slaughter of their senate.
Neither is it possible to frame a whole monarchy after the pattern of
one town or city, or to stir up such an exquisite face of the church
as we imagine or desire, sith our corruption is such that it will
never yield to so great perfection; for that which is not able to be
performed in a private house will be much less be brought to pass in a
commonwealth and kingdom, before such a prince be found as Xenophon
describeth, or such an orator as Tully hath devised.[4]...

[3] 1 Sam. ii. 15; 1 Kings i. 7.--H.

[4] Here follows a long paragraph on the character of the clergy
which is more appropriate to the chapter on "The Church."--W.

Dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons either be created of
the prince or come to that honour by being the eldest sons or highest
in succession to their parents. For the eldest son of a duke during
his father's life is an earl, the eldest son of an earl is a baron, or
sometimes a viscount, according as the creation is. The creation I
call the original donation and condition of the honour given by the
prince for good service done by the first ancestor, with some
advancement, which, with the title of that honour, is always given to
him and his heirs males only. The rest of the sons of the nobility by
the rigour of the law be but esquires; yet in common speech all dukes'
and marquesses' sons and earls' eldest sons be called lords, the which
name commonly doth agree to none of lower degree than barons, yet by
law and use these be not esteemed barons.

The barony or degree of lords doth answer to the degree of senators of
Rome (as I said) and the title of nobility (as we used to call it in
England) to the Roman _Patricii_. Also in England no man is commonly
created baron except he may dispend of yearly revenues a thousand
pounds, or so much as may fully maintain and bear out his countenance
and port. But viscounts, earls, marquesses, and dukes exceed them
according to the proportion of their degree and honour. But though by
chance he or his son have less, yet he keepeth this degree: but if the
decay be excessive, and not able to maintain the honour (as _Senatores
Romani_ were _amoti a senatu_), so sometimes they are not admitted to
the upper house in the parliament, although they keep the name of
"lord" still, which cannot be taken from them upon any such occasion.

The most of these names have descended from the French invention, in
whose