A Defence of the People of England,

in Answer to Salmafius's Defence
of the King.

Ltho I fear, left, if in defending the People of England, I fhould be as copious in Words, and empty of Matter, as moft Men think Salmafius has been in his Defence of the King, I might seem to deserve justly to be accounted a verbose and filly Defender; yet fince no Man thinks himself obliged to make so much haste, tho in the handling but of any ordinary Subject, as not to premise fome Introduction at least, according as the weight of his Subject requires; if I take the fame courfe in handling almost the greatest Subject that ever was, (without being too tedious in it) I am in hopes of attaining two things, which indeed I earnestly defire. The one, not to be at all wanting, as far as in me lies, to this moft Noble Caufe, and moft worthy to be recorded to all future Ages: The other, That I may appear to have avoided my self, that frivolousness of Matter, and redundancy of Words, which I blame in my Antagonist. For I am about to discourse of Matters, neither inconfiderable nor common, but how a most Potent King, after he had trampled upon the Laws of the Nation, and given a fhock to its Religion, and begun to rule at his own Will and Pleasure, was at last fubdu'd in the Field by his own Subjects,

who had undergone a long Slavery under him; how afterwards he was caft into Prison, and when he gave no ground, either by Words or Actions, to hope better things of him, he was finally by the Supreme Council of the Kingdom condemned to dye, and beheaded before the very Gates of the Royal Palace. I fhall likewife relate, (which will much conduce to the easing mens minds of a great Superstition) by what Right, especially according to our Law, this Judgment was given, and all these Matters transacted; and shall easily defend my Valiant and Worthy Countrymen (who have extremely well deferved of all Subjects and Nations in the World) from the most wicked Calumnies both of Domestick and Foreign Railers, and especially from the Reproaches of this most vain and empty Sophifter, who fets up for a Captain and Ringleader to all the reft. For what King's Majefty fitting upon an Exalted Throne, ever fhone fo brightly, as that of the People of England then did, when shaking off that old Superftition, which had prevailed a long time, they gave Judgment upon the King himself, or rather upon an Enemy who had been their King, caught as it were in a Net by his own Laws (who alone of all Mortals challenged to himself impunity by a Divine Right) and fcrupled not to inflict the fame punishment upon him, being guilty, which he would have inflicted upon any other. But why do I mention these things as performed by the People, which almost open their Voice themselves, and testify the Presence of God throughout? Who, as often as it seems good to his Infinite Wisdom, uses to throw down proud and unruly Kings, exalting themselves above the Condition of Humane Nature, and utterly to extirpate them and all their Family. By his manifest Impulse being set on work to recover our almost loft Liberty, following him as our Guide, and adoring the impreffes of his Divine

Power manifested upon all occafions, we went on in no obfcure, but an illuftrious Paffage, pointed out and made plain to us by God himself. Which things, if I should so much as hope by any diligence or ability of mine, such as it is, to discourse of as I ought to do, and to commit them fo to writing, as that perhaps all Nations and all Ages may read them, it would be a very vain thing in me. For what ftile can be auguft and magnificent enough, what man has parts fufficient to undertake fo great a Task? Since we find by Experience, that in fo many Ages as are gone over the World, there has been but here and there a man found, who has been able worthily to recount the Actions of Great Heroes, and Potent States; Can any man have fo good an opinion of his own Talents, as to think himself capable to reach these glorious and wonderful Works of Almighty God, by any Language, by any Stile of his? Which Enterprize, though fome of the most Eminent Perfons in our Commonwealth have prevailed upon me by their Authority to undertake, and would have it be my business to vindicate with my Pen against Envy and Calumny (which are proof against Arms) thofe Glorious Performances of theirs (whofe opinion of me I take as a very great honour, that they should pitch upon me before others to be serviceable in this kind to those most Valiant Deliverers of my Native Countrey; and true it is, that from my very youth I have been bent extremely upon fuch fort of Studies, as inclin'd me, if not to do great things my self, at least to celebrate those that did) yet as having no confidence in any fuch Advantages, I have recourse to the Divine Affiftance; and invoke the Great and Holy God, the Giver of all good Gifts, that I may as fubftantially, and as truly, difcufs and refute the Sawcinefs and Lies of this Foreign Declamator, as our Noble Generals piously and successfully by force of Arms broke the

King's Pride, and his unruly Domineering, and afterwards put an end to both by inflicting a memorable Punishment upon himself, and as throughly as a fingle perfon did with ease but of late confute and confound the King himself, rising as it were from the Grave, and recommending himself to the People in a Book publish'd after his death, with new Artifices and Allurements of Words and Expreffions. Which Antagonist of mine, though he be a Foreigner, and, though he deny it a thousand times over, but a poor Grammarian; yet not contented with the Salary due to him in that Capacity, chofe to turn a Pragmatical Coxcomb; and not only to intrude in StateAffairs, but into the Affairs of a Foreign State: tho he brings along with him neither Modefty, nor Understanding, nor any other Qualification requisite in fo great an Arbitrator, but Sawcinefs, and a little Grammar only. Indeed, if he had publish'd here, and in English, the fame things that he has now wrote in Latin such as it is, I think no man would have thought it worth while to return an Answer to them, but would partly despise them as common, and exploded over and over already, and partly abhor them as fordid and tyrannical Maxims, not to be endured even by the most abject of Slaves: Nay, Men that have fided with the King, would have had these thoughts of his Book. But fince he has fwol'n it to a confiderable bulk, and difperf'd it amongst Foreigners, who are altogether ignorant of our Affairs and Conftitution; it's fit that they who mistake them, should be better informed; and that he, who is fo very forward to speak ill of others, should be treated in his own kind. If it be asked, why we did not then attack him fooner, why we fuffered him to triumph fo long, and pride himself in our filence? For others I am not to anfwer; for my felf I can boldly fay, That I had neither Words nor Arguments