ΕΙΚΟΝΟΚΛΑΣ ΤΗΣ.

In Anfwer to a Book entitled,

'EIKON

ΒΑΣΙΛΙΚΗ,

THE PORTRAITURE OF HIS SACRED MAJESTY IN HIS SOLITUDES AND HIS SUFFERINGS.

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XI. Upon the Nineteen Propofitions, &c.

F the nineteen propofitions he names none in par

upon the old plea of "his confcience, honour and reafon;" ufing the plaufibility of large and indefinite words, to defend himself at fuch a diftance as may hinder the of common judgment from all diftinct view and examination of his reafoning. "He would buy the peace of his people at any rate, fave only the parting with his confcience and honour." Yet fhows not how it can happen that the peace of a people, if otherwife to be bought at any rate, fhould be inconfiftent or at variance with the confcience and honour of a king. Till then, we may receive it for a better fentence, that nothing should be more agreeable to the confcience and honour of a king, than to preserve his fubjects in peace; especially from civil war.

And which of the propofitions were "obtruded on him with the point of the fword," till he first with the point of the fword thruft from him both the propofitions and the propounders? He never reckons thofe violent and mercilefs obtrufions, which for almost twenty years he had been forcing upon tender confciences by all forts of perfecution, till through the multitude of them VOL. III.

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that were to fuffer, it could no more be called a persecution, but a plain war. From which when firft the Scots, then the English, were conftrained to defend themselves, this their juft defence is that which he calls here, "their making war upon his foul."

He grudges that "fo many things are required of him, and nothing offered him in requital of those favours which he had granted." What could fatiate the defires of this man, who being king of England, and mafter of almost two millions yearly what by hook or crook, was still in want; and thofe acts of juftice which he was to do in duty, counts done as favours; and fuch favours as were not done without the avaricious hope of other rewards befides fupreme honour, and the conftant revenue of his place?

"This honour," he faith, "they did him, to put him on the giving part." And fpake truer than he intended, it being merely for honour's fake that they did fo; not that it belonged to him of right: for what can he give to a parliament, who receives all he hath from the people, and for the people's good? Yet now he brings his own conditional rights to conteft and be preferred before the people's good; and yet unless it be in order to their good, he hath no rights at all; reigning by the laws of the land, not by his own; which laws are in the hands of parliament to change or abrogate as they fhall fee best for the commonwealth, even to the taking away of kingship itself, when it grows too mafterful and burdenfome. For every commonwealth is in general defined, a fociety fufficient of itfelf, in all things conducible to well-being and commodious life. Any of which requifite things, if it cannot have without the gift and favour of a fingle perfon, or without leave of his private reason or his confcience, it cannot be thought fufficient of itself, and by confequence no commonwealth, nor free; but a multitude of vaffals in the poffeffion and domain of one abfolute lord, and wholly obnoxious to his will. If the king have power to give or deny any thing to his parliament, he must do it either as a perfon feveral from them, or as one greater; neither of which will be allowed him: not to be confidered feverally from them; for as the

king of England can do no wrong, fo neither can he do right but in his courts and by his courts; and what is legally done in them, fhall be deemed the king's affent, though he as a feveral perfon fhall judge or endeavour the contrary; fo that indeed without his courts, or against them, he is no king. If therefore he obtrude upon us any public mifchief, or withhold from us any general good, which is wrong in the highest degree, he muft do it as a tyrant, not as a king of England, by the known maxims of our law. Neither can he, as one greater, give aught to the parliament which is not in their own power, but he must be greater alfo than the kingdom which they reprefent: fo that to honour him with the 'giving part was a mere civility, and may be well termed the courtefy of England, not the king's due.

But the "incommunicable jewel of his confcience" he will not give, "but referve to himself." It seems that his confcience was none of the crown-jewels; for those we know were in Holland, not incommunicable, to buy arins against his fubjects. Being therefore but a private jewel, he could not have done a greater pleafure to the kingdom, than by referving it to himfelf. But he, contrary to what is here profeffed, wou'd have his confcience not an incommunicable, but a univerfal confcience, the whole kingdom's confcience. Thus what he feems to fear left we fhould ravifh from him, is our chief complaint that he obtruded upon us; we never forced him to part with his confcience, but it was he that would have forced us to part with ours.

Some things he taxes them to have offered him, which, while he had the maftery of his reafon, he would never confent to." Very likely; but had his reafon mastered him as it ought, and not been mastered long ago by his fenfe and humour (as the breeding of moft kings hath been ever fenfual and moft humoured), perhaps he would have made no difficulty. Meanwhile at what a fine pass is the kingdom, that muft depend in greateft exigencies upon the fantafy of a king's reafon, be he wife or fool, who arrogantly fhall anfwer all the wifdom of the land, that what they offer feems to him unreasonable?

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He prefers his "love of truth" before his love of the people. His love of truth would have led him to the fearch of truth, and have taught him not to lean fo much upon his own understanding. He met at first with doctrines of unaccountable prerogative; in them he refted, because they pleafed him; they therefore pleafed him because they gave him all; and this he calls his love of truth, and prefers it before the love of his people's peace. Some things they propofed," which would have wounded the inward peace of his confcience." The more our evil hap, that three kingdoms fhould be thus pestered with one confcience; who chiefly fcrupled to grant us that, which the parliament advised him to, as the chief means of our public welfare and reformation. Thefe fcruples to many perhaps will feem pretended; to others, upon as good grounds, may feem real; and that it was the juft judgment of God, that he who was fo cruel and fo remorfelefs to other men's confciences, fhould have a confcience within him as cruel to himfelf; conftraining him, as he conftrained others, and enfnaring him in fuch ways and counfels as were certain to be his destruction.

"Other things though he could approve, yet in honour and policy he thought fit to deny, left he fhould feem to dare deny nothing." By this means he will be fure, what with reafon, honour, policy, or punctilios, to be found never unfurnished of a denial; whether it were his envy not to be overbounteous, or that the fubmiffnefs of our afking ftirred up in him a certain pleasure of denying. Good princes have thought it their chief happinefs to be always granting; if good things, for the things fake; if things indifferent, for the people's fake; while this man fits calculating variety of excufes how he may grant leaft; as if his whole ftrength and royalty were placed in a mere negative.

Of one propofition especially he laments him much, that they would bind him "to a general and implicit Which though I confent for whatever they defired.'

find not among the nineteen, yet undoubtedly the oath of his coronation binds him to no lefs; neither is he at all by his office to interpofe against a parliament in the

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