ESSAY XXIX.

THE

OF THE TRUE GREATNESS

OF KINGDOMS AND ESTATES.

HE speech of Themistocles, the Athenian, which was haughty and arrogant, in taking so much to himself, had been a grave and wise observation and censure, applied at large to others. Desired at a feast to touch a lute, he said, 'he could not fiddle, but yet he could make a small town a great city." These words (holpen3 a little with a metaphor) may express two differing abilities in those that deal in business of estate; for, if a true survey be taken of counsellors and statesmen, there may be found (though rarely) those which can make a small State great, and yet cannot fiddle,-as, on the other side, there will be found a great many that can fiddle very cunningly,* but yet are so far from being able to make a small State great, as their gift lieth the other way-to bring a great and flourishing estate to ruin and decay. And, certainly, those degenerate arts and shifts, whereby many counsellors and governors gain both favour with their masters and estimation with the vulgar, deserve no better name than fiddling, being things rather pleasing for the time, and graceful to themselves only, than tending to the weal and advancement of the State which they serve. There are also (no doubt) counsellors and governors which may be held sufficient, negotiis pares [able to manage affairs], and to keep them from precipices and manifest inconveniences, which, nevertheless, are far from the ability to raise and amplify an estate in power, means, and fortune. But be the workmen what they may be, let us speak of the work-that is, the true greatness of kingdoms and estates, and the means thereof. An argument fit for great and mighty princes to

have in their hand; to the end that neither by over-measuring their forces, they lose themselves in vain enterprises; nor, on the other side, by undervaluing them, they descend to fearful and pusillanimous counsels.

The greatness of an estate, in bulk and territory, doth fall under measure; and the greatness of finances and revenue doth fall under computation. The population may appear by musters, and the number and greatness of cities and towns by cards and maps; but yet there is not any thing, amongst civil affairs, more subject to error, than the right valuation and true judgment concerning the power and forces of an estate. The kingdom of heaven is compared, not to any great kernel, or nut, but to a grain of mustard seed;' which is one of the least grains, but hath in it a property and spirit hastily to get up and spread. So are there States great in territory, and yet not apt to enlarge or command: and some that have but a small dimension of stem, and yet are apt to be the foundation of great monarchies.

Walled towns, stored arsenals and armories, goodly races of horse, chariots of war, elephants, ordnance, artillery, and the like all this is but a sheep in a lion's skin, except the breed and disposition of the people be stout and warlike.

Nay, number (itself) in armies importeth3 not much, where the people are of weak courage; for, as Virgil saith, 'It never troubles the wolf how many the sheep be." The army of the Persians, in the plains of Arbela, was such a vast sea of people, as it did somewhat astonish the commanders in Alexander's

army, who came to him, therefore, and wished him to set upon them by night; but he answered, He would not pilfer the victory"—and the defeat was easy. When Tigranes, the Armenian, being encamped upon a hill with four hundred thousand men, discovered the army of the Romans, being not above fourteen thousand, marching towards him, he made himself merry with it, and said, 'Yonder men are too many for an

1 Matt. xiii. 31.

2 Apt.

2 Kings.

Qualified for; adapted to. All that were strong and apt for war.'—

3 Import. To be of importance. See page 21. 4 Virgil, Ecl. vii. 51.

5 A. L. I. vii. II.

ambassage,' and too few for a fight;' but before the sunset, he found them enow' to give him the chase with infinite slaughter.3 Many are the examples of the great odds between number and ↑ courage; so that a man may truly make a judgment, that the principal point of greatness, in any State, is to have a race of military men. Neither is money the sinews of war (as it is trivially said), where the sinews of men's arms in base and effeminate people are failing; for Solon said well to Croesus (when in ostentation he showed him his gold), 'Sir, if any other come that hath better iron than you, he will be master of all this gold.' Therefore, let any prince, or State, think soberly' of his forces, except his militia of natives be of good and valiant soldiers; and let princes, on the other side, that have subjects of martial disposition, know their own strength, unless they be otherwise wanting unto themselves. As for mercenary forces (which is the help in this case), all examples show that, whatsoever estate or prince doth rest upon them, he may spread his feathers for a time, but he will mew them soon after.

The blessing of Judas and Issachar will never meet; that the same people or nation, should be both the lion's whelp, and the ass between burdens,-neither will it be, that a people overlaid with taxes, should ever become valiant and martial. It is true, that taxes, levied by consent of the estate, do abate men's courage less, as it hath been seen notably in the excises of the Low Countries, and, in some degree, in the subsidies of England; for, you must note, that we speak now of the heart, and not of the purse-so that although the same tribute and tax, laid by consent, or by imposing, be all one to the purse, yet it works diversely upon the courage. So that you may

1 Ambassage. Embassy. He sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.'-Luke xiv. 32.

2 Enow.

Old plural of enough.

" Man hath selfish foes enow besides,

That day and night for his destruction wait.'-Milton.

3 Plut. Vit. Luculli, 27.

4 Soberly. Moderately. Not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly.'-Romans xii. 3.

5 Gen. xlix. 9, 14.

Notably. In a remarkable manner. (From the adjective notable.)

'He is a most notable coward.'-Shakespere.

7 Diversely. Differently. (From diverse.) See page 21.

conclude, that no people overcharged with tribute is fit for empire.

Let States, that aim at greatness, take heed how their nobility and gentlemen do multiply too fast; for that maketh the common subject grow to be a peasant and base swain, driven out of heart, and, in effect, but a gentleman's labourer. Even as you may see in coppice woods, if you leave your straddles too thick, you shall never have clean underwood, but shrubs and bushes; so in countries, if the gentlemen be too many, the commons will be base-and you will bring it to that, that not the hundredth poll will be fit for an helmet, especially as to the infantry, which is the nerve of an army,-and so there will be great population and little strength. This which I speak of hath been no where better seen than by comparing of England and France; whereof England, though far less in territory and population, hath been, nevertheless, an overmatch; in regard' the middle people of England make good soldiers, which the peasants of France do not: herein the device of King Henry VII. (whereof I have spoken largely in the history of his life) was profound and admirable, in making farms and houses of husbandry of a standard, that is, maintained with such a proportion of land unto them, as may breed a subject to live in convenient plenty, and no servile condition; and to keep the plough in the hands of the owners, and not mere hirelings; and thus indeed you shall attain to Virgil's character, which he gives to ancient Italy::

2

'Terra potens armis atque ubere glebæ." Neither is the estate (which for anything I know, is almost peculiar to England, and hardly to be found anywhere else, except it be, perhaps, in Poland) to be passed over-I mean the state of free servants and attendants upon noblemen and gentlemen, which are no ways inferior unto the yeomanry for arms; and therefore, out of all question, the splendour and magnificence and great retinues, the hospitality of noblemen and gentlemen received into custom, do much conduce unto martial

1 In regard. For the reason that; on account of. Change was thought necessary in regard of the injury the Church had received.'-Hooker.

2 Virg. Æneid, i. 335.

'For deeds of arms, and fertile soil renown'd.' 3 Estate. Order of men. See page 120.

U

greatness-whereas, contrariwise, the close and reserved living of noblemen and gentlemen causeth a penury of military forces.

By all means it is to be procured,' that the trunk of Nebuchadnezzar's tree of monarchy be great enough to bear the branches and the boughs; that is, that the natural subjects of the crown, or State, bear a sufficient proportion to the strange subjects that they govern. Therefore all States that are liberal of naturalization towards strangers are fit for empire; for to think that an handful of people can, with the greatest courage and policy in the world, embrace too large extent of dominion, it may hold for a time, but it will fail suddenly. The Spartans were a nice3 people in point of naturalization; whereby, while they kept their compass, they stood firm, but when they did spread, and their boughs were become too great for their stem, they became a windfall upon the sudden. Never any State was, in this point, so open to receive strangers into their Body as were the Romans; therefore it sorted' with them accordingly, for they grew to the greatest monarchy. Their manner was to grant naturalization (which they called 'jus civitatis")—and to grant it in the highest degree, that is, not only 'jus commercii, jus connubii, jus hæreditatis,' but also 'jus suffragii' and 'jus honorum ;" and this not to singular persons alone, but likewise to whole families-yea, to cities, and sometimes to nations. Add to this, their custom of plantation of colonies, whereby the Roman plant was removed into the soil of other nations; and, putting both constitutions together, you will say, that it was not the Romans that spread upon the world, but it was the world that spread upon the Romans-and that was the sure way of greatness. I have marvelled sometimes at Spain, how they clasp and contain so large dominions with so few natural Spaniards but sure the whole compass of Spain is a very great

:

1 Procured. Contrived; cared for.

'Proceed, Salinus, to procure my fall.'-Shakespere.

2 Dan. iv. 10, seq.

3 Nice. Difficult.

4 Sort.

To succeed; to happen.

'And if it sort not well.'-Shakespere.

5 The right of citizenship.'

The right of traffic, the right of marriage, the right of inheritance, the right of voting, and the right of bearing offices.'

7 Singular. Single. That which represents one determinate thing is called a singular idea.'—Watts.