Law is the life-blood of the social state;
Subordinate to law is magistrate,
To set the magistrate above the law,
Would all to error and confusion draw,
He's not a king that's not prescribed by laws—
King's, the effect, but government's the cause
Of all authority for Right Divine,
Custom's the worst, for every royal line.
The still-born Ignorance of antiquity,
Quirk'd into life to cozen freemen by,
Lawyers call Custom; and, for custom, draw
On custom still, to still call custom, Law!
So 'rules' the Bench, and so the maxim takes,
The fault one age commits, no age forsakes!
Begot by fools, maintain'd by knaves and fools,
Improved by craft in error's public schools;
With shifting face, with loose and stammering tongue,
The juggling fraud has plagued the world too long;
Modern encroachments on our freedom makes,
And backs it with our fathers' old mistakes:
As if our rev'rence, to their virtues due,
Should recommend their crimes and follies too!
This vapour Custom, this mere wand'ring cloud
Puffs the crown'd wretch, and helps to make him proud.
Persuades him to believe it must be true,
Homage to Law, becomes the Tyrant's due!
Subordinate to law is magistrate,
To set the magistrate above the law,
Would all to error and confusion draw,
He's not a king that's not prescribed by laws—
King's, the effect, but government's the cause
Of all authority for Right Divine,
Custom's the worst, for every royal line.
The still-born Ignorance of antiquity,
Quirk'd into life to cozen freemen by,
Lawyers call Custom; and, for custom, draw
On custom still, to still call custom, Law!
So 'rules' the Bench, and so the maxim takes,
The fault one age commits, no age forsakes!
Begot by fools, maintain'd by knaves and fools,
Improved by craft in error's public schools;
With shifting face, with loose and stammering tongue,
The juggling fraud has plagued the world too long;
Modern encroachments on our freedom makes,
And backs it with our fathers' old mistakes:
As if our rev'rence, to their virtues due,
Should recommend their crimes and follies too!
This vapour Custom, this mere wand'ring cloud
Puffs the crown'd wretch, and helps to make him proud.
Persuades him to believe it must be true,
Homage to Law, becomes the Tyrant's due!
Thus Priestcraft preaches, and thus Lawyers draw
An after age, to call a custom—Law!
And yet this boasted, ever-quoted thing,
Fails in the point—fails to support the king:
For though by custom, kings have learn'd to ride
A few vile minions, to support their pride,
The people always have opposed the cheat,
It never was their custom to submit;
The Practice of the people made the name,
For practices and customs are the same;
And custom this one mighty truth will tell,
When kings grow tyrants, nations will rebel.
The people may, for custom gives assent,
Dethrone the man, to save the Government!
If any say the practice is not so,
Let them to England for examples go.
England the Right Divine of kings profess'd *
And all the marks of slavery caress'd;
Long courted chains, but'twas in court disguise,
And holy fraud conceal'd the sacred lies—
* Sir Robert Filmer, the great champion of Divine Right
having defended it in print, Algernon Sidney drew out a
system of original power, and government according to the
laws of God, nature, and reason. Before it was finished, the
friends of Divine Right seized the manuscript, and finding
Sidney's arguments un-answerable, they laid aside the work,
and fell upon the man; —so they cut off his head, merely
because they could not an-swer his book.
The Church the mountebank, the King the jest,
The wheedled monarch, and the wheedling priest! James proved the patient, crouching, loyal tribe,
But let his fate their loyalty describe!
An after age, to call a custom—Law!
And yet this boasted, ever-quoted thing,
Fails in the point—fails to support the king:
For though by custom, kings have learn'd to ride
A few vile minions, to support their pride,
The people always have opposed the cheat,
It never was their custom to submit;
The Practice of the people made the name,
For practices and customs are the same;
And custom this one mighty truth will tell,
When kings grow tyrants, nations will rebel.
The people may, for custom gives assent,
Dethrone the man, to save the Government!
If any say the practice is not so,
Let them to England for examples go.
England the Right Divine of kings profess'd *
And all the marks of slavery caress'd;
Long courted chains, but'twas in court disguise,
And holy fraud conceal'd the sacred lies—
* Sir Robert Filmer, the great champion of Divine Right
having defended it in print, Algernon Sidney drew out a
system of original power, and government according to the
laws of God, nature, and reason. Before it was finished, the
friends of Divine Right seized the manuscript, and finding
Sidney's arguments un-answerable, they laid aside the work,
and fell upon the man; —so they cut off his head, merely
because they could not an-swer his book.
The Church the mountebank, the King the jest,
The wheedled monarch, and the wheedling priest! James proved the patient, crouching, loyal tribe,
But let his fate their loyalty describe!
With life-and-fortune, churchmen back'd the crown, *
In crushing all men's freedom but their own.
* A Courtier's loyalty is charmingly pictured in the
portrait of Bubb Doddington, drawn by himself in his
celebrated Diary. He was by trade a Boroughmonger, and his
stock, consisted of six Members in the House of Commons,
which he jobbed about and sold to the best bidder. At the
close of his bargain and sale of the whole in a lump to the
Duke of Newcastle for the king's service, there is a finish
which renders the painting a fiue and matchless Cabinet
specimen.—Bubb, who had been in disgrace at court for
selling them elsewhere, said to tlie duke, "I knew I had
given no just cause of offence, but that I could not justify
it with His Majesty; that it was enough that He (the king)
was displeased, to make me think that I was in the wrong,
and to beg Him to forget it: I would not even be in the
right against HIM!" The duke was delighted with this loyal
and dutiful submission. Bubb says, "He took me up in his
arms, and kissed me twice!" and Bubb was rewarded for
laying his six members of the honorable house at the foot of
the throne with the price he stipulated for—namely, the
treasurership of the navy, and a peerage! The story was
beautifully and most impressively related by the excellent-
hearted and inflexible John Hunt, in his noble and
successful defence, on the trial of an ex officio
information for words in the Examiner charged not as false,
but as libellous on the Honorable House.
Then, under colour or pretence of law,
Villains their victims to the shambles draw,
Where sat the scoundrel Chief in ermined pride,
And a pack'd jury in the box beside.
The farce commences—justice heaves a groan—
The case is clear—a verdict for the Crown!
When noble Russell and brave Sidney fell,
Judges themselves rung, out Law's funeral knell!
In crushing all men's freedom but their own.
* A Courtier's loyalty is charmingly pictured in the
portrait of Bubb Doddington, drawn by himself in his
celebrated Diary. He was by trade a Boroughmonger, and his
stock, consisted of six Members in the House of Commons,
which he jobbed about and sold to the best bidder. At the
close of his bargain and sale of the whole in a lump to the
Duke of Newcastle for the king's service, there is a finish
which renders the painting a fiue and matchless Cabinet
specimen.—Bubb, who had been in disgrace at court for
selling them elsewhere, said to tlie duke, "I knew I had
given no just cause of offence, but that I could not justify
it with His Majesty; that it was enough that He (the king)
was displeased, to make me think that I was in the wrong,
and to beg Him to forget it: I would not even be in the
right against HIM!" The duke was delighted with this loyal
and dutiful submission. Bubb says, "He took me up in his
arms, and kissed me twice!" and Bubb was rewarded for
laying his six members of the honorable house at the foot of
the throne with the price he stipulated for—namely, the
treasurership of the navy, and a peerage! The story was
beautifully and most impressively related by the excellent-
hearted and inflexible John Hunt, in his noble and
successful defence, on the trial of an ex officio
information for words in the Examiner charged not as false,
but as libellous on the Honorable House.
Then, under colour or pretence of law,
Villains their victims to the shambles draw,
Where sat the scoundrel Chief in ermined pride,
And a pack'd jury in the box beside.
The farce commences—justice heaves a groan—
The case is clear—a verdict for the Crown!
When noble Russell and brave Sidney fell,
Judges themselves rung, out Law's funeral knell!
Yet when their own destruction they foresaw,
The passive knaves cried Liberty and Law!
Took from their best of Kings his Right Divine,
And abrogated fealty to the line;
They made a precedent, dropp'd T from TReason,
And found the best of words behind it—reason!
The crown's a symbol, that the people meant,
To mark their choice, or form of government; *
The crown is theirs, and this has been their plan,
To make the office sacred, not the man:
Hence, if a tyrant on the throne appears,
The place is vacant, and the crown is theirs.
* All Majesty is derived from Law founded on right reason. A
strength beyond that is mere force. The Magistrate formerly
had no Majesty but while engaged in magisterial duties. His
real dignity consisting in his legal authority.
When the ancient parliaments of France met according to the
constitution annually, the king went to meet the members
seated in a waggon drawn by oxen, which a waggoner drove
with his goad to the parliament house; but he was in no
state until he was seated there, robed and crowned, and
sceptred. And, in-deed, in that place only, where the great
affairs of the Com-monwealth are transacted, can it be said,
that Real Majesty does truly and properly reside; and not
where the king plays, or dances, or prattles with his women,
when the vulgar are always styling him, your Majesty.
Hotomun's Franco-gallia, p. 73.
David, the patient tribes too much opprest,
Vex'd them with tribute, and deny'd them rest;
Harass'd the land with imposts and alarms,
Taxing and fighting—money! and to arms!
The passive knaves cried Liberty and Law!
Took from their best of Kings his Right Divine,
And abrogated fealty to the line;
They made a precedent, dropp'd T from TReason,
And found the best of words behind it—reason!
The crown's a symbol, that the people meant,
To mark their choice, or form of government; *
The crown is theirs, and this has been their plan,
To make the office sacred, not the man:
Hence, if a tyrant on the throne appears,
The place is vacant, and the crown is theirs.
* All Majesty is derived from Law founded on right reason. A
strength beyond that is mere force. The Magistrate formerly
had no Majesty but while engaged in magisterial duties. His
real dignity consisting in his legal authority.
When the ancient parliaments of France met according to the
constitution annually, the king went to meet the members
seated in a waggon drawn by oxen, which a waggoner drove
with his goad to the parliament house; but he was in no
state until he was seated there, robed and crowned, and
sceptred. And, in-deed, in that place only, where the great
affairs of the Com-monwealth are transacted, can it be said,
that Real Majesty does truly and properly reside; and not
where the king plays, or dances, or prattles with his women,
when the vulgar are always styling him, your Majesty.
Hotomun's Franco-gallia, p. 73.
David, the patient tribes too much opprest,
Vex'd them with tribute, and deny'd them rest;
Harass'd the land with imposts and alarms,
Taxing and fighting—money! and to arms!
His son, however wise, disturbed their peace,
With taxes for his sumptuous palaces;
His love of women and his garish state,
His love of pomp and show, and looking great;
His building projects, and his vast designs,
Too vast for all the gold of Ophir's mines,
The people's hearts dismay'd, their feelings pain'd,
Their love unsettled, and their treasures drain'd. *
* Solomon could have but two occasions for money; one for
his costly buildings, the other for his numerous women, for
he never had any wars. To the expense of his buildings the
kings of other countries contributed largely; so that it
must have beeu his excesses in women, and other luxurious
indulgences, that caused him to oppress the people with
heavy burdens of taxes.
By two such' vigorous monarchs long opprest,
The next that came they loyally addrest;
Implored his gracious majesty would please
To tax them less, and let them live in peace.
The son of Solomon with anger hears
The people dare to offer him their pray'rs,
Spurns their Address, his rage no bounds restrain,
And thus he gives his answer with disdain:—
"I bear from Heaven the ensigns of my sway,
My business is to rule, and your's obey:
Therefore your scandalous Address withdraw,
'Tis my command, and my command's your law:
Sedition grows from seeds of discontent,
And faction always snarls at government:
But since my throne from God alone I hold,
To Him alone my councils I unfold;
My resolutions he has made your laws,
You are to know my actions, He the cause!
With taxes for his sumptuous palaces;
His love of women and his garish state,
His love of pomp and show, and looking great;
His building projects, and his vast designs,
Too vast for all the gold of Ophir's mines,
The people's hearts dismay'd, their feelings pain'd,
Their love unsettled, and their treasures drain'd. *
* Solomon could have but two occasions for money; one for
his costly buildings, the other for his numerous women, for
he never had any wars. To the expense of his buildings the
kings of other countries contributed largely; so that it
must have beeu his excesses in women, and other luxurious
indulgences, that caused him to oppress the people with
heavy burdens of taxes.
By two such' vigorous monarchs long opprest,
The next that came they loyally addrest;
Implored his gracious majesty would please
To tax them less, and let them live in peace.
The son of Solomon with anger hears
The people dare to offer him their pray'rs,
Spurns their Address, his rage no bounds restrain,
And thus he gives his answer with disdain:—
"I bear from Heaven the ensigns of my sway,
My business is to rule, and your's obey:
Therefore your scandalous Address withdraw,
'Tis my command, and my command's your law:
Sedition grows from seeds of discontent,
And faction always snarls at government:
But since my throne from God alone I hold,
To Him alone my councils I unfold;
My resolutions he has made your laws,
You are to know my actions, He the cause!
Wherefore I stoop, to let you understand,
I double all the taxes of the land.
And if your discontents and feuds remain,
Petition—and I'll double them again!
The mild correction which my Father gave,
Has spoil'd the people he design'd to save;
You murmur'd then, but had you thus been used,
You'd ne'er his easy clemency abused!"
The injured people, treated with disdain,
Found their Petitions and Addresses vain!
Long had they made submissions to the crown,
And long the love of Liberty had known;
The kings they ask'd of God had let them see,
What God himself foretold of tyranny.
The father had exhausted all their stores,
With costlyhouses, and more costly whores;
But doubly robb'd by his encroaching son,
They rather chose to die, than be undone;
And, thus resolving, by a single stroke,
Ten tribes revolted, and their bondage broke!
The tyrant, in his sceptred bloated pride,
Believing God and blood upon his side;
To the high altar in a rage repairs,
And rather tells his tale, than makes his prayers: *
* The author has taken a poetical licence here. For
scripture does not say that Rehoboam prayed to the Lord.
"Behold!" says he, "the slaves, o'er whom I reign,
Have made the pow'r I had from Thee in vain;
From thy diviner rule they separate,
And make large schisms both in Church and State;
My just intentions are, with all my force,
To check rebellion in its earliest course;
Revenge th' affronts of my insulted throne,
And save thy injured honour, and my own;
And as thy counsels did my fathers bless,
He claims thy help, who does their crown possess!"
I double all the taxes of the land.
And if your discontents and feuds remain,
Petition—and I'll double them again!
The mild correction which my Father gave,
Has spoil'd the people he design'd to save;
You murmur'd then, but had you thus been used,
You'd ne'er his easy clemency abused!"
The injured people, treated with disdain,
Found their Petitions and Addresses vain!
Long had they made submissions to the crown,
And long the love of Liberty had known;
The kings they ask'd of God had let them see,
What God himself foretold of tyranny.
The father had exhausted all their stores,
With costlyhouses, and more costly whores;
But doubly robb'd by his encroaching son,
They rather chose to die, than be undone;
And, thus resolving, by a single stroke,
Ten tribes revolted, and their bondage broke!
The tyrant, in his sceptred bloated pride,
Believing God and blood upon his side;
To the high altar in a rage repairs,
And rather tells his tale, than makes his prayers: *
* The author has taken a poetical licence here. For
scripture does not say that Rehoboam prayed to the Lord.
"Behold!" says he, "the slaves, o'er whom I reign,
Have made the pow'r I had from Thee in vain;
From thy diviner rule they separate,
And make large schisms both in Church and State;
My just intentions are, with all my force,
To check rebellion in its earliest course;
Revenge th' affronts of my insulted throne,
And save thy injured honour, and my own;
And as thy counsels did my fathers bless,
He claims thy help, who does their crown possess!"
Listen ye kings, ye people all rejoice,
And hear the answer of th' Almighty voice:
Tremble, ye tyrants, read the high commands,
In sacred writ the sacred sentence stands!
"Stir not afoot! thy new-rais'd troops disband!"
Says the Eternal;—"it is my command!
I raised thy fathers to the Hebrew throne,
I set it up, but you yourselves pull down!
For when to them I Israel's sceptre gave,
'Twas not my chosen people to enslave.
My first command no such commission brings,
I made no tyrants, though I made you kings;
But you my people vilely have opprest,
And misapplied the powers which you possest.
'Tis Nature's laws the people now direct,
When Nature speaks, I never contradict.
Draw not the sword, thy brethren to destroy,
The liberty they have, they may enjoy;
I ever purposed, and I yet intend,
That what they may enjoy, they may defend;
They have deserted from a misused throne,
"The thing's from Me"—the crime is all thy own!"*
* When the ten tribes revolted from Rehoboam, and chose Je-
roboam king, there is no doubt they limited him by law; for
many years afterwards king Aliab, one of his succcssors,
admring a herb-garden near to his own palace, applied to the
owner, Naboth, and offered him either a vineyard for it, or
the worth of it in money; but Naboth would neither exchange
nor sell it, and Ahab returned home so vexed, that he went
to bed and would not eat any thing. Naboth having thus
displeased the king, the courtiers got up a charge of
Blasphemy and Sedition against him by means of false
wituesses hired on purpose; he was found guilty and
executed, and Ahab got possession of the garden, probably as
a forfeiture to the crown. It is clear, therefore, that
Ahab's power was restrained by law, for it was not until
Nabot was murdered under the forms of law, that the king
could get the poor man's property. Another thing is very
remarkable: as soon as the murder was completed, and the
king had got the garden, there was an honest Father in God,
who, instead of saying 'the king could do no wrong,' went to
his majesty, charged him with the crime, and denounced his
downfall, which happened accordingly, through his listening
to flattering ecclesiastics, and his fondness for military
affairs. If the Bishop of London should desire to preach on
this story, he is informed that he may find it in the Bible,
1 Kings, xxi.
And hear the answer of th' Almighty voice:
Tremble, ye tyrants, read the high commands,
In sacred writ the sacred sentence stands!
"Stir not afoot! thy new-rais'd troops disband!"
Says the Eternal;—"it is my command!
I raised thy fathers to the Hebrew throne,
I set it up, but you yourselves pull down!
For when to them I Israel's sceptre gave,
'Twas not my chosen people to enslave.
My first command no such commission brings,
I made no tyrants, though I made you kings;
But you my people vilely have opprest,
And misapplied the powers which you possest.
'Tis Nature's laws the people now direct,
When Nature speaks, I never contradict.
Draw not the sword, thy brethren to destroy,
The liberty they have, they may enjoy;
I ever purposed, and I yet intend,
That what they may enjoy, they may defend;
They have deserted from a misused throne,
"The thing's from Me"—the crime is all thy own!"*
* When the ten tribes revolted from Rehoboam, and chose Je-
roboam king, there is no doubt they limited him by law; for
many years afterwards king Aliab, one of his succcssors,
admring a herb-garden near to his own palace, applied to the
owner, Naboth, and offered him either a vineyard for it, or
the worth of it in money; but Naboth would neither exchange
nor sell it, and Ahab returned home so vexed, that he went
to bed and would not eat any thing. Naboth having thus
displeased the king, the courtiers got up a charge of
Blasphemy and Sedition against him by means of false
wituesses hired on purpose; he was found guilty and
executed, and Ahab got possession of the garden, probably as
a forfeiture to the crown. It is clear, therefore, that
Ahab's power was restrained by law, for it was not until
Nabot was murdered under the forms of law, that the king
could get the poor man's property. Another thing is very
remarkable: as soon as the murder was completed, and the
king had got the garden, there was an honest Father in God,
who, instead of saying 'the king could do no wrong,' went to
his majesty, charged him with the crime, and denounced his
downfall, which happened accordingly, through his listening
to flattering ecclesiastics, and his fondness for military
affairs. If the Bishop of London should desire to preach on
this story, he is informed that he may find it in the Bible,
1 Kings, xxi.
If kings no more be flatter'd and deceived,
Nor shun too late, the knaves they have believed;
If as 'trustees for uses' they agree
To act by limited authority;
Subordination will its order keep,
Ambition die, and all rebellion sleep.
The weeping nations shall begin to laugh,
The subjects easy, and the rulers safe.
Plenty and peace embrace just government,
The king be pleased, the people be content.
If any king is hoodwink'd to believe,
People will blind obedience to him give;
Let him pause long, before he dares to try,
They all by practice give their words the lie! *
* Flattery is a fine picklock of tender ears; especially of
those whom fortune hath borne high upon their wings, that
submit their dignity and authority to it, by a soothing of
themselves. For, indeed, men could never he taken in that
abundance with the springes of others' flattery, if they
began not there; if they did but remember how much more
profitable the bitterness of truth were than all the honey
distilling from a whorish voice, which is not praise but
poison. But now it is come to that extreme of folly, or
rather madness, with some, that he that flatters them mo-
destly, or sparingly, is thought to malign them.
Ben Jonson.
The ears of kings are so tiugled with a continual uniform
ap-probation, that they have scarce any knowledge of true
praise. Have they to do with the greatest fool of all their
subjects—they have no way to take advantage of him: by the
flatterer saying, "It is because he is my king," he thinks
he has said enough to imply that he therefore suffered
himself to be over-come. This quality stifles and confuses
the other true and es-sential qualities which are sunk deep
in the kingship.
Montaigne.
Nor shun too late, the knaves they have believed;
If as 'trustees for uses' they agree
To act by limited authority;
Subordination will its order keep,
Ambition die, and all rebellion sleep.
The weeping nations shall begin to laugh,
The subjects easy, and the rulers safe.
Plenty and peace embrace just government,
The king be pleased, the people be content.
If any king is hoodwink'd to believe,
People will blind obedience to him give;
Let him pause long, before he dares to try,
They all by practice give their words the lie! *
* Flattery is a fine picklock of tender ears; especially of
those whom fortune hath borne high upon their wings, that
submit their dignity and authority to it, by a soothing of
themselves. For, indeed, men could never he taken in that
abundance with the springes of others' flattery, if they
began not there; if they did but remember how much more
profitable the bitterness of truth were than all the honey
distilling from a whorish voice, which is not praise but
poison. But now it is come to that extreme of folly, or
rather madness, with some, that he that flatters them mo-
destly, or sparingly, is thought to malign them.
Ben Jonson.
The ears of kings are so tiugled with a continual uniform
ap-probation, that they have scarce any knowledge of true
praise. Have they to do with the greatest fool of all their
subjects—they have no way to take advantage of him: by the
flatterer saying, "It is because he is my king," he thinks
he has said enough to imply that he therefore suffered
himself to be over-come. This quality stifles and confuses
the other true and es-sential qualities which are sunk deep
in the kingship.
Montaigne.
Art may by mighty dams keep out the tide,
Check the strong current, and its streams divide;
Pen up the rising waters, and deny
The easy waves to glide in silence by:
But if the river is restrain'd too long,
It swells in silence to resent the wrong;
With fearful force breaks opposition down,
And claims its native freedom for its own.
So Tyranny may govern for a time,
Till Nature drowns the tyrants with their crime!
End of Book II.
Check the strong current, and its streams divide;
Pen up the rising waters, and deny
The easy waves to glide in silence by:
But if the river is restrain'd too long,
It swells in silence to resent the wrong;
With fearful force breaks opposition down,
And claims its native freedom for its own.
So Tyranny may govern for a time,
Till Nature drowns the tyrants with their crime!
End of Book II.
THE RIGHT DIVINE OF KINGS TO GOVERN WRONG.
BOOK III.
——Nations would do well
T' extort their truncheons from the puny hands
Of Heroes, whose infirm and baby minds
Are gratified with mischief; and who spoil,
Because men suffer it, their Toy—The World.
T' extort their truncheons from the puny hands
Of Heroes, whose infirm and baby minds
Are gratified with mischief; and who spoil,
Because men suffer it, their Toy—The World.
Tyrants deposed to preserve the Throne—In Europe—In England before the Conquest—By each other since.—No right line any where—Difference between Tyrants and Kings—Government instituted by the People for their oivn good—Tyrants treat men as cattle to be slaughtered—God decrees their fall—Ordains Revolutions by the People.
Search we the long records of ages past,
Look back as far as antient rolls will last;
Beyond what oldest history relates,
While kings had people, people magistrates;
Nations, e'er since there has been king or crown,
Have pull'd down tyrants to preserve the throne.
The laws of nature then, as still they do,
Taught them, their rights and safety to pursue;
That if a king, who should protect, destroys,
He forfeits all the sanction he enjoys.
Look back as far as antient rolls will last;
Beyond what oldest history relates,
While kings had people, people magistrates;
Nations, e'er since there has been king or crown,
Have pull'd down tyrants to preserve the throne.
The laws of nature then, as still they do,
Taught them, their rights and safety to pursue;
That if a king, who should protect, destroys,
He forfeits all the sanction he enjoys.
There's not a nation ever own'd a crown,
But if their kings opprest them, pull'd them down;
Concurring Providence has been content,
And always blest the action in th' event.
He that, invested with the robes of power,
Thinks'tis his right the people to devour,
Will always find some stubborn men remain,
That have so little wit, they won't be slain;
Who always turn again when they're opprest,
And basely spoil the gay tyrannic jest;
Tell kings—of Nature, Laws of God, and Right,
Take up their arms, and with their tyrants fight.
When passive thousands fall beneath the sword,
And freely die at the imperial word,
A stern, unyielding, self-defending few,
While they resist, will ravel all the clew;
Will all the engines of oppression awe,
And trample pow'r beneath the feet of law.
'Tis always natural for men opprest,
Whene'er occasion offers to resist;
They're traitors else to truth and common sense,
And rebels to the laws of Providence;
'Tis not enough to say, they may—they must;
The strong necessity declares it just; *
'Tis Heav'n's supreme command to man, and they
Are always blest who that command obey.
* If it be asked, Who shall be judge? it is plain that God
has made Nature judge. If a king make a law, destructive of
human society and the general good, may it not be resisted
and opposed? "No!" exclaim a junta of holy meu, "it is from
GOD!" What is Blasphemy?
But if their kings opprest them, pull'd them down;
Concurring Providence has been content,
And always blest the action in th' event.
He that, invested with the robes of power,
Thinks'tis his right the people to devour,
Will always find some stubborn men remain,
That have so little wit, they won't be slain;
Who always turn again when they're opprest,
And basely spoil the gay tyrannic jest;
Tell kings—of Nature, Laws of God, and Right,
Take up their arms, and with their tyrants fight.
When passive thousands fall beneath the sword,
And freely die at the imperial word,
A stern, unyielding, self-defending few,
While they resist, will ravel all the clew;
Will all the engines of oppression awe,
And trample pow'r beneath the feet of law.
'Tis always natural for men opprest,
Whene'er occasion offers to resist;
They're traitors else to truth and common sense,
And rebels to the laws of Providence;
'Tis not enough to say, they may—they must;
The strong necessity declares it just; *
'Tis Heav'n's supreme command to man, and they
Are always blest who that command obey.
* If it be asked, Who shall be judge? it is plain that God
has made Nature judge. If a king make a law, destructive of
human society and the general good, may it not be resisted
and opposed? "No!" exclaim a junta of holy meu, "it is from
GOD!" What is Blasphemy?
So France deposed the Merovingian line,
And banish'd Childrick * lost the right divine;
So Holy League their sacred Henry ** slew,
And call'd a counsel to erect a new;
For right divine must still to justice bow,
And people first the right to rule bestow:
So Spain to arbitrary kings inured,
Yet arbitrary Favila *** abjured;
Denmark four kings deposed, and Poland seven,
Swedeland but one-and-twenty, Spain eleven:
Russia, Demetrius banish'd from the throne,****
And Portugal pull'd young Alphonsus down;
Each nation that deserves the name of state,
Has set up laws above the magistrate;
Hence, when a self-advancing wretch acquires
A lawless rule, his government expires.
* Childeric I. the son of Merovius, for his lasciviousness,
was banished by the great men, and one Egidiu?, a Gaul, set
up in his stead. Childeiic II. was banished and deposed by
his subjects, and king Pepin reigned in his stead; and so
ended the Merovingian family.
** The League deposed Henry III. and declared him a tyrant,
a murderer, and incapable to reign, and held frequent
counsels with the pope's legate and the Spaniards about
settling the crown, and several proposals were made of
settling it, sometimes on the infanta of Spain, at other
times on the cardinal of Boubon, the duke de Main, and
others.
*** Favila, a cruel tyrant, was deposed by the Castilians,
who chose judges to administer the government, till they
appointed another.
**** Besides the banishment of Demetrius, the History of
Russia furnishes a sickening catalogue of the butchery of
her despots by each other. During the debate in the House of
Lords on the 19th of February, 1821, Lord Holland, observing
on the Crusade of the Holy Alliance of Despots against
Naples, said, "That objections to the freedom of political
constitutions came but ungracefully from the reigning
Emperor of Russia, who ascended a throne reeking with the
blood of his own father: and as this member of that holy
league, owed his crown to the murder of his father, it
brought to his recollection, that since the time of the Czar
Peter I. no sovereign had ascended the throne of Russia
with-out its being stained with the blood of his immediate
predecessor, or some other member of his own family."
And banish'd Childrick * lost the right divine;
So Holy League their sacred Henry ** slew,
And call'd a counsel to erect a new;
For right divine must still to justice bow,
And people first the right to rule bestow:
So Spain to arbitrary kings inured,
Yet arbitrary Favila *** abjured;
Denmark four kings deposed, and Poland seven,
Swedeland but one-and-twenty, Spain eleven:
Russia, Demetrius banish'd from the throne,****
And Portugal pull'd young Alphonsus down;
Each nation that deserves the name of state,
Has set up laws above the magistrate;
Hence, when a self-advancing wretch acquires
A lawless rule, his government expires.
* Childeric I. the son of Merovius, for his lasciviousness,
was banished by the great men, and one Egidiu?, a Gaul, set
up in his stead. Childeiic II. was banished and deposed by
his subjects, and king Pepin reigned in his stead; and so
ended the Merovingian family.
** The League deposed Henry III. and declared him a tyrant,
a murderer, and incapable to reign, and held frequent
counsels with the pope's legate and the Spaniards about
settling the crown, and several proposals were made of
settling it, sometimes on the infanta of Spain, at other
times on the cardinal of Boubon, the duke de Main, and
others.
*** Favila, a cruel tyrant, was deposed by the Castilians,
who chose judges to administer the government, till they
appointed another.
**** Besides the banishment of Demetrius, the History of
Russia furnishes a sickening catalogue of the butchery of
her despots by each other. During the debate in the House of
Lords on the 19th of February, 1821, Lord Holland, observing
on the Crusade of the Holy Alliance of Despots against
Naples, said, "That objections to the freedom of political
constitutions came but ungracefully from the reigning
Emperor of Russia, who ascended a throne reeking with the
blood of his own father: and as this member of that holy
league, owed his crown to the murder of his father, it
brought to his recollection, that since the time of the Czar
Peter I. no sovereign had ascended the throne of Russia
with-out its being stained with the blood of his immediate
predecessor, or some other member of his own family."
Explore the past, the steps of monarchs tread,
And view the sacred titles of the dead;
Look to the early kings of Britain's isle,
For Jus Divinum in our native style.
Conquest, or compacts, form the rights of kings,
And both are human, both unsettled things;
Both subject to contingencies of fate,
And so the godship of them proves a cheat.
The crowns and thrones the greatest monarchs have,
Were either stolen, or the people gave.
What claim had colonel Cnute, * or captain Suene?
What right the roving Saxon, pirate Dane?
Hengist, or Horsa, Woden's blood defied,
And on their sword, not right divine, relied.
* The leaders of the invading Saxons and Danes were mere
thieves and robbers, pretending to no light but that of the
sword. Hengist and Horsa were Saxon leaders, who after
conquering Kent, made themselves kings. Woden is famed to be
the first great leader of the Goths into Europe, and all
their kings affected to be thought of his predatory blood.
And view the sacred titles of the dead;
Look to the early kings of Britain's isle,
For Jus Divinum in our native style.
Conquest, or compacts, form the rights of kings,
And both are human, both unsettled things;
Both subject to contingencies of fate,
And so the godship of them proves a cheat.
The crowns and thrones the greatest monarchs have,
Were either stolen, or the people gave.
What claim had colonel Cnute, * or captain Suene?
What right the roving Saxon, pirate Dane?
Hengist, or Horsa, Woden's blood defied,
And on their sword, not right divine, relied.
* The leaders of the invading Saxons and Danes were mere
thieves and robbers, pretending to no light but that of the
sword. Hengist and Horsa were Saxon leaders, who after
conquering Kent, made themselves kings. Woden is famed to be
the first great leader of the Goths into Europe, and all
their kings affected to be thought of his predatory blood.
The Norman Bastard, how divine his call!
And where's his heav'nly high original?
These naked nations, long a helpless prey,
To foreign and domestic tyranny;—
Their infant strength unfit to guard their name—
Was left exposed to ev'ry robber's claim,
An open prey to pirates, and the isle,
To wild invaders, grew an early spoil.
The Romans ravaged long our wealthy coast,
And long our plains fed Caesar's num'rous host.
What birthright raised that rav'nous leader's name?
His sword, and not his fam'ly, form'd his claim.
Where'er the Roman eagles spread their wings,
They conquer'd nations, and they pull'd down kings;
Caesar in triumph o'er the whole presided,
And right of conquest half the world divided.
For Liberty our sires in arms appear'd,
And in its sacred name with courage warr'd;
Made the invaders buy their conquest dear,
And legions of their bones lie buried here. *
* The hillocks or barrows still remaining in most parts of
Eng-land were the graves of the soldiers. There are four
very large ones near Stevenage in Hertfordshire, close to
the road. The plains in Wiltshire and Dorsetshire are full
of these monuments of the valorous achievements of the
Britons iu defence of their liberty.
When these their work of slaughter had fulfill'd,
And seas of British blood bedew'd the field;
Shoals of Barbarian Goths, worse thieves than they,
From Caledonian Friths, and frozen Tay,
O'erspread the fruitful, now abandon'd plains,
And led the captured victims in their chains:
The weaken'd natives, helpless and distrest,
Doom'd to be plunder'd, ravish'd, and oppress'd,
Employ new thieves from the rude Northern coast,
To rob them of the little not yet lost.
And where's his heav'nly high original?
These naked nations, long a helpless prey,
To foreign and domestic tyranny;—
Their infant strength unfit to guard their name—
Was left exposed to ev'ry robber's claim,
An open prey to pirates, and the isle,
To wild invaders, grew an early spoil.
The Romans ravaged long our wealthy coast,
And long our plains fed Caesar's num'rous host.
What birthright raised that rav'nous leader's name?
His sword, and not his fam'ly, form'd his claim.
Where'er the Roman eagles spread their wings,
They conquer'd nations, and they pull'd down kings;
Caesar in triumph o'er the whole presided,
And right of conquest half the world divided.
For Liberty our sires in arms appear'd,
And in its sacred name with courage warr'd;
Made the invaders buy their conquest dear,
And legions of their bones lie buried here. *
* The hillocks or barrows still remaining in most parts of
Eng-land were the graves of the soldiers. There are four
very large ones near Stevenage in Hertfordshire, close to
the road. The plains in Wiltshire and Dorsetshire are full
of these monuments of the valorous achievements of the
Britons iu defence of their liberty.
When these their work of slaughter had fulfill'd,
And seas of British blood bedew'd the field;
Shoals of Barbarian Goths, worse thieves than they,
From Caledonian Friths, and frozen Tay,
O'erspread the fruitful, now abandon'd plains,
And led the captured victims in their chains:
The weaken'd natives, helpless and distrest,
Doom'd to be plunder'd, ravish'd, and oppress'd,
Employ new thieves from the rude Northern coast,
To rob them of the little not yet lost.
The work once done, the workmen, to be paid,
Only demand themselves, and all they had!
In dreadful strife their freedom to maintain,
They fought with fury, but they fought in vain;
Yet, like Antaeus, every time they fell,
Their veins with rage and indignation swell;
Not for continued losses they despair,
But for still fiercer battle they prepare;
Again their blood the Saxon chariots stains,
And heaps of heroes strew th' ensanguin'd plains;
Thus, though they leave the world, they keep the field,
And thus their lives, but not their freedom yield.
Three hundred years of bloody contest past,
Plunder'd at first, and dispossest at last,
The few remains, with freedom still inspir'd,
To Western mountains, to resist retired;
Their dear abandon'd country thence they view,
And thence their thirst of Liberty renew;
Offers of peaceful bondage they defy,
What's peace to man without his liberty? *
* The Britons fought one hundred and sixty-three pitched
bat-tles. They might well be said to be conquered, for in
these prodigious straggles for their liberty they were
nearly all slain. They fought as long as there were any men
to be raised? but the Saxons swarming continually over from
vastly populous countries, the few Britons that remained,
took sanctuary in the wes-tern mountains of Wales, and from
the crags and cliffs, poor and distrest as they were, they
made constant inroads and excursions upon the Saxons; the
Saxon Annals are filled with accounts of the renewed
warfare. Even the English histories frequently mention the
incursions of the Welsh, till, at last, united to England,
they seem to be incorporated with the natives of their
ancient soil.
Only demand themselves, and all they had!
In dreadful strife their freedom to maintain,
They fought with fury, but they fought in vain;
Yet, like Antaeus, every time they fell,
Their veins with rage and indignation swell;
Not for continued losses they despair,
But for still fiercer battle they prepare;
Again their blood the Saxon chariots stains,
And heaps of heroes strew th' ensanguin'd plains;
Thus, though they leave the world, they keep the field,
And thus their lives, but not their freedom yield.
Three hundred years of bloody contest past,
Plunder'd at first, and dispossest at last,
The few remains, with freedom still inspir'd,
To Western mountains, to resist retired;
Their dear abandon'd country thence they view,
And thence their thirst of Liberty renew;
Offers of peaceful bondage they defy,
What's peace to man without his liberty? *
* The Britons fought one hundred and sixty-three pitched
bat-tles. They might well be said to be conquered, for in
these prodigious straggles for their liberty they were
nearly all slain. They fought as long as there were any men
to be raised? but the Saxons swarming continually over from
vastly populous countries, the few Britons that remained,
took sanctuary in the wes-tern mountains of Wales, and from
the crags and cliffs, poor and distrest as they were, they
made constant inroads and excursions upon the Saxons; the
Saxon Annals are filled with accounts of the renewed
warfare. Even the English histories frequently mention the
incursions of the Welsh, till, at last, united to England,
they seem to be incorporated with the natives of their
ancient soil.
The conquer'd nation—fell a dear bought prey,
And Britain's island, Saxon Lords obey:
The shouting troops their victories proclaim,
And load their chiefs with royalty and fame:
The garland of their triumphs was their crown,
Mob set them up, and rabble pull'd them down!
Fighting was all the merit they could bring,
The bloodiest wretch appear'd the bravest King!
Nor did his kingship any longer last,
Than till by some more powerful rogue displaced.
In spoil and blood was fix'd the right divine.
And thus commenced the royal Saxon line:—
That sword that vanquish'd innocence in fight,
The sword that crush'd the banish'd Britons' right,
At pleasure subdivides the British crown,
And forms eight soldier kingdoms out of one.
From these we strive to date our royal line,
And these must help us to a right divine;
From actions buried in eternal night,
Priestcraft is brought, to fix the fancied right;
Priestcraft that, always on the strongest side,
Contrives, tho' kings should walk, that priests shall ride.
One master thief his fellows dispossest,
And gave, once more, the weeping nation rest;
For Egbert, * English monarchy began,
By his Almighty-sword—the Sacred man!
* Egbert came over originally from France, and was not the
successor of any prince of the West Saxon kingdom, nor of
any kingdom.
And Britain's island, Saxon Lords obey:
The shouting troops their victories proclaim,
And load their chiefs with royalty and fame:
The garland of their triumphs was their crown,
Mob set them up, and rabble pull'd them down!
Fighting was all the merit they could bring,
The bloodiest wretch appear'd the bravest King!
Nor did his kingship any longer last,
Than till by some more powerful rogue displaced.
In spoil and blood was fix'd the right divine.
And thus commenced the royal Saxon line:—
That sword that vanquish'd innocence in fight,
The sword that crush'd the banish'd Britons' right,
At pleasure subdivides the British crown,
And forms eight soldier kingdoms out of one.
From these we strive to date our royal line,
And these must help us to a right divine;
From actions buried in eternal night,
Priestcraft is brought, to fix the fancied right;
Priestcraft that, always on the strongest side,
Contrives, tho' kings should walk, that priests shall ride.
One master thief his fellows dispossest,
And gave, once more, the weeping nation rest;
For Egbert, * English monarchy began,
By his Almighty-sword—the Sacred man!
* Egbert came over originally from France, and was not the
successor of any prince of the West Saxon kingdom, nor of
any kingdom.
Yet who was Egbert? Search his ancient breed;
What sacred ancestors did he succeed?
What mighty princes form'd his royal line,
And handed down to him the right divine?
A high-Dutch trooper, sent abroad to fight,
Whose trade was blood, and in his arm his right:
A supernumerary Holsteineer, *
For want of room at home, sent out to war;
A mere Swiss** mercenary, who for bread,
Was born on purpose to be knock'd in head;
A Saxon soldier was his high descent,
Murder his business, plunder his intent;
The poor unvalued, despicable thing,
A thief by nation, and by fate a king!
* The Saxons that came over were from Jutland, Holstein, &c.
The poor countries the Saxons lived in, being unable to
support the vast numbers of the people they produced, they
sought subsistence and habitations in fruitful and plentiful
lands.
** A Swiss, alludes to their being mercenaries.
To-day the monarch glories in his crown,
A soldier thief to-morrow knocks him down,
And calls the fancied right divine his own!
In the next age that 'rightful' Lord's forgot,
And rampant treason triumphs on the spot:
Success gives title, makes possession just,
For if the fates obey, the subjects must.
We should be last of all that should pretend,
The long descent of princes to defend;
Since, if hereditary right's the claim,
The English line has forty times been lame;
Of all the nations in the world, there's none
Have less of true succession in their crown.
What sacred ancestors did he succeed?
What mighty princes form'd his royal line,
And handed down to him the right divine?
A high-Dutch trooper, sent abroad to fight,
Whose trade was blood, and in his arm his right:
A supernumerary Holsteineer, *
For want of room at home, sent out to war;
A mere Swiss** mercenary, who for bread,
Was born on purpose to be knock'd in head;
A Saxon soldier was his high descent,
Murder his business, plunder his intent;
The poor unvalued, despicable thing,
A thief by nation, and by fate a king!
* The Saxons that came over were from Jutland, Holstein, &c.
The poor countries the Saxons lived in, being unable to
support the vast numbers of the people they produced, they
sought subsistence and habitations in fruitful and plentiful
lands.
** A Swiss, alludes to their being mercenaries.
To-day the monarch glories in his crown,
A soldier thief to-morrow knocks him down,
And calls the fancied right divine his own!
In the next age that 'rightful' Lord's forgot,
And rampant treason triumphs on the spot:
Success gives title, makes possession just,
For if the fates obey, the subjects must.
We should be last of all that should pretend,
The long descent of princes to defend;
Since, if hereditary right's the claim,
The English line has forty times been lame;
Of all the nations in the world, there's none
Have less of true succession in their crown.
Britannia now, with men of blood opprest,
And all her race of tyrants lately ceased;
Ill fate prevailing, seeks at foreign shores,
And for worse monsters, ignorantly implores.
The right divine was so despised a thing,
The crown went out a begging for a king
Of foreign breed, of unrelated race,
Whore in his scutcheon, tyrant in his face j
Of spurious birth, and intermingled blood,
Who nor our laws nor language understood.
William the early summons soon obeys,
Ambition fills his sails, his fleets the seas;
By cruel hopes, and fatal valour sped,
The foreign legions Britain's shores o'erspread:
The sword decides the claim, the land's the prey,
Fated the conquering tyrant to obey.
Harold by usurpation gain'd the crown, *
And ditto usurpation pull'd him down.
Nothing but patience then could Britain claim;
Oppress'd by suff'ring, suff'ring made her tame:
She saw the tyrant William quit the throne,
And hoped for better usage from his son;
But change of tyrants gave her small relief,
She lost the lion, and receiv'd the thief.
* Harold seized upon the crown by force. He had no claim to
it, by blood or inheritance, being the son of Earl Goodwin.
Rufus, his father's ill got treasure seized,
The greedy sons of mother-church appeased;
Bought up rebellion with the cash he stole,
Secured the Clergy, and seduced the whole.
So brib'ry first with robbery combined
To ride before, and treason rode behind.
And all her race of tyrants lately ceased;
Ill fate prevailing, seeks at foreign shores,
And for worse monsters, ignorantly implores.
The right divine was so despised a thing,
The crown went out a begging for a king
Of foreign breed, of unrelated race,
Whore in his scutcheon, tyrant in his face j
Of spurious birth, and intermingled blood,
Who nor our laws nor language understood.
William the early summons soon obeys,
Ambition fills his sails, his fleets the seas;
By cruel hopes, and fatal valour sped,
The foreign legions Britain's shores o'erspread:
The sword decides the claim, the land's the prey,
Fated the conquering tyrant to obey.
Harold by usurpation gain'd the crown, *
And ditto usurpation pull'd him down.
Nothing but patience then could Britain claim;
Oppress'd by suff'ring, suff'ring made her tame:
She saw the tyrant William quit the throne,
And hoped for better usage from his son;
But change of tyrants gave her small relief,
She lost the lion, and receiv'd the thief.
* Harold seized upon the crown by force. He had no claim to
it, by blood or inheritance, being the son of Earl Goodwin.
Rufus, his father's ill got treasure seized,
The greedy sons of mother-church appeased;
Bought up rebellion with the cash he stole,
Secured the Clergy, and seduced the whole.
So brib'ry first with robbery combined
To ride before, and treason rode behind.
Ambition, and the lust of rule prevail'd,
And Robert's right, on Rufus' head entail'd. *
Beau-Clerk next grasp'd his elder brother's crown,
And, by his sword, maintain'd it was his own:
The second ** Henry fights, and fighting treats,
To own the prince's title he defeats;
Consents to mean conclusions of the war,
And stoops to be a base usurper's heir;
Accepts the ignominious grant, and shows
His right's as bad as Stephen's that bestows:
The royal tricksters thus divide the prey,
And helpless crowds the jugglers' swords obey. ***
Then John, **** another branch of Henry's line,
Jumps on the throne, in spite of Right Divine,
Turn we to mighty Edward's deathless name;
Or to his son's, whose conquests were the same;
That mighty hero of right royal race,
His father still alive, usurp'd his place. (v)
* They were both usurpers, for the true right of descent was
in Edgar Atheling. of the race of Edmund Ironside.
** Henry II. was obliged to compromise the dispute with his
competitor Stephen; a prudent agreement, but in defiance of
hereditary right.
*** As at the death of Henry I. the main line of Normandy
ended, so the succession has ever since proved so brittle,
that it never held to the third heir in a right descent
without being put by, or receiving some alteration by
usurpation, or extinction of the male blood.—Churchill's
Divi Britannici, p. 207.
**** King John was the youngest son of Henry II., who had
his eldest line deposed. Henry was the son of a usurper, a
usurper himself, and the murderer of his own brother's son.
(v) Edward III. reigned, his father, Edward II. being a
prisoner, and was afterwards murdered.
And Robert's right, on Rufus' head entail'd. *
Beau-Clerk next grasp'd his elder brother's crown,
And, by his sword, maintain'd it was his own:
The second ** Henry fights, and fighting treats,
To own the prince's title he defeats;
Consents to mean conclusions of the war,
And stoops to be a base usurper's heir;
Accepts the ignominious grant, and shows
His right's as bad as Stephen's that bestows:
The royal tricksters thus divide the prey,
And helpless crowds the jugglers' swords obey. ***
Then John, **** another branch of Henry's line,
Jumps on the throne, in spite of Right Divine,
Turn we to mighty Edward's deathless name;
Or to his son's, whose conquests were the same;
That mighty hero of right royal race,
His father still alive, usurp'd his place. (v)
* They were both usurpers, for the true right of descent was
in Edgar Atheling. of the race of Edmund Ironside.
** Henry II. was obliged to compromise the dispute with his
competitor Stephen; a prudent agreement, but in defiance of
hereditary right.
*** As at the death of Henry I. the main line of Normandy
ended, so the succession has ever since proved so brittle,
that it never held to the third heir in a right descent
without being put by, or receiving some alteration by
usurpation, or extinction of the male blood.—Churchill's
Divi Britannici, p. 207.
**** King John was the youngest son of Henry II., who had
his eldest line deposed. Henry was the son of a usurper, a
usurper himself, and the murderer of his own brother's son.
(v) Edward III. reigned, his father, Edward II. being a
prisoner, and was afterwards murdered.
As Edward on his parent's murder stood,
So Richard's tyrant reign was closed in blood:
Deposed and murder'd, Edward's father lies;
Deposed and murder'd—thus the grandson * dies.
Lancastrian Henry from his feeble head,
The bauble wrench'd, and wore it in his stead;
Three of his name by due succession reign,
And York demands the right of line in vain.
Thro' seas of slaughter, for this carnaged crown
Edward, not went, but waded to the throne **
Three times deposed, three times restored by force,
Priest-ridden Henry's title*** yields of course.
Short lived the right the conquering king enjoy'd,
Treason and crime his new-crown'd race destroy'd;
As if the crimson hand of Power pursued
The very crown, and fated it to blood,
Richard by lust of government allured,
By double murders, next that crown procured;
For silent records trumpet-tongued proclaim
The jails and graves of princes are the same.
At Bosworth field, the crookback was dethroned;
Slain in the fight, and then the victor own'd! ****
* Richard II.
** Edward IV.
*** Henry VI.
**** Richard III. was succeeded by Henry VII. who had
clearly no claim to the crown from blood. After him it still
devolved with irregularity, although uuder the Tudors, the
doctrine of hereditary right was as vaguely maintained as
before. Thus, a Parliament granted to Henry VIII. the power
of regulating the succession by will, and it was by
pretending to exercise a similar power under an alleged will
of Edward VI. that the unprincipled Northumberland sought
the establishment of Lady Jane Grey. Elizabeth, on the same
ground, was importuned to appoint a suc-cessor, at
intervals, during the last twenty years of her reign; and
finally, named the King of Scotland in her last moments.
These are strange incidents for the advocates of Divine
Right! The fact is, this wretched theory was never formally
advocated until the days of James I.; and it may be
considered to be one of the precions fruits of that settled
connexion between Church and State, of which the Despot,
Henry VIII., laid the foun-dation. Yet no Despot ever
supported himself steadily on an English throne; and what is
there to prove, that such men ever can? Look at King
Richard II., he was a finished gentle-man, possessed some
taste for literature, and shewed himself as. fond of finery
as need be; but he waged war with the common sense of the
realm and the rights of the people,—and finally, by
entrusting his power to weak, inefficient, and corrupt
ministers, roused the anger of a distressed and overtaxed
community. Moral—They were beheaded, and he was dethroned.
So Richard's tyrant reign was closed in blood:
Deposed and murder'd, Edward's father lies;
Deposed and murder'd—thus the grandson * dies.
Lancastrian Henry from his feeble head,
The bauble wrench'd, and wore it in his stead;
Three of his name by due succession reign,
And York demands the right of line in vain.
Thro' seas of slaughter, for this carnaged crown
Edward, not went, but waded to the throne **
Three times deposed, three times restored by force,
Priest-ridden Henry's title*** yields of course.
Short lived the right the conquering king enjoy'd,
Treason and crime his new-crown'd race destroy'd;
As if the crimson hand of Power pursued
The very crown, and fated it to blood,
Richard by lust of government allured,
By double murders, next that crown procured;
For silent records trumpet-tongued proclaim
The jails and graves of princes are the same.
At Bosworth field, the crookback was dethroned;
Slain in the fight, and then the victor own'd! ****
* Richard II.
** Edward IV.
*** Henry VI.
**** Richard III. was succeeded by Henry VII. who had
clearly no claim to the crown from blood. After him it still
devolved with irregularity, although uuder the Tudors, the
doctrine of hereditary right was as vaguely maintained as
before. Thus, a Parliament granted to Henry VIII. the power
of regulating the succession by will, and it was by
pretending to exercise a similar power under an alleged will
of Edward VI. that the unprincipled Northumberland sought
the establishment of Lady Jane Grey. Elizabeth, on the same
ground, was importuned to appoint a suc-cessor, at
intervals, during the last twenty years of her reign; and
finally, named the King of Scotland in her last moments.
These are strange incidents for the advocates of Divine
Right! The fact is, this wretched theory was never formally
advocated until the days of James I.; and it may be
considered to be one of the precions fruits of that settled
connexion between Church and State, of which the Despot,
Henry VIII., laid the foun-dation. Yet no Despot ever
supported himself steadily on an English throne; and what is
there to prove, that such men ever can? Look at King
Richard II., he was a finished gentle-man, possessed some
taste for literature, and shewed himself as. fond of finery
as need be; but he waged war with the common sense of the
realm and the rights of the people,—and finally, by
entrusting his power to weak, inefficient, and corrupt
ministers, roused the anger of a distressed and overtaxed
community. Moral—They were beheaded, and he was dethroned.
So men of blood, incited by its taste,
By lust of rule urged on, laid England waste;
Oppression then upon oppression grew,
One royal wretch another overthrew;
They made a football of the People's crown,
And brother-tyrant brother-king pull'd down,
Succeeding robberies revenged the past,
And every age of crime outdid the last.
Look on once more—the tangled line survey,
By which kings claim to bind men to obey.
In the right line they say their title lies:
But if its twisted?—then the title dies.
Look at it!—knotted, spliced in every place!
Closely survey the intersected race—
So full of violations, such a brood.
Of false successions, spurious births, and blood;
Such perjuries, such frauds, to mount a throne,
That Kings might blush their ancestors to own!
By lust of rule urged on, laid England waste;
Oppression then upon oppression grew,
One royal wretch another overthrew;
They made a football of the People's crown,
And brother-tyrant brother-king pull'd down,
Succeeding robberies revenged the past,
And every age of crime outdid the last.
Look on once more—the tangled line survey,
By which kings claim to bind men to obey.
In the right line they say their title lies:
But if its twisted?—then the title dies.
Look at it!—knotted, spliced in every place!
Closely survey the intersected race—
So full of violations, such a brood.
Of false successions, spurious births, and blood;
Such perjuries, such frauds, to mount a throne,
That Kings might blush their ancestors to own!
Oh! but Possession supersedes the Line!
Indeed!—then king, as king, has Right Divine;
And, coy Succession fled from majesty,
Makes Usurpation as divine as he;
De Facto is de Jure, and a throne,
To every dog that steals it is his bone!
Hence tyrants—and from these infected springs,
Flows the best title of the Best of Kings! *
* The Best of Kings (Court slang) the King for the time
being.—Many a king has been the worst man of his age, but
no king was ever the best. In 1683, the very year of Charles
the Second's reign, in which Lord William Russel and
Algernon Sydney were murdered under the forms of law, by
packed juries, and the king's passive obedient judges—when
the throne floated in blood, and the king's manners were
notoriously and disgust-ingly sensual and dissolute—in that
year, J. Shnrley, M. A. in his 'Ecclesiastical History
Epitomised,' gives Charles the title of "the best of kings!"
calls his life and reign virtuous! and prays that his days
may be as the days of Heaven!—This loyal author calls
himself, The Christian reader's "beloved Brother in Christ!"
Of the same king, Charles II., Horace Walpole (Lord Orford)
gives this character in his Epistle from Florence:—
(Dodsley's Collection, vol. iii. p. 92.)
Fortune, or fair, or frowning, on his soul
Could stamp no virtue, and no vice controul!
Honour or morals, gratitude or truth,
Nor taught his ripen'd age, nor knew his youth!
The care of nations left to whores or chance,
Plund'rer of Britain, pensioner of France;
Free to buffoons, to ministers denied,
He lived an atheist, and a bigot died!
All kings have parasites and praise; the Press records their
actions; and Posterity gives their characters.
Indeed!—then king, as king, has Right Divine;
And, coy Succession fled from majesty,
Makes Usurpation as divine as he;
De Facto is de Jure, and a throne,
To every dog that steals it is his bone!
Hence tyrants—and from these infected springs,
Flows the best title of the Best of Kings! *
* The Best of Kings (Court slang) the King for the time
being.—Many a king has been the worst man of his age, but
no king was ever the best. In 1683, the very year of Charles
the Second's reign, in which Lord William Russel and
Algernon Sydney were murdered under the forms of law, by
packed juries, and the king's passive obedient judges—when
the throne floated in blood, and the king's manners were
notoriously and disgust-ingly sensual and dissolute—in that
year, J. Shnrley, M. A. in his 'Ecclesiastical History
Epitomised,' gives Charles the title of "the best of kings!"
calls his life and reign virtuous! and prays that his days
may be as the days of Heaven!—This loyal author calls
himself, The Christian reader's "beloved Brother in Christ!"
Of the same king, Charles II., Horace Walpole (Lord Orford)
gives this character in his Epistle from Florence:—
(Dodsley's Collection, vol. iii. p. 92.)
Fortune, or fair, or frowning, on his soul
Could stamp no virtue, and no vice controul!
Honour or morals, gratitude or truth,
Nor taught his ripen'd age, nor knew his youth!
The care of nations left to whores or chance,
Plund'rer of Britain, pensioner of France;
Free to buffoons, to ministers denied,
He lived an atheist, and a bigot died!
All kings have parasites and praise; the Press records their
actions; and Posterity gives their characters.