John Milton
Published: 2017-11-28
Total Pages: 502
Get eBook
Excerpt from The Prose Works of John Milton, Vol. 3 of 7: With a Life of the Author, Interspersed With Translations and Critical Remarks He grudges that {0 many things are required of him, and nothing offered him in requital of thofe favours which he had granted. \vhat could fatiate the defires of this man, who being king of England, and matter of almoft two millions yearly what by hook or crook, was ftill in want; and thofe acts of juftice'which he was to do in duty, counts done as favours; and fuch favours as were not done without the avaricious hope of other re wards hendes fupreme honour, and the conftant revenue of his place? This honour, he faith, they did him, to put him on the giving part. And fpake truer than he intended, it being merel for honour's fake that they did to; not that it belongs to him of right: for w hat can he give to a parliament, who receives all he bath from the people, and for the people's good P Yet now he brings his own conditional rights to conteft and be preferred before the people's good and yet unlefs it be in order to their good, he hath no rights at all; reigning by the laws of the land, not by his own; which laws are in the hands of parliament to change or abrogate as they ihall fee belt for the commonwealth, even to the taking away of kinglhip itfelf, when it grows too mafterful and burden fome. For every commonwealth is in general defined, a. Fociety fuflicient of itfclf, in all things conducible to well-being and commodious life. Any of which requi fite things, if it cannot have without the gift and favour of a fingle perfon, or without leave of his private reafon or his confcience, it cannot be thought fuflicient of itfelf, and by eonfequence no commonwealth, nor fiee; but a multitude of vaifals in the pofl'eflion and domain of one abfolute lord, and wholly obnoxious to his will. If the king have power to give or deny any thing to his parlia ment, he maft do it either as a perfon feveral from them, or as one'greater; neither of which will be allowed him. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.