I for my part, that he hath given me yet once leave, whatsoever should come of me hereafter, to assemble you, in this honourable place; and here in this place, where our general destruction should have been, to magnify and praise him for our general delivery; that I may justly now say of my enemies and yours, as David doth often say in the psalm, Inciderunt in foveam quam fecerunt. And since Scipio, an Ethnick, led only by the light of nature, that day when he was accused by the tribunes of the people of Rome, for mispending and wasting in his Punick wars the city's treasure, even upon the sudden broke out with that diversion of them from that matter, calling them to remembrance how that day was the day of the year, wherein God had given them so great a victory against Hanibal; and therefore, it was fitter for them all, leaving other matters, to run to the temple, to praise God for that so great delivery, which the people did all follow with one applause: how much more cause have we that are Christians to bestow this time, in this place, for thanksgiving to God for his great mercy, though we had no other errand of assembling here at this time? Wherein, if I have spoken more like a divine, than would seem to belong to this place, the matter itself must plead for my excuse: for being here come, to thank God for a divine work of his mercy, how can I speak of this deliverance of us from so hellish a practice, so well as in language of divinity, which is the direct opposite to so damnable an intention? And therefore may I justly end this purpose, as I did begin it with this sentence,The mercy of God is above all his works.'

It resteth now, that I should shortly inform you what is to be done hereafter, upon the occasion of this horrible and strange accident. As for your part, that are my faithful and loving subjects of all degrees, I know that your hearts are so burnt up with zeal in this errand, and your tongues so ready to utter your dutiful affections, and your hands and feet so bent to concur in the execution thereof (for which, as I need not to spur you, so can I not but praise you for the same :) As it may very well be possible, that the zeal of your hearts shall make some of you, in your speeches, rashly to blame such as may be innocent of this attempt; but, upon the other part, I wish you to consider, that I would be sorry that any, being innocent of this practice, either domestical or foreign, should receive blame or harm for the samé. For although it cannot be denied, that it was the only blind superstition of their errors in religion, that led them to this desperate device; yet doth it not follow, that all professing the Romish religion were guilty of the same. For as it is true, that no other sect of hereticks, not excepting Turk, Jew, nor Pagan, no, not even those of Calicut, who adore the devil, did ever maintain, by the grounds of their religion, that it was lawful, or rather meritorious, as the Romish Catholicks call it, to murder princes, or people, for quarrel of religion. And although particular men, of all professions of religion, have been some thieves, some murderers, some traytors, yet ever, when they came to their end and just punishment, they confessed their fault to be in their nature, and not in their profession, these Romish Catholicks only excepted: yet it is true, on the other side, that many honest men, blinded peradventure with some opinions of popery, as if they be not

sound in the questions of the real presence, or in the number of the sa craments, or some such school question; yet do they either not know, or, at least, not believe all the true grounds of popery, which is, indeed, the mystery of iniquity. And, therefore, do we justly confess, that many papists, especially our forefathers, laying their only trust upon Christ, and his merits, at their last breath, may be, and oftentimes are saved: detesting, in that point, and thinking the cruelty of puritans worthy of fire, that will admit no salvation to any papist. I, therefore, thus do conclude this point, that, as upon the one part, many honest men, seduced with some errors of popery, may yet remain good and faithful subjects; so, upon the other part, none of those, who truly know and believe the whole grounds, and school conclusions of their doctrine, can ever prove either good Christians, or faithful subjects. And, for the part of foreign princes and states, I may so much the more acquit them, and their ministers, of their knowledge and consent to any such villainy, as I may justly say, that, in that point, I better know all Christian kings by myself, that no King nor prince of honour will ever abase himself so much, as to think a good thought of so base and dishonourable a treachery; wishing you, therefore, that as God hath given me an happy peace and amity with all other Christian princes, my neighbours, as was even now very gravely told you, by my lord chancellor, that so you will reverently judge and speak of them in this case. Aud, for my part, I would wish, with those ancient philosophers, that there were a chrystal window in my breast, wherein all my people might see the secretest thoughts of my heart; for then might you all see no alteration in my mind for this accident, further than in these two points: the first, caution and wariness in government, to discover and search out the mysteries of this wickedness, as far as may be; the other, after due trial, severity of punishment upon those that shall be found guilty of so detestable and unheard of villainy. And now, in this matter, if I have troubled your ears with an abrupt speech, undigested in any good method or order, you have to consider, that an abrupt and unadvised speech doth best become, in the relation of so abrupt and unorderly an accident.

And although I have ordained the proroguing of this parliament until after Christmas, upon two necessary respects; whereof the first is, that neither I, nor my council, can have leisure, at this time, both to take order for the apprehension and trial of these conspirators, and also to wait upon the daily affairs of the parliament, as the council must do and the other reason is the necessity, at this time, of divers of your presences, in your shires, that have charges and commandments there. For as these wretches thought to have blown up, in a manner, the whole world of this island, every man being now come up here, either for publick causes of parliament, or else for their own private causes in law, or otherwise: so these rebels, that now wander through the country, could never have gotten so fit a time of safety in their passage, or whatsoever unlawful actions, as now, when the country, by the aforesaid occasions, is, in a manner, left desolate and waste unto them. Besides that, it may be, that I shall desire you, at your next session, to take upon you the judgment of this crime; for

as so extraordinary a fact deserves extraordinary judgment, so can there not, I think, following even their own rule, be a fitter judgment for them, than that they should be measured with the same measure, wherewith they thought to measure us: and that the same place and persons, whom they thought to destroy, should be the just avengers of their so unnatural a parricide. Yet, not knowing that I will have occasion to meet with you myself, in this place, at the beginning of the next session of this parliament (because, if it had not been for delivering of the articles, agreed upon by the commissioners of the union, which was thought most convenient to be done in my presence, where both head and members of the parliament were met together, my presence had not otherwise been requisite here, at this time) I have, therefore, thought good, for conclusion of this meeting, to discourse to you somewhat about the true nature and definition of a parliament, which I will remit to your memories, till your next sitting down, that you may then make use of it, as occasion shall be ministered.

For albeit it be true, that, at the first session of my first parliament, which was not long after my entry into this kingdom, it could not be come me to inform you of any thing belonging to law or state here (for all knowledge must either be infused or acquired; and seeing the former part thereof is now, with prophecy, ceased in the world, it could not be possible for me, at my first entry here, before experience had taught it me, to be able to understand the particular mysteries of this state;) yet, now that I have reigned almost three years amongst you, and have been careful to observe those things that belong to the office of a king; albeit that time be but a short time for experience in others, yet, in a king, may it be thought a reasonable long time, especially in me, who, although I be but, in a manner, a new king here, yet have been long acquainted with the office of a King in such another kingdom, as doth, nearest of all others, agree with the laws and customs of this state. Remitting to your consideration, to judge of that which hath been concluded by the commissioners of the union, wherein I am, at this time, to signify unto you, that as I can bear witness to the aforesaid commissioners, that they have not agreed nor concluded therein any thing, wherein they have not foreseen as well the wealth and commodity of the one country, as of the other; so can they all bear me record, that I was so far from pressing them to agree to any thing which might bring with it any prejudice to this people; as, by the contrary, I did ever admonish them, never to conclude upon any such union, as might carry hurt or grudge with it to either of the said nations; for the leaving of any such thing could not but be the greatest hinderance that might be to such an action, which God, by the laws of nature, had provided to be in his own time, and hath now, in effect, perfected in my person; to which purpose, my lord chancellor hath better spoken, than I am able to relate.

And, as to the nature of this high court of parliament, it is nothing else but the king's great council, which the king doth assemble, either upon occasion of interpreting, or abrogating old laws, or making of new, according as ill manners shall deserve, or for the publick punish

ment of notorious evil doers, or the praise and reward of the virtuous and well deservers, wherein these four things are to be considered:

First, Wherefore this court is composed.
Secondly, What matters are proper for it.
Thirdly, To what end it is ordained.

And, Fourthly, What are the means and ways, whereby this end should be brought to pass.

As for the thing itself, it is composed of a head and a body; the head is the king, the body are the members of the parliament; this body again is subdivided into two parts, the upper and lower house; the upper compounded partly of nobility, temporal men, who are heritable counsellors to the high court of parliament, by the honour of their creation and lands, and partly of bishops, spiritual men, who are likewise, by the virtue of their place and dignity, counsellors, liferenters, or ad vitam of this court: the other house is composed of knights for the shires, and gentry and burgesses for the towns. But because the number would be infinite, for all the gentlemen and burgesses to be present at every parliament, therefore a certain number is selected, and chosen out of that great body, serving only for that parliament, where their persons are the representation of that body.

Now the matters, whereof they are to treat, ought therefore to be general, and rather of such matters, as cannot well be performed without the assembling of that general body, and no more of these generals neither, than necessity shall require; for, as in corruptissima republica sunt plurimæ leges, so doth the life and strength of the law consist, not in heaping up infinite and confused numbers of laws, but in the right interpretation, and good execution of good and wholesome laws. If this be so then, neither is this a place, on the one side, for every rash and harebrained fellow to propose new laws of his own invention: nay, rather, I could wish these busy heads to remember that law of the Lacedemonians, that whosoever came to propose a new law to the people, behoved publickly to present himself with a rope about his neck, that, in case the law were not allowed, he should be hanged therewith; so wary should men be of proposing novelties, but most of all, not to propose any bitter or seditious laws, which can produce nothing but grudges and discontentment between the prince and his people. Nor yet is it, on the other side, a convenient place for private men, under the colour of general laws, to propose nothing, but their own particular gain, either to the hurt of their private neighbours, or to the hurt of the whole state in general; which, many times, under fair and pleasing titles, are smoothly passed over, and so, by stealth, procure without consideration, that the private meaning of them tendeth to nothing, but either to the wreck of a particular party, or else under the colour of a publick benefit to pill the poor people, and serve, as it were, for a general impost upon them, for filling the purses of some private persons.

And as to the end for which the parliament is ordained, being only for the advancement of God's glory, and the establishment and wealth

of the king and his people: it is no place then for particular men to utter there their private conceipts, nor for satisfaction of their curiosities, and least of all to make shew of their eloquence by tyning the time with long studied and eloquent orations. No, the reverence of God, their king, and their country, being well settled in their hearts, will make them ashamed of such toys, and remember that they are there as sworn counsellors to their king, to give their best advice for the furtherance of his service, and the flourishing weal of his estate.

And lastly, if you will rightly consider the means and ways how to bring all your labours to a good end, you must remember, that you are here assembled by your lawful king, to give him your best advices, in the matters proposed by him unto you, being of that nature which I have already told; wherein you are gravely to deliberate, and, upon your consciences, plainly to determine how far those things propounded do agree with the weal, both of your king and of your country, whose weals cannot be separated. And as for myself, the world shall ever bear me witness, that I never shall propose any thing unto you, which shall not as well tend to the weal publick, as to any benefit for me: so shall I never oppose myself to that which may tend to the good of the commonwealth, for the which I am ordained, as I have often said, And as you are to give your advice in such things as shall by your king be proposed: so is it on your part your duties to propose any thing that you can, after mature deliberation, judge to be needful, either for these ends already spoken of, or otherwise, for the discovery of any latent evil in the kingdom, which, peradventure, may not have come to the king's ear. If this, then, ought to be your grave manner of proceeding in this place, men should be ashamed to make shew of the quickness of their wits here, either in taunting, scoffing, or detracting the prince or state in any point, or yet in breaking jests upon their fellows, for which the ordinaries, or alehouses, are fitter places, than this honourable and high court of parliament.

In conclusion, then, since you are to break up, for the reasons I have already told you, I wish such of you, as have any charges in your countries, to hasten you home for the repressing of the insolencies of these rebels, and apprehension of their persons; wherein, as I heartily pray to the Almighty for your prosperous success, so do I not doubt, but we shall shortly hear the good news of the same; and that you shall have an happy return, and meeting here to all our comforts.

Here the lord chancellor spoke touching the proroguing of the parliament. And having done, his Majesty rose again, and said:

Since it pleased God to grant me two such notable deliveries upon one day of the week, which was Tuesday, and likewise one day of the month, which was the fifth; thereby to teach me, that as it was the same devil that still persecuted me: so it was one and the same God that still mightily delivered me; I thought it therefore not amiss, that the twenty-first day of January, which fell to be upon Tuesday, should be the day of meeting of this next session of parliament, hoping and assuring myself, that the same God, who hath now granted me and you all so notable and gracious a delivery, shall prosper all our affairs