420 OBSERVATIONS ON A LIBEL. 



oftentimes, through desire to reign and to prevent 

 their time, wax dangerous to their parents : how 

 much more cousins in a more remote degree ? It is 

 lawful, no doubt, and honourable, if the case require, 

 for princes to make an establishment : but, as it was 

 said, it is rarely practised in the collateral line. 

 Trajan, the best emperor of Rome, of an heathen, 

 that ever was, at what time the emperors did use to 

 design successors, not so much to avoid the uncer 

 tainty of succession, as to the end, to have &quot; parti- 

 &quot; cipes curarum&quot; for the present time, because their 

 empire was so vast; at what time also adoptions 

 were in use, and himself had been adopted ; yet 

 never designed a successor, but by his last will and 

 testament, which also was thought to be suborned 

 by his wife Plotina in the favour of her lover 

 Adrian. 



You may be sure that nothing hath been done 

 to prejudice the right ; and there can be but one 

 right. But one thing I am persuaded of, that no 

 king of Spain, nor bishop of Rome, shall umpire or 

 promote any beneficiary, or feodatory king, as they 

 designed to do ; even when the Scots queen lived, 

 whom they pretended to cherish. I will not retort 

 the matter of succession upon Spain, but use that 

 modesty and reverence, that belongeth to the majesty 

 of so great a king, though an enemy. And so much 

 for this third branch. 



The fourth branch he maketh to be touching the 

 overthrow of the nobility and the oppression of the 

 people : wherein though he may percase abuse the 



