The Looking Glass of the Holy War, Chapter 49
CHAP. XLIX. Of the end of Warre.
NOW I come to the very laſt point, concerning the end of war, which I hauehave reſerved to the end of the Treatiſe, and will ſhut it up in a word or two: foreign.For a great book is called, a great evill. The end of it is Gods glory, peace and publique good: Evill ends may undoe good cauſes, annihilate good means, and fruſtrate the moſt probable expectations. Iehu had a good cauſe, foreign. Maius bonum eſt ſinis, quam quod non eſt finis. Ariſt. lib. Rhet. cap. …. Horat. in Arte.and uſed lawfull means, but his end was naught, and that marred all to him. It is true the worke of the Lord was done; but no thanks to him, who in ſeeking of his own ends, made his own work the main work, and the Lords the by-work. The end (as the Philoſopher ſaith) is the ſpeciall good of a thing: Private ends in warre are the greateſt enemies of the publique good:
— fuit haec ſapientia quondam
Publica privatis, ſecernere ſacra profanis.
It was the wiſedome once for to perferre,
Publique to private, ſacred to profane.
Si ſt…dium pecuniae ſuftuleris, aut quo ad res feret minueris. Orat. 2, de Ordin. Reip.Salust hath a pretty rule for the ordering of mens affections in military courſes: Thou maiſt bring a great deale of good (ſaith he) to the Country, to the State, to thy ſelfe and family; to all thoſe that hauehave any correſpondency with thee, if thou remoue deſire of money, or at leaſt, let is not hauehave dominion over thee.
I am here occaſioned to direct my ſpeech, once more, to the Lords of the Vnited Provinces; that as publique good is the end of their war maintained; ſo in raiſing means for the maintenance of warre, they would prefer the publick good to the private; which is not obſerved (as I think) in the ſtill increaſing of excize upon victuals; for this courſe injureth a many; as Commons, Tradeſmen, Travellers, yea, and the ſouldiers, whoſe bloud maintains the war, and the private profite redoundeth to a handfull; ſo great ones ſaving their purſes by this diſproportionable dealing, they who hauehave leaſt, and labour moſt, they hauehave often the moſt eaters, and payes moſt. Methinkes a Geometricall proportion were a great deale juſter, then an Arithmeticall; and that the ſtrongeſt horſe ſhould carry the heavieſt load. I ſpeake plainly, and out of louelove to the State, which many waies may be hurt by this inequality. By-reſpect and ſiniſter intent, is like a ſtrange fire, which blows up the work, and brings vengeance on the Workman: it a cloſe kind of hypocriſie, and therefore the Lord will certainly plague it: inſtance that requitall of Iehu his pretended zeal in the deſtroying of the houſe of Ahab. Firſt, it was the Lords own work, and Iehu had his warrant for it in the 2 of the Kings; ch. 9. v. 7. Thou ſhalt ſmite the houſe of Ahab thy maſter, &c. In the ſecond place obſerue his great ſhow of zeal, and oſtentation of uprightneſſe of heart in the execution of it: Come ſee (ſaith he, to Iehonadab) my zeale for the Lord: but ſelfe-reſpect marred all, for he wrought for himſelfe, and not for God; he looked more at the Kingdom, then Gods command; and therfore he who ſaw the thoughts, and hollowneſſe of his heart, requites him in his kind, Hee avenged the bloud of …ezrel upon the houſe of Iehu, Hoſ. 1.4. They who now and then can affoord their hand and tongue, to lend Gods cauſe a lift for their own advantage, will diſcover themſelues when their own ends are ſerved; yea, God will uncaſe them, walk as cloſely as they can. As I often caſt mine eyes upon the over-clowded eſtate or defaced beauty of the Scottiſh Church, I was occaſioned to call to mind, the prompt indeavour of the great Ones, to ruin Babel, and to rear up Ieruſalem: It was a good work indeed, if it were well done; but as they made the Miniſters coat too ſhort, & their own too ſide; ſo I fear, that the ſweetneſs that they found in Gods bread, (as one called it) and Babels ſpoyles, made them ſtand ſo ſtoutly to it; but theſe being raked out of their budgets by the long-necked-crains, that are come from the Egiptian-lake, the moſt of them, looks upon the cauſe now as though they had loſt their purſes. And laſt of all, to giuegive a touch upon our Engliſh Plantators in Virginia, I adviſe them eſpecially to examine the ends and the means; for all knows the iſſue is worſe and worſe, and like to proue ſtarke naughts: therfore both the end and the means ſtands need of rectifying.
The Lord himſelfe giveth a good direction to this ſame effect, that ſuch as had planted vinyards and maried wiues, they ſhould not goe to War; the reaſon is given, becauſe the thougths and cares of theſe things ſhould not intangle them, and hinder them from fighting of the Lords battells in the field, by leaving their hearts at home; 2 Tim. 2.4No man that warreth intangleth himſelfe with the affaires of this life, that he may pleaſe him who hath choſen him for a ſouldier.
As the ſpeciall end of War is peace, Bellum ita ſuſtipiatur, ut nihil aliud niſi pax quaeſita videatur, l. 1. Offi. De…ertandū manu eſt: Ibid.(ſo as Tully ſaith) War muſt be ſo taken in hand, that it may appeare that nothing is ſo much ſought for as peace. It is true as the ſame Author hath it, when neceſſitie requireth (as I ſaid) that men muſt fight, and prefer death it ſelfe to ſlavery or baſeneſſe. And this was the end and ayme I am perſwaded of his Majeſtie, to preſerve in peace, the people of God, and the practiſe of religion, as appeareth both by his declaration, and his omitting to take his enemies at advantage in the beginning, for which they hauehave given him a cruell requitall; yet as his ground was good, ſo his end was good. Let them talk of peace what they will, they hauehave no ſuch end, except they giuegive all the conditions, and then that peace is no better then ſlavery. Look but to the Spaniſh practiſe: Is he not like a Moule once in, never out, if he can chuſe? And if the fox be unkennelled, he leaveth ever an evill ſmell behind him, yea, and litters of cobs that peſters the Nation: or he is like the winding-Ivye, which ſheweth a naturall appetite to help it ſelfe by cleaving to other things, but it undoes all other things wherunto it cleaveth. Great Brittain had beſt look to her Vine. Private gain and by-reſpect was one of the three Romiſh plagues, I pray God rid our land of it.
Thus far I hauehave ingaged my poor labours in the troubleſome warr of this preſent time: deſiring God, who ſitteth aboue as Iudge and Moderator of all mens actions, and ſeeth and heares the teares and prayers of his diſtreſſed people, that he would awake us all to repentance; finiſh the afflictions of his children; and fling the rod in the fire:
AMEN.
Errata.
LET me intreat thee (…ourreous Reader) to bear with errours from the preſſe, as ſome literall faults, defects of Accents, or Points, miſplacing, or wanting of a word. Three Greek words in the Margine hath likewiſe faults in them. In the Epiſtle to the Reader, pag. 2. line 1. for treatiſe, reade this treatiſe: Pag. 49, Marg. for alumoniam, reade, alimoniam: Ibid. for virtus reade victus: pag. 87, l. ult. for that like, r. that it is like: pag. 159, l. 13, for ebary, r. chair: pag. 186. l, 20, for for, r. far: Ibid. l. 32, for 1180, r. 11800: pag. 208. l. 18, for the better, r. to the better.
FINIS.
End of the text · Alexander Leighton, The Looking Glass of the Holy War (1624)