A Looking Glass for Princes and Peoples Delivered, Book 2 · Part 4 · Chapter 22
CHAP. XXII. Of the fruits of their folie, and first: Of Irritation.
THis much of their foolishnesse in the course of vsurpation, follow the fruites, which are either in regardTheir tyrannie irritats Princes. of the partie offended, or of themselues: In the partie offended it worketh irritation, and an exact inquirie of the matter: In themselues, it worketh a discoverie and distruction. Irritation came necessarilie of so violent and insolent courses, as to vse Princes for Lackeyes▪ to cause them wait on bare footed in winter not to find accesse, to tred on their Platin. Aventin.necke. These and the like indignities were int…lerable: For though Princes can oversee small offences, yet when their Life, Honour and Authoritie are tr…dde vnd…rfoote, it were not patience, but senselessenesse not to be moved: And so these matchlesse indignities put supreme Ecclesiast.powers to supreme perturbations of indignation and anger; for oppression maketh wise men madde. Their generous pirits were as farre irritate by indignities, as they hauehave the prime and fl…wre of ingenuitic.
This was augmented by many respects of their iniurers: In their Persons they were subiect to Princes, theirTheir vile in gratitude to Princes. calling was spirituall, and ought to hauehave procured every way their good: Their obligement by good deede was exceeding great, for they had received liberties and territories from Princes, and so were obliged to gratitude. But all these could not moue them to their duetie: Therefore their iniuries were more greevous to Princes. This foule ingratitude was contrar to that which Charles aCarolu… Mag—omnes penè terras Ecclesiis contulerat. &c. Wi…hel Malmes. l. 5. apud Spalat. Lib 6. cap 7 …. 89the great exspected in his liberalitie to the Church: When hee saw the Germans inclining to rebellion, hee thought the best way to secure the Impyre to his house, was by giving large Lands and principalities to Church-men, and that because of their holie calling, and that their Children succeeded them not, and in case that Princes rebelled against his Posteritie hee thought Church-men both by their excommunication, and civill power would hold them in order. But all turned heere contrar to his exspectation. bSed quod Carolu… putavit sibi &c. Ibid.for in all sturres the Impyre had not such adversaries as Church-men. And herein was verified the old Apologue cIn sylvam amplam venit olim securis ferrea inermis atque, &c. Spalat. Lib. 6 cap. 5. n. 173of the Axe and the Oake tree. The Axe without an handle lay on the ground, and intreated the Oake for as much timber to bee an handle vntounto it, vnderunder promise to cut downe the brambles that molested the Oake, but when it was so mounted, it turned against the Oake, and cut it downe also. So when the Pope got the temporall power by the gift of Princes, they turned it against the Givers. And the parable of Ioannes de rupescisa dFro…ard. vol, 2,is not vnlik of a naked Bird who begged feathers from other Birds, and when they had busked it with lent feathers, it began in pride to smite them who had decked it.
And most of all, they provocked God to anger, for they made his Name and trueth to bee blasphemed, when men saw nothing in them but the desire of a worldly dominion: They layed a stumbling blocke before people, to hold them on the earth, when they should hauehave led them to Heaven: The pietie of olde Prelats, turned Pagans to Christianitie: But they did what they could to make Princes and people forsake the Religion of so proude and fleshlie Prelats. That which seemed to bee peace betweene Emperours and Popes for some three or foure Ages, was but a conspiracy each of them flatetred other in offending God, but hee turned this …ust irritation of Princes in a preparatiue to reformation, that Princes being sensible of the Effronts done to their honour by the Popes tyrannie, might bee led to feele the wounding of their Soule by his heresie, & so stirred vp to reform the Church in both.
People were also irritate: For beside their defrauding of spirituall cōfort, wherof as then they were senseles, theyThey irritate people: were cast in civill discord. The factions of the Guelfs & Gibelins, so called from Gu…lfus D. of Baveere, & Conradus Giblingen Ann. 1140. &c. The excōmunicatiō of Princes turned them all in division, some of duetie & conscience adhering to their princes, other of superstition and treason falling frō them; Kingdome against Kingdome, & Kingdomes, Cities, and Families divided amongst themselues: So soone as the alarme was given by excommunication, there was neither peace, nor place for Neutralitie, but the olde bloodie proscriptions of Sylla and Marius were acted everie where. This made them wearie of such broiles, and disposed them to embrace a more peaceable Religion, that would keepe them in peace with their Princes and Neighbours.
Their intolerable crueltie against the Emperours inforcedThis irritatation is a disposition to Reformation. the world to this remeede, Gregorie the seventh, against Henrie the fourth, Paschal the second, against Henrie the fifth, Innocent the third against Philip. Innocent the fourth hyred men to poyson and stobbe Fridericke and Conrad. Iohn the twentie two, and Benedict the eight vexed Lodovicus Bavarus. They excommunicat them, stirred vp other Princes to invade them, and forced them to base & vnreasonable conditions of peace, they poysoned Otho. Frisin lib. 6. cap. 36 Deus & Rex. pag 64. Tot mala, tot schismat…, tot tā animarum quam cor porum pericula in volvit. &c. Casaub libe. Eccles.them with the hostie or cup. It is impossible to consider what miseries these iarres brought on people: For Otho testifieth that they brought so many evills and Schismes, and involved the bodies and soules of men in so many dangers that the crueltie and durance of that persecution was sufficient to proue the miserie of mankind. In all these broyl…s, people smarted, & being brought to desperation, were forced to take some course to vendicat themselues. Their law provyds that feudum meretur amittere, qui feudum inficiatur.