A treatise of civil policy

to be the object of our obedience, saith D. Ferne, it is very true; but he is ignorant of our mind in exponing the word Person: we never meant that fear, honour, royalty, tribute, must be due to the abstracted accident of Kingly Authority, and not to the man who is King. Nor is it our meaning that Royalty in abstracto is Crowned King, and is anointed, but that the Person is crowned and anointed. But again by a person we mean nothing less then the man Nero wasting Rome, burning, crucifying Paul, and torturing Christians, and that we owe subjection to Nero, and to his person in concreto as to Gods ordinance, Gods Minister, Gods sword-bearer in that notion of a Person; is that only that we deny. Nay in that Nero in concreto to us, is no Power ordained of God, no Minister of God, but a Minister of the Devil, and Satan's armour-bearer, and therefore we owe not fear, honour, subjection, and tribute to the Person of Nero. But the¹ Person thus far is the object of our obedience; that fear, honour, subjection, and tribute must be due to the man in concreto, to his Person who is Prince; but not because he is a man, or a person simply, or a sword▪ bearer of Papists, but for his office, for that eminent place of royal dignity that God hath conferred on his Person. We know the light of the Sun▪ the heat of fire, in abstracto, do not properly give light and heat, but the Sun and fire, in concreto; yet the principium quo, ratio qua, the principles of these operations in Sun and fire be light & heat, and we ascribe illuminating of dark bodies, heating of cold bodies to Sun and fire in concreto, yet not to the subjects simply, but to them as affected with such accidents: so here we honour and submit to the man who is King, not because he is a man, that were treason; not because he useth his sword against the Church, that were impiety: but because of his Royal Dignity, and because he useth it for the Lord. It is true, Arnisaeus, Barclay, Ferne, say, That Kings leave not off to be Kings, when they use their power and sword against the Church and Religion. And also it is considerable, that when the worst of Emperors bloody Nero did reign, the Apostle presseth the duty of subjection to him, as to a power appointed of God, and condemneth the resisting of Nero, as the resisting of an ordinance of God.

to be the object of our obedience, saith D. Ferne, it is very true; but he is ignorant of our mind in exponing the word Person: we never meant that feare, honour, royalty, tribute, must be due to the abstracted accident of Kingly Authority, and not to the man who is King. Nor is it our meaning that Royalty in abstracto is Crowned King, and is anoynted, but that the Person is crowned and anoynted. But againe by a person we meane nothing lesse then the man Nero wasting Rome, burning, crucifying Paul, and torturing Christians, and that we owe subjection to Nero, and to his person in concreto as to Gods ordinance, Gods Minister, Gods sword-bearer in that notion of a Person; is that only that we deny. Nay in that Nero in concreto to us, is no Power ordained of God, no Minister of God, but a Minister of the Divell, and Sathans armour-bearer, and therefore we owe not feare, honour, subjection, and tribute to the Person of Nero. But the