_Of the Remarkable Authority of the_ Council _against_
Lewis _the_ Eleventh.
The _Power_ and _Authority_ of the _Council_ and the _Estates_
assembled, appears by the foregoing Testimonies to have been very great,
and indeed (as it were) _Sacred_. But because we are now giving Examples
of this Power, we will not omit a signal Instance of the _Authority_ of
this _Council_, which interposed it self in the Memory of our Fathers
against _Lewis the Eleventh_, who was reputed more crafty and cunning
than any of the Kings that had ever been before him.
In the Year 1460, when this _Lewis_ governed the Kingdom in such a
Manner, that in many Cases the Duty of a good Prince, and a Lover of his
Country, was wanting; the People began to desire the Assistance and
_Authority_ of the Great _Council_, that some Care might therein be
taken of the Publick Welfare; and because it was suspected the King
wou'd not submit himself to it, the _Great Men_ of the Kingdom (stirred
up by the daily Complaints and Solicitations of the _Commons_,)
"resolv'd to gather Forces, and raise an _Army_; that (as _Philip de
Comines_ expresses it) they might provide for the _Publick Good_, and
expose the King's wicked Administration of the Commonwealth." They
therefore agreed to be ready prepared with a good Army, that in Case the
King should prove refractory, and refuse to follow good Advice, they
might _compel him by Force_: For which Reason that War was said to have
been undertaken for the Publick Good, and was commonly called the War
_du bien public_. "_Comines_, _Gillius_, and _Lamarc_, have recorded the
Names of those Great Men who were the principal Leaders, the _Duke of
Bourbon_, the _Duke of Berry_, the King's Brother; the _Counts of
Dunois_, _Nevers_, _Armagnac_, and _Albret_, and the _Duke_ of
_Charalois_, who was the Person most concern'd in what related to the
Government. Whereever they marched, they caused it to be proclaimed,
that their Undertakings were only design'd for the _Publick_ Good; they
published Freedom from Taxes and Tributes, and sent Ambassadors with
Letters to the _Parliament_ at _Paris_, to the Ecclesiasticks, and to
the Rector of the University, desiring them not to suspect or imagine
these Forces were rais'd for the King's Destruction, but only to reclaim
him, and make him perform the _Office_ of a _Good King_, as the present
Necessities of the _Publick_ required."--These are _Gillius_'s Words,
lib. 4. fol. 152.
The Annals intituled the Chronicles of _Lewis the Eleventh_, printed at
_Paris_ by _Galliottus_ fol. 27. have these Words.----"The first and
chiefest of their Demands was, That a _Convention_ of the _Three
States_ should be held; _because in all Ages it had been found to be the
only proper Remedy for all Evils, and to have always had a Force
sufficient to heal such sort of Mischiefs_."--Again, Pag. 28. "An
Assembly was called on Purpose to hear the Ambassadors of the Great Men,
and met on the 24th Day in the Town-House at _Paris_; at which were
present some Chosen Men of the University, of the Parliament, and of the
Magistrates. The Answer given the Ambassadors, was, That _what they
demanded was most just_; and accordingly a _Council_ of the _Three
Estates_ was summon'd."--These are the Words of that Historian.--From
whence the Old Saying of _Marcus Antoninus_ appears to be most
true.--"Etsi omnes molestæ semper seditiones sunt, justas tamen esse
nonnullas, & prope necessarias: eas vero justissimas maximéque
necessarias videri, cum populus Tyranni sævitiâ oppressus auxilium à
legitimo Civium conventu implorat. Altho' all Sorts of Seditions are
troublesome, yet some of them are just, and in a Manner necessary; but
those are extraordinary just and necessary, which are occasion'd when
the People oppress'd by the Cruelty of a Tyrant, implores the Assistance
of a Lawful Convention."
_Gaguinus_, in his Life of _Lewis_ the _Eleventh_, pag. 265. gives us
_Charles_, the Duke of _Burgundy's_ Answer to that King's Ambassadors.
"_Charles_ (says he) heard the Ambassadors patiently, but made Answer,
That he knew no Method so proper to restore a firm Peace, at a Time when
such great Animosities, and so many Disorders of the War were to be
composed, as a _Convention of the Three Estates_. Which when the
Ambassadors had by Special Messengers communicated to King _Lewis_, he
hoping to gain his Point by Delays, summon'd the _Great Council_ to meet
at _Tours_, on the Kalends of _April_ 1467; and at the appointed Time
for the _Convention_, they came from all Parts of the Kingdom, &c."
The same Passage, and in almost the same Words, is recorded in the Book
of Annals, _fol. 64._ and in the Great Chronicle, _Vol. 4. fol. 242._
where these very remarkable Words are further added.--"In that Council
it was appointed, that certain approved Men shou'd be chosen out of each
of the _Estates_, who shou'd establish the Commonwealth, and take care
that Right and Justice shou'd be done." But _Gillius_ in the Place
above-mention'd says: "After the Battel at _Montlebery_, many
well-affected and prudent Men were elected to be _Guardians_ of the
_Publick Good_, according as it had been _agreed_ upon between the
_King_ and the _Nobles_; among whom the Count of _Dunois_ was the
Principal, as having been the chief Promoter of that Rising."--For it
had grown into Custom after the Wealth of the _Ecclesiasticks_ was
_excessively_ increas'd, to divide the People into Three _Orders_ or
_Classes_, whereof the _Ecclesiasticks_ made one; and when those
_Curators_ of the _Commonwealth_ were chosen, Twelve Persons were taken
out of each Order. So that it was enacted in that _Council_, that 36
Guardians of the Republick shou'd be created, with Power, by common
Consent, to redress all the Abuses of the Publick. Concerning which
Thing, _Monstrellettus_, Vol. 4. fol. 150 writes thus: "In the first
Place (says he) it was decreed, that for the re-establishing the State
of the Commonwealth, and the easing the People of the Burthen of their
Taxes, and to compensate their Losses, 36 Men shou'd be elected, who
shou'd have _Regal Authority_; viz. 12 out of the _Clergy_, 12 out of
the _Knights_, and 12 _skilful_ in the Laws of the Land; to whom Power
should be given of inspecting and enquiring into the Grievances and
Mischiefs under which the Kingdom laboured, and to apply Remedies to
all: And the King gave his Promise _in Verbo Regis_, That whatsoever
those 36 Men shou'd appoint to be done, he wou'd ratify and confirm."
_Oliver de la Marck_, a _Flemming_, in his History, _cap. 35._ writes
the same Thing, and mentions the same Number of 36 _Guardians_ or
_Curators_ of the _Commonwealth_. And he farther adds; "That because the
King did not stand to his Promise, but _violated_ his _Faith_, and the
_Solemn Oath_ which he had publickly sworn, a most _cruel War_ was
kindled in _Francogallia_, which set it all in a Flame, and continued
near 13 Years. Thus that King's Perjury was punish'd both by his own
Infamy, and the People's Destruction."
Upon the whole Matter 'tis plain, that 'tis not yet a hundred Years
compleat, since the Liberties of _Francogallia_, and the _Authority_ of
its _annual General Council_, flourished in full Vigor, and exerted
themselves against a King of ripe Years, and great Understanding; for he
was above 40 Years old, and of such great Parts, as none of our Kings
have equall'd him. So that we may easily perceive that our
_Commonwealth_, which at first was _founded_ and _establish'd_ upon the
_Principles of Liberty_, maintained it self in the same free and sacred
State, (even by Force and Arms) against all the Power of Tyrants for
more then Eleven Hundred Years.
I cannot omit the great Commendation which that most noble Gentleman and
accomplish'd Historian, _Philip de Comines_, gives of this Transaction;
who in his 5th Book and 18th Chapter, gives this Account of it, which we
will transcribe Word for Word.--"But to proceed: Is there in all the
World any King or Prince, who has a Right of imposing a Tax upon his
People (tho' it were but to the Value of one Farthing) without their own
Will and Consent? Unless he will make use of Violence, and a Tyrannical
Power, he cannot. But some will say there may happen an Exigence, when
the Great _Council of the People_ cannot be waited for, the Business
admitting of no Delay. I am sure, in the Undertaking of a War, there is
no need of such hast; one has sufficient Leisure to think leisurely of
that Matter. And this I dare affirm, that when Kings and Princes
undertake a War with the Consent of their Subjects, they are both much
more powerful, and more formidable to their Enemies.--It becomes a King
of _France_ least of any King in the World, to make use of such
expressions as this.--_I have a Power of raising as great Taxes as I
please on my Subjects_;--for neither he, nor any other, has such a
Power; and those Courtiers who use such Expressions, do their King no
Honour, nor increase his Reputation with Foreign Nations; but on the
contrary, create a Fear and Dread of him among all his Neighbours, who
will not upon any Terms subject themselves to such a Sort of Government.
But if our King, of such as have a Mind to magnify his Power; wou'd say
thus; I have such obedient and loving Subjects, that they will deny me
nothing in Reason; or, there is no Prince that has a People more willing
to forget the Hardships they undergo; this indeed wou'd be a Speech that
wou'd do him Honour, and give him Reputation. But such Words as these do
not become a King; _I tax as much as I have a mind to; and I have a
Power of taking it, which I intend to keep_. _Charles_ the Fifth never
used such Expressions, neither indeed did I ever hear any of our Kings
speak such a Word; but only some of their Ministers and Companions, who
thought thereby they did their Masters Service: But, in my Opinion, they
did them a great deal of Injury, and spoke those Words purely out of
Flattery, not considering what they said. And as a further Argument of
the gentle Disposition of the _French_, let us but consider that
_Convention_ of the _Three Estates_ held at _Tours_, Anno 1484, after
the Decease of our King _Lewis_ the _Eleventh_: About that time the
wholsome Institution of the _Convention_ of the _Three Estates_ began to
be thought a dangerous Thing; and there were some inconsiderable Fellows
who said then, and often since, that it was High-Treason to make so much
as mention of Convocating the _States_, because it tended to lessen and
diminish the King's Authority; but it was they themselves who were
_guilty of High-Treason against God, the King, and the Commonwealth_.
Neither do such-like Sayings turn to the Benefit of any Persons, but
such as have got great Honours or Employments without any Merit of their
own; and have learnt how to flatter and sooth, and talk impertinently;
and who fear all great Assemblies, lest there they shou'd appear in
their proper Colours, and have all evil Actions condemned."
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