I confess, on entering upon my undertaking, that I realize its
difficulty more than ever. When I fasten my eyes upon the unheard-of
misfortunes of such a great queen, I fail to find words; and my mind,
revolted by so many undeserved hardships inflicted upon majesty and
virtue, would never consent to rush into such a maze of horrors, if the
admirable constancy with which this princess bore her reverses had not
risen far above the crimes by which they were caused. But at the same
time, Christians, I labor under another solicitude: what I meditate upon
is no human work; I am not here a historian, about to unravel to you the
mysteries of cabinets, or the order of battles, or the interests of
parties; I must rise above man in order that every creature should
tremble under the judgments of God. "I shall enter with David into the
powers of the Lord," and I have to show you the wonders of his hand and
of his resolutions: resolutions of deserved punishment for England,
resolutions of compassion for the Queen's salvation; but resolutions
stamped by the finger of God, whose imprint is so striking and manifest
in the events of which I have to treat, that no one can fail to be
dazzled by his light.
When we go back in time, no matter how far, and investigate in the
histories the instances of great revolutions, we find that hitherto they
have been caused by the licentiousness or violence of princes. For when
princes, ceasing to study their civil and military affairs, make hunting
their only labor, or as was said by one historian, find all their glory
in their splendor, and put all their mind to the invention of new
pleasures; or when, carried away by their violent natures, they cease to
respect the laws and to know any bounds, and thus lose both the respect
and the fear of their subjects, because the ills those subjects are
bearing seem more unendurable than those they only fear,--then, either
excessive licentiousness or patience driven to extremity is full of
menace to reigning houses.
Charles I., King of England, was just, moderate, magnanimous, very well
informed in regard to his affairs and to the arts of government; never
was there a prince more able to make royalty not only venerable and
holy, but also loved and cherished by his people. What fault can be
found with him, save clemency? I am willing to say of him what a
celebrated writer said of Cæsar, that he was so clement as to be
compelled to repent it. ("Cæsari proprium et peculiare sit elementiæ
insigne qua usque ad poenitentiam omnes superavit.") Let this be, then,
if you will, the illustrious fault of Charles as well as of Caesar; but
if any one wishes to believe that misfortune and defeat are always
associated with weakness, do not let him think, for all that, he can
persuade us that either strength was wanting in Charles's courage or
energy in his resolutions. When pursued to the very last extremities by
Fortune's implacable malignity, and betrayed by all his people, he never
deserted his own cause; in spite of the ill success of his unfortunate
arms, though conquered he was not subdued; and just as he never when
victorious refused that which was reasonable, when captive he always
rejected that which was weak and unjust. I can hardly behold his great
heart in his last trials: but certainly he showed that no rebels can
deprive of his majesty a king who really knows himself; and those who
saw with what visage he appeared in Westminster Hall and in Whitehall
Square can easily judge how intrepid he was at the head of his armies,
how august and imposing in the middle of his palace and court. Great
Queen, I satisfy your tenderest desires when I celebrate this monarch;
and this heart, which never lived but for him, wakes up from its dust
and resumes sentiment, even under this funeral drapery, at the name of
such a beloved husband, whom his enemies themselves will call wise and
just, and whom posterity will name among great princes, provided his
history finds readers whose judgment does not allow itself to be swayed
by events and by fortune.
Those who are informed in regard to the facts, being compelled to admit
that the king's conduct had given no reason and not even a pretext for
the sacrilegious excesses the memory of which is abhorred by us, ascribe
them to the unconquerable haughtiness of the nation; and I own that the
hatred of parricides is apt to throw our minds into such an opinion: but
when we more closely consider the history of this great kingdom,
especially during the last reigns, in which not simply adult kings, but
even children under guardianship and queens themselves have wielded a
power so absolute, and inspired so much terror; when we see the
incredible facility with which the true Religion was by turns upset and
restored by Henry, Edward, Mary, Elizabeth, we do not find either the
nation so prone to rebel nor its Parliaments so proud and factious.
Rather we are compelled to reproach these people with too much docility,
since they placed under the yoke even their faith and conscience. Do not
let us then make blind accusations against the inhabitants of the most
celebrated island in the world, who according to the most reliable
histories trace their origin back to Gaul; and do not let us believe
that the Mercians, the Danes, and the Saxons have so far corrupted in
them the good blood which they had received from our ancestors as to
lead them to such barbarous proceedings, if some other causes had not
intervened. What is it, then, that drove them on? What force, what
transport, what disturbance of the elements stirred these agitations,
these violences? There is no doubt, Christians, that false religions,
infidelity, the thirst of disputing on things divine without end,
without rule, without submission, carried away their hearts. Those are
the enemies against which the Queen had to fight, and which neither her
prudence, her leniency, nor her firmness could conquer.
A man appeared, of a mind incredibly deep, a consummate dissembler and
at the same time a powerful statesman, capable of undertaking everything
and of concealing everything, no less active and indefatigable in peace
than in war; who left nothing to fortune of that which he could take
from it by wisdom or foresight, but withal so vigilant, so well prepared
for everything, that he never failed to improve any opportunity: in
short, one of those restless and audacious minds which seem to have been
born in order to transform the world. How dangerous the fate of such
minds, and how many appear in history who were ruined by their very
boldness! But at the same time, what do they not achieve when it pleases
God to make use of them! To this one it was given to deceive the people
and to prevail against the kings. For as he had discovered that in this
infinite medley of sects, which no longer had any fixed rules, the
pleasure of dogmatic arguing without any fear of being reprimanded or
restrained by any authority, either ecclesiastical or secular, was the
spell that charmed their minds, he so well managed to conciliate them
thereby that out of this monstrous medley he created a formidable unit.
When a man has once found a way of seducing the multitude with the bait
of freedom, they afterwards blindly follow, provided they still hear the
beloved word. These, occupied with the object that had first transported
them, were still going on without noticing that they were going to
servitude; and their subtle leader--who while fighting and arguing,
while uniting in himself a thousand different characters, while acting
as theologian and prophet as well as soldier and captain, saw that he
had so bewitched the world that he was looked upon by the whole army as
a chief sent by God for the protection of independence--began to
perceive that he could drive them still further. I shall not relate to
you the story of his too prosperous undertakings nor his famous
victories which made virtue indignant, nor his long tranquillity which
astonished the world. It was God's purpose to instruct the kings not to
desert his Church. He wished to reveal by one great example all that
heresy can do, how indocile and independent it naturally is, how fatal
to royalty and to any legitimate authority. Moreover, when this great
God has chosen any one for the instrument of his designs nothing can
stop his course: he either chains or blinds or subdues all that is
capable of resistance. "I am the Lord," he says through the lips of
Jeremiah; "I am he who made the earth, with the men and animals; and I
place it in the hands of whomsoever pleases me; and now I wished to
submit these lands to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, my servant." He
calls him his servant, although an infidel, because he selected him for
enforcing his decrees. "And I order," he goes on, "that everything be
obedient unto him, even the animals;" thus it is that everything bends
and becomes flexible when God so commands! But listen to the rest of the
prophecy:--"I order that these people shall obey him, and shall obey his
son also, until the time of the one and the other do come." See, ye
Christians, how clearly marked the times are, how numbered the
generations: God determines how long the sleep of the world shall be,
and also when the awakening is to come.
* * * * *
God held twelve years, without relaxing, without any consolation from
men, our unfortunate Queen (let us loudly call her by this title, which
she made a cause for thanksgiving), making her learn under his hand such
hard but useful lessons. At last, softened by her prayers and her humble
patience, he restored the royal house; Charles II. is recognized and
the injury of the kings is avenged. Those whom arms could not conquer,
nor reasoning convince, came back suddenly of their own accord:
disappointed in their freedom, they at last came to detest its excesses,
ashamed that they had had so much power, and horrified at their own
success. We know that this magnanimous prince might have hastened things
by making use of the hands of those who offered to destroy tyranny at
one blow: but his great soul disdained these low agencies; he believed
that whatever were the conditions of kings, it behoved their majesty to
act only by the laws or by arms. These laws, which he defended, restored
him almost by themselves; he reigns, peaceful and glorious, on his
ancestors' throne, and with and through him also reign justice, wisdom,
and mercy.