A Defense of the people of England Author:John Milton This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1695 edition. Excerpt: ...Christians, yielded an entire obedience to w-Princes, whether good or had, till the Papal Power grew to that height, that it was ... more »acknowledged superior to that jf tbeCivil Magistrate, and till he took, upon him to absolve Sttbjectsfrom their Allegiance: I have sufficiently proved by many Examples before and since the age that St. Attgustin lived in, that nothing can be more false. Neither does that seem to have much more truth in it, which you fay in the last place; viz,-That-Pope Zachary absolved the French-men from their Oath of Allegiance to their King. For Francis Hottoman, who was both' a French-man and a Lawyer, and a very Learned man, in the i $ib Chapter iof his Francogallta, denies that either Chilperic was deposed, or the Kingdom translated to Pepin, by the Pope's. Authority; and he proves out of very Ancient Chronicles of that Nation, That the whole affair was tranfacted in the great Council of the Kingdom, according to the Original Censtitutioriof that Government; Whkh being once done, the French Histories, and Pope Zachary himself, deny that there was any necessity of absolving his Subjects from their Allegiance. For not only Hottoman, butGuicciard, a very eminent Historian of that Nation, informs us, That the Ancient Records of the Kingdom of Frame testifie, That the Sub jects of that Nation, upon the first institution of Kingship amongst them, reserved a power to themselves, both of Chusing their Princes, and of Deposing them. "' 'again, i ( "O again, if they thought fit: And that the Oath of Allegiance which they took, was upon this express-' condition-, to mt, That the King (hould likewise perform what at his Coronation he swore to do. So that if Kings by mis-governing the people committed to their charge, first broke...« less