The Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin Volume 12; Including the Whole of His Posthumous Pieces, Letters, &C (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: The REIGN of STEPHEN. THE veneration which people are fuppofect naturally to pay to a right line, and a lawful title in their kings, muft be upheld by a Ipng uninterrupted fucceffion, otherwife it quickly lofes opinion, upon which the ftrength of it, although not the juftice, is entirely founded: and where breaches have been already made in the lineal defcent, there is little fecurity in a good title (though confirmed by promifes and oaths) where the lawful heir is abfent, and a popular afpiring pretender near at hand. This, I think, may pafs for a maxim, if any confequences drawn from hiftory can pretend to be called fo, having been verified fucceffively three times in this kingdom, I mean by the two preceding kings, and by the prince whofe reign we are now writing. Neither can this obfervation be juftly controlled by any inftances brought of future princes, who being abfent at their predeceffor's death, have peaceably fucceeded, the circumftances being very different in every cafe, either by the weaknefs or juftice of pretenders, or elfe by the long eftablifh- ment of lineal fucceffion. 1135. Stephen Earl of Boulogne, whofe defcent hath been already fhewn in the foregoing reign, as the fecond of three brothers, whereof theeldeft D d 3 wawas Tbtobald Earl of Blois, a fovereign prince, and Hfnry the youngeft was bifhop of IVinckefter, and the pope's legate in England. At the time of King Henry's death, his daughter the Emprefs was with her hufband the Earl of Anjou, a grave and cautious prince, altogether unqualified for fudden enterprizes: but Earl Stephen, who had attended the King in his laft expedition, made fo great difpatch for England, that the council had not time to meet and make any declaration about a fucceflbr. When the Lords were aflembled, the Lega...