of Duke Robert; and the last was notorious. But
the proof of his virtues doth not depend on single
instances, manifesting themselves through the whole
course of a long reign, which was hardly attended
by any misfortune that prudence, justice, or valour
could prevent. He came to the crown at a ripe
age, when he had passed thirty years, having learned,
in his private life, to struggle with hardships, whereof
he had his share, from the capriciousness and injustice
of both his brothers; and by observing their failures,
he had learned to avoid them in himself, being steady
and uniform in his whole conduct, which were qualities
they both seemed chiefly to want. This likewise
made him so very tenacious as he was observed to be
in his love and hatred. He was a strict observer
of justice, which he seems never to have violated,
but in that particular case, which political casuists
are pleased to dispense with, where the dispute is
about a crown. In that he[25] * * * * * *
[Footnote 25: Here the sentence breaks off short,
and is left unfinished. [D.S.]]
Consider him as a private man, he was perhaps the
most accomplished person of his age, having a facetious
wit, cultivated by learning, and advanced with a great
share of natural eloquence, which was his peculiar
talent: and it was no doubt the sense he had of
this last perfection in himself, that put him so often
upon calling together the great councils of the nation,
where natural oratory is of most figure as well as
use.
The veneration which people are supposed naturally
to pay to a right line, and a lawful title in their
kings, must be upheld by a long uninterrupted succession,
otherwise it quickly loses opinion, upon which the
strength of it, although not the justice, is entirely
founded: and where breaches have been already
made in the lineal descent, there is little security
in a good title (though confirmed by promises and oaths)
where the lawful heir is absent, and a popular aspiring
pretender near at hand. This, I think, may pass
for a maxim, if any consequences drawn from history
can pretend to be called so, having been verified
successively three times in this kingdom, I mean by
the two preceding kings, and by the prince whose reign
we are now writing. Neither can this observation
be justly controlled by any instances brought of future
princes, who being absent at their predecessor’s
death, have peaceably succeeded, the circumstances
being very different in every case, either by the
weakness or justice of pretenders, or else by the long
establishment of lineal succession.
1135.
