THEY who can be helpful no other way, have surely great reason to sollicit heaven, to guard, and guide, and assist those who are continually watching for their welfare. And since without the divine aid all human counsels and labours are vain; they who can be most serviceable to their soveraign by their wisdom, or valour, or treasure, must by no means think themselves excused from assisting him by their earnest and constant prayers. And if those, who barely omit this duty, are not to be accounted good subjects; they are certainly very bad ones, who dare to imprecate the judgments of heaven upon their governours.
IRREVERENT carriage to the person of the prince, and the speaking contemptuously and dishonourably of him, have a direct tendency to lessen his people's veneration for him, which is a main prop of his government. The speaking evil of princes, is commonly a prelude to some attempt against them; it being found by experience, that the way to weaken and undermine their authority, is to blast their reputation. Many perhaps, who are instrumental in spreading scandalous reports of their governours, have no such wicked intention; but if they have not, they are certainly very serviceable to those that have; nor are they to be excus'd who listen and give credit to them. Such, tho' at present they are not active in carrying on any traiterous designs, yet give grounds to hope that they may be wrought upon, and in time made fit for purposes, to which, as yet they are, strangers. When once men have cast off all inward awe of their prince, and have given entertainment to an ill opinion of him; they are then very much exposed to the attacks of discontented and factious persons.
BEFORE subjects credit evil reports of their prince, they ought to consider that it is the employment of many, to render him either contemptible or odious to his people: that to this end many false things are laid to his charge, his real defects and miscarriages are very much magnified; the ill success of his undertakings is charged upon his mismanagement, tho' perhaps no diligence nor vigilance, nor providence (so far as it is in man's power to provide against contingencies) was wanting on his part; and his very best designs, laid and conducted with the greatest wisdom, and perfected with all desireable success, are represented as prejudicial and pernicious to the common-weal. And they who can suffer their affections to be by those means alienated from their present soveraign, will not be long pleased with any: nor can any government be quiet, or secure, where these artifices are practised with success.