WHen rash Phaeton , being mounted on the soaring wings of arrogance and presumption , attempted the Kingly Government of his royal Fathers Chariot , fit for none , but such powerful , and well-instructed Monarch as him●lf . For Ovid. lib. 2. — Non est tua tuta voluntas , Magna petis Phaeton , & quae non viribus istis Munera conveniunt , nec tam puerilibus annis . Sors tua mortalis , non est mortale quod optas : Plus etiam quam quod superis contingere fas est , Nescius affectas ; placeat sibi quisque licebit . Non tamen ignifero quisquam consistere in axe , Me valet excepto . Vusti quoque Rector Olympi , Qui fera terribili jaculatur fulmina dextra , Non agit hos curros : Et quid Jove majus habetur ? Thy wish is naught , What 's so desir'd by thee , Can neither with thy strength , nor youth agree . Too great intentions set thy thoughts on fire , Thou , mortal , dost no mortal thing desire . Through ignorance , affecting more than they Dare undertake , who in Olympus sway . Though each himself approve , except me , none Is able to supply my burning Throne . Not that dread Thunderer , who rules above , Can drive these wheels : and who more great than Jove ?

Thou seekest after that which humane power neither can , nor ought for to atchieve . Thou art ignorant of my power , and too much presuming on thine own ; I am no Officer of trust , deputed by the common rout , but hold my jurisdiction from above . It is not for Mortals to aspire , and foolishly to covet such sacred things . There i● none but I capable of this dignity . It is I that a● the anointed , and crowned King by caelestial decree , and therefore am not to be dethroned by terrestial innovation .

Be wise my Son in time , and lest thou prove a felo de se , banish from thy thoughts this desperate and fond appetite of thine , to take my princely reigns of Government into thine unadvised hands .

It is not honour , but disgrace and thy utter ruin , which thou so greedily huntest after .

Dost thou doubt my fatherly indulgence ? or that I will not own thee for my Son ? Remove that vain scruple from thy deceived minde , My noursing fear of thee is an infallable sign , and an inviolable assurance , that thou art my legitimate Son , and I am proved to be thy Father , by my fatherly care over thee . But if thy heart be so hard , and thou so void of belief , that thou wilt not believe me , unless thou see my heart , Reach hither thy hand , and thrust it into my side , and make way for thy unbelieving eyes , to discover and see those fatherly cares which stick so close to my troubled heart . It is thy good which I only aim at , And thy welfare is the only mark at which I level the shafts of my Counsel , and wholesome admonishment .

Make use of my advice , and not of my Chariot , and that in time too whilest thou standest on sure ground , Lest at length thou art driven to a non putabam , I had not thought , the Sanctuary of fools , and so become an Ideot by a too late confession , For post est occasio calva , an after game is never good . Let not thy jealous heart surmise that these publick admonitions spring from any private ends , or self interest of mine . Behold my Kingdome , and make choice of what rarity or delight it affordeth . Ask whatsoever thine eye fancyeth , or thy soul taketh pleasure in , and thou shalt suffer no denyal . The glorious structures , the fertile fields , the rich meadows , and the fat pastures , the fishes of the sea , and the fowls of the air , the fruits of the vineyards , and the immense woods , shall all call thee master , Nay I will clip the wings of my Prerogative , to feather thy nest withall : Confiteor hoc solum tibi nate negarem ,

I profess Son only the government of my Chariot would I keep from thee , which I deny thee for no other reason , than because it will be thy destruction . If the horses thou drivest do not destroy thee ; Yet every Kingdome in the world will disapprove thy actions , and account thy attempt fatal to them ; Therefore aswell for thy own safety , as the security and pleasure of all Kingdoms , desist from thy indiscreet resolution , and let me still , whose only right it is , and therefore only can , rule my Chariot .

Suppose thy request granted thee , and thou got up into my Chariot , what wouldst thou do ? Dost thou think it will carry thee to Heaven ? Or , that thou shalt always reign secure there ? Dost thou imagine it an easy thing to rule ? or , that the change of Government will bring no danger ? Let not thy purblind policy so abominably delude thee . Labor est inhibere volantes , scarce I , even I who am their known and lawful Soveraign , can hardly restrain the unbridled fierceness of the Quadrupedes ; But when they perceive they have not their right and wonted driver , they will cast thee off and break thy neck with the down-fall . They are apt to rebel against me , but they will account rebellion and treason most just and lawfull against thee .

Therefore wish more discreetly , for immortality is not to be found in a Kingdome .

This was the answer of Monarchical Phoebus , to the temerarious request of his phanatick Son Phaeton .

But so much stupidity had captivated the senses of this prodigal Son , that he rejected his Fathers Counsel , and flew from it , as if every word had been a two-edged sword , designed for his executioner . Such is the misery of the reprobate and jealous Souls , that if an Angel should come from Heaven , or a man arise from the dead , yet would not they be reclaimed from their wicked errors . These sweet waters of admonition were all spilt upon the ground , and could not quench the flagrant heat , of Phaetons blind zeal , for the Government of his Fathers Chariot . Therefore when Royal Phoebus saw that his fatherly advice could take no impression , nor by any means prevail , but that his Son was willfully bent upon his own ruin , & that he had caught him by a stratagem into such a straight , that he could not repel his madness by force , O the venome of a perpetual Parliament Ne dubita dabitur ( Stygias juravimus undas ) Quodcunque que optares , He delivereth up his Chariot unto him , and such was his tender care , and unparallelled goodness , that at that very time ( notwithstanding the contumacy of his rebellious Son , who should have obeyed his Father , in respect of his duty , aswell as for his own good ) did not All-seeing Phoebus leave giving of him Counsel . But that his Son might prosper even in his disobedience , ( Qualis amor patris , O how great is the love of Parents ! ) He directed him what course he was best to take , and how he should perform his usurped authority .

This being done , he implores the Gods that his Sons faults might be forgiven ( for he knew that it was his ignorance that made him so audacious , and that at last , though too late , he would repent it ) Royal Phoebus likewise prayed , that fortune would be more charitable to his hare-brained Son , than he was to himself . And so with this farewell ascended up into Heaven .

Mourning succeedeth rejoycing , many a Sunshiny morning , proveth a wet day . The Bee carryeth hony in her mouth , but a sting in her tail ; And those things which seem glorious at the first approach , do many times prove fatal in the end .

No sooner had this unhappy Lad obtained his pleasing wish , and took the Princely reigns of his Fathers Chariot , into his youthfull hands , but that he was made sensible of his unadvised temerity .

When the Horses perceived that their Royal Master was gone , and that the Government wanted that regal dignity and weighty Majesty , which was wont to awe them , they did what , and run which way they pleased , All of them thinking that as they had more power , so they had as much right to be Governours , as the raw Statesman , who was newly mounted on the Kingly Chariot . Which made young Phaeton that he could not tell how to rule , neither could they tell how to obey . So that that which even now was the object of his desire , and greatest cause of his admiration , is now become the greatest cause of his misery . Now his Fathers instructions like the waters of Tantalus seem sweet , but not to be tasted by his palate ; His preferment is now his greatest torment , and by how much the higher he is exalted , so much the greater is his punishment .

Now he doth not only wish that he had never usurped his Fathers Government , but that he had never known his Father . He now wisheth that the King had his own again , which he through foolishness had deprived him of . He wisheth that he had still been a subject to his royal Fathers desires , & it repents him of his ill-got honour . For why ? he seeth the Chariot , wanting its lawfull Soveraign , tossed about , like a ship with tempests , and with the rough waves in the Ocean , whose Pilot hath left it , and there is no means but prayers to the Gods to save it . The Horses rage , every one ruling , and furiously drawing which way he pleaseth : and so through the multitude of lawless Governours , the whole Government is like to fall to the ground , and bring destruction to all .

Amazement struck him dumb , and what to do ●he is altogether ignorant . He wanteth the courage , years , and wisdome of his Father , to curb the unbridled lust of the fiery steeds , and the Chariot wanted its wonted ballance ; He cannot go back , neither knoweth he how to go forward . He is gone so far that he cannot resign up the Government to the King , neither knoweth he how to keep it himself ; He now findeth that it is better to be a poor subject , than a rich usurper . The Horses being lawless , run whither their violence doth whirry them , and he not being their rightfull owner , hath no law to guide them . ( O the deplorable condition of that Government , where the true Soveraign is an Exul : ) Not only Phaeton , but the whole world had like to have been consumed by this Disaster .

The Earth groaned , and the news of this usurpation was carried down to Hell ; Which the Devills had no sooner heard , but Pluto himself , his Wife , and all the rest tremble through fear . For Pluto thought that those who had dethroned Phoebus , might likewise be wicked enough to dethrone him , wrest the Government of his Kingdom out of his hands , and take it into their own . But this was not all , the Sea was dryed up , and the fields were scorcht , the Harvests were burnt , and the Mountains perished with heat , the Moon was amazed , and the Clouds shone like Comets .

All the Kingdoms in the world did shake , And all the Kings doubted of their regal title , They feared that themselves should be destroyed , and their Crowns with their lives pulled to the ground . And doubtless had not Divine providence stopped this wild-fire , more Kingdoms than were , had been demolished . For this fire did intend to make Kings and the common people all in one condition ; neither was the King to have any praerogative above his subjects , but all had like to have been consumed in one and the same sire . Great Cities with their walls , and whole Nations with their people were turned into Ashes .

O Almighty , this usurpation would have taken away thy power . For the Kings which thou did'st set to rule over the people , had well nigh been all consumed . And thy anointed which thou hast prohibited any thing to touch , were by this unwieldy and unlawfull Government almost destroyed . The flames begun to lick the Heavens , and both Poles did take fire , so that all things were hastening into their antient Chaos .