‘Not his power, but our negligence’... King Philip IV and III of Spain and Portugal (r. 1621-1640), painted in 1629 by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). When Sir John Eliot addressed the House of Commons in June 1628, Europe was troubled by the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), in which England took the part of Protestant states on the European Continent. The Cadiz Expedition in 1625 had gone badly, but it was not Philip’s ships or fighting men that alarmed Eliot. Charles I’s incompetent generals, corrupt ministers, and hesitation in getting out from under the thumb of Rome, seemed likely to ruin the country long before Philip ever got here.
Introduction
Soon after King Charles I came to the throne in 1625, relations with his Parliament became strained over taxation, foreign affairs and the Church. In 1627, Sir John Eliot (1592-1632) was sent to prison for leading the outcry at the King’s bungled campaign against Spain in the Thirty Years’ War. Following his release, Eliot warned the Commons that the threat was as great as ever.
FOR I believe I shall make it clear to you, that as at first the causes of those dangers were our disorders, our disorders still remain our greatest dangers. It is not now so much the potency of our enemies, as the weakness of ourselves, that threatens us; and that saying of the father may be assumed by us, Not so much by his power, as by our negligence.*
Our want of true devotion to Heaven, our insincerity and doubling* in religion, our want of councils, our precipitate actions, the insufficiency or unfaithfulness of our generals abroad, the ignorance or corruption of our ministers at home, the impoverishing of the sovereign, the oppression and depression of the subject, the exhausting of our treasures, the waste of our provisions, consumption of our ships, destruction of our men — these make the advantage to our enemies, not the reputation of their arms. And if in these there be not reformation, we need no foes abroad! Time itself will ruin us.
From a speech given in the House of Commons on June 3rd, 1628, by Sir John Eliot (1592-1632), as reprinted in ‘The World’s Famous Orations’ Vol. 3 (1906), edited by William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925).
* Given originally in Latin: Non tam potentia sua quam negligentia nostra. By ‘father’ Eliot means one of the Church Fathers, early Christian bishops and holy men who even in the English Reformation were still regarded as definitive guides to the authentic interpretation of Scripture. In this case, he is recalling the words of St John Chrysostom (?347-407), who in speaking of Adam’s sin in Eden wrote that “the shipwreck was quite unpardonable; for this tempest was due entirely not to the force of the winds, but to the carelessness of the sailor”. See De diabolo tentatore I.2, and Quod nemo laeditur nisi a se ipso 17.
* That is, hesitation, wavering. Eliot objected to the way Charles’s favoured clergy were (in his opinion) backtracking on the English Reformation, putting at risk the clean break made in 1534 under Henry VIII from Rome’s political, judicial and ecclesiastical meddling. On being ‘double-minded’ see James 1:8 and James 4:8.
Questions for Critics
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.
Précis
In 1628, Sir John Eliot rose in the House of Commons to warn that the greatest threat to the country came not from King Philip IV of Spain, then opposed to England in the Thirty Years’ War, but from England’s own policy-makers, whose greed, incompetence and dithering bid fair to ruin the country long before any Spanish ships arrived. (59 / 60 words)
In 1628, Sir John Eliot rose in the House of Commons to warn that the greatest threat to the country came not from King Philip IV of Spain, then opposed to England in the Thirty Years’ War, but from England’s own policy-makers, whose greed, incompetence and dithering bid fair to ruin the country long before any Spanish ships arrived.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, because, may, must, otherwise, ought, until, whether.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Exhaust. Foe. Weak.
2 Man. Reformation. Subject.
3 Itself. Precipitate. Treasure.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homonyms Find in Think and Speak
Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Still. 2. May. 3. General. 4. Man. 5. Subject. 6. Clear. 7. Arm.
Adjectives Find in Think and Speak
For each word below, compose sentences to show that it may be used as an adjective. Adjectives provide extra information about a noun, e.g. a black cat, a round table, the early bird etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Wasteful. 2 Disorderly. 3 Powerful. 4 General. 5 Willing. 6 Great. 7 Greater. 8 Greatest. 9 Clear.
Variations: 1.show whether your adjective can also be used as e.g. a noun, verb or adverb. 2.show whether your adjective can be used in comparisons (e.g. good/better/best). 3.show whether your adjective can be used in attributive position (e.g. a dangerous corner) and also in predicate position (this corner is dangerous).
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
cng (5+1)
coinage. cooing. cueing. cuing. icing.
conga.
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