Lex Rex, Question 11
QUEST. XI. Whether or no he be more principally a King, who is a King by birth, or he who is a King by the free election and suffrages of the people?
WIthout deteining the Reader, I desire liberty to assert, that,
1 Assert. Where God establisheth a Kingdome by Birth, that government, hic & nunc, is best: and because God principally distributeth Crownes, when God establisheth the Royall line of David to reigne, he is not principally a King, who commeth neerest and most immediately to the fountaine of Royaltie, which is Gods immediate will; but God established, hic & nun…, for typicall reasons (with reverence of the learned) a King by birth.
A King by el…ction comm…th neerer to the first King th… a K…ng by suc…ssi…n.2 Assert. But to speake of them, ex natura re…, and according to the first mould and paterne of a King by law. A King by election is more principally King (magis univoce & per se) then an hereditarie Prince; 1. Because in hereditary Crownes, the first familie being chosen by the free suffrages of the people, for that cause ultimate, the hereditary Prince commeth to the throne, because his first father, and in him the whole line of the familie was chosen to the Crowne, and, propter quod unumquodque tale, id ipsum magis tale. 2. The first King ordained by Gods positive law, must be the measure of all Kings, and more principally the King, then he who is such by derivation. But the first King is a King by election, not by birth, Deut. 17.15. Thou shalt in any wise set (him) King over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose, (One) from amongst thy brethren shalt thou set over thee. If the free will of the people be not the neerest cause of the first moulded King, God could have made no positive law to choose such a man, not such a man; for all positive lawes presuppose free election. 3. The Law saith, Surrogatum fruitur privilegiis ejus, in cujus locum surrogatur: He who is substituted in the place of another, enjoyeth the priviledges of him in whose place be succeedeth. But the hereditary King hath Royall priviledges from him who is chosen King. Salomon hath the Royall priviledges of David his father, and is therefore King by birth, because his father David was King by election. And this I say, not because I think sole birth is a just title to the Crown, but because it designeth him who indeed virtually was chosen, when the first King of the race was chosen. 4. Because there is no dominion of either Royalty, or any other way by nature, no more then an Eagle is born King of Eagles, a Lyon, King of Lyons; neither is a man by nature, born King of men: and therefore, he who is made King by suffrages of the people, must be more principally King, then he who hath no title, but the womb of his mother.
Doct. Fern is so farre with us to father Royaltie upon the peoples free election, D. Fern, part 3. sect. 3 p. 14.as on the formall cause, that he saith, If to design the person, and to procure limitation of the power in the exercise of it, …e to give the power; we grant the power is from the people, but (saith he) you will have the power originally from themselves; in another sense, for you say, they reserve power to depose and displace the Magistrate, sometime they make the Monarch supreme, and then they devest themselves of all power, and keep none to themselves, but before established Government, they have no politique power, whereby they may lay a command on others, but onelyonly a naturall power of private resistance, which they cannot use against the Magistrate.
Ans. But to take off those by the way, 1. If the King may choose A. B. an Ambassadour, and limit him in his power, and say,If the people may limit the King, they may give him power Doe this, and say this to the forraigne State you goe to, but no more; halfe a wit will say the King createth the Ambassadour, and the Ambassadours power is originally from the King; and we prove the power of the Lyon is originally from God, and of the Sea, and the fire is originally from God, because God limiteth the Lyon in the exercises of its power, that it shall not devoure Daniel, and limiteth the Sea, as Ieremiah saith, when as he will have its proud Waves to come thither, and no farther, and will have the fire to burne those who throwe the three Children into the fiery furnace, and yet not to burne the three Children, for this is as if Doctor Ferne said, the power of the King of six degrees, rather then his power of five is from the people, therefore the power of the King is not from the people, yea the contrary is true. 2. That the people can make a King supreame, that is, Absolute, and so resigne natures birth-right; that is, a power to defend themselves is not lawfull, for if the people have not absolute power to destroy themselves, they cannot resigne such a power to their Prince. 3. It is false that a community, before they be established with formall Rulers, have no politicke power, for consider them as men onelyonly, and not as associated, they have indeed no politicke power; but before Magistrates be established, they may convene and associate themselves in a body, and appoint Magistrates; and this they cannot doe if they had no politicke power at all. 4. They have virtually a power to lay on Commandements, in that they have power to appoint to themselves Rulers, who may lay commandements on others. 5. A community hath not formally power to punish themselves, for to punish is to inflict Malum disconveniens natura, an evill contrary to nature;A community have not power formally to punish themselves. but in appointing Rulers, and in agreeing to Lawes they consent they shall be punished by another upon supposition of transgression, as the child willingly going to schoole submitteth himself in that to Schoole-discipline, if he shall faile against any Schoole Law; and by all this tis cleare, a King by election is principally a King. Barclay then faileth,Barclay cont. Monarcham. c. 2. p. 56. who saith, No man denyeth but succession to a Crowne by birth is agreeable to nature; it is not against nature, but it is no more naturall, then for a Lyon to be borne a King of Lyons.
Obj. Most of the best Divines approve an hereditary Monarch, rather then a Monarch by election. Ans. So doe I in some cases, in respect of Empire simply it is not better, in respect of Empire now under mans fall in sin; I grant it to be better in some respect. So S…lust In Ingurth. The elective King and the hereditary King better and worse, every one then another, in divers relations.Natura mortalium imperij avida. Tacitus, Hist. 2. Minore discrimine princeps sumitur, quam queritu, there's lesse danger to accept of a Prince at hand, then to seeke one a farre off. 2. In a Kingdome to be constituted, election is better; in a constituted Kingdome birth seemeth lesse evill. 3. In respect of liberty election is more convenient; in respect of safety and peace, birth is safer and the nearest way to the Well. See Bodin, De Rep. l. 6. c. 4. Thol. ozan, De Rep. l. 7. c. 4.