Epitome of the whole Commonwealth.

THE center or fundamental laws are, first, the agrarian, proportion’d at two thousand pounds a year in land, lying and being within the proper territory of Oceana, and stating property in land at such a balance, that the power can never swerve out of the hands of the many.

SECONDLY, the ballot conveying this equal sap from the root, by an equal election or rotation, into the branches of magistracy or soverain power.

THE orbs of this commonwealth being civil, military or provincial, are, as it were, cast upon this mold or center by the divisions of the people; first, into citizens and servants: secondly, into youth and elders: thirdly, into such as have one hundred pounds a year in lands, goods or monys, who are of the horse; and such as have under, who are of the foot: fourthly, they are divided by their usual residence, into parishes, hundreds, and tribes.

THE civil orbs consist of the elders, and are thus created; every Monday next insuing the last of December, the elders in every parish elect the fifth man to be a deputy; which is but half a day’s work: every Monday next insuing the last of January, the deputys meet at their respective hundred, and elect out of their number one justice of the peace, one juryman, one coroner, and one high constable of the foot; one day’s work.

EVERY Monday next insuing the last of February, the hundreds meet at their respective tribe, and there elect the lords high sherif, lieutenant, custos rotulorum, the conductor, the two censors out of the horse, the magistrats of the tribe and of the hundreds, with the jurymen constituting the phylarch, and who assist in their respective offices at the assizes, hold the quarter-sessions, &c. The day following the tribe elects the annual galaxy, consisting of two knights, and three deputys out of the horse, with four deputys out of the foot, therby indu’d with power, as magistrats of the whole nation, for the term of three years. An officer chosen at the hundred may not be elected a magistrat of the tribe; but a magistrat or officer either of the hundred or of the tribe, being elected into the galaxy, may substitute any one of his own order to his magistracy or office in the hundred, or in the tribe. This of the muster is two days work. So the body of the people is annually, at the charge of three days work and a half, in their own tribes, for the perpetuation of their power, receiving over and above the magistracys so divided among them.

EVERY Monday next insuing the last of March, the knights, being a hundred in all the tribes, take their places in the senat; the knights, having taken their places in the senat, make the third region of the same; and the house procedes to the senatorian elections. Senatorian elections are annual, biennial, or emergent.

THE annual are perform’d by the tropic.

THE tropic is a schedule consisting of two parts; the first by which the senatorian magistrats are elected; and the second, by which the senatorian councils are perpetuated.

THE first part is of this tenor:

THE strategus and the orator sitting, are consuls, or presidents of the senat.

THE strategus marching is general of the army, in which case a new strategus is to be elected in his room.

THE strategus sitting with six commissioners, being counsillors of the nation, are the signory of the commonwealth.

THE censors are magistrats of the ballot, presidents of the council for religion, and chancellors of the universitys.

THE second part of the tropic perpetuats the council of state, by the election of five knights out of the first region of the senat, to be the first region of that council consisting of fifteen knights, five in every region.

THE like is don by the election of four into the council of religion, and four into the council of trade, out of the same region in the senat; each of these councils consisting of twelve knights, four in every region.

BUT the council of war consisting of nine knights, three in every region, is elected by and out of the council of state, as the other councils are elected by and out of the senat. And if the senat add a juncta of nine knights more, elected out of their own number, for the term of three months, the council of war by virtue of that addition, is dictator of Oceana for the said term.

THE signory jointly or severally has right of session and suffrage in every senatorial council, and to propose either to the senat, or any of them. And every region in a council electing one weekly provost, any two of those provosts have power also to propose to their respective council, as the proper and peculiar proposers of the same: for which cause they hold an academy, where any man either by word of mouth, or writing, may propose to the proposers.

NEXT to the elections of the tropic is the biennial election of one embassador in ordinary, by the ballot of the house, to the residence of France; at which time the resident of France removes to Spain, he of Spain to Venice, he of Venice to Constantinople, and he of Constantinople returns. So the orb of the residents is wheel’d about in eight years, by the biennial election of one embassador in ordinary.

THE last kind of election is emergent. Emergent elections are made by the scrutiny. Election by scrutiny is when a competitor being made by a council, and brought into the senat, the senat chuses four more competitors to him; and putting all five to the ballot, he who has most above half the suffrages, is the magistrat. The polemarchs or field officers are chosen by the scrutiny of the council of war; an embassador extraordinary by the scrutiny of the council of state; the judges and serjeants at law by the scrutiny of the seal; and the barons and prime officers of the exchequer, by the scrutiny of the treasury.

THE opinion or opinions that are legitimatly propos’d to any council must be debated by the same, and so many as are resolv’d upon the debate are introduc’d into the senat, where they are debated and resolved, or rejected by the whole house: that which is resolv’d by the senat is a decree which is good in matters of state, but no law, except it be propos’d to and resolv’d by the prerogative.

THE deputys of the galaxy being three horse and four foot in a tribe, amount in all the tribes to one hundred and fifty horse, and two hundred foot; which, having enter’d the prerogative, and chosen their captains, cornet and ensign (triennial officers) make the third classis, consisting of one troop, and one company; and so joining with the whole prerogative, elect four annual magistrats, call’d tribuns, wherof two are of the horse, and two of the foot. These have the command of the prerogative sessions, and suffrage in the council of war, and sessions without suffrage in the senat.

THE senat having past a decree which they would propose to the people, cause it to be printed and publish’d, or promulgated for the space of six weeks; which being order’d, they chuse their proposers. The proposers must be magistrats, that is, the commissioners of the seal, those of the treasury, or the censors. These being chosen, desire the muster of the tribuns, and appoint the day. The people being assembl’d at the day appointed, and the decree propos’d, that which is propos’d by authority of the senat, and commanded by the people, is the law of Oceana, or an act of parlament.

SO the parlament of Oceana consists of the senat proposing, and the people resolving.

THE people or prerogative are also the supreme judicatory of this nation, having power of hearing and determining all causes of appeal from all magistrats, or courts provincial, or domestic; as also to question any magistrat, the term of his magistracy being expir’d, if the case be introduc’d by the tribuns, or any one of them.

THE military orbs consist of the youth, that is, such as are from eighteen to thirty years of age; and are created in the following manner:

EVERY Wednesday next ensuing the last of December, the youth of every parish assembling, elect the fifth of their number to be their deputys; the deputys of the youth are call’d stratiots, and this is the first essay.

EVERY Wednesday next insuing the last of January, the stratiots assembling at the hundred, elect their captain and their ensign, and fall to their games and sports.

EVERY Wednesday next insuing the last of February, the stratiots are receiv’d by the lord lieutenant their commander in chief, with the conductors and the censors; and, having bin disciplin’d and entertain’d with other games, are call’d to the urns, where they elect the second essay, consisting of two hundred horse and six hundred foot in a tribe; that is, of ten thousand horse, and thirty thousand foot in all the tribes, which is the standing army of this nation, to march at any warning. They also elect at the same time a part of the third essay, by the mixture of balls mark’d with the letter M. and the letter P. for Marpesia and Panopea; they of either mark being ten horse and fifty foot in a tribe, that is, five hundred horse, and two thousand five hundred foot in all the tribes, which are forthwith to march to their respective provinces.

BUT the third essay of this nation more properly so call’d, is when the strategus with the polemarchs (the senat and the people, or the dictator having decreed a war) receive in return of his warrants the second essay from the hands of the conductors at the rendevous of Oceana; which army marching with all accommodations provided by the council of war, the senat elects a new strategus, and the lords lieutenants a new second essay.

A YOUTH, except he be an only son, refusing any one of his three essays, without sufficient cause shewn to the phylarch or the censors, is incapable of magistracy, and is fin’d a fifth part of his yearly rent, or of his estate, for protection. In case of invasion the elders are oblig’d to like duty with the youth, and upon their own charge.

THE provincial orb consisting in part of the elders, and in part of the youth, is thus created:

FOUR knights out of the first region falling, are elected in the senat to be the first region of the provincial orb of Marpesia; these being triennial magistrats, take their places in the provincial council, consisting of twelve knights, four in every region, each region chusing their weekly provosts of the council thus constituted. One knight more chosen out of the same region in the senat, being an annual magistrat, is president, with power to propose; and the opinions propos’d by the president, or any two of the provosts, are debated by the council, and, if there be occasion of farther power or instruction than they yet have, transmitted to the council of state, with which the provincial is to hold intelligence.

THE president of this council is also strategus, or general of the provincial army; wherfore the conductors upon notice of his election, and appointment of his rendevous, deliver to him the stratiots of his letter, which he takes with him into his province: and the provincial army having receiv’d the new strategus with the third classis, the council dismisses the old strategus with the first classis. The like is don for Panopea, or any other province.

BUT wheras the term of every other magistracy or election in this commonwealth, whether annual or triennial, requires an equal vacation, the term of a provincial counsiller or magistrat requires no vacation at all. The quorum of a provincial, as also that of every other council and assembly, requires two thirds in a time of health, and one third in a time of sickness.

“I think I have omitted nothing but the props and scaffolds, which are not of use but in building. And how much is here? shew me another commonwealth in this compass? how many things? shew me another intire government consisting but of thirty orders. If you now go to law with any body, there ly to som of our courts two hundred original writs: if you stir your hand, there go more nerves and bones to that motion: if you play, you have more cards in the pack; nay you could not sit with your ease in that chair, if it consisted not of more parts. Will you not then allow to your legislator, what you can afford your upholster; or to the throne, what is necessary to a chair?

“My LORDS, if you will have fewer orders in a commonwealth, you will have more; for where she is not perfect at first, every day, every hour will produce a new order, the end wherof is to have no order at all, but to grind with the clack of som demagog. Is he providing already for his golden thum? lift up your heads; away with ambition, that fulsom complexion of a statesman, temper’d, like Sylla’s, with blood and muck. And the Lord give to his senators wisdom; and make our faces to shine, that we may be a light to them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide their feet in the way of peace.—In the name of God, what’s the matter!

Philadelphus the secretary of the council having perform’d his task in reading the several orders as you have seen, upon the receipt of a packet from his correspondent Boccalini, secretary of Parnassus, in reading one of the letters, burst forth into such a violent passion of weeping and downright howling, that the legislators being startled with the apprehension of som horrid news; one of them had no sooner snatch’d the letter out of his hand, than the rest crying, read, read, he obey’d in this manner:

THE 3d instant his Phœbean majesty having taken the nature of free states into his royal consideration, and being steadily perswaded that the laws in such governments are incomparably better and more surely directed to the good of mankind than in any other; that the courage of such a people is the aptest tinder to noble fire; that the genius of such a soil is that wherin the roots of good literature are least worm-eaten with pedantism, and where their fruits have ever com to the greatest maturity and highest relish; conceiv’d such a loathing of their ambition and tyranny, who, usurping the liberty of their native countrys, becom slaves to themselves, inasmuch as (be it never so contrary to their own nature or consciences) they have taken the earnest of sin, and are ingag’d to persecute all men that are good with the same or greater rigor than is ordain’d by laws for the wicked: for none ever administer’d that power by good, which he purchas’d by ill arts: Phoebus, I say, having consider’d this, assembl’d all the senators residing in the learned court at the theatre of Melpomene, where he caus’d Cæsar the dictator to com upon the stage, and his sister Actia, his nephew Augustus, Julia his daughter, with the children which she had by Marcus Agrippa, Lucius and Caius Cæsars, Agrippa Posthumus, Julia, and Agrippina, with the numerous progeny which she bore to her renown’d husband Germanicus, to enter. A miserable scene in any, but most deplorable in the eys of Cæsar, thus beholding what havock his prodigious ambition, not satisfy’d with his own bloody ghost, had made upon his more innocent remains, even to the total extinction of his family. For it is (seeing where there is any humanity, there must be som compassion) not to be spoken without tears, that of the full branches deriving from Octavia the eldest sister, and Julia the daughter of Augustus, there should not be one fruit or blossom that was not cut off or blasted by the sword, famin, or poison. Now might the great soul of Cæsar have bin full; and yet that which pour’d in as much or more, was to behold that execrable rate of the Claudii, having hunted and suck’d his blood with the thirst of tigers, to be rewarded with the Roman empire, and remain in full possession of that famous patrimony: a spectacle to pollute the light of heaven! nevertheless as if Cæsar had not yet enough, his Phœbean majesty caus’d to be introauc’d on the other side of the theatre, the most illustrious and happy prince Andrea Doria, with his dear posterity, imbrac’d by the soft and constant arms of the city of Genoa, into whose bosom, ever fruitful in her gratitude, he had dropt her fair Liberty like the dew of heaven; which when the Roman tyrant beheld, and how much more fresh that laurel was worn with a firm root in the hearts of the people, than that which he had torn off, he fell into such a horrid distortion of limbs and countenance, that the senators who had thought themselves steel and flint at such an object, having hitherto stood in their reverend snowlike thawing Alps, now cover’d their faces with their large sleeves.

“MY lords, said the Archon rising, witty Philadelphus has given us grave admonition in dreadful tragedy. Discite justitiam moniti, & non temnere divos. Great and glorious Cæsar, the highest character of flesh, yet could not rule but by that part of man which is the beast: but a commonwealth is a monarchy; to her God is king, in as much as reason, his dictat, is her soverain power.”

Which said, he adjourn’d the council. And the model was soon after promulgated. Quod bonum, fœlix, faustumque sit huic reipublicæ. Agite quirites, censuere patres, jubeat populus: The sea roar’d, and the floods clapt their hands.