Page:Montesquieu - The spirit of laws.djvu/165

Rh or acquitted; now were he himself to fit as judge, he would be both judge and party.

In this government the prince has frequently the benefit of confiscations; so that here again by being judge himself of crimes, he would be both judge and party.

Farther, by this means he would deprive himself of the most glorious attribute of sovereignty, namely, that of granting pardon ; for it would be quite ridiculous of him to make and unmake his decisions: surely he would not chuse to contradict himself. Besides, this would be confounding all ideas; it would be impossible to tell whether a man was acquitted, or received his pardon.

Lewis XIII. being desirous to fit as judge at the trial of the duke de la Valette, assembled in his cabinet some members of the parliament together with some counsellors of state to consult about it: upon their being compelled by the king to give their opinion or judgment concerning the decree for his arrest, the president de Belevre said, "That he found it very strange a prince should pass sentence upon one of his subjects; that kings had reserved to themselves the power of pardoning, and left that of condemning to their officers; that his majesty wanted to see before him at the bar, a person who by his decision was to be hurried away in an hour's time into the other world! That this is what a prince's countenance, from whence savours flow, should never bear; that his presence alone Rh