OF THE PLANTATIONS IN IRELAND. 173 



be a surcharge or overflow of people more than the 

 territories can well maintain ; which many times, 

 insinuating a general necessity and want of means 

 into all estates, doth turn external peace into inter 

 nal troubles and seditions. Now what an excellent 

 diversion of this inconvenience is ministred, by God s 

 providence, to your majesty, in this plantation of 

 Ireland ; wherein so many families may receive 

 sustentation and fortunes ; and the discharge of 

 them also out of England and Scotland may prevent 

 many seeds of future perturbations : so that it is, 

 as if a man were troubled for the avoidance of 

 water from the place where he hath built his house, 

 and afterwards should advise with himself to cast 

 those waters, and to turn them into fair pools 

 or streams, for pleasure, provision, or use. So shall 

 your majesty in this work have a double commodity, 

 in the avoidance of people here, and in making use 

 of them there. 



The third consequence is the great safety that 

 is like to grow to your majesty s estate in general 

 by this act ; in discomfiting all hostile attempts of 

 foreigners, which the weakness of that kingdom hath 

 heretofore invited : wherein I shall not need to 

 fetch reasons afar off, either for the general or 

 particular. For the general, because nothing is 

 more evident than that, which one of the Romans 

 said of Peloponnesus : &quot; Testudo intra tegumen 

 &quot; tuta est ;&quot; the tortoise is safe within her shell : but 

 if she put forth any part of her body, then it en- 

 dangereth not only the part which is so put forth, 



