Heic tutus obumbror  
Symbol. Auth.    

A GERMANE DIET: OR, THE BALANCE OF EUROPE. WHEREIN The 

Power and Weakness  
Glory and Reproach  
Virtues and Vices  
Plenty and Want  
Advantages and Defects  
Antiquity and Moderns   Of all the Kingdoms and States of Christendom are impartially poised. At a solemn Convention of some Germane Princes in sundry Elaborat Orations Pro & Con.  
Made fit for the Meridian of ENGLAND, By james Howell Esq.  
Senesco, non Segnesco.  
LONDON, Printed for HUMPHREY MOSELEY, and are to be sold at his Shop at the Prince's Arms in Saint Paul's Churchyard. 1653.   

TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE, AND The most accomplished LORD, JOHN, EARL of CLARE, etc.  
MY LORD,  
MY brain was a good while in labour before it could produce a Resolution, to whom of those Noble Personages I have the honour to wait upon sometimes I should most properly address this Piece in point of Dedication: At last, my thoughts reflecting upon your Lordship, did there acquiesce and settle. Nor, I believe, will any knowing Soul question my judgement in this Election, considering how excellently your Lordship is versed in the Customs, Conditions and Languages of divers Nations, which is the scope and subject of these Critical Orations, though running in a new untrodden way.  
Moreover, the Orators here being Princes, and Noblemen, whereof those of Germany are esteemed to be of the ancientest Extraction and purest Allaye of any in Europe, being those who yet retain their first integrity as Machiavelli confesseth, I say, the Orators here being all Peers, I thought it not incongruous to present their Conceptions to a Personage of their own rank, that Patronus might be par Operi.  
Lastly, the main design of this application to your Lordship was to divulge my gratitude for the frequent noble respects I receive within your walls, that not only the present times may bear witness, but future Ages may find it also upon Record (in this small Monument) how much I am (and was)  
My Highly Honoured Lord, Your most humble, and truly devoted Servitor, james Howell. London 30 Idus Junii, 1653.   

To the Discerning Reader, whether Homebred, or broken in the World abroad.  
AS Fire is commonly struck by concussion of Flint and Steel, which are two differing bodies; So Truth, who is the Child of Light, as also Knowledge, who is the Child of Truth use to break out, and appear more conspicuous by contest of Argument, and the clashing of discrepant Opinions: It was the first Dessein, and it is the Method of this Work all along, which descants by way of contraries and altercations upon the humours of all the European Nations: Some of these Orations (in point of matter) may be said to be Sugar dissolved in Oil, Others Salt mingled with Pepper and some dashes of Vinegar, yet it is not Sal Momi, but Sal Mercurii, there is nothing here scurrilous or favouring of malice; the dirt which is thrown here is like the dirt of Oysters, which rather cleanseth then contaminats: We all are Copies of Adam the Prototype, Infirmities are entailed upon us by a Conveyance drawn in his time, therefore it must not be expected that Man should be better out of Paradis, then when he was in't: There is neither Horse, nor Humane creature so good but is subject to stumbling, and that stumbling may make him afterwards go faster and stronger in the road of Virtue. I have read of an old French Poet jean Clopinel or de Meung who was a great Satirist, his Pen was like the dart of Death, it spared none; and having fallen foul upon the Queen's Maids of Honour for their wantoness in these two verses which were fixed upon the door of the back stairs.  

Toutes estes, serez, ou futes  
De fait on de volonte Puts.   

Ye are, or will be, or have been  
All Whores in Act, or Thought of Sin.   
Complaint being made hereof, jean de Meung was delivered over for a Sacrifice to the Maids, who having got him bound to a post to be whipped, he said, Noble Ladies, Let me desire but one boon of you before you fall to execution, and it is, That She of you which finds herself most guilty would give me the first lash: Thereupon they fell gazing one upon another, and none would begin; so the Poet scaped. The application hereof is easy if it be made to relate to the Countries of Europe: We read the Queen of Bewty herself had a Mole, and Queen Anne of Bullen had a Wren upon her Neck, to hide which, Ruffs were brought first in fashion. So the best Region and fairest City on earth have their blemishes.  
Now touching those frailties which are thus hereditary to Mankind; there is nothing contributs more to the propagation & practice of them then diversity of Opinions and Capriccios of the Brain, which are infinite; And how can it be otherwise? for if out of 24. letters only in the Alphabet so many millions of differing words may be framed, and if these two Verses alone (which relate to Good and Bad according to the subject of the Book)  

Rex, lex, Grex, Res, spes, Ius, thus, sal, sol, (bona) lux, laus,  
Mars, Mors, sors, fraus, fex, styx, nox, crux, pus (mala) vis, lis;   
I say if so few words (and we know words are the Indices of the mind) may be varied (as it hath been tried) to ne'er upon four millions of Verses, how many variations of Crotchets and Opinions must then the boiling brains of so many millions of men be subject unto? To this may be ascribed the miseries and distempers of most Country's, especially the rents and heresies in Religion, whereof some people have so many that they need not pray, Adauge Fidem nostram, (Lord increase our Faith) but rather, O Lord decrease our Faiths, they are so many; and I am sorry that England deserves to have a fillip upon the nose for this.  
Now as these alternative Orations treat of the humours of Nations, so they do also of the quality of their Countries. They will tell you that France hath the best Granary of Europe, England the fattest Kitchen, Spain the best Exchequer, Italy the richest Wardrobe, Germany the best Woodyard, Holland the best Dairy, etc. They will tell you that some Countries compared to others are like Gold compared to Silver, others as Silver compared to brass: as Ireland to England is as Silver in point of value to Gold which requires 12. ounces for one, and Scotland to England is as Brass to Silver which requires 100 ounces for one in proportion of intrinsique value; in so much that one may say the Union 'twixt England and Scotland was like Oil mingled with Vinegar: They will tell you also that some Countries are so perfect that they are created to preserve themselves only, and not to propagat, as England with her Concomitant Provinces; Others to plant abroad and expand themselves, as Spain with her Dominions; Others to be Umpires and Arbitrators among their Neighbours, for their fit posture, as France, and the Pope's Territories, the first being seated about the midst of Europe, and the other running through the midst of Italy; Others are unhappily placed 'twixt two Neighbours more potent than themselves, as Savoy and Lorain, the one being seated 'twixt the Emperor and France, the other 'twixt France and the dominions of Spain in Italy, so that they cannot make a leg to the one but they must pull off their hats to the other; They will also tell you how some people are so fiery mouthed that they must be rid with a bit as the Napolitan and French, etc. whereas a small Snaffle will serve others, fearing that if they cast their Rider they may fall from bad to worse, as the castilian, the Savoyard, the Venetian, and Florentine.—  
Touching the perfecting of this Work, there were Stones fetched from many Quarries (whereof the learned and well-read Lansius afforded most) which were piled up to compile this fabric. Now, I imposed upon myself this task for the demulsions of my life, and to delude those tedious hours and turbid intervals which the contemplation of these sad disjointed times makes many subject unto besides myself, specially those active spirits who having been formerly in Employment who lead now a sedentary and umbraticall life; So I wish that this Piece may produce the same effects in the Reader as it did in the Writer.  — Sic Tempus adulor.  


The names of the Princes and Orators who convened upon this Occasion.  
1. THe Duke of Wirtemberg, and Teccia, Count of Mountpelgard, etc. Lord Precedent of the Assembly make the Proem.  
2. Francis Duke of Saxony, Angaria, and Westphalia, etc. pleads for Germany High and Low.  
3. The Lord Wilhelm of Retwiz pleads against Germany.  
4. The Lord joachim Ernest Duke of Sleswick, and Holstein pleads for France.  
5. The Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 D. of Saxony declaims against France.  
6. The Lord George Fredrique Baron of Limburg declaims for Spain.  
7. The Lord Magnus' Duke of Wirtemberg declaims against Spain.  
8. The Lord George Baron of Stubenberg replies for Spain.  
9 The Lord Wolfangus Baron of Stubenberg declaims for England, Scotland, and Ireland.  
10. Lord Daniel Bensin declaims against England, Ireland and Scotland.  
11. Lord Maximilian of Mesch pleads for Poland.  
12. The Lord Axelius of Goerholm declaims against Poland.  
13. Lord Albert Baron of Limburg pleads for Hungary.  
14. Lord Schafeliski declaims against Hungary.  
15. The Lord Laurentius Bensin pleads for Italy, the Popedom, Repub: of Venice, etc.  
16. Lord George Rolderer declaims against Italy.   
The Result of all these Declamations, and Rising up of the Assembly.   

To the Knowing Reader upon the Subject of these Princely Orations.  
AXIOM. Contraria juxta se posita magis elucescunt.  

BLack sidelong put, or standing opposite  
Doth use to add more lustre unto White;  
A Perl shine's brighter in a Negro's ear,  
Some Ladies look more fair who Patches wear;  
So Vice, if counterplaced, or seated near  
Makes Virtue show more lovely, strong, and clear.  
This Book hath Vice and Virtue, White and Black,  
'Tis as a Crystal Glass fo●…l'd on the Back▪  
'Tis like a Chessboard (Or an Ermines skin)  
Checkquered with two Extremes both Out and In,  
It weighs and winnowe's Good from Bad which any  
Of Europe's Kingdom's have (and they have many.)  
Now, if those purer Regions of the Sky  
Where every Star's a perfect Monarchy;  
If the bright Moon, and glorious Sun above  
Have spots and Motes, as Optics Organs prove,  
How then can these gross Earthly Regions be,  
And we that people them, from taintures free?  
This were for US to arrogat that bliss  
Which ADAM could not keep in Paradise.   
I. H.   

An Advertisement to the Reader.  
Whereas there are various Quotations here out of sundry Foreign Authors in their own Language, you may please to take notice that they are rendered into English all along, that so they may fall under the Capacity of any Reader.  
Humphrey Moseley.   

FREDERIQUE, DUKE OF WIRTEMBERG, etc. Appointed Lord Precedent, and Prolocutor of the Diet, HIS PROEM, OR INTRODUCTORY Oration to the rest of the Princes.  
Most Illustrious, and High-born Princes,  
HOW joyful am I to see this day! O, how happy I am to behold this glorious Assembly! What a high Honour is it to be a Member of it! Specially being met upon such a brave Design of Virtue, as to render a voluntary free account of our foreign Peregrinations; to discover what we have observed most memorable abroad: And to do this with such a latitude of liberty, that our hearts and tongues may be Relatives, they may go together all along; It being the Prerogative of this Noble Consistory, that every one may deliver and descant upon, without the least apprehension of danger, or giving any distaste, what he hath met withal most remarkable in other Countries, as well as his own, either in point of Morality, or Military Discipline; either referring to their Virtues, or Vices, their Poverty, or Wealth, their weakness, or strength, their policy, or misgovernment. And so in order to the Province he hath undertaken, to vent his Conceptions, and pass his Judgement accordingly.  
The Inhabitants of China, a Potent, and Eagle-eyed People, as being the nearest Neighbours to the Rising Sun of any upon this side of the Hemisphere, are reported to have such a haughty conceit of themselves, that beholding all other Nations with a Supercilious disdainful Countenance, they magnify and extol their own, contemning as it were, the rest of Mankind, as an inferior and ignorant Race of rational Creatures, which appears by a kind of proverbial Saying they have common amongst them: That the Chineses have two eyes, the Europaeans one, and the rest of the World is blind. For my part, I cannot deny but the people of China, or Sina, more properly the true Appellation of the Country, being Sinarum, or Tzinarum Regio, may be an ingenious progeny of men: They may be exquisite Artists, as we find by their Manufactures; They may also have good Intellectuals, and forecasts in framing wholesome Statutes, and Political Constitutions, for the safe and peaceful Government of that huge tract of Earth, which is estimated to be in one entire piece, eight times as big as the whole Continent of France. Yet, under favour, they have two Laws which favour not so much of Prudence and Rationability. The first, an Inhibition, that none of their Natives must travel abroad beyond the bounds of their own Country, under pain of losing one of his eyes. The second, that no Foreigner be permitted to enter into the bowels of the Land, except only Ambassadors, and Ministers of State, and they also must be carried hoodwinked all along from the Marine. I say, though the Chineses in other things may haply be wise, and Argc-eyed (who was all eye) yet herein they may be said to be as blind as Buzzards, and their Noddles to be as flat as their Noses, which is a peculiar shape they have above all other people: for these restrictive Laws are repugnant to common humanity; They destroy the magna charta, the grand Ordinance of Nature, which enjoins mankind in general to endear themselves one to another, by reciprocal Offices of benevolence and love, of Charity and Compassion, of comfort, and mutual Commerce. Such a dotage as this seemed to have sezed upon Lycurgus and Plato in point of Opinion: The furred Muscovit, and frozen Ruff is possessed also with it to this day.  
But oh immortal Gods! what Infatuation, or Frenzy rather transports this people so far from the dictates of reason? What a transcendent presumption is it in them, to invade, as it were, the Capitol of Heaven, and violate the Decrees of the divine Providence: For we well know that God Almighty himself, by the mouth of his Chancellor Moses, hath commanded Peregrinos non minui ac Cives benignè habendos esse: That strangers should be as gently entreated, as the Natives themselves. Moreover there is a Sanction published by our Saviour, love thy Neighbour as thyself; Nay, Nature herself doth dictate unto us, that man hath the least share in his own Nativity, but he is born to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. a communicable Creature, born to benefit others: Therefore that Custom and Constitution of China is dissonant to the Law of the Creator, the dictates of nature, and disagreeable to humane reason. Now whom shall we give credit unto, the eternal word of God, or the Policy of these men? For, if as the Canon goes, de Imperatoris judicio disputare sacrilegij instar est, If to dispute of the judgement of the Emperor be a kind of Sacrilege, what Trespass, what Piacle, what a flagitious Crime are they guilty of, who doubt of the verity of divine Oracles. It is the Imperial Decree of Gratianus, Valentinianus, and Theodosius, confirmed by all their Successors, Qui Divinae legis sanctitatem aut nesciendo ●…mittunt, aut negligendo violant & offendunt, sacrilegium committunt: Whosoever doth by ignorance omit, or by negligence infringe, or offend the Sanctity of the divine Law, commits Sacrilege. Therefore I may say, that the Chineses are Sacrilegious, that the Muscovites are likewise so, with all their Adherents, who unless they would go about to overthrow the Rights of the Rational Creature, unless they would extinguish all the sparkles of Charity, would not put in practice so absurd a Law. For it stops the Channels, and chokes up the Cisterns of all Hospitality, of all kind of Humanity; it utterly subverts all increase of knowledge, all mutual Offices of love, all Trade and Commerce, all improvement of Wealth, and plenty, all intercourse of Kindness, and Civility among the Children of Adam. For, in my judgement, this whole Globe of the Earth, is no other than the Native Country of all kind of men: It is but one common City, Domicile and Habitation. Therefore that Saying of Socrates was a true Philosophical one; when being asked what Countryman he was, he answered, I am a Cosmopolite, I am a Citizen, or free Denizon of the World. For what an Indignity is it to Captivate the mind of man, which Heaven can scarce hold, to one territory or clod of Earth? What an injustice is it, that the Volatils of the Air should have such liberty to fly, and the Fish of the Sea to swim where they please without controlment, or interruption, and that man, who by divine Charter is Lord of all Elementary Creatures, should be confined within the compass of one poor tract of ground.  
Therefore as those high Ethereal, and heavenly bodies above delight in motion, so among men all generous and noble Spirits should take pleasure in Peregrination; they should make truce with their domestic Affairs, ask their Parent's blessing, embrace their Kindred, bid their Friends farewell, and shake hands a while with their own Country, to take a view of the World abroad, to observe the Customs, and Carriage of other people, to pry into their Laws and Government, to their Policy and ways of preservation, to attain unto the knowledge of their Language, to convert every good thing they see into wholesome juice and blood, and for the future benefit of their own Country; to learn how to converse with all people: For the French have no improper saying, Un honneste homme est un homme mesle, an honest, or wise man, is a mixed man; that is, one who hath something in him, in point of knowledge of all Nations.  
Truly, that I may discover unto you the most Intrinsic thoughts of my Soul, I am of Opinion that it is a kind of degenerous thing, for any gentile Spirit to sit still at home, as it were lurking in the Chimney corner, & be so indulgent of himself, as never to see the World abroad. Nay, a noble mind should resolve with himself to undergo any injury of the Elements, any roughness of ways, any difficulty of passage, to be acquainted with foreign Nations; he should presently get his Bills of exchange, or Letters of credit, settle his Servants, call for his Boots and Spurs, put his Sword by his side, and mount a Horseback, being invited thereunto by so many noble examples, specially by yours, most Illustrious Princes, who have made such exuberant fruits of your Peregrinations, whereof all Germany your dear Country is like to make such a mighty benefit. For I know there is none of you here, but, as the Prince of Poets speaks of Ulysses,  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 
You have seen the manners of millions of men, with so many magnificent Cities, Castles, Fortifications, and Palaces. Touching myself, though I do not travel in body, as I have done, yet in a contemplative way, and upon the wings of Fancy I daily pass through, and measure with my thoughts all those most flourishing Kingdoms of Europe I once perlustrated with my eyes: I travel still in my imagination, and nothing is so delightful unto me, as the Ideas of those various Objects I have seen abroad.  
I confess there are some, and they are too many, who abuse this excellent benefit of foreign Travel: if they have but once saluted France, they return altogether Frenchified; If they have eaten their bread a while t'other side the Alps, they come back altogether Italianated: if they have crossed the Pyrenies, they return altogether Spaniolized: They force themselves by affected and fanstastick postures and gestures, to imitate foreign Fashions, by their Garb, their clothes, their Speech; they would show themselves Travellers in a kind of Histrionical, Mimic way, like Actors or Comedians upon a Stage, whose part is to represent others; They seem to slight, and some of them to scorn the Manners, the Custom, and Behaviour of their own Country. Such a Capricious Traveller, or Stage Player, Sir Thomas More, that Golden English Knight, hath accurately set forth in his own Colours in that witty facetious Epigram, which I believe is not unknown to any of this Illustrious Auditory.  Amicus & sodalis est Lalus mihi, etc. 
In the person of Lalus this renowned Chancellor displays a fantastic Traveler, or Landloper rather; who having breathed a while the air of France, returned all metamorphozed, and Frenchifield in the motion of his members, in the accent of his words, in the tone of his voice: He was become, Ex Brittanno Gallus, or Capus; he came home all transversed, not only in his brain, but in his body and bones, having haply left a snip of the Nose he carried with him, behind him. Such sort of Lalie's, such Capons are most worthy of Cybeles Priesthood (whose Flamens were Hermaphrodites, or Capons) we find in the midst of Germany. Now, as the Spanish mares use to conceive sometimes by the gentle breezes of a Southerly Favonian wind, but the colts they bring forth, presently languish and die; so these fantastic Landlopers, returning home, pregnant with some odd opinions or fashions, bring back nothing that is serious and solid; but their brains are stuffed only with windy fables, and frivolous stories. And as near Charenton Bridge in France there is an Echo, that reverberates the voice thirteen times in atticulate sounds, so these Peregrinators do oftentimes multiply what they hear, or see. As those who reported to have seen Flies in India as big as Fo●…es, Others, to have seen Trees in Russia which could not be shot over, and that an Army of men might find shelter under their branches in foul weather; Others had seen Pigmies upon Rams backs, going to War with the Cranes: Some speak of the Generation of Basilisques, of the Crocodiles of Egypt, of the Phoenix of Arabia, of the Rooks of Madagascar, of the Scots Clakes, and Geese, and so come back more errand Geese than they. And what they have haply read of in Pliny, Lucian, or Brandanus, they vapour as if they had seen them all, and that with strong asseverations, and sometimes with oaths.  
De nihilo magna, & de parvo maxima fingunt.  
They make Mountains of Molehills, and Whales of Sprats.  
But the most judicious sort of Noble Germans make other use of Peregrination; it makes them not to disdain their own Country afterward, or to be infected with any affected foreign humour, but continue constant to themselves, and true Germans in point of natural affection.  
But now, Most illustrious Princes, and Noble Lords, whom I see present at this splendid Convention, may you please now to reduce into an Oratory methodical way those discourses and Foreign observations, wherewith you have been used to season your Tables and meetings at other times, confining yourselves to the Kingdoms and Commonwealths of Europe, according as you have pleased to assign every one his particular task; that at last we may make a conjecture which Country of Europe may merit the Palm and Prerogative of all the rest. I know by proposing this, my boldness is as great as my request; but I shall endeavour to make some retaliation unto you most Noble Princes, and brightest eyes of Germany, when any opportunity whatsoever doth present itself, and shall court all occasions to do it.  
And now, you my most Illustrious Cousin Francis Charles, Duke of Saxony, etc. be pleased to begin.   

THE ORATION OF PRINCE FRANCIS CHARLES', DUKE OF Saxony, Angaria, and Westphalia, etc. FOR GERMANY.  
Most Excellent Prince, and Princes, with the rest of this Illustrious Assembly:  
BEfore I launch out into the main of this large Sea of matter, and that my Sails be filled with the gentle breezes of your favourable attention, I have something to say, while I remain yet in the Port, of Peregrination, or Foreign Travel, which your Excellency hath already approved of, and applauded in such a high strain of Eloquence. Yet for my part I would after the example of the Chinese, were I worthy to give Counsel herein, prohibit Foreign travel, under pain of a penalty, as the times go now, or at least I would prescribe some exact Laws to regulat Peregrination. Now whereas the young Traveller should apply himself principally to the knowledge of that which might prove pertinent and profitable to the public good of his own Country; let him make account before hand that he cannot find that every where as he passeth: For as a man cannot expect to find out in a Tailor's Shop in Hungary a suit of Clothes that will fit a Spaniard, or in Spain a suit that will fit a Frenchman, though his next Conterranean Neighbour, their modes of habit being so different. So every Country hath some municipal constitutions and customs peculiar and proper to themselves, which are not only disagreeable, but incompatible with the Government of other Nations; and one of the chiefest curiosity and care the prime judgement of a Traveller should be to distinguish betwixt such Laws. But alas, how many go now abroad, of whom there are high hopes conceived that at their return they might act the part of Agamemnon's; but having so journed some years in Italy and other hit Countries in the flower and spring of their youth, they come back grown old men before their time, bringing home Winter in their faces, and so are rather fit to act the part of Thersites then Agamemnon. How few do rerurn true Germans? having habituated themselves to softness, Effeminacy, and Lux, or to some ill-favoured posture; either by shrinking in the Shoulders, by cringing with the k●…ee, and sweeping the earth with their feet, or by ducking down their necks, by powdering their Doublets, by extenuating the tone of their voice, after a womanish fashion, or by jetting, dancing, or prattling up and down the Streets, with other loose, and affected Modes. Now, as Paris in Homer, when he went abroad, fell enamoured with Helen, which was the only fruit of his Travels: So these never looking after serious things, hunt after toys, and babbles; Or as Physicians observe of Horseleeches, that when they apply them to the body, they use to suck only the ill, corrupted blood: So these Travellers draw in the worst things, and it were well, if it remained only with them; but the mischief is, that they disperse the poison among others, and infest them by their touch, or breath. For where can be found a greater Lux in Apparel, then in Germany? where a greater vanity in clothing dead Walls? while poor living Souls, who bear the Image of God Almighty, go naked. Where is there greater excess in Diet, in Queckshoses, Made-dishes, and Sauces? And all this may be imputed to Peregrination. Where is there more crisping of hair, more boring of Ears to hang in Rings? where is there more dead men's hair worn upon the heads of the living? And we may also thank Peregrination for this. How many have gone to France with some Religion, and come back without any? How many have gone to Spain with cheerful, and well-disposed humours, but come back with a kind of dull Melancholy? How many have gone o'er the Alps with plain and open hearts, but returned full of cunning and mental reservation? How many have gone to England, ' and come home with Tobacco-pipes in their mouths? How many have gone to Holland gentile men, but come back mere Boors? And we may thank Peregrination for all this. The French Disease, the English Sweat, the Hungarian Scab, the African Leprosy, the Spanish Calenture came into Germany by Peregrination. The Physicians observe that if a man hath drunk Poison, and be presently clapped into the belly of a Mule, he may recover; and if one Mule will not serve, another must be killed. I was told of one that was preserved so by the death of ten; but I believe if all the Mules of Barbary were sacrificed, they would not be enough to cure our Germane Gentlemen, who have sucked in so much Venom abroad, under the taste of Hony. Now, if there be a strict Law among us, to punish those severely who import counterfeit Merchandises by way of Commerce; And if it be death to bring in base Sophisticated Coin, how much more do they deserve to be punished, who indroduce Vice instead of Virtue, bad Customs for good; to pervert the manners, the dispositions, and nature of the whole Nation? I know this itch of Travelling, and to wander abroad, is no where greater than among us: How many thousands of us are found in Paris at this time? How many hundred in Milan, and Venice; England is full of us, and many other Countries. Prince Rodolphus discoursing with one that had been a great Traveller, told him, jam vidisti Orbem terrarum universum, qui nihil aliud est quam colles, Montes, Valles, Planities, syluae & hujus generis alia. I find thou hast gone over most part of the earthly Globe, which is nothing else but Hills, and Dales, Mountains, Valleys, Plains, and Champions, Woods, and Groves, with such like things. Eudoxus wished and implored the Gods, that he might but have power to go near the body of the Sun to behold his Beauty, Magnitude, and Matter, and he would willingly be content to be afterwards burnt with the Beams thereof. So many of our Countrymen are so greedy of Peregrination, that they will venture upon it though they shorten their lives thereby. Let us hear how Seneca that grave Philosopher, descants upon Peregrination, when he writes thus to Lucilius. Quid per se prodesse Peregrinatio cuiquam potuit? What hath Peregrination of itself profited any man? It hath not bridled lust, attempered pleasure, repressed anger, nor broke the un●…amed violence of love; It hath ro●…ted no ill out of the mind, it hath not improved the judgement, nor rectified error, but it hath detained us a while with new Sights, as Boys are with Rattles: It provokes the inconstancy of the mind, and by tossing it to, and fro, makes it more light and movable; Therefore men use to be quickly cloyed with those places they formerly did so much covet; and like Birds, fly away thence almost before they have taken any footing. Peregrination will give you knowledge of Nations, it will show you new shapes of Mountains, of Fields, and Meadows, with the course and nature of some River: As how Nilus swells in the Summer Solstice, and Tigris is suddenly snatched away from our sight, but passing a little under the Earth recovers her former greatness: How Meander, which hath afforded the Poets so much matter and sport, is entangled with so many windings, and oftentimes rushes into her Neighbour before she can recover herself, but she grows thereby neither better, nor wiser. Believe me, my noble Countrymen, unless this strange itch of foreign Travel be cured in us, or at leastwise unless there be some Laws and Cautions prescribed to regular Peregrination, that there be better returns made, our Ancestors Ghosts will rise up against us, and Posterity will bewail our Incogitancy, and weakness too late; for they will hardly be able to find out among us what were the Primitive manners, the continence, the constancy and nature of a true Germane.  
And now to the task imposed upon me; but before I buckle myself for the business, I make it my humble request that those touches I have given of Peregrination, may be understood in a sane sense: It is not out of any dislike I have of it, for there is no Creature on earth hath a greater esteem thereof, than myself, acknowledging it to be the ripest School and principal Academy, for the study both of men, and manners; and the World affords not more gallant Students and Proficients herein, than I find now before me in this Princely Assembly: but what hath dropped from me, was touching the abuse thereof, as also in order to the method we have proposed to ourselves, to discourse of things pro & con, and to answer in part to that incomparable Speech of your Highness, made in praise of Peregrination.  
And now I will enter into the Province I have under-taken, which is high Germany, and for performance of your desires, most Excellent Prince, which are Commands to me, I will compose my voice and tongue accordingly; and at the very first, will unmask my mind unto you in three words: Germania Europae Princeps, Germany is the Princess of Europe. And truly never any Opinion proceeded more impartially, and more from the Centre of my heart, than this: For the maintenance of which Tenet there wants not much Oratory, or any moving persuasions and allurements of words, which the ancient Orators both Greek, and Latin did use, when they delivered their minds in any doubtful or desperate matter. The greatest difficulty I find in this business, is out of such a hugh heap of matter to cull out, and put before you the choicest and best pieces: And as Geographers in describing the World, use by little lines to show the course of mighty Rivers; as Danube, Nile, Ganges, Thames, Tiber, Tagus, with others; As also in small points to describe Rome, Constantinople, the gran Cayre, Paris, London, and Ghent, the greatest walled Town in Europe: So will I be as brief and as punctual as possibly I can, in setting forth the praises of this mighty Country, and Nation.  
But to speak the worst at first, I pray hear what Cornelius Tacitus, the Critic of his times, writes of it; Quis prater periculum horridi & ignoti Maris: Who without the dangers of a doubtful and unknown Sea would leave Asia, Africa, or Italy, to seek Germany, an informed piece of earth, a rough clime, a Land unmanured, full of thick horrid Woods, huge Lakes, impatient of fruitful Trees, yet full of Cattle though small: In stead of Silver Vessels they have them of the same stuff as themselves, of pure earth: They have no Cities, they are given to sleep, sloth, and gluttony, being ignorant of the secrets of Letters; they use Dice among their serious affairs, with so much rashness in winning or losing, that at one cast they will hazard their bodies, and liberty. Caes●…r also saith, that the Germans hold it a kind of policy to have large vast Wilderness about them, wherein they permit Robberies for the exercise of their young men, and avoiding of idleness, etc. Such speeches Caesar and Tacitus give of the Germans; but will you know the reason of it? Because the one in divers conflicts was sound beaten by them, and the other speaks ignorantly, or partially, because he was an Officer under Vespasian in France, than a little after upon the beginning of Trajan's Reign, the Emperor Nerva being newly gone out of the World, a matter of a hundred years after the Incarnation he scribbled a Book, De mori●…u Germanorum, of the manners of the Germans: But Caesar himself saw only the Skirts of the Country, whence he was repelld, he never entered into the bowels of the Land, and what he delivers he took up in trust by confused rumours: But if either of these lived now, they would sing another note, they would stand astonished that Germany should have so many flourishing Provinces, so many noble and opulent Cities, so many pleasant Villages▪ such fruitful Orchards, fragrant Gardens, and fart Fields, such Mines of Gold▪ Silver, Led, Iron, with all other Metals, such martial people so many Universities, so many Archdukes, Princes, Marquises, Landgraves, Earls, Barons, Knights, with a world of Noble Families that can exactly draw their Pedigree thousands of years passed: I say, if Caesar or Tacitus lived now, they would be more enlightened, and cry out, We Romans in many things were too credulous in believing what was spoken of our Enemies, and in some things we injured them to show our wits, but our own senses do convince us now, and tell us that Germany is another thing: We were Trojans once, but all our glory hes buried in the dust of our Nephews and Posterity, having with sloth, idleness, and foulness of vice, soiled all our Heroik exploits: But the Germans continu still great Heroes both in respect of their own Virtues, and their Progen●…tors. They are still magnanimous, most just, Religious, fortunate, and so blessed, that there you cannot discover any decay at all in the age of the World. If Virgi●… were revived, and again upon earth, leaving the barren theme of praising Augustus▪ he would break out into the admiration of our Germane Emperor, and having got so rich and divine an Argument to rouse up his Muse, he would sing,  

Ille ego qui quondam gracili modulatus avena  
Carmen, & effudi laudes magnae Urbis in Orbem,  
Gratum opus Augustis, at nunc horrentia Martis  
Arma, Virosque cano, Romae quae moenia primi  
Aequavere solo, superatis Alpibus, amplos  
Et de Fortuna tandem duxer●… triumphos, etc.   
In lieu of the Romans he would extol the Germans, who first ransacked and ruined Rome. But most Princely Auditors, let us not examine as much what our Predecessors did, but how we follow their steps, and how near [our vigilance, virtue▪ and valour comes to theirs: It is the practice of Providence, and the rule of divine Majesty, not to power down all his benedictions at once, but to reserve some of them for future ages. And Homer, as blind as he was, could discern this, when he sings,  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 
The Gods do not shower down all their blessings at once upon mankind. But how mightily have we profitted, what huge advantages have we now of our Forefathers? 'tis true we were once without God, because without Christ, as all Gentiles were; but now by his ineffable grace, and immense goodness we are his Domestiques, we are coupled and admitted to enjoy the privileges, and rights of Children, of his Chosen; therefore 'tis fitting that every Christian heart when he falls into the contemplation of this high Prerogative, should with pious ejaculations cry out, Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dominus Deus exercituum, plena est omnis terra gl●…ria ejus, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Hosts, all the Earth is full of his glory. Now as there be some Rivers that presently as soon almost as they are derived from their Fountains increase and flow with such a force, that they can bear Ships of burden, and drive Mills; as Blavius in this Country, and the little Loire in France hard by Orleans, which within almost a flight shot from the Source, swells to such a stupendous fullness and depth, that there's a Bridge with divers arches over her: so the glorious light of the Gospel darted from above did irradiat all Germany as it were in a moment, it dispelld all the clouds of Paganism, and with its powerful beams it did melt the hearts of the most frozen and remotest parts with admirable celerity: For presently there were such pious contentions who should exceed one another in devotion and acts of Charity, that a world of Schools, Hospitals, Temples, Monasteries, and Religious Houses were built, and endowed with plentiful revenues soon after.  
And such was the height and excess of piety among our Ancestors, that they were forced to enact Laws to restrain the disposing of Legacies for Ecclesiastical uses: There were some Emperors, and Germane Princes that bequeathed to the holy Church whole Provinces and Territories; Bishops became equal to Kings, and Prelates fellows to Princes, and Abbots to Barons, both in authority and dignity, in extern pomp, power, and riches: No Nation hath been more munificent to the Church of Rome, and no Country endowd her own Churches with larger demains: Among others, I will instance in one Abbot and his greatness, whereby you may make a conjecture of the rest, and he is the Abbot of Fuldo, who as Lipsius hath it, supplied the Emperor at one time with threescore thousand fight men. And for the number of Monachicall persons you may make a guess what a huge number there is of them, when in lower Germany alone there are seven thousand Nuns.  
But as in a most delectable Garden there are sometimes, beyond the expectation of the Gardener, Weeds and noxious Herbs that grow up, as Tares among the best Wheat; so where God builds his Church, Satan commonly puts up his Chapel, superstition mingles with devotion, and men grew greedy after innovations and changes; such deformities crepd into the Germane Church, that it might be well termed an Augaean Stable; Purgatory, Exorcisms, Idolatry, Indulgences, and other things in derogation of the merits of the Messias were introduced. The Church now required another Hercules to cleanse her, and she found one, a true one, not a fabulous one, such as the Poets sing of, who strangled Giants, killed the Erimanthaean Boar, choked the two Snakes sent by juno, drive away the Stymphalian monstrous Birds, slew Busiris, took Cerberus by the throat, killed the Nemaean Lion, suppressed the many headed Hydra: But our Hercules did more, for he overthrew Antichrist, and with a Goose Quill did more than Hercules did with his Iron Club, and Germany alone was worthy of such a Champion; I mean Martin Luther, an Augustin Monk, who, though a man of mean birth and means otherwise, observing the exorbitances, ●…nd excess of Churchmen, and the Merchandise that was made of Indulgences, could endure it no longer, but armed himself to subvert the Babylonish Empire, he rusheth against the Pope, spits in his face, and hath shaken his Kingdom ever since very shrewdly: This happened when the Bishop of Rome was at his highest pitch of power, when it was believed that the Pope might dispense with the Writings of the Apostles, and Sanctions of General Counsels: And this seasonable Champion made such a progress, that not only whole Towns, Cities, and Provinces, fell from the Roman Church, but Commonwealths and whole Kingdoms abandoned Her, and among other Pasquil's, this Epigram was composed.  

Roma Orbem domuit, Romam sibi Papa subegit,  
Viribus Illa suis, frau●…ibus iste tuis.  
Quanto isto major Lutherus, major & Illa,  
Illum Illamque uno qui domuit Calamo!  
I nun●…, Alcidem memorato Graecia mendax,  
Lutheri ad Calamum, ferrea clava nihil.   
Rome o'ercame the World, the Pope o'ercame Rome, She by strength, He by cunning; but Luther is greater than either, for with his Pen he subdued both; Let lying Greece brag no more of her Hercules, the Quill did more achievements than the Club: The one knocked down the Nemaean Lion, and the other illfavouredly knocked Leo the tenth.  
In this large field of matter, if I should hunt for arguments to set forth the glory of Germany, I should find innumerable; let the testimony of Bodin himself, who was known to be no friend to Germany, serve for one, when he saith, Nullum illustrius est exemplum, There is not on earth so illustrious an example as that of the Germans, who but differing little from the wildness of Beasts, who wand'ring as it were in Marshes and Moors, and being averse to all kind of civility and literature, are become now such great proficients in both, that in humanity they be said to surpass the Asians, in Philosophy the Grecians, in military Discipline the Romans, in geometry the Egyptians, in Astronomy the Chaldaeans, in Arithmetic the Phoenicians, in Religion the Hebrews, and in variety of Manufactures all other Nations whatsoever.  
Here what Paulus jovius saith, a man not very well affected otherwise to us; litterae non latinae modo,— not only the Latin, but the Greek, and Hebrew letters have by a fatal comigration passed over to Germany; who now being not content with their old way of military Discipline, whereby they took away from Rome her Martial Glory, invents new ones every day; besides, she may be said to have bereft languishing Greece, and drowsy wanton Italy, not only of the Ornaments of Peace, but also of Arts and literature: which makes Machiavelli rebuke his Countrymen, in regard they made use of Germans to survey their Land. It is acknowledged by all people that Regiomontanus might be compared to T●…ales, Eudoxus, Calippus, or Ptolom●…y himself. Nor could the Pope correct the year, and bring it from the old Intercalation, for reducing of the Paschall Ceremonies to set courses of the Moon without him, being sent for to Rome of purpose for that end.  
It is incredible, since the Council of Constance, how Schools and Academies have multiplied in Germany; Witness Vienna, Prague, Frankford, Heydelberg, Erford, Basil, Triers, Witeburg, Gripswald, Mentz, R●…stoch, Regiomontana, Dillingham, Louvain, Helmstad, Leyden, Franiker, Tubingen, with divers other Universities; nor is there any Germane Gentleman, be he never of so mean extraction, but he hath his Education in one of these, otherwise it will be cast in his teeth as an opprobry. The Emperor Lotharius a Saxon born, when he found the Schools in a squalid kind of condition, covered over with Barbarism from the time of Charlemagne a Germane born, he caus●…d the dust to be swept off, and restored them to their former lustre, with restauration of public Lectures, and Chairs for all Sciences, which did so augment the number of knowing men, that in one University alone there were 4435. that had the Magisteriall Laurel given them within the compass of a few years. Besides these Academies there be divers Monasteries that have Schools to train up youth, as amongst the rest I will instance in the Abbacy of Fuldo, where 600. gentlemen's Sons in Sturmius his time were bred, and 30. Doctor's reading to them in one year. What do I speak of Noble men? there are sovereign Princes which daily become graduates in one Academy or other. john, Duke of Megalopolis would not return to the Government of his Country, till he had studied 20. years in Paris. Harman Prince of Hassia took the degrees of Mastership in Prague, and was congratulated by the Emperor himself, and the chiefest Nobles of the Kingdom of Boh●…miah. Richwinces' Duke of Lorain did the like: Albert Count of 〈◊〉 took the degree of Doctor of the civil Law, with others; ●…ut the examples of the Duke of Geldres is admirable. A●…nold and William were Brothers, whereof the one was learned, the other illiterate; The one was in favour with the Pope, and all other Princes, the other was neglected for his ignorance: which disgrace lest it might be transmitted to his Posterity, William his Brother, sent his Sons to be educated in Paris, whence they returned not till they were both Masters of Art. Albert the 6th. Duke of Bavaria, the Founder of Ingolstad University, did dignify Learning with so much honour, that he himself took the degree of Batchillor of Arts, and publicly wore the formalities of the order up and down the Streets. But what shall we say, Charlemain our Compatriot, whereof Sigebert a French Author writes, that Charlemain was not only excellently versed in his own maternal Tongue, but in other ●…orreigne Languages; He put old barbarous Verses which spoke of the Acts of Kings in a more refined stile; he also caused the Grammar to be rendered in the vulgar Tongue: He commanded Teutonique, or Germane names to be imposed upon the months of the year, as also all the winds which he divided to twelv, being afore but four. He used to be present at School-exercises, encourag●…d the Commons to learning, and threatened a degradation to Noble men that were illiterate. What shall I say of Otho the second, who being overcome in Greece, and left alone, escaped because he spoke Greek so well. Frederique the second was excellently versed in sundry Languages, and caused Aristotle's works to be translated out of Greek, and Arabic into the common Tongue. Charles the fourth fed the Imperial Eagle in the Muse's Garden, and made a firm League 'twixt Mercury and Mars. Charles the fifth had Thu●…idides always with him as his Companion in the field: He much favour●…d Doctor Seldius, who after he had voluntarily resigned the Empire to his Brother, and the rest of his Domimon to his Son, was his individual Companion, and attending him to Flushing where he was to embark for Spain; and the Emperor discoursing with him very late at night he at last tolled a little Bell to call up some of his Servants, who were all asleep, whereupon he lighted down the Doctor himself, saying, now Seldius forget not this, that Caesar, Charles' the first, who was used to be guarded with whole Armies, hath not now a Servant to wait on him, and he who thou hast attended so many years, doth now serve thee, and light thee down. How many most signal, and glorious men hath Germany produc●…d? as Adrian the 4th. Io. Brentius, Cochlaeus, Staupicius, Philip Melancthon, Zuinglius, Osiander, Car●…lestadius, Oecolam●…, Cassander, Bucer, Grynaeus, Fagius, Wigandus, Bullinger, Mathesius, 〈◊〉, Mentzerus, Winckellman, Gretzer, Becanus, Tannerus, Ursinus, H●…nnius, Hondius, Gerlachius, Paraeus, Musculus, Hutterus, Lessius, Backmeisterus, Mylius, Drexelius, Biderman, Balduin, Sigwardus, Meisnerus, Gerardus, Finkius, Pappus, Pelargus, Scultetus, Pitiscus, Simlerus, Flaccus, Illiricus, Thummius, and the Excellent Hafenriffus; all these were renowned Divines, whose Works are extant, with divers more. Now for Politicians, and Civilians, their number is endless. There is Baron Skenckins, Heimburgius, Henningus, G●…eden, Strenius Baro, Enenchelius Baro, Camerarius, Zasius, Zuiclemus, Everardus, Marnixius, Haloander, Mudaeus, Oldendorpius, Pistores, Welserus, Leunclavius, who having been employed Ambassador to the Post to Osman, the great Turk, by the Emperor Rodolphus, did compile the Annals of the mahometans, and all the History of the Oriental World. There are moreover justus Lipsius, Freherus, junius, Reusnerus, Besoldus, Wackerius, Bocerus, Rulandus, Godelmannus, Lechmannus, Fabrus, Herwartus, and multitudes more, whose Works are extant for the universal good of mankind.  
For Physic, there is Vesalius, Copus, Crato, Hadrianns junius, Guinterius, Langius, Tragus, Dodonaeus, Vierus, Zuingerus, Sceckius, Planerus, Peucerus, Tragus, Horstius, Sennertus, Pistorius, Philippus, Theophrastus; and abundance more of most renowned men.  
For Philosophy and philology, who by profound speculation of divine and humane things, and a curious indagation of the hiddenst Closets of Nature, have exposed to the world many mysterious Rarities: There is in the first place Albertus Magnus, Agricola, Trithemius, Reuclinus, Nauclerus, Pirckleimerus, Erasmus Roterodamus, whose wit Longolius prefers before all the wealth of France. Rhenanus, Huttenus, Celtenus, who was first that was Crowned Poet Laureate by the Emperor Frederique the 4th. own hands. There is Cranzius, Aventinus, Cuspinianus, Sleidanus, Lazius, Surius, Golzius, Gruterus, Clennardus, Carion, Scioppius, Kirkmannus, G. Agricola, who digged deeper into the bowels of the Earth for the knowledge of Metals more than any one. Add hereunto Cranter, Sturmius, Gesner, Xylander, Buxtorfius, B. Keckerman, Baudius, Heinsius, Dousa, Taubmannus, Melissus, Calaminus, Meursius, Crusius, Frisklinus, Sibcros, Sabinus, Glareanus, Stigelius, and a great many more, who have transmitted their Names to immortality by printed Monuments.  
For Mathematicians there is no Country hath produced rarer men; witness Mullerus, Regiomontanus the Son of Trapezuntius, whom after the correction of the Calendar, the Greeks out of envy, because he was superior to them in knowledge found a trick to poison. Let Purbachius be added hereunto, who first revived the study of the Stars under this clime: St●…fflerus, Copernicus, Mestlitus, Braheus, Keppler, Clavius, whom Scaliger so much esteemed, that he said, he had rather be corrected by him, then commended by others. There is Stadius, Reinholdus, Schonerus, both the Appians, Gemma Frisius, Vadianus, Dyander, Stevinus, Mercator, Ortelius, Peutingerus, Dasypodius, Merula, Cluverus, Munsterus; and many more.  
For Musicians, there have been Orlandus Lassus, Hasleros, Lechnerus, Praetorius, with others. But oh, immortal God besides these methinks I see before me an Host of rare renowned Authors, who have contributed infinitely to the Commonwealth of Learning, as if the Muses had taken up the chiefest mansion in Germany; what a world of Books and Libraries are up and down? Insomuch, that Book-Merchants drive a greater Trade in our Marts then any where else; therefore those Verses of Horace may well be applied unto us.  

Venimus ad summum Fortunae, pingimus, atque  
Psallimus, & luctamur Achivis doctius unctis.   
Avaunt hence then those base Calumniators, and Forgers of lies and scandals, and if they have any tincture of shame left, let them away to Utopia, and there belch out their Venom, specially that opprobrious Saying, that I Tedischi hanno l'ingegno nelle mani, The Germans have their wit in their hands; as if they had none in their brain. How can this be averred by any that hath the least spark of Ingenuity and truth in him; considering that I have already mustered up so many Heros in all knowledge, as well in Theologie, as in Civil Policy, in Physic, in History, in the Mathematics, in Philosophy, philology, with all other kind of knowledge, as well moral as natural; So that Germany may be without derogation to any other Country be called the Gran School and Academy of all Knowledge.  
But most Illustrious Princes, because by our Adversaries own confessions we have such ingenious hands, let us search a little into the ground of this Saying. The first Broachers of it were the Italians, who were well known to be a cunning acute Peeple, yet they give us the priority almost in every thing; there passeth never a year but they send out of Germany for Architects, Statuaries, Limmers, Painters, Surveyors, Aqueduct makers. Aeneas Silvius had all his Artificers hence: France also makes the same use of our men, for the best Tapestry, Hangings, and Household-stuff, with Tables, Chairs, curious Glass which are fetched away hence. Norimberg is admired all the Earth over for her rare industry, and inventive faculty: The Goldsmiths of Auspurg are cried up in every corner for Bracelets, Rings, Chains, Necklaces, and other Curiosities, which are carried every where abroad, from the rising to the setting Sun. Nor doth Norimburg and Auspurg excel only, but every City in Germany abounds with exquisite Opificers, though some Towns do apply themselves to one thing more than another. In Friburg they have an art to polish Crystal, and make Vessels and curious Cups thereof: Other Towns are dextrous in making Muskets, Archibuses, and Pistols: Ulms excels in Drapery and weaving of Cloth, whereof she vents an incredible quantity: Other places excel in making of Pewter, Tinn, Brass, and Copper Vessels; some in casting of Canons, some in making of all kind of Pikes, some in exquisite sorts of dying, some in painting of Glass, some in framing of all kind of earthen Potts, some in devising new sorts of Wagons: But he who desires to see a Compendium of the Manual subtleties of the Germane, let him beg leave to go to Dresden in Saxony, or to Stutgard in Wirtemberg, or to Munchen in Bavaria, and there he may take a surfeit of beholding thousands of rarities, and feed his eyes with new objects a whole twelumonth together.  
Now what we have already spoken of high Germany, may be as well said of the lower, who is little inferior herein to the higher, whom Thuanus avoucheth to abound with Artificers more than any part of the earth in so narrow a compass. It is upon record in story, that in the year one thousand three hundred and thirty, there were in Louvain alone, four thousand Weavers Looms, every Workhouse employing thirty or forty persons to prepare the Wool, to spinn and carded it; so that by this computation there must have been an hundred and sixty thousand souls at least did eat their bread upon this sole Manufacture. And what credit the English Cloth hath now gained, may be attributed to the Lovanians, and other Low-country Opificers, who brought whole Colonies into great Britain, and made that Nation such able Workmen in this kind of commodity, who were given altogether before to Agriculture and grazing of Cattle: for the fury of the Duke of Alva drive many Families of Flemins thither, where they peepled many Towns which were very thin of Inhabitauts before, as Norwich, Colchester, Maidston, Sandwich, Canterbury, Hampton, and others, teaching them the art of making Bays and Serges, with other such like woollen Manufactures; yet the Belgians still flourished by this industry, and the Drapers of Wool began to lessen among them; there was a compensation made by making Linen cloth, wherein they are so exquisite, and herein the Batavians or Hollanders bear the Bell, who are arrived to that perfection of making fine Cambrics, and other Cloth, that Holland hath given the name to the thing itself, which is commonly called Holland; and their dexterity is such herein, that their Looms may be compared to Arachne's web for fineness, as if they were woven by Pallas her own hand; for they may be said to equal the Snow in whiteness, Lawn in thinness, Silk in softness and value: Cambray is also famous for this, and grows rich from what it was beyond belief: For Thuanus reports there are 30000. Clothes made in that Town alone every year, which at four pound Sterling a piece come to a vast Somme. Flanders also excels in woven Pictures, specially Holst, and Oudenard, fit for the Pomp of Princes; I know the Ancients have been Admirable for the Needle, the Phrixian Gowns, the Istrian Cadowes, the Attalicall Hangings, and the Babylonian Cutwork were very famous, according to that of Marshal.  

Non ego praetulerim Babylonica picta, superbé  
Texta Semiran it quae variantur acu.   
But all that Curiosity by a kind of transmigration is removed to Germany: The thing exceeds faith, no Colour is wanting here, think upon what you will; The Peacock is not adorned by nature with more gay coloured Feathers, than Art makes Tapestry here to delight the Optics with such changeable and various Objects, insomuch that no Nation exceeds them herein, or produceth more inventive Spirits. Among others the Quintin's, the Florians, the Brugelians, the Clerians, the Brillians, the Mabuseans, the Moors, the Schoorelians, the Hemskirkians, the Pourbusians, the Barensians, the Winghians, the Hofnalians, are most famous, specially john Eckius, who first found out the way of mingling Oil with Colours; And Albert Durer of Norimberg came to a wonderful height of perfection herein, which extorted a confession from the Italians themselves, who using his name in vain, would father their works upon him to make them more vendible.  
And now let all those Limmers, and Painters who have gained immortality by their rare pieces, come and appear; let Apelles, Zeuxis, Protogenes, Parrhasius, and the Theban Aristides come; let the most renowned Architects appear, let Ctesiphon Gnosius, who erected the Ephesian Temple to the honour of Diana, let Dinocrates, who traced Alexandria: let Philo the famous Athenian come, let all the choicest Sculpters, Leochares, Alcamenes, Briaxis, Scopus, Pythis come; let the most celebrous Statuaries appear, as Polycletus, Praxiteles, Ctesias, Lysippus: Let the ablest Artificers and Opificers the World ever afforded appear, and they shall find that Germany hath their equals, and as great Masters as they in every thing. But they will be transported with wonder, when they meet our Albertus Magnus, who made a Statue so near the life, that by the motion of certain wheels and gins, latent within, made the tongue move & prolate articular sounds; which Statue, when Albertus had got Tho: Aquinas the Angelical Doctor into a Chamber where it was, and making it speak with an audible voice, Aquinas being suddenly surprised with amazement, struck it with a stick and broke it, whereupon Albertus in as great amazement, said; Ah Thomas! what hast thou done? Thou hast destroyed in a moment the work of thirty years. Could any of these old Artists make an Eagle of wood, such a one as Regiomontanus, upon the Emperor's entrance into Norimberg, making her to fly in the Air, and welcome him to Town.  
But these are trivial things, most Illustrious Auditors, they are Stars of the least magnitude, in comparison of others that shine in this Firmament: What think you of the invention of Gunns, and Printing, the first for Mars, the last for Mercury; two mighty things worthy of Germane Inventors, whereby Arms and Arts are so much advantaged.  
The Bow, the sling, the Roman Ramms, the Scorpions, and Engines of Battery, were nothing compared to the Canon which doth such Execution, and destroys men, and horses at such a distance: If any thing can compare with Thunder, 'tis the sound of a Culverin, in noise and terribleness: Witness when at the three year's Siege of Osten, the report of the Canon was heard at Louvain; and when the Duke of Guyse surprised and took Calis from the English, the noise of the great Gunns reached as far as Antwerp, having the wind favourable for its transport; which made Scaliger say, Pace tua dicam, jupiter, fulmina nostra sunt terribiliora tuis; Age, coge nubes ut tonare queas, nos etiam te tranquillo iratum Regnum tuum faciemus. By your good leave, oh, jove! our Thunderbolts are more terrible than yours; Go gather Clouds, that you may thunder and tear the Air, when you are quiet, we also can make your Kingdom angry: And Berchtoldus Scharwarzius was the first Inventor of this Miracle, a Franciscan Philosopher.  
But the finder out of Typography, or Printing was a Germane Knight, john Guttenberg of Mentz, though Winphelingus sayeth, he projected it first at Strasburg, and perfected it in Mentz: The greatest advantage that ever the Commonwealth of Learning received, which made Beroaldus the Italian break out into a kind of admiration, and this lyric Verse.  

O Germania muneris Repertrix  
Quo nil utilius dedit vetustas;  
Libros scribere quae doces premendo.   
What a toil it was to exscribe Authors before, and preserve them from the injury of time? What a care the Emperor took to keep Tacitus, commanding him to be written out ten times every year; yet this Golden Author had been like to perish, had he not been found in Corbe Monastery in Westphalia, whence after many age's silence Tacitus was brought to speak again: Besides the negligence of Scribes in former times used to fill the Books with errors, as Cicero witnesseth in his time, Viz. That Latin books were so falsely written in his time, and adulterated, that he knew not what to do; whereupon Christian Authors thought it fitting that Booksellers should be sworn to divulge none but true examined Copies, which made Irenaeus in the end of his Work to adjure the Transcriber by the name of Christ, and the dreadful day of Judgement, that all copies thereof should be examined and made concordant with the Original. Typography may be said to cast a Bridle in Time's mouth, that he may not devour so much, and bring things under the yoke of mortality: Typography may be called Ars memoriae, & mors oblivionis, the art of memory, and death of Oblivion: There is no Epithet or Elogium adaequat to the worth of Typography, it deserves such attributs as Philon the Physician gives to his compositions, calling them Manus Dei, or as others call theirs, Manus Christi, Apostolicon, gratiam Dei, Catholicon, Antidotum Paulinum, and such Divine Epithets: For the Christian World owes more to Frobenius, and Oporinus of Basile, to Plantine of Antwerp, to Aldus Manutius of Venice, to Robert and Henry Stephanus of Paris and Geneva, which have so much promoted all kind of Sciences in such durable Characters; I say the Christian World owes more to these Men, then to the greatest Captains and Warriors who have enlarged the bounds of their Country: And I hope it will not be fastidious to you, most Noble Auditors, if I recite unto you an Epigram in praise of Aldus Manutius, made by Beza.  

Didonis cecinit rogum disertus  
Maro, Pompeij rogum Lucanus;  
Et discite adeo hoc uterque fecit,  
Ut nunc vivere judicetur Illa,  
Nec jam mortuus hic putetur esse.  
Imo sunt redivivi & Hic & Illa;  
Ergo credere ●…as erit poetas  
Divos, utpote qui loquendo possint  
Vitam reddere mortuis, quod ipsis  
Est Divis proprium & peculiar.  
Quod si fas credere Deos poetas,  
Vitam reddere quod queant sublatam;  
Quanto est justius aequiusque, quaeso,  
Aldum Manutium Deum vocare,  
Ipsis qui potuit suo labour  
Vitam reddere mortuis poetis?   
Virgil sung on Dido's Hearse, and Lucan on Pompey's, and they did it so well, that neither She nor He may be said to be dead, but both do daily revive: Therefore Poets may be termed Gods in one sense, because they can give life unto the dead, which is proper and peculiar to the Gods: But if Poets may be taken for Gods, because they can restore life, how much more just and equitable is it to call Aidus Manutius a God, who could by his labour give life to so many Divine Poets?  
If therefore Typography may be called a Goddess, because she restores virtuous men to life, may not the Germans who got Her, be termed Gods: These are the two great beneffits which Germany hath communicated to the World, and made thereby a way to Peace and recovering of right, to virtue, and all kind of learning, to Religion, to Heaven, and Christ himself: Boterus doth also attribute to us the first Invention of Wheel Clocks, whereby the courses and recourses of Time and the Stars are distinguished, when he saith, I Tedeschi sono stati Inventori della stampa, dell' Artiglieria, et dell' Horologio a ruota, cose nobilissime. The Germans have been the Inventors of Printing, of Artillery, and Wheeled Clocks, three most noble things. I will relate here what Scaliger writes of all three, By the Canon we imitate Ioves anger, by the Press we make men immortal, and by dials and Wheel Clocks we are made companions with time, and go still along with him.  
This noble Continent of Germany was once Townlesse, and without Cities, but now I pray what part of the habitable Earth hath more? Your Duchy of Wirtemberg alone, most excellend Prince, hath threescore, Holland in a small circuit of ground comprehends three and thirty Cities, Gorchon Tower will show you two and twenty. Utrecht stands betwixt fifty Cities, where of the remotest is but one day's journey distant. Now high Germany is so thick with Cities, that they may be said to shake one another by the hand, and all of them are most beautiful, both for amaenity of soil, for firmness of structure, for stateliness of Palaces, for delicacy of Fountains, for curiosity of Walks, for cleanliness of ways, for commodity of Rivers, for Stadshouses, for Monasteries, Chappells, and Churches.  
Can there be a better fortified place then Vienna, for which 'tis true we are beholden to an English King: can there be neater Cities than Harlam (who also arrogats to herself the first Invention of Printing) than Amsterdam, than Strasburg, than Brunswick, than Ingolstadt, than Dresden, than Lubec, than Hamburgh, than Breme, than Magdenburg (the Metropolis of Germany) than Antwerp? Can there be more pleasant Towns than Auspurg, Leipsic, Bern, Noremberg, Lunsburg, Saltzburg, Basil, Leiden, and Bruges? Can there be greater Towns than Ghent, Prage, Erford, Louvain, and Colen? With other whereof there might be made a far larger Catalogue; in divers of these the Citizen's houses look like the Palaces of Princes. Srabo writes that the Romans went beyond the Greeks in purity of Cities; and Boterus an Italian confesseth the Germans to surpass his Countrymen herein, Hora I Tedeschi accanzano di gran lunga ay Romani: The character which Charles the Emperor gave one of Florence in Toscany, being ravished with her beauty, Viz. That Florence was a City to be seen upon Festivals, and holiday; the same may be said of many of the Germane Cities; Behold Antwerp, a place situated upon a fair navigable sweet River, a spacious Plain, which streets and structures, for order and symmetry, for high, strong, and spacious Walls, whereon three or four Coaches may go abrest, for ways, prospects, and an universal kind of Elegancy, there is not any can surpass Her: if one observe all the members of her body with an unpassionat judgement, I know he will give his suffrage with me: Let Scaliger, a branch of a Germane stem, be one of Her Judges in this Hexastic, making the City herself by way of Prosopopoeia, speak:  

Oppida quot spectant oculo me torva sinistro,  
Tota nos Invidiae pallida tela petunt:  
Lugdunum omnigenum est, operosa Lutetia, Roma  
Ingens, Res Venetum vasta, Tolosa potens,  
Omnimodae merces, Artes priscaeque novaeque:  
Quorum insunt aliis singula, cuncta mihi.   
Add herunto that incomparable Citadel, built according to the true rules of Enginry, and this slately Plain like a Campus Martius which lieth 'twixt Her and it. Now if a man should go to particulars, and observe the greatness of Ulm Temple in Suevia, the beauty of Freidenstad Church in Wirtemberg, the magnificence of the Jesuitts College in Bavaria, the neatness of Halberstadt Church▪ the Mount Olivet in Spire, the Armoury of Dresden, the Suburbs and Gardens of Stutgard, the Tower of Strasburg, which is computed to be five hundred seventy four foot high, with innumerable other singularities; I say, if a judicious spectator should survey all these, he will acknowledge Germany to be inferior to no Country upon the Earth.  
Therefore what Tacitus writes of Germany, was taken up in trust, and from imperfect hearsayes; nor must we take all the narrations of the Ancients for Gospel, or Articles of Faith. What false things have they delivered of the Country which l●…eth under the torrid Zone, whom they made so parching and scorching, that it was inhabitable? Yet 'tis now found by experience, and the travels of Spaniards, English, Hollanders, French, and others, that it is a temperate clime, that one need not throw off his Cloak for immoderate heat, nor keep it on for cold: Indeed joseph Acosta sayeth, That at the Vernal Equinoctial he found himself so cold that he went to the Sunshine to get heat by aprication: What Aristotle and many others write of the Swan, that she sings her own dirge before her death, we find to be false; sundry other things the old Wizards deliver for truth, which our experience find to be false, therefore we must not give credit to all that Tacitus writes, whom Budaeus styles the wickedest of all Writers; Tertullian calls him lyingst, and Orosius the flatteringst; what a simple gross error was that in him to derive the Etymology of the Jews (judaei) from the Mountain Ida in Crete? But the Epithetts that were given him were a little too bitter, for I must confess with Lipsius, that he may be well rankd among the prudentst and soundest of all the Roman Historians; but there's no Pomegranate but may have some rotten grains: Now put the case that Barbarism did once cover the face of this Country (as it did all other at first) how marvellously is it civilizd since? Open the Windows and look about, and where will you now find such uncouth Fens, and horrid Woods as Tacitus speaks of: 'Tis true that the Her●…ynian Forest might be once nine day's journey broad, and whose beginning after sixty days travel none could find, as Caesar reports, but now 'tis otherwise, for it may be easily surveyed; and all other places are cultivated and made commodious for man's use: This most noble Duchy of Wirtemberg may be called the marrow of Germany; Alsatia, and those Territories upon the Rhin, may be termed the Garden of Germany; Westphalia, Hassia, Saxony, Bavaria, Sil●…sia, Thuringia, and Misnia, may be called the Granaries of Germany: Franconia, Silesia, Thuringia, and Tirol, the Pantry of Germany: Styria and Austria, what are they but a kind of Paradis? What is all Germany but a Pandora's Box? There is no kind of ground, whither sandy, fenny, or rocky, but is made useful some way or other; among other places ●… will instance in Holland, which though by her low situation she be nothing else but a Moor or Marsh, I pray what character joseph Scaliger gives of her, who sings thus to Dousa.  

Ignorata tuae referam miracula Terrae,  
Dousa, peregrinis non habitura fidem.  
Omnia Lanicium hic lassat textrina Minerva,  
Lanigeros tamen heic scimus abesse greges.  
Non ca●…iunt operas fabriles oppida vestra,  
Nulla fabris tamen heic ligna ministrat h●…mus.  
Horrea triticeae rumpunt heic frugis acervi,  
Pascuus heic tamen est, non Cerealis Ager.  
Heic numerosa meri stipantur dolia cellis,  
Quae vineta colat nulla putator habet.  
Heic nulla, aut certé seges est rarissima lini,  
Linifici tamen est copia major ubi?  
Heic medijs habitamus aquis, quis credere posset?  
Et tamen heic nullae, Dousa, bibuntur aquae.   
Both Italy, and hungry Spain with divers other Countries, taste often of the fatness of Germany. 'tis well known that some years since, the City of Rome being reduced to such extremity, that all the Jews and Courtesans being commanded out of the City, eight ounces of bread was allowed to every mouth, but the Hansiatique Towns fetching a huge compass by Hercules Pillars, kept them from starving by a Fleet of Corn Ships which they sent into the Tiber; And the Pope did gratify the first bringer in of the news with a thousand Ducats.  
Among other places, let Bern in Swizzerland show the fertility of Germany, which though it be inferior far to Wirtemberg and Alsatia, yet is it compared to the great Plain about Milan, which is accounted one of the best corn Countries in Italy: According to the Proverb, Berna & il Bernese, vale Milano, & il Milanese. And for Wine, Germany hath divers most generous sorts of herself, which are carried to England, Poland, Moscovie, and other Regions. What's more delicate than that of the Rhine? What Wine's more pure than that of the Neccar! what's stronger then that of Franconia? what's sweeter then that of Austria? And so excellent are the Germane Wines, that Bacchus himself it seems desired to be worshipped here, more than any where else; As appeers by an Altar that was erected to him in the lower Palatinat, called Bacchara, where the choicest Grape grows. Now the plenty of Wines seem to contend with their plesantness: Augustus Caesar delighted more in Germane Wine, then in any, so did Tiberius; Charles the 4th. drunk no other than Backragg, and divers Emperors have preferred the Franconian Wines before the Falernian: And 'twill strike a wonder in any man, to see what a world of huge butts there are in Wrisburg, called Herbipolis of old, and dedicated to Diana, where she had a sumptuous Fane. Go to Stutgard, and there you will find a Proverb among them, that they have more Wine than water; Insomuch that the Wines of Stutgard, besides their own Provision, may afford the value of 100000. rose Nobles in Merchandise. But if you travel upon a wooden Horse upon the Danube, what a world of Vineyards may you behold about Vienna, which though the Country was not come to that perfection of industry as it is now, nor the City half so much peepled, yet Aeneas Silvius, near upon 200. years since speaks of her thus.  
It is incredible what a world of Provision is thrust into Vienna every day; what a company of Carts come in laden with Eggs and Crabfish, with bread, with fish with Volatills tame and wild, yet in the Evening you shall find nothing in the Market. The Vintage lasts here a matter of forty days, there's not a day passeth but there are 300. Carts employed laden with Wine, and some laden twice or thrice; There are above a thousand Horses used in the Vineyards; their Caves are of that depth, and so spacious, that the Subterranean places may compare with those above ground, and such an exuberance of Wine there is in some places of Germany, that they will exchange a butt of Wine for one of water; nay, they use in some Towns to mingle Wine with their Mortar, and macerat their Lime with it.  
If you go to other drinks in Germany, you will find Sr. john Barleycorn as well as Bacchus to be there in his Kingdom. Nay, in some places he may compare for strength with Bacchus himself; witness the powerful beer of Rostock, of Brunswik, of Breslaw, of Danzik, of Delft, and Paderborn. The like may be said of Mede, which surpasseth Candy wine in sweetness. And for beer the World knows what a Medicinal vertu Lubeck's beer hath to heal bruises, and other distempers. What shall I speak of the Austrian Saffron? of the Frankincense and Myrrh of Moravia, of the Liquorish of Franconia, of the Mader for Dyer's in Silesia! of the Ambar of Thuringia! all which are accounted the best in that kind that can be found any where.  
For all other commodities either for pleasure, profit or necessity, what doth Germany want? what delightful Orchards are there, what large fields of Grain, what a World of Cattle; where can you find Cows that will yield twelve quarts of milk every day as in Holland; where can you find better Cheese? where can you find such Bacon as in Westphalia; a Gammon whereof is accounted so rare, that in feasts it is served up last after all the fine courses of Fowl and Fruit. Hear what Guicciardin spoke in his times of Holland, that in Cheese and Butter, she did vent every year above a million: and what shall we think she does now, that her Trade is come to such a portentous increase; some think that the benefit she makes of Milk may compare with Bourdeaeux Wines, or the spices of Portugal.  
Touching other animals, and Horses especially, Germany yields to no other Country, either for all kind of labours, as also for service in War, as France knows well, who is furnished hence: what horse can carry a Cuirassier more stoutly than a Frislander; what famous Marts are in Germany for Horses! what choice breed! I will instance but only in one Prince of Holsteyn, a Kinsman of ours, who at one time had above a thousand Mares for breed, and above one hundred choice Stallions.  
Now will I go to the shores of Prussia, Pomerland and Livonia, to gather Gum; and Lord what abundance of it is found there! a curious kind of Aromatic Ambar, which tricles down from the Fir Trees, whereof there are such huge Forests, which serves for Merchandise all the World over.  
Now for Nobleness of Rivers; what Country is comparable to Germany! We have the Danube acknowledged by all to be King of Rivers.  Qui centum populos et magnas alluit Urbes. 
She waters a hundred several people; with many mighty Cities; The Rhin is ours, The Elve is ours, the Main, the Morsel, the Skeld, the Vistula with ten great Navigable Rivers are ours; which for Fish and freighting of comodities and conveyance of them from place to place run very conveniently; Guicciardin in his time made a supputation that the Fishing of the Low Countries alone came to above two millions a year. Now in High Germany there are some Fish, who of themselves are so savoury and sweet that they need no sauce: and in Prague he is held to have but a very dull taste who useth any sauce with some sorts of fish. Now for salt pits, what numbers are there in Luneburg, in Saxony, in Suabland, Austria, and other places? What variety of Baths and Medicinal waters have we? whose virtue proceeds from Minerals, whereof there are such plenty; What curious Marble is digged up in Limburg, and Namur! you have there Marble of all colours, white, black, red, grey, which may vie with Crystal for lustre and brightness. Germany hath her Mines also of Gold, Silver, Copper, Led, Tin and Iron; The Germane Dollars furnished all the Mints of Europe, before the Mines of Mexico and Potosi were discovered in America. And it is wonderful how the plenty of Gold and Silver is increased in Germany these two last ages which hath enhancd the price of all things. Yet the Helvetians scarce made any use, or had any esteem of Gold and Silver, till they gave that fatal overthrow to Charles the Hardy near Granson, where they carried away their Cap-fulls of Gold and Silver, which since is extremely multiplied amongst them by the salary the Kings of France have given them both for their attendance about his person, by way of guard as also for their service in the War against the House of Austria; The Swiss hereby being come to the apprehension of the value of Gold and Silver, with other Nations have mightily approud their stock since that time. In so much that they proud often very useful to France and other people in great sums of money. And as Germany abounds thus with Gold and Silver, so the bowels of her earth is also full of Metals in divers places; Tirol above other Provinces of Europe hath plenty of Metals: the Elve, Edera with other Rivers afford Gold; Corbachi in Westphalia hath also some, Steinheid in Franconia and other places. Cellerfiela in Saxony hath Mines of Silver, as also Friburg, Marieburg, Anneberg, and Sneberg; joachims' vale, Cotteberg and other Soils in Bohemia have much Silver. Schonback also, and Beraun in Bohemia hath quantity of quicksilver. Melibot and Carpat abound with Copper. Aldeberg and Irberesdort in Misena, likewise have great store of white Lead, and the Mountain Ramel in Saxony hath black, and Ash-colour Led: There are innumerable places where Iron is found, the best in Sorland, Gishubel, and Lavestein. In this affluence of all earthly commodities, Germany hath often relieved her Neighbours, and supplied them with necessaries according to the rule of Charity, the Germans being observed to be least given to the base vice of covetousness, They have been hospitable in the highèst degree, making no difference 'twixt Native and stranger herein, as Tacitus himself confesseth; And to this in most places we retain that Primitive Virtue.  
But because by giving still, and not receiving, the 〈◊〉 might draw scarcity upon herself, therefore the mystery of Marchandizing was found out, and permitted to be exercisd by way of Commutative Justice, for bartering Commodities by way of Exchange, or else by taking reasonable prices for them▪ In so much, that any under the degree of a Gentleman might export superfluous Wares out of Germany, and make a return of others in their steed, which custom tended both to public and private benefit, and numbers hereby have raised their families to be great and rich. And as high Germany is full of such gallant Merchants, so the lower Germans exceed all other in the feat and mystery of commerce, where Women as well as men do exercise the trade, and beat bargains in their Husband's absence▪ And the advantageous situation of their Country seems to invite them hereunto. And if any doubt this, let him look upon the multitude of Ships that lie in every Port, so that take bottoms of all sorts, they have more that sail upon salt water then all Christendom besides: witness else that number which the King of Denmark did stay of theirs at one time in the Baltique Sea, which were 600 for offering an affront to his Ambassadors. In Amsterdam alone there go in and out as many Vessels of all sorts one day with another as there be days in the year, either for England, Scotland, France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Norway, Russia, and the East or West Indies. What a thing was Antwerp before the revolt of the Low Countries? ther used to be more Mercantile businesses transacted there in one month, than a whole year in Venice, there being no less than 300 families of Spaniards there at one time, besides other Nations; she erected the first Burse in Christendom, where twice a day many thousand negociators use to meet, and upon the River of Skeld before the City two thousand five hundred Vessels have rid at anchor at one time, one tide bringing in sometimes four hundred sails, and two hundred Wagons going out and coming in. Nor do we include in this number, the Country Carmen, which were reckoned in one week to have been ten thousand: So that by this vicissitude, and perpetual exercise of Commerce, five hundred millions of Crowns were computed to have been received and paid by buying and selling at home and abroad upon the account of this sole City. And when the Spaniards fell one time to pillage that City, the booty they made was estimated at two millions of Crowns: I do not put in this account the plate and Jewels they took, nor the brave houses which were burnt: The common Gregarian Soldiers were so much enriched hereby, that it was observed, one of them lost in one day near upon ten thousand Crowns in the exchange, where public tables were erected of purpose for gaming. They made hilts for their Swords, and Daggers some of massy Gold, some of Silver, yea Corslets and Helmets were made of the same mettle; but because they would not have it discovered when they went out of Town, they caused them to be varnishd over with some other colour; but therein the Artificers and Gold smith's were too hard for them, for they mingled copper with the Gold, and Tin with the Silver, whereby they redeemed some of their Wealth again from Freebooters. Yet Negotiation did not quite depart from this glorious City, but she flourished awhile afterward in the midst of the furies of Mars; Insomuch, that at one time there were a great many valued at millions of Crowns a piece, and some worth three millions, some more. But I will make a step hence to high Germany; how many famous Mercantile Cities have you there, besides the sixty and odd Hans Towns? There is Frankfort upon the Main, the Mistress of all the Marts of Europe, where one may meet with all sorts of Nations, and any kind of imaginable Commodity; And there is such excellent order used to secure their passage, that it is a most rare thing to hear of a Robbery. And as, most Illustrious Duke, your renowned Ancestor Everard, the first Duke of Wirtemberg, called Barbatus (because going young and beardless to the Holy-land against the common Enemy of Christ, he after many exploits came back with a great Beard which he had got there, and never cut it off afterward) was used to say, that when he went amongst his Citizens, or Tenants abroad, he might sleep securely in any one of their laps, and his men might carry home his Rents in the palms of their hands; So is it universally up and down Germany, where there are fewer Robbers than any where else: For innated probity and downright dealing the German is cried up more than any, as also for his fidelity and trust; which hath caused divers great Emperors and Kings to put their lives in their Custody. Augustus Caesar, Tiberius, and other Emperors till Galba's time, had a Guard of Germans next their persons; but Galba, as Suetonius recordeth, dissolved this most faithful and valiant Guard, whose fidelity had been tried so many years: yet other Emperors took them afterwards; nay, Herodes King of judaea sent for a Guard of them: And they continue to have this high honour to this very day; for not only the late Caesar's, but the Pope, the Kings of Spain, France, and Sarmatia, together with the Gran Duke of Toscany, with divers other sovereign Princes, commit the custody of their lives and persons to this stout and honest Nation; insomuch that we may glory with the Frizland Legions, not only in Pompey's Theatre, as Tacitus hath it, but all the World over, Nullos mortalium armis, aut fide ante Germanos esse, There are no kind of Mortals superior to the Dutch in Arms, and trust; nor shall you see a true Germane ever beat his Servant, or clap in Prison any of his Tenants for non- payment of Rent, but either defalk something out of the wages of the one, and amercing the other to some small Heriot.  
And as the probity of our Nation is like a great flourishing Tree, whose branches shoot every where, so the Germane Chastity is very remarkable; which as Egidius the Fraciscan said, is like a clear crystal Glass which may be darkened by the breath only: And where doth this Chastity look more clear, and shine more bright then in Germany. For one to have knowledge of a woman there before year twenty, is held a great turpitude, and a disgraceful thing: Let Caesar be heard herein: The Germane lust is care, every one is contented with his own wife, so that adultery is rare among them, and it is not as much the punishment as the public shame that deterrs them from it. And Thuanus sayeth, that no Nation observes the honests of conjugal honesty according to God's holy Precept more than they; Insomuch that the Verses of the Lirique may be applied to them.  

Nullis polluitur casta domus stupris,  
Mos & lex maculosum edomuit nefas,  
Laudantur simili prole puerperae:  
Culpam poena premit comes.   
Which causes a strict Law against Bastards, which are rendered incapable of all Promotions; which was the reason that Mary Queen of Hungary, Sister to Charles the 5th. could never be entreated by the Emperor to pardon one of her prime Noblemen, who had deflowered one of her Maids of honour, though much importuned thereto. To this virtue of Chastity we may add the strength of conjugal love, which is found in Germany; and hereof there be many signal examples. Among other, let that in the reign of the Emperor Conradus the third take place here, who having in your Town of Writsberg in Writemberg, straight blocked up Guelpho of Bavaria, and reduced the place to extreme Exigents, at the cries and importunity of the women of the Town, he published a Diploma, or imperial Placart, wherein he indulged all women this privilege, that they might freely depart from the Town, but not carry any luggage with them, but what they could bear upon their own backs. Hereupon the Duchess took Guelpho her Husband on her shoulders, and all the women else following her example, came out of the Gates laden with men and youths. The Emperor being much taken with this witty Stratagem, forgave Guelpho the Duke with all his Adherents. Lorenzo de Medicis, Duke of Toscany reading this Story, was transported with so much joy and pleasure, that being sick of an indisposition, whereof all his Physicians could not cure him, recovered his health hereby, as Bodin relates.  
Let us proceed now to another Virtue, which is signal and shining in the Germane, and that is Modesty. Can there be a greater example then that of Charles the fifth? who being yet in a vigorous state of body, voluntarily resigned the Germane Empire to his Brother Ferdinand, and all his spacious Dominions to his Son Philip; though as some malevolent spirits reported afterwards, that the next after his resignments was the first day of his repentance.  
But now I will speak something of the heroik Valour and Fortitude of our Nation, whereby Europe hath stood unshaken so many ages: And truly to dilate this, my words must needs come short of the matter; and herein it was the disadvantage of Germany to be destitute of Writers; for our Progenitors were more for the Pike than the Pen; bipennem, non pennam tractabant: And it was enough for other Nations to extol their own feats, not ours, so that it may be said of the Children of this Noble Continent,  

Vixere Fortes ante Agamemnona  
Multi; sed omnes illachrymabiles  
Urgentur, ignotique longa  
Nocte, Carent quia Vate sacro.   
The memory of Dido had rotten with her body in her Grave, had not Maro preserved it; so had Ulysses without Homer: Maecenas, had it not been for Horace, Lucilius without Seneca, and divers other Heros, whose names were made indelible and immortal by the quill: Therefore as Bodin sayeth, one of the greatest motives that induced the Scythians and Goths to burn Libraries, was, because the fame of other Nations, as well as their own reproaches might perish. Yet those fragments of stones which are found up and down in our Archives, show well what heroic Spirits this Clime hath bred, and what Martial men; in comparison of whose Preliations and Fights, those of the Greeks were but Combats 'twixt Frogs and Mice. I will not go so far as Tuisco, Mannus, Ingavo, Istaevon, Hermion, Marsus, Gambrivius, Suevus, and Vandalus; But I will come nearer our times, it is enough we are Germans, ergo All men, and manful according to the etymon of the word. Tacitus sayeth, it was an infamous Crime among us, to leave our Colours behind in the field, or to come thence alive, the Prince being killed; For it was held a kind of Religion to protect, and defend his Person, as also to assign the glory of all exploits to him: So terrible we were to our Neighbours the Gauls, that the very name of a Germane was a Scarecrow unto them; for Gallia lay always open to us, though they never took foot of ground in Germany. How did Andirestus trounce them, making them fly to julius Caesar, and implore aid so pitifully, or at least his intercession, to make peace 'twixt them and the Teutoniques. Hereupon julius Caesar employing some Ambassadors to Ariovistus then in Suabland, that he would appoint an indifferent place for a Parley: He answered, that if Caesar had any business with him, he might come to him accordingly, at he would do if he had any business with Caesar; Hereupon a War was denouncd: but certain Travellers, and Merchants telling the Gauls, what huge mighty men both for stature and spirit the Germans were, and how habituated to Arms being abroad in the fields, without houses; such apprehensions of fear and terror did seize upon that Army of Gauls which Caesar had levied against Ariovistus, that they durst advance no further, but retire; such was the high valour of the Suevians at that time, which made Caesar himself break out into this confession: Suevis ne Deos quidem immortales pares esse posse, reliquum quidem in Terris esse neminem quem non superare possint; Galli vero paulatim assuefacti superari, multisque victi praelijs, ne se quidem ipsi cum Germanis virtute comparabant. The immortal Gods are not like the Swablanders; there are none upon earth but they are able to overcome them, but the Gauls being accustomed to be beaten, and discomfited in many Encounters, did not hold themselves by their own confession equal to the Germans.  
When Iccius and Ambrogius came Ambassadors to Caesar, among other things they told him that the Belgians were the valiantest of all the Gauls, who were descended of the Germans, who had crossed the Rhine to settle themselves there for more commodiousness by the expulsion of the Gauls, which Country was called for distinction sake, Ci●…-Rhenana Germania, which is now called the Netherlands, or Belgium, the Inhabitants whereof have Dutch for their natural language; therefore they were used to call Germany, Magnam patriam, their Great Country. Now as Cities use by degrees to grow greater, and have outwalls and Suburbs; and as great Rivers do not tie themselves to one direct even Channel, but oftentimes inound, and gain ground; so Kingdoms have their fate: It is not therefore the Rhin, the Danube and Vistula that confines Germany, though they run like great veins of blood through her body, but beyond them she hath Belgium, the Switzerland, the Grisons, and Alps, Styria, Carniola, Carinthia, Austria, a great part of Sarmatia, Denmark, Swethland, Norway, Finmark, with other most potent and patent Regions, who glory in the name and language of Germans: Moreover touching the Gauls, the Germans may be termed their Fathers, as well as their Conquerors; for Ammianus Marcellinus sayeth, In Galliam vacuam populos quosdam ab insulis extremis, & tractibus trans-Rhenanis crebritate bellorum & alluvione fervidi maris sedibus expulsos. Some people from the outward Islands and Territories beyond the Rhin, by the fury of War and the encroachments of the tumbling Sea were driven to Gallia: and whence can this be, but from Germany?  
Nor was a great part of Gallia alone, but Great Brittany also was Colonizd by Germans; witness the words of Caesar, who sayeth, Germanos si non patres, tamen Britannorum Avos esse. The Germans, if they were not the Fathers, yet they were Grandfathers to the Britain's. And as the hither parts of Gallia, so the southerly parts also towards the Pyreneys and Spain were Colonizd by Germans, I mean Languedoc: and this is plain argumento ducto ab Etymologia, the word Languedoc being derived from Langue de Goth, though some would foolishly draw it from Langue d' oug, or Languedoc. But let us go nearer to work, and with more certainty; I pray whence hath France her last and present appellation, but from the Franconians in Germany? Hear what a famous Author writes. Francos, Francos nostros sequamur, Gentem omnium quotquot magna illa & vasta Germania tulit generosissimam, acerrimos libertatis propugnatores. Let us follow the French, the French one of the most generous people that huge Germany ever bore, and the greatest propugnators of their liberties. And this revolution or transmigration happened upon the decay of the Roman Empire, in the time of Valerianus and Gallienus, the one being taken Captif by the Persian, the other eclipsing the Empire with Luxury and sloth; so Pharamont the Germane rushed into France (then Gallia) and his Successor establishd there a Monarchy which hath continued in three races of Kings above these twelve hundred years; 'tis true, the whole Country was not all reducd at once by the Franks, but by degrees, and being once settled, nothing could resist their valour, but they still got more ground: Whence that Proverb hath its rise from Valentinianus Augustus, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Have the Frank, or the Frenchman for thy friend, not for thy Neighbour. And the name of Frank, or French grew so renowned, that justinian the Emperor called himself Francicum, whereat Theudebert King of France took exception, because he was neither born there, nor got one foot of the Country. And now the fame of the Franks, like a bright flame of fire flew higher and higher, and at last it grew so high, that in charlemaine's time all Gallia, and all Germany that extended from the Rhin to Illyrium, was called France, nay the name of Freink or Frence came to be of such a huge extent and latitude, that all Christians, among the Turks, and up and down Asia, of what Nation soever they were, were called Freinks; yea the Christian Africans in Ethiopia, called the Habissines, called all the Europaeans Alfrangues, and the Country Frankia.  
Herby, most noble Princes, by our fortitude and constancy we became twice the Fathers of Gallia, and so we may be said to be also twice the Fathers of the Britain's: For the Saxons (which some would derive from the Saci, a renowned people in Asia, but wrongfully) being, as Zosimus sayeth, for their magnitude of spirit, strength of body, and patience in labour, grown famous and feared by the Romans, as Marcellinus hath it: The Saxons, I say, were sent for by the Britons, to help them against the incursions of the Picts and Scots, where being arrived, after many vicissitudes, they settled there a Monarchy, so that by some it was called Transmarina Saxonia: nor have the ancient Britons, Irish, and Scots, any other name for an English man to this day, but Sasson: Nor was the English Language any thing else at first but a mere dialect of the Germane, so that all their Towns terminant in Dutch, either in Ham, thorp, which, burg, berg, stead, heim, stadt, etc.  
Now I pray were not the ancient Kings of Spain, before the House of Austria, all Germans, with the principallst Families of Spain, who to this day take it a glory to be descended of the Goths? Now it is observed that whersoever the Germane and Goth took footing, they never forsook the place, but multiplied there exceedingly; nor is there any Nation so fruitful and prolifical as the Germans; witness these examples, though something prodigious. Margaret Florence, the fourth Count of Holland's Daughter, and Wife to the Earl of Henneberg, being about two and forty years old, about nine a clock in the morning was brought to Bed of an Almanac of Children, Viz. three hundred sixty five, as many as there be days in the year, whom Guido the Suffragan Bishop of Utrecht christened all alive, being brought all to Church in a great Basin, and being half Boys and half Girls, the Males were called john's, and the Females Elizabeth's, but they all expired with their Mother in one day, which was Anno 1276. Another Margaret, Wife to a Count of Holsten some thirty years after brought forth so many. But these were unusual abortive weak Issues, Germany needs, and daily produceth stronger broods: I pray observe that near Tubinga there is a Castle called Entringh Castle, which for the serenity of the air, the sweetness of soil, and amaenity of walks, is a place most delectable; there lived within these few years in this Castle five Gentlemen with their Wives, in a rare harmony of affection, who got a hundred Children, who lived to be all Men and Women. Consider the Countess of Dalburg, who saw her numerous Issue to the third degree, of whom this Distic was made:  

Mater ait natae, dic natae, filia, natam  
Ut moneat natae plangere filiolam.   
Rise up Daughter and go to thy Daughter, for thy Daughter's Daughter hath a Daughter. The story is notable of Babo Count of Abeneberg, who of Wives had two and thirty Sons and eight Daughters, whom he gave the choicest education unto that could be; this Count being invited one day to Hunt with the Emperor Hen: the second, took opportunity to bring his Troup of Sons well horsed, and in gallant Equippage, and making a present of them to the Emperor, he took them all with much grace and contentment to his service, and married them very nobly, insomuch that many Illustrious Families sprung from their loins. And the Emperor was bound to do this according to Law, for whosoever in Germany gets seven Sons together, the Emperor is to maintain them all; and though the Germane Continent be very vast, yet is it full of people, so that as Boterus hath it, there was a cense of ten Millions of souls who breathed there at one time; but he corrected himself afterward, and averrs, Veggo che quella amplissima provincia passa 19 millioni d'anime senza comprendervi I Regni di Danemarca & di Boemia: I find that that huge Province besides Denmark and Bohemia hath nineteen millions of souls within it. Therefore though an Army of two hundred thousand Soldiers should be carried out of Germany, there would be no miss at all of them.  
What shall we say of the Normans in France, who establishd a Monarchy both in England and Sicily by their mere prowess; and having subjugated that fertile Province in France, called Normandy ever since, they did so infest the rest of that spacious Kingdom, that it was a part of their Litany, a Furore Normanorum libera nos Domine. From the Norman Fury the Lord deliver us.  
At last Charles the simple was forced to give Rollo their Duke, his Daughter Gista to wife, with that whole Province; and when at that Ceremony Rollo was advisd by his Nobles to kiss the King's foot; answered no, by God, which is the cause that the Normans are called Bygods to this day. Roger Hoveden speaks thus of the Normans, Audax Francia Normannorum Militiam experta est, ferox Anglia captiva succubuit, dives Apulia sortit aestoruit, Heirosolyma famosa, & insignis Antiochia se utraque suppoluit. Bold France felt the Norman Discipline, fierce England yielded herself as Captive, rich Apulia received them, and flourishd; holy jerusalem, and famous Antioch subjected themselves both unto him. What a man of men was Tancred, who going as a Martial Adventurer abroad with many goodly young Princes, his Sons did perform many exploits in Italy, chasd the Saracens out of Sicily, and did sundry brave feats in the Holy-land: And to this day the Sicilians acknowledge that it was by his valour they enjoy their own Country, that they live free, and became all Christians again. Tacitus himself, though no great Friend to our Nation, confesseth that the Germans cut the Romans more work to do, then either the Samnites, the Carthaginians, the Spaniards, or French and Parthians; For what can the Orient, as he sayeth, brag of, but that they conquered and killed our General Crassus, and Pacorus? But the Germans did not only rout five Roman Armies in the Consulship of Carbo, Cassius, Scaurus, Aurelius, Servilius, Cepo, and Manlius, but they took away Varus with three Legions besides; And this happened when Rome was at her highest point of strength. It was cried up for a Triumph that Caligula brought and put in the Capitol of Rome, certain Cockle shells that he had gathered upon the Costs of Holland. Augustus Caesar himself who was called happy to a Proverb, yet he received two overthrows by the Germans, called Lolliana, and Variana Clades: julius Caesar conquered the Gauls by the help of Germans, and in the Pharsalian fields they performed the prime Service. Then the Romans, because they could not do much upon Germany by strength and valour, they went another way to work, they found means to raise and foment divisins among the Germans themselves, and did more that way than they could by Arms: Which policy also Charles the fifth, a German himself, did put in practice to break the strength of the Lutherans. But that I may return a little to the old times, what shall I say of that Germane Legion, which in Spain gave the denomination to the Kingdom of Legio, now called Leon. What shall I say of the Exploits of the Vandals, who gave name to Andalusia? Of the Longobards, who denominated Lombardy in Italy, and occupied it two hundred years?? What of the Goths, who did lead a dance through all Europe? All these were Birds of our Feathers: And Charles the quint was used to say, that the prime Nobility of Christendom descended from the Gothique race, and that there was no one more entire body upon Earth then Germany, if united.  
But to go from less to great, what a Mirroir of men was our Charlemain, who first▪ translated the Roman Empire to Germany, where it hath continued above eight ages. By these rivulets you may guess at the greatness of the River; by these sparks you may conjecture what the flame is, and by these Rays you may know something of the Sun. Indeed in Germany Caesar sits like the Sun himself in the Zodiac, surrounded with seven Planets; that is, the Septemvirat of Electors, with multitudes of other refulgent Stars: And this Caesarean dignity is now so rooted in Germany, that it is a Fundamental Law, Ne quis exterus, & non Germanus in Imperatorem eligatur, That no Foreigner, that is no Germane be chosen Emperor. And why should we seek for any abroad, when there are so many Imperial Families at home? Now, the Imperial Majesty is without a fellow; Caesar of any mortal is next to God, and deserves Veneration all the world over, his Dignity being supereminent, and his power should be transcendent. Athalaricus the Goth could say so much, that the Emperor is doubtless an earthly God, and whosoever doth heave up his arm against him, he is guilty of his own blood. By Baldus words he is Summus superior, Dominusque Orientis, Occidentis, Meridiei & septentrionis. He is the highest Superior, and Lord of all the four Cardinal corners of the World; He is the Supreme Judge, from whom there is no appeal, the prime Arbiter. It is he who in sign of excellence wears a triple Crown on his head; He is Creator of Kings, the chief source of honour, and Fountain whence all greatness flows. Nay, the common and Capital Enemy of Christendom, the Turk, gives his Ambassadors more honour than to any other Potentate. As among others, there is one pregnant example; for when David Ungnadius was Ambassador for the Emperor in Constantinople, and went to take his leave of the grand Turk, and the Persian Ambassador being come to the Duana before him, and taken the Chair before him, he was going away without saluting the Sultan, but the gran Visier, the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or chief Minister of State perceaving that, caused the Persian Ambassador, though a Mahometan, to take a lower Seat. Another time upon the Celebration of Mahomet the third's Circumcision, which lasted forty days and nights continually, there being in Constantinople the Legates of the greatest Monarches upon earth, yet he who was Ambassador then in the Port for Rodulphus the second, had always the first place.  
Now, as the Emperor himself is the prime Potentat, so the Princes and Nobles of Germany are the best descended of any other; and whereas divers Germane Princes bore great sway abroad, it is probable that they left there much of their Offspring. But in Germany there are no foreign extractions; Germany reducd and ruled other Countries, but none ruled Germany but her own Children; swarms of Germans have gone abroad to Italy and other Provinces for Governors, but no strangers have swayed in Germany. 'tis true, that Captives of all Nations have been brought thither from Italy and other places; and among those Captives there might be haply some Princely Stems: As now in Westphalia among the Boors there are some found who derive themselves from the Caesarean, and Consulary Families in Rome, but in Rome herself there are very few of them left, having been ravished and ransacked so often. There are none left of the publicolae, of the junij, of the Fabiuses, of the Valerij, of the Manlij, of the Cassijs, of the Cincinnati, of the Menucij, of the Papirij, of the Bruti, of the Fulvij, of the Sempronijs, of the Tullij, of the Hortensijs, of the Aurelij, of the Tarquinij, Hostilij, Licinij, Sempronij, Caecilij, Crassis; and multitudes of other Illustrious Families of Rome they are all extinct, only the Lakes of Venice hath preserved some upon the inundation of the Goths. Therefore sayeth Aeneas Silvius, Ita agamus, ut nos potius Germani quam Itali nuncupemur, etc. Let us carry the business so, that we may be called Germans rather than Italians; for there the purest and certainest, ancientest Nobility upon earth doth yet flourish. And indeed most of the Nobles of Italy that now are of Germane extraction originally, as the Lords of Colalta, Della Scala, di castle Barco, della Rovere, della Beccaria, del caretto, di monte feltro, di porcia, Fazzoni, and Arogari, Carrafi, Bolchetti, Rossi, Landriani, Gonraghi, Gabrieli, Palavicini, Savorgnani Farnesi, Bentivogli, Soardi, etc. All which acknowledge themselves to have had their first extraction from Germany. The Pole in magnifying their Sigismunds', the Dane in extolling their Christians, the Swedes in glorying of their Gustavus Adolphus, do all this while commend Germany; whence they first descended. Let England also boast of their Nobility & Gentry, and in so doing they praise Germany and Normandy. Let Spain vaunt of their King, and who knows not but he is a German two ways, by the Gothique and Austrian Family, with the best Stems of Spain besides, where he is accounted but an upstart Nobleman, that is not derived de la sangre de les Godos, of Gothic Blood. Let France stand as high a tiptoe as she will, to vaunt of her twelve hundred years Monarches, and she will confess her three race of Kings, Merovengians, Carlovingians, and Capevingians, whence Lewis the fourteenth now regnant is descended, came all primarily of the Germane race.  
But let us come to Germany herself, and you will find that she is like the Firmament, spangled and glistering with so many coruscant Stars, I mean so many illustrious Families. I will begin with those of the Order of Knighthood, which being so many in number, I dare not adventure to nominat one without naming all, for fear of offence; let it suffice that there are in Germany herself, besides her annexed Regions, above six hundred Knights, who according to the Laws of the Emperor Henricus Auceps (the Falconer) do train up themselves in noble exercises, disdaining any kind of mechanic Trade, or to marry any but a Gentlewoman by descent. Now, touching Counts and Barons, their number is incredible: I will instance in the chiefest. You have in Germany the Illustrious Families of the Barbij, the Bronkhorstij, the Castelli, the Cimbrij, the Eberstenij, the Erbachij, the Falkenstenij, the Furstenbergij, the Gerobrekij, the Gleichij, the Hannovij, the Helfenstenij, the Hohenloi, the Isenburgij, Leimnigij, the Leonstenij, the Limpurgij, the Lippij, the Mansfeldij, the Monfortij, the Nassovij, the Oldenburgij, the Ortenburgij, the Oestfrislandij, the Oettingij, the Rappolstenij, the Rhenigravij, the Reussij, the Salmij, the Schaunburgij, the Swaertenburgij, the Solmij, the Stolbergij, the Sulzij, the Tubingij, the Waldburgij, the Waldbeccij, the Wirdij, the Witgenstenij, the Zollerij, and divers more. I put down here the names of the Trees only, whereof every one hath multitude of branches; And some of these have such Prerogatives and Royalties, that countervail some Sovereign Princes elsewhere. But to look upon the high Classis of Nobility, how many Imperial and Regal Families are there? Guilielmus Brussius sayeth, that as Italy excels in Palaces, and Monuments of Antiquity, as France in Soldiers, as Spain with Bishops, as England with Yeomen, as Poland with Nobles, so Germany abounds with Princes. Brussius herein said true; but besides the last, he may also find all the rest in Germany; I will instance first in your Princely Family, my Cousin Frederique Achilles; how famous was Ulric the seventh for his Amability? Prince Lewis for his probity? Prince Georg for his Hospitality, Ulric the ninth; the first, second, third, and fourth Eberhards for their Fortitude, and your Father Frederique for his Magnanimity? What a signal Prince was Eberhard the first, whom the Italians seemed to adore, being inflamed with the Rays of his Virtues; So that Maximilian the first, passing by this Tomb, said, There lieth a Prince that not left his fellow in the whole Empire, of whose sage counsels I made mighty advantages. What a Grandee was the Lord Christopher, whom Catharina de Medicis Queen Regent of France sent Rascalon unto, desiring his assistance and advise, during those tumultuary times, and intricat War of the Ligue; he at such a high Lady's request went accordingly, but with a guard of three thousand Horse and Foot, which did notable service.  
So you, my noble Cousin joachim Ernest, a branch of the Illustrious and regal House of Holsteyn, do shine with many splendid titles, whose virtues not all Denmark, Norway, Gothland, or the Kingdom of the Vandals, nor Holsasia, Dictsmarsh and Sleswic, nor Oldenberg and Delmenhorst can equal; the immortal memory of your Oncle Frederique the second, of your Granfathers, Christians the second and third, of your great Granfather Christian the first, doth so illustrat and ennoble; O the high felicity of the great Witikind, whose renown after so many centuries of years is yet fresh and fragrant.  
I will be modest in speaking of my Saxonian Family, twice Electoral, and in the setting forth of the magnitud of their merit; he made the greatest oppositions against Henry the sixth, who by indirect means was Emperor a while, but afterwards he forced him to quit it; an exploit to be preferred before other trophies and triumphs, because he thereby did vindicat the liberty of Germany. I could run into a large field to display the princely virtues and merits of this Family— Sed Cynthius aurem vellit. Apollo plucks me by the ear, telling me that this copious Theme is fitter for another than myself.  
Of the Anhaltin Family, ne'er allied to the Saxonian, how many Heros have been? Sigismond, Wolfangus, Rodolphus, joachimus, joannes, Ernest, were renowned both for feats of arms, and acts of Peace.  
In the Badensian Family there have been some Stars of the greatest magnitude, which have been so refulgent for high achievements, prowess, and justice: I will instance in james Duke of Baden, who kept his Territories so free and safe, that if any one was robbed upon the high way, he would command him to be satisfied out of his own Treasure, upon good Affidavit made.  
In Brunswic Princely Family, how many Worthies have flourished; Cardinal Conradus, Henricus Leo, Albertus Magnus: Henry the Peaceable, William the Victorious, Henricus Iulius sago & toga illustris, famous for the Gown, & the Gun.  
In the stem of Mechelburg how many high-top Trees have flourished; as Henry of jerusalem, Albert the first, Casimirus the second, Ericus the first, all mighty men in merit.  
In the Pomerla●…d Family Suantipiorus, Suantipotius, Busglavus, were supereminent with divers more.  
In the Hassian Family, Henry Ironside, Lewis the meek, who refused the Empire, with sundry more were famous,: As Hermannus Archbishop of Colen, Philip the thunderbolt of War, and Morris the Darling of the Muses.  
In the Brandeburgian Family, there was Albertus called the Germane Hector for his Exploits; johannes for his Eloquence called the Germane Cicero, with others most celebrous for their Piety, their Prowess, their Benignity, and Justice.  
Touching the Family of the Bavarian Palatin, wheresoever I cast my eyes upon any part of Europe, I find most parts echo forth their Glory: For out of this Family as out of a Trojan Horse, there have issued out numbers of venturous and magnanimous Princes. Othowitelsbachius, who merely for his high worth received Bavariae from Frederique the first, Lodowick the first, and second, both Electors: Lodowick & Rupert both Emperors, Wolfangus Bipontinus, who with five thousand Foot, and six thousand Horse, penetrated the very heart of France, and from the banks of the Rhin advanced as far as Aquitane, insomuch that the very name of Deuxponts is grown famous and dreadful in France to this day. What shall I say of Albert the third, who being offered the Kingdom of Bohemia, by a very splendid Embassy of the chiefest Nobles, utterly refused it: Maximilian the present Duke of Bavaria is accounted a Prince of consummated wisdom, his Authority and Esteem being so great throughout the whole Empire: With what prudence, prowess, and prosperous success did he take Prague, when there was an Army twice greatet in number that stood in his way! How glorious is the memory of Philip Palatin of Bavaria, who made the great Soliman to break his Vow, whereof he had made three, the one to finish that huge Aquaeduct of bringing water into the City of Constantinople from the Danube: The second to erect two Bridges in a Creek of the Hellespont, the third the reducing of Vienna in Austria; though he finished the two first, yet he failed in the performance of his last Vow, chiefly by the Valour of the foresaid Bavarian Philip, who forced him to quit the Siege with tears in his eyes, and to go back with his three hundred thousand men, for his Army consisted of so many, though the Defendants in the Town were not sixteen thousand, who repelld them after twenty times storming.  
But I ascend to the cumble of all Renown and glory, the house of Austria; and now although I had a brazen breast, a hundred tongues, and so many throats, as the Poet once wished, I should not be able to set forth the Majesty of this Imperial Stem: Nay, if all the green leaves that wag in the Hercynian Forest were turned to tongues, I should not be able to expand the glory of this Heroic Family. I may truly apply thereunto that of the Lyrik,  

— Micat inter omnes  
Austrium sydus, velut inter ignes  
Luna minores.   
Let all Posterity learn, and all Annals have it upon Record, and ruminat upon't, that there were never so many Crowns, Sceptres, and Empires, fell so suddenly upon any Race: and I pray what could we do.  Niforet Austriacis Germania fulta columnis? 
If Germany were not supported with Austrian Pillars, she would quickly torture. Antiquity in former times did deify many of their brave men, as jove, Mercury, Hercules and others, raising them up, and fixing them in the Firmament. But I dare say, there have been divers of this divine Progeny, that merit to be stellified more than they; I could muster up thirteen Emperors who have been successively of this house: and indeed who is fitter and abler to make head, and preserve us from the common Enemy, from the fury of the Ottoman Emperor, than the Austrians? considering that they have their hereditary Territories upon the Frontiers of Turkey: How many Saintlike persons have been of this house, as well as great Captains, and notable Politicians? What shall I say more my noble Auditors? I have read that when Timanthes would have drawn Iphigenia standing at the Altar, and ready to be Sacrificed, together with the standers by, he painted them in a Picture of deep Melancholy, specially her Oncle; but being come to her Father, all his fancy being spent, he covered him with a Veil: So must I do at this time, pass over this Semidean Family with silence: for having spent my Fancy in displaying the high Virtues of other Germane Princes, I want both imagination and words to set forth the glory of this. And now most judicious and noble gallant Princes, what think you of Germany? may not she expect the highest room among the Kingdoms of Europe? Yes surely, being the seat of the Empire, the Source of such a Nobility, and having so many advantages besides. For my own particular, as we read that Plato gave Nature thanks for three things; viz. That he was born a man, and not a woman, a Greek, and not a Barbarian, an Athenian, and not a Theban, specially in Socrates his time: So I render most hearty thanks to the divine Majesty for three things likewise, that he hath made me a man, a Christian, and a Germane, and that I live in the Reign of the most glorious Emperor Ferdinand, ever August, whom Heaven conserve.   

THE ORATION OF THE LORD JOHN GULIELM OF RETWITZ: AGAINST GERMANY.  
Most Excellent Precedent, and Illustrious Princess,  
TO be a good Patriot, and to love his Country, discovers a noble mind in any man; for my own part I am so wholly possessed with an inhaerent, and true natural affection unto her, that did necessity require, I would not only employ all the limbs of my body, and faculties of my brain to do Her service, but I would hazard the purest arterial blood which lies in the best ventricle of my heart, for her incolumity, honour, and welfare; but now there is a business of another nature incumbent upon me, which is touching the Excellence and Prerogative of Germany, in relation to the rest of the Provinces of Europe; and this task I must discharge impartially, measuring her according to her merit, not according to blind affection. It is far from the rules of Justice, and incongruous to reason we should exalt our own, by depressing other Countries, or Dares like, triumph before Victory. We Germans do not see that Wallet that dangles behind us, which I will endeaver now to shake off with a gentle hand: And by the favour of this high and honourable Assembly, and your patience, most illustrious Duke of Saxony, I will make it my business to make some inquiries into the extravagances, the manners and vices of our own Country, which when I have displayed unto you, I believe you will revoke your former Opinion of ascribing the Principality to Germany.  
Now, touching the Vices of Germany, as Cardinal Bellarmin sayeth of the Bishop of Rome, Tantam esse papae amplitudinem & Majestatem, ut perquam difficile sit illam definiri, The Amplitude and Majesty of the Pope is such, that it is a hard matter to define it; so by a kind of Antithesis I may say, the ill manners, and customs of Germany are so large and loathsome, that it is a very difficult task to describe them. And where shall I begin this task? I will take my rise at the power and Dominions of Germany, which I find to faint, and languish every day more than other. O immortal God What Diminutions hath she received? how many potent and flourishing States have fallen away from her? The Venetian, the Milanois, the Florentine, the Genoese, the Luqueses, have quite shaken off her Yoke: Nay, Rome herself hath played the Fugitif, and ran away from her. Witness the Emperor Charles the fourth, who being to make his entrance into Rome, was let in, but limited to this condition by the Cardinal of Ostia, Ut neque Romae, neque in Italia diu moraretur, That he should not sojourn long in Rome, nor Italy, as Nauclerus hath it. Nay, all the Jurisdiction of the Roman Emperor is almost quite vanished in Italy; Insomuch that Caesar cannot restore any of the Pope's Subjects to his Birthright, either in point of Title or Possession, without the Pope's consent, which if it be wanting, the decree of legitimation is invalid: Nay, the Pope doth not only interdict him in his, but he will not permit the Emperor to exercise absolute power in his own Territories: Witness that Act of Sixtus Quintus, who glorified himself to be of an Illustrious House, meaning a small Cottage, which for want of Roof took in always the lustre of the Solar Beams. In this Sixtus his Pontificat, it chanced that the Count Pepili possessed some Manners beyond the River of Po; Cardinal Salviatus questioning his Title, in that the said Count came from the Race of some Banditi; he produced the Emperor's grant, but this would not serve the turn, for the said Cardinal caused him to be apprehended in his own Palace, and sending for a Ghostly Father to confess him, he caused him to be presently strangled.  
The Lorrainers, Burgundians, and Belgians; I mean the united Provinces are also revolted, who in regard they have by their Arms shaken off the Spaniard, allege they have also at the same time freed themselves from any Homage to Caesar. So have also the Helvetians, or Swisses, whom Aeneas Silvius calls Flagellum principum, ac nobilium; Homines naturâ superbos, qui ipsam sibi justitiam famulari volunt, justumque id putant quod eorum phantasticis est conforme capitibus. The Swisses are a scourge of Princes and Nobles, men naturally proud, and who would make Justice herself to attend them in quality of a servile handmaid, thinking that only to be just, which conforms with their capricious heads. Hereof there was a late example, for being summoned upon a Process of a high nature to the Imperial Chamber at Spire, they sent their roughhewn Ambassadors, who told the Council, Domini confaederati Helvetij vos vicinos suos salvere jubent, mirantur vero quod tam crebris citationibus, etc. The Lords Confederates of Switzerland do greet you their Neighbours, but they wonder that by your so often Citations you would disquiet them, therefore they pray and exhort you that you would no longer molest them.  
So also there are very spacious Country's Northward, who have fallen quite away from our Germane Emperor; among others, some part of the Livonians Country, who when they were summoned to obedience by Charles the fifth, otherwise he would reduce them by force, they answered in a jeering manner, That they knew his Horse would be tired before he could reach the skirts of Livonia, as Thuanus hath it. Good Lord, whersoever I turn my eyes, I behold Nations revolted from Caesar, which makes the Imperial Eagle so thinn of Feathers, and almost stark naked. From the reign of Rodolph the first, which is not much beyond the memory of man, I could instance in two hundred States and Princes who have unmembred and emancipated themselves from our Germane Emperor, who were used to obey his summons, and make appearance accordingly: All the Hansiatique Towns are now grown petty Republics, whereas they did once owe Vassalage to the Empire. The Emperor Charles the fifth, though a glorious Prince, yet he made in his time such a pitiful complaint to Pope Adrian, that Germany was reducd to that penury and indigence, that she was not only not able to bear up against the incursions of the common Enemy, but she was not able to suppress Domestic insolences, and maintain Peace and Justice within her own doors; This Goldustus hath upon Record; nay Scioppius goes further, that Germany was grown so beggarly, that there were some of her best born Children, some of Regal extraction, who had not three hundred Crowns a year for their whole subsistence, insomuch that many of them went habited rather like Poets than Princes; but this indeed is too much, it is a mere Scioppian Chimaera, and indeed there was not since the creation of man, a more lying and base licentious tongued fellow then Scioppius.  
Now, our very Foes can tell us our defects in Government, and in what a deplorable condition Germany stands, as will appear by this example. When Maximilian the second was chosen Emperor, it chanced that Ibraim, Soliman's Ambassador was then at Frankefort, who having been a spectator of the Show, and observed what great Princes did attend the Emperor that day, and being told that some of them could raise an Army of themselves against the Turk, the Ambassador smiling, said, That he doubted not of the strength of Germany, but that the minds, the counsels, and actions of the Germans, were like a Beast with many Heads and tails, who being in case of necessity to pass through a Hedge, and every head seeking to find a particular hole to pass through, they were a hindrance one to another, every head drawing after his own fancy, and so hazarded the destruction both of all the heads and tails; but the Empire of Solyman his great Master, was like a Beast with many tails, yet she had but one head, which head getting through, or over any passage, without confusion of fancy and dispute of any other, all the tails and the whole body followed him accordingly; well said the Turk, and very wisely, and I am sorry that we find it so by woeful experience.  
There is another mighty soloecism in the Germane Government, which is the confusion and differences that useth to be in Diets, which made. Aeneas Silvius to give us a tart reprehension when he saith; Omnes Germanorum Dietas esse faecundas, et quamlibet in ventre habere alteram; Ac credibile est quia faemineum sit nomen, libenter impraegnari, Pietas est parturire. All the Germane Diets or Assemblies are fruitful, so that every one hath another commonly in her belly; And it is credible that Diets, because they are of the Feminine Gender, are willing to become pregnant and bring forth. The Emperor Charles the fifth could also say to the same purpose, That the Germane juntas, and judicatories and Diets were like Vipers, for as these destroy their Dam, so the latter decrees of Diets destroy the former. Now what a lame imperfect power the Emperor himself hath in these Imperial Chambers or Diets we well know: Indeed as one said, the name of Caesar remains, but the Majesty is gone. The thing itself is vanished, and the shadow remains. O degenerous times! O deplorable poor Germany: In former times the greatest Kings of Europe and Asia, and Africa, thought it no disparagement to submit to Caesar, and now not only Kings, but every mean Count doth scorn to stoop to him; And indeed it doth not tend much to the reputation of our Ancestors, that in less than three hundred years nine Germane Emperors should be destroyed, besides those that were deposed, and abdicated. It grieves me to remember here the improbous saying of Gerardus Bishop of Mentz, who having with divers others conspired against. Albert the first, and intending to elect another, the said Gerardus having a hunting horn about him, and being a potent popular man, in so much that he was called propola imperij, the Huckster of the Empire, he belchd out these words: In hoc Cornu complures gesto Caesares, I carry many Caesars in this Horn; But the Albert by the special benedictions of Heaven was quit with them all at last, that he made them carry Dogs so many miles, which is accounted in Germany the most opprobrious and disgracefullest punishment that can be inflicted upon a Nobleman or Gentleman; whereas a Plebeian is bound according to the quality of the offence, to carry a Chair from one County to another. So we read that Frederique Barbarossa made Hermannus, Count Palatin of the Rhin, and ten Counts more, to carry Dogs above a whole Germane mile, for the praedations and insolences they had committed, while he was in Italy. But whereas this kind of punishment is grown obsolet, I could wish it were still in force, we should not then have so many treasons, and transgressions of Imperial sanctions, the Majesty of Caesar, the balance of Dollars, the decrees of Diets would be more regarded, and Justice would not be so frequently baffled, and affronted.  
It is an odd character that Velleius Paterculus gives of our Countrymen; Esse Homines qui nihil praeter vocem et membra haberent hominum, in summa feritate versutissimi, natumque mendacio genus. The Germans were men who had nothing but the voices, and Members of men, yet they had a great deal of wiliness in their wildness, a Race born for lies. Witness their perfidious carriage in Great Brittany towards the old Inhabitants thereof, when at a solemn meeting and Treaty they carried Knives hid in their Stockings, wherewith in the midst of their salutations they murdered the ancient nobility of the Britons, who had come armeles into the field according to the Capitulations of agreement between them, that none should bring with him any offensive or defensive Weapon. Then when those Saxons, which were true Germans, for they came from the lower circuit of Saxony, and to this day are called Saxons by the Welsh and Irish, had taken firm footing in Britain, what a World of spoils and devastations did they commit both by Land and Sea: In so much that Sidonius complains of them, Quot remiges videris saxons, totidem decernere putes Archipiratas, Ita simul omnes imperant, parent, docent, discunt latrocinari. Hostis est omni hoste truculentior; est iis quaedam cum discriminibus pelagi non notitia solum, sed familiaritas— As many Rowers you see of the Saxons, you discern so many Rovers and Arch-pirats: They all command, and obey, they learn, and teach how to rob; An enemy more truculent than any enemy, They have not only knowledge, but a familiarity with the sea etc. I believe there is none here who is ignorant of the story of Hatto the first Archbishop of Mentz, who so basely betrayed Albertus Bishop of Bamberg, who had casually slain Conradus the Emperor's brother, who having besieged him in Therussa castle, the said Albert was persuaded by Hatto to go and submit himself to the Emperor, and he promised to bring him safe back to his Castle, which he did: but Albert had his hand tied behind, and so as soon as he returned his head was chopd off; but Hatto said, to excuse himself, that he had only promised to bring him back to the place from which he had fetched him, and no more. What a horrible story is there of another Hatto, an Archbishop also of Mentz, who was devoured and eaten up alive by rats for his uncharitableness to the poor in a year of famine, whom he had lodged in a great barn, and putting fire thereunto in the dead of night he burned them all, saying, that those were the rats which devoured his corn; And that this story may be upon perpetual record, the castle where he was eaten, is called Rat castle to this day, being situated in the middle of the Rhin, whither the Rats swomm after him, and never left him till they had been the executioners of divine vengeance upon him.  
Another such a horrid story as this was that of the devil who appeerd at Hamelen in the shape of pied piper, which town being very much infested with rats, the said piper did covenant with the Burghers to free them of that Vermin for such a reward, which he was to receive a year after they saw themselves freed; Hereupon the Piper playing upon a kind of bagpipes that he had, all the rats followed him to a great lough hard by, where he drowned them all: but returning at the years end for his reward, the Burghers would put him off with a small matter; thereupon playing upon his pipes one evening, all the children of the town followed him to the mouth of a hill, where he and the children vanished; There is a great stone pillar stands in that place, whereon there is mention hereof, and the people of the town to this day in all their public writings draw their Epoches and computation of years from the going out of their children. And as the devil appeerd here in the shape of a piper; so near Bremen he got into a Butcher, who being enraged one day with his wife that was big with child, he took her into a stable and ripping up her belly took out the embryo; & there being a sow hard by big with pigs, he killed the sow also, and taking out the pigs, he sowed them up in his wife's belly, and the child in the sow's. Can the wit of man run upon a more nefandous thing? But Germany is full of these bloody stories. And whereas you know we have a custom when any notorious thief is hanged to stick so many pegs in the gibbet as he had killed men, it is ordinary to find in Moravia, and other places such gibbets some with twenty, some with thirty, and I heard lately of one that had sixty three pegs stuck into it, denoting so many murders by one man. Now, if we descend to Low Germany, we shall find her little inferior to the Higher in strange kinds of immanities'. What an inhuman thing was that in Gant, when the father and the son being condemned to die for one Fact, it was adjudged they should draw lots whither the father should hang the son, or the son the father, and it fell to the son, who accordingly thrust out of the world him who brought him in. But now I speak of the City of Gant, which is held to be one of the most mutinous and inconstant Cities of Christendom (and therefore no wonder that she hath so many windmills within her walls) what nation, I say, hath showed more arguments of instability than Allmain; Go first to Religion, since that Shaveling Monk Luther fell in love with the Abadesse, to enjoy which he made Religion his bawd, I pray you how many new Sects have crept in since? john Calvin came apace after him, he usherd in the Anabaptists, than what a swarm of Swenkfeldians, Osiandrians, Huberians, Oecolampadians, and Arminians have we; and if you desire more, you may go to Amsterdam, Where you shall find as many sorts as there be of Venice glasses in Murano. What a scandal to the Germane Nation was john of Leyden, that frantic Rascal? what an opprobry to Christianity is that Amsterdam, where such a confusion of Religions is allowed! & no wonder, for she is one of the nearest to Hell of any town upon earth. And as in the reign of Nimrod there fell a curse upon those that would dwell so high by a confusion of tongues, so a confusion of beliefs is fallen upon these men by dwelling too low, and cozening the fish of their inheritance, for indeed the Fish should inhabit that Country which they have forced out of the jaws of the Sea, and thereby may be called true Usurpers.  
But touching religion, the French fancy was never so greedy after new fashions in apparel, as we Germane high and low do thirst after new fangling opinions in matters appertaining to Christian Doctrine and discipline: It was a notable saying of Queen Katherine de Medici when she was Regent of France, that the two greatest Heretics which Europe produced were Luther and Machiavil (her Country man) the one in matters of piety, the other of policy. But we Germane being commonly of a higher stature than other Nations, we are compared to Houses of five or six stories high, wherein the upper rooms are worst furnished, meaning the cells of our brains; as if the largeness of members should lessen the strength of the mind, according to that of Seneca, Nimio robore membrorum vigor mentis hebescit, quasi abnuente naturâ utriusque boni largitionem, ne supra mortalem sit felicitatem eundem et valentissimum esse, et sapientissimum. The vigour of the mind grows dull by too great strength and boysterousness of the body; Nature denying as it were such a double bounty, it being beyond humane felicity for the same man to be most valiant and most wise. It is the saying of Bartolus, that Longi Homines sunt raro sapientes, Tall men▪ are seldom wi●…e: And as Helvetia is so sterile that she cannot feed herself; Hassia so swelling with barren Hills that sometimes she is ready to starve; As the Marquisat of Brandenburg and Westphalia are choak●…d with sand, as other places up and down Germany are full of ill aired fens and marshes that hinders the fertility of the Country, and impairs the health of the people; and as in some rank grounds weeds get up so fast that the corn cannot grow, so in our Germane natures there is still some obstacle or other that chokes the growth and tapring up of virtue.  
I confess that our Compatriotts are cried up generally for continence, but truly I do not think they deserve it so much as the world thinks, for how many Baths (or rather Brothel Houses of lust) have you up and down Germany, where shirts and smocks promiscuously meet, whence some Ladies that came Penelop●…s thither, go away Helen's▪ Poggius writes a book entitled de schola Epicureae factionis quae regnat in Teutonia; Of the school of Epicurism which reigns in Germany, meaning the Baths of Boden and others; He sayeth Nulla in orbe Terrarum balnea ad faecunditatem mulierum magis esse accommodata▪ innumerabilem multitudinem nobilium et Ignobilium ducenta millia passuum eo venire, non tam Valetudinis quam voluptatis gratia▪ Omnes Amatores, Omnes Procos quibus in deliciis vita est posita, eo concurerere ut fruantur rebus concupitis, multas faminas simulare corporum aegritudines cum animo laborent, omnibus unam mentem esse tristitiam fugare, quaerere hilaritatem, non de communi dividundo agere, sed de communicando divisa. There are no baths so accommodated for the fruitfulness of women as the Germans, an innumerable company of nobles and ignobles come thither two hundred miles off, not so much for health as pleasure; All amorous men, all suitors, all servants of ladies who delight in delicacies flock thither, many women go thither to cure the sickness of the mind rather than of the body; they come thither not to treat of dividing the Common, but of communicating what are divided: What sayeth the Monk of Ulmes of his own Country women? he sayeth, Omnia aliarum Regionum lupanaria habent foeminas de Suevia, sic etiam omnia poene monasteria procul existentia habent virgines Suevigenas; et dilectae et utiles Monasteriis sunt plus quam aliae propter bonam naturae dispositionem. The Bordells almost of all Countrey●… have some women of Suevi, and also all Monasteries though a good distance off have Suevian Nuns, for they are loving, and prove more useful than others for their good natural dispositions; Among other examples let this serve to show the impudicity of our Germane ladies in the person of Barbara Count herman's daughter, and wife to the Emperor Sigismond, who having tried the mettle of the strongest backs in her husband's time, was after his death admonished by her ghostly father to live chaste and like the turtle, whereunto she answered, If you, Father Confessor, would have me imitat birds, why shall I not the life of a sparrow rather than of a turtle?— Now, Frederique the brother of this Barbara was as bad as she; who having murdered his wife for the love of his concubine, and being dehorted by a pious friend from his damnable dissolute courses, specially now being ninety years of age, and to think on his Grave, Yes, I will, said he, and I intent to have these lines insculpd upon't. Haec mihi porta est ad Inferos, quid illic reperiam nescio, scio quae reliqui: abundavi bonis omnibus, ex quibus nihil fero mecum, nec quod bibi, atque edi, quodque inexplebilis voluptas exhausit. This is my passage to Hell, I know not what I shall find there, I know what I left: I abounded with all things, whereof I carry nothing with me, neither of what I ate or drunk or exhausted in insatiable pleasure. The example of Henry Duke of Brunswik is very signal, who being desperately in love with Eva Tottina, a young damsel, (daughter to a gentleman of good quality) that kept his Duchess company, he plotted that she should make ●…emblance to go to visit her friends, at such a castle, whither being come, she feigned herself sick over night, and so her women who were her complices, gave out she was dead of the plague in the morning; so having got a wooden statue in a chest of purpose, they coffined the statue and sent it to be buried, so the Duke did satiat his ●…ust and got seven children of her. What shall I say of the kings of Denmark? is it not a common thing for them to keep concubines in their Courts, which are attended upon like Queens; It is well known how many bastards Maurice Prince of Orange left behind him, who being advised by a reverend Divine upon his deathbed to marry that woman of whom he had most of his sons, & thereby he might preserve her reputation from being a whore, and his children from being bastards: but being pressed to it, he answered, No, I will not wrong my brother Harry so much, who was to be his Heir. Albertus' the Archduke it seems preferred the pleasure of his body before that of his soul, when he shook off his Toledo mitre, and Cardinal's cap, to ma●…ry the Infanta of Spain.  
Touching Intemperance, especially the vice of ebriety and excess of drinking▪ where hath it such a vogue as in Germany? it is her bosom peculiar sin, and she hath infected all other Nations with it; The Belgian complains that the immoderate u●…e of wine came tumbling down upon him from high Germany, like snow rushing down the Alpian Hills, whence it found passage over with wind in poop to England, which are good at it, being of a Germane race, and therefore apt to take. Nay, as they say, the English are good Inventis addere, to improve any new Invention, so they go beyond us; for whereas the Dutch doth pelt the brain with small shot, the Englishman doth storm it with whole canons and huge carouses; for he when he is at it doth not sipp and drink by halfs, or demur upon it by some discourse as the Germane doth, or eat some salt quelchose between, but he deals in shire liquor, and is quickly at the bottom of his cup without any intervening discourse. Yet the Dutch bears the bell away both from Him and all others; Hereupon they use to characterise a Dutchman to be an Animal that can drink more than he can carry, as also one who useth to barrel up more than he can broach, that understands more, than he can utter: 'tis he who drinks cum mensura, but absque modo, according to measure, but without a mean. I heard of four old men in the upper Saxony, that having met at a club, they did not stir till they had drunk as many healths as they had years betwixt them; all which came to above three hundred. I heard of another company who at a match of drinking upon the Texells side in Amsterdam, tippled so long looking out of a casement, that they thought they were at sea in a tempest; therefore to lighten the ship they began to throw tables and stools with other luggage out of the windows, thinking they were in danger of shippwrack. But he was not so intemperate a Drinker, who used to drink according to the gamuth, Vt, Re, Mi, Fa, sol, lafoy, tossing up one carouse to every one, saying it was,  Vt Relevet Miserum Fatum, Solitosque Labores. 
Aeneas Silvius hath a story of the Count of Gorits, that to try whether his children were legitimat or no, he used to give them wine; and if they grew sick upon it, he concluded them to be bastards, and none of his. But he was a witty soul, and deserved to drink wine of the best, who comprehended the laws and causes of drinking in these verses.  

Si bené quid memini, causae sunt quinque bibendi.  
1 Hospitis adventus.  
2 Praesens sitis, atque  
3 Futura,  
4 Et Vini bonitas.  
5 Velure quaelibet altera causa.   

To Drink there may five causes be at least.  
1. For to entertain a Newcom guest.  
2. To quench the present thirst.  
3. Prevent the next.  
4. The goodness of the Wine.  
5. Or any text.   
The Jesuit hath a geerupon the Germane that he forsook the Communion of the Church of Rome, because laymen have not the Cup at the Sacrament.  
Now, to draw towards a conclusion, it cannot be denied but heretofore the Germans were approved men for military glory, but, Helas, they are now much eclipsed; The knights of Rhodes dissuading Soliman the Great Turk to war against Europe, especially against Germany, He answered, I esteem the arms of the Germans less, then of any others, and that for four causes. Quia sunt discords, et quemadmodum sui quinque digiti, it a illi nanquam in unum coalescant; Quia laborum sunt impatientes, et prae aliis Germani sunt helluones, Potatores, qui in castris scortorum turbam foveant, Ducesque belli plumis potius, quam armis militaribus gaudeant, quia temere.— I value not the Germans much, because they are at discord, nor can they be ever made one, no more than my five fingers; They are impatient of labour, and above all others they are gluttons, and drinkers, fit to march in a Field of Whores, and they take more pride in their feathers then their arms.  
But Germany glorieth much that she was the first Inventresse of gunpowder, and printing, of Artillery & Typography; whereof, contrary to the Genius and function of the men, a Friar found out the first, and a soldier the second; But if we may give credit to Maffeius, and Paulus jovius, and Boterus, three serious and sober Authors, They will tell you the contrary; and they were first invented and practised in China, the most Oriental Country upon this part of the Hemisphere. Hear I pray you his words, Aenea tormenta conflare, litteras imaginesque subjectis praelo typis excudere (quibus Cmomentis Europa recentibus adeo gloriatur) vetustissimo in usu apud Sinas compertum est— To cast brass guns, or imprint characters by way of stamp hath been of very ancient use in China, though Europe arrogate the inventions to herself; Besides the moulding of Canons, they have a way to make them lose in parts, which may be carried upon a porters back, or a beasts to any place without carriages; Then for printing, their characters are longer than ours, nor do their lines extend from left to right as Greek and Latins, or from the right hand to the left, as the Hebrew and all her dialects, but perpendicularly from top to bottom; There be books hereof both in the Vatican, and the Escurial. Boterus sayeth, sono piu di mille anni ehe ay Chinesi usano la stampa. It is above a thousand years that the Chineses use Typography. And Paulus jovius affirms, Maximé mirandum videtur apud Sinas esse Typographos artifices qui libros, Historias, et sacrorum ceremonias more nostro imprimant, quorum longissima folia introrsus quadrata serie complicentur, cujus generis volumen a Rege Lusitaniae cum Elephante dono missum Leo pontifex humaniter nobis ostendit, ut hinc facile credamus ejus artis exempla antequàm Lusitani in Indiam penetrarint, per Scythas et Moscos adincomparabile literarum praesidium ad nos pervenisse. It seems very strange that there should be typographical Artificers in China who used to print books & the ceremonies of their law, whose longest leaves were folded fowerfold innerly. Pope Leo did us the civility as to show us such a volume, which was sent him for a gift, with an Elephant, whence we may well think that long before the navigation of the portugals to the East Indies this Art of typography might be brought to Europe by way of Scythia or Moscovy. But, put case that Germany was first foundress of these two Inventions, truly I do not think she hath thereby deserved any thing well of Europe: Touching guns, they may be called things forged in Hell, and cast in Belzebubs furnace, for they destroy the Valiant with the Coward; And for Printing, truly I think it hath been the greatest cause of all the heresies, odd opinions and schisms that have swarmed ever since in the Christian Church.  
To conclude, in regard that the wallet that Germany carrieth behind her is so full of Vices, which cast such a shadow that obscures all her Virtues, I cannot give a full suffrage that she may merit the principality of Europe, but rather vote for Italy, whence all Imperial Majesty was first derived unto Her.   

THE ORATION OF PRINCE IO ACHIM ERNEST, Heir of Norway, Duke of Sleswik, etc. For France.  
Most Heroic Princes,  
THe Emperor Maximilian the first, who may be said to have deserved that name for the magnitude of his merits, his singular wisdom, his incomparable spirit, as well as from the sacred Font of Regeneration, in some familiar discourses with his Domestic Lords about the Kingdom of France, is said to have broken out into this high commendation thereof. If it could stand with the order of Nature that any mortal man might be a God here among the Elements, and I were He, I would so dispose in my Will (quantum ad familiae herciscundae judicium) touching the division of my estate, that my eldest son should be God after me, (absit proptana mens) but my second should be King of France. This saying or excess of speech must be interpreted with a sane judgement; for hereby the noble Emperor meant nothing else then to intimate his opinion touching that potent, populous, and opulent Kingdom of France, and that no one Country under the Sun is preferable to it. I use this preface, most excellent Princes, for preparing your attentions; and if peradventure I be transported too far with the elegy of France, I may have the suffrage of so noble an Emperor and a Countryman of our own, to apologise for me; And truly though I owe my vitals to Germany and all that I have, being my most dear native soil, yet let me not be thought to degenerate a jot from the nature of a Germane, if in my subsequent discourse I hold France to have the advantage of Germany in divers things; as also of any European Country besides; which while I endeavour to assert and prove, I humbly desire this most Noble Auditory that the same gale of favour and candour may blow upon me all along as I go, which did on that Illustrious Prince who spoke before me.  
And now will I endeavour to take a survey of France, which noble Monarchy whosoever will behold with a judicious and impartial eye, will acknowledge that first for her position and site she hath the advantage of any other Country being placed in the Centre of Europe, having Italy, Spain, Germany, and Great Britain round about Her; She enjoys a most delicate temper of clime, for she needs not either the stoves of Germany to preserve her children from the inclemency of the Heavens in point of cold, or the subterranean caves in other Countries to refresh her in point of heat, nor is she much infected with unwholesome aguish and infectious airs which in other Country's produce such a legion of diseases. Now, that which adds much to the advantage of her situation is, that she lieth accessible and open to all mankind for Commerce and negotiation both by Land and Sea, and being seated so in the midst she is the fittest to be Arbitress, and to give law to the rest of Christendom, as being able to divide, hinder, or unite the Forces of Europe when she pleaseth; She stands commodiously to restrain the growing and unproportionable greatness of some, as also to relieve the weaker, that they be not oppressed by the stronger: She bridles Great Brittany backward; On the right hand she checks Spain, on the left hand Germany both high and low. The Ocean and Mediterranean wash both her sides, the Alps fence her from Italy, and the Pyrenean Mountains from Spain, those huge hills serving her as trenches of Circumvallations against both; And where nature fails, she secures herself by art, by Fortresses, Citadels, and Castles.  
To this Strength of hers may be added her plenty, and indeed she may be called a Copia Cornu, or a Pandora's box of all things for necessity or pleasure, and she useth to give such largesse of her luxuriant fortune abroad, that she is a Creditor to all other people, but a Debtor to none; Those commodities which use to enrich other Country's singly are here all conjunct, and what is exotique or strange in other Country's is here domestic & common; Which Italy, who useth to be sparing of other's praises, and prodigal of her own, doth acknowledge, for Boterus saith, that those things which are found but in some places of Italy, are found every where in France. Therefore the character which Pliny gave in times passed to Province, and Salvianus gave to Aquitania in particular, may be applied to France in general. Narbonensis Provincia agrorum cultu, etc. The Country of Narbon saith Pliny is not to be postposed to any other either for Agriculture, for foecundity of soil, for universality of wealth, for Nobles and Gentry, etc. And Salvianus saith, that Aquitania is not only a fat Country, and full of marrow, but she hath as much jucundity as fertility, as much real pleasure as outward beauty: Nam Illic omnis admodum Regio aut intertexta est Vineis, aut florulenta pratis, aut irrigata fontibus, aut interfusa fluminibus, aut distincta culturis, aut consita pomis, aut amaenata lucis, aut crinita messibus, Ut verè possessores ac Domini illius terrae non tam soli istius portionem quam Paradisi imaginem possidere Videantur. There every place is either interwoven with Vines, or flowered with Meadows, or set with Orchards, or cut by Corn fields, or peepled with Trees, and Woods, or refreshed with Fountains, or inchaneled with Rivers, or periwigged with all sorts of grain; In so much that the Inhabitants of that Country may be said to have a piece of Paradise rather than a portion of the Common Earth.  
But the four Cardinal Commodities of France may be said to be Corn, Wine, Hemp, and Salt, which Boterus calls Galliae Magnetes, the four Lodestones of France: For as the loadstone, especially the blue and Ethiopian, is more precious in weight then silver, and hath an attractive Virtue to draw, and embrace iron with other metals, so these French Lodestones which are so far more noble than the Ethiopians, as the climes are in temper, and nobleness, do draw unto them all the silver and gold of their neighbours; so that France may be called the Exchequer of Europe.  
Touching French Corn there's no question but it is the perfectest of all other, Solinus, and Pomponius Mela expatiate themselves very far in the French fields, and speak much of their fatness and foecundity; Nor was Cicero himself silent, but he speaks of vast proportions of Corn which were exported from the Gauls of France; And Pliny, one of Nature's Protonotaries, bears witness that the Gallic corn was nitidissimi grani. & plus panis reddere quam far aliud; it was of a neat grain, and yielded more bread than other Wheat: Who knows not but Spain might starve without French Corn, which is transmuted to Indian silver and gold; Insomuch that the Spaniard may be said to have the dominion of the Mines of Mexico, but the French reap the benefit thereof.  
Now, touching the French Wines we may well say they need no bush; for by bartering of useful rich Commodities, and great sums of Money, the English, the Scots, the Flemins, Hollanders, Germans, Danes, Swedes, and other bibacious Northern Nations fetch away Vast quantities by Sea, and by Land; Bodin speaks of one Laud a Merchant of Cambray who bought and brought in Carts 33000. barrels of French Wines in one year. Now, as the grape streptos according to Pliny doth turn about with the Sun, so the French nectar conforming itself to the course of the Sun, doth refresh as it were with a golden shower all the circumjacent Country's. What shall I say of the excellent stomach Wines of Bourdeaux, the full bodied Wines of Orleans, which by an express Edict are prohibited from the King's Cellars by reason of their strength; the neat Whites of Aix, the rich Frontiniak and most pleasant Wines of Province and Languedoc fit to feast the gods withal? In some places of Burgundy there are Wine Vessels as big as some Houses in altitude, little inferior to the Vast vessels of Heydel●…erg, Tubinga and Groninghen.  
Now I come to Hemp the third loadstone of France, and indeed it is more precious than any Gem or jewel: who would think that such a contemptible Vegetal scarce a yard high should be able to remove Egypt to Italy? for we read that Galerius in 6. days sailed from Sicily to Alexandria, Babilius in six, that can bring Naples to Hercules pillars, and the Baltic Sea to the Hellespont: a poor Vegetal that can remove this upper part of the Hemisphere to the Antipodes, for the Navigators into the East Indies do so. A vegetal that can resist Aeolus, and overmaster Neptune himself both winds and waves, notwithstanding the impetuous whirlwinds of the one, and the tumblings of the other; a Vegetal that can join East and West, North and South together, and to interchange mutual offices of humanity and friendship. Now where doth this so useful Vegetal grow more copiously then in France? She furnisheth all her Neighbours with Sails for their Ships, and shirts for their backs.  
I come now to the Salt which savours all things, how much are all Countries obliged to France for this wholesome commodity? I have heard there are rocks of Salt in Ormus, that in Carra in Arabia they make walls and houses of massy salt. In Hungary they have Mines of Salt, but both Sea and Land makes France abound with Salt wherewith she preserves from stinking, those huge Regions of the North, where, as Catullus saith,  Vix in tam magno corpore mica salis. 
What millions of bushels of Salt are expended, and exported out of France every year? how doth salt fill the King's Coffers with treasure? In so much that in the last computation that was made, it appeared that the French King had 20. millions of Franks from this sole commodity which is two millions of pounds sterling.  
'Tis true, Spain hath Salt, but it is more corroding, and acrimonious; Therefore in Charles the fifth's time, when for the vent of the Spanish Salt he had put out a Placart prohibiting that no French salt should be used in the Low Countries, the Country was like to mutiny for this tart proclamation, because the Spanish salt was nothing so vigorous and sweet as the French.  
To these riches of France you may add Oil, Figs, Oranges, Citrons, Saffron; with all sorts of Fruit and most excellent Cydre. There are not such delightful fields on the surface of the whole Earth, such Herds of Cattle, and abundance of cloth and stuffs made, which makes le drap de Berry so famous, such swarms of bees, such hosts of Deer, and other wild beasts you will hardly find any where: Nor do there want horses of all sorts, with other animals necessary for the use of man, about Orleans they have 4000 breeding Mares perpetually: Their numbers of Forests, Chases and Parks, Woods and Groves▪ every where is infinite. In fine, France is universally fertile in every corner, nor is there one acre of ground which produceth not something or other for need or pleasure, which they who made the perambulation and tour of France have found to be true. There are great number of large deep ponds. The Country is covered in many places with delightful Woods and Lawns, which, besides the pleasure the Gentry are permitted to have without injury done to the peason, afford not only fire for the Kitchen, but instruments for war by Sea and land: Pliny was not deceived when he said that France was full of yew Trees, which though it be poisonous if one sleeps or eats under them, (whence may be inferred that toxica came first from taxica or taxus,) yet there is a remedy found out, that if one doth beat into the yew a brass nail, it takes away the force of any poison.  
Hitherto most Princely Auditors I, have showed the face and outward purple of our French Helen, I will now discover unto you her belly and inward parts, whereof she is pregnant, as iron the best and worst instrument of life, for herewith we manure the Earth, we lop trees, we prune Vineyards, we build Houses and Ships, we arm ourselves against the Enemy, which makes the Indians to prefer it before all metals, and when any Ships arrive to their Havens, the first thing they cry out for is Iron, Iron. But we use it also to pernicious uses, as killing and slaying, we give it wings to do mischief, etc. And nature hath furnished the bowels of France with this metal more than ordinary that she might defend herself, and arm her courageous sons: There is good store also of other metals, and although Diodorus seems to undervalue France because she hath no Mines of silver, he is deceived; for though by a casual fire that happened among the Shepherds on the Pyreney hills, which searched the very bowels of the Earth, and melted the Mines of gold and silver; yet Dominicus Bertinus affirmeth, that if we would go to the pains, there might be as much gold digged out of that part of the Pyrenean hills which look upon France, as is found in Peru. But the virtue of France looks upward towards heaven; for since the upper parts of her earth affords all things that may satisfy humane desire and appetite, even Apidicus himself, why should we tear the bowels of so kind and benign a Mother? The Pagan Poet could complain of this,  

— Itum est in viscera Terrae,  
Quasque abscondiderat, stygijsque admoverat Umbris,  
Effodiuntur opes irritamenta malorum.   
Now for habitation, Nature hath provided stones of all kind, Marbles of all colours, with white specious free stone, wherewith the Burgundian, and Pyrenean Hills abound; Now as her upper parts abound with Woods, Fruits and Grounds, her bowels with Mines and Marble, so her veins, I mean her Rivers, are full of fish, and some extraordinary ones; there is observed to be in the River Arari a great fish called Clupea, which in the increase of the Moon is white, and in the wane grows black, therefore sure those that eat of it must be inconstant people, having such a sympathy with the Moon; This fish growing too great is killed by his own fins, and in his head there is a stone taken out which is good against quartan Agues, being tied to the left side of the body in the decrease of the Moon: There is a lake in Bonvalle in Burgundy that abounds with sundry sorts of strange fish, which lake hath a trick to hide herself for a while in the caverns of the Earth, and then to appear again.  
Nor is there any Country so conveniently watered not only with rare Sources, and Rivulets, but with great Navigable Rivers which makes one Province communicable to another; for all the great Towns of France are situated upon mercantil Rivers that will bear Ships and Boats, whereby there is a very commodious way for intercourse of trade; And in some of these Rivers there are found out small ingots of gold, as in Tagus in Spain, the Po in Italy, Pactolus in Asia, and Ganges in India. Among others the Sein is observed to be the most delectable, and gentlest River, never subject to inundations, and to have her banks mended, by her windings and maeanders she seems to visit and salute every place as she runs; for in some places which are distant one from another but six miles by Land, there is thirty miles' distance by the River: This is that River which embraceth France in her arms; France, whom josephus calls the source of beatitude, Cicero the nurse of plenty, and Procopius prefers her in power before all the Regions of Europe; O unspeakable indulgency of nature, O most delicate and divine part of the Earthly globe, surely that character which was given of thee doth well be fit thee, La France est le petit aeil, et la perle du monde. France is the little ey and perl of the World.  
I come now to the Inhabitants of France, who are a gallant people and deserve such a dwelling, but both fo●… quality and quantity, for their Virtues and numbers I shall not be able to set them forth to any perfection: In a multitude of people lieth the King's dignity, and in the paucity his shame, saith Solomon; which was the cause that God Almighty purposing to exalt Abraham, promised him that his posterity should so multiply, that their number should be like the Stars in the Firmament, or like the sands on the Sea shore; Now what Region under the Cope of Heaven is more repleted with people than France? There can be no vacuum found there, no desert corner, or any part of the air but is breathed in by men; so that, as One said, France may be said to be but one great City distinguished by passages, and ways: And as it is observed in the aunt's Common Wealth (the Emblem of industry) that every one is a doing something, so is this stirring people.  
There are in France 102. Episcopal Cities, whereof 14. are Metropolitan, with an incredible number of other Towns: There are ne'er upon 30. thousand Parishes, what myriads of souls shall we think then may breathe under those roofs? What was spoken of old of Narbo among the Romans, may well be spoken of France in general.  

Salve Narbo potens salubritate,  
Urbe et Rure simul bonus videri,  
Muniris, civibus, ambitu, tabernis,  
Porto, porticibus, foro, theatro,  
Delubris, capitolijs, monetis,  
Thermis, arcubus, horreiss, macellis,  
Pratis, fontibus, insulis, salinis,  
Stagnis, flumine, merce, ponte, ponto,  
Unus qui venerere jure Divos  
Lenaeum, Cererem, Palem, Minervam,  
Spicis, palmite, pascuis, trapetis  
Solis fise viris, nec expetito  
Naturae auxilio procul relictis,  
Promens montibus altius cacumen,  
Non te fossa patens, nec hispidum  
Objecti sudium coronat Agger etc.  
Quid quod Caesaribus ferax creandis,  
Felix prole Virum semul dedicti  
Nates cum genitore Principantes?   
Now to come to the Cities of France, it were an infinite task to speak of them all, I will instance in a few, behold Nismes, where more antiquities, as Fanes, Palaces, Amphitheatre with other monuments are to be seen, then in any one Town of Italy except Rome. Take a survey of Monpelier, a most ancient seat of the Muses, and incomparable for simples and the study of Physi●…, whither the Saracens when they were expelled from Spain came with some Arabian Doctors disciples to Avicen, Averro and others, who left their rare knowledge there behind them. Now, Paris may be called a little world of itself; hear what Boterus speaks of her, Parigi Cittá che di popolo et di abondanza dôgni cosa avanza di gran lúnga tutte láltre Cittá di Christianitá. The City of Paris far exceeds all others of Christendom for people, and plenty of all things; Charles the 5th said, that Paris was not to be ranked among Cities but Provinces, for her amplitude and affluence of all things; Nor was Prince Christopher your Granfather, most noble Duke of Wirtemberg much out of his account, when he affirmed that there were more souls in Paris then in all the Territories of Wirtemberg; Who will believe this that hath not seen Paris, and who will not believe it that hath seen her! It is a place of such infinite provision, that Mons. Vigner said, if he were to invite the greatest Feasters among the Romans, were they alive, as Apicius, Lucullus, Pompey, with a dozen more, he would desire but a day's warning to do it, and they should be so treated, that they should confess they never found the like in Rome.  
Among others Henry the 4th. did contribute much to the glory of Paris, he desired to survive but two Wishes, the one to perfect the Lowre, the other to encompass the Suburbs of St. german with a wall; Then for Court and City he would compare with all the Potentates upon Earth: He would not suffer any new tax to be imposed upon the Parisians, Insomuch that the Provost of the City desiring his Majesty would be pleased to give way that there might a small imposition be laid upon the water pipes towards the defraying the charges of the Helvetian Ambassadors, he answered very pleasantly, that there was need of an other invention, for it belonged only to jesus Christ to turn Water into Wine.  
But to proceed further in this theme, as of all the visible works of nature the Firmament is the fairest, so of all Earthly Continents France is the most flourishing, and fullest of the most vigorous Gentry, nor doth the gentleness of the Country effeminate their spirits, or the indulgence of the Heavens soften their courage, but they are all of high heroical dispositions; And as virtue dwells commonly in free minds, so France is the freest people upon Earth, Insomuch that it is a Rule, Servi peregrini ut primùm Galliaef●…nes penetraverint liberi sunto, as Bodin hath it; Strange servants as soon as they breathe French air let them be free: I will produce one Example. A Merchant came to Tholouse and brought with him a slave whom he had bought in Spain, the slave being told of the Constitutions of France, came and told his Master, Sir, I have served you hitherto in quality of a slave, but I am now a Freeeman, yet I am content to serve you still, but as a free attendant according to the custom of this noble Country. The like thing happened at the siege of Mets, where a servant had played the fugitive and ran away with his Master Don Luis de Avila's horse, who was Master of the horse to the Emperor, Don Luis sent to the Duke of Guyse a Praetor for his man and his horse; The Duke understanding that the horse was sold caused the money to be sent the Spaniard, but for the servant he sent him word, That his servant had entered into the inner parts of France, where the Law is, that if any of a servile condition puts his foot once, he instantly recovers his liberty, which custom being so consonant to reason, and agreeable to Christianity, he could not nor would not violate.  
Touching the magnanimity and valour of the French there are infinite Examples all the World over; Alexander the great hearing of their valour sent to know of them what they feared most? They answered, Ne coelum rueret, Lest the heaven should fall. 'Tis true, Gallia became a Province to the Romans, but presently after the death of julius Caesar she was declared free: And Rome called the Gauls in their public writings by the appellation of friends. 'Tis well known what footing the Gauls took in Italy, for the best part of Lombardy was called Gallia Cisalpina; We read in Caesar that the time was cum Germanos Galli virtute superarent, that the Gauls were superior to the Germans in valour, that they had conquered much of the Country about the Hercynian Forest: Are not the Britain's of the Gaulic or Wallic race? are not divers Provinces in Spain and Portugal descended from Them? Afterward in revolution of time the Germane Franconians, and Gauls, being neighbours, came by coalition to be one Nation, and they have continued so above these 12 Ages. The Kings of Sicily descend from Tanered the Norman; so do the Kings of England from William the Conqueror and the Plantagenets; The Kings of Cyprus, Syria, and Greece, come from Guy of Lusignan; nay Constantinople was held awhile by Gallic Emperors: What glorious Expeditions have been made to the Holy Land by 5. French Kings in person; Me thinks I see Godefroy of B●…llion having sold his Duchy to that purpose marching with a huge Army through Germany, Hungary, and Greece, and so passing to Asia and Syria to encounter the Forces of Soliman the Ottoman Emperor, and Chalypha the Sultan of Egypt with other Barbarian Kings whom he put all to flight, making himself Master of Nice, of Antioch, and Hieresulam herself with the holy Sepulchre of Christ; Me thinks I see him when he was to be crowned King of Jerusalem throwing away a Crown of gold, and taking one of thorns in imitation of his Saviour: Me thinks I see all the tributary Princes thereabouts bringing offerings unto him, and he clad in the habit of a common Gregarian Soldier, whereat they being astonished, some of them, as the Archbishop of Tyre said, How is it that so great a King, so admirable a Conqueror, who coming from the West hath shaken all the Eastern World should go so plain and homely? But to step back a little, look upon Brennus ransacking Rome with an Army of Gauls: look upon Charles Martel who was called Conservator of the Christian World, which was then upon point of ruin, and to fall under the yoke of Infidels and Saracens. Look upon Pepin who chased the Long●…bards out of Italy; upon Bertrand who deprived Peter King of Castille of his Kingdom for his tyranny; I could instance in a great number who have their names engraven, and their Ensigns hung up in the Temple of immortality. Moreover for Cavalleers and horsemen it is granted by all Nations that the French are the prime. It is recorded in good, how in the African War 30. French repulsed 2000 Moor: But to come nearer home, In the siege of Mets where the fifth himself commanded in chief, What resolute Sallies did the French make out of the Town, causing the Emperor at last to truss up his bag and baggage and go away by torchlight; Inso much that the Town of Mets being then kept by a French Garrison put the last bounds to the Conquests of that Great Captain, as a Poet could tell him,  Si metam nescis, Urls est quae Meta vocatur. 
Now to go from the Sword to the Crosier, What brave Prelates, and Champions against heresy hath France bred? St. Hilary the queller of the Arrian heresy, St. Hierom▪ Pontius Paulinus Bishop of Nola, Rusticus, Phaebadius, Prosper, ●…cditius, Avitus, Mamertus Archbishop of Vienna, Sidonius Apollinaris, Lupus, Germanus, Salvianus, Remigius Archbishop of Rheims, with multitudes more all of them most pio●…s, and learned Prelates, whose Monuments show them to be so to this day; And so well devoted were the French always to the Church of God, that they thought nothing too dear and precious to endow her withal, witness those mighty revenues the Gallican Church possesseth: For in the late Reign of Charles the 9 there was a cense brought in of the demains of the Church, and they amounted to 12 millions, and 300. thousand Franks in annual rent besides voluntary oblations.  
Now touching Learning and Eloquence Lucius Plotius a Gaul was the first began to read Latin Lectures at Rome, and Cicero being then a boy, and finding such a great confluence of Auditors to flock every day to hear him, he grieved that he could not do the like, as Suetonius hath left it upon record; Marcus Antonius Gnipho a Gaul did then flourish also at Rome, a man of singular Elocution, and a prodigious Memory, he delivered precepts in Greek and Latin; and among others Cicero himself when he was Praetor used to be his Auditor. Marseilles was very renowned for great learned men, having been so many ages a Greek Colony; so was Lions also a special seat of the Muses, as it is now for Merchants of all Nations, of whom the Kings of France have borrowed Millions of money to supply their sudden necessities: Valence was also famous for Philosophers and Poets, witness Athenaeus, as also Vienne where Latin was so vulgar, according to that signal Epigram of Martial,  

Fertur habere meos si vera est fama 〈◊〉  
Inter delicias pulchra Vienna suas;  
Me legit omnis ibi Senior, juvenisque puerque,  
Et coram tetrico cast a puella viro,  
Hoc ego maluerim quam si mea carmina cantent  
Qui nilum ex ipso protinus ore bibunt;  
quam Meus Hispano si me Tagus impleat auro,  
Pascat et Hybla meas, pascat Hymettos apes. etc.   
And questionless no Country flourished with Learning more than France in those days, witness St. Hierom when he writ, Sola Gallia monstra non habuit, etc. France alone had no Monsters, but abounded still with most valiant, and eloquent men; And elsewhere, post studia Galliarum quae vel florentissima sunt misit Romam, etc. After he had finished his studies in Gallia where they are most flourishing, he sent him to Rome, sparing no cost that he might season the copiousness and neatness of the French speech with the Roman gravity.  
Moreover in the Constitutions of the Emperor's Valens and Gratianus there is mention made that France was full of Philosophers, Rhetoricians, and Grammarians, who excelled both in the Attic and Roman Learning. To this tribe of learned men are to be referred the Druids, the Eubages and Bards, among whom Votienus Montanus, Domitius, After, Gabinianus, M. Aper, jul. Florus, jul. Secundus, Nazarius, and Nazarius daughter Eunomia, Eumenideses, Terentius Varro, Phavorinus, Pacatus, Rutilius Numatianus, Ausonius Gratian, and Valentinians Schoolmaster, were most famous.  
Now touching the Lutetian Academy in Paris, she is acknowledged to be the Mother of all the rest, one of the brightest eyes of all Europe, the great number of Masters in all faculties there make all the World to make their addresses thither for instruction. Pope Innocent the third gave this character of Paris, that Studium Parisiense erat fundamentum Ecclesiae. There have been known to be in Paris at one time 20000. Students, and sometimes 30000. until the Emissaries of the Roman Capitol, the jesuits did draw away and allure the chief flower of our youth to their Colleges. What a brave masculine spirit was Robert of Sorbon, a man of high reason, and an invincible Disputant, who was born in a convenient time to vindicat his Country from the Encroachments of the Papal power, and keep it within its own channel so that it should not mound, and overwhelm the Prerogatives of the Gallican Monarchy, whereof the College of Sorbon may be said to be one of the chiefest props. Besides Paris there are 15. great Seminaries of learning, and seats of Muses, whence as from never drying sources all scientifical knowledge do flow, and disperse itself every where. What great lights of Learning were Io. Gerson, Peter Lombard, Gentianus Hervetus, who was so much admired in the Tridentine Council; What Giants of Erudition were Vatablus, Io. Mercerus, Genebrardus, Calvin, Beza, Sedelius, Ducaeus, as also Monsieur du Plessis among the Nobility or Laiety: What a man of men was Cardinal Perron; with great numbers of other besides?  
Moreover for the Civil Law France is acknowledged to have bred the acutest wits of the World; witness Duarenus, Aemarus Rinconetus, Michael Hospitalis, who underwent all the offices of the gown, and was observed to resemble Aristotle in physiognomy, as in all other profounndesse of learning, and quickness of spirit; There have been other great Legislators, as Car. 〈◊〉 whose lucubrations serve for lanterns to direct any in the study of the Law, an, for the decision of all crabbed points; let Baptista Menilius come in next, whd for rectitude of opinion was accounted an Oracle: Bonus Broveus was famous also for his orthodox judgement, and moving flexanimous Eloquence. To these may be added Gulielmus Budaeus whom Erasmus calls the prodigy of France, Olivarius, Fabrus, Hottoman, Conanus, and Contius, Puteanus, Bellonus, Bodinus▪ Choppinus, Bonifidius, and jacobus Cuiaccius who was called the Papinian of his time.  
Now, touching Physic what shall I say of Fernelius, Hollenus, Charondas, Gorreus, Dalechampius, and Quercetanus, Foxius Candala, Orontius Finus, Io. P●…na, Montareus, P. Ramus, Nostradamus', all most acute Mathematicians, specially Francis Vieta, as also Lescotus the greatest Architect that Europe ever had since the time of Vitruvius, who was the first tracer of that stupendous Castle of the Lowre, which in Elegancy, in vastness of Symmetry, and exactness of proportion when it is finished, may compare with any fabric upon Earth.  
Augustus Thuanus may now take place for the most Methodical, and judicious Historian that ever put pen to paper, or committed any thing to the Archives of truth; As also the Sammarthans brother who were Auxiliaries to Thuanus in his collections; And we desire and advise Puteanus, and Rigaltius to expose to public light those pieces that were committed to their trust by Thuanus, and not frustrate the Common Wealth of learning of the sight of them by any longer procrastination.  
Now for heavenly inspired Poets let Ronsard appear first, the excellentest that hath been since Augustus his egress out of this World; Let Bellay come next him, and Bellaqua be in the third place; But we may well add a fourth to these three, which is Auratus; And for a fifth let Sallust Du Bartas carry the place, who hath described the Creation of the World so lively and elegantly, that he merits the praise and admiration of the whole World of wit; Witness that modest opinion and applause which Ronsard himself gave him, who being asked what he thought of Dubartas his Works? answered no less ingeniously then ingenuously, Mons. Du Bartas afait plus en une semaine que je nayfait en 〈◊〉 ma vie, Monsieur Du Bartas hath done more in one Week, than I have done all the days of my life.  
Now, for Philosophers let Turnebus, and Montanus come in the Van, men of rare Erudition and probity; Let Ant. Muret, and Passeratius accompany them; let Causabon also come in the same file of Worthies, a man versed in omni (cibili, in all knowledge as well as Criticisms; Let joseph Scaliger bring up the rear and be Dictator of all Literature, who  

— Erudition  
Idumaeus Arabs, Syrusque et Indus,  
Chaldaeus simul, Aethiopsque Civis,  
Quemque Achemenii suum Vocarent,  
Pelasgus simul, et simul Latinus,  
Et Graius Vetus, et Quotidianus,  
Et Thuscus simul, et simul Britannus,  
Et quod altera secula obstupescant,  
Hispanus simul, et simul Batâvus.   
Now, let it be observed that the French tongue hath a great advantage in couching any kind of knowledge as well for the copiousness, as the lenity and smoothness of speech, wherein neither her mother the Latin, or her two sisters the Italian and Spanish can contend with her, nor our Teutonique also which is so sinewy and masculine a language being so knotted with consonants▪ Nor is there any kind of science or knowledge but you shall find it in the French tongue, so that if all other tongues were perished, there might be an instauration, and consummation made of all arts and learning in the French alone; Therefore Charles the Emperor the compleatest Prince of his time was overheard to tell his Son Philip in a private discourse that he held it a signal honour, that by his grandmother Mary of Valois he was extracted of the illustrious progeny of France, and that he could speak that language, which was very frequent in his Court among his domestics. Now, it cannot be denied but this French tongue hath many Dialects, and in these dialects there are as is found in all other languages certain 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, but the prime and purest property of idiotisms seems as it were to dwell upon the banks of the Loire, and principally in Blois, and Orleans; Insomuch that as the Attic was esteemed the choicest dialect among the Greeks, so the Aurelian is by the French.  
Now for language, virtue and learning the French have perfected all three with a marvelous dexterity and promptitude of nature, and a rare vigour of all the senses inward and outward; which makes julius Scaliger to break out thus into their praises. I find there is a fiery kind of vigour, and mature celerity in the French which other Nations have not: To whatsoever they apply themselves they become notable proficients, and arrive to a perfection in a short time, whether it be in the mystery of Marchandising, in letters, arms or Arts; Paulus Me●…ula gives this testimony of them, I have observed, and became astonished, that among the French some will argue and discourse extempore of any problem, and that with such an admirable method as if they had studied the theme many days before: Therefore sure Servius was deceived in the French, when he says they are pigrioris Ingenii; so was julius Firmicus, wheen he calls them stolidos, foolish; so was julianus, when he terms them stupidos et rusticitatis amantes, blockheads, and lovers of homeliness; so was likewise Polybius where he saith, that doctrinae et artibus operam non daunt, they apply themselves neither to Learning nor Arts; I know Diodorus, Athenaus, and Clemens Alexandrinus say, that they are faithless, and given to gluttony and drunkenness; Livy brands them to be light and effeminate; Mela accuseth them to be greedy after gold, proud, and superstitious; Solinus calls them vainglorious; Plutark writes they are insatiable of money, and Cicero sayeth, Gallos' minimè ulla Religione moveri, The Gauls are not moved at all by any Religion: Surely these Writers took all these reports a far off, and upon trust. For they who have had intimacy with the French and studied the nation in general, will say otherwise of them.  
But that which is most noble in France, and which elevates Her above all other Empires is the Majesty of her Kings, whereof there have been so many brave heroic Monarches who have done such exploits, that one may speak more of them in telling truth, then can be spoken of Others in vapouring out hyperboles and lies. Pope Gregory writing to Childebert King of France, Quantò caeteros homines Regia dignitas antecellit, tantò caeterarum gentium regna Regni vestri culmen excellit. As much as Kings excel other men, so far doth the glory of yours exceed the Kingdoms of other Nations. Honorius the third said, that the Kingdom of France was the unexpugnable wall of Christendom. Urban the fourth saith, that the King of France is the morning Star in the midst of the Western clouds, He is an Earthly God in his own Kingdom, he is above all Kings; Ejúsque umbrâ totus mundus regitur, and all the World is governed by his shadow, saith Baldus. Nay St. Thomas saith, that he who prayeth for the King of France hath 100 day's indulgence granted by Pope Clement, and 10. added by Innocent the fourth.  
Moreover France is not subject to the distaff as other Kingdoms are, but the Salic Law proclaims aloud,  Gallorum Imperii Successor masculus esto. 
For this is not only consentaneous to reason, but hath a congruity with nature herself, Because that in man the mind, the body, the voice and all things else are more strong and strenuous, They are fitter for action, and attract more awe and reverence unto them; In the female all things are softer and lighter, which may attract more affection, but there is a kind of contempt that mingles with it; In the one, authority and Majesty appeers, in the other fears, and jealousy: And how preposterous is it to the law of nature, for man to be a vassal to that sex which should be under him? The Pagan Epigrammatist can tell you in oeconomical government.  

Inferior maetrona suo sit, Prisce, marito,  
Non aliter fuerint foemina Virque pares.   
I cannot deny but there may be examples produced of some notable Heroic Queens, as Zenobia, Pulcheria, Semiramis, Isabel of Castille, and of Elizabeth Queen of England, a Lady that was prudent beyond her sex, and adored with literature, she understood Greek and Spanish indifferently well, but for Latin, French, Italian, English, and the old British she spoke them familiarly, which made Pope sixtus the fifth break out into this wish, that he had a greater desire to see one woman, and one man, than all the race of mankind besides, and they were Queen Elizabeth of England, and Henry of Navar●…; to whom, were they not tainted with heresy, he had things of mighty consequence to communicate; But we may not forget what kind of Queens other women have been, as Athaliah, Cleopatra, Messalina, Faustina, jane of Naples, and Fredegunda of France, which made Eumolpus or Porphyrius under Constantine to break out into this harsh tetrastique  

Crede ratem Ventis, animum ne crede puellis,  
namque est faemin●…a tutior unda fide.  
Faemina nulla bona est, et si bona contigit ulla,  
nescio quo fato res mala facta bona est.   
There is another prerogative that the Kings of France are said to have, which is never to die, whereupon Maria de Medicis being struck with a consternation when she heard of the death of her husband Henry the fourth, and crying out Helas, that the King is dead; No, answered the Chancellor, the Kings of France never die; And the reason that they die not is, because they are born Kings, and perpetuat themselves so in their own blood; And as in all successions according to the mode of speaking in France, le mort saisit le vif, so in an hereditary Kingdom  

— Uno avulso non deficit Alter,  
Surculus—   
The next a kin succeeds though a thousand degrees off by right of blood. Which course doth not only foment and increase affections 'twixt the Prince and his people, but it prevents all tempests of ambition, and pretences that may happen during the vacancy or interregnum, and props the Crown with columns of eternity. But in Elections, what expectations, and stirs! what sidings and factions do use to happen; Besides what Prince will care for another man's, as much as for his own inheritance, which he is assured will descend upon his own issue and blood: Moreover in Elective States what a nundination, what a buying and selling of suffrages is there? The Roman Empire presently after Claudius, who was the first Caesar that was chosen by the Soldiers whose allegiance he bought with rewards, did fall upon vile and base heads by that kind of Election or rather by that kind of Emption for it may be said that the Empire lay under the spear exposed to public sale; What contestations happened 'twixt the Senate and the Legions? In so much that every Province might be said to have their several Emperors; And when Zenobia was Empress there were reckoned 30. at one time.  
In our Germany, how many Interregnums have we had by this way of Election? How many years did she appear as a Monster without a head after the death of Frederic the second? What a world of confusion, and exorbitances, of fraud, and depraedations did she fall into? What a base plot had Charles the fourth, as also Vuenceslaus who would have prostituted the Empire for money? They did so deplume the Eagle that she became contemptible to all other Creatures; These were they whom Maximilian the first called the stepfathers or rather the two pests of the Empire. The same Maximilian also in the Council of Constance protested that he had raised 100 tons of gold out of his own patrimonial demeanes to support the sacred Roman Empire, and all that while he had not received from the States of the Empire 40000. florins.  
Now, because my discourse hath transported me so far, I cannot but extremely groan, and deplore the state of the Empire, and to what a pitiful low ebb 'tis fallen unto; For whereas in the time of Frederic the first, (and the strength of the Empire was then much attenuated) the annual revenues came to 60000. tons of gold, which amounts to about 6. millions sterling, the exility of the rents of Caesar which he gets by the Empire are scarce able, as Schneiderin a famous Civil Lawyer doth assert, to maintain the domestic expenses of the Imperial Court, nor those neither unless Caesar did contribut much thereunto out of his own patrimonial inheritances, which made Cardinal Granvil to affirm aloud in the time of Charles the 5. ex Imperio ne tantillum Emolumenti habere Caesarem, that Caesar had no Emolument at all from the Empire, and we know no King in Christendom was reduced to that tenuity.  
But France is not subject to those Comitial diseases or Diets of the Empire, being secure by the succession and prerogatives of her Kings, who have a transcendent and absolute authority not derived at all from their subjects; whereby Caesar himself may be said to be inferior in point of power, though not in precedence to Caesar himself, though as Bartolus averrs, Haeretici sunt pronunciandi quicunque Imperatorem Germanicum universi terrarum Orbis Dominum esse negant, They are to be pronounced Heretics who deny the Rom. German Emperor to be Lord Paramount of all the Univers; And he grounds this right upon the answer of the Emperor Antoninus to Eudaemon of Nicodemia, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Ego quidem Mundi Dominus, lex autem maris; I am Lord of the World, and the Law of the Sea: He urgeth also another argument from the words of the holy Evangelist, when he sayeth, There issued forth a Decree from Augustus, that the whole world should be taxed. But France acknowledgeth no such superiority; for when L. Madrutius was employed by Ferdinand the Emperor to Francis the second, for the restitution of Toul, and Verdun, with other feathers which he had plucked from the Eagle, Franciscus Olivarius the Chancellor answered, that they deserved capital punishment who would advise the King to such a surrendry, or held that the most Christian King and first son of the Church was any ways inferior to Caesar: Herupon we know that the doctrine of the Imperial Laws are prohibited in Paris by this Edict and Caveat, Ne quis publicè profiteretur Romanas leges in Academia Parisiensi, neve quem Scholasticos ejus disciplinâ ad gradus auderet provehere, That none should make profession of the Roman Laws in the University of Paris, or dare to advance the Students thereof to any degree of dignity. Herupon Hospitalius Charles the ninth's Chancellor in presence of the King himself and the assembly of the three Estates procured it to be enacted, that the Kings of France the very same moment that they entered into the 14th year of their age should be pronounced capable to reign, and to be out of his minority, and so govern inchoatiuè. Now for the Imperial Laws, their reason and equity may be haply made use of in other Dominions, but not their authority and sanction; No more could the Romans in times past be said to be any way under the Greeks, because they borrowed, and made use of some Laws of theirs. No more can the Turks be said to be any way subject to the Romans because they have the justinian Code translated into their vulgar language, and that their Cadies make use of them to rectify sometimes natural reason.  
Furthermore the supereminent royalties of the Kings of France appear manifestly, in that they have the sole power to indict war, or establish peace, to make leagues and confederacies, to enact Laws, to create Magistrates of the gown and the sword, to give pardon for lives, to stamp money, to give letters of denization, to impose taxes, and make pecuniary levies at pleasure. Now, the Kingdom of France is like a most fertile and flourishing meadow, whereon infinite flocks of sheep do feed and bear golden fleeces, which may be shorn when the shepherd pleaseth; yet I will except here the province of Languedoc where the King cannot exact any subsidiary contributions, without the express consentment of the three Estates of that Country.  
For administration of Civil Justice, France comes short of no other Region, whose charge it is to preserve the King's prerogatives, as well as the privilege of the subject; To which end there be 8. Courts of Parliament whose names are known to any that have travelled France; Among these that of Paris is the most predominant in regard the Parliament of Peers is always there residing, which high Court useth to verify (not confirm) all the King's Edicts to make them the more plausible, and for form sake only. Now, as France is the beauty of Europe, so that Parliament is the eye of France, and the Parliament of Peers is the apple of that eye; Nor do there want examples how other Foreign Kings and Princes have referred themselves to this Court of Parliament, as a high consistory of reason, and Justice, as being Astrea's noblest tribunal. The Emperor Frederick the second referred the controversies 'twixt him and Pope Innocent the fourth, touching the Kingdom of Naples to the decision of this Court: So the Count of Namur in a difference 'twixt Charles of Valois and him touching the County of Namur put himself upon the verdict of this Court, and he thereby carried his business. Philip Prince of Tarentum overcame the Duke of Burgundy in this Court, touching some expenses made in recovering the Greek Empire; The Dukes of Lorain have in divers things referred themselves to the judgement of this Court; They of Cambray who are a free people have been willing to be tried by it: The confederacy also 'twixt the Kingdom of Castille and Portugal were confirmed by this Court, Nor is there any admitted to this Sovereign Court but persons either privileged by their birth, or men of exquisite knowledge, erudition, and integrity. When Henry the second King of France by the eager importunity of a great Princess had recommended one of the long Robe to this Court, and being rejected, he spoke merrily, je pensois que parmy tant de chevaux d'espagne un asne pourroit bien passer, I thought that among so many Spanish ginets one Ass might have well passed.  
Now for the Oppidan Government of Paris there is such special circumspection had, that never any is entrusted with the chiefest office in the City called the Provost of the Merchants, unless he be a man of eminent parts, probity and prudence, and generally esteemed so; so that it is used as a common saying to their Children if they commit any absurd or base thing, Tu ne seras point prevost des marchand's, Thou shalt never be Provost of the Merchants.  
And among others the providence and prudence of Lewis the twelfth was notable, who had always by him a catalogue of the discreetest, and best qualified Citizens upon whom he used to confer offices of Magistracy accordingly.  
And the time was when the Kings of France used to sit upon the tribunal themselves to determine causes, Charles the eight devoted two days every week to that purpose, and St. Lewis three; Nor are there any Kings so obvious and accessible as those of France. For as the Sun when he is up in the Orient displays his beams upon all alike, upon the Prince as well as the peasan, upon the shrub as well as the Cedar; so the Kings of France behold all their Subjects with like humanity and grace; They are benign and affable to all both in speech, countenance and gesture, and seldom are any of them revengeful.  
As there is a memorable passage of Lewis the twelfth, who while he was Duke of Orleans fell in some disgrace with Charles the eight; herupon divers great men and others seeing him clouded in the King's favour, did him sundry ill offices, Charles being dead and he succeeding in the throne, a Courtier to get some boon of him, told him of such and such who had been no friends of his in his predecessors time, and so wished his Majesty to question, and punish them; The King answered, Tu vero aliud a me pete, & meritis tuis gratia erit, Nam Rex Galliae non exequitur injurias Ducis Aurelianensis: Propose some other thing unto me, and I will prefer thee, for the King of France is not to revenge the injuries of the Duke of Orleans.  
And as the Kings of France are remarkable for their freedom, mildness and mansuetude to their subjects, so is the affection of the French always in an intense degree towards their King.  
Nor was there ever a more pregnant example hereof then at the death of Henry the fourth the report where of struck such an Earthquake into the hearts of many thousands, that some Ladies miscarried in childbirth before their time, others died suddenly upon the news: Every one up and down the streets both men, women and children damned the Assassin to a thousand hells both his soul and body; Every one serving up his wit how to devise some exquisite lasting torment for Ravillac.  
Now if all matters were weighed in an impartial balance of justice, who can deny but the most Christian King of France is preferable before all other Earthly Potentates: For although the Emperor by an old custom be the Prime of Princes, yet the King of France appeers in more glorious Robes than He, He hath a far more numerous guard than He; The King of France is the first Son of the holy Church; and well they may deserve it for their sanctity, and munificence to the Temple of God; and so many Voyages they made abroad to redeem the Sepulchre of Christ, and the Country which he did bless with his feet, from the slavery of Infidels.  
Now as Homer and Virgil are called The Poet's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Excellency; As the Pope is called the Bishop; so is the King of France The King: 'Tis he that by a special benediction from Heaven doth cure the Struma or the King's Evil, and to that end His Court is frequently strewed with sick patients of all Nations, and with Spaniards as much as any other who clammer over the Pyreneans Hills, and make a kind of pilgrimage unto him, and he doth it with that modesty that he always entitles the cure upon God, according to his speech in performance of the Act, Le Roy te touch, Dieu te guerisse. The King toucheth thee, God heal thee.  
Therefore were it but for this virtue alone, and for his title, the most Christian King, with his antiquity being the elder Son of the Church, the Spaniard hath no reason to dispute precedency with him; which made Mendoza in the Council of Trent to say somewhat modestly, Se nolle quide●… anteire, tamen cogi non posse ut Francorum Legatos sequeretur. He would not go before, yet he could not be compelled to follow the French Ambassadors.  
I should enter into a field that had no horizon, if I should attempt here to conine morat the heroic achievements and trophy's of the French Kings, Merovee quelled Attila's pride in the Catalonian fields: Childebert Almaricu●… the Gothic tyrant being slain subdued a great part of Spain; Clota●…ius tamed the dauntless Saxons: Pipin protected the Roman Church against Astulphus the Longobard, and erected the Exarchatship of Ravenna: Charles the Great above all re-established the Roman Empire, freed Italy from their Invaders, and made the Kings of Galicia and Scotland his tributaries: Lodovicus Pius 40▪ days before he died fed upon nothing but the holy host; Lewis the gros chased Henry the fifth into Germany, and gave Sanctuary to four Popes, Paschal the second, Calixtus the second, Honorius the second, and Innocent the second, when Italy was too hot for them: Philip Augustus threw his Crown upon the ground before his Nobles, and invited any one to take it up; St. Lewis ravished the very Barbarians with the admiration of his piety: Charles the fifth did wrest again from the English what they had taken in France. Charles the eight kept Italy under subjection almost five months; Lewis the twelfth kept all Lombardy for the time. Francis the first the new Apollo of the Muses overthrew the Helvetians in a memorable fight. Henry the fourth was inferior to none of these, for Virtue and Fortune did contend which should entitle him Henry the Great, They both strived for mastery in him, and which should overcome, whereas indeed he may be said to have subdued both; He was Conqueror in four pitched battles, in 35. hot skirmishes, and above 100 personal encounters, with the siege of 300. several places wherein he proved always Victorious. His memory is still fresh in France, and taketh impression successively from father to child to make it eternal. There is scarce any considerable Town but hath his statue in brass or marble, and pictures innumerable, Insomuch as one said, Una Henrici oblivio e●… Humani generis Occasus, the memory of Henry the great will not perish but with the world. But for a true Character of him I will insert what is here engraven upon the belly of his Brazen horse on the new bridge in sight of his most royal Castle of the Lowre in Paris.  

je suis Henry, grand honneur de la Terre,  
L' Astre de paix, et foudre de la guerre  
L' Amour des Bons, la Cranite des Perverse,  
Don't les Vertus meritoîent L'Univers.   

Henry I am, The Glory of Mankind,  
The Star of Peace, and Thunderbolt of War,  
The spurr of Virtue, scourge of Vice, a Mind  
That merited to sway more Sceptres far.   
We come now to Lewis the 13th. his son, Lewis the Just, who though Nature was a stepmother to him, by reason of some bodily imperfections, yet Fortune was mightily indulgent and favourable to him; He began to bear Arms almost when he was no higher than a sword: for in his bassage he repressed two ill-favoured Commotions in Poitou and Brittany; He was a Victor all his life time, nor did he know how to be beaten; He banged all his neighbours round about; He clammered twice o'er the Alps, and came back having done his business. He clammered o'er the Pyreneys, and established a French Vice Roy in Catalonia; He crossed o'er the Meuse and made many ill-favoured hacks in the Ragged staff; His Armies flew o'er the Rhin, and helped to cuff the Eagle in the Germane Air: And lastly, he foully foiled the English at the I'll of Ré. At home also he did marvelous things, He debelled the Huguenots and left them not one cautionary Town to stand upon their guard; An Exploit which his five immediate predecessors could not do, though they attempted it many ways: And by Sea he improved the power of France▪ more than ever.  
Therefore, most excellent Precedent, and you no less Illustrious Princes, I do not see but France and her Monarches, if we respect the freedom, the fertility, the fairness and selfsufficiency of the one, And the glorious Exploits against Infidels both in Europe, Asia, and Africa, of the other, with their absolute power, their ordinary guards being greater than any one Potentat's in Christendom, If we consider the manner of their anointing, and what a divine prerogative they have to be Physicians in curing the Struma, I say, under the favour of this Judicious Assembly, that France may well stand in competition for priority with any Country of Europe.   

THE ORATION OF RODOLPHUS MAXIMILIAN Duke of Saxony, of Angaria and Westphalia, etc. Against Francé.  
Most Splendid and Illustrious Auditory,  
WE read that Actius Syncerus Sarmazarius a most Ingenious Poet, who was next Maro for his muse and Monument, — Musâ proximus et tumulo, being buried hard by Virgil, when he had made that famous Hexastic, Viderat Hadriacis Venetam, etc. in honour, and to the glory of the City of Venice, the Senate for every verse gave him in lieu of reward 100 Zecchins of gold: Now, if Sarmazarius merited such a gift, what guerdon do you deserve my Illustrious Cousin Prince joachim Ernest, who have given France so gallant Eulogiums? for whatsoever may be laudable or glorious you have conferred it upon that Country with such a prodigality of affection, and high strains of Eloquence: surely you merit no less then to be Peer or high Constable of France for it. But under favour you have omitted one thing which Bodin reports to have Aristotle speak of France, his words are, Neque tamen verum est quod Aristoteles scribit, nullos in Gastia Hispanis proxima reperiri asinos— that there are no asses found in France though next to Spain; Indeed Aristotle was much misinformed therein; for if he lived now, and made the tour of France, he would find more asses there then in all Europe besides, for all the common people and poor peasans of France are all made asses of, by the insupportable burdens they bear of so many impositions and tallies: But whereas Bodin among other extravagancies falls a praising the asses of his Country, that distic may be not impertinently applied unto him.  Dum laudas Asinos Patriae, Bodine, quid Erras? Ignotumne tibi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 erat? 
But whereas, noble Cousin, you have extolled France so highly, and suffered yourself to be transported so far with her praises, 'tis true she may be outwardly fair, but she is foul within, take off the gay saddle you have put upon the horse, and you will find his back all gaulled; take off those paintings you have with so much art put upon France, and I believe she will look but very homely.  
Monsieur de la Noüe one of her own children will tell you, that as a rapid torrent never stops her furious course till she be swallowed in the Sea; so the French being snatched away by the torrent of their Enormous vices, will never rest till they find their graves in the gulf of perdition. The same Author will whisper you in the Ear, that France is possessed with 3. furies, viz. with Impiety, Injustice, and Corruption of discipline, the first gnaws the conscience, the second gauls the Cominalty, and the third reigns among the Gentry.  
For Impiety, let that horrid massacre on St. Bartholomew's bear witness, at which time brother did butcher brother, the son the father, and children their mothers; Is it possible that a race of people adoring one God, born in one Country, fellow subjects to one King? Is it possible that a Christian people trusting in the same Redeemer, governed by the same Laws, eating the same bread, breathing the same air, should prove such tigers? Thuanus' Precedent of the Parliament in Paris abhors the very memory of it, applying most appositely those Verses of Papinius, and crying out,  

Excidat illa dies aevo, nec postera credant  
Saecula, nos certè taceamus, 〈◊〉 obruta multa  
Nocte tegi propriae patiamur crimina gentis.   
Let that black day be razed out of our Calendar for ever, that it may die with us, and never come to the knowledge of our Nephews. And, which doth aggravat the thing▪ what a horrid thing was it that Charles the ninth should give way that this butchery should be done at the Nuptials of his own Sister the Lady Margaret of Valois, and Henry of Bourbon King of Navarr. In so much that, as one said, there was more blood spilt, than wine drunk at that wedding; Nor did this effusion of innocent blood end in Paris, but it went all the Kingdom over; And among others that had a hand in tracing this massacre, there was a woman that was chief, and where women are in any conspiracy there must be blood, and this was Katherine de Medicis: a certain Poet doth descant wittily upon the humour of that Queen.  

Tres Erebi Furias ne posthac credite Vates;  
Addita nam quarta est nunc Catharina tribus:  
Quòd si tres Furias a se dimitteret Orcus,  
Haec Catharina foret pro tribus una satis.   

Speak of Three Furies now no more in Hell,  
Katherine doth make Them four, and bears the bell,  
But if all Three were thence dismissed, this One  
Would be enough for Pluto's Realm alone.   
About this time France did swarm with Magicians, insomuch that Trisalcanus their ringleader being condemned therefore to suffer death, confessed that there were above 30000. of his Comrades in the Kingdom; and 'twas observed that Queen Katherine would often confer with some of them: 'Tis observable what Theodore Beza sayeth of a new Star that appeared the November next after this massacre in the Asterisme of Cassiopaea so refulgent, that it went beyond jupiter in his perigaeum for brightness, and Gemma Frisius affirms, that since the birth of Christ, and that Herod murdered the children, there was never such a phaenomenon seen, whether you respect the sublimity of the sign with the splendour and diuturnity of the Star; Among these sanguinary assassinats old Coligni the Admiral was pistolled, with Telinius his son in law, with divers Noblemen mor; Peter Ramus also was dispatched, having no fallacy in all his new logic to escape death, and above 20000. more: Nor had the King any remorse of sorrow for these murders, but he was so far from it, that he caused new medals to be made in memory of the day, after the custom of the Roman Emperors, with this Motto engraven, Virtus in Rebels, et Pietas excitavit justitiam▪ Carolus nonus Rebellium domitor, Valour and piety excited Justice against Rebels, Charles the ninth the Tamer of Rebels; besides, the Parliament of Paris did inorder that there should be an anniversary celebration of the day.  
And as Charles the ninth was branded for this massacre, (and died a little after a young and lusty man, which was held a judgement fallen upon him from the text that sayeth, the bloody man shall not live half his days) so his Successor did do a most unchristian and ignoble act, for to bear up against the House of Austria he introduced the common Enemy of Christendom the Turk into her bowels, by a solemn league struck betwixt both, and what a world of mischief did Ahenobarbus Soliman's General in many parts of Italy by virtue of this confederacy: And this league must be countenanced and confirmed by public writing and examples; How A●…a King of the Jews, sought help of the King of Syria against the Israelites; How David who was so great a Prophet as well as King, being ill entreated by Saul, fled to Achis for to succour an Idolater; How Constantine the Great made use of the Goths, and Narsetes of the Longobards; how Henry and Frederic Kings of Castille made the Sarracens their Auxiliaries, And that other Christian Princes employed Pagans and Heathens and took them in pay; What a rabble of rogues did follow Monsieur Monluc, the very scumm of the people, so that it grew to be a Proverb, that a pack of rascals were called les Laquais de Monluc; And he was used to say, tha●… one may make arrows of any tree against the Enemy, and if he could he would evoke and employ all the infernal legions of devils for the destruction of him of whom he was in danger; but a little after his conscience troubled him for that profane speech, saying, Dieu me le pardonne. Confessing that since that confarreation 'twixt Christians and mahometans matters went from bad to worse with France▪ And indeed Antoine du Pré who then was Chancellor, refused to subscribe the transactions which passed 'twixt Francis and Solyman, it would prove so great a scandal to Christianity, and an indelible blemish to France; And matters succeeded accordingly, for this ignominious League did not only turn to the dishonour but detriment of France afterwards, for she lost all she had in Italy, sand it proved so ominous, that Henry Francis his son was immaturely and unluckily killed at a tournement, leaving the Crown most deeply laden with debt, and two young Sons under the tutele of the forementioned Katherine, who descending from the House of Medici could make philtres as well as compound potions for whom she listed; And Henry's two Successors as they were short lived, so they came far short in virtue and gallantry of other Kings of France; Then comes Henry the third, having stolen away surreptitiously out of Poland, else he had been sent away, for they had had too much of him. This King spent the public treasure in voluptuousness and vanities, his very dogs and hawks stood him in an incredible sum, he was the first who had his table railed about when he did Eat; He had so profusely exhausted the public demeanes that in an Assembly of the 3. Estates at Blois, he desired them to advise of some means to acquit his Crown which was engaged in above a hundred millions of gold.  
A little after this that horrid Hydra, that mystical and many headed Monster the Ligue began to rage, this hideous Monster did not only like your Indian Serpents, as Pliny reports, swallow up bulls and beasts, but it destroyed whole Provinces: Good God in what a fearful and frantic condition was poor France at this time, as if all the Furies of hell had been let loose to distract and torment her; There were base Mercenary preachers set on work to power oil upon the fire, to increase it, rather than water to quench it; Among others, Gul. Rose, Hamilton, Bernard, Christin, with divers more did bellow out nothing but war, and belch out blood; Nay the College of Sorbon which will be an everlasting reproach unto it, did pass a solemn decree, that the King's name, and the prayers that were appointed for him in the Canon of the Mass should be expunged: At last the French madness being come to the highest cumble of wickedness, the Parisians sent a young cutthroat, a couled Friar to murder their anointed lawful King, his name was Frere jacques Clement, whereof there was this pertinent Anagram made, c'est l'enfer qui m'a cr●…é, 'tis Hell that created me: But he did his business, and butchered the King with a long knife he carried in his sleeve so dextrously, as if he had been brought up to the trade, but he was instantly hacked to pieces. Thus the Valesian line extinguished; And remarkable it is, what a vision the King had in his dream not long before, for he thought that he was torn by Lions, whereupon he commanded the next day, this dream having made such a deep impression in him, that those Lions and young Cubs which were in the Lowre should be presently killed, which was done accordingly. There was an Epitaph put upon this Henry, which I think it not impertinent to impart unto this Ingenious Auditory.  

Adsta Viator, et dole Regum vicem,  
Cor Regis isto conditum est sub marmore,  
Qui jura Gallis, jura Sarmatis dedit▪  
Tectus cucullo hunc abstulit sicarius  
cum magno potens Agmine cinctus fuit,  
Abi Viator, et dole Regum Vicem.   
Paraphrastically thus in English,  

Whether thy choice or chance thee hither brings,  
Stay passenger, and wail the fate of Kings,  
This little stone a g●…eat King's heart doth hold  
Who ruled the fickle French, and Polaques bold,  
Whom with a mighty warlike host attended  
With fatal steel a couled Monster ended.  
So frail are even the highest earthly things,  
Go passenger, and wail the hap of Kings.   
Now, though that nefarious conjuration of the Ligue was partly dissipated by the fortitud and felicity of Henry the 4th. yet this inundation settling itself so long upon the fair continent of France, left a great deal of scruffy odd dreggish stuff behind it, as it happens often when the pestilence ceaseth, the infection may a long time continue in beds and clothes; For though it happened 22. years after, yet it was by one who was impelled by the Genius of the old Ligue, (and he must needs go whom the devil drives) that Henry the fourth was killed by Ravillac; so in revolution of not much above half an age there were 3. Henry's all Kings of France died violently, two by knives, and the first by the splinter of a Lance, all contemptible instruments; the first was killed on horseback, the second in his closet, the third in his coach. Now, as all is not gold that glisters, no more was the last Henry so Peerless a Prince as he is cried up to be; we know well how he shrunk from that Religion he had professed ne'er upon forty years, how it was his common practice to lie 'twixt other men's sheets, what a number of known natural children he left behind, besides those that were fathered by others; We know how he repudiated his first wife of better Extraction than himself, and being all grey married a young Princess to whom he might have been a granfather for age: We know also how he wrought Birons head to be chopped off, and others who were the chief that put the French Crown upon his head; How he broke with Queen Elizabeth of England in the performance of many promises, who had done him such signal courtesies, etc. I will conclude this period of my discourse with a proverb worth the knowledge▪  

Quand Italie sera sans poison,  
Angleterre sans trahison,  
Et la France sans guerre,  
Lors sera le monde sans Terre.   

When Italy doth poison want,  
And Traitors are in England scant,  
When France is of Commotions free,  
The World without an Earth shall be.   
I come now most noble Auditors, to the third Ery●…nis or Fury of France▪ Injustice▪ Injustice, and this fury compared to the first may change places with her, and take the precedency; there is nothing so great an opposite, and professed enemy to the Queen of Virtues as Injustice, she is covetous, revengeful▪ and ambitious in the superlatif degree, yet she goes commonly under the holy, and wholesome name of Justice wherewith she doth vail and varnish all her actions, and yet while she palliats her proceedings she doth perpetrat a world of mischiefs, of rapine, of tyrannical exactions, and extorsions, with a thousand villainies more, she spares the nocent, and so wrongs the innocent; nay she spills the blood of the guiltless oftentimes, and swallows bribes by gobbets; Her brain is always at work to find new Monopolies, new projects, new devices to rack and rend money, to grind the face and excoriat the poor peasan that she leaves him neither eyes to bewail, nor tongue to bemoan his misery; This Henry the 4th found to be true, for he observed that there was a double tribute used to be paid, one to the King, the other to his Officers, but the first was made intolerable by the second; so that it was impossible but that both Prince and people ●…hold be abused: whereof in the last civil wars there was a notable instance happened in a precedent of Normandy, who being inordred to raise 30000. Crowns upon the Reformists, it was discovered that he had levied 300 thousand crowns in lieu of the 30.  
But among other ocasions and baits of Injustice in France, the nundination and sale of Judiciary offices which lie prostant for him who gives most, is one of the greatest and dishonorablest, for it is lawful for him who buys to sell again, Insomuch that it often falls out that they who buy by detayl do sell again in gross: Others clean contrary do buy in gross and sell by detayl, as Butchers use to do in buying a beast for the slaughter▪ whom they afterwards cut into parts, and haply make one quarter to pay for the whole. It is recorded by a modest Author, that in the compass of 20. years there came to the King's coffers above 26. millions of crowns this way; And they would justify this by the example of the Venetians, who to support the war they had against Lewis the twelfth, they raised 5. millions by selling Offices by outcry under a spear to the highest bidder, and by this way they were said to have levied 100 millions since to preserve S. Marks bank from breaking: But the rate of Offices in France is mounted now to its highest pitch, La vente des Offices aujourdhuy est montés a sa period. A President's or Attorney General's place is valued at about 20000. franks, 2000 l. sterling, which the poor client in a short time pays treble again.  
It was a brave law of Theodosius and Valentinian, that none should be promoted to public honours, or Magistracies for money, but for merit, and that the party advanced should be liable to an oath that he came to his place with clean hands▪ without gratuity, price or compromise directly or indirectly. Now as Covetousness is sedulous▪ so she is ingenious, as appeers by the Edict of the Paulette, whereby it is enacted, that if the Officer doth not transmit it to another 40. days before he dies▪ the Office returns to the King▪ therefore to be free of this casualty they either give the more at first, or they give an annual pension whereby most of the places of Judicature in France are not only vendible, but hereditary. This was the device of one Monsieur Paulet at first, therefore when one hath bought an office he useth to say, j'ay Paulette, or j'ay payé la Paulette.  
Besides this institory and marchandising way of handling Justice, 'tis incredible what multitudes of gowned cormorants there are in France, as Advocates, Proctors, Scribes, Clerks, Solicitors, who prey upon the poor Client, and suck his vital spirits, they are called the souris de Palais, the mice of the Court, and the Judges the rats, they are as thick as gnats, and able to corrupt ten worlds: Stephen Paschasius recordeth, and he was a man of great ingenuity and integrity, that the King of France might raise an Army of 200 thousand Scribes or Chicanears as they term common Barrators, and Clerks, and Wolfangas Prisbachius thinks there are more of those in Paris alone, then in all Germany, which is estimated to be two parts in three larger than France: there's not a word, syllable, or letter of the Law, but they will draw you arguments of strife from them, for the propagation of Pleas.  
Nor is Justice less abused there by the multitude of Laws which is beyond belief, which the subtle capacities and working brains of that people use to wrest, and distort as they please, making thereof a nose of wax; As also the revocation of Ordinances and Arrests, which is so frequent among them; In so much that as Baudius observes, the high supreme Court of France whose authority was held so sacred, doth retain little of its pristin ancient Majesty, the King Edicts which they verify being so commonly repealed.  
Now, as in a working tempestuous Sea there is not a drop of water stable and quiet, but one wave struggles, and thrusts one another forward and backward, Or as a Ship under sail wrestleth as she makes her way with the tumbling billows, so France may be said to be overwhelmed with an Ocean of confusion.  
And as France at home is so subject to acts of oppression and injustice, so whensoever she hath taken footing in any Country abroad, her children show themselves what they are, and who was their mother, by their insolences, and extortions; They corrupt the manners of all Nations where they come, with their fashions and levity; They do not only corrupt the mind, but they infect the body with their foul disease, and leave stigmatizations behind them.  
Had the French administered justice in Sicily, or had they comported themselves with that humanity, prudence, rectitude and moderation they should have done, the Sicilian Vespres had never happened, when the Natives patience so often abused turned to fury, and made a solemn conjuration to free themselves of them for their tyranny, violation of virgins, scortation, ravishments, stupration, and insupportable taxes, whereupon by a national unanimous consent, and at the sounding of a bell they dispatched 8000. French into the other World, not sparing the pregnant wombs and embryos, there was such a mortal hatred generally conceived of the Nation, Having pitifully complained to the Pope Nicolas the third a little before, imploring him that he would cast out of Sicily that ill spirit wherewith she was so miserably possessed; so Charles Duke of Anjou brother to St. Lewis, having tyrannised in Sicily 17. years was suddenly put out of his new Kingdom, and the society of mankind all at once, with all his proling Countrymen; And he was ejected the same way as he entered, which was by blood, for when King Manfredus was defunct, a young Prince Conradinus, the lawful Heir descended of the Imperial stem of the Hohenstauffens was to succeed, but he was betrayed by a Fisherman and surprised; and together with the Austrian Duke Frederique he was barbarously butchered. Which made an Italian Author express himself pathetically, Verament di sasso sarebbe coluy che non fosse— Truly he should be made of stone that would not be moved at such a cruel tragedy, that so hopeful a young King descending from so many Caesars, with such a valorous Duke being both but youths, should be so basely made away, and that by the council of a Pope Clement the fourth, which aggravat's the business much.  
There is another pregnant example how the State of the United Provinces having made a voluntary election of the Duke of Anjou for their Governor, being induced thereunto by the Letters of the Queen of England, how unjustly, perfidiously, and ingratefully the said Duke did carry himself with his train of ruffling French, by attempting in a proditorious way to make himself absolute and independent, but the cockatrice was crushed in the shell, and his design frustrated, yet for his person and domestics he was suffered to depart civilly, and peaceably, though ingloriously in point of reputation to himself and his Country; This was the reward the French gave the Belgians, notwithstanding that among many other demonstrations of confidence, affection and trust, they had made him Duke of Brabant, and given him the title of Governor, which titles he would not desert, but would have them to his death, which happened a little after; such are the humours, such the ambition of the French, which made Henry Fits Allen Earl of Arundel, who first introduced the use of Coaches into England, dissuade Queen Elizabeth from matching with the said Duke of Alencon, because he had had sufficient experience of the inconstancy, arrogance and levity of the French, and that few of them had upright and just hearts.  
Nor do the Kings of France pay the debts, or hold themselves bound to perform the promises of their immediate predecessors, for they say that they come to the Crown not as much by Hereditary as Kingly right; as appeers by the answer which Lewis the 12. gave the Parisians, who humbly petitioning for some Arms and Canons which they had lent Charles the 8. he told them that he was not Charles his Heir, much less his Administrator: So the Swisses demanding of Francis the second, a return of those large sums which they had lent his father, received this short injust answer, that he was not tied to the solution of any man's debts.  
Nor do the French where they come bestow the Indian disease, and infect the blood of their Neighbours; but in one part of France they have another disease as bad and more ugly, which is the leprosy, for in the South parts towards the Pyrency Hills in the Country of Bearn and other places, there is a despicable kind of people called the Capots; and in another dialect Gahets, most of them being Carpenters, Coupers, Tinkers, or of such mean mechanic trades, whose society all men do shun and abominat, because they use to infect others with their leprosy, therefore they are not permitted to enter into any Towns, and hardly to live in the Suburbs, they have distinct stations apart in Churches; when any die they can leave no lands but only their moveables to their Children, scarce having the same privileges in their own Country, that jews have in Italy and Germany.  
But to resume the thread of my discourse a little before, if the Kings of France be not tied to pay the debts and legacies of their parents and predecessors, what law of honesty do we think can bind the vassals of France to do so? Caesar and Tacitus had felt the pulse of this Nation sufficiently, when they call them Levissimum hominum genus, a most light race of people, that they have more of imagination than judgement, more words then common honesty. Yet Francis the first could vapour, as Lipsius hath it of him, Etiamsi fides toto Orbe exularet— although Faith should be banished from among mortals, yet she should be found among Kings, who should be tied to performance by her alone, and not by fear. You pleased to say, Noble Cousin Ernest, that the Kings of France never die; shall they be eternal, and their faith so mortal? I am not ignorant that Bodin goes very far in the commendation of the French, being transported with passion more than judgement, and therein he shows himself to be of a true French humour; And he thinks to do her right by wronging her neighbours, specially the Empire and Germany; He calls the Germans stupidos et rusticos, plus roboris quam rationis habentes, leves, suavitatem orationis et Veneres respuentes, etc. I say he calls the Germans doltish and stupid, having more strength than reason, they are light, and averse to sweetness and elegancy of speech, that the Germane Princes are feudatary to France, and their Emperor to the Turk, with such like calumnies; Bodinus herein showed himself a base, and ignorant sciolist, and his lies are so notorious, that they are not worth the answering, nor worthy of the indignation of a Germane Prince; for myself I hold them to be like a brute beast besmattring a Traveller upon the high way with dirt, for which the Passenger is not angry, nor doth he respect it coming from an irrational animal, and such a beast may Bodinus be in aspersing the Germans as he doth.  
The third Fury which possesseth France is her temerity and unadvisedness most commonly seen in her Actions, which as Caesar, who was not only a Traveler, but a Conqueror, and dweller there, saith, Gallorum Genti temeritas est innata, Rashness is innated in the French Nation: And as we read of moving Lands, so the French is not only stirred, but tossed perpetually with the waves of Temerity and lightness; especially when the Circian or Southern wind blows; Augustus made his vow unto the Gods that it should not blow upon them; For the French have a whirlwind in their brains, they have quicksands in their breasts, which tosseth their Counsels, and cogitations to and fro.  
The Physician's dispute whether the Worms that are engendered in man out of putrefaction proceed from the stomach or the belly; but I am of opinion that in French bodies those Magotts are generated in the brain, rather than any place of the microcosm besides. To confirm which tenet I will produce one of their own Authors and Countrymen who should be best acquainted with their Genius, It is Alexander Pontamarinus in his description of the French Nobility; and no Limmer could put them out more to the life, when he sayeth, La jeuno Noblesse de France est d'un estrange humeur, elle ne se plaist que d'une especce de mignotise, où elle rend plus preu●…e de lascheté que de valeur; Elle est tellement imbue de je ne sçay quel Esprit de mespris, que tout son maintien n'est qu'un continuel desduin; Elle á plus de mowement aux espaules, plus de bricolles aux pieds, plus de singeries aux mains, et de tournoyement en la teste qu'il n'y a de goute d'eau en la Seine; Elle se contrefait, elle se deguise, elle begaye au lieu de parles▪ Elle pantalonne a cheval, et se comporte en toutes ses actions si ridiculement, qu'vn Penitre ne scauroit avec plus d'artifice esbaucher la d'un figure fol que ce ce powre gentilhomme François en donne tesmoignage; Et piu●… oyes le discourir, c'est luy qui ne craint personne, et na iamais appris de se faire Craindre, c'est luy qui bat tout le monde, et il ignore le moyen de se defendre, C'est luy qui est bien a cheval, et il ne scait pas tenir la bride; C'est luy qui scait bien Entretenir les dames, et les fiiles de chambre se mocquent de ses discourse; Bref, c'est luy mesme qui est la fable du peuple, l'ordinaire, pitiè des honestes gens, et le scandale de sa lignee; Veil par la rue il ne fait pas une demarche qu'il ne negarde en arriere pour se glorifier en l●… suit de ses valets; Chasque fois qu'il aurá les yeux sur ses souliers, il postera la main sur le collet de sa chemise, Homme sot et miserable: This character of a French Gentleman is rendered as wittily in Latin. Nobilis Gallus in delicias et inertiam quam magnanimitatem est proclivior, cum perpetuo rerum Omnium fastidio, ubicumque in inimicis pedum, manuumque gesticulationibus, scapularum motationibus, capitis vibrationibus prodigiosè frequens; I●…cessu, vestitu, Sermone, et in omnibus actionibus ita ridiculus, et histrio, ut omnem consummatissimi Fatui indolem, et personam exactè representet; Si coll●…quii res sit hic ille est qui prosternit omnes, sed qui modum se defendendi ignorat; Ille est qui omnium optimè regit equum, sed qui frenos moderari adhuc nescit; Ille est qui Ginecaei applausum sibi vendicat, sed quem a tergo s●…mularem multa ciconia pinsit; Summa, Ille est fabula vulgi, bonorum miseratio, ordinis sui macula; si verò deambulationibus per urbem indulgeat, sine stultitiae scen●… id n●…n facit, modo uno vix gradu promoto ad pedissequos oculos rejicit gloriosulè se praedican●…▪ mod●… in calceis mir acula quaerit, modò indusii collare manibus terit, Homostolidus, 〈◊〉 publicis Christianorum supplicationibus includendus.  
The French Gentleman is a thing of an odd humour, he pleaseth himself in a kind of fantastiquenesse, which discovers more of softness, than manhood, he hath ever and anon such a slighting way, that all his carriage is but a kind of perpetual disdain; He hath more stir about his shoulders, he fetcheth such strokes with his feet, he hath such apish motions in his hands, he hath such windings of his head, that there is no member at rest about him; He counterfeits, he disguiseth, he gapes and lisps instead of speaking; He doth so pantonolize it on horseback, and comports himself in all his actions so ridiculously, That an expert Painter cannot draw a fool with more artifice than this poor French Gentleman doth it really and to the life: Hear him discourse and he will tell you that he fears no body, yet never learned any body or boy to fear him; It is he who could beat all the world, yet knows not how to defend himself against a pigmy; It is he who is the only man on horseback, yet haply he knows not how to hold his bridle: It is he who is the only entertainer of Ladies, and yet the Chambermaids make mows at him. In fine, 'tis he who can hold excellent discourse, yet he is the byword of the people, the pity of honest men, and the reproach of his family: Doth he march in the streets, he scarce makes two steps, but he looks back to behold his Laquay strutting behind him, he hath his hands often upon his locks, and his eyes upon his shoes; O poor sot, fit to be prayed for in all Churches that he recover his wits.  
Thus Pontamarius in his Protean Academy doth describe and characterise a true Monsieur, though he was one himself: Among their liberal Sciences dicing and carding are two whereunto they are excessively addicted, and many of them hereby bring a milpost to a thwittle, and a noble to less than ninepences: A physician's son, when I was in Paris, lost in one night above 60. thousand Crowns; nor do young gallants only, but Scholars, Lawyers, and Merchants of all sorts frequent this school of fortune. One jonas kept a gaming house in the Suburbs of St. german, that some days and nights he had above 1000 franks to his box. And as the French are thus extremely given to gaming, so in the Academy of Venus they are the greatest practitioners of any people, the other used to waste their estates, but this consumes their bodies, and commonly there is no French Gentleman but is a Surgeon himself of the Venerean disease, which makes him carry his salve box and implements always about him for fear he get a clapp. Some parts of France have been proverbially infamous for this kind of turpitude; among other, Marseilles in Province is one, whereof the Greeks have a saying, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, sail to Marseilles if you desire your choice of whores; They used also there 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to make use of boys, but this nefandous custom they had from the soft Greeks▪ who had a colony there so many ages, and infected their neighbours with it; Indeed there is no Country where Venus keeps so great a Court, and where they go sooner to it, so that some women cannot tell when they were maids: And as the French are observed to be thus extraordinarily salacious, and given to this kind of lux, and wantoness with such a strong propensity of nature; so is their language fit for such effeminacies and soft pleasures, which language is but squama latini Sermonis, et rubigo trivialium barbarismorum, she is but the scales of the Latin, and rust of other old tongues. I know that many distinguish thus among languages, that it is fittest to speak to God in Spanish for the Majesty of it, to Princes in Italian for the gravity of it, to the enemy in Dutch for the manfulness of it, to women in French for the softness of it. There is a tale of a Germane Ambassador to Charles the fifth, who being ordered to deliver his Embassy in high Dutch, a Spanish Don being attending the Emperor, and then at the audience, observing the strength and severity of the language, said in a kind of passion, Voto al' Antichristo— I swear by Antichrist I think it was high Dutch that God Almighty spoke when h●… ejected Adam out of Paradise, and caused an Angel with a flaming formidable sword to be Porter that none should re-enter: Whereunto the Germane acutely answered, that he esteemed the Spanish language for her subtlety to be that which th●… devil used when he seduced our poor grandmother Eve; There is another story of Langas sent Ambassador from Ferdinand the first, to Poland, who conversed much with Don Pedro Ruyz a Spaniard, and privy Councillor to Caesar, and being both one day at dinner, and the said Don Pedro hearing Dutch much spoken in a dispute at the table, and listening to the high though harsh accents and pronunciation of it, broke out into this speech, Me thinks the Germans do not speak but thunder, etc. But let us still love our maternal Language, and not be allured by those loose lascivious tongues of Spain, Italy, and France especially which serves chiefly to make wanton loves and compliments, to compose amorous sonnets, and attract female beauty, or frame such odd Romances, and hyperbolical stories, as Amadis de Gaul, and such like; what a world of wanton books are there in French which tend chiefly to amuse the understanding with vicious thoughts, and to corrupt manners? what stories they have of adulterious loves, of unbridled lusts, what stratagems do they relate of such things? teaching that Vows made by the goddess Venus are not obligatory, according to the Poet when he gave Council to one that was desperately in love,  

Nec jurare time, Veneris perjuria Venti  
Irrita per terras, et freta longa ferunt.   
Such books are fitter to be made a sacrifice to Vulcan, then kept in gentlemen's studies, or to be transported to Sicily, where parents are put to a perpetual kind of watching to preserve their daughters from being stolen away, and suborned; The Lacedæmonians by a virtuous law caused the works of Archilochus, though a very ingenious and great Poet, to be banished from their City, because the reading thereof might deprave the pudicity of their youth, lest more hurt might come by the wantonness, then good by the wittiness of the verse. O most prudent and provident act! but how few such Lacedaemonian Patriots are found now a days, specially in France? But the French Venus is not only a smooth prattling gossip, but she is also profuse and luxurious. I pray hear what Ammianus Marcellinus speaks long since of the French, Vini avidum genus, affectans ad vini similitudinem multiplices potus— A race of people greedy of wine, and affecting according to the similitude of the wine multiplicity of compotations, they are quickly transported with excess this way; I will produce one example of a notable wine-bibber, which was Rabelais, who though he was very well instructed both in the Greek and Latin tongues, and an excellent Physician, with other choice parts, yet at last leaving all other serious studies, he did totally enslave himself to Epicurism, to gluttony, and drunkenness, in which humours he belched out that Atheistical kind of book which goes under his name though under pleasant notions able to turn every Reader thereof to a Democritus: As I have instanced in a man (whereof there might be produced thousands in this kind) so I will bring before you a woman a rich widow who lived hard by Bourdeaux, who was got with child while she was in a deep drunken sleep, who beginning to swell thought it was only a tympany, but her Physicians told her she was with child▪ whereupon she caused it to be openly published in the Church of the Parish, that if he who got her with child would confess it, she would take him for her husband herupon; Herupon a young Vineyard man who was used to frequent her house, did confess that he had done it as she slept in a chair one night by the fire side, having drunk much wine upon such a holiday, so she married him, and he thanked Bacchus for it. 'Tis true, that Virgins use not to drink wine in France, it being a great dishonour if they should, only they give sometimes a tincture to a glass of water with some few drops of claret, but Bacchus goes down smoothly the married women's throats.  
And as for drinking, so for eating also the French are inferior to none in point of excess, and indeed they seldom make sacrifices to Bacchus, but they have Ceres with it; Bishop Reginald Belney a man renowned for eloquence and learning, used to eat at every 4. hours end night and day, which was six times every natural day: And indeed they hold it no disparagement in France among the best sorts of Ladies, to be always eating something or other as they go along the streets in their Coaches: And 'tis a common saying in France▪ Come le's go to dinner quickly, that we may have time enough for a collation in the afternoon, and so go in a seasonable hour to supper, to take afterwards a nuntion, and so go to bed betimes, that we may rise early in the morning to breakfast.  
Other Nations eat, and chew their meat, but divers of the French do devour and swallow it up whole, and after they have eaten their pottage, it is common among some to lick the dish and their fingers afterwards. I come now from their diet to their clothing; good Lord, was there ever any Nation so mimical, so fantastic, and variable in their vestments? I know they are greedy of change, and gaping after novelty in all things, but for their apparel, nor Proteus, nor Vertumnus, nor the Camelaeon was so transformable; In the King's Court the fashion of the suit you put on in the morning grows obsolet in the evening, and their brains are at labour in the night to find some new mode for the next day. But this alteration and variety of fashions though it impoverisheth private men, yet it tends much to the Kings emolument; for Thuanus avoucheth that this liberty of vestments brings the King in above 300 thousand crowns yearly, by those stuffs that are brought in from Italy, and other places; yet there have been Edicts and sumptuary laws enacted often touching apparel, but such is the humour of the Nation, and their elbows so itch ever and anon for new fashions, that no laws were ever observed long; nor is this to be solely imputed to a desire of change, as much as to an innated National pride which reigns in the French. Then came up to foment this pride, sale of honours and offices, nay, the highest dignity of all, which is St. Michael's order, was prostant for money, which made Tiercelin a Knight of very ancient Extraction to say, that the Conchyliatus torques, the order of St. Michael was become a collar now for every ass.  
To raise this pride higher, the use of Coaches was introduced in the reign of Francis the first, by jean de laval a Gentleman of noble extraction, who being of a corpulent and unwieldy constitution, was the first who had one made for him; yet we read, that in Henry the seconds time which was a good while after▪ there were but two Coaches in all Paris, one for the Queen, and another for his base daughter. But now their number is so monstrously increased, that one may say there be as many Coaches in Paris, as there are Gondolas in Venice, and indeed no place wants them more, Paris being one of the dirtiest Towns in Christendom, nor is it an ordinary but an indelible oily coagulated dirt whose spots cannot be washed off with any soap, and the sent of it so strong, that one may smell the dirt of Paris 10 miles before he comes at her if the wind be in his face.  
Moreover as the French grow quickly in love with any thing, so are they sooner cloyed therewith then any other; And for their affections one to another and towards strangers they are soon hot, and soon cold; they will take a pet at any thing, and pepper in the nose though their bodies be not pepper proof all over; An inquiet Nation, and enemies to tranquillity, impatient of peace until they have recovered the ruins of war, lovers of stirs and motion, which makes his next neighbour the Flemin to have this proverb of him, Quand le François dort, le diable le berse: When the Frenchman sleeps, the devil rocks the cradle. There is not a more sanguinary and barbarous rabble in the World then in France, 'tis an ordinary thing to dig one out of his grave and drag him up and down in pieces, as among others they did the Marquis of Ancre, whose death and the manner of it redounds infinitely to the dishonour both of King and people. The King having commanded him to be killed in his own House the Lowre, whose walls were besprinkled with his blood, and King●… Courts should be sacred places, and then a thing which proved ridiculous to all the world his process was made after his death: Nor were any of that base rascality punished who broke into the Church, and into his mortuary, whence they pulled him out and dragged him like a dog up and down the channels, and then hanging him to a gibbet by the heels, they hacked his body in mammocks, notwithstanding that he was neither arraigned, convicted or condemned, but death is not sufficient to satiat the French malice: What an inhuman thing was it? an act that a Wild Arab would never have done▪ to roast a man alive in the market place at Bourdeaux without any form of law. Gaspar Coligni writ in a letter of his to Charles the ninth, C'est le naturel de Francois. It is given by nature to the French, that if they cannot find an enemy abroad they will make one at home; They seldom rob but they kill; and 'tis safer to fall into the hands of any then into a French pyrats, for there is no mercy with them, but all must overboard; what horrid barbarismes have they committed at the plundering of Towns? how have they ravished Nuns at the altar, not sparing any sex, as Tillemont of late years can bear testimony; Nor are there any people so contentious, so quarelsom, so malicious and bloody among themselves at home and abroad. It is the saying of Montagne, Mettez trois Francois aux deserts de Libye ils ne seront pas un mois ensemble sans se harceler, et esgratigner, put three Frenchmen in the deserts of Lybie, they will not be a month together but they will scratch one another; nay the least occasion in the World will make them thirst after one another's life: For upon the least affront or surmise of affront, ça Ça, they must presently to the Field and seek one another's hearts blood: And there be more monomachyes and duels fought in one year in France, then in 20. years all Christendom over; St. Lewis had damned this fury of single combat to Hell, but Philip de Valois fetched her out again. There have been 20. Edicts of late years against it, but the French are possessed with such spirits, that they care not for body or soul to preserve a little puntillo of supposed honour. But Francis the first brought monomachy to be very frequent by his Example, when he defied Charles the Emperor in the Consistory at Rome for giving him the lie to a duel, insomuch that the lie hath been ever since a mortal word; It being the principle of that King, that he could not be a good man who returned not the lie with his sword.  
But, most noble and highborn Cousins, some may haply admire that I should perstringe the French people thus sharply, considering that they are extracted from Us, and branches of the great Germane Tree. 'Tis true they are so, but as the Poets sing of Circe, that she transformed men to beasts, so the clime of that Country hath quite metamorphosed, perverted and quite alienated their primitive natures & dispositions, Gallia hath proved a Circe to Germany herein; Or as there be some Fountains in Italy and elsewhere, which have that quality as to turn stone to iron, so have the Germans which went to France degenerated from themselves by a strange kind of transmutation of nature.  
You may please to hear what one of themselves confesseth in these words, Les Francois passans le Rhin ne cesserent de tourmenter les Gauls, jusques a ce que les Francois les ayans tous sinon chessé du moins appaisé les uns, et forcer les autres a fair jo●…g, y establirent en fin leur domination; lesquels reprenans, comme par droit de legitime succession avec les Commoditez du pays le bien et le mal, tant de l'insuffifance, que de la pen discrete legereté de ces peuples anciens, n'ont esté moins signatez pour un semblable naturel guerrier, que pour les grands troubles, et trop animeuses' divisions les quelles ont assez souuent approché l'estat de sa ruin.  
This a pure Frenchman acknowledgeth; The French passing the Rhin did not cease to torment the Gauls, until the French having if not chased away, yet at least induced some, and forced others to the Germane yoke, they established there at last their domination—  
To travel a little further in France they, say, Se Clementissimo aere frui, ne●… ulla caeli gravitate flagellari, they say that they enjoy a most mild air, nor are beaten by any inclemency of heaven. Sure this cannot be true, for Claudian saith, that Gallia is nive ferox, that France hath fierce snows; Petronius hath a proverb, gallica nive frigidior, colder than French snow; Diodorus saith, that the French frost is so strong and contumacious, that Rivers have been pervious for whole Armies to pass over dry foot both for Cavalry and Infantry. Nay of late years in the siege before Amiens it was so bitterly cold, that the wines did freeze in the cask, and was sold in cakes and by weight unto the Soldiers.  
And for the wholesomeness of that clime, sure it cannot be so far, it is found by experience, that the French both men and women are more subject to vermin, to the itch and scabs than any other people.  
But the greatest thing they glory of, is, that France is so fertile and exuberant a soil that it may be called a Copia Cornu of all things (I confess indeed there are in France of horns) and that there is not any part that is altogether barren; but in point of fertility. This cannot be so generally true; for in Burgundy not far off, there is a Town called Orgelet, whereof there is a proverb, that there are there fields without grass, rivers without fish, and hills without groves: betwixt Bourdeaux and Bayon you traverse such a tract of sandy ground, that one would think he passeth through the deserts of Arabia, when he goeth over les landes de Gascoigne, for so they are called vulgarly; there are divers large tracts of ground which are as bad, In so much that Bodin ingenuously confesseth, Exploratum est deserta et inculta loca si aquas et vias iis adjungamus duos Galliae trientes auferre; It is is found and explored, that the desert and untilled places, if we add to them waters and ways, make up two thirds of France; Then he confesseth that there is such a scarcity of great timber trees, that not only for building of Ships, but for erecting of ordinary houses they must be beholden to other Nations.  
Is this that incomparable fertility of France you speak of, Cousin? is this that land of promise? what a bragging do the Bourdelois keep of their grove of Cypress for the honour of which it was a custom that no ship should go out of the Port with wine till the Magistrate had given him a branch of Cypress tree, for which he was to pay such a gabel; yet this Grove whereof they vaunt is scarce seven acres in all.  
But Salt is the great staple Commodity of France, yet I pray be pleased to hear what Lemnius speaks thereof, Majores nostri salem confecerunt uberrimo sanè questu, non ex aqua marina solis ardore in salem concreta atque indurata, qualem ex Hispaniis & Galliis ad nos perfertur, sed ex maritimis glebis exusti atque in cinerem redactis quem infusâ aqua minutatim in salem reducebant splendidum ac nitentem nec alio salis genere tota Belgica ad nostram usque memoriam usa est. Qui conficiendi salis modus cum inducto externo inolesceret excogitatus est alius non minus quaestuosus, scilicet advecto ex Hispaniis atque Aquitanico sin●… rudi ac nigricante sordidoque sale, exempto limo, excoctisque sordibus candidissimum id nostrates efficiunt rebus conservandis ap●…issimum. Sed alter ille modus facilè in usum revocari potest, si externus sal hostili odio denegetur, aut ex quavis alia causa copiam nobis deesse contingat.  
Our Ancestors made Salt with much profit, not of Sea water crusted by the heat of the Sun and so obdurated, such as is brought us from Spain and France, but out of maritime glebes burnt, and reduced to Cindres, which pouring thereinto a small portion of water by drops, they brought to be splendid and pure Salt, nor did all Belgium use any other Salt until our memory▪ Which mode of making when it grew out of use, a new extern way being introduced, there was another no less gainful way invented; Which was that a rude and blackish sordid kind of salt being brought over from Spain, or Aquitane Coasts, the dregs and filth being excocted, we brought it by our art and industry to be candid and beautiful, and most fit to conserve things; but the t'other way may be revived again very easily, if foreign salt should be denied us in case of enmity or otherwise.  
Now although 'tis confessed, that France abounds with Salt, and in that point may be said to be a sweet Country, yet the Inhabitants pay dear for it, for the King makes near upon 20. millions of Franks every year of the gabel of salt (as it was spoken before) which are two millions sterling; In so much that although France have such plenty of Salt, yet it is cheaper in any other Country. For it is found that the Merchant hath it at lower rates on the Sea side then the Peasan in the Country, which makes the Hollander oftentimes bring thither French Salt back again and gain by it. One shall see sometimes the poor Roturier or yeoman to go from the market with his pockets crammed with salt to avoid paying the gabel, and women steal it home in their purses.  
Now touching such an affluence of all things in France, besides which you insist upon, my Noble Cousin, it may be so, but then surely there is the worst kind of government there upon earth, and the most unproportionablest dividend made of that plenty, for I dare avouch France doth abound with beggars more than any Country under the Sun. One cannot ride upon the high way but he shall have swarms of little mendicants sing before his horse head, as also when he remounts the next day; The poor Vigneron, and Husbandman go in their wooden shoes and canvas breeches to Church upon Sundays, and if their wives have a buckram petticot she is brave. Therefore whereas you say that France is the freest and frankest Country in the World, and that she draws her etymology thence, she may be so to strangers and passengers, but for the Natives I believe they are the arrand'st slaves upon earth, they are of a mere asinin condition, not only in relation to the King who so grinds their faces with taxes, but they are villains also to their Lords: I will produce one example for all; The Lord of Chasteauroux or red Castle in Berry had a Tenant, that by his industry became Bourgesse of Paris, Le seigneur vendica son serf, qui s'estoi●… retiré et obtint la provision, the Lord in open Court demands his slave, which the Court could not deny, and so passed sentence accordingly.  
You say, noble Cousin, that France is adorned with all virtues, truly I do not see how virtue can cohabit where such furies do tyrannize; I am sure that Scaliger speaks of some parts of France, quae ab omni humanita●…e et literis vasta est, ubi librorum et bonorum hominum maxima solitudo est. Some parts which are void of all humanity and literature, where there is a kind of solitude and wilderness both of books and good men.  
Touching the magnanimity and prwoesse of the French, 'tis true they did achieve some brave things while the Germane blood continued fresh in them, and untainted; Cicero saith, that Caius Marius by his divine virtue and valour, influentes in Italiam Gallorum Copias repressit, that he repressed those swarms of French who rushed into Italy, but Caesar, who was a better Historian than Cicero saith, they were Cimbri and Teutones both which are High Dutch, as also those which Brennus brought to sack Rome, and afterwards took Delphos from the Greeks.  
Touching the French courage we know the trite proverb, that the French are at the first onset more than men, and afterwards les than women; Indeed Florus sayeth, Habent eorum corpora quiddam simile cum suis nivibus, quae mox ut caluêrs pugnâ statim in sudorem eunt, et levi motu quasi sole laxantur; The French bodies bear some analogy with their snows, for as soon as they are heated in fight they vapour into sweat, and they are as it were thawed by the Sun at the least motion.  
But your Highness seems to extol mightily the power of the French King, indeed 'tis an old saying, that Gallum in suo sterquilinio plurimum posse, The cock (Gallus) can do much upon his own dunghill. But this power is not so superlatif if we descend into the truth of things, for touching the demeanes of the Crown, the King cannot alienat one acre thereof without the consent of the three Estates, as there is a pregnant example hereof in the Assembly of Blois, where Bodin lost the favour of Henry the third about this debate: For the French King is by the law but an Usufructuary of the Crown possession; nor could any of them be sold for the redemption of King john in England though it was then proposed, nor of King Francis in Spain, though this was the greatest necessity that could be. We well know how often the Parliament of Paris hath clashed with the King, and rejected his Edicts; Nor is the single testimony of the King valid enough in France to take away any one's life, there was a notable example hereof in Henry the seconds reign, who when he had commanded an Italian servant to be clapped in prison, and had solemnly sworn that he had found him in a most foul offence, yet the King's affidavit could not prevail with the Judges, but they released the prisoner. But now the integrity and stoutness of those brave ancient Legislators and Judges in times past is much diminished, because Kings do use to lend their ears to Parasites, Sycophants, and Buffoons rather than to Helvidius Priscus, Monsieur Lavacre, or such Sages. There is a tale of Bajazet the first, that he had an Ethiop born in India about him, and having upon a march one day his tent pitched ne'er a high tree, he called the Ethiop and said, Dre Areb, if thou lov'st me go up to the top of that tree, the Indian scambled up presently, so the Emperor sent presently for some to hew down the tree, the poor Ethiop begging his life all the while, and that his Counsellors would intercede for him, but nothing prevailing, the Ethiop pulled down his breeches, and with his Excrements and Urine did so bewray the hewers, that they gave over work, and in the interim the Ethiop gets down, telling the Turks Counsellors, Would all such Privy Counsellors as you were so bewrayed, whose oouncel cannot do as much as my Excrements. The French Kings use to have many such weak Councillors.  
Touching the unlimited power the French Kings have to make pecuniary Levies and lay taxes, I pray hear what Philip Comines sayeth, one of Lewis the xi. chiefest Councillors of State, and whom he employed in the most intricat and arduous ocasions, Nemo omnium est Principum qui jus habeat vel teruncium unum exigendi a suis praeter constitutum annuum censum nisi populus assentiatur, sunt quidem principes quibus hoc frequens est in Sermone ut dicant habere se privilegia ut quantum velint exigant a populo, Galliarum vero Rex omnium minimè causam habet ut istud de se jactet, nec enim vel ipsi vel cui vis alii licet. There is no Prince that hath right to raise the least farthing of his subjects besides his settled revenues, without the peeples consent; 'Tis true, there are some Kings who have it frequently in their mouths, that they have such praerogatives to impose what they please, but the King of France hath the least cause to vaunt thus of himself.  
The Exorbitancies of the French Kings this way hath been the ground of all the wars that were waged pour le Bien public, for the common good which have harassed France so often; Charles the Gross hereby came to such an extreme exigence that being overcome by Arnosplus he begged his bread of him to preserve him from starving, and so obtained of him a small pension in Germany. Nevertheless, though a cloud of examples of this kind could be produced, the Kings of France do still use to flay their sheep, instead of shearing them; witness the last King who assumed to himself the Epithet of Just, and God knows he lest deserved it of any, having exacted more of his people by extrajudicial ways then any of his predecessors ever did, to maintain a groundless war against the Spaniard by the advice of an ambitious and bloody Cardinal, whose heart was as red as his habit, and of a deeper sanguine die. Now as we read of a Town in Spain that was undermined by Coneys, of another in Thrace that was undermined by Mol●…e of another in Greece ranversed by Frogs, another in Germany that was subverted by Rats, so I believe that there are in France many such Coneys, Moles, Frogs and Rats, I mean ambitious and sandy brained sycophants, that will undermine, ranverse and tumble to destruction their own dear Country; and Pope Gregory could prophesy so much of Richelieu when he came to confirmed Bishop of Lucon to Rome at 20. years old, of whom he said when he had perceived his genius by his discourse, This man will overturn the World; nor is this Cardinal inferior unto him awhit, but his head and his hat are altogerher as red; He treads directly in his steps, and so doth the Queen in her husbands against her only Brother: In so much that truly, if I apprehend any thing, one may see France running post to her own destruction.  
Whereas you allege that the Kings of France are such divine Physicians in curing the Struma, I pray be pleased to hear what Petrus Crescentius a famous French Doctor affirms, Multoties se vidisse Reges pro more tangere strumosos, sed qui inde sanatus fuerit, vidisse neminem; He had seen often some of the strumatical disease touched by Kings, but he saw not any cured merely by the touch: I am of opinion there be waters in Moravia that can do the cure better, being of a saltish, bituminous, chalchanthian vein, and 'tis more probable that God and Nature should infuse more virtue to those mineral Waters, then to a man's fingers.  
All these things being unpassionatly considered and well pondered, I do not see how the Country of France or her King, considering the slavery and poverty of the people, the unequal distribution of the public weal and blessings of the land, with sundry other reasons and solaecismes in Government before mentioned, I say, I do not see what hopes or reason France may have to expect and demand the pre-eminence of the rest of the European Provinces.  
Dixi.   

THE ORATION OF MAGNUS' Duke of WIRTEMBERG, AND TECCIA Earl of MONTPELGARD, etc. Lord of HEIDENHAM, etc. For SPAIN.  
Most Illustrious Princes, etc.  
THe Province I have undertaken, and the task that is imposed on me, is to speak something of that most Ancient, and noble Country of Spain; therefore while I put myself under that hot Clime, I humbly desire the heat of your Affections, and accustomed candour may go along with me.  
The Emperor Charles the V. a Prince of approved judgement, although he was born, and bred in Germany, (for he entitled himself Citizen of Gant) yet he loved Spain with a more profuse love then any other Region, making his residence there most commonly when he was not engaged in the French; Germane, and African Wars; In so much that when he had transmitted, and made a voluntary resignment of all his Kingdoms, he reserved that Country for his last rendezvous; And as it is curiously observed by divers Caesarean Writers, when he hoist sail from Sudeburg with Eleonor Queen of France, and Mary Queen of Hungary his two sisters, and with propitious gales had landed in Spain, he fell down prostrate upon the first ground he trod, and kissing it, broke out into these words: Salve mihi optatissima Tellus, nudus ex utero matris exivi, nudus ad te tanquam alteram matrem redeo, & quod unum possum, pro tam multis in me meritis corpusculum hoc, & ossa mea do dedicoque. Hail O most wished Country, I came naked out of my mother's ●…womb, and I return naked to thee as to another mother. And, which is the only thing I can do now, I give up and dedicate to thee this body and bones of mine, for so many benefits I have received from thee. Now there be many eminent arguments for the high prerogatives of Spain,— Adeò sunt multa loquacem Ut lassare queant Fabium; They are so numerous that they would tire the best Orator, but I will end eavour to wind all up upon a small bottom.  
Spain hath been reputed from the beginning a most considerable Country, witness the Roman by whom she was prima tentata, and ultima subacta; first attempted, and last subdued: For the old Romans, as now the Ecclesiastic Lords of Rome, sought most after those places where the plenty and pleasure of the soil might strive with their desire to make them happy, as it is now the humour of our new jasons' (the jesuits) to plant themselves there where there are fat and golden returns. But there be other extraordinary conveniences in Spain, the subtle and clear temper of the air, the salubrity of the soil, and the constancy of one sort of weather a long time, in so much that Homer and other Authors have placed there the Elysian Fields.  
There are no gross caliginous vapours rising up there out of any Fens, gorsy grounds or loughs. There are most delicate breezes that blow from the Sea, and penetrating the circumambient Air, use to refresh both man, and all sorts of brute animals, attenuating and chase away all dull terrestrial meteors; Nay, Navigators when they sail along the Sea, do come to know when they are ne'er the coasts of Spain, by the fragrant odor which Rosemary and other aromatic Vegetals, that grow there up and down the fields do usually transmit and cast into the Air; Spain is neither parched with so violent a Sun as Africa is, nor disquieted with such impetuous winds as France, or shaken with such Earthquakes as Italy, or benumbed with excessive cold as other Regions are, but she partakes of all these in a middle kind of temperature. Spain doth not only furnish Europe, but the Indian also with most generous Wines, most perfect Oil, most pure Salt, excellent galls, the best fruits, as Almonds, Figgs, Raisins, Oranges, Lemons, Pomgrannets; and all other kind of Vegitals, as Roots, Herbs and flowers, which are there in a greater perfection then in other Country's.  
The bowels of Spain abound also with excellent metals, what Iron, what Steel goes beyond that of Biscay? What Quicksilver comparable to that of Medina? What gold purer than that which is found in Tagus? What Silk better than that of Granada and Valentia? What Flax so good as that of Murcia? What wool primer then that of Segovia? witness the testimony of Martial,  

Vellera nativo pallent ibi flava metallo,  
Et linit Hesperium bractea viva pecus.   
The Pasture, and soil in some places is so exuberant, that the milk cannot turn to whey, nor can Cheese be made unless you intermingle water with the milk 'tis so creamy and thick, and this is observed about Cales and other parts.  
Now for Horses, that generous animal, Spain is well known to excel all other Countries, read Boterus, or Quinqueranus and they will tell you that the Cordovan Ginetts' in fierceness surpass those of Turkey, in swiftness those of Barbary, in beauty those of Italy, some of those Ginets are sold for above 1000 Ducats a piece, they are so daintily limned, as if they were made of wax; The Ginets of Asturia called Asturcones, are also brave metalled animals. They go so wantonly, as if they danced all the way, their feet moving in a kind of regular glomeration, as Marshal hath it,  

Hic brevis ad numerum rapidos qui colligit ungues,  
Venit ab Auriferis gentibus Astur equus.   
For Marble, and other curious Stones, for Architecture, Spain is known to have Variety and what may seem miraculous; Not far from Barcelona, there is a Mountain called Mondivi, and by the ancients Mons jovis, wherein there is an inexhausted quarry of useful stones for structure, for although great quantities are hewn out of the body of the hill every day, yet let the place rest but a while, and nature will quickly heal the Ulcers, and fill the place again as if it had never bi●… touched. The Monastery of Saint Laurence near the Escurial can witness what dainty Marble, and Free stone Spain abounds withal, a stupendous fabric, an egregious and Imperial piece, which stood Philip the 2. in more than 20. millions of Gold; Let Egypt brag as long as she will of her Pyramids, Greece of her Fanes and Temples, Rome of her Amphitheatres, and Palaces, Babylon of her Walls, France of her Lovure, Venice of her Arsenal, Milan of her Citadel, Turkey of her Baths, This Monastery and Royal Palace doth exceed them all far, for matter and form; It harbours and maintains 100 Friars, whereof every one is allowed his Man and his Mule, with great numbers of Officers; besides there is a stately Edifice annexed homogeneous to the rest (which is part of Saint Laurence's Grideiron) that may lodge four Kings, and every one have a capacious quarter. 'Tis incredible to think how many hundred weight the very keys of the Monastery weigh. For delicate Orchyards, curious Aqueducts and Fountains, for Grotts and Groves, for Galleries and Ambulatories, for neatness and amaenity of all things, you would be so transported, that you would think yourself to be in some earthly Paradis. And if He who will take an exact survey of this stately structure must go above 33. miles, passing from room to room, from quadrangle to quadrangle, with other places annexed, judge you thereby of the magnitude and vastness of the whole. He may be said to carry a Pompion in his breast in lieu of a Heart, that would not be inflamed with a desire to see this eighth wonder of the world.  
Now for Cities I pray who will dare to make any comparison with Sevill in point of Wealth, where divers Fleets come yearly from the Indies laden with ingots of Gold, and ballasted with bars of Silver, as also with Gems, and other rich Commodities, in so much that Sevill alone pays the King in duties, and imports above a Million every year; therefore that proverb is not ill grounded, which saith, Quien no ha visto Sevilla, non ha visto Mar avilla, Qui no ha visto Lisb●…a, no ha visto cosa boam; I will now pass from Sevill to Ulissipolis the City of Ulissis or Leisbon, the very name tells her antiquity; for largeness, and commerce, she vails to no City under the Sun, she was the first happy discoveresse of the East Indies, whence she hath a world of Spices, and Jewels that her Caraks bring yearly, and which she dispenseth up and down the world; What a delicate City is Granada, what a glorious piece is her Allhambra which may be called a City of itself, rather than a royal Castle or Palace, for it is of such an amplitud that it will hold 40. thousand Men; What Town is more renowned than Toledo? where 17. General Counsels have been kept, and no City can say so much: what a Heavenly Temple is there? What a stately ancient Palace where the Gothic Kings resided? What a rich Archbishopric hath she, worth 300. thousand Crowns in annual rent? What a Noble Aqueduct will you find there of the workmanship of janelli Turiano of Cremona, who was so famous for invention of hidraulique fabriques'; In this ancient City there be above 10000 Souls, that earn their living by spinning, twisting, and weaving of Wool and Silk; What place can compare with Vallodolid for a large Market place 700. paces compass? The Royal City of Leon hath the Sepulchers of ●…7. King's: Where can you find a more industrious people then in Segovia, where a beggar is held a Monster; For salubrity of air what town is like Madrid, the greatest Village in the World, and the most Populous, made so by the residence merely of his Catholic Majesty, and his Counsels, in so much that at one time there was a cense made there of near upon a Million of souls. Charles the Emperor removed hither of purpose to be cured of a quartan Ague, and he recovered, which made it first so famous: What a beauteous brave built City is Valentia, where there is a kind of spring all the year long? The only place to make a stranger forget his own Country; The brute Animals, there make themselves beds of Rosemary and other Aromatic flowers; This City afforded lately two Popes of the Family of Borgia, Calixtus the 3. and Alexander the 6. When Queen Margaret, Philip the 3. wife passed through that City, the pomp of her entertainment amounted to 300. thousand Crowns. What a commodious place for negotiation is Bilbo or Flaviobriga, whence above 50. Ships are laden with Wools every year, and transported to other Regions? What a stately thing is Barcelona, situated so commodiously upon the Mediterranean, and to be an Arsenal for the King's galleys? What a Rendezvous for Devotion is Compostella, where there is such a frequency of Pilgrims to visit the body of Saint james the Apostle? Pompey the Great in his Trophies which he erected on the Pyrenean Hills, makes mention of 946. Towns thence to the furthest part of Spain; There is ne'er Antiquera a choice kind of Mortar called Tarra, which is far more solid and lasting then the plaster of Paris, and makes a more firm incrustation upon walls. Near Corunna there be quarrys whence jasper's are hewn out; But I will pass now to Minerals, Pliny in his natural History affirms that Spain had great plenty of Lead, Iron, Brass, Silver, Gold, Marble, and of speculares lapides, a certain kind of specular stones which being cut thin will be as clear as Crystal, wherewith in former times windows were used to be glazed; In so much that Possidonius saith, Pluto the God of riches dwelled in some of the subteranean parts of Spain. Moreover George Agricola avers, that among those Regions where metals were digged, Spain was the first, Thrace the second, Great Britain the third, France the fourth, Greece the fifth. In Biscay where the ancient'st Inhabitans of Spain dwell, there be such rich veins of Steel and Iron, that Vulcan was said to have his chiefest Forge there, and Mars his Armoury; Pliny speaks of a whole mountain in Cantabria (now Biscay) which is all of Iron, whereunto Marshal alludes,  Auro Bilbilis, & superba ferro. 
'Tis wonderful what is read in the Roman story, that about Carthagena there were 40. thousand Men that digged in the Mines of Silver, which afforded 25000. Drachmas every day, amounting according to Budaeus his calcule to 2500. Crowns; This no meaner man than Strabo affirms: He goes further and saith, that Hannibal had begun a mine which afforded 3000. Crowns every day. It is well known what Diodorus writes of the Pyreny mountains, that they were once very thick of Gold and Silver mines, that the Phaenicians the first traders by Sea of any people upon earth came often thither for treasure; If we will give credit to Livy (and what Historian I pray is more Magisteriall?) He will tell us, that the spoils which the Romans in a few years brought from Spain came to 600. thousand weight of Silver, and 10000 of Gold; so that Spain was then to Rome, what America is now to Spain. Nay, some are of opinion that Tortosa in Spain, was that Tharsis whether Solomon sent his fleet for treasure, and they ground the probability of this opinion upon the frequent Navigation of the Tyrians and Phoenicians then into Spain.  
But shall we pass with a dry foot the waters of Spain? Strabo, Pomponius Mela, and Ptolemy assimilat Spain to an Ox hide stretched upon the ground, whose sides are all washed with the circumfluent Sea, the North side with the Cantabrian, the West with the Atlantic, the South with the Herculean or Balearique Sea, but the neck of the hide lying Westward is bound by the Pyreny Hills, where the distance 'twixt the Cantabrian, and Meditterranean Seas is so small in some places, that john Vaseus leaves it upon Records, that when he traveled through Biscay he might from the top of Mount Adrian, see both the Seas. Besides these various Seas that like so many Laundresses wash the skirts of Spain, there are 150. Rivers that water the Continent up and down, and upon those Rivers there are about 600. Bridges; besides some ponds, lakes, baths and Fountains; In the field of Xerezcher are above 1500. Springs. Among other Rivers there is Guadiana which plays bopiepe with passengers, for she suddenly steals away out of sight, and runs above 20. Miles in subterrenean Caverns under ground, and then she popps up again to the eye of the beholder at Villa Harta; Whereupon when the Spaniards speak of their miracles they say there is a bridge in Spain whereon many thousand herds of Cattle do usually feed. There are some Spanish Rivers, where they fish for gold sane, in so much that the Portugals do glory, that their Crown is made of their own gold, viz. of the sands of Tagus, than which no oar is purer.  
There are variety of things more that might be produced for the glory of Spain, which made Claudian to break out into this Elogium.  

Quod dignum memorare tuis, Hispania, Terris  
Vox humana valet? primo lavat aequore solemn  
India, tu fessos exacta luce jugales'  
Proluis, inque tuo respirant sydera fluctu,  
Dives equis, frugum facilis, pretiosa Metallis.   
Pacatus though a Frenchman gives this Encomium of Spain, Hispania terris omnibus terra foelicior cui excolendae, etc. Spain a Country more happy than all Countries, whom the Supreme Fabricator of the world hath indulged extraordinarily in point of agriculture and riches: she is not obnoxious to faint Southern heats, or fierce Northern blasts, but she is favoured with the temper of both the Poles; And being walled in by the Pyreneans, with the gentle waves of three or four Seas, she may be said to be a little world of herself▪ What a number of noble Cities shine up and down? she hath golden streams, rocks of Jewels, mines of all Metals, etc.  
But (most noble Auditors) having expatiated myself thus up and down the Country, let me speak something of the Inhabitants; And who knows not but the Spaniard hath been ever reputed and felt to be a stout magnanimous people, contemners of death, and mighty conservators of liberty? we may believe Lilius herein, where he sings  

Prodiga geris animi, & properare facillima mortem;  
Namque ubi transcendit florentes viribus annos,  
Impatiens aevi spernit novisse senectae,  
Et fati modus in dextra est.   
The patience of the Spaniard is admirable, there are a world of examples hereof; justin speaks of a boy, that having been revenged of his Master, did exult and laugh in the midst of torment: and when Augustus Caesar had debelled the Bislayners, they write that most of them rather than become slaves to a Foreigner, made themselves away either by Fire, the Sword, or Poison: Mothers slew their children, and children their Fathers.  

Cantaber ante omnes hyemisque, aestusque famisque  
Invictus—   
Besides the Spaniards did much glory to die in the field, for the incolumity of their Country, and rather perish by Famine, then yield up their Fortresses. Witness the siege of Sagunto called now Morviedre in Valentia, who when the people of the town could no longer repel the punique arms, and the strength and stratagems of Hannibal, they brought all their Jewels, Treasure and Wealth to the Market place, together with their wives and children, and made a bonfire of themselves, and all the rest, rather than by a base succumbency to yield themselves slaves to an African. So that Hannibal in taking Sagunto might be said not to have taken the City of Sagunto, but the tomb of the Saguntins. What shall I speak of Numantia beleagerd no less than 14. years, though she had no walls or bastion but the bodies of the Inhabitants, no stones but humane bones, to defend herself against a furious Enemy, she had but 4000 men against 40000. Romans. At last when the fatal destroyer of Cities, Scipio Africanus, had taken her, he found rather a large Sepulchre of dead men then a City, for the Numantines held out so long till they devoured one another, and when the bodies of the dead were rifled, they found in their bosoms joints of human bodies, which they had killed for food, in so much that it was not in the Roman force, but Famine that took Numantia.  
For their fidelity the Spaniards have been very signal in all ages, which induced julius Caesar to have a guard of them, and Augustus Caesar a band of Biscayners or Cantabrians. But how far the virtue and valour of the Spaniards prevailed against the Romans let Paterculus be heard to speak, Per ducentos annos in Hispanis multo mutuoque certatum est sanguine— For the space of 200. years, there were so many and mutual conflicts of blood, that many of the Roman Emperors, and Armies being lost, much reproach, and sometimes great danger resulted to Rome; How many of their Scipios were destroyed there? how VIRIATUS for ten years together did shake them? what a disgraceful truce Pompey made, and Mancinus a more disgraceful. In all Sertorius his time it was doubtful whether Spain should be tributary to Rome, or Rome to Spain.  
But why do I fly to Pagan instances, when there are so many Christian Examples at hand? Sancho King of Castille (I pray listen attentively to this stupendous story) I say Sancho King of Castille took Tariffa from the Moors, but he being anxious and doubtful whether he should keep it or no, by reason of the vicinity of the enemy, and the great expenses that it would put him to, Alfonso Perez rise up and told the King that he would undertake to secure & keep the place: Thereupon the Moor by the help of the King of Morocco came with a numerous Army before the Town, and Alphonso's Son being taken prisoner at a sally, the General of the Moors desiring a parley upon the walls with Alfonso, he showed him his Son, protesting unto him that he would torture and slay his Son, unless he would yield up the place: Alphonso being not a whit abashed, told him, that if he had a hundred Sons, he would prefer his honour and Country before all; so the Moor having barbarously killed young Alphonso, They of the Town made such a resolute sally the next day, that they utterly routed the Moors, and took so many prisoners, that he offered 100 Moor's for a Victim for his son. To this Alonso the Family of the illustrious Dukes of Medina Sidonia owe their rise.  
The Spaniards are admirable for their military discipline, being exactly obedient to their Commanders, and less subject to mutiny then any people. They are always true to their trust, witness that Spanish Centinel who was found dead in the morning in a Tower upon the Citadel of Antwerp with his Musket in his hand in a defensive posture, and standing on his legs all frozen. Moreover there is no people so mutually charitable and careful of their national honour then the Spaniards.  
For their modern exploits the name of Alvero Sandeo is terrible to this day among the Moors, for having invaded Barbary with 4000 Spaniards, and beat before him above 16. miles, 20000 Moors, with but 800. of his own: The memory of the 2000 Spaniards, is irksome to the French to this day, who routed and quite discomfited Gaston de Foix who had quintuple the number: Gonzalo, called the great Captain 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, is much spoken of amongst them to this day, for having with such admirable fortitude taken away the Kingdom of Naples from Lewis the 12. and being returned to Spain, the King took off a Gold chain from off his own neck and hanged it about his; Antonio de Leiva was a stout and sedulous Commander, so was the Count de Fuentes Don Pedro Encques, who did not only defend, but extend the boundaries of Belgium for the King his Master, and in the midst of a double war took such Towns, that might be in the wish but not in the hope of the Flemish. The Italians do yet tremble at the name of Don Fernand Alvarez Duke of Alva and his ghost, who would not take Rome when he could. He who terrified France, secured Hungary, subdued Africa, and appeased both Germans high and low; He who chastised Spain, He who first after the death of Don Sebastian told King Philip, that it was fitting he should see the rites of burial to be performed in Lisbon for King Sebastian. Then Henry being dead, in less than 50. day's space he entered, survay'd, and subjugated all Portugal; And it was said se regnum Lusitanieum eo modo, quo regnum caelorum acquiritur, cepisse, etc. That he had taken the Kingdom of Portugal in the same manner as the Kingdom of Heaven is got, that is, by eating bread and drinking water, and abstaining from other men's goods. And this was said, because his Soldiers lived upon their allowance only, having no benefit of booty in any Towns as they passed, such a regular and strict Order was observed in his Army. We Germans do yet contemplate with admiration the exploit that a band of Spanish Soldiers did perform in the Saxon war, when stripping themselves naked, they leaped into the Elve with their Swords in their mouths, and swimming to the other side did fight for new clothes, and did notable feats afterwards; Don Christopher Mandragon did do things in the low Countries beyond belief. I could produce here a long scroll of other late notable Spanish Commanders: therefore all things well pondered it may be justly said Hispania Rerum potitur in Europa. The Spaniards are the men of Europe, and their King the considerablest Monarch, for he hath not only all Spain united under him, and reduced to one Empire, but he hath taken footing both in Germany and France by the House of Burgundy; He possesseth above half Italy by having the Duchy of Milan with the Kingdoms of Naples and Calabria, the first is the heart of Lombardy, and the second the very marrow of Italy; Then hath he Sicily, Sardinia, the Baleares, and all the Lands in the Mediterranean. He hath Piombino in Toscany, Port Hercules, Telamonius, Orbitello, Porto Longone, all which bind the Italians to their good behaviour towards him. Genoa is as it were under his protection, like a Partridge under a Falcon's wings, who can seize upon the prey when he lift▪ That City being his scale for conveyance of his treasure is grown infinitely rich by his money, and tied to him by an indissoluble knot: Nay, Rome herself, by making some of the Cardinals his Pensioneries, is much at his devotion; The Spaniard hath done more than Alexander the Great, for he hath not only got much of the old world, but conquered a new one, for which the Greek sighed so much. And if we believe the Civil Lawyers he hath done this justly, for 'tis the sentence of the Almighty, Quicquid calcaverit pes tuus— Wheresoever thou shalt tread with thy foot, shall be thine, the Heavens is the Lords, but he hath given the Earth among the Sons of Men. Moreover Reason dictates unto us, that men who live like brute Animals, or wild Beasts, should be reduced to civility, and to the knowledge of the true God. Besides, it is the Law of Nations, Quae bona nullius sunt ea fieri Occupantium, Those goods which are no bodies, may be any ones if he venture for them.  
The Portugeses have by their painful discoveries made all the best ports of Africa as it were their own by way of commerce, as also the maritime coasts of Asia, they found a way by the Cape of good Hope to the Oriental Indies. Francisco Almeyde did dissipat Campsen with his Egyptian Fleet, and Alphonso Alburquerque did subdue Goa, and placed there a Vice Roy: then he reduced Malaca, and erected a Castle at Calcutta, and brought the Inhabitants from worshipping the Devil, to adore the true God, and this he did when thousands of Infidels were armed against so many hundreds of Christians.  
O immortal God, what glorious exploits did Fernando Cortes achieve in the Occidental Indies, indeed they were rather miracles than exploits; And as Lupus Suarez, Sequera, Meneses, Vascus Gama, Gratia●… Norogna, juan de Castro, by foiling the Emperor of Cambaia did establish unto the Crown of Portugal the East Indies, and some part of the Antipodes, on the other Hemispher, so did Christopher Columbus (who though an Italian, yet his fleet was Spanish) Americus Vesputius, juan de Puente, Ferdinand Magellan, Fernandez Cortes, de Vargas, & Pizarro, reduce and settle the new world to the Crown of Spain; They civilised the Savage Inhabitans, and Colonized the Country with Christians, subjugated so many Heathenish Emperors, and introduced Religion and virtue; And I pray what Heros can be compared to those Worthies of Spain who performed all this? what Age ever produced the like? when had Envy more matter to work upon? Let the fable of the Argonauts be now exploded, let Bacchus and Hercules descend from Heaven, and let Spaniards take their room; Let that so much cried up Argo come down from among the celestial bodies, for she made but a small short voyage through the Pontic Sea, and let that glorious galleon which conducted Magellan to the discovery of a new world, let that happy vessel be fixed among the Stars, and make a new Constellation, let her Pilot juan Sebastian Canoaa Mountaneer of Spain, a most excellent Navigator make also another asterisme.  
But, most noble Princes, me thinks I see a kind of amazement in your countenances at these mighty exploits of the Spaniards from the Rising Sun to his Setting; But it is a hard question to determine whether the Indians reaped more benefit by the Europaeans, or Europe by them: but if a judicious soul enter into a true contemplation of the business, he will make it no question at all; 'Tis true that we have received from the Indies gems and gold which I confess are the most precious productions of nature; but what did the Indians receive from us by way of barter? They received Christianity, and virtue, civility and knowledge, government and Policy; All these benedictions the Viracochas, for so the Savage call the Christians, the Spaniards brought among them. It was the Spanish Navigation, who first confuted that gross opinion and heretical tenet (for there was a Bishop imprisoned in Rome for holding the contrary) that there were no Antipodes; Therefore the rest of Europe, and indeed of Asia and Africa also should veil unto the Spaniard, and respect him more than any Nation for this blessing of discovery, which it seems the God of Nature had reserved for him from the beginning; and a mighty blessing it was, and we must needs acknowledge it so, if we descend into the true speculation of the thing, for thereby there was as much of the terrestrial globe discovered, as for extent and amplitude did equal the old world. But what a world of dangers and difficulties did they overcome? on the one side the incertitude of the thing, and the perils of the vast confused Ocean did offer themselves, on the other the expenses of the voyage, and the despair of more provision when the old store was spent, and in case they should discover and take footing on a new Earth, the Savages might prove stranger than they. 'Tis true, that such thoughts as these did possess and puzzle them a while, but at last their courage and magnanimity was such, that it broke through all these difficulties: and as a wild Boar being taken within the toils doth try all ways, turn about and struggle how to get out, at last when all will not serve, he lies down betwixt quietness and despair, putting himself upon the mercy of the Huntsman, so that American fortune being tied to that fear which possessed it, at last doth prostrate herself at the feet of the Spanish virtue, tying herself thereunto by a perpetual tribute; she brings her afterwards golden mines, and mountains, yea Rivers running with gold, Seas full of Perl, some parts of the earth labouring with gems with all kind of aromatic Spices, sweet woods, with new Species of birds, beasts, plants and fishes; All these things did India afford the Spaniard for a grateful return of his indefatigable and hazardous pains in coming to visit her: The mines of Potosi in Peru yield 30000. Crowns every day in good gold o'er, The Mines of Mexico much more in Silver. But what exchanges did Spain make to Amenia for this treasure? Marry she afforded her a far more precious thing, even Christian Religion; and what a world of pains did the Spaniards take to plant that among them at first? It is recorded by Borerus that one Franciscan Friar did christian 400000. Americans in the Sacred Laver of regeneration; In so much that the Spaniards may term themselves with arrogance the Apostles of the new world: They were the first who cultivated that Vineyard, the first that brought light out of darkness; and as the Friars in the West, so did the jesuits in the East Indies take infinite pains in planting Christianity, and their piety and diligence hath succeeded so well that it is got into the Court of the great Emperor of China. What brave achievements are these to conquer and subdu Souls, which is more than to subjugat the body? Certainly the Spaniards may be called the Grandees of these times above any other people.  
Now although there be a kind of proverbial saying, Espanam las Armas, Italia la pluma, Spain is for the Pike, and not so proper for the pen; for the Sword, not for Sciences, which the Italians are more apt unto; Though some Authors do brand them to be somewhat idle and Phlegmatic, yet I could muster up here a whole Regiment of acute and learned wits in all faculties: And first for Theologie; I pray what great lights of the Church were Vigilantius, Aquilius, Severus, Prudentius, Osius, Avitus Presbyter, Marcianus, Paulus Orosius, Pacianus and Dexter his Son, Audentius, Isiodorus, justinian, Leander, Martinus, Fulgentius, Eladius, Eutropius; To whom may be added, though of a Judaical adventitious tribe and sect, yet great learned men in their way, Rabbi Abenezra, Rabbi Moses, Rabbi David Chimchi, Moses of Corduba, Rabbi Camora.  
Franciscus Ximenez Cardinal and Archbishop of Toledo employed 60. thousand Crowns, for the Editions of the Complutensian Bible, a great Spirit certainly, and born under a happy Star, for these times and for the ornament of Spain, for he incited others to works of virtue; Franciscus de Sancta Aelia composed an useful Ecclesiastic Dictionary; But what a number of renowned Bishops both for piety and erudition hath Spain had? what shall I speak of Hierom Osorius, Andrew Resendius, Benedictus Arius Montanus, who by a rare and most singular benignity, and for a great example to posterity, entertained Lipsius, not only for a friend, but as a Son, and invited him to Spain, and as he continued to make him his Associate in his life time, so he made him his successor at his death: What eminent men have the Dominicans produced? Lewis of Granada was born for the advancement of Piety: what credit did Franciscus Forerius pourchase in the Tridentine Council, though he died a violent death?  
Now, touching the Fathers of the Society, the jesuits, what saintlike men were Hieronimus Pradus, Villalpandus, Tunianus Pererius, Tolletus, who was first of that Order that was coopted by Clement the 8. into the College of Cardinals? What a man was Maldonatus? what a bright Star he was both for candour of Manners, for quickness of wit, for profound speculations in Philosophy and Theologie, and for singular piety, who studying ten years together in Clermont College in Paris, brought the French to have a better opinion of the jesuits by his example, whereas before they were so much hated: What rare Commentaries hath he upon the four Evangelists, published by the care and charge of Puteanus, who was of the same Society? which Commentaries never the less 'tis thought by the judgement of the learnedst men, had been better and purer if they had come out in his life time. But what shall I instance in particular men, go to the whole Order of jesuits first founded by a Spaniard, and you shall find in the new and old world above three hundred and fifty Colleges of their Society, the greatest Seminaries for institution of youth, and a rigid practice of piety that are in the Christian world, but specially for the propagation of Christianity among Infidels: in the Kingdom of japonia alone, it is credibly reported that they converted two hundred thousand of Souls, among whom were three japonian Kings, who made a pilgrimage to Rome to the amazement of all the world. Henry the Great of France came to have such an opinion of this so pious and prudent order, that he conferred Mountains of favours upon them, for he gave them not only one of his best palaces in his life time, but he bequeathed them his heart after his death; Certainly the Jesuits are men of extraordinary talents, They are said to be Timothy's in their Houses, Chrysostom's in the Pulpit, and Augustins in the Chair; Being excited by their example, Sancta Teresia a woman of a Masculine spirit rise up, and did mighty and miraculous things, for being a little stepped in years, she took a Monastical life upon her, where she lived with such austerity, that is wonderful and transcending the frail sex of women; she was the foundress and Instauratrix of a new Order of reclused Virgins, and 'twere marvelous to relate what increase this order received not only in Spain, but in both the Indies, and other parts of Christendom, being encouraged by the countenance of Pope Sixtus quintus and Clement the 8.  
Now for great Doctors and eminent men in the Civil Laws, Spain hath bred as profound as any, witness Calixtus the third. Fortunius Garzia, Coraviva Aspilcueta the Navarrin a man of celebrous integrity as well as of knowledge: For when Caranca Archbishop of Toledo, was by the permission of Philip the second, summoned and brought to Rome for suspicion of being a Sectarian, Doctor Aspilcueta being his old friend, and having 80. years on his back went purposely to Rome, and defended the Archbishop with such strenuous arguments, that he brought him off clear. He also made good the title of the Kingdom of Navarre to Charles the Emperor, when it was litigated, to the satisfaction of all rational men; To him may be added Ferd: Vasquius Pinellus, the two Vergaras, Emanuel Soarez, Villalobos, Alvarus Valascus, Gutierez, and Goveanus, whom Cujaeius confesseth to be the truest justinian interpreter that ever was.  
For Physicians, what part of the Univers hath produced more famous men than Spain? as Averro of Cordova, Rasis Almansor, Messahallath, Avicenna of Sevill, Nonius, Amatus, Christopher a Vega, Garcias ab Horto, Franciscus Valessus, with divers other, able to make a whole College of Physicians of themselves.  
Now for Philosophers, Rhetoritians and Poets, Spain hath produced many masculine births also that way, what a Man of Men was Seneca the Philosopher? who in precepts of morality outwent and excelled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, not only all his contemporaries, but all that went before him or came behind him; Next to the Philosopher I will bring in Seneca the Rhetor, of whom among other rarities 'tis written, that there being two thousand names told him, he presently repeated them all exactly in his Oration; Lucan shall enter next, than Silius Italicus, after him Marshal Collumella, Fabius Quintilianus, Pomponius Mela, Trogus Pompeius, justinus the Great, Alphonso King of Castille. Henry Infant of Portugal, Arnoldus Villanovanus, Raymundus Lullius, Ludovicus Vives, Nonius, Salinus, Antperez, Morales, Surita, Geomecius, and Barosius the best compiler of the Indian History; all these by their works have deserved infinitely much of all the Commonwealth of Learning: To these may be added that miracle of womenkind, Aloysia Sigea, who was practically versed in 5. several languages, as Latin Greek, Hebrew, Syriaque, and Chaldaique, in so much that the letters are yet extant which Paul the third writ to this Toledo Virgin: I could muster here great numbers of learned men more whom Spain hath bred.  

Quos aget penna metuente solvi  
Fama superstes.   
What therefore Ausonius sung to Augustus Caesar in poetical amplifications, I will now mention in part unto you, it being so proper for the subject.  

Bellandi, Fandique potens Hispania honorem  
Bis meret, ut geminos titulos, qui praelia musis  
Temperate & Geti●…um moderatur Apolline Martem,  
Arma inter quantum cessat de tempore belli,  
Indulget Clariis tantum inter castra Camaenis.   
I come now to the vastness of the Spanish Monarchy, and certainly without controlment it is the greatest that hath been since the Creation, considering all things; It may be said take all the Members thereof together, to be ten times bigger than the Ottoman Empire, although he hath in Europe the better part of Hungary, Bosnia, Servia, Bulgaria, Macedon, Epire, Greece, Peloponesus, Thrace, and the Isles in the Archipelago: All though he can go from Buda in Hungary, ne'er to Tauris and all in his own Territories; Nay it is of more extent than the Roman Empire was, when she was mounted to the highest pitch of power, and Spaciousness; for the Domininions of Philip now King of Spain expand themselves further. The Sun doth perpetually shine upon some part of the Phillippean Monarchy, for if it sets in one clime, it than riseth in another. He hath dominion on both the Hemisphers, and none of all the four Monarchies could say so much, nor any Potentat now living but himself; Therefore he may well join the Sphere of the world to his arms, and better share Empires with jove then Augustus Caesar could; his Sceptre points at the four Cardinal corners of the world, East, West, North and South, for of those 360. degrees in the Equinoctial, Portugal alone is said to occupy 200.  jupiter in coelis, in Terra regnat Iberus. 
Most Illustrious Auditors, you have hitherto heard the magnitude of the Spanish Monarchy, but that which tends most to the glory of Spain, is her policy and prudence in governing so many distinct Regions, so many squandered Kingdoms, so many millions of people of differing humours, customs and constitutions. To be able to Rule so many Nations is more than to reign over them; the one is imputed to the outward strength of bodies, the other to the Sagacity of the brain; but for Spain herself there is that sweet harmony 'twixt the Prince and people, the one in obeying, the other in bearing rule, that it is admirable, and here the Spanish King hath the advantage of all other Imperando & parendo. He is neither King of Asses as the French is, nor the King of Devils as the English is, nor the King of Kings as the Emperor glories to be, but the King of Spain is Rex Hominum, the King of Men: he may also be termed the King of Princes, according to the Character which Claudian gives Spain, that she was Principibus faecunda piis—  

There also as he signs— Fruges, aera●…ia, Miles  
Vndique conveniunt totoque ex orbe leguntur▪  
Haec generat qui cuncta regunt—   
Therefore let Candy the Cradle of jove, let Thebes the Mother of Hercules, and Delos the nurse of two Gods yield to Spain. It was she who brought forth Trajan to the world, who was as good as Augustus was happy; she gave Hadrian the Emperor, she gave Theodosius the first, and the first of Emperors for Morality and Virtue, who raised and reared up again the Roman Monarchy when she was tottering; Ferdinand the first, who was an Infant of Spain, a Prince who for liberty and justice, for mansuetude and munificence, for assiduity and vigilance, for piety and peace was inferior to none of his progenitors, and to this day they keep in Spain the Cradle, and Rattles he used when he was a child in Complutum where he was born, which Town enjoys to this day some special immunities for his Nativity there.  
But Spain gave all these Princes to other Nations; how many hath she afforded herself? she gave Ferdinand of Arragon a Prince of incomparable piety and prowess who first laid the foundation of the Spanish Monarchy, by matching with Donam Isabel Queen of Castille, a heavenly Princess, she gave Philip the second, called the prudent, and so he was, to a proverb; how cautious was he in administration of Justice? how circumspect in distribution of Offices? how judicious in rewarding of Men? etc. how wary in conferring of honours? for he was used to say, that honours conferred upon an unworthy man, was like sound Meat cast into a corrupt Stomach; What a great example of Parsimony was he? yet Magnificent to a miracle, witness the eighth wonder of the world, the Escurial, which stupendous fabric he not only saw all finished before his death, though the building continued many years, but he enjoyed it himself twelve years, and carried his own bones to be buried in the Pantheon he had built there. He was so choice in the election of his Servants, that he had no Barber for his Ambassador, nor Tailor for his Herald, nor Physician for his Chancellor, as we read of Lewis the XI. of France, nor a Faukner to his chief Favourite as the last French King had. But that which was signal in this wise K. was, that he never attempted any great business but he would first refer it to the Council of Conscience; And before the Acquisition of Portugal he showed a notable example hereof; For King Sebastian being slain in a rash War against the Moors, and Henry dying a little after, there were many Candidates and pretenders for the Lusitanian Crown, first Philip himself, than Philibert Duke of Savoy, after him Farnessius Duke of Parma, than john Duke of Bragansa, and lastly Katherine de Medici; King Philip, though 'twas in vain to compass this busines●… by Legations, therefore he did it with his Legions; yet he paused long upon the business, referring it to the debate of the learnedst Theologues, and Civil Doctors, where it was eventilated, and canvased to and fro with all the wit and arguments the brain of man could afford pro & con; At last the title and right being adjudged for him, and having fairly demanded it in a peaceable way, and being put off, he raiseth an Army answerable to the greatness of the work, and yet being advanced to the borders he made a halt, and summons again both Divines and civilians to deliver their knowledge and consciences herein, conjuring them by God and the sacred Faith to do it with integrity, and freedom; Herupon they all unanimously concurred in the confirmation of their former judgement, as Ripsius doth testify; After this great transaction, he sends the Duke of Alva with an army to take possession of his right, wherein he was so prosperous that he invaded, survay'd, and subjugated the whole Kingdom of Portugal in a very short time, utterly defeating Don Antonio, whom though King Philip might have surprised a good while before lurking in a Monastery, yet he would not do it; Besides, he caused the Duke of Bragansa's Son, being Captif among the Moors, to be redeemed at his own charge, and when he could have detained him, yet he suffered him to go where he would: Now having debelled and absolutely reduced the Kingdom of Portugal, among many others who were his Opposers, the Doctors of Conimbria were most busy, yet he sent them not only a general pardon, but increased the exhibitions of the University; This mighty King was also a great Lover of his Country, preferring the public incolumity thereof before his own blood; his only Son Charles, who being a youngman of a restless ambitious spirit, and being weary of the compliance he owed his Father, was used to carry Pistols ready cocked about him in the day, and put them under his pillow in the night; He confessed to his ghostly Father, that he had a purpose to kill a Man, and being denied absolution from him, he desired that he would give him unconsecrated bread before the Congregation to avoid public offence; King Philip being told of this confined his Son, and put him over to the Council of the Inquisition; The Council delivered their opinion, and humbly thought that since his Majesty could pardon those whom he hated most, he might well pardon him whom he loved most; And so made instance in Charles the Great, who pardoned his Son Pepin for a conjuration against his person, and having attempted it the second time, only committed him to a Monastery; The King herupon answered, that by the Law of Nature he was to love his Son, but he loved Spain better: thereupon he put a question to them, whether the pardon he should give his Son would not prove a Sin rather than an Act of Mercy, considering the public calamities that might thence ensue, therefore he asked them which was to be preferred the people's good or his Son's? They answered certainly, the peoples; So he transmitted him to that Council, conjuring them in his name, who is to judge the Angels one day, and will make no distinction 'twixt Kings and Cobblers to do justice herein; So the young Prince was adjudged, and Sentence of Death passed upon him; Good God what passions did struggle in the Father, when he was to sign the Sentence? and 'tis his paternal affection to the chair of Justice: he was a Father, therefore his affections could not grow to such a hatred, but they might return to their own nature; But after many such conflicts, he chose rather to be Pater Patriae, then Pater Caroli, to be Father of Spain then Father of a Son, and make natural respects yield to prudential; So the young Prince died, yet not by the Executioners hand, but as 'twas rumoured by Poison; Thus to the consternation of all the world the Phosphorus of Spain fell to the West, and suddenly set and divers of his Favourites with him, if you desire to know the year this Cronogram will tell you.  fILIUs ante DIeM patrIos InqUIrIt In annes. 
This Philip was also famous for his Piety as well as justice, which made Gregory the 13. to break out in these words, The prolongation of my life can little avail the Catholic Church, but pray for the health of King Philip, for his life concerns her more. He was wonderfully constant to himself, he was always without passion, and sometimes above them, of a marvelous Equanimity, and Longanimity, witness his patience in his sicknesses, whereof he had many, but that which brought him to his grave was the Pediculary disease, which though nasty and ghastly, yet he endured it with invincible patience. When he found his glass almost run out, he sent for his Son and Daughter, and upon his deathbed told them, In this small afflicted body you see to how small a thread the pomp and splendour of all Earthly Magnitude doth hang, my Mortal life is upon departing, the care of my Sepulchre, and rites of exequys, I commend unto you with my blessing. Among many other there is one remarkable passage in this King's life; when the Duke of Alva was upon point of going to Portugal, he had a great desire to kiss the King's hand, but to the amazement of all the world, he was denied at that time, which made the Duke to say, that his Master had sent him to conquer Kingdoms, being tied with chains and fetters.  
His Son Philip the second, did equal him in Piety, and in nothing else, we know what a Saintlike man he was, having his Beads always either about his neck, or in his hands.  
I will hold you no longer, only I will tell you that the Kings of Spain more than any other have done miraculous and immortal things; For as God almighty when he builds, creates no less than a world, When he is angry, sends no less than an universal deluge; When he conferrs grace to mankind, sends no less than his own Son; When he rewards, gives no less than Paradise; when he wars, employs no less than Legions of Angels and makes the Elements to fight, the Sea to open, and the Sun to stand; so if finite things may bear any proportion with infinity, the Kings of Spain are borne to do no petty things, but mighty matters; When they build; they erect no less than an Escurial; If they are angry, they drive forth whole Nations, as the Moors and the jews; If they reflect upon the public good, they sacrifice no less than their own Sons; If they desire to oblige any, they restore Kings as Muleasses to Tunis, and make Popes of their Schoolmasters; when they take arms, than they conquer not only whole Kingdoms, but new Worlds.  
Therefore my dearest Brother, Frederique Achilles, and you most Illustrious Cousins and Auditors, I think I shall derogat from no other Region, if taking King and Country together, I prefer the Spaniard for glory and amplitude of Dominions, for fulgor of Majesty, for the longest armed Monarch, for Men and Mines, for Isles and Continents, I say I do no wrong to any, if I prefer him before any other Prince or Potentat upon the earthly Globe.  
DIXI.   

THE ORATION OF The Lord GEORGE FREDERIQUE, Baron of LIMBURG, and Hereditary Officer to the Sacred Roman Empire, and always Free. Against SPAIN.  
Most Illustrious Prince and Precedent, etc.  
WE have hitherto delivered sundry opinions, whereon there have been many learned and Rhetorical descants; I observe also there are some divorcements and discrepancies in the said opinions; But for my particular suffrage, I will prefer France before any Province of the European world; and if I should attempt to speak more than hath been presented by that highborn Prince Duke joachim Ernest upon this subject, it would be an argument of rashness in me, and so I should incur no small hazard of my reputation: Me thinks I see Ciceno before me, and saying, Illam Orationem solùm populus Gallicus parem Imperio suo habet, France hath that Oration alone, equal to her Empire. But though there was much spoken of Spain by that noble Prince, Duke Magnus of Wirtemberg, yet I will endeavour to show that Spain doth not deserve either the Elogium or love of so great a Prince in so high a degree; For as shadows use to make bodies bigger than they are really in bulk, so it seems his affection hath made Spain more than she is in intrinsique value. For truly unless I be stark blind, I find Spain to be the most unhusbanded, and the sterillest Country of Europe, the thinnest of people, the fullest of fruitless Hills, which they call Sierras, and are indeed no better than Wildernesses: In so much that though she be so scant of Inhabitants, yet hath she not Bread enough to put into the mouths of the sixth part of them: So that unless she be very ingrateful and impudent, she must acknowledge Germany and France to be her Nurses, and Sicily her Barn, as she was sometimes to the Romans. And among these there was a computation made once of four millions of treasure that France received that year from Spain for Corn in Pistols and Patacoons, which made Henry the fourth say that the great store of treasure which Spain hath, discovers her necessity as well as her plenty, because she cannot keep her money at home, which she might well do, if she had Corn as well as Wine. For our Wheat is scarce grown ripe, but the Spaniard is gaping for it at our Ports, or some other Nation for them.  
In Portugal, if a Vessel come and cries Traygo●…trigo, I bring Corn, he may turn it to present Silver, and carry it away in the palm of his hand, which is not permitted for any other commodity but Frumentarian: Which makes Frossard report that those English which went for the succour of Spain under the Duke of Lancaster to Portugal cry out that they would be loath to return to Spain, where they found such rough Craggs which could not be eaten with Verjuice, a feverish Air, troubled Waters, indigent people, nasty and ill clothed. But there is no man can judge of Spain but he who hath travelled the Country, where his Mule and he must lodge together in some places, and haply the Mule may far better than the Master▪ yet there is not any that can dissemble Saturity as much as the Spaniard, who useth to stroke his beard and breast from crumms, and pick his teeth with that state, as if he had been at a feast in Germany. Therefore it was charitably spoken by one, Beati qui sterilitatem non viderunt, sed crediderunt, They are happy who have not seen the sterility of Spain, but believe it. For whosoever doth purpose to see Spain, must resolve beforehand to undergo hardshipps of all sorts, to have oftentimes the lower Region of the Air for his Canopy, Hunger for his food, and Thirst for his drink; he must resolve to fast perpetually, and if he lights by chance upon some edible things, as root, fruit, an ounce of flesh, or the like, 'tis a question whether he eats or fasts; yet one shallbe sure to stay there as much for such little modicums, as one should do in France or Germaay at a Crown Ordinary.  
Frederique the II. Count Palatine of the Rhine going to Spain to visit the Emperor Charles the V. came to a Town called Cervera upon Corpus Christi Eve, and thinking to rest there the next day being a Holiday for the refreshment of himself, his Train and Horses, the Corregidor or chief Magistrate of the Town sent to him, desiring him to depart the place, for fear of enhancing the rates of things. The next day going to Gomorrha, a Town of the second Classis in Spain, and sending his Caterer to market to buy some Butter, where being asked how much he would have? answered twenty or thirty pound: the Shopkeeper crossed himself, and said, You cannot find such a proportion in all this Town, you must go to Estremadura, where there is good store of Oxen and Cows. At last he brought him a Kid's bladder full of Butter, as if he went to grease the wheel of a Cart.  
But this scarcity brings one commodity with it, that Spain is not so subject to be overrun by any foreign force, for an Army would quickly starve there for want of aliment. Which inconvenience diverted Murat the great Turk once from invading Spain. Yet of late years there is a better accommonation for passengers in some of the chief Towns, but they are strangers that do it. Most of their Opificers are also Forreners, specially French, insomuch that in Valentia alone there were reckoned at one time above ten thousand Artists. For indeed the Spaniard himself is of a flothfull, and stately nature; he puts his Sword by his side, his great Ruff about his neck, and only goes with his Ass to the market to buy him bread, with other necessities, which strangers use to provide for him.  
Now, since the expulsion of the Moriscos, which were a laborious people, and would grubb up Corn from among those craggy hills, Spain is poorer than she was, and would be more poor, were it not for those swarms of Gascons that cross the Pyreneys thither for love of their money.  
And as the Country of Spain is so indigent, so the Inhabitants are poor in point of Virtue, but rich for sundry sorts of Vices. They use to make use of Religion for a mantle to palliate their designs; They rap out sometimes horrid blasphemies, and there is an Author (but he is a Frenchman) who relates that a King of Spain having had divers ill successes, fell into that impatience, that he swore he would be revenged, therefore he commanded that none of his Subjects should adore God, or believe in him, or speak of him for so long a time. What shall I say of the portugals, which are called the new Christians, whereas they are for the most part jews in their hearts. It is recorded, that in the battle where Don Sebastian was killed in Barbary, there were above 1500. Renegado Christians of Andaluzia that were in the Army of Moley Molue King of Morocco.  
'Tis true, that they have planted Christianity in both the Indies, raised up the Standard of the Cross, and taught Sauvages the way to heaven; But those Pagans may say as Robert Duke of Normandy said when he was going to the holy Sepulchre, who being met by one of his own Subjects, as he was mounted upon a great Sarracens back, & being much tired, he said, Commend me to all in Normandy, & tell them I am going to Heaven upon the Devil's back. So the converted Infidels may be said to go to Heaven upon the Spanish jesuitts backs.  
But now that I have touched upon the jesuits, who are a true Spanish ospring, and the most intimat Confidents of the Catholic King, I will enlarge myself a little on this subject, for by laying open these men, you will better discover the humour of the Spaniard. It was the saying of a Burgundian Nobleman, That a Spaniard without his jesuit, is like a Partridge without an Orange. Un Espagnol sans son jesuit, est come un Perdrix sans Orange. These Jesuitts have turned all the world topsitervy; they have been the Inceadiaries of all the differences, the firebrands of all the Wars, the fomenters of all the Rebellions that have been in Christendom ever since they had a Bull to establish their Society by Pope Teatin from whom they bear the name. And indeed it must be confessed, that they have been very thankful to the Pope for it, for they have been the greatest supporters of his Chair ever since: in regard that all their consultations tend principally to depress the power of Kings, and enhance the prerogative of the Pope, whom they hold to be the universal Lord Paramount of the Universe among men, and the highest Viceroy of God Allmighty in this elementary world. They take him for a speaking Scripture, and that Heresy is nothing else but a Tenet in the points of Faith, contrary to the decision of the Pope. They hold he can absolve any from his Allegiance and fidelity to his natural lawful Prince, excommunicate any earthly Monarch, and not only so, but tumble him out of his throne, yea into hell both Soul and Body by the thunderbolts of Excommunication. They hold he can dispense with Subjects to levy arms against their sovereign Prince, to meet him in the field and murder him, insomuch that the verses of the Prince of Pagan Poets may be most fitly applied to these kind of Christians.  

Tu potes unanimes armare in praelia Fratres,  
Atque odiis versare domos, Tu verbera tectis  
Funereasque infer faces, tibi nomina mille  
Mille nocendi arts—   
Moreover 'tis their tenet that the holy Father cannot only depose any earthly potentat, but dispose of his dominions to any other. And if a new Country be discovered, the party cannot possess it, till he receive it as a gift from him, wherein the King of Spain did so far comply with him, that as soon as he had discovered and conquered America, the first thing he thought upon, was to make his humble addresses to his Holiness for investiture.  
But the sages of the Parliament of Paris, and the most acute learned Doctors of the College of Sorbon detested such Doctrines, therefore by a solemn arrest of that high Court abetted by those great Divines, caused the Institutions of Mariana the Arch-Jesuit, who broached such tenets and exposed them to the world, to be made a Sacrifice to Vulcan by the hand of the common Executioner, with another entitled de temporali potestate Papae adversus Gulielmum Barclaium, and that under pain of committing High-Treason, none should keep, communicate, print or vend any of those damnable books.  
The Venetians, the prudentst and politiquest Republic that ever was, as we may infer by the constancy of her government, and longaevity, did show France the way of using the Jesuits in this manner, but that grave Senate went a rounder way to work, for they did not only burn their pages, but banish their persons eternally from the Republic of Venice and all her Territories. And although Henry the 4. did earnestly mediate for their readmission, yet all would not do, for there was a double inconvenience in it, first, a hazard of disreputation, and opinion of rashness upon the Senate for revoking so solemn a Decree, which was debated and determined with such mature deliberation contrary to their custom; And secondly, there would be a continual increase of danger to the Republic, for admitting such strangers into her bosom, For they were not ignorant that whersoever they live, or what Country soever they are in, They are the Subjects of another Prince, viz. the Popes.  
Furthermore the jesuits have another dangerous doctrine prejudicial to all sovereign Princes, de confession non detegenda, ne in causa quidem Majestatis, & presenti Regis ac regni periculo, That the confession of a penitentiary must not be revealed, no though it reflect upon Majesty, and to the danger both of King and Kingdom; this is an Appendix of the Hildebrandine jesuitical Doctrine. The English Chronicle makes mention that Father Garnet the Jesuit being interrogated by the Earl of Nottingham if any one would confess unto him in the morning, that he had a purpose to murder the King the next evening, whether he was bound in conscience to reveal it? Garnet answered no. Which opinion Binetus the Jesuit confirmed to Causabon in these words, praestare Reges omnes perire quam si vel semel Confessionis Sigillum violaretur, Regem enim ait humani juris Imperium esse, Confessionem juris divini; It were better that Kings should perish then that the seal of confession should be broken, for the power of Kings is by humane right, Confession by Divine. Moreover another Jesuit in France did dare openly to affirm, si Dominus noster Iesus Christus in terris versaretur morti obnoxius, & aliquis sibi in confession dixisset velle se illum occidere prius quam confessionem revelaret, passurum se ut Christus occidatur, If our Lord Jesus Christ were himself again upon Earth subject to death, and one under the seal of confession should tell him that he had a purpose to kill him, before he would reveal the confession he would suffer that Christ should be slain. Henricus Henriques also another furious Jesuit averrs that the Holy seal of Confession must not be broken for any cause whatsoever; and the said Spanish Jesuit saith thus, Quamvis se ageretur totius Orbis salus; aut ipsius paenitentis utilitas, nec pro vitando ullo damno gravissimo Innocentis, aut quod esset totius orbis conflagratio, aut perversio Religionis; & omnium sacramentorum intentata demolitio. Although it tended to the salvation of the whole world, or the utility of the penitentiary, or that some Innocent might escape some grievous danger, or that the conflagration of the whole world depended upon it, or the perversion of Religion, and the utter overthrow of all the Sacraments, All these would not be causes sufficient to impel the Ghostly Father to break the seal of Confession. All this Isaac Cansabon doth aver to be true in his works to Fronton Pucaeus, and Cardinal Perronius. For such a high and most venerable opinion they have of auricular Confession, that what the penitentiary pours in the Priest's breast, is put up in the Closet of God Almighty, and so it must be kept with sacred silence. This may be one of the reasons that more penitentiaries make their addresses to the Jesuits then to any other Order, and it may be a reason also why other Monasticalls do so much Envy them, some Malign them, others detest them. Those which formerly were mentioned, are the tenets of the Jesuits, touching private Auricular confession, if Causabon may be believed, who ('tis true) was a professed enemy of theirs, yet the positions are maintained but by the rigidst sort of Teatins not generally as some affirm; By these means of Confession, they open the Cabinets of Princes, and know more of State-matters than any: For there are none who have sooner and surer intelligence than they from all parts, and their correspondency is admirable for the punctuality of it. There are no ecclesiastics so frequent in Princes Courts, and Noble men's Palaces, than they, which makes them have more Legacies given them then any other.  
They have also another way besides secrecy of confession to oblige the Nobility by instructing their Children gratis, and they have a rare method of Education that way, it cannot be denied. But in Spain herself, though the Jesuits have a powerful hand over the King himself, and in the Council of the Inquisition, as also a great stroke among the Nobility and Gentry, yet the common people malign and hate them generally, as appeers by the Libel which was made in the Court of Spain which I think worthy the relating here.  

Los mandamientes de los Teatinos' Mas Humanos son que Divinos.  
1. Adquirir mucho divero,  
2. Sugetar todo el mundo,  
3. Buen Capon, y buen Carnero,  
4. Comprar Barato, y vender car●…  
5. Con el blanco aguar el tinto,  
6. Tener siempre el lomo en siesto;  
7. Guardarse bien del sereno,  
8. Obrar lo suyo y lo ageno,  
9 Hazer deal Penitent esclav●…  
10. Mesclarse en cosas d'estado.   

Estos diez Mandamientes se encierran en dos.  
Todo para Mi, y nada para vos.   

The Commandments of the Teatine Are more humane than Divine.  
1. To rake up much riches,  
2. To subjugat all the world,  
3. Good Capons, and good Mutton,  
4. To sell dear and buy cheap  
5. To water red Wine with White.  
6. To lie warm and easy  
7. To take heed of the serenes, and ill ayr●…s,  
8. To do his own business and others,  
9 To make their Penitentiaries slaves.  
10. To be busy in matters of State.   

All these ten may be made two:  
All for myself and nothing for you.   
Thus you see though some hug, yet divers hate the Jesuit in Spain itself.  
Alexander Hayes a Jesuit himself gives this character of them, jesuita est omnis Homo, A Jesuit is every man; That is in their subtle and nimble way of negotiation, wherein they will represent, and personat the humour of any man; They are the great Architects of all politic designs which tend to enrich themselves, and enhance the omnipotency of the Pope, For the wisest men are of opinion, that had it not been for this pragmatical order, Saint Peter's chair might have tumbled down ere this, his bark sunk, and his keys lost. When they first negotiated to take footing in the Academy of Paris, they were asked whether they were Seculars or Regulars, they answered, they were Tales Quales, they were such and such; herupon the Parisian Students brought up this character of them, that the Jesuits were Tales Quales, and are nicked so to this day; herupon one applied this Distic unto them.  

Vestra datis cum verba datis, nam 〈◊〉 Vestrum est,  
Et cum verba datis nil nisi vestra datis.   
In England it was their equivocations that caused the clause without Mental reservation to be inserted in the Oath of Supremacy.  
One compares them to those little Animals that Seneca speaks of, qui mordent & non sentiuntur, that by't and are not felt, only the swelling shows they are bitten; so this subtle sort of Ghostly Fathers by insensible encroachments damnify where they nestle, though the party knows not where he is hurt.  
When they were first to be introduced to France, the Parliament of Paris desired the opinion of Sorbon College composed of the acutest Theologues in France, which they delivered thus as it stands upon Record. Novem hanc societatem appellatione insolita Iesus nomen sibi vindicantem praebere occasionem— This new society arrogating to themselves by an unusual appellation, the name of Jesus, doth administer occasion of Schism in the Church, they subtract the obedience that is due to Prelates, they deprive Ecclesiastic Lords and others of their rights, They induce much perturbation both in civil and sacred administrations, they usher in quarrels, contentions, debates, emulations, and divers scissures into the Church, therefore they held them to be dangerous instruments in the business of Religion, as such that would disturb the peace of the Church, overthrow Monastical Discipline, and that their Order tended more to Destruction then Edification; yet by the power of the Guysian faction, they were admitted, but the Parliament would demur upon it a little before, Herupon Stephen Paschasius an eminent Doctor, did sharply argue against them▪ sectam eam ambitiosam & fucatae Religionis plebem appellans, in Hispania natam— He called them an ambitious sect, fellows of a counterfeit Religion, born in Spain, but fostered in Paris, strengthened in Rome, who under the specious show of a gratuitous institution of children, cheat and exhaust many families, infusing pernicious principles into the brains of youths— Then he went on with high exaggerations, and said, that their Provincial was always chosen by the King of Spain, to which Provincial, they yield an unquestionable blind obedience,— Therefore he concludes, that if these new sectaries were admitted, they would introduce a Trojan horse into the bowels of the Kingdom full of armed Enemies, and that France should repent her of her credulity when it would be too late, for these men by their subtleties, and superstition, by their praestigiatiory kind of artifices, would distract the settlement and tranquillity of the whole Kingdom. Herupon while this business was in agitation, King Henry the IV. was thrust in lieu of his breast into the Mouth by a young Jesuit, with the loss of one tooth, the King having escaped so great danger, said pleasingly; falloit il que les Iesuites fussent convaincus par ma bouche? Was it needful then that the Jesuits should be convinced by my mouth? Herupon by a solemn arrest of the Court of Parliament, they were utterly exterminated, and commanded to quit the Kingdom by such a day under great penalties; There was also in the sentence an interdictory clause, that none should send their children abroad to be instructed by the Jesuits under pain of trea son.  
Herupon there was a new Gallows of Stone erected before the Palace gate, to execute the transgressors of this decree; But the King finding that his life could never be safe while he stood out with the Jesuits, rather out of fear then affection, connived for the non-execution of the Sentence, causing the said Gallows to be taken down, herupon one sung wittily to the King,  

Sire, si vous voulez du tout a l'adenir  
De l'Assassin Chastel oster le souvenir,  
Ostant la Pyramid, & l'Arrest qui la touch,  
Quon vous remitte donc une dent dans la bouche.   
Sir, If you will for the future extinguish the remembrance of Chastel, take down the Jesuits Pyramid and Sentence, then let them put in a new tooth into your mouth. Elizabeth Queen of England had so ill a conceit of this order, that by the credit the great Turk gave to her Ambassador, and by her advise he banished them out of Pera on the Asian shore, over against Constantinople where he had permitted them formerly to reside.  
But you will say jesuits are a great advantage to a State, because they propagate learning, and instruct youth so dexterously; 'tis true, they instruct them, but they infuse into them besides, most dangerous principles of equivocation and cunning, you will say they are the greatest and most masculine propugnators of the Roman Church; 'tis true, but they are great weakners of the power of temporal Princes; They have planted the standard of the Cross in the Indies, and are the greatest propagators of Christian Faith among Infidels. 'Tis true, but they do it as much for extending the Spanish Monarchy; for as they are the chiefest Agents of the Pope's where e'er they come, so are they Factors also for the King of Spain, the bent of all their projects being to enlarge the power of the one, and establish the omnipotency of the other; That Prince or people are in a dangerous condition, when any censures from Rome come against them, if there be Jesuits there, who are the punctualest executioners of the Papal excommunication; such respects the Spaniards give them, that they are called Apostles in America, and Disciples in Portugal; But finding at first that they were maligned for assuming the name of Jesuits, they did moderate it, and called themselves socios jesu, the companions of Jesus: Now, in the Holy Scriptures we read but of one that was called the companion of Christ, and that was judas.  
But, most Noble Princes, be pleased to excuse me that I have been so tedious and tart in displaying this new Ignatian Order, the reason is, that being to speak of Spain, it was pertinent to speak also of them, who are so great Votaries of that Crown.  
I will give you now a little touch of the Spanish Inquisition, which is, that if any be found to doubt or dispute any thing of the Roman Church, he is answered with a syllogism of fire or hemp, which concludes more strongly than a syllogism in Barbara. But such kind of arguing is fitter for Butchers, Hangmen and Devils, then for the Doctors of the Christian Church. Now, as we read that Heliogabalus the scandal of Emperors, would have had the Vestal fires extinguished, with all religious invocations and victimes, and the name of Heliogabalus to be only adored, so the Spaniard endeavours to extinguish all other orders and government, to set up the jesuit (his chief chaplain) and the Inquisition.  
Now this proceeds from the ignorance of the Spaniard, who reads no Authors commonly but his own Countrymen, because he understands no Language but his own, which in the Spanish Academies and Schools, sways more than Latin, though the fourth part of the Language be mere Morisco, and patched up of Arabic words.  
But I wonder, my noble Cousin Magnus, that in the Catalogue you give of the learned men of Spain, you extol Raymundus Lullius so much, a man foolishly subtle, who scarce understanding the Latin tongue, which he mingled with his own, yet he dared expose some things to the world, but involved in darkness, such obscurities that few of his Readers understand him. For my part, I hold his Philosopher's stone; and his Learning to be all one, but mere imaginary things, in so much that one may say;  

Qui Lulli Lapidem quaerit, quem quaerere nulli  
Profuit, haud Lullus; sed mihi nullus erit.   
Now for the nature of the Spaniards, they are most made up of Imagination, and a kind of fantastic gravity, under which is cloaked a great deal of pride: They believe more what they fancy, than what they do. Nor doth the Portugais deny it, when he confesseth that he acts according to that which he thinks himself to be, than what he really is. Portugalli dictitant se niti eo potius quod se esse putant, quam eo quod reverasunt.  
Now for Portugal, it is made up most of Slaves, for the number of them in some places are almost equal to the Inhabitants; and there are few Countries where there is less distinction made 'twixt men and beasts, for they are both sold in the market for money alike. Now for the state of the Spaniard, you shall have him march gravely; with a crowd of servants or slaves, two before him, another holds his hat upon occasion, another his cloak if it doth rain, another carries a clout to wipe the dust off his Shoes, another a cloth to rub his Ginet while he hears Mass, another a Currycomb to keem his mane, and all these when they come home will be content haply with a loaf and a radish a piece for their dinner. It is admirable and indeed hateful to see with what a Tympany of self-conceitedness the Spaniard useth to swell, and how a common fellow will stand a tiptoe pulling out his Mustachos, and saying, Voto a tall jo soy tan buen●… como el Rey don Felipe, I vow by Hercules that I am as good as King Philip: They mightily puff themselves up with hopes of preferment, aiming more at the honour of the thing then the profit. Among many others I will instance in Antonio de Leyva, who from a Gregarian common Soldier came to be a General to Charles the V. and coming to attend the Emperor, he was permitted to sit down, because he was troubled with the gout, but the Emperor being told that he verily believed he should be a Knight of the golden fleece, or one of the Grandees of Spain, and complaining of his gout one day, the Emperor said, I believe you are more indisposed in your brain then in your feet. Barclay in his Euphormio hath a story of a Spanish woman that coming with three of her Sons a begging to a French Shoemaker one day, he told her, good woman, I will ease thee of one part of thy charge, for if thou leave one of thy children with me, I will breed him up in my trade, whereby he may by his labour be able to live like a man; O Sir, God forbid I should cast away my child to a stranger, and to so Mechanic a trade, for who knows but he may be Viceroy of Naples or Mexico? One Matheo Serran a Spaniard, was Governor of the Sluice, in the time of marquis Spinola, who ask him what provision & defence he had in the place, & advising to be careful of furnishing it, he rapt out a great Rodomontado, saying, marquis look you to your siege at Ostend, I know well what belongs to the conservation of the Sluice without a Monitor; for if the enemy should come with fifty thousand Devils after him to besiege the place, he shall not thrust me out: yet for all this vanity this Captain lost the Sluice afterwards; And this fancy of pride reigns in the Spaniard more than any other, for if one should go to a Casa de Locos, a Bedlam house in Spain, and observe the humours of the Prisoners; he will find that one will say he is an Emperor, another that he is King of such a Country, another that he is Pope, and so he shall observe that there will be more of this kind of madness then of any other distemper.  
Now as the Spaniards are bladdered up generally with this arrogance, and altitude of mind, so they care not how they come by their wealth though they take it from another by violence to support it; nor how little they work to get a subsistence, for they are slothful and idle to a proverb, unless it be in the Wars; This makes them to be cried up for such thiefs, Herupon Charles the V. their own King, being accompanied with many Spanish Dons, as he passed in Germany by a great Inn, where divers were a drinking and merry▪ he asked his Dons, are not the Germans personable proper men, well complexioned and limm'd? This cannot be denied, the Spaniards answered, but they are excessively given to drinking; the Emperor replied, 'tis true, but do you know what vices the Spaniards are guilty of? for as these are greedy of Wine, so are the Spaniards greedy of another man's wealth, and so to interdict the German his wine were the same as to prohibit the Spaniard he should not rob, which was one of the ten Commandments of God Almighty, where you shall not find any against drinking.  
And as the people of Spain are such robbers, so the Kings of Spain are the greatest of all; They are Robbers of whole Kingdoms, and Countries, they are the Harpies of the earth, for whersoever they confine, they cast about how to devour their Neighbours, using all artifices, and picking any quarrel to that end, in so much that those Virgilian Verses may very well quadrat with their practices.  

Armati Terram exercent, semperque resentes  
Convectare juvat praedas, & vivere rapto.   
The greatness of this Nation is but Modern and upstart, when the fortune of France was a little waning, Spain began to shine, first under Ferdinand King of Arragon Grandfather to Charles the V. so that as one said, Ubi Galli desierunt Rerum potiri, ibi Hispani inceperunt. This Ferdinand, the first Catholic King, veiled and varnished all his Enprizes with the plausible pretext of advancing Religion, yet were his pen and his tongue double in doing this, he carried oftentimes two faces under one hood, and played with a staff of two ends in his greatest negotiations, specially in the performance of Articles 'twixt him and the French King Lewis the XII. about the division of the Kingdom of Naples, that he should have Calaba and Apulia, and the French Naples, and Campania; But afterwards he sent his great Captain Gonsalvo who conquered both. He got also the Kingdom of Navarr by a trick, for when an English Army who was sent from Hen. the 8. of England for his assistance, was to pass from Spain to Aquitain, and the King of Navarr (who 'tis true was then under Excommunication, together with the King of France) desiring his English sons-in-lawe Forces leave to pass through his Country, Ferdinand took his advantage hereby, with the help of the English, to seize upon the Kingdom of Navarre, and thrust out john Labretan, who was then lawful King. And to make his cause more specious, and pretend some right, he insisted upon the censure of the Pope, saying, That they who were enemies to the Holy Father, might be assaulted by any Christian King, and that his Holiness was to give the Country to the first Conqueror.  
Now touching the East and West Indies, the Spanish title is unquestionable there you will say, but let us examine the business a little. The right which the Spaniards pretend to these two Indies, is Right of Discovery; For the East Indies, it hath been so celebrated by ancient Pagan Writers, that to hold the Spaniard to be the first De tector thereof, were to maintain the grossest paradox that ever was; For Pliny relates how Hanno the Carthaginian being carried about from the feet of Gibraltar to the farthest end of Arabia was the first discoverer of India, by twice crossing the Equinoctial; And 'tis easy to find in ancient Authors, that Malacca was called Aurea Cherchonesus, and that huge Island Sumatra was known formerly by the name of Tatrobana; what is he who is never so little versed in Antiquity but hath read the Oriental Brachman Philosophers, and of the Sinenses the people of China? Touching the West Indies, they were not unknown to Plato, for whereas he placeth Atlantidis at the mouth of the Gaditan Frete, which is the mouth of the Mediterranean, he sayeth, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. There is from Atlantidis a passage to other Lands, and from them to a great opposite Continent— What doth he intimat hereby but the great Canary with other Lands in the Atlantic Sea, and by the other Island Cuba, and Hispaniola, & by the opposite Continent Peru and Mexico. Moreover the Spaniards themselves confess that in a valley called Cautis in the Province of Chyli, they found among the savages many pictures and forms of two-headed Eagles in midst of their houses, therefore the Spaniards call that part of AMERICA The Imperial Province to this day, because the Arms of the Roman Empire were found there.  
There is a greater evidence than this that the Spaniards were not the first discoverers of America, for there was a Welsh Epitaph found there upon Madoc a British Prince, who it seems flying from the fury of the Saxons in England, put himself in some Bark to the fortune of the Sea, and landed in America. And that the old Britain's or Welsh were there, it may be confirmed further, in regard there are divers British words found amongst them to this day.  
But what shall we wander so far in the Indies? We will come nearer home. We know well that Solyman the Turk denied Charles the V. the title of Roman Emperor, alleging that he himself was the true successor of Constantin the Great, who was Emperor of East and West; And that consequently the City of Rome belonged to the Ottoman Empire, and Selim, Soliman's son urged such an argument when he took Cypress from the Venetians, for he said that the said Ile appertained to the Sultan's of Egypt which was now under his dominion.  
But the Apostolical concession and bounty of Pope Alexandor the VI entitles the King of Spain to America; touching that I pray here what Attabalipa a wild Pagan King said, when he heard that his Kingdom was given by the Pope, to the Spanish King; surely, said he, that Pope must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fo●…l, or some injust and impudent Tyrant that will undertake to bestow oth●…r men's possessions so freely.  
But his title may be just, you will say, for the propagation of Christian Religion: yet Christ enacted no such Law, that any free people should be made slaves, much less murdered, and tortured, either for refusing the Gospel, or continuing in their former Religion, there was not any of the Apostles claimed a Kingdom for his preaching; Saint Paul preaching to the Romans, did not demand the Empire; Our Saviour said, Go and preach the Gospel to all Nations, The Spaniard's lesson is, Go and preach the Roman Religion, and the Spanish Empire to all Nations, and keep under you, or kill whosoever shall resist: For the first Doctrine which the Spaniards were used to vent in any place was▪ Vos Indiani hujus loci— Ye▪ Indians of this place, we make known unto you All▪ that there is but one God, one Pope, one King of Spain, which you must all obey. Thus Motezuna King of Mexico, and Atabalipa Emperor of Peru were brought under the yoke, though they gave a house full of Gold for their ransom. But the Indians did more upon the Spaniards, than the Spaniards could do upon them; for they brought more Spaniards to adore the Indian Gold, than the Spaniards brought Indians to adore Christ; Herupon a company of Indians being ready to fall into the Spaniards hands carried some Gold into the Market place, saying▪ This is the Spaniards God, le's dance about him, and worship him, for so he may command the Spaniards not to be ●…oruell unto us. There is not far from Conimbria in Spain, a Well called 〈◊〉, which swallows any thing that's cast into it, and yet she is never full as 'tis found by experience, it seems the Spaniards have an Analogy with that Well, in reference to Gold which they have swallowed in the Indies, and yet are never satisfied:  
And as the Spaniard is covetous, so is he extremely cruel, for how many millions of men hath he made away in America? Bartholome de Casa affirms, that in 45. years, there were above ten millions of humane souls (though Savage) killed in the new world as they call it, in so much that the Indian Husbands forbore to lie with their wives for fear they should prove with child, and bring more slaves for the Spaniards. These millions before mentioned were killed out right, and if we add to them those who have died of working in the mines, of doing the offices of Asses, Oxen, and Mules, to what a number do you think will they accrue? some of them carry burdens upon their back of 160. pound weight, and that above 300. Miles. How many of these poor wretches have perished by water as well as by land, being forced to dive so many fathoms deep for the fishing of Perl, and to stay there sometimes half an hour under water panting and drawing in the same breath all the while, and being fed of purpose with corpse biscuit and dry things to be long-winded for that work. And if what is reported be true, they hunt the poor Indians with dogs to find them sport: whereupon there goes a tale of a Spaniard, who to exercise his dog and make himself some sport with an old Woman, made show as if he sent her with a letter to the Governor of the next town hard by, the poor woman being gone a flight shot off, he let slip his dog after her, which being come near, she fell down on her knees, saying, Signior dog, Senior dog, do not kill me, for I am going with letters from your Master to the Governor: the dog it seems was moved with compassion, and so only lift up his leg and pissed upon her.  
One may easily imagine how detestable the Spaniards became to these poor Pagans for these cruelties, there is a tale of Hathu Cacico a stout Indian, who being to die, was persuaded by a Franciscan Friar to turn Christian, than he should go to Heaven, Cacico asked whether there were any Spaniards in Heaven? yes said the Friar, 'tis full of them, Nay then said he, I had rather go to Hell then have their company.  
But how hath the Indian discovery prospered? or what profit hath it brought to Europe? It cannot be denied but we brought among them all slavery and cruelty, and I believe more vices and infirmities than we found, we brought them the small Pox, the gastliest disease that can befall a humane body, and in exchange they gave us the Venerean Pox; Touching the treasure that hath been transported thence, it hath fomented all the Wars of Europe ever since, upon this a French Poet descants wittily.  

Par Toy, superbe Espagne, & lo'r de tes doublons  
Toute la povure France insensez nous troublons,  
Et si de tes doublons qui causent tant de troubles  
Il ne nous reste rien a la fin que de doubles.   
Plutarch speaks of Attinius Asiaticus who brought Gold first into Peloponnesus, but it was found that it became an instrument of corruption, therefore Attinius was accounted a public enemy to his Country; the Indian Gold in Europe hath not been only the cause of corruption, but of the effusion of an Ocean of blood; Nor hath it much prospered with the Spaniard, for although such a Mass of treasure hath been transported from time to time, yet Spain hath the least of it, for the common coin there is copper and no country fuller of it; Moreover Spain may be said to furnish all the world, yea the great Turk, with treasure to fight against herself, and the rest of Christendom.  
This Indian treasure hath wrought another disadvantage to the Spanish King, for it hath puffed him up with a pride and an ambition that hath no horizon, it makes him flatter himself that he shall be at last Monarch of the Western world, which draws upon him not only the Emulation, but the hatred of all his Neighbours, who are ready ever and anon to confederate and bandy against him, for fear he should swallow them up one after another to satiat his ambition; It was a witty saying of King james, when he was only King of Scotland, when he received a caveat from his Godmother Queen Elizabeth of England, to take heed of the Spanish fleet, He answered, Se non aliud ab Hispano beneficium expectare quam quod Ulyssi Polyphemus promiserat, scilicit ut aliis devoratis postremus degluriretur, For his part he desired but one request of the Spaniard, such a one that Polyphemus had promised Ulysses, that when he had devoured others, he would swallow him last of all.  
Now as among those poor Pagan Indians, the cruelty of the Spaniard was so much discovered, so was it here in Europe among Christians, witness else the Tyranny of the Duke of Alva, who may be called the sponge of Belgian blood, for he bragged that he had dispatched to the other world above 18000. Belgians, either by Fire, Water, the Rack, or the Axe, his principles being, that a Rebel must be used like a mad dog, for whom there is no cure but to be knocked in the head, and we know mortui non mordent.  
Now touching the Gigantik power of the Catholic King, if it be well weighed in the balance of a knowing judgement, is not so great as we conceive it to be, the unsociable distance of his territories, the infinite sums he owes to the Genoese and others, the vigilance and Emulation, with the apprehensions they have of his still growing greatness; the Universal disaffection, and a kind of antipathy that all Nations have to the people themselves, is a great weakness to him one way, as his riches and power another way; For matter of Justice, who is the Queen of Virtues, I believe she reigns as little in Spain as among any people, unless it be among themselves, nor universally among themselves, but only the Castilians may have her with more ease, and less expenses than their Conterraneans and the rest of their Fellow-subjects; I will produce an example of an Arragonez who having a suit there long depending which put him to mighty expense and attendance, at last he came to the King himself, Philip the second, who, opening his business unto him, gave him this absolute Answer, there's nothing that you have proposed can be granted; Sir, answered the Aragones, I thank you, that you have refuted the lies of threescore Ministers of yours in so few words, who with much expense of time and treasure did put me still in hopes that my business was just, and it would take effect, but had I known it, I would have come to your Majesty at first, and then I had been wiser than I was, and a better Husband; Now for Forreners it is as easy to redeem a damned soul out of Hell as almost to recover any thing if they have got it once among their clutches: did not Philip the second break, and make himself an absolute bankrupt with many thousand besides, when he altered the intrinseque value of coins and hoist it higher, and found out some Puntillios to pay the Genoese their interest, which was cried up to be a high point of injustice: How many hundred suits have strangers had there, wherein the processall charges countervail oft times the value of the thing?  
Now for the power of the Spanish Monarchy, I must tell you that her Castillia her head is grown almost bald; Portugal which was no other than a waxen Nose to her is melted off; her Aragonian eyes have still some defluctions falling into them for their privileges; Navarr one of her Arms begins to have a Gangreen, which none but French Surgeons can cure; her golden bowels of Peru begin to be exulcerated, and so doth the Duodenum of Mexico: Her hips in Italy fear they have a symptom of the Sciatica, and her feet in Belgium are pitifully sick of the Gout, to cure which, she hath often applied Plasters made over with Elixir of Indian Gold, which hath cost her more than Belgium is worth ten times over, if it were to be sold in the Market.  
Now for true real innated and personal valour, how few Spaniards shall you find endued with it! It is a rare thing to hear of a Duel in an age there, though every Cobbler wear a Sword by his side; If they have received affronts by any, they use to show their courage, and draw their Swords one upon another in the Marketplace, where they are sure to be parted, and commonly the Minister of Justice takes away both their weapons for the time, and so makes them friends; The Spaniards have a saying of the French, that all primer impetu son mas que hombres, y despises menos que mugeres, The French at first is more than a man, and afterwards less than a woman; but the French have an ill-favoured saying of them, that the Spaniards in point of true active courage are bearded Women. 'Tis true in the conquest of the new world, they did exploits, but it was against men who had scarce any defensive Arms, they had neither Horse, Steel, Iron or Gunpowder, they had no coats of Males, they were poor naked inermous creatures, and so simple that they thought the horse and the man was but one animal, and a kind of Monster or Devil, therefore 10. Horsemen only were able to profligat, and make their party good against many thousand Indians, for they thought they had a conceit they were not borne after the ordinary course of humane nature, but rather of some infernal fiends, which bugbear opinion scared the ignorant American away more than the Spanish valour.  
Where was the Spanish manhood in Africa, when Sebastian was slain, and the Moor got so signal a victory? Where was it at Goleta near Tunis which was so shamefully lost? which important place, Sinan Bassa got, by the pride as much as the pusillanimity of the Spaniard, for Pedro Carera the Castellan thinking to have the glory of preserving that place himself with his Spaniards, would not admit of 500 Italians, who offered themselves for the service; so the Spaniards were thrust out of Africa in less than 30. days, and besides the Castle they took 500 piece of Ordnance in the place, which armed Algiers and Tunis ever since, and brought them to be such Pirates; And it was confidently reported that Captain Carrera during the furious siege and storming of the Castle was underground in a Vault all the while, so that when the news was brought to Rome, that Goleta was lost, and consequently the whole Kingdom of Tunis, there was a pasquil went up and down that Carrera's cowardice, the Duke Sesa's gout, Don john of Austria's Codpish, and Cardinal Granvills (than Viceroy of Naples) his Breeches had lost the Guleta. Yet your Thrasonical castilians will say that un Espannol vale quatro Tudescos, tres Franceses, y dos Italianos, That one Spaniard is worth four Germans, three Frenchmen▪ and two Italians.  
Now touching this vainglorious foolish humour of raunting, it is more peculiar to the Spaniard, then to any other people: witness this following Rodomontado of a castilian Captain, which goes far beyond that of Pirgopolinices in Plautus.  Quando yo pienso en mi mesmo demi terribilissima terrible terribilidad, de tall manera me espanto que no puedo caber en mi mesmo, pienso que 22. mill maestros de guarismo no podrian contar en tres annos has hazannas que ha' hecho esta espada Durindana, Castiga Vellacoes, pobladora de ciminteries; Viene megana de reyr todas y quantas vezes, que yo me acuerdo que el gran Turco estando all pique de perder su Imperio contra el Sophy, me embiava llamar, yo por no sir acustumbrad, the matar canalla can baxa l'embiava mi ritrato hecho por manos de quinientoes Pintores los quales todos murieron haziendo los 〈◊〉 d'este rostro Basilisco, y como el Gran Turco lo vio cayo enfiermo de una Calentura que le durava tres annos y mas, y embiandolo despues all campo luego que los ●…nemiguos lo miravan con la mayor presteza del mando alearon el cerco con perdida de quarenta mill y ochenta soldados los quales todos perecieron mirando este mi espantable rostro; Tengol●…s calcones llenos de barbas— When I descend into myself, and contemplate my most terrible horrible terribility, I can hardly hold myself within myself; I believe that all the public Notaries of Biscay are able in three years to cast up an account of those miraculous achievements which this Toledo blade, this Durindana, this scourge of Lutherans, this converter of Pagans, this peepler of Churchyards hath performed: I cannot choose but smile when I call to mind how the great Turk sending for me once, to preserve his Empire, which was ready to be swallowed up by the Sophy, I, scorning to bathe my hands in the blood of such infidels, sent him only my picture. But the gran Signior, as soon as he looked upon it, out of pure fear he fell into such a looseness, which lasted him divers Months, that it had like to have cost him his life, and sending it afterwards to the army, the enemies at sight thereof, ran away like so many hares, when they beheld the Basiliscan eyes of this Physiognomy of mine▪ These Breeches I wear, are stuffed with Captain's beards, and the Mustachos of French Generals, the pillow I lay my head upon, is filled with Amazonian hair, my Cushion is made of a Turban took off from the Sultan's head, my Coverlet is the skin of that Nemean Lion which Hercules killed, my Curtains are made up of colours and Ensigns taken in divers battles, when I march into the field I commonly carry two drums as pendants at my ears, I am lulled asleep by noise of trumpets, and brass kettles, and Perillus bull stretched along, serves me for a pillow. The month and day of my Nativity was Mars, who was then the predominant Planet and my Ascendant; I came into the world about break of day, Sol himself than suffered an Eclipse, Saturn stood astonished and dull, jove and Mercury hid themselves, and Cynthia took in her horns for fear, but Mars and Venus did cast benign influences being then in Conjunction, yet that morning it reigned blood, the streams of the greatest River turned red, Mongibel and strombola belched out more fire then ordinary, terrible Earthquakes happened in divers places, Aeolus blew very furious, which raised such impetuous storms, that made Neptune to tumble and swell very high; Near the place which I was nursed in, there was a den of Lions that I might be enured to their roaring, and one time my Mother caused a young cubb to be slain of purpose to feed me with the blood thereof; To conclude, I am that Invincible, transcendent great Captain Basilisco, Espheramonte, Generalissimo of all the Melitia of Europe, I am he who useth to swallow mountains, to breathe out whirlwinds, to spit Targets, and sweat Quicksilver— 
By this Rodomontado you may give a guess at the vanity, and extravagant humour of the Spaniard, who though he be not so big, yet he looks higher than any other Nation in his own conceit, which makes them have that vapouring saying of themselves in point of valour, that Tres espanoles son quatro diables en Francia, three Spaniards are four Devils in France.  
When Mendoza was Ambassador in France, he would break out often into this profane Ostentation, Dios es poderoso en el Cielo, y Don Felipe en Tierra, God's power is in Heaven, and King filips on earth, he can command both Sea and Land, with all the Elements to serve him. When the English Drake swom to Santo Domingo, and plundered the place, there was a Pyramid erected in the Marketplace, whereon was engraven this arrogant Motto,— Non sufficit Orbis, one world will not suffice Don Philip, yet that Philip, that invincible Philip, was overcome at last by a Regiment of poor contemptible things, for Herod-like, he went out of the world by the pediculary disease, which made no mean modern Poet to sing,  

— Rex Ille Philippus  
Tota populis Terrisque potens, lateque Tyrannus  
Occiditu â faedo rosus grege Vermieulorum,  
Carnificesque suos miserando corpore pavit  
Vivens, atque Videns, & propria funera planxit.   
Some imputed this foul ghastly kind of death to his lasciviousness and lust; some gave out it was a judgement upon him for doing away his Son Don Carlos; others gave out that he suffered for Alva's Tyranny in Flanders; some gave out it was for bereaving Portugal of her right Heir; But most affirmed it was a visible judgement from Heaven, because the blood of so many hundred thousands of poor American souls did cry for vengeance, who for their Gold and Silver were made away, and extinguished by so many kinds of deaths, according to the Italian proverb, La coda condanna spesso la volpe alla morte per esser troppo lunga. The Fox's tail condemns him to death, because it is too long. How far further could I enlarge myself on this subject? but I will grate the ears of so princely an auditory no longer, therefore I will conclude with a character which a most ingenuous Poet gives of one part of Spain, when he sailed thence to France.  

jejuna misera tesqua Lusitaniae  
Gebaeque tantùm fertiles penuriae,  
Valeta longùm, At tu beata Gallia  
Salve bonarum blanda nutrix Artium,  
Caelo Salubri fertili frugum solo,  
Umbrosa colles pampini molli comâ,  
Pecorosa saltus, rigna Valles fontibus,  
Prati virentis picta campos floribus  
Velifera longis Amnium decursibus  
Piscosa stagni, rivulis, lacubus, mari,  
Et hinc & illinc portoso littore  
Orb receptans hospitem, atque Orbi tuas  
Opens vicissim non avara impertiens,  
Amaena Villis, tuta muris, turribus;  
Superba, testis lauta, culta, splendida,  
Victu modesta, moribus non aspera.  
Sermone comis, patria gentium Omnium  
Communis, animis fida, pace florida,  
jucunda, facilis, Marte terrifico minax,  
Invicta, rebus non secundis Insolens,  
Nec sorte dubia fracta, cultrix numinis  
Syncera, ritum in exterum non degener,  
Nescit calores laenis aestas torridos  
Frangit rigores bruma flammis asperos,  
Non pestilentis pallet Austri spiritu  
Autumnus aequis temperatus flatibus.  
Non ver solutis amnium repagulis  
Inundat agros, & labores elicit,  
Ni Patrio te Amore diligam, & colam  
Dum vivo, rursus non recuso visere.  
jejuna miserae tesqua Lusitaniae  
Glebaeque tantùm fertiles penuriae  
Valete longùm—   
Thus the Scottish Poet descants upon France, making Portugal a foil to her, and so he might have made his own Country as well.  
And now, most Highborn Princes, I hope there is not any of this Auditory that will wrong his judgement so far as to think that Spain for any respects should carry away the Palm, and claim precedency of the rest of the Provinces of Europe.  
DIXI.   

THE REPLY OF Prince GEORGE, Baron of Studenberg, etc. in behalf of SPAIN.  
Most Illustrious Auditors,—  
THis Oration of the excellent Baron of Limburg, though flowing with powerful eloquence, hath not, under favour, wrought so much in me, as that gallant Encomium of yours, Prince Magnus, in the behalf of Spain, therefore I concur still with you in opinion that she may deserve the primacy, and if the comparison that Strabo makes be admitted, that Europe is like an Eagle whose head is Spain, the neck France, Germany the back and breast, Italy and England the two Arms, the thighs and legs those huge tracts of Earth Northward, I say if this Simile be allowed, there is no question but Spain may challenge the priority and head-ship. But my noble Cofen of Limburg, I much wonder what came into your mind, to throw so much dirt into the face of Spain and her children; If you were now in the Escurial, and made such a speech before Philip the fourth, I believe we should hear no more of you, but you should be buried alive in the Inquisition all your life time.  
But is Spain so hungry as you say, that she must eat grass? Is she so weak that she needs Crutches? Is she so abandoned to Vice, that she hath quite shaken off all Virtue, and a good Conscience? Surely no; Touching the first, she may be called the Exchequer of all Christendom for Money, and I pray what can he want who hath Money? unless he make such a foolish wish as Midas did, that whatsoever he touched might turn to gold, for so he might starve medias inter opes inops. There is a proverb in Spain, that Don sin dinero, no es Don si no Donayre, A man without money, is no man but a babble, but a man with money commands the world, according to those witty verses of Petronius Arbiter,  

Quisquis habet nummos, securâ naviget Aurâ,  
Fortunamque suo temperet arbitrio;  
Uxorem ducat Danaen, ipsumque licebit  
Arisium jubeat credere quod Danaen,  
Carmina componat, declamet, concremet omnes  
Et peragat causas, sitque Catone prior.  
jurisconsultus paret, non paret, habeto,  
Atque esto quicquid Servius & Labeo.  
Multa loquor, quidvis nummis praesentibus opta  
Et Veniet; Clausum possidet Arca jovem.   
I confess it may be the Catholic King may be plunged in a gulf of debt, having always his Sword drawn, and being in perpetual hostility with the common enemy of Christendom (to his great glory) as also in actual War with some of the Princes of Europe, who if they would let him be quiet, he might quickly subdue all Mauritania the opposite shore to Spain, yet for all there is never any the least appearance of want in the Catholic Court, nor the least show that Spain is in war or want, but all things flourish as if he did not owe penny, or as if he were in peace with all the world. It makes me think upon Glareanus a great learned man but much in debt, who being asked by a friend of his how he lived? He answered, I lead the life of Kings and Princes, for I drink, I eet, and indulge my genius, I game and have money always in my purse, yet I am in arrears to all; so it may be said of the King of Spain; But it is brave security the Spanish King gives to his Creditors, no less than assignments upon his occidental Fleet, which weigh all circumstances well, is one of the greatest glories that ever Monarch had. Fortune herself may be called the King of Spain's wife, who hath brought with her such a bottomless treasure for her dowry; His closet is that punctum so often wished by Archimedes, whence he moves the whole Globe of the Earth; He hath more Kingdoms than the French King hath Provinces, more Fleets than the French hath Ships, more Nations than the French hath Cities, more Viceroys than he hath Marshals, and more Captains by Land and Sea than he hath Common-Soldiers. It is day, It is Spring perpetually with him in one part or other of his dominions. Strabo writes of one who had such a strong and piercing perspicuity of sight, that he could discern an object 135. miles off, for from Lilybaeum a promontory in Sicily he could discern and dinumerat the Ships that went out of Carthage road; But the Catholic King hath stronger Optics, for from his Council Chamber he can see what is a doing in the Seralio at Constantinople▪ in the Lovure in France, at Whitehall in England, at Vienna in Austria, in the Consistory at Rome; his sight is so sharp that he can penetrate the very Cabinet-Chambers of Kings far and near, and pry into their intrinsecallst and secretest Counsels. All other Princes and States stand to him in the light, and he in the dark to them.  
But whereas you say that the Spaniard is irreconcilable unto the Reformed Religion, let me tell you although the Theologues there do sometimes inveigh against Luther, and Calvin, alleging that the God of the Calvinists is the Author of sin, Deum Calvinistarum esse Authorem peccati, as may be inferred out of john Calvin's own words, yet you must not count the Spaniard an Antichrist for this; Nor although he will rant it out sometimes, that he will go armed to Paradis, and rap out other Rodomontadoes; 'Tis true, the Spanish Soldiers, are great Libertines, but not Atheists; nay some of them have good Consciences and capable of Repentance; As there is a true and memorable story of a Spanish Captain who would have ravished a Lawyer's daughter in Flanders, 1578. who was of an alluring beauty, but struggling with her she took his own dagger and mortally wounded him to preserve her pudicity; The Spaniard thus wounded was taken away, and he sending for a Surgeon, 'twas told him he could not escape death many hours, thereupon he called for his ghostly father; to whom having confessed and showed great Evidences of repentance he was absolved from the attempt, but this is not sufficient said he, the party whom I would have wronged must pardon me: hereupon the young Virgin came, to whom he said in rathfull terms, I am here upon my death's bed, therefore I desire you would pardon my rash attempt, and for your pardon and the expiation of the offence, I bequeath unto you all my Estate, provided that you will give me rites of burial, and assume hereafter the name of my wife. The young maid melting into tears, did do all the Testator desired accordingly.  
But my noble Cousin George Frederique, I find 'twas not enough for you to bespatter the Spaniard, and tax him of pride, profanes and many other Vices, but you bereave him of the glory for discovering the new World, and of the right of that Discovery; Seneca the Spanish Tragedian was as much Prophet as Poet, he was a true Vates when he sung,  

— Venient annis  
Saecula seris, quibus Oceanus  
Vincula Rerum laxet, & ingens  
Pateat Tellus; Typhisque novos  
Detegat Orbs, nec sit terris  
Ultima Thule.   
Late years shall bring an Age wherein the Ocean shall slacken the ligaments of nature, a mighty tract of Earth shall appear, and Neptune shall discover new Worlds, so that Thule or Island will not be the furthest part of the Earth. Now, his Countrymen made Scneca a true Prophet herein, to whom that mighty blessing of discovery and dominion was reserved; In so much that both the Prophet of this new tract of Earth, and the propagators thereof were Spaniards.  
So most humbly thanking this noble Auditory for this privilege of reply, I desire you most noble Cousin and illustrious Baron of Limburg, to have a more charitable and just opinion of Spain.  
DIXI.   

THE ORATION OF THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD EUBESWALD, etc. FOR GREAT BRITAIN.  
Most Honourable and Heroic Princes,  
IF any one of this Illustrious convention would set forth the glory of some great City, which flowed with plenty of all things that were requisite, either for necessity or pleasure▪ exceeding therein the very wishes of the Inhabitants, a City which had also impregnable fortifications, and strength both by art and nature, with arms of all kinds, such propugnacles, such advantages by land and water both to defend herself, and destroy the enemy; Who had a grave way of administration of Justice, whose Inhabitants did flourish with all sorts of manufactures, with all kind of virtue, invention, and elegance, and shining with all kind of pulchritude, I believe there is not any of this Princely Assembly but would passionately desire to see that rare renowned City; But, most excellent Precedent, I have taken in hand to describe unto you not such a narrow thing as one City, or one Country either, but a little world of itself, wherein many Kingdoms are conjoind in one, and under one Monarch, which little world doth swell with affluence of all things desirable; those blessings which are found single in other parts of Europe are found conjunctly here; yet this is no other portion of the earth than an Island, but such an Island that before I have done with you, you will acknowledge that this Island may stand in competition for pre-eminence with any of those noble Regions that you have displayed hitherto in most learned and eloquent Orations; And this is Great Britain, the Queen of Isles, the minion of Neptun, the darling of Ceres, Incomparable Britain; for so the Greek Poet will tell you;  

— 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,   

No Isle did ever dare  
With Britain yet compare.   
Which I'll being disjoined from many other potent Neighbours, and rich Countries, but by a small distance, lies very commodious to receive into her bosom by way of Navigation and Negotiation the wealth of all the world, and to make others happy with Hers; she lies very apposite to comfort, and relieve those that come near her coasts, if they be in any danger by distress of weather, or want of any thing that is needful for vessel or men.  
The air is there so temperate that a well disposed body may pass there without either stoves in Winter, or shades in Summer; There be gentle breezes that blow from the circumjacent Sea, which refresh all kind of animals both brute, and rational, the clouds there drop fatness, dissolving into silver wholesome showers to soften and fertilise her glebes; she useth to have in December and january frost enough to knit the joints of the earth, and so corroborat them; in February she hath snow enough to fill her dikes, and like a coverlet to keep her ploughed fields warm. And whereas the seas of Spain and Italy are barren of fish, Hers have them by whole shoals, and in such variety that it is incredible. Her Forests and woods have no birds or beasts of rapine, and noxious animals, but harmless (though wild) creatures, as the Stagg, the Hind, and the Hart, which serve for pleasure and hospitality. The bowels of her soil, and hills are pregnant with minerals, or fuel; The Sun which scorcheth Spain and Naples, doth gently warm Britain with his rays; The air is nothing so thick and dull as in other climes, but attenuated and cleared with refreshing and gentle blasts ever and anon; nor is her earth subject to agues, to quaking and trepidation as other places are, but always firm and sure. For store and superfluity of corn, in the Romans time she was called the barn and granary of the western part of the Empire, in so much that Zosimus reports, that they used to lad eight hundred vessels with British corn for many years to supply their army upon the frontiers of Germany. These ensueing verses of a Foreigner do hint a little upon the happiness of this Country.  

Anglia Terra ferax, tibi pax secura quietem,  
Multiplicem luxum merx opulenta dedit.  
Tu nimio nec stricta gelu, nec sydere fervens,  
Clementi coelo, temperieque places.  
cum pareret natura parens, variasque favore  
Divideret dotes omnibus una locis,  
Seposuit potioratibi, matremque professa,  
Insulasis foelix, plenaque pacis, ait.  
Quicquid amat luxus, quicquid desiderat usus,  
Ex te provemet, vel aliunde tibi.   
Eumenius in the famous panegyrics he made to Constantin melts thus into her praises. O fortunata & omnibus beatior terris Britannia, quae Constantinum Caesarem prima vidisti; Merito te omnibus coeli ac soli dotibus natura donavit, in qua nec hyemis est nimius rigour, nec aestatis ardour, in qua segetum tanta faecunditas ut muneribus utriusque sufficiat & Cereris & Liberi; In qua nemora sine immanibus bestijs, terra sine serpentibus noxijs; contrà pecorum mitium innumerabilis multitudo lacte distenta, & onusta velleribus, certè quidem quod propter vitam diligitur, longissimae dies, & nullae sine aliqua luce noctes, dum illa littorum extrema planities non attollit umbras, noctisque metam coeli & syderum transit aspectus, ut sol ipse qui nobis videtur occidere, ibi appareat solummodò praeterire. O most fortunate Britain, (saith Eumenius) more blessed than any other Country, which didst first see Constantin! Nature hath deservedly endowed thee with all gifts both of heaven and earth. In thee neither the excessive cold of winter, or ardent heat of summer doth offend the inhabitant: thou swellest with such a faecundity of all kind of corn, that thou mayst be called the Favourite of Ceres and Bacchus; Thy groves are without savage rapacious beasts, and thy heaths without poisonous serpents, thy fields are covered with innumerable multitudes of mild creatures labouring with exuberance of milk, and laden with rich fleeces; For delightfullnesse or life, thy days are very long, and no night but hath some glimpses of light. The glorious Sun which sets and goes down in other Countries, seems only but to pass by the Coasts. That salt ditch which girds Britain about, renders her invincible; I mean the circumambient sea, which opens and shuts, and embosoms himself into her at divers commodious creeks. This Sea is so high and turgid oftentimes, that some Authors record it riseth 80. Fathoms at a springtide in divers places. He sometimes salutes and covers the inviting soil, than he departs, but to come again. He doth cast up sometimes and leaves upon the shore huge fishes, of strange shapes, as the Lyric sings.  

— belluosus qui remoris  
Obstrepit Oceanus Britannis.   
Rejoice therefore O Britain, and triumph, that Dame Nature hath cast such a mote about thee, which no Engine of Man can choke, no reach of wit or labour can dry up. Let the Flemish secure Ostend with new dikes, Anwerp with a strong Citadel, let Milan glory for her inexpugnable Castle, let the Venetians brag of their Palma, The Hungarians of javarin and Comorra, The Turks theirs of Goleta, Savoy hers of Monmelian, The French theirs of Baion, where none must enter but the King himself, or the blood Royal; Let the Spaniard brag of his Havana, the Pole of Smolenksco, The Austrian of Vienna, The Bavarian of Ingolstad, The Dane of Croneburg, Let Brandeburg brag of Castreni, Silesia of Breslaw, the Franconians of Norimberg, the Swed of Stockholm, and let other Kings and Country's glory never so much of their strong holds, Motes and Fortifications; but to compare them to that Dike which is cast about great Britain, were to compare a pearl, or small rivulet of water to the Archipelago, or a small tuft of Earth to Mount Adrian.  
Nor doth this huge Mote give security alone to the Inhabitants, but it brings them many other inestimable benefits; it animates by virtue of the salt-waters the heat of the contiguous Earth, it nourisheth the air with pregnant vapours, to make wholesome showers for the irrigation and refreshment of the Earth; it takes in and lets out many brave Rivers for navigation, which are replenished with all store of Fish. Among other kind, the benefit that is made of Herrings is beyond belief, which swim in huge shoals like Mountains about the Island. Towards the Summer Solstice, they seek the Coasts of Scotland, then towards Autumn they retire to the English, and it is incredible what huge quantities are taken 'twixt Scarborough and the Thames mouth from the month of August to September: then they move more Southward to the British Sea, and find matter for fishing till Christmas; then having as it were fetched a compass about Britain, they seek the Western Sea, and the Irish Coast, where they keep till june, and then set forward for Britain again, when they are grown fat, and numerous by multiplication.  
Thus Brittany, like a Microcosm of herself, is seated in the midst of a turbulent and working Sea; yet she within is still quiet, serene and safe. And now I will take a survey of this Noble Island, as one would do of some stately Castle: and to do that exactly, one must not only view the Trenches and outworks which are about, but pry into the recesses and rooms within, and observe what fashion of men they are that keep it; therefore I will make a progress into the Centre and bowels of Britain. Touching the people who inhabit Her, they are the wellfavourdest, and best complexioned people of any upon the surface of the Earth: they have excellent Intellectuals, sucking Capacities, and spacious Understandings; they add unto, and perfect any invention that is brought them. And truly, we Germans should be very ingrateful, unless we should acknowledge to have received great benefit by them: for in point of Religion and literature they have been Doctors and Parents unto us. They brought Christ and the Standard of the Cross first amongst us, they dispelled the black clouds of Faganism and ignorance from amongst us, and let in the sweet rays of piety and knowledge to enlighten us. This, unless we brand ourselves with the ugly mark of ingratitude, we must ingeniously confess.  
Now, it is observed that the Britan's were always by a special instinct very much addicted to Religion; And as in the Discipline of the Druids, whose founders they are held to be, they antecelled all others, (for Caesar records that the Gauls went over to be instructed by the British Druids) so when the name of Christ was known among them, with flagrant desires, and fervent affections they embraced that belief with a wonderful ready devotion; and as the glorious Sun when he culminates and appears in the East, doth as it were in a moment illustrate the whole Hemisphere; so the beams of Christianity displayed themselves with marvellous celerity all the Hand over. But this had very good helps to advance this work, for in the infancy of the Church, as Baronius doth assert, joseph of Arimathea a Noble Decurion arrived there, and Claudia Rufina, Wife to Aulus Pudens the Roman; of whom the Poet Martial, nay Saint Paul himself makes honourable mention. Simon Zelotes having made a hot progress through Barbary, died in Britain. Nay, some say that Saint Paul being freed from Nero's shackles, increased the propagation of grace there.  
Hereupon the Britain's having had the advantage of such great lights, applied themselves to erect Oratories and Churches for the public exercise of devotion; wherein they grew so zealous, that Lucius a British King left his Crown, with all earthly pomp, and made a spontaneous pilgrimage to Rome in the time of Eleutherius, the year 150. after the Incarnation, and spent the rest of his life in holy Meditations, and practices of piety. Now, what a glory it is for Britain to have had the first Christian King that ever was; Nay, the first Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great. And to speak truth, no Region produced more constant professors of Christianity then Britain did, and more fincere Propagators thereof, which will appear if we look into the Catologe of Saints, Martyrs, and Confessors. In so much that in lieu of that malicious character which Porphyry gives of her (who hated her for being such a zealous Christian) by calling her feracem tyrannorum provinciam, a Country fruitful for Tyrants; she may more deservedly be called Regio sanctorum faecundissima, a Region most abounding with Saints. Nor were the Britan's such Zelots only at home, but they crossed the Seas to disperse the beams of Christian Knowledge abroad; and their pains proved very successful herein. Germany was beholden to Winfridus, and Willebrod that she was converted. France was beholden to Alcuin for establishing the Academy of Paris, though Paschasius, a cavilling Author, denies it. Touching us Germane, among other testimonies of gratitude to Britain, let this of an excellent Almain Poet serve for one.  

Haec tamen Arctois laus est eterna Britannis,  
Quod post Pannonicis vastatum incursibus Orbem  
Illa bonas Artes, & Graiae munera linguae,  
Stellarumque vias, & magni sidera caeli  
Observans, iterum turbatis intulit oris,  
Quin se Relligio multùm debere Britannis  
Servata, & latè circum dispersa fatetur.  
Quis nomen Winfride tuum, quis munera nes●…cit?  
Te Duce Germanis pietas se vera, Fidesque  
Infinuans, caepit ritus abolere prophanos.  
Quid non Alcuino facunda Lutetia debet!  
Instaurare bonas ibi qui faeliciter Artes,  
Barbariemque procul solus dispellere caepit.   
To these British Champions of Christianity we may add Bede, who hath the Epithet (by the consent of the universal Christian Church) of Venerable given him. I will bring upon the stage next Io. Dunscotus, who was so supereminent in Divinity, and the spiny art of Logic, that he was called by the whole commonwealth of learning Subtilis Doctor, and he was a man of such large esteem, that he founded a sect who are called Scotistae to this day: he also was called lima veritatis, the file of truth: He was so great a man, that as many Cities contended for the Nativity of Homer, so did many Kingdoms strive for him, Ireland, Scotland, England, and France; yet, what a strange destiny befell this famous Doctor? for being surprised by an apoplexy, and given for dead, he was buried alive, for it was found that he breathed his last in the Grave. After him I may instance in john Wicklif, a great Artist and Theolog; next to him I rank William Ockam, patrem Nominalium, who establishd a sect called the Nominals, but both these were strong enemies to Rome, as appeers yet by their penns; There was another great Doctor called Doctor Resolutus by the Italians for his acute way of disputation, and he was Io: Baconthorp, one of the deepest clerks of his time. What a rare man and of heavenly speculations was Io: de sacro bosco, the Author of the sphere, which remains yet engraven upon his tomb in Paris? some ages after these, the world of learned men did much esteem Reginald Poole, john Colet, William Lillie, Linacre, Pace, Cardinal Fisher Bishop of Rochester, Sir Thomas More, Latimer, tindal, Baleus, Tunstall, men inferior to none, as well for sanctimony of life, as for rare erudition and knowledge; Toby Matthew Archbishop of York, another Chrysostom, Thomas Stapleton, Nic. Wotton, jewel, Cheek, Humphreys, Grindall, Whitgift, Plowden, Ascham, Cook, Smyth, Whitaker, Perkins, Mountagu, those great speculative Lords Baeon and Herbert, Andrews, Usher that rare Primate, Selden, who knows as much as both the Scaligers, Camden the English Strabo, Owen another Marshal, with divers excellent Dramatic Poets, and it is a great wrong to the Commonwealth of learning that their works are not made intelligible in a larger tongue than that Insulary Dialect; Add hereunto, that for Physicians and Lawyers, both Civil and Common there are as profound spirits there as any on earth.  
And as for learning, so for prowess and magnanimity the Inhabitants of Great Britain have been and are still very celebrous; And though there hath been always an innated kind of enmity 'twixt the French and the English, yet they have extorted praises out of their enemy's mouths: witness Comines, Froissard, and Bodin, who write so much in honour of the English; Nor do they herein compliment or flatter a whit. What a bold Britain was Brennus (who lived long before the English took footing there) what notable feats did he perform in Italy, Greece, and Asia? so that the old Britain's, or Welsh in honour of that Hero call a King after his name to this day viz. Brennin, and there is a Castle in Wales of his name to this day. How manfully did the ancient Britain's tug with the Romans, who received fowler defeats there then in any other Region? which one of their Poets seems to confess, when he saith,  — Invictos Romano Marte Britannos. 
The Silureses who are a people but of a few small shires in Wales, viz. Monmouth, Brecknock and others, being animated by the courage of their King Cataracus, and provoked by the menaces of the Emperor Claudius, who threatened to extinguish the very names of them, met his army in open field, and cutting off an auxiliary Regiment which was going to recreut the Emperor under Marius Valens, they utterly routed him: In so much that Ostorius the propraetor of Britanny for the Romans resenting this dishonour died out of a sense of grief. Charles the Great had to do with them in three battles, wherein there was such a slaughter of his men, that he cried, Si vel semel tantùm cum illis adhuc depugnandum foret, ne unum quidem militem sibi superfuturum, If he were to encounter the Britain's but once more, he should not have a soldier left him: a saying proceeding from such a man as Charlemagne, that tends much to the reputation of the Britain's. But the Gauls are they whom the Britain's galld, having in so many victories left their arrows in their thighs, in their breasts, and some sticking in their hearts; which makes Bodin complain, Gallos' ab Anglis in ipsa Gallia clades accepisse, ac pene Imperium amisisse— That the French received many overthrows in France herself by the English, and had almost lost their Kingdom, whereupon the Poet sings wittily,  

Anglorum semper virtutem Gallia sensit,  
Ad Galli cantum non fugit iste Leo.   
For how often have the French Kings with their Nobles been routed, defeated and discomfited by the English Gray-goose-wing? how often hath it pierced the very centre of the Kingdom? what notable rich returns have the English made from France? And what pitiful looks must France have, when Edward the fourth got such a glorious victory at Cressy, where above thirty thousand perished, among whom the King of Bohemia was found among the dead bodies, ten Princes, eighty Barons, twelve hundred Gentlemen, and the flower of the French fell that day, and King Philip of Valois did hardly escape himself to a small town, which being asked at the gate who he was, qui va la? answered, lafoy Fortune de France, the Fortune of France. This made France wear black a long time. But in another battle she had as ill luck, wherein her King john, and David King of Scots where taken prisoners, and attended the prince of Wales to England: yet such was the modesty of that prince, though conqueror, that he waited upon King john bareheaded at table; this was such a passage as happened in King Edgar's reign, who had four Kings to row him upon the river Dee hard by Westchester, viz. Kennad Kind of the Scots, Malcolm King of Cumberland; Maconus King of Man, and another Welsh King. The English reduced France to such a poverty at that time, that she was forced to coin leather money. In divers other battles in the reigns of Charles the fifth, sixth, and seventh, and Lewis the elevenths' time, the English did often foil the French, until the war pour le bien public begun by the Duke of Burgundy. Such a large livery and seifin the English had taken in France, that for three hundred and fifty years they were masters of Aquitain and Normandy; Nay Henry the sixth of England was crowned King of France in Paris. And so formidable were the English, in France, that the Duke of Brittany, when he was to encounter the French army in the field, thought it a policy to clothe a whole Regiment of his soldiers after the English mode, to make them more terrible to the French.  
What shall I say of that notable Virago Queen Elizabeth, who did such exploits again Spain, by taking the united provinces of the Low Countries under her protection? How did she ply the Spaniard, and bait him by Sea and Land, how did she in a manner make him a Bankrupt, by making him lose his credit in all the banks of Europe! And all that while Spain could do England no harm at all; touching the strength of which Kingdom you may please to hear what a judicious Italian speaks of it, Il Regno d'Ingliterra non há bisogno d'altri per la propria difesa, anzi non solo é difficile, mà si può dir impossible se non é divisione nel Regno che per via de force possa esser conquistato. The Kingdom of England stands in no need of any other for her own defence; so that it is not only difficult, but a thing impossible, unless there be some intestine division, to make a conquest of that Country. Philip offered very fairly for her in the year eighty eight, when he thought to have swallowed her with his Invincible Fleet, which was a preparing three years: she consisted of above 150. sail, 8000. Mariners, 20000. foot, besides volunteers, she carried 1600. Canons of brass, 1000 of iron, and a hundred and twenty thousand granadoes of all sorts. The Fleet stood the King in every day thirty thousand Ducats; insomuch that Bernardin Mendoza, the Spanish Ambassador in France, being in a private conference one day with King Henry the fourth, assured him, that viis & modis, that Fleet had stood his Master in above ten Millions first and last, from the time that she set sail from Lisbon. This Fleet looked like a huge Forest at Sea as she made her way. Good Lord how notably did that Masculine Queen bestir herself, in viewing her Armies, in visiting her Men of War, and Ships Royal, in having her Castles and Ports well fortified, in riding about, and in the head of the Army herself, in discharging the Office of a true Pallas, wearing a Hat and Feather in lieu of a Helmet. Henry the fourth of France sent her seasonable notice hereof, so that most of the Roman Catholics up and down were commanded to retire to the I'll of Ely, a fenney place; and others were secured in Bishop's houses till this horrid cloud which did threaten the destruction of England should be overblown. But this prodigious Fleet being come to the British seas, how did the little English vessels pelt those huge Gigantic galleons of Spain? whereof those few which were left (for all the rest perished) were forced to fetch a compass almost as far as Norway in 62. degrees, and so got to Spain to bring the sad tidings what became of the rest.  
There were Triumphs for this not only in England, but all the United Provinces over, where a Medal was coined bearing this Inscription on the one side, Classis Hispanica, The Spanish Fleet; on the other side, Venit, ●…vit, fuit, She came, she went, she was: But had the Duke of Parma come out of Flanders with his Land Army, than it might have proved a black day to England; and herein Holland did a piece of Knight-service to England, for she kept him from coming forth with a squadron of Men of War. How gallantly did the English take Cales, the Key of Spain, and brought home such rich plunder? How did they infest the Indies, and what a mass of Treasure did Drake (that English Dragon) bring home thence? he made his Sails of Silk, and his Anchors of Silver.  
Most noble Princes, you have heard something, though not the tithe that might be said of the early Piety and Devotion, of the exquisite Knowledge, and Learning, of the Manhood and Prowess of Great Britain; but these praises that I give her is but a bucket of water cast into her Seas. Now touching both King and people, it is observed that there is such a reciprocation of love betwixt them, that it is wonderful; the one sways, the other submits, obeys, and contributes to the necessities and preservation of the honour and majesty of the King, for which he receives protection and security.  
Touching the Regal Authority, and absolute Power and Prerogatives of the Kings of Great Britain, it is as high and supreme as any Monarches upon Earth: They acknowledge no Superior but God himself, they are not feudetary or homageable to any, they admit no foreign jurisdiction within the bounds of their Kingdoms, and herein they have the advantage of the Kings of France and Spain, yea of the Emperor himself, who is in a kind of vassalage to the Pope, and may be said to divide authority with him in their own Dominions. No, they have long time shaken off that servitude, and manumitted the Crown from those immense sums which were erogated and ported from England to pay for First fruits, for Indulgences, for Appeals, Palls, and Dispensations, and such merchandises of Rome. How many hundred of years did England pay Tribute, though it went under the name of Peter-pences, to Rome, think you? no less than near upon a thousand, from the reign of King Inas the Saxon to Henry the eighth.  
From the Power of the Kings of Great Britain, let us go to their Justice, let us descend from the Throne to the Tribunal. Now, such is the Divinity of the Kings of Great Britain, that they cannot do any Injustice; it is a Canon of their Common Law that the King can do no wrong; if any be done, it is the King's Minister, the Judge, Magistrate, or Officer doth do it, and so is punishable accordingly: such a high regard the English have of the honour of their King; and such a special care the Kings of England have used to take for punishing of Injustice and corruption; such a care as King Edgar had to free the Island from Wolves (and corrupt Officers are no better than Wolves) which he did by a Tribute that he imposed upon a Welsh Prince for his ranson, which was, to bring him in three hundred skins of Wolves every year: this produced ●…o good effects, that the whole race of Wolves was extirpated in a short time, so that it is as rare a thing to see a Wolf now in England, as a Horse in Venice.  
Touching the care that the Kings of England used to have to enrich their subjects, hath been used to be very great, and to improve the common stock: Edward the third (that Gallorum malleus, the hammer of the French, he quelled them so) was the first who introduced the art of making of Cloth into England, whereby the Exchequer, with the public and private wealth of the Kingdom did receive a mighty increment; for Wool is the Golden Fleece of England, and the prime Staple-commodity, which is the cause, that by an old custom, the Judges, Masters of the Rolls, and Secretaries of State in Parliament time do use to sit upon Woolsacks in the House, that commodum lanarum & ovium non negligendum esse, Parliamentum moneatur, that they put the Parliament in mind that the commodity of Wool and Sheep be not neglected. The Swede, the Dane, the Pole, the Germane, the Ruff, the Turk, and indeed all Nations do highly esteem the English cloth. The time was that Antwerp herself did buy and vend two hundred thousand English clothes yearly, as Camden hath it. And great and ancient are the privileges that the English have in Belgium; for since the year 1338, which is above three hundred years ago, when Lewis Malan Earl of Flanders gave them very ample immunities in the Town of Bruges, since which time it is incredible how all kind of commerce and merchantile affair did flourish among the Flemins, for which they were first obliged to the English; for the English Wool hath been a Golden Fleece also to the Flemins, as well as the English themselves, because it was one of the principal causes of enlarging their Trade, whereunto the Duke of Burgundy related, when he established the order of the Golden Fleece Guicciardin makes a computation, that the Traffic and Intercourse betwixt England and Flanders amounted to twelve millions yearly, where of five was for woollen manufactures.  
What an Heroic incomparable Princess was Queen Elizabeth, who wore the English Crown, and swayed the Sceptre as politicly, prudently, and stoutly as any of those Kings which wore swords before her, or after her; she reigned four and forty years in a marvellous course of prosperity, and all the world, yea her enemies did confess that there was never such a Virgin and a Virago upon earth. Her subjects loved her as their most indulgent Mother, her foes feared her as a just Revengresse; her Neighbour Princes and States did attribute their safety to her, and all Europe, yea the great Turk, and the Emperor of Russia (to whom she first opened the way of commerce) did behold her, though a far off, with the eyes of admiration. They esteemed her as a great Heroina, and the Arbitress of Christendom; for she might as well as her Father have taken that Motto, cui adhaereo, praeest; He, whom I sti●…k to, prevails. Nay, she did more truly verify that saying of her Father's, Galliam & Hispaniam esse quasi lances in Europae libra, & Angliam esse lingulam, sive libripendem; That France and Spain were like the Beams of the great balance of Christendom, and England was the handle of that balance.  
Touching the observance and fidelity which the English used to bear towards their Sovereign Prince, it hath been used to be rare and exemplary. They reverence him in his absence, as well as when he is present; for whersoever the Chair of State stands, all go uncovered, they honour his very shadow, they serve him upon the knee. The Preacher makes three profound reverences in the Pulpit before he begins his Sermon. They pray for him five times in the public Liturgy, and for his Queen, the Heir apparent, by name, with the rest of his children; which I believe is not done so often to any Christian Prince. Their fidelity, and affectionate Allegiance is also very remarkable, and may serve for a pattern to all subjects; when the Spaniard by internunciall negotiation and secret practices did treat with the Duke of Norfolk, and the Earl of Ormond, that the one in England, the other in Ireland, should rise against Queen Elizabeth; the people were so eager in the cause, especially on the Sea side, that it is wonderful how they flocked to all the Ports voluntarily of themselves, to prevent an Invasion, insomuch that there came a command to restrain such confluences of people, and that every one should retire home to his dwelling and business till there were occasion.  
When Prince Charles returned from Spain in safety, what exultations of joy was in every corner of the Kingdom, specially in the great City of London, what huge Bonfires, some of big massy timber, were up and down streets, which made them as lightsome in the night as if it had been noon; insomuch, as one said, the flames of the fires might be seen as far as Spain; what barrels of Beer, Ale, and Wine were brought out to drink carouses to his health?  
But most Illustrious Princes, in regard this Island is so delicate a piece of Earth, I'll take her into parcels, and present her to your view. I will begin with the Southernst part, with Cornwall, a Province which abounds with diversity of necessary commodities, whereof Spain hath every year a good share, being the nearest part of the Island towards Her; here besides Gold and Silver, and Marble, there is great store of Tin digged out, which is so pure and white, that it may pass for Silver when it is hammered into Vessels. This commodity is transported and dispersed into all parts of the World, & rich returns made of it. Then they have a savoury Fish called Pilchards, which Spaniards call Sardinas, which is found in incredible quantities in the Sea near that Coast; whereof there be huge Cargasars' carried to Spain, and Italy every year, and for barter they will give you Silk, Wine, Oil, Cotton, and the best Commodities they have. About November this Fish is taken, and they shape the course of their Voyages so, that they may be in Spain & Italy a little before Lent, which is the convenientest for their Market, because in those Catholic Countries, that season is observed so strictly. There is in this Province of Cornwall a wonderful thing, and it is a great famous Stone called Mainamber, a little distant from a small Market Town called Pensans. That stone though it be as big as a little Rock, and that a multitude of men cannot carry it away, yet you may stir and move it sensibly with your little finger. Prince Arthur, one of the 9 Worthies, was born there, who is so much celebrated through the World, and by such a number of Authors, among other things, for his round Table which was made of stone, about which a selected number of Chivalrous Knights were used to sit with him, and they had special Orders and Laws made among themselves, which they were bound to observe punctually. Good Lord, what a Hero was this Arthur, being an old Britain born! he overcame the Saxons in twelve several battles. In so much that an ingenious Poet sung of him thus.  

Prisca parem nescit, aequalem postera nullum  
Exhibitura dies, Reges supereminet omnes,  
Solus praeteritis melior, majorque futuris.   
From Cornwall I pass to Devonshire, where there is also quantity of choice Tin, not inferior in purity to that of Cornwall; there is a place there also, where Loadstone is found. Winfrid, who was the Apostle of the Germans, was borne there at Kirton, who converted the Thuringians and Friselanders to Christianity. I will leave Exeter the Provincial Town, Neat, Rich, and large, and will go to Plymouth, a most comodious and safe well frequented Port. Here Sir Francis Drake was born, for Naval glory and skill the ablest that any age hath afforded; he did circumnavigate and compass the World, I mean the Globe of the Earth, he sailed further into the Southern Seas, into mare pacificum than any other; where stars are so scant to guide one's course by: for there are but three of the first magnitude to be seen there. He gave part of America a new name, called new Albion. Among other prizes he took from the Spaniard, the Ship Caga fuego was one, which had seventy pound weight of Gold in her, thirteen great Chests crammed with Patacoons, and a huge quantity of bars and sows of silver which served for Ballast. This rich ship this English jason brought with him to England with his own ship the Publican in safety. But the Spanish Captain broke this jest for all the loss of his treasure, that his ship and Drakes ship should change their names, and that his should be called Caga plata, and Drakes Caga fuego. Thus this English Drake swom like the great Leviathan to the new and old World; of whom that most ingenious Epigrammatist Owen hath this Hexastic.  

Drake, pererrati quem novit terminus Orbis,  
Quemque semel mundi vidit utrumque latus,  
Si taceant homines, facient Te sidera notum,  
Atque loqui de Te discet uterque polus.  
Plus ultra Herculeas inscribas Drake columnas,  
Et Magno dicas Hercule Maior Ego.   
I pass now to Dorsetshire, which Province were it commendable for no other benefit, as it is for many, yet Biertport doth make it singular for the great plenty of Hemp which grows there, whereof Cable and Ropes for shipping are made. But Somersetshire what a beautiful blessed County it is, wherein the City of Bristol shines as a jewel in the boss of a ring, for indeed that City affords plenty of Diamonds; a great Merchantile Town situate upon the Avon, who not far off disgorgeth herself into the Severn: In the craggy Rocks of this Avon, Diamonds are cut out in that plenty, that they are carried away by pecks full; and on the other side there is an extraordinary hard kind of flintstones found, which are fetched for other Countries. Wiltshire is famous for the martial courage of her Children, who in times passed did repress the fury and stop the progress of the Danes, that they should pass no further Southward that way. There Warder Castle stands, made famous by the Noble Baron john Arundel, who receives his Title of honour from it, for having performed such noble exploits against the sworn Enemy of Christendom the Great Turk; for which the Emperor Rodulphus did put a deserved mark of honour upon him, by making him a Count of the Empire, and the merit of the cause is thus mentioned in his Patent. Quod fortiter & strenuè se gessisset in apert is praeliis, & in Civitatum & Castrorum oppugnationibus, & spectato fortitudinis exemplo in expugnatione oppidi aquatici juxta Strigonium, vexillum Turcis sua manu eripuit, Ipsum, omnesque & singulos liberos haeredes & posteros, & descendentes legitimos utriusque sexus natos, aeternaque serie nascituros, veros sacri Imperii Comites & Comitissas Creavimus, fecimus, & nominavimus, tituloque, honore & dignitate comitatus Imperialis auximus, & insignivimus. Because the foresaid john Arundel had comported him magnanimously and stoutly in open field-fights, as also in the oppugnation and beleagring of Cities and Castles, and for that notable example of fortitude in storming and subduing a Town hard by Strigonium in Hungary, where he took with his own hand the Turks colours; We therefore have created, made and nominated the said john Arundel, himself, and all and every of his Children, Heirs, and Posterity of both sexes lawfully descended, or shall by eternal propogation issue thence, to be Counts and Countesses of the sacred Empire, and do dignify and adorn them with honour and title accordingly.  
Hampshire is remarkable for many things, specially for the pretty Port Town Southampton, where King Canutus the Dane did a memorable Act: for one day having many Parasites and Temporizers about him, who did magnify his Power, and in a manner Idolise, by calling him Great Monarch of Land, of Sea, and men; The King listening unto them with silence upon the Seashore, caused his Chair of state to be brought thither, wherein being sat in Majesty upon the Sands, it being flowing water, he made a speech unto the Sea, saying, Tu meae ditionis es, & Terra in qua sedeo mea est; nec fuit qui meo resisteret Imperio. Impero igitur tibi ne in Terram meam ascendas, nec vestes, nec membra Dominatoris tui madefacias. Mare verò de more conscendens Pedes Regis sine reverentia madefecit, Ille igitur resiliens ait, sciant omnes habitantes Orbem, vanam & frivolam esse Regum potentiam, nec Regis quempiam nomine dignum praeter eum cujus nutui Caelum, Terram, Mare legibus obediunt aeternis: nec unquam postea coronam sibi imposuit. O Sea thou belongst to my dominions, and the Earth whereon I sit is mine, nor hath there any yet resisted my commands unpunished; I command thee therefore that thou come not up to my ground, nor presume to wet the Vest, members of thy Lord. But the Sea still rising, began to bespatter and wet the King's feet, which making him recoil backward. He said again, Know ye all the Inhabitants of the Earth, that the power of Kings is vain and frivolous, and none deserves the name of a King, but he at whose nod Heaven, Earth, and Sea obey his eternal Laws. So Canutus would never wear the Crown again. Odia must not be passed over with silence, proud for a Royal Palace, where David the Scots King passed some part of his Captivity. Thirteen English defended this place against Lewis of France most courageously for 15. days. How many memorable things occur in Berkshire; Reading can show the ashes of Henry the 1. and Matilda his Queen, Daughter to the Emperor Henry the 4. This witty Epitaph is put upon Her.  

Ortu magna, viro major, sed maxima prole,  
Heic jacet Henrici filia, sponsa, Parens.   
She was Daughter, Wife and Mother to three Henries. But the most stately Castle of Winsore deserves a kind of admiration; a most delicate and pompous Palace, which hath been the cradle and Sepulchre of many Kings. Among others; Edward the third (that thunderbolt of War) was born there, who to excite military virtue with splendour and rewards, erected a noble society of Knights called the Knights of Saint George; Whereinto many Emperors, Kings, and foreign Princes held it a great honour to be coopted. In the Province of Surrey there be many Royal Palaces, there is Nonsuch house, where the amaenity and sweetness of the soil and fire doth contend with the rare artifice and curiosity of the structure for priority.  
Sussex is a strong piece of Earth, for her bowels are full of Iron; whereof there be huge proportions made and dispersed to other Shires.  
I come now to Kent, a very noble portion of Great Brittany, abounding with Pasturage, with Meadows and fields of extraordinary fatness and fertility; for any kind of cattle, though never so meager, do thrive when they come to feed on Kentish Grass. This County is very plentiful for all sorts of fruit, specially for Cherries, and 'tis a pleasure to behold the Orchards when they are ripe. This delicate fruit was brought to Rome by Lucullus from Pontus 600. years after the founding of the City, and by the Romans brought to Brittany, and 'tis remarkable how the vein of Earth and genius of that soil doth agree with that fruit. This Noble County enjoys greater privileges than any other, for Kent was never conquered by the Norman, but by way of treaty; she conformed upon such conditions: By her shores lie all the Arsenals, and Docks, where the royal Ships are built. There is Canterbury an ancient City, the Metropolitan seat of the Archbishop and primate of all England; called by Urban the 2. the Patriarch of the other World. There stands Dover with a stupendous high Castle, which seems to menace France, that stands opposite and in sight of it. We will leave Kent and go to the Severn, on whose banks the gentle City of Gloucester, built first by Claudius Caesar, doth stand, with divers other very jolly rich Towns, as Worcester, Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Teuxbury; and that Noble River of Severn doth part England from the ancient Country of Wales. In so much that He, who is master of the Severn, may be said to be master of the 3d. part of England in point of Power. I have a great mind now to come to Oxford, a little Earthly Paradise for situation, salubrity of air, and sweetness of soil, most daintily watered, and crested about with hills a convenient distance off; because she might have a freer respiration. But the prime thing which graceth this delightful City, is, that renowned University which is founded there: she is ranked among the 4. principal Academies of Europe for antiquity, for number of Colleges, for large exhibitions to students; for a Library they may compare with the Vatican. The story relates that in the reign of Edward the first, there were thirty thousand students in Oxford, which did homage to the Muses. Hear what Lipsius saith, Unum Oxoniense Collegium decem Belgica: One Oxford College is worth ten Flemish. Richard the first, called the Lionhearted, for the vastness of his spirit, was born here, He who built the walls of Vienna at his Victorious return from Palestine: It is a great pleasure to pass from Oxford to Buckinghamshire, to see those numerous herds of sheep which graze there, and bear excellent Wool. Bedfordshire among other things hath such large fields of Beans and Pease, that it is a great delight to behold them, for they make the very air redolent, and perfume it with a kind of fragrancy. The County of Hartford hath all Commodities in it. Verolam stands there, famous for the Protomartyr of Brittany, Saint Albon. Middlesex comes next, wherein there are many memorable places, but that which illustrates all the rest, and indeed the whole Island, is the potent, and populous vast city of London, England's Imperial Chamber; one of the greatest eyes of Christendom. There you have as proud, and as deep a Navigable River as ever made her bed between banks, you have an ancient inexpugnable Tower, you have two exchanges, old and new, of most curious structure, you have the largest Hall at Westminster for tribunals of Justice of any in the World. The King hath divers Royal Palaces there: There is a Bridge of ninteen large high Arches over the rapid profound River of Thames, which would astonish you to behold, and indeed it may be called one of the wonders of the World, all circumstances considered; you have in the heart of the City, and the highest piece of ground, the ancient Church of Saint Paul, one of the stateliest piles of stone that ever was reared: this stately Temple is founded upon Faith; for underneath there is another subterranean Parish Church, which is a rarity that no other I know of hath through all the Christian World. There is Westward a large Abbey, the sight whereof would strike devotion into the beholder, and a most curious Chapel annexed thereunto, called Henry the sevenths' Chapel, which, as Leland saith, may be called Orbis miraculum. And judge you if London in the time of William the Conqueror could send out forty thousand foot, and twenty thousand horse, as the Annals have it, how many would she be able to set forth now that she is more opulent, more peopled, and greater in all dimensions by the 6d. part; for her Suburbs are of more extent than herself, so that some have compared her to a narrow crowned hat with broad brimms. There are more parish Churches there then in Rome, viz. 122. There are divers Hospitals, both for Orphans, which come to above 600. and other poor people of both sexes above 1200. in so much that one may say that poverty is no where better housed and fed then there.  
I go now from London to Essex, a most fruitful and well hedged Country: among other things she is famous for john Hawknood, whom the Italians, among whom he was so well known, call Aucutho; nor was he more known than honoured by them; for in regard of the rare documents he gave for Military discipline, the Senate of Florence raised a Statue and Tomb for him. There is old Walden in that Country, where excellent Saffron grows; there is Colchester, where the best Oysters are, and Dunmow, which hath the proverb for the best Bacon. I pass to Suffolk, a spriteful pleasant Country; and Doctor Despotino, an Italian Physician, affirmed that the healthfullest air under heaven, is that which moves over Saint Edmondsberry. That famous Navigator, Sir Thomas Cavendish, who sailed about the World, makes this Country famous for his Nativity there. Norfolk lies next, a County full of acute wits, and abounding with Lawyers; Norwich is the Metropolis, a large City, and full of Artisans; for there are hardly found so many Looms any where. Now comes in Cambridgeshire, a self-sufficient County, where the ancient Academy of Cambridge stands still flourishing with scientifical wits, and rare acute capacities in all professions, in all faculties and knowledge, and reputed all the world over for a most learned University: and she must needs be so, being so near allied to Oxford, as to be her only Sister, and having such stately seats for the Muses, though the circumjacent soil, and site on Camus banks be not so pleasant as that which stands on Isis. Huntingdonshire her neighbour is famous for rural Philosophy; upon a time the Town of Gormonchester entertained the King, in a kind of pomp, with ninescore Ploughs. Northampton is full of noble Towns, Villages, and Churches, whereof most are of a Danish built; for you shall behold at once in some places, thirty holy Pyramids or Steeples as you pass along, and the field covered all over with sheep. Leicestershire doth benefit all her neighbours, and warm them with her Cole-mines, which she distributes up and down. Lincoln was used to be a well devoted County; for in her chief Town there are half a hundred of Churches, whereof the Minster or Cathedral Church is one of the most conspicuous and visiblest Church in the World. Nottingham for delightful prospects hath not her fellow; there you have true Troglodits, as on the Mountains of the Moon in Ethiopia, that hue their houses out of Rocks. This Country is singular for Liquorish. Derby lies next, famous for the best Ale; on the West parts her bowels are pregnant with excellent lead, in somuch that the Chemists say that the Planet Saturn, who presides over Lead, is more benign to the English than to the French. Warwick excels for Fabrarian inventions, for Smith's work. Worcester for Salt-pits, and delicate Cider; for Pears and Apples grow there, as also in Gloucestershire, up and down the Hedges and Highways. Among other Fish which the Severn, which waters her soil, doth afford, Salmon is one, and 'tis the best in the world, which the Romans confessed. The Trent, called so for thirty species of Fishes that she breeds, doth make Staffordshire of extraordinary account; others will have that River called so, because that thirty other Rivers do pay her tribute, and disemboke into her. There is in this County a Lake of an admirable nature, that no beast will enter into, though pursued never so close by dogs; for they will rather die than go in: and as Necham hath it, this Lake is Prophetic; for when her waters roar, it is a presage of some ill.  

Rugitu lacus est eventus praeco futuri,  
Cujus aquis fera se credere nulla solet:  
Instet odora canum virtus, mors instet acerba,  
Non tamen intrabit exagitata lacum.   
Shropshire for amenity of soil, and neatness of well paved streets, yields to none; She is a Peninsula, compassed about every where with the Severn, except one little neck of land, so that she bears the form of a horse-shoe. Cheshire her neighbour is the Shire of men; she affords also good store of salt; there is no Shire that is fuller of Gentry. Hereford is a delicate little County, very frugiferous; for passengers as they go along the highways may pluck Apples, Pears, and Plums off the trees without offence; she hath good store of Marble, and her Lemsters o'er, or wool, yields nothing in finess to the Spanish, or that of Apulia and Tarentum; and judge you of the salubrity and wholesomeness of this County, when in the Town of Hereford, there was a Morris-dance of ten men taken up on the Welsh side, that made above a thousand years betwixt them, the one supplying what the other wanted of a hundred; and one Philip Squire the Tabourer, and Bess Gwin the Maidmarian, were above a hundred a piece. Caermarthan, old Maridunum, the Court of the British Kings, is a gentile County. Giraldus speaks of a Well there that in imitation of the sea doth ebb and flow every four and twenty hours. Then you have Pembrockshire, where there are many Families of the Flemish race, that were sent to colonize there by King Henry, for bridling of the Welsh. This Country is called little England beyond Wales, because the English tongue is so frequent among them: This County is also celebrous for Milford Haven, the most comodious and capacious Port in the world; for a thousand sails of Ships may ride at Anchor there in several Creeks, and one not in sight of the other; and from hence she takes her denomination. She hath also an ancient stately Temple at Saint david's, called Menevia, the seat of an Archbishop in times past: it stands in a solitary by-corner of the whole Isle, a place fittest for contemplation, and for sequestering the spirits for holy exercises of any upon the earth. Next is Cardiganshire, which hath the River Towy, that affords rare Salmon, which fish thirsting after fresh water, doth use to put himself in a circle, and by a natural slight taking his tail in his mouth, will spring and leap up three cubits high over Wears into the fresh water, whence he cannot go back, as Ausonius hath very elegantly.  

Nec te puniceo rutilantem vis●…cre salmo,  
Transierim, latae cujus vaga verbera caudae  
Gurgite de medio summas referuntur in undas.   
M●…n gomery shire hath good Horses, Merioneth shire hath a famous Lake called Pimble mere, which the River Deva runs through, and goes out of the same bigness as she enters; but that which is wonderful, is that there is a Fish called Guiniad, which the Lake breeds, and cannot abide the river, and the river hath Salmon that cannot abide the Lake water, which Leland describes very handsomely;  

Illud habet certè lacus admirabile dictu,  
Quantumvis magna pluvia non aestuat, atqui  
Aere turbato, si ventus murmura tollat,  
Excrescit subitò rapidis violentior undis,  
Et tumido superat contemptas flumine ripas.   
The River Conow makes Arvon precious, where there are Musles bred, wherein there are plenty of pearl found, insomuch that I had it from a good hand, that one of those pearls was sold for two hundred and fifty Crowns. Denbigh and Flintshire are wholesome high crested Countries. Now for the County of York it may be called a little Kingdom of itself for the spaciousness of it, being half as big as all the fix United Provinces in the Netherlands. There is a famous Quarry there, whence is digged a Freestone, which is soft at first, but receives hardness and incrustation by the air. There is also a rare Well, called Dropping Well, which transmutes wood into stone; there is Mougrave Castle, where there is good store of Rozin, with Jet and Agat stones, which is ranked among Jewels, as Marbodaeus sings wittily,  

Nascitur in Lycia lapis, & prope gemma Gagates,  
Sed genus eximium faecunda Britannia mittit,  
Lucidus & niger est, levis & levissimus idem,  
Vicinas paleas t●…ahit attritu calefactus,  
Ardet aqua lotus, restinguitur unctus olivo.   
Among other properties of this Stone, it burns in water, and that burning is extinguished only by oil.  
In this Province stands Scarborough Castle highly mounted; the Sea underneath is almost as full of fish as of water, and this the Hollanders know well, when they fish there for Herring, with the leave of the Castle, not otherwise; so that it may be said the English do reserve the honour to themselves, but pass over the profit to others. There is Rippon Temple, famous for Saint Wilfrids' Needle, which is a hole to try the chastity of women, and only the honest can pass through it: There is Halifax, who hath a peculiar mode of punishment, which is an axe tied to a pulley, which falls down upon the neck of the Malefactor, and chaps it off in a trice, and heretofore they were used to punish first, and examine the cause afterward. In this County there is a jolley Port Town called Kingston upon Hull, which hath the true resemblance of a Low-countrieses Town; for she lies so low and flat, that she can inound and overwhelm the Country four miles' land-ward. The Metropolis of this County is Eboracum, called York, where a high Provincial Magistrate was used to keep Court, to determine all causes from Trent to Tweed. This City hath been famous for the residence of Emperors; for Severus had his Palace here, Antoninus Augustus died here, and breathing his last he said, Turbatam Rempublicam ubique accepi, pacatam Britannis relinquo, I found the Commonwealth full of troubles, I leave it peaceable. A hundred years after Severus, Flavius Valerius Constantinus having got Constantin the Great by his former Wife Helen, a British Lady, kept his Court here. I will now to Richmondshire, whose Mountains swell with three several Commodities, with Brass, Led, and Cole: The River Small runs hard by, celebrous and sacred in regard the story speaks of ten thousand Pagans that were baptised and regenerated there in one day by Paulinus: Here dwells the fruitful race of the Metcalves, whereof one of them being Sheriff, brought three hundred of his own name in Blue-coats to wait on the Itinerant Judges at the Grand Sessions. There confines to the Province of York, the Bishopric of Durham, a County Palatine, whereof the Bishop is perpetual Sheriff, there is a sumptuous ancient Cathedral Church belongs to it, and the soil is so fat, that the fertility thereof doth contend with the labour of the tiler. Then there is Lancashire, that brings forth goodly Oxen with larger horns than ordinary; besides that Country produceth the handsomest and best favour'dst women of any in the whole Island. Westmoreland excels in the Town of Kendal for curious Artists in all sorts of Wool. Cumberland is singular for abundance of Fish, and doth upbraid the negligence of the Inhabitants, who might make a far greater emolument of them; there runs there the precious River of Irt, which affords plenty of Pearl. This County also hath Mines of Copper, amongst which is found some Gold o'er; which Mines were first discovered by a Countryman of ours, Gemanus Augustan; insomuch that Caesar & Cicero were in the wrong, when one saith, that he was forced to bring brass to Brittany for Coining of Money, & the other saith, neque Argenti scrupulum ullum esse in Insula Britannica; for in Cardigan in Wales, there is both a Silver Mine, and a Mint, which emploies about three hundred men every day in the week, and makes them rich returns. And for other Minerals, there is not only enough to satisfy the Natives, but to furnish other parts of the World besides, which is done by frequent transportation. The most Northern County of England is Northumberland, which is full of Warlike stout people; for every Gentleman's house there is built Castlewise, with Turrets and Motes.  
I have hitherto most noble Princes spoken of the best part of Great Britain, which is England. I will now cross Offa's Dike, which is a continued Mount of Earth that extends from Sea to Sea, which the Romans did cast up to make a partition 'twixt England and Scotland; there is another Water-partition that Nature hath put betwixt them, which is the Tweed; but before I part with England, I will give you that Character which Pope Innocent the 4th. gave of her. Anglia est verè hortus deliciarum, & puteus inexhaustus, England, saith he, is a true Garden of delicacies, and an inexhaustible Well. But there is not any, who can make a true estimate of England, but he who hath seen her— auget praesentia famam. Touching this Elogium of mine, I confess it too barren to set forth her fertility.  
I will now to Scotland, which by King james was united to England, he was the first who may be said to break down the partition-wall by way of descent, Henricus Rosas, Regna jacobus. Henry the eighth joined the two Roses, and King james joined the two Kingdoms. And here it is worth the observing, how Keneth the Pict being utterly destroyed, carried with him a fatal stone out of Ireland, and placed it in a wooden chair in Scone-Monastery, with this inscription engraven upon it.  

Ni fallat Fatum, Scoti quocunque locatum  
Invenient lapidem, regnare tenentur ibidem.   

If Fate fails not, The Scots where e'er they find  
This stone, there they shall reign, and rule mankind.   
This Northern Kingdom is fenced with the same salt ditch as England is. It is much longer than it is in latitude, in so much that there is never a house there that is much above twenty miles distant from the Sea. There is plenty of Fish, Fowl and Flesh there. In Sutherland there are Mountains that afford fair white Marble, and among the craggs of Craford there was a Gold Mine discovered in the time of james the fourth. But that which redounds most to the glory of Scotland, is, that they can show a catalogue of Kings for above twenty ages, which come to the number of 109. from Fergusius to Charles the first. There hath a strong ancient league been struck betwixt this Nation and the French, who confederated always with them against England upon all occasions. In so much that the French King hath a guard of Scots ever about his person, called lafoy Guard de la manche; then there is a guard of Swiss, and the French is last.  
I pass now from Scotland to Ireland, which is no long voyage, it is but twelve leagues distance over a working and angry Sea, full of Rocks and little Lands, whereof there are hundreds about the two Isles called the Orcadeses and Hebrides. Ireland is a Noble and very considerable Region, if you explore either the fatness of the soil, the conveniency of Ports and Creeks, the multitudes of fresh Rivers, and huge loughs, as also the Inhabitants who are a robust●…, nimble, and well timbered people. In so much that Giraldus saith, Naturam hoc Zephyri regnum benigniori oculo respexisse, Nature did look upon this Western Kingdom with a more benign aspect then ordinary: The temper of the air is such, that neither the summer solstice forceth them to seek shades or Caves against the violence of the heat, and in the Winter solstice they may make a shift to be without fire against the rigour of the cold. There are cattle there in an incredible abundance; In so much that in one of the four Provinces alone, there were reckoned there hundred and twenty thousand head of cattle at one time. Bees do thrive and swarm there infinitely in hollow trees up and down, as well as in hives. They were Christians with the first, for Saint Patrick, a Britain born, did convert them, where he did many miracles. They so adore the memory of him, that it is a common saying among them, That if Christ had not been Christ when he was Christ, Saint Patrick had been Christ. Hereupon many famous men flourished in Ireland, both for sanctity of the life and Doctrine, which the Roman Ecclesiastic history speaks of, as Caelius Sedulius the Priest, Columba, Colmannus, Aidanus, Gallus Kilianus, Maydulphus, Brendanus, and divers of a holy and austere Monastique life, who contemned the World, with the vanity and riches thereof. For it is recorded of Columbanus, who being offered great matters by one of the Kings of France,) if he would not depart the Country, (as Eusebius writes also of Thaddeus, he answered, non decere videlicet ut alienas divitias amplecterentur, qui Christi nomine suas dereliquissent, It was not fitting that any should embrace other men's riches, who for Christ's sake had abandoned their own. Nay, it is recorded in good story, that the Saxons (now English) crossed over those stormy Seas to the mart of learning, which was then famous in Ireland, so that you shall find it often mentioned in the English Annals, how such a one amandatus est in Hyberniam ad disciplinam, he was sent to Ireland to be taught, and in the life of Sulgenus, who lived near upon 700. years since, these verses are found.  

Exemplo patrum commotus amore legendi,  
Ivit ad Hybernos sophiâ mirabile claros.   
According to the example of his Ancestors, he went to Ireland for love of learning, who were marvellously famous for wisdom and knowledge. This Island doth partake with Crect, now Candie, in one property, which is, that she produceth no Venomous creature, as Toads, Vipers, Snakes, Spiders, and the like; and if any be brought thither, they die. It is wonderful what huge confluences of birds do flutter about the shores of this Island, as also of Scotland, which offuscate the broad face of Heaven sometimes, and likewise such huge shoals of Fish. A thousand things more might be spoken of these Lands which are fitter for a Volume then a Panegyrical Oration. I will end with the end of the World, and that is the I'll of Shetland, which most of your great Geographers take to be that ultima Thule that terminates the Earth, which lieth under 63. degrees, and the most Northern point of Scotland.  
And now most Noble Princes since the most generous I'll of Great Britain, and her handmaid Lands, which indeed are without number, doth as it were overflow with abundance of all commodities that conduce to the welfare and felicity of mankind, and is able to afford her neighbours enough besides, as the Hollander confesseth, when he saith, that he lives partly upon the Idleness and superfluity of the English: Since the ancient Britain's were the first displayers of Christianity in most part of the Western World; Since of late years they have been such Navigators, that they have swom like Leviathans to both the Indies, yea, to the other Hemisphere of the Earth among the Antipodes; since that in the Newfound World they have so many Colonies, Plantations and Lands; yea, a good part of the Continent of America annexed to the Crown of England. And since that Her inhabitants for Comeliness and courage, for arts and arms, as the Romans themselves confessed, whose conquests in other places had no horizon— Invictos Romano Marte Britannos; I say, that all circumstances and advantages Maturely considered, Great Britain may well be a Candidate, and conte and for priority, and the Dictatorship with other Provinces of Europe. For my part, according to the motto upon Saint George his Garter, Hony soit quimaly pense, let him be bewrayed who thinks any hurt by holding this opinion, which nevertheless I most humbly submit to this Princely Tribunal.   

ANOTHER ORATION OF THE Lord WOLF ANGUS, BARON of STUBENBERG. For GREAT BRITAIN.  
Most Illustrious Precedent and Princes,  
MY most dear Lord and Cousin, the Baron of Eubeswald, hath made an Elogium of the noble I'll of Great Britain, as copious, and as full of Eloquence, as the I'll itself is full of all things that are requisite for humane accommodation: but most humbly under favour in this survey there are some things pretermitted, which are peculiar to Great Britain, and worthy the taking notice of; one is the generous, strong-bodied, and dauntless race of Dogs, which that▪ I'll produceth, whereof Claudian makes mention.  Magnaque taurorum fracturi colla Britanni. 
Britain hath Dogs that will break the huge necks of Bulls: I do not mean by these Bulls those fierce and truculent White-buls which are found in the woody Caledonian hills of Scotland (who are so wild, that they will not touch any thing that men have handled, or blown upon) for they cannot only repel, but they contemn the assaults of any Dog. It was the custom of the Romans, to bring in huge Irod Cages the British Dogs to Rome, which in their Amphitheatres were put to tug with huge wild beasts; therefore there was an Officer called Procurator Cynegi●… in Britannis Ventensis, The Keeper of the Dog-house among the Britain's, which Cuiacius would have to be Gynaecii, not Cynegii, viz. a Workhouse for Women, not a Kennel for Dogs: And Pancirollus is of the same opinion, when he saith, Gynaecia illa constituta fuisse texendi●… principis, militumque vestibus, navium velis, stragulis, linteis, & aliis ad instruendas mansiones necessariis, That those Gynoecia, or Female Work-houses were appointed to wove Garments for the Prince and Soldiery, as also Sails for Ships, Beds, Tents, and other necessaries for furnishing of houses. But Wolfangus Lazius holds to the first opinion, Procuratorem illum canes Imperatoribus in illa Venta curavisse, That the said Procurator did keep and provide Dogs for the Emperor. Strabo saith further, that Britanni canes erant milites, the English Dogs were Soldiers, and the old Gauls made use of them so accordingly in their Wars.  
They are also rare Animals for Hunting, and herein it is wonderful what Balaeus hath upon record, that two hundred and seventy years before the Incarnation, Dordanilla, King of Scotland, did commit to writing certain precepts for Hunting, and to be observed by his subjects, which are yet in force.  
Great Britain hath also the most generous and sprightful Cocks of any Country, and 'tis a great pleasure to be in one of their Pits at that sport, where one shall behold a Cock fight out his eyes, and yet retain still his natural vigour to destroy the other; and if these brute Animals, Beasts and Birds be thus extraordinary courageous, we may well think the rational creatures may hold analogy with them.   

THE ORATION OF THE LORD DANIEL VON WENSIN, AGAINST GREAT BRITAIN.  
Most Excellent Lord Precedent, and Princes,  
NOw, that I am to speak of the Britain's, I will begin my Oration with that of Ausonius, Nemo bonus Britto est— No good man is a Britain, which ever since grew to be a Proverb. God forbid this should be verified of all, but I believe I shall rectify the judgement of those noble princes who spoke before me, that (as I observed when I sojourned there) neither the Country of Great Britain, nor her Inhabitants are generally so good as they by their persuasive and powerful Oratory would induce you to give credit unto. For as the English sea is unfaithful, and from Beerfleet in Normandy almost to the midst of the channel is full of rocks and illfavourd ragged places (wherein prince William, son to Henry the first, and Heir apparent to England and Normandy, was cast away by shipwreck, together with his sister, and a great many noble personages besides) so the nature of the Britain's may be said to be full of craggs and shelves of sands, that virtue cannot sail safely among them without hazarding a wreck. England is not such a paradis, nor the Angli such Angeli (though styld so by a Pope's mouth) which you make them to be, most Illustrious Baron of Ewbeswald. First, for the Country itself it is not sufficiently inhabited, notwithstanding there be some Colonies of Walloons & Hollanders among them. The earth doth witness this, which wants culture, and the sea is a greater witness that wants fishermen; Touching the first, it is a mere desert in some places, having no kind of agriculture, though she be capable of it; And for the other, the Hollanders make more benefit upon their coasts than they themselves, and which is a very reproachful thing, they use to buy their own fish of them. 'Tis incredible how many hundreds of Busses they of Holland put forth every year, and what infinite benefit they make thereof. Therefore Gount Gondamar the Spanish Ambassador had some reason to say, that the King of Great Britain had a richer mine upon his coasts (meaning fishing) than his Master had, either at Mexico or Peru, if he knew how to make right use of them; some of the Charibbi Lands also, which the English have as Antego, Mevis, and others, which have not near the number of men which should colonize them, show the scarcity of the people of Britain, or which is worse, their sloth.  
Now, touching the Inhabitants of Great Britain 'tis well known, as the sea tumbleth perpetually about the Country, so their brains do fluctuat in their noddles, which makes them so variable and unsteady; And herein they are little inferior to their next transmarin neighbour's the French, only they use to come short of them in point of counsel and policy, wherein the French hath been too hard for them in all Treaties. But they exceed the French in superstitious kinds of vanities, specially, (as many writers brand them) with prophecies, and old Milesian tales, being very apt in arduous & important businesses to suffer their belief to be transported that way; and as Tages was to the Hetruscans,  

Indigenae dixere Tagen, qui primus Hetruscam  
Edocuit gentem casus aperire futuros.   
So Merlin of Caermarthen the son of an Incubus left behind him some things which they believe as Oracles, though they be mere Orestes dreams. To this Merlin I may add that Arch-Heretick Pelagius (whose true name was Morgan, an old British name) who in Europe, Africa, and Asia, belchd out such pernicious opinions, as Prosper said,  
Pestifero vomuit Coluber sermone Britannus,  
Like a poisonous Viper he vomited much venom;  
But in point of solid learning the English are much degenerated from what they were, they are grown more flashy, and superficial, and nothing so pious as they used to be; where shall we find now among them a Winfred, an Alcuin, a Bede, men that converted whole Nations? Yet this must be imputed to their supinesse and sloth, rather than to decay of Nature in their intellectuals. Now, in point of idleness the women sympathise with their men, who have not only their faces, but their hands masked with leather, for fear their skin should be too much hardened with working; And for their females they seem to be Hermaphrodits at first appearance, for they use to wear hats as men do, with toting feathers in them. There cannot be found now among them such a woman as Queen Anne was, daughter to the Emperor Charles the fourth, married to Richard the second, who first reformed that wanton, unseemly fashion of riding astride on horseback. Their men of late years are errand pirates; one of them, called captain Ward, did do Christendom one of the greatest mischiefs that ever was done, by teaching the Art of piracy, and a better way of building ships to the picaroons of Algiers and Tunis. They go roving abroad to other seas, when their own might find them work enough, if they would make use of the comodities they afford. They are but dull for invention, whereas 'tis true they use to add something when they have seen a thing; For matter of manufactures of cloth, and Kerseys with other woollen stuffs, they were Flemmins that taught them first, as also all goldsmith's work, and argentry, with judgement in Jewels. Add hereunto that it is the proper humour of the English to be arrogant, high minded and proud, yea in foreign Countries; where if they have a little language, they will keep such a magnifying of their own Island, that it is fastidious to hear them. Nor of any other Nation can they agree among themselves when they are abroad, specially the Merchants, who are envious, and repine at one another's profit; and so ready to cut one another's throat. When the Prince of Wales was in Spain, thinking to have the Infanta for his wife, it was observed that the carriage of the English was very insolent there; for some of them being dieted in the King's House, they would fall a vilifying the Spanish fare, extolling ever and anon the good beef of England; which was so much taken notice of, that it did much hurt to the treaty of the match.  
There is a saying, and 'tis a true one, That England may be called the Hell of Horses, the Purgatory of seruánts, and the Paradis of Women. Touching the first, the English take a great pride in galloping, and post it on the high way, as if they were going for a ghostly father, a midwife, or a physician for one mortally sick, though indeed there be no cause of any haste at all; and then the poor beast is thrust into some cold corner, all in a water, where he commonly contracts some distemper. Then have you huge long Races, whereof there are many hundreds in England, wherein a poor sprightful horse is rid off his legs, and made to spend his very lungs, having holes in his flank that will hide rowel and beam. And in this kind of pastime, there is more cunning, and rooking then in Cards and Dice, or any other sport. Then for their Cars and Carts they are so unmeasurably loaden, that the tract doth not only spoil the pavements of the streets and highways as they pass, but oftentimes it seems to break the very heartstrings of the poor passive animal; insomuch that of any Nation that holy Text is least observed by the English, A good man is merciful to his beast.  
England is the Purgatory of Servants; for they live no where in so much slavery: the poor Footman must keep pace with his Master when he gallops in Hunting, they are sent upon errands forty, fifty miles a day. The Apprentices, though gentlemen's sons of good extraction, sometimes are put to fetch tankards of water, carry coals, to sweep the gutters, and do other as servile offices, as slaves do in other Countries; and Servingmen must not offer to put on their hats, though it rain, or the weather be never so cold, standing before their Master; which makes me think on a facetious tale of a Germane Gentleman, who having entertained an English servant, and riding before him through a rough foard, where the horses stayed to drink, and the servant keeping his hat in his hand, though the wind blew hard, his Master smiled upon him saying, Put on thy hat fool; for our horses drink no healths.  
But you will say that England is the Paradise of Women: than it is either for the extraordinary respect the husbands bear them by permitting them to be always at the upper end of the Table (whither their lightness carries them sometimes) or for their extraordinary beauty. To the first I have nothing to say; but for the second, 'tis true, they are moulded commonly of good flesh and blood, and have sanguine clear complexions, but they are withal phlegmatic and dull, and many thousands of them are so massy and big, that they seem men rather than women, unless they were distinguished by their clothes.  
Now touching the haughtiness of mind that is natural in the English, there is one notable example in the person of Nicolas Breakspeare, born at Langley in Hartfordshire, who, being elevated to the Popedom by the name of Adrian the fourth, came to such a height of arrogance, that he rebuked the Emperor for writing his name before him in a certain Instrument. And being to hold the stirrup while that Adrian mounted, he took hold of the wrong; but a little fly cured in him this humour of pride, who getting into his throat choked him, and so made him low enough. With such a spirit of pride was Thomas Wolsey possessed, who was at once Chancellor, Archbishop, and Cardinal, though a Butcher's Son of Ipswich by blood. Charles the fifth in his Letters subscribed himself his Son and Cousin; for indeed he had a design for the advantage of his affairs, as they stood then, to advance him to the Popedom after the decease of Leo the tenth; but when the Emperor had exalted Adrian the sixth, a Brewer's son, his Tutor, in lieu of the Butcher his Cousin, to the Chair, and having denied him also the Archbishopric of Toledo, he grew so implacable to the Emperor, that he set all wheels a going to make both England and France to bandy against him. He therefore began to whisper some surmises into Henry's ear touching Katherine of Arragon his Queen, Whether the match was consonant to the holy Scriptures, she having been his eldest brothers wife before; and he raised this doubt the rather, because the said Queen had miscarried so often in Childbirth of Male Princes. The Cardinal knowing his Master's humour, might well think that this would make impressions within him, and so recommended unto him the Lady Margaret, Sister to the King of France; but when this scruple was thrust into the King's thoughts, and that a Divorce was procurable, he did not look towards France, but he cast his eyes upon Anne, daughter to Sir Thomas Bolen, having no regard to Majesty, but beauty and lust. This cooled Wolsey from negotiating the said Divorce, and made him spin out the time by tergiversations and delays; which his Master perceiving, his favour began to decline towards him, and so he died, some say, out of apprehension of grief, others say by poison. This Wolsey was a man of a notable high spirit, and vast designs, and among other passages which discovered it, one was, that having built a College in Oxford, he put his own Arms before the Kings, with this Motto, Ego & Rex meus, I and my King: which, as one wittily said, might be true by the rule of Grammar, which tells us that the first person is more worthy than the third, but the Moral rule tells us otherwise. He had such a splendid magnificent Family, than an Earl, nine Barons, and I cannot tell how many Knights and Squires, with near upon four hundred were his domestic servants; there were all likewise choice personable men whom he entertained, so that after his fall, divers of them came to be the King's servants.  
After Pride comes in the Lust and Luxury of the English; It stands upon good record how Pope Boniface writ to King Etheobald in these words, Gentes Anglorum spretis legalibus connubiis adulterando & luxuriando ad instar Sodomiticae gentis faedam vitam ducere; The English Nation forsook their lawful Wives, and like a Sodomitical people spent their lives in Adultery and Luxury. There was one of the Henries left thirteen Bastards behind him, as some write; and it was more than probable that Anne of Bolen (who was called in France, La Mule du Roy, & l'haquenée d'Angleterre, The King's Mule, and the English hackney) I say, according to some Writers, it was more than probable, that she was both Daughter and Wife to the eighth Henry: Among others, one inference was, that when Sir Francis Brian, who was a facetious Knight, asked the King what it was to lie with the Daughter and the Mother, It was no more, said he, than to eat the hen first, and the chicken after. This King married six several Wives, whereof the second and the fifth he chopped off their heads with an Axe; the first and fourth he repudiated; the third was destroyed in childbearing; the sixth he left behind him. This was that merciless Prince who signed a Warrant for beheading some Noblemen upon his very deathbed, and being much troubled in conscience, as he was taking his farewell of the world, the last word he breathed out to the Bishop by him, was, All is lost, all is lost, and so expired, to go before the Tribunal of Heaven to give account of his life, wherein he had confessed before, that He had never spared man in his rage, nor woman in his lust.  
But you say that the English are strenuous and stout: they might be such in former ages, but now they are much degenerated, their wars are now in Tap-houses and Tobacco-shops; for since Drake brought that enchanting Nicotian Drugge from the Indies against crudities and rheums, the use thereof is so frequent in England, that it is incredible; the very Impost of that Indian smoke alone amounting to more than Queen Elizabeth received in custom for all commodities whatsoever. In Ireland also this Weed is taken excessively in sneezing, which the Husbandman at the Plough-taile, and the servant maid at the washing block do use to suck into their nostrils to beget new spirits in them when they are tired with labour. King james was a great enemy to this smoke, and when he was a Hunting if any fog or mist would rise up to interrupt his sport, he would swear that Belzebub was then taking Tobacco; and being once surprised with a great shower of rain, and forced to go to a Pigsty for shelter, he caused a pipe of Tobacco to be taken, that one stink, as extremes use to do, might drive out another. Moreover since the English have been accustomed to have Beer for their beverage so much, not using so universally the old drink of England, which is Ale; the Hop by its inflammation hath made them more subject to diseases, filled them with gravel, and so troubled them with the Stone, Strangury, and Coliques. These with drinking such sophisticated Wines, hath much enervated the English Nation in point of strength, which in former times was such, that they could draw an arrow of an Ell long, and make the Gray-goose-wing fly through the heart of France. And now that I speak of Wine, it is so adulterated in England, that it drinks in some places like a Potion; and I believe as many die there by drinking bad Wines, as of any other disease; for indeed all Vintners are Brewers in England, they mix French Wines with Cider, the Spanish with milk, and feed other Wines with flesh very frequently.  
Now for the Valour of the English in France, whereof the noble Baron hath spoken so much, they were very valiant indeed, when a silly Shepherdess, Anne d' Arc did beat them away from before Orleans, pursued them to Paris, and so drive them over the Seine to Normandy, and when they could not be revenged of this Maid in the Field, being taken by a Stratagem, they cut her off by a forged accusation, that she was a Sorceress forsooth. Then was the time, if the English had comported themselves like men of prowess and policy, to have reduced all France under a perpetual subjection, King Charles the seventh being driven to such straits, that he was constrained to fly to Bourges, and so for the time was in a jeering way called King of Berry. But that notable maid at her execution being tied to the stake was nothing daunted, but left prosperity and victory for a legacy to her Country men, till the English should be beaten quite out of France, as they were afterwards; for being driven and dogged as far as Calais, they kept that a while, but afterwards they were by a writ of ejectment published by sound of drum and trumpet, as also by the Canon & Musket of the Duke of Guise, thrust out of Calais, and so cashiered quite out of France; which sunk so deep, and made such black impressions of sorrow upon the heart of Queen Mary of England, that she would often say, if she were opened after death, the town of Calais would be found Engraven in her heart. Now for the piety, goodness and virtue of the English, which the noble Baron did so much magnify, you may judge what it was in those days by the ingenuous confession of an English Captain, who when he had trussed up his bag and baggage to go for England, as he was going out of the gate he in a jeering way was asked, O Englishmen, when will you back again to France? The Captain with a sad serious countenance answered, When the sins of France are greater than the sins of England, then will the English return to France. Nor indeed had the French much cause to affect the English, in regard of their insolence and cruelty, whereof there be divers examples: for in some good successes they had, the victory was more bloody than the battle, cutting of prisoners off in cold blood for their greater security. But the English must needs be cruel in a Foreign Country, when they use to be so in their own. What a barbarous act was that of Edward the fourth, to clapp up his own brother, George Duke of Clarence, in prison, and afterwards to drown him in a butt of Muscadin, by a new invention of death. But to descend to nearer times, what an act of immanity and ignoblenes was that in Queen Elizabeth, when she promised safety & welcome to Mary Queen of Scots, and Dowager of France, if she came to England, for preventing the machinations of her rebellious subjects against her, and afterwards to suffer her to be hurried from one prison to another for twenty years, and then to suffer her head to be chopped off, and by a cunning kind of dissimulation to lay the fault upon Davison her secretary, and throw the blood into his face, under pretence that he sent the warrant for her execution without her knowledge? Truly this was a most inglorious act, and the reproach of it will never be worn out, but will stick as a black spot to England while she is an Island, nor can all the water of the Sea about her wash off the stain, but it will continue still indelible. But 'tis the more strange, that Queen Elizabeth should do this, a Queen that had been herself bred up a good while in the school of affliction, and might be said to have come from the Scaffold to the Throne, I say 'tis strange that she should not be more sensible of another's calamity. Dido the Pagan Queen out of a sweet tenderness could say, Non ignara mali miseris succurrere disco, and it had more becomed Queen Elizabeth to have said so, being a Christian Queen. That Queen Elizabeth should do this to her own Cousin, and sister Queen, one as good as herself, who after an invitation to England would never suffer her to have the comfort of her presence all the while; That Queen Elizabeth who was cried up and down the world to be so just, so virtuous, so full of clemency should do this, it doth aggravat the fact much more than if another had done it. I must confess she lost much repute abroad for it; Satyrs, pasquils, and invectives being made in every corner of Christendom: among others I will recite unto you one that was belched out in France, which was thus,  

Anglois vous dites qu'entre vous  
Un seul loup vivant on ne trouve,  
Non, mais vous avez une Louve  
Pire qu'un million de loups.   

No Wolf's ye Englishmen do say  
Live in your Isle, or beasts of prey,  
No, but a Wolfesse you have one  
Worse than a thousand Wolf's alone.   
Among other Kings and Queens of England the example of this Queen and her Father may serve to verify the saying of Porphyrius which you alleged, most noble Baron, Britannia fertilis Provincia Tyrannorum; That Great Britanny is a province fruitful for Tyrants. Now Nimrod was called the Robustus Venator, the strong Hunter, which the Divines do interpret to be a mighty Tyrant; And certainly the chase and hunting of beasts, the kill of them, the washing of the King's hands in their blood, and feasting with them afterwards, must needs make the minds of princes more ferocious, and less inclinable to clemency; wherefore they have a wholesome law in England, that no Butcher who is habituated to blood may be capable to be a Juryman to give verdict upon any man's life. The Nobles of England may in some kind be called Carnificers of some sorts of beasts, as the buck, and the do; with other such poor harmless creatures, whereof some have no gall in them: for having wounded them first, and then worried them down with their dogs, at last as a signal of victory they bathe their fingers in the blood of the poor animal, which they call to take the essay; but certainly this must conduce to obdurate human hearts, and as it were flesh them in blood. Now 'tis well known there are no Kings on earth such great hunters as the English, and who have more of variety of sport in that kind than any, for there are more Forests, Chases, and Parks (besides variety of Royal palaces) annexed to the Crown of England then to any other of Europe, which might make the Country far more copious of corn, fuller of cattle, and have fewer beggars, if they were made arable grounds, or turned to pasturage. Moreover the English Kings may not improperly be called Nimrods', as Bodin hath it herein, considering what rigorous punishments use to be inflicted upon the poor people, by virtue of the Forest laws. In the book called Liber Rufus, there was one law enacted in Canutus' time, Omnis homo abstineat a Venerijs meis super poenam vitae, Upon pain of life let every man refrain from my deer and my hunting places.  
The Swainmote Courts have harsh punishments and amercements, and for the poor Husbandman there's no remedy for him against the King's dear, though they lie all night in his corn, and spoil it; Sarisburiensis, a reverend and authentic Author, comprehends all this in a few words, when he speaks of the exorbitancies of England in this kind. Quod magis mirere, ait, pedicas parare, avibus, laqueos texere, allicere nodis aut fistula, aut quibuscunque insidijs supplantare ex edicto saepe fit genus criminis, & vel proscriptione bonorum mulctatur, vel membrorum punitur, salutisque dispendio; Volucres coeli, & pisces maris communes esse audieras, sed hae Fisci sunt, quas venatica exigit ubicunque volant: manum contine, abstine, ne & tu in poenam laesae majestatis venantibus caedas in praedam. Anovalibus suis arcentur Agricolae, dum ferae habeant vagandi libertatem, illis ut pascua augeantur, praedia subtrahantur Agricolis, sationalia insitiva Colonis, cum pascua armentarijs & gregarijs, tum alvearia a floralibus excludunt, ipsis quoque apibus vix naturali libertate uti permissum est. But that which is more to be wondered at, saith Sarisburiensis, is, that to lay nets, to prepare traps, to allure birds by a whistle, or to supplant them by any kind of wile becomes oftentimes a kind of crime by the Edicts of England, and is punished either by amercement, or some corporal punishment; whereas in other climbs the birds of the Air, and the fish of the Sea are common, but not in England; they belong to the Fisk, or some particular person; you must hold your hand, and refrain for fear of committing treason; The Yeoman is hunted away from his new ploughed fields, while wild beasts have liberty to wander in them at pleasure; nay sometimes cattle are kept from pasture, and the Bees are scarce permitted to use their natural liberty of sucking flowers.  
But the English tyranny doth not terminat only in the King, but it difuseth itself further among the Nobles; In so much that as Camden relates there were in King Stephen's reign as many tyrants in England as there were Castellans, or Governors of Castles; Stephani Regis temporibus tot erant in Anglia tyranni, quot Castellorum Domini; Who arrogated to themselves regal rights and prerogatives, as coining of money, marshal law, and the like; For now, there is no Kingdom on earth (Naples excepted) where there have been more frequent insurrections then in England: for as the Kings have been noted to be Tyrants, so the subjects are branded for devils. In the Civil wars that happened in Comines time there were above fourscore that were slain by the fortune of war, and otherwise, of the blood Royal, besides the Kings themselves that perished; Whereupon when the Queen of Scots heard of the fatal sentence that was pronounced against her, with an intrepid and undaunted heart she said, as an Author of credit hath it, Angli in suos Reges subinde caedibus saevierunt, ut neutiquam novum sit si etiam in me ex eorum sanguine natam itidem saevierint, If the English have been often so cruel in the slaughter of their own Kings, it is no new thing then, that they have grown so cruel to me that am descended of their blood. What a horrid and destructive conjuration was that subterranean plot of the Gunpowder Treason? so bloody a design no age can parallel. It was like the wish of Caligula, who wished the people of Rome had had but one neck, that he might cut it off at one blow; He had it only in wish, but these had a real attempt to blow up not only the blood Royal, but all the Nobility and chief Gentry of the Kingdom: And Guido Faux who was to set fire to the powder, did show so little sign of fear and repentance, that he boldly said, It was none but the great Devil of Hell who had discovered the plot, and hindered him from the execution of it; that God Almighty had no hand in the discovery and prevention of that meritorious work, Which if it had taken effect, one of the Conspirators said, it would have satisfied for all the sins of his whole life, had he lived a thousand years after.  
And whereas, my Noble Baron, you traveled in your highstrained and smooth Oration through all the Shires of England, and pointed at some things extraordinary in every one of them; you shall find that they have as many blemishes as they have blessings. When you extol the Province of Cornwall so much, you should also have made mention of their Pyrrhocoracas, their Sea-theeves and Pirates, which are so thick as choughes among them. And whereas you magnify Drake so much, he was no better than a Corsary, or a Skimmer of the Seas, and an Archpyrate, who, notwithstanding there was an Ambassador here resident from Spain, and a firm peace 'twixt the two Crowns; yet was he permitted to steal and rob by land as well as by Sea among the subjects of the King of Spain. Nor did he exercise cruelty on the Spaniards and Indians only, but upon his own Countrymen; as for example, when he landed at Port San julian, and finding a Gallows there, set up by Magellan, he hanged up by his own power a gentleman better than himself, which was Mr. john Doughty, merely out of envy, because he might not partake of the honour of his Expeditions. You praise Devonshire, and the Town of Exeter especially, about which there grows nothing but thin Oats, and ears without grains in many places; but you should have remembered, that whereas Henry Duke of that City had married Edward the fourth's Sister, yet in tattered rags, and barefooted, he was forced to beg his bread up and down in Flanders. Whereas you speak also of Dorsetshire, you should have called to mind the tyranny of King Henry the third, against the Lined, for killing one of his Dear, which was made a Hart in White Forest; for which he was not only amerced in a great sum of money, but the Tenants of those Gentlemen that hunted with him were condemned to pay every year such a tax called White heart Silver, every year to the Exchequer. You pass also over Portland, a poor naked Island without Woods or any kind of Fuel, but the ordure of beasts, which they use for fyring. For Somersetshire, what huge tracts of waste grounds are found there up and down without Inhabitants, which makes it so subject to thiefs and Robbers? Touching Hampshire, what a large act of sacrilege did King William commit there, by demolishing divers Churches, and takeing away the Glebes from God and men the space of thirty miles and upwards, making it a wild Forest, to plant and people the Country with bruit beasts useful only for his hunting, venery and pleasure. But the judgements of Heaven fell visibly upon his Children; for Richard his second Son died of a Pestilential air in the same Forest. William Rufus, another Son of his, succeeding him in the Kingdom, was killed there also by the glance of an arrow from Sir Walter Terrell: Henry also his Granchild, Son to Robert his first begotten, breathed his last there like Absalon, hanging at a bow while he was a hunting. 'Tis true that Berkshire hath one goodly structure, which is Windsor Castle; but most of the Country about is inhabited by savage beasts, who may be said to live better than the people thereabouts. For Surrey, you should have remembered what a perfidious act Godwin Earl of Kent performed at Guildford; who betraying to Harald the Dane a young Prince, that was sent from Normandy to receive the Crown of England, was delivered to Harald the Dane. Sussex is infamous for the murder of King Sigebert by a Swineherd. And the Province of Kent will never wash away the foul stain she received for the sacrilegious murder of Thomas Becket, a Saintlike man; which assassinate was perpetrated in the very Church near the high Altar: for which crying and flagitious deed, they say, that the race of the murderers have ever have since a white tough of hair in their heads, and the wind blowing in their faces whersoever they go. For Glocestershire, her inhabitants there are worthy of reproach, that by idleness and ignorance they would suffer the Vineyards there to decay utterly, and in lieu of Wine be content with windy Cider. In Oxfordshire was that lustful Labarynth made at Woodstock, where Henry the second kept Rosamond his Concubine, whom the revengful Queen poisoned. Now touching the City of London, the Metropolis of Great Britain, she may be well called a Monster, for she being the head, bears no proportion with the rest of the body, but is far too big for it, and might serve a Kingdom thrice as big; but what Saint Hierom spoke of Constantinople, Eam nuditate omnium civitatum constructam fuisse, that she was made up of the nakedness (and ruin) of other Cities, so may London be said to grow rich out of the poverty of other Towns. She is like the Spleen in the natural body, by whose swelling the rest of the members pine away. And herein let me observe the poor policy of the fatheaded English, who suffer this one Town to be pampered up, while other places though situated in as convenient places for Navigation▪ are ready to starve for want of trade. 'Tis true that Queen Elizabeth, King james and King Charles his Son, did put forth Proclamations for restraint of building in London, and that all the gentry should retire to their Country dwellings in the Vacation time, and at Christmas; but these Proclamations were like a fire put under a green wood, which did flash a little, but suffered presently to go again; so those Royal Proclamations were put in hot execution for a while, yet they quickly grew cold again. But indeed such is the crossgrained and contumacious perverse nature of the Londoners, specially the schismatical part, that they suspect, or repine at any new command that comes from authority. For whereas there was a secure and comely durable way of structure inordred them, that every one should build for the future with stone or brick, and not with lath and wood; and that they should build regularly for the beauty, prospect and evenness of the streets, as also that the Houses might not be subject to firing; Yet this obstinate selfwitted people do stand still in their own light, and fall again to build with lath and lime, notwithstanding that they know well enough the great advantages that would redound to the City by the other mode of Edifice: In so much that in England there's not near that Elegance of building generally as in other Cities, nor are their streets so straight and lightsome; by reason the Houses paunch out, and are not so uniform as else where.  
I could condescend to the praises you give of Essex & Suffolk, were it not that in the one, at Saint Edmunds Berry, there have happened so many popular tumults 'twixt the Monks and Citizens. And were it not for a sordid tenure that lands are held by them of Hemingstone, where Baldwin called le Petteur, held lands from the Crown by sarieanty, pro quibus debuit Die Natali Domini singulis annis coram Domino Rege Angliae unum saltum, unum suflatum & unum bumbulum, for which lands he was to pay one leap, one puff, and one crack of the tail, before the King upon Christmas day, every year under pain of forfeiting his Tenure! O brave Knight service! O Noble homage! O brave devotion upon the birth day of Christ.  
Touching the Norfolk men, they are naturally wranglers and Cavillers. The Fenny situation of Cambridge is such, that I cannot wonder sufficiently how that place should be chosen out to be made a seat for the Muses. Huntingtonshire Countrymen have such a rustiquenesse, that hardly admits any civility. Northhampton, and Leicestershire are so bald, that you can hardly see a tree as you pass through them. The people of Lincolnshire are infested with the affrightments of Crowlands' Daemonical spirits. Notinghamshire doth delude the labour of the husbandman with the sandiness of their soil. God deliver us from the Devil's Posteriors at the Peak in Darbishire; Warwik is choked up with wood, there, as well as in Lincolnshire,  

The Ordure of the Sow and Cow  
Doth make them fire and Soap enough.   
I should like Worcester but for cold flatulent Perry. Stafford relates many odd fables of her Lake, and the River of Trent. In Shropshire the sweeting sickness took its first rise, which dispersed itself not only all England over, but crossed the Seas, found out and infested English bodies in other Regions. Chester complains for want of corn to make her bread. In Herefordshire there are walking Mountains; for in the year 1571. about 6. of the clock in the evening, there was a hill with a Rock underneath, did rise up as if she were awaken out of a long sleep, and changing her old bed, did remove herself to a higher place, carrying with her trees, and folds of sheep, she left a gap behind of forty foot broad, and eighty els long, the whole piece of earth was above twenty Acres, and the motion lasted above a natural day, that the said Moantain was in travel. Radnor with her crags would frighten one; for the rest of Wales, though the inhabitants be courteous and ancient, yet the country swells with such a conglobation of Mountains, that strangers would be hardly invited to visit her; which Mountains in some places are so high, and yet so near one to another, that Shepherds may talk one to another from the tops of them, and not be able to meet one another in a whole day, by traversing from one Mountain to the other, through the valley, and precipices underneath.  
Touching the large Province of York, whereas you aver that Constantine and his Mother Helen were Britain's, and born there, Nicephorus makes a question of it, and would have them to be of Bythinia. Towards Richmond there are such squalid uncouth places, and horrid Mountains, that the English themselves call them the Northern Alps, and there be such roaring streams of water which rush out of them, that the inhabitants name them Hell-becks, that is, Infernal, or Stygian Rivers.  
Now for Scotland, Good Lord what a pitiful poor Country is it! It were no petty kind of punishment to be banished thither, for it is a Country only for those to dwell in that want a Country, and have no part of the earth besides to dwell upon. In some parts the soil is such, that it turns trees to stones, and wheat to oats; apples to crabs, and melons to pumpions. In some places as you pass along, you shall see neither bird in the air, nor beast on the earth, or worm creeping on the ground, nor scarce any vegetal, but a black gorsie soil, a raw rheumatic air, or some craggy and squalid wild disconselate hills: And touching Woods, Groves, or Trees, as Stephen might have scaped stoning in Holland for want of stones, so if judas had betrayed Christ in Scotland, he might (as one said) have repent before he could have found out a tree to have hanged himself upon. And most noble Auditors, you may make easy conjectures of the poverty of Scotland by the demeans of the Crown, which scarce amount to a hundred thousand Dollars a year, which you know is the ordinary Income of a Germane Prince, and this both Boterus and Bodin do testify, who were Eagle-eyed Inspectors into the Revenues of all Kingdoms and States. And the answer which the Duke of Norfolk made Queen Elizabeth when she reprehended him for his presumption to marry the Queen of Scots, doth verify this; Madam, said he, it is no great presumption in me to attempt this, for my Revenues are not much inferior to the King of Scotland's. This induced the Queen Elizabeth to give King james, her Godson, and Successor, a Pension every year. Nor were the Revenues of the Crown of England any thing considerable, till of late years that Trade began to increase so infinitely, and consequently the Customs, with Suits in Law since the demolition of Abbeys, and the alienation of Church-Lands to the Crown with the First-fruits, Fines, and other perquisites by Offices, and Courts of, Justice, I say before these additions to the Crown, the Revenue of the Crown of England was but very contemptible in comparison of other Princes. I must confess indeed that in these late Wars, the Wealth of England, as well as the Strength thereof, hath wonderfully appeared; for I believe on both sides there hath been above two hundred Millions consumed. And there is now coming into this new Republic, I believe, above twelve Millions of Crowns every year. And for her Strength, one may say, England was like a Horse, she knew not her own strength till now; for who would have thought that England could have put forth a hundred thousand foot, and forty thousand horse, all armed, besides her power at Sea? I say, who could have thought it? Yet there were so many in number at least, betwixt King and Parliament at one time.  
But to reflect again upon Scotland, as the Country is pitifully barren, insomuch that long Keale and short Keale, which is a kind of Cabbage, that they can dress twenty sorts of ways, is one of their principal food, besides fish, and some odd fowl, as the Solan Goose, which is their greatest Regalo, yet the Eater must stop his nose when he takes a bit into his mouth, the smell is so rank and strong. I say, as the Country is so sterile, so is the people sordid, and subject to vermin. Good Lord what nasty little huts, and holes shall you find there up and down; what dirty courts, and stables above the ankle deep crammed with dung. The sight of an ordinary Scots woman is a remedy against Lust; for they are as big as Cows in the middle: Nature seems to make no distinction there between the two sexes, but the women commonly are as big limbed as the men. These short commons at home drive the men commonly abroad to seek their fortunes in Swethland, Denmark and Poland, where they are in such multitudes, that in case of necessity, the King of Poland might put in the field thirty thousand Scots Pedlars, though they pass by the name of Merchants; for if one can come up to a horse and a pair of panniers, he presently assumes that name unto him. Now, though abroad the Scots are kept under a strict discipline that they cannot steal, yet at home they are notable thiefs, and indeed the Caledonians were ever so to a proverb, they go now under the names of Mossetroupers. Hear I pray what their own Country man, john Lesley the Bishop of Rosse speaks of them, Noctu turmatim per invia loca, perque multos maeandros è suis finibus exeunt, interdiu in prostitutis latibulis equos viresque suas recreant, donec eò tandem per tenebras quo volunt perveniant. Arrepta praeda similiter noctu per circuitus & devia loca dunt axat ad sua redeunt. Quò quisque peritior Dux per illas solitudines, anfractus & praecipitia, media caligine & tenebris esse potest, is ut ingeni●… excellens majore in honore habetur, & tanta calliditate high valeut, ut rarissimè praedam sibi eripi sinant, nifi canum odoratu, quorum ductu rectis semper vestigiis insequentium ab adversariis non nunquam capiantur. In the night time the Scots do use to steal forth by troops, through odd envious places, and divers Meanders and windings; they bait in the way in some odd nook or cave, where they refresh themselves and their horses, until they come unto the places they aim at, where they had intelligence there was booty for them, which when they have got, they return by some other devious passage, wheeling about until they are come to their own home. He who is the most cunning conductor through these unfrequented, and craggy by-places in the dark, is cried up to be a very knowing man, and consequently he is held in greatest esteem. And so cautious & crafty they are in their art this way, that their prey is seldom or never taken away from them, unless they be pursued with Dogs.— But these Borderers or Mossetroopers, which this description aims at, are far inferior to the Highlanders or Redshankeses, who sojourn 'twixt craggs and rocks, who in the art of Robbery, go much beyond all other; insomuch that it is a Law in Scotland, St quis ex aliqua illorum gente damna intulerit, quicunque captus fuerit, aut damna resarciat, aut capite luat: When any of the Highlanders commit any Robbery, let the next that is taken repair the loss, or suffer death. I know I shall strike a horror and astonishment into this Princely Assembly, by relating here what Saint Hierome writes of this people he saith, Se adolescentulum in Gallia vidisse Scotos, gentem Britannicam, humanis vesci carnibus, & cum per sylvas porcorum greges, & armentorum pecudumque reperiant, pastorum nates, & faeminarum papillas solere abscindere, & has solas ciborum delicias arbitrar. When I was a young man among the Gauls, I saw Scots there, a people of Britain, who fed upon humane flesh, for when they passed through the Woods, where there were Swineheards, and other Shepherds, they used to seize upon, and cut off the buttocks of the male, and paps of the female, which they used to feed upon as the greatest dainties.  
For the Learning of the Scots, once in an age haply they produce a Wit, but ten-times they prove pestiferous; witness Buchanan and Knocks, which two villains were fratres in malum, what a world of troubles have they raised? what a distraction did they bring on men's brains? what proud rascals were they in their own conceit? how they would vapour and rant (an humour that is more the Scotchmans' own than any) nay what a malicious and ingrateful monster was one of them? I mean Buchanan, who though a poor Pedagogue, yet he presumed to write in such familiar terms, and disgorge such base invectives against so great a personage, as Mary Queen Dowager of France, and his own Sovereign Princess, and which sets forth his abject spirit further, this Paedagogues pen was mercenary; for he was hired to do it. Yet King james took him afterwards for his Tutor, notwithstanding that he had been so ingrateful, and bespattered his mother so foully, as appears by these pedantic dunstical incongruous lines, this most base and scurrilous Libel which he vomited against her with that virulency.  

O Maria, O Scota, O Meretrix, O quam bene nota  
Impurè illota, Veneri dedidissima tota  
Quae stimulis mota, moechos trahis ad tua vota,  
Vinoque praepota, facis id quod rancida Gota.   

Reproba Regina, mage salax quam Messalina,  
Alteza Faustina, semper recubans resupina,  
Pellex Palatina, temerans conjugia bina,  
Moribus lupina, Regni jurata ruina.   

Belie incepisti tu quando puella fuisti,  
Inguine pruristi, procaxque viros petiisti,  
Hin●… excussisti pudorem, & aperuisti  
Seram tuae cistae quam claudere non potuisti.   

Quid precor egisti tu in Francia quando fuisti?  
Antequam nupsisti, cum Cardinale coisti?  
Marito & tristi tu ●…ornua multa dedisti,  
Contra & jus Christi vitrico temet subegisti.   

Nec minus arsisti postquam in patriam rediisti,  
Nun tuo mystae Davidi succubuisti?  
Unde viro tristi causam vindictae dedisti,  
Et huic & isti mortis tu causa fuisti.   

Nun vir●… est scitum te propinasse aconitum,  
Blandéque accitum somno jugulasse sopitum,  
Nec mora, protritum moechum duxisti maritum,  
Caede insignitum Regni scelerisque peritum.   

At principatus moecho est pro munere datus,  
Hinc Scotiae status tumultibus est cruciatus,  
Miles & armatus jugi in station locatus,  
Usque quò fugatus est Boshwellus dux sceleratus.   

Itaque cun●… tota sic intus & in cute nota,  
Daemoni devota, tam prudens ut est Idiota,  
Ut sic amota cupimus ante omnia vota,  
Fortunae Rota si reflectat, vae tibi Scota.   
But now that I have given a touch of Ingratitude, I think the Scots are a●… guilty of that base vice as any Nation. What mountainens of favours did the two last Kings of England tumble upon them? What honours, offices, and dignities did they confer upon them? What vast pensions had they from the English Exchequer? how did the last King enervat his own prerogative, to strengthen their privileges? What gracious concessions did he make them, according to their own confessions? how he pulled down Bishops at their request and distributed the lands amongst them; how at his last being in Scotland in Parliament he was so easy and yielding unto them, that they did nothing but ask and have, In so much that as one said, he had granted them so much of his Royal right, that for the future he was but King of Scotland, as he was King of France, only Titular. How at his depar●…ure they confessed, that they had nothing to complain of for the government of Kirk or State, that they could imagine, and therefore in lieu of their gratitude their Parliament voted, that the old Act should be revived, which is, that it should be det●…stable and damnable treason in any of the subjects of Scotland of what degree, condition or quality soever, to make any military levi●…s, or put themselves in arms without the King's Royal commission; to observe which Act they took their oaths upon the Evangelist, yet the year scarce revolved when they raised an Army, and rushed into England, not only without his commission, but point blank and expressly against his Royal letters, wherein he desired them (as they confessed themselves▪) since they had nothing to complain of, that they would be Spectators only and no Actors in some differences which were 'twixt him and his English Subjects, yet directly against his will and request they did thrust themselves into the business; And afterwards, when their own Countryman and King had fled to them in his greatest extremity for shelter and comfort, they most basely sold him away. O monsters of men! O horrid ingratitude, and per●…idiousnes, which hath cast such foul blemishes, and indelible Spo●…ts upon that nation, that I believe all the water of the Tweed will never be able to wash away. But the judgements of heaven were never so visible upon any people as those which have fallen upon the Scots since; for besides the sweeping furious Plague that reigned in Edinburgh, and the incredible multitude of Witches which have increased, and been executed there since, besides the sundry shameful defeats they have received by the English, who carried away more of them prisoners, than they were themselves in number, besides, that many of them died by mere hunger, besides, that they were sold away slaves, at half a crown a dozen, for foreign plantations among savages; I say besides all this chain of judgements with divers other, they have quite lost their reputation among all mankind; some jeer them, some hate them, and none pity them. What's become now of their hundred and ten Kings which they used to rant of so much? What's become of their Crown which they bragged to be more weighty, and have more gold in it then any Crown in Christendom?  
I will now by the continuance of the sweet gale of your Noble favours cross over to Ireland, another rough hewn Country, and cross graind peope too; and indeed the Irish and Scots are originally but birds of one feather, the same tongue being maternal to both. Yet for the soil and the climes, Ireland much exceeds Scotland; Nevertheless, the Country is full of bogs, of squalid and unfrequented places, of loughs and rude Fens, of huge craggs and stony fruitless hills; the air is rhumatique, and the Inhabitants odiously nasty, sluggish and lousy. Nay, some of them are Pagans to this day, and worship the new moon, for the kerns will pray unto her, that she would be pleased to leave them in as good health as she found them. For all the pains the English have taken to civilize them, yet they have many savage customs among them to this day; they plow their ground by tying their tackle to ●…he horses tail, which is much more painful to the poor beast, then if they were before his breast and on his back. They burn their corn in the husk in stead of threshing it, which out of mere sloth they will not do for preserving the Straw. But to set forth the Irish in their own colours, I pray hear how Saint Barnard describeth them, when he speaks of Saint Malachias a holy Irish Bishop of a place called then Conereth; a man that had no more of his Country rudeness in him then a fish hath saltness of the Sea. Malachias, inquit Barnardus, tricesimo ferme aetatis suae anno consecratus Episcopus introducitur Conereth, hoc enim nomen Civitatis. Cum autem caepisset pro officio suo agere, tun●… intellexit homo Dei non ad homines se, sed ad bestias destinatum. Nusquam adhuc tales expertus fuer at in quantacunque barbarie, nusquam repererat sic protervos ad mores, sic ferales ad ritus, sic ad fidem impios, ad leges barbaros, cervicosos ad disciplinam▪ spurcos ad vitam, Christiani erant nomine, Re Pagani. Non decimas, non primitias dare, nec legitima inire conjugia, non facere confessiones. paenitentias nec qni peteret, ne●… qui daret penitus inveniri. Ministri altaris pauci admodum erant, sed enim quid opus pluribus, ubi ipsa paucitas inter Laicos propemodum otiosa vacaret? Non erat quod de suis fr●…ctificarent officiis in populo nequam. Nec enim in Ecoles●…iis aut prae●…icantis vox, aut cantant is audiebatur. Quid faceret Athleta Domini? aut turpiter cedendum, an't periculosè certandum: sed qui se pastorem & non mercenarium agnoscebat, elegit stare potius quam fugere, paratus animam suam dare pro ovibus si oportuerit. Et quanquam omnes lupi & Oves nullae, stetit in medio luporum pastor intrepidus, omnimodo argumentosus quomodo faceret oves de lupis. Malachias, saith Saint Barnard, in the 33. year of his age, was consecrated Bishop of Conereth, but when he began to officiate, and to exercise his holy function, he found that he had to deal with beasts rather than with men, for he never met with the like among any Barbarians, He never found any so indocil for manners, so savage in customs, so impious in their faith, so barbarous in their laws, so stiffnecked for discipline, so sordid in their carriage. They were Christians in name, but Pagans in deed. There were none found that would pay tithes or first fruits, that would confine themselves to lawful wedlock, that would confess, or do any acts of penitence: For there were very few Ministers of the altar, and those few did live licentiously among the Laiques; Neither the voice of the Preacher or singing man was heard in the Church: Now, what should the Champion of God do? He must recede with shame, or strive with danger, but knowing that he was a true Pastor and not a hireling, he chose to stay rather than fly, being ready to sacrifice his life for his sheep. And though they were all Wolf's, and no sheep, yet the faithful shepherd stood fearless in the midst of them, debating with himself how he might turn them from Wolves to sheep.  
It seems this holy Father S. Bernard was well acquainted with Ireland by this relation; for there's no Country so wolvish: they are in up and down herds in some places, and devour multitudes not only of cattle but men. In deed of late years Ireland, I must confess, was much improved both in point of civility as also in wealth and commerce; Their mud cottages up and down, specially in Dublin, where the Court was, turned to fair brick or free-stone-houses; Ireland was made to stand upon her own legs, and not only to pay the standing English army which was there, and used to be paid out of the Exchequer at Westminster, but to maintain the Viceroy with all the Officers besides of herself, and to afford the King of England a considerable revenu every year; and this was done by the management and activity of the last Lord Deputy, after whose arrival the Country did thrive wonderfully in traffic (which is the great artery of every ●…land) and in all bravery besides. In so much that the Court of Dublin in point of splendidnes might compare with that of England; But that refractory haf-witted people did not know when they were well.  
But now I will leave the Irish to his Bony clabber, and the Scot to his long Keall, and short Keall, being loath to make your ears do penance in listening to so harsh discourses. Therefore to conclude, most noble Princes, I conceive it a high presumption in Great Britain to stand for the principality of Europe, considering how many inconveniences attend her: for first though she be most of all potent at sea, yet she cannot set a ship under sail in perfect equipage without the help of other Countries, she hath her cordage, pitch and tarr, she hath her masts, and brass Canons from abroad▪ only she hath indeed incomparable Oak, and knee timber of her own; she abounds 'tis true with many commodities, but they are rustic and course things in comparison of other Kingdoms, who have silk for her wool, wine for her beer, gold and silver, for lead and tin. For arts and sciences, for invention, and all kind of civilities she hath it from the Continent; Nay the language she speaks, her very accents and words she borroweth else where, being but a dialect of ours. She hath a vast quantity of waste grounds, she hath barren, bad mountains, uncouth uncomfortable heaths, she hath many places subject to Agues and diseases, witness your Kentish and Essex Agues; what a base jeer, as their own Poet Skelton hath it, have other Nations of the English, by calling them Stert men with long tails, according to the verse,  Anglicus a tergo caudam gerit, ergo caveto. 
What huge proportions of good ground lieth untilled in regard of the sloth of her Inhabitants? she suffers her neighbours to eat her out of trade in her own commodities, she buyeth her own fish of them, They carry away her gammons of bacon, and by their art having made it harder and blacker, they sell it her again for Westphalia, at thrice the rate; she hath affronted, imprisoned, deposed, and destroyed many of her Kings; of late years she hath been baffled at Amboyna, she made a dishonourable return from Cales, she was foully beaten at the I'll of Rè, the small handfuls of men she sent hither to Germany, in the behalf of the Daughter of England, did her more discredit than honour. And her two lasts Kings were overreached in the Treaty touching the match with Spain, and the restitution of the Palatinate. She hath been a long time in a declining condition; her common people are grown insolent, her Nobility degenerous, her Gentry effeminate and fantastical, they have brought down their wastes to the knees, where the points hang dangling, which were used to tie the middle, they wear Episcopal sleeves upon their legs, and though they are far from observing any rites of the Roman Church, yet they seem to keep As●…wensday all the year long by powdering not only their locks and hair, but the upper parts of their doubletts, with the capes of their cloaks; and the time was not many years since that they made themselves ridiculous to all the world by a sluttish yellow kind of starch, which was a pure invention of their own, and not an imitation of others, whereunto they are very subject; specially of the French, in so much that they may be said to be scarce men of themselves, but other men's Apes. Therefore most excellent Precedent, and Princes, I see no reason why Great Britain should compare with the other noble Continents of Europe; yet I allow Her to be Great within herself (if she had the wit to make use of her Greatness,) and to be the Queen of Iles.  
Dixi.   

THE ORATION OF THE Lord MAXIMILIAN A Mosch For POLAND.  
Most Excellent Precedent and Prince,  
TWo Perusian Ambassadors were employed to Pope Urban the fifth residing then at Avignon, who being admitted, and desired to deliver their Ambassage as succinctly as they could in regard of the Pope's indisposition, yet they made a long tedious Oration, which did disquiet his Holiness as it was observed by the Auditors; The first Ambassador having at last concluded, the second subjoined very wittily, saying, We have this moreover given to us in Charge, that if you will not condescend to our demands, this my Colleague must repeat his speech again, and make some additions to it. The Pope was so much taken with this, that he presently dismissed both of them very well satisfied for the business they came about. But I being to speak for the Noble Kingdom of Poland, need no such trick of wit to procure your consent that it may have the Principality of the rest of the Provinces of Europe; Nor confiding so much in your judgements need I any Rhetorical flourishes, or force of Eloquence to induce you thereunto, for the argument hath strength enough of itself, to do the business. Poland needs no artifice, she needs no Mountibank to set forth her riches, which nature hath scattered in every corner with a liberal hand; It is a high and very Noble piece of the Continent, she abounds with Mines of Iron, Led and Sulphureous Metals, and with Lazurium, a kind of stone of a blue caerulean colour, which God himself pleased to make use of for the Adorning of his own Palace. Lituania may be said to be Ceres' Barn, and Russia her Haggard: for there if a field be sowd, it will be the year following, without necessity of throwing any new seed. In Podolia there be grounds that return 100 grains for one, besides there be Pasturages there that the horns of the Oxen feeding therein can hardly be seen. The salt pits of Cracovia may compare with any on Earth, there are such concamerations in them that make a little Town supported by great Pillars of Salt; and the entrance is so high, that you need not stoop your head to go in; There is no where better Honey, and mixed with lesser Wax, or whiter then that which is found in Samogitia; The trunks of trees are full of their hives. There is such abundance of Pears, Apples, Plumms, Cherries, and Nuts, and these in such variety, that no Country can produce more in every one of the 32 County Palatines of Poland, whence huge quantities of Wheat, Barley, and Oats, with other Grains, as also Hopps, Hides, Tallow, Alum, Honey, Wax, Pitch, Ta●…, Pot-ashes, Masts, and Hemp are exported to other Countries: The number of Oxen and Horses are infinite. Now for the Wealth of the Subject, and private men I will produce you one stupendous Example. In the year 1363. about the season of Shrovetide the Emperor Charles the 4th. his Nuptials were to be celebrated at Cracovia with the Niece of Casimir the Great King of Poland; the Kings of Hungary and Denmark, Peter King of Cyprus, and a great number of the Imperial Princes were present; Vernicus Germanus, being then Consul of Cracovia, entertained all these Kings and Princes in his own Houses, and feasted them for many days, dismissing them with presents, whereof that which he bestowed upon Casimir was valued at 100 thousand Florins; This Vernicus being infinitely rich, exhausted his wealth in such public Gallantries, yet he looked to the main chance, that he left himself a competence to live well and honestly: a small pittance will suffice nature, when immense possessions cannot satisfy opinion. The Pole doth not glory much in high ostentous buildings, measuring the vanities thereof by the frailty of his own body, which is subject to decay in so short a time; So he falls into contemplation that the proudest Fabriques' will dissolve and crumble to dust at last. What shall we think of the Pyramids of Egypt, towards the rearing thereof, there were ninescore Talents erogated out of Garlic, Leeks and Onions alone; there were three hundred and sixty thousand opificers and labourers employed for twenty years together in the work; but what's become now of those 4. Pyramids? They are all turned to rubbish. But observable it is, that one of them was reared by Rhodope a Courtesan, who was grown so infinitely rich by the public use of her own. The Temple of Ephesus was no less than 220. years a building, to which all Asia did contribute, the stupendous length whereof was 425 paces, the Latitude 220. It had 120 columns, 60. foot in Altitude. The Tomb of King Mausolus was an admirable thing, and the love of Artemisia his Wife was more admirable in erecting such a Tomb; and not only so, but taking some of the powder of her husband's body and drinking it in little doses next her heart, saying, that her body was the fittest Tomb for her dear Husband. Now come in the Walls of Babylon, 200 foot high, and 60 miles' compass; to finish which there came three Millions of people together. I will now fix my eyes upon the Rhodian Colosse, which did bear the image of the Sun in that glory; It was 70 Cubits high, the thumb of the Image could not be embraced with both the arms, and so you may guess at the vast proportion of the rest; The statue of jupiter Olympius composed of Ivory and Gold by Phidias was a work of wonder. I will conclude with Old Rome, wherein there were in the Pagans time 420▪ Temples; The very roof of the Capitol stood in 12 Talents; she was once above 30 miles about: She had in one Cense that was made above 25 hundred thousand souls in her, but now in point of people she is but a Wilderness, and but a Village in comparison of what a City she was; being spacious once to hold all mankind, all her amphitheatres, her baths, Statues and Temples are mouldered away, and scarce any remnant left, together with her vast Palaces which emulate Cities. The serious, wise Pole considering the small duration, and great charge, with the vanity of such things, measures his House by his own body, as the Turks do; it is sufficient if it last him for his own life, let his Son build for himself. It is remarkable what Seneca saith; Romae olim cul●…um lib●…ros texisse, postea sub marmore atque auro servitutem habitasse, Rome lived free under culm, and thatched houses, but afterwards she grew to be a slave under Marble and golden roofs.  
For matter of civility you shall find Italy herself in Poland; for compliment you shall find France, for plain downright dealing, you shall find Germany; Nay for urbanity, and elegance of manly attire, the Pole goes beyond us; his language also is smother, and not so abrupt as ours: Therefore they are very wide from truth, who charge Sarmatia with asperity and roughness of manners; for whosoever will converse familiarly with them, shall find that they are very humane and open-hearted, that they are simple and upright; for the first integrity of the World may be found amongst them.  
Moreover the Polish air●… is favourable to the M●…ses, for there's both poor and rich, Gentry & Commonalty, Town and Country are versed in the knowledge of holy things, whereunto it is a great advantage that the latin tongue is spoken so frequently and vulgarly among them, in every Dorp and petty Village; Nay their Hoslers, and Chamberlains understand and speak it in many places; They are also versed in the Dutch, French, & Italian; Which was wondered at in Paris, when the Delegates of Poland came thither to declare that they had elected by unanimous suffrage the Duke of Anjou to be King of Poland, for some of them spoke as perfect French, and knew the Mode of Paris as if they had been born there: Besides the Parisians did admire the goodly large bodies of their new guests their manly-Physiognomies, their furred Caps, their rich Buskins, their costly scabbards with huge silver Chapes, and it was also wondered at, that none of the whole company, whither Laquay, Page, Groom, or Cook, but could speak latin, and parley some French; which many spoke so exactly, as if nature had brought them forth upon the banks of the Loire, and Sein, rather then upon those of the Vistula and Boristhenes. In this splendid Legation, Sirius Samosius Chancellor of Poland was chief, a man of rare Erudition and Policy; There was also Baldwin the celebrous Civilian, who was the Orator, which he performed to admiration; The foresaid Samosius was famous both for the Gown and the sword; Touching the latter, he performed many exploits both against the Muscovites, and the Austrian Family; For the other, there are many printed works published in his name, as the History of the Muscovian Wars, which Thuanus would father upon Carolus Sigonius, or Secretary Heidenstein, but wrongfully.  
Among the Polish Nobility, whereof many are famous for Arts and Sciences, Stanislaus Hosius was very renowned in Italy, where he had spent much time, both in Milan and Bolonia, where Alexander Farnese was a breeding the same time, together with Madrucci, and Otho Truchsesius, who were all three coopted afterwards to the College of Cardinals. Besides Hosius, john Dantiscus was a rare man for knowledge, who when Charles the Emperor had resigned both Empire and Kingdom with all Earthly Glory, and dismissed all from about him, yet he reserved john Dantiscus; But with what Eulogies sha●…l I celebrate the memory of Martinus Polonus, or Mathias de Miechow, or Martin de Ilte, who was the first Composer of the Almanak or Ephemerideses in Europe? Cromerus, Herbortus, Varsevicius, Bzovius, Lascius, Vaporius, Dresnerus, Herbestus, Sternaus, Lumbostus, Cichocius, with multitudes more of Authors, were men of sublime and celestial souls. The times are much altered now from what they were, when Pope Clement, the fourth Bishop from Saint Peter the Apostle did write, In Sarmatia extremam Germaniam contingente, nullum Geometram, vel Poetam Pictoremve, aut Trapezitam esse, In Poland confining upon the furthest parts of Germany, there was neither Geometrician, Poet, Painter, or Trapezit, viz. an exchanger of Monies, or Banker. There is a strange Vicissitude since; for all Poland now is a most litterated Country, as if Athens had transported herself thither; There is Religion, and Piety also there in the highest degree, since Paganism was expelled thence by Mieczislaus, and established Christianity, which they maintain still with that stoutness and fervency, that when the Apostolical Creed is read in the Churches, every man stands up and draws out his sword, which he holds naked in his hand till the Creed be read, intimating thereby that they will uphold and defend it with all the strength that God and Nature hath given them: a solemnity which is observed by no other Nation so much. And it seems that God almighty hath placed Religion thus under the Clientele of Poland, because that she confining upon divers ferocious and wild Nations, which are capital Enemies to the name of Christ, at least wise dissociated and cut off from the Latin Church, she by the valour and virility of her Inhabitants might be a propugnacle and rampart to the Holy Church, and by her fulminating legions, and arms, might be able to repel, and frustrate any attempt of theirs. The Muscovit her confining neighbour, distant from her in Faith, though not in territory, serves as a Whetstone to sharpen the Polonian courage, lest by desuetude it should grow dull and rusty; The Mahometan is also her limitaneous Neighbour, but a sorer and more formidable foe then the other: for there is a saying, ubicunque equus▪ Turcicus ungulam impresserit, ibi gramen non crescere. Wheresoever the Turks horse doth once plant his hoof▪ no grass grows there any more: Yet of late years he bears up notably against that huge Giant, and apprehends no great fear of him; As it appears by the magnanimous answer which King Stephen gave the Sultan, who having sent to him for some auxiliar forces against the Persian, under pretext of an ancient Custom, he sent him word, candidam Polonorum Aquilam antea implumem, & viribus suis destitutam, nunc rejuvenescere, pennas recepisse, ungues & rostrum exacuisse The white Eagle of Poland which was thin of feathers before, had now renewed her strength, recovered her quills, and sharpened her pounces and bill. For the Pole is naturally a stout man, that will neither be softened with pleasure, nor dismayed by danger; a death bravely purchased he holds to be an immortality, and a life disgracefully preserved to be worse than any death. He is more careful to keep his Honour, than life; & as, according to Cromers' testimony, near the Town of stream, there is a hill, where Pots, Caudrons, and other Vessels are found naturally so shapen, though they be soft within the Earth, but being digged out, they quickly incrustrate and grow hard when they are exposed to the cold air; so the Pole is naturally shaped for a soldier in his Mother's womb, but confirmed afterwards by the severe discipline of his Parents; He fears the clashing of arms no more than the wagging of oaken leaves, or the bubbling of waters; And herein they retain still the genius of the Great Piastus, who as by probity and justice he got the Kingdom at first, so his Ospring conserved it by succession for 500 years. The women there also are endued with a masculine courage, for by the old constitution of Poland, no maiden was to marry, till she had killed three enemies in the field; but Piastus abolished this custom, and commanded women to exercise themselves in matters more consentaneous to their sex. We read that Augustus Caesar gave in command to Lentulus his Ambassador, that he should not disquiet the Sarmatian; for if he were once provoked, he would not understand what peace was afterwards: so the Danube did put limits to the so prosperous Augustus, and the Pole did terminate his progress. All this is confirmed by that distich of Ovid who was banished thither.  

Maxima pars hominum nec te pulcherrima curate  
Roma, nec Ausonij militis armatimet.   
Good Lord, what Victorious Kings hath Poland had? Ziemovit did debel the Hungarians, Bohemians, Pomeranians, and made them all tributary; Boleslaus Chrobri subdued the Ruff, bridled the pruss, chastised the Saxons, and upon the frontiers of his Dominions erected brazen Pillars: after his death all Poland mourned a whole year, all which time there was neither feasting nor dancing. What shall I say of Boleslaus the third, who fought 50. battles, and was Victor in all? In his time the Emperor Otto the third, made a Pilgrimage to Poland to visit the body of Saint Adalbertus (which Boleslaus had redeemed from Prusse Pagans) and it was to expiate a crying sin that he had committed, which was thus. The Empress being light, she caressed an Italian Count so far, that she offered him the use of her body, which he refusing, out of a malicious indignation, like Pharo's Wife, she accused the said Count that he would have forced her; whereupon he was arraigned, condemned and executed, but before his death he discovered the whole series of the business to his Wife. A little after a great Sessions in Roncalias, appointed to right Orphans and Widows, the Countess came before the tribunal, and brought her husband's head under her vest, so desiring leave of Caesar to speak, she asked what punishment did he deserve that took away another man's life? Otto answered, no less than death. Then O Emperor you have condemned yourself, who have taken away my guiltless husband, and behold here his head; and because there wants proof in so private a cause, I will undergo the Ordeal, the fiery trial; which the Countess having performed without any hurt, the Empress Maria Augusta, who had accused the Count was brought, and condemned to be burnt, which was done accordingly. And the Emperor gave the Countess Dowager 4. Castles in fuller satisfaction. To make further atonement for this offence, the said Emperor Otto came to Poland upon a Pilgrimage, and Boleslaus came 7. miles to meet him, the way being covered with cloth of divers colours all along. Hereupon the Emperor for so Signal a favour, did solemnly create Boleslaus King, and his Companion, and a friend of the Roman Empire, declaring him free from all tribute and jurisdiction for ever.  
But to come to more Modern times. What a man of men was Sigismond the first? you know, most noble Princes, that, the Persians do cry up Cyrus, the Macedonians, Alexander the Great; The Germans, Charlemain, for heroic and valiant Kings. The Athenians cry up Miltiades, Cimon, Alcibiades, Thrasybulus, Phocio and others. The Lacedæmonians their Pausanias, Lysander, and Agesilaus. The Thebans, Epaminondas, and Pelopidas. The Carthaginians cry up Hamilcar, Hannibal, and Asdrubal. The Romans do celebrate their Fabios, their Scipios, Lucullus, and Caesar for strenuous and incomparable Captains. 'Tis true, they might be so, but they had to deal with soft effeminate people. But the Polonian Sigismond had to do with the toughest, the most intrepid and fiercest Nations of the Earth, and a most favourable gale of fortune did blow upon him, throughout the whole Progress of his life and actions. He tugged with Mechmet the Moscovian Emperor, whom Amurath the 3. acknowledged to be one of the greatest Warriors in the World, and got the better of him. He wrestled with the grim Tartars, with the furious Null, and laid them on their backs. He coped with the Great Turk (who glories in a perpetuity of Victorship) and foiled him more than once. Nay, he had divers Praeliations with us Germans, and took from us the spacious Provinces of Livonia, and Prussia, which, not without a foul blemish to Germany, he added to the Crown of Poland. And although the people of those Countries have often solicited our Diets, and put the Germane Emperors in mind of the avulsion, and loss of those Countries, yet we have thought it better to leave the quarrel alone, because there is nothing to be got by the Pole but knocks, for the Poleax is a terrible weapon. Now, touching the strength of the King of Poland; you know that for Cavalry, he is the potentest Prince of Europe. Thuanus' the Frenchman confesseth that the King of Poland can bring to the field in Noble men and Gentry alone, which are bound to serve him so long time upon their own charge, above a hundred and fifty thousand men of all sorts of Arms. The name of Cosacks is formidable all the World over; And although they are cried up to be freebooters, fight only for plunder, I will rectify your opinion in that, by a late pregnant example in the Ivonic War: for having taken the General of the Enemy Prisoner, although there was offered 6. times his weight, twice in Gold, thrice in Silver, and once in Jewels, yet this would nothing at all move the valiant Cosacks.  
Now, for the Nobility of Poland, it is numerous and ancient, nay, there be good Authors affirm that the great families of Italy, the Ursins, the Colonni, the jalians, the Gastaldi are originally of a Lituanian race. There are in Poland the Radivils', the Ostrogians, the Starasians, the Tarlons, the Herburtons', with 30. princely families more. All this considered, most noble Princes, Poland may well come in and stand in competition for the principality of Europe, but— verbum non amplius addam   

THE ORATION OF THE Lord AC ACIUS AXELIUS against POLAND.  
Most judicious and Excellent Precedent and Princes,  
THE Oration that was pronounced before was too long and prolix, considering the poorness and tenuity of the Subject; but to me it was too brief and concise, considering the Eloquence and strength of the stile▪ I will not say it was like those ranting speeches that are usually made upon the theatres of Italy, who use to make an Ox of a Bee, or a Mountain of a Molehill, when they speak in commendation of the virtue of their Balsams, to advance the vent of them. But I wonder what should come into the mind of the Noble Orator, before me to extol Poland so hyperbolically; sure it was to try what he could do upon so bare and barren a Subject. As we read that Archippus fell a praising the shadow of an Ass, and Passeratius the Ass himself; as Glaucus fell in praise of injustice, Polycrates and Isocrates of Busiris, H●…ttenus of the Fever, or as Maro fell upon the praise of a Flea, Synesius of Baldness, Pickhennerus of the Gout, Libanius of an Ox, Diocles of a Rape, ●…ierius of Poetical poverty, Mirandula of Barbarism, Salerius of Drunkenness; Lucian of a Fly, Dion of a Parrot, Mayoragius of Dirt, or as Erasmus fell upon the praise of Folly, and Heinsius of a Louse, to make experiment of their inventions what they could say upon such small themes.  
But to make Poland contest either with Germany, France, Spain, Italy, or Great Britain for superiority and worthiness; were to make Vatinius and Cicero competitors for one preferment, or Arachne to contend with Pallas, who was the best Spinstresse. Now, touching Poland, let the report of those French Gentlemen that attended the Duke of Anjou thither to be King, be heard, who questionless found the best things that Poland could afford. They at their return to France, put her forth in such ill-favoured colours, that possibly could be. They said she was the proper seat, and perpetual domicile of all barbarism and misery; Therefore it was superfluo●…s labour for them to pass a decree, that no French should have a faculty granted him to purchase any Stable possession in Poland, for none of them was of so abject a mind or fortune, that would be Great Duke of Lituania. Let us take a survey of the fertilest piece of the Country, which is Podolia, and what is it but a harsh and a hard stony soil, that a yoke of ten Oxen are required most commonly to plough up the Earth. Then the cold is there so violent, that water thrown but a yard or two high into a ba●…on, will freeze in the air before it descends. But this extemity of cold hath been sometimes advantageous to the Country; for one year there r●…sh'd in an Army of 70 thousand Turks, but there happened such a terrible frost upon a sudden, that 40. thousand of them starved for the rigour of the frost, and some of them were found wrapped in Horses bellies; Which did strike such a Religion into the Mahometan, that he thought the Pole and Russee were protected by Heaven.  
Touching ●…amogitia, a large part of the Kingdom, it is such, that the very Nobles there dwell in Cottages; What shall we think then of the Commonnalty?  
Touching the Virtues of the Pole, I will begin first with Religion, and where is she housed so poorly as in Poland? Where is she more mixed with profaneness? Near Vilna, one of their Capital Cities, the Mahometan Tartar doth observe his rites. Nay between Lituania and Samogitia, there are many who attribute a divinity to a kind of Serpents, which in their language are called Givoijtos, they carry them home, and a certain time of the year they offer Sacrifices unto them, they provide them meat, and if those Penates or household Gods of theirs do not eat, it is an Omen of ill luck, and presageth calamities. Nay, (I will not tell so Princely an Auditory a falsehood) in some places of Russia, Lituania and Samogitia, the Country people, towards the latter end of October, do provide Oblations and Holocausts for the Devil. They use to meet in some Ba●…n or Stable, and bring thither a Calf, a Hog, a Cock and Hen, with other creatures to make an immolation of them, and when they are killed to that purpose, their Priest or Enchant or whispering out some words, doth strike the ground with his staff, and cries out, the whole brigade keeping tone with him in pronouncing these words. O God Zeimminick (for so they call the Devil) These things we offer unto thee, and render thee thanks, that thou hast vouchsafed to conserve us this year in safety and health. And now we pray thee be pleased to defend us for the future from Fire, Iron, the Pestilence, and from our Enemies. Then they take the flesh of those slain Animals and eat them, throwing first into the four corners of the room some morsels, and pronouncing these words, Haec O Zeimmenick nostra Holocausta suscipe, & comede benignus▪ O Zeimmenick accept of these our sacrifices, and eat favourably: Now I beseech you, how can we think that Christ can cohabit or be found with those infernal, and Reptill Gods? Moreover the Samogitians are so given to superstition, that whereas it was the old custom of that Country to till the ground with wooden Ploughs, and Cul●…ers, and that the Governor of one of their Provinces brought them the use of iron Ploughshares for the ease of the labourer, and that some years after by an unusual distemper of the air, they had a dear year or two; They threw away their iron ploughshares, and fell to the old wooden ones again, attributing a kind of divinity unto them, and unluckiness unto the other. Though the rest of the Polonique people be not infected with such gross Idolatry, yet they are as grossly ignorant as any Christians on Earth can be. Few of them can say the Lords Prayer, or know what the ten commandments are, they leave that to their Landlords and Priests, it is enough for them to believe by an implicit faith in God Almighty, and his Son jesus Christ, and the holy spirit; touching more knowledge, it belongs to Princes and Great men. Now for the Mass of common people; They are mere slaves unto the Gentry, and worse than the Peasants of France; a Landlord may come into any husbandman's house, attended with a hungry train of followers, and there do or take away what he will, without any controlment. Nor do the Country people refrain from their ordinary labour upon the Lord's day, but they plough, and harrow, they dig and delve as upon other days; hereupon a stranger ask one of them, why he laboured upon the Sunday? Because, said he, I must eat upon the Sunday. The Landlords there have not only a despotical, but Regal power over their Tenants, having power of life and death; which slavish custom, Vitoldo Duke of Lituania brought in among them, who was such a Tyrant, that if he bade any to go away and hang himself, the party must do it, or else he should be put to a worse kind of death. Murder is no capital crime among them, but only finable; if a Gentleman kills another Gentleman, he forfetis 30. Crowns; if a clown kill a Gentleman, he forfeits twice as much, and if a gentleman kill a yeoman, it is but 10. crowns amercement: But Sigismond the first reformed these laws, and made the price of blood more precious. That Sigismond could crack a horshoe with his hands, or tear a whole stock of cards to flitters, or heave up a reasonable horse in his arms. But it is a thing much to be deplored, that the people of Poland were divided to four parts, three parts of four are Arrians in the i●…hearts, for that heresy reigns no where more in Europe; there are other among them, but this is the greatest: and can there be a greater heresy among Christians?  
Now for Religion, and all kind of civilities, the Pole is obliged to the Germane, who was their first introducer and instructor; as is evident by those relics of the Germane tongue, which are yet found among them, which the Slavonique did shoulder out. Now the Slavonique is the most spacious vulgar language upon Earth, it extends as far as Constantinople, one way, and Moscow another way; for above twenty several Nations speak it for their Vernacular tongue.  
Now touching the natural disposition of the Pole, it is as savage and sanguinary as of any Nation. Among a cloud of horrid examples which could be produced, that of King Popiel the 2. is remarkable; Who finding himself to be illbeloved by his Subjects, and suspecting that his brothers and uncles did go to undermine him, He counterfeited himself to be sick, and so sent for them as it were upon his deathbed to take his farewell of them, committing his wife and children to their care, and speaking unto them faintly and with much tenderness; he calls for a boul of wine to drink unto them, which he scarce touched with his lips; but they pledging him freely, were all poisoned, and died soon after. Hereupon the cunning Queen crying out that they had an intent to poison the King her Husband, their bodies were deprived of Christian burial, and thrown into the lake Goplus: but mark the judgements of Heaven. Out of the putrified bodies, there were such rats engendered, more big than ordinary, that first devoured all Popiells children, and then his Queen, and lastly himself in Crusvicia Castle, in a most disastrous manner, to the astonishment of all mankind.  
Moreover touching the perfidiousness of the Polish Nation; there be as many pregnant examples as can be produced among any people; but not to detain your ears long with such harsh notes, let this one serve. When Ladislaus, the Son and rightful Heir of King Albertus was put by, and Uladislaus the 5. made King of Poland, God Allmighty having respect to the innocence of young Ladislaus, poured his judgement upon the Pole in the Varvensian Battle, wherein besides the loss of many thousand souls, Christianity received the foulest blemish that ever she did from her infancy to that day. For this usurping Uladislaus, having agreed upon Articles of peace with Sultan Amurath, and given him the holy host for caution in point of performance, The said Uladislaus breaking the Capitulations, caused Amurath to rush into Poland with a fearful army, and as both were to close, the Turk drew out of his bosom the host, and the Articles which Uladislaus had sworn unto, crying out, O thou Crucified, O thou crucified, look upon thy perfidious people who have pawned thee unto me, yet in a most scelestous and perjurious manner have infringed their vow: if thou art some God, let perjury be vindicated. Hereupon there was a general overthrow given to the Austrian Army, and Uladislaus himself slain; In so much that Poland grew so despicable, that scarce any would undertake the title of her King.  
Touching the Cosacks which were so much applauded in the preceding Oration. Truly, most noble Princes, let me tell you, that they are a race of people of the same trade the wild Arabs are of, who live by robberies and plunder; and I had almost said they are as wild as they, for they feed upon raw flesh, which they put sometimes upon their horses back under the saddle to warm a little, and so they devour it. They are far worse than the Mosstroupers of Scotland, the Tories of Ireland, the Frondeurs of France, or the Bandoleroes of Spain, which lurk among the Pyrenean hills for rapine and spoil.  
To draw to a conclusion, as the genius and natural disposition of the Pole is rough, fierce and unpolished, so is their speech, which is a most abrupt and craggy kind of language, in so much that in some words you have ten consonants and but one vowel; the words of the Pole when he speaks high, are as so many stones thrown at a man's brains that hears him, they have such penenetrating harsh sounds and accents. The teeth of a Wolf, dentes lupini, are the of Poland, I arms will not say their nature doth sympathise with that rapacious beast, but me thinks the Latin tongue whereof they brag so much in point of vulgarity, should sound but very harshly among such teeth.  
For conclusion, I will relate unto you the character which one of Henry the thirds Secretaries, when he was then attending the King, gives of Poland and the people, which stands upon record in an Authentic piece of story. Quant a moy qui ne puis mentir je vous diray fort librement que je ne vis iamais un si miserable pays, ●…ant de povure Noblesse, touts brutals & sawage, mais toutesfois si pleins d' arrogance qu' elle n'estime ancune Nation. Ces sont choses difficiles a representer par escrit, & du tout impossibles a croire que par ceux qui les auroient veves. For my part, saith the French Secretary, who cannot lie, I will tell you freely that I never saw in the whole course of my life so miserable a Country; so indigent a Gentry, so brutish, and savage a Commonalty, but nevertheless so full of arrogance that they esteem no other Nation. These are things which are difficult to be represented by writing, and impossible to be believed but by them who have been Eye-witnesses hereof, as I have been too long.  
Surely it must be imputed to this arrogant nature of theirs, that they think no man worthy to be their King by birth, but by Election. Nature is not worthy and wise enough to give them a King, but they must choose one themselves. And it is observable that they are the only people among Mortals, who fetch their Kings from far, and admit Forreners to rule over them, and one reason may be, that they who are acquainted with the squalidness of the Country, will not take upon them such a spendid slavery. But the truth is, that Poland hath neither King nor Kingdom, but it is a kind of confused Oligarchycall kind of Government; which made the Lady Christina, Caesar's Daughter, and Wife to Uladislaus the 5. so say, summum illud jus, & authoritatem Monarchiae in Polonia esse umbratilem. That the highest power and authority of the Polish Monarchy is merely umbraticall, 'tis but a shadow of a power; for neither in the Economical Government of his domestic family, nor in choosing himself a Wife, much less in the senate hath he any power of free will.  
Therefore most excellent and judicious Princes, for to make Poland to have a precedence of the rest of the Provinces of Europe is the same, as when the Bramble, according to the holy text, was made the King of Trees.  
Dixi.   

THE ORATION OF Prince HENRY ALBERTUS Baron of LIMBURG etc. Hereditary Lord BUTLER of the Sacred Roman Empire, and Always free for HUNGARY.  
Most Excellent Precedent and Prince,  
WHile we are in so serious a debate touching the Kingdoms of Europe, and which of them may deserve the principality; truly me thinks that we are ingrateful to Hungary, that we have deferred so long to speak of the stoutest people that march under the standard of the Cross, and by whose valour the peace and incolumity of the Christian World hath hitherto stood. We should have been more mindful of the memory of our Benefactors. But as the Roman Respublique is oftentimes taxed to have sinned against her best and most devoted Citizens, as when Camillus was ostracised and banished, Scipio dismissed, Cicero after Catiline undervalved, Rutilius hurried over to Smyrna, Cato was denied the Praetorship, Vatinius the basest of men being preferred before him; so truly it may be said that we have misdemeaned ourselves towards Hungary. Now if Hungary could transplant herself hither before us, she would sharply rebuke us for this preterition and neglect; but because that cannot be, I will adventure to be Advocate for that most Noble Kingdom. But as in a vast Forest full of Trees, one intending to fallen down one for Timber, and building, but having such choice about him, is puzzled which to single out; so am I at a stand being entered into this large Forest of matter, where or how to begin.  
Will an inestimable treasure of all Wealth delight you? I pray where hath nature endeavoured with more industry to enrich a Country? If the amaenity of soil, the marvellous clemency of the air, the faecundity of ground can ennoble a Country, I pray hath not Hungary all these qualities? such is the fertility of fields there, that grain grows no where so kindly and copiously as there. There are such Vineyards up and down, that you will hardly find any where such generous and strong Wines. The Meadows are there so luxurious, that one Cart cannot see one another though at a small distance. For numerous herds of Cattle where can we find the like? How many thousand heads of fat cattle do the Graziers fetch thence for the supply of all the neighbouring Provinces? Vienna herself, the Caesarean Court, spends above 80. thousand of them. Such is the felicity of Woods and Groves, that they are full of fruit trees as well as timber, as Chessnuts, Walnuts, Acorns, Plumms, and Apples; besides they abound with wild beasts, and Foul, as Boars, Hares, Pheasans, Partridges, which is the familiar food of the Peasans.  
For stately deep Rivers Europe hath not greater, and more commodious and navigable for commerce, and the easy conveyance of all necessaries too and fro. They are quickened with abundance of Fish, great and small; insomuch that the River Tibisco is said by a proverb of the circumiacent Inhabitants to have two parts water, and the third fish, so that Wernherus▪ affirms that 100 Carp taken out Tibisco were sold for one Hungary ducat.  
What shall I say of the Richness of Mines up and down, wherein there are precious oars of Gold and Silver, the purest that is in the World. In a mine of Dalmatia, which is no ignoble part of the Hungarian Empire, there have been digged out 500 pound of Gold in one day, out of a Mine in the Principality of Nero as they call it. There be some Rivers in Transyl●…ania, wherein ingots of Gold have been found half a pound weight, as Bonfinius reports. There is a very credible report, that Sigismond Chanzares Bishop of the five Churches, was so rich in Gold, in the memory of man, that he could entertain an army upon his own pay. Hereupon when Albertus the Pole challenged the Kingdom of Hungaria from his brother Uladislaus, he used to heighten the courage of his soldiers by putting them in mind of the exuberant riches of the Country, saying, Hanc esse Illam Regionem quam mediam Danubius tot fluviorum consiuxu incolis percommodus intersecat, & quae universi paenè orbis faelicitatem complectitur. Hanc esse Illam optimdrum for acissimam fructuum, vinetis specio fissimam, equis & caeteris animalibus aff●…im abuudant●…m; Auri atque argenti, multorumque praeterea metallorum ditissimam, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ribns quae non modo ad vitae usum spectant, sed & luxum possit ministrare, instructissimam. This was that Region which the Danube with the conflux of other Rivers doth cut up and down with many intersections, a Country which hath the ●…aelicity of the Universe. This is she that abounds with such variety of fruit, with fair Vineyards, with plenty of generous Horses, and other animals of all kind. She is enriched with Mines of Gold and Silver, with many other sorts of metals. In sum, this is that Kingdom which is furnished with all things that appertain to humane life, either for use or pleasure. Yet Hungary doth not measure these splendid gifts of nature according to the common opinion and wish of man, but she proportions them according to the necessity and use. And the Inhabitants must labour for them accordingly▪ Without doubt industry is a high and indefatigable virtue; idleness and voluptuousness is a servile, slothful, weak and degenerous thing, her station is commonly in stoves and tap-houses, in baths, and hot▪ houses, or such places; When we find the other in the field, in the Market, in the Mines, or standing in defence of a Town with hard callous hands. If Virtue and industry can be found no where else, you are sure to find them embracing each other in Pannonia, now Hungary. What brave masculine births hath she produced, what grave and learned Doctors for the Church, as the most eminent B. Martin a pious Bishop, a pure Apostolical man. Then she had Saint Hierom, who for his sanctity and learning is reckoned, and with good reason, among the holy Confessors and Doctors of the Church. Then you have Andrew 〈◊〉▪ an admired student of Ciceronian Eloquence, who writ thrice with his own hand all Cicero's works that are instant. But at last leaving the Papaci●…, the mitre, the sublime honours of the Court, and all worldly Pomp, he be took himself to a private contemplative life, and to his devotions.  
If I should stuff my speech with all those rare and holy men which Hungary hath produced, it may be the Catalogue would be so large as that of Germany, or France. Some of them have deserved so well of the Commonwealth of learning, that they have been greater Benefactors than some Kings or Princes. Among other joamnes Sambucus a Doctor of Physic by profession, was so diligent in the collection of the best Authors, that his Library might be compared to any one private man's in Europe; which Nonnus and Hesychius do testify at large. We are going now to make inspection into the heroic virtue of the Hungarians, in point of Valour and Courage. And first we could nominate eight Emperors, which under a benign and happy star were born in Hungary. In the Emperor Decius, his virtues kept touch with his age, and grew up together. He came to the Caesarian dignity, neither by ambition, by bought suffrages, nor canvasing and corrupting of friends; but as his Election was fair, so his Government was so exemplary and glorious, that he was adjudged to deserve the character of Optimus Princeps by the unanimous judgement of the Senate; had he not been given so much to Pagan superstition, and oppressed Christianity by such cruentous persecutions. Aurelianus is cried up to have kept the whole Roman Empire three years without the least invasion, or noise of War; he augmented the bounds of it, and enhanced the glory of it all his life time; but he was tainted with the same stain as Decius was. He was of a tall stature, but of a sinewy constitution, and robust; In so much that it is recorded how in the Sarmatian War he slew with his own hand 48 in one day, but in all above 950. In so much that children and boys used to sing up and down the streets on festival days. Mille, mille, mille, mille, mille, mille decollavimus, unus homo, mille, mille, mille, mille, mille, decollavimus, mille, mille vivat, qui mille, mille occidit: What shall I say of Probus the Emperor, who for his mere virtue and valour was hoist up to the transcendent dignity of an Emperor, though descended of very mean Parents, of a Gardener; his name suited with his nature, for he was a man of punctual probity. He trounced the Pole, he extinguished Tyrants, he pacified the World, in so much that Wars being ceased all the World over by Land and Sea, it was said, Milites minimè fore necessarios, cum desint hosts, Soldiers were superfluous when there were no Enemies. Dioclesian was also an Hungarian, a Prince of a notable spirit, who would have antecelled all the rest, had not the tenth persecution happened in his reign. For there were nine before under Nero, Domitian, Tra●…an, Marcus, Severus, Maximus, Decius, Valerianus, Aurelianus, but that of Dioelesian was the bloodiest of all. jovianus Augustus was also a child of Hungary, who being chosen Emperor, refused it, saying, that he would not rule Pagans. hereupon the soldiers with a loud voice said they were Christians. Valentinianus and Valens were Hungarians, and his Son Gratian, all Emperors, who did more exploits,  

— quam quae comprendere dictis  
In promptu mihi sit—   
After this there rushed into Hungary many rough septentrional people in swarms, as Vandals, Goths, Hunns, Ostrogoths, and Longobards, at which time Pannonia came to be called Hungary, and those stout Nations did incorporate and mix with the Hungarians. Attila struck in like a thunderbolt and brought hither the Empire; at which time Hungary had Greece and Italy in Vassalage, and Stipendiary. She did persecute the Gauls with devastations and ●…yrings; She brought Germany after many changes of War to be tributary unto her; and to pay this tribute, Germany was constrained to make use of, and melt her Church plate, and that of Monasteries. And there was no people on Earth so formidable as the Hungarian. For their Empire did extend then from Austria to Constantinople, and the Pontic Sea, and from Poland to the Adriatic another way: in which compass of Earth there were 7. spacious Kingdoms, subject to Hungary; In so much that the King began to be called Archirix.  
But what shall I say of Stephanus Sanctus, who would never attempt any▪ act in War or Peace, but he would offer up some extraordinary sacrifice to Heaven. What shall I say of Andrea the 2. who was so happy in the Education of his Children, that his Daughter Elizabeth being married to the Langrave of Hessen, for her austere and abstemious holy course of life, was enroled in the Calendar of Saints? What shall I say of Ladislaus the first, who quelled the Pole, brought down the Swisses courage, while he was upon an expedition against the Sarracens, by conjunction with other Princes, paid nature the last debt, and so died in the fullness of glory▪ and the magnitude of his great exploits; a man, besides valour, for integrity of life, and innocence incomparable. What shall I say of the Geisis, of the Belis, of Emericus, of the many of the name of Charles and Lewis, of Sigismond, Albert, and Uladislaus, and of other most gallant Kings full of prowess and piety; With what Praeconiums shall I blazon the praise of Mathias the first? o what a Hero was that Mathias, he that was a terror to the East and West. He that was Son to Huniades, who was so great an Artist in policy, and a well tempered Government? He never embarked himself in any business but he arrived at his wished Port; he never attempted any business though never so arduous, but he compassed it, being most constant and thorough in all his resolutions, and in the prosecution of them; who had such a dextrous and moving way to incite his soldiers, that he made hope of Victory to serve for pay. The Emperor Maximilian the first, when he took the City Alba, when he triumphantly entered the City, the first thing he enquired after was Saint Mary's Church, where the body of Sanctus Stephanus was interred; but spying the Arms and Ensigns of Mathias Corvinus, being nearly fixed and pendant upon the walls with this Inscription, Sub marmore hoc Matthias situs est, quem facta Deum ostendunt, Fata fuisse hominem: Here lieth Mathias under this Marble, whom his feats showed to be a God, but his fate a man, having I say spied and read this, he burst into tears, so highly did Maximilian esteem Mathias; and indeed the perfections and prosperity of such a man, whom would it not ravish? For Mathias in his time was the only man who was said to bear arms. He subdued the Bohemians, he o'ercame the Null, he afflicted the Pole, he tamed the Rebels of Hungary, he reduced Austria under his Dominion, he extended the limits of his Possessions to the shores of the Adriatic Sea; he raised the siege of Otranto; He dissipated innumerable swarms of Turks, and so abated the spirit of the great Sultan Mahomet, who in 32. years had acquired two Empires, had got 12. Kingdoms, and taken 200. Cities; I say he so handled this Mahomet, that he and Bajazet his Son desired peace. Besides, this Sultan Mahomet when he gloried of himself that he had conquered and quelled all the Kings round about him, he used to except always King Mathias, who was called by him strenuus Princeps, the strenuous Prince.  
But that which adds much to the renown of this notable King, was that he joined Arts with Arms, that he contracted a kind of Matrimony 'twixt Mars and the Muses; to whom he was much devoted in his private retirements. At dinner and supper he had always some book or other read unto him, or some Doctors discoursing by learned altercations: He would always say that 'twas impossible for any to be a General, and to deserve the name of a great Captain, unless he were versed in the institution of War among our Ancestors, and observed their discipline of War and Stratagems. He made Buda the Domicile and rendezvous of all kind of Virtue and Knowledge; For he was very liberal and munificent to all learned men as well as Military, and his reign flourished with both. Earl Emericus was another Ulysseses, his brother Stephen an Agamemnon, Paul Cinisius another Aiax, Micolas Cyupor a Diomedes, Michael Palatine a Nestor, Blasius Magerus (who was of ●…o robust a constitution, that he lift up a but of wine which three horses could hardly draw) was another Hercules, and King Mathias himself was a true Achilles. In his happy reign, Hungary was no other than an Academy of brave men in all faculties. He boar up most magnanimously against the whole power of the Ottoman Empire, who denounced War so often against him; That fresh Empire which flourisheth with such incredible Wealth, most spacious and variety of Dominions, with such veteran Captains and exact discipline and exercised soldiery; fleshed so often with blood and a continual course of conquering, having their courage elevated with the conceit of the puissance and large territories of their Emperor, with divers other advantages which the soft. European Princes have not, among whom either want of money, the mutining of soldiers, the covetousness of Commanders, the carriage of so much luggage and ammunition for the mouth, the luxury, and excesses of the common soldier is so frequent. In so much that as an Italian Author hath it, it is a harder matter to take the smallest cottage from the Turk, than it were to take Calais or Bayon from the French. Hungary is the greatest rampart of Christendom against that Gigantique Enemy, who magnifieth and esteems the Hungarian, and slights all other Europaeans, confessing that when he comes to the field against them, he is sure to meet with men. Nay the women of Hungary have such masculine spirits, that it is admirable. Among many other instances which might be made, I will produce a late one. When Mahomet had closely begirt Agria by a pertinacious siege, and that the Praesidiaries being summoned to make a rendition of the place upon very fair terms; for answer they set up a Mortuary with a death's head upon it on the top of one of their turrets, preferring death before a dedition. Hereupon the next day he made a furious storm, and brought his scaling ladders round about the walls, but he was notably repulsed twice by the Inhabitants. Wherein the virility and valour of the women was much seen, whereof one having her husband killed before her face, her mother being by, the mother said that she should have a care of her Husband's body to give him burial. God forbid, O mother, that my husband should go unrevenged to his grave, pugnas hoc tempus, non exequias poscit, this is a time of fight not burying, and so taking up her husband's sword and target, she rushed in among the throng of the Enemies, and never left till she had killed three Turks with her own hands, as they were scaling a wall, and so offered them for a Victim to her spouse, to whom she afterward gave the rites of burial. Another following her Mother, who carried upon her head a great stone to throw down upon the scaling Enemy, and being shot by a bullet and killed; the daughter takes up the same stone and went furiously to the walls, where she made so happy a throw, that she knocked down dead two huge Turks as they were climbing up a ladder. This female courage did much heighten the spirits of the men, who behaved themselves so manfully, that the gran Signior was constrained to raise his siege most ingloriously, and so truss up his baggage and be gone. Bonfinius hath another story of a valiant Hungarian, who at the siege of jayza, climbed up a Turret where the Turk had set up his colours, which he pulled down, and fell down with the colours, and so sacrificed his life. What shall I say of the portentous courage of Nicolas jurischyzius who kept Gunzium a small City against Solyman, maugre his Army of 300. thousand men. What stupendous exploits did Nicolas Serinius perform ●… at the siege of Ligeth, who being encompassed on all sides, with fire, famine, & thirst, with the howling and screeching of women and children, Thuanus reports, he caused a gate to be opened, and having a select company of Adventurers with him, they rushed into the midst of the Enemy, to the amazement of the whole army, where some of them lost their lives so happily, that they raised the siege: But Serinius like the Salamander went through and through the fire without being burnt. Necessity is virtue's occasion, and it is the property of a man truly valiant to make use of it, and turn it to virtue. Now virtue hath many ways to try the valour of her children. She tries the courage of Regulus by fire, of Rutilius by banishment, of Socrates by poison, of Cato by his self-netion; And of the Hungarians by these and many other ways: Thus she tried Serinius, jurischyzius, Georgius Thurius, and Nadastus, who have got themselves high seats in the Temple of immortality.  
It is Hungary that is the Antemurale, the true Propugnacle of all Europe, against that prodigious huge Tyrant the Musulmans Emperor. The Germans grow rich by the Hungarian arms, the Italians live by their Funerals, the French sleep quietly by their Calamities, the Spaniard is at leisure to War else where by their Perils, the English and Dutch made the more safe for their Power, The Pole follows his spotes by their labour. And Christians in general live securely through their perpetual and contiguous dangers. So that Noble Hungary is not only the inexpugnable rampart, but the buckler of Christendom.  
Therefore, most Noble Princes, the Hungarians without much profaneness may be called the Patrons and Tutelar Angels of Europe. Therefore the Pole, when the French Henry had stole away from them, made no ill choice when they reflected upon Stephen Bartorius to be their King. What an heroic Expedition did he engage himself in against the Moscovite; what an immense tract of ground was he to traverse, what thick endless woods, what huge Rivers, what fens and loughs with other horrid uncouth places was he to meet withal! The Turks expeditions to Persia, the Spaniards to the Indies, the expeditions which were made in former ages to the holy Land, come short of this difficult march which Bartorius made. But what did he do by this tedious and venturous march? when he had gone from Boristhenes to Cerinova, from Staricia, and Novogard, as far as the lake Lohod; depopulating all before him, and taking all the youth of the Country Captives, he constrained the Sudari the Emperor of Moscow, to refrain from all navigation in the Boristhenes, and all the Ports of the Baltique Sea, and confined him to the interior Russia, that he should wander no further. This Bartorius extended his arm from the Danube, the Titisco, the Dravo, and the River Marossa to the furthest parts of the Northern World. When the Turk besieged Plescovia, there came an Ambassador from him into Bartorius his Army, where they were put in battalion. The Ambassador beholding the countenances of the men, their postures, and regular discipline, with the splendour of their arms, and richness thereof, together with their horses and Canons, he fell into a kind of astonishment, breaking out into these passionate words, Faceret Deus ut isti Principes— would God were pleased that these Princes, meaning his Master the Great Turk, Amurath the 3d. and King Stephen Bartorius were conjoined in a league, and they might subdue all the World. I will conclude with a brave Character that Vanotius gave of Stephen Bartorius.  

Bartorius erat  
In Templo plus quam sacerdos,  
In Republica plus quam Rex,  
In Tribunali plus quam Senator,  
In judicio plus quam jurisconsultus,  
In exercitu plus quam Imperator,  
In acie plus quam miles,  
In adversis perferendis injuriisq, condonandis plus quam Vir,  
In public a libertate tuenda plus quam Civis,  
In amicitia colenda plus quam amicus,  
In convictu plus quam familiaris,  
In Venatione, ferisque domandis plus quam Leo,  
In tota reliqua vitâ plus quam homo.   

Bartorius was  
In the Temple more than a Priest,  
In the Commonwealth more than a King,  
In point of Judgement more than a Lawyer,  
In the Army more than an Emperor,  
In the field more than a soldier,  
In suffering adversities and more than man,  
In pardoning of injuries more than man,  
In preserving the Public liberty more than a Patriot,  
In all Offices of friendship more than a friend,  
In his conversation more than familiar,  
In hunting and taming wild beasts more than a Lion,  
In all the rest of his life more than a Philosopher.   
All these things impartially considered and well pondered, I do not see, under correction of the judgement of this most sage Assembly, but Hungary may stand in competition for pre-eminence with divers other Provinces of Europe.   

THE ORATION OF THE Lord ERNEST SCHAFELISKI against HUNGARY.  
Most Illustrious, and Highborn Princes,  
THE Noble Henricus Albertus, Baron of Limburg, hath detained your attentions a good while in setting forth the praises of Hungary, and so to make her capable of the principality of Europe; but therein he hath laboured to put a Giants head upon a Pygimes shoulders, or Hercules Buskins upon a Child's legs. For, as by unanswerable arguments I shall endeavour to prove, she hath no reason in the World to aim at such a Prerogative.  
For the Kingdom of Hungary, although it enjoy a fat and fertile soil, and almost every where Productive, yet by the fury of Mars, and neighbourhood of the common Enemy, her agriculture and Mines have extremely suffered for many Ages. Besides, her air is found unwholesome, and disagreeable to all strangers, for the grossness of it in some seasons, and the tenuity of it in others. Therefore they cannot continue in one place above a month without danger, lest the languor Hungaricus, the Hungarian faintness seize upon them; which is prevented by frequent remove of stations; that disease of the Hungarian languor or lithernes, having begun in the army at Comorra, dispersed itself to javarin, and so the contagion did expand itself among the Germans, Bohemians, Belgians, French, and Italians, where it extremely raged for a while. And as at Buda (than which besides Possonium there is scarce a City worthy the view of a stranger in all the Kingdom) there be some sulphureous Waters of such an intense heat, that will sing hogs if they be thrown into them, yet there are peculiar sorts of fish that are there generated, with certain kinds of frogs, but if you throw other River's fish or frogs into them, they presently die and turn up their bellies. So the air of Hungary agrees by decree of nature with the inhabitants themselves, but it is averse, pestilential and intolerable to other people. What shall I say of those kinds of louse, which are the offspring of the Hungarian air, which much infested all people? for it is found there by experience, that if one take a Napkin and wash it there in pond water, and exposed to drying in the Sun, it will be presently full of Vermine. Nay, if one sweat never so little, the moisture of his body will turn to louse by the pravity of the Hungarian air. Add hereunto, that besides the Malignity of the air, the waters are also there of an ill quality both Fountains and Rivers, all for the most part except the Danube, whose streams are wholesome and potable: The River Rabniza which mingleth with the Danube about javarin, runs with such unwholesome waters, that the fish and crabs which are caught there do cast an ill sent, yea, after they are boiled. But as Parents, if they have a child either crump-shoulderd, hopperhipped, bleareyd, or marked with any other deformity, do make her a compensation for it in an extraordinary Dowry, which is able to make a sow appear like Susanna; So Nature and Fortune have made Hungary some amends for these her imperfections, and furnished her with patches to put upon her Moles.  
Now touching the Inhabitants of Hungary, I pray be pleased to hear what Otto a grave Bishop of Frisinghen saith of them. Hungari sunt facie tetri, profundis oculis, statura humiles, moribus & linguâ barbari & feroces, ut jure fortuna culpanda, vel potius divina patientia sit admiranda, quae ne dicam hominibus, sed talibus hominum monstris tam delectabilem exposuit terram. The Hungarians saith the Bishop (and Bishops should not lie) are commonly of a tetrique countenance, hollow eyed, low statured, barbarous and fierce in their behaviour and speech; That either Fortune may be justly blamed, or the Divine providence admired, that such a delightful Country should be exposed to such men, or rather Monsters of men. The Hunns, which are birds of a feather with the Hungarians, if ancient writers may be believed, had their Original from a sort of Demons. For, as not only tradition, but the story goes, Filimer King of the Goths having in his army a huge vast-bodied woman which was accused of impudicity; he banished her to a Wilderness beyond the Maeotis, where meeting with Satyrs and Demons, she coupled with them and brought forth a numerous issue, which were afterwards called Hunns. But certain it is that both Hunns and Hungarians came at first from the extremest parts of the North, out of a Province called juharia, or jurha, which were subject to the Moscovite; who in quest of a hotter clime came as far as the banks of the Danube, to that part of the Continent now called Ungaria, which took its name from juharia; for in that Province of juharia, they speak to this day the same language as the Hungars do: of these juharians Claudian speaks.  

— quo non deformius ullum  
Arctos alit, turpes habitus, obscaenaque visu  
Corpora.   
Marcellinus calls them Bipedes bestias, vel quales in commarginandis pontibus effigiati stipites dolantur incompti in hominum figuras; They are two footed beasts, or roughhewn trunks effigiated in the form of men, which use to stand upon the margin of bridges.  
Now their Intellectuals are as ugly as their bodies. There were never before nor after such martin's, and such Hieroms, as Hungary had the hap once to produce, which were two columns of Christianity. What a bloody tyrant of Christians was that Decius you extol so highly? what a fierce Persecutor was Dioclesian? Valentinianus though a Christian was a Tyrant, and Valens an Arrian. But Attila you say was that unparallelled Hero, yet I pray hear what Lucan speaks of him.  

Terrarum fatale malum, & sydus iniquum  
Gentibus—   
That Attila was a prodigious Blasphemer; he was used to belch out that, as Olaus hath it, he would make stellas prae se cadere, terras tremere; the stars to fall before him, and the Earth to tremble. In his Public diplomas, and warrants he styled himself to be Attila filius Beneduci, Nepos magni Nembroth, nutritus in Engaddi, Dei gratia Rex Hunnorum, Medorum, Gothorum, Dacorum, flagellum Dei, metus & malleus Orbis. Attila the Son of Beneduc, Nephew to great Nembroth, nursed in Engaddi, by the grace of God King of the Hunns, Medes, Goths, Dacians, the scourge of God, the terror and hammer of the World. He had an Army of 700▪ thousand men, yet fearing to be taken once, by Aëtius the Roman General, he had caused many saddles to be put in a place, that if need were, a fire might be made of them to burn him: but it pleased God to throw away this iron rod in the height of his pride; for being to be married to the daughter of the King of the Bactrians, this bloody Tyrant was choked in his bed the night before by a sudden flux of blood.  
You well know, my Noble Princes, how these Hungarians were for many ages like Goads in our Ancestors sides; how prone they have always been to rush into Germany to breathe better air; but stories tell how magnanimously our Emperors have repelled and routed them. Among others, how did Henricus Auceps, and Otto the great trounce them? They grew so insolent as to demand tribute of the Emperor, who in disdain of them, sent them a lame old scabby dog; whereupon they came into the field with a formidable Army, but Heaven was so auspicious to Henricus Auceps, that he utterly discomfited them with the death of 150. thousand, and 50. thousand taken prisoners; yet they made head again, and invaded the confines of Germany by the incitement of Horoldus Bishop of Salisburg, with such a numerous Army, that they vapoured in these words, nisi Caelum cadens nos obruat, aut Terra dehiscens nos absorbeat, nulla vis humana tanta erit quae vel aspectum nostrum sustinere possit: Unless the Heaven fall down and overwhelm us, or the Earth gape and swallow us, there is no humane power never so great dare look us in the face. But Otto the Great pricked the Tympany of their pride, utterly overthrew them, took their King Bultzko prisoner, with their 4. chief Generals, Lelius, Sura, Toxus and Schaba. This Signal and mighty victory did so abate their spirits, that they could never since be elevated to that height against Germany; but that which confounded them most, was, that their But sco should be hanged before that Gate in Ratisbone which looks towards Hungary. There is a proverb that Hungarus multum lupi in se habet, The Hungarian hath much of the Wolf in him: this alludes to his immanity, fiercnesse and cruelty. Therefore one gave Uladislaus this advice, as Bonfinius hath it; Hungaros non clementia & impunitate, sed ferrea virga continendos esse, The Hungarian was to be kept in awe, not by mildness and impunity, but with an Iron rod. Much more might be spoken of the odd humours of the Hungarians, but I will here cut off the thread of my discourse, for fear I should abuse the ears of so gentle an Auditory with such abrupt matter. And, most Noble Baron of Limburg, this presumption of Hungary in demanding the precedence of other Kingdoms, is like that of Weiderad the Abbot of Fuldo, when in a Diet at Mentz, he demanded Priority of the Archbishop of Colen, who answered, sure this Imperial Council will not think it fitting, that an Archbishop should give the place to an Abbot, nor a Prince Elector to a Monk.   

THE ORATION OF THE Lord LAURENCE VONWENSIN For ITALY.  
Most Illustrious, and nobly extracted Princes,  
IT is recorded of the Macedonian Alexander, that when he fell a reading those verses of Homer, wherein the Valiant Hector challenged any of the nine greatest Captains of Greece to combat, and that the army thereupon putting it to a sortilegious chance or lot, with trembling vows, so jupiter wished that he might be Aiax, or Agamemnon; Alexander broke out into a sudden passion and said, Occiderem qui me Tertium nominasset: I would kill him who should name me the third, intimating thereby that he scorned to be the third in chief among nine, though thereby he might have more under him then above him. But, most excellent Princes, put case any were at Rome, and in the presence of Caesar or Pompey should offer to range Italy in the third place among the Provinces of Europe, I believe an ordinary death should not serve his turn, or such as Alexander threatened, but he should be presently snatched to the Gemonian scales, hurled into Tiber, or precipitated down the Tarpeian Rock.  
For indeed Italy, fair Italy is the most precious gem of Europe, and other Provinces are but Bristol stones in comparison. I will begin with that Character which Pliny gives of her, who is acknowledged to be one of Nature's chiefest Notaries. Italia omnium rerum alumna, eadem & parens, numine Divum electa, quae caelum ipsum clarius faceret, sparsa congregaret imperia, ritusque molliret, & tot populorum discordes ferasque linguas sermonis commercio contraheret ad colloquia, & humanitatem homini daret, breviterque una cunctarum Gentium in toto or be patria fieret. Italy is the nurse and Parent of all things, she is the Elect of the Gods, as she who should make the Heavens more clear, who should congregate scattered Empires, and mollify their customs: 'tis she that's cut out by nature, to draw unto her by sweet commerce of language the most discordant and fiercest people, yea, to give humanity to man. And lastly, 'tis she who is fittest to be the common Country of all Nations. Therefore I cannot choose but wonder, and not injustly, that she should be pretermitted all this while in so Judicious an assembly; but the same fortune befalls Italy here, as doth commonly fall upon the most precious jewels exposed in some Cabinet to be sold, where the richest are shown last: For if the praises of Italy had been first dilated, the eulogiums of all other Countries had proved insipid and tedious. Now as the glorious Sun, when he culminates and toucheth the Meridian Circle doth cast a lesser shadow, then when he declines towards our horizon Westward; so the perfections of Italy which are so high, that they may be said to be in the Zenith, and the Vertical point over all other Nations. If I should undertake to speak of them, and draw them down to the horizon of humane understanding, I should shadow and obscure them the more. There is in Italy such an harmonious consent of all creatures, that the Elements can afford, and those in such a perfection, that as Pliny saith again, quicquid est quo carere vita non debeat nusquam est praestantius. Whatsoever is, that life ought not to want, is no where more excelling. The terroir or soil is gentle, copious and cheerful, it returns more profit to the husbandman than he sometimes expects, being at no great charge of culture, for the land doth not struggle there with her Lord, but is gentle and complying with his desires. The Italian Wheat for whiteness and weight is distinguished from any other Countries; the Boetian is next, than Sicily, and the African Wheat is the fourth in goodness. Here I pray what an Emperor (Constanstin Paleologus) speaks of her, Nisi scirem a sanctissimis viris in Oriente Paradisum esse▪ meo judicio non alibi posse reperiri quam in persuavi Patavina amaenitate. If I did not know▪ saith the Emperor, by the affirmation of most Holy men, that Paradise were Eastward, it could be found no where else but in the most sweet amaenities of Milan; whence sprung the proverb, Bologna la grassa, Padova la passa. There be some soils in Italy that afford four lattermaths of Hay & grass; there are Cheeses made there in many places of a hundred poundweight. Nor doth Italy feed the eye only as you pass with delectable prospects far and near, but it feeds the smelling also with the most aromatical odours of her fruit, witness Apulia with many other places, which would make you think you pass through the Elysian fields as you journey along her territories. For Vineyards, she may be called Bacchus his Inner Cellar, where the most generous & sweetest Wines are kept. And whereas Pliny, who had survaid so much of the Earth, doth enumerate fourscore kinds of Wines, the one half of them may be appropriated to Italy. Who hath not heard of the Greek Wine that grows hard by Naples, on that part of ground were the fiery Mountain Vesuvius is superincumbent? the Set in Wine which Augustus Caesar preferred before all others; the Caecubum and Falernian Wine, the Albanian, the Surrentin, the Massican, the Statan, the Calen●…, Fundani and Veliternian Wines, with the Rhetican which grows near Verona, and is of a royal taste, which Theodoric King of the Ostrogoths, while he did signorize over Italy, caused to be brought to Rome for his own palate; the Ligustic and Tabian Wine, and lastly the Wine about Monte Fiascone called Lachrymae Christi, the tears of Christ, for the suavity thereof, which when one of our Countrymen had tasted, he fetched a sigh saying, O Domine, quare non lachrymâsti in nostris Terris? O Lord why didst thou not shed some tears in our Country? At Papia there grow most fragrant Grapes which perfume one's mouth as he eats them. The liquor of these grapes is better than any Hellebor against melancholy, it expels corroding cares, and wonderfully elevates the languishing spirits. It is recorded that the Famous Boetius Severinus, a Patrician of Rome being in Prison, and but half alive, the sense of his Captivity having sunk so deep into him, was so revived by this Wine●… that it begat new spirits in him. O faelicia vina quae labantem m●…rore animum, curisque depressum modico haustu erigunt, firmantque nutantem. O happy Wines which elevate the mind depressed with cares, and crestfaln with grief, bearing it up from going down, though he drink but a modicum of it. Hereupon his strength and spirits being restored and instaurated by this Wine, he fell to write his book de Consolation: Who doubts but Oenotria received her old denomination for the goodness of the Wine that is gathered there.  
Italy also excels for rare large cattle, whence she haply may receive her name from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which is a Calf. The fame of the Neapolitan Coursier runs all the World over. And for herds of sheep she hath had always great numbers, according to Martial.  

Velleribus primis Appulia, Parma secundis  
Nobilis, Altinum tertia laudat Ovis.   
Apulia hath the first fleeces, Parma the second, and Altinum the third. For Volatills and Aquatique creatures, Italy also abounds with variety. For all sorts of metals Italy also veils to no Country; there is a Mine of Quicksilver hard by the River Hydra. For Alum also in Toscany, and the territories of the Church there is great store, and it may be called now one of Rome's Staple Commodities, whereof there are mighty proportions carried away; and to encourage the Merchant to come thither, the Pope hath long since published a Manifesto, that if any ship be taken by Pirates, or cast away by storm being laden with Roman Alum, when he comes again he shall have it at half the rate he paid for it before; 'tis thought that France vents of this Commodity above a Million of Ducats every year. There is most excellent Salt made in Italy; she hath excellent Alabaster, and Marble. She hath Manna, which no Kingdom of Europe hath besides her. She hath store of Coral and Porphyry, she hath Ophits, agates, and Chalcedeny, she hath the hard Azure, and the Lazul stones, the grain for Purple dies, with innumerable other rich Commodities. O precious Italy, and among other territories of thine, O luxurious Campania? which Florus doth describe thus very elegantly. Omnium non modo Italia, sed toto terrarum orbe pulcherrima Campaniae plaga est, nihil mollius caelo, nihil uberius solo, bis floribus vernat, Ideo Liberi Cererisque certamen dicitur, nihil hospitalius mari. Heic illi nobiles portus, Caieta & Misenus, & tepentes fontibus Baiae, Lucrinus & Avernus quaedam maris ostia. Heic amicti vitibus montes Gaurus, Falernus, Massicus, & pulcherrimus omnium Vesuvius, Aetnaei ignis imitator. Campania is the most beautiful tract of Earth, not only of Italy, but of all the World. there's nothing more gentle than her air, more luxuriant than her soil. Bacchus and Ceres strive here for the mastery. There is no Sea so hospitable, here are the Noble Ports of Caieta, and Misenum, Lucrinus and Avernus are as two Gates to let in Neptune; here are Baths fed with tepid Fountains, here are hills clad with Vines, Gaurus, Falernus, Massicus, and the fairest of all Vesuvius, Aetna's Ape. Halicarnassaeus affirmed in his time, that fruits are gathered there three seasons in the year; what a place of pleasure was Capua in Tiberius his time? what a Paradise is Naples at this time? Here Virgil melted away his time when he writ his Georgiques'. Horace, Livy, Statius, Pampinius, Claudian, Anneius Seneca, Agellius, Petrarca, Panormitanus, Laurentius Valla, Porcellius, Blondus, Facius with other excellent writers. For the lustre and number of Nobility, there is not such a concourse upon Earth of Princes, Dukes, Marquises, and Counts. Who then, that hath the least ambition to virtue, but would be transported with a violent desire to visit Italy, who hath Cities that shine in her like so many constellations in the Firmament? Those of the first magnitude are Rome, holy and magnificent Rome, wise, rich and Lordly Venice, gentile, and odoriferous Naples, beautiful Florence, a City, as Charles the Emperor said, to be seen only on Festival days, Milan the spacious, Bolonia the fat, Ferrara the civil, Padova the strong, Bergamo the subtle, Genoa the proud, Verona the worthy, Brescia the fortified, Mantova the glorious, Rimini the good, Sienna the studious, Luca the industrious, Furli the wanton, Ravenna the mild, Capova the amorous, Urbino the loyal, etc. with divers renowned Cities more that have their peculiar Epithets.  
The Divine ingeny, and inventive brain of the Italian, is well known all the Earth over, for all Countries have reaped the benefit thereof. There are not such Opificers and Artists in the World; if you respect Limmers, Architects, Painters, Weavers, and such like; who are not only imitated, but admired by the rest of the Europaeans. What a rare Chemical invention was that of making Crystal Glasses by the Venetian. What a happy, and infinitely profitable invention was that of the Mariner's compass, found out by the subtle reach of a Napolitan wit, that immortal john Goia of Amalphi: What prodigious fancies had Michael Angelo of Florence, and Raphael of Urbino. Now, as Biscopius a British Monk, made 5. Pilgrimages to Rome, and carried back to Great Britain in the year 703. the choicest Artificers of Italy, at which time one may say that that Island was first civilised, so to this day all other Countries fetch their chiefest Artists from thence.  
Moreover for all other Speculative and Theorical Knowledge, the Italian brain transcends all other in the study of the Sciences. Rome had but short skirts before literature was introduced, which happened a little after the first Punic War, than she began to be another Athens. O immortal Gods, how did she expand herself afterwards, how violently did she thrive and augment her Dominions? what rare wits did she produce, as Ennius Rudinus, Accius Plautus, Lucretius, Catullus, Statius, Horatius, Persius, and Valerius Flaccus, juvenal, Porpertius, Ovid, & Virgil; all heavenly Poets. For Prose, Porcius Cato Censorinus, Q. Claudius, Marcus Varro, who wrote more than others use to read, Salustius Crispus, Cornelius Nepos, Pompeius Trogus, Titus Livius, Caius julius Caesar, Velleius Paterculus, Cornelius Tacitus, Valerius Maximus, Suetonius, Pliny, Nature's Bibliothecary. What accurate rules of historizing are given us by Archytas, Aristoxenus, Luritus, Nicomachus, all Tarentines. Alchmen, and Philolaus, Crotonians, Vitruvius of Verona; The Mysteries of Greek Philosophy were opened to us by Papirius, and Sempronius. For the Pandects of the Law we are beholden to Papinianus, Paulus, and Ulpian. What shall I say of those Hero's of Eloquence, Cornelius Cethegus, Appius Caecus, Q. Metellus, C. Laelius, P. Africanus, Ser. Galba, Aemilius Lepidus, C. Gracchus, Q. Catulus, Herennius, Titius, and the great Standardbearer of Orators, of Tullius Cicero. What were found single in all the other, met all in him together. His Orations had the gravity of Cato, the lenity of Laelius, he had neither the boisterousness of Gracchus, nor the heat of Caesar, nor the confused distributions of Hortensius, nor the sophisms of Calvus, nor the niggardness of Sallust. There could nothing imaginable be either added, spared or altered in his Orations. And what a powerful stroke did the Ciceronian Eloquence carry with it against Catiline? what a virtue it had to preserve Rome? Romulus did not so great an act to build Rome, as Cicero did to defend it. It was a great trophy that Scipio carried away from Hannibal, Fabricius from Pyrrhus, the other Scipio from Antiochus, Crassus from Spartacus, Pompey from Sertorius and Mithridates, but it was a more wholesome Victory for Rome which Cicero had of Catiline.  
But after these glorious Lamps of learning, there happened afterward dark times, by the irruption of many barbarous Nations into Italy, who ravished Rome so often, overwhelmed all Italy with ignorance. But Urban the 4. revoked the Muses from Banishment, and learning began to flourish again. He sent for Thomas Aquinas to Rome, who had been a scholar to Albertus Magnus. This Aquinas was a man of extraordinary intellectuals, so that he grew more illustrious for his learning, then for his birth, though he descended from the ancient Counts of Apulia: The old Academy of Rome was then reestablished by new instaurations. After Urban, Clement the 5. in the Council of Vienna made a Decree, that at Rome, or wheresoever the Pontifical Court should reside, the Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Arabic should be read by public Professors. Then in Nicolas the 5. time choice Agents were sent all Europe over to fish for old Authors, to which end he gave them golden hooks, and large allowance. He offered 5000. Ducats to him who could bring the Hebrew Copy of Saint Matthews Gospel. Cosmo, and Laurence de Medici, were great Restaurators of learning. Which made Marsilius Ficinus, Argyropilus, Chalco●…diles, Picus, and Politianus to come to Florence. Azon of Bolonia did much in reviving the Civil Law, together with the glossaries of Accursius.  
I come now to Dante Aligero, Petrarca, and Boccaccio a triumvirate, who were Gran-Masters of the Italian tongue.  
Leo the tenth was a man born for the reparation of Letters, and advancement of knowing men; from his time it is incredible how all kind of Sciences did reflourish in Italy, and consequently in all Countries else; for Italy may be called the Source or great cistern, whence all kind of Virtues flow to the European World. Divine Writers did multiply, Sadolet, Caietan, Contarenus, Borromaeus, Sirletus, Caraffa, Caesar Baronius, who with much Oil and labour compiled a Gigantic work, viz. the Ecclesiastic History, which for Magnitude, for Method, for Variety of Narrations, for Expense and pains, must be confessed that nil oriturum alias, nil ortum tale. There is not, nor will there be such a work. I bring Bellarmine next to Baronius, they were both purpurated, and great Cardinals, great in Doctrine, as well as in Dignity, there was a great heap of knowledge lodged under their red Caps. Peter Martyr, Zanchius, Paulus Venetus, Isidore, Clarius and Folengius, two Benedictins, were Eminent men.  
For prudence of the Law how Celebrous is Alciat, Pancirolus, Albericus Gentilis, Pacius, Peregrinus, Monochius, Vaudus Mascardus, Farinacius, Surdus, and Hondaeus.  
What could Hypocrates or Galen know more in the secrecies and Operations of Physic than did Fracastorius, Fallopius, Hierom Mercurialis, Aldrovandus, Matthiolus, Maranta, Brasavolus, Cesalpinus, Baccius, john Baptista Porta, Costeus, Chlumna, Ghinus, Aloys, Anguillara, Tapivacius, Tali●…otius, who could make Lips, Noses, Ears, and Eyes so artificial, as if they had been natural, to the wonder of the spectator.  
Within the whole circumference of Philosophy, what could be so critical and recondit, that julius Caesar Scaliger did not penetrate. Fran. Guicciardin need not give place to any Historian old or new, according to the opinion of Thuanus and Lipsius. What singular men were Paulus jovius, Sigonius, Bonamimicus, Gyraldus, Cardinal Bembo, Cardan, Gauricus, Onufrius, Hermolaus, and Daniel Barbari, Calepin, Albertus, Manucins, Peter Aretin, Pomponius Laetus, Vergerius, Picus, Zabarella, Piccolomini, Magirus, Bonciarius, Ehinus, Speronius Torquatus Tasso, Paruta, Ur sinus, Ricobonus, Superantius. What rare Women for Morality and Erudition were Laurentia Strozzia, and Olimpia Fulvia Morata. Nor can Italy choose but be full of such exquisite learned spirits, considering there are so many convenient Seminaries to plant them in, so many brave Universities. There is Rome the Mother of all. There is Padua her first Daughter, there is Bolonia the subtlest, Sienna the pleasantest, Florence the fairest, Milan the profoundest; There is Naples, Pisa, Papia, Ferrara, with divers others, to the number of 17. in all; therefore there must needs be good corn where there are such fields to sow it, and such good culturage.  
Nor hath Mercury only his Pavilions in Italy, but Mars hath also his tents there, Military Virtue and Discipline never came to that height of perfection as it is there; what notable ingenious Engineers doth she daily produce? what new ways of fortification doth she daily invent? how she reduceth all to rules of art, so that any one is there a Mathematitian. The Italian doth not rush rashly into danger as other blind bayards; but he doth cast the action first into the balance of judgement, to see whither it be feasable, and then he continueth in one degree of heat all the while; whether it be in assaulting, or pursuing, whither he makes a halt or retires, he is still the same man in point of courage. In matter of Treaty there is no Nation ever went beyond the Italian, he was never cozened that way, wherein he useth to show resolution as well as reservedness; there is a memorable example of that, when Charles the 8. came into Italy, he advanced as far as Florence, where entering into a Treaty with the Duke, he employed 4. Commissiones to the Emperor's Camp, whereof Caponi was one, who hearing the propositions read by the King's Secretary, and finding them very high, snatched them from him, and toar them, saying, Frenchmen, if you propose such high things, go and sound your trumpets, and Florence shall ring her bells; and so he and his fellow Commissioners withdrew themselves suddenly from the King's Bedchamber, where the business was to be transacted. This resolute comportment of Caponi startled the French, and brought them to far lower terms. I should tyre your patience too much if I should give a catalogue here of all the great Captains of Italy, therefore I will instance but in few. Who hath not heard of Farinata Uberti, celebrated by Dante? Castruccio was admired by all. Scaliger Prince of Verona was feared by all, Balbicino, Draccio, Sforza, Gutamelata, to whom the Venetians erected a brazen Statue at Padua Piccinini, Coleone, and Feltrio Prince of Urbino, Vitellio, Ursini, Liviano, Macone, Correggi, Trivultio, Gonzaga, Davali, Vastio, and Prospero Colonna, were all of them great Martialists, and men of admirable conduct. What shall I say of the Strozzi, of jacomo Medicini, of Castaldi, of Andrea Doria, another Neptun, and of Ambrosio Spinola a great Captain; of sound prudence in Counsel, and performance in the Camp. What notable exploits did he do in high and low Germany? how important was his presence at the siege of Ostend, where 120. thousand souls found their Graves. What a stupendous circumvallation was that of Breda? how politicly did he seize upon the Palatinat; but being commanded a far off from Spain to raise the siege of Casale, his great spirit not being able to brook it, he said, me han quitado la honra, They have taken away my honour; which made such impressions in him, that he retired to the town of his Nativity (Genoa) and so marched to Heaven. But, most Noble Princes, excuse me that I have pretermitted so long one of your rank, Alexander Farnese, Duke of P●…rma, of whom Monsieur de la Nove his Enemy, and one of the greatest Martialists in France, saith, jamais Capitain n' eust plus de Iugement en la conduit d'vne Armee, ni plus de justice en la discipline militaire. Never Captain had more judgement in the conduct of an Army, nor more Justice in the discipline of War. Who doth not admire Americo Vespucio the Florentine, who hath christened the New World, which is held to be as big as the Old, with his name? Who doth not stand astonished at Christophoro Columba, who may be said to be a greater Hero●… than Hercules; for he discovered a far greater World; and went far beyond his nil ultra. Truly all Antiquity cannot parallel that exploit which he performed, merely by strength of wit, and his rare skill in the Mathematics: for contemplating with himself, that the Aequator the great Circle in the Heavens did divide the whole World into two equal parts, and finding that there was such a proportion of Earth on the North-East side; he concluded with himself that there must needs be so much on the South-West to counterbalance the Globe, and make the Heavenly Circle to be just in his division; and this speculation of his was grounded upon a true principle, as it proved by the effect; Though the Ligurians his Countrymen deemed it a vain fancy. Henry the 7. of England held it ridiculous, Alphonsus the 5. a mere fancy, at last this great Artist being in despair to find some Prince to patronage the Work; he made his address to Isabel Queen of Castille, a most pious and fortunate Lady, who began to give ear and credit to him, & so accommodated him for the voyage, which notwithstanding a thousand difficulties, as the danger of those vast unknown Seas, the murmuring humour of the Spaniards that went with him; yet he brought his ends home to his aim, and returned with an Olive branch, or rather a leaf of Gold home in his mouth. Thus as providence would have Columba, a Dove first to discover dry Earth after the Deluge; so Columbus first discovered this new piece of Earth to the Inhabitants of the old World. In so much that this Italian may be said to have laid the first foundation of the greatness, which Spain is mounted unto at this time. But Columbus chancing to be one time unkown among some Spaniards, who discoursing of this discovery, and slighting it, saying it might have been feasable by any Navigator, he calls for an Egg, and laying a wager that none could make that Egg to stand at an end upon a smooth table, the Spaniards trying many ways to do it, and missing, Columbo took the egg, and b●…uising the shell at one end, made it stand upright; then every one could do it after him; whereupon he told them, just so when an Italian had showed you the way, 'twas easy for you Spaniards to go to the new World. Yet that brave Queen Isabel and Ferdinand with their Successors did nobly reward Columbo, though Genoa his own native town was ingrateful unto him, for having left her a mighty Legacy at his death, she did not raise any monument, much less any brass Statue to his memoey, which he so much deserved. But herein Genoa carried herself towards Columbo, as London in England did towards Cavalier Middleton, who fell upon a brave wholesome invention of bringing a fresh River fifty miles about, to run through her streets to her infinite advantage for many uses.  
Touching the noble virtue of Friendship, she reigns no where so strongly as among the Italians, who are naturally of a most humane and mansuete disposition, not only among themselves but to strangers. There was a notable example thereof in Alostio Priuli, a Gentleman who had contracted a strict league of love with Cardinal Pole an English man, which lasted many years, so that there was much notice taken at Rome, of that conformity of manners, reciprocation of affection, and sweet sympathy which were between them. This friendship continued in the same strain of strength for twenty six years; all which time Priuli could not be wrought upon to enter into the College of Cardinals, though often invited by julius the third. Cardinal Pole falling at last sick of a lingering disease, Signior Priuli never stirred from his side all the while: at last, the Physicians telling him he had not long to live, he sent for a Notary, and made Priuli Heir of all he had; but such was the generosity of the Venetian, that he made not a penny benefit of it, but gave it all among his English kindred; being twenty months in perpetual agitation for the recovering of the estate.  
Nor are there any people so naturally addicted to Charity as the Italians: Cardinal Atestino was a great example hereof, of whom there was a kind of Proverb in Rome, That his House was an Exchequer to the rich, an Hospital to the poor; his Person was the splendour of the sacred College, and an ornament to the Roman Court.  
I pass now to the Nobility of Italy, which is very numerous; there is no clime under Heaven, where Virtue is more rewarded, good qualities more pried into, and Industry higher advanced. Rome is the Common-countrey of all Nations, it is the rendezvous of all Ingenious spirits; and its impossible for any person of Merit to be there long, but he is sought after, and advanced. This makes Italy so abound with Nobles of all Nations. For the generous exercise of riding great Horses, they go beyond all, and it is wonderful to see, what a docible creature they bring those fiery metalled animals to be; they use to make them dance, and keep touch with the music, by a rare art, and do strange feats besides. What a famous Master in this art was Sigismondo Locatello of Ferrara? Grisonio was no less rare in point of Horsemanship.  
Among other complete and gallant spirits which Italy produced these latter Ages, Cosmo de Medici was one of the most admired all the world over: 'Twas He that did first found the grandeur of the Medicean Family; 'twas He brought his Hetruscan Country to such a civility; 'twas He who taught Sovereign Princes first, to look to the encroaching power of their Neighbours, and to keep them in aequilibrio; therefore Apollo made fit choice of him to hold the Balance, when all the Kingdoms and States of Europe were weighed before him at Delphos. He was a man of an exquisite temper in his behaviour, of a notable reach of understanding, of a marvelous forecasting head, a subtle clear brain, quick apprehension and profound judgement. He was munificent to strangers, liberal to his domestics, and extremely charitable to the poor, a mighty restaurator of God's Houses. In all these acts he was equal to Kings, he exceeded ordinary Princes, and went far beyond all private men. Now, although out of the largeness of his heart, and piety of his soul, he had expended a King's Ransom in Hospitals, Monasteries, and Churches, yet he was used to say, Non potuisse se in suis accepti & expensi codicibus unquam reperire Deum Debitorem: When he went to look into his Leger book of Account what moneys he had received and issued, he could never find God his Debtor. Yet this mighty man was, when Auditor Cossa did audit his expenses, 'twas found, that he had spent forty millions in public and private Fabriques', and ten millions in private acts of munificence, and charity. He was such a Lover of his Country, so mighty a Patriot, that having lived above seventy years, this modest, but well merited Epitaph was engraven upon his tomb, Cosmus Med●…ces heic situs est, Decreto publico, pater patriae. Cosmo of Medici lies here, Father of his Country by public Decree.  
And now that I am in Toscany, I will visit Pisa, who I find was in former times a Commonwealth of great authority by land, and power by sea, she did subjugate Sardinia, and Carthage also, bringing her king captive to the Pope▪ by whom he was converted; she also made herself mistress of Majorica, Panormo, and Salerno; she was once at that cumble of wealth and greatness, that a hundred Gentlemen of Pisa were used to build and maintain upon their own charge every one his Galley, to scour and secure the Ligustic sea.  
What shall I say of the state of Genoa? who among the Records of her Triumphs, can glory, that she took and possessed once, Sardinia, Cyprus, Lesbos, and Chio, as also Pera opposite to Constantinople on the Asian shore; she was also mistress of Theodosia, or Caffa, insomuch that her dominions extended as far as the banks of Tanais: And to this day there be some Christian Rites, and Italian Families in that part of Tartary. What tough wrestling, and terrible Wars continued 'twixt her and Venice for two or three Ages together? and we may easily conjecture how potent she was, when she could tug with Venice so long.  
The Duchy of Milan is come to a stupendous height of magnificence, power, and riches; insomuch that the Insubrian Revenues are above those of some Kings.  
I come now to the most Rare and Renowned Republic of Venice; she is of that high consequence, that without her, Italy should want her chiefest Ornament, Liberty should want a refuge, Europe should want her chiefest Bu●… 〈◊〉▪ Neptune should want a Mistress, and Nature a Miracle. What shall I say 〈◊〉 Venice, orbis christiani arx, the prime Castle of Christendom; and the Sea 〈◊〉 be said to be hers too; she is Lady of more Sea than any state in the world 〈◊〉 point of extent; she hath a Fortress the most exactly built by the rules of ●…ginry of any upon earth, 'tis Palma, which cost two millions the erecting, 〈◊〉 the yearly keeping of it stands her in a hundred thousand Crowns per annum▪ She hath an Arsenal that is almost as great a wonder as herself, there is no●…●…e like under the Sun: she hath three hundred Artificers perpetually in pay, and she spends communibus annis, above six hundred thousand Crowns merely 〈◊〉 that Arsenal. She would ravish a fresh comer with the lustre of her Palaces▪ with her marble Pictures, and marble Statues, with the Church of Saint Mark paved with Porphyry, and chequered with many kind of precious stones, and her roof and walls all Mosaical work: If I could get into the Treasury of St. Mark, I could tell you more wonders; but they who have seen it, report they were quite stupefied at the wealth they saw there.  
Touching the Commerce of Venice, it is beyond belief; walk in the Rialto, or Saint Marks place, and you shall meet with Greeks Turks, Arabs, Egyptians, Moors, Cannibals, Tartars, Ethiopians, Persians, and Indians: There you shall find Merchants of the black, white, and red sea, of the Hellespont, of all the Isles of Greece, of the Miditerranean, of Ormus, besides European Merchants from every corner; The boys there will not stand gazing at a turban or a shash, or any other strange habit which are worn there familiarly; This City, though a Virgin (of near upon thirteen hundred years standing) hath been such a Virago, that she hath wrestled with the greatest Monarches upon earth, and laid some of them on their back, but none of them could lay her in such a posture as to get her maidenhead; And lately she hath coped singly of herself with the Great Ottoman Emperor any time these eight years both by sea & upon Terra firma, and given him many ill favoured foils; Now the reason that this sage Signory hath continued a pure intacted maid so many ages, besides her advantageous situation, the Adrian Sea being her protector, is, that the Venetians are grave in their Counsels, severe in judgement, constant in adverse fortune, and temperate in good; They are excellent patriotts, they have public souls, and it is the study of every particular man how to conserve their liberty, improve their strength, and the glory of Venice. But her incolumity doth not depend upon any one frail man's life, progeny, or wit, but upon the prudence of a politic and immortal Senate; For although Venice hath had most heavy, and in the eye of human reason irreparable defeats, as destructive as that of Rome at Cannae, yet she never sunk in her courage and Counsels, but boar up still above water; That overthrow at Abdua, That at Trebia and Trasimeni, that at Bresica and Vicenza were very sore and fatal blows, as great as that of Cannae was to Rome, yet she recovered herself in a shorter time far then ever Rome could do; For the richesses' of this state you may easily guess at their greatness, when the revenues of S. Mark, use and imposts of the City of Venice herself is able to support an Emperor. Besides the very demeanes of the Church amount to three millions.  
And now O Rome, O glorious Rome, O holy Rome, I make my entrance into thee, the pyramidal top of all glory, the lady of all virtues, the source of all piety; It was the wish of S. Augustin to see three things, Christ in the flesh, Paul in the pulpit, and Rome in her highest flourish. Hear Martial.  

Terrarum Dea, gentiumque Roma,  
Cui par est nihil, & nihil secundum.   
Livy in his time gave this character of her, Nulla unquam Respublica nec major, nec sanctior, bonisque exemplis ditior fuit; No commonwealth was ever more potent, more pious, and richer for good examples; Lipsius avers, that Rome had three millions of men in her, and a hundred and fifty millions in annual revenu: she had at one time in Legions abroad and at home for her preservation six hundred and five and forty thousand armed Soldiers; From Romulus to Augustus Caesar she had above three hundred Triumphs; julius Caesar brought into the aerarium or common treasury sixty and five thousand talents, which amount to almost forty millions of our money: she had above thirty miles in circuit, which in Aurelianus his time extended to twenty miles more, and the people increased accordingly. In so much that Vopiscus affirms, she fed at one time four millions of men in City and Suburbs. Seneca left seventy and five hundred thousand philippicos, or crowns behind him; Caecilius Claudius Isidorus, although he had lost much by the civil wars, yet he left 4117. slaves, 3060. yoke of Oxen; and of other cattle two hundred and fifty seven thousand: Tacitus reports the first, and Pliny the second. There were at one time in Rome five hundred Gladiators or Fencers, a thousand Bears, one hundred Lions; which were kept in divers denns. The high way of Appia extended three hundred and fifty miles, the Flaminian more. Touching the Aqueducts and fountains, the baths, and the waters of Rome, there were at once five hundred men hired to look to them, and the channels were so broad, that a horseman might ford over▪ What art was used to furnish the seven hills with conduits and cisterns. When Cyneas the Ambassador of Pyrrhus came to Rome and was brought about to view the City, he was asked what he thought of her? He answered (looking upon her four hundred Churches) he thought, said he, that all Rome was but one Temple, her Senate is an assembly of Kings, she is yet to this day the flower of the whole earth, and the better part of mankind. Now Rome came to this vast magnitude by her parsimony, by her severity, and industry; she had her legions always well trained, and never suffered to be idle, nor did she pamper them with too much pay; The Senators were more careful for the discipline of the soldiers, then of the education of their children; They used to inure and habituat them to arms before they sent them abroad; And certainly the Romans must needs be very valiant men naturally; besides so many victories did heighten their courage; Among thousands of examples which I could produce, let Licinius Dentatus serve for one, who as Valerius Maximus avoucheth, had received forty and five several wounds and never a one backward, he had been in above one hundred battles, and brought home thirty and four spoils. What notable great Generals did she breed of divers tempers; Marcellus was of a fiery spirit, Fabius Maximus was politicly slow, Pompey was daring, The Scipios were patient, Caesar for expedition, for martial knowledge, and magnitude of mind was unparallelled. When Pyrrhus came with a new race of men, and horrible Elephants into Italy, and was advanced within thirty miles of Rome; He sent unto her if she would parley, word was sent Pyrrhus, Italiâ cum copijs excedito, ubi excesserit, de pace si volet agito; ni excesserit, Arma & viros & acie●… expectato. Let Pyrrhus depart Italy with all his forces, when he hath done that, there shall be a treaty for peace if he will, but if he do not depart, let him expect Arms, men, and a battle: such was the undauntable courage of Rome in that age, which it seems did much degenerate afterwards, when the Goths, Vandals, Huns, and other Septentrional roughhewn people appeared before her; And the reason of this degeneration in the mind of the Romans was, that by desuetude of arms, and want of an enemy they fell to voluptuousness, to ease and softness; Before, they had a brave method in training up their youth, they were instructed in letters till they were twenty, & afterwards in military discipline.  
But new Rome after so many assaults, and sackings of divers barbarous nations, as she fell in glory, so she also fell lower in situation, for she removed from the seven Hills to the plain of Campus Martius where she is seated now, having lost the fifth part of her circumference, and magnitude, and being not the sixth part so populous; yet a notable providence hath attended this City, that she flourisheth still, and though she be not so big as she was ', yet she is better, since the standard of the Cross was planted there by a special benignity of heaven; she hath the Law of Christ instead of her Legions, As she was before the chiefest City in the world for arms, so she is now for Religion; she is the Court of the Chief Pastor, and the common Country of all Christians, she is the gnomon of the great Dial of saving Faith, Romana Ecclesia est illa quae non modo tot principum & Imperatorum, sed quod longè praeclarius est, omnium sanctorum Catholicamater, & in cujus gremio mori faelicius est, quam ab initio nasci, cum non nasci satius sit, quam in hac non mori. The Roman Church is she who is not only the Catholic universal mother of Princes and Emperors, but of Saints, in whose lap it is more happy to die, then to have been born, it being better not to be born at all, than not to die in Her; as Montanus saith. This makes her so refulgent for so many prerogatives, that the greatest part of the European world, as also all the new Converts in the American new world do acknowledge her the Chief seat of the Oracles of God, and her Bishop the chiefest ministerial head of the holy Church: and to deny this, if we may be-believe Stapleton, summae impietatis vel praecipitis arrogantiae est: It is either the highest impiety, or the desperatest arrogance; He is the universal Shepherd, the successor of Saint Peter, and the Vicar of Christ; the Commission which our Saviour gave Saint Peter, Feed my Flock, is transferred to him in chief, and with the Commission the keys, and power also of absolving, and binding. For which respect (such an humiliation and reverence Religion strikes into the Soul of man) all Emperors and most Kings do willingly give not only precedence, but perform Offices of service unto him, as, among a world of instances that could be produced besides, Charles the fifth, did at Bolonia, and Francis the first at Marseilles. How many Emperors have held the basin while he washed his hands, how many Kings have held his stirrup while he mounted and descended off his Mule, how many have lead his horse by the bridle. How many thousand Princes have kissed his Pantouffle, and carried him in a Chair upon their shoulders, and gloried in all these acts of submission; such a Power Christian Religion hath to humble the hearts of the greatest Princes, and make all temporal greatness stoop to the spiritual hopes of Heaven.  
'Tis true, that Rome from her very infancy, when she was a Pagan, was much given to the reverence of the Gods. Her Pontifex Maximus was then in high adoration, she had magnificent, and costly Temples, Altars and Fanes which had singular immunities and prerogatives, the Temple was then an Asylum and Sanctuarium, a refuge and sanctuary from all violence; and of these Ethnic Temples Rome had 4. times more than she hath now of Christian Churches. She had then her Nunneries and Vestal fires, her Flamens and Archflamins more in number then any other City; when she had conquered any foreign Nation, their Gods were brought to Rome, and they were ascited among hers, & admitted; alleging that there could not be too many Gods to preserve so great a City. Yet there was violence laid then upon the conscience in spiritual things, nor did the Ecclesiastic Power, and Pontifex Maximus ever clash with the temporal for Superiority, but always yielding unto it, as receiving his Protection, Means and Maintenance from it. This was the genius of old Rome, but new Rome came to be so high in her devotions, that she came at last to give more allegiance to the Pontifical Power then to the Imperial. Nor were the Roman Emperors ever in that adoration in old Rome, as the Pope is now in the new, whom she holds to be so far above the temporal power as the Soul is above the body. 'Tis true, there was much reverence given to the chief Roman Magistrate and Senate, from all times. Adherbal King of Numidia called himself Romanorum Procuratorem, The Romans Proctor. Eumenes' King of Pergamus came to Rome, and pulling of his Capp, offered it to the Senate, confessing he received his liberty from Rome. Prusias King of Bythinia when he came to the Senate, he used to kiss the threshal of the door, acknowledging himself Mancipium Senatus, a slave unto the Senate. Tiridates, King of Armenia, bowed himself to Nero's knees. But there was never such low submission done to any Pagan Governor, as is now done to the Pope, whom the Turks call Rumbeg, that is Prince or Lord of Rome, and the Persian Rumschah, King of Rome; for we never read that the Ethniques ever descended so low as to Foot-Osculation, which is a reverence peculiar and due only to the Pope; the Emperor and other Kings being contented only that the Vassal kiss their hands, or him of their Garment. Nor doth the Pope return reverence to any other potentate by rising up, bowing his head, or uncovering his head to any, only to the Emperor after he hath kissed his feet, he is afterwards admitted to kiss his hand, and then he riseth a little and giveth him a mutual kiss of Charity with an Embracement. There is a cloud of examples, how diver Emperors and Kings came to Rome to do their filial duty to the Holy Father, and to have their Coronations confirmed by him. justinian, did so to Constantine, Pipin to Stephen the second, Charles' the Great to Leo the 3. Lodovicus pins of France to Sergius the 2. the Emperor Henry the forth to Paschall the 2. Frederic the first to Adrian the 4. But that was a notable Signal reverence which Lewis of France, and Henry the second of England did to Alexander the 3. Who came both together, and jointly attended the Pope a good way to his lodging, he being on horseback, and they both a foot. Now it is one of the high Tenets of the Catholics, That the Pope is the only Free independent Prince upon Earth; not accountable to any for his actions, but unto Christ himself whose Vicegerent he is. He cannot only command, but make Kings, at least confirm them. The King of Spain did not hold himself perfectly established King of the West-Indies, till the Holy Father pleased to allow of it, and confirm him. Now touching the Title of Emperor, there is a notable letter upon record, which Adrian the 4. writ to the three Ecclesiastic Electors of Germany. Romanum Imperium a Graecis translatum est ad Alemannos, ut Rex Teutonicorum non ante quam ab Apostolica manu coronaretur Imperator vocaretur; ante consecrationem Rex, post Imperator. Unde igitur habet Imperium, nisi a nobis? ex electione principum suorum habet nomen Regis, ex consecratione nostra habet, nomen Imperatoris, Augusti & Caesaris. Ergo per nos imperat, etc. Imperator quod habet, totum a nobis habet; Ecce in potestate nostra est, ut dem●…s illud cui volumus, propterea constituti a deo super gentes & Regna, ut destruamus, & evellamus, ut aedificemus & plantemus. The Roman Empire, saith Adrian the 4. was transferred from Greece to Germany, therefore the King of the Teutons cannot be called Emperor, till he be apostolically Crowned, before his consecration he is but King, and Emperor afterward. Whence therefore hath he the Empire but from us? by the Election of his Princes he hath the name of King, but he hath the Title of Emperor, of Augustus and Caesar, by our consecration. Therefore he is Imperial by us, etc. that which he hath of Emperor he hath wholly from us; behold it is in our power to give the Title to whom we please; therefore are we constituted by God himself over Nations and Kings, that we may destroy, and pluck up, build and plant, etc. Nor doth the Papal power extend to give Titles to Emperors, but to make Kings. It is upon record how Pope Leo made Pipin King of Italy, Sergius made Stephen King of Hungary. Pope john made Wenceslaus King of Poland. Alphonso King of Portugal was made by Eugenius the 3d. Edgar was made King of Scotland by Urban the 2d. john de Brenna was made King of jerusalem by Innocent the third; Pope Pius the 5. gave Cosmo de Medici the Title of Gran-Duke of T●…scany, notwithstanding, the opposition of Maximilian the 2d. and Philip the 2d. of Spain. I saw in the Archives of Rome the names of those Kings who are Vassals to the Pope, and they are ranked in this order, and Bodins catalogue agrees with it. Reges Neapolis, Siciliae, Arragoniae, Sardiniae, Hierolosymorum, Angliae, Hiberniae, Hungariae; all these are, or should be at least feudetary and hommageable to the Bishop of Rome.  
Nor can the Holy Father entitle Emperors, and make Kings and Gran-dukes'; but he can, as he allegeth, depose them if they degenerate to Tyrants or Heretics; he can absolve their subjects from all ties of allegiance. As among other examples Innocent the 3. did to john King of England, and Sixtus quintus did to Queen Elizabeth. Innocent the 1. did not only thrust Arcadius out of his Throne, but out of the society of Christians. Anastasius the Emperor was excommunicated by Anastasius the 2. Pope Constantine anathematised the Emperor Philippicus, Gregory the third delivered over to Satan Pope Leo Isaurus, and took from him all Italy. Gregory the 7. excommunicated the Emperor Henry the 3. and Boleslaus King of Poland. The Emperor Lewis the 4. was barred to come to Church by Benedict the 12. Otho by Innocent the 3. Frederic the 2. by Innocent the 4. and Peter King of Castille was quite thrust out both of his Throne and the holy Church by Vrban the 5. who made Henry the bastard capable to succeed him by a bull of legitimation; and indeed that Peter was a hateful Tyrant, having murdered many of his own Subjects, and his Queen or the house of Bourbon with his own hands.  
There is another high prerogative which the Roman Bishop claims, which is to summon General Counsels, which Montanus, who was precedent of the Council of Trent from the Pope, did avouch in open assembly upon a design of removing the Council to Bolonia, where he among other things did positively assert and pronounce, Caesarem nempe non Dominum a●…t Magistrum esse, sed Ecclesiae filium esse, se verò & Collegas qui adsint, Roman sedis Legatos esse, penes quos ordinandi & transferendi concilii jus erat. Caesar was not Lord nor Master, but Son of the Holy Church. But he and his Colleagues there present were Legates of the Roman See, whose right it was to ordain, and transfer General Counsels▪  
Moreover the Bishop of Rome hath a great stroke in preserving the Universal peace of Christendom, and keeping Earthly Potentates from clashing one with another. In so much that the Pope may be compared to that Isthmos of land which runs 'twixt the Ionian and Aegaean Seas, keeping their waters from jusling one with another. Nor is the Bishop of Rome thus powerful only by his spiritual Authority, by virtue whereof, besides Patriark●…, Archbishops, and a world of Bishops, he hath 70. Cardinals, who are accounted equal to Princes, and who, as they are all of his making, so are they at his devotion; which number of 70. was limited by a solomn diploma, or Bull of Sixtus Quintus; and the election to be always in December, so many days before Christmas; which is a general Jubilee of rejoicing for the Nativity of our Saviour. And as these Cardinals are Princes Companions, so have they revenues accordingly from the Common aerarium, or Treasury of the Church, which is an unknown thing and inexhaustible. For as long as men have souls within them, and believe there is a Heaven or Hell, the Roman Church can never want Mony. There is a proverb in Italy, All papa non mancano maj danari quando non manca la mano & la penna. The Pope can never want Money as long as he hath fingers to write. In so much that when a league was struck 'twixt Pius the 5. Philip the 2. and the Venetians; whereas the Spaniard was to be at half the charge, the Venetians two thirds of the other half, & the Pope the sixth part of a third; The Venetian Ambassador took him up somewhat short, telling him, that his Holiness quill might command all the Wealth of Europe. In that age there were 130. Archbishoprics, and a thousand and seventeen Bishoprics that the Pope had the confirmation of, besides those of the East and West Indies. Touching Monasteries and Religious Claustral Houses, there were in Charles the fifth's time, and Paul the 4. which was 60. years before, above a hundred and 44. thousand; of Parishes two hundred and fourscore eight thousand, which the Pope had influence upon. In so much that when there was an ouverture of a league 'twixt Charles the Emperor and the French King, for a conjunction against the Turk; there was a proposition made, that every Monastery should contribute 6. Crowns yearly, and every Parish 52. Crowns towards the support of the War, which would have amounted to near upon 16. Millions per ann. And for men, if there had been 10 culled out of every Monastery, it would have made an Army of fourteen hundred and forty thousand men: Nor should so much regard be had to the number, as to the quality of the men, who having been accustomed to penances, to fasting, and watchings, could endure more hardship than other men. Add hitherto the zeal they would have to the Cause, being Votaries and Religious persons; holding the Pope to be an Earthly God, and that those who lose their lifes in any service or expedition warranted by his Cruzada, deserve a greater degree of beatitude in Heaven. Such an Army as this the Pope can raise, which no Mundan Potentate can do, or ever could do; Who out of a conceit of the Holiness they bear to his Function, and power of his Commission, would run through fire and water, to serve him with their Soul, as well as with their bodies.  
Nor is the Pope thus potent among the ecclesiastics, for spiritual revenues and perquisits, but he is also a Great Temporal Prince: witness the Duchy of Ferrara, and Bolonia; Each whereof singly is able to support a secular Sovereign Prince, besides other signories which he hath. Wherefore it was well expressed by the Poet, speaking of the Pope.  

Ense potens gemino, Cuius vestigia adorat  
Caesar, & aurato fulgentes murice Reges.   
This is the largest field for matter that possibly an Orator can run in, me thinks it hath no Horizon. Now Scaurus hath a wise saying; Non minus magnam virtutem esse scire desinere, quam scire dicere, It is no less virtue to know when to give over speaking, then to know when to speak. Therefore most noble Princes, I hold it safer to strike sail, and launch out no further into this Ocean of matter: Wherefore I will bid a farewell for this time to fair Italy, and conclude with three several Characters, which three famous Authors gives her. Mamertinus the Panegyrist calls her Gentium Dominam, The Lady of all Nations. Rutilius Numatianus calls her Caelestem, mundique Reginam, A Heavenly thing, and the Queen of the World. Dionysius Halycarnassaeus calls her Totius Orbis Optimam, The Best of the Universe. Therefore under favour take spiritual and Temporal power; take the word and the sword, the pike and the pen, Arts and Arms together, Italy, Divine Italy deserves without controversy, or any scruple at all, the Supremacy of Europe.  
Dixi.   

THE ORATION OF THE Lord GEORGE ROELDERER VON HOCH, Against ITALY.  
Most noble, and anciently descended Princes;  
IT is reported of Francisco Barbaro, and Georgio Trapezuntio, a pair of great Scientifical men, and singularly versed in the Greek and Latin Tongues, that by decay of their Intellectuals, and decrepitness of age, they came utterly to forget both. The like is recorded of Philip Seci●…s, a famous Jurisconsult, and Professor of both the Laws, both in Padua, Florence, Sienna, Ticini, and Pisa, that his memory came to be so strangely eclipsed and clouded, that he did not remember one Paragraph of the Roman Law. And Pliny, that great Register of Nature, doth write of Messala Corvino, that the faculty of remembrance was so declined in him by longaevity, and the revolution of so many Winters, that he had forgot his own name. The same may be said now adays of Italy, she that was in former times the Eye of the World, and Rome the Apple of that Eye, are fallen to that delirium, and dotage, that neither of them can remember what once they were, most of her Cities have almost forgotten their primitive names, her vital spirits, virtue, and valour are so far spent, by having so many years on her back, that she is quite transmuted from what she was, and grown ●…ank and litherly both in her strength and courage. Touching Rome, she is shrunk into a Pigmey's skin, from that Gigantic stature she was of▪ And as some did guests at the magnitude of Rome by that Incendium, that huge voracious fire which happened in Nero's time (who was then in his turret tuning upon his fiddle the sack of Troy, so little did he resent that direful spectacle, but rather rejoiced at it; hoping out of the rubbish of old Rome to re-edify a new City of his own name) which fire, though it was very consuming and violent, yet the City found it matter enough to work upon for nine days: I say, as partly out of that the hugeness of Rome might be guessed at; or by that raging Plague which swept away about ten thousand men every day in the time of Vespasian; or by the weight of those Cobwebs which Heliogabalus caused to be gathered and poised, which came to ten thousand pound weight; I say, as out of these one may make a conjecture of the vast dimensions of Rome, so out of that obscenity and filth which now reigns, out of the fire of concupiscence which rageth there (no where more) and last out of those numberless infectious diseases and various vices that now reign there, which I shall endeavour to produce before you, you may give a guess at the goodness and government, the happiness and deserts of Italy; and then I believe you will not have so favourable a conceit of her as the noble Lord who spoke before, and was so prodigal in displaying her merit.  
The Peacock when she beholds her glorious feathers, swells and puffs with an amorous opinion of herself, but looking upon her feet she is presently dejected: you have hitherto seen the gay feathers of Italy, I will show you now her ●…oul feet. The common tenet, that Italy in goodness and riches excels all other Regions, is a mere fable, which Boterus her own child doth refel, accusing them of imprudence and shallow judgement who think so; for we know well that two third parts of Italy hath no navigable Rivers, and the fourth part is a sterile rough-hewen umbratical country, made up by the Apennine hill. Bonfinius, who had been a curious lustrator of many Countries, prefers Austria before Italy, though his own Country. Liguria was damned by Nature herself to a perpetual sterility; And the Plains of Verona, though they be famous for some battles that have been fought there, yet do they bear but a sorry report for the wildness of the soil, and huge stones that are therein. In Alagnia there is a cankerworm that corrodes the Vines, and strangely grows with the grape, and takes wings at last, it revives with the culture of the earth, and dies with it; besides there be swarms of little stairs that doth much annoy the crop both of Corn and Wine, and there is no fence against them, they are so numerous. The Pisan, Aquileian, and Roman fields themselves how many patches of rough barren ground have they? what ill aired fens in many places? which makes them so thin of inhabitants. How many places in Italy are there, whither strangers when they go thither, are warned not to go unto, in regard of the ill air? as Piombino, Grossetto, Sinigallia, Arimino, Cervia, Pesar●…. Pestilential Fevers are frequent in Venice and Ancona, and Tertians in Ferrara; nor is the meridian of Rome free from them; for upon the Maritime coasts from Port Hercules to Tarracina, which is a hundred and fifty miles in extent, there are hardly eight thousand inhabitants in all. The Veliternian Wines are good for nothing unless they be boiled; nor can those of Viterbo last any time till they be also used so; for generally the Italian Wines are so fading, that they will last scarce a year to an end; whereas our Germane Wines gather strength with their age, as those of the Rhine, and the Necc●…r; but those of the Po and the Tiber grow quickly sour and flat, which made Scaliger spit out this bitter jest of Rome, Urbem illam esse novum ac●…tum pessimum veteris vini optimi; that she is the worst new Vinegar of the best old Wines. Besides, there are some places in Italy which might be fruitful, if they had the hands of industry; for the Italians are not so industrious with their bodies (I cannot tell what their brains may be) as the world takes them to be, witness that capacious and noble port of Ancona, which was suffered to be choked up with sand, merely by the supineness and sloth of the inhabitants. For Metals; I am sure in Clement the sevenths' time, there were knowing Mineralists sent for from Germany to Italy, and they returned quickly after; for they said that the benefit would not countervail the charge.  
Moreover there is no clime so subject to vicissitude of Tempests as Italy: The Apennine keeps her snow longer than the Abnoba, the mother of the Danube. How passengers are tormented with Chinches, ●… stinking little vermin, in their lodgings at night? The heat of Naples is such, that none will travel in july and August, though the King should command him. 'Tis true that Padua hath fertile fields about her, but the tilers of them are half devils, and more humorous than any part of France. Sicilia, once a part of the continent of Italy, was used to bear away the bell for fecundity, being called by Cicero▪ Cella penaria Reipub. & nutrix plebis Romanae, She was Rome's Nurse, and the people's Pantree; but whereas there is a principle, Omnes Insulanos esse malos, pessimos autem esse Siculos; That all Islanders are bad, and the Sicilians the worst of all; It is truer now than ever it was. Touching the Calabrians, King Alphonso could say that, nihil habebant praeter figuram, they had nothing of men, but the shapes of men. Touching Campania and the Kingdom of Naples it cannot be denied but they are luxurious Countries, and very populous, in so much that Bozius gives an account of above three millions of people there, and near upon four hundred thousand fit to bear arms, together with fourteen hundred and sixty towns; but take all along with you, the improbity of the people is such, that there is a proverb among the rest of the Italians, Napoli é un paradiso, ma habit ato da diaboli; Naples is a paradis inhabited by devils. Indeed it is so delicate a country that it will put to trial the virtue of any one; witness Hannibal and his army. The Genoese is as bad as the Nopolitan, hear what the tartmouthed Scaliger speaks of him, giving a wipe also to the English, by huddling up a company of Epithets.  

Genuenfi Osor pacis, ac boni moris,  
Unus Brit annis tetrior, Ligur cunctis,  
Saxicola, pelagi cursor, invidus, spurcus,  
Famelicosus, turpis, Archipirata.   
Now whereas you have been persuaded to believe that Italy is the source of civility, the nurse of nobleness and virtue, the prime propagatresse of piety and learning, I pray herein take me along with you; I will not say the Italians are ignoble, but the corrupters of Nobility; They are not illiterate, but the perverters of letters: They are not vicious, but the very cutthroats of virtue; They are not impious, but the abusers of piety: they have drunk so much superstition, and it hath got so far into their bones, that it will never out of their flesh. I am loath to bring all their vices before so princely an Assembly, for fear the sent of them might be unpleasing unto you, and make you stop your noses, as people use to do when they pass by a carrion, or dounghill: and when they once infect a German, they transform him to a Devil, according to the proverb, Tudesco Italionato é un diabolo incarnate, a Dutchman Italianate is a Devil incarnate. Now there is no place upon earth where vice goes more oft in virtue's habit, and so is able to deceive the wisest: For as in the sands of the river Anien there are fine white stones gathered of various shapes, some like comfits, others like round sugar plumms, others like candid ●…innamon, which are called in derision the junketts of Tivoli, and are put sometimes upon the table for a merriment to strangers, so are counterfeit banquetts and sweets of virtue served before strangers in Italy, though they be mere baits of vanity and vice.  
I confess Italy abounds with nobles, but what kind of one's are they? such as are found in Lunigiana, where a passenger spied three Marquises upon one tre●… eating figs to preserve them from starving: I Marchesi di Ceva, ay Conti di Piacenza, i Cavaglieri di Bolognia, The Marquises of Ceva, the Earls of Piacenza, the Knights of Bolonia, are poor to a proverb; for all of them will not make one complete nobleman in point of estate. But indeed the Italian Nobles are rather Merchants than Nobles, nay many of their Princes are no better: what I pray is the Gran Duke of Florence? what are the Clarissimi of Venice? what are the Senators of Genoa but all Merchants? yet every broker and pedlar is there termed by Vostra Signoria, which is, your Lordship: The meanest Prince in Italy must be called Serenissimo, a title used to be given only to the Archdukes of Austria; they scorn to be called Excellentissimi, or Illustrissimi. Nay the Duke of Savoy returned the Senate's letters to Venice, because mention being made in them of the Duke's children, they termed them Excellentissimi, not Serenissimi.  
But learning and the sciences you say do flourish in Italy more than any where; Indeed I confess literature is a rare vertu, it enables one for any profession; and no profession, unless it be mechanic, can be without it. The Emperor Sigismond did make high esteem of it, in so much that he preferr●…d a Doctor before a Knight, and his reason was that he could make twenty Knights in a day, but not one Doctor. You all know the famous apophthegm of Alphonso King of Arragon, Rex illiteratus est Asinus coronatus, an illiterate King is an Ass with a crown on his head; The Genoa Lady was of another opinion, who said, penna non facit Nobilem, sed penis. 'Tis true, we are beholden to Italy for learning, and she to Greece; But as poor Greece is now so degenerated in this point, that she who called all the world Barbarians (yea the Italians among others) is now become Barbary Herself in point of literature, and scientifical knowledge. In Honorius time there dwelled but a few Merchants of honey in Athens. And I wish the same fate may not befall Italy for her nefandous crimes which are rife there: but touching learning, I pray hear what Muretus speaks; In media Italia, in medio Latio, in media Magna Graecia vix centisimum quemque invenias, qui Latinè aut Graecè loqui sciat, In the midst of Italy, in the midst of Latium, in the mid●…t of Magna Graecia you shall not find the hundreth man that can understand Greek or Latin, or any kind of letters.  
And I pray, how doth Italy use to encourage and reward learned men? Look upon Philelphus the lea●…nedst man of his time, yet they were forced to sell his books to bury him in Bolonia; And who would have thought that Aeneas Silvius, or Pope Pins the second, who was beholden to the Muses for all his fortunes and promotion, I say, who would have thought that being congratulated by sundry pieces of Poetry when he came to be Pope, in lieu of reward he put them off with this distic.  

Pro numeris numeros a me sperate Poetae,  
Carminaque est animus reddere, non emere.   
O Poets, expect numbers for numbers, I use to return, not buy verses.  
But it seems that Homer's fate of inevitable poverty is devolved by way of inheritance to all poets; Paul the second, next successor to Aeneas, had a mischievous design to demolish all learning, in so much that he esteemed students and philosophers no other than Heretics or Conjurers. And now that I have fallen among the Popes, I believe you have heard of the common saying amongst them, Nos accipimus pecuniam, & mittimus asinos in Germaniam, We receive money, and send Asses to Germany; There were two Popes, I know not who was the wiser, who was the simpler of the two, viz. john the eighth, or Calixtus the third: The first sold the Crown of France to Charles the bald for a vast sum of money, depriving the right heirs; The other put Edmund of England, and Vincent of Spain into the catalogue of Saints, whereupon when Cardinal Bessarion heard of it, Novi hi sancti de veteribus mihi dubium movent, These new saints puts me in some doubt of the old. Alexander the sixth scraped up so much treasure by the nundination, and sale of Indulgences, that Caesar Borgia (his son) losing a hundred thousand crowns one night at dice, said, Germanorum tantum haec peccata sunt, These are only the sins of Germany. julius' the third intending to advance Montanus to a Cardinalship, and the consistory dissuading his holiness from it, because he was of very mean birth, and no parts, answered no less modestly then wittily, Then what think you I pray of me, whom you have constituted Prince of the Christian Commonwealth?  
Leo the tenth had a purpose to create Raphael Urbinus, a mere painter, to be a Cardinal, if he had lived to it. But touching the strange humours, and extravagancies of some Popes, I put you over to Platina, who was secretary to so many of them.  
But to revert a little, touching the older sect of Italians, Authors, there is more vice than virtue to be found in most of them; witness those triumvirs of wanton love, Catullus, Tibullus, and Propertius; Ovid might be called a pander to Venus in some of his works; what spurcidicall and obscene things do we read in Marshal, and juvenal? what a foolish humour was that in Persius to study obscurity so much? And in Virgil, whom we cry up so highly, what was he but a mere Ape to Homer, Theocritus, and other Greek Poets? I have seen Homer's picture in a posture of vomiting, and all the Latin poets about him licking up what he had spewed, but Virgil lapped up more than all the rest. Now Cicero whom we magnify above all, if we well observe him, we shall find that he sat often upon two stools. Petrus Bembus was such a slave to Cicero, and so sworn to his words, that he infected Longolius with the same humour, who would use no other Latin words but what he found in Cicero; Therefore the Senate of Venice is always called by him Patres Conscripti; Dukes and Dukedoms, Reges & Regna; The sophy of Persia, and Gran Turk, Reges Armeniae & Thracum; Faith is called by him persuasion; Excommunication, Interdiction of fire and water; Nuns are called Vestals, The Pope Pontifex Maximus, The Emperor Caesar, etc. In so much that he holds any word barbarous that is not found in Cicero; But touching learning and eloquence we well know that Greece hath been the true source of both, whence the Romans have filled their cisterns; Nay, for the Latin tongue herself we know she is two thirds Greek, all her scientifical words, and terms of art are derived from the Greek: In so much that it is impossible for any to be a perfect Latinist, unless he understand the Greek also.  
I will go a little back to Bembo again, who as you have heard was so fantastical, that he would use no words but pure Ciceronian; but this fancy drew him to a pure profanes, for it brought him to contemn the Epistles of S. Paul, and in a kind of slighting way to call them Epistolaccias, dissuading his friends from reading them, lest they should corrupt their eloquence. What shall I say of Sanazarius, that in three books he writ of Jesus Christ, he hath not the Name of jesus or Christ through the whole work? and the reason one gave was, that they were not Latin words; he puts the Sibylls works in the blessed Virgins hands, and making no use of Esay or David, he makes use of pagan prophets to prove the coming of Christ.  
But to leave these santastiques, I will now be more serious, and pry a little into the Canon-law, which hath such a vogue in Italy; It makes the Crown a slave to the Mitre, and the sceptre to the crosier, and the Emperor's throne to the Pope's chair; Nay it lessens and distracts the allegiance of the subject to his natural rightful prince; For it is the concordant opinion of all the Canonists; Imperij vasallos criminis Rebellionis, & Majestatis haud esse reos, si pro Pontifice Romano adversus Imperatorem ipsum pugnent; The vassals of the Empire cannot be guilty of the crime of Rebellion, if they take arms for the Roman Bishop against the Emperor; And Bartolus himself, who by Schurfius is called Magister veritatis, the Master of truth, by Menochius, jurisconsultorum signifer, the standard-bearer of Reason, by Natta, Excellentissimus Doctor, by others the Lantern of the Law, the Guide of the Blind, the Mirroir and Father of verity; holding that his works are worthy to be bound with the Sacred Code, avers the same in favour of the Pope, though he poorly excuseth it, that he held these tenets, when he was engaged in the Roman Court.  
Moreover, these Canonists are not only content to give his Holiness the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, but also of the Kingdoms of Spain, of Great Britain, of France, and indeed of all the Kingdoms upon earth: There are some think there are Kingdoms likewise in the Air, and he may as well pretend a power paramount over them also. But let us see how the Pope came to this transcendency, to this cumble and height of greatness. His first rise was when Constantin gave him Rome, and it was a notable rise; yet all others, the Canonists excepted, do question the validity of this donation, and Aeneas Silvius himself did so before he was Pope: for said he, Callidè id provisum a Pontifice; It was cautiously provided by the Bishop of Rome, that this should be always under controversy, whether that donation of Constantine was valid or not valid, that such a donation might be presumed still to have been; so the Popes are not much displeased that another question should be still litigated, and that the Schools should ring with the debate, Whether that power which the Bishop of Rome hath over Princes in temporalibus be directly, or indirectly; for the stating of the question itself presupposeth that he hath a power. But many Princes, not only those who have quite shaken off his yoke; but others who still adhere to Rome, have quite freed themselves of this servitude; France did it long since in the clash that happened 'twixt Philip le bell and Boniface the eighth, claiming a jurisdiction in Gallia over Temporals; but the King wrote to him in these tart words, Que ta tres-grande sottise scache— Let thy great foolishness know, that in Temporals we are subject to none but to God himself, and they who think otherwise are sots—.  
And Monsieur Nogaret going afterwards to Rome in quality of Ambassador, and using some bold terms at his Audience, the Pope upbraided him that his Father had been burnt for a Heretic; thereupon Nogaret took him, with a Gauntlet, which he had on his hand, such a cuff under the ear, that felled him.  
It is memorable also in what terms the Greek Churches writ to john the third, who demanding plenitude of power over the Church universal, sent him word, Potentiam tuam summam circa tuos subditos firmiter credimus, superbiam tuam summam tollerare non possumus, avaritiam satiare non valemus. Diabolus tecum, Dominus nobiscum. We firmly believe thy supreme power over thy own subjects, but we cannot endure thy pride, nor are we able to satiate thy covetousness. The Devil be with thee, and God with us. It was an odd farewell.  
Nor of late years touching the right to the Crown of Portugal, would Philip the second, though extremely devoted to the See of Rome, stand to the decision of the Pope after the death of Henry, of whom it is very memorable, that he died the Moon being in an Eclipse, and the very same day and hour that he had been born 68 years before. No, King Philip thought that the Sword was fittest to be Umpire in that business, which he made accordingly. Of such an opinion was Paul the third also for maintenance of his power; for he was used to laugh at those who would make use of arguments to maintain the Pontifical power; no, he was used to say, It is not the Word only, but the Sword which must defend that; good Garrisons, Castles, and Bastions must do it, as well as Excommunications and Bulls.  
The Venetians of late years gave a shrewd wound to the Papal power through the sides of Paul the fifth; when he had threatened them with spiritual Arms, Nicolao Pontano the Doge, or Duke, a man of a free soul, answered the Nuncio, That if Rome would dart her thunderbolts so rashly, verendum esse, ne qui Graeci olim fuissent, è Latio in Graeciam migrâssent, it was to be feared that they who were Greeks of old, might go again from Italy to Greece▪ meaning to the Greek Church. In this quarrel the Pope had recourse to Spain for to appear in it, and thereupon did much compliment with the Duke of Lerma, but a little under the dignity of a Pope: He termed him, Basin Hispanicae coronae, super qua acquiescat Monarchia Catholica, unicum Ecclesiae fundamentum. He writ, that Lerma was the support of the Spanish Crown, upon which the Catholic Monarchy did rest, the only prop of the Church.  
In the year 1337. Lodovicus Bavarus being Emperor, there happened some contrasts 'twixt the Emperor and the Pope, who alleged that the Electors made him King only, but he made him Emperor. Hereupon at a solemn Diet this notable Sanction was enacted. Sacrosanctum Imperium, summa in terris potestas, coeleste donum est; Imperator enim primus ante omnes, secundus post Deum est, per quem, leges, jura, regna humanae genti largitur aeterna Majestas, & tam grande nomen à solo Deo traditur, cui soli me Reipub▪ administrandae rationem reddendam habet. A curiatis igitur Heptarchis rebus impositus, continuò more Majorum atque jure gentium Rex est & vocatur: ipsum contra majestatem Reipub. decus Imperii legatos ad sacerdotem Romanum, ut Author fiat copiam administrandi concedat mittere, eidem jurejurando fidem astringere, atque petere ab ipso usum regii diadematis Religio est. Nullum harum rerum sus omnino est pastori, qui servus ovium est, & in consecrando domino gregi servit▪ quip jure suffragiorum, beneficio Electorum atque populi quisque imperat. Haec verissima esse convenit inter omnes annalium, rerum humanarum, divinarumque peritos, atque jam saepius utriusque juris Caesarei atque Pontificii coelestis thesauri testimoniis comprobatum est. Nonnulli quidem sanctuli praeter fas contra naturae legem docere non erubescunt, pastoris beneficiarium esse Dominum, neque ante principem principum esse aut nominari oportere, quam ille servus servorum Author fiat, & dignum judicârit qui regnet, sed haec cum maxima Christianae Reipub. pernicie, intollerabili populi Christiani, imperatoriae Majestatis jacturâ, nec sine gravissimo Tetrarcharum, Dynastarum, Clientium imperii detriment●…, instigante Stygio principe, domino hujus mundi, commenta esse, eventus docet, exitus probat.  
Quare decernimus, & perpetuò sancimus Edicto, nimirùm ex solo Electionis beneficio omnem potestatem imperiumque proficisci, nec ullo pacto pontificis Romani in hac re sanctimonia, flaminio, authoritate, consensu opus esse. Quicunque aliter docuerit, senserit, ●…actitarit, crimine laesae Majestatis reus, hostis reipub. atque proscriptus esto, capite paenas solvito, bona ejus publica sunto, praedia infiscentur. The most holy Empire being the highest power upon earth, is the gift of heaven: For the Emperor is first before all, and second after God Almighty, by whom the eternal Majesty does bestow Laws, Rights, and Kingdoms to mankind, and so great a name is only given by God, to whom only he is accountable for the administration of the Commonwealth. By the election of the Heptarchicall Electors, according to the custom of our Ancestors, and by the Law of Nations he is King, and called so: For him to send Ambassadors to the Priest of Rome, that he would authorise him, and give him leave to administer, is against the Majesty of the Empire; but to bind himself unto him by oath, and seek of him the use of the royal Diadem, is Religion. The Pastor hath no right to any of these things, who is servant to his sheep, and serves the flock in consecrating the Lord: For by right of suffrage, by the benefit of the Electors and people, every one reigns. That these things are true, is well known to all those that are versed in Antiquity never so little, where they shall find this Doctrine confirmed not only by Caesarean, but Pontificial testimonies themselves. Yet nevertheless some Sciolists, or little modern Saints do not blush to teach the contrary, viz. That the Lord is a Beneficiary to the Shepherd, and that the Emperor may not be called Prince of Princes, till he receive his authority from servus servorum, from the servant of servants, as the Pope styles himself to be. But this cannot be without much mischief to the Christian Commonwealth, and without the utter overthrow of the Imperial Majesty, on which so many Princes and Potentates depend. Therefore it may be called a Doctrine suggested by the Stygian Prince, and belched forth out of hell.  
Therefore we decree and divulge it for an everlasting Sanction, that the Caesarean Majesty is derived from the power of Election, and not from any sanctimony, consent, or confirmation of Pontifical authority. And whosoever shall maintain, publish, or teach otherwise, we pronounce him criminal of High Treason, a professed Enemy to the Imperial Commonwealth, and worthy of capital punishment, or Proscription, that the property of his goods be altered and confiscated.  
Yet notwithstanding this solemn Sanction, how hath the Papal power increased upon the Imperial of late times? Caesar was used to summon universal Counsels. It was Constantine the Great, who called the Nicene Counsel. Theodosius the Constantinopolitan: Theodosius junior the Ephesian. Martianus that of Chalcedon, which four Counsels are next in authority to the 4. Evangelists, they are like the 4. Rivers that ran through Paradis. Besides how many other General Counsels were indicted by Emperors. Besides it was their Prerogative to institute Popes. Henry the 3. created Clement the 2. Damasus the 2. Leo 9 and Victor the 2. Nay Caesar was used to punish the contumacies, and exorbitances of the Pope. So did Otto the 1. chastise Pope john and Benedict. Henry the 3. Sylvester and Gregory. Henry the 5. deposed Pope Paschal. There is a cloud of examples to prove this. The summons of Henry the 4. to Gregory Hildebrand, that Satanical St. as Damianus styles him, are very remarkable. Tu Hildebrande, non jam Apostolice, said false Monache descend, vendicatam tibi sedem Apostolicam relinque. Alius sedem B. Petri ascendet, qui nulla violentiam Religione palliet, sed Beati Petri doctrinam doceat. Ego Henricus Rex dei gratiâ cum omnibus Episcopis nostris tibi dicimus descend, descend. Thou Hildebrand, who art no apostolical, but a false Monk, descend; leave the Apostolical seat which thou claimest, another shall ascend blessed Peter's Throne, who will not palliate violence with Religion, but teach Peter▪ pure Doctrine. I Henry by the grace of God King, with all our Bishops do tell thee, descend, descend. I do not see but the Emperor is Caesar still, and endowed with the same power.  
Now, touching the oath which the Pope exhibits to the Emperor, it is not an Oath of allegiance or fidelity, but that Oath relates to the protection, and defence which he is bound thereby to give the Holy Church, which Lords use to promise ordinarily to their Vassals, and temporal Princes to their subjects. And whereas of old, the Emperor out of a pious reverence to the Church, did use to calculate the time of his reign from the day of his Coronation by the Pope, we know well that that custom is grown obsolet, and antiquated by a long desuetude; In so much that the Germane or Electorian Coronation is now as valid as the other. And I pray how many Emperors have omitted the Papal Coronation, and neglected those superfluous formalities and ceremonies? The Emperor Henricus Auceps, being invited by the Pope to be crowned at Rome, answered, It was sufficient for him to be King of the Romans by God's Grace, and so obliged to protect Germany from the incursion of infidels. Rodolph the 1. gave such an other answer, being advised to go to Rome to be crowned. Italy said he, I know, hath consumed many Alman Kings, I will not to Rome, I am already King, I am already an Emperor, and I hope I shall be able to act for the Christian Commonwealth, as if I had performed that ceremony at Rome.  
The Canonists, whose main endeavours are to elevate the Pope's Mitre above the Imperial Majesty, would have it; that when Caesar dies, the Right is devolved to the Pope, till a new Election. But we well know, most noble Princes, that by our Golden bull it is ordained otherwise, & that during the Vacancy of the Empire, the right of Administration appertains to the Electors of the Rhine and Saxony. It is well known how Paul the 4. would have molested Ferdinand the 1. by his Caraffical Canons, but to little purpose. For as Serpents do naturally retain a poison still in them, though they do not always vent it; so the Roman seven headed Beast doth still keep within him that malignant humour towards the Emperor; which may chance be his own destruction at last: as we read of john Baptista Bishop of Concordia, who at a Ducal feast in Venice, kept in his guts that Wind which should have found vent backward, so long, that he died of it. Now touching the Right that his Holiness hath to Rome by the donation of Constantine, it is the same that Venice hath to the Dominion of the Adriatic Gulf; they are both of them no other than Titles of Straw: yet that of Rome doth produce the Pope much grain. And as that vainglorious City was first founded by Fugitives and Robbers, and afterwards patched up an Empire of varia magna latrocinia, of divers great Theeveries (for Kingdoms are little better) which she got by oppression, tyranny, and rapine; so the same genius remains still in Rome, for she may be said to be a Harpy still, and to rob all the Christian World that's subject to her by her mercenary Pardons, Bulls, and Indulgences: She seldom takes the Lamb without his Fleece: Lord, how is she degenerated from herself when she was a Primitive Christian! in those times there were golden Priests, and wooden Chal●…ces, but now clean contrary, as Boniface the Martyr cried out,  

— In time of old  
The Chalices were wood, the Priests were gold;  
But now a man may swear by Haly rood,  
The Chalices are gold, the Priests are wood.   
Indeed the Italians are generally covetous, and it is to foment their pleasures, whereof they are the greatest embracers of any people. About the precincts of Padua, there were two brothers that in a clear shine night were walking in the fields, and one of them casting his eyes up to the Firmament, wished that he had as many fat Oxen as there were Stars in the Heavens. The other presently wished, that he had a Field as large as the Firmament; the other replying, what he would do with it? he answered, To feed your Oxen. But the judgement of Heaven is observable herein; for as they multiplied discourse about these profane wishes, they fell a quarrelling, and so slew one another in the place.  
And now, I pray, what Nation is more vindicative than the Italian? How many have been murdered for casting but a few glances upon another man's wife out of a window? What various inventions have they of poisoning, sometimes by the smoke of a candle, sometimes by the suavity of a flower, sometimes by a poisoned glove or handkerchief, sometimes by small crossbows with poisoned needles instead of arrows. What an inhuman horrid revenge did a Millanez take of an old friend of his, to whom having been reconciled after some quarrel, he bore still a black rancour in his breast against him, and having surprised him in a convenient place, he put a dagger to his throat, vowing that if he would not do one thing, he was a dead man, which was to abjure God Almighty, the infortunate man did it thrice, and the third time as he was pronouncing the words, he stabbed him to the heart, and so dispatched him, glorying afterwards of the fullness of his revenge; for he had destroyed his body and soul? And now that I am in Milan, methinks I see that glorious Empress Beatrix, Barbarossa's wife, riding through the streets upon a Mule, with her face towards the posteriors of her, and holding the tail in her hand for a bridle; O most unmanly, and base unparallelled piece of barbarism; but the Emperor was sound quit with them; for besides those whom he put to death for this affront, he caused the chiefest of the Town to lick out figs being stuck in a Mules Fundament, whence proceeded that proverbial Jeer which continues to this day in Italy, Echo la fico; Lo here the fig: For when they would mock any, they use to put the thumb betwixt the two forefingers, and pronounce those words.  
And, to draw to a period, I pray hear what that noble French personage, Alexander de Pontaymery, a man of a candid and clear judgement, speaks of this wanton Country of Italy, Nous allons, saith he, en Italie avec une despense incroyable achepter la seule ombre de la civitité, & nous en rapportons la masse entiere de vices; ceux de Milan nous apprenment la trumpery, le Venetien nous rend Hypocrites, le Romain nous plonge en un Ocean d' Atheism & d' impieté, & le Neapolitain nous change en satire, où plustost nous fait un esgoust, & un cloaque de tou●… lascivité, mollesse, & paillardisse, le Florentin nous ensign l'artifice et l'operation de poison— We traverse the Alps, and troth into Italy with incredible expense, to take up certain shadows of Civility, but we bring back the whole mass of Vice; the Milanez teacheth us how to be jugglers, the Bolognois to be Liars, the Venetian to be Hypocrites, the Napolitan transformeth us to Satyrs in lascivity and lust, the Roman plungeth us in an ocean of Atheism, the Florentine teacheth us the artifice of Poisoning.  
Therefore under the favour of this noble Prince that spoke before me, and of this most celebrous and sage Assembly, I hold Italy, in statu quo nunc, to be most incapable to recover her former Principality, but fitter rather to be the Queen of Pleasures, than the Empress of Europe.   

THE ORATION OF The L: NICHOLAS BAWNICKHAUSEN OF BALMEROD, By way of Apology, or as a Temperament to the preceding ORATIONS.  
Most Ample, Illustrious, and Highborn Princes,  
THere is no quality more naturally inherent, and so hereditary to humane brains, as variety and difference of opinions, which, I think never appeared more evidently then in this most learned, and renowned Assembly; but I believe that those discrepancies of Judgements, which have happened, have proceeded not from any hatred, or Malignant humour, but from the innocent, and free conceptions of the mind; let malice and partiality seek lodging among the vulgar, and not harbour in such noble breasts as yours; 'Tis true, there hath been much acrimony and bitterness showed in detecting the Vices of some people, but on the other side there hath been as much candour and sweetness in displaying their virtues; In performance of both, Eloquence mounted up to her very height. But touching the Vices you have spoken of, we must have a due and serious regard of the frailties of humane condition, and it is a high point of injustice to charge a whole Nation with the misdemeanours of a few: so that Apology which the amorous Poet made in behalf of maids, may be applied to Nations:  

Parcite paucarum diffundere crimen in omnes;  
Spectetur meritis Natio quaeque suis.   
We are all the Sons of Adam, and sprung from his loins, Omnes mali sumus, and it comes oftentimes to pass that what one reprehends in another, or abroad▪ he finds it at home, and haply in his own bosom. Now, as all quadrupedrall Animals, except Asses, are subject to a kind of Vermin, so there is no Nation unless it be merely Asinin, but is subject to some infirmities or other; There is a free and facetious common saying, Nullam familiam esse in qua non sit fur aut Meretrix, There is no family (high or low) but hath a whore or a knave in't: Now, if single Families cannot plead such an immunity, how shall we think that whole Nations can be able to do it? The greatest wits have a kind of mixture of madness, and the best policied people, cannot be without some spice of Exorbitancy. The purest fields have some kind of weeds that repullulat among the corn; Either Intemperance, Incontinence, Idleness or Hypocrisy, or some other signal vice doth sway among all people more or less. Whereupon when Gaspar Slickius was telling Frederique the fourth, that he abhorred Hypocrisy so much, that he would go travel to find out a Country where there were no dissemblers, The Emperor smiling said, Ultra sauro matas ergo & glacialem Oceanum tibi eundum est▪ tamen cum eò veneris non omnino carebit hypocrisi locus, si modo & tu homo non Deus es, Inter mortales enim nemo est qui non aliqua ex parta fictus fucatusque sit. Thou must go beyond Sarmatia, and the frozen Ocean, yet when thou com'st thither, thou wilt find that there is Hypocrisy if they be Men, and no Gods, for there is not a Soul among Mortals but is some way or other feigned or counterfeited. Vitia erunt donec Homines, There will be Vices as long as there are men, as Cerialis sa●…th.  
But while we inveigh against the Vice, it is no part of humanity to hate the person, let us hate the ill Manners and not the Man. And being mindful of our own lubricities as well as of mankind's in general, let us not be too Eagle eyed into other men's infirmities, unless it be by them to mend our own.  
I have heard, most excellen Prince Maximilian, what you have charged the French withal, viz. that they were possessed sometimes with Furies, alluding to their sundry civil Commotions; 'tis very true, yet they have not been so far transported, but they came to themselves again, and I doubt not but the hand of Heaven will in a short time quench these present flames that now rage there, and for us Germane it were our duty to bring all the water of the Rhin to do it; by calling to memory that most holy league which was struck between the Emperor Frederique the second, and Lewis the eighth of France, wherein the most ancient appellation of Germans and Franks, was revived and acknowledged to be the same nation, & sprung of the same stock, therefore it was capitulated, that when we came to mention one another, we should mutually term ourselves brothers; We must remember also how Maximilian the first, caused the book which was kept among the Records at Spire, to be publicly burnt, wherein all the injuries and quarrels that had ever happened 'twixt the Empire and the Kingdom of France were couched.  
And you most adorned Baron of Limburg, under favour you have inveighed against Spain with too much heat, as if she were  

Nido di tradimento ove si cova  
Quanto mal per il mond'hoggi si trova.   
As if Spain were the nest, wherein was hatched all the mischief that hath befallen poor Europe, since the Castilian mounted to this greatness. Now as some Painters when they draw a Face take more pains to set out a Mole, or Wert, than the gracefulness of the whole countenance, so under correction have you been pleased to delineat Spain unto us; It is true, the Spaniard is much emulated by some, and hated by others, suspected by all; but as many sweet and savoury things are not therefore insipid, because they prove so to squeazy and unsound stomaches, so the Spaniard is not so bad of himself, because he is reported to be so, by such who either envy or Malign him; All Spaniards are not like the Duke of Alva, who because he perfectly abhorred a Rebel, such as he held our Countryman the Low-German to be, did such severe execution upon them; for whereas they allege that King Philip had broke his Oath, and infringed their privileges, by introducing the Inquisition, and imposing new taxes, K. Philip answered, that 'twas they themselves who had broken their own privileges first, by receding from that Religion, wherein he found them, and wherein according as he was engaged to God Almighty by solemn Oath, taken at his Inauguration, he was bound to maintain them, which he could not do but by strength of Arms and a War, which they had drawn upon themselves, and therefore it was just they should maintain it: For what he did was to preserve his Oath with the Religion, and Immunities he found them in, which they would force him to violate, therefore they may thank themselves for the miseries that befell them; which yet in some respect turned mightily to their advantage, for it filled Belgium with wealth and treasure; In regard the Spaniard being of so haughty an humour, that he would not relinquish his right to those Provinces, he employed so much Indian Gold and Silver to reduce them that countervayled the price of the Country forty times over; And had it not been for those unhappy Wars, the Catholic King might by this time have paved all his Churches and palaces with Peru Ingots, and Mezican Patacoons.  
Touching the Society of jesuits, were it not for their Hildebrandian Doctrine, they might be very necessary Members of Church and State, both for the Education of youth, the propagation of learning, converting of Infidels and other things.  
For what concerns Great Britain, Hungary and Poland, truly the Darts which some Noble Princes here have hurled at them, were a little too keen; Touching the two last, those Encomiums which some noble Princes whom I behold before ●…e have made of them, make a full compensation for what was spoken contra; They a Martial people, perpetually inur'd to Arms, and standing upon their guard, that the Common Enemy shall rush no further into Europe. And for them of Great Britain, as they were in former ages much renowned for their trophies and feats abroad, (for one of them built the walls of our Vienna returning from the Holy land, which, to confess the truth, was more honour to him then to the Archduke, who articled with him to do it) I say as some ages since, the English were famous, so of late years they were envied by all Nations for their mighty increase of wealth and commerce, with peace and afluence of all felicity; Until these late intestine Wars happened, which makes them now to be rather pitied then Envied, to be rather scorned then respected; yet they have discovered that the same spirit of magnanimity and prowess remains still in the hearts of the people, as appeared by those sundry battles, sieges and Skirmishing they had, which were more than happened in any Country for the time, considering the extent of ground; But that addition of Scotland to England was unhappy and fatal to her, for from that cold Northern door blew all her troubles.  
And now do I much admire what came into that Prince his mind, who spoke of Germany, to be so tart against her, and to throw so much dirt into the face of his own Country; surely as I believe he took those taunts and contumelies out of some forr ein Author, who was no great friend to Germany; but 'tis as easy for Her to shake them off, as feathers off a Cloak, or small flies when they infest us in Summer; but as Tiberius answered one, who told him of some aspersions that were cast abroad upon him, Non indignamur aliquos esse qui nobis male dicat, satis est si hoc habemus ne quis nobis malè faciat; We are not angry that there are some who speak ill of us, It is enough that we are in such a condition, that no body can do us any ill; so may Germany say of herself. 'Tis too true, that Caesar hath received some diminution in point of power, but though some Countries which seem to have revolted from him seem to usurp his rights, yet he still claims them, and they acknowledge fealty; We know that Frederique the second writ to the Pope, Italia haereditas est mea, & hoc notum est toti orbi; you know Italy is my inheritance, and this is known to all the world, therefore when Pius the fourth would have made Cosmo of Medici King of Hetruria, the Emperor did countermand it; And afterwards when Pius the fifth created him, Gran Duke of Toscany, Caesar did protest against it, as an invasion of his imperial prerogative; though that title was afterwards confirmed to Francis his Son by the Emperor's special charter, and intercession of friends, yet with this proviso, that he should acknowledge himself Beneficiary of the Empire. Moreover it continueth to this day that when any difference happen 'twixt any of the Italian Princes about extent of Territory, the decision hereof belongs to the Imperial Court; There is a late pregnant example hereof, for when the Genoese had encroached upon the Marquis of Final, and had in a manner exterminated him from House and home, the Emperor Ferdinand did summon them to answer for themselves, with this menacing addition, Nisi Feciali suo parerent urbem & agrum Genuensem se proscripturum▪ If they would not obey his Herald, his Imperial Majesty would proscribe both the Town and Country of Liguria, but they conformed to his command; Now, there is no Civilian Doctor but will confess that Caesar is Lord paramount, and consequently hath Jurisdiction over all the States of Italy, and that it is an incontroulable truth, and a Rule in Law, Nullis Italiae civitatibus leges condere jus esse quae Romanorum legibus quas Fredericus promulgari jussit contrariae sint, There is no City of Italy can by right establish any Law that may repugn any way the Roman Laws which Frederique commanded to be promulgated. Touching the Pope, all the world know that he is no other de jure but a Vassal or Chaplain to Caesar, who gave him the praefecture of Rome, and the Country adjacent; a confirmation whereof, he solemnly seeks of every new Emperor: Therefore Caesar is not fallen from his property and Imperial Right to Rome to this day; Nor is it absolutely necessary for him to make his personal residence in Rome, it being a Rule, Ibi est Roma, ubi est Imperator, Ther Rome is, where the Emperor is; We know that when Constantine the Great, did first transferr his Court to Constantinople, and fixed there, she being the fittest City to rule the world by reason of her situation, yet he and his successors did still entitle themselves Roman Emperors, preserving still their first rights; as the Athenians were said, notwithstanding that they had relinquished the City to conserve Athens still in their Ships; So that it may be said without much impropriety of speech, that Rome is now at Vienna, or Prague, or Norimberg, whersoever the imperial person of Caesar is: All the Hans Towns, though they have made use of Caesar, and procured large privileges for some pecuniary contributions, yet they acknowledge him still their supreme liege Lord; Add herunto that Savoy, Lorraine, and Burgundy are members of the Empire to this day; as also the netherlands or Belgium, therefore when the confederate Provinces having revolted from Spain, had sent a splendid legation to Elizabeth Queen of England, to take them under her protection, the just and wise Princess put it to deliberation of Council, as it appears yet upon Record, An cum alterius principis subditis protectionis faedus inire liceret, & an Belgae faederati offerre jure possent sine Caesaris consensu qui supremus Feudi Dominus erat; I say the said prudent Queen put it to debate, whether it was lawful to enter into a league with the Subjects of another Prince, and whether those confederated Provinces could make such a proposal with the consent of Caesar who was Sovereign Lord of the Fee: Whereupon the first answer she sent them was, Nihil sibi antiquius esse quam fidem cum honore con, unctam tueri, nec dum sibi liquere, quomodo salvo honore, & conscientia integrâ provincias illas oblatas in protectionem multo minus in possessionem accipere posset, Nothing, said Q. Eliz. was of more Religion to her, then to conserve her Faith conjoined with an honour worthy of a Prince, and that it did not yet appear unto her how with safety of her honour and integrity of Conscience, she could undertake the protection, much more the possession of those Provinces: Yet afterwards some darknesses and jealousies increasing 'twixt her and Spain, she undertook the protection. And she proved a brave Auxiliary unto them, both for men and Money, in so much that the foundation of that Free State may be said to be cemented with English blood; 'Tis true, that France concurred with her for pure political respects, for they were both as Remoras to the Spanish greatness; Therefore although those six Fugitive Provinces which have revolted from Spain have been strangers to the Empire ever since, yet all the rest of the Provinces acknowledge their old homage to Caesar.  
Now touching the Helvetians or Swisses, although by an Imperial Diplom or Charter, they have Exemptionem à judicio Aulico, Camerali & Rotvillensi, libertatem foederationum, & immunitatem ab omnibus oneribus realibus Imperio debitis, tamen constitutione fractae pacis publicae tenentur, & pacem Imperii publicam violantes in Camera accusari possunt, imo etiam contra omnes Imperii hostes exteros suppetias ferre sunt obstricti. I say, although the Swisses have exemption from Court or Chamber censures, although they have freedom or confederacy, and an immunity from all real taxes of the Empire, yet in case they infringe the public peace, they are citable to the imperial Chamber, and they are bound to bring aid against all foreign Enemies of the Empire.  
Touching the excess of Drinking, wherewith you brand the Germane, 'tis true, that no Nation is more sociable and hospitable, which proceeds from the largeness of their Souls, and free Spirits, yet if they are peccant this way, their rare continence makes a compensation for their intemperance; Yet under favour there be other Nations that be as guilty this way; For whereas the Germane doth pelt the brain with small shot, I mean with little draughts, the Englishman doth use to Storm it with Canon Bullet, I mean with huge drawghts at a time, In so much that of the two he is the purer Drinker, for he is the only man who trades in shear liquor, without eating any thing else, which all other Nations use to do; In so much, that Scaliger doth not hit the humour right in his Epigram, wherein he descants upon three Nations,  

Tres sunt Convivae, Germanus, Flander & Anglus,  
Dic, quis edit melius, quis meliusve bibit?  
Non comedis German, bibis, Tu non bibis Angle  
Sed comedis, comedis Flandre, bibisque bene.   
Lastly, touching ITALY, Renowned and Triumphant Italy, that Noble Prince who declaimed in her praise spoke too sparingly, and he who pleaded against her, spoke too much, he rubbed her sores with too rigid a hand, specially the imperial seven-hilled City, glorious and immortal Rome, of whom it seems that Providence hath a peculiar and more special care then ordinary, for although she hath been so often ravished by such swarms of barbarous people, yet she still-holds up her head; and though so many Crowns & Sceptres have forsaken her, yet the Crosier bears still up her aged limbs, and keeps her from falling. She, who in former ages preserved herself by Prowess, doth do it now by piety. Touching her Bishops, that saying of Guicciardin's was a little too virulent, wherein he tells us, Hodie tam depravati sunt mores, ut in Pontifice laudetur probitas cum caeterorum hominum nequitiam non excedit: There is such a deprivation of manners now a days crept into Rome, that if the Pope's vices do not exceed those of an ordinary man, he is accounted virtuous. Touching the wealth of the Church, and the bounty of our Pious progenitors, I am none of those that repine at it, and I would be loath to deprive Saint Peter of his patrimony, or have any of his lands to mingle with mine, for fear they should prove as a Canker in my Estate, I would be loath to exchange Souls with any of those that rob the Church, I would not fill my Chests with such Aurum Tholosanum: There was a remarkable thing happened in the time of Frederique the second, who being extremely incensed against Peter de Vineis his Secretary, caused him to be exoculated; yet though he had so lost his eyes, the Emperor readmitted him to his Council, because he was an extraordinary wise man: The Secretary was very sensible of the loss of his eyes, and therefore studied how to be revenged. Herupon there being a War 'twixt the Emperor and the Pope, the Secretary de Vineis told him, Vires Ecclesiae suismet opibus esse conterendas, The power of the Church is to be quelled by her own wealth: Herupon he advised the Emperor to sell some of the Church goods, which he did in Pisa and other places, which being done, the Secretary told him boldly, Imperator, injuriam mihi à te illatam ultus sum,— O Emperor I have now revenged myself of the injury that was done me, Thou hast drawn upon thyself already the hatred of men, and now I have drawn upon thee the hatred of God by this act of Sacrilege, therefore all things shall far ill with thee hereafter, which proved accordingly as the History plainly tells us.  
Touching the excesses of some Popes, which Poggio and Platina rip up, it cannot be denied but among so many some must be bad; In the first Election that our Saviour himself made of his twelve Apostles, we know there was one naught, But let it not be forgotten that the first 33. Bishops of Rome were all Martyrs; If the Cardinal's purple seem too gay in the eyes of that Noble Prince who spoke against it, and that some ecclesiastics live in too much pomp and Plenty, The Capuchins frock, and the austere abstemious lives of other mendicant Friars may make some compensation for their excesses; If Venice and Naples with other places, have so many Courtesans, the continence of so many thousand cloistered sweet souls who have quite divorced themselves from the world, and wedded Heaven, may serve to apologise for the Country in general; Yet I am not so far transported with the love of Italy, (or any Region else) that she may deserve to stand in competition for pre-eminence with Germany; No, Italy comes as far short of her in that point, a●… an Italian mile comes short of a Germane league, which in some places is five times longer.  
DIXI.   


C. Frederique von Pliegianem.  
I Have heard with no less pleasure than profit all those most learned and Elaborat Orations, which have been pronounced in this Princely Diet; and touching my own judgement I totally concur in point of opinion with the personage that spoke last, and with his highness Charles Duke of Saxony, who dilated himself so gallantly upon the same subject, viz. that of all the Kingdoms and States of Europe, Germany deserves the Palm, and principality.   

B. Henry von Pa●…owitz.  
And I also, most excellent Princes, am settled also in the same opinion, which I hold to be Orthodoxal, and not derogatory to any other Country besides.   

C. joachim von jaxheim.  
And I am clearly of that mind, nor do I hold it a wrong or disparagement to any other part of Europe to veil to Germany, and come in the arreare.   

C. Christopher von Belward.  
I have weighed and winnowed in my intellectuals, all those opinions that have been delivered in this high convention, and I hold it appertains de jure to Germany to have the pre-eminence, which I would be ready to maintain with my Sword, as well as with my saying, if occasion did require it; Nor doth this opinion proceed from any partiality or fondness of affection because I am a German born, but from the pure dictates of reason and Justice.    

THE CLOSE OF THE ASSEMBLY, By the most excellent, FREDERIQUE Duke of WITTENBERG, & C.  
Most Illustrious Prince, ever endeared Cousins, and much Honoured Barons.—  
There have been many famous Diets in Germany, which have been more populous, and of a longer continuance than this, but I believe there was never any which transacted more business in so short a time; I dare say that Europe was never so exactly survayed, & traveled over, as she hath been these few days by us; And this we have done without incurring any inconveniences or hazards at all; either of difficult ways, incursion of thiefs, stumbling of horses, hard fare, ill-favoured lodgings, or crossing of Seas, with those nomberles incommodities which we know are incident to peregrination, and journeying in foreign Countries.  
And now me thinks, you expect with earnestness, and a kind of impatience that I should deliver my opinion touching the question which hath been controverted so many days, and canvased to an fro, with such high strains of Rhetoric and Energy of wit in so many fluent Orations swelling with such high tides of Eloquence, and learning; But I humbly desire to be excused herein, you know 'tis a rule of morality all the world over, that Comparisons are odious; Besides, under favour, neither the place nor persons of this Assembly, are fit to pass a definitive sentence hereof; We are all Germans, and do what we can, we must be a little indulgent to our own Country by an irresistible instinct of Nature: All Regions have some advantage or other to make them lift up their crests. Let Germany glory that she hath the Prince Paramount of Christendom for her perpetual guest, that Caesar keeps his Court in her. Let Spain be the Queen of Mines, France of Men; let Great Britain be the Queen of Isles, Italy the Queen of Policy, with all sorts of Elegancies; let it be granted that the French and Pole are best a Horseback, the Englishman and Hollander upon a deck, the Spaniard at a siege, the Italian in a Treaty, the Hungarian upon a rampart, etc. Every Nation hath a particular aptitude to something more than another, and this by the common decree of Nature, who useth to disperse her benefits, and not pour them all together upon any one people.  
And now, most splendid and magnificent Princes, my most dear Cousins and Compatriots, how shall I pay that due tribute of gratitude, which I confess to have made myself liable unto, for this noble and virtuous Congress? truly, no words are strong enough to express myself herein, unless they were couched in such pathetical and gallant Orations which have been formerly framed; All that I can say and desire for the present is, that you would please to accept of a lipp-payment only, (which yet is cordial) until some happy encounter may afford me an opportunity to return some real acknowledgement: In the interim, most noble and hopeful Princes, well may your Souls fare, may your Virtue's increase, and your Fame flourish to all posterity.  
FINIS.   

A particular of such matters as were debated in this Germane Diet.  

A  
A Buse of foreign Travel 3. in the pro. sage advice to a Traveller 4. fol. ibid.  
Abbot of Fuldo the greatest of Christendom, he furnished the Emperor with 60000 fight men. 9  
In that Abbacy 600. Gentlemen were used to be bred, and 30. Doctor's to teach them 10.  
Auspurg famous for Goldsmiths 13.  
The admirable wooden Eagle made by Regiomontanus to the life 14  
All the old famous Artists mustered up among the Greeks and Romans 14  
A notable passage 'twixt Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas 14  
All the famous Printers numbered 15  
Antwerp characterised 16  
Acostas opinion of the Torrid Zone 17  
One of Aristotle's Errors 17  
Augustus Caesar and Tiberius drank most commonly German wines 18  
Annwerp erected the first Burse 20  
Of Ariovistus the valiant Germane, his stout answer to Caesar 22  
Above 19 millions of souls in Germany not counting Denmark and Bohemia, as Boterus affirms 25  
A notable passage of Babo Count of Aheneberg 25  
Andaluzia from Vandals 26  
Augustus Caesar twice defeated by the Germans, called Lolliana, and Variana clades 25  
A memorable passage in Constantinople touching one of the Emperor's Ambassadors 26  
The ancientest race of Noblemen is in Germany 26  
of Artemisia and her wonderful love to her husband 2  
The answer of a Pole why he held the plough on Sunday 7  
A notable example of poisoning used in Poland, and the fearful judgement that ensued thereupon 8  
Aurelianus the Emperor killed 48. men in one day in the field 12  
Attila characterised 18  
his death 19  
A wise Answer of an Archbishop of Colen to the Abbot of Fuldo 19  
S. Augustins wish 28  
A Portuguese hath nothing but the shape of a man in him 36  
A shrewd judgement of a learned Frenchman touching Italy 42  
Aquitaine daintily described by Salvianus, and Province by Boterus 38  
Aristotle foully erred when he writes that there are no Asses in France 53  
The Duke of Anjous miscarriage in the Netherlands, he was made Governor by Queen Eliz. letters 59  
Of the French disease 59  
The French Nation censured, They have whirlwinds in their brains, quicksands in their breasts, characters given of them by the Ancients 59  
French Kings not liable to pay the debts of their predecessors, examples produced 59  
A nasty leprous French people called Capotts dwelling in Bearn 59  
The Invincible Armada in the year 88 described 39  
Of Prince Arthur, his character in verse 41  
Mr. Arondel of Warder how he came to be Count of the Empire, his patent 42  
Ausonius his character of a salmon 46  
His opinion of the Britain's 53  
Adrian the fourth an Englishman his haughtiness 55  
Anne of Bullen taunted in France 56  
Of the Abuse of Tobacco 56  
An Apology for human infirmities 45  
The advantages of divers Countries 51  
An Apology for the Popes and the Cardinals 49  
Another for Italy 50  
The Atheistical life and saying of a Germane Prince 36  
Of Amsterdam 35  
Of the Austrian Family 29   

B  
BOdins notable description of Germany 10  
Berchtoldus Swartzius a Franciscan first Inventor of gunpowder 14  
Bezas Epigram of Aldus Manutius the Printer 15  
Boterus his opinion of the Germane Cities 16  
Of Bachrag wines 18  
The benefit Holland makes of her milk may compare with Bourdeaux wines, or Lisbons' spices 19  
Biscopius a Welsh Monk made five pilgrimages to Rome, and used to bring with him some choice Artists 23  
Bon●…inius prefers Austria before Italy 35  
The bad Popes censured 37  
Bembo's profaneness 38  
Of a Bishop that died by keeping in his wind backward at a feast 41  
Beatrix Emp: Barbarossa's wife barbarously used in Milan, the Emperor had his full re venge 42  
The Britain's of the Gallic, or Wallic race 42  
Bodin censured 60  
Great Britain characterised 33  
Her advantag●…ous situation 33  
Her seas as fruitful as her shores 33  
Her character in verse 33  
Her character by Eumenius to Constantin the Great 33  
The progress that her Fish makes about her throughout the year, with her several seasons of fishing 34  
Britain a microcosm of herself 34  
Of the Inhab●…tants of Britain 34  
Britain had the first Christian King and Emperor 36  
Britain branded by Porphyry 36  
The old Britons or Welsh the greatest planters of Christianity 36  
Most of the famous men of Britain ancient and modern mustered up 37  
Boniface his ill report of the English 50  
Britain hath the best Cocks and Dogs 51  
The Baths of Germany 36  
Bartolus saying, that tall men are seldo●… wise 30  
S. Bernard's description of Ireland 6●…  
A bitter satire against the Queen of Scot land 64  
Buchanan and Knocks censured 64   

C  
THey of China an Eagle-eyed p●…eple, next neighbours to the Rising Sun. They disdain all other Nations. Their proverb.  
The true appellation of China, 8. times bigger than France. They are good Artists. They have generally flat noses. They restrain strangers to come into their Country. They inhibit the Natives to travel abroad, etc. 2 in the proem.  
The character of man 2 in the pro.  
The Chino is enemies to humanity, to the law of Nature 2 in the pro.  
Cybeles priests were Hermaphrodites 4 in the pro.  
Charlemagne versed in many languages, a good Poet, he caused the Grammar to be put in the vulgar tongue, and Germane names to be imposed upon the months in the year, he divided the winds into twelve, he was used to be present in the schools, and threatened a degradation to all Nobles that were illiterate 11  
Charles the V. had Thucydides always with him in the field 11  
A comparison touching Italy 35  
Another comparison 36  
A comparison of the French Wines 39  
A comparison of the French Kings 50  
A comparison of Monsieur de la Nove 54  
Two comparisons wittily used 7  
A fit comparison 6  
A comparison 'twixt the Germans and Italians 8  
Caesar saluted only the skirts of Germany 8  
A comparison of Rivers 9  
A comparison of Weeds 9  
Cicero●…s complaint of false writing 15  
A comparison of Tacitus 17  
Caesars saying of the Swablanders 23  
A comparison touching Kingdoms 23  
Of the Cosacks 23  
A high comparison about the praises of Italy 21  
A comparison 41  
The Italian Wheat is the first, the Boetian next, the Sicilian the third, and the African next that 21  
Of Cosmo de Medici and his rare abilities, his admirable piety, his golden speech, his Epitaph 27   

D.  
THe duty of a Traveller 3. in the pro.  
Duke of Saxony Orator for Germany 5  
His curious Proem. 5  
Dissuasions from foreign Travel 7  
Danzick, Delft, in Low Germany, and Rostock, Paderborn, Brunswick, and Breslaw in High Germany the most famous for Beer 18  
The Duke of Holyiein had at one time 1000 Ma●…es, and 160 Stallions 19  
Of the Danube that watereth a hundred people 19  
The Dutch were Grandfathers, if not Fathers of the Britain's, as Caesar writes. 23  
Of divers that writ upon bald petty subjects, as Archippus●…ell ●…ell upon the praise of an Ass, Passeratius upon his shadow, Lucian of a fly, Erasmus of folly, etc. 6  
The defects of Italy in not having Navigable Rivers with others 35  
Divers places in Italy subject to ill airs 35  
Of Duke Godf●…ey of Bullen 43  
A Discou●…se against Elective Kingdoms, and what confusions come by Interregnums 47  
Dirt of Paris indelible 63  
Montague his saying of his Countrymen 64  
A Discourse of Foreign Travel by the Duke of Saxony 5  
Of Duels so much used by the French 64  
The dangerous opinions of the Jesuits, and the various ways they have to oblige the Gentry 17  
Of Sir Francis Drake and his exploits 42   

E.  
The English taunted wittily fol. 6  
Eudoxus his Extravagant wish to go near the Sun 6  
English sweat 6  
Eckius first found found the way of mingling Oil with Colours 14  
An Encomium of Printing 16  
The Excellencies of the Germane Cities 17  
England called Transmarina Saxonia 24  
Entringh Castle, a memorable passage that happened in it 24  
The Encouragement the Pope gives Merchants to buy his Alum 22  
Aeneas Silvius his witty Distic to the Poets 37  
Extravagant wishes of two Brothers in Padua, whereby they both perished 42  
The Excess of speech that Maximilian used touching France 37  
A notable example of a drunken woman in France 62  
Of the English Kings 39  
The English made Trade to flourish first in Flanders 40  
Of Queen Elizabeth 40  
The English great Reverencers of their Kings 40  
The Earth is the Native Country of all men; she is but one Mansion 3. in the Pro.  
The marvellous Echo of Charenton bridge in France, that reverberates 13 times 4. in the Pro.  
Of the Escurial in Spain the eighth wonder of the world 3  
Notable Examples of the Spanish constancy 6  
Edgar rowed by four Kings 38  
The Exploits of the English in France 38  
The English formidable in France as by example 38  
The English King prayed for more often than any other 41  
Queen Elizabeth caused the Great Turk to expel the Jesuits out of Pera 19  
The English censured 67  
England's Inconveniencies 61  
The English and Dutch compared in point of drinking 37  
Examples of Drunkards 37   

F.  
A Fantastic Traveller 3. fol. in the Pro.  
Set forth by Sir Thomas More in the person of Lalus, a mere Ape or Mimic, etc. 3. in the Pro.  
He turns a Sprat to a Whale 4. in the Pro.  
France taunted 6  
Foreign Travel the best Academy 7  
The famous Divines of Germany mustered up, the famous Politicians, the famous Physicians and Philosophers 12  
Germany the first Correctresse of the Calendar 12  
The Fantastic humour of Petrus Bembus touching the Latin tongue 13  
France the centre of Europe, she enjoys a delicate temper, able to unite or hinder the conjunction of the forces of Europe, her comodious situation 38  
The four Lodestones of France according to Boterus 38  
Without France, Spain might starve for Bread 39  
Of the French Wines 39  
Of the French Hemp 39  
Of the French Salt compared with that of other Countries 39  
Of divers other French comodities wherewith the Country abounds 39  
The bad fruits of foreign Travel 6  
Friburg famous for Crystal work 13  
Florence a City to be seen on Holidays, as Charles the Emperor said 16  
Of the French Mines 40  
A Fish in France that changes with the Moon 4  
Of the French Rivers, and how commodiously they lie for Navigation, 40  
France the eye and pearl of the world 41  
France hath 102 Episcopal Cities, whereof four are Metropolitan, she hath 30000. Parishes 41  
Of the French Town, and of Paris in particular 42  
France the freest Country upon earth, and the reasons 42  
The Freedom of France exemplified by two notable instances 42  
Of the French Martial Kings 43  
Of the French Church, and the vast Revenue thereof 43  
A Frenchman the first Latin Lecturer in Rome when Cicero was a boy 43  
Of the great Learned men of France, and the College of Sorbon 44  
Of the French Academies 44  
Of the French Tongue, and of joseph Scaliger, the Dictator of Literature 46  
The best French spoken upon the banks of Loire 46  
Of the French Kings, and their excellencies 46  
The French Crown not tied to a Distaff, and the reason alleged 46  
French Kings never die, example thereof 47  
France prohibits the Imperial Law, 48  
French Kings begin to reign inchoativ●… at 14 48  
Their high Prerogatives, and of the Parliament of Paris 49  
French King more glorious than the Emperor in guards, etc. 50  
The French King cures the Struma, and the manner of it 50  
Of the late French Kings, and their characters, specially of Henry the great, and his Son the late Lewis the 13. 51  
France and her King worthy to have the Principality, and the reasons 52  
Francis the first brought in the Turk against Spain, & the act authorised by examples 55  
Of the French Ligue, and the monstrousness of it 55  
French Kings censured 55  
Of Henry the 3. his vision, his death, his Epitaph 56  
France possessed with 3 Furies 56  
Sale of Offices in France a high Injustice 57  
French Gentlemen all Surgeons 61  
Of the French language 61  
France full of wanton Books 62  
Of the French Rabelais 62  
The French often eaters 63  
The French most changeable 63  
When the Frenchman sleeps the Devil rocks the cradle, a Proverb of the Flemin 63  
The foolishness of the Londoners in point of building 61   

G.  
Gratianus his famous Decree 2. in the Pro.  
Germany much bettered by foreign travel 3. in the Pro.  
The Germane Gentlemen taxed for abusing foreign Travel 6  
The Germans very thick abroad in other Country's 6  
Germany the Princess of Europe 7  
Gaunt in Flanders the greatest City in Europe 7  
Germany suddenly turned Christian, her marvelous piety 9  
Germany described by Paulus jovius 10  
She hath mightily flourished since the Council of Constance in Universities and Knowledge 10  
The Germane Princes very covetous of degrees in Learning 11  
Of the Duke of Gelder's 11  
All the Germane great Towns excel in some particular thing 13  
A Germane Friar Inventor of Guns, and  
A Germane Swordman Inventor of Printing, vice versa 14  
The Germane Cities characterised 16  
The Germane Territories characterised 17  
Of the Germane Wines 18  
Germany compared to Italy 18  
The Germane commodities set forth 18  
Of the Germane Horses 19  
Of the Germane Rivers 19  
Of the Germane Fish 19  
Of the Germane Mines of Gold and Silver, with other Metals 19  
The Germane most Hospitable 20  
German Gentlemen restrained from Trade 20  
The Germans never beat their servants, nor imprison their Tenants 21  
Germany an ill Country for Bastards 21  
The Germane rare for chastity and conjugal love 22  
Of the Germane valour 22  
Germany called by the Belgians, Magna patria 23  
Germany the strongest body of Europe if united 26  
The Genoese only worse than Englishmen 36  
The Germans tartly censured 34  
The Germane way to try whether a child be a Bastard 73   

H.  
AN Honest man must be a mixed man, the reason why 3. in the Pro.  
Hyperboles of divers sorts 4. in the Pro.  
Hollanders best makers of Linen cloth, their Looms are as fine as Arachne's Webb 13  
Holst & Oudenard excel in woven Pictures 13  
Holland hath thirty three Cities, whereof from Gorcham Tower one may see 22 16  
Hercynian Forest once nine day's journey broad 17  
Holland characterised by Scaliger 17  
Holland Cows give twelve quarts a day 19  
Herodes King of judaea had a Guard of Germans 21  
How the Germans took footing in France 23  
Horslers and Tapste●…s in Poland understand Latin in many places 3  
How Rome hath been ingrateful to those who deserved best of her 10  
Hungary hath strong Wines 10  
Hungary hath a River called Tibisco, whereof it is said, that she hath two parts water, and the third fish 11  
Saint Hierom an Hungarian 11  
Hungary hath had famous men, their names 11  
Hungary afforded eight Roman Emperors, their names 12  
Other brave Kings of Hungary mentioned 13  
The brave answer of an Hungarian Gentlewoman 14  
Hungary the Antimurale and chiefest Rampart of Europe 15  
Hungary glorieth of Stephen Bartorius, and deservedly, his character. 15  
Of the Hungarian languor, or fai●…iness 17  
Some Hungarian Wells that will sing Hogs, yet they breed fish 17  
The Hungarians described by Bishop Otto of Frisenghen 18  
The Huns said to have their original from some Demons 18  
Henry the 4 of France censured many ways 65  
In Henry the seconds time but two Coaches in all Paris 63  
The Hollander lives partly upon the idleness of the English 49  
A horrid Murrher of a Germane Butcher 49   

I  
THe Italian taunted 6  
The Italian sends yearly to Germany for Artists as Statuaries, Architects, Limmers, Surveyors, Aqueductors, etc. 12  
john Guttemberg of Mentz, first Inventor of Printing 14  
How Irenaeus adjured the writer of his works to be true 15  
Of the Italian Mountibanks 6  
Of Idleness and sloth 11  
Italy to other Kingdoms as a diamond to Bristol stones 20  
Italy characterised by Pliny 20  
The high Elegy that an Emperor gives of Italy 21  
Some Italian soils afford 4 ●…attermaths 21  
Italy, Bacchus his Inner Cellar 21  
Of the Italian wines 21  
The wines of Papia cured Boetius, and afterwards he fell to write his book de Consolation 21  
The various comodities of Italy 22  
Italy described curiously by Florus 22  
The Italian Cities with their Epithetts 22  
A Napolitan found out the Mariner's Compass, a Venetian found out the making of glass 23  
Of the brave Artists of Italy, of the Poets and  
Orators with Philosophers 23  
Italy the great source and cistern whence all civility flow●…s 24  
Italy hath 17. Academies 24  
The Italian cautious in exposing himself to danger 24  
The brave resolution of an Italian when Charles the eight entered Italy 25  
Italy bred great Captains 25  
Of Christopher Colomba a greater Hero than Hercules, the reasons induced him to that design, his proceedings in short, how he jeered the ranting Spaniards, how he was slighted, & at last listened unto by Isabel 25  
The Italians are true friends, exemplified by Signior Priuli a Venetian Gentleman, and Cardinal Pole 26  
Italy a seeker after, and rewarder of virtue, Rome the common Country of all Nations where any is capable of dignity 26  
Of the stupendous wealth and strength of Venice, still a virgin, the greatest mistress of Sea in the world, her exploits and policy 28  
Divers Characters of Rome, one by Livy, her admired populousness and riches in times passed, of her Bishop, always a Reverencer of the Gods, of old and new Rome, of the Pope, and many examples produced, what adorations have been done him by Emperors and Kings, the notable letter of Adrian the fourth to the Electors of Germany, the names of those Kingdoms that are feudetary to Rome, how divers Emperors, & Kings have been excommunicated by him 31  
Touching General Counsels, a proverb of the Pope in Italy, etc. 33  
Italy by many characters of merit deserves to have the precedence of all Countries in Europe 33  
Of famous john Hawkwood 45  
Ireland famous of old for learned men 49  
The Irish have a holy proverb of S. Patrick 49  
Ireland and Scotland censured. 66   

K  
KIngdoms no other than Magna Latrocinia fol. 41  
Kingston upon Hull like a Low-country town 47  
Of Keneth the Pict, who brought the coronation stone from Ireland to Scotland 48   

L  
THe Lord Precedents compliment to the rest of the Princes 1. in the pro.  
Lycurgus' against foreign Travel 2. in the proem  
The Law of God that strangers should be as well used of Natives 2. in the pro.  
Of Luther his quill compared to Hercules' club 9  
Lotharius the Emperor the first restaurator of learning in Germany 10  
Leunclavius compild the History of the mahometans while he was Ambassador for Rodolphus in Constantinople 11  
Louvain had 4000 Weavers looms in the year 1330 13  
The English first taught to make cloth by the Lovantans 13  
Lubeck's beer medicinal 18  
Of Lorenzo de Medicis a memorable passage 22  
Leo the tenth born for the restauration of letters 24  
London and Genoa compared in Ingratitude and why 26  
Latin tongue two thirds Greek 38  
Languages descanted upon 61  
Laval in the reign of Francis the first, a corpulent gentleman, was the first Inventor of Coaches 63  
Lipsius his opinion of Oxford 44  
Of London, England's Imperial chamber 44  
A Libel in Spain against the Jesuitts, and another in France 18  
Of love to ones Country 31   

M  
MAn not tied to one place no more than a bird or fish 3. in the proem  
Man Lord of all elementary creatures by divine charter 3. in the pro.  
Machiavelli rebukes his Country men because they used Germane Mathematicians 10  
Magdeburg the Metropolis of Germany 16  
Many errors of the Ancients mustered up 17  
The monstrous trade of Antwerp in times passed 20  
The marvelous riches of Antwerp, when she was plundered by the Spaniards 20  
The memorable History of a Duchess of Bavaria, of conjugal love to Guelpho her husband 22  
The miraculous story of a Countess in Holland who brought forth so many children as days in the year 24  
Lituania in some parts doth offer sacrifices to the Devil; the manner of their worship 7  
M. T. Cicero the great standard bearer of Orators 23  
A maxim of Islanders 35  
A modest saying of julius the third, though an odd one 37  
A mighty clash 'twixt the Pope and the King of France 39  
Moses God's Chancellor 2. in the pro.  
Mets put bounds to the conquests of Charles the fifth 43  
Of the great Massacre in France, and the horrid comet that followed a little after, the eminent men that were slain 54  
Medals with the inscriptions after S. Bartholome massacre 55  
Of Marseilles in France a Greek proverb 61  
The Marquis of Ancre most barbarously murdered 63  
Of Maurice Prince of Orange, his speech upon his death bed 37   

N  
Nature's Great Ordinance 2. in the pro.  
Nilus hath a strange property 7  
Norimberg one of the most ingenious towns in Europe 13  
A notable saying of Valentinian touching the French 24  
The Normans a valiant people issued from Germany 25  
How they came to be called Bygods 25  
The Normans elegantly characterised by Roger Hoveden 25  
Notable exploits of the Germans against the Romans 25  
The Normans chased first the Saracens out of Sicily 25  
A notable resolution of the Gosack 5  
No learning at all left in Greece at this time 37  
A notable saying of Borgia Pope Alexander's son when he had lost 100000. crowns at dice 37  
The notable cunning of Aeneas Silvius touching Rome 39  
Nogaret the French Ambassador takes the Pope a cuff under the ear 39  
A notable letter the Greek Churches writ to john the third 39  
The notable speech of Charles the fifth to Seldi●…s at Flushing 11  
No River so full of Meanders as the Sein in France 14  
Narbon curiously characterised in Latin verse 41  
A notable example of sacrilege 49  
Of Nations in general, & their dexterity 51  
Three notable stories in Germany 34   

O  
THe occasion of this meeting 1. in the pro. Otho the Emperor scaped imprisonment in Greece, because he spoke the language so well 11  
Of Mary Q. of Hungary a remarkable passage 21  
Of the glory of the Emperor & the Electors 26  
Of Charlemagne the first founder of the Germane Empire 26  
Of the famous men in Poland 3  
Of ploughs and culters of wood to which the pole doth attribute a kind of Divinity 7  
Of some positions of the Canon Law 38  
Of the Canonists who are great champions for the Pope 38  
Of divers Emperors who summoned General Counsels 41  
Of divers Popes who were elected, and chastised by Emperors 41  
Of Italy, France and England a proverb 57  
Of the Jesuits their rise, their progress and policy, all factors for Spain, their strange tenets, how they tugged to get into Paris, how they were banished Venice.  
Of the Indispositions of the Spanish monarchy 26  
Of the ghastly death of Philip the second, and many circumstances belonging to it, his Epitaph.  
Of Portugal and her pitiful sterility  
Of the strongest Forts upon earth 34  
The Opinion of an Italian touching the strength of England 38  
The Order of the golden Fleece more proper to England then to any Country else 40  
Of York the Seat of Emperor's 47  
Of Scotland 48  
Of Ireland 49  
Of the lightness of the Britain's 53  
Of the prerogatives of the Emperor 48  
Of curing the King's evil by the French King, the opinion of Crescentius 68  
Of the base Ingratitude of the Scots 65   

P  
IN praise of Peregrination 3. in the pro▪ Poison cured in a strange way 6  
A proverb the Italians have of the Germans 12  
In the praise of Poland 1  
Of the Perusian Ambassadors employed to the Pope a facetious passage 1. in Pol.  
Poland hath salt pits under ground like palaces 1  
Poland a very plentiful Country 2  
A Polonian merchant named Vernicius being Consul of Cracovia was rich to admiration, famous entertainment he gave to 3 Kings 2  
The Pole delights not much in sumptuous buildings 2  
There were nine score talents erogated out of Garlic, Onions and Leeks, towards the building the pyramids o●… Egypt 2  
The Pole measures his house by his own body 2  
The Pole goes beyond all for manly attire 2  
The Pole confines upon two potent neighbours, the Turk and the Ruff 4  
The brave answer that Stephen King of Poland gave the Turk 4  
Potts found naturally shapen in the earth near stream 4  
Poland hath had very victorious Kings, they are reckoned up 4  
King of Poland created a perpetual friend to the Empire 5  
Philip the second would not refer to the Pope the right to Portugal 39  
The prerogative of the Germane Diet 1. in the proem.  
Plato against foreign travel 1. in the pro.  
The famous pilgrimage of Otto the third to a saint in Poland, & the story belonging to it 4  
The Pole can bring into the field 150. thousand fight men 5  
Of the Polish Nobility 5  
The Poles three parts of four are Arrians 8  
In some Polish words there are 10. consonants to one vowel 9  
The Polish words as so many stones thrown at a man's brain  
A proverb of Hungary 19  
The power of Pisa in times passed, when she had 100 gentlemen that could put every one a galley to sea upon his own charge 27  
The power of Genoa in times passed ibid.  
Of Philip the second, his consciousness before he invested Portugal, his sage carriage about his son before he died 12  
Of the perfidiousness of the English against the old Britain's 34  
Of Printing and Gunns 39   

R.  
Room recovered Learning by Urban the 4.  
who sent for Thomas Aquinas 23  
As also afterwards by Cosmo and Lorenzo de Medici 23  
Reasons that Great Britain may stand in competition for the primacy of Europe 50  
Raphael Urbino designed by Leo the tenth to be a Cardinal 37  
Reasons why Great Britain cannot deserve the pre-eminence of other Countries 67  
The Ruff seldom travels abroad 2. in the Pro.  
Rodolphus the Emperor's wise speech to a Traveller 6  
The Rule of Providence not to pour down all blessings at once 8  
Of Regiomontanus 10  
A Remarkable passage of Everard Barbatus Duke of Wirtemberg 21  
The Roman Emperors had a guard of Germans for their fidelity  
Of the Renowned Families of Germany, and their antiquity and extent through all Europe 26  
Rhodope a rich Courtesan built one of the Pyramids of Egypt 2  
Rome in one Cense that was made had in her two millions and a half of souls 2  
Rome when Pagan had above 400 Temples, now Christian she hath scarce the 4th part 2  
The sorry report the French gave of Poland at their return with Hen. 3 6  
Rome often ravished 28  
Rome shrunk into a Pigmey's skin from that Gigantic shape she was 34  
The hugeness of Rome conjectured by many arguments 34   

S.  
SCotsmen Men-eaters 63  
Spain first attempted, and at last subdued by the Romans 2  
Spain preferred before all countries by Charles the 5 1  
Spain with her commodities laid op●… 2  
Spain the fragrantst Country 2  
In Spain Milk cannot turn to Whey in some places 2  
Spain the Queen of horses 2  
Of the chief Cities of Spain 3  
Of the Mines of Spain 4  
The site and form of Spain 4  
Of the 150 Rivers that water Spain 4  
Spain hath a bridge twenty miles long, whereon cattle feed 4  
Spanish Crown made of her own gold 4  
Spain described by Claudian 5  
A Spanish Guard about julius Caesar, Augustus had a Band of Biscainers 6  
A notable example of the Spanish valour 6  
The Spaniards right justified to the West Indies 7  
The Spanish Discoverers of the West Indies, the Discoverers of the East 7  
Spaniards the sole Grandees of this Age 8  
Spain hath bred notable Spirits 8  
Of the Jesuits founded by a Spaniard 9  
The Spanish Monarchy the vastest since the Creation 10  
The Sun always shines upon some part of the Philippian Monarchy 10  
Sacrilege to dispute of the Emperor's power 2. in the Pro.  
Spain taunted 6  
Seneca's notable Speech against Foreign Travel 6  
Satan doth commonly set up his Chapel near God's House 9  
Scaligers witty saying of ●…lavius 12  
Scaligers comparison 'twixt thunder & canon 14  
Scaligers witty saying of Printing▪ of Canon, Wheele-clocks 16  
Scaligers Elogium of Antwerp 16  
The Swiss scarce knew the use of Gold and Silver till the overthrow they gave the Duke of Burgundy near Granson 19  
Spanish Soldiers made hilts of swords of massy Gold at the plundering of Antwerp 20  
A notable speech of Philip the second when his Father resigned him his dominions 22  
The wondrous strength of Sigismond King of Poland, who could crack a horse-shoe 8  
Slavonique the most spacious Tongue 8  
Strange examples of some learned men that lost their memory as not to remember their own names 34  
Scaligers tart opinion of Rome 35  
Sicily called by G●…cero, Rome's Nurse, and the people's Pantry 35  
Sannazarius writ three books of Jesus Christ, and yet never names him 38  
Spain hath afforded many brave Emperors 11  
The Spanish Grandezas expressed, and reasons alleged that the Spanish King is to be preferrred before all other Potentates 11  
In Spain the Mule fares sometimes better than the Master 1●…  
The sterility of Spain discovered by a pleasant tale of the Count Palatin of the Rhine 15  
Of the Spanish pride some examples 21  
How Spain came to this greatness 22  
A question whether the Spaniards were first discoverers of the East and West Indies 22  
Of the Spanish cruelty in the Indies 23  
Spanish King not so potent as we take him to be, and the reasons 24  
The Spanish valour questioned 26  
Divers Spanish Rodomantadoes 26  
The Spanish Fleet the highest Grandeza that ever was 27  
The sharp sight of the Spaniard 27  
A memorable story of a Spanish Captain in Flander●… 27  
Though the King of Spain be in perpetual war, and infinitely indebted, yet there is no appearance at all in his Court 27   

T▪  
A Traveller compared to a Horseleech, and Paris of Troy 6  
Tacitus his notable speech against Germany 7  
Thuanus saith that Cambray makes 30000 linen clothes yearly 13  
Tacitus like to have been lost, had he not been received in a monastery of Westphalia 15  
Typography casts a bridle into times mouth 15  
Typography Ars memoriae, & Mors oblivionis 15  
Tacitus his opinion of Germany rectified 17  
The Tower of Strasburg 574 foot high 17  
Tacitus called by Budaeus, the wickedest of all writers, by Tertullian, the lyingst, by Orosius, the flattringst 17  
Tyrol abounds most with Metals of any Country 17  
The Turks call all Christians Freinks, and the Abyssins' call them Alfrangues 24  
The Great Turk prefers the Christian Emperor's Ambassador before all others 26  
The temple of Ephesus 22 years a building 2  
The Pope a great temporal Prince & proud 33  
A tart censure of the Italian 36  
A tart saying touching Saints 37   

V  
ULms excels in Drapery of all sorts 13 Utrecht stands betwixt 50 Cities, whereof the remotest but a day's journey 16  
Vienna described by Aeneas Silvius 18  
Vladislaus the perjured K. of Poland & the horrid judgement that fell upon prince & people 8  
The Yew poisonous to those that sleep under it, a brass nail beaten in takes away the poison 40  
The virtue of Iron 40  
A strange vision Henry the 3 of France had before his death 56  
How he was murdered, with his Epitaph ibid.  
Vulcan hath his chief forge, and Mars his Armoury in Bilbo 4  
Of Viriatus the valiant Portuguez 6  
A question discussed, whither the old world got more by the new, or the new by the old 8  
The vanity of the Portuguais 20  
Of the Spanish Inquisition 20  
The three vows of Solyman 29   

W  
BOdin wittily taunted 53  
A witty Epigram on Katherine de Medicis Q of France 54  
A witty saying of Henry the 4. of France 57  
A witty comparison touching Bodin 60  
A witty character of the French by Pontumarinus 60  
A witty Chronogram 12  
Witty repartees 'twixt a Germane and a Dutchman touching their languages 61  
A witty Epigram for drinking 38  
A wise law of the Lacedæmonians touching lascivious books 62  
A witty saying touching the order of Knighthood in France 63  
Two witty comparisons 64  
A wise saying of an English Captain 57  
A witty letter of C●…ligni to the French King 64  
A witty Epigram upon Spain 24  
A witty saying how Philip got the Kingdom of Portuga●…l 6  
A wise saying of Philip the second 11  
His wise speech at his death 11  
A witty simile touching Spain 14  
A witty speech of Henry the fourth touching Spain 14  
The witty speech of King james touching the Spaniard 24  
Whither the Indian gold hath done more hurt or good to Europe 24  
Some witty sayings of the wild Indians reflecting upon the Spaniards 23  
A witty saying of Robert Duke of Normandy 10  
A witty speech of K. james touching Tobacco 5  
A wise saying of Cosmo de Medici 27  
Walloons that fled from the fury of the Duke of Alva in Flanders taught the English to make Bays and Serges 13  
A witty character of a King 15  
The Wines of Germany 18  
Wine foe plentiful in Germany, that in some places they macerat their lime and mingle their mortar, with it 18  
The Walls of Babylon 200 foot high, and 60 miles in compass 2  
Of the seven wonders 2  
Where the Turks horse sets his foot the grass never grows 4  
A witty answer of Charles the sift 21  
A wise saying of Scaurus 33  
A wise saying of Sigismond the Emperor, and of A●…phonso of Arragon touching Learning 37  
A witty Epigram upon Henry the 4 19  
A wise speech of the Pontano Duke of Venice to the Pope's Ambassadors 39  
A wise sanction made at a Diet against the Pope's power in the election of the Emp. 39  
A wise saying of the Duke of Alva. 24  
Witty answers of some Emperors to the Pope 41  
A witty saying of an Ambassador 1  
The witty answer of Hen. 4. to the Parisians 42  
Of brave women 47  
A witty saying of Hen. the 2. King of France 49  
A witty saying of Lewis the 12 50  
A witty saying of a Spanish Ambassador 50  
A witty Epigram upon Sir Francis Drake 42  
Ward the English Pirate did a world of mischief to Christendom 36  
A witty saying of a Spanish client to K. Phil. 26  
A witty Pasquil against Spain when the Goletta was lost 26  
A witty comparison of Europe 29  
A witty Spanish Proverb 29  
A Welsh Prince freed England of Wolves 40  
Why Woolsacks are in the House of Peers 40  
The wise speech of King Canutus 43  
A wise speech of Charles the 5 1  
Of the 〈◊〉 of Wales 46  
Women did ride astride till Queen Anne, wife to Richard the second 54  
Of C●…rdinal Wolsey 55  
The weakness of the Empire 32  
A witty Anagram 56  
A witty comparison made to the French by Florus 66  
A wise saying of the Emperor Frederique 46  
Of the Wars of the Low-Countries and the grounds of them 46  
A wise answer of Tiberius 47  
A wise answer of Q. Eliz. to the Hollanders 48  
A witty comparison that Florus makes of the French valour 66  
The witty saying of an Aethiop 67  
Water in Moravia of great virtue 68  
A witty saying of Henry the fourth 19  
The wise speech of Paschasius against the Jesuits 19  
A witty saying touching the Philosopher's stone 20  
A witty saying touching Portugal 20  
A witty revenge of a Secretary 49  
The witty answer of an Empress 36  
A witty saying of Katherine de Medici 35  
The woeful catastrophe and last words of Henry the 8 58    

To the Reader.  
The plen●…y of matter wherewith this book doth swell, might have made a larger Index, but that the Author had a regard to the Rule of Proportion, viz. that the poster●…-gate should not prove too big for the Fabric.   

Errata.  
Edw. the 6. for Hen. 6. pag. 38. best for left. p. 31. Charles the first for fifth. p. 11.