returned it not in the due and necessary nutrition of a + commonwealth. Nevertheless, as the people that live about the cataracts of + Nilus are said not to hear the noise, so neither the Roman writers, nor + Machiavel the most conversant with them, seem among so many of the + tribunitian storms to hear their natural voice; for though they could not + miss of it so far as to attribute them to the strife of the people for + participation in magistracy, or, in which Machiavel more particularly + joins, to that about the agrarian, this was to take the business short, + and the remedy for the disease. + </p> + <p> + “A people, when they are reduced to misery and despair, become their own + politicians, as certain beasts, when they are sick, become their own + physicians, and are carried by a natural instinct to the desire of such + herbs as are their proper cure; but the people, for the greater part, are + beneath the beasts in the use of them. Thus the people of Rome, though in + their misery they had recourse by instinct, as it were, to the two main + fundamentals of a commonwealth, participation of magistracy and the + agrarian, did but taste and spit at them, not (which is necessary in + physic) drink down the potion, and in that their healths. For when they + had obtained participation of magistracy it was but lamely, not to a full + and equal rotation in all elections; nor did they greatly regard it in + what they had got. And when they had attained to the agrarian, they + neglected it so far as to suffer the law to grow obsolete; but if you do + not take the due dose of your medicines (as there be slight tastes which a + man may have of philosophy that incline to atheism) it may chance to be + poison, there being a like taste of the politics that inclines to + confusion, as appears in the institution of the Roman tribunes, by which + magistracy and no more the people were so far from attaining to peace, + that they in getting but so much, got but heads for an eternal feud; + whereas if they had attained in perfection either to the agrarian, they + had introduced the equality and calm of Lacedaemon, or to rotation, and + they had introduced that of Venice: and so there could have been no more + enmity between the Senate and the people of Rome than there was between + those orders in Lacedaemon, or is now in Venice. Wherefore Machiavel seems + to me, in attributing the peace of Venice more to her luck than her + prudence, of the whole stable to have saddled the wrong horse; for though + Rome in her military part could beat it better, beyond all comparison, + upon the sounding hoof, Venice for the civil part has plainly had the + wings of Pegasus. + </p> + <p> + “The whole question then will come upon this point, whether the people of + Rome could have obtained these orders? And first, to say that they could + not have obtained them without altering the commonwealth, is no argument; + seeing neither could they, without altering the commonwealth, have + obtained their tribunes, which nevertheless were obtained. And if a man + considers the posture that the people were in when they obtained their + tribunes, they might as well, and with as great ease (forasmuch as the + reason why the nobility yielded to the tribunes was no other than that + there was no remedy) have obtained anything else. And for experience, it + was in the like case that the Lacedaemonians did set up their ephors, and + the Athenians, after the battle of Plataea, bowed the Senate (so hard a + thing it is for a commonwealth that was born crooked to become straight) + as much the other way. Nor, if it be objected that this must have ruined + the nobility (and in that deprived the commonwealth of the greatness which + she acquired by them), is this opinion holding, but confuted by the sequel + of the story, showing plainly that the nobility, through the defect of + such orders (that is to say, of rotation and the agrarian), came to eat up + the people; and battening themselves in luxury, to be, as Sallust speaks + of them, ‘a most sluggish and lazy nobility, in whom, besides the name, + there was no more than in a statue;’ and to bring so mighty a + commonwealth, and of so huge a glory, to so deplorable an end. Wherefore + means might have been found to remove the enmity that was between the + Senate and the people of Rome. + </p> + <p> + “My lords, if I have argued well, I have given you the comfort and + assurance that, notwithstanding the judgment of Machiavel, your + commonwealth is both safe and sound; but if I have not argued well, then + take the comfort and assurance which he gives you while he is firm, that a + legislator is to lay aside all other examples, and follow that of Rome + only, conniving and temporizing with the enmity between the Senate and the + people as a necessary step to the Roman greatness. Whence it follows that + your commonwealth, at the worst, is that which he has given you his word + is the best. + </p> + <p> + “I have held your lordships long, but upon an account of no small + importance, which I can now sum up in these few words: where there is a + liquorishness in a popular assembly to debate, it proceeds not from the + constitution of the people, but of the commonwealth. Now that your + commonwealth is of such a constitution as is naturally free from this kind + of intemperance, is that which, to make good, I must divide the remainder + of my discourse into two parts: + </p> + <p> + “The first, showing the several constitutions of the assemblies of the + people in other commonwealths; + </p> + <p> + “The second, comparing our assembly of the people with theirs; and showing + how it excludes the inconveniences and embraces the conveniences of them + all. + </p> + <p> + “In the beginning of the first part I must take notice, that among the + popular errors of our days it is no small one that men imagine the ancient + governments of this kind to have consisted for the most part of one city + that is, of one town; whereas by what we have learned of my ‘lords that + owned them, it appears that there was not any considerable one of such a + Constitution but Carthage, till this in our days of Venice. + </p> + <p> + “For to begin with Israel, it consisted of the twelve tribes, locally + spread or quartered throughout the whole territory, and these being called + together by trumpets, constituted the Church or assembly of the people. + The vastness of this weight, as also the slowness thence unavoidable, + became a great cause (as has been shown at large by my Lord Phosphorus) of + the breaking that commonwealth; notwithstanding that the Temple, and those + religious ceremonies for which the people were at least annually obliged + to repair thither, were no small ligament of the tribes, otherwise but + slightly tacked together. + </p> + <p> + “Athens consisted of four tribes, taking in the whole people, both of the + city and of the territory; not so gathered by Theseus into one town, as to + exclude the country, but to the end that there might be some capital of + the commonwealth: though true it be, that the congregation, consisting of + the inhabitants within the walls, was sufficient to all intents and + purposes, without those of the country. These also being exceeding + numerous, became burdensome to themselves and dangerous to the + commonwealth; the more for their ill-education, as is observed by Xenophon + and Polybius, who compare them to mariners that in a calm are perpetually + disputing and swaggering one with another, and never lay their hands to + the common tackling or safety till they be all endangered by some storm. + Which caused Thucydides, when he saw this people through the purchase of + their misery become so much wiser as to reduce their Comitia or assemblies + to 5,000, to say in his eighth book: ‘And now, at least in my time, the + Athenians seem to have ordered their State aright, consisting of a + moderate tempor both of the few (by which he means the Senate of the Bean) + and of the many,’ or the 5,000. And he does not only give you his + judgment, but the best proof of it; for ‘this,’ says he, ‘was the first + thing that, after so many misfortunes past, made the city again to raise + her head.’ The place I would desire your lordships to note, as the first + example that I find, or think is to be found, of a popular assembly by way + of representative. + </p> + <p> + “Lacedaemon consisted of 30,000 citizens dispersed throughout Laconia, one + of the greatest provinces in all Greece, and divided, as by some authors + is probable, into six tribes. Of the whole body of these, being gathered, + consisted the great Church or assembly, which had the legislative power; + the little church, gathered sometimes for matters of concern within the + city, consisted of the Spartans only. These happened, like that of Venice, + to be good constitutions of a congregation, but from an ill-cause the + infirmity of a commonwealth, which through her paucity was oligarchical. + </p> + <p> + “Wherefore, go which way you will, it should seem that without a + representative of the people, your commonwealth, consisting of a whole + nation, can never avoid falling either into oligarchy or confusion. + </p> + <p> + “This was seen by the Romans, whose rustic tribes, extending themselves + from the river Arno to the Vulturnus, that is, from Fesulae or Florence to + Capua, invented a way of representative by lots: the tribe upon which the + first fell being the prerogative, and some two or three more that had the + rest, the jure vocatoe. These gave the suffrage of the commonwealth in two + meetings; the prerogative at the first assembly, and the jure vocatoe at a + second. + </p> + <p> + “Now to make the parallel: all the inconveniences that you have observed + in these assemblies are shut out, and all the conveniences taken into your + prerogative. For first, it is that for which Athens, shaking off the blame + of Xenophon and Polybius, came to deserve the praise of Thucydides, a + representative. And, secondly, not, as I suspect in that of Athens, and is + past suspicion in this of Rome, by lot, but by suffrage, as was also the + late House of Commons, by which means in your prerogatives all the tribes + of Oceana are jure vocatoe; and if a man shall except against the paucity + of the standing number, it is a wheel, which in the revolution of a few + years turns every hand that is fit, or fits every hand that it turns to + the public work. Moreover, I am deceived if, upon due consideration, it + does not fetch your tribes, with greater equality and ease to themselves + and to the government, from the frontiers of Marpesia, than Rome ever + brought any one of hers out of her pomoeria, or the nearest parts of her + adjoining territories. To this you may add, that whereas a commonwealth, + which in regard of the people is not of facility in execution, were sure + enough in this nation to be cast off through impatience; your musters and + galaxies are given to the people, as milk to babes, whereby when they are + brought up through four days’ election in a whole year (one at the parish, + one at the hundred, and two at the tribe) to their strongest meat, it is + of no harder digestion than to give their negative or affirmative as they + see cause. There be gallant men among us that laugh at such an appeal or + umpire; but I refer it whether you be more inclining to pardon them or me, + who I confess have been this day laughing at a sober man, but without + meaning him any harm, and that is Petrus Cunaeus, where speaking of the + nature of the people, he says, ‘that taking them apart, they are very + simple, but yet in their assemblies they see and know something, and so + runs away without troubling himself with what that something is. Whereas + the people, taken apart, are but so many private interests; but if you + take them together, they are the public interest. + </p> + <p> + “The public interest of a commonwealth, as has been shown, is nearest that + of mankind, and that of mankind is right reason; but with aristocracy + (whose reason or interest, when they are all together, as appeared by the + patricians, is but that of a party) it is quite contrary: for as, taken + apart, they are far wiser than the people considered in that manner, so, + being put together, they are such fools, who by deposing the people, as + did those of Rome, will saw off the branch whereupon they sit, or rather + destroy the root of their own greatness. Wherefore Machiavel, following + Aristotle, and yet going before him, may well assert, ‘that the people are + wiser and more constant in their resolutions than a prince:’ which is the + prerogative of popular government for wisdom. And hence it is that the + prerogative of your commonwealth, as for wisdom so for power, is in the + people, which (though I am not ignorant that the Roman prerogative was so + called a proerogando, because their suffrage was first asked) gives the + denomination to your prerogative tribe.” + </p> + <p> + The elections, whether annual or triennial, being shown by the + twenty-second, that which comes in the next place to be considered is— + </p> + <p> + The twenty-third order, “Showing the power, function, and manner of + proceeding of the prerogative tribe. + </p> + <p> + “The power or function of the prerogative is of two parts: the one of + result, in which it is the legislative, power, the other of judicature, in + which regard it is the highest court, and the last appeal in this + commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + “For the former part (the people by this constitution being not obliged by + any law that is not of their own making or confirmation, by the result of + the prerogative, their equal representative) it shall not be lawful for + the Senate to require obedience from the people, nor for the people to + give obedience to the Senate in or by any law that has not been + promulgated, or printed and published for the space of six weeks, and + afterward proposed by the authority of the Senate to the prerogative + tribe, and resolved by the major vote of the same in the affirmative. Nor + shall the Senate have any power to levy war, men, or money, otherwise than + by the consent of the people so given, or by a law so enacted, except in + cases of exigence, in which it is agreed that the power, both of the + Senate and the people, shall be in the dictator so qualified, and for such + a term of time, as is according to that constitution already prescribed. + While a law is in promulgation, the censors shall animadvert upon the + Senate, and the tribunes upon the people, that there be no laying of heads + together, no conventicles or canvassing to carry on or oppose anything; + but that all may be done in a free and open way. + </p> + <p> + “For the latter part of the power of the prerogative, or that whereby they + are the supreme judicatory of this nation, and of the provinces of the + same, the cognizances of crimes against the majesty of the people, such as + high treason, as also of peculation, that is, robbery of the treasury, or + defraudation of the commonwealth, appertains to this tribe. And if any + person or persons, provincials or citizens, shall appeal to the people, it + belongs to the prerogative to judge and determine the case; provided that + if the appeal be from any court of justice in this nation or the + provinces, the appellant shall first deposit £100 in the court from which + he appeals, to be forfeited to the same if he be cast in his suit by the + people. But the power of the Council of War being the expedition of this + commonwealth, and the martial law of the strategus in the field, are those + only from which there shall lie no appeal to the people. + </p> + <p> + “The proceeding of the prerogative in case of a proposition is to be thus + ordered: The magistrates, proposing by authority of the Senate, shall + rehearse the whole matter, and expound it to the people; which done, they + shall put the whole together to the suffrage, with three boxes, the + negative, the affirmative, and the non-sincere; and the suffrage being + returned to the tribunes, and numbered in the presence of the proposers. + If the major vote be in the non-sincere, the proposer shall desist, and + the Senate shall resume the debate. If the major vote be in the negative, + the proposers shall desist, and the Senate, too. But if the major vote be + in the affirmative, then the tribe is clear and the proposers shall begin + and put the whole matter, with the negative and the affirmative (leaving + out the non-sincere) by clauses; and the suffrages being taken and + numbered by the tribunes in the presence of the proposers, shall be + written and reported by the tribunes of the Senate. And that which is + proposed by the authority of the Senate, and confirmed by the command of + the people, is the law of Oceana. + </p> + <p> + “The proceeding of the prerogative in a case of judicature is to be thus + ordered: The tribunes being auditors of all causes appertaining to the + cognizance of the people, shall have notice of the suit or trial, whether + of appeal or otherwise, that is to be commenced; and if any one of them + shall accept of the same, it appertains to him to introduce it. A cause + being introduced, and the people mustered or assembled for the decision of + the same, the tribunes are presidents of the court, having power to keep + it to orders, and shall be seated upon a scaffold erected in the middle of + the tribe. Upon the right hand shall stand a seat or large pulpit assigned + to the plaintiff or the accuser; and, upon the left, another for the + defendant, each if they please with his counsel. And the tribunes (being + attended upon such occasions with so many ballotins, secretaries, + doorkeepers, and messengers of the Senate as shall be requisite) one of + them shall turn up a glass of the nature of an hour-glass, but such a one + as is to be of an hour and a half’s running; which being turned up, the + party or counsel on the right hand may begin to speak to the people. If + there be papers to be read, or witnesses to be examined, the officer shall + lay the glass sideways till the papers be read and the witnesses examined, + and then turn it up again; and so long as the glass is running, the party + on the right hand has liberty to speak, and no longer. The party on the + right hand having had his time, the like shall be done in every respect + for the party on the left. And the cause being thus heard, the tribunes + shall put the question to the tribe with a white, a black, and a red box + (or non-sincere), whether guilty or not guilty. And if the suffrage being + taken, the major vote be in the non-sincere, the cause shall be reheard + upon the next juridicial day following, and put to the question in the + same manner. If the major vote comes the second time in the non-sincere, + the cause shall be heard again upon the third day; but at the third + hearing the question shall be put without the non-sincere. Upon the first + of the three days in which the major vote comes in the white box, the + party accused is absolved; and upon the first of them in which it comes in + the black box, the party accused is condemned. The party accused being + condemned, the tribunes (if the case be criminal) shall put with the white + and the black box these questions, or such of them as, regard had to the + case, they shall conceive most proper: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 1. Whether he shall have a writ of ease; + 2. Whether he shall be fined so much or so much; + 3. Whether he shall be confiscated; + 4. Whether he shall be rendered incapable of magistracy; + 5. Whether he shall be banished; + 6. Whether he shall be put to death. +</pre> + <p> + “These, or any three of these questions, whether simple or such as shall + be thought fitly mixed, being put by the tribunes, that which has most + above half the votes in the black box is the sentence of the people, which + the troop of the third class is to see executed accordingly. + </p> + <p> + “But whereas by the constitution of this commonwealth it may appear that + neither the propositions of the Senate nor the judicature of the people + will be so frequent as to hold the prerogative in continual employment, + the Senate, a main part of whose office it is to teach and instruct the + people, shall duly (if they have no greater affairs to divert them) cause + an oration to be made to the prerogative by some knight or magistrate of + the Senate, to be chosen out of the ablest men, and from time to time + appointed by the orator of the house, in the great hall of the Pantheon, + while the Parliament resides in the town, or in some grove or sweet place + in the field, while the Parliament for the heat of the year shall reside + in the country, upon every Tuesday, morning or afternoon. + </p> + <p> + “And the orator appointed for the time to this office shall first repeat + the orders of the commonwealth with all possible brevity; and then, making + choice of one or some part of it, discourse thereof to the people. An + oration or discourse of this nature, being afterward perused by the + Council of State, may as they see cause be printed and published.” + </p> + <p> + The Archon’s comment upon the order I find to have been of this sense: + </p> + <p> + “MY LORDS: + </p> + <p> + “To crave pardon for a word or two in further explanation of what was + read, I shall briefly show how the constitution of this tribe or assembly + answers to their function; and how their function, which is of two parts, + the former in the result or legislative power, the latter in the supreme + judicature of the commonwealth, answers to their constitution. Machiavel + has a discourse, where he puts the question, ‘Whether the guard of liberty + may with more security be committed to the nobility or to the people?’ + Which doubt of his arises through the want of explaining his terms; for + the guard of liberty can signify nothing else but the result of the + commonwealth; so that to say that the guard of liberty may be committed to + the nobility, is to say that the result may be committed to the Senate, in + which case the people signify nothing. + </p> + <p> + “Now to show it was a mistake to affirm it to have been thus in + Lacedaemon, sufficient has been spoken; and whereas he will have it to be + so in Venice also: ‘They,’ says Contarini, ‘in whom resides the supreme + power of the whole commonwealth, and of the laws, and upon whose orders + depends the authority as well of the Senate as of all the other + magistrates, is the Great Council.’ It is institutively in the Great + Council, by the judgment of all that know that commonwealth; though, for + the reasons shown, it be sometimes exercised by the Senate. Nor need I run + over the commonwealths in this place for the proof of a thing so + doubtless, and such as has been already made so apparent, as that the + result of each was in the popular part of it. The popular part of yours, + or the prerogative tribe, consists of seven deputies (whereof three are of + the horse) annually elected out of every tribe of Oceana; which being + fifty, amounts to 150 horse and 200 foot. And the prerogative consisting + of three of these lists, consists of 450 horse and 600 foot, besides those + of the provinces to be hereafter mentioned; by which means the overbalance + in the suffrage remaining to the foot by 150 votes, you have to the + support of a true and natural aristocracy the deepest root of a democracy + that has been ever planted. + </p> + <p> + “Wherefore there is nothing in art or nature better qualified for the + result than this assembly it is noted out of Cicero by Machiavel, ‘That + the people, though they are not so prone to find out truth of themselves + as to follow custom or run into error yet if they be shown truth, they not + only acknowledge and embrace it very suddenly, but are the most constant + and faithful guardians and conservators of it.’ it is your duty and + office, whereto you are also qualified by the orders of this commonwealth, + to have the people as you have your hawks and greyhounds, in leashes and + slips, to range the fields and beat the bushes for them, for they are of a + nature that is never good at this sport, but when you spring or start + their proper quarry. Think not that they will stand to ask you what it is, + or less know it than your hawks and greyhounds do theirs; but presently + make such a flight or course, that a huntsman may as well undertake to run + with his dogs, or a falconer to fly with his hawk, as an aristocracy at + this game to compare with the people. The people of Rome were possessed of + no less a prey than the empire of the world, when the nobility turned + tails, and perched among daws upon the tower of monarchy. For though they + did not all of them intend the thing, they would none of them endure the + remedy, which was the agrarian. + </p> + <p> + “But the prerogative tribe has not only the result, but is the supreme + judicature, and the ultimate appeal in this commonwealth. For the popular + government that makes account to be of any standing, must make sure in the + first place of the appeal to the people. As an estate in trust becomes a + man’s own if he be not answerable for it, so the power of a magistracy not + accountable to the people, from whom it was received, becoming of private + use, the commonwealth loses her liberty Wherefore the right of supreme + judicature in the people (Without which there can be no such thing as + popular government) is confirmed by the constant practice of all + commonwealths; as that of Israel in the cases of Achan, and of the tribe + of Benjamin, adjudged by the congregation. + </p> + <p> + “The dicasterian, or court called the heliaia in Athens, which (the + comitia of that commonwealth consisting of the whole people, and so being + too numerous to be a judicatory) was constituted sometimes of 500, at + others of 1,000, or, according to the greatness of the cause, of 1,500, + elected by the lot out of the whole body of the people, had, with the nine + Archons that were presidents, the cognizance of such causes as were of + highest importance in that State. The five ephors in Lacedaemon, which + were popular magistrates, might question their kings, as appears by the + cases of Pausanias, and of Agis, who being upon his trial in this court, + was cried to by his mother to appeal to the people, as Plutarch has it in + his life. The tribunes of the people of Rome (like, in the nature of their + magistracy, and for some time in number, to the ephors, as being, + according to Halicarnassus and Plutarch, instituted in imitation of them) + had power to summon any man, his magistracy at least being expired (for + from the Dictator there lay no appeal) to answer for himself to the + people. As in the case of Coriolanus, who was going about to force the + people, by withholding corn from them in a famine, to relinquish the + magistracy of the tribunes, in that of Spurius Cassius for affecting + tyranny, of Marcus Sergius for running away at Veii, of Caius Lucretius + for spoiling his province, of Junius Silanus for making war without a + command from the people against the Cimbri, with divers others. And the + crimes of this nature were called loesoe majestatis, or high treason. + Examples of such as were arraigned or tried for peculation, or + defraudation of the commonwealth, were Marcus Curius for intercepting the + money of the Samnites, Salinator for the unequal division of spoils to his + soldiers, Marcus Posthumius for cheating the commonwealth by a feigned + shipwreck. Causes of these two kinds were of a more public nature; but the + like power upon appeals was also exercised by the people in private + matters, even during the time of the kings, as in the case of Horatius. + Nor is it otherwise with Venice, where the Doge Loredano was sentenced by + the great Council, and Antonio Grimani, afterward doge, questioned, for + that he, being admiral, had suffered the Turk to take Lepanto in view of + his fleet. + </p> + <p> + “Nevertheless, there lay no appeal from the Roman dictator to the people; + which, if there had, might have cost the commonwealth dear, when Spurius + Melius, affecting empire, circumvented and debauched the tribunes: + whereupon Titus Quintus Cincinnatus was created Dictator, who having + chosen Servilius Ahala to be his lieutenant, or magister equitum, sent him + to apprehend Melius, whom, while he disputed the commands of the Dictator + and implored the aid of the people, Ahala cut off upon the place. By which + example you may see in what cases the dictator may prevent the blow which + is ready sometimes to fall ere the people be aware of the danger. + Wherefore there lies no appeal from the Dieci, or the Council of Ten, in + Venice, to the Great Council, nor from our Council of War to the people. + For the way of proceeding of this tribe, or the ballot, it is, as was once + said for all, Venetian. + </p> + <p> + “This discourse of judicatories whereupon we are fallen, brings us rather + naturally than of design from the two general orders of every + commonwealth, that is to say, from the debating part, or the Senate, and + the resolving part, or the people, to the third, which is the executive + part or the magistracy, whereupon I shall have no need to dwell, for the + executive magistrates of this commonwealth are the strategus in arms; the + signory in their several courts, as the chancery, the exchequer; as also + the councils in divers cases within their instructions; the censors as + well in their proper magistracy, as in the Council of Religion; the + tribunes in the government of the prerogative, and that judicatory; and + the judges with their courts; of all which so much is already said or + known as may suffice. + </p> + <p> + “The Tuesday lectures or orations to the people will be of great benefit + to the Senate, the prerogative, and the whole nation. To the Senate, + because they will not only teach your Senators elocution, but keep the + system of the government in their memories. Elocution is of great use to + your Senators, for if they do not understand rhetoric (giving it at this + time for granted that the art were not otherwise good) and come to treat + with, or vindicate the cause of the commonwealth against some other nation + that is good at it, the advantage will be subject to remain upon the merit + of the art, and not upon the merit of the cause. Furthermore, the genius + or soul of this government being in the whole and in every part, they will + never be of ability in determination upon any particular, unless at the + same time they have an idea of the whole. That this therefore must be, in + that regard, of equal benefit to the prerogative, is plain; though these + have a greater concernment in it. For this commonwealth is the estate of + the people; and a man, you know, though he be virtuous, yet if he does not + understand his estate, may run out or be cheated of it. Last of all, the + treasures of the politics will by this means be so opened, rifled, and + dispersed, that this nation will as soon dote, like the Indians, upon + glass beads, as disturb your government with whimsies and freaks of + mother-wit, or suffer themselves to be stuttered out of their liberties. + There is not any reason why your grandees, your wise men of this age, that + laugh out and openly at a commonwealth as the most ridiculous thing, do + not appear to be, as in this regard they are, mere idiots, but that the + people have not eyes.” + </p> + <p> + There remains no more relating to the Senate and the people than— + </p> + <p> + The twenty-fourth order, “Whereby it is lawful for the province of + Marpesia to have thirty knights of their own election continually present + in the Senate of Oceana, together with sixty deputies of horse, and 120 of + foot in the prerogative tribe, endued with equal power (respect had to + their quality and number) in the debate and result of this commonwealth, + provided that they observe the course or rotation of the same by the + annual return of ten knights, twenty deputies of the horse, and forty of + the foot. The like in all respects is lawful for Panopea; and the horse of + both the provinces amounting to one troop, and the foot to one company, + one captain and one cornet of the horse shall be annually chosen by + Marpesia, and one captain and one ensign of the foot shall be annually + chosen by Panopea.” + </p> + <p> + The orb of the prerogative being thus complete, is not unnaturally + compared to that of the moon, either in consideration of the light + borrowed from the Senate, as from the sun; or of the ebbs and floods of + the people, which are marked by the negative or affirmative of this tribe. + And the constitution of the Senate and the people being shown, you have + that of the Parliament of Oceana, consisting of the Senate proposing, and + of the people resolving, which amounts to an act of Parliament. So the + Parliament is the heart, which, consisting of two ventricles, the one + greater and replenished with a grosser matter, the other less and full of + a purer, sucks in and spouts forth the vital blood of Oceana by a + perpetual circulation. Wherefore the life of this government is no more + unnatural or obnoxious upon this score to dissolution than that of a man; + nor to giddiness than the world; seeing the earth, whether it be itself or + the heavens that are in rotation, is so far from being giddy, that it + could not subsist without motion. But why should not this government be + much rather capable of duration and steadiness by motion? Than which God + has ordained no other to the universal commonwealth of mankind: seeing one + generation comes and another goes, but the earth remains firm forever, + that is, in her proper situation or place, whether she be moved or not + moved upon her proper centre. The Senate, the people, and the magistracy, + or the Parliament so constituted, as you have seen, is the guardian of + this commonwealth, and the husband of such a wife as is elegantly + described by Solomon: “She is like the merchant’s ships; she brings her + food from far. She considers a field, and buys it: with the fruit of her + hands she plants a vineyard. She perceives that her merchandise is good. + She stretches forth her hands to the poor. She is not afraid of the snow + for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She + makes herself coverings of tapestry, her clothing is silk and purple. Her + husband is known (by his robes) in the gates, when he sits among the + senators of the land.” The gates, or inferior courts, were branches, as it + were, of the Sanhedrim, or Senate, of Israel. Nor is our commonwealth a + worse housewife, nor has she less regard to her magistrates; as may pear + by— + </p> + <p> + The twenty-fifth order, “That, whereas the public revenue is through the + late civil wars dilapidated, the excise, being improved or improvable to + the revenue of £1,000,000, be applied, for the space of eleven years to + come, to the reparation of the same, and for the present maintenance of + the magistrates, knights, deputies, and other officers, who, according to + their several dignities and functions, shall annually receive toward the + support of the same, as follows: + </p> + <p> + “The lord strategus marching, is, upon another account, to have field-pay + as general. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Per Annum + The lord strategus sitting...... £2,000 + The lord orator...... 2,000 + The three commissioners of the seal... 4,500 + The three commissioners of the treasury... 4,500 + The two censors.... 3,000 + The 290 knights, at £500 a man..... 145,000 + The four ambassadors-in-ordinary.... 12,000 + The Council of War for intelligence.... 3,000 + The master of the ceremonies..... 500 + The master of the horse...... 500 + His substitute..... 150 + The twelve ballotins for their winter liveries 240 + + For summer liveries... 120 + + For their board-wages...... 480 + For the keeping of three coaches of state, + + twenty-four coach-horses, with coachmen + + and postilions.......... 1,500 + For the grooms, and keeping of sixteen + + great horses for the master of the + + horse, and for the ballotins whom he + + is to govern and instruct in the art + + of riding.......... 480 + The twenty secretaries of the Parliament... 2,000 + The twenty doorkeepers, who are to attend + + with pole-axes, + + For their coats....... 200 + + For their board-wages.... 1,000 + The twenty messengers, which are trumpeters, + + For their coats.... 200 + + For their board-wages..... 1,000 + For ornament of the masters of the youth... 5,000 + + Sum £189,370 +</pre> + <p> + “Out of the personal estates of every man, who at his death bequeaths not + above forty shillings to the muster of that hundred wherein it lies, shall + be levied one per cent. till the solid revenue of the muster of the + hundred amounts to £50 per annum for the prizes of the youth. + </p> + <p> + “The twelve ballotins are to be divided into three regions, according to + the course of the Senate; the four of the first region to be elected at + the tropic out of such children as the knights of the same shall offer, + not being under eleven years of age, nor above thirteen. And their + election shall be made by the lot at an urn set by the sergeant of the + house for that purpose in the hall of the Pantheon. The livery of the + commonwealth for the fashion or the color may be changed at the election + of the strategus according to his fancy. But every knight during his + session shall be bound to give to his footman, or some one of his footmen, + the livery of the commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + “The prerogative tribe shall receive as follows: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + By the week + The two tribunes of the horse..... £14 0 + The two tribunes of the foot..... 12 0 + The three captains of the horse..... 15 0 + The three cornets..... 9 0 + The three captains of the foot.... 12 0 + The three ensigns........ 7 0 + The 442 horse, at £2 a man..... 884 0 + The 592 foot, at £1 10s a man.... 888 0 + The six trumpeters..... 7 10 + The three drummers........... 2 5 + + Sum by the week................ £1,850 15 + + Sum by the year............. £96,239 0 + + The total of the Senate, the people, + + and the magistracy.................... £287,459 15 +</pre> + <p> + “The dignity of the commonwealth, and aids of the several magistracies and + offices thereto belonging, bring provided for as aforesaid, the overplus + of the excise, with the product of the sum rising, shall be carefully + managed by the Senate and the people through the diligence of the officers + of the Exchequer, till it amount to £8,000,000, or to the purchase of + about £400,000 solid revenue. At which time, the term of eleven years + being expired, the excise, except it be otherwise ordered by the Senate + and the people, shall be totally remitted and abolished forever.” + </p> + <p> + At this institution the taxes, as will better appear in the Corollary, + were abated about one-half, which made the order, when it came to be + tasted, to be of good relish with the people in the very beginning; though + the advantages then were no ways comparable to the consequences to be + hereafter shown. Nevertheless, my Lord Epimonus, who with much ado had + been held till now, found it midsummer moon, and broke out of bedlam in + this manner. + </p> + <p> + “MY LORD ARCHON: + </p> + <p> + “I have a singing in my head like that of a cart-wheel, my brains are upon + a rotation; and some are so merry, that a man cannot speak his griefs, but + if your high-shod prerogative, and those same slouching fellows your + tribunes, do not take my lord strategus’s and my lord orator’s heads, and + jolt them together under the canopy, then let me be ridiculous to all + posterity. For here is a commonwealth, to which if a man should take that + of the ‘prentices in their ancient administration of justice at + Shrovetide, it were an aristocracy. You have set the very rabble with + truncheons in their hands, and the gentry of this nation, like cocks with + scarlet gills, and the golden combs of their salaries to boot, lest they + should not be thrown at. + </p> + <p> + “Not a night can I sleep for some horrid apparition or other; one while + these myrmidons are measuring silks by their quarterstaves, another + stuffing their greasy pouches with my lord high treasurer’s jacobuses. For + they are above 1,000 in arms to 300, which, their gowns being pulled over + their ears, are but in their doublets and hose. But what do I speak of + 1,000? There be 2,000 in every tribe, that is, 100,000 in the whole + nation, not only in the posture of an army, but in a civil capacity + sufficient to give us what laws they please. Now everybody knows that the + lower sort of people regard nothing but money; and you say it is the duty + of a legislator to presume all men to be wicked: wherefore they must fall + upon the richer, as they are an army; or, lest their minds should misgive + them in such a villany, you have given them encouragement that they have a + nearer way, seeing it may be done every whit as well as by the + overbalancing power which they have in elections. There is a fair which is + annually kept in the centre of these territories at Kiberton, a town + famous for ale, and frequented by good fellows; where there is a solemnity + of the pipers and fiddlers of this nation (I know not whether Lacedaemon, + where the Senate kept account of the stops of the flutes and of the + fiddle-strings of that commonwealth, bad any such custom) called the + bull-running, and he that catches and holds the bull, is the annual and + supreme magistrate of that comitia or congregation, called king piper, + without whose license it is not lawful for any of those citizens to enjoy + the liberty of his calling; nor is he otherwise legitimately qualified (or + civitate donatus) to lead apes or bears in any perambulation of the same. + Mine host of the Bear, in Kiberton, the father of ale, and patron of good + football and cudgel players, has any time since I can remember been + grand-chancellor of this order. + </p> + <p> + “Now, say I, seeing great things arise from small beginnings, what should + hinder the people, prone to their own advantage and loving money, from + having intelligence conveyed to them by this same king piper and his + chancellor, with their loyal subjects the minstrels and bear-wards, + masters of ceremonies, to which there is great recourse in their + respective perambulations, and which they will commission and instruct, + with directions to all the tribes, willing and commanding them, that as + they wish their own good, they choose no other into the next primum mobile + but of the ablest cudgel and football players? Which done as soon as said, + your primum mobile, consisting of no other stuff, must of necessity be + drawn forth into your nebulones and your galimofries; and so the silken + purses of your Senate and prerogative being made of sows’ ears, most of + them blacksmiths, they will strike while the iron is hot, and beat your + estates into hob-nails, mine host of the Bear being strategus, and king + piper lord orator. Well, my lords, it might have been otherwise expressed, + but this is well enough a-conscience. In your way, the wit of man shall + not prevent this or the like inconvenience; but if this (for I have + conferred with artists) be a mathematical demonstration, I could kneel to + you, that ere it be too late we might return to some kind of sobriety. If + we empty our purses with these pomps, salaries, coaches, lackeys, and + pages, what can the people say less than that we have dressed a Senate and + a prerogative for nothing but to go to the park with the ladies?” + </p> + <p> + My Lord Archon, whose meekness resembled that of Moses, vouchsafed this + answer: + </p> + <p> + “My LORDS: + </p> + <p> + “For all this, I can see my Lord Epimonus every night in the park, and + with ladies; nor do I blame this in a young man, or the respect which is + and ought to be given to a sex that is one-half of the commonwealth of + mankind, and without which the other would be none: but our magistrates, I + doubt, may be somewhat of the oldest to perform this part with much + acceptation; and, as the Italian proverb says, ‘Servire e non gradire e + cosa da far morire.’ Wherefore we will lay no certain obligation upon them + in this point, but leave them, if it please you, to their own fate or + discretion. But this (for I know my Lord Epimonus loves me, though I can + never get his esteem) I will say, if he had a mistress should use him so, + he would find it a sad life; or I appeal to your lordships, how I can + resent it from such a friend, that he puts king piper’s politics in the + balance with mine. King piper, I deny not, may teach his bears to dance, + but they have the worst ear of all creatures. Now how he should make them + keep time in fifty several tribes, and that two years together, for else + it will be to no purpose, may be a small matter with my lord to promise; + but it seems to me of impossible performance. First, through the nature of + the bean; and, secondly, through that of the ballot; or how what he has + hitherto thought so hard, is now come to be easy; but he may think that + for expedition they will eat up these balls like apples. + </p> + <p> + “However, there is so much more in their way by the constitution of this, + than is to be found in that of any other commonwealth, that I am + reconciled, it now appearing plainly that the points of my lord’s arrows + are directed at no other white than to show the excellency of our + government above others; which, as he proceeds further, is yet plainer; + while he makes it appear that there can be no other elected by the people + but smiths: + </p> + <p> + “‘Brontesque Steropesque et nudus membra Pyracmon:’ + </p> + <p> + “Othoniel, Aod, Gideon, Jephtha, Samson, as in Israel; Miltiades, + Aristides, Themistocles, Cimon, Pericles, as in Athens; Papyrius, + Cincinnatus, Camillus, Fabius Scipio, as in Rome: smiths of the fortune of + the commonwealth; not such as forged hob-nails, but thunderbolts. Popular + elections are of that kind, that all of the rest of the world is not able, + either in number or glory, to equal those of these three commonwealths. + These indeed were the ablest cudgel and football players; bright arms were + their cudgels, and the world was the ball that lay at their feet. + Wherefore we are not so to understand the maxim of legislators, which + holds all men to be wicked, as if it related to mankind or a commonwealth, + the interests whereof are the only straight lines they have whereby to + reform the crooked; but as it relates to every man or party, under what + color soever he or they pretend to be trusted apart, with or by the whole. + Hence then it is derived, which is made good in all experience, that the + aristocracy is ravenous, and not the people. Your highwaymen are not such + as have trades, or have been brought up to industry; but such commonly + whose education has pretended to that of gentlemen. My lord is so honest, + he does not know the maxims that are of absolute necessity to the arts of + wickedness; for it is most certain, if there be not more purses than + thieves, that the thieves themselves must be forced to turn honest, + because they cannot thrive by their trade; but now if the people should + turn thieves, who sees not that there would be more thieves than purses? + wherefore that a whole people should turn robbers or levellers, is as + impossible in the end as in the means. + </p> + <p> + “But that I do not think your artist which you mentioned, whether + astronomer or arithmetician, can tell me how many barley-corns would reach + to the sun, I could be content he were called to the account, with which I + shall conclude this point: when by the way I have chid my lords the + legislators, who, as if they doubted my tackling could not hold, would + leave me to flag in a perpetual calm, but for my Lord Epimonus, who + breathes now and then into my sails and stirs the waters. A ship makes not + her way so briskly as when she is handsomely brushed by the waves, and + tumbles over those that seem to tumble against her; in which case I have + perceived in the dark that light has been struck even out of the sea, as + in this place, where my Lord Epimonus feigning to give us a demonstration + of one thing, has given it of another, and of a better. For the people of + this nation, if they amount in each tribe to 2,000 elders and 2,000 youths + upon the annual roll, holding a fifth to the whole tribe, then the whole + of a tribe, not accounting women and children, must amount to 20,000; and + so the whole of all the tribes, being fifty, to 1,000,000. + </p> + <p> + “Now you have 10,000 parishes, and reckoning these one with another, each + at £1,000 a year dry-rent, the rent or revenue of the nation, as it is or + might be let to farm, amounts to £10,000,000; and £10,000,000 in revenue + divided equally to 1,000,000 of men, comes but to £10 a year to each + wherewith to maintain himself, his wife and children. But he that has a + cow upon the common, and earns his shilling by the day at his labor, has + twice as much already as this would come to for his share; because if the + land were thus divided, there would be nobody to set him on work. So my + Lord Epimonus’s footman, who costs him thrice as much as one of these + could thus get, would certainly lose by his bargain. What should we speak + of those innumerable trades whereupon men live, not only better than + others upon good shares of lands, but become also purchasers of greater + estates? Is not this the demonstration which my lord meant, that the + revenue of industry in a nation, at least in this, is three or four-fold + greater than that of the mere rent? If the people then obstruct industry, + they obstruct their own livelihood; but if they make a war, they obstruct + industry. Take the bread out of the people’s mouths, as did the Roman + patricians, and you are sure enough of a war, in which case they may be + levellers; but our agrarian causes their industry to flow with milk and + honey. It will be owned that this is true, if the people were given to + understand their own happiness; but where is it they do that? Let me reply + with the like question, where do they not? They do not know their + happiness it should seem in France, Spain, and Italy; but teach them what + it is, and try whose sense is the truer. + </p> + <p> + “As to the late wars in Germany, it has been affirmed to me there, that + the princes could never make the people to take arms while they had bread, + and have therefore suffered countries now and then to be wasted that they + might get soldiers. This you will find to be the certain pulse and temper + of the people; and if they have been already proved to be the most wise + and constant order of a government, why should we think (when no man can + produce one example of the common soldiery in an army mutinying because + they had not captains’ pay) that the prerogative should jolt the heads of + the Senate together because these have the better salaries, when it must + be as evident to the people in a nation, as to the soldiery in an army, + that it is no more possible their emoluments of this kind should be + afforded by any commonwealth in the world to be made equal with those of + the Senate, than that the common soldiers should be equal with the + captains? It is enough for the common soldier that his virtue may bring + him to be a captain, and more to the prerogative, that each of them is + nearer to be a senator. + </p> + <p> + “If my lord thinks our salaries too great, and that the commonwealth is + not housewife enough, whether is it better housewifery that she should + keep her family from the snow, or suffer them to burn her house that they + may warm themselves? for one of these must be. Do you think that she came + off at a cheaper rate when men had their rewards by £1,000 or £2,000 a + year in land if inheritance? if you say that they will be more godly than + they have been, it may be ill taken; and if you cannot promise that, it is + time we find out some way of stinting at least, if not curing them of that + same sacra fames. On the other side, if a poor man (as such a one may save + a city) gives his sweat to the public, with what conscience can you suffer + his family in the meantime to starve? but he that lays his hand to this + plough shall not lose by taking it off from his own, and a commonwealth + that will mend this shall be penny-wise. The Sanhedrim of Israel, being + the supreme, and a constant court of judicature, could not choose but be + exceeding gainful. The Senate of the Bean in Athens, because it was but + annual, was moderately salaried; but that of the Areopagites, being for + life, bountifully; and what advantages the senators of Lacedaemon had, + where there was little money or use of it, were in honors for life. The + patricians having no profit, took all. Venice being a situation where a + man goes but to the door for his employment, the honor is great and the + reward very little; but in Holland a councillor of state has £1,500 + Flemish a year, besides other accommodations. The States-General have + more. And that commonwealth looks nearer her penny than ours needs to do. + </p> + <p> + “For the revenue of this nation, besides that of her industry, it—amounts, + as has been shown, to £10,000,000; and the salaries in the whole come not + to £300,000 a year. The beauty they will add to the commonwealth will be + exceeding great, and the people will delight in this beauty of their + commonwealth; the encouragement they will give to the study of the public + being very progitable, the accommodation they will afford to your + magistrates very honorable and easy. And the sum, when it or twice as much + was spent in bunting and housekeeping, was never any grievance to the + people. I am ashamed to stand huckling upon this point; it is sordid. Your + magistrates are rather to be provided with further accommodations. For + what if there should be sickness? whither will you have them to remove? + And this city in the soundest times, for the heat of the year, is no + wholesome abode: have a care of their healths to whom you commit your own. + I would have the Senate and the people, except they see cause to the + contrary, every first of June to remove into the country air for the space + of three months. You are better fitted with summer-houses for them than if + you had built them to that purpose. + </p> + <p> + “There is some twelve miles distant the convallium upon the river + Halcionia, for the tribunes and the prerogative, a palace capable of 1,000 + men; and twenty miles distant you have Mount Celia, reverend as well for + the antiquity as state of a castle completely capable of the Senate, the + proposers having lodgings in the convallium, and the tribunes in Celia, it + holds the correspondency between the Senate and the people exactly And it + is a small matter for the proposers, being attended with the coaches and + officers of state, besides other conveniences of their own, to go a matter + of five or ten miles (those seats are not much farther distant) to meet + the people upon any heath or field that shall be appointed: where, having + despatched their business, they may hunt their own venison (for I would + have the great walled park upon the Halcionia to belong to the signory, + and those about the convallium to the tribunes) and so go to supper. Pray, + my lords, see that they do not pull down these houses to sell the lead of + them; for when—you have considered on it, they cannot be spared. The + founders of the school in Hiera provided that the boys should have a + summer seat. You should have as much care of these magistrates. But there + is such a selling, such a Jewish humor in our republicans, that I cannot + tell what to say to it; only this, any man that knows what belongs to a + commonwealth, or how diligent every nation in that case has been to + preserve her ornaments, and shall see the waste lately made (the woods + adjoining to this city, which served for the delight and health of it, + being cut down to be sold for threepence), will you tell that they who did + such things would never have made a commonwealth. The like may be said of + the ruin or damage done upon our cathedrals, ornaments in which this + nation excels all others. Nor shall this ever be excused upon the score of + religion; for though it be true that God dwells not in houses made with + hands, yet you cannot hold your assemblies but in such houses, and these + are of the best that have been made with hands. Nor is it well argued that + they are pompous, and therefore profane, or less proper for divine + service, seeing the Christians in the primitive Church chose to meet with + one accord in the Temple, so far were they from any inclination to pull it + down.” + </p> + <p> + The orders of this commonwealth, so far, or near so far as they concern + the elders, together with the several speeches at the institution, which + may serve for the better understanding of them as so many commentaries, + being shown, I should now come from the elders to the youth, or from the + civil constitution of this government to the military, but that I judge + this the fittest place whereinto, by the way, to insert the government of + the city though for the present but perfunctorily. + </p> + <p> + “‘The metropolis or capital city of Oceana is commonly called Emporium, + though it consists of two cities distinct, as well in name as in + government, whereof the other is called Hiera, for which cause I shall + treat of each apart, beginning with Emporium. + </p> + <p> + “Emporium, with the liberties, is under a twofold division, the one + regarding the national, and the other the urban or city government. It is + divided, in regard of the national government, into three tribes, and in + respect of the urban into twenty six, which for distinction’s sake are + called wards, being contained under three tribes but unequally; wherefore + the first tribe containing ten wards is called scazon, the second + containing eight metoche, and the third containing as many telicouta, the + bearing of which names in mind concerns the better understanding of the + government. + </p> + <p> + “Every ward has her wardmote, court, or inquest, consisting of all that + are of the clothing or liveries of companies residing within the same. + </p> + <p> + “Such are of the livery or clothing as have attained to the dignity to + wear gowns and parti-colored hoods or tippets, according to the rules and + ancient customs of their respective companies. + </p> + <p> + “A company is a brotherhood of tradesmen professing the same art, governed + according to their charter by a master and wardens. Of these there be + about sixty, whereof twelve are of greater dignity than the rest, that is + to say, the mercers, grocers, drapers, fishmongers, goldsmiths, skinners, + merchant-tailors, haberdashers, salters, ironmongers, vintners, + clothworkers, which, with most of the rest, have common halls, divers of + them being of ancient and magnificent structure, wherein they have + frequent meetings, at the summons of their master or wardens, for the + managing and regulation of their respective trades and mysteries. These + companies, as I shall show, are the roots of the whole government of the + city. For the liveries that reside in the same ward, meeting at the + wardmote inquest (to which it belongs to take cognizance of all sorts of + nuisances and violations of the customs and orders of the city, and to + present them to the court of aldermen), have also power to make election + of two sorts of magistrates or officers; the first of elders or aldermen + of the ward, the second of deputies of the same, otherwise called common + councilmen. + </p> + <p> + “The wards in these elections, because they do not elect all at once, but + some one year and some another, observe the distinction of the three + tribes; for example, the scazon, consisting of ten wards, makes election + the first year of ten aldermen, one in each ward, and of 150 deputies, + fifteen in each ward, all which are triennial magistrates or officers, + that is to say, are to bear their dignity for the space of three years. + </p> + <p> + “The second year the metoche, consisting of eight wards, elects eight + aldermen, one in each ward, and 120 deputies, fifteen in each ward, being + also triennial magistrates. + </p> + <p> + “The third year telicouta, consisting of a like number of wards, elects an + equal number of like magistrates for a like term. So that the whole number + of the aldermen, according to that of the wards, amounts to twenty-six; + and the whole number of the deputies, to 390. + </p> + <p> + “The aldermen thus elected have divers capacities; for, first, they are + justices of the peace for the term, and in consequence of their election. + Secondly, they are presidents of the wardmote and governors each of that + ward whereby he was elected. And last of all, these magistrates being + assembled together, constitute the Senate of the city, otherwise called + the court of aldermen; but no man is capable of this election that is not + worth £10,000. This court upon every new election makes choice of nine + censors out of their own number. + </p> + <p> + “The deputies in like manner being assembled together, constitute the + prerogative tribe of the city, otherwise called the common council, by + which means the Senate and the people of the city were comprehended, as it + were, by the motion of the national government, into the same wheel of + annual, triennial, and perpetual revolution. + </p> + <p> + “But the liveries, over and above the right of these elections by their + divisions mentioned, being assembled all together at the guild of the + city, constitute another assembly called the common hall. + </p> + <p> + “The common hall has the right of two other elections; the one of the lord + mayor, and the other of the two sheriffs, being annual magistrates. The + lord mayor can be elected out of no other than one of the twelve companies + of the first ranks; and the common hall agrees by the plurality of + suffrages upon two names, which, being presented to the lord mayor for the + time being, and the court of the aldermen, they elect one by their + scrutiny. For so they call it, though it differs from that of the + commonwealth. The orator or assistant to the lord mayor in holding of his + courts, is some able lawyer elected by the court of aldermen, and called + the recorder of Emporium. + </p> + <p> + “The lord mayor being thus elected, has two capacities: one regarding the + nation, and the other the city. In that which regards the city, he is + president of the court of aldermen, having power to assemble the same, or + any other council of the city, as the common council or common hall, at + his will and pleasure; and in that which regards the nation, he is + commander-in-chief of the three tribes whereinto the city is divided; one + of which he is to bring up in person at the national muster to the ballot, + as his vice-comites, or high sheriffs, are to do by the other two, each at + their distinct pavilion, where the nine aldermen, elected censors, are to + officiate by three in each tribe, according to the rules and orders + already given to the censors of the rustic tribes. And the tribes of the + city have no other than one common phylarch, which is the court of + aldermen and the common council, for which cause they elect not at their + muster the first list called the prime magnitude. + </p> + <p> + “The conveniences of this alteration of the city government, besides the + bent of it to a conformity with that of the nation, were many, whereof I + shall mention but a few: as first, whereas men under the former + administration, when the burden of some of these magistracies lay for + life, were oftentimes chosen not for their fitness, but rather unfitness, + or at least unwillingness to undergo such a weight, whereby they were put + at great rates to fine for their ease; a man might now take his share in + magistracy with that equity which is due to the public, and without any + inconvenience to his private affairs. Secondly, whereas the city (inasmuch + as the acts of the aristocracy, or court of aldermen, in their former way + of proceeding, were rather impositions than propositions) was frequently + disquieted with the inevitable consequence of disorder in the power of + debate exercised by the popular part, or common council; the right of + debate being henceforth established in the court of aldermen, and that of + result in the common council, killed the branches of division in the root. + Which for the present may suffice to have been said of the city of + Emporium. + </p> + <p> + “That of Hiera consists as to the national government of two tribes, the + first called agoroea, the second propola; but as to the peculiar policy of + twelve manipuls, or wards divided into three cohorts, each cohort + containing four wards, whereof the wards of the first cohort elect for the + first year four burgesses, one in each ward, the wards of the second + cohort for the second year four burgesses, one in each ward, and the wards + of the third cohort for the third year four burgesses, one in each ward, + all triennial magistrates; by which the twelve burgesses, making one court + for the government of this city according to their instructions by act of + Parliament, fall likewise into an annual, triennial, and perpetual + revolution. + </p> + <p> + “This court being thus constituted, makes election of divers magistrates; + as first, of a high steward, who is commonly some person of quality, and + this magistracy is elected in the Senate by the scrutiny of this court; + with him they choose some able lawyer to be his deputy, and to hold the + court; and last of all they elect out of their own number six censors. + </p> + <p> + “The high steward is commander-in-chief of the two tribes, whereof he in + person brings up the one at the national muster to the ballot, and his + deputy the other at a distinct pavilion; the six censors chosen by the + court officiating by three in each tribe at the urns; and these tribes + have no other phylarch but this court. + </p> + <p> + “As for the manner of elections and suffrage, both in Emporium and Hiera, + it may be said, once for all, that they are performed by ballot, and + according to the respective rules already given. + </p> + <p> + “There be other cities and corporations throughout the territory, whose + policy being much of this kind, would be tedious and not worth the labor + to insert, nor dare I stay. Juvenum manus emicat ardens.” + </p> + <p> + I return, according to the method of the commonwealth, to the remaining + parts of her orbs, which are military and provincial; the military, except + the strategus, and the polemarchs or field-officers, consisting of the + youth only, and the provincial consisting of a mixture both of elders and + of the youth. + </p> + <p> + To begin with the youth, or the military orbs, they are circles to which + the commonwealth must have a care to keep close. A man is a spirit raised + by the magic of nature; if she does not stand safe, and so that she may + set him to some good and useful work, he spits fire, and blows up castles; + for where there is life, there must be motion or work; and the work of + idleness is mischief, but the work of industry is health. To set men to + this, the commonwealth must begin betimes with them, or it will be too + late; and the means whereby she sets them to it is education, the plastic + art of government. But it is as frequent as sad in experience (whether + through negligence, or, which in the consequence is all one or worse, + over-fondness in the domestic performance of this duty) that innumerable + children come to owe their utter perdition to their own parents, in each + of which the commonwealth loses a citizen. + </p> + <p> + Wherefore the laws of a government, how wholesome soever in themselves, + are such as, if men by a congruity in their education be not bred to find + a relish in them, they will be sure to loathe and detest. The education + therefore of a man’s own children is not wholly to be committed or trusted + to himself. You find in Livy the children of Brutus, having been bred + under monarchy, and used to a court life, making faces at the Commonwealth + of Rome: “A king (say they) is a man with whom you may prevail when you + have need there should be law, or when you have need there should be no + law; he has favors in the right, and he frowns not in the wrong place; he + knows his friends from his enemies. But laws are deaf, inexorable things, + such as make no difference between a gentleman and an ordinary fellow; a + man can never be merry for them, for to trust altogether to his own + innocence is a sad life.” Unhappy wantons! Scipio, on the other side, when + he was but a boy (about two or three and twenty), being informed that + certain patricians of Roman gentlemen, through a qualm upon the defeat + which Hannibal had given them at Cannae, were laying their heads together + and contriving their flight with the transportation of their goods out of + Rome, drew his sword, and setting himself at the door of the chamber where + they were at council, protested “that who did not immediately swear not to + desert the commonwealth, he would make his soul to desert his body.” Let + men argue as they please for monarchy, or against a commonwealth, the + world shall never see any man so sottish or wicked as in cool blood to + prefer the education of the sons of Brutus before that of Scipio; and of + this mould, except a Melius or a Manlius, was the whole youth of that + commonwealth, though not ordinarily so well cast. + </p> + <p> + Now the health of a government and the education of the youth being of the + same pulse, no wonder if it has been the constant practice of well-ordered + commonwealths to commit the care and feeling of it to public magistrates. + A duty that was performed in such a manner by the Areopagites, as is + elegantly praised by Isocrates, “the Athenians (says he) write not their + laws upon dead walls, nor content themselves with having ordained + punishments for crimes, but provide in such a way, by the education of + their youth, that there be no crimes for punishment.” He speaks of those + laws which regarded manners, not of those orders which concerned the + administration of the commonwealth, lest you should think he contradicts + Xenophon and Polybius. The children of Lacedaemon, at the seventh year of + their age, were delivered to the poedonomi, or schoolmasters, not + mercenary, but magistrates of the commonwealth, to which they were + accountable for their charge; and by these at the age of fourteen they + were presented to other magistrates called the beidioei, having the + inspection of the games and exercises, among which that of the platanista + was famous, a kind of fight in squadrons, but somewhat too fierce. When + they came to be of military age they were listed of the mora, and so + continued in readiness for public service under the discipline of the + polemarchs. But the Roman education and discipline by the centuries and + classes is that to which the Commonwealth of Oceana has had a more + particular regard in her three essays, being certain degrees by which the + youth commence as it were in arms for magistracy, as appears by— + </p> + <p> + The twenty-sixth order, instituting, “That if a parent has but one son, + the education of that one son shall be wholly at the disposition of that + parent. But whereas there be free schools erected and endowed, or to be + erected and endowed in every tribe of this nation, to a sufficient + proportion for the education of the children of the same (which schools, + to the end there be no detriment or hindrance to the scholars upon case of + removing from one to another, are every of them to be governed by the + strict inspection of the censors of the tribes, both upon the + schoolmaster’s manner of life and teaching, and the proficiency of the + children, after the rules and method of that in Hiera) if a parent has + more sons than one, the censors of the tribes shall animadvert upon and + punish him that sends not his sons within the ninth year of their age to + some one of the schools of a tribe, there to be kept and taught, if he be + able, at his own charges; and if he be not able, gratis, till they arrive + at the age of fifteen years. And a parent may expect of his sons at the + fifteenth year of their age, according to his choice or ability, whether + it be to service in the way of apprentices to some trade or otherwise, or + to further study, as by sending them to the inns of court, of chancery, or + to one of the universities of this nation. But he that takes not upon him + one of the professions proper to some of those places, shall not continue + longer in any of them than till he has attained to the age of eighteen + years; and every man having not at the age of eighteen years taken upon + him, or addicted himself to the profession of the law, theology, or + physic, and being no servant, shall be capable of the essays of the youth, + and no other person whatsoever, except a man, having taken upon him such a + profession, happens to lay it by ere he arrives at three or four and + twenty years of age, and be admitted to this capacity by the respective. + Phylarchs being satisfied that he kept not out so long with any design to + evade the service of the commonwealth; but, that being no sooner at his + own disposal, it was no sooner in his choice to come in. And if any youth + or other person of this nation have a desire to travel into foreign + countries upon occasion of business, delight, or further improvement of + his education, the same shall be lawful for him upon a pass obtained from + the censors in Parliament, putting a convenient limit to the time, and + recommending him to the ambassadors by whom he shall be assisted, and to + whom he shall yield honor and obedience in their respective residences. + Every youth at his return from his travel is to present the censors with a + paper of his own writing, containing the interest of state or form of + government of the countries, or some one of the countries, where he has + been; and if it be good, the censors shall cause it to be printed and + published, prefixing a line in commendation of the author. + </p> + <p> + “Every Wednesday next ensuing the last of December, the whole youth of + every parish, that is to say, every man (not excepted by the foregoing + part of the order), being from eighteen years of age to thirty, shall + repair at the sound of the bell to their respective church, and being + there assembled in presence of the overseers, who are to govern the + ballot, and the constable who is to officiate at the urn, shall, after the + manner of the elders, elect every fifth man of their whole number + (provided that they choose not above one of two brothers at one election, + nor above half if they be four or upward) to be a stratiot or deputy of + the youth; and the list of the stratiots so elected being taken by the + overseers, shall be entered in the parish book, and diligently preserved + as a record, called the first essay. They whose estates by the law are + able, or whose friends are willing, to mount them, shall be of the horse, + the rest are of the foot. And he who has been one year of this list, is + not capable of being re-elected till after another year’s interval. + </p> + <p> + “Every Wednesday next ensuing the last of January, the stratiots being + mustered at the rendezvous of their respective hundreds, shall, in the + presence of the jurymen, who are overseers of that ballot, and of the high + constable who is to officiate at the urn, elect out of the horse of their + troop or company one captain, and one ensign or cornet, to the command of + the same. And the jurymen having entered the list of the hundred into a + record to be diligently kept at the rendezvous of the same, the first + public game of this commonwealth shall begin and be performed in this + manner. Whereas there is to be at every rendezvous of a hundred, one + cannon, culverin, or saker, the prize arms being forged by sworn armorers + of this commonwealth, and for their proof, besides their beauty, viewed + and tried at the tower of Emporium, shall be exposed by the justice of + peace appertaining to that hundred (the said justice with the jurymen + being judges of the game), and the judges shall deliver to the horseman + that gains the prize at the career, one suit of arms being of the value + £20, to the pikeman that gains the prize at throwing the bullet, one suit + of arms of the value of £10, to the musketeer that gains the prize at the + mark with his musket, one suit of arms of the value of £10, and to the + cannoneer that gains the prize at the mark with the cannon, culverin, or + saker, a chain of silver being the value of £10, provided that no one man + at the same muster plays above one of the prizes. Whosoever gains a prize + is bound to wear it (if it be his lot) upon service; and no man shall sell + or give away any armor thus won, except he has lawfully attained to two or + more of them at the games. + </p> + <p> + “The games being ended, and the muster dismissed, the captain of the troop + or company shall repair with a copy of the list to the lord lieutenant of + the tribe, and the high constable with a duplicate of the same to the + custos rotulorum, or muster-master general, to be also communicated to the + censors; in each of which the jurymen, giving a note upon every name of an + only son, shall certify the list is without subterfuge or evasion; or, if + it be not, an account of those upon whom the evasion or subterfuge lies, + to the end that the phylarch or the censors may animadvert accordingly. + </p> + <p> + “And every Wednesday next ensuing the last of February, the lord + lieutenant, custos rotulorum, the censors, and the conductor, shall + receive the whole muster of the youth of that tribe at the rendezvous of + the same, distributing the horse and foot with their officers, according + to the directions given in the like case for the distribution of the + elders; and the whole squadron being put by that means in battalia, the + second game of this commonwealth shall begin by the exercise of the youth + in all the parts of their military discipline according to the orders of + Parliament, or direction of the Council of War in that case. And the £100 + allowed by the Parliament for the ornament of the muster in every tribe, + shall be expended by the phylarch upon such artificial castles, citadels, + or the like devices, as may make the best and most profitable sport for + the youth and their spectators. + </p> + <p> + “Which being ended, the censors having prepared the urns by putting into + the horse-urn 220 gold balls, whereof ten are to be marked with the letter + M and other ten with the letter P; into the foot-urn 700 gold balls, + whereof fifty are to be marked, with the letter M and fifty with the + letter P; and after they have made the gold balls in each urn, by the + addition of silver balls to the same, in number equal with the horse and + foot of the stratiots, the lord lieutenant shall call the stratiots to the + urns, where they that draw the silver balls shall return to their places, + and they that draw the gold balls shall fall off to the pavilion, where, + for the space of one hour, they may chop and change their balls according + as one can agree with another, whose lot he likes better. + </p> + <p> + “But the hour being out, the conductor separating them whose gold balls + have no letter from those whose balls are marked, shall cause the crier to + call the alphabet, as first A; whereupon all they whose gold balls are not + marked, and whose surnames begin with the letter A, shall repair to a + clerk appertaining to the custos rotulorum, who shall first take the names + of that letter; then those of B, and so on, till all the names be + alphabetically enrolled. And the youth of this list being 600 foot in a + tribe, that is, 30,000 foot in all the tribes; and 200 horse in a tribe, + that is, 10,000 horse in all the tribes, are the second essay of the + stratiots, and the standing army of this commonwealth to be always ready + upon command to march. They whose balls are marked with M, amounting, by + twenty horse and fifty foot in a tribe, to 2,500 foot and 500 horse in all + the tribes, and they whose balls are marked with P, in every point + correspondent, are parts of the third essay; they in M being straight to + march for Marpesia, and they of P for Panopea, to the ends and according + to the further directions following in the order for the provincial orbs. + </p> + <p> + “If the polemarchs or field officers be elected by the scrutiny of the + Council of War, and the strategus commanded by the Parliament or the + Dictator to march, the lord lieutenants (who have power to muster and + discipline the youth so often as they receive orders for the same from the + Council of War) are to deliver the second essay, or so many of them as + shall be commanded, to the conductors, who shall present them to the lord + strategus at the time and place appointed by his Excellency to be the + general rendezvous of Oceana, where the Council of War shall have the + accommodation of horses and arms for his men in readiness; and the lord + strategus having armed, mounted, and distributed them, whether according + to the recommendation of their prize arms, or otherwise, shall lead them + away to his shipping, being also ready and provided with victuals, + ammunition, artillery, and all other necessaries; commanding them, and + disposing of the whole conduct of the war by his sole power and authority. + And this is the third essay of the stratiots, which being shipped, or + marched out of their tribes, the lord lieutenants shall re-elect the + second essay out of the remaining part of the first, and the Senate + another strategus. + </p> + <p> + “If any veteran or veterans of this nation, the term of whose youth or + militia is expired, having a desire to be entertained in the further + service of the commonwealth, shall present him or themselves at the + rendezvous of Oceana to the strategus, it is in his power to take on such + and so many of them as shall be agreed by the polemarchs, and to send back + an equal number of the stratiots. + </p> + <p> + “And for the better managing of the proper forces of this nation, the lord + strategus, by appointment of the Council of War, and out of such levies as + they shall have made in either or both of the provinces to that end, shall + receive auxiliaries by sea or elsewhere at some certain place, not + exceeding his proper arms in number. + </p> + <p> + “And whosoever shall refuse any one of his three essays, except upon cause + shown, he be dispensed withal by the phylarch, or, if the phylarch be not + assembled, by the censors of his tribe, shall be deemed a helot or public + servant, shall pay a fifth part of his yearly revenue, besides all other + taxes, to the commonwealth for his protection, and be incapable of bearing + any magistracy except such as is proper to the law. Nevertheless if a man + has but two sons, the lord lieutenant shall not suffer above one of them + to come to the Urn at one election of the second essay, and though he has + above two sons, there shall not come above half the brothers at one + election; and if a man has but one son, he shall not come to the urn at + all without the consent of his parents, or his guardians, nor shall it be + any reproach to him or impediment to his bearing of magistracy.” + </p> + <p> + This order, with relation to foreign expeditions, will be proved and + explained together with— + </p> + <p> + The twenty-seventh order, “Providing, in case of invasion apprehended, + that the lords high sheriffs of the tribes, upon commands received from + the Parliament or the Dictator, distribute the bands of the elders into + divisions, after the nature of the essays of the youth; and that the + second division or essay of the elders, being made and consisting of + 30,000 foot and 10,000 horse, be ready to march with the second essay of + the youth, and be brought also by the conductors to the strategus. + </p> + <p> + “The second essay of the elders and youth being marched out of their + tribes, the lords high sheriffs and lieutenants shall have the remaining + part of the annual bands both of elders and youth in readiness, which, if + the beacons be fired, shall march to the rendezvous to be in that case + appointed by the Parliament or the Dictator: And the beacons being fired, + the curiata comitia, or parochial congregations, shall elect a fourth both + of elders and youth to be immediately upon the guard of the tribes, and + dividing themselves as aforesaid, to march also in their divisions + according to orders, which method in case of extremity shall proceed to + the election of a third, or the levy of a second, or of the last man in + the nation, by the power of the lords high sheriffs, to the end that the + commonwealth in her utmost pressure may show her trust that God in his + justice will remember mercy, by humbling herself, and yet preserving her + courage, discipline, and constancy, even to the last drop of her blood and + the utmost farthing. + </p> + <p> + “The services performed by the youth, or by the elders, in case of + invasion, and according to this order, shall be at their proper cost and + charges that are any ways able to endure it; but if there be such as are + known in their parishes to be so indigent that they cannot march out of + their tribes, nor undergo the burden in this case incumbent, then the + congregations of their parishes shall furnish them with sufficient sums of + money to be repaid upon the certificate of the same by the Parliament when + the action shall be over. And of that which is respectively enjoined by + this order, any tribe, parish, magistrate, or person that shall fail, is + to answer for it, at the Council of War, as a deserter of his country.” + </p> + <p> + The Archon, being the greatest captain of his own, if not of any age, + added much to the glory of this commonwealth, by interweaving the militia + with more art and lustre than any legislator from or before the time of + Servius Tullius, who constituted the Roman militia. But as the bones or + skeleton of a man, though the greatest part of his beauty be contained in + their proportion or symmetry, yet shown without flesh are a spectacle that + is rather horrid than entertaining, so without discourses are the orders + of a commonwealth; which, if she goes forth in that manner, may complain + of her friends that they stand mute and staring upon her. Wherefore this + order was thus fleshed by the Lord Archon: + </p> + <p> + “MY LORDS: + </p> + <p> + “Diogenes seeing a young fellow drunk, told him that his father was drunk + when he begot him. For this, in natural generation, I must confess I see + no reason; but in the political it is right. The vices of the people are + from their governors; those of their governors from their laws or orders; + and those of their laws or orders from their legislators. Whatever was in + the womb imperfect, as to her proper work, comes very rarely or never at + all to perfection afterward; and the formation of a citizen in the womb of + the commonwealth is his education. + </p> + <p> + “Education by the first of the foregoing orders is of six kinds: at the + school, in the mechanics, at the universities, at the inns of court or + chancery, in travels, and in military discipline, some of which I shall + but touch, and some I shall handle more at large. + </p> + <p> + “That which is proposed for the erecting and endowing of schools + throughout the tribes, capable of all the children of the same, and able + to give to the poor the education of theirs gratis, is only matter of + direction in case of very great charity, as easing the needy of the charge + of their children from the ninth to the fifteenth year of their age, + during which time their work cannot be profitable; and restoring them when + they may be of use, furnished with tools whereof there are advantages to + be made in every work, seeing he that can read and use his pen has some + convenience by it in the meanest vocation. And it cannot be conceived but + that which comes, though in small parcels, to the advantage of every man + in his vocation, must amount to the advantage of every vocation, and so to + that of the whole commonwealth. Wherefore this is commended to the charity + of every wise-hearted and well-minded man, to be done in time, and as God + shall stir him up or enable him; there being such provision already in the + case as may give us leave to proceed without obstruction. + </p> + <p> + “Parents, under animadversion of the censors, are to dispose of their + children at the fifteenth year of their age to something; but what, is + left, according to their abilities or inclination, at their own choice. + This, with the multitude, must be to the mechanics, that is to say to + agriculture or husbandry, to manufactures, or to merchandise. + </p> + <p> + “Agriculture is the bread of the nation; we are hung upon it by the teeth; + it is a mighty nursery of strength, the best army, and the most assured + knapsack; it is managed with the least turbulent or ambitious, and the + most innocent hands of all other arts. Wherefore I am of Aristotle’s + opinion, that a commonwealth of husbandmen—and such is ours—must + be the best of all others. Certainly my lords, you have no measure of what + ought to be, but what can be, done for the encouragement of this + profession. I could wish I were husband good enough to direct something to + this end; but racking of rents is a vile thing in the richer sort, an + uncharitable one to the poorer, a perfect mark of slavery, and nips your + commonwealth in the fairest blossom. On the other side, if there should be + too much ease given in this kind, it would occasion sloth, and so destroy + industry, the principal nerve of a commonwealth. But if aught might be + done to hold the balance even between these two, it would be a work in + this nation equal to that for which Fabius was surnamed Maximus by the + Romans. + </p> + <p> + “In manufactures and merchandise the Hollander has gotten the start of us; + but at the long run it will be found that a people working upon a foreign + commodity does but farm the manufacture, and that it is really entailed + upon them only where the growth of it is native; as also that it is one + thing to have the carriage of other men’s goods, and another for a man to + bring his own to the best market. Wherefore (nature having provided + encouragement for these arts in this nation above all others, where, the + people growing, they of necessity must also increase) it cannot but + establish them upon a far more sure and effectual foundation than that of + the Hollanders. But these educations are in order to the first things or + necessities of nature; as husbandry to the food, manufacture to the + clothing, and merchandise to the purse of the commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + “There be other things in nature, which being second as to their order, + for their dignity and value are first; and such to which the other are but + accommodations; of this sort are especially these: religion, justice, + courage, and wisdom. + </p> + <p> + “The education that answers to religion in our government is that of the + universities. Moses, the divine legislator, was not only skilful in all + the learning of the Egyptians, but took also into the fabric of his + commonwealth the learning of the Midianites in the advice of Jethro; and + his foundation of a university laid in the tabernacle, and finished in the + Temple, became that pinnacle from whence (according to many Jewish and + Christian authors) all the learning in the world has taken wing; as the + philosophy of the Stoics from the Pharisees; that of the Epicureans from + the Sadducees; and from the learning of the Jews, so often quoted by our + Saviour, and fulfilled in him, the Christian religion. Athens was the most + famous university in her days; and her senators, that is to say, the + Areopagites, were all philosophers. Lacedaemon, to speak truth, though she + could write and read, was not very bookish. But he that disputes hence + against universities, disputes by the same argument against agriculture, + manufacture, and merchandise; every one of these having been equally + forbid by Lycurgus, not for itself (for if he had not been learned in all + the learning of Crete, and well travelled in the knowledge of other + governments, he had never made his commonwealth), but for the diversion + which they must have given his citizens from their arms, who, being but + few, if they had minded anything else, must have deserted the + commonwealth. For Rome, she had ingenium par ingenio, was as learned as + great, and held our College of Augurs in much reverence. Venice has taken + her religion upon trust. Holland cannot attend it to be very studious. Nor + does Switzerland mind it much; yet are they all addicted to their + universities. We cut down trees to build houses; but I would have somebody + show me, by what reason or experience the cutting down of a university + should tend to the setting up of a commonwealth. Of this I am sure, that + the perfection of a commonwealth is not to be attained without the + knowledge of ancient prudence, nor the knowledge of ancient prudence + without learning, nor learning without schools of good literature, and + these are such as we call universities. + </p> + <p> + “Now though mere university learning of itself be that which (to speak the + words of Verulamius) ‘crafty men contemn, and simple men only admire, yet + is it such as wise men have use of; for studies do not teach their own + use, but that is a wisdom without and above them, won by observation. + Expert men may execute, and perhaps judge, of particulars one by one; but + the general councils and the plots, and the marshalling of affairs, come + best from those that are learned.’ Wherefore if you would have your + children to be statesmen, let them drink by all means of these fountains, + where perhaps there were never any. But what though the water a man drinks + be not nourishment, it is the vehicle without which he cannot be + nourished. + </p> + <p> + “Nor is religion less concerned in this point than government: for take + away your universities, and in a few years you lose it. “The holy + Scriptures are written in Hebrew and Greek; they that have neither of + these languages may think light of both; but find me a man that has one in + perfection, the study of whose whole life it has not been. Again, this is + apparent to us in daily conversation, that if four or five persons that + have lived together be talking, another speaking the same language may + come in, and yet understand very little of their discourse, in that it + relates to circumstances, persons, things, times and places which he knows + not. It is no otherwise with a man, having no insight of the times in + which they were written, and the circumstances to which they relate, in + the reading of ancient books, whether they be divine or human. For + example, when we fall upon the discourse about baptism and regeneration + that was between our Saviour and Nicodemus, where Christ reproaches him + with his ignorance in this matter. ‘Art thou a doctor in Israel, and + understandest not these things?’ What shall we think of it? or wherefore + should a doctor in Israel have understood these things more than another, + but that both baptism and regeneration, as was showed at large by my Lord + Phosphorus, were doctrines held in Israel? I instance in one place of a + hundred, which he, that has not mastered the circumstances to which they + relate, cannot understand. Wherefore to the understanding of the + Scripture, it is necessary to have ancient languages, and the knowledge of + ancient times, or the aid of them who have such knowledge; and to have + such as may be always able and ready to give such aid (unless you would + borrow it of another nation, which would not only be base, but deceitful) + it is necessary to a commonwealth that she have schools of good + literature, or universities of her own. + </p> + <p> + “We are commanded, as has been said more than once, to search the + Scriptures; and which of them search the Scriptures, they that take this + pains in ancient languages and learning, or they that will not, but trust + to translations only, and to words as they sound to present circumstances? + than which nothing is more fallible, or certain to lose the true sense of + Scriptures, pretended to be above human understanding, for no other cause + than that they are below it. But in searching the Scriptures by the proper + use of our universities, we have been heretofore blest with greater + victories and trophies against the purple hosts and golden standards of + the Romish hierarchy than any nation; and therefore why we should + relinquish this upon the presumption of some, that because there is a + greater light which they have, I do not know. There is a greater light + than the sun, but it does not extinguish the sun, nor does any light of + God’s giving extinguish that of nature, but increase and sanctify it. + Wherefore, neither the honor bore by the Israelitish, Roman, or any other + commonwealth that I have shown, to their ecclesiastics, consisted in being + governed by them, but in consulting them in matters of religion, upon + whose responses or oracles they did afterward as they thought fit. + </p> + <p> + “Nor would I be here mistaken, as if, by affirming the universities to be, + in order both to religion and government, of absolute necessity, I + declared them or the ministry in any wise fit to be trusted, so far as to + exercise any power not derived from the civil magistrate in the + administration of either, if the Jewish religion were directed and + established by Moses, it was directed and established by the civil + magistrate; or if Moses exercised this administration as a prophet, the + same prophet did invest with the same administration the Sanhedrim, and + not the priests; and so does our commonwealth the Senate, and not the + clergy. They who had the supreme administration or government of the + national religion in Athens, were the first Archon, the rex sacrificulus, + or high-priest, and a polemarch, which magistrates were ordained or + elected by the holding up of hands in the church, congregation, or comitia + of the people. The religion of Lacedaemon was governed by the kings, who + were also high-priests, and officiated at the sacrifice; these had power + to substitute their pythii, ambassadors, or nuncios, by which, not without + concurrence of the Senate, they held intelligence with the oracle of + Apollo at Delphos. And the ecclesiastical part of the Commonwealth of Rome + was governed by the pontifex maximus, the rex sacrificulus, and the + Flamens, all ordained or elected by the people, the pontifex by the + tribes, the King by the centuries, and the Flamens by the parishes. + </p> + <p> + “I do not mind you of these things, as if, for the matter, there were any + parallel to be drawn out of their superstitions to our religion, but to + show that for the manner, ancient prudence is as well a rule in divine as + human things; nay, and such a one as the apostles themselves, ordaining + elders by the holding up of hands in every congregation, have exactly + followed; for some of the congregations where they thus ordained elders + were those of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, the countries of Lycaona, + Pisidia, Pamphilia, Perga, with Attalia. Now that these cities and + countries, when the Romans propagated their empire into Asia, were found + most of them commonwealths, and that many of the rest were endued with + like power, so that the people living under the protection of the Roman + emperors continued to elect their own magistrates, is so known a thing, + that I wonder whence it is that men, quite contrary to the universal proof + of these examples, will have ecclesiastical government to be necessarily + distinct from civil power, when the right of the elders ordained by the + holding up of hands in every congregation to teach the people, was plainly + derived from the same civil power by which they ordained the rest of their + magistrates. And it is not otherwise in our commonwealth, where the + parochial congregation elects or ordains its pastor. To object the + Commonwealth of Venice in this place, were to show us that it has been no + otherwise but where the civil power has lost the liberty of her conscience + by embracing popery; as also that to take away the liberty of conscience + in this administration from the civil power, were a proceeding which has + no other precedent than such as is popish. + </p> + <p> + “Wherefore your religion is settled after the following manner: the + universities are the seminaries of that part which is national, by which + means others with all safety may be permitted to follow the liberty of + their own consciences, in regard that, however they behave themselves, the + ignorance of the unlearned in this case cannot lose your religion nor + disturb your government, which otherwise it would most certainly do; and + the universities with their emoluments, as also the benefices of the whole + nation, are to be improved by such augmentations as may make a very decent + and comfortable subsistence for the ministry, which is neither to be + allowed synods nor assemblies, except upon the occasion shown in the + universities, when they are consulted by the Council of State, and + suffered to meddle with affairs of religion, nor to be capable of any + other public preferment whatsoever; by which means the interest of the + learned can never come to corrupt your religion, nor disturb your + government, which otherwise it would most certainly do. Venice, though she + does not see, or cannot help the corruption of her religion, is yet so + circumspect to avoid disturbance of her government in this kind, that her + Council proceeds not to election of magistrates till it be proclaimed fora + papalini, by which words such as have consanguinity with red hats, or + relation to the Court of Rome, are warned to withdraw. + </p> + <p> + “If a minister in Holland meddles with matter of state, the magistrate + sends him a pair of shoes; whereupon, if he does not go, he is driven away + from his charge. I wonder why ministers, of all men, should be perpetually + tampering with government; first because they, as well as others, have it + in express charge to submit themselves to the ordinances of men; and + secondly because these ordinances of men must go upon such political + principles as they of all others, by anything that can be found in their + writings or actions, least understand: whence you have the suffrage of all + nations to this sense, that an ounce of wisdom is worth a pound of clergy. + Your greatest clerks are not your wisest men: and when some foul absurdity + in state is committed, it is common with the French, and even the + Italians, to call it ‘pas de clerc,’ or ‘governo de prete.’ They may bear + with men that will be preaching without study, while they will be + governing without prudence. My lords, if you know not how to rule your + clergy, you will most certainly, like a man that cannot rule his wife, + have neither quiet at home nor honor abroad. Their honest vocation is to + teach your children at the schools and the universities, and the people in + the parishes, and yours is concerned to see that they do not play the + shrews, of which parts does consist the education of your commonwealth, so + far as it regards religion. + </p> + <p> + “To justice, or that part of it which is commonly executive, answers the + education of the inns of court and chancery. Upon which to philosophize, + requires a public kind of learning that I have not. But they who take upon + them any profession proper to the educations mentioned—that is, + theology, physic, or law—are not at leisure for the essays. + Wherefore the essays, being degrees whereby the youth commence for all + magistracies, offices, and honors in the parish, hundred, tribe, Senate, + or prerogative; divines, physicians, and lawyers not taking these degrees, + exclude themselves from all such magistracies, offices, and honors. And + whereas lawyers are likest to exact further reason for this, they (growing + up from the most gainful art at the bar to those magistracies upon the + bench which are continually appropriated to themselves, and not only + endowed with the greatest revenues, but also held for life) have the least + reason of all the rest to pretend to any other, especially in an equal + commonwealth, where accumulation of magistracy or to take a person engaged + by his profit to the laws, as they stand, into the power, which is + legislative, and which should keep them to what they were, or ought to he, + were a solecism in prudence. It is true that the legislative power may + have need of advice and assistance from the executive magistracy, or such + as are learned in the law; for which cause the judges are, as they have + heretofore been, assistants in the Senate. Nor, however it came about, can + I see any reason why a judge, being but an assistant or lawyer, should be + member of a legislative council. + </p> + <p> + “I deny not that the Roman patricians were all patrons, and that the whole + people were clients, some to one family and some to another, by which + means they had their causes pleaded and defended in some appearance + gratis; for the patron took no money, though if he had a daughter to + marry, his clients were to pay her portion, nor was this so great a + grievance. But if the client accused his patron, gave testimony or + suffrage against him, it was a crime of such a nature that any man might + lawfully kill him as a traitor; and this, as being the nerve of the + optimacy, was a great cause of ruin to that commonwealth; for when the + people would carry anything that pleased not the Senate, the senators were + ill provided if they could not intercede-that is, oppose it by their + clients; with whom, to vote otherwise than they pleased, was the highest + crime. The observation of this bond till the time of the Gracchi—that + is to say, till it was too late, or to no purpose to break it—was + the cause why, in all the former heats and disputes that had happened + between the Senate and the people, it never came to blows, which indeed + was good; but withal, the people could have no remedy, which was certainly + evil. Wherefore I am of opinion that a senator ought not to be a patron or + advocate, nor a patron or advocate to be a senator; for if his practice be + gratis it debauches the people, and if it be mercenary it debauches + himself: take it which way you will, when he should be making of laws, he + will be knitting of nets. + </p> + <p> + “Lycurgus, as I said, by being a traveller became a legislator, but in + times when prudence was another thing. Nevertheless we may not shut out + this part of education in a commonwealth, which will be herself a + traveller; for those of this make have seen the world, especially because + this is certain (though it be not regarded in our times, when things being + left to take their chance, it fares with us accordingly) that no man can + be a politician except he be first a historian or a traveller; for except + he can see what must be, or what may be, he is no politician. Now if he + has no knowledge in history he cannot tell what has been, and if he has + not been a traveller, he cannot tell what is; but he that neither knows + what has been, nor what is, can never tell what must be, or what may be. + Furthermore, the embassies-in-ordinary by our constitution are the prizes + of young men, more especially such as have been travellers. Wherefore they + of these inclinations, having leave of the censors, owe them an account of + their time, and cannot choose but lay it out with some ambition of praise + or reward, where both are open, whence you will have eyes abroad, and + better choice of public ministers, your gallants showing themselves not + more to the ladies at their balls than to your commonwealth at her Academy + when they return from their travels. + </p> + <p> + “But this commonwealth being constituted more especially of two elements, + arms and councils, drives by a natural instinct at courage and wisdom; + which he who has attained is arrived at the perfection of human nature. It + is true that these virtues must have some natural root in him that is + capable of them; but this amounts not to so great a matter as some will + have it. For if poverty makes an industrious, a moderate estate a + temperate, and a lavish fortune a wanton man, and this be the common + course of things, wisdom then is rather of necessity than inclination. And + that an army which was meditating upon flight, has been brought by despair + to win the field, is so far from being strange, that like causes will + evermore produce like effects. Wherefore this commonwealth drives her + citizens like wedges; there is no way with them but thorough, nor end but + that glory whereof man is capable by art or nature. That the genius of the + Roman families commonly preserved itself throughout the line (as to + instance in some, the Manlii were still severe, the Publicolae lovers, and + the Appii haters of the people) is attributed by Machiavel to their + education; nor, if interest might add to the reason why the genius of a + patrician was one thing, and that of a plebeian another, is the like so + apparent between different nations, who, according to their different + educations, have yet as different manners. It was anciently noted, and + long confirmed by the actions of the French, that in their first assaults + their courage was more than that of men, and for the rest less than that + of women, which nevertheless, through the amendment of their discipline, + we see now to be otherwise. I will not say but that some man or nation + upon an equal improvement of this kind may be lighter than some other; but + certainly education is the scale without which no man or nation can truly + know his or her own weight or value. By our histories we can tell when one + Marpesian would have beaten ten Oceaners, and when one Oceaner would have + beaten ten Marpesians. Marc Antony was a Roman, but how did that appear in + the embraces of Cleopatra? You must have some other education for your + youth, or they, like that passage, will show better in romance than true + story. + </p> + <p> + “The custom of the Commonwealth of Rome in distributing her magistracies + without respect of age, happened to do well in Corvinus and Scipio; for + which cause Machiavel (with whom that which was done by Rome, and that + which is well done, are for the most part all one) commends this course. + Yet how much it did worse at other times, is obvious in Pompey and Caesar, + examples by which Boccalini illustrates the prudence of Venice in her + contrary practice, affirming it to have been no small step to the ruin of + the Roman liberty, that these (having tasted in their youth of the supreme + honors) had no greater in their age to hope for, but by perpetuating of + the same in themselves; which came to blood and ended in tyranny. The + opinion of Verulamius is safe: ‘The errors,’ says he, ‘of young men are + the ruin of business; whereas the errors of old men amount but to this, + that more might have been done, or sooner.’ But though their wisdom be + little, their courage is great; wherefore (to come to the main education + of this commonwealth) the militia of Oceana is the province of youth. + </p> + <p> + “The distribution of this province by the essays is so fully described in + the order, that I need repeat nothing; the order itself being but a + repetition or copy of that original, which in ancient prudence is of all + others the fairest, as that from whence the Commonwealth of Rome more + particularly derived the empire of the world. And there is much more + reason in this age, when governments are universally broken, or swerved + from their foundations, and the people groan under tyranny, that the same + causes (which could not be withstood when the world was full of popular + governments) should have the like effects. + </p> + <p> + “The causes in the Commonwealth of Rome, whereof the empire of the world + was not any miraculous, but a natural (nay, I may safely say a necessary) + consequence, are contained in that part of her discipline which was + domestic, and in that which she exercises in her provinces or conquest. Of + the latter I shall have better occasion to speak when we come to our + provincial orbs; the former divided the whole people by tribes, amounting, + as Livy and Cicero show, at their full growth to thirty-five, and every + tribe by the sense or valuation of estates into five classes: for the + sixth being proletary, that is the nursery, or such as through their + poverty contributed nothing to the commonwealth but children, was not + reckoned nor used in arms. And this is the first point of the militia, in + which modern prudence is quite contrary to the ancient; for whereas we, + excusing the rich and arming the poor, become the vassals of our servants, + they, by excusing the poor and arming such as were rich enough to be + freemen, became lords of the earth. The nobility and gentry of this + nation, who understand so little what it is to be the lords of the earth + that they have not been able to keep their own lands, will think it a + strange education for their children to be common soldiers, and obliged to + all the duties of arms; nevertheless it is not for four shillings a week, + but to be capable of being the best man in the field or in the city the + latter part of which consideration makes the common soldier herein a + better man than the general of any monarchical army. + </p> + <p> + “And whereas it may be thought that this would drink deep of noble blood, + I dare boldly say, take the Roman nobility in the heat of their fiercest + wars, and you shall not find such a shambles of them as has been made of + ours by mere luxury and slothfulness; which, killing the body, kill the + soul also: Animasque in vulnere ponunt. Whereas common right is that which + he who stands in the vindication of, has used that sword of justice for + which he receives the purple of magistracy. The glory of a man on earth + can go no higher, and if he falls he rises again, and comes sooner to that + reward which is so much higher as heaven is above the earth. To return to + the Roman example: every class was divided, as has been more than once + shown, into centuries, and every century was equally divided into youth + and elders; the youth for foreign service, and the elders for the guard of + the territory. In the first class were about eighteen centuries of horse, + being those which, by the institution of Servius, were first called to the + suffrage in the centurial assemblies. But the delectus, or levy of an + army, which is the present business, proceeded, according to Polybius, in + this manner: + </p> + <p> + “Upon a war decreed, the Consuls elected four-and-twenty military tribunes + or colonels, whereof ten, being such as had merited their tenth stipend, + were younger officers. The tribunes being chosen, the Consuls appointed a + day to the tribes, when those in them of military age were to appear at + the capitol. The day being come, and the youth assembled accordingly, the + Consuls ascended their tribunal, and the younger tribunes were straight + divided into four parts after this manner: four were assigned to the first + legion (a legion at the most consisted of 6,000 foot and 300 horse), three + to the second, four to the third, and three to the fourth. The younger + tribunes being thus distributed, two of the elder were assigned to the + first legion, three to the second, two to the third, and three to the + fourth; and the officers of each legion thus assigned, having drawn the + tribes by lot, and being seated according to their divisions at a + convenient distance from each other, the tribe of the first lot was + called, whereupon they that were of it knowing the business, and being + prepared, presently bolted out four of their number, in the choice whereof + such care was taken that they offered none that was not a citizen, no + citizen that was not of the youth, no youth that was not of some one of + the five classes, nor any one of the five classes that was not expert at + his exercises. Moreover, they used such diligence in matching them for age + and stature, that the officers of the legion, except they happened to be + acquainted with the youth so bolted, were forced to put themselves upon + fortune, while they of the first legion chose one, they of the second the + next, they of the third another and the fourth youth fell to the last + legion; and thus was the election (the legions and the tribes varying + according to their lots) carried on till the foot were complete. + </p> + <p> + “The like course with little alteration was taken by the horse officers + till the horse also were complete. This was called giving of names, which + the children of Israel did also by lot; and if any man refused to give his + name, he was sold for a slave, or his estate confiscated to the + commonwealth. ‘When Marcus Curius the Consul was forced to make a sudden + levy, and none of the youth would give in their names, all the tribes + being put to the lot, he commanded the first name drawn out of the urn of + the Pollian tribe (which happened to come first) to be called; but the + youth not answering, he ordered his goods to be sold; which was + conformable to the law in Israel, according to which Saul took a yoke of + oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout the tribes, + saying, ‘Whosoever comes not forth to battle after Saul and Samuel, so + shall it be done to his oxen.’ By which you may observe also that they who + had no cattle were not of the militia in Israel. But the age of the Roman + youth by the Tullian law determined at thirty; and by the law (though it + should seem by Machiavel and others that this was not well observed) a man + could not stand for magistracy till he was miles emeritus, or had + fulfilled the full term of his militia, which was complete in his tenth + stipend or service, nor was he afterward obliged under any penalty to give + his name, except the commonwealth were invaded, in which case the elders + were as well obliged as the youth. The Consul might also levy milites + evocatos, or soldiers, commanded men out of such as had served their turn, + and this at his discretion. The legions being thus complete, were divided + by two to each consul, and in these no man had right to serve but a Roman + citizen; now because two legions made but a small army, the Romans added + to every one of their arms an equal number of foot, and a double number of + horse levied among their Latin or Italian associates; so a consular army, + with the legions and auxiliaries, amounted to about 30,000, and whereas + they commonly levied two such armies together, these being joined made + about 60,000. + </p> + <p> + “The steps whereby our militia follows the greatest captain, are the three + essays; the first, elected by a fifth man in the parishes, and amounting + in the whole to 100,000, choose their officers at the hundreds, where they + fall also to their games or exercises, invited by handsome prizes, such as + for themselves and the honor of them will be coveted, such as will render + the hundred a place of sports, and exercise of arms all the year long, + such as in the space of ten years will equip 30,000 men horse and foot, + with such arms for their forge, proof, and beauty, as (notwithstanding the + argyraspides, or silver shields of Alexander’s guards) were never worn by + so many, such as will present marks of virtue and direction to your + general or strategus in the distribution of his army, which doubles the + value of them to the proprietors, who are bound to wear them, and eases + the commonwealth of so much charge, so many being armed already. + </p> + <p> + “But here will be the objection now. How shall such a revenue be + compassed? Fifty pounds a year in every hundred is a great deal, not so + easily raised; men will not part with their money, nor would the sum, as + it is proposed by the order of Pompey, rise in many years. These are + difficulties that fit our genius exactly, and yet £1,000 in each hundred, + once levied, establishes the revenue forever. Now the hundreds one with + another are worth £10,000 a year dry-rent, over and above personal + estates, which bring it to twice the value, so that a twentieth part of + one year’s revenue of the hundred does it, if you cannot afford this while + you pay taxes, though from henceforth they will be but small ones, do it + when you pay none, if it be then too much for one year, do it in two; if + it be too much for two years, do it in four. What husbands have we + hitherto been? what is become of greater sums? My lords, if you should + thus cast your bread upon the waters, after many days you shall find it; + stand not huckling when you are offered corn and your money again in the + mouth of the sack. + </p> + <p> + “But to proceed: the first essay being officered at the hundreds, and + mustered at the tribes (where they are entertained with other sports, + which will be very fine ones), proceeds to the election of the second + essay, or standing army of this nation, consisting of 30,000 foot and + 10,000 horse; and these, upon a war decreed, being delivered at the + rendezvous of Oceana to the strategus, are the third essay, which answers + to the Roman legions. But you may observe, that whereas the consuls + elected the military tribunes, and raised commanded men out of the + veterans at their own discretion, our polemarchs, or field officers, are + elected by the scrutiny of the Council of War, and our veterans not + otherwise taken on than as volunteers, and with the consent of the + polemarchs, which may serve for the removal of certain scruples which + might otherwise be incident in this place, though without encouragement by + the Roman way of proceeding, much less by that which is proposed. But + whereas the Roman legions in all amounted not in one army to above 30,000 + men, or little more, you have here 40,000; and whereas they added + auxiliaries, it is in this regard that Marpesia will be a greater revenue + to you than if you had the Indies; for whereas heretofore she has yielded + you nothing but her native thistles, in ploughing out the rankness of her + aristocracy by your agrarian, you will find her an inexhaustible magazine + of men, and to her own advantage, who will make a far better account by + the arms than by the pins of Poland. Wherefore as a consular army + consisted of about an equal number of auxiliaries added to their legions + by their Latin or Italian associates, you may add to a parliamentary army + an equal number of Marpesians or Panopeans, as that colony shall hereafter + be able to supply you, by which means the commonwealth will be able to go + forth to battle with 80,000 men. + </p> + <p> + “To make wars with small forces is no husbandry, but a waste, a disease, a + lingering and painful consumption of men and money the Romans making + theirs thick, made them short, and had little regard to money, as that + which they who have men enough can command where it is fittest that it + should be levied. All the ancient monarchies by this means got on wing, + and attained to vast riches. Whereas your modern princes being dear + purchasers of small parcels, have but empty pockets. But it may be some + will accuse the order of rashness, in that it commits the sole conduct of + the war to the general; and the custom of Venice by her proveditori, or + checks upon her commanders-in-chief, may seem to be of greater prudence; + but in this part of our government neither Venice nor any nation that + makes use of mercenary forces is for our instruction. A mercenary army, + with a standing general, is like the fatal sister that spins; but proper + forces, with an annual magistrate, are like her that cuts the thread. + Their interests are quite contrary, and yet you have a better proveditor + than the Venetian, another strategus sitting with an army standing by him; + whereupon that which is marching, if there were any probability it should, + would find as little possibility that it could recoil, as a foreign enemy + to invade you. These things considered, a war will appear to be of a + contrary nature to that of all other reckonings, inasmuch as of this you + must never look to have a good account if you be strict in imposing + checks. Let a council of huntsmen, assembled beforehand, tell you which + way the stag shall run, where you shall cast about at the fault, and how + you shall ride to be in at the chase all the day; but these may as well do + that, as a council of war direct a general. The hours that have painted + wings, and of different colors, are his council; he must be like the eye + that makes not the scene, but has it so soon as it changes. That in many + counsellors there is strength, is spoken of civil administrations; as to + those that are military, there is nothing more certain than that in many + counsellors there is weakness. Joint commissions in military affairs, are + like hunting your hounds in their couples. In the Attic War Cleomenes and + Demaratus, Kings of Lacedaemon, being thus coupled, tugged one against + another; and while they should have joined against the Persian, were the + cause of the common calamity, whereupon that commonwealth took better + counsel, and made a law whereby from henceforth there went at once but one + of her kings to battle. + </p> + <p> + “‘The Fidenati being in rebellion, and having slain the colony of the + Romans, four tribunes with consular power were created by the people of + Rome, whereof one being left for the guard of the city, the other three + were sent against the Fidenati, who, through the division that happened + among them, brought nothing home but dishonor, whereupon the Romans + created the Dictator, and Livy gives his judgment in these words: “The + three tribunes with consular power were a lesson how useless in war is the + joint command of several generals; for each following his own counsels, + while they all differed in their opinions, gave by this opportunity an + advantage to the enemy.” When the consuls Quintus and Agrippa were sent + against the AEqui, Agrippa for this reason refused to go with his + colleague, saying: “That in the administration of great actions it was + most safe that the chief command should be lodged in one person.” And if + the ruin of modern armies were well considered, most of it would be found + to have fallen upon this point, it being in this case far safer to trust + to any one man of common prudence, than to any two or more together of the + greatest parts.’ The consuls indeed, being equal in power, while one was + present with the Senate, and the other in the field with the army, made a + good balance; and this with us is exactly followed by the election of a + new strategus upon the march of the old one. + </p> + <p> + “The seven-and-twentieth order, whereby the elders in case of invasion are + obliged to equal duty with the youth, and each upon their own charge, is + suitable to reason (for every man defends his own estate) and to our copy, + as in the war with the Samnites and Tuscans. ‘The Senate ordered a + vacation to be proclaimed, and a levy to be made of all sorts of persons, + and not only the freemen and youths were listed, but cohorts of the old + men were likewise formed.’ This nation of all others is the least + obnoxious to invasion. Oceana, says a French politician, is a beast that + cannot be devoured but by herself. Nevertheless, that government is not + perfect which is not provided at all points; and in this (ad triarios res + rediit) the elders being such as in a martial state must be veterans, the + commonwealth invaded gathers strength like Antaeus by her fall, while the + whole number of the elders, consisting of 500,000, and the youth of as + many, being brought up according to the order, give twelve successive + battles, each battle consisting of 80,000 men, half elders and half youth. + And the commonwealth, whose constitution can be no stranger to any of + those virtues which are to be acquired in human life, grows familiar with + death ere she dies. If the hand of God be upon her for her transgressions, + she shall mourn for her sins, and lie in the dust for her iniquities, + without losing her manhood. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “‘Si fractus illabatur orbis, + Impavidam ferient ruinoe.’” + </pre> + <p> + The remaining part, being the constitution of the provincial orb, is + partly civil, or consisting of the elders; and partly military, or + consisting of the youth. The civil part of the provincial orb is directed + by— + </p> + <p> + The twenty-eighth order, “Whereby the council of a province being + constituted of twelve knights, divided by four into three regions (for + their term and revolution conformable to the Parliament), is perpetuated + by the annual election at the tropic of four knights (being triennial + magistrates) out of the region of the Senate whose term expires; and of + one knight out of the same region to be strategus or general of the + province, which magistracy is annual. The strategus or magistrate thus + chosen shall be as well president of the provincial council with power to + propose to the same, as general of the army. The council for the rest + shall elect weekly provosts, having any two of them also right to propose + after the manner of the senatorian councils of Oceana. And whereas all + provincial councils are members of the Council of State, they may and + ought to keep diligent correspondence with the same, which is to be done + after this manner: Any opinion or opinions legitimately proposed and + debated at a provincial council, being thereupon signed by the strategus + or any two of the provosts, may be transmitted to the Council of State in + Oceana; and the Council of State proceeding upon the same in their natural + course (whether by their own power, if it be a matter within their + instructions; or by authority of the Senate thereupon consulted, if it be + a matter of state which is not in their instructions; or by authority of + the Senate and command of the people, if it be a matter of law, as for the + levies of men or money upon common use and safety) shall return such + answers, advice, or orders as in any of the ways mentioned shall be + determined upon the case. + </p> + <p> + “The provincial councils of Marpesia and Panopea respectively shall take + special care that the agrarian laws, as also all other laws that be or + shall from time to time be enacted by the Parliament of Oceana, for either + of them, be duly put in execution; they shall manage and receive the + customs of either nation for the shipping of Oceana, being the common + guard; they shall have a care that moderate and sufficient pay upon the + respective province be duly raised for the support and maintenance of the + officers and soldiers, or army of the same, in the most effectual, + constant, and convenient way; they shall receive the regalia, or public + revenues of those nations, out of which every councillor shall have for + his term, and to his proper use, the sum of £500 per annum, and the + strategus £500 as president, beside his pay as general, which shall be + £1,000, the reminder to go to the use of the knights and deputies of the + respective provinces, to be paid, if it will reach, according to the rates + of Oceana; if not, by an equal distribution, respectively, or the + overplus, if there be any, to be returned to the Treasury of Oceana. They + shall manage the lands (if there be any such held in either of the + provinces by the commonwealth of Oceana, in dominion) and return the rents + into the Exchequer. If the commonwealth comes to be possessed of richer + provinces, the pay of the general or strategus, and of the councils, may + be respectively increased. The people for the rest shall elect their own + magistrates, and be governed by their own laws, having power also to + appeal from their native or provincial magistrates, if they please, to the + people of Oceana. And whereas there may be such as receiving injury, are + not able to prosecute their appeals at so great a distance, eight + sergeants-at-law, being sworn by the commissioners of the seal, shall be + sent by four into each province once in two years; who, dividing the same + by circuits, shall hear such causes, and having gathered and introduced + them, shall return to the several appellants, gratis, the determinations + and decrees of the people in their several cases. + </p> + <p> + “The term of a knight in a provincial orb, as to domestic magistracies, + shall be esteemed a vacation, and no bar to present election to any other + honor, his provincial magistracy being expired. + </p> + <p> + “The quorum of a provincial council, as also of every other council or + assembly in Oceana, shall in time of health consist of two parts in three + of the whole number proper to that council or assembly; and in a time of + sickness, of one part in three; but of the Senate there can be no quorum + without three of the signory, nor of a council without two of the + provosts.” + </p> + <p> + The civil part of the provincial orb being declared by the foregoing + order, the military part of the same is constituted by— + </p> + <p> + The twenty-ninth order, “Whereby the stratiots of the third essay having + drawn the gold balls marked with the letter M, and being ten horse and + fifty foot in a tribe, that is to say, 500 horse and 2,500 foot in all, + the tribes shall be delivered by the respective conductors to the + provincial strategus or general, at such a time and place, or rendezvous, + as he shall appoint by order and certificate of his election, and the + strategus having received the horse and foot mentioned, which are the + third classes of his provincial guard or army, shall forthwith lead them + away to Marpesia, where the army consists of three classes, each class + containing 3,000 men, whereof 500 are horse; and receiving the new + strategus with the third class, the old strategus with the first class + shall be dismissed by the provincial council. The same method with the + stratiots of the letter P, is to be observed for the provincial orb of + Panopea; and the commonwealth coming to acquire new provinces, the Senate + and the people may erect new orbs in like manner, consisting of greater or + less numbers, according as is required by the respective occasion. If a + stratiot has once served his term in a provincial orb, and happens + afterward to draw the letter of a province at the election of the second + essay, he may refuse his lot; and if he refuses it, the censor of that urn + shall cause the files balloting at the same to make a halt; and if the + stratiot produces the certificate of his strategus or general, that he has + served his time accordingly, the censor throwing the ball that he drew + into the urn again, and taking out a blank, shall dismiss the youth, and + cause the ballot to proceed.” + </p> + <p> + To perfect the whole structure of this commonwealth, some directions are + given to the third essay, or army marching, in— + </p> + <p> + The thirtieth order. “‘When thou goest to battle against thy enemies, and + seest horses and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of + them, for the Lord thy God is he that goes with thee to fight for thee + against thy enemies. And when thou dividest the spoil, it shall be as a + statute and an ordinance to thee, that as his part is that goes down to + the battle, so shall his part be that tarries by the stuff; that is (as to + the commonwealth of Oceana) the spoil takin of the enemy (except clothes, + arms, horses, ammunition, and victuals, to be divided to the soldiery by + the strategus and the polemarchs upon the place according to their + discretion) shall be delivered to four commissaries of the spoils elected + and sworn by the Council of War, which commissaries shall be allowed + shipping by the State, and convoys according as occasion shall require by + the strategus, to the end that having a bill of lading signed by three or + more of the polemarchs, they may ship and bring, or cause such spoils to + be brought to the prize-office in Oceana, where they shall be sold, and + the profit arising by such spoils shall be divided into three parts, + whereof one shall go to the Treasury, another shall be paid to the + soldiery of this nation, and a third to the auxiliaries at their return + from their service, provided that the said auxiliaries be equal in number + to the proper forces of this nation, otherwise their share shall be so + much less as they themselves are fewer in number; the rest of the + two-thirds to go to the officers and soldiers of the proper forces. And + the spoils so divided to the proper forces, shall be subdivided into three + equal parts, whereof one shall go to the officers, and two to the common + soldiers, the like for the auxiliaries. And the share allotted the + officers shall be divided into four equal parts, whereof one shall go to + the strategus, another to the polemarchs, a third to the colonels, and a + fourth to the captains, cornets, ensigns, and under-officers, receiving + their share of the spoil as common soldiers, the like for the auxiliaries. + And this upon pain, in the case of failure, of what the people of Oceana + (to whom the cognizance of peculation or crimes of this nature is properly + appertaining) shall adjudge or decree.” + </p> + <p> + Upon these three last orders the Archon seemed to be haranguing at the + head of his army in this manner: + </p> + <p> + “MY DEAR LORDS AND EXCELLENT PATRIOTS: + </p> + <p> + “A government of this make is a commonwealth for increase. Of those for + preservation, the inconveniences and frailties have been shown: their + roots are narrow, such as do not run, have no fibres; their tops weak and + dangerously exposed to the weather, except you chance to find one, as + Venice, planted in a flower-pot, and if she grows, she grows topheavy, and + falls, too. But you cannot plant an oak in a flowerpot; she must have + earth for her root, and heaven for her branches. + </p> + <p> + “‘Imperium Oceano, famam quoe terminet astris.’ + </p> + <p> + “Rome was said to be broken by her own weight, but poetically; for that + weight by which she was pretended to be ruined was supported in her + emperors by a far slighter foundation. And in the common experience of + good architecture, there is nothing more known than that buildings stand + the firmer and the longer for their own weight, nor ever swerve through + any other internal cause than that their materials are corruptible; but + the people never die, nor, as a political body, are subject to any other + corruption than that which derives from their government. Unless a man + will deny the chain of causes, in which he denies God, he must also + acknowledge the chain of effects; wherefore there can be no effect in + nature that is not from the first cause, and those successive links of the + chain without which it could not have been. Now except a man can show the + contrary in a commonwealth, if there be no cause of corruption in the + first make of it, there can never be any such effect. Let no man’s + superstition impose profaneness upon this assertion; for as man is sinful, + but yet the universe is perfect, so may the citizen be sinful, and yet the + commonwealth be perfect. And as man, seeing the world is perfect, can + never commit any such sin as shall render it imperfect, or bring it to a + natural dissolution, so the citizen, where the commonwealth is perfect, + can never commit any such crime as will render it imperfect, or bring it + to a natural dissolution. + </p> + <p> + “To come to experience: Venice, notwithstanding we have found some flaws + in it, is the only commonwealth in the make whereof no man can find a + cause of dissolution; for which reason we behold her (though she consists + of men that are not without sin) at this day with 1,000 years upon her + back, yet for any internal cause, as young, as fresh, and free from decay, + or any appearance of it, as she was born; but whatever in nature is not + sensible of decay by the course of 1,000 years, is capable of the whole + age of nature; by which calculation, for any check that I am able to give + myself, a commonwealth, rightly ordered, may for any internal causes be as + immortal or long-lived as the world. But if this be true, those + commonwealths that are naturally fallen, must have derived their ruin from + the rise of them. Israel and Athens died, not natural, but violent deaths, + in which manner the world itself is to die. We are speaking of those + causes of dissolution which are natural to government; and they are but + two, either contradiction or inequality. If a commonwealth be a + contradiction, she must needs destroy herself; and if she be unequal, it + tends to strife, and strife to ruin. By the former of these fell + Lacedaemon, by the latter Rome. Lacedaemon being made altogether for war, + and yet not for increase, her natural progress became her natural + dissolution, and the building of her own victorious hand too heavy for her + foundation, so that she fell, indeed, by her own weight. But Rome perished + through her native inequality, which how it inveterated the bosoms of the + Senate and the people each against other, and even to death, has been + shown at large. + </p> + <p> + “Look well to it, my lords, for if there be a contradiction or inequality + in your commonwealth, it must fall; but if it has neither of these, it has + no principle of mortality. Do not think me impudent; if this be truth, I + shall commit a gross indiscretion in concealing it. Sure I am that + Machiavel is for the immortality of a commonwealth upon far weaker + principles. ‘If a commonwealth,’ says he, ‘were so happy as to be provided + often with men, that, when she is swerving from her principles, should + reduce her to her institution, she would be immortal.’ But a commonwealth, + as we have demonstrated, swerves not from her principles, but by and + through her institution; if she brought no bias into the world with her, + her course for any internal cause must be straightforward, as we see is + that of Venice. She cannot turn to the right hand nor to the left, but by + some rub, which is not an internal, but external, cause: against such she + can be no way fortified but through her situation, as is Venice, or + through her militia, as was Rome, by which examples a commonwealth may be + secure of those also. Think me not vain, for I cannot conceal my opinion + here; a commonwealth that is rightly instituted can never swerve, nor one + that is not rightly instituted be secured from swerving by reduction to + her first principles; wherefore it is no less apparent in this place that + Machiavel understood not a commonwealth as to the whole piece, than where + having told you that a tribune, or any other citizen of Rome, might + propose a law to the people, and debate it with them, he adds, ‘this order + was good while the people were good; but when the people became evil, it + became most pernicious.’ As if this order (through which, with the like, + the people most apparently became evil) could ever have been good, or that + the people or the commonwealth could ever have become good, by being + reduced to such principles as were the original of their evil. + </p> + <p> + “The disease of Rome was, as has been shown, from the native inequality of + her balance, and no otherwise from the empire of the world, than as, this + falling into one scale, that of the nobility (an evil in such a fabric + inevitable) kicked out the people. Wherefore a man that could have made + her to throw away the empire of the world, might in that have reduced her + to her principles, and yet have been so far from rendering her immortal + that, going no further, he should never have cured her. But your + commonwealth is founded upon an equal agrarian; and if the earth be given + to the sons of men, this balance is the balance of justice, such a one as + in having due regard to the different industry of different men, yet + faithfully judges the poor’ And the king that faithfully judges the poor, + his throne shall be established forever;, much more the commonwealth, + seeing that equality, which is the necessary dissolution of monarchy, is + the generation, the very life and soul, of a commonwealth. And now, if + ever, I may be excusable, seeing my assertion, that the throne of a + commonwealth may be established forever, is consonant to the holy + Scriptures. + </p> + <p> + “The balance of a commonwealth that is equal is of such a nature that + whatever falls into her empire must fall equally; and if the whole earth + falls into your scales, it must fall equally, and so you may be a greater + people and yet not swerve from your principles one hair. Nay, you will be + so far from that that you must bring the world in such a case to your + balance, even to the balance of justice. But hearken, my lords; are we on + earth, do we see the sun, or are we visiting those shady places which are + feigned by the poets? + </p> + <p> + “‘Continuo auditoe voces, vagitus et ingens.’ + </p> + <p> + “These Gothic empires that are yet in the world, were at the first, though + they had legs of their own, but a heavy and unwieldy burden; but their + foundations being now broken, the iron of them enters even into the souls + of the oppressed; and hear the voice of their comforters: ‘My father hath + chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.’ + Hearken, I say, if thy brother cries to thee in affliction, wilt thou not + hear him? This is a commonwealth of the fabric that has an open ear and a + public concern; she is not made for herself only, but given as a + magistrate of God to mankind, for the vindication of common right and the + law of nature. Wherefore says Cicero of the like, that of the Romans, ‘We + have rather undertaken the patronage than the empire of the world.’ If + you, not regarding this example, like some other nations that are upon the + point to smart for it, shall, having attained to your own liberty, bear + the sword of your common magistracy in vain, sit still and fold your arms, + or, which is worse, let out the blood of your people to tyrants, to be + shed in the defence of their yokes like water, and so not only turn the + grace of God into wantonness, but his justice into wormwood: I say if you + do thus, you are not now making a commonwealth, but heaping coals of fire + upon your own heads. A commonwealth of this make is a minister of God upon + earth, to the end that the world may be governed with righteousness. For + which cause (that I may come at length to our present business) the orders + last rehearsed are buds of empire, such as with the blessing of God may + spread the arms of your commonwealth, like a holy asylum, to the + distressed world, and give the earth her sabbath of years, or rest from + her labors, under the shadow of your wings. It is upon this point where + the writings of Machiavel, having for the rest excelled all other authors, + come as far to excel themselves. + </p> + <p> + “Commonwealths, says he, have had three ways of propagating themselves: + One after the manner of monarchies, by imposing the yoke, which was the + way of Athens, and, toward the latter times, of Lacedaemon; another by + equal leagues, which is the way of Switzerland (I shall add of Holland, + though since his time); a third by unequal leagues, which, to the shame of + the world, was never practised, nay, nor so much as seen or minded, by any + other commonwealth but that only of Rome. They will each of them, either + for caution or imitation, be worthy to be well weighed, which is the + proper work of this place. Athens and Lacedaemon have been the occasion of + great scandal to the world, in two, or at least one of two regards: the + first, their emulation, which involved Greece in perpetual wars; the + second, their way of propagation, which by imposing yokes upon others, was + plainly contradictory to their own principles. + </p> + <p> + “For the first: governments, be they of what kind soever, if they be + planted too close, are like trees, that impatient in their growth to have + it hindered, eat out one another. It was not unknown to these in + speculation, or, if you read the story of Agesilaus, in action, that + either of them with 30,000 men might have mastered the East; and + certainly, if the one had not stood in the other’s light, Alexander had + come too late to that end, which was the means (and would be if they were + to live again) of ruin, at least to one of them; wherefore with any man + that understands the nature of government this is excusable. So it was + between Oceana and Marpesia; so it is between France and Spain, though + less excusable; and so it ever will be in the like cases. But to come to + the second occasion of scandal by them given, which was in the way of + their propagation, it is not excusable; for they brought their + confederates under bondage, by which means Athens gave occasion of the + Peloponnesian War, the wound of which she died stinking, when Lacedaemon, + taking the same infection from her carcass, soon followed. + </p> + <p> + “Wherefore, my lords, let these be warnings to you not to make that + liberty which God has given you a snare to others in practising this kind + of enlargement to yourselves. + </p> + <p> + “The second way of propagation or enlargement used by commonwealths is + that of Switzerland and Holland, equal leagues; this, though it be not + otherwise mischievous, is useless to the world, and dangerous to + themselves: useless to the world, for as the former governments were + storks, these are blocks, have no sense of honor, or concern in the + sufferings of others. But as the AEtolians, a state of the like fabric, + were reproached by Philip of Macedon to prostitute themselves; by letting + out their arms to the lusts of others, while they leave their own liberty + barren and without legitimate issue; so I do not defame these people; the + Switzer for valor has no superior, the Hollander for industry no equal; + but themselves in the meantime shall so much the less excuse their + governments, seeing that to the Switz it is well enough known that the + ensigns of his commonwealth have no other motto than in te converte manus; + and that of the Hollander, though he sweats more gold than the Spaniard + digs, lets him languish in debt; for she herself lives upon charity. These + are dangerous to themselves, precarious governments, such as do not + command, but beg their bread from province to province, in coats that + being patched up of all colors are in effect of none. That their cantons + and provinces are so many arrows, is good; but they are so many bows too, + which is naught. + </p> + <p> + “Like to these was the commonwealth of the ancient Tuscans, hung together + like bobbins, without a hand to weave with them; therefore easily overcome + by the Romans, though at that time, for number, a far less considerable + people. If your liberty be not a root that grows, it will be a branch that + withers, which consideration brings me to the paragon, the Commonwealth of + Rome. + </p> + <p> + “The ways and means whereby the Romans acquired the patronage, and in that + the empire, of the world were different, according to the different + condition of their commonwealth in her rise and in her growth: in her rise + she proceeded rather by colonies, in her growth by unequal leagues. + Colonies without the bounds of Italy she planted none (such dispersion of + the Roman citizen as to plant him in foreign parts, till the contrary + interest of the emperors brought in that practice, was unlawful), nor did + she ever demolish any city within that compass, or divest it of liberty; + but whereas the most of them were commonwealths, stirred ‘up by emulation + of her great felicity to war against her, if she overcame any, she + confiscated some part of their lands that were the greatest incendiaries, + or causes of the trouble, upon which she planted colonies of her own + people, preserving the rest of their lands and liberties for the natives + or inhabitants. By this way of proceeding, that I may be as brief as + possible, she did many and great things. For in confirming of liberty, she + propagated her empire; in holding the inhabitants from rebellion, she put + a curb upon the incursion of enemies; in exonerating herself of the poorer + sort, she multiplied her citizens; in rewarding her veterans, she rendered + the rest less seditious; and in acquiring to herself the reverence of a + common parent, she from time to time became the mother of new-born cities. + </p> + <p> + “In her further growth the way of her propagation went more upon leagues, + which for the first division were of two kinds, social and provincial. + </p> + <p> + “Again, social leagues, or leagues of society, were of two kinds: + </p> + <p> + “The first called Latinity or Latin, the second Italian right.” The league + between the Romans and the Latins, or Latin right, approached nearest to + jus quiritium, or the right of a native Roman. The man or the city that + was honored with this right, was civitate donatus cum suffragio, adopted a + citizen of Rome, with the right of giving suffrage with the people in some + cases, as those of conformation of law, or determination in judicature, if + both the Consuls were agreed, not otherwise; wherefore that coming to + little, the greatest and most peculiar part of this privilege was, that + who had borne magistracy (at least that of oedile or quoestor) in any + Latin city, was by consequence of the same a citizen of Rome at all + points. + </p> + <p> + “Italian right was also a donation of the city, but without suffrage: they + who were in either of these leagues, were governed by their own laws and + magistrates, having all the rights, as to liberty, of citizens of Rome, + yielding and praying to the commonwealth as head of the league, and having + in the conduct of all affairs appertaining to the common cause, such aid + of men and money as was particularly agreed to upon the merit of the + cause, and specified in their respective leagues, whence such leagues came + to be called equal or unequal accordingly. + </p> + <p> + “Provincial leagues were of different extension, according to the merit + and capacity of a conquered people; but they were all of one kind, for + every province was governed by Roman magistrates, as a praetor or a + proconsul, according to the dignity of the province, for the civil + administration and conduct of the provincial army, and a quaestor for the + gathering of the public revenue, from which magistrates a province might + appeal to Rome. + </p> + <p> + “For the better understanding of these particulars, I shall exemplify in + as many of them as is needful, and first in Macedon: + </p> + <p> + “The Macedonians were thrice conquered by the Romans, first under the + conduct of Titus Quintus Flaminius; secondly, under that of Lucius + AEmilius Paulus; and, thirdly under that of Quintus Caecilius Metellus, + thence called Macedonicus. + </p> + <p> + “For the first time Philip of Macedon, who (possessed of Acrocorinthus) + boasted no less than was true, that he had Greece in fetters, being + overcome by Flaminius, had his kingdom restored to him, upon condition + that he should immediately set all the cities which he held in Greece and + in Asia at liberty, and that he should not make war out of Macedon but by + leave of the Senate of Rome; which Philip (having no other way to save + anything) agreed should be done accordingly. + </p> + <p> + “The Grecians being at this time assembled at the isthmian games, where + the concourse was mighty great, a crier, appointed to the office by + Flaminius, was heard among them proclaiming all Greece to be free; to + which the people being amazed at so hopeless a thing, gave little credit, + till they received such testimony of the truth as put it past all doubt, + whereupon they fell immediately on running to the proconsul with flowers + and garlands, and such violent expressions of their admiration and joy, + as, if Flaminius, a young man, about thirty-three, had not also been very + strong, he must have died of no other death than their kindness, while + everyone striving to touch his hand, they bore him up and down the field + with an unruly throng, full of such ejaculations as these: How is there a + people in the world, that at their own charge, at their own peril, will + fight for the liberty of another? Did they live at the next door to the + fire? Or what kind of men are these, whose business it is to pass the + seas, that the world may be governed with righteousness? The cities of + Greece and of Asia shake off their iron fetters at the voice of a crier + was it madness to imagine such a thing, and is it done? O virtue! O + felicity! O fame! + </p> + <p> + “In this example your lordships have a donation of liberty or of Italian + right to a people, by restitution to what they had formerly enjoyed; and + some particular men, families or cities, according to their merit of the + Romans, if not upon this, yet upon the like occasions, were gratified with + Latinity.” But Philip’s share by this means did not please him, wherefore + the league was broken by his son Perseus; and the Macedonians thereupon + for the second time conquered by AEmilius Paulus, their King taken, and + they some time after the victory summoned to the tribunal of the general; + where, remembering how little hope they ought to have of pardon, they + expected some dreadful sentence: when AEmilius, in the first place, + declared the Macedonians to be free, in the full possession of their + lands, goods, and laws, with right to elect annual magistrates, yielding + and paying to the people of Rome one-half of the tribute which they were + accustomed to pay to their own kings. This done he went on, making so + skilful a division of the country in order to the methodizing of the + people, and casting them into the form of popular government, that the + Macedonians, being first surprised with the virtue of the Romans, began + now to alter the scene of their admiration, that a stranger should do such + things for them in their own country, and with such facility as they had + never so much as once imagined to be possible. Nor was this all; for + AEmilius, as if not dictating to conquered enemies, but to some + well-deserving friends, gave them in the last place laws so suitable, and + contrived with such care and prudence, that long use and experience (the + only correctness of works of this nature) could never find a fault in + them. + </p> + <p> + “In this example you have a donation of liberty, or of Italian right, to a + people that had not tasted of it before, but were now taught how to use + it. + </p> + <p> + “My lords, the royalists should compare what we are doing, and we what + hitherto we have done for them, with this example. It is a shame that + while we are boasting up ourselves above all others, we should yet be so + far from imitating such examples as these, that we do not so much as + understand that if government be the parent of manners, where there are no + heroic virtues, there is no heroic government. + </p> + <p> + “But the Macedonians rebelling, at the name of a false Philip, the third + time against the Romans, were by them judged incapable of liberty, and + reduced by Metellus to a province. + </p> + <p> + “Now whereas it remains that I explain the nature of a province, I shall + rather choose that of Sicily, because, having been the first which the + Romans made, the descriptions of the rest relate to it. + </p> + <p> + “‘We have so received the Sicilian cities into amity,’ says Cicero, ‘that + they enjoy their ancient laws; and upon no other condition than of the + same obedience to the people of Rome, which they formerly yielded to their + own princes or superiors.’ So the Sicilians, whereas they had been + parcelled out to divers princes, and into divers states (the cause of + perpetual wars, whereby, hewing one another down, they became sacrifices + to the ambition of their neighbors, or of some invader), were now received + at the old rate into a new protection which could hold them, and in which + no enemy durst touch them; nor was it possible, as the case then stood, + for the Sicilians to receive, or for the Romans to give more. + </p> + <p> + “A Roman province is defined by Sigonius as a region having provincial + right. Provincial right in general was to be governed by a Roman praetor, + or consul, in matters at least of state, and of the militia; and by a + quaeStor, whose office it was to receive the public revenue. Provincial + right in particular was different, according to the different leagues or + agreements between the commonwealth, and the people reduced into a + province. ‘Siculi hoc jure sunt, ut quod civis cum cive agat, domi certet + suis legibus; quod siculus cum siculo non ejusdem civitatis, ut de eo + proetor judices, ex P. Rupilii decreto, sortiatur. Quod privatus a populo + petit, aut populus a privato, senatus ex aliqua civitate, qui judicet, + datur, cui alternoe civitates rejectoe sunt. Quod vivis Romanus a siculo + petit, siculus judex datur quod siculus a cive Romano, civis Romanus + datur. Coeterarum rerum selecti judices ex civium Romanorum conventu + proponi solent. Inter aratores et decumanos lege frumentaria, quam + Hieronicam appellant, judicia fiunt.’ Because the rest would oblige me to + a discourse too large for this place, it shall suffice that I have showed + you how it was in Sicily. + </p> + <p> + “My lords, upon the fabric of your provincial orb I shall not hold you; + because it is sufficiently described in the order, and I cannot believe + that you think it inferior to the way of a praetor and a quaestor. But + whereas the provincial way of the Roman Commonwealth was that whereby it + held the empire of the world, and your orbs are intended to be capable at + least of the like use, there may arise many controversies, as whether such + a course be lawful, whether it be feasible; and, seeing that the Romans + were ruined upon that point, whether it would not be to the destruction of + the commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + “For the first: if the empire of a commonwealth be an occasion to ask + whether it be lawful for a commonwealth to aspire to the empire of the + world, it is to ask whether it be lawful for it to do its duty, or to put + the world into a better condition than it was before. + </p> + <p> + “And to ask whether this be feasible, is to ask why the Oceaner, being + under the like administration of government, may not do as much with 200 + men as the Roman did with 100; for comparing their commonwealths in their + rise, the difference is yet greater: now that Rome (seris avaritia + luxuriaque), through the natural thirst of her constitution, came at + length with the fulness of her provinces to burst herself, this is no + otherwise to be understood than as when a man that from his own evil + constitution had contracted the dropsy, dies with drinking, it being + apparent that in case her agrarian had held, she could never have been + thus ruined, and I have already demonstrated that your agrarian being once + poised, can never break or swerve. + </p> + <p> + “Wherefore to draw toward some conclusion of this discourse, let me + inculcate the use, by selecting a few considerations out of many. The + regard had in this place to the empire of the world appertains to a + well-ordered commonwealth, more especially for two reasons: + </p> + <p> + “1. The facility of this great enterprise, by a government of the model + proposed; + </p> + <p> + “2. The danger that you would run in the omission of such a government. + </p> + <p> + “The facility of this enterprise, upon the grounds already laid, must + needs be great, forasmuch as the empire of the world has been, both in + reason and experience, the necessary consequence of a commonwealth of this + nature only; for though it has been given to all kinds to drive at it, + since that of Athens or Lacedaemon, if the one had not hung in the other’s + light, might have gained it, yet could neither of them have held it; not + Athens, through the manner of her propagation, which, being by downright + tyranny, could not preserve what she had, nor Lacedaemon, because she was + overthrown by the weight of a less conquest. The facility then of this + great enterprise being peculiar to popular government, I shall consider + it, first, in gaining, and secondly, in holding. + </p> + <p> + “For the former, volenti non fit injuria. It is said of the people under + Eumenes, that they would not have changed them no their subjection for + liberty; wherefore the Romans gave disturbance. If a people be contented + with their government, it is a certain sign that it is good, and much good + do them with it. The sword of your magistracy is for a terror to them that + do evil. Eumenes had the fear of God, or of the Romans, before his eyes; + concerning such he has given you no commission. + </p> + <p> + “But till we can say, here are the Romans, where is Eumenes? do not think + that the late appearances of God to you have been altogether for + yourselves; ‘He has surely seen the affliction of your brethren, and heard + their cry by reason of their task masters.’ For to believe otherwise is + not only to be mindless of his ways, but altogether deaf. If you have ears + to hear, this is the way in which you will certainly be called upon; for + if, while there is no stock of liberty no sanctuary of the afflicted, it + be a common object to behold a people casting themselves out of the pan of + one prince into the fire of another, what can you think, but if the world + should see the Roman ‘eagle again, she would renew her age and her flight? + Nor did ever she spread her wings with better omen than will be read in + your ensigns; which if, called in by an oppressed people they interpose + between them and their yoke, the people themselves must either do nothing + in the meantime or have no more pains to take for their wished fruit than + to gather it, if that be not likewise done for them. Wherefore this must + needs be easy, and yet you have a greater facility than is in the arm of + flesh; for if the cause of mankind be the cause of God, the Lord of Hosts + will be your captain, and you shall be a praise to the whole earth. + </p> + <p> + “The facility of holding is in the way of your propagation; if you take + that of Athens and Lacedemon, you shall rain snares, but either catch or + hold nothing. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord: if setting up for + liberty you impose yokes, he will infallibly destroy you. On the other + side, to go about a work of this nature by a league without a head, is to + abdicate that magistracy wherewith he has not only endued you, but whereof + he will require an account of you; for, ‘cursed is he that does the work + of the Lord negligently.’ Wherefore you are to take the course of Rome: if + you have subdued a nation that is capable of liberty, you shall make them + a present of it, as did Flaminius to Greece, and AEmilius to Macedon, + reserving to yourselves some part of that revenue which was legally paid + to the former government, together with the right of being head of the + league, which includes such levies of men and money as shall be necessary + for the carrying on of the public work. + </p> + <p> + “For if a people have by your means attained to freedom, they owe both to + the cause and you such aid as may propagate the like fruit to the rest of + the world. But whereas every nation is not capable of her liberty to this + degree, lest you be put to doing and undoing of things, as the Romans were + in Macedon, you shall diligently observe what nation is fit for her + liberty to this degree, and what not; which is to be done by two marks, + the first if she be willing to ‘help the Lord against the mighty;’ for if + she has no care of the liberty of mankind she deserves not her own. But + because in this you may be deceived by pretences, which, continuing for a + while specious, may afterward vanish; the other is more certain, and that + is if she be capable of an equal agrarian; which that it was not observed + by excellent AEmilius in his donation of liberty, and introduction of a + popular state among the Macedonians, I am more than moved to believe for + two reasons; the first, because at the same time the agrarian was odious + to the Roman patricians; the second, that the pseudo-Philip could + afterward so easily recover Macedon, which could not have happened but by + the nobility, and their impatience, having great estates, to be equalled + with the people; for that the people should otherwise, at the mere sound + of a name, have thrown away their liberty, is incredible. Wherefore be + assured that the nation where you cannot establish an equal agrarian, is + incapable of its liberty as to this kind of donation. For example, except + the aristocracy in Marpesia be dissolved, neither can that people have + their liberty there, nor you govern at home; for they continuing still + liable to be sold by their lords to foreign princes, there will never + (especially in a country of which there is no other profit to be made) be + want of such merchants and drovers, while you must be the market where + they are to receive their second payment. + </p> + <p> + “Nor can the aristocracy there be dissolved but by your means, in relation + whereto you are provided with your provincial orb; which, being + proportioned to the measure of the nation that you have vindicated or + conquered, will easily hold it: for there is not a people in the world + more difficult to be held than the Marpesians, which, though by themselves + it be ascribed to their own nature, is truly to be attributed to that of + their country. Nevertheless, you having 9,000 men upon the continual guard + of it, that, threatened by any sudden insurrection, have places of + retreat, and an army of 40,000 men upon a day’s warning ready to march to + their rescue, it is not to be rationally shown which way they can possibly + slip out of your hands. And if a man should think that upon a province + more remote and divided by the sea, you have not the like hold, he has not + so well considered your wings as your talons, your shipping being of such + a nature as makes the descent of your armies almost of equal facility in + any country, so that what you take you hold, both because your militia, + being already populous, will be of great growth in itself, and also + through your confederates, by whom in taking and holding you are still + more enabled to do both. + </p> + <p> + “Nor shall you easier hold than the people under your empire or patronage + may be held. My lords, I would not go to the door to see whether it be + close shut; this is no underhand dealing, nor a game at which he shall + have any advantage against you who sees your cards, but, on the contrary + the advantage shall be your own: for with 18,000 men (which number I put, + because it circulates your orb by the annual change of 6,000) having + established your matters in the order shown, you will, be able to hold the + greatest province; and 18,000 men, allowing them greater pay than any + prince ever gave, will not stand the province in £1,000,000 revenue; in + consideration whereof, they shall have their own estates free to + themselves, and be governed by their own laws and magistrates; which, if + the revenue of the province be in dry-rent (as there may be some that are + four times as big as Oceana) £40,000,000, will bring it with that of + industry, to speak with the least, to twice the value: so that the people + there, who at this day are so oppressed that they have nothing at all + whereon to live, shall for £1,000,000 paid to you, receive at least + £79,000,000 to their proper use: in which place I appeal to any man, + whether the empire described can be other than the patronage of the world. + </p> + <p> + “Now if you add to the propagation of civil liberty (so natural to this + commonwealth that it cannot be omitted) the propagation of the liberty of + conscience, this empire, this patronage of the world, is the kingdom of + Christ: for as the kingdom of God the Father was a commonwealth, so shall + the kingdom of God the Son; ‘the people shall be willing in the day of his + power.’ + </p> + <p> + “Having showed you in this and other places some of those inestimable + benefits of this kind of government, together with the natural and facile + emanation of them from their fountain, I come (lest God who has appeared + to you, for he is the God of nature, in the glorious constellation of + these subordinate causes, whereof we have hitherto been taking the true + elevation, should shake off the dust of his feet against you) to warn you + of the dangers which you, not taking the opportunity, will incur by + omission. + </p> + <p> + “Machiavel, speaking of the defect of Venice, through her want of proper + arms, cries out, ‘This cut her wings, and spoiled her mount to heaven.’ If + you lay your commonwealth upon any other foundation than the people, you + frustrate yourself of proper arms, and so lose the empire of the world; + nor is this all, but some other nation will have it. + </p> + <p> + “Columbus offered gold to one of your kings, through whose happy + incredulity another prince has drunk the poison, even to the consumption + of his people; but I do not offer you a nerve of war that is made of + purse-strings, such a one as has drawn the face of the earth into + convulsions, but such as is natural to her health and beauty. Look you to + it, where there is tumbling and tossing upon the bed of sickness, it must + end in death or recovery. Though the people of the world, in the dregs of + the Gothic empire, be yet tumbling and tossing upon the bed of sickness, + they cannot die; nor is there any means of recovery for them but by + ancient prudence, whence of necessity it must come to pass that this drug + be better known, if France, Italy, and Spain were not all sick, all + corrupted together, there would be none of them so; for the sick would not + be able to withstand the sound, nor the sound to preserve their health, + without curing of the sick. The first of these nations (which if you stay + her leisure, will in my mind be France) that recovers the health of + ancient prudence, shall certainly govern the world; for what did Italy + when she had it? and as you were in that, so shall you in the like case be + reduced to a province; I do not speak at random. Italy, in the consulship + of Lucius AEmilius Papus and Caius Attilius Regulus, armed, upon the + Gallic tumult that then happened of herself, and without the aid of + foreign auxiliaries, 70,000 horse and 700,000 foot; but as Italy is the + least of those three countries in extent, so is France now the most + populous. + </p> + <p> + “‘I, decus, I, nostrum, melioribus utere fatis.’ + </p> + <p> + “My dear lords, Oceana is as the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the + valley. As the lily among thorns, such is my love among the daughters. She + is comely as the tents of Kedar, and terrible as an army with banners. Her + neck is as the tower of David, builded for an armory, whereon there hang + 1,000 bucklers and shields of mighty men. Let me hear thy voice in the + morning, whom my soul loves. The south has dropped, and the west is + breathing upon thy garden of spices. Arise, queen of the earth, arise, + holy spouse of Jesus; for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and + gone; the flowers appear on the earth, the time for the singing of birds + is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. Arise, I say, + come forth, and do not tarry: ah! wherefore should my eyes behold thee by + the rivers of Babylon, hanging thy harps upon the willows, thou fairest + among women? + </p> + <p> + “Excellent patriots, if the people be sovereign, here is that which + establishes their prerogative; if we be sincere, here is that which + disburdens our souls, and makes good all our engagements; if we be + charitable, here is that which embraces all parties; if we would be + settled, here is that which will stand, and last forever. + </p> + <p> + “If our religion be anything else but a vain boast, scratching and + defacing human nature or reason, which, being the image of God, makes it a + kind of murder, here is that empire whence ‘justice shall run down like a + river, and judgment like a mighty stream.’ Who is it then that calls us? + or, what is in our way? A lion! Is it not the dragon, that old serpent? + For what wretched shifts are these? Here is a great deal; might we not + have some of this at one time, and some at another? + </p> + <p> + “My lords, permit me to give you the sum, or brief: + </p> + <p> + EPITOME OF THE WHOLE COMMONWEALTH + </p> + <p> + “The centre or fundamental laws are, first, the agrarian, proportioned at + £2,000 a year in land, lying and being within the proper territory of + Oceana, and stating property in land at such a balance, that the power can + never swerve out of the hands of the many. + </p> + <p> + “Secondly, the ballot conveying this equal sap from the root, by an equal + election or rotation, into the branches of magistracy or sovereign power. + </p> + <p> + “The orbs of this commonwealth being civil, military, or provincial, are, + as it were, cast upon this mould or centre by the divisions of the people; + first, into citizens and servants; secondly, into youth and elders; + thirdly, into such as have £100 a year in lands, goods, or moneys, who are + of the horse; and such as have under, who are of the foot; fourthly, they + are divided by their usual residence into parishes, hundreds, and tribes. + </p> + <p> + “The civil orbs consist of the elders, and are thus created: every Monday + next ensuing the last of December, the elders in every parish elect the + fifth man to be a deputy, which is but half a day’s work; every Monday + next ensuing the last of January, the deputies meet at their respective + hundred, and elect out of their number one justice of the peace, one + juryman, one coroner, and one high constable of the foot, one day’s work. + </p> + <p> + “Every Monday next ensuing the last of February, the hundreds meet at + their respective tribe, and there elect the lords high sheriff, + lieutenant, custos rotulorum, the conductor, the two censors out of the + horse, the magistrates of the tribe and of the hundreds, with the jurymen + constituting the phylarch, and who assist in their respective offices at + the assizes, hold the quarter-sessions, etc. The day following the tribe + elects the annual galaxy, consisting of two knights and three deputies out + of the horse, with four deputies out of the foot, thereby endued with + power, as magistrates of the whole nation, for the term of three years. An + officer chosen at the hundred may not be elected a magistrate of the + tribe; but a magistrate or officer either of the hundred or of the tribe, + being elected into the galaxy, may substitute any one of his office in the + hundred or in own order to his magistracy or office in the hundred or in + the tribe. This of the muster is two days’ work. So the body of the people + is annually, at the charge of three days’ work and a half, in their own + tribes, for the perpetuation of their power, receiving over and above the + magistracies so divided among them. + </p> + <p> + “Every Monday next ensuing the last of March, the knights, being 100 in + all the tribes, take their places in the Senate. The knights, having taken + their places in the Senate, make the third region of the same, and the + house proceeds to the senatorian elections. Senatorian elections are + annual, biennial, or emergent. + </p> + <p> + “The annual are performed by the tropic. + </p> + <p> + “The tropic is a schedule consisting of two parts; the first by which the + senatorian magistrates are elected; and the second, by which the + senatorian councils are perpetuated. + </p> + <p> + “The first part is of this tenor: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The lord strategus, + The lord orator, + The first censor, + The second censor, +</pre> + <p> + “Annual magistrates and therefore such as may be elected out of any + region; the term of every region having at the tropic one year at the + least unexpired. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The third commissioner of the seal, + The third commissioner of the Treasury. +</pre> + <p> + “Triennial magistrates, and therefore such as can be chosen out of the + third region only, as that alone which has the term of three years + unexpired. + </p> + <p> + “The strategus and the orator sitting, are consuls, or presidents of the + Senate. + </p> + <p> + “The strategus marching is general of the army, in which case a new + strategus is to be elected in his room. + </p> + <p> + “The strategus sitting with six commissioners, being councillors of the + nation, are the signory of the commonwealth.” + </p> + <p> + The censors are magistrates of the ballot, presidents of the Council for + Religion, and chancellors of the universities. + </p> + <p> + “The second part of the tropic perpetuates the Council of State, by the + election of five knights out of the first region of the Senate, to be the + first region of that council consisting of fifteen knights, five in every + region. + </p> + <p> + “The like is done by the election of four into the Council of Religion, + and four into the Council of Trade, out of the same region in the Senate; + each of these councils consisting of twelve knights, four in every region. + </p> + <p> + “But the Council of War, consisting of nine knights, three in every + region, is elected by and out of the Council of State, as the other + councils are elected by and out of the Senate. And if the Senate add a + juncta of nine knights more, elected out of their own number, for the term + of three months, the Council of War, by virtue of that addition, is + Dictator of Oceana for the said term. + </p> + <p> + “The signory jointly or severally has right of session and suffrage in + every senatorial council, and to propose either to the Senate, or any of + them. And every region in a council electing one weekly provost, any two + of those provosts have power also to propose to their respective council, + as the proper and peculiar proposers of the same, for which cause they + hold an academy, where any man, either by word of mouth or writing, may + propose to the proposers. + </p> + <p> + “Next to the elections of the tropic is the biennial election of one + ambassador-in-ordinary, by the ballot of the house, to the residence of + France; at which time the resident of France removes to Spain, he of Spain + to Venice, he of Venice to Constantinople, and he of Constantinople + returns. So the orb of the residents is wheeled about in eight years, by + the biennial election of one ambassador-in-ordinary. + </p> + <p> + “The last kind of election is emergent. Emergent elections are made by the + scrutiny. Election by scrutiny is when a competitor, being made by a + council, and brought into the Senate, the Senate chooses four more + competitors to him, and putting all five to the ballot, he who has most + above half the suffrages is the magistrate. The polemarchs or field + officers are chosen by the scrutiny of the Council of War; an + ambassador-extraordinary by the scrutiny of the Council of State; the + judges and sergeants-at-law by the scrutiny of the seal; and the barons + and prime officers of the Exchequer, by the scrutiny of the Treasury.. + </p> + <p> + “The opinion or opinions that are legitimately proposed to any council + must be debated by the same, and so many as are resolved upon the debate + are introduced into the Senate, where they are debated and resolved, or + rejected by the whole house; that which is resolved by the Senate is a + decree which is good in matters of state, but no law, except it be + proposed to and resolved by the prerogative. + </p> + <p> + “The deputies of the galaxy being three horse and four foot in a tribe, + amount in all the tribes to 150 horse and 200 foot; which, having entered + the prerogative, and chosen their captains, cornet, and ensign (triennial + officers), make the third class, consisting of one troop and one company; + and so, joining with the whole prerogative, elect four annual magistrates, + called tribunes, whereof two are of the horse and two of the foot. These + have the command of the prerogative sessions, and suffrage in the Council + of War, and sessions without suffrage in the Senate. + </p> + <p> + “The Senate having passed a decree which they would propose to the people, + cause it to be printed and published, or promulgated for the space of six + weeks, which, being ordered, they choose their proposers. The proposers + must be magistrates, that is, the commissioners of the seal, those of the + Treasury, or the censors. These being chosen, desire the muster of the + tribunes, and appoint the day. The people being assembled at the day + appointed, and the decree proposed, that which is proposed by authority of + the Senate, and commanded by the people, is the law of Oceana, or an act + of Parliament. + </p> + <p> + “So the Parliament of Oceana consists of the Senate proposing, and the + people resolving. + </p> + <p> + “The people or prerogative are also the supreme judicatory of this nation, + having power of hearing and determining all causes of appeal from all + magistrates, or courts provincial or domestic, as also to question any + magistrate, the term of his magistracy being expired, if the case be + introduced by the tribunes, or any one of them. + </p> + <p> + “The military orbs consist of the youth, that is, such as are from + eighteen to thirty years of age; and are created in the following manner: + </p> + <p> + “Every Wednesday next ensuing the last of December, the youth of every + parish, assembling, elect the fifth of their number to be their deputies; + the deputies of the youth are called stratiots, and this is the first + essay. + </p> + <p> + “Every Wednesday next ensuing the last of January, the stratiots, + assembling at the hundred, elect their captain and their ensign, and fall + to their games and sports. + </p> + <p> + “Every Wednesday next ensuing the last of February the stratiots are + received by the lord lieutenant, their commander-in-chief, with the + conductors and the censors; and, having been disciplined and entertained + with other games, are called to the urns, where they elect the second + essay, consisting of 200 horse and 600 foot in a tribe; that is, of 10,000 + horse and 30,000 foot in all the tribes, which is the standing army of + this nation, to march at any warning. They also elect at the same time a + part of the third essay, by the mixture of balls marked with the letter M + and the letter P, for Marpesia and Panopea; they of either mark being ten + horse and fifty foot in a tribe, that is, 500 horse and 2,500 foot in all + the tribes, which are forthwith to march to their respective provinces. + </p> + <p> + “But the third essay of this nation more properly so called, is when the + strategus with the polemarchs (the Senate and the people or the Dictator + having decreed a war) receive in return of his warrants the second essay + from the hands of the conductors at the rendezvous of Oceana; which army, + marching with all accommodations provided by the Council of War, the + Senate elects a new strategus, and the lords-lieutenant a new second + essay. + </p> + <p> + “A youth, except he be an only son, refusing any one of his three essays, + without sufficient cause shown to the phylarch or the censors, is + incapable of magistracy, and is fined a fifth part of his yearly rent, or + of his estate, for protection. In case of invasion the elders are obliged + to like duty with the youth, and upon their own charge. + </p> + <p> + “The provincial orb consisting in part of the elders, and in part of the + youth, is thus created: + </p> + <p> + “Four knights out of the first region falling, are elected in the Senate + to be the first region of the provincial orb of Marpesia; these, being + triennial magistrates, take their places in the provincial council, + consisting of twelve knights, four in every region, each region choosing + their weekly provosts of the council thus constituted. One knight more, + chosen out of the same region in the Senate, being an annual magistrate, + is president, with power to propose; and the opinions proposed by the + president, or any two of the provosts, are debated by the council, and, if + there be occasion of further power or instruction than they yet have, + transmitted to the Council of State, with which the provincial is to hold + intelligence. + </p> + <p> + “The president of this council is also strategus or general of the + provincial army; wherefore the conductors, upon notice of his election, + and appointment of his rendezvous, deliver to him the stratiots of his + letter, which he takes with him into his province; and the provincial army + having received the new strategus with the third class, the council + dismisses the old strategus with the first class. The like is done for + Panopea, or any other province. + </p> + <p> + “But whereas the term of every other magistracy or election in this + commonwealth, whether annual or triennial, requires an equal vacation, the + term of a provincial councillor or magistrate requires no vacation at all. + The quorum of a provincial, as also that of every other council and + assembly, requires two-thirds in a time of health, and one-third in a time + of sickness. + </p> + <p> + “I think I have omitted nothing but the props and scaffolds, which are not + of use but in building. And how much is here? Show me another commonwealth + in this compass? how many things? Show me another entire government + consisting but of thirty orders. If you now go to law with anybody, there + lie to some of our courts 200 original writs: if you stir your hand, there + go more nerves and bones to that motion; if you play, you have more cards + in the pack; nay, you could not sit with your ease in that chair, if it + consisted not of more parts. Will you not then allow to your legislator, + what you can afford your upholsterer, or to the throne, what is necessary + to a chair? + </p> + <p> + “My lords, if you will have fewer orders in a commonwealth, you will have + more; for where she is not perfect at first, every day, every hour will + produce a new order, the end whereof is to have no order at all, but to + grind with the clack of some demagogue. Is he providing already for his + golden thumb? Lift up your heads; away with ambition, that fulsome + complexion of a statesman, tempered, like Sylla’s, with blood and muck. + ‘And the Lord give to his senators wisdom; and make our faces to shine, + that we may be a light to them that sit in darkness and the shadow of + death, to guide their feet in the way of peace.’—In the name of God, + what’s the matter?” + </p> + <p> + Philadelphus, the secretary of the council, having performed his task in + reading the several orders as you have seen, upon the receipt of a packet + from his correspondent Boccalini, secretary of Parnassus, in reading one + of the letters, burst forth into such a violent passion of weeping and + downright howling, that the legislators, being startled with the + apprehension of some horrid news, one of them had no sooner snatched the + letter out of his hand, than the rest crying, “Read, read,” he obeyed in + this manner: + </p> + <p> + “The 3d instant his Phoebean majesty having taken the nature of free + states into his royal consideration, and being steadily persuaded that the + laws in such governments are incomparably better and more surely directed + to the good of mankind than in any other; that the courage of such a + people is the aptest tinder to noble fire; that the genius of such a soil + is that wherein the roots of good literature are least worm-eaten with + pedantism, and where their fruits have ever come to the greatest maturity + and highest relish, conceived such a loathing of their ambition and + tyranny, who, usurping the liberty of their native countries, become + slaves to themselves, inasmuch as (be it never so contrary to their own + nature or consciences) they have taken the earnest of sin, and are engaged + to persecute all men that are good with the same or greater rigor than is + ordained by laws for the wicked, for none ever administered that power by + good which he purchased by ill arts—Phoebus, I say, having + considered this, assembled all the senators residing in the learned court + at the theatre of Melpomene, where he caused Caesar the Dictator to come + upon the stage, and his sister Actia, his nephew Augustus, Julia his + daughter, with the children which she had by Marcus Agrippa, Lucius and + Caius Caesars, Agrippa Posthumus, Julia, and Agrippina, with the numerous + progeny which she bore to her renowned husband Germanicus, to enter. A + miserable scene in any, but most deplorable in the eyes of Caesar, thus + beholding what havoc his prodigious ambition, not satisfied with his own + bloody ghost, had made upon his more innocent remains, even to the total + extinction of his family. For it is (seeing where there is any humanity, + there must be some compassion) not to be spoken without tears, that of the + full branches deriving from Octavia the eldest sister, and Julia the + daughter of Augustus, there should not be one fruit or blossom that was + not cut off or blasted by the sword, famine, or poison. + </p> + <p> + “Now might the great soul of Caesar have been full; and yet that which + poured in as much or more was to behold that execrable race of the + Claudii, having hunted and sucked his blood, with the thirst of tigers, to + be rewarded with the Roman Empire, and remain in full possession of that + famous patrimony: a spectacle to pollute the light of heaven! + Nevertheless, as if Caesar had not yet enough, his Phoeban majesty caused + to be introduced on the other side of the theatre, the most illustrious + and happy prince Andrea Doria, with his dear posterity, embraced by the + soft and constant arms of the city of Genoa, into whose bosom, ever + fruitful in her gratitude, he had dropped her fair liberty like the dew of + heaven, which, when the Roman tyrant beheld, and how much more fresh that + laurel was worn with a firm root in the hearts of the people than that + which he had torn off, he fell into such a horrid distortion of limbs and + countenance, that the senators, who had thought themselves steel and flint + at such an object, having hitherto stood in their reverend snow-like + thawing Alps, now covered their faces with their large sleeves.” + </p> + <p> + “My lords,” said the Archon, rising, “witty Philadelphus has given us + grave admonition in dreadful tragedy. Discite justitiam moniti, et non + temnere divos. Great and glorious Caesar the highest character of flesh, + yet could not rule but by that part of man which is the beast; but a + commonwealth is a monarchy; to her God is king, inasmuch as reason, his + dictate, is her sovereign power.” Which said, he adjourned the Council. + And the model was soon after promulgated. Quod bonum, foelix, faustumque + sit huic reipublicoe. Agite quirites, censuere patres, jubeat populus. + (The sea roared, and the floods clapped their hands.) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + LIBERTAS +</pre> + <p> + The Proclamation of his Highness the Lord Archon of Oceana upon + Promulgation of the Model, + </p> + <p> + “Whereas his Highness and the Council, in the framing of the model + promulgated, have not had any private interest or ambition but the fear of + God and the good of this people before their eyes; and it remains their + desire that this great work may be carried on accordingly. This present + greeting is to inform the good people of this land, that as the Council of + Prytans sat during the framing of the model, to receive from time to time + such propositions as should be offered by any wise-hearted or + public-spirited man, toward the institution of a well-ordered + commonwealth, so the said Council is to sit as formerly in the great hall + of the Pantheon during promulgation (which is to continue for the space of + three months) to receive, weigh, and, as there shall be occasion, transmit + to the Council of Legislators, all such objections as shall be made + against the said model, whether in the whole or in any part. Wherefore + that nothing be done rashly or without the consent of the people, such, of + what party soever, with whom there may remain any doubts or difficulties, + are desired with all convenient speed to address themselves to the said + prytans; where, if such objections, doubts, or difficulties receive + solution to the satisfaction of the auditory, they shall have public + thanks, but if the said objections, doubts, or difficulties receive no + solution to the satisfaction of the auditory, then the model promulgated + shall be reviewed, and the party that was the occasion of the review, + shall receive public thanks, together with the best horse in his + Highness’s stable, and be one of the Council of Legislators. And so God + have you in his keeping.” + </p> + <p> + I should now write the same Council of the Prytans, but for two reasons: + the one, that having had but a small time for that which is already done, + I am over-labored; the other, that there may be new objections. Wherefore, + if my reader has any such as to the model, I entreat him to address + himself by way of oration, as it were, to the prytans, that when this + rough draught comes to be a work, his speech being faithfully inserted in + this place, may give or receive correction to amendment; for what is + written will be weighed. But conversation, in these days, is a game at + which they are best provided that have light gold; it is like the sport of + women that make flowers of straws, which must be stuck up but may not be + touched. Nor, which is worse, is this the fault of conversation only: but + to the examiner I say if to invent method and teach an art be all one, let + him show that this method is not truly invented, or this art is faithfully + taught. + </p> + <p> + I cannot conclude a circle (and such is this commonwealth) without turning + the end into the beginning. The time of promulgation being expired, the + surveyors were sent down, who having in due season made report that their + work was perfect, the orators followed, under the administration of which + officers and magistrates the commonwealth was ratified and established by + the whole body of the people, in their parochial, hundred, and county + assemblies. And the orators being, by virtue of their scrolls or lots, + members of their respective tribes, were elected each the first knight of + the third list, or galaxy; wherefore, having at their return assisted the + Archon in putting the Senate and the people or prerogative into motion, + they abdicated the magistracy both of orators and legislators. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART4" id="link2H_PART4"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PART IV. THE COROLLARY + </h2> + <p> + FOR the rest (says Plutarch, closing up the story of Lycurgus) when he saw + that his government had taken root, and was in the very plantation strong + enough to stand by itself, he conceived such a delight within him, as God + is described by Plato to have done when he had finished the creation of + the world, and saw his own orbs move below him: for in the art of man + (being the imitation of nature, which is the art of God) there is nothing + so like the first call of beautiful order out of chaos and confusion, as + the architecture of a well-ordered commonwealth. Wherefore Lycurgus, + seeing in effect that his orders were good, fell into deep contemplation + how he might render them, so far as could be effected by human providence, + unalterable and immortal. To which end he assembled the people, and + remonstrated to them: That for aught he could perceive, their policy was + already such, and so well established, as was sufficient to entail upon + them and theirs all that virtue and felicity whereof human life is + capable: nevertheless that there being another thing of greater concern + than all the rest, whereof he was not yet provided to give them a perfect + account, nor could till he had consulted the oracle of Apollo, he desired + that they would observe his laws without any change or alteration + whatsoever till his return from Delphos; to which all the people + cheerfully and unanimously engaged themselves by promise, desiring him + that he would make as much haste as he could. But Lycurgus, before he + went, began with the kings and the senators, and thence taking the whole + people in order, made them all swear to that which they had promised, and + then took his journey. Being arrived at Delphos, he sacrificed to Apollo, + and afterward inquired if the policy which he had established was good and + sufficient for a virtuous and happy life? + </p> + <p> + By the way, it has been a maxim with legislators not to give checks to the + present superstition, but to make the best use of it, as that which is + always the most powerful with the people; otherwise, though Plutarch, + being a priest, was interested in the cause, there is nothing plainer than + Cicero, in his book “De Divinatione” has made it, that there was never any + such thing as an oracle, except in the cunning of the priests. But to be + civil to the author, the god answered to Lycurgus that his policy was + exquisite, and that his city, holding to the strict observation of his + form of government, should attain to the height of fame and glory. Which + oracle Lycurgus causing to be written, failed not of transmitting to his + Lacedaemon. This done, that his citizens might be forever inviolably bound + by their oath, that they would alter nothing till his return, he took so + firm a resolution to die in the place, that from thenceforward, receiving + no manner of food, he soon after performed it accordingly. Nor was he + deceived in the consequence; for his city became the first in glory and + excellency of government in the whole world. And so much for Lycurgus, + according to Plutarch. + </p> + <p> + My Lord Archon, when he beheld not only the rapture of motion, but of joy + and harmony, into which his spheres (without any manner of obstruction or + interfering, but as if it had been naturally) were cast, conceived not + less of exultation in his spirit; but saw no more necessity or reason why + he should administer an oath to the Senate and the people that they would + observe his institutions, than to a man in perfect health and felicity of + constitution that he would not kill himself. Nevertheless whereas + Christianity, though it forbids violent hands, consists no less in + self-denial than any other religion, he resolved that all unreasonable + desires should die upon the spot; to which end that no manner of food + might be left to ambition, he entered into the Senate with a unanimous + applause, and having spoken of his government as Lycurgus did when he + assembled the people, he abdicated the magistracy of Archon. The Senate, + as struck with astonishment, continued silent, men upon so sudden an + accident being altogether unprovided of what to say; till the Archon + withdrawing, and being almost at the door, divers of the knights flew from + their places, offering as it were to lay violent hands on him, while he + escaping, left the Senate with the tears in their eyes, of children that + had lost their father and to rid himself of all further importunity, + retired to a country house of his, being remote, and very private, + insomuch that no man could tell for some time what was become of him. + </p> + <p> + Thus the law-maker happened to be the first object and reflection of the + law made; for as liberty of all things is the most welcome to a people, so + is there nothing more abhorrent from their nature than ingratitude. We, + accusing the Roman people of this crime against some of their greatest + benefactors, as Camillus, heap mistake upon mistake; for being not so + competent judges of what belongs to liberty as they were, we take upon us + to be more competent judges of virtue. And whereas virtue, for being a + vulgar thing among them, was of no less rate than jewels are with such as + wear the most, we are selling this precious stone, which we have + ignorantly raked out of the Roman ruins, at such a rate as the Switzers + did that which they took in the baggage of Charles of Burgundy. For that + Camillus had stood more firm against the ruin of Rome than her capitol, + was acknowledged; but on the other side, that he stood as firm for the + patricians against the liberty of the people, was as plain; wherefore he + never wanted those of the people that would die at his foot in the field, + nor that would withstand him to his beard in the city. An example in which + they that think Camillus had wrong, neither do themselves right, nor the + people of Rome; who in this signify no less than that they had a scorn of + slavery beyond the fear of ruin, which is the height of magnanimity. + </p> + <p> + The like might be shown by other examples objected against this and other + popular governments, as in the banishment of Aristides the Just from + Athens, by the ostracism, which, first, was no punishment, nor ever + understood for so much as a disparagement; but tended only to the security + of the commonwealth, through the removal of a citizen (whose riches or + power with a party was suspected) out of harm’s way for the space of ten + years, neither to the diminution of his estate or honor. And next, though + the virtue of Aristides might in itself be unquestioned, yet for him under + the name of the Just to become universal umpire of the people in all + cases, even to the neglect of the legal ways and orders of the + commonwealth, approached so much to the prince, that the Athenians, doing + Aristides no wrong, did their government no more than right in removing + him; which therefore is not so probable to have come to pass, as Plutarch + presumes, through the envy of Themistocles, seeing Aristides was far more + popular than Themistocles, who soon after took the same walk upon a worse + occasion. Wherefore as Machiavel, for anything since alleged, has + irrefragably proved that popular governments are of all others the least + ungrateful, so the obscurity, I say, into which my Lord Archon had now + withdrawn himself caused a universal sadness and clouds in the minds of + men upon the glory of his rising commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + Much had been ventilated in private discourse, and the people (for the + nation was yet divided into parties that had not lost their animosities), + being troubled, bent their eyes upon the Senate, when after some time + spent in devotion, and the solemn action of thanksgiving, his Excellency + Navarchus de Paralo in the tribe of Dorean, lord strategus of Oceana + (though in a new commonwealth a very prudent magistrate) proposed his part + or opinion in such a manner to the Council of State, that, passing the + ballot of the same with great unanimity and applause, it was introduced + into the Senate, where it passed with greater. Wherefore the decree being + forthwith printed and published, copies were returned by the secretaries + to the phylarchs (which is the manner of promulgation) and the + commissioners of the seal, that is to say, the Right Honorable Phosphorus + de Auge in the tribe of Eudia, Dolabella d’Enyo in the tribe of Turmae, + and Linceus de Stella in the tribe of Nubia, being elected proposers pro + tempore, bespoke of the tribunes a muster of the people to be held that + day six weeks, which was the time allowed for promulgation at the halo. + </p> + <p> + The satisfaction which the people throughout the tribes received upon + promulgation of the decree, loaded the carriers with weekly letters + between friend and friend, whether magistrates or private persons. But the + day for proposition being come, and the prerogative upon the place + appointed in discipline, Sanguine de Ringwood in the tribe of Saltum, + captain of the Phoenix, marched by order of the tribunes with his troop to + the piazza of the Pantheon, where his trumpets, entering into the great + hall, by their blazon gave notice of his arrival; at which the sergeant of + the house came down, and returning, in formed the proposers, who + descending, were received at the foot of the stairs by the captain, and + attended to the coaches of state, with which Calcar de Gilvo in the tribe + of Phalera, master of the horse, and the ballotins upon their great + horses, stood waiting at the gate. + </p> + <p> + The proposers being in their coaches, the train for the pomp, the same + that is used at the reception of ambassadors, proceeded in this order. In + the front marched the troop with the cornet in the van and the captain in + the rear; next the troop came the twenty messengers or trumpets, the + ballotins upon the curvet with their usher in the van, and the master of + the horse in the rear; next the ballotins, Bronchus de Rauco, in the tribe + of Bestia, king of the heralds, with his fraternity in their + coats-of-arms, and next to Sir Bronchus, Boristhenes de Holiwater in the + tribe of Ave, master of the ceremonies; the mace and the seal of the + chancery went immediately before the coaches, and on either side, the + doorkeepers or guard of the Senate, with their pole-axes, accompanied with + some 300 or 400 footmen belonging to the knights or senators, the + trumpeters, ballotins, guards, postilions, coachmen and footmen, being + very gallant in the liveries of the commonwealth, but all, except the + ballotins, without hats, in lieu whereof they wore black velvet calots, + being pointed with a little peak at the forehead. After the proposers came + a long file of coaches full of such gentlemen as use to grace the + commonwealth upon the like occasions. In this posture they moved slowly + through the streets (affording, in the gravity of the pomp and the + welcomeness of the end, a most reverend and acceptable prospect to the + people all the way from the Pantheon, being about half a mile) and arrived + at the halo, where they found the prerogative in a close body environed + with scaffolds that were covered with spectators. The tribunes received + the proposers, and conducted them into a seat placed in the front of the + tribe, like a pulpit, but that it was of some length, and well adorned by + the heralds with all manner of birds and beasts, except that they were + ill-painted, and never a one of his natural color. The tribunes were + placed at a table that stood below the long seat, those of the horse in + the middle, and those of the foot at either end, with each of them a bowl + or basin before him, that on the right hand being white, and the other + green: in the middle of the table stood a third, which was red. And the + housekeepers of the pavilion, who had already delivered a proportion of + linen balls or pellets to every one of the tribe, now presented boxes to + the ballotins. But the proposers as they entered the gallery, or long + seat, having put off their hats by way of salutation, were answered by the + people with a shout; whereupon the younger commissioners seated themselves + at either end; and the first, standing in the middle, spoke after this + manner: + </p> + <p> + “MY LORDS, THE PEOPLE OF OCEANA: + </p> + <p> + “While I find in myself what a felicity it is to salute you by this name, + and in every face, anointed as it were with the oil of gladness, a full + and sufficient testimony of the like sense, to go about to feast you with + words, who are already filled with that food of the mind which, being of + pleasing and wholesome digestion, takes in the definition of true joy, + were a needless enterprise. I shall rather put you in mind of that + thankfulness which is due, than puff you up with anything that might seem + vain. Is it from the arms of flesh that we derive these blessings? Behold + the Commonwealth of Rome falling upon her own victorious sword. Or is it + from our own wisdom, whose counsels had brought it even to that pass, that + we began to repent ourselves of victory? Far be it from us, my lords, to + sacrifice to our own nets, which we ourselves have so narrowly escaped! + Let us rather lay our mouths in the dust, and look up (as was taught the + other day when we were better instructed in this lesson) to the hills with + our gratitude. Nevertheless, seeing we read how God upon the neglect of + his prophets has been provoked to wrath, it must needs follow that he + expects honor should be given to them by whom he has chosen to work as his + instruments. For which cause, nothing doubting of my warrant, I shall + proceed to that which more particularly concerns the present occasion, the + discovery of my Lord Archon’s virtues and merit, to be ever placed by this + nation in their true meridian. + </p> + <p> + “My lords, I am not upon a subject which persuades me to balk, but + necessitates me to seek out the greatest examples. To begin with + Alexander, erecting trophies common to his sword and the pestilence: to + what good of mankind did he infect the air with his heap of carcasses? The + sword of war, if it be any otherwise used than as the sword of magistracy, + for the fear and punishment of those that do evil, is as guilty in the + sight of God as the sword of a murderer; nay more, for if the blood of + Abel, of one innocent man, cried in the ears of the Lord for vengeance, + what shall the blood of an innocent nation? Of this kind of empire, the + throne of ambition, and the quarry of a mighty hunter, it has been truly + said that it is but a great robbery. But if Alexander had restored the + liberty of Greece, and propagated it to mankind, he had done like my Lord + Archon, and might have been truly called the Great. Alexander cared not to + steal a victory that would be given; but my Lord Archon has torn away a + victory which had been stolen, while we went tamely yielding up obedience + to a nation reaping in our fields, whose fields he has subjected to our + empire, and nailed them with his victorious sword to their native + Caucasus. + </p> + <p> + “Machiavel gives a handsome caution: ‘Let no man,’ says he, ‘be + circumvented with the glory of Caesar, from the false reflection of their + pens, who through the longer continuance of his empire in the name than in + the family, changed their freedom for flattery. But if a man would know + truly what the Romans thought of Caesar, let them observe what they said + of Catiline.’” And yet by how much he who has perpetrated some heinous + crime is more execrable than he who did but attempt it, by so much is + Caesar more execrable than Catiline. On the contrary, let him that would + know what ancient and heroic times, what the Greeks and Romans would both + have thought and said of my Lord Archon, observe what they thought and + said of Solon, Lycurgus, Brutus, and Publicola. And yet by how much his + virtue, that is crowned with the perfection of his work, is beyond theirs, + who were either inferior in their aim, or in their performance; by so much + is my Lord Archon to be preferred before Solon, Lycurgus, Brutus, and + Publicola. + </p> + <p> + “Nor will we shun the most illustrious example of Scipio: this hero, + though never so little less, yet was he not the founder of a commonwealth; + and for the rest, allowing his virtue to have been of the most untainted + ray in what did it outshine this of my Lord Archon? But if dazzling the + eyes of the magistrates it overawed liberty, Rome might be allowed some + excuse that she did not like it, and I, if I admit not of this comparison: + for where is my Lord Archon? Is there a genius, how free soever, which in + his presence would not find itself to be under power? He is shrunk into + clouds, he seeks obscurity in a nation that sees by his light. He is + impatient of his own glory, lest it should stand between you and your + liberty.” + </p> + <p> + Liberty! What is even that, if we may not be grateful? And if we may, we + have none: for who has anything that he does not owe? My lords, there be + some hard conditions of virtue: if this debt were exacted, it were not + due; whereas being cancelled, we are all entered into bonds. On the other + side, if we make such a payment as will not stand with a free people, we + do not enrich my Lord Archon, but rob him of his whole estate immense + glory. + </p> + <p> + “These particulars had in due deliberation and mature debate, according to + the order of this commonwealth, it is proposed by authority of the Senate, + to you my lords the people of Oceana: + </p> + <p> + “I. That the dignity and office of Archon, or protector of the + commonwealth of Oceana, be and are hereby conferred, by the Senate and the + people of Oceana, upon the most illustrious Prince and sole legislator of + this commonwealth, Olphaus Megaletor, pater patrioe, whom God preserve, + for the term of his natural life, yet remaining of the ancient. + </p> + <p> + “II. That £350,000 per annum revenue, be estated upon the said illustrious + Prince, or Lord Archon, for the said term, and to the proper and peculiar + use of his Highness. + </p> + <p> + “III. That the Lord Archon have the reception of all foreign ambassadors, + by and with the Council of State, according to the orders of this + commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + “IV. That the Lord Archon have a standing army of 12,000 defrayed upon a + monthly tax, during the term of three years, for the protection of this + commonwealth against dissenting parties, to be governed, directed, and + commanded by and with the advice of the Council of War, according to the + orders of this commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + “V. That this commonwealth make no distinction of persons or parties, but + every man being elected and sworn, according to the orders of the same, be + equally capable of magistracy, or not elected, be equally capable of + liberty, and the enjoyment of his estate free from all other than common + taxes. + </p> + <p> + “VI. That a man putting a distinction upon himself, refusing oath upon + election, or declaring himself of a party not conformable to the civil + government, may within any time of his the three years’ standing of the + army transport himself and his estate, without molestation or impediment, + into any other nation. + </p> + <p> + “VII. That in case there remains any distinction of parties not conforming + to the civil government of this commonwealth, after the three years of the + standing army being expired, and the commonwealth be thereby forced to + prolong the term of the said army, the pay from henceforth of the said + army be levied upon the estates of such parties so remaining unconformable + to the civil government.” + </p> + <p> + The proposer having ended his oration, the trumpets sounded; and the + tribunes of the horse being mounted to view the ballot, caused the tribe + (which thronging up to the speech, came almost round the gallery) to + retreat about twenty paces, when Linceus de Stella, receiving the + propositions, repaired with Bronchus de Rauco the herald, to a little + scaffold erected in the middle of the tribe, where he seated himself, the + herald standing bare upon his right hand. The ballotins, having their + boxes ready, stood before the gallery, and at the command of the tribunes + marched, one to every troop on horseback, and one to every company on + foot, each of them being followed by other children that bore red boxes: + now this is putting the question whether the question should be put. And + the suffrage being very suddenly returned to the tribunes at the table, + and numbered in the view of the proposers, the votes were all in the + affirmative, whereupon the red or doubtful boxes were laid aside, it + appearing that the tribe, whether for the negative or affirmative, Was + clear in the matter. Wherefore the herald began from the scaffold in the + middle of the tribe, to pronounce the first proposition, and the ballotins + marching with the negative or affirmative only, Bronchus, with his voice + like thunder, continued to repeat the proposition over and over again, so + long as it was in balloting. The like was done for every clause, till the + ballot was finished, and the tribunes assembling, had signed the points, + that is to say, the number of every suffrage, as it was taken by the + secretary upon the tale of the tribunes, and in the sight of the + proposers; for this may not be omitted: it is the pulse of the people. Now + whereas it appertains to the tribunes to report the suffrage of the people + to the Senate, they cast the lot for this office with three silver balls + and one gold one; and it fell upon the Right Worshipful Argus de + Crookhorn, in the tribe of Pascua, first tribune of the foot. Argus, being + a good sufficient man in his own country, was yet of the mind that he + should make but a bad spokesman, and therefore became something blank at + his luck, till his colleagues persuaded him that it was no such great + matter, if he could but read, having his paper before him. The proposers, + taking coach, received a volley upon the field, and returned in the same + order, save that, being accompanied with the tribunes, they were also + attended by the whole prerogative to the piazza of the Pantheon, where, + with another volley, they took their leaves. Argus, who had not thought + upon his wife and children all the way, went very gravely up: and everyone + being seated, the Senate by their silence seemed to call for the report, + which Argus, standing up, delivered in this wise: + </p> + <p> + “RIGHT HONORABLE LORDS AND FATHERS ASSEMBLED IN PARLIAMENT: + </p> + <p> + “So it is, that it has fallen to my lot to report to your excellencies in + the votes of the people, taken upon the 3d instant, in the first year of + this commonwealth, at the halo; the Right Honorable Phosphorus de Auge in + the tribe of Eudia, Dolabella d’Enyo in the tribe of Turmae, and Linceus + de Stella in the tribe of Nubia, lords commissioners of the great seal of + Oceana, and proposers pro temporibus, together with my brethren the + tribunes, and myself being present. Wherefore these are to certify to your + fatherhoods, that the said votes of the people were as follows, that is to + say: + </p> + <p> + To the first proposition, nemine contradicente; + </p> + <p> + To the second, nemine contradicente; + </p> + <p> + To the third, the like; + </p> + <p> + To the fourth, 211, above half; + </p> + <p> + To the fifth, 201, above half; + </p> + <p> + To the sixth, 150, above half, in the affirmative; + </p> + <p> + To the seventh, nemine contradicente again, and so forth. + </p> + <p> + “My Lords, it is a language that is out of my prayers, and if I be out at + it, no harm— + </p> + <p> + “But as concerning my Lord Archon (as I was saying) these are to signify + to you the true-heartedness and goodwill which are in the people, seeing + by joining with you, as one man, they confess that all they have to give + is too little for his highness. For truly fathers, if he who is able to do + harm, and does none, may well be called honest; what shall we say to my + Lord Archon’s highness, who having had it in his power to have done us the + greatest mischief that ever befell a poor nation, so willing to trust such + as they thought well of, has done us so much good, as we should never have + known how to do ourselves? Which was so sweetly delivered by my Lord + Chancellor Phosphorus to the people, that I dare say there was never a one + of them could forbear to do as I do-and, it please your fatherhoods, they + be tears of joy. Aye, my Lord Archon shall walk the streets (if it be for + his ease I mean) with a switch, while the people run after him and pray + for him; he shall not wet his foot; they will strew flowers in his way; he + shall sit higher in their hearts, and in the judgment of all good men, + than the kings that go upstairs to their seats; and one of these had as + good pull two or three of his fellows out of their great chairs as wrong + him or meddle with him; he has two or three hundred thousand men, that + when you say the word, shall sell themselves to their shirts for him, and + die at his foot. His pillow is of down, and his grave shall be as soft, + over which they that are alive shall wring their hands. And to come to + your fatherhoods, most truly so called, as being the loving parents of the + people, truly you do not know what a feeling they have of your kindness, + seeing you are so bound up, that if there comes any harm, they may thank + themselves. And, alas! poor souls, they see that they are given to be of + so many minds, that though they always mean well, yet if there comes any + good, they may thank them that teach them better. Wherefore there was + never such a thing as this invented, they do verily believe that it is no + other than the same which they always had in their very heads, if they + could have but told how to bring it out. As now for a sample: my lords the + proposers had no sooner said your minds, than they found it to be that + which heart could wish. And your fatherhoods may comfort yourselves, that + there is not a people in the world more willing to learn what is for their + own good, nor more apt to see it, when you have showed it them. Wherefore + they do love you as they do their own selves; honor you as fathers; + resolve to give you as it were obedience forever, and so thanking you for + your most good and excellent laws, they do pray for you as the very + worthies of the land, right honorable lords and fathers assembled in + Parliament.” + </p> + <p> + Argus came off beyond his own expectation; for thinking right, and + speaking as he thought, it was apparent by the house and the thanks they + gave him, that they esteemed him to be absolutely of the best sort of + orators; upon which having a mind that till then misgave him, he became + very crounse, and much delighted with that which might go down the next + week in print to his wife and neighbors. Livy makes the Roman tribunes to + speak in the same style with the consuls, which could not be, and + therefore for aught in him to the contrary, Volero and Canuleius might + have spoken in no better style than Argus. However, they were not created + the first year of the commonwealth; and the tribunes of Oceana are since + become better orators than were needful. But the laws being enacted, had + the preamble annexed, and were delivered to Bronchus, who loved nothing in + the earth so much as to go staring and bellowing up and down the town, + like a stag in a forest, as he now did, with his fraternity in their + coats-of-arms, and I know not how many trumpets, proclaiming the act of + parliament; when, meeting my Lord Archon, whom from a retreat that was + without affectation, as being for devotion only and to implore a blessing + by prayer and fasting upon his labors, now newly arrived in town, the + herald of the tribe of Bestia set up his throat, and having chanted out + his lesson, passed as haughtily by him as if his own had been the better + office, which in this place was very well taken, though Bronchus for his + high mind happened afterward upon some disasters, too long to tell, that + spoiled much of his embroidery. + </p> + <p> + My Lord Archon’s arrival being known, the signory, accompanied by the + tribunes, repaired to him, with the news he had already heard by the + herald, to which my lord strategus added that his highness could not doubt + upon the demonstrations given, but the minds of men were firm in the + opinion that he could be no seeker of himself in the way of earthly pomp + and glory, and that the gratitude of the Senate and the people could not + therefore be understood to have any such reflection upon him. But so it + was, that in regard of dangers abroad, and parties at home, they durst not + trust themselves without a standing army, nor a standing army in any man’s + hands but those of his highness. + </p> + <p> + The Archon made answer, that he ever expected this would be the sense of + the Senate and the people; and this being their sense, he should have been + sorry they had made choice of any other than himself for a standing + general; first, because it could not have been more to their own safety, + and secondly because so long as they should have need of a standing army, + ‘his work was, not done, that he would not dispute against the judgment of + the Senate and the people, nor ought that to be. Nevertheless, he made + little doubt but experience would show every party their own interest in + this government, and that better improved than they could expect from any + other; that men’s animosities should overbalance their interest for any + time was impossible, that humor could never be lasting, nor through the + constitution of the government of any effect at the first charge. For + supposing the worst, and that the people had chosen no other into the + Senate and the prerogative than royalists, a matter of 1,400 men must have + taken their oaths at their election, with an intention to go quite + contrary not only to their oaths so taken, but to their own interest; for + being estated in the sovereign power, they must have decreed it from + themselves (such an example for which there was never any experience, nor + can there be any reason), or holding it, it must have done in their hands + as well every wit as in any other. Furthermore, they must have removed the + government from a foundation that apparently would hold, to set it upon + another which apparently would not hold; which things if they could not + come to pass, the Senate and the people consisting wholly of royalists, + much less by a parcel of them elected. But if the fear of the Senate and + of the people derived from a party without, such a one as would not be + elected, nor engage themselves to the commonwealth by an oath; this again + must be so large, as would go quite contrary to their own interest, they + being as free and as fully estated in their liberty as any other, or so + narrow that they could do no hurt, while the people being in arms, and at + the beck of the strategus, every tribe would at any time make a better + army than such a party; and there being no parties at home, fears from + abroad would vanish. But seeing it was otherwise determined by the Senate + and the people, the best course was to take that which they held the + safest, in which, with his humble thanks for their great bounty, he was + resolved to serve them with all duty and obedience. + </p> + <p> + A very short time after the royalists, now equal citizens, made good the + Archon’s judgment, there being no other that found anything near so great + a sweet in the government. For he who has not been acquainted with + affliction, says Seneca, knows but half the things of this world. + </p> + <p> + Moreover they saw plainly, that to restore the ancient government they + must cast up their estates into the hands of 300 men; wherefore in case + the Senate and the prerogative, consisting of 1,300 men, had been all + royalists, there must of necessity have been, and be forever, 1,000 + against this or any such vote. But the Senate, being informed by the + signory that the Archon had accepted of his dignity and office, caused a + third chair to be set for his Highness, between those of the strategus and + the orator in the house, the like at every council; to which he repaired, + not of necessity, but at his pleasure, being the best, and as Argus not + vainly said, the greatest prince in the world; for in the pomp of his + court he was not inferior to any, and in the field he was followed with a + force that was formidable to all. Nor was there a cause in the nature of + this constitution to put him to the charge of guards, to spoil his stomach + or his sleep: insomuch, as being handsomely disputed by the wits of the + academy, whether my Lord Archon, if he had been ambitious, could have made + himself so great, it was carried clear in the negative; not only for the + reasons drawn from the present balance, which was popular, but putting the + case the balance had been monarchical. For there be some nations, whereof + this is one, that will bear a prince in a commonwealth far higher than it + is possible for them to bear a monarch. Spain looked upon the Prince of + Orange as her most formidable enemy; but if ever there be a monarch in + Holland, he will be the Spaniard’s best friend. For whereas a prince in a + commonwealth derives his greatness from the root of the people, a monarch + derives his from one of those balances which nip them in the root; by + which means the Low Countries under a monarch were poor and + inconsiderable, but in bearing a prince could grow to a miraculous height, + and give the glory of his actions by far the upper hand of the greatest + king in Christendom. There are kings in Europe, to whom a king of Oceana + would be put a petit companion. But the Prince of this commonwealth is the + terror and judge of them all. + </p> + <p> + That which my Lord Archon now minded most was the agrarian, upon which + debate he incessantly thrust the Senate and the Council of State, to the + end it might be planted upon some firm root, as the main point and basis + of perpetuity to the commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + And these are some of the most remarkable passages that happened in the + first year of this government. About the latter end of the second, the + army was disbanded, but the taxes continued at £30,000 a month, for three + years and a half. By which means a piece of artillery was planted, and a + portion of land to the value of £50 a year purchased for the maintenance + of the games, and of the prize arms forever, in each hundred. + </p> + <p> + With the eleventh year of the commonwealth, the term of the excise, + allotted for the maintenance of the Senate and the people and for the + raising of a public revenue, expired. By which time the Exchequer, over + and above the annual salaries, amounting to £300,000 accumulating every + year out of £1,000,000 income, £700,000 in banco, brought it with a + product of the sum, rising to about £8,000,000 in the whole: whereby at + several times they had purchased to the Senate and the people £400,000 per + annum solid revenue; which, besides the lands held in Panopea, together + with the perquisites of either province, was held sufficient for a public + revenue. Nevertheless, taxes being now wholly taken off, the excise, of no + great burden (and many specious advantages not vainly proposed in the + heightening of the public revenue), was very cheerfully established by the + Senate and the people, for the term of ten years longer, and the same + course being taken, the public revenue was found in the one-and-twentieth + year of the commonwealth to be worth £1,000,000 in good land. Whereupon + the excise was so abolished for the present, as withal resolved to be the + best, the most fruitful and easy way of raising taxes, according to future + exigencies. + </p> + <p> + But the revenue being now such as was able to be a yearly purchaser, gave + a jealousy that by this means the balance of the commonwealth, consisting + in private fortunes, might be eaten out, whence this year is famous for + that law whereby the Senate and the people, forbidding any further + purchase of lands to the public within the dominions of Oceana and the + adjacent provinces, put the agrarian upon the commonwealth herself. These + increases are things which men addicted to monarchy deride as impossible, + whereby they unwarily urge a strong argument against that which they would + defend. For having their eyes fixed upon the pomp and expense, by which + not only every child of a king, being a prince, exhausts his father’s + coffers, but favorites and servile spirits, devoted to the flattery of + those princes, grow insolent and profuse, returning a fit gratitude to + their masters, whom, while they hold it honorable to deceive, they suck + and keep eternally poor: it follows that they do not see how it should be + possible for a commonwealth to clothe herself in purple, and thrive so + strangely upon that which would make a prince’s hair grow through his + hood, and not afford him bread. As if it were a miracle that a careless + and prodigal man should bring £10,000 a year to nothing, or that an + industrious and frugal man brings a little to £10,000 a year. But the + fruit of one man’s industry and frugality can never be like that of a + commonwealth; first, because the greatness of the increase follows the + greatness of the stock or principal; and, secondly, because a frugal + father is for the most part succeeded by a lavish son; whereas a + commonwealth is her own heir. + </p> + <p> + This year a part was proposed by the Right Honorable Aureus de Woolsack in + the tribe of Pecus, first commissioner of the Treasury, to the Council of + State, which soon after passed the ballot of the Senate and the people, by + which the lands of the public revenue, amounting to £1,000,000, were + equally divided into £5,000 lots, entered by their names and parcels into + a lot-book preserved in the Exchequer. And if any orphan, being a maid, + should cast her estate into the Exchequer for £1,400, the Treasury was + bound by the law to pay her quarterly £200 a year, free from taxes, for + her life, and to assign her a lot for her security; if she married, her + husband was neither to take out the principal without her consent + (acknowledged by herself to one of the commissioners of the Treasury, who, + according as he found it to be free, or forced, was to allow or disallow + of it), nor any other way engage it than to her proper use. But if the + principal were taken out, the Treasury was not bound to repay any more of + it than £1,000, nor might that be repaid at any time, save within the + first year of her marriage: the like was to be done by a half or quarter + lot respectively. + </p> + <p> + This was found to be a great charity to the weaker sex, and as some say, + who are more skilful in the like affairs than myself, of good profit to + the commonwealth. + </p> + <p> + Now began the native spleen of Oceana to be much purged, and men not to + affect sullenness and pedantism. The elders could remember that they had + been youths. Wit and gallantry were so far from being thought crimes in + themselves, that care was taken to preserve their innocence. For which + cause it was proposed to the Council for Religion by the Right Honorable + Cadiscus de Clero, in the tribe of Stamnum, first censor, that such women + as, living in gallantry and view about the town, were of evil fame, and + could not show that they were maintained by their own estates or industry, + or such as, having estates of their own, were yet wasteful in ‘their way + of life, and of ill-example to others, should be obnoxious to the + animadversion of the Council of Religion, or of the censors: in which the + proceeding should be after this manner. Notice should be first given of + the scandal to the party offending, in private: if there were no amendment + within the space of six months, she should be summoned and rebuked before + the said Council or censors; and, if after other six months it were found + that neither this availed, she should be censored not to appear at any + public meetings, games, or recreations, upon penalty of being taken up by + the doorkeepers or guards of the Senate, and by them to be detained, till + for every such offence £5 were duly paid for her enlargement. + </p> + <p> + Furthermore, if any common strumpet should be found or any scurrility or + profaneness represented at either of the theatres, the prelates for every + such offence should be fined £20 by the said Council, and the poet, for + every such offence on his part, should be whipped. This law relates to + another, which was also enacted the same year upon this occasion. + </p> + <p> + The youth and wits of the Academy having put the business so home in the + defence of comedies that the provosts had nothing but the consequences + provided against by the foregoing law to object, prevailed so far that two + of the provosts of the Council of State joined in a proposition, which + after much ado came to a law, whereby £100,000 was allotted for the + building of two theatres on each side of the piazza of the halo: and two + annual magistrates called prelates, chosen out of the knights, were added + to the tropic, the one called the prelate of the buskin, for inspection of + the tragic scene called Melpomene; and the other the prelate of the sock, + for the comic called Thalia, which magistrates had each £500 a year + allowed out of the profits of the theatres; the rest, except £800 a year + to four poets, payable into the Exchequer. A poet laureate created in one + of these theatres by the strategus, receives a wreath of £500 in gold, + paid out of the said profits. But no man is capable of this creation that + had not two parts in three of the suffrages at the Academy, assembled + after six weeks’ warning and upon that occasion. + </p> + <p> + These things among us are sure enough to be censured, but not know the + nature of a commonwealth; that they are free, and yet to curb the genius + in a lawful recreation to which they are naturally is to tell a tale of a + tub. I have heard the Protestant ministers in France, by men that were + wise and of their own profession, much blamed in that they forbade + dancing, a recreation to which the genius of that air is so inclining that + they lost many who would not lose that: nor do they less than blame the + former determination of rashness, who now gently connive at that which + they had so roughly forbidden. These sports in Oceana are so governed, + that they are pleasing for private diversion, and profitable to the + public: for the theatres soon defrayed their own charge, and now bring in + a good revenue. All this is so far from the detriment of virtue, that it + is to the improvement of it, seeing women that heretofore made havoc of + their honor that they might have their pleasures are now incapable of + their pleasures if they lose their honor. + </p> + <p> + About the one-and-fortieth year of the commonwealth, the censors, + according to their annual custom, reported the pillar of Nilus, by which + it was found that the people were increased very near one-third. Whereupon + the Council of War was appointed by the Senate to bring in a state of war, + and the treasurers the state of the Treasury. The state of war, or the pay + and charge of an army, was soon after exhibited by the Council in this + account: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + THE FIELD PAY OF A PARLIAMENTARY ARMY + + The lord strategus, marching £10,000 + Polemarches— + + General of the horse... 2,000 + + Lieutenant-general... 2,000 + + General of the artillery.... 1,000 + + Commissary-general... 1,000 + + Major-general.... 1,000 + + Quartermaster-general... 1,000 + Two adjutants to the major-general... 1,000 + Forty colonels..... 40,000 + 100 captains of horse, at £500 a man... 50,000 + 300 captains of foot, at £300 a man... 90,000 + 100 cornets, at £100 a man.... 10,000 + 300 ensigns, at £50 a man.... 15,000 + 800 Quartermasters, Sergeants, Trumpeters, + + Drummers, 20,000 + 10,000 horse, at 2s 6d per day each... 470,000 + 30,000 foot, at 1s per day each.... 500,000 + Chirurgeons... 400 + 40,000 auxiliaries, amounting to within a + + little as much... 1,100,000 + The charge of mounting 20,000 horse.. 300,000 + The train of artillery, holding a 3d to + + the whole 900,000 + + Sum total £3,514,400 + + Arms and ammunition are not reckoned, as those which are + furnished out of the store or arsenal of Emporium: nor wastage, + as that which goes upon the account of the fleet, maintained by + the customs; which customs, through the care of the Council for + Trade and growth of traffic, were long since improved to about + £1,000,000 revenue. The house being thus informed of a state of + war, the commissioners brought in— + + THE STATE OF THE TREASURY THIS PRESENT YEAR, BEING THE + ONE-AND-FORTIETH OF THE COMMONWEALTH + + Received from the one-and-twentieth of the commonwealth: + + By £700,000 a year in bank, with the product of the sum + + rising.............. + £16,000,000 + + Expended from the one-and-twentieth of this commonwealth: + + Imprimis, for the addition of arms for 100,000 men to + + the arsenal, or tower of Emporium......... + £1,000,000 + For the storing of the same with artillery... + 300,000 + For the storing of the same with ammunition... + 200,000 + For beautifying the cities, parks, gardens, public walks, + + and places for recreation of Emporium and Hiera, with + + public buildings, aqueducts, statues, + + and fountains, etc...... + 1,500,000 + Extraordinary embassies... + 150,000 + + Sum........ + £3,150,000 + + Remaining in the Treasury, the salaries of the + + Exchequer being defalked....... + £12,000,000 +</pre> + <p> + By comparison of which accounts if a war with an army of 80,000 men were + to be made by the penny, yet was the commonwealth able to maintain such a + one above three years without levying a tax. But it is against all + experience, sense, and reason that such an army should not be soon broken, + or make a great progress; in either of which cases, the charge ceases; or + rather if a right course be taken in the latter, profit comes in: for the + Romans had no other considerable way but victory whereby to fill their + treasury, which nevertheless was seldom empty. Alexander did not consult + his purse upon his design for Persia: it is observed by Machiavel, that + Livy, arguing what the event in reason must have been had that King + invaded Rome, and diligently measuring what on each side was necessary to + such a war, never speaks a word of money. No man imagines that the Gauls, + Goths, Vandals, Huns, Lombards, Saxons, Normans, made their inroads or + conquests by the strength of the purse; and if it be thought enough, + according to the dialect of our age, to say in answer to these things that + those times are past and gone: what money did the late Gustavus, the most + victorious of modern princes, bring out of Sweden with him into Germany? + An army that goes upon a golden leg will be as lame as if it were a wooden + one; but proper forces have nerves and muscles in them, such for which, + having £4,000,000 or £5,000,000, a sum easy enough, with a revenue like + this of Oceana, to be had at any time in readiness, you need never, or + very rarely, charge the people with taxes. What influence the commonwealth + by such arms has had upon the world, I leave to historians, whose custom + it has been of old to be as diligent observers of foreign actions as + careless of those domestic revolutions which (less pleasant it may be, as + not partaking so much of the romance) are to statesmen of far greater + profit; and this fault, if it be not mine, is so much more frequent with + modern writers, as has caused me to undertake this work; on which to give + my own judgment, it is performed as much above the time I have been about + it, as below the dignity of the matter. + </p> + <p> + But I cannot depart out of this country till I have taken leave of my Lord + Archon, a prince of immense felicity who having built as high with his + counsels as he digged deep with his sword, had now seen fifty years + measured with his own unerring orbs. + </p> + <p> + Timoleon (such a hater of tyrants that, not able to persuade his brother + Timophanes to relinquish the tyranny of Corinth, he slew him) was + afterward elected by the people (the Sicilians groaning to them from under + the like burden) to be sent to their relief: whereupon Teleclides, the man + at that time of most authority in the Commonwealth of Corinth, stood up, + and giving an exhortation to Timoleon, how he should behave himself in + this expedition, told him that if he restored the Sicilians to liberty, it + would be acknowledged that he destroyed a tyrant; if otherwise, he must + expect to hear he had murdered a king. Timoleon, taking his leave with a + very small provision for so great a design, pursued it with a courage not + inferior to, and a felicity beyond, any that had been known to that day in + mortal flesh, having in the space of eight years utterly rooted out of all + Sicily those weeds of tyranny, through the detestation whereof men fled in + such abundance from their native country that whole cities were left + desolate, and brought it to such a pass that others, through the fame of + his virtues and the excellency of the soil, flocked as fast from all + quarters to it as to the garden of the world: while he, being presented by + the people of Syracuse with his town-house and his country retreat, the + sweetest places in either, lived with his wife and children a most quiet, + happy, and holy life; for he attributed no part of his success to himself, + but all to the blessing and providence of the gods. As he passed his time + in this manner, admired and honored by mankind, Laphistius, an envious + demagogue, going to summon him upon some pretence or other to answer for + himself before the assembly, the people fell into such a mutiny as could + not be appeased but by Timoleon, who, understanding the matter, reproved + them, by repeating the pains and travel which he had gone through, to no + other end than that every man might have the free use of the laws. + Wherefore when Daemenetus, another demagogue, had brought the same design + about again, and blamed him impertinently to the people for things which + he did when he was general, Timoleon answered nothing, but raising up his + hands, gave the gods thanks for their return to his frequent prayers, that + he might but live to see the Syracusans so free, that they could question + whom they pleased. + </p> + <p> + Not long after, being old, through some natural imperfection, he fell + blind; but the Syracusans by their perpetual visits held him, though he + could not see, their greatest object: if there arrived strangers, they + brought him to see this sight. Whatever came in debate at the assembly, if + it were of small consequence, they determined it themselves; but if of + importance, they always sent for Timoleon, who, being brought by his + servants in a chair, and set in the middle of the theatre, there ever + followed a great shout, after which some time was allowed for the + benedictions of the people; and then the matter proposed, when Timoleon + had spoken to it, was put to the suffrage; which given, his servants bore + him back in his chair, accompanied by the people clapping their hands, and + making all expressions of joy and applause, till, leaving him at his + house, they returned to the despatch of their business. And this was the + life of Timoleon, till he died of age, and dropped like a mature fruit, + while the eyes of the people were as the showers of autumn. + </p> + <p> + The life and death of my Lord Archon (but that he had his senses to the + last, and that his character, as not the restorer, but the founder of a + commonwealth, was greater) are so exactly the same, that (seeing by men + wholly ignorant of antiquity I am accused of writing romance) I shall + repeat nothing: but tell you that this year the whole nation of Oceana, + even to the women and children, were in mourning, where so great or sad a + funeral pomp had never been seen or known. Some time after the performance + of the obsequies a Colossus, mounted on a brazen horse of excellent + fabric, was erected in the piazza of the Pantheon, engraved with this + inscription on the eastern side of the pedestal: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + HIS NAME + + IS AS + + PRECIOUS OINTMENT + + And on the wester with the following: + + GRATA PATRIA + + Piae et Perpetuae Memorie + + D.D. + + OLPHAUS MEGALETOR + + LORD ARCHON, AND SOLE LEGISLATOR + + OF + + OCEANA + + PATER PATRIAE + + Invincible in the Field The Greatest of Captains + Inviolable in his Faith The Best of Princes + Unfeigned in his Zeal The Happiest of Legislators + Immortal in his Fame The Most Sincere of Christians + + Who setting the Kingdoms of Earth at Liberty, + Took the Kingdom of the Heavens by Violence. + + Anno AEtat. suoe 116 + + Hujus Reipub. 50 +</pre> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + DESCRIPTION OF OCEANA + </h2> + <p> + OCEANA is saluted by the panegyrist after this manner: “O the most blessed + and fortunate of all countries, Oceana! how deservedly has nature with the + bounties of heaven and earth endued thee! Thy ever fruitful womb not + closed with ice nor dissolved by the raging star; where Ceres and Bacchus + are perpetual twins: thy woods are not the harbor of devouring beasts, nor + thy continual verdure the ambush of serpents, but the food of innumerable + herds and flocks presenting thee, their shepherdess, with distended dugs + or golden fleeces. The wings of thy night involve thee not in the horror + of darkness, but have still some white feather; and thy day is (that for + which we esteem life) the longest.” But this ecstasy of Pliny, as is + observed by Bertius, seems to allude as well to Marpesia and Panopea, now + provinces of this commonwealth, as to Oceana itself. + </p> + <p> + To speak of the people in each of these countries. This of Oceana, for so + soft a one, is the most martial in the whole world. “Let States that aim + at greatness,” says Verulamius, “take heed how their nobility and + gentlemen multiply too fast, for that makes the common subject grow to be + a peasant and base swain driven out of heart, and in effect but a + gentleman’s laborer; just as you may see in coppice woods, if you leave + the staddels too thick, you shall never have clean underwood, but shrubs + and bushes; so in countries, if the gentlemen be too many, the commons + will be base; and you will bring it to that at last, that not the hundreth + poll will be fit for a helmet, specially as to the infantry, which is the + nerve of an army, and so there will be great population and little + strength. This of which I speak has been nowhere better seen than by + comparing of Oceana and France, whereof Oceana, though far less in + territory and population, has been nevertheless an overmatch, in regard + the middle people of Oceana make good solders, which the peasants in + France do not.” In which words Verulamius, as Machiavel has done before + him, harps much upon a string which he has not perfectly tuned, and that + is, the balance of dominion or property, as it follows more plainly, in + his praise “of the profound and admirable device of Panurgus, King of + Oceana, in making farms and houses of husbandry of a standard; that is, + maintained with such a proportion of land to them as may breed a subject + to live in convenient plenty, and no servile condition, and to keep the + plough in the hands of the owners, and not mere hirelings. And thus, + indeed,” says he, “you shall attain to Virgil’s character which he gives + of ancient Italy.” But the tillage, bringing up a good soldiery, brings up + a good commonwealth; which the author in the praise of Panurgus did not + mind, nor Panurgus in deserving that praise; for where the owner of the + plough comes to have the sword, too, he will use it in defence of his own; + whence it has happened that the people of Oceana, in proportion to their + property, have been always free. And the genius of this nation has ever + had some resemblance with that of ancient Italy, which was wholly addicted + to commonwealths, and where Rome came to make the greatest account of her + rustic tribes, and to call her consuls from the plough; for in the way of + parliaments, which was the government of this realm, men of country lives + have been still intrusted with the greatest affairs, and the people have + constantly had an aversion to the ways of the court. Ambition, loving to + be gay and to fawn, has been a gallantry looked upon as having something + in it of the livery; and husbandry, or the country way of life, though of + a grosser spinning, as the best stuff of a commonwealth, according to + Aristotle, such a one being the most obstinate assertress of her liberty + and the least subject to innovation or turbulency. Wherefore till the + foundations, as will be hereafter shown, were removed, this people was + observed to be the least subject to shakings and turbulency of any; + whereas commonwealths, upon which the city life has had the stronger + influence, as Athens, have seldom or never been quiet, but at the best are + found to have injured their own business by overdoing it. Whence the urban + tribes of Rome, consisting of the Turba forensis, and libertines that had + received their freedom by manumission, were of no reputation in comparison + of the rustics. It is true that with Venice it may seem to be otherwise, + in regard the gentlemen (for so are all such called as have a right to + that government) are wholly addicted to the city life; but then the Turba + forensis, the secretaries, Cittadini, with the rest of the populace, are + wholly excluded. Otherwise a commonwealth consisting but of one city would + doubtless be stormy, in regard that ambition would be every man’s trade; + but where it consists of a country, the plough in the hands of the owner + finds him a better calling, and produces the most innocent and steady + genius of a commonwealth, such as is that of Oceana. + </p> + <p> + Marpesia, being the northern part of the same island, is the dry-nurse of + a populous and hardy nation, but where the staddels have been formerly too + thick, whence their courage answered not their hardiness, except in the + nobility, who govern much after the manner of Poland, but that the King + was not elective till the people received their liberty; the yoke of the + nobility being broken by the commonwealth of Oceana, which in grateful + return is thereby provided with an inexhaustible magazine of auxiliaries. + </p> + <p> + Panopea, the soft mother of a slothful and pusillanimous people, is a + neighbor island, anciently subjected by the arms of Oceana; since almost + depopulated for shaking the yoke, and at length replanted with a new race. + But, through what virtues of the soil or vice of the air soever it be, + they come still to degenerate. Wherefore seeing it is neither likely to + yield men fit for arms, nor necessary it should, it had been the interest + of Oceana so to have disposed of this province, being both rich in the + nature of the soil, and full of commodious ports for trade, that it might + have been ordered for the best in relation to her purse, which in my + opinion, if it had been thought upon in time, might have been best done by + planting it with Jews, allowing them their own rites and laws; for that + would have brought them suddenly from all parts of the world, and in + sufficient numbers. And though the Jews be now altogether for merchandise, + yet in the land of Canaan (except since their exile from whence they have + not been landlords) they were altogether for agriculture; and there is no + cause why a man should doubt, but having a fruitful country and excellent + ports, too, they would be good at both. Panopea, well peopled, would be + worth a matter of £4,000,000 dry-rents; that is, besides the advantage of + the agriculture and trade, which, with a nation of that industry, come at + least to as much more. Wherefore Panopea, being farmed out to the Jews and + their heirs forever, for the pay of a provincial army to protect them + during the term of seven years, and for £2,000,000 annual revenue from + that time forward, besides the customs, which would pay the provincial + army, would have been a bargain of such advantage, both to them and this + commonwealth, as is not to be found otherwise by either. To receive the + Jews after any other manner into a commonwealth were to maim it; for they + of all nations never incorporate, but taking up the room of a limb, are of + no use office to the body, while they suck the nourishment which would + sustain a natural and useful member. + </p> + <p> + If Panopea had been so disposed of, that knapsack, with the Marpesian + auxiliary, had been an inestimable treasure; the situation of these + countries being islands (as appears by Venice how advantageous such a one + is to the like government) seems to have been designed by God for a + commonwealth. And yet that, through the straitness of the place and defect + of proper arms, can be no more than a commonwealth for preservation; + whereas this, reduced to the like government, is a commonwealth for + increase, and upon the mightiest foundation that any has been laid from + the beginning of the world to this day. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Illam arcta capiens Neptunus compede stringit: + Hanc autem glaucis captus complectitur ulnis.” + </pre> + <p> + The sea gives law to the growth of Venice, but the growth of Oceana gives + law to the sea. + </p> + <p> + These countries, having been anciently distinct and hostile kingdoms, came + by Morpheus the Marpesian, who succeeded by hereditary right to the crown + of Oceana, not only to be joined under one head, but to be cast, as it + were by a charm, into that profound sleep, which, broken at length by the + trumpet of civil war, has produced those effects that have given occasion + to the preceding discourse, divided into four parts. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg’s The Commonwealth of Oceana, by James Harrington + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COMMONWEALTH OF OCEANA *** + +***** This file should be named 2801-h.htm or 2801-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/0/2801/ + +Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer, and David Widger + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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