Bacon: HISTORIA REGNI HENRICI SEPTIMI REGIS ANGLIAE

XI. REX iste (ut verbis utamur quae merita eius exaequent) fuit instar miraculi cuiusdam: euius scilicet generis quod prudentes attonitos reddit, imperitos leviter percellit. Plurima siquidem habuit in virtutibus suis et in fortuna quae non tam in locos communes cadunt quam in observationes prudentes et graves. Vir certe fuit pius et religiosus, et affectu et cultu, sed ut erga superstitionem, pro modo temporum suorum, satis perspicax, ita interdum politicis rationibus et consiliis nonnihil occoecatus.

11. This king (to use words that equal his merits) was as it were a kind of prodigy: of that sort, namely, which renders the prudent astonished, and lightly strikes the unlearned. For indeed he had very many things, both in his virtues and in his fortune, which fall not so much into commonplaces as into prudent and grave observations. He was certainly a pious and religious man, both in affection and in cult, but, as regards superstition—according to the measure of his times—sufficiently perspicacious; yet at times somewhat blinded by politic reasons and counsels.

Personarum ecclesiasticarum promotor, erga asylorum privilegia (quae tanta ei mala pepererant) non durus. Haud pauca religiosorum coenobia fundavit, dotavit, quibus accedit memorabile illud hospitale Savoya dictum. Magnus nihilominus eleemosynarius in secreto, quod luculenter indicat etiam publica illa opera Dei gloriae, non suae, data.

A promoter of ecclesiastical persons, he was not harsh toward the privileges of asylums (which had brought upon him such great harms). He founded and endowed not a few religious coenobia, to which is added that memorable hospital called the Savoy. Nevertheless a great almsgiver in secret, as is clearly indicated even by those public works given for God’s glory, not his own.

Pacem se summopere et amare et pro viribus procurare prae se tulit. Atque illud in foederum praefatiobus illi frequens fuit, pacem cum Christus in mundum venerit angelos praecinuisse, cum e mundo excedere ipsum dominum legasse. Neque hoc ei timori aut animi mollitiei imputare poterat (quippe qui animosus fuerit et bellator), sed virtuti vere Christianae et morali.

He openly professed that he supremely both loved peace and, to the utmost of his powers, strove to procure it. And this was frequent with him in the prefaces of treaties: that when Christ came into the world the angels proclaimed peace, and that when departing from the world the Lord himself bequeathed it. Nor could this be imputed to fear or softness of spirit (for he was high‑spirited and a warrior), but to virtue truly Christian and moral.

Neque tamen illud eum fugit, a via pacis aberrare illum qui eam nimio plus videatur appetere. Itaque famas et rumores et apparatus belli saepe excitabat, donec pacis conditiones in melius flecteret. Etiam illud notatu non indignum, quod tam sedulus pacis amator in bellis tam felix extiterit.

Nor, however, did this escape him: that he who seems to desire it too much deviates from the way of peace. Accordingly he often stirred up reports and rumors and the apparatus of war, until he might bend the conditions of peace for the better. This, too, is not unworthy of note: that so sedulous a lover of peace proved so fortunate in wars.

Siquidem arma et expeditiones eius neque in bellis externis neque in civilibus unquam ei improspere cesserunt, neque noverat ille quid clades bellica esset. Bellum in adeptenione regni, necnon comitis Lincolniae et baronis Audlaei rebelliones, terminavit victoria. Bella Gallica et Scotica pax, sex pax ab hostibus ultro petita.

For indeed his arms and expeditions, neither in external wars nor in civil ones, ever turned out unsuccessfully for him, nor did he know what a military disaster was. The war in the acquisition of the kingdom, as well as the rebellions of the Earl of Lincoln and of Baron Audley, he terminated with victory. The Gallic and Scottish wars [ended in] peace—peace six times sought by the enemies of their own accord.

Bellum illud Britanniae casus, mors nimirum Britanniae ducis. Tumultus baronis Lovelli, item Perkini, tam ad Exoniam quam in Cantio, fuga rebellium antequam praelium tentarent, adeo ut propria ei fuerit armorum felicitas atque inviolata. Cuius re causa haud parva, quatenus ad seditiones intestinas compescendas proculdubio fuit quod in iis restinguendis personam suam nunquam subtraxerat.

That war had as its outcome the downfall of Brittany, namely the death of the Duke of Brittany. The tumult of Baron Lovell, likewise of Perkin, both at Exeter and in Kent, ended in the rebels’ flight before they attempted battle, so that to him a fortune in arms was proper and remained inviolate. The cause of this was by no means small, inasmuch as, for restraining intestine seditions, it was without doubt that, in extinguishing them, he never withdrew his own person.

Prima quandoqe pugnae per duces suos transegit, cum ipse ad suppetitas ferendas praesto esset, sed aliquam belli partem semper ipse attigit. Neque tamen hoc ipsum omnino propter alacritatem et fortitudinem, sed partim ob suspiciones, quod aliis parce fideret.

At first he conducted the battles through his own generals, while he himself was at hand to bring reinforcements; yet he always himself touched some part of the war. Nor, however, was this altogether on account of alacrity and fortitude, but partly owing to suspicions, because he trusted others sparingly.

2. Leges regni in magno honore semper habuit, easque auctoritate sua munire videri voluit, licet hoc ipsum non minimo quidem ei esset impedimento ad ea quae voluit pro arbitrio suo exequenda. Ita enim commode earum habenas tractavit, ut ne quid de proventibus suis aut etiam praerogativa regia intercideret. Attamen tali usus est temperamento ut, sicut interdum leges suas ad praerogativae suae iura traheret et prope torquet, ita rursus per vices praerogativam suam ad legum aequabilitatem et moderationem consulto demitteret.

2. He always held the laws of the realm in great honor, and wished to appear to fortify them by his own authority, although this very thing was indeed no small impediment to him for executing what he wished at his own discretion. For he handled their reins adroitly, so that nothing of his revenues, nor even of the royal prerogative, might fall away. Yet he employed such a tempering that, just as at times he would draw his laws to the rights of his prerogative and almost twist them, so in turn by turns he would deliberately let his prerogative descend to the equity and moderation of the laws.

Etenim et monetarum regimen, et belli ac pacis tractatus et consilia, et rei militaris administrationem (quae omnino absoluti iuris sunt) saepenumero ad comitiorum regni deliberationes et vota referebat. Iustitia temporis suis recte et aequabiliter administrata fuit, praeterquam cum rex in lite pars esset, praeterquam etiam quod consilium privatum communibus casibus circa meum et tuum se nimis immisceret. Etenim consessus ille mera erat tum curia et tribunal iustitiae, praesertim sub regni sui initiis.

Evidently both the regimen of the coinage, and the treaties and counsels of war and peace, and the administration of the military affair (which are altogether matters of absolute right), he very often referred to the deliberations and votes of the parliament of the realm. Justice in his times was administered rightly and equably, except when the king was a party in the suit, and except also that the Privy Council interfered itself too much in common cases concerning meum et tuum. For that assembly was then a mere court and tribunal of justice, especially at the outset of his reign.

Enimvero in illa iustitiae parte quae fixa est et tanquam in aere incisa (hoc est prudentia legislatoria) prorsus excelluit. Iustitiam etiam suam misericordia et clementia temperavit, utpote sub cuius regno tres tantum ex nobilitate poena capitali affecti sunt, comes nempe Warwicensis, aulae regiae camerarius, et baro Audleius, quamvis priores duo instar multorum essent quatens ad invidiam et obloquia apud populum. At ne auditu quidem cognitum erat tantas rebelliones tam parca sanguinis per gladium iustitiae missione expiatas fuisse, quam fuerunt duae illae insignes rebelliones, Exoniae et prope Grenovicum.

Indeed, in that part of justice which is fixed and, as it were, engraved in bronze (that is, legislative prudence), he altogether excelled. He also tempered his justice with mercy and clemency, inasmuch as under his reign only three of the nobility were visited with capital punishment—namely, the Earl of Warwick, the chamberlain of the royal household, and Baron Audley—though the first two were the equivalent of many so far as odium and obloquy among the people were concerned. But it was not even known by report that such great rebellions were expiated with so sparing a shedding of blood by the sword of justice as were those two notable rebellions, at Exeter and near Greenwich.

Severitas autem illa satis cruenta qua in primos illos infimae conditionis homines qui Cantium appulerunt animadversum est, ad faecem quandam populi tantum pertinebat. Diplomata autem illa generalia quae gratiam praeteritorum rebellibus faciebant perpetuo arma sua et praeibant et sequebantur. Videre autem erat apud eum miram quandam et inusitatam gratiae larga manu praebitae et plane inexpectatae cum suppliciorum severitate alternationem.

But that severity, quite bloody, with which punishment was inflicted upon those earliest men of the lowest condition who made landfall in Kent, pertained only to a certain dregs of the people. Meanwhile those general diplomata which extended grace for past acts to rebels continually both went before and followed his arms. One could see with him a certain wondrous and unwonted alternation of grace—offered with a liberal hand and wholly unexpected—with the severity of punishments.

Quod quidem, si tanti principis prudentiam cogitemus, minime inconstantiae aut consiliorum vacillationi imputari poterit, sed aut causae alicui secretae quae iam nos latet, aut regulae cuidam quam sibi praescripserat, ut rigoris et mansuetudinis vias per vices exeriretur. Sed quo minus sanguinis, eo plus pecuniae haurire solebat, atque, ut nonnulli satis malevole interpretabantur, in altero fuit continentior ut in altero premeret magis: utrunque enim intolerabile plane fuisset. Natura proculdubio erat ad accumulandos thesauros pronior, et divitias plus quam pro fastigio sua admirabatur.

Which indeed, if we consider the prudence of so great a prince, can hardly be imputed to inconstancy or to a vacillation of counsels, but either to some secret cause which now lies hidden from us, or to a certain rule which he had prescribed for himself, that the ways of rigor and of mansuetude should be exercised by turns. But the less blood, the more money he was wont to draw; and, as some interpreted quite malevolently, he was more continent in the one in order that he might press more in the other: for to press in both would plainly have been intolerable. By nature he was undoubtedly more prone to accumulating treasures, and he admired riches more than was proportionate to his high eminence.

Populus certe, quibus hoc natura inditum est ad conservandas monarchias ut principes suos excusent, licet saepenumero minus iuste in consiliarios eorum et ministros culpam reiiciant, hoc ipsum Mortono cardinali et Reginaldo Braio consiliario imputabat. Qui tamen viri (ut postea luculenter patebat) utpote qui pro veteri ipsorum apud eum auctoritate et gratia plurimum pollebant, ita ingenio eius obsecundabant ut id tamen nonnihil moderarentur, ubi contra qui sequebantur Empsonus et Dudleius, viri nullius apud eum auctoritatis nisi quatenus cupiditatibus illius servilem in modum ministrabant, viam ei non tantum praeberent, verum etiam sternerent, ad eas oppressiones et concussiones pro pecuniis undique excutiendis, quarum et ipsum sub finem vitae suae poenituit, quibusque successor eius renunciavit; quin et easdem diluere et expiare connixus est. Iste autem excessus tunc temporis complures nactus est interpretationes et glossas.

The people, surely, in whom this is implanted by nature for the conserving of monarchies—that they excuse their princes—though very often less justly shift the blame onto their counselors and ministers, imputed this very thing to Cardinal Morton and to the counselor Reginald Bray. These men, however (as later shone out plainly), inasmuch as by their longstanding authority and favor with him they had very great weight, so complied with his disposition as nevertheless to moderate it somewhat; whereas, on the contrary, Empson and Dudley, who followed—men of no authority with him save insofar as they ministered in servile fashion to his cupidity—not only offered him a way but even paved it toward those oppressions and shakedowns for money to be shaken out from every quarter, of which even he himself, toward the end of his life, repented, and which his successor renounced; indeed he strove to wash and expiate the same. This excess, moreover, at that time received many interpretations and glosses.

Nonnulli in ea opinione erant perpetuas rebelliones quibus toties vexatus fuit eum ad hoc redegisse, ut odio populum suum haberet. Alii iudicium favebant hoc eo tendisse ut ferocitatem populi remprimerit, eumque propter inopiam humiliorem redderet. Alii eum filio suo vellus aureum relinquere cupiise.

Some were in the opinion that the perpetual rebellions by which he had so often been vexed had reduced him to this, that he held his people in hatred. Others favored the judgment that this tended to the end that he might repress the ferocity of the people, and render them more humble by reason of poverty. Others said that he desired to leave the Golden Fleece to his son.

Alii denique eum cognitationes secretas de bello aliquo externo animo agitasse. Verum illi forsitan ad veritatem propius accedent qui caussas huius rei minus longe petunt easque attribuunt naturae suae, aetati ingravescenti, paci quae opes alit, animoque nulla alia ambitione aut opere occupato. Quibus illud addere placet eum, quod quotidie per occasiones varias inopiae mala et difficiles pecuniarum conquisitiones in aliis principibus observaret, ex comparatione quadam plenarum arcarum felicitatem melius agnovisse.

Others, finally, said that he had turned over in his mind secret cogitations about some external war. But perhaps those come nearer to the truth who seek the causes of this matter less far afield and attribute them to his own nature, to his age growing weighty, to peace which nourishes wealth, and to a spirit occupied by no other ambition or work. To which they are pleased to add this: that, since he observed daily on various occasions the evils of indigence and the difficult acquisitions of monies in other princes, he recognized the felicity of full coffers the better by a certain comparison.

Quatenus ad modum quem servabat in thesauris impendendis hoc habuit, ut nunquam sumptui parceret quem negotia sua postulabant, in aedificando magnificus, in remunerando tenacior, ita ut liberalitas sua potius se applicaret ad ea quae ad statum suum proprium aut memoriam nominis sui pertineret quam ad praemia benemeritorum.

Insofar as concerns the method which he observed in expending the treasury, he held to this: that he never spared the expense which his affairs demanded, magnificent in building, more tenacious in remunerating, so that his liberality applied itself rather to those things which pertained to his own proper status or to the memory of his name than to the rewards of the well-deserving.

3. Fuit ille alti et excelsi animi, propriae sententiae, proprii consilii amator, utpote qui seipsum revereretur, et ex se revera regnare vellet. Si privatae conditionis fuisset, superbus proculdubio habitus esset. Sed in principe prudente nihil aliud hoc fuit quam ut intervallum et spatium iustum et debitum inter se et subditos suos tueretur, quod certe erga omnes constanter tenuit, nemini propinquum permittendo aditum, neque ad auctoritatem suam neque ad secreta.

3. He was of a high and exalted mind, a lover of his own opinion and of his own counsel, as one who revered himself and wished in very truth to reign from himself. If he had been of private condition, he would without doubt have been accounted proud. But in a prudent prince this was nothing other than that he maintained the interval and the space just and due between himself and his subjects, which certainly he held consistently toward all, allowing to no one a close approach, neither to his authority nor to his secrets.

A nullo enim ex suis regebatur. Regina, consors eius, licet eum compluribus pulcherrimis liberis, quinetiam corona ipsa (utcunque illud fateri non sustineret) beasset, parum apud eum potuit. Matrem magna sane reverentia prosecutus est, sed ad participationem consiliorum suorum raro admovit.

For he was governed by none of his own. The queen, his consort, although she had blessed him with several most beautiful children, nay even with the crown itself (however much he could not bear to confess that), availed little with him. His mother he indeed attended with great reverence, but he rarely admitted her to a participation in his counsels.

Qui vero grati ob conversationem ipsi forent (qualis fuit Hastingus apud regem Edwardum Quartum, aut Carolus Brandonus postea apud Henricum Octavum) nulli fuerant, nisi forte inter tales numeramus Foxum episcopum, et Braium, et Epsonum, quod eos tam frequenter secum habuit. Sed non alio modo quam sicut instrumentum plerunque secum habet artifex. Gloriae inanis, si in aliquo alio principe, minimum in illo suit, ita tamen ut de maiestate, quam ad summum fastigium usque semper attolebat, nihil remitteret, haud ignarus maiestatis reverentiam populum in obsequio continere, inanem autem gloriam (si quis recte rem aestimet) reges populari aurae prostituere.

Those, however, who would be in favor with him on account of conversation with him (such as Hastings with King Edward IV, or Charles Brandon later with Henry VIII), there had been none, unless perhaps we number among such Bishop Fox, and Bray, and Empson, because he had them with him so frequently. But not otherwise than as an artificer for the most part has an instrument with him. Of vain glory, if in any other prince, there was the least in him; yet in such a way that of majesty, which he always raised to the highest pinnacle, he remitted nothing, not unaware that the reverence of majesty keeps the people in obedience, whereas empty glory (if one rightly estimates the matter) prostitutes kings to the popular breeze.

4. Erga foederatos suos iustum se et constantem praebuit, tectum tamen et cautum. Sed contra, tam diligenter in eos inquirebat, se interim ita velans et reservans ut illi aspicerentur tanquam in lumine positi, ipse veluti in tenebris collocatus lateret, absque specie tamen hominis se occultantis, sed potius libere et familiariter communicantis negotia sua et de illorum rebus vicissim percontantis. Quantum autem ad pusillas illas invidias et aemulationes (quae inter principes haud parvo rerum suarum detrimento intercedere solent) nihil tale in eo cernere erat, sed suas res sedulo et solide agebat.

4. Toward his confederates he showed himself just and constant, yet guarded and cautious. But, contrariwise, he inquired into them so diligently, meanwhile so veiling and reserving himself, that they were looked upon as though set in the light, while he, as if placed in darkness, lay hidden—yet without the appearance of a man concealing himself, rather of one freely and familiarly communicating his business and in turn inquiring about their affairs. As for those petty envies and emulations (which are wont to intervene among princes to the no small detriment of their affairs), nothing of the kind was to be seen in him; instead, he managed his own matters sedulously and solidly.

Atque certissimum est existimationem eius domi magnam, in externis partibus adhuic maiorem et illustriorem fuisse. Exteri enim, qui negotiorum eius ductus et vias particulares cernere non poterant, sed summas tantum et exitus eorum intuebantur, eum perpetuo conflictari et perpetuo superiorem esse animadvertebant. Partim etiam in causa erant literae et relationes legatorum exterorum qui in comitatu aulae suae magno numero erant.

And it is most certain that his estimation was great at home, and in foreign parts yet greater and more illustrious. For foreigners, who could not discern the conduct of his affairs and their particular paths, but regarded only their sums and their outcomes, observed him to be in perpetual conflict and perpetually the superior. In part, too, the letters and reports of foreign legates, who in the retinue of his court were present in great number, were the cause of this.

Quibus non tantum comitate, muneribus, et colloquiis familiaribus satisfaciebat, verum in colloquiis illis suis haud parva admiratione illos perstrinxit, cum viderent universalem eius rerum Europaearum notitiam. Quam licet ex ipsis legatis eorumque informationibus maxime ex parte hauserat, nihilominus quod ab universis colligerat admirationi erat singulis. Ita ut magna semper conscriberent ad superiores suos de prudentia eius et artibus imperandi.

To whom he gave satisfaction not only by comity, gifts, and familiar colloquies, but in those colloquies of his he also impressed them with no small admiration, when they saw his universal knowledge of European affairs. Which, although he had for the most part drawn from those very envoys and their informations, nonetheless what he had collected from all was a marvel to each individual. Thus they were always composing copious reports to their superiors about his prudence and the arts of commanding.

Imo post reditum eorum in patrias suas, per literas de rebus omnimodis scitu dignis eum frequenter certiorem faciebant. Tantae fuit dexteritatis in conciliandis sibi principum externorum ministris.

Indeed, after their return to their native countries, by letters they frequently made him informed about matters of every sort worthy to be known. So great was his dexterity in conciliating to himself the ministers of foreign princes.

5. Omnibus profecto modis sollictus erat de procuranda sibi et obtinenda rerum ubique occurrentium notitia. Quam ut assequeretur, non tantum exterorum ministrorum qui apud se residebant industria usus est, atque pensionariorum suorum quos tam in cura Romana quam alibi in aulis principum fovebat, verum etiam sui ipsius legatorum qui apud exteros perfungebantur. Quem in finem mandata eius usque ad curiositatem diligentissima erant et per articulos ordine digestos, inter quos plures erant plerunque quae ad inquisitionem quam quae ad negotiationem pertinerent, exigendo responsa particularia et articulata ad quaestiones suas respectiva.

5. By all means indeed he was solicitous about procuring for himself and obtaining knowledge of matters occurring everywhere. In order to attain this, he made use not only of the industry of foreign ministers who resided with him, and of his pensionaries, whom he fostered both in the Roman Curia and elsewhere in the courts of princes, but also of his own legates who served among foreigners. To that end his mandates were most diligent even to scrupulous curiosity, and arranged in order by articles; among which there were for the most part more that pertained to inquisition than to negotiation, demanding particular and articulated answers to his respective questions.

6. Quantum vero ad emissarios suos, quos tam domi quam foras ad explorandas machinationes et coniurationes contra se initas subornabat, sane hoc, quo loco res suae erant, apprime necessarium fuit. Tot in eum veluti talpae subterraneae perpetuo operam dabant quo statum eius labefactarent et subfoderent. Neque hoc illicitum habendum est.

6. As to his emissaries, whom both at home and abroad he suborned to explore machinations and conspiracies initiated against himself, assuredly this, given the condition in which his affairs stood, was especially necessary. So many, like subterranean moles, were continually laboring against him so as to make his standing totter and to undermine it. Nor is this to be held illicit.

Etenim si in bello exploratores probantur adversus hostes legitimos, multo magis adversus coniuratos et proditores. Verum ut fides huiusmodi exploratoribus concilietur per iuramenta et per execrationes atque anathemata contra illos tanquam hostes fulminata, defensionem iustam non capit. Sacra enim ista vestimenta larvis non conveniunt.

For indeed, if in war scouts are approved against lawful enemies, much more against conspirators and traitors. But that trust should be won for scouts of this kind by oaths and by execrations and anathemas thundered against them as though against enemies, does not admit a just defense. For those sacred vestments do not befit masks.

Veruntamen habebat illud in se boni industria ista emissarios adhibendi ut, quemadmodum opera eorum multae coniurationes detectae, ita etiam fama eorum et diffidentia inde nata plurimae ne tentarentur proculdubio cohibitae fuerint.

Nevertheless, this industry of employing emissaries had this good in itself: that, just as by their work many conspiracies were detected, so also, by their fame and the diffidence born thence, very many were, without doubt, restrained from even being attempted.

7. Maritus erat minime uxorius, ne indulgens quidem, sed comis et consortio blandus, et sine zelotypia. Ergo liberos suos itidem paterno plenus affectu, magnam suscipiens curam de iis optime educandis, ad hoc etiam animi quadam altitudine aspirans ut conditiones eis dignas et sublimes procuraret. Honores quoque quales amplitudinem eorum condecerent ab omnibus deferri curavit, sed non admodum cupidus ut in oculis populi sui extollerentur.

7. He was by no means uxorious, nor even indulgent, but affable and winning in companionship, and without jealousy. Accordingly, toward his children likewise, full of paternal affection, he undertook great care for their being most excellently educated, and in addition, by a certain elevation of spirit, he aspired to procure for them conditions worthy and exalted. He also took care that honors such as befitted their amplitude be conferred on them by all, but he was not overly desirous that they be exalted in the eyes of his people.

8. Ad sanctius consilium suum plurima negotia referebat, ubi frequenter et ipse praesidebat, satis gnarus hoc pacto se via recta et solida insistere tam ad auctoritatem suam roborandam quam ad iudicium suum informandum. Ad quem etiam finem patiens fuit libertatis eorum tam in suadendo quam in suffragia ferendo donec animi sui sensum, quem ad finem deliberationum reservare solebat, declarasset. Nobilitati suae aliquantum gravis fuit, et ad negotia sua potius ecclesiasticos et iurisconsultos evehebat, qui magis ad obsequium parati et apud populum minus gratiosi erant, quod quidem ut imperiose regnaret profuit, in tuto non item.

8. He referred very many affairs to his more sacred council, where he frequently himself also presided, well aware that in this fashion he was setting his foot on a straight and solid way both to corroborate his authority and to inform his judgment. To that end also he was patient of their liberty both in advising and in casting their suffrages, until he had declared the sentiment of his own mind, which he was wont to reserve for the end of deliberations. He was somewhat heavy upon his nobility, and for his own business he rather advanced ecclesiastics and jurisconsults, who were more prepared for obsequium and less popular with the people; which indeed profited him for ruling imperiously, but not likewise for keeping matters in the safe.

Adeo ut mihi persuasissimum st hunc eius morem fuisse causam non exiguam crebrarum perturbationum quae sub regimine suo contigerunt, propterea quod proceres regni, licet fidi et obedientes, non tamen alacriter cum eo cooperabatur, sed vota eius magis eventui permittebant quam ad effectum urgebant. Nunquam sibi metuit a servis et ministris elatioribus ingeniis et virtutibus praeditis, id quod in moribus erat Ludovico Undecimo Galliae regi, sed e contra ad sua negotia admovit viros qui suis temporibus maxime eminebat. Quod ni fecisset, fieri non potuit ut res suae tam prospere cedere potuissent.

So much so that I am most fully persuaded that this habit of his was no small cause of the frequent perturbations which happened under his regimen, because the magnates of the realm, though faithful and obedient, did not, however, cooperate briskly with him, but allowed his wishes rather to chance of outcome than urged them to effect. He never feared for himself from servants and ministers endowed with loftier talents and virtues—a thing which was in the character of Louis XI, king of France—but on the contrary he applied to his affairs men who in his times were most eminent. And had he not done this, it could not have come to pass that his affairs should have turned out so prosperously.

Hi erant, nimirum in rebus bellicis, dux Bedfordiae, comites Oxoniae et Surriae, barones Daubeney et Brookus, et Poyningus eques auratus. In rebus autem civilibus Mortonus, Foxus, Braius, prior de Lanthony, Warhamus, Urswicus, Frowicus, et alii, Neque ei curae erat quam vafri et callidi essent quibus negotia commitebat. Putabat enim sui ipsius artes eorum artibus posse praedominare.

These were—namely in military matters—the Duke of Bedford, the Earls of Oxford and Surrey, the barons Daubeney and Brooke, and Poynings, a knight of the golden spur. But in civil affairs Morton, Fox, Bray, the prior of Lanthony, Warham, Urswick, Frowyk, and others. Nor was it a concern to him how wily and crafty were those to whom he entrusted business; for he thought that his own arts could predominate over their arts.

Sicut autem in ministris deligendis summo iudicio agebat, ita et in iis quos delegerat protegendis haud minore utebatur constantia. Mirabile enim quiddam est quod, licet princeps esset occulti et reconditi sensus et maiorem in modem suspicax, tempora quoque sua turbulenta et coniurationum plena, spatio tamen viginti quatuor annorum quibus regnavit nunquam consiliarium aliquem suum aut interiorem ministrum deiecit aut discomposuit, excepto solo Stanleio aulae suae camerario. Quatenus vero ad subditorum suorum erga eum affectus, ita res erat ut ex tribus illis affectibus qui corda subditorum erga principes suos divinciunt, amore scilicet, metu et reverentia, ultimo horum eximie gauderet, secundo mediocriter, tertio autem tam parce ut reliquis duobus securitatem suam deberet.

Just as he acted with the highest judgment in selecting his ministers, so too in protecting those whom he had selected he used no less constancy. For it is something marvelous that, although he was a prince of hidden and recondite mind and suspicious in the highest degree, and his times were turbulent and full of conspiracies, yet in the span of 24 years in which he reigned he never deposed or disgraced any counsellor of his or inner minister, except only Stanley, the chamberlain of his court. As regards the affections of his subjects toward him, the case was such that, out of those three affections which bind the hearts of subjects to their princes—namely love, fear, and reverence—he enjoyed the last of these exceedingly, the second moderately, but the third so sparingly that he owed his security to the other two.

9. Princeps erat subtristis, serius, et cogitabundus, quique secretas in animo suo observationes et curas foveret. Cui etiam commentarioli et memoriae manu propria scriptae praesto semper erant, praecipue circa personas, quos nimirum ex subditis suis ad munia destinaret, quibus praemiorum debitor esset, de quibus inquirendum, a quibus cavendum, qui itidem essent inter se maxime aut factione aut meritis colligati, et veluti in partes descendissent, et similia, veluti diaria quaedam cogitationum suarum componens et servans. Traditur etiam hodie narratio quaedam faceta cercopithecum suum (ab aliquo ex suis cubiculariis, ut creditum est, impulsum) die quodam praecipuum ex diariis suis, tunc forte incuriose positum, in frustra innumera discerpsisse.

9. The prince was somewhat gloomy, serious, and musing, and one who cherished secret observations and cares in his mind. For him also little notebooks and memoranda written by his own hand were always at hand, especially concerning persons whom, from among his subjects, he would assign to duties, to whom he would be a debtor of rewards, concerning whom inquiry should be made, of whom he should beware; who likewise were among themselves most closely bound either by faction or by merits, and as if they had descended into parties, and the like—composing and keeping, as it were, certain diaries of his thoughts. There is also handed down even today a certain facetious tale that his cercopithecus (monkey) (instigated, as is believed, by one of his chamberlains) on a certain day tore into numberless scraps a principal one of his diaries, then by chance carelessly set down.

Ad quod aulici, quibus anxia illa diligentia minime complacebat, risu prope disrumpebantur.

At this the courtiers, to whom that anxious diligence was by no means pleasing, were almost bursting with laughter.

10. Quamvis autem esset apprehensionum et suspicionum plenus, attamen sicut facile eas admittebat, ita rursus dimittebat, easque iudicio suo subiiciebat. Unde potius sibi ipsi molestae quam in alios periculosae existebant. Fatendum est tamen cogitationes suas tam fuisse numerosas et complicatas ut simul stare saepius non possent, sed quod in aliquibus prodesset ad alia obesset, neque fieri potuit ut adeo ultra mortale prudens esset aut felix ut rerum pondera iusta perpetuo exciperet.

10. Although, however, he was full of apprehensions and suspicions, yet just as he easily admitted them, so in turn he dismissed them, and subjected them to his own judgment. Whence they proved rather troublesome to himself than dangerous to others. It must be confessed, nevertheless, that his cogitations were so numerous and complicated that they could not often stand together at the same time, but what in some matters profited, in others was a detriment; nor could it come to pass that he was so beyond mortal measure prudent or fortunate as to take the just weights of affairs continually.

Certe rumor ille qui tot et tantas ei turbas concitavit, nempe quod dux Eboraci dimissus et adhuc superstes fuit, sub principiis vires et fidem ab ipso nactus est, quia scilicet hoc credi volebat ut mollius ei imputaretur quod in iure proprio et non in uxoris iure regnaret. 11. Affabilis fuit et blanda quadam eloquentia pollens, magnaque prorsus uti consueverat verborum dulcedine et illecebris cum aliquid suadere aut perficere vellet quod enixe cupiebat. Studiosus magis erat quam eruditus, libros plerunque qui Gallica lingua conscripta erant legens, licet Latinae linguae rudis non esset, quod ex eo patet quod Hadrianus cardinalis et alii, quibus lingua Gallica satis familiaris erat, nihilominus Latine ad eum semper scriberent.

Certainly that rumor which stirred up for him so many and so great tumults, namely that the Duke of York had been dismissed and was still surviving, at the outset gained strength and credence from the prince himself, because he wished this to be believed, so that it might be imputed to him more mildly that he was reigning in his own right and not in his wife’s right. 11. He was affable and endowed with a certain bland eloquence, and he was altogether wont to use the sweetness and allurements of words when he wished to persuade or to effect something which he earnestly desired. He was more studious than erudite, for the most part reading books which had been composed in the Gallic tongue, although he was not unskilled in the Latin tongue, which is evident from the fact that Cardinal Hadrian and others, to whom the Gallic language was quite familiar, nevertheless always wrote to him in Latin.

12. Quatenus ad delicias et voluptates huius reges, muta prorsus est earum memoria. Nihilominus apparet ex mandatis illis quae Marsino et Stilo circa reginam Neapolitanam dedit eum de forma et pulchritudine eiusque partibus perite admodum interrogare potuisse. Cum voluptatibus sic agere solebat ut reges magni cum mensis bellariorum, paulisper eas inspicientes et statim terga vertentes.

12. As far as the delights and pleasures of this king, the record of them is utterly silent. Nonetheless it appears from those instructions which he gave to Marsinus and Stilus concerning the Neapolitan queen that he was able to inquire very expertly about her form and pulchritude and its parts. He used to deal with pleasures as great kings with tables of confectionery, inspecting them for a little while and straightway turning their backs.

Neque enim unquam regnavit princeps qui magis negotiis suis deditus esset, totus in illis, et totus ex sese. Ita ut in hastiludiis et turneamentis et aliis pugnarum simulacris, necnon saltationibus personatis et huiusmodi celebritatibus potius cum dignitate quadam et comitate spectator esse videretur quam iis magnopere capi aut delectari.

For never did there reign a prince more devoted to his own affairs, wholly in them, and wholly from himself. So that in jousts and tournaments and other simulacra of combats, as well as in masked dances and celebrations of this sort, he seemed rather, with a certain dignity and comity, to be a spectator than to be greatly captivated or delighted by them.

13. In eo proculdubio, ut in caeteris mortalibus universis (ac praecipue in regibus), fortuna influxum quaedam habebat in mores, et mores vicissim in fortunam. Ad culmen regni ascendit non tantum a fortuna privata, quae moderatione eum imbuere posset, verumetiam a fortuna exulis, quae stimulos ei industriae et sagacitatis addiderat. Tempora autem regiminis sui, cum essent potius prospera quam tranquilla, confidentiam ex successibus addiderant, naturam interim suam assiduis vexationibus fere perverterant.

13. In him, beyond doubt, as in all mortals universally (and especially in kings), fortune had a certain influx into character, and character in turn into fortune. He ascended to the summit of the kingdom not only from private fortune, which might have imbued him with moderation, but also from the fortune of an exile, which had added spurs to his industry and sagacity. But the times of his governance, since they were rather prosperous than tranquil, had added confidence from successes, while meanwhile continual vexations had almost perverted his nature.

Prudentia autem eius per frequentes e periculis emersiones (quae subitis eum remediis fidere docuerant) versa est potius in dexteritatem quandam seipsum e malis quando ingruerent extricandi, quam in providentiam illa ex longinquo arcendi et summovendi, sed et indole propria oculi mentis eius non absimiles erant oculis quorundam corporalibus, qui ad obiecta prope sita validi sunt, ad remotiora infirmi. Prudentia enim eius occasione ipsa subito suscitabatur, atque eo magis si occasioni accesserit periculum. Atque haec fortuna in naturam suam potuit.

But his prudence, through frequent emergences out of dangers (which had taught him to trust in sudden remedies), was turned rather into a certain dexterity of extricating himself from evils when they came pressing on, than into a providence of warding them off and removing them from afar; and also by native temperament the eyes of his mind were not unlike the bodily eyes of certain persons, who are strong for objects set near, weak for more remote. For his prudence was suddenly aroused by the occasion itself, and all the more if peril were added to the occasion. And this working of fortune could prevail upon his nature.

Nec deerant rursus quae natura sua fortunae suae imposuit. Nam sive hoc tribuendum sit providentiae eius defectui, aut in rebus quas decreverat pertinaciae, aut suspicionibus quae aciem mentis eius perstringebant, vel quicquid aliud in caussa fuit, certum est fortunae suae perturbationes continuas (praesertim nulla violenta occasione subnixas) exoriri non potuisse absque magnis aliquibus in natura sua impedimentis, et erroribus in constitutione animi sui radicali, quae necesse habuit salvare et emendare per mille pusillas industrias et artes. Verum illa omnia apertius se produnt in historia ipsa.

Nor again were lacking the things which his own nature imposed upon his fortune. For whether this is to be attributed to a defect of his providence, or to a pertinacity in the matters he had decreed, or to suspicions which would graze the edge of his mind, or whatever else was in the cause, it is certain that the continual perturbations of his fortune (especially propped upon no violent occasion) could not have arisen without some great impediments in his nature, and errors in the radical constitution of his spirit, which he was compelled to salvage and amend by a thousand petty industries and arts. But all those things disclose themselves more openly in the history itself.

Veruntamen, intueamur licet eum cum defectibus suis omnibus, si quis eum cum regibus in Gallia et Hispania contemporaneis suis conferat, reperiet eum Ludovico Duodecimo Galliarum regi prudenti civili, et Ferdinando Hispaniarum fide et candore anteponi debere. At si Ludovicum Duodecimum demas et Ludovicum Undecimum, qui paulo ante regnavit, substituas, magis convenient exempla, fierentque verius parallela. Illi enim tres, Ludovicus, Henricus, et Ferdinandus, pro tribus magis censeri possunt inter illius aetas principes.

Nevertheless, let us regard him, albeit with all his defects; if anyone compare him with the kings in France and Spain his contemporaries, he will find that he ought to be preferred to Louis XII of France in civil prudence, and to Ferdinand of Spain in faith and candor. But if you remove Louis XII and substitute Louis XI, who reigned a little earlier, the examples would be more fitting, and the parallels would be truer. For those three, Louis, Henry, and Ferdinand, can rather be reckoned as the three among the princes of his age.

Ut verbo concludamus, si rex iste res maiores non gessit, in caussa ipse fuit sibi. Quicquid enim suscepit perfecit.

To conclude in a word, if this king did not accomplish greater things, he was himself the cause of it. For whatever he undertook, he brought to completion.

14. Corpore erat Henricus decoro, statura iusta paulo procerior, erectus, et membrorum compage bona, sed gracilis. Vultus erat talis quae reverentiam incuteret, et aspectum viri ecclesiastici aliquantum referret. Et sicut minime erat obscuras aut superciliosus, ita neque blandus aut conciliatur, sed tanquam facies hominis animo compositi et quieti, sed non commoda pictori, gratiosior scilicet facta cum loqueretur.

14. Henry was of a comely body, of just stature, a little taller than average, erect, and with a good knit of limbs, but slender. His countenance was such as to instill reverence, and it somewhat recalled the aspect of an ecclesiastical man. And just as he was by no means somber or supercilious, so neither was he bland or ingratiating, but rather the face of a man of a composed and quiet mind; yet not commodious for a painter, plainly more gracious when he spoke.

15. Huius regis dignitas praecellens pati possit, ut memorentur narrationes quaepiam quae ei divinum aliquid imponant. Cum matris eius Margaretae, foeminae raris virtutibus ornatae, nuptias multi proci ambirent, visa est videre in somniis virum quendam episcopo similem habitu pontificali tradere ei in manum Edmundum comitem Richmondiae, Henrici patrem, pro marito. Neque illa liberos unquam alios concepit praeter regem, licet tribus maritis nupta.

15. The preeminent dignity of this king may well endure that certain narrations be recounted which impute to him something divine. When many suitors courted the marriage of his mother Margaret, a woman adorned with rare virtues, she seemed to see in dreams a certain man, like a bishop, in pontifical attire, delivering into her hand Edmund, Earl of Richmond, Henry’s father, as husband. Nor did she ever conceive any other children besides the king, although wed to three husbands.

Quodam etiam die festu cum Henricus Sextus (cui innocentia sanctitatem astruebat) a prandio lavaret, oculosque in Henricum tunc adolescentulum coniiceret, dixit "Adolescens iste coronam pro qua nos confligamus pacifice tandem possidebit." Sed quod vere in eo divinum censeri possit, hoc fuit, quod non minus fortunam boni Christiani quam magni regis sortitus sit, vita excercitata, morte poenitenti. Ita ut non magis in mundanis quam spiritualibus victor triumphaverit, et militia ei in conflictibus tam peccati quam crucis prospere cesserit.

On a certain feast-day also, when Henry VI (to whom innocence was ascribing sanctity) was washing after dinner, and cast his eyes upon Henry then an adolescent, he said, "This adolescent will at length peacefully possess the crown for which we are contending." But what can truly be reckoned divine in him was this: that he had obtained the fortune no less of a good Christian than of a great king, with a life exercised and a penitent death. Thus he triumphed as victor not more in worldly than in spiritual things, and warfare yielded prosperously to him in conflicts both of sin and of the cross.

16. Natus est apud castrum Pembrochiae, sepultus apud Westmonasterium in monumento inter opera Europae pulcherrimo et elegantissimo, sive capellam spectes sive sepulchrum. Adeo ut magnificentius iam in sepulchri sui monumento habitet mortuus quam vivus aut Richmondiae aut in alio quopiam palatio suo habitaverat. Optaverim ut item ei contigisset in hoc famae suae monumento.

16. He was born at the castle of Pembroke, buried at Westminster in a monument among the works of Europe most beautiful and most elegant, whether you look at the chapel or at the tomb. So much so that he now dwells more magnificently, dead, in the monument of his sepulcher than, alive, he had dwelt either at Richmond or in any other palace of his. I could wish that likewise it had befallen him in this monument of his fame.