The subject is very large; and it seems no easy matter to reduce
it into any distinct order. Besides, my business is not so much to
advance any thing of my own, as to object to what others have advanced
concerning the fame and virtues of ELIZABETH. And to this end, I must
desire to know the particulars on which you are disposed to lay the
greatest stress, and indeed to have some plan of the subject delivered
in to me, which may serve, as it were, for the groundwork of the whole
conversation.
I must not presume, said Dr. ARBUTHNOT, to prescribe the order in
which your attack on the great queen shall be conducted. The subject,
indeed, is large. But this common route of history is well known to all
of us. To that, then, you may well enough refer, without being at the
trouble, before you go to work, of laying foundations. Or, if you will
needs have a basis to build upon, what if I just run over the several
circumstances which I conceive to make most for the credit of that
reign? A sketch of this sort, I suppose, will answer all the ends of
the plan, you seem to require of me.
Mr. ADDISON agreed to this proposal; which he thought would be of use
to shorten the debate, or at least to render the progress of it more
clear and intelligible.
In few words then, resumed Dr. ARBUTHNOT, the reasons, that have
principally determined me to an admiration of the government and
character of queen ELIZABETH, are such as these: “That she came to the
crown with all possible disadvantages; which yet, by the prudence and
vigour of her counsels, she entirely overcame: that she triumphed over
the greatest foreign and domestic dangers: that she humbled the most
formidable power in _Europe_ by her arms; and composed, or checked at
least, by the firmness of her administration, TWO, the most implacable
and fiery factions at home: that she kept down the rebellious spirit
of _Ireland_, and eluded the constant intrigues of her restless
neighbours, the _Scots_: that she fixed our religious establishment on
solid grounds; and countenanced, or rather conducted, the Protestant
cause abroad: that she made her civil authority respected by her
subjects; and raised the military glory of the nation, both by sea and
land, to the greatest height: that she employed the ablest servants,
and enacted the wisest laws: by all which means it came to pass that
she lived in a constant good understanding with her parliaments, was
idolized by her people, and admired and envied by all the rest of the
world.”
Alas, said Mr. ADDISON, I shall never be able to follow you through
all the particulars of this encomium: and, to say the truth, it would
be to little purpose; since the wisdom of her policy, in all these
instances of her government, can only be estimated from a careful
perusal of the histories of that time; too numerous and contradictory
to be compared and adjusted in this conversation. All I can do,
continued he, after taking a moment or two to recollect himself, is
to abate the force of this panegyric by some general observations of
the CIRCUMSTANCES and GENIUS of that time; and then to consider the
personal QUALITIES of the queen, which are thought to reflect so great
a lustre on her government.
As you please, Dr. ARBUTHNOT replied. We shall hardly lose ourselves in
this beaten field of history. And, besides, as your undertaking is so
adventurous, it is but reasonable you should have the choice of your
own method.
You are in the common opinion, I perceive, resumed Mr. ADDISON, that
ELIZABETH’S government was attended with all possible disadvantages.
On the contrary, it appears to me that the security and even splendour
of her reign is chiefly to be accounted for from the fortunate
CIRCUMSTANCES of her situation.
Of these the FIRST, that demands our notice, is the great affair of
religion.
The principles of PROTESTANTISM had now for many years been working
among the people. They had grown to that head in the short reign of
EDWARD VI. that the bloody severities of his successor served only to
exasperate the zeal, with which these principles had been embraced
and promoted. ELIZABETH, coming to the crown at this juncture, was
determined, as well by interest as inclination, to take the side of
the new religion. I say by _interest_, as well as inclination. And,
I think, I have reason for the assertion. For though the persons in
power, and the clergy throughout the kingdom, were generally professed
papists; yet they were most of them such as had conformed in king
EDWARD’S days, and were not therefore much to be feared for any tie,
their _profession_ could really have on their consciences. Whereas,
on the other hand, it was easy to see, from many symptoms, that the
general bent of the nation was towards Protestantism; and that,
too, followed with a spirit, which must in the end prevail over all
opposition. Under these circumstances, then, it was natural for the
queen, if she had not been otherwise led by her principles, and the
interest of her title, to favour the Reformation.
The truth is, she came into it herself so heartily, and provided so
effectually for its establishment, that we are not to wonder she
became the idol of the Reformed, at the same time that the papal power
through all _Europe_ was confederated against her. The enthusiasm
of her Protestant subjects was prodigious. It was raised by other
considerations; but confirmed in all orders of the state by the ease
they felt in their deliverance from the tyranny of the church; and in
the great especially, by the sweets they tasted in their enjoyment
of the church-revenues. It was, in short, one of those extraordinary
conjunctures, in which the public danger becomes the public security;
when religion and policy, conscience and interest, unite their powers
to support the authority of the prince, and to give fidelity, vigour,
and activity to the obedience of the subject.
And thus it was, continued he, that so warm and unconquerable a zeal
appeared in defence of the queen against all attempts of her enemies.
Her people were so thoroughly Protestant, as to think no expence of
her government too great, provided they could but be secured from
relapsing into Popery. And her parliaments were disposed to wave all
disputes about the stretch of her prerogative, from a sense of their
own and the common danger.
In magnifying this advantage of the zeal and union of ELIZABETH’S
good subjects, you forgot, said Dr. ARBUTHNOT, that two restless and
inveterate factions were contending, all her lifetime, within her own
kingdom.
I am so far from forgetting that circumstance, returned Mr. ADDISON,
that I esteem it ANOTHER of the great advantages of her situation.
The contrary tendencies of those factions in some respects defeated
each other. But the principal use of them was, that, by means of their
practices, some domestic plot, or foreign alarm, was always at hand,
to quicken the zeal and inflame the loyalty of her people. But to be a
little more particular about the factions of her reign.
The PAPIST was, in truth, the only one she had reason to be alarmed at.
The PURITAN had but just begun to shew himself, though indeed with that
ferocity of air and feature, which signified clearly enough what spirit
he was of, and what, in good time, he was likely to come to. Yet even
he was kept in tolerable humour, by a certain commodious policy of the
queen; which was, so to divide her regards betwixt the Church and the
Puritans, as made it the interest of both to keep well with her. ’Tis
true, these last felt the weight of her resentment sometimes, when they
ventured too saucily to oppose themselves to the establishment. But
this was rarely, and by halves: and, when checked with the most rigour,
they had the satisfaction to see their patrons continue in the highest
places at court, and, what is more, in the highest degree of personal
favour.
And what doth all this shew, interrupted Dr. ARBUTHNOT, but that she
managed so well as to disarm a furious faction, or rather make it serve
against the bent of its nature, to the wise ends of her government?
As to any wise ends of government, I see none, replied Mr. ADDISON,
deserving to be so called, that were answered by her uncertain conduct
towards the Puritans. For she neither restrained them with that
severity, which might perhaps have prevented their growth, at first;
nor shewed them that entire indulgence, which might have disabled
their fury afterwards. It is true, this temporizing conduct was well
enough adapted to prevent disturbances in her own time. But large
materials were laid in for that terrible combustion, which was soon to
break forth under one of her successors.
And so, instead of imputing the disasters that followed, said Dr.
ARBUTHNOT, to the ill-government of the STUARTS, you are willing to lay
the whole guilt of them on this last and greatest of the TUDORS. This
is a new way of defending that royal house; and, methinks, they owe you
no small acknowledgments for it. I confess, it never occurred to me to
make that apology for them.
Though I would not undertake, said Mr. ADDISON, to make their apology
from this, or any other, circumstance; I do indeed believe that part
of the difficulties the house of STUART had to encounter, were brought
upon them by this wretched policy of their predecessor. But, waving
this consideration, I desire you will take notice of what I chiefly
insist upon, “That the ease and security of ELIZABETH’S administration
was even favoured by the turbulent practices and clashing views of her
domestic factions.” The PURITAN was an instrument, in her hands, of
controuling the church, and of balancing the power of her ministers:
besides that this sort of people were, of all others, the most
inveterate against the common enemy. And for the PAPISTS themselves
(not to insist that, of course, they would be strictly watched, and
that they were not, perhaps, so considerable as to create any immediate
danger[84]), the general abhorrence both of their principles and
designs had the greatest effect in uniting more closely, and cementing,
as it were, the affections of the rest of her subjects. So that,
whether within or without, the common danger, as I expressed it, was
the common safety.
Still, said Dr. ARBUTHNOT, I must think this a very extraordinary
conclusion. I have no idea of the security of the great queen,
surrounded, as she was, by her domestic and foreign enemies.
Her foreign enemies, returned Mr. ADDISON, were less formidable than
they appear at first view. And I even make the condition of the
neighbouring powers on the Continent, in her time, a THIRD instance of
the signal advantages of her situation.
It is true, if a perfect union had subsisted between the Catholic
princes, the papal thunders would have carried terror with them. But,
as it was, they were powerless and ineffectual. The civil wars of
_France_, and its constant jealousy of _Spain_, left the queen but
little to apprehend from that quarter. The _Spanish_ empire, indeed,
was vast, and under the direction of a bigoted vindictive prince. But
the administration was odious and corrupt in every part. So that wise
men saw there was more of bulk than of force in that unwieldy monarchy.
And the successful struggles of a handful of its subjects, inflamed by
the love of liberty, and made furious by oppression, proclaimed its
weakness to all the world.
It may be true, interrupted Dr. ARBUTHNOT, that the queen had less to
fear from the princes on the Continent, than is sometimes represented.
But you forget, in this survey of the public dangers, the distractions
of IRELAND, and the restless intrigues of her near neighbours, the
SCOTS: both of them assisted by _Spain_; and these last under the
peculiar influence and direction of the GUISES.
You shall have my opinion, returned Mr. ADDISON, in few words.
For the IRISH distractions, it was not the queen’s intention, or
certainly it was not her fortune, to compose them: I mean, during the
greatest part of her reign; for we are now speaking of the general
tenor of her policy. Towards the close of it, indeed, she made some
vigorous attempts to break the spirits of those savages. And it was
high time she should. For, through her faint proceedings against them,
they had grown to that insolence, as to think of setting up for an
independency on _England_. Nay, the presumption of that arch-rebel
TYRONE, countenanced and abetted by _Spain_, seemed to threaten
the queen with still further mischiefs. The extreme dishonour and
even peril of this situation roused her old age, at length, to the
resolution of taking some effectual measures. The preparation was
great, and suitable to the undertaking. It must, further, be owned, it
succeeded: but so late, that she herself did not live to see the full
effect of it. However, this success is reckoned among the glories of
her reign. In the mean time, it is not considered that nothing but her
ill policy, in suffering the disorders of that country to gather to a
head, made way for this glory. I call it her _ill policy_, for unless
it were rather owing to her excessive frugality[85] one can hardly help
thinking she designed to perpetuate the _Irish_ distractions. At least,
it was agreeable to a favourite maxim of hers, to check, and not to
suppress them. And I think it clear, from the manner of prosecuting the
war, that, till this last alarm, she never was in earnest about putting
an end to it.
SCOTLAND, indeed, demanded a more serious attention. Yet the weak
distracted counsels of that court—a minor king—a captive queen—and
the unsettled state of _France_ itself, which defeated in a good degree
the malice of the GUISES—were favourable circumstances.
But to be fair with you (for I would appear in the light of a
reasonable objector, not a captious wrangler); I allow her policy in
this instance to have been considerable. She kept a watchful eye on the
side of _Scotland_. And, though many circumstances concurred to favour
her designs, it must be owned they were not carried without much care
and some wisdom.
I understand the value of this concession, replied Dr. ARBUTHNOT. It
must have been no common degree of both, that extorted it from you.
I decline entering further, said Mr. ADDISON, into the public
transactions of that reign; if it were only that, at this distance of
time, it may be no easy matter to determine any thing of the policy,
with which they were conducted. Only give me leave to add, as a FOURTH
instance of the favourable circumstances of the time, “That the
prerogative was then in its height, and that a patient people allowed
the queen to use it on all occasions.” Hence the apparent vigour and
firmness of her administration: and hence the opportunity (which is so
rarely found in our country) of directing the whole strength of the
nation to any end of government, which the glory of the prince or the
public interest required.
What you impute to the high strain of prerogative, returned Dr.
ARBUTHNOT, might rather be accounted for from the ability of her
government, and the wise means she took to support it. The principal
of these was, by employing the GREATEST MEN in the several departments
of her administration. Every kind of merit was encouraged by her
smile[86], or rewarded by her bounty. Virtue, she knew, would
thrive best on its native stock, a generous emulation. This she
promoted by all means; by her royal countenance, by a temperate and
judicious praise, by the wisest distribution of her preferments. Hence
would naturally arise that confidence in the queen’s counsels and
undertakings, which the servile awe of her prerogative could never have
occasioned.
This is the true account of the loyalty, obedience, and fidelity,
by which her servants were distinguished. And thus, in fact, it was
that, throughout her kingdom, there was every where that reverence of
authority[87], that sense of honour, that conscience of duty, in a
word, that gracious simplicity of manners, which renders the age of
ELIZABETH truly GOLDEN: as presenting the fairest picture of humanity,
that is to be met with in the accounts of any people.
It is true, as you say, interposed Mr. ADDISON, that _this picture is a
fair one_. But of what is it a copy? Of the GENIUS of the time, or of
the queen’s virtues? You shall judge for yourself, after I have laid
before you TWO remarkable events of that age, which could not but have
the greatest effect on the public manners; I mean, THE REFORMATION OF
RELIGION, and what was introductory of it, THE RESTORATION OF LETTERS.
From these, as their proper sources, I would derive the ability and
fidelity of ELIZABETH’S good subjects.
The passion for LETTERS was extreme. The novelty of these studies, the
artifices that had been used to keep men from them, their apparent
uses, and, perhaps, some confused notion of a certain diviner virtue
than really belongs to them; these causes concurred to excite a
curiosity in all, and determined those, who had leisure, as well as
curiosity, to make themselves acquainted with the _Greek_ and _Roman_
learning. The ecclesiastics, who, for obvious reasons, would be the
first and most earnest in their application to letters, were not
the only persons transported with this zeal. The gentry and nobility
themselves were seized with it. A competent knowledge of the old
writers was looked upon as essential to a gentleman’s education. So
that _Greek_ and _Latin_ became as fashionable at court in those days,
as _French_ is in ours. ELIZABETH herself, which I wonder you did not
put me in mind of, was well skilled in both[88]; they say, employed her
leisure in making some fine translations out of either language. It
is easy to see what effect this general attention to letters must have
on the minds of the liberal and well-educated. And it was a happiness
peculiar to that age, that learning, though cultivated with such zeal,
had not as yet degenerated into pedantry: I mean, that, in those
stirring and active times, it was cultivated, not so much for show, as
use; and was not followed, as it soon came to be, to the exclusion of
other generous and manly applications.
Consider, too, the effects, which the alterations in RELIGION had
produced. As they had been lately made, as their importance was great,
and as the benefits of the change had been earned at the expence of
much blood and labour: all these considerations begot a zeal for
religion, which hardly ever appears under other circumstances. This
zeal had an immediate and very sensible effect on the morals of the
Reformed. It improved them in every instance; especially as it produced
a cheerful submission to the government, which had rescued them from
their former slavery, and was still their only support against the
returning dangers of superstition. Thus religion, acting with all its
power, and that, too, heightened by gratitude and even self-interest,
bound obedience on the minds of men with the strongest ties[89]. And
luckily for the queen, this obedience was further secured to her
by the high uncontroverted notions of royalty, which, at that time,
obtained amongst the people.
Lay all this together; and then tell me where is the wonder that a
people, now emerging out of ignorance; uncorrupted by wealth, and
therefore undebauched by luxury; trained to obedience, and nurtured
in simplicity; but, above all, caught with the love of learning and
religion, while neither of them was worn for fashion-sake, or, what
is worse, perverted to the ends of vanity or ambition; where, say, is
the wonder that such a people should present so bright a picture of
manner’s to their admiring panegyrist?
To be fair with you; it was one of those conjunctures, in which the
active virtues are called forth, and rewarded. The dangers of the time
had roused the spirit, and brought out all the force and genius, of
the nation. A sort of enthusiasm had fired every man with the ambition
of exerting the full strength of his faculties, which way soever they
pointed, whether to the field, the closet, or the cabinet. Hence such
a crop of soldiers, scholars, and statesmen had sprung up, as have
rarely been seen to flourish together in any country. And as all owed
their duty, it was the fashion of the times for all to bring their
pretensions, to the court. So that, where the multitude of candidates
was so great, it had been strange indeed, if an ordinary discretion
had not furnished the queen with able servants of all sorts; and the
rather, as her occasions loudly called upon her to employ the ablest.
I was waiting, said Dr. ARBUTHNOT, to see to what conclusion this
career of your eloquence would at length drive you. And it hath
happened in this case, as in most others where a favourite point is to
be carried, that a zeal for it is indulged, though at the expence of
some other of more importance. Rather than admit the personal virtues
of the queen, you fill her court, nay, her kingdom, with heroes and
sages: and so have paid a higher compliment to her reign, than I had
intended.
To her _reign_, if you will, replied Mr. ADDISON, so far as regards the
qualities and dispositions of her subjects: for I will not lessen the
merit of this concession with you, by insisting, as I might, that their
_manners_, respectable as they were, were debased by the contrary,
yet very consistent, vices of servility and insolence[90]; and their
virtues of every kind deformed by, barbarism. But, for the queen’s own
merit in the choice of her servants, I must take leave to declare my
sentiments to you very plainly. It may be true, that she possessed a
good degree of sagacity in discerning the natures and talents of men.
It was the virtue by which, her admirers tell us, she was principally
distinguished. Yet, that the high fame of this virtue hath been owing
to the felicity of the times, abounding in all sorts of merit, rather
than to her own judgment, I think clear from this circumstance, “That
some of the most deserving of those days, in their several professions,
had not the fortune to attract the queen’s grace, in the proportion
they might have expected.” I say nothing of poor SPENSER. Who has any
concern for a poet[91]? But if merit alone had determined her majesty’s
choice, it will hardly at this day admit a dispute, that the immortal
HOOKER and BACON[92], at least, had ranked in another class than that,
in which this great discerner of spirits thought fit to leave them.
And her character; continued he, in every other respect is just as
equivocal. For having touched one part of it, I now turn from these
general considerations on the circumstances and genius of the time,
to our more immediate subject, the PERSONAL QUALITIES of ELIZABETH.
Hitherto we have stood aloof from the queen’s person. But there is no
proceeding a step further in this debate, unless you allow me a little
more liberty. May I then be permitted to draw the veil of ELIZABETH’S
court, and, by the lights which history holds out to us, contemplate
the mysteries, that were celebrated in that awful sanctuary?
After so reverend a preface, replied Dr. ARBUTHNOT, I think you may
be indulged in this liberty. And the rather, as I am not apprehensive
that the honour of the illustrious queen is likely to suffer by it. The
secrets of her cabinet-council, it may be, are not to be scanned by the
profane. But it will be no presumption to step into the drawing-room.
Yet I may be tempted, said Mr. ADDISON, to use a freedom in this survey
of her majesty, that would not have been granted to her most favoured
courtiers. As far as I can judge of her character, as displayed in that
solemn scene of her court, she had some apparent VIRTUES, but more
genuine VICES; which yet, in the public eye, had equally the fortune to
reflect a lustre on her government.
Her gracious affability, her love of her people, her zeal for the
national glory; were not these her more obvious and specious qualities?
Yet I doubt they were not so much the proper effects of her nature, as
her policy; a set of spurious virtues, begotten by the very necessity
of her affairs.
For her AFFABILITY, she saw there was no way of being secure amidst
the dangers of all sorts, with which she was surrounded; but by
ingratiating herself with the body of the people. And, though in her
nature she was as little inclined to this condescension as any of her
successors, yet the expediency of this measure compelled her to save
appearances. And it must be owned, she did it with grace, and even
acted her part with spirit. Possibly the consideration of her being a
female actor, was no disadvantage to her.