YOur singuler towarde­nes most gracious prīce, maketh me right gladde, when I beholde how er­nestlye you dooe embrace martiall feates. For it is conueniēt for youre grace to be thus delyted, not onlye for that you are a souldyour, but muche rather for that you shalbe a kīg. For yt is the offyce and duytie of a Kyng to fight the batailes of his people, and also rightlye to iudge them, as in the viii. chapi­ter of the firste booke of Kinges you are plainelye taught. Wherfore I wo­uld wish your grace to be w ^t as ernest zeal geuē to y ^e studie of y ^e lawz as you ar to y ^e knowledge of arms, [Page] because that like as war­res by force of chiualrye are ended, euen so iudge­mentes by the lawes are determined. which thing Iustinian the Emperour well and wisely and aduisedly pondering, in the beginninge of the preface of his book saith thus. It be­houeth the emperiall ma­iesty not onli to be garded with armez, but also to be armed with lawes, to the end y ^t he mai be able rightly to execute y ^e gouernem̄t of bothe times, aswell of warre as of peace. How­be it for youre more ear­nest endeuoir to the study of the law, the exhortatiō of the chiefest lawmaker Moyses, sometyme capy­taine of the Synagoge ought to be of much more force with you, then the [Page 5] woordes of Iustinian, wheras in the xvii. chapi­ter of the book of Deute­ronomie hee doothe by the auctority of god strait­lye charge the kinges of Israell to be readers of y ^e lawe al the daies of theire lyfe sayeng thus. When the kyng shall sitte vppon the princelye seate of hys kingdome, hee shall write him out thys lawe in a booke, takynge the copye thereof of the priestes the Leuites: and he shal haue it with him, and hee shall read it al the dayes of hys life, that he may learne to feare the lorde his god, & to keepe his commaunde­mentes and ordinaunces written in this lawe.

And Helynandus expoū ­dyng the same saith thus. [Page] A Prince therefore must not be ignorant of y ^e law, neither is it tollerable y ^t hee vnder the pretence of warrefare shoulde be vn­skilfull in the lawe. And a littel after he is cōmaū ­ded, sayeth hee, to receyue the coppye of the lawe of the priestes the Leuites, that is to saye, of catholik and learned men. Thus muche he: For the booke of Deuteronomie is the booke of the lawes, wherwith the Kynges of Isra­ell were bounde to rule and gouerne theyre Sub­iectes. Thys booke doth Moyses commaunde kin­ges too reade, that they may learne to feare God, and keepe his commaun­dementes, which are wri­ten in the lawe.

[Page 6]Beholde the effecte of the lawe is to feare God.

Whereunto man cannot attayne, onelesse he firste knowe the will of God, whiche is written in the lawe. For the principall poynte of all seruyce is to knowe the wyll and pleasure of the lord or maister to whome seruyce ys due. Howbeit the lawmaker Moyses first ī this charge mencioneth the effecte of the lawe, that is the feare of God: and nexte he allu­reth vs to the keepinge of the cause thereof, that is to saye, of Goddes com­maundementes. For in the mynde and intent of the exhorter the effect go­ethe before the cause.

But what feare is thys whyche the lawes do pro­poū to y ^e obseruerz therof? [Page] Surely it is not that fear, wherof it is written, that perfect charitie or loue ex­pellethe feare. Yet thys same feare, thoughe it bee bond & seruile, oftentimes prouoketh kinges to the reading of the lawes: but it procedeth not out of the law. But that feare wherof Moyses here speaketh, whiche also procedeth out of the lawes is the selfe same feare, that the pro­phet speaketh of saynge. The feare of the lorde is holy, & endureth for euer & euer. This is such a louīg feare as natural children beare to their deare parētz commenly termed the re­uerence of y ^e child toward his parents, Whereunto there is no punishement due, as a thinge wrought by loue. For this feare proceedeth out of the lawes, [Page 7] which teach to do the wil of god, so that it deserueth no punishement. But the glorye of the Lorde is vp­pon them that feare hym, and he doth glorify them. Yea thys feare is eeuen that same feare, whereof Iob after that he had dy­uerslye searched for wise­dome, sayeth thus. Bee­holde the feare of the lord is perfecte wisedome, and to forsake euill is vnder­standinge. That the for­sakinge of euill is the vn­derstandinge of the feare of god, this do the lawes teache, whereby it folow­eth that the same fear pro­cedeth out of them.

Gaudeo vero se renissime Princeps super nobi­lissima indole tua: videns quanta a­uiditate militares tu amplecteris actus, conuenit nā (que) tibi taliter delec­tari, nedum quia miles es, sed am­plius quia rex fu­turus es. Regis nēpe officiū pugnare est bella po­puli sui, et eos re­ctissime iudicare, vt primo regum cap. viii. clarissime tu doceris. Quare vt armorum, vti­nam et legum studiis, simili zelo te deditū cōtēplarer [Page] Cum vt armis bella, ita legibus iudicia peragan­tur que Iustini­anus Augustus e­quissima librans mente in initio prohemii libri sui institutionum ait. Imperatoriā ma­gestatem non so­lum armis deco­ratam, sed et legi­bus oportet esse armatam, vt v­trumque tempus bellorum et pa­cis recte possit gubernari. Tū vt ad legum studia seruide tu āheles, Maximus legis la­tor ille Moyses olim Synagoge dux multo forci­us Cesare te īuitat [Page 5] dum regibus Is­rael diuina auto­ritate ipse preci­piat, eorum leges legere omnibus diebus vite sue, sic dicens: Post­quam sederit rex in solio regni sui describet sibi Deuteronomij Le­ges in volumine, accipiens exēplar a sacerdotibus Leuitice tribus, & habebit secū leget (que) illud omnibus di­ebus vite sue, vt discat timere dn̄m deū suū, & custo­dire verba & ceremonias eius que in lege scripta sūt. Deutero. ca. xvij. quod exponens Helynādus dicit. [Page] Princeps ergo nō debet iuris igna­rus esse, nec pre­textu militiae legē permittitur igno­rare. Et post pau­ca, a sacerdotibus Leuitice tribus, assumere iubetur exemplar legis, id est a viris catho­licis et litteratis. Hec ille: Liber quippe Deute. est liber legum, qui­bus Reges Israell subditum sibi po­pulum regere te­nebantur. Hunc librum legere, iu­bet Moyses Re­ges, vt discant ti­mere deū & cus­todire mandata eius quae in lege scripta sunt.

[Page 6]Ecce timere deū effectus est legis, quem non conse­qui valet homo, nisi prius sciat vo­luntatem dei, quae in lege scripta est. Nam principium omnis famulatus, est scire volunta­tem dn̄i cui serui­tur. Legis tn̄ lator Moyses, primô in hoc edicto effec­tum legis videli­cet timorem Dei, cōmemorat. De­inde ad custodiā causae eius videli­cet mandatorum dei ipse inuitat.

Nā effectus prior est quā causa, in a­nimo exhortātis. Sed quis est timor iste, quem pro­mittunt leges ob­seruatoribus suis? [Page] vere non ē timor ille de quo scribi­tur: Quod per­fecta caritas fo­ras mittit timo­rem. Timor ta­men ille licet ser­uilis, sepe ad le­gendum leges, reges concitat, sed non est ipse proles legis. Ti­mor vero de quo hic loquitur Moises, quem et pari­unt leges, est ille de quo dicit pro­pheta: Timor do­mini sanctus per­manet in secu­lum seculi. Hic filialis est et non nouit penam, vt ille qui per chari­tatem expellitur. Nam iste a legi­bus proficiscitur, [Page 7] que docēt facere volūtatē dei, quo ipse penā nō me­retur. Sed gloria dn̄i est super me­tuentes eū, quos et ipse glorificat. Timor autē iste, timor ille est, de quo Iob postquā multifarie sapiē ­tiā inuestigat sic ait. Ecce timor domini ipsa est sapi­entia, & recedere a malo, intelligen­tia. Iob ca. xxviij. Recedere a malo quôd intelligētia timoris dei est, le­ges docent quo & timorē hunc ipse parturiunt.

THe Prince hearynge this, and stedfastly be holding y ^e old man, spake thus to him. I know good Chauncelloure that the booke of Deutronomie whereof you speake is a booke of holye scripture. The lawes also and ordinances therein contained are holy, of the lords ma­kinge, and published by Moyses: Wherefore the readinge of them is a ple­sant act of holye contem­placion. But that law, to the knowledge whereof you counsell me, is hu­mayne, made by menne, and intreating of world­lye matters: Wherefore though Moyses bynde the Kinges of Israell to the readynge of goddes law, yet that thereby hee for­cethe all other Kynges [Page 8] to do the like in their own lawes, that standethe by no good reason, seeynge that of both the readinges the cause is not like.

HEc vt audiuit prīceps, erec­to in senem vultu sic locutus est. Scio Cancellarie quod liber Deut. quem tu comme­moras, sacrae scripturae volumē est: leges quo (que) & ce­rimoniae in eo cō ­scriptae, etiam sa­crae sūt a dn̄o edi­tae: & per Moisen promulgatae: quare eas legere sāctae cōtēplacionis dulcedo est. Sed lex ad cuius scienciā me inuitas, huma­na est ab hoībus aedita, tractans & terrena: quo licet Moyses ad Deut. lecturam reges Israel astrinxerit, eū per hoc reges ali­os [Page 8] ad cōssīl’er fa­ciēdū in suis legi­bus cōcitasse ōnē effugit rationē, cū vtrius (que) lectur’, nō sit eadem causa.

I perceaue (ꝙ the Chaū ­cellour) by youre aun­swere most worthy prince howe earnestly you haue considered & weighed the qualitie of my exhortaciō. So that heareby you doe much encourage me both more plainly, more large­ly & also more deepelye to discourse y ^e same. Where­fore you shal vnderstande that not only gods lawes but also mans are holye, forsomuche as the lawe is diffined by these woordes. The lawe is a holy sanc­tion [Page] or decree, cōmaūding things that be honest, and forbiddinge y ^e contraries. Now y ^e thing must needs be holy which by diffiniciō is determined to be holye. Right also by description is called the arte of y ^t whi­che is good & streight so y ^t in this cespect a man may wel cal vs Sacerdotes, that is to saye, geeuers or tea­chers of holy things (for so by interpretacion doothe Sacerdos signifie). Forso­muche then as the lawes are holye, it foloweth that the ministers and setters furth of thē may right wel be called Sacerdotes, that iz geuers & teachers of holy things. Further more all lawes published by men haue also theire auctori­tie frome godde. For as the Apostell sayethe: [Page 9] Al power is from the lord god. Wherefore the la­wes that are made by mā which thereunto hath re­ceaued power from the lorde, are also ordeined of god, as also appeareth by this saiyng of the auctour of al causes: Whatsoeuer the seconde cause doth, the sāe dothe y ^e first cause by a higher and more excellent meane. Wherefore Iosa­phat the king of Iuda sai­ethe to his iudges: The iudgements whiche ye ex­ecute are the iudgements of god in y ^e ninetinth chapter of the seconde booke of Chronicles. Wherby you are taughte that to learne laws though they be mās lawes, is toe learne holy lawes and the ordynā ­ces of goode: so that the [Page] studie of them is not with out a pleasant sweetenes of holy cōsolaciō. And yet such sweete pleasure was not the cause as you sup­pose, werefore Moyses cō maunded the kings of Is­rael to reade the lawes of Deuteronomie. For thys cause moueth not kynges no more to the reading of y ^e boke of Deuteronomie thenne of anye of the o­ther bookes of Moyses in which aswel as ī y ^e booke of Deuteronomie is plen­tiful store of godly lessons & holy instrucciōs. Wher­in to be deuoutly occupied is a holy thing. Wherfore that there was non other cause of this commaunde­ment, thē for that y ^e lawes whereby the king of Israel is bound to rule his people, are more precisely cō ­teined [Page 10] in y ^e booke of Deu­tronomie, thē in y ^e other bokes of y ^e old testamēt, y ^e circūstances of the same cō ­maūdement do manifest­ly infourme vs. For whi­che cause you ought moste worthy prince no lesse thē the kings of Israell to bee mooued and prouoked to be a diligent trauailer in the studie of those lawes, wherebye hereafter yowe shal rule your people. For that which was spoken to the kinge of Israell muste be vnderstande to be figuratiuely spoken to euerye kinge hauinge dominion ouer godly people. And haue I not then wel and holsomelye propounded vnto you the commaundemēt geeuen to the kynges of Israell concernynge the learnynge of theire lawe? [Page] Forasmuche as not onely his example, but also hys like autoritie hath taught yowe and bounde you to the like dooinge in the la­wes of the kyngedome, whiche god willinge you shall inherit.

AT Cācellariꝰ. Scio (inquit) ꝑ hec q̄ iā dicis, prin­ceps clarissim̄, quā ­ta adūtētia exhor­tatiōis mee, tu pō ­deras qualitat’ quo me nō infime cōcī tas suꝑ inceptis, nedū clariꝰ, sed et ꝓ­fūdiꝰ quodamodo tecūdisceptare. Scire igitur te volo, quod nō solū Deutro. leges, sed et ō ­nes leges humāe sacre sūt, quô lex sub his verbis diffini­tur. Lex est sāctio [Page] sancta iubēs honesta, et prohibēs contraria sanctum etenim esse oportet, qd’ esse sanctū dif­finitum est. Ius eti­am discribi perhi­betur, quod illud est ars boni et equi cuius merito quis nos sacerdotes ap­pellat. Sacerd’ enī quasi sacra dās, vel sacra docēs per e­thimologiā dici­tur, quia vt dicunt iura, leges sacrae sūt quô eas ministran­tes et docentes sa­cerdotes appellan­tur. A deo etiam sunt omnes leges editae, quae ab homine ꝓmulgātur. Nā cū dicat Apostolꝰ, [Page 9] quod omnis potestas a domino deo est, leges ab homi­ne conditae, qui ad hoc a domino recipit potestatem, etiam a deo constitu­untur, dicente auctore causarū: quic quid facit causa secunda, facit et causa prima, altiori et nobiliori modo. Quare Iosaphat rex Iuda, ait Iudicibus suis: iudicia q̄ vos profertis, iudi­cia dei sunt, secun­do Paralipo. xix. cap. Ex quibus erudiris quod leges licet humanas ad discere, ē addiscere leges sacras et edi­tiōes dei, quo earū [Page] studiū nō vacat a dulcedine cōsolationis sc̄ae. Nec tamē vt tu coniicis, dul­cedo hm̄odi causa fuit cur Moyses reges Israel Deute­ro. legere p̄ceꝑat. Nam causa hec, nō plus reges quā plebeos, ad eius lecturā ꝓuocat, nec plꝰ Deuter. librū quā alios Pētateucō li­bros legere, pulsat causa ista, cū non minus libri illi, quā Deutero. sacris a­būdent carismati­bus, in quibus me­ditari ꝑsanctū est. quare nō aliā fuis­se causā mādati huius, quā quia ī Deutronom̄ plus quā ī aliis libris veteris testamēti legꝭ īse­runtur, [Page 10] quibus rex Israel (ppl’m) populum rege­re obnoxius est, e­iusdē mandati cir­cūstantiae manifes­te nos informant. Quo et te prīceps eadē causa, nō mi­nus quā reges Israel exhortatur vt legum, quibus populum in futurum reges, tu sis solers in­dagator. Nā quod Regi Israel dictū est, omni Regi populi videntis de­um, ticipè dictum fuisse intelligen­dum est, an tunc non conuenien­ter vtiliterque proposui tibi manda­tum Regibus Is­rael latū de eorū lege addiscenda? [Page] Dum nedum eius exemplū, sed et e­ius auctoritas figuralis te erudiuit et obligauit, ad consimiliter faciendum de legibus regni, quod annuēte do­mino, hereditatu­rus es.

NOt onely to the ītent you should feare god & so beecome wise, do y ^e lawes w ^t y ^e prophet call you saiyng: Come childrē hea­re me I will teache you y ^e feare of the lorde: but also that you may aspire vnto felicitie and blessednes (as farre fourthe as in this li­fe theye maye bee attey­ned) do the lawes wyll you moste gracious prince to bee studious of them [Page 11] For all the philosophers which haue so diuersly re­soned of felicitie, haue all agreed together in this ōe point, that felicitie or bles­sednes is y ^e ende of al mās desire: and therefore theye cal it chief goodnes. Howbeit y ^e peripatetiks placed it in vertue, the Stoikes ī honestie, & the Epicures in pleasure. But seeing y ^e Stoikes defined honestie to be that whiche is wel & laudably done withe ver­tue, and the Epicures helde nothing to be pleasant witheoute vertue, there­fore all those sectes, as saiethe Leonarde Arretine in his Introduction to morall Philosophie agreed in this, that it is onely vertue that causethe felicitie. [Page] Wherefore Aristotle also in y ^e seuēth booke of his politiques defining felicitie, saieth that it is the perfect vse of vertues. Thꝰ much being now presupposed I wold haue you to cōsider these things also y ^e folow Mās lawes are nothing els but certein rules, whe­reby Iustice is perfectlye taught. But that Iustyce which the lawes do shew is not the same that is called Commutatiue or Dis­tributiue, or any other particular vertue, but it is a perfecte vertue expressed by the name of Iustice le­gall. Whyche the fore­said Leonerd dothe there­fore affyrme to bee per­fecte, beecause it excludeth all vice, and teachethe all vertue. For whiche cause also it is woorthelye cal­led [Page 12] by the name of al ver­tue. Whereof Homere saiethe, and likewise Aristo­tle in the fifthe booke of Morall philosophie, that it is y ^e chiefest of al vertues, and that neither Lucyfer nor Hesperꝰ are so bright & beaming as it is. More­ouer this Iustice is y ^e thīg, whereuppon al princelye care depēdeth and resteth: witheoute the whiche the kinge can neither rightly iudge, nor yet duely fight. But thys beeing once ob­teyned and perfectly kept, then all the hole deuty re­quired in a kyng is iustly perfourmed. Nowe then seeynge that the perfecte vse of vertues is felicytie, and that Iustice vsed a­mongest menne whyche can not bee obteyned vn­to nor learned but by the [Page] lawe, is not onelye the ef­fecte of vertues, but is all vertue it selfe, hereof it fo­lowethe, that the practiser of Iustice is by the lawe happie, and so thereby hee is made blessed, forsomu­che as blessednes or happynes and felicitie are bothe one in this short and transitorie lyfe, of the whiche lyfe throughe Iustice hee enioyeth the chiefe & prin­cipall goodnes. And yet the lawe is not hable to perfourme these thinges withoute the assistence of grace, witheoute the whi­che also you can not learn nor couet eyther lawe or vertue. For as saieth Pa­riss. in his booke intituled Cur deus homo the inward vertue of man wherin his desieringe is placed is so [Page 13] throughe originall sinne defaced and corrupte, that it esteemeth vicious wor­kes for pleasaunt, & vertuous woorkes for vnplea­saunt. Wherefore in that some men applye and en­deuour themselues to the loue and folowing of ver­tues, it proceedethe of the bountiful goodnes of god and not of the power of man. Is ther not then spe­cial cause why the lawes, whiche beinge preuented and accompanied wythe grace do performe all the premisses, should with all diligent trauaile be lear­ned? Seinge that whoso hathe perfectlye atteyned thereunto, the same shall enioye felicitie, the ende & performāce, as y ^e Philo­sophers say, of mās desire by meās wherof hee shall in this life be blessed, in y ^e [Page] he nowe possesseth y ^e chief goodnes therof. Doubtles if these thinges moue you not, whiche shal haue the rule and gouernement of a kingdom, yet the woor­des of the prophet shal moue you, yea & force you to the studie of the law, whi­che words be these: Be ye learned you y ^t are iudges of the earth. Here y ^e ꝓphet exhorteth not to y ^e learnīg of a base arte or a handy­craft, for he saieth not: Be ye learned you y ^t are the ī ­habiters of the earth, ney­ther doth he counsel to the learninge of knoweledge speculatiue, thoughe it bee not vnnecessarie for the inhabiters vpon the earthe. For he sayethe not gene­rally: Bee ye learned you that dwell vppon the ear­the, but by these wordes, [Page 14] doth the prophet call kin­ges onely to the learninge of the law, wherby iudge­ments are executed, forso­much as he specially saith Bee ye learned you y ^t are iudges of y ^e earthe. And it folowethe: least the lord waxe angrye, and so you perishe from the waye of righteousenes. Neyther doth holy scripture (o kin­ges sonne) commaūd you onelye to be skilfullye in­struct in the lawes, wher­by you shal purchase and obtein y ^e possessiō of iusti­ce but also ī an other pla­ce it biddeth you vnfainedly to loue Iustice, wher it sayethe. O set your loue & affection vppon Iustice you that are iudges of the earthe, in the firste chap­ter of the booke of wyse­dome.

NOn solū vt de ū timeas, quo et sapiēs eris, prin­ceps colendissime, vocāt te leges, cū ꝓpheta dicēte. Venite filii, audite me timorē dn̄idocebo vos: Sed etiā vt fe­licitatē, beatitudi­nē (que),) ꝓ vt in hac vita nācisci poter’ adipiscaris, ipsae le­ges ad earum disciplinatū te inuitāt. [Page 11] Philosophi nā (que) ō nes qui de felicita te tā variè disputabāt, in hoc vno cō uenerūt: vz qd; felicitas siue beatitudo finis ē ōnis hū ­mani appetitꝰ: quare et ip̄ā sūmū bon̄ appellāt: Peripate­tici tn̄ cōstituebāt eā in virtute: Stoi­ci in honesto: Et Epicurei in voluptate. Sed quia Stoici honestū diffiniebant esse qd’ bene sit et laudabilit (er) ex virtute, et Epicur’ asserebāt nihil esse voluptuosū sine virtut’: Omnes sec­tae illae, vt dicit Leonardꝰ Arretinꝰ Y­sagogico moralis disciplinae, in hoc concordarunt, qd’ sola virtus est, que felicitatē operatur [Page] Quo et Philoso­phꝰ in vii. polit’ (felicitatē difiniēs) dicit, quod ipsa est ꝑfectꝰ vsꝰ virtutū. His iā p̄suppositis, cōsiderare te volo etiā ea q̄ sequētur. Leges humāe nō aliud sūt quā regul’ quibꝰ ꝑfectè iustic̄ edocetur. Iusticia vero quā leges re­uelāt, nō est illa q̄ cōmutatiua vel distributatiua vocat. feu alia q̄uis ꝑticu­laris virtus, sed est virtꝰ ꝑfecta, q̄ ius­tic̄ legal’ nōine de signatur. Quā Le­onardꝰ p̄dc̄ꝰ ideo dicit esse ꝑfectā, q̄aōne viciū ipsa eli­minat, et oēm vir­tutē p̄a docet quo et oīs virtꝰ ip̄a merito nuncupatur. [Page 12] De qua Homerus dicit, (sīl’er) similiter et Philosophꝰ v. ethicorū, Quod ipsa est pre clarissima virtutū et nec Lucifer nec Hesperꝰ, vt illa est admirabilis. Iusti­cia vero hec, sub­iectū est omnis regalis curae, quô si­ne illa Rex iuste non iudicat, nec recte pugnare po­test. Illa vero adepta, ꝑfectê (que) seruata equissime peragi­tur ōne officium Regis. Vnde cum ꝑfectus vsus virtutum sit felicitas, et Iusticia humana, que non nisi per legē ꝑfecte nāciscitur, aut docetur, [Page] nedum sit virtu­tum effectꝰ, sed et omnis virtus. Se­quitur quod iusti­tia fruens felix per legem est quó et per eam ip̄e fit beatus, cum idem sit beatitudo & feli­citas in hac fugaci vita cuius et ꝑ ius­ticiam ipse sum­mum habet bonū tamen nō nisi per gratiā lex poterit ista operari, ne (que) legem aut virtutem sine gratia tu ad­discere poteris, vel appetere. Cum vt dicit Parisi in libro suo de Cur deus hōo virtus homin̄ appetitiua īterior, [Page 13] per peccatum ori­ginale ita viciata ē vt sibi viciorū sua uia et virtutū aspera opera sapiant. Quare qd’ aliqui ad amorem secta­cionem (que) virtut’ se conferunt, diuinī bonitatis benefici um est, et nō humanae virtutis. Num tunc leges, q̄ p̄ue­niente & comitante gratia, omnia p̄ missa operātur, to­to conamine addiscendae sunt? dum felicitatem quae se­cundum Philoso­phos, est hic fi­nis et complementum humani desi­derij, earum apprehensor obtinebit, quó et beatus ille erit in hac vita, [Page] eius possidēs sum­mum bonum. Ve­re etsi non hec te moueant, qui reg­num recturus es, mouebūt te etarc­tabunt ad disciplinatum legis pro­phetaeverba dicētꝭ Erudimini qui iu­dicatis terram, nō enim ad eruditio­nem artis factiuae, aut mechanicae, hic mouet propheta: Cum non dicat, Erudimini qui colitis terram, nec ad eruditionem scientiae tantū theoricae, quamuis oportu­na fuerit incolis terrae, quia gene­raliter non di­cit erudimini qui inhabitatis terram [Page 14] sed solum ad disciplinam legis, qua Iudicia redduntur reges inuitat pro­pheta in his ver­bis. Cum specia­liter ipse dicat: E­rudimini qui iudi­catis terram. Et se­quitur: Ne quan­do irascatur do­minus, & pereatis de via iusta. Nec solum legibus, quibus iustitiam consequeris, fili regis imbui te iubet sacra scriptura, sed et ipsam iusticiam diligere, tibi ali­bi precipit, cum dicat. Diligite ius­ticiam qui iudica­tis terram. Sapien̄ Capitulo primo.

But howe can you loue Iustice, onles you first haue a sufficient knowe­ledge in the lawes, whereby the knoweledge of it is wonne and had: For the Philosopher saiethe that nothinge can bee lo­ued except it bee knowen. And therefore Quintilia­ne the Oratoure sayethe, that happie shoulde artes bee, if artificers onelye weare iudges of them. As for that whiche is vn­knowen it is wonte not onely not to be loued, but also to bee despised. And therefore a certaine poet thus saieth.

[Page 15]And this is the saiynge not of plowemen alone but allso of learned, and right skilfull men. For yf vnto a naturall Philoso­pher y ^t neuer studied y ^e mathematicall sciences a su­pernaturall Philosopher shoulde saye that thys sci­ence considerethe thyn­ges seuered from all ma­ter and mouinge, accor­dynge to theire substanti­all beeynge and reason: or the Mathematical man shoulde say that this scy­ence considerethe thinges ioyned to mater and mo­uing after theire substāce but seuered accordynge to reason, both these though Philosophers, wil y ^e natu­ral philosopher, which neuer vnderstood thīgs seuered frō mat̄ & motiō either [Page] in beinge or in reason, vt­terlye despise, and theyre sciences thoughe in deede more excelent thenne his, wil hee laughe to scorne, moued so to do by none o­ther cause, but that hee is altogether ignoraunte in theire sciences. Lykewyse you most worthye prynce would wonder at one skilfull in the lawes of Eng­lande, if he should say that the brother shal not succe­de his half brother in their fathers inheritaunce, but rather his enheritaunce shall descende to the sister of the whole bloude, or elz it shalbee intituled to the chiefe lord of the fee as his escheat: Herat you would muche marueill, beecause you knowe not the cause of this lawe. Howebeeit the difficultie of this case [Page 16] nothing troubleth him y ^t is learned in the lawes of England. Wherfore it is a commen sayinge, that an art hath no foe but the ignoraunt person.

But god forbid O noble prince that you should be an enemye to the lawes of that royalme, whyche you shall by succession in­herite: or that you should despise them, seeing y ^t y ^e a fore cited text of scripture instructeth you to the loue of Iustyce. Wherefore moste soueraigne Prince I doe with moste earnest affection require you to learne the lawes of youre fathers kingdome, whom you shall succeede, not onelye to the intent you maye the rather auoyde these inconuenyences, [Page] but also because mannes mynde which naturally desireth the thing that is good, and can desire no­thing, but in respects that it is good, as soone as by learninge it hathe taken holde of that whiche is good, it becommeth ioye­full, and loueth the same: & the more that it is afterwarde occupied in the re­membrance of the same, so much it is more delited therin. Whereby you are taughte y ^t if you once by learning attaine to y ^e vn­derstanding of y ^e foresaid lawes wherein you are nowe ignoraunt, seeinge they bee perfectlye good, you must needes loue thē And y ^e more y ^t you record thē in your mīde, so much y ^e more delyte & pleasure shal you haue in them.

[Page 17]For what soeuer it is y ^e is loued, the same draw­eth the louer of it into y ^e nature therof. So that as the Phisopher sayeth, vse or exercise becommeth an other nature. So a slippe of a Peare tree beeynge graffed into the stocke of an appletree, after that it hath taken, it so draw­eth the appletree into the nature of the Peartree, y ^e they bothe for euer after are rightly called a pearetree, and doe bring furth the fruite of a pearetree. In lyke sorte continuall vse and practyse of vertu causeth a full perfection therof, in so muche that the practyser of the same is afterward named therby: as a man indued with [Page] modestye, of the vse ther­of is named modest. Hee that vseth continencye is called continent, and one garnished with wisedom is called wise. Wherfore you also moste myghtye prince, when you are ple­santly delyted in Iustice, and therewith indued, in respect of the perfeccion of the law you shal wortheli be called Iust. For which cause it shalbe saide vnto you: Thou hast loued Iu­stice & hated iniquitie, and therfore the lord thy God hath anointed the with y ^e oyle of gladnes aboue the kings of the earth thy cō ­panions.

SEd quomō ius­ticiam diligere poteris, sinon pri­mo legum scienti­ā quibus ipsa cognoscatur, vtcūque apprehēderis? Di­cit nam (que) Philosophus, quod nihil amatū nisi cogni­tum. Quare Fabi­us Orator ait, qd’ felices essent artes si de illis soli artifices iudicarent. Ig­notum vero nō solum nō amari, sed & sperni solet. quô poeta quidā sic ait: omnia que nescit, dicit spernē da colonus. Et nō coloni solum vox hec est sed et doc­torum [Page 15] peritissimorum quo (que) virorū Nā si ad Philoso­phum natural’ qui in mathe. nunquā studuit, methaphisicus dicat qd’ sci­entia sua conside­rat resseperatas ab ōni materia et mo­tu (scd’m) secundum esse et se­cūdū rationē: Vel mathemathecus dicat, quod sua scientia considerat res coniunctas materī ae, et motui secun­dum esse sed seꝑa­tas secundum rationem. Ambos hos licet phōs, philosophus ille naturalis qui nūquā nouit res aliquas seꝑatas a materia & motu [Page] essentia vel ratio­ne spernet eorum­què sciencias, licet sua scientia nobili ores ipse deride­bit, non alia ductꝰ causa, nisi quia eo­rum scientias ipse penitus ignorat. Sic et tu princeps legis Anglie ꝑitū miraberis, si dicat quod frater fratri sibi nequaquā v­terino, non succe­det in hereditate paterna, sed potiꝰ hereditas illa, soro ri integri sangui­nis sui descendet. Aut capitali domino feodi accidet vt escaeta sua. Cū causam legis huíus tu ignores, in le­ge tamen Angliae doctū, huius casus difficultas nullate­nus [Page 16] perturbat.

Quare et vulga­riterdicitur: quod ars non habet in­imicum nisi ig­norantem.

Sed absit a te, fili Regis, vt inimi­ceris legibus reg­ni quo tu succes­surus es, vel vt eas spernes cum iu­sticiam diligere, predicta sapientiae lectio te erudiat Iterum igitur at (que) iterum, princeps inclitissime, te ad­iuro vt leges reg­ni patris tui, cui successurus es ad­discas.

Ne dum vt in­conueniētias has tu euites: Sed [Page] quia mens huma­na, quae naturali­ter bonum appe­tit, et nihil potest appetere, nisi sub ratione boni, mox vt per doctrinam bonum apprehē ­derit, guadet et il­lud amat, ac quanto deinceps illud plus recordatur, tanto amplius de­lectatur ī eodem. quo doceris quód si leges predictas quas iam ignoras intellexeris ꝑ do­ctrinam, cum op­timae illae sint, a­mabis eas. Et quā ­to plus easdem mente pertracta­ueris, tanto eis­dem delectabilius tu frueris.

[Page 17]Nam omne quod amatur, vsu tra­hit amatorem su­um in naturani eius. Vnde vt di­cit Philosophus vsus altera fit na­tura, sic ramuncu­lus piri, stipiti po­mi insertus, post­quam coaluerit, ita pomum trahit in naturam piri, vt ambae dein­ceps merito pirus appellentur, fruc­tus (que) producant piri. Sic et vsitata virtus habitum generat, vt vtens ea deinde a vir­tute illa deno­minetur, quo mo­destiae preditus, [Page] vsu modestus no­minatur, continē ­tiae, continens, et sapientiae sapiens. Quare et tu prin­ceps, postquam iustitia delectabili­ter functus fueris, habitumque le­gis indutus fueris merito denomi­naberis iustus, cu­ius gratia tibi di­cetur: dilexisti iu­sticiam, quo et o­disti iniquitatem, propterea vnxit te dominus deus tuus oleo letitiae pre consortibus tuis regibus terrae.

NOw moste gracious prince is not all thys enoughe to moue youre highnes to the studye of y ^e lawe? Seing that thereby you shal indue your selfe with Iustice, whiche shall yelde vnto you the name of a iuste man. And shall also eschue the infamy of ignoraunce in the lawe. And further by the lawe you enioying felicity, shal be blessed in this life. And finallye beinge furnished w ^t a louyng feare, whiche is the wisedome of God, you shall obtain & possesse Charitie, whiche is a stedfast loue to godward, and by the meane thereof cleanynge to God, you shall by the apostles sayenge bee made one Spirite wyth hym.

[Page]But forsomuche as the lawe without grace can­not accōplish these thīgs it is necessarie and requi­site that aboue all things you make earneste inter­cession for it: and also y ^t you beecome a studious sercher of goddes lawe, & of the holye scripture.

For scripture saieth that all men are vaine in whō is not y ^e knowlege of god in the xiii. chapiter of the booke of wisedome.

Wherefore moste noble prince while you are yet yong, & while your soule is as it were a smoothe blanke table, write in it these thinges, lest heere­after you happen to take pleasure in writīg lessōs of lesse profit therin.

For as a certeine wyse man sayeth,

What handycrastes mā dothe so negligentlye re­gard y ^e profite of his child whōe while hee is yong, he wil not see brought vp in such an occupacion, as thereby hee maye after­warde obtaine to leade a mery life. So the carpen­ter teacheth his sonne to cutt with an axe: y ^e smyth his to stryke w ^t an ham­mer: and whome he en­tendethe to make a spiri­tuall minister, him he procureth to be trained vp in learning. So likewise is it conuenient y ^t a kinges sonne which shal gouern the people after his fa­ther bee in his youthe in­structed in the lawes.

[Page]Whiche order if the rue­lers of the worlde would obserue, then the worlde should be gouerned with muche more Iustice then now it is. Vnto whom if you wyll followe myne exhortacion, you shall mi­nister no smale example.

NOnne tunc Princeps se renissime, hec te satis concitant, ad legis rudimenta: cū per ea, iustitiā induere valeas: quo et appellabe­ris iustus, igno­rantiae quo (que) legis euitare poteris ignominiam: ac per legem felicitate fruens, beatus esse poteris in hac vi­ta, et demum fili­ali timore indu­tus, qui dei sapientia est, charitatem quae amor in deū est imperturbatus consequeris, qua deo adherens, per Apostoli senten­tiam, fies vnus spiritus cum eo.

[Page]Sed quia ista, sine gratia lex opera­ri nequit, tibi il­lam super omnia implorare necesse est, legis quoque diuinae et sancta­rum scripturarum indagare scienti­am. Cum dicat scriptura sacra: quod vani sunt omnes in quibus non subest scien­tia dei. Sapienciae cap. xiij. His igitur princeps, dum a­dolescens es, et a­nima tua velut tabula rasa, de­pinge eam, ne in futurum, ipsa fi­guris minoris fru­gi delectabilius depingatur.

Quia etiam (vt sapiens quidam ait) [Page 19] quod noua testa capit, inueterata sapit. Quis artifex tam negligēs pro­fectus suae prolis est, vt nō eā dum pubescit artibus instruat, quibus postea vitae solatia nanciscatur? Sic lignarius faber se­care dolabro, fer­rarius ferire mal­leo, filiū instruit: et quē in spiritua­libus ministrar’ cupit, literis imbui facit. Sic et principi filium suum qui post eum populū regulabit, legibus instrui dū minor est conuenit, [Page] qualiter si fecerīt rectores orbis, mundus iste am­pliori quam iam est iustitia regere­tur, quibus si tu vt iam hortor fa­cias, exemplum non minimum ministrabis.

THus when the Chaū ­cellour had sayde, hee helde hys peace, to whom the Prince beganne on this wise to speake. You haue ouercome me welbe loued Chauncellour w ^t your moste plesant talke, wherw ^t you haue īflamed [Page 20] my mynde with a feruēt desire towarde the knowledge of the lawe. How­bee it ii. thynges there bee that doe tosse my mynde to and fro, and so disquiet it, that lyke a shyppe in the raging waues, it knoweth not whiche waye to inclyne for ease. The one is, while it consyde­reth howe manye yeares the studentes of the lawez bestowe therein before they canne attain to suf­ficient knowledge of the same. Whiche causeth my mynde also to dreade leaste that I shoulde like­wyse spende the yeares of my youthe.

The other is whether I shall applye my selfe to the studye of the lawes of England, or of the Ci­uile [Page] laws, which through out the whole worlde are chieflye esteemed: For people maye not be gouerned but by righte good lawes, and as the Philo­sophier saithe, nature co­ueteth that which is best. Wherfore I would gladlye heare your councell in this behalfe. To whome the Chauncellour made thys aunswere. These matters, O Kynges sonne, are not hydde vn­der so deepe and darke misteries, that they re­quire any greate delybe­racyon, or aduysement.

And therefore what I thinke best hearein I wil not hyde.

SIlente extunc Cancellario, Princeps ipse sic exorsus est. Vi­cisti me, vir egre­gie, suauissima o­ratione tua, qua et animum me­um, [Page 20] ardore non minimo legis fe­cisti sitire docu­menta. Sed tamē duobus, me huc illuc (que), agitanti­bus, animus ipse affligitur: vt tan­quam in turbido mari cimba, nesci­at quorsum diri­gere proras. Vnū est dum recolit quot annorū curriculis leges ad discentes, earum studio se conferunt, antequam suffici­entem earundem peritiam nanciscā tur: quô timet animus ipse, ne con­similiter ego pre­teream animos iuuentutis meae. Al­terum est, an An­gliae Legum vel Ci­uilium [Page] quae per orbem percele­bres sunt, studio operam dabo.

Nam non nisi op­timis legibus po­pulum regere li­cet, etiam vt dicit Philosophus, na­tura deprecatur optima, quare li­benter super his, quid tu consulis ascultaremus.

Cui Cancellarius Non sunt hec, fili Regis, tantis ce­lata misteriis, vt deliberatione ege ant ingenti, quare quid in his mihi visum est prodere non differemus.

ARistotle in the firste booke of his naturall Philosophy saith, y ^e then we suppose our selues to haue the knowlege of e­uerye thinge, when wee know the causes and be­ginninges therof euen to the principles, vppon the which text the comenta­tour saieth that the philo­sopher by beginninges or principles did vnderstāde the causes efficient, by y ^e terme Causes he vnder­stoode causes finall, & by Elementes matter and fourme. But in the lawe there are no matter and fourme, as in thinges natural, and compounde.

How beit ther be in them certeine Elementes, out of the which they procede as out of mater & fourm. [Page] These are custōs, statuts & the lawe of nature: of y ^e which all the [...]awes of the roialme haue their beginning, euen as all natural thinges haue of matter & fourme, and as all things that are written and read do cōsist of letters, which also are called elementes. But Principles, or bee­ginninges, whiche are as the commentarye saieth, causes efficient, they are certein vniuersal proposi­tions, which they that bee learned in the lawes of England and likewyse y ^e Mathematicals do terme Maximes: the Rethorici­ans do call the same Pa­radoxes: and the Ciuiliās terme thē rueles of the law. These in dede cānot bee proued by force of [Page 22] argumentes, or by demō ­stracions logicall, but as it is saide in the seconde booke of Posterior̄, they are knowen by induction by the waye of sense and memorye. Wherefore in the firste booke of hys naturall Philosophye Ari­stotle sayth that princi­ples are not made of o­thers, nor one of them of an other, but all other bee made of them. And accor­dinge thereunto in the firste booke of his To­pikes hee writeth, that euery principle is a suffi­cient proofe of it selfe.

And therefore the Philo­sopher saieth that suche as denye them ought not to bee disputed or reasoned withall: because that as hee writeth in the sixthe [Page] booke of his morall Phi­losophie, there is no reasō to be geuen for principlez Wherefore whosoeuer they be that couet to pro­fite in y ^e knowlege of any faculties, they must nedez first be furnished w ^t prin­ciples. For by them are opened the causes finall, vnto the which by the di­rection of reason through the knowledge of y ^e prin­ciples we doe attaine.

wherfore these iii. vz prī ­ciples, causes, and elem̄tz beinge vnknowen, the science whereof they are is altogether vnknowen And the same .iii. beeinge knowen, the science also whereof they are is tho­ught to be knowē, not determinatly or p̄cisely, but suꝑficially after a cōfuse [Page 23] & vniuersall sorte.

Thus wee thinke our selues to haue the know­ledge of godds lawes, when wee vnderstande our selues to knowe faith charitie, and hope, and also the Sacramentes of the churche, and the com­maundementes of God, leauynge to the prelates of the Churche the other misteries of theologye.

Wherefore the lord saith vntoo his disciples: To you it is geeuen to know the misterie of the kyng­dome of God, but to o­ther in Parables, that seeynge they maye not see. And the Apostle say­eth: Not to bee wyser then it beehoueth.

And in another place.

[Page]Not beeinge highe in wisedome. In like maner O moste worthy Prince, it shall not bee needefull for you with longe study to searche out the secrete misteries of the lawe of Englande. It shall suf­fice for you as you haue profited in grammer, so also to profite in lawe.

Vntoo the perfection of grammer springinge out of Etimologie, Ortho­graphie, Prosodie, & Construction as out of .iiii. fountaines, you haue not exactlye attayned, and yet you are so sufficient­ly grounded in grammer that you may well be cal­led a Gramarrien. Like­wise shal you be wel worthy to be called a lawier, if you serch out y ^e prīciplz [Page 24] & causes of y ^e lawes euen to y ^e elementz after y ^e maner of a scholar or a lear­ner. For it shal not be needefull or expediēt for you by the trauel of your owne wytte to studie out the hydde mysteries of y ^e lawe. But let y ^e geare be lefte to your iudges & mē of lawe, whiche in the royalme of Englande are called Seriauntz at lawe and to other professours of the lawe commēly cal­led apprentices. For you shall better execute iudgementes by other, then by your self. Neither hathe it bene seēe that any kynge of Englonde hathe pro­nounced iudgement with his owne mouthe. And yet neuerthelesse all the iudgements of the [Page] royalme are his, thoughe by other they be vttered and pronoūced. Lyke as also kynge Iosaphat af­firmed the sentences of all the iudges to bee the iudgemēts of god. Wherfore most gracious prīce you shall in shorte tyme with little labour be suf­ficiently learned in the lawes of Englād, so that you do applie your mynd to the obteynynge therof For Seneca in an epis­tle to Lucillus sayethe: There is nothīge which earnest traueill and dili­gent care atchieueth not And so wel do I knowe the prompte towardnes of your nature, y ^• I dare be bolde to saye, that in those lawes (thoughe the [Page 25] exacte knowelege of thē suche as is required ī iudges can skante be gotten in the space of xx. yeares) you shall sufficiently in one yeare attayne to so­muche vnderstandynge, as is cōueniēt for a prīce Neither in the meāe time shall you neglect and o­mitt the studie of marti­all discipline, wherevnto you are so feruently ge­uen, but durynge all the same yeare in steade of recreatiō you shall vse the practise thereof of at your pleasure.

Philosophus in primo Phisico­rum dicit, quod tunc vnumquod­que scire arbitra­mur, cum causas et principia eius cognoscamus vs­que ad elementa. Super quem tex­tum cōmentator dicit qd’ Aristotꝰ ꝑ principia intel­lexit causas effici­entes, ꝑ causas in­tellexit causas finales, et per elemēta materiam et for­mam. In legibus vero non sunt materia et forma, vt in Phisicis et compositis. Sed tamen sunt in eis elemē ­ta quaedam, vnde ipsae ꝓfluūt, vt ex materia et forma, [Page] quae sunt consue­tudines, statuta, et ius naturae, ex qui­bus sunt omnia iura regni, vt ex materia et forma sunt quae (que) natu­ralia: et vt ex litteris, quae etiam ele­menta appellan­tur, sunt omnia quae leguntur.

Principia autem, quae commenta­tor dicit esse cau­sas efficientes, sūt quaedam vniuer­salia, quae in legi­bus Angliae docti, similiter et Mathematici, maximas vocant: Rethori­ci, paradoxas: & Ciuilistae, regulas iuris denomināt: ipsa reuera non [Page 22] argumētorum vi, aut demonstrati­onibus logicis di­noscuntur. Sed, vt secundo post­eriorum docetur inductione, via sensus, et memo­riae adipiscuntur, quare et primo phisicorum philo­sophus dicit: qd’ principia non fi­unt ex aliis, neque ex alterutris, sed ex illis alia fiunt; quô primo topi­corum scribitur, quod vnūquod (que) principiorum est sibi ipsi fides. Vn­de, cum neganti­bus ea, dicit philosophus non est disputandum: quia, vt scribitur vi. Ethicorum. [Page] ad Principia non est ratio.

Igitur principiis imbuendi sunt, quiqui gliscunt a­liquas intelligere facultates. Ex eis etenim, reuelan­tur causae finales, ad quas rationis ductu, per princi­piorum agnitio­nem peruenitur, vnde his tribus, videlicet princi­pijs, causis, et ele­mentis ignoratis scientia de qua ip­sa sunt, penitus ignoratur. Et his cognitis, etiam scientiam illam cognitam esse, non determinatè, sed inconfusô et [Page 23] vniuersaliter arbī tratur.

Sic Legem diui­nam nos nosse in dicamus, dum fi­dem, charitatem et spem, sacramē ­ta quo (que) ecclesiae, ac dei mandata nos intelligere sē ­tiamus, cetera theologiae misteria ecclesiae presidenti­bus relinquentes. Quare dominus discipulis suis ait. Vobis datum est nosse misterium regni dei, ceteris autem in parabo­lis, vt videntes non videant &c. Et Apostolus dixit, non plus sapere quam oportet sapere, & alibi [Page] non alta sapiētes. Sic et tibi prīceps necesse non erit [...] misteria legis angliae longo disci­plinatu rimare, sufficiēt tibi vt ī gra­matica tu profe­cisti, etiā & in legibus proficias. Gramaticae vero per­fectionem que ex Ethimologia, Or­tographia, Proso­dia, et Syntaxi, quasi ex quatuor fontibus profluit, non specie tenus induisti, et tamen gramatica suffici­enter eruditus es, ita vt merito gra­maticus denominoris. Consimilit (er) quo (que) denomīari legista mereberis, si legum prīcipia, [Page 24] et causas, vsq̄ ad [...] ­limenta, discipuli more indagaueris Nō enī expediet tibi ꝓpria sensus indagine legis sa­cramenta rimar [...] sed relinquātur illa iudicibus tuis et aduocatis, qui in regno Angliae, seruientes ad legem appellātur, simili­ter et aliis iuris ꝑitis, quos apprentī cios vulgus denominat, Melius enī per alios, quā per te ipsum iuditia reddes, quó pro­prio ore nullus regum Angliae iudicium proferre vi­sus ē, et tamē sua sunt ōnia iudicia [Page] regni licet per alios ipsa reddātur, sicut et Iudicum oīm sententias Iosaphat asseruit es­se iuditia dei.

Quare tu prīceps serenissime paruo tempore, parua industria, sufficien­ter eris in legibus regni Angliae eru­ditus, dummodo ad eius apprehentionem tu confe­ras animum tuū. Dicit nam (que) Se­neca in epistola ad Lucillum. Nil est quod pertinax opera et diligens cura non expug­nat. Nosco nam­que ingenii tui ꝑspicacitatē, quo audact’ ꝓnuncio, qd. in legibus illis licet earū peritia [Page 25] qualis, iudicibus necessaria est, vix viginti annorum lugubris adquiratur, tu doctrinam principi congruā in anno vno sufficienter nancisce­ris, nec īterim mi­litarem disciplinā ad quam tam ar­dēt’ anhelas neg­liges, sed ea recreationis loco, eti­am anno illo tu ad libitum per­frueris.

THe secōd poynte, most worthy prīce, whereof you stāde in feare shall ī [Page] lyke maner, and as easeli as the other be confuted. For you stande in doubt whether it be bett̄ for you to geue your mynde to y ^e studie of the lawes of Englande, or of the Ciuile lawes, because they throughe out y ^e whole worlde are auāced in glorie and renowne aboue all other mās lawes. Let not this scruple of mynde trouble you, O most noble prīce. For y ^e kynge of Englāde can not alter nor change the lawes of his royalme at his pleasure. For why he gouerneth his people by power not onely roial but also politique. Yf his power ouer thē were royall onely then he myght chāge y ^e lawes of his roy­alme, & charg his subiectz w ^t tallag. & other burdenz [Page 26] without their cōsēt. And suche is the dominiō that the ciuile lawes purport when they saye: The prī ceis pleasure hath y ^e force of a lawe. But from this muche differeth y ^e power of a kynge, whose gouernment ouer his people is politique. For he can neither chaūge lawes with out the consent of his subiectz, nor yett charge thē with straunge imposici­ons agaynst their wylles Wherefore his people do frankely & freely enioye and occupye their owne goodz beynge rueled by such lawes as y ^ey thē selfz desyer. Neither are they pylled either of y ^eir owne kynge or of any other. Lyk pleasur also & fredō haue y ^e subiectes of a Kīg rulīg ōely by power roial [Page] so longe as he falleth not in to tyrannie Of such a kynge speaketh Aristo­tle in the thirde booke of his Ciuile philosophie, saieynge that it is better for a Citie to be gouerned by a good kynge then by a good lawe. But for­somuche as a kīge is not euer suche a mā, therefor Saīt Thomas ī y ^e booke whiche he wrote to y ^e kīg of Cyprus of the gouer­naunce of princeis wi­sheth y ^e state of a roialme to be such, y ^t it may not be in the kyngs power too oppresse his people w ^t ty­rannye. Whiche thynge is ꝑfourmed onely whyle the power royall is res­trayned by power poli­tique. Reioyce therefore O souereigne prince, and be gladde, that the lawe of your royalme, whereī [Page 27] you sha [...]l succede, is suche For it shall exhibite and minister to you and your people no small securitie and comforte. with suche lawes as saieth the same Saint Thomas should all mankynde haue bene gouerned, if in paradise they had not transgressed gods cōmaūdemēt, with such lawes also was the Synnagoge rueled, whil it serued vnder god onely as kīge, who adopted the sāe to him for a peculiar kyngdōe. But at the last whē at their request they had a mā kynge sett ouer them, they were then vnder royall lawes onely brought verie lowe. And yett vnder the sāe lawes while good kyngs were y ^eir rulers, they liued welthely & whē wilfull and tyranoꝰ kynges had the [Page] gouernemēt of them, thē they cōtinued in great discomfort and miserie, as the booke of kynges doth more playnely declare. But forsomuch as I suppose I haue sufficiently debated this mater in my worke, whiche at your request I cōpiled of y ^e natur̄ of y ^e law of Natur̄, therfor at this tīe I surceasse to speake therof any more

SEcundum ve­ro Prīceps qd ▪ tu formidas con­consimili [Page] nec ma­iori opera elide­tur. Dubitas nēpe an Anglorum legum, vel ciuilium studio te conferas dū Ciuiles supra humāas cūctas leges alias fāa per orbē extollat gloriosa. Non te cō ­turbet fili regis, hec mentis euagatio. Nam non potest rex Angliae, ad libitū suum leges mutare regni sui. Principatu nā que nedum regali sed et politico ip­se suo populo dominatur. Si rega­li tantū ipse p̄esset eis, Leges regni sui mutar’ ille posset, tallagia quo (que) et cetera onera eis imponere [Page 26] ipsis incō sultis, quale dominiū denotāt leges ciuiles, cū dicant, quod principi placuit legis habet vigorē. Sed lōge aliter potest rex politicè imperans gèti suae, quia nec leges ipse sine subditorū assēsu mutare poterit, nec subiectum popu­lū renitētē, onerare impositionibus peregrinis, quare populun eius liberê fruitur bonꝭ suis legibus quas cupit regulatus, nec per regem suum aut quemuis aliū depilatur, cōsimi­liter tamen plau­dit populus, sub rege regalit (er) tantū [Page] principāte, dūmodo ipse in tyran­nidem nō labatur de quali rege di­cit philosophus. iii politicorū, qd. melius ē Ciuitatē regi viro optimo quā lege optima. Sed quia nō sēper cōtīgit p̄sidētē populo huiusmodi esse virum, sctūs Thomas in libro qeum Regi Cipri scripsit de regimine prīcipū, optar’ cēsetur, regnū sic īstitui, vt rex non libere valeat po­pulū tirānide gu­bernare, qd. solū fit, dū potest’ Re­gia lege politica cohibetur. Gau­de igitur prīceps optime, talē esse legē regni in quē [...]u successurus es, [Page 27] quia et tibi, et populo, ipsa securitatem prestabit nō minimam et sola­men. Tali lege vt dicit idem sāctus, regulatum fuisset totū genus humanum, si in paradi­so dei mandatum non preterisset, tali etiam lege rege bat’ sinagoga, dū sub solo deo rege qui eam in regnū peculiare adop­tabat. illa militabat sed demum eius petitione, Rege homine sibi cō stituto, sub lege tā tum regali ipsa de inceps humiliata est. Sub qua ta­men dum optimi reges sibi prefue­runt, ipsa plausit, et cum discoli ei [Page] preessebant, ipsa ī consolabiliter lu­gebat, vt regū li­ber hec destinctiꝰ manifestauit. Ta­mē q̄a de mat (er)ia ista in opusculo qd tui contemplacione de natura le­gis naturae exaraui sufficienter puto me diceptasse, plꝰ inde loqui iam de sisto.

Immediatly the prīce thꝰ said. Howe cōmeth this to passe good Chauncel­lour, that ōe kynge maye gouerne his people by power royal onely, and y ^e an other kynge cā haue no such power, seīg bothe this kynges are ī dignitie [Page 28] equall I cannot chose but muche muse and marueil why ī power they should thus differ.

TVnc princeps illico sic ait. Vnde hoc cā cellarie, qd Rex vnus plebem suā regaliter tātū re­gere valeat, et regi alteri potestas huiusmodi dene­gatur. equalis fas­tigii cū sint reges [Page 28] ambo, Cur in potestate sint ipsi dispares, nequeo nō admirari,

I haue sufficiētly, qd the chaūcellour, declared in my foresaid worke, y ^t the Kynge whose gouerne­mēt is politique, is of no lesse power then he that royally ruelethe his peo­ple after his owne plea­sure howbeit they differ ī autoritie ouer their sub­iets, as in the sāe worke I haue shewed, & saye I styll. Of whiche differēce I wyll opē vnto you the cause as I can.

CAncellarius. Non minoris, esse potestatis, re­gem politicê im­perātem, quā qui vt vult regaliter regit populum suum, in supradicto opusculo sufficiē ­ter est ostensum. Diuersae tamē autoritatis eos ī subditos suos ibidem vt iam nulla tenꝰ denegaui, cuius diūsitatis causā vt potero tibi pādā

Men ī tymes passed ex­cellynge in power, gredie of dignitie & glorie did many tymes by plaīe force subdue vnto them their neighbours the na­tions adioynyng: and cō pelled them to do thē ser­uice and to obeye their cō maundements, which cō maundemētz afterward they decreed too be vnto those people verie lawes And by longe sufferaūce of the sāe y ^e people so sub­dued, beyng by their sub­duers defended from the iniuries of other agreed & consented to lyue vnder the dominion of the same their subduers thīkīge it better for thē to be vnder y ^e ēpiere of ōe mā whiche might be hable to defēde thē agaīst other thē to be ī daūger to be opp̄ssed of all such as would violētli [Page 29] offer them any wronge. And thus certein kinge­dōes were begonne. And those subduers thꝰ rulīg y ^e people vnto thē subdu­ed, tooke vpō thē of rue­līge to be called Rulers, which our language ter­methe kynges And their ruele or dominiō was named onely royall or kingly. So Nemroth was the first y ^t gott vnto hīself a kingedōe And yett ī the holie scripturs he is not called a kīge, but a stout or mightie hūter before y ^e lorde For lyke as a hūter subdueth wyld beasts ly­uīge at their libertie, so did he brīge mē vnder his obediēt. So did Belꝰ subdue y ^e Assyrians, & Ninꝰ the most ꝑte of Asia. So also did the Romaines vsurpe the empier of the whole worlde. And thus [Page] almost were the kīgdōes of all nations begonne Wherefore the lorde beinge displeased withe the children of Israell requierīge to haue a Kynge as then all other natiōs had commaūded the lawe re­gall to be declared vnto thē by y ^e prophett Which lawe regal was no other thinge, but the pleasure of the kynge their gouernour: as in the first book of the kynges more fully it is cōteyned. Nowe you vnderstande as I suppose most noble prīce, the fourme and fassion of the be­gynnyng of those Kyngedomes that be regally possessed and rueled. Wherefore nowe I wyll assaye to make plaīe vnto you how & by what meāes y ^e gouernemēt of the Kyngdō politique toke his first [Page 30] entraunce & begynynge to the ende and intent y ^e when you knowe the be­gynnynges of them both it may be right easye for you thereby too discerne the cause of the diuersitie which in your questiō is conteyned.

HOmines quō dam potentia praepollētes, auidi dignitatis et glo­riae vicinas sepe gentes sibi viribꝰ subiugarūt: ac ipsis seruire, obtem perare quo (que) iussi­onibꝰ suis, cōpulerunt, quas iussio­nes, extunc leges hominibus illis esse ipsi sanctierunt Quarū ꝑpetione diutina, subiectus sic populꝰ, dum ꝑ subitiētes a cete­rorū iniuriis defē debatur, in subicientiū dominiū cō sentierūt: Opor­tuniꝰ esse arbitrā tes, se vnius subdi Iꝑio, quo erga alios defēder’ quā ō niū eos īfestar’ volētiū opp̄ssionibꝰ [Page 29] expōi. Sic (que) regna quaedá inchoata sūt, et subicientes illi dū subiectum populū sic rexerūt a regendo sibi no­mē regis vsurpa rūt, eorū quoque dominatꝰ, tātū regalis dictꝰ est. Sic Nēbrogh primus sibi regnū cōparauit, tamē non rex ipse sed Robustꝰ venator corā domino sacris litte­ris appellatus est Quia vt venator feras libertat’ fruē tes, ipse homines sibi cōpescuit obedire. Sic Belus as­sirios: et Ninus quā magnā Asiae ꝑtē, ditioni suae subegerunt, Sic et Rōani orbis iperiū vsurpar’ qualit’ [Page] ferè in omnibus gentibus regna ī ­choata sunt. Quare dum filii Israel regem postu [...]abāt sicut tunc habue­runt omnes gētes dominus inde of­fensus, legem re­galem eis per prophetam explana­ri mandauit. Quae nō aliud fuit, quā placitum regis eis preessentis, vt in primo Regum li­bro plenius edo­cetur. Habes nunc (ni fallor) prin­ceps clarissim̄, formam exordii reg­norum, regaliter possessorū. Qua­re quomodo reg­nū politicè regu­latū, p̄mitꝰ erupit etiam iā propalare [Page 30] conabor, vt cog­nitis amborum regnorum initiis, causam diuersita­tis quam tu que­ris, inde elicer [...] tibi facillimum sit.

SAint Austē ī y ^e xxiii. chapter of his xix. booke De ciuitate dei saith y ^e a Peo­ple is a multitude of men associated by the consent of lawe, and communion of wealthe. And yett such a people beynge headless that is to saye without a heade, is not worthye to be called a bodie. For as in thynges naturall [Page] when the heade is cutt of the residue is not called a bodie, but a truncheon, so likewyse in thinges poli­tique a cominalte w ^tout a head is in no wise corpo­rate. Wherefore Aristo­tle ī the first booke of his ciuile philosophie saieth y ^e whēsoeuer ōe is made of many, amonge y ^e sāe one shalbe the rueler, and the other shalbe rueled. wherfore a people that wyll rayse thēselfs into a kingdome, or into any other bodie politique must euer appointe one to be chiefe rueler of the whole bodie which in kīgdōes is cal­led a kīge After this kīde of order, as out of the embryō rieseth a bodie natural ruled by ōe head, euen so of a multitude of people arieseth a kynge­dōe whiche is a bodie mistical goūned by ōe mā as [Page 31] by an head. And like as in a natural body, as sai­eth the Philosopher, the hart is y ^e first y ^e liueth, hauig w ^tin it bloud, which it distributeth among all y ^e other members, whereby they are quickened & doe lyue: sēblably in a bodye politik y ^e intēt of y ^e people is the first liuely thīg, ha­uing w ^tin it bloud, y ^t is to say, politike prouision for the vtilitie & welth of the same people, which it dealeth furth & imparteth as­wel to the head as to al y ^e mēbers of the same body wherby y ^e body is nouri­shed & mainteined. Fur­thermore the lawe vnder the which a multitude of men is made a people, re­presenteth the sēblance of synews ī y ^e body natural Because that lyke as by [Page] synewes the ioynyng of the bodie is made sounde so by the lawe which ta­keth the name a ligando y ^t is to witte of byndynge suche a misticall bodie is knytt and preserued together. And the members & bones of the same bodye whereby is represented y ^e soundenes of the wealth wherby that bodie is sus­teyned, do by the lawes as the naturall bodie by synewes reteyne euery­one their proper fūctions And as the head of a bodi natural cā not chaūge his sinewes, nor cā not denie or witholde from his inferiour mēbers their peculiar powers, & seueral nourishm̄tz of bloud, no more cā a kīge which is y ^e head of a bodie politik chaūge the lawes of y ^e bodie nor [Page 32] withdrawe from the same people their proper substā ce against their wills and consentes in that behalfe. Nowe you vnderstande most noble prince the fourme of institucion of a kīg­dome politique, wherebye you maye measure the power, whiche the king therof maye exercise ouer the lawe and subiectes of the same. For such a kinge ys made and ordeyned for y ^e defence of the lawe of his subiectes and of theire bo­dies and goodes, where­unto he receaueth power of his people, so y ^t hee can not gouern his people by any other power. Wher­fore to satisfy your request in y ^t you desire to be certi­fied how it cōmeth to pas that in y ^e powers of kings ther is so great diuersitie, [Page] suerly in mine opinion the diuersitie of the institutiōz or first ordinances of those dignities whiche I haue nowe declared, is the onelye cause of this foresayde difference, as of the pre­misses by the discourse of reason you maye easelye gather. For thus y ^e king­dome of Englande oute of Brutes retinue of the Troians whiche he brou­ght out of the coastes of Italie and Greece, firste grewe to a politique & re­gall dominion. Thus also Scotland which somtime was subiect to Englande as a Dukedome thereof was aduaūced to a politik and roiall kingdome. Ma­ny other kīgdōs also had thus their first begīninge not onely of regal but also of politique gouernement [Page 33] Wherefore Diodorus Siculus in his seconde boke of olde histories thus writeth of the Egiptiās. The Egiptien kings liued first not after y ^e licentious ma­ner of other rulers, whose will & pleasure is in steede of law, but they kept thē ­selfes as priuate persones in subiection of the lawes And this did they willingly, beeing perswaded that by obeyinge the laws thei should bee blessed. For of suche rulers as folowed theire owne lusts they supposed many thinges to be done, whereby they were brought in daunger of di­uers harmes and perylles And in his fowerth boke thus he writethe. The E­thiopian kinge as sone as hee is created, he ordereth his life accordīg to y ^e laws [Page] and doth al things after y ^e maner and custom of hys countrey, assigninge ney­ther rewarde nor punish­ment to anye man other­then the law made by his predecessours appointethe He reportethe likewise of the kinge of Saba in Arabia the happie, and of cer­tein other kinges, whiche in olde time honorablye reigned.

SAnctus Augus­tinꝰ in libro xix de ciuitate dei capitulo xxiii. dicit: Quod populus ē cetus hominū iuris consensu et v­tilitatis cōmunione sociatus. Nec tamē populus huiusmodi dum Acephelꝰ (id est) sine capite est, corpus vocare meretur. Quia vt in natu­ralibus, [Page] capite de­truncato, residuū nō corpꝰ, sed trū ­cū appellamꝰ: sic­et in politicis sine capite cōmunitas nullatenus corporatur. Quo p̄mo politic̄ dicit phi­losophus, quôd quādocū (que) ex pluribꝰ cōstituitur vnū: int (er) illa, vnū e­rit regēs, et alia e­rūt recta. Quare populū se in reg­num, aliudue corpꝰ politic̄ erigere volētē, sēꝑ oport’ vnū p̄ficere totius corporis illiꝰ regitiuū, quē regē nōin̄ solit’ ē. Hoc ordin̄ sicut ex embrione corpꝰ surgit phisi cū, vno capite re­gulatum, sic ex populo erumpit regnum, qd. cor­pus [Page 31] extat misticū vno hoīe vt capi­te gubernatū. Et sicut in naturali corꝑe, vt dicit philosophus, cor est primum viuēs, ha­bēs in se sāguinē, quē emittit in oīa eius mēbra, vnde illa vegetāt’ et vi­uūt: sic ī corꝑe politico, intētio po­puli primū viuidū est, habēs in se sanguinē, vz ꝓuisio­nē politicā vtilit’ populi illiꝰ, quā in caput, et in oīa mē bra eiusdē corꝑis, ipsa trāsmittit, quo corpus illud alitur & vegetatur. Lex vero sub qua cetꝰ hominū, populus efficitur, neruorū corporis phisici tenet ration̄: q̄a sicut [Page] ꝑ neruos cōpago corporis solida­tur, sic per legem quae a ligando di­citur, corpus hu­iusmodi misticum ligatur et serua­tur in vnū, et eius dem corporis mē bra ac ossa, quae veritatis qua cōmu­nitas illa sustentatur soliditatē de­notāt, per legem, vt corpus natura­le per neruos, propria retinent iura Et vt non potest caput corporis phisici, neruos suos cōmutare neque mēbris suis ꝓp̄as vires et ꝓp̄a sāguinis alim̄ta denegare, nec rex qui ca­put corpor’ politici ē, mutar’ potest leges corpor’ illiꝰ [Page 32] nec eiusdē populi substātias ꝓprias subtrahere, recla­mantibꝰ eis aut in­uitis. Hēs ex hoc iā prīceps, institutiōis politici Regni formā, ex qua me­tiri poteris, potesta tē quā rex eiꝰ in leges ipsiꝰ, aut subditos valeat exercer’ Ad tutelā nā (que) le­gis subditorū, ac e­orū corpū et bonorū, rex hm̄odi erectꝰ est et ad hāc potestatē a populo effluxā ipse hēt, quô ei nō licet potesta­te alia, suo populo dn̄ari. Quare vt postulationi tuae, quac̄tiorari cupis, vn­de hoc ꝓuenit, qd potestates regum tā diūsimo dè variātur [Page] succinctius satisfac̄. Firme con­iector, qd’ diūsita­tes institution̄, dignitatū illarū quas ꝓpalaui, pre dc̄am discrepantiā solū ­modo operātur, ꝓ ut rationis discur­su, tu ex p̄missis poteris exhaurire. Sic nā (que) regnū Angliae quod ex Bruti co­mitiua Troianorū quā ex Italiae et grecorū finibꝰ ꝑdux­it, in dominiū po­liticū, et regale ꝓ­rupit. Sic et Scotia quod ei quōdā vt ducatus obediuit, in regnum creuit politicum et rega­le. Alia quo (que) plu­rima regna, nedū regalit (er) sed et politice regula [...]i, tali origine iꝰ sortit’ sūt [Page 33] Vnde Diodorꝰ Siculus in secundo libro historiarū prī scarū de Egiptiis sic scribit. Suā pri­mū Egiptij reges vitam non aliorū regnantiū quibus voluntas pro lege est, traducebant licentia, sed veluti priuati tenebātur legibus, ne (que) id e­grè ferebāt, existi­mantes parendo legibus, se beatos fore. Nam ab his, qui suis indulgerent cupiditatibus, multa censebant fieri quibꝰ dampna pe­ricula (que) subirent. Et in quarto libro sic scribit. Assūptꝰ in Regē Ethiopū, vitā ducit statutā legibus, omniaque [Page] agit iuxta patrios mores, ne (que) p̄mio ne (que) pena afficiens quē quā preter per traditam a superioribus legem. Con­similiter loquit’ de rege Saba in felici Arabia, et alijs quibusdam regibus. qui priscis tempo­ribus feliciter reg­nabant.

TO whom the prynce thus aunswered. You haue good Chaūcelloure w ^t y ^e cleare light of your declaratiō quite driuē away y ^e cloudy mist, wherewith the brightnes of my mind was darkned: so that I do most euidently see that no [Page 34] nation dyd euer of theire owne voluntarie mind in corporat themselfes into a kingedome for anye other intent, but only to the end that therby theye mighte with more safety then be­fore mainteine themselfs and enioye theire goodes from suche misfortunes & losses as theye stoode in feare of. And of this intent shoulde suche a nation be vtterly defrauded, if then their kinge mighte spoyle them of their goods, whi­che beefore was lawefull for no man to do. And yet shoulde such a people bee much more iniured, if they shoulde afterward be go­uerned bye foreyne and straunge lawes, yea and suche as they paraduēture deadly hated & abhorred. [Page] And most of all if by those lawes theire substaunce should bee diminished, for the safegarde whereof, as allso for the defence of theire own bodies they of theire owne free will submitted themselfes to the gouernaunce of a kynge No suche power suerlye coulde haue proceeded frō them. And yet if theye had not beene, suche a kynge coulde haue had noe po­wer ouer them. Nowe on the other syde I perceaue it to stande muche other­wyse withe a kingedome whyche onely by the auc­toritye of a kynge is incor­porate, For such a nation is no otherwyse subiecte vnto hym, but that the sa­me nation, whyche by his pleasure is made his kingdome, shoulde obeye hys [Page 35] lawes, and bee ruled by y ^e same being nothīg els but his like pleasure. Neither haue I yet good Chaūcel­lour forgoten that, whiche in your treatise of the na­ture of the law of nature you haue with pithie rea­sons clerklye prooued, cō ­cerning that the power of these .ij. kinges is equall. Howebeit the power of y ^e one, whereby hee is at li­bertie to deale wrōgfully is not by suche liberty aug­mented and increased. As to be of habilitie to decaye and die is no hability, but in respect of the priuation and feblenes in the thinge it is rather to bee called a dishabilitie. Because that as Boetius saieth: habili­tie and power is not but to good. So y ^• to bee of ha­bilitie or power to do euill [Page] (as is the kinge that regaly dothe rule, & that withe muche more libertie, then the kīg y ^t hath a politique dominiō ouer his people) is rather a diminution then an increase of power For the holie spirites whiche are nowe established in glorie and can not sīne doe in power farre excell and passe vs, which haue a delyte and pleasure to runne headlonge into all kinde of wickednes. Now therefore I haue but thys one onelye question to de­maunde of you, whether the lawe of Englande to the studie whereof you ex­hort me, bee as good and effectuall for the gouerne­ment of that kingdom, as y ^e Ciuile lawe, wherebye y ^e holie ēpire is gouerned, [Page 36] is thought sufficient for y ^e gouernemente of y ^e whole worlde? Yf withe sounde reasons, and apparaunte demonstrations you resolue me in this point, I wil streighte yeelde me to the studie of the lawe, wythe­out further troubling you with my questions in this mater.

CVi princeps. Effugasti Cā cell [...]rie, declarationis tuae lumine te­nebras quibus ob­ducra erat acies mentis meae, quo clarissime iā conspicio, quod non alio­pacto gens aliqua [Page 34] proprio arbitrio vnquam se in regnum corpora­uit, nisi vt per hoc, se et sua quorum dispendia for midabant, tutius quam antea possi­derent, quasi pro­posito gens huius­modi frauderet’, si ex inde facultates eorum eripere possit rex suus, quod antea facere vlli hominum non li­cebat. Et ad huc grauius multo populus talis lede­retur, si deinde peregrinis legibus etiam ipsis for­san exosis, rege­rentur.

[Page]Et maxime si legi­bus illis eorum minoraretur substantia, pro cuius vitā ­da iactura, vt pro suorum tutela corporū, ipsi se regis ī perio, arbitrio proprio submiserunt. Non potuit reue­ra potestas hm̄odi ab ipsis erupisse, et tamen si non ab ipsis, rex huiusmodi super ipsos nullā optineret potesta­tē, e regione aliter esse cōcipio, de regno quod regis so­lū auctoritate et potentia incorpo­ratū est, quia non alio pacto gens talis ei subiecta ē ni­si vt eiꝰ legibꝰ, q̄ sūt illiꝰ placita, gēs ip̄a q̄ eodē placito regnū eius effecta [Page 35] est, obtēperaret et regenet’. Ne (que) Cā ­cellarie, a mea huc us (que) memoria elapsū est, qd’ alias in tractatu de natura legis naturae, horū duorū regū equa­lē esse potētiā, doctis rationibus ostē disti, dum potestas qua eorū alter ꝑperā agere liber ē, li­bertate huiusmo­di nō augetur, vt posse lauguescere, moriue potentia non est sed prop­ter priuationes in adiecto, impotentia potius denominandum. Quia vt dicit Boetius po­tentia non est ni­si ad bonum, qd ▪ posse male agere, [Page] vt potest rex re­galiter regnans, liberius quam rex politicè dominans populosuo, potius eius potestatē mi­nuit, quam augmē tat. Nam sancti spiritus iam confir­mati in gloria, qui peccare nequeunt potentiores nobis sunt, qui ad omne facinus liberis gaudemus habenis. Solum igitur mi­hi iam superest a te sciscitandum, si lex Angliae ad cu­ius disciplinatum me prouocas, bo­na et efficax est ad regimen regni il­lius vt lex ciuilis, qua sacrum regu­latur imperium, [Page 36] sufficiens arbitrat’ ad orbis regimē v­niuersi. Si me ī hoc demōstrationibus congruis indubiū reddideris, ad stu­diū legis illius illi­co me conferam, nec te postulatio­nibus meis super his, apliꝰ fatigabo.

THe Chauncelour aunswered saiyng. You haue well committed to me­morie most worthie prin­ce al that I haue hitherto declared vnto you. Wherfore you are well worthy to haue this doubt openyd wherupon now you haue mooued youre question. [Page] You shal therfore vnder­stād y ^t al humayne lawes are either the law of na­ture, or customes, or elles statuts, which are also called cōstitutions. But cus­tomes & y ^e sentēces of the lawe of nature after that they were once put ī wri­ting, & by y ^e sufficiēt auto­ritie of y ^e prince published and commaunded to be kept, were chaūged īto y ^e nature of cōstitutions, or statuts, and did after that more penally, then before binde the subiectes of the prince to the keepinge of thē by the seueritye of his commaundemēt. Of this sorte are the most parte of the Ciuile lawes, whiche of the Romain prīces are digested in great volumes & by their auctoritie com­maūded to bee obserued. [Page 37] And not theye onelye are called by y ^e name of y ^e Ci­uile law, but also al the o­ther statutes of ēperours. Now then if that among these .iij. welsprings of all lawe I proue the preemi­nence of the lawe of England to excell aboue y ^e rest I shal therwith proue the same lawe to be good and effectuall for the gouernemēt of y ^e kingedome. And further if I do shewe it to bee as commodious for the wealthe of that Roy­alme as the Ciuile lawes are for the wealthe of the empire, then shall I make euident and plain not onely that this law is of much excellencye, but allso that it is an electe and chosen lawe, aswell as the Ci­uile lawes are: whyche is y ^e thinge y ^t you require [Page] Wherefore to the proofe and declaracion of these .ij. poīts thus I ꝓcede.

CAncellarius memoriae tuae princeps optime commendasti quae tibi hucusque sug­gessi, quare et quae iam interrogas, meritus es vt pā ­dam.

[Page]Scire te igitur vo­lo, qd; oīa iura hu­mana aut sūt lex naturae, cōsuetudin̄ vel statuta q̄ et cō ­stitutiōes appellā ­tur. Sed cōsuetudines et legis naturae sētētiae postquā in scripturā redactae et sufficiēti aucto­ritate prīcipis promulgatae fuerīt, ac custodiri iubeātur in cōstitutionū si­ue statutorū naturā mutātur, et deinde penalius quā ā ­tea, subditos prīci­pis ad earū custo­diā cōstrin gūt, se­ueritate mādati il­lius, qualis est legū ciuiliū pars nō modica, q̄ a Romanorū prīcipibꝰ ī mag­nis voluminibꝰ redigitur, et eor’ auctoritate [Page 37] obseruari mādatur. Vnde legis Ciuilis vt cet (er)a Imperatorū statu­ta iā pars illa nomē sortita ē. Si igitur in his tribus quasi ōnis iuris fontibus legis Angliae prestā tiam probauerim prefulgere, legem illam bonam esse et efficacē ad reg­ni illius regimē e­tiam comꝓbaui. Deinde si eam ad eiusdem regni vti­litatem, vt leges ciuiles ad imperij bonum accomodam esse lucidè ostēde­rim, nedū tūc legē illā prestantē, sed et vt leges ciuiles electam (vt tu optas) etiā patefeci. [Page] Igitur hec duo ti­bi ostendere sata­gens, sic progre­dior.

The lawes of England in those thīgs whiche they by force of the law of natur̄ do ratify & establish are neither better nor worse in their iudgements thē y ^e lawes of al other natiōs are in y ^e like cases. For as Aristotle in y ^e fifth boke of his morall philosophie saieth. The law of nature is y ^t which among al people hath like strēgth & power Wherefore hereof to rea­son any lōger it shall not auayle. But nowe hence­furth we wil searche oute what maner of custōes & statutz these of Englād ar [Page 38] And firste the qualytie of those customes wee wyll consider.

LEges Angliae, ī his q̄ ip̄ae sācti­ūt legis naturae ra­tiōe, non meliores peioresue sunt in iudiciis suis, quā in cōsimilibꝰ sūt ōnes leges ceterarū na­tionū. Quia vt di­cit Phūs. v. Ethicorū. Iꝰ naturale est quod apud omnes homines eādē hēt potentiam, quare de ea āplius disceptare nō expeditur. Sed quales sūt Angliae cōsuetudines (sl’er) similiter et statuta est amodo ꝑscrutādū [Page 38] et primo cōsuetu­dinū illarū visitab [...] mꝰ qualitates.

THe roialme of Eng­land was first inhabi­ted of y ^e Britōs. Next after thē y ^e Romains had y ^e rule of y ^e lande. And thē again y ^e Britōs possessed it. After whō the Saxons inuaded it, who chaūging y ^e name therof did for Britain call it England. Af­ter thē for a certain tyme the Danes had the domi­niō of the Roialme, & thē Saxōs again. But last of al the Normans subdued it, whose discent continuethe in y ^e gouernmēt of y ^e kingdom at this present. [Page] And in al y ^e times of these seueral nations & of theire kinges this roialme was still ruled withe the selfe same customes that it is nowe gouerned witheall. Whiche if theye had not beene right good, some of those kynges moued ey­ther with Iustice or with reason, or affection would haue chaūged them, or els altogether abolished thē: and specially the Romaīs who did iudge all the rest of the world by their own lawes. Likewise woulde other of the foresaide kin­ges haue done whiche bye the sworde onelye posses­sing the royalme of Eng­lande myghte by the lyke power and aucto­ritye haue extinguis­shed the lawes thereof. [Page 39] And touchynge the anty­quitie of the same neither are the Romaine Ciuile lawes by so longe conty­nuaunce of aūcient times confirmed nor yet the la­wes of the venetians, whiche aboue al other are reported to be of most an­tiquity: forsomuch as their Ilande in the beginninge of the Britones was not then inhabited, as Roome then also vnbuilded: ney­ther the lawes of any pat­nime nation of the world are of so olde and auncy­ent yeares. Wherefore the contrarye is not to be sayde nor thoughte, but that the Englyshe cus­tomes are verye good, yea of all other the verye best.

REgnū Angliae primo per Britones īhabitatum est, deinde per Romanos regulatum iterū (que) per Brito­nes, ac deīde ꝑ Saxones possessū, qui nomen eius ex Britānia in Angliam mutauerūt: ex tūc per Danos idē regnū parū ꝑ dn̄atū est, et iterū ꝑ Sax­ones, sed finaliter per Normannos quorum propago regnum illud op­tinet in presenti, [Page] Et in omnibus nationū harum et regum earū tēpori­bus, regnū illud e­isdē quibus iā regitur consuetudini­bus, continue re­gulatū est. Quae si optimae nō extitis­sent, aliqui regū il­lorū iustitia, ratio­ne, vel affectione concitati, eas mu­tassent aut ōnino deleuissēt, et max­īme Romani: qui legibꝰ suis quasi totū orbis reliquum iudicabant. Simili­ter et alij regū predictorum, qui, so­lum gladio regnū Angliae posside­runt, quo et potē ­tia simili ipsi leges eius exinanisse va­luerunt. [Page 39] Ne (que) ve­ro tantorum tem­porū curriculis, leges Ciuiles in quā tum Romanorum inueteratae sunt, neque venetorū leges quae super a­lias antiquitate di­uulgantur quorū tum insula in initio Britonum inha­bitata non fuit, si­cut nec Roma cō dita, nec vllorum mundi regnorum deicolarum leges tanto aeuo inolitae sunt, quare non bonas, immo non optimas esse an­glorum consue­tudines, sicut non dicere, ita nec sus­picari fas est.

NOw whether the statuts of England bee good or not, that onely re­mainethe to be discussed. For they procede not one­ly from the princes plea­sure as do the lawes of those kingdomes that are ruled onelye by regal go­uernement, where some­tymes y ^e statuts do so pro­cure the singular commo­ditie of the maker, that theye redounde to the hin­deraunce and dammage of his subiectes. Somety­mes allso by the negly­gence, and ouersight of such prīces, & their sleighte regard, respecting onelye their own cōmodities thei are so vnaduisedly made, [Page 40] that they are more woor­thy to haue the name of disorders, then of well ordered lawes. But sta­tutes cannot thus passe in Englande, forsomuch as they are made not on­lye by the Princes plea­sure, but also by the assēt of the whole royalme: so that of necessitie they must procure the wealth of the people, and in noe wise tende to theire hyn­deraunce. And it cannot otherwise bee thoughte, but that they are repleni­shed with muche wytte and wysedome, seeynge they are ordayned not by the deuyse of one man alone, or of a hundrethe wise counsellers onelye, but of mo then three hundreth chosen menne, [Page] much agreeinge with the number of the auncient senatoures of Roome: as they that know the fashi­on of the Parliament of Englande, and the order and maner of callyng the same together are hable more distinctly to declare. And if it fortune these statutes beeinge deuysed with suche greate solem­nitie and witte, not to fal out so effectuallye as the intent of the makers dyd wyshe, they may be quicklye refourmed, but not wythout the assent of the commens and states of the realme, by whose au­toritie they were first de­uysed. Thus moste woor­thy Prince you do plain­lye vnderstande all the kyndes of the lawes of Englande.

[Page 41]And touching theire qua­lities, as whether they be good or not, you shalbee able to measure that as­wel by your owne witte, as by comparinge them with other lawes. And when ye shall finde none in the whole worlde of lyke excellency, you must of force grant them to bee not onely good, but also on youre behalfe most to bee embraced.

STatuta tunc Anglorum, bo­na sint nec ne so­lum restat explo­randum. Non e­nim emanant illa a principis solum volūtate vt leges in regnis quae tan­tum regaliter gu­bernātur, vbi quā ­do (que) statuta ita cō stituētis ꝓcurāt cō modū singulare, qd’ in eiꝰ subdito­rū ip̄a redūdāt dispēdiū et iacturam Quādo (que) etiā ī aduertentia princi­pū huiusmodi, et sibi consulentium inertia, ipsa tam inconsultè edūtur [Page 40] quod corruptela­rum nomina po­tius quam legum, illa merentur. Sed non sic Angliae statuta oriri possunt, dum nedum prī ­cipis volūtate, sed et totius regni as­sensu ipsa condū ­tur, quo populi le suram illa efficere nequeunt, vel nō eorum comodum procurare. Pru­dentia etiam & sapientia, necessario ipsa esse referta putandum est, dū non vnius, aut cē ­tum solum con­sultorum viro­rum prudentia, sed plusquam tre­centorum elec­torum hominum [Page] quali numero olī senatus Romano rum regebatur, ipsa edita sūt, vt hij qui parliamenti Angliae formā, cō ­uocationis quo (que) eius ordinem, & modum nouerūt hec distinctius re­ferre norūt. Et si statuta hec, tanta solēnitate & pru­dentia edita, efficaciae tantae quantae cōditorū cupiebat intentio, non esse cōtingant: cōcito reformari ipsa possunt, et nō sine cō munitatis & pro­cerū regni illius assēsu; quali ipsa pri­mitus emanarunt. patēt igitur iā tibi princeps, legū an­glorū species oēs, [Page 41] earum quo (que) qua­litates, vt si bonae ipsae sint, metiri tupoteris prudentia tua, comparatione etiam aliarum le­gum, & cum nul­lam tantae prestantiae in orbe reperi­es, eas nedum bo­nas, sed tibi opta­bilissimas fore ne­cessario confite­beris.

ONe only doubt wher­w ^t your mind is trou­bled, remaineth now be­hīde vndiscussed. And y ^t is this. Whether as y ^t ciuile lawz, so likwise y ^e lawz of [Page] Englande bee fruytfull and effectuall, these for the royalme of England as the other for the Em­piere, and whether they may worthely bee iudged fytte and meete. Compa­risons, most noble prince (as I remember I harde you ones saye) are comp­ted odious. Wherefore I am lothe to meddle w ^t them. But whether they bee bothe of lyke worthines, or that the one de­seruethe an higher com­mendation then the other heareof you may gather a pythier argument out of those pointes, wherein theire sentences do differ then by my declaracion. For wher both the lawez doo agree, the prayse of them ys equall.

[Page 42]But in cases where they disagree, the worthyer lawe is moste prayse-woorthye. Wherefore wee will nowe propound some such cases, to the in­tent you maye indiffe­rentlye ponder and weye whether of these doothe moste iustlye and better define the same. And first wee will putte furthe ex­aumples of cases of much weight.

SOlum iam vnū de his quibus a­gitatur animus tu us restat explanā ­dū, vz an vt Ciui­les, ita et ang. leges [Page] frugi sint et efficaces, isti Angliae re­gno, vt illae impe­rio, etiam et acco­mode iudicari me reantur. Compa­rationes vero prī ­ceps, vt te aliquan do dixisse recolo odiosae reputan­tur, quo eas ag­gredi non delec­tor, tu an equalis sint ambae leges meriti, vnaue al­tera celsius preco­nium mereatur, non ex meo iudi­tio, sed ex his in quibus earum dif­ferunt sententiae, efficatius carpere poteris argumen­tum. Nam vbi cō ­ueniunt Leges ambae, aequalis laudis ipsae sunt, [Page 42] sed in casibus vbi ipsae dissentiunt, prestantioris legis preconia digna pensatione reful­gent. Quare ca­sus huiusmodi a­liquos iam in me­dium proferemus vt quae legum il­larum eos iustius melius (que) diffiniat, equa lance valeas ponderare, et pri­mo ex casibꝰ maximi pōderis exēpla preponamus.

IF they that haue a matter of cōtrouersie depending before a Iuge cōe to y ^e cōtestation of the suite vpon the matter of y ^e deed which y ^e lawyers of England call y ^e issu of y ^e plea: [Page] the truth of such an issue by the ciuile lawes must be tryed by the deposition of witnesses, wherein .ii. allowable witnesses are sufficiēt. But by y ^e lawes of England the truthe of the matter cannot appier euident to the Iuge w ^tout y ^e othes of xii. men neigh­bours to the place where such a dede is supposed to be done. Nowe therefore the questiō is whether of these two, so dyuers pro­cedinges ought to be esteemed more reasonable & effectual for the opening of the trueth, which thus is sought for. For the law y ^t can more certeinly & bet­ter shewe the truthe, is in this behalfe of more excellency than y ^e other y ^t is of lesse efficacy & force. wherfore in the searche of this matter thus we proceede.

SIcoram Iudice cōtendētes, ad litis ꝑueniant contestationē suꝑ materia facti, quā le­gis Angliae periti exitū pl’iti appell’. Exitus hm̄oi veri­tas [Page] ꝑ leges Ciuiles testiū depositionē ꝓbari debet, ī qua duo testes idonei sufficiunt, Sed per leges Angliae, veri­tas illa nō nisi .xij. hominū de vicineto vbi factū huiusmodi suponitur sacramēto, Iudici constari poterit. Queritur igitur, quis horū duorū ꝓcessuū tā diuer­sorū rationabilior censeri debeat & efficatior, ad veri­tatē quae sic queri­turreuelādā. Quia lex q̄ eā certiꝰ me­lius (que) ostēdere po­test, prestantior in hoc est lege altera quae nō tātae effica­tiae est et virtutis, quare in huius rei indagine sic ꝓce­dimus.

BY the Ciuile lawes y ^e party which in y ^e issue holdethe the affirmatiue must brīg furth witnessez which he himselfe at hys own pleasure shall name But the negatiue cannot be proued directli, though indirectly it may: For the hability of him is thought to be very smal & weake, and his witte much lesse, which among al the men that he knoweth is not a­ble to fynde ii. so voide of conscience & trueth, which for dreade, loue or profit will not bee readye to gainesaye all truthe.

Suche then maye he pro­duce for witnesses on hys syde.

[Page]And if the other partye would obiect any thinge against them, or their sai­enges, it chanceth not e­uer y ^t they & their condici­ons & doinges are knowē to y ^e contrarie partye: so y ^t by reason of theire foule lifes & vicious behauiour such witnesses might bee reprooued. And while their saienges cōteine the affirmatiue, it shalbe ve­ry harde to reproue them by circūstances or any o­ther indirect meanz. who then shalbe hable to liue in suertie of his goodes or of himselfe vnder suche a law, y ^e ministreth such aid to euery busy body y ^t lus­teth to trouble another? And what ii. wicked men are so vnwarie & vncircū ­spect, which touching the deede wherof they shalbe examined in iudgement, [Page 44] will not beefore they are called furth for witnesses secreatly imagine and deuise a fourme & fassiō therof, & frame thereunto all circumstances euen suche as must needes haue ben so, if y ^e thing had ben true in dede? For y ^e children of this world (saith y ^e lorde) are wiser then y ^e children of light. So y ^e most wic­ked Iesabel brought furth ii. witnesses of y ^e children of Beliall in iudgement agaīst Nabot, wherby he lost his life, & king Achab her husbande obtayned the possession of y ^e vyne­yarde. So the most chaste matrone Susāna should haue dyed for aduoutrye by the wytnes of twoe olde dotardes being iud­ges, if the lorde hadde not meruelouslye deliuered [Page] her by a wonderfull feate of prudence, which of na­ture the yong child hadde not being yet vnder age. And though y ^e same child by theire altering & doub­ling in their depositions did cōuict them to be false wretches, yet whoe (saue only the lord) could haue knowen that in their sai­enges they woulde thus haue disagreed? Seeinge there was no lawe y ^e did moue thē to haue in remē brance what kind of tree it was, wherunder y ^e fact was supposed to be done. For the witnesses of eue­rye wicked deede are not thought to consider al circūstaunces apperteining to y ^e same, beīg such as do nothīg help to y ^e aggrauatiō & detectiō of y ^e faulte. [Page 45] But while those wycked iudges willinglye swea­ring did alter touching y ^e kindes of the trees, theire owne wordes proued thē to be false verlets. Wherfore thei worthely suffred the same punishemēt thē ­selues. You also most gratious prīce do know how y ^t lately maister I. Fring after y ^t he had continued three yeares in the order of pristehoode was com­pelled by the deposition of twoe wicked persones whiche witnessed that he had before he was made prieste betrouthed hym­selfe to a certeine yonge woman, to forsake the holye order of priestehoode, and to marrye the same womanne. Wythe whome when hee hadde lyued fourtene yeares, [Page] and hadde beegotten .vii▪ children of her, at y ^e laste beeinge conuicted of treason conspired againste your highnes, hee con­fessed before all the peo­ple euen at the very point of deathe that those wit­nesses were hiered, and that theire depositions were false. And thus ma­nye tymes are iudgemētz peruerted by the meane of false witnesses, yea & that vnder the verye best Iudges as vnto you it is not vnhearde, nor to the worlde vnknowen, while this wickednes (the more is the pitie) is often com­mitted.

PEr leges ciuiles pars, quae in litis contestatione af­firmatiuā dicit, te­stes ꝓducere de­bet, quos ipsemet ad libitū suū no­minabit. Negatiua autē ꝓbari nō po­test, vz directè, li­cet possit ꝑ obli­quū. Exilis quippe credit’ esse potētiae minoris quo (que) in­dustriae, qui de omnibus quos noscit hoībꝰ, duos repire nequit ita cōsciē ­tia & veritate va­cuos, vt timore, a­more, vel comod’ oī velint cōtraire verit’. Hos potest tūc ipse ī testim̄ ꝓ ducere ī causa sua [Page] et [...] contra eos pars altera dicere velit, vel cōtra eorum dicta, nō sēꝑ cōtinget, eos eorū quo (que) mores aut facta, apud cōtra­dicere volentē agnosci, vt ex eorū feditate et viciis testes illi possīt re­ꝓbari. Et dū eorū dicta affirmatiuā cōtineāt, nō facile poterūt illa, ꝑ cir­cūstātias aut obli­qua alia im ꝓbari. Quis tūc poterit suorū aut sui ipsiꝰ, sub lege tali viue­re securus, dū cui­libet sibi inimicari volēti lex tale prestat subsidiū? Et qui iniqui duo tā īcauti sūt, qd’ fac­ti de quo ipsi exa­minabūt’ ī iudicio [Page 44] nō antequā in tes­tes ꝓducātur, oc­culte fingāt imaginē et figuram, cō ­ponāt quo (que) eidē omnes circumstā ­tias, quales sibi affuissent, si illud in veritate cōstitisset Prudētiores nā (que) vt dicit dominus sunt filij huius mū di, quam filij lucis Sic Iesabel scelera tissima, testes duos filios belial, cōtra Nabot in iuditio produxit, quô ipse vitam perdidit, et Achab rex eius vineam possidebat. Sic duorum senū etiam Iudicum testimonio, mortua fuisset pro adulte riovxor castissima Susanna, si non [Page] eā miraculose liberasset dn̄s inexco­gitabili prudētia, quam a natura nō habuit puer iuni­or nōdū etate ꝓ­uectus. Et si ipsos deposition̄ sua va­ria cōuicerat puer ille esse falsarios, quis nisi solū dn̄s nouisse poterat e­os in dictis suis ta­liter variaturos? dū non de arboris natura sub qua imputatū facinus fie bat, lex aliqua eos artabat reminisci. Quia testes scele­ris cuius (que), cōside­rare nō putāt’ oīa vmbracula & ce­tera vicina illi fac­to, q̄ ad aggrauati onē vel detection̄ criminis illius mi­nime operantur, [Page 45] Sed dū de arborū speciebꝰ, iudices illi nequā vltro de­ponētes variabāt▪ eorum dicta ipsos veritatis fuisse preuaricatores demō strabāt, quô et talionis penā merito incurrerūt. Nosti et tu princeps di­uine qualiteriam tarde, magister Iohānes Fringe, qui postquā annis tri­bꝰ sacerdotali fūctus est officio, duobus iniquorū de­positione, qui eū ātea iuuēculā quā dā affidasse testati sūt, sacrū presbite­ratꝰ ordinē relīq̄re cōpulsꝰ est, et matrimoniū cū femi­na illa cōsumare. Cū qua, postquā annis .xiiij. moratꝰ [Page] sobolem septimā suscitauerat, de­mum de crimine laese maiestatis in tuam celsitudinē coniurato conuictus, subornatos fuisse testes illos, et falsum dixisse tes­timonium, in mortis suae articulo coram omni popu­lo fassus est. Qua­liter et sepe per­uerti iudicia, falsorum testium me­dio, etiam sub op­timis iudicibus, nō est tibi inauditum nec incognitum mundo, dum sce­lus illud (proh­dolor) creberime committatur.

THerefore the law of Fraunce in offences criminall whereupō deth dependeth is not contēt to conuict the party accused by witnesses, least by the testimony of false persons innocent blood should be condēned. But that lawe chooseth rather to tormēt such offēders w ^t racking, vntill they thēselues con­fesse their owne fault, ra­ther then by y ^e deposition of witnesses, which mani tymes through wicked affeccions, & sometimes by y ^e subornation of euil mē, are moued to ꝑiurie. Vpō this & suche like cautels & respectes offēdours & sus­pect ꝑsons are in that ro­yalme w ^t so many kynds of rackynges tourmēted that my penne abhorreth to put thē in writting.

[Page]For some are stretched our vpon a horse in suche wise that theire synowes breake, and theyre veines gousheout with streames of bloude. Agayne other some haue dyuers greate weightez hanged at their feete: whereby their lim­mes and ioyntes are dis­solued and vnloosed.

Some also haue theire mouthes so long gagged open, till such abundance of water bee powered in that theire holly swelleth lyke a hill or a tonne, to the intent that then the bellye being persed with some boring instrument, the water may yssue and spoute out thereat and at the mouth streame wise, not much vnlike a whale [Page 47] which when he hath sup­ped vppe and swallowed downe a great quantitye of sea water, with her­ringes and other small fishez, gusheth out y ^e same water againe as high as the toppe of anye Pyneapple tree. My penne is both weary & ashamed to rehearse the outragious­nes of torments deuised ī this behalf. For the number of them is so greate, that it can scant well bee noted in a whole skinne of parchement. More o­uer the Ciuile lawes for want of witnesses doe fetche out the truthe by suche rackinges. And so doe dyuers other Coun­tries too. But whoe is so harde harted, whiche be­ynge once released out of so cruell a Racke, [Page] thoughe he bee innocent and fautles, woulde not yet rather accuse himselfe of all kindes of offences, then agayne to commytt himselfe to the intollera­ble crueltie of the tour­ment ones proued: and hadde not rather dye at ones (seeinge deathe ys the ende of all miseries) then so often to be kylled, and to sustaine so manye hellyshe furies, paynful­ler then death it selfe?

And didde not you moste worthye prince knowe a certeine offendour which in suche tourmentes ac­cused a woorshipfull, yea a ryghte good and faythfull knighte of trea­son, wherein, as hee saide they twoe hadde cō ­spired together, [Page 48] which treason he himself beynge released from the racke, afterward attempted and accōplished, therby to acquite himself frō comynge to the torture agayne. But at the last by meane of those tourmēts beinge so meamed in his bodie, that therby he was brought in despaire of his lyfe and therupon recea­uynge his howsell, he thē swore by y ^e same bodie of the lord, &, by the deathe whiche he beleeued that he should furthwith dye, that the said knight was innocent and gilties in all thinges whereof he had accused hī, howbeit the paines wherī he was at the tyme of that his accusacion he said were so extreame, that rather thē [Page] he woulde feele the same agaīe, he would no sticke to accuse the said knight agayne, yea & his owne father to. This he said beynge then at y ^e verie poīt of deathe, whiche he be­leued he could not then escape. No nor he escaped not the deathe whiche he then feared. But after­ward beynge hanged, at the tyme of his deathe he cleared the said knight of all crimes wherof before he had defamed hī. Thus (o pitifull case) do many other wretcheis not for y ^e truethes sake, but forced thereunto by the extremitie of tourmentes, And what certentie then can arise of the confessions of miserable tourmēted persons. But if some innocēt bodie hauynge his mynd fixed [Page 49] vpon eternall saluation, woulde in such a Baby­lonicall fornace with the iii. childrē blesse & magni­fie the lorde, and not lye to the damnation of his owne soule, in y ^e y ^e iudge pronounceth him vngil­tie, doth not that iudge by the selfe same iudge­ment iudge himself giltie of all the crueltie & paīes wherewith he hathe tourmented the innocent. O howe cruel is such a law whiche in that it can not condempne the syelie in­nocent, condempneth the iudge. Suerly suche a custom is not to be accomp­ted a lawe, but rather the hieghe waye to the deuill O iudge, in what schole hast thou learned to be present, while the offen­dour is tourmented? [Page] For the execution of iud­gements vpō offēdours ought to be dōe by mē of base degre: y ^e doers wherof doo purchase to them­selfes present infamie by the deede doynge, in so­much that euer after they are dishabled from the p̄ ­ferment of a iudge. Nei­ther dothe the lorde god execute his iudgementes pronounced ageynst the dampned by angells, but by deuylls. Yea and in Purgatorie the soules there remaynīge, though they be predestinate too glorie, yett are they not tourmented of good an­gells, but of euyll. Those also are euyll and wyc­ked men by whome the lorde in this worlde doth minister to wretched sin­ners [Page 50] deserued punishem̄t For when god said ī the xxii. chapter of the third booke of Kynges: Who shall deceaue Achab. it was an euill spirite that aunswered: I will be a lying spirite in y ^e mouth of all his prophetes. For it becomed not a good spirite to take vpon him the executiō of suche thinges thoughe this iudgement proceeded from the lorde that Achab shoulde be deceued by a lye. But the iudge peraduenture wyll saye: I withe myne own handes did nothinge in these tourmentes But what differth it whether one be a doer w ^t his own̄ handes, or ells be present at the doynge, and the [Page] thinge that is done to exasperate hit by his com­maundement. It is onely the maister of the shippe that bringeth it to y ^e hauē, though by his cōmaū ­dement an other bee the stiresman I beleue that the woūde wherewith y ^e mynde of the iudge thus tourmentinge any man is plaged, wyll neuer be healed ageyne special­ly while he remembreth the extremitie of y ^e paines susteyned by the poore wretche ī those miserable tourments

NOn igitur cō tenta est lex Francie, in crimi­nalibus vbi mor [...] imminet, reū testibus cōuincere, ne falsidicorum testimonio sanguis in nocens condēnotur. Sed mauult lex illa reos tales torturis cruciari, quous (que) ipsi eorū reatum confiteantur, quā testiū de­positione, qui sepe passionibus īiquis, & quando (que) sub­ornatione malorū ad ꝑiuria stimu­lāt’. Quali cautio­ne & astutia, cri­minosi etiā & de criminibꝰ suspectitot torturarū ī regno illo generibꝰ affliguntur, quod fastidet calamꝰ ea literis designare. [Page] Quidam vero in equuleis exten­duntur, quô eo­rum rumpuntur nerui, et venae in sanguinis fluenta prorumpūt. Quorundam vero, di­uersorum ponde­rum pendulis dis­soluuntur com­pagines et iunc­turae, et quorun­dam gaggantur ora, vsque dum ꝑ illa, tot aquarum infundantur flu­enta, vt ipsorum venter montis tu­mescat more, quo tunc venter ille fossorio vel simili percussus instru­mento, per os a­quam illā euomet ad instar Balenae [Page 47] que cum halecibꝰ et aliis pisciculis mare absorbuit, aquam despumat, ad altitudinem arboris pini. Piget (proh pudor) iam penna exquesito­rum ad hec cruci­atuū enarrare im­mania. Nam eorū variatus numerus vix notari pote­rit magna in mē ­brana. Leges etiam ipsae Ciuiles deficiente testium copia, in criminalibus, veritatem cō ­similibꝰ extorquēt tormentis, quali­ter et faciunt eti­am quam plurima regna. Sed quis tā duri animi est, qui semel ab atroci tā to torculari laxatꝰ [Page] non potius inno­cens ille omnia fateretur scelerum genera, quam a­cerbitatem sic ex­perti iterum sub­ire tormenti, et non semel mori mallet, dum mors sit vltimum terri­bilium, quam to­ciens occidi, et tot idem gehenna­les furias morte amariores susti­nere? Et nonne princeps tu noui­sti criminosum quēdam, qui inter tormenta huius­modi, militem nobilem, probum, et fidelem, de pro­ditione quadam super qua, vt asse­ruit ipsi duo insi­mul coniurarunt, [Page 48] accusant, quod et constanter post­modum ipse fecit a torturis illis re­laxatus, ne iterū eadem tormenta ipsa ipse subiret. Sed demū cū expenis illis lesus vsque ad mortis ar­ticulum infirma­retur, vltimū quo que viaticū, chris­ti videlicet corpꝰ sūpsisset: Iurauit tunc super corpꝰ illud, et per mor­tem quam tunc protinus credidit se passurū, militē illū īnocētē fuisse et īmunē de ōni­bꝰ in q̄bꝰ eū accusauit, tamē ait pe­nas ī q̄bꝰ ipse tē ­pore delation̄ suae fuerat, ita atroce [...] [Page] extitisse qd prius­quā eas iterū ex­periretur, etiā eū ­dē militē ille ite­rū accusaret, simi­liter et patrē ꝓpriū, licet tūc ī mor­tis limine quā nō credidit se posse euadere, fuerit cō stitutꝰ. Nec vero ipse mortē quam tūc metuit, euasit Sed demū suspē ­sꝰ, tēpore mortis suae ipsū militem purgauit ab ōni crimīe de quo dudū defaāuit Talit (er) proh dolor et quā plures alii miseri faciūt, nō ver ita­tis causa, sed solū vrgētibꝰ torturis artati, q̄d tunc certitudinis resultat, ex confessionibus talit (er) cōpressorū? Cererū si innocēs [Page 49] aliquis nō imme­mor salutis etern [...] in huiusmodi ba­bilonis fornace, cū tribꝰ pueris benedicat dn̄m, nec mētiri velit in ꝑ­niciē aīae suae. quo Iudex eū ꝓnūci­at innocētē, nōne eodē iudicio iu­dex ille, seip̄m re­um iudicat, ōnis seuicioe et penarū quibꝰ īnocētē af­flixit? O quā cru­delis est lex talis, q̄ dū īnocētē dāpnare nequit iudi­cē ip̄a cōdēpnat? Vere nō lex ritus talis esse phibetur sed potius semita ip̄e ē ad iehēnā. O iudex q ⁱbꝰ ī scholis didicisti, te p̄sētē exhibere, dū pe­nas luit reus ex­ecutiones quippe [Page] iudiciorum in criminosos, per ignobiles fieri cōuenit Nā earū actores infames solent es­se ipso facto, quo et ipsi deinde ad iudicialem apicē redduntur indig­ni, non enim per angelos, sed per demones exequi facit dn̄s iudicia sua reddita indāpnatos. Nec reuer’ in purgatorio cruciant animas quā ­uis predestina­tas ad gloriam angeli boni, sed ma­li. Maligni etiam hōies sunt, ꝑ quos dominus in hoc mundo, miseris tribuit malum penae. [Page 50] Nā dum dix­erat deus iii. Re­gum. xxii. Quis decipiet michi A­chab? malus erat spiritus ille qui respondit. Ego ero spiritus men­dax in ore omniū prophetarum e­ius Non enim decuit spiritum bo­num exequi talia, licet a domino prodiit iudicium quod Achab mē ­dacio deciperet’ Sed dicit iudex forsan. Ego nihil egi manibus meis in cruciatibus istis. Sed quid re­fert propriis facere manibus, an presentem esse et [Page] quod factum est mandato suo ite­rum atque iterū aggrauare: solū magist (er) nauis ē q̄ eam ducit ad portū, licet eius man­dato alii agitent prorā, Credo qd, vulnꝰ quo sautiatur animꝰ iudicis penas huiusmodi infligentis nun­quam in cicatricē veniet, maxime dum recolit acer­bitatem penarū miseri sic afflicti.

MOreouer if by reasō of bargaynīge, or by sufferinge of iniuries, or [Page 51] by title of īheritāce right do accrewe to aman to pleade in iudgement, if there be no witnesseis or if such as were witnes­seis be deade, the plaītif must needs lett his actiō fall, except he be hable to proue his ryght by ineuitable coniectures, whiche is seldome seene. Wher­fore concernynge lorde­shippes and other posses­sions rueled by the ciuile lawe and in all accions fallynge vnder the same lawe the actions of the plaintifes for wante of witnesses many tymes are choked, so that skant the halfe parte of them atteyneth to the desiered ende. What maner of [Page] lawe then is this whiche to them y ^e susteyne wrōg thus faileth in yeeldinge Iustice? I doubt whether it deserue too bee called a iuste lawe, because in the same lawe it is wryten, that Iustice rendreth too euerye mā that which is his owne. But this can­not such a lawe doo.

PReterea, si ex contractibus, illatisue iniuriis, [Page 51] vel hereditatis ti­tulo, iꝰ accreuerit homini agēdi in iudicio: si testes non fuerint, vel si qui fuerint moriā tur, succumbet ipse agens in causa sua, nisi ius suū ꝓbare valeat ineuitabilibꝰ coniecturis, quod facere crebro non contī git. Quare de do­miniis et aliis pos­sessionibus iure ciuili regulatis, similiter et in omnibꝰ actionibꝰ cadēti­bꝰ sub eodē iure, actiones agētiū ꝓ defectu testium quā pluries suffo­cātur, ita qd. earū vix ꝑs media op­tatū finē sortia­tur’ qualis tūc est [Page] lex huiusmodi, q̄ iniuriatis taliter deficit in iusticia reddēda? dubito an iusta vocari mereatur, quia in eadem lege scribitur, quod Iusticia vnicuique tribuit quod suum ē, qd nō faciat lex talis

Now that we haue o­pened after what maner the Ciuile lawes do enfourme a iudge of the truthe of a matter brought into iudgement, it is consequent to declare by what meanes the lawes of Englande doo boult out the trueth of suche a matter. For the [Page 52] orders of bothe the lawez beynge layde together, the qualities of thē bothe wyll more playnely ap­pere: forsomuche as the philosopher sayeth that contraries placed one by an other wyll shewe thē selfes more euidently. But herein after the maner of oratours in steade of a proheme, it shall not bee amysse that we open certen thinges before, the knowlege whereof shall geue light too thinges whiche heareafter shall come in talke wherefore thus we doo proceede. The royalme of En­glande is deuided into counties, as the royalme of Fraunce is into Baylywyks, so that in En­glande ther is no place [Page] that is not with in the bodie of some countie. Coū ­ties also are deuided into hūdreds which sōe wher are called wapentages. And hundredes are deui­ded into villages vnder which appellation are cō teyned borowes and Ci­ties. For the boundes of villages are not contey­ned within the circuit of walles, buyldynges, or streetes, but within the compasse of fildes, greate territories, certein ham­lettes, and many o­ther, as of wat (er)s, woodes & waste groūdes, whiche it is not needefull nowe to set furthe by their names: because that in England there is skante any place, which is not conteined within the cō ­passe [Page 53] of villageis, though certeyn priuileged places within villageis are supposed to be no parcell of y ^e same villages, More ouer in euerie coūtie ther is one certeyn officer cal­led the kynges shierief, which amonge other du­ties belongynge to his office, putteth in execucion all the commaunde­mentes, and iudgements of the kynges courte, that are to be executed within his countie His office endureth but for one yeare, so that after the expiratiō of that yeare, he may not minister in that of­fice. Neither shall he within ii. yeares next en­sueynge be admited to y ^e [Page] office agayne. This offi­cer is thus chosen. Euery yeare the morrowe after All soullen daye all the kynges counsellers meet together in the kynges exchequer, aswel y ^e lordes spirituall and temporall as all other Iustices, all the barones of the exche­quer, the maister of the rolles, and certeyn other officers, where all these with one commen assent doo name of euerie coun­tie iii. knightes or esquy­ers, whome amonge o­ther of the same countie they take to bee of good dispositiō and fame, and best disposed to the office of the shiereif of that coū tie. Of the whiche iii. the kynge chooseth one, [Page 45] whome by his letters pa­tents he appointeth she­rief of the countie that he is chosen of for the yeare then folowinge. But he before hee receaue his pa­tent shall swere vpō y ^e ho­lye ghospell amonge o­ther articles, that he shall well and faithfully and indifferently exercise and doo his office all that yeare, and that he shall receaue or take nothyng of any other man then the Kynge, by colour or meane of his office.

These thynges beynge thus nowe presupposed, lett vs proceede too the searche of those thinges, that we seke for.

Exposita iā for­ma qua leges Ciuiles de verita­te facti in iudicio deducti iudicem erudiunt, super­est vt modū quô leges Angliae hu­iusmodi facti eli­ciunt veritatem etiam do ceamus, [Page 52] Nam ambarum legum formulis contigué positis, qualitates earun­dem lucidius emi­nebunt cum di­cat Philosophus, quod opposita iuxta se posita magis apparent: Sed in hoc oratorum more (prohemii loco) quedam p̄ ­narrare congru­et, quorum agni­tione, deinde tractando clarius pa­tere queant, qua­re sic procedimꝰ. Regnum Angliae per comitatus, vt regnum Fraun­ciae per balliuatus distinguitur, ita vt non sit locus in Anglia, quae nō [Page] sit īfr’ corpꝰ alicuiꝰ cōitatꝰ. Cōitatꝰ quo (que) diuiduntur in Hūdreda, que alicubi Wapen tagia nuncupan­tur. Hundreda vero diuidūtur per villas, subquarum appellatione continentur et Burgi atque Ciuitates. Villarum etenim metae, non muris, edificiis, aut stra­tis terminan tur, sed agrorū ambi­tubus, territoriis magnis, hamiletis quibusdā, et mul­tis aliis, sicut aquarū, boscorū, et vastorū terminis, quae iam non expedit nominibus designare, q̄a vix in an­glia est locus ali­quis, [Page 53] qui non in­fra villarum am­bitus cōtineatur, licet priuilegiati loci quidam infravillas, de eisdem villis pars esse nō censentur. Prete­rea in quolibet comitatu est officia­rius quidam vnus regis vicecomes appellatus, qui inter cetera sui officii ministeria, om­nia mandata et iudicia curiarum regis ī comitatu suo exequenda, exe­quitur, Cuius of­ficiū annale est, quo ei post annū in eodem minis­trare nō licet, nec duobꝰ tūc sequē tibꝰ ānis ad idē of ficiū reassumetur [Page] Officiarius iste sic eligitur. Quoli­bet anno in crastino animarum, cō ueniunt in scac­cario regis omnes consiliarii eius, tā dn̄ispūales, ettēporales quā alii ōnes iusticiarii, omnes barones de scac­cario, clericus ro­tulorum, & qui­dam alii officiarii vbi hii omnes cō ­muni assensu, no­minant de quoli­bet comitatu tres milites vel armi­geros, quos inter ceteros eiusdem comitatꝰ ipsi opinātur melioris esse dispositionis et famae, et ad offici­um vice comitis comitatꝰ illiꝰ melius [Page 45] dispositos: ex quibus rex vnum tātum eliget, quē per litteras suas patētes constitu­et vicecomitem comitatꝰ de quo eligit’ ꝓ āno tunc sequēte: sed ipse ā tequā lr’ illas recī piat, iurabit suꝓ sā ta dei euāgelia, inter articulos alio [...] qd bene, fidelit (er) et indifferent (er) exer­cebit et faciet of­ficiū suū toto āno illo ne (que) aliq̄d recipiet colore aut causa officii sui ab aliquo alio quā a rege. His iā sic p̄suppositis, ad eorū q̄ querimꝰ indaginē ꝓcedamus.

AS ofte as suters in the courtes of the kynge of Englande are come to y ^e issue of their plea vpon y ^e mater of the facte, furth­with the Iustices by vertue of the kynges wrytte directed vnto the shirief of the countie, wherein y ^e deede is supposed to be done, wyll him to cause to come before the same Iusticeis at a certein day by them limitted xii good and lawfull men neigh­bours to the place where the facte is supposed to be done: the same to be such as be of no kynne to ei­ther of the pleaders, to the ende that by ther oths it maye certeynly be knowē, whether y ^e deede wer done as the one partie affirmeth, [Page 55] or ells as the o­ther partye denyeth. Vp­pon the daye aforesayde the shieref shall retourne the said wrytte before the same Iustices, together with the pannell of their names, which he hereun­to hath sommoned. Whē they are come either par­tie may refuse them, al­legyng that the shierief hathe made that pannell fauorably for the other partye of persones not in different. Whiche excep­tion if it be founde treue by the othe of ii men of the same pannell chosen thereunto by the Iusty­ceis, that pannell shall immediatly be quassed And then y ^e Iustices shall [Page] wryte to the coroners of the same coūtie that they shall make a newe pai­nell. Whiche when thei haue dōe if it be likewise foūde fautie, it shall also be quassed. And then the Iustices shall elect and choose ii of the clerkes of the same courte, or other of the same coūtie, which in the presēce of the court vpon their othes shall make an indifferent pa­nell, whiche by neither of the parties shalbe challenged. Howbeit when the men so impanelled are come into the courte, either of the parties may make exceptions against the persōe of anye of thē, as he may also do in all cases & at all times whē any mā by any meanez [Page 56] impanelled shall appeare to be sworne in the courte vpon the truthe of such an issue: saiyng that the per­son impannelled is cosein or allyed to y ^e other party or by anye kind of amity so knytte vnto him, that he is not indifferent to declare the truethe betwene them. And of these excep­tions there are so manye kyndes and sortes, that theye can not bee in fewe woords rehearsed. Wherof if anye one bee founde true, thenne shall not hee bee sworne agaynst whō the exception is purposed, but his name shallbe can­celled in the pannell. So allso shalbee done of all the names of the persons impannelled, vntill .xii. of thē so indifferēt be sworn, [Page] that neither party can ha­ue against them any ma­ter of exception or challen­ge. Also of these .xii.iiii. at the least shalbe of the hū ­dred where the village stā deth wherin the fact wher uppon the sutte riesethe is supposed to bee done. And euerie suche Iurer shall haue landes or reuenues for terme of lyfe at y ^e least to the yearly value of xl. s̄. And this order is obserued & kept in al accions & cau­ses criminall reall, and personall, sauynge whe­re the dammages or debt in acciōs ꝑsonal excedeth not the sūme of .xl. mar­kes of Englishe moneye For thenne it is not re­quisite that Iurers in such accyons shall bee hable to dyspende somuche.

[Page 57]Yet they shall haue lande or rentes to a competente value after the discretion of the Iustices. Other­wyse theye shall not bee sworne, leaste for neede and pouertie such Iurers myghte easelye bee cor­rupte and suborned.

And if by suche excepti­ons so manye Iurers na­mes bee cancelled in the pannel that there remay­neth not a sufficient num­ber to make thereof a Iu­rie, thē y ^e sherifes by y ^e kinges write shalbe cōmaū ­ded to adioin mo Iur [...]rs. Which thing may ofte be don, so y ^t for lack of Iurers y ^e inquisitiō of y ^e truth vpō such a plea shal not [...]emaī And this is y ^e fourm how Iurers and suche inquisi­tours of truth ought to be chosē in the kings courte. [Page] and lykewise to bee swor­ne. Wherefore how they muste bee charged and in­fourmed of y ^e vtteryng of y ^e same trueth, this nowe resteth to be discussed.

QVociescun (que) contendētes in curiis regis Angliae, ad exitū placiti super materia facti deuenerint, concito Iusticiarii ꝑ breue regis scribunt vic. com̄ in quo factum illud fieri supponitur, quod ipse venire faciat coram eis­dem Iusticiariis, ad certū diem ꝑ eos limitatum, duodecī probos et legales homines, de vicineto, vbi illud factum sup­ponitur, q̄ neutri partiū sic placitā ­tiū vlla affinitate attingunt. Ad re­cognoscendū suꝑ eorū sacramenta, si factū illud fac­tum fuerit, sicut vna earundē partium [Page 55] dicit, vel nō sicut altera pars negat. Quo adueniente die, vice­comes returnabit breue p̄dictū co­rā eisdē iustitiariis vna cum pan ello nominū eorum quos ipse ad hoc sūmoniuit, quos) si venerit) vtra (que) pars recusare po­terit, dicēdo qd vicecōes panellum illud fauorabiliter fecit ꝓ ꝑte altera videlicet de per­sonis minꝰ īdiffe­rentibꝰ. Que ex­ceptio, si cōperta fuerit vera per sacramētum duo­rum hominū de eodē panello, ad hoc ꝑ Iusticiarios electorū, mox pā nellū illud quassabit’ et iusticiar’ tūc [Page] scribēt Coronatoribꝰ eiusdē comi­tatꝰ, qd ipsi nouū faciāt panellum. Quod cum fecerīt si & illud cōsimi­lit (er) reꝑtum fuerit viciatū, etiā et il­lud quassabitur: et tūc iusticiarii e­ligēt duos de cle­ricis curiae illiꝰ, vel alios de eodē co­mitatu qui ī p̄sen­tia curiae ꝑ eorum sacramēta faciēt ī differēs panellum qd deinde ꝑ nul­lā partiū illarū calūpniabitur. sed cū venerīt sic īpanellati ī Curiā q̄libet partiū exciper’ potest cōtr’ ꝑsonā cuiuscū (que) eorū, sicut et pot’ ī ōni casu et ōni tēpor’ quo aliq̄s qualitercū (que) [Page 56] cū (que) īpanellatꝰ cō paruerit incuria super veritate exitus hm̄odi iuraturus, dicēdo qd’ īpanel­latus ille est cōsan­guineus vel affinis parti alteri, vel a­micitia quacū (que) tali sibi coniūctꝰ, qd’ indifferēs ip̄e nō ē ostēdere inter eos veritatē: qualiū exceptionū tot sunt genera et species, quod nō licet eas breui explicare sermone. Quarū si a­liqua reꝑta fuerit vera nō tūc iurabitur ille cōtra quē exceptio illa ꝓpo­nitur, sed cācellabitur nomē eiꝰ in panello. Sic quo (que) fi­et de ōībꝰ nominibꝰ impanellatorū, quous (que) duodecī [Page] eorū iurēt’ ita īdifferētes, qd’ versꝰ e­os neutra partium hēat aliquā materiā calūpniae. Horū autē xij. ad minus quatuor erunt de hūdredo vbi villa ī qua factū de quo cōtēditur fieri supponit (ur), sita ē et q̄ ­libet iurat’ hm̄odi, habebit terras vel redditꝰ ꝓ t (er)mīo vitae suae, ad minꝰ ad valorē annuū xl. s. Et hic ordo obseruat’ ī oībꝰ acciōibꝰ et causis criminalibꝰ, realibꝰ et ꝑso­n [...]libꝰ, p̄terq̄ vbi dāna vel debitū ī ꝑsonalibꝰ nō excedūt xl. marcas mon [...]te anglicanae q̄a tūc nō req̄rit’ qd’ iu [...]ores ī actionibꝰ hm̄odi tātū ex­p [...]d [...]r [...] possint [...] labebūt [Page 57] tn̄ terrā vel reddit’, ad valorē cōpetētē, iuxta discretiōē iusticiario­rū, alioquin ip̄iminīe iurabūt’, ne (ꝑ inediā et pauꝑtatē iuratorꝭ hm̄odi de facili valeāt corrū pi aut subornari. Et si ꝑ tales exceptiōes, tot iuratorū [...]o [...]a ī pannello cā celēt’, qd’ nō remaneat numerꝰ sufficiēs ad faciēdū īde iuratā, tūc mādabitur vic̄ ꝑ breue re­gis, qd’ ip̄e appon̄ plures iurator. qd’ et sepiꝰ fieri potest ita qd’ inq̄sitio ve­ritat. suꝑ exitu placiti, nō remanebit ob defectū iuratorū. Et hec ē forma qualit (er) iuratores et veritat’ hm̄odi īq̄sitor’ eligi debēt in curia regis [Page] similiter et iurari, quare quo modo ipsi de veritate illa dicēda onerari debent et informari, iā restat vt quera­mus.

Twelue good & lawefull mē beīg at y ^e last swor­ne in fourme aforsaid, ha­uing besides their mouea­bles, sufficiēt possessiōs as afore is declared, wherby they may be hable to maī taī their own states, & be­ing to neither partye sus­pected or hated, but neigh­bours to thē both, thē shalbe red before thē in Eng­lish by y ^e court al y ^e recorde & processe of the plea de­pendynge beetwene the [Page 58] parties, with a plaine de­claracion of the yssue of y ^e plea, touchinge the trueth whereof those sworne mē shall certifie the courte. Whyche thynges beinge done eyther party by himselfe or his coūsellours in the presence of the courte shal vtter and open to the saide sworne men all and singuler maters and eui­dences whereby he thyn­kethe he may best informe them of the truethe of the yssue so impleaded. And then maye eyther partie bring before the same Iustices and sworne menne al and singuler suche wit­nesses on his beehalfe as hee will produce. Who by the Iustices beeinge charged vpon the holye gospell of godde, shal tes­tifie [Page] al thinges proouynge the truthe of the fact, whereupon the parties cōtend And if neede so require, those witnesses shalbe se­uered and deuided til they haue deposed all that they wyll, so that the sayinge of one shall not mooue or prouoke an other to testy­fye the lyke. The premis­ses beeynge done, then af­ter that those Iurers ha­ue had talke at theire pleasure vppon the truethe of that yssue wythe asmuche deliberation as themselfs shall require, in the kee­pynge of the ministers of the courte wythin a place to them for the same pur­pose assigned, to the in­tente that noe manne in the meane tyme may cor­rupte them, theye shall [Page 59] retourne into the courte, and certyfie the Iustices vppon the decitie of the yssue so ioyned in the pre­sence of bothe the partyes (if theye willbe there) and specially of the plainetyfe The reporte of whiche Iurers by the lawes of Englande is called a verdycte: by the whyche woorde is mente, a true reporte, or a reporte of the truethe. And thenne accordyng to the qualitie of that vere­dicte the Iustices shall frame and fourme their iud­gemente. Notwithestan­dynge yf the other par­tye, agaynste whom the verdycte is geeuen com­playne that hee is there­by vniustly greeued, then the same partye maye sue a writte of attyncte [Page] agaynst those Iuries, and against the partie y ^t hathe preuayled. By force of whiche write if it shalbee found by the othe of .xxiiij. men in fourme aforesaide retourned elect and swor­ne, whiche shalbee men of muche greater lyuynges then the first Iurers were that the same first Iurers haue made a false othe, then the bodies of y ^e same fyrste Iurers shalbee committed to the kynges pri­sone, theire goodes shall­bee confiscate, and al their possessions shalbee seased into the kinges handes. theire howses also & buil­dynges shalbee rased and throwne downe, there woodes felled, and theire medowe groūdes plowed And also y ^e same f [...]rst Iu­rers [Page 60] shal for euer after be noted for infamed persōs, and shal in no place be re­ceaued to testifie the truth And the partie whiche in the former plea had the ouerthrowe, shalbe resto­red to all thynges whyche by occasion thereof he ha­the lost. Who thē, though he regarde not his soules healthe, yet for feare of so greate punishmente, and for shame of so greate in­famye woulde not vppon his othe declare the trueth And if one man parauen­ture haue so litle respecte to hys honoure or estima­tion, yet some of so ma­nye Iurers wyll not neglecte theyre owne good fame, nor wyl not thoroughe theyre owne defaulte suffre themselfes [Page] thus to be spoyled of their goodes and possessions. Is not this order now for the boultynge oute of the truethe better and more effectuall, then the pro­cesse which the Ciuile la­wes do procure? Here no cause nor no mans ryghte quailethe throughe death, or for wante of witnesses Here are not brought f [...]r­the vnknowen witnesses, hiered persons, pore men, vagaboundes, vnconstant people or suche whose conditions and naughtynes is vnknowen. These witnesses are neygheboures hable to lyue of theyre owne, of good name and fame of honeste reporte, not brought into the court by the partye, but by a [Page 61] worshipfull and indiffe­rent officer chosen, and so compelled to come before the iudge. These knowe all that the witnesses are hable to depose, [...]id theye knowe allso the constan­cye and vnconstauncye of the witnesses, and what reporte goethe vppon thē. And what wyll ye haue more. Doubtles there is nothynge that maye dys­close the truethe of anye doubt fallynge in conten­tion, whiche can in anye wyse be hydde from suche Iurers, so that it be possi­ble for the same to come to mans knowledge.

IVratis demum in forma p̄dicta duodecī ꝓbis et legalibꝰ hominibus habentibus vltra mobilia sua posses­siones vt p̄dicitur sufficiētes, vnde e­orū statū ipsi cōti­nere poterūt, et nulli partiū suspectis nec īuisis, sed e­isdē vicinis, legetur in anglico corā eis ꝑ curiā, totū recordū et ꝓcessus pla­citi qd’ pēdet īter [Page 58] partes: ac delucidè exponetur eis exi­tus placiti de cuius veritate iurati [...] illi curiā certificabūt: quibꝰ ꝑactis, vtra­que partiū ꝑ se vel consiliarios suos ī presentia curiae, re­feret et manifesta­bit eisdē iuratis, ō ­nes et singulas materias et euidenti­as, quibus eos do­cerese posse credit veritatem exitus taliter placitati. Et tunc adducere potest vtra (que) pars coram eisdem ius­ticiarijs et iuratis, oēs et singulos tes­tes, quos ꝓ parte sua, ip̄a producere velit, qui suꝑ sācta dei euāgelia ꝑ ius­ticiarios onerati, [Page] testificabūt’ o [...]a q̄ cognoscūt ꝓban­tia veritatē facti, de quo partes contendunt. Et si ne­cessitas exegerit, diuidentur testes huiusmodi, donec ipsi deposuerint quicquid velint, i­ta qd’ dictum vni­us, nō docebit aut concitabit eorū a­liū ad consimiliter testificandū. Qui­bus consummatis, postquā iuratores illi deinde ad eorū libitū suꝑ veritate exitus hm̄odi, de liberatione quam tam ip̄i optabunt, colloquiū habue­rint: ī custodia mi­nistrorū curiae ī lo­co eis ad hoc assignato, neīterī eos a­liq subornare valeāt, [Page 59] reuenient illi in curiā, et certifica­būt iustitiarios suꝑ veritate exitus sic iuncti, in presentia partium (si interesse velint) et maxi­me petētis. Quo­rū iuratorū dictū, per leges Angliae veredictū nūcupatur, et tunc secūdū hm̄odi veredicti qualitatem iustiti­arij reddēt et for­mabūt iudic̄ suū. Tamen si pars al­tera cōtra quā ve­redictū hm̄odi prolatū est, conquera­tur se ꝑ illud iniuste esse grauatū, ꝓ­fequi tunc potest pars illa versus iu­ratores illos, et versꝰ partē q̄ optinuit breue de attineta. [Page] Virtute cuius, si cōpertū fuerit per sacramentū vigin­ti quatuor homi­nū, in forma p̄no­ [...]ata retornatorū, electorum, et iura [...]orum, qui multo maiora habebunt patrimonia quam iuratores primi, quod ijdem primi iuratores falsum fecerunt sacramē ­tū, corpora eorundem primorū iuratorū prisonae regis cōmittentur bona eorū cōfiscabūtur, ac oēs possessiones eorundem in ma­nus regis capiētur. domus quo (que) eorū et edificia proster­nentur, bosci suc­cidentur, et prata arabuntur, ipsi eti­am iuratores primi [Page 60] extunc infames e­runt, nec alicubi recipientur in tes­timonium verita­tis, et pars q̄ succubuit in priori pla­cito, restituetur ad omnia que ip̄e per didit occasione eiꝰ Quis tunc (etsi immemor saluti [...] animae suae fuerit,) non formidine tantae penae, et ve­recundia tantae in­famiae, veritatē nō diceret, sic iuratus et si vnꝰ forsan tā ­tus sui honoris ꝓ­digus esse nō peꝑ­cerit aliqui tamen iuratorū tātorum famā suā nō necli­gēt, ne (que) bona et possessiōes suas ta­liter distrahi paci­entur, [Page] propria culpa sua. Nōne iam hic ordo reuelādi veritatē, potior et efficacior est, quā est processus qua­lē pariunt ciuiles leges? Non hic periunt causae aut ius alicuius per mortē aut ob defectū testium, nō hic pro­ducuntur testes ignoti, conducticij, pauperes, vagi, in­constātes, aut quo rum conditiones vel maliciae ignorā tur. Vicini sunt testes isti, de propri­is viuere potentes famae integrae, et opinionis illesae, non per partem incuriam ducti, sed ꝑ officiariū nobilem [Page 61] et indifferētē electi, et coram iudice venire compulsi. Isti omnia sciunt q̄ testes deponere norūt et isti testi­um productorum agnoscūt constantias, incōstātias (que) et famā. Quid vl­tra? vere nihil est quod veritatē du­bij de quo contendi poterit, detege­re valebit, qd’ iura toribꝰ talibꝰ late­re quomodolibet potest aut ignora­ri, dūmodo possibile sit, illud venire posse in agnitionē humanam.

BVt it is also necessary to discusse how in matters criminal the laws of Englande do fetche oute the truthe that perfectlye vnderstandinge the four­me of bothe the lawes, wee maye the more cer­tainelye perceaue & know whether of them bothe doth more effectually dis­couer the hydde truthe.

Yf anye manne accused of felonye or treason in Englande doe at his ar­reignemente beefore the Iudges deny the offence, furthwithe the sherife of the countie where y ^e deede was done shal cause to co­me before the same iudges xxiiij. good and lawefull men dwellinge nighe toe y ^e village where the facte was done, suche men as [Page 62] to the party accused be no thing allyed: and suche as euery of thē hathe. C.s. of land and reuenues, to certifie the iudges vpon the truthe of the crime. Whi­che at theire appearaunce the partie accused maye challenge in lyke sorte as in actions reall maye bee done, as afore is described. And moreo­uer the same partye in fauoure of hys lyfe maye challenge fiue and thirtie menne suche as hee moste fearethe: whyche vppon his challenge shalbee can­celled in the pannel, or shalbee noted wyth such markes, that theye shall not passe vppon hym: thoughe hee bee not hable to shewe anye cause of his exception and challenge. [Page] Whoe thenne can vniust lye dye in Englande for anye criminall offence, se­ynge hee maye haue so manye helpes for the fa­uoure of his life, and that none maye condempne him but his neighboures, good and lawfull menne agaynste whom hee hathe no mater of exception. In deede I woulde rather wyshe twentye euill doo­ers to escape deathe tho­roughe pitie, thenne one manne to bee vniustlye c [...]ndempned. And yet it is not to bee suspected, that anye off [...]ndoure can vn­der this fourme escape the punishement of his offen­ce, forasmuche as his lyfe and conuersation shalbee afterwarde a terroure to them that haue thus cleared hym of the crime. [Page 63] In this kynde of procee­dynge there is noe cruel­tye or extremitie vsed. Neither can the innocent and vnguiltye persone be hurt in his bodye or lymmes. Wherefore hee shall not stand in feare of the sclaū ­der of hys enemies, bee­cause hee shall not be rac­ked or tormen [...]ed at their wyll and pleasure.

Thus vnder this lawe a manne maye passe his life wythe quietnes and safe­tie. Iudge yow therefore moste noble prince whe­ther of these lawes ye had rather chose, if you should liue a priuate life.

SEd quomodo ī criminalibus le­ges Angliae scrutā tur veritatem etiā [...]imare per necessarium est, vt et ī eis plenariè agnita ā ­barum legum forma, quae earum ef­ficacius latentem reuelat veritatem certius agnosca­mus. Si reus quispi am de felonia aut proditione in An­glia rettatus cri­men suum coram iudicibus dedicat mox vicecomes comitatus vbi facinꝰ illud commissum est, venire faciet coram eisdem iu­dicibus, viginti quatuor probos et legales hoēs de vi­ceneto villae vbi il­lud factū ē, q̄ reta­to [Page 62] illi nulla affini­tate attingunt, et quorū quilibet cē ­tū solidatꝰ hēat terrae et redditꝰ, ad certificādū Iudices il­los suꝑ crimin̄ illiꝰ veritate. Quibꝰ cō parētibꝰ, rettatꝰ il­le eos calūpniare potest eadē forma qua ī actionibꝰ re­alibus fieri debere suꝑiꝰ discribit’. Et īsup reꝰ ip̄e ī fauorē vitae suae calūpniare potest triginta quī (que) hoīes, quos ip̄e maxime formidat, q̄ ad eiꝰ calūpniā cācellabūt’ ī panello, aut sign̄ talibꝰ notabūt’ qd’ (vt verbꝭ legꝭ vtar) illi suꝑ eū nō trāsi­būt licet ip̄e nullā causā assignare sciat exceptionis seu [Page] calūpniae suae. Quis tūc mori posset in iquè in Anglia pro crimine? cū tot iuuamina habere il­le poterit ob fauorē vitae suae? et nō nisi vicini eius, ꝓ­bi et fideles homi­nes, versus quos ipse nullā hēt ma­teriam exceptionis eū condēnare po­terūt? mallem re­uera vigīti facino rosos mortem pi­etate euadere, quā iustū vnū iniuste condempari. Nec tamē reū quempiā sub hac forma, reatus sui penam euadere posse suspicā ­dum est, dum eius vita et mores ti­mori de [...]ceps erūt eis qui eū sic pur­garunt a crimine. [Page 63] In hoc equidē processu nihil est cru­dele, nihil inhumanū, nec ledi pote­rit innocens ī cor­pore aut membris suis quare nec formidabit ille calūpniam inimicorum eius quia non tor­quebit’ iste ad ar­bitrium ipsorum. Sub hac igitur lege viuere quietum et securum est. Iudi­ca ergo, princeps optime, q̄ legum harum tibi electis­sima foret, si tu priuatam spirares vitam.

WHereunto the prince aunswered and sayde. I see no harde or straunge mater, good Chaūcelour that shoulde make mee doubtefull or daungerous in the election and choy­se of the thynge that yee aske. For whoe woulde not rather choose to lyue vnder that lawe, where­vnder hee myghte lyue in securitye, then vnder that lawe, whych woul­de sette hym naked and succourlesse agaynste the crueltye of hys enemyes. Verelye no manne can bee saufe in body or good­des, whom his aduersa­rye maye conuince in euerye cause withe twoo vn­knowen wytnesses of his owne choosynge & bryn­gynge fourthe.

[Page 64]And thoughe a manne be not compelled by theire sayenges to dye, yet is he lyttell relieued that hath escaped deathe, beeynge shronke in all his syn­news and lymmes, & cast intoo a perpetuall impo­tencye of his bodye. And truelye into suche daun­ger maye the crafte of a spytefull person bringe a­nye manne that lyuethe vnder the lawe, whyche herewhile you spake of. But suche mischiefe and inconuenience cannot be wroughte by witnesses that make theire deposi­tions in the presence of twelue credyble menne neyghbours to the deede that is presentlye in que­stion, and to the circum­staunces of the same: [Page] which also know the maners and condicions of y ^e same witnesses, specially if they bee nigh dwellers and knowe also whether they bee menne worthye to bee credited or no. And further all those xii. cānot bee ignoraunt in those thinges that were doone by & among theire neigh­bours. For I know more certeinelye the thinges that are doone heare in Barro where I am now remayninge, then those thinges that are done in England. Neither doe I thynke that thinges can be kepte from the know­ledge of a good & honest man being done nighe to his house, and almost vn­der his nose, bee they ne­uer so secretlye doone.

[Page 65]But yet I maruail much why the foresaide lawe of Englande, whiche is so good and commodious, is not commen to all the whole worlde.

CVi princeps. Arduū ābigu ūue Cācellarie, nō conspicio, qd’ mo­rosum me tutubā ­tēue redderet in electione rei quā interrogas. Nā quis nō sub lege quase­curam ducere posset vitā viuere po­tius eligeret, quā sub lege tali, sub qua inermem in­defensum (que) se sēꝑ redderet seuiciae omniū inimicorū eius? Vere tutus quisquā esse nō poterit in corꝑe aut in bonis, quē inimicus eius (in omni causa) conuincere poterit testibꝰ du­obus etiam igno­tis, per ipsummet electis et ꝓductis. [Page 64] Et licet quis mortem per dicta eo­rum subire nō co­gatur, parum ta­men releuatur ip­se qui mortem e­uasit, cōtractione neruorum & mē ­brorum suorum, at (que) corporis eius languore ꝑpetuo. Tali reuera discri­mini impellere potest inimici astutia oēm hominē qui sub lege degit, quā tu iam dudū explicasti. Sed tale ma­lū operari neque­rūt testes qui de­positiones suas fa­ciunt, in presentia duo decim fide di­gnorū vicinor’ fa­cto de quo agit’ & circūstantiis eius, [Page] qui et noscunt eo­rundem testium mores, maxime si vicini ipsi fuerint, noscunt etiam et si ipsi sint creduli­rate digni. Omnes etiam duo decim [...]ales latere omni­no non poterit, quicquid actum est per, aut inter vicinos eorum.

Nosco namque ego certius quae iam aguntur hic in Barro vbi sum modo conuer­satus, quam quae ī Anglia fiūt. Nec effugere posse pu­ [...]o noticiam pro­bi viri ea quae agū ­tur, licet quo dām̄o occultè, prope domicilium eius.

[Page 65]Sed tū cur predic­ta lex Angliae, quae tam frugi et opta­bilis est, nō est toti mundo commu­nis, vehementer admiror.

YOur highnes came ve­ry yonge out of Englād (quod the chauncellour,) so that the disposicion and qualitie of that lande is vnknowen vnto you.

Whiche if ye know, and shoulde compare there­with the commodities and qualities of other countreis, you would no­thinge maruaile at these thinges, whyche nowe do trouble youre mynde. [Page] In deede Englande is so fertile and fruitfull, that comparinge quantitie to quantitie, it surmoun­teth all other landes in fruitfulnes. Yea it brin­geth furthe fruit of it self skant prouoked by mans industrie and laboure.

For there the landes the fieldes, the groues and the woodes doe so abun­dauntlye springe, that the same vntilled do commonlye yelde to theire owners more profit then tylled, thoughe elles they be most fruitfull of corne and graine. There also are fildes of pasture in­closed with hedges and d [...]tches, with trees plan­ted and growynge vp­pon the same, whiche are a defence to theire heards of sheepe and cattell, [Page 66] aswell agaynst stormes, as also againste the heate of the sonne. And the pastures are commonly watered, so that cattell shutte and closed therein haue no neede of keping neither by daye, nor by nighte. For there bee noe wolfes, nor beares, nor Lyons. Wherefore theire sheepe lye night by night in the fieldes vnkepte within their foldes, wherwith theire lande is ma­nured. By y ^e meane wherof the menne of that countrey are skante troubled with anye painefull la­bour. Wherefore they lyue more spiritually, as dyd the auncient fathers whiche dyd rather choose to keepe and feede cattell thē to disturbe y ^e quietnes [Page] of the mynde wyth the care of husbandrye. And heereof it commeth that menne of this countreye are more apt and fitte to discerne in doubtfull cau­ses of greate examinatiō and tryall, then are men whollye geeuen to moy­lyng in the grounde: in whome that rurall exer­cise ingendreth rudenes of witte and mynd. More ouer the same countrey is so filled and repleny­shed with landed menne, that therein so small a thorpe can not be founde wherein dwellethe not a knight, an esquier, or such a housholder as is there commonlye called a frāk­layne, enryched with greate possessions: And also other freeholders, [Page 67] and manye yomen hable for their liuelods to make a Iurie in fourme aforemencioned. For there bee in that lande dyuers yo­menne whiche are able to dispende by the yeare a­boue a hundreth poundes Wherefore the Iuries a­fore declared are there ve­rye ofte made, specially in greate matters of knigh­tes, esquiers, and others whose possessions in the whole amounteth yerely aboue the summe of fyue hundreth markes.

Wherefore it cannot bee thought that such menne can bee suborned, or that they wyll bee periured, not onelye for that they haue beefore theire eyes the feare of God, but also, for that theye [Page] haue a carefull regarde too the preseruation of theire honoures, and to the eschueyng of reproch, and dammage thereup­pon ensuynge, and also that theire heires bee not impeched through theire infamye. After thys ma­ner, O myghtye Prince are none other royalmes of the worlde dysposed and inhabyted.

For thoughe there bee in them menne of greate power, of greate ryches, and possessions, yet they dwell not one nyghe to an another as such greate menne dooe in England. Neyther so manye inhe­rytoures and posses­soures of lande are else­where as in Englande. [Page 68] For in a whole towne of an other Countrey it is harde to fynde one man whyche for his lyuelode is hable to bee receaued into a Iurye. For there, excepte it bee in Cities and walled townes, ve­rye fewe there bee, beside noble menne that haue anye possessions of landes or other immouables.

The noble menne also haue there small store of pasture. And to labour in vyneyardes, or to putte theire handes to y ^e plough that is vnfitte for theire estate and degree.

And yet in vineyardes and eareable grounde consisteth the substaunce of theire possessions, sa­uynge onelye a fewe fyeldes nexte adioyninge [Page] to greate ryuers, and sa­uynge also certein woodz the pastures whereof are commen to their tenants and neighboures.

Howe then can a Iurie bee made in suche coun­treis of xii. substaunciall menne nighe adioyninge to the place of anye deede broughte in iudgement, seeinge they can not bee called neighboures that dwell so farre a sunder. Truely xii. sworne men theare must needes bee farre distaunt from the place of the deede, when the defendaunt in those Countreys hathe chal­lenged xxxv. menne of the nexte dwellers wyth­out shewynge anye cause whye. Wherefore in those landes a Iurye [Page 69] must bee made either of su [...]he as dwell farre of from the place of the deed that is in controuersie, and therefore cannot at­taine to the knowledge of the truthe thereof, or els it must bee made of poore menne that bee not ashamed of infamie, nei­ther doe feare the losse of theire goodes which they haue not.

They also blinded wyth rusticall and brute rude­nes are not hable to be­holde the cleare bryght­nesse of the trueth.

Marueyle not therefore, mo [...] woorthye Prynce, yf the lawe whereby the truethe is sifted out in Englande bee not fre­quented and vsed in o­ther nations.

[Page]For they are not hable to make sufficient and lyke Iuries as bee made in Englande.

CAncellarius. Iuuenis re­cessisti (prīceps) ab Anglia, quô tibi ignota est dispositio et qualitas terrae illius, quas si agno­ueris, et cete [...]arū regionum emolu­mēta qualitates (que) eisdem compara­raueris, nō admi­rareres ea quibus iam agitatur ani­mus tuus.

[Page]Anglia sane tam fertilis est, qd’ quā titate ad quantita tē cōparata, ipsa ceteras oēs quasi regiones exsuꝑat vbertate fructuū etiā suū vltro ipsa ꝓfert vix īdustria hoīs cōcitata. Nā agri eiꝰ, cāpi, saltꝰ, et nemora, tanta fecunditate ger­mina ebulliūt, vt ī culta illa, sepe plus comodi afferant possessoribus suis quā arata, licet fertilissima ipsa sint segetū, & bladorū. Includūt’ quo (que) interra illa pasturar’ arua, fossatis, et se­pibus, desuper ar­boribus plantatis, quibus muniunt’ a procellis et estu [...]ol [...] eorū greges [Page 66] et armenta, ipsae (que) pasturae vt pluri­mum irriguae sunt, quo infra earum claustra reclusa a­nimalia, custodia nō egēt ꝑ diē nec ꝑ noctē. Nā ibi lu­pi nō sūt, vrsi nec leones, quare de nocte oues eorū incustoditae in cā ­pis recumbunt, in caulis, et ouilibus quibus impugnantur terrae eorum. Vnde hoīes patriae illius vix operis sudore grauātur, quare spiritu ipsi magis viuūt, vt fecerūt patres anti­qui, qui pascere mallebant greges, quā animi quietē agriculturae solici­tudine turbare.

[Page]Ex quibus homi­nes regionis istius apti magis reddū ­tur et dispositi, ad discernendum in causis quae magni sunt examinis, quā sunt viri qui telluris operibus inha­bitantes, ex ruris familiaritate mentis cōtrahūt rudi­tatē. Regio etiam illa ita respersa, referta (que) est possessoribus terrarū et a­grorum, qd’ in ea villula tam par­ua reperire nō poterit, in qua nō est miles, armiger, vel pater familias, qualis ibidē frākelain vulgariter nuncupat (er), magnis ditatꝰ possessionibꝰ, nec nō libere tenētes [Page 67] alii, et valecti plu­rimi, suis patrimoniis sufficiētes, ad faciendū iuratam in forma prenota­ta. Sunt nā (que) va­lecti diuersi in re­gione illa, qui plus quā sexcenta scu­ta ꝑ annum expendere possunt, quô iuratae suꝑius de­scriptae, sepissime ī regione illa fiunt: presertim in ingentibus causis, de militibus, armigeris, et aliis quorū pos­sessiones in vni­uerso excedunt duo milia scutorū per annum, Qua­re cogitari nequit tales subornarì posse, vel ꝑiurari velle, nedū ob ti­mor’ dei, sed & ob [Page] honorem suū conseruandum, et vi­tuperium damnū quoque inde con­sequutiuum euitā dum, etiam ne eo­rum heredes ipso­rum ledantur in­famia. Taliter, fili regis, disposita in­habitataque non sunt aliqua alia mundi regna.

Nam licet in eis sint viri magnae potentiae, magno­rum opum et pos­sessionum, non ta­men eorum vnus prope moratur ad alterum, vt in An­glia tanti moran­tur viri, nec tanta vt ibi hereditato­rum est copia et poss [...]ētiū terras: [Page 68] vix enim in villa­ta vna regionum aliarū reperiri po­terit vir vnus, pa­trimonio suffici­ens, vt in iuratis ipse ponatur. Nā raro ibidē, aliqui preter nobiles re­periuntur possessores agrorū, aliorū ­ue immobiliū, ex­tra ciuitates & muratas villas. Nobi­les quo (que) ibidem pasturarū copiam nō habēt, & vine­as colere, aut ara­tro manꝰ appone­re, statui eorū non cōuenit, tn̄ in vi­neis et terris ara­bilibꝰ cōsistit sub­stantia possessionū eorū, exceptis so­lum pratis quibus­dam, adiacentibus [Page] magnis ripariis, et exceptis boscis, quorū pasturae cō munes sunt tenentibus et vicinis suis. Quomodo tūc in regionibus tali­bus iurata fieri poterit ex duodecim probis hominibus de vicineto vbi factum aliquod in iudicio deducitur cū vicini dici non poterunt qui tan­ta distantia disiun guntur? Vere re­motos multum a facto duodecim iuratos ibidē esse oportebit, post­quā reus in regio­nibus illis triginta quin (que) (sine assig­nata causa) de propinquioribꝰ calūpniaūit: quare aut [Page 69] de multum remotis a facto de quo contenditur, qui veritatem facti non agnoscunt, in regnis illis opor­tebit facere iura­tam, aut de pau­peribus, quibus non est verecun­dia infamiae, nec timor iacturae bo­norum suorum, cum ipsa non sint ipsi etiam rustici­tatis ruditate ob­cecati, veritatis claritatem neque­unt intueri.

Non igitur mi­reris princeps silex qua in An­glia veritas inqui­ritur, alias non ꝑuaget’ nationes, [Page] ipsae nan (que) vt An­glia facere nequeunt sufficiētes cō ­similes (que) iuratas.

THough we haue said, (ꝙ the prince, that cō ­parisons are odious, yet the Ciuile lawe in the comparison by you made hath cleared it selfe from all blame. For thoughe you haue prooued y ^e lawe of Englande to bee of more excellencye then it, yet it deserueth not ther­by to bee odious, for­so much as you haue blamed neither it nor the makers thereof.

[Page 70]But haue shewed y ^e coū ­trey wher it ruleth to be the only cause why it doth not in matters of doubte trye out the truth wyth so commendable a kynde of proceedinge, as the lawe of Englande dothe. But as touchinge that y ^e law of Englande in the case by you nowe discussed is more fitte and meete for that roialme then the Ciuile lawe, hereof we may not doubte. Wherefore wee are not desirous to chaunge it for the Ciuile lawe. Howbeit this pree­minence of the lawe of England proceedeth not of the fault of the other. For it is onelye the ferti­litie of Englande that hath caused it to bee suche as it is.

TVnc princeps Comparatio­nes odiosas esse li­cet dixerimus, lex tamen Ciuilis in comparatione per te facta omni se purgauit a crimi­ne: quia licet ei Legem Angliae tu p [...]etuleris, odium inde ipsa non me­retur, dum neque eam, ne (que) cōdito­res eius increpasti. [Page 70] sed solū patriam vbi illa regit cau­sā esse demōstrasti quod non tam optabili processu vt lex Angliae, ipsa in dubiis elicit veri­tatem. Legem ve­ro Angliae in casu iam per te dispu­tato, accomodati­orem esse regno illi quam est lex ciuilis, ambigere non sinimur, quo eam pro ciuili cō ­mutare non appetimus, sed tamen hec legis Angliae preeminentia, ab alterius crimine non euenit, solum enim eam Angliae fertilitas sic cau­sauit.

BVt thoughe wee bee greatly delited in the fourme which the lawes of England vse in sifting out the truthe in matters of contention, yet whe­ther the same lawe bee contrarie to holye scrip­ture or not, that is to vs somewhat doubtfull.

For our Lorde saiethe to the Pharasies in the vii. Chapiter of Saint Iohnz Ghospell: In your lawe it is written that the te­stimonye of two menne is true. And the lorde confirming the same saithe. [Page 71] I am one that beare wit­nesse of my selfe, and the father that sent mee bea­reth wytnes of me.

Nowe sir the Pharasies were Iewes, so that it was all one to saye. It is written in your lawe and it is written in Moy­ses lawe, whyche God gaue to the children of Israell by Moyses.

Wherefore to gaynesaie thys lawe is too denye gods lawe. Whereby it folowethe that if the law of England swarue from thys lawe, it swar­uethe also from Godds lawe, whyche in no wise maye bee contraryed.

It ys wrytten also in y ^e eyghteenthe Chapiter of Saint Mathues gospell: [Page] Where the lord speaking of brotherlye admonitiō, amonge other thinges sayethe thus: But if thy brother here shee not then take yet wyth thee one or twooe, that in the mouthe of twoe or three witnesses euerye matter maye bee stablished.

If the Lorde haue ap­pointed euerye matter to be stablyshed in y ^e mouth of twoe or three witnes­ses, then it is in vaine for to seeke for the verdict of manye menne in maters of doubt. For no manne is able to laye any other or better foundation then the Lorde hath layde.

These are the doub­tes good Chauncelloure whyche touchynge the [Page 72] procedynge of the law of Englande in the try­all of maters do sōewhat trouble me. Wherefore what aūswer maye here vnto be made I would gladly learne of you

SEd licet non in fimè Cancel­tarie, nos delectet forma, qua leges Angliae in conten­tionibus reuelant veritatem, tamen an modus ille sa­crae repugnet scripturae vel non, pau­lulum agitamur. Ait namque do­minus phariseis. Ioh. viii. In lege vestra scriptum est, quia duorum hominum testimonium verum est, et huic applaudēs dominus inquit, [Page 71] ego sum qui tes­timonium per­hibeo de me ip­so, et testimoni­um perhibet de me qui misit me pater.

Pharisei quippe iudei erant, vnde idem erat dicere in Lege vestra scriptum est, et in Lege Mosay [...] (quae a domino ꝑ Moysen filiis Isra­ell prolata fuit) scriptum est.

Quare huic legi cōtraire, legi ē di­uin̄ refragari, quô sequit’, qd’ lex Angliae si ab hac lege discedat, a lege diuina, cui reluctari nō licet, ipsa disce­dít. Scribitur etiam Math .xviij. [Page] Quod dominus (loquens de cor­rectione frater­na) inter alia sic ait. Si autem non te audierit frater tuus, adhibe te­cum adhuc vnum aut duos, vt in ore duorum vel tri­um, stet omne verbum. Si in ore duorum vel tri­um dominus om­ne verbum statu­erit, frustra pluri­mum hominum queritur in du­biis veredictum. Nemo enim po­test melius aut a­liud fundamen­tum ponere, quam posuit do­minus.

Hec sunt Cancel­larie quae me de [Page 72] legis angliae pro­cessu in probationibus aliquantu­lum conturbant. Quare q̄d his respondendum est a te doceri deposco

THe lawes of Englād, quod the Caūcellour are nothīge at all repug­naunt to these thynges that trouble you, most worthie prince, thoughe they in maters of doubte do somewhat otherwyse boult out y ^e trouthe. The lawe of the generall coū ­cell, wherī it is prouided that Cardinalles shall not be cōuicted of crimīal [Page] offenses otherwise then by the deposition of xii witnesses, is it any hynderaunce to the testimo­nie of ii. men Yf? the testimonie of ii men be true, of more force must the testimonie of xii men be iudged true, acordynge to a rule of the law that say­ethe: The more euer conteyneth in it that whiche is lesse. The īholder was promised to be rewarded with an ouerplus, if he bestowed vpon the cure of the wounded mā more then the ii. pense which he receaued. A man that laboreth to proue that he was absent at the tyme of the offense wherewith he is charged, shal it not be nedefull for him to [Page 73] brynge furthe mo then ii or iii, witnesses, when his aduersarie hathe pro­ued, or is readie to proue the same by ii. or iii. wyt­nesses. And so he that trauaylethe to conuince witnesses of periurie, must of necessite bringe furthe many mo then they were so that the testimonie of ii. or iii. men shall not e­uer be iudged true. But that lawe must thus be vnderstanded, that by a lesser number of witnes­ses then ii. the truthe in matters doubtfull ought not to be searched for, as appeareth by Bernard assignynge dyuers cases wherin by the lawes mo then iii. wytnesses must needes be produced. As in some of them v, and in [Page] and in some vii. Nor yett the lawes of Englande be not against it, but that the truethe may be pro­ued by ii. witnesses, whē it can no otherwyse be tried For if thinges be done vppō the sea without the bodye of any countye of that royalme, which af­terward be brought in plea before the lord ad­mirall, the same thynges by the decrees of y ^e lawes of england must be pro­ued by wytnesses. In lyke maner it hathe bene accustomed to be done before the Cōstable & Mar­shall of England tou­chynge a facte that was done in an other roy­alme, so that the hea­rīge thereof appertaīeth [Page 74] to the Constables courte. Moreouer in the courtes of certein liberties in Englād where matters pro­ceede by lawe merchaunt contractes or bargaynes made amōge merchaūtz in an other royalme are proued by witnesses.

And this cōmeth to passe because that in these ca­ses there be no neigh­bours founde by whose othes Iuries of xii men may be made, as in con­tractes and other cases ariesynge within the royalme of Englande is ac­customed to be dōe Like­wyse if a deede wherin witnesses are named be brought into the kynges courte, then processe shal­be made agaynst those witnesses: and they together withe xii. Iurers [Page] shall by their othes recognise whether the same be his deede or no whose it is supposed to be. Wherefore the lawe of Englād reproueth not that lawe whiche by wytnesses tryeth out the trueth, specially whē necessitie so requi­rethe. For so do y ^e lawes of Englande too, not onely in the cases now men­cioned, but also in certein other cases, wherof here to make rehersall it shall not be material. Howbeit this lawe neuer determineth a cōtrouersie by witnesses onely that maie be determined by a Iurie of xii. men: forsomuche as this waye is muche more aualeable and effectuall for the triall of the trueth [Page 75] then is the fourme of any other lawes of the world and further from the daū ger of corruption and su­bornation. Nor this fourm̄ of proceedinge cā not in any cause faille for wante of witnesses: nor the testimonies of witnesses, (if anye be) can not choose but come to their due ende and effect Neither cā suche xii. men be forsworne, but that for their offēse they must suffer most sharpe pu­nishement, and neuerthelesse the partie by their depositions greeued shall obteie due remedie And these thīges shall not be dōe by y ^e will & saīges of straunge or vnknowne [Page] men but by the othes of good, of worshipfull, and of credible mē neighbours to the parties, in whome the same par­ties haue no cause of challenge or mistrust touchīg their verdit. O howe hor­ryble and detestable daū gers happen mani times throughe the fourme of proceedinge by wytnes­ses. Yf a mā make a pri­uie contract of matrimo­nie, & afterward before wytnesses do betrouthe or assure himself to ano­ther woman, shall he not in the contentious courte be cōpelled to marye her, & also after that in y ^e penitenciall courte be iudged to lye with the first, if he be duely required, and to do penaūce as ofte as by [Page 76] his owne mociō and pro­curement he liethe with the seconde, thoughe in bothe courtes the iudge be one and the selfe same man. In this case, as it is wryten in Iob, are not y ^e synewes of Leuyathan perplexed and intricat. Fie for shame, they are ī ­tricate in deede For this man can carnally companie with neither of these ii. women, nor with any other without punishe­ment either by the con­tentious courte, or by the penitenciall courte. Such a mischiefe, inconueni­ence, or daunger can ne­uer happen in any case by the waye of proceedīg by the lawe of England, no not though Leuiathā himselfe would labour to [Page] procure the same. Do ye not now see, most noble prince, that the more you obiect agaynst the lawes of England, the more worthie they appere.

CAncellarius. non his quibꝰ turbaris princeps, contrariantur le­ges Angliae licet a liter quodamodo ipsae in dubiis eli­ciant veritatem. Quid duorū ho­minū testimonio obest lex illa ge­neralis cōsilii, qua cauetur, vt non nisi duodecē tes­tium [Page] depositione cardinales de cri­minibus conuin­cantur? Si verum est duorum testi­monium, a fortio­ri testimoniū du­odecim verum iudicari debet, dicē ­te iuris regula. Plus semper in se continet quod est minus. Super ero­gationis meritum promittebatur stabulario, si plꝰ quā duos quos recepit denarios, ipse in vuln̄rati cura ero gasset. Nōne plus­quā duos aut tres testes producere oportebit quēpiā qui absen [...]ē se fu­isse probare niti­tur, tēpore crimi­nis sibi impositi, quod ꝑ duos aut [Page 73] tres testes adūsa­riꝰ eiꝰ ꝓbauit vel probare paratꝰ ē? Sic et qui testes de ꝑiurio cōuīce­re satagit, multo illis plures ꝓducere necesse habet, quo nō sēꝑ duo­rū vel triū ho [...]m testimoniū verū esse iudicabitur, sed intelligēda est lex illa, qd mino­re testiū numero, quam duorū, veritas in dubiis non debet exquiri, vt patet per Bernar­dū ex tra. de testi. ca. licet ī glosa or dinaria, vbi ip̄e assignat diūsos casꝰ ī q̄bꝰ ꝑ leges plu­res quātres oportet ꝓducere tes­tes. Videlicet ī ali­q̄bꝰ eorū quin (que) [Page] et in aliquibꝰ septē, per duos etiam testes veritatē ꝓ­bari posse, cū non aliter ip̄a pateret vti (que) leges Angliae affirmāt. Nā si quae supra altum mare extra corpus cu­iuslibet comitatus regni illius fiant, quae postmodū in placito corā admirallo Angliae de­ducātur, ꝑ testes illa iuxta legū Angliae sāctiones probari debent. Consimiliter quo (que) corā constabulario et mariscallo An­gliae fieri solitū est de facto qd in regno alio actū ē dū ­modo adiurisdiction̄ curiae cōstabulariae cognitio eius [Page 74] pertineat, etiā et in curiis quarūdā libertatū ī Anglia vbi ꝑ legē merca­toriā proceditur, ꝓbant per testes contractus inter mercatores extra regnum factos.

Quia in casibꝰ his nō reperiūtur vicini, ꝑ quorū sacramenta iuratae ex duodecim hoībꝰ fieri possūt, prout de contractibꝰ et aliis casibus infraregnū Anglioe e­mergentibus, est fieri consuetū. Si militer si carta in qua testes nomi­nātur, deducatur in curia regis, processus tūc fiet er­ga testes illos, ipsi [Page] quoque recognoscēt simul cum duodecim iuratori­bus per eorum sacramenta, vtrum carta illa sit factū eius cuius suppo­nitur an nō. Quare legem qua testibus veritas extor quetur, lex An­gliae non condēp­nat, maxime cum necessit’ id depos­cat, quia et sic faciūt ipsae leges An­glioe, nedū in casi­bꝰ iā notatis, sed etiā ī quibusdā casibus aliis quos nō expedit hic notar’ Sed ꝑ testes solū, lex ipsa nūquā li­tē dirimit, q̄ ꝑ iura tā duodecē homi­nū discidi poterit cū sit modꝰ iste ad veritatē eliciendā multo potior et [Page 75] efficatior quā est forma abquarum aliarū legū orbis, et remotior a corruptionis et su­bornationis peri­culo. Nec pot’ hec ꝓdecendi forma in causa aliqua, ob defectum testium deperire, ne (que) tes­tiū (si qui fuerint) attestationes, ef­fectum debitum non sortiri, nec ꝑiurari possūt duo­decī homines huiusmodi, quī ꝓ eorū crimine ipsi a­cerbissimè puniā ­tur, et nihilominꝰ ꝑs ꝑ eorū deposi­tionē grauata, re­mediū debitū cō ­sequetur, ac non fient hec per ex­traneorū aut igno [Page] torum hominum arbitriū aut dicta­mē, sed ꝑ probo­rū, nobiliū, et fide dignorū vicino­rū ꝑtibꝰ sacramē ­ta, q̄bꝰ partes illae nullā habēt causā calūpniae aut dif­fidēcioe de eorum dicto. O quā hor­rēdum et detes­tabile discrimē se­pe accidit, ex for­ma ꝑ depositionē testium ꝓcedēdi. Nōne si quis clā destinū cōtrahat matrimonium, et postea corā testi­bꝰ mulierē aliā ipse affidauerit, cū cadē cōsummare matrimoniū arta­bitur in foro contēcioso, et postea ī penitēciali foro iudicabitur ipse [Page 76] cōcumbere cum prima, si debitè req̄ratur, et penitere debet quotiēs ex actione ꝓpria cō cubuerit cū secū ­da, licet in vtro (que) foro iudex fuerit homo vnꝰ et idē. Nōne in hoc casu vt ī Iob. scribitur ꝑplexi sūt testiculi leuiathā? Proh pudor, verè perplexi sunt, nā cum neu­tra mulierum ha­rum, ne (que) cū alia, contrahēs iste ex tunc cōcu mbet sine animaduertio­ne in foro cōtēdē tium aut penitēti­um, quale malū in­cōueniēs aut dis­crimen, per mo­dum et formā pro­cessꝰ legis Anglioe [Page] impossibile est in casu aliquo eue­nire, etiam si leui­athan ipse ea ge­nerare nitatur. Nōne vides iā prī ceps clarissime, leges Anglioe tāto magis clarescere, quāto eisdē tu ā pliꝰ reluctaris?

I see playnely, quod the prince, that in the case wherin you haue now trauayled they haue the preeminence aboue all o­ther lawes of the world Yet we haue heard that some of my progenitours kynges of Englād haue not bee plesed with their owne lawes, and haue therefore gone about to [Page 77] bringe in y ^e Ciuile lawes to the gouernement of England, and to abolish y ^eir owne coūtrey lawes For what purpose and ī ­tēt they so did I muche marueyll.

PRinceps. Vi­deo inquit, et eas inter tociꝰ or­bis iura (in casu quo tu iā sudasti) prefulgere consi­dero, tamen pro­genitorum meo­rū Angliae regū quosdā audiuimꝰ in legibus suis minime delectatos, [Page 77] satagētes proīde, leges ciuiles ad Anglioe regimen inducere, et patri as leges repudia­re fuisse conatos, horū reuera cōsi­liū vehemēter ad miror.

You woulde nothīge marueyll here at, quod the Chauncellour, if you did deepely consyder withe your selfe y ^e cause of this intēt. For you haue hard afore howe that amonge the Ciuile lawes that maxime or rule is a sen­tēce most notable, which thus syngeth: The prin­ces pleasure standeth in force of a lawe: quite [Page] contrarie to the decrees of the lawes of Englād, whereby the kynge there of ruelethe his people not onely by regall, but also by politique gouernmēt. In somuche that at y ^e tie of his coronation he is bound by an othe to the obseruaunce and keepīg of his owne lawe, which thinge sōe kynges of England not well brooking as thinkynge that there­by they should not free­ly gouerne their subiects as other kīges do, whose ruele is onely regall, go­uernynge their people by the Ciuile lawe, and chiefely by that foresaid maxime of the same lawe whereby they at their pleasure chaunge lawes [Page 78] make newe lawes, exe­cute punishmentes, bur­den their subiectes withe chargeis: and also when they lust, do determine controuersies of sueters, as pleaseth them. Wher­fore these your progeni­tours went about to cast of the yoke politique, that [...]hey also might lykewise [...]uele or rather rage ouer [...]he people their subiectes [...]n regall wyse onely: not [...]onsyderynge that the power of bothe kynges is [...]quall, as in the foresaid [...]reatise of the lawe of the [...]awe of nature is decla­red: and that to ruele the people by gouernement politique is no yoke, but libertie, and greate secu­ritie not onely to the sub­iectes, but also to y ^e kinge [Page] kynge himself: & further no small lyghtenynge or easement of his charge. And that this may ap­pere more euident vnto you, ponder and weighe the experience of bothe regimentes And begynne with the kīge of Fraūce, perusīge after what sorte he ruelethe his subiectes by regall gouernement alone. And then cōe to y ^e effect of the ioynte gouernaunce regall and poli­tique, examinynge by experience howe and after what maner the kynge of England gouernethe his subiectes.

CAncellarius. Non admi­reris princeps, si causam huius co­naminis mēte so­licita pertractares Audisti nam (que) superiu [...], quomodo inter leges Ciui­les precipua sen­tentia est, maxi­ma siue regula, il­la q̄ sic cauit, qd principi placuit legis habet vigo­r [...]m, qualiter non [Page] sanctiūt leges Angliae, dum nedum regaliter, sed et politice rex eius­dem dominatur in populum suū, quó ipse in coro­natione sua ad legis suae obseruan­ciam astringitur sacramento, quod reges quidam Angliae egrè ferentes putantes proinde se non libere do­minari in subdi­tos, vt faciunt re­ges regaliter tan­tum prīcipantes, q̄ lege ciuili, et po [...]issimè predicta legis illius maxima, regulant plebem suam, quó ipsi ad eorum libitum iura mutant, noua condunt, penas in [Page 78] fligunt, et onera imponunt subdi­tis suis, ꝓpriis quoque arbitriis con­tēdēt ium cum velint dirimunt lites. Quare moliti sūt ipsi prog [...]nitores tui hoc iugum politicum abiicer’ vt consimiliter et ip­si in subiectum populum regaliter tantum dominari sed potius deba­chari queant: nō attēdentes quod equalis est vtrius­que regis poten­cia, vt in predicto tractatu de natu­ra legis naturoe docetur, et qd nō iugum sed libertas est politicê regere populum, securi­tas quo (que) maxima [Page] nedū plebi, sed et ipsi regi alleuia­cio etiā non minima solicitudinis suae, quae vt tibi a­pertius pateāt, v­trius (que) regiminis experientiam per cunctare, & a re­gimine tantū re­gali qualiter rex Franciae principa­tur in subditos suos exordium su­merrito deīde a regalis [...]t politicae regiminis effectu, qualit (er) rex Angliae dominatur in sibi subiectos popu­los, experientiam quere.

CAll to remēbraūce, most worthye prince after what sorte you saw y ^e wealthie villages and townes (as touchynge [...]ore of corne) in the roy­alme of Fraunce, while you were there a so iour­ner, pestered with the kynges men at armes & their horses, so that skant in any of y ^e great townes there you could gett any lodgynge. Wheare of y ^e inhabiters you learned y ^t those men, thoughe they continue in one village a monethe or ii, do not nor will paye any thynge at all either for their owne charges, or for the char­ges of their horses. But, which is worse, y ^•y cōpel­led y ^e īhabitz of y ^e vilages [Page] and town dwellers whe­ther they cāe, to prouide of their owne proper costes out of the villages adioyninge wyne & flesh for them, and other thīgs y ^t thei needed at dearer prices then they might haue bought the same at home. And if any refused thus to do, they were anō by plaine stafford lawe forced to do it. And when they had spent all the vic­tualies, fewell, and horse meat in one towne, then those men went to an o­ther towne wastynge the same in lyke maner, not payeyng one pennye for any necessaries either for themselfs, or ells for their cōcubines and harlottes, whereof they euer car­ryed [Page 80] caried aboute withe them great abundaunce, nor for hosē or shewes, and other lyke euen to the least poīt or lace, but they compelled the townesmen, wheare theye carried to beare all theire expenses. And thus were al the villages and vnwalled townes of that lande vsed, so that there is not the least village there free from this miserable calamitie, but that it is once or twyse euery yeare beggered by this kynde of pilling. Furthermore the kyng suffereth no man to eate salte within his kingdome, excepte he buy it of the kinge at suche price as pleaseth him to assesse.

And if any pore man had rather eate his meate fre­she, then to buy salt so ex­cessiuely deare, hee is im­īmediatly [Page] cōpelled to buy so much of y ^e kinges salte at the kings price as shall suffice so many persones as he keepeth in his house. Moreouer all the inhaby­ters of that royalme gee­ue yearelye to the kynge the fowerthe parte of all the wynes y ^t theire groūdes bearethe: and euerye vintener the fowerth penney of the price of the wi­ne that hee sellethe. And beesides all this euery vil­lage and borroughe pay­ethe yearelye to the kyng great summes of moneye assessed vppon them for the wages of men at ar­mes, so that the charges of the kings army, which is euer verye great, is mainteyned by the poore peo­ple of y ^e villages, boroug­hes, & towns of y ^e roialme. [Page 81] And yet moreouer euerye village findethe continu­allye twoo Crossebowes at the leaste, and some mo wythe all furnyture and habyliments requisite for the kynges seruyce in hys warres as ofte as it plea­sethe hym to muster them whyche hee dothe verye ofte. And these thynges not considered, other ex­ceedynge greate talleges are yearelye assessed vp­pon euerye vyllage of the same royalme to the kyn­ges vse, whereof theye are no yeare released. The people beeinge wyth the­se and diuers other cala­mities plagued and op­pressed, do liue in greate mysery, drīkīg water dai­ly. Neyther do y ^e inferiour sort tast any other licor sa­uīg only at solēpne feasts [Page] Theire shamewes are made of hempe, muche ly­ke to sacke clothe. Wool­len clothe theye weare none, excepte it bee verye course, and that onelye in theire coates vnder theire sayde vpper gar­mentes. Neyther vse they anye hosen, butte from the knee vpwarde: the residue of theire legges go naked. Theire wo­men go barefoote sauing on holye dayes. Neyther menne nor women eate anye fleshe there, but onelye larde of bacon, wythe a small quantity whereof they fatten theire potage and brothes. As for rosted or sodden meate of fleshe they tast none, except it be of y ^e inwards sometimes & heads of beastes y ^e be killed for gētlemē & merchātz [Page 82] But the menne at armes they deuour and consume al their pullein so, y ^e theye haue skant the egges left to eate for speciall deintiez And if theye fortune at a­nye time to growe some­what wealthie in substā ­ce, so that any of them be compted ryche, hee is by & by charged to the kinges subsidie more deepely thē any of his neighboures, so that within short time he is made equall in pouer­tie with the rest of his beggerlye neighboures. And this as I suppose, is the state of the common and rascall people of that na­tion. But gentlemen and nobles are not so oppres­sed, and ouercharched wyth exaccions. Butte yf anye of them chaū ­ce [Page] to bee accused of anye cryme, thoughe it be by hys enemies, hee is not euer wonte to bee cyted or called beefore an ordy­narye iudge. But ma­nye tymes it hathe beene seene that hee hathe in that beehalfe been talked wythe in the kynges chamber, or elswhere in some priuate place, and sometymes onelye bye a pourseuaunte or messen­ger. And immedyatlye as soone as the princes conscience hathe throughe the reporte of others, iud­ged him guiltie, he is wi­theout anye fassion of iudgement put in a sacke and in the night season by the Marshals seruāts hurled īto a riuer, & so drowned. [Page 83] After which sort you haue harde of manye mo put to deathe, then that haue be­ne by ordinary processe of the lawe condempned.

Howe be it the princes plesure, as saye the Ciuile lawes, hathe the force of a lawe. Also whyle yowe weare abydynge in Fraū ce, and nighe to the same kyngedome, you heard of other greate enormityes lyke vnto these, and some much worse then these de­testable & damnable done no otherwise but vnder y ^e colour of that lawe: whi­che here to rehearse woulde continue oure talke too longe a time. Now there­fore let vs se what y ^e effect of the lawe politique and regal, which some of your progenitours would haue chaunged into this Ciuile [Page] hathe wrought in the roy­alme of Englande: that yowe beeynge instructed wythe the experience of bothe lawes, may the bet­ter by theire effectes iudge whether of thē ye oughte rather to choose. Seeynge the philosopher, as afore is rehearsed, dothe saye, y ^e contraries layde together do more ꝑfectly appeare.

REminiscer’ (prī ceps diuine) qualit (er) villas et opida regni Frācioe frugum opulētis­sima dum ibidem peregrinabaris cō spexisti, Regis terroe illiꝰ hominibꝰ ad arma et eorū equis ita onust [...], vt vix in eorū aliquibꝰ quā mag­nis opidis tu hos­pitari valebas. Vbi ab incolis didicisti, hoīes illos licet in villa vna per mensē aut duos perhend inauerīt, nihil prorsus prosuis aut equorum suorū expēsis soluisse aut soluere velle, sed quod peius est, artabant incolas villarum [Page] et opidorum in q̄ descēderat sibi devinis, carnibꝰ et a­liis q̄bꝰ indigebāt, etiā carioribꝰ ne­cessariis quā ibi reperiebātur, a cir­cumuicinis villa­tis, suis ꝓpriis sum tibꝰ ꝓuidere. Et si qui sic facere re­nuebāt, cōcito fustibꝰ cesi, propere hoc agere cōpel­lebātur, ac demū cōsumptis in villa vna victualibꝰ focalibus et equorū p̄bēdis, ad villā ali ā homines illi properabāt, eā cōsimiliter deuastando, nec denarium v­num ꝓ aliquibus necessariis suis etiam aut concubi­ [...]rum suarū qua [...] [...]n magna copia [Page 80] secum semꝑ ve­hebant vel pro sotularibus, caligis et aliis hm̄odi, vs (que) ad minimā earū ligu­lā soluerūt, sed sin­gulassuas qualescū (que) expēsas, hītator’ villarū vbi moras fecerūt soluere coegerūt Sic (que) et factū est ī oībus villis et opidis nō muratis totiꝰ region̄illiꝰ vt nō sit ibi villula vna exꝑs de cala­mitate ista, q̄ nō semel aut bis in āno hac nephāda p̄ssu­ra depilet’. Pretere a nō patit’ Rex q̄n quā regn̄sui salē e­dere, quē nō emat ab ip̄o Rege, p̄cio eiꝰ solū arbitrio assesso. Et si īsulsum pauꝑ q̄uis mauult edere quā salē ex­cessiuo [Page] precio cō ­parare, mox cōpellitur ille tātū de sale regꝭ ad eiꝰ p̄ciū emere, quātū congruet tot ꝑsonis, quot ip̄e in domo sua fouet. Insuꝑ ō ­nes regni illiꝰ īco­lae, dāt ōni āno re­gi suo quartā par­tē ōniū vinorū q̄ sibi accrescūt et oīs caupo quartū de­nariū p̄cij vinorū q̄ ip̄e vendit et vl­tra hec, ōēs villae et burgi soluūt Regi ānuatim ingentes sūmas sup eos assessas, ꝓ stipēdijs ho­minū ad arma, sic qd’ armata regꝭ, q̄ quā magna sēꝑ est pascat’ ānuatī de stipēdijs suis ꝑ pauperes villarū, bur­gorū, et ciuitatum [Page 81] regni. Et vltra hec quel’t villa sēꝑ sus­tinet sagittarios duos ad minꝰ. et aliq̄ plures, in ōni apparatu & abilimentis sufficiētibꝰ ad ser­uiendū regi in gu­erris suis, quotiens sibi libet eos sūmonire, qd’ et crebro facit, ac hijs nō pō deratis maxima tallagia alia sūt ōni á­no assessa ad opus regis suꝑ quālibet villā eiusdē regni, de quibꝰ non vno anno ipsi alleuian­tur. Hijs et nōnul­lis alijs calamitati­bꝰ, plebs illa laces­sita, ī miseria nō minima viuit aquāco tidie bibit, nec ali­um nisi in solemnī bus festis plebei gustant liquorem· [Page] Froccis siue collobitis de canabo ad modū pāni sacco­rū tegūtur. Pāno de lana p̄terquāde vilissima et hoc solū in tunicis suis subtꝰ froccas illas non vtuntur, ne (que) caligis nisi ad ge­nua, discooperto residuo tibiarum. Mulieres eorū nudipedes sūt excep­tis diebꝰ festis, carnes nō comedunt mares aut feminae ibidē, preter lardū baconis, quo īpin­guāt pulmētaria sua ī minima quātitate. Carnes assatas coctasue alias ipsi nō gustant, preterquā interdū de ī ­testinis et capitibꝰ animaliū pro no­bilibꝰ et mercato­ribus occisorum, [Page 82] sed gentes ad ar­ma comedunt ali­tilia sua, ita vt vix oua eorum ipsis relinquantur pro summis vescenda delicijs. Et si quid in opibus eis ali­quando accreue­rit, quolocuples e­orum aliquis reputetur, concito ipse ad regis subsidium plus vicinis suis ceterisoneratur, quo extunc conuicinis ceteris ipse equa­bitur paupertate. Hec ni fallor forma est status gen­tis plebanae regio­nis illius. Nobi­les tamen non sic exactionibus op­primuntur. Sed si eorum aliquis ca­lumpniatus [Page] fuerit de crimine, licet ꝑ inimicos suos, non semper coram iu­dice ordinario ip­se conuocari solet Sed quam sepe in regis camera, et a­libi in priuato lo­co, quandoque vero solum per īter­nuntios, ipse inde aloqui visus est, et mox vt criminosū eum principis conscientia relatu ali­orum iudicauerit in sacco positꝰ, absque figura iudicij, perprepositi maris calorum ministros noctanter in flu­mine proiectus submergitur, qua­liter et mori audi­uisti [Page 83] maiorē multo numerū hominū, quā q̄ legittimo ꝓcessu iuris cōuicti extiterūt. Sed tam̄ quod principi pla­cuit (iuxta leges ciuiles) legis hēt vi­gorē. Etiā et alia enormia hijs simi­lia ac quedā hijsde teriora, dū in Frā ­cia et ꝓpe regnū illud conuersatꝰ es audisti, nō alioquā legis illius colore detestabiliter dāna biliter (que) ꝑpetrata q̄ hic inserere nos­trū nimiū dialogū protelaret: quare quid effectus legis politicae et regalis, quā quidam pro­genitorū tuorum pro lege hac ciuili cōmutare nisi sùt, [Page] operatus est ī reg­no Angliae, amo­do visitemꝰ, vt v­tra (que) legum expe­riencia doctꝰ, q̄ e­arū tibi eligibilior sit ex earū effecti­bus elicere valeas, cū (vt sup̄ memoratur) dicat philosophus, quod op­posita iuxta se po­sita magis apparēt

WIthein the roialme of England no man so­iourneth in an other mās house w ^tout y ^e loue & y ^e leaue of y ^e good mā of y ^e same house: sauīg in cōmen yn­nes, wher before his deꝑ­ture thence he shal fullye [Page 84] sattsfie & paye for all his charges there. Neyther shal he escape vnpunished whosoeuer he bee that ta­keth another mans goods wytheoute the good wyll of the owner therof. Neyther is it vnlawefull for anye manne in that roy­alme to prouide and store hymselfe of salte and o­ther marchaundyses or wares at his owne wyl and pleasure of any man that selleth y ^e same. How­be it the kinge, thoughe y ^e owners woulde saye nay maye by his officers take necessaries for his house at a reasonable price to be assessed by the discrecions of the constables of the towns. Neuertheles he is bounde by his lawes to paye therefore eyther pre­sentlye in hande, or elles [Page] at a daye to bee limitted and sette by the higher of­ficers of his house. For by his lawes he maye ta­ke awaye none of his sub­iectes goodes, witheoute due satisfaction for the sa­me. Neyther dothe the kinge there eyther by him selfe or by his seruauntes and officers leuie vppon his subiectes tallages, subsidies, or anye other bur­deins, or alter theire la­wes, or make newe laws without the expresse con­sente and agreemente of his whole royalme in his parliamente. Wherefore euerye inhabiter of that royalme vseth & enioyeth at his pleasure all the fruites that his land or cattall bearethe, withe all the profites & commodytyes, [Page 85] whiche by his owne tra­uayle, or by the labour of others he gaineth by land or by water: not hindered by the iniurie or wronge deteinement of anye man but that hee shalbee allo­wed a reasonable recom­pence. And hereby it com­methe to passe that the men of that lande are ry­che, hauynge abundaun­ce of golde and siluer and other thinges necessarie for the mayntenaunce of mans lyfe Theye drynke no water, oneles it bee so that soome for deuotion, and vppon a zeale of pe­naunce do absteyne from other drinkes. They eate plentyfullye of all kyn­des of fleshe and fyshe. They weare fine wollen cloth in al their apparell. [Page] Theye haue allso abun­daunce of bed coueryngs in their houses, and of all other wollen stuffe. They haue greate store of all hustlements and imple­ments of houshold. They are plentifullye furnished withe all instrumentes of husbandry, & al other thinges that are requisite to the accomplishement of a quiet and wealthie lyfe accordyng to their estates & degrees. Neither are they sued in y ^e law, but onelye beefore ordinarye iudges, wherebye the lawes of the lande theye are iustlye intreated. Neyther are theye arrested or implea­ded for theire moueables or possessiōs, or arreigned of ani offēce criminal be it neū so great & outragious [Page 86] but after the lawes of the lande, and before the iud­ges aforesaide. And thys are the fruites whiche go­uernement politique and regall conioyned doothe beare and brynge fourthe Whereof nowe appeare euidentlye vnto yowe the experiences of the effectes of the lawe, whiche some of your progenitoures trauayled to abolishe. Befo­re allso yowe sawe plainlye the effects of the other lawe, whyche theye with suche earneste endeuoure laboured to aduaunce and place in steade of this la­we. So that by the fruites of them bothe you maye knowe what theye are And did not ambition, ryotte, and wanton luste, [Page] whiche youre said proge­nitoures esteemed aboue the wealthe of the realme moue them to this altera­cion? Consider therefore moste worthie prince, and that earnestlye this that foloweth.

IN regno Angliae nullus perhen­dinat in alterius domo inuito do­mino, si non in hospiciis publicis, vbi tunc pro om­nibus quae ibidem expēdit ip̄e plena­riê [Page 84] soluet ante eiꝰ abinde recessum: nec impunê quis­ (que) bona alterius capit, sine voluntate proprietarij eorū ­dē, ne (que) in regno illo prepeditur a­liquis sibi de sale, aut quibuscunque mercimoniis aliis ad propriū arbitrium, et de quocun­que venditore prouidere. Rex tn̄ necessaria domus suae per rationabile preciū iuxta cōstabulariorum villa­rum discretiones assidendum, inui­tis possessoribus ꝑ officiarios suos ca­pere potest: sed nihillominus ipse precium illud in manibus, vel ad [Page] diē ꝑ maiores offi­ciarios domus suae limitādū, soluere ꝑ leges suas obnoxi­us est: quia nullius subditorū suorum bona, iuxta leges illas ip̄e deripere potest, sine satisfacti­one debita ꝓ eisdē Ne (que) rex ibidē ꝑ se aut ministros suos tallagia, subsidia, aut q̄uis onera alia īponit legijs suis, aut leges eorū mutat, vel nouas condit, sine cōcessione vel assēsu tociꝰ regni sui, in parliamē ­to suo exp̄sso. Quare incola ōnis reg­ni illius fructubus quos sibi parit ter­ra sua, et quos gignit pecus eius, e­molumētis quo (que) [Page 85] ōībus: q̄ industria ꝓria vel aliena ip̄e terra mari (que) lucratur, ad libitū ꝓpri­ū vtitur nulliꝰ p̄peditus īiuria vel ra­pina, quin ad minꝰ īde debitas cōseq̄ ­tur emēdas: vnde inhabitātes terrā illā locupletes sunt, abūdātes auro, et argēto, etcūctis necessarijs vitae. Aquā ip̄i nō bibūt, nisi q̄ ob deuotiōis et penitēciae zelū aliquā do ab alijs potubꝰ se abstinēt. Omni genere carniū et pisciū ip̄i in copia vescūtur, q̄bus pa­tria illa nō modicè est referta, pannis de lanis bonis ipsi induūtur in oībus operimentis suis, [Page] etiam abundāt in lectisterniis et quo libet suppellectili cui lana congruit in oībus domibus suis, nec non opu­lenti ipsi sunt in ō ­nibus hustilimen­tis domus necessa­riis culturae, et ōni­bus q̄ ad quietam, et felicem vitā ex­iguntur, secundū status suos. Nec in placitum ipsi du­cuntur nisi coram iudicibus ordina­riis, vbi illi per le­ges terrae iuste tractantur. Nec allo­cuti siue implaci­tati sunt de mobi­libus aut possessi­onibus suis, vel ar­rettati de crimine aliquo qualit (er) cū (que) magno et enormi, [Page 86] nisi secundum le­ges terrae illius, et coram iudici­bus antedictis. Et hij sunt fructus quos parit regimē politicum et rega­le, ex quibus ti­bi iam apparent experienciae effec­tus legis, quam quidam progeni­torum tuorum abicere conati sunt. Superius quoque tibi apparent effectus legis alterius, quam tanto zelo loco legis istius, ipsi nisi sunt indu­cere, vt ex fructu­bus earum tu ag­noscas eas, et non­ne ambicio, lux­us, et libido, quos [Page] predicti ꝓgenito­res tui regni bono preferebant, eos ad hoc commerci­um concitabant? Considera igitur princeps optime et iam alia que se­quentur.

SAīt Thomas in his bo­ke whiche he wrote to y ^e kīg of Cyprꝰ of y ^e regimēt of princes, saieth y ^t y ^e king is geeuē for y ^e kingdome, & not the kingedome for the king. Whereupon it folo­weth that al kingelye po­wer muste bee applyed to the wealthe of his kyng­dome. Whiche thynge in effecte consistethe in the defēce therof frō forreyne [Page 87] inuasions, and in the maī tenaunce of his subiectes, and their goodes from the iniuries and extortions of the inhabitauntes of the same. Wherfore that kīg whiche is not hable to perfourme these things, must of necessitie be iudged impotent and weake. But if he bee so ouercome of hys owne affections and lustz or so oppressed wythe po­uertie, that hee canne not wytheholde hys handes from the pyllynge of hys subiectes, whereby hym­selfe impouerisheth them and sufferethe them not to lyue, and to bee sustey­ned vppon theire owne substaunces, howe muche more weake or feble is he ī this respect to be iudged, [Page] then if hee weare not ha­ble to defend them agaīst the iniuries of others. Truelye suche a kynge maye well bee called not onelye feeble, but eeuen verye feblenes it selfe: nor is not to bee iudged free, beeinge tyed with so ma­nye bandes of feeblenes. On the other syde that kynge is free and of my­ghte, that is hable to de­fende his subiectes aswell agaynste straungers as agaynste his owne peo­ple: and also theire good­des and possessions not onelye from the violente and vnlawefull inuasionz of theire owne countrey­menne and neighbours, butte allso from his own oppression and extortion, [Page 88] though such wilful lusts and necessities doe moue him to the contrarie. For who can be more mighty or more free then he that is hable to conquere and subdue not onely others but also himselfe?

Whiche thinge a kynge whose gouernaunce is politike can doo and euer dothe. Thus most woor­thy prince it appearethe vnto you by the effecte of experience, that your pro­genitours, whyche were thus mynded to renounce theire politique gouerne­ment, coulde not thereby not onely not obtaine the might and power, whiche they wished: that is to saye, increase therof, but rather they shoulde haue endaungered and great­lye hasarded the wealthe [Page] aswell of themselues, as also of theire kingdome. Notwithstandinge these thinges nowe practised, which as touchīg theffect of experience do seeme to blemishe the power of a king ruling all alone re­gally, neuer proceeded of the default of their law, but of y ^e carelesse demea­nour, and negligent lou­senes of suche a ruler.

Wherefore that dignitie is not heareby in power imbased vnder the digni­tie of a politique gouer­nour, whiche bothe in my foresaid treatise of the nature of the law of nature I haue plainlye proued to bee in power equall.

But the premisses dooe moste euidentlye declare it to be a matter of much more difficultie for a king [Page 89] whose rule is onely regal to exercise his power, and that bothe hee and hys people stande in muche lesse securitie. And there­fore it were not to bee wished of a wise kynge to chaunge a politike re­giment intoo that gouer­nement whiche is onelye regall. And accordinge to thys the foresaide Sainte Thomas wishethe that all the kingdomes of the worlde were ruled by politike gouernaunce.

SAnctꝰ Thomas in libro quē Regi Cipri de regimine prīcipū scripsit dicit: qd’ rex datur ꝓpter regnū, etnō regnū ꝓpter regē quō ōnis potestas regia referri debet ad bonū regni sui, quod effectiuè cō sistit in defencio­ne eiusdem ab ex­terorū incursibꝰ, [Page 87] et in tuicione reg­nicolarum, et bo­norum suorum ab indigenarum in­iurijs et rapinis. Quare rex quihec peragere nequit, impotens est ne­cessario iudican­dus. Sed si ipse passionibus pro­prijs aut penuria ita oppressus est, quod manus suas cohibere nequit a depilatione subdi­torum suorū quô ipsemet eos depauperat, nec viuere sinit et sustenta­ri proprijs substantijs suis: quanto tunc impotencior ille iudicādus est, [Page] quam si eos defendere ipse non suf­ficerent erga ali­orum iniurias? Reuera rex talis ne­dum impotens, sed et ipsa impo­tentia dicendus est, et non liber iudicari potest tan­tis īpotentiae nex­ubus vinculatus. E regione rex li­ber et potens est, qui incolas suos erga exteros et in­digenas, eorū quo que bona et facultates nedum erga vicinorum et conciuium rapinas defendere suffi­cit, sed erga pro­prium oppressio­nem, et rapinam [Page 88] licet sibi passiones necessitates (que) hu­iusmodi relucten­tur. Quis enim potentior liberiorue esse potest, quam qui non, solum a­lios, sed et se ipsū sufficit debellare? quod potest et sē ­per facit rex poli­ticê regens popu­lum suum, quare experientiae effec­tu tibi constat prī ceps, progenitores tuos qui sic politi­cum regimen abi­cere satagerunt, non solum in hoc non potuisse nan­cisci potentiā quā optabant, videli­cet ampliorem, sed et sui bonum, similiter et bo­num Regni sui, [Page] per hoc ipsi discri­mini exposuissent et ꝑiculo grādiori Tamen hec quae iā de experienciae ef­fectu practicata, potentiā regis re­galiter tantū presidentis exprobrare videntur, nō ex legis suae defectu ꝓ­cesserūt, sed ex in­curia negligētia (que) taliter principātis, quare ipsa digni­tatē illā potentia nō minuūt, a dig­nitate regis poli­ticè regulāt’ quos paris esse potentiae in predicto tractatu de natura legis naturae luculenter ostendi. Sed potē ciā regis regaliter tantū principantis difficilioris esse ex [Page 89] cercij, ac minoris securitatis sibi & populo suo, illa clarissimè iam de­monstrant, quô optabile non fo­ret regi prudenti, regimen politicū pro tantûm rega­li commutare.

vnde et sanctus Thomas supradictus, optare cense­tur, vt omniū mū ­di regna politice regerentur.

BEare with mee I be­seche you good Chan­cellour quod the Prince, [Page] in that with my questiōs I haue drawē you so farr from youre purpose. For the thynges whiche by this occasion you haue discussed are to me righte profitable, thoughe they haue soomewhate staied you, and pulled you back from the ende of your intent. Whereunto I pray you now make haste: and first as you promised, and as you haue begonne, o­pen vnto mee some other cases wherin the senten­ces of the lawes of En­glande and of the Ciuile lawes do disagree.

TVnc prīceps Parce obse­cro Cancellarie, [Page] quod te ad tan­tam a proposito tuo digressionem compuli questio­nibus meis, michi nanque perutilia sunt quae hac occasion̄ exarasti, licet te parumper re­tardauerint a me­ta intentionis tuae, ad quam vt tu iā celerius properes flagito, et primo vt aliquos alios casus, in quibus le­gum Angliae et Ciuilium discrepant sentenciae, vt pro­misisti et cepisti, mihi enarres.

ACcording to your re­quest most noble prīce (quod y ^e Chancellour) I will open vntoo you cer­teine other cases wherein the saide lawes disagree. Howbeit whether of the same lawes in their iuge­ments excelleth y ^e other, y ^t will I leaue to your own determination. The Ci­uile law doth legittimate the childe borne beefore matrimonie aswell as y ^t which is borne after: and geueth vntoo it succession in y ^e parents inheritance. But to the childe borne out of matrimonye the lawe of Englande allo­weth no succession, af­firmynge it to bee natu­rall onelye and not law­full. The Ciuiliās in this case auaunce theire law-alleginge [Page] that by meane thereof the sacrament or state of matrimonie com­minge in place, extingui­shethe the former sinne, whereby eles the sowles of twoe persones shoulde haue perished. And it is to bee presumed, say they that they were at theyre first copulation bothe so mynded as the sacramēt ensuynge afterward de­clareth. The churche also accepteth suche chyldren for legittimate. These I trowe are the iii. stron­gest reasons, whereby they maintaine and de­fende theyre law. Which are thus aunswered by the lawyers of England. Firste they saye that the sinne of the firste carnal accion in y ^e case propoun­ded is not purged by the [Page 91] matrimonie ensuynge, thoughe by the woorthy­nes thereof the synners punishement is somwhat abated. They saye also that they whiche thus do sinne are somuche y ^e lesse repentaunt therefore, in asmuche as they perceaue the lawes to fauour and beare with suche trāsgressours. And vppon thys consideration they are made the redyer to com­mitte the sinne: thereby breakinge the commaun­dement bothe of god and of the churche. Where­fore this lawe dooth not onelye participate w ^t the offēce of sinners, but also swarueth frō the nature of a good lawe. Foras­much as a law is a holye stablishement, cōmāding thynges honest, and for­biddynge the contrarye. [Page] Whiche this lawe dothe not, but rather allureth y ^e myndes of synners to dis­honestye. Neither can it bee anye defence to thys lawe, that the churche ac­cepteth suche children for legittimate. For that lo­uynge mother dispenseth in many thinges, whiche shee licenceth to be doone And it was by waye of dispensacion that the A­postle set virgins at liber­tie, whereunto he would not counsel them, rather wyshinge all to continue virgines like himselfe. And god forbyd that so greate a mother shoulde in thys case wythdrawe her tender loue from her chyldren, whiche by the inticement of this lawe dooe manye times fall into sinne.

[Page 92]And by the matrimonye ensuynge the church is infourmed that the partyes so marrieng are penitent & sory for the offence pas­sed, and are willinge in time to come through matrimonie to lyue continēt. But the law of Englāde in this case woorketh a much contrarie effecte.

For it prouokethe not to sinne, nor cherishethe or mainteineth sinners, but putteth them in feare, & to keepe them from sinne threatneth punishement. For the wantonnesse of the fleshe hath no neede of allurement, but rather of discouragement: because the lustes of the fleshe are wanton, and almoste vn­tamable. And forasmuch as it is impossible for mā to liue euer in hymselfe, [Page] he naturallye coueteth to lyue euer in his like, bee­cause euery liuing thing, desyreth to be lyke y ^e first and chiefe cause, which is perpetuall & euerlasting. And hereof it commethe that man hath more de­lyte and pleasur [...] in the sence of feeling, whereby his kind is preserued, thā in the sence of tast, which preserueth onely the par­ticuler man. Wherefore Noe executinge venge­ance vpō his sonne which vncouered his priuities, dyd curse his nephewe the offendors childe, that thereby the offendoure might bee more grieued then with his owne mis­happe. Wherefore y ^e law that punisheth the offen­dours issue doth more pe­nallye prohibite sinne. [Page 93] then that whiche plageth but the offendour alone. Whereby it may easelye bee considered with what zeale the lawe of Englād abhorreth vnlawfull coniūctions, whiche doth not onelye iudge the childe so gotten to be illegittimate but also prohibiteth it to succede in the parents in­heritāce. Is not this lawe then chast and pure? And dooth it not more forcea­bly and more earnestlye suppresse sinne, then the foresaide Ciuile lawe, whiche winketh at the sinne of lecherie, and le­ueth it vnpunished?

CAncellarius. Quosdā ca­sus alios in quibus dissentiunt leges predictae, vt petis princeps, detegere conabor. Sed ta­men quae legū ea­rū prestantior sit in iudiciis suis, nō meo sed arbitra­tui tuo relinquā. Prolem ante ma­trimoniū natam, ita vt post legitti­mū, lex ciuilis, et succedere facit in hereditate parētū sed prolē quā ma­trimoniū nō parit succedere nō smit lex anglorū, natu­ralē tātū eā esse & nō legittimā pro­clamans. Ciuilistae in casu hoc legem eorum extollunt, [Page] quia incitamētum eā esse dicūt, quo matrimonij sacra­mēto cesset peccatū, ꝑ qd’ alias duo rum animae interi­rent, presumendū quo (que) esse dicūt, tales fuisse cōtrahen tiū animos in pri­mo eorū cōcubitu quales esse demō ­strat subsequēs sa­cramentū. Eccle­sia etiā fetus hm̄ôi habet pro legitti­mis: hec ni fallor tria fulcimēta sūt maiora, quibus ip­si appodiāt defē ­dunt (que) legē suam. Ad quae sic respō ­dent leges Angliae periti. primo dicūt quod peccatum primi concubitus in casu proposito [Page 91] non purgatur per subsequens matri­moniū, licet eius merito delīquētiū quodamodo mi­nuatur pena. Di­cūt etiā quod pec­cati illius conscii, tanto minus inde penitēt, quo leges trāgressoribus illis fauere cōsiderant. quali etiā cōside­ratione, procliuio­res ipsi redduntur ad cōmittēdū peccatū, per quod ne­dū dei sed & ecclesiae precepta necli­gūt. Vnde lex illa nedū delinquen­tiū ꝑticipat culpā, sed et legis bon̄ naturā ipsa declinat. cū lex sit sāctio sācta iubens honesta & ꝓphibēs cōtrar’, [Page] qualia ipsa non prohibet, sed potiꝰ ad inhonesta ani­mos labentium inuitat. Nec vallari potest lex ista per hoc, quod ecclesia fetus huiusmodi pro legittimis ha­bet. Pia nan (que) ma­ter illa, in quāplu­rimis dīspēsat, quae fieri ipsa nō cōce­dit, dispensatiua e­nim laxauit apo­stolus virginitatis frena, qd’ cōsulere noluit, cū oēs ipse voluerit vt se vir­gines permansisse Et absit vt mater tanta a filiis suis in casu isto pietatem suā cohiberet, dū sepe ipsi etiā legis huiꝰ ciuilis fomēto cōcitati, incidūt in peccatum. [Page 92] peccatum. Et per matrimoniū subsequens docetur ec­clesia, contrahētes penitere de preterito, et de futuro per matrimonium se velle cohibere. Sed longe alium in hoc casu lex angliae effectum operatur, dum ipsa non concitat ad peccatum, neque peccātes fouet, sed terret eos, et ne peccent minatur penas, carnis ete­nim illecebrae fo­mento nō egent, egēt vero frenis, quia irritamenta carnis lasciua & quasi infatigabilia sūt. Et homo quū indiuiduo ꝑpetuari nequit, ꝑpetuari [Page] naturaliter appe­tit in specie sua, quia omne quod viuit assimilari cu­pit causae primae, quae perpetua est et eterna. Vnde fit quod plus de­lectatur homo in sensu tactus, quo seruatur species e­ius, quam in sensu gustus, quo con­seruatur īdiuiduū Quare Noe vlcis­cens in filium qui eius pudenda re­uelauit, nepoti suo, filio delinquē tis maledixit, vt inde plus crucia­retur reus quā ꝓ­prio possit inco­modo, quare lex quae vindicat in ꝓ geniem delinquē ­tis, penalius pro­hibet peccatum, [Page 93] quam quae solum delinquentem flagellat. Ex quibus considerare licet, quanto zelo lex Angliae illicitos prosequitur con­cubitus, dum ex eis editam prolem ipsa nedum iudi­cat non esse legit­timam, sed et suc­cedere prohibet ī patrimonio parentū. Nunquid tunc lex ista casta non est, et non fortius firmius (que) repellit peccatum, quam facit lex predicta ciuilis, quae cito et quasi īultū luxu­riae crimē remittit.

MOre ouer the Ciuile lawes say y ^t your natural or bastard sonne is y ^e sōne of y ^e people. Wherof a certein metriciā wri­teth in this wise.

And while suche a chylde had no father at y ^e tyme of his birthe, surelye na­ture knoweth not howe he could afterward come by a father. For if one woman shoulde beare two children of twoe for­nicatours, and the one of them shoulde afterward marrye her: Whether of these twooe children shoulde by this marriage bee legittimat? Oppiniō may somewhat ꝑswade, [Page 94] but reason cannot fynde: seeing the time was once when bothe those chyl­dren beeinge iudged the children of the people, did not knowe theire fathers It were therefore vnrea­sonable that a child after­warde borne in the same wedlocke, whose genera­tion cannot be vnknowē shoulde be disherited, and that a childe whiche kno­weth no father should be heire to the father & mo­ther of the other, specially in y ^e roialme of England where the eldest sonne only enioieth the fathers in­heritance. And an indifferent iudge would think it no lesse vnreasonable, that a base borne childe shoulde bee equally mat­ched with a lawful begotten childe in y ^e inheritāce [Page] whiche by the Ciuile la­wes can bee deuyded but onelye among male chil­dren. For saint Augus­tine in the xvi. booke de Ciuitate dei wrytethe thus. Abraham gaue all his substance to his sonne Isaac: and to the sonnes of his concubines he gaue gyftes. Whereuppon se­meth to bee ment, that to bastarde children there is noe inheritaunce due, but onelye a necessary ly­uinge. Thus saieth hee And vnder the name of a bastard child saint Austē vnderstādeth all vnlaw­ful yssues: & so doth holye scripture also ī diuers places, callinge none by the name of a bastard. Lo, Saint Austen thinkethe no small difference to be, & so thinketh Abrahā to, [Page 95] betwene the succession of a bastarde, and of a sonne lawfullye begotten. Yea holye scripture reprehen­deth all vnlawful childrē vnder this metaphore, sayeng Bastarde slippes shall take no deepe roote nor lay any fast founda­tion, in the iiii. chapiter of the booke of wisedome. The churche also repro­ueth the same in that it admitteth them not to holye orders. And if it so bee that the churche doe dys­pense withe suche a one, yet it permitteth not him to haue anye dignitye or preeminence in y ^e church Wherefore it is conue­nyent that mannes lawe in the benefite of successiō shoulde cutte thē shorte, [Page] whome the Churche iud­geth vnworthy to bee re­ceaued into holye orders, and reiecteth from all prelacie: yea whome holye scripture iudgeth, as tou­chinge their birthe, much inferiour to them that be lawfullye begotten. We reade that Gedeon the puissaunt begate lxx. sonnes in wedlocke, and but one onelye out of wedlocke. Yet thys misbegotten chylde wyckedlye slewe all those lawfullye bee­gotten children one one­lye excepted. Iudges .ix. Whereby it ys percea­ued that there was more wyckednesse in one bas­tarde chylde, then in .lxix. lawfull sonnes. For it is a commen sayenge: [Page 96] If a bastard bee good, y ^t cōmeth to him by chaūce, that is to wytte, by speciall grace, but if he be euil that commeth to him by nature. For it is thought that the base child draw­eth a certeyn corruption and stayne from y ^e synne of his parentes, without his owne fault, as all we haue receaued of y ^e synne of oure first parēts much infection, thoughe not so­muche. Howebeit the blemishe which bastardes by their generation do receaue muche differeth frō that werein lawfull children are borne. For their conception is wrought by the mutuall synnefull lust of both parēts, which in the laufull & chast copulations of marryed cou­ples taketh no place. The [Page] synne of suche fornica­tours is committed by y ^e mutuall consent of them bothe. Wherefore it is likened to the first synne, & cleaueth more cruelly to the chylde, then the synne of suche as do otherwise offende alone: so that the chylde so begotten deser­ueth to be called the child of synne, rather then the chylde of synners. wherefore the boke of wysedō makynge a difference betweene these ii. gen̄atiōs of y ^e laufull gen̄atiō it sayethe thus. O howe faire is a chaste generaciō w ^t vertue. The memoriall thereof is immortall: for it is knowen with god & with men. But the other is not knowen with men [Page 97] so that the children there of borne are called y ^e chil­dren of the people. Of whiche base generation the same booke thus speaketh: All the chyldrē that are borne of wycked pa­rētz are witnesses of wyckednes agaīst their parētz when they be asked. For beīge demaūded of their parentz, they open theyr synne, euen as the wyc­ked sonne of Noe vncouered his fathers priuities. It is therefore beleued touchīge the blīde borne of whom the pharasiez in the ix chapter of Saint Iohns ghospell said: Thou art altogether borne in sīne: y ^t he was a bastarde, who wholly is borne of synne. And where it folowethe: [Page] doest not thou teache vs. It seemeth that thereby maye be vnderstanded, y ^t a bastard hathe no lyke naturall disposition to knowlege and learnyng as a lawfull chylde hath. Wherefore that lawe maketh no good diuision whiche in the fathers in­heritance makethe equal bastard children and laufull childrē, whō y ^e church in gods inheritaunce maketh vnequall. Betwene whom also scripture put­teth a differēce in fourme aboue mentioned: & whō nature in her gyftes seuereth, markynge the naturall or bastard chyldren as it were with a certein priue mark ī their soules Whether therefore of y ^e ii. lawes Englishe or ci­uile do you now imbrace [Page 98] most noble prince, & iudge to haue the preeminence in this case.

PReterea Leges ciuiles dicūt fi­lium naturalē tuū esse filiū populi, de quo metricus quidā sic ait.

Cui pater est po­pulꝰ, pater est sibi nullꝰ et oīs. Cui pat’ est populꝰ nō habet ipse patrē. Et dū ꝓles talis patrē nō habuit tēꝑe natiuitat’ suae, quo modo ex post facto ipse patrē nan­cisci poterit natu­ra nouit, quo si ex fornicatoribꝰ duobus, mulier vna fi­lios peperit duos, quā postea vnꝰ ex concubinariis illis ducat in vxorem, quis ex filiis hiis duobus ꝑ matri­monium illud le­gittimatur? oppi­nio suader’ potest [Page 94] sed ratio reperire nequit, dū ambo filij illi populi fe­tus iudicati, semel parētes ignorabāt Incōsonū propte­rea videret’, qd’ in matrimonio illo extūc ab eadē muliere natus, cuius generatio ignora­ri nō poterit, exꝑs esset hereditatis, et filius nescius genitoris sui, succede­ret patri et matrī eius, maxime īfra regnū Angliae, vbi filiꝰ senior solꝰ succedit in heredita­te paterna, et non minus incongruū esse sētiret arbiter equus, si filius ex stupro, equaliter ꝑticiparet cū filio ex legittim̄ thoro, [Page] hereditatem quae iure Ciuili inter masculos diuidenda est. Nam sāctus Augustinus xvi. li. de Ciui. dei sic scribit. Abraham oēm censum suū dedit Isaac filio suo, filiis autē cō ­cubinarum dedit dationes, ex quo videtur innui qd’ spuriis non debe­tur hereditas, sed victus necessitas. hec ille. Sub noīe vero spurii denotat Augustinus omnem fetum il­legittimū, qualiter et sepiꝰ facit scrip­tura sacra quae ne­minē vocat bastar dū. Ecce differen­tiā nō minimā sentit Augustinus, sē ­tit [Page 95] et Abraham inter successionē spurij et filij ex legittimo concu­bitu. Ceterum omnes filios illegitti­mos reprehendit scriptura sacra, sub methaphora hec dicens. spuria vitulamina nō dabunt radices altas nec stabile fūda­mētū collocabūt Sapientiae iiii. Re­prehendit & ec­clesia quae eos a sa­cris repellit ordi­nibus, et si cū tali dispēsauerit, nō eū tn̄ ꝑmittit dignita te preesse in ecclesia dei, cōgruit id­circo legi homi­nū in successionis bn̄ficio minuere, [Page] quos ecclesia in­dignos iudicat sa­cro ordin̄, et quos ipsa repellit ab oī prelatia, ipsos etiā quos scriptura sa­cra in natalibꝰ mi­noratos iudicat a legittime procreatis. Gedeon autē virorū fortissimꝰ, lxx. filios in matri­monio legitur procreasse, & non nisi vnū solū habu isse ex cōcubina, filius tn̄ ipse cōcubinae, oēs filios illos legittimos nequit’ peremit, excepto vno solo. Iudicū. ix. quô in notho vno plus maliciae fuisse deprehēdit’ quā in filiis legittimis, lxix. Tritū et­enim ꝓuerbiū est [Page 96] si bonꝰ ē bastardꝰ hoc ei venit a ca­su, videlicet gra­cia speciali, si autē malus ipse fuerit hoc sibi accidit a natura Corrupti­onē nā (que) et maculā quādā censetur illegittimus partꝰ cōtrahere a peccato genitorū suo­rū sine culpa eius vt maximā nos cō traximꝰ ōes a cri­mine primorū parentū, licet nō tā ­tā aliam tn̄ nothi quā legittimi contrahūt maculā ex genitura sua, eorū nā (que) generationē mutua vtrius (que) parētis libido culpa bilis operatur, qua liter in legittimis castis (que) āplexibus [Page] coniugatorū, ipsa nō solet debacchari, mutuū sane et cōmune ē pecca­tū taliter fornicā tiū, quo primo si­milatum peccato magis seuit in fe­tū, quā peccatū a­liter solitariêque peccātiū, vt ex īdenatus, potius pec­cati filiꝰ dici me­reatur quā filius peccatorū. Quare sapientiae liber ge­nerationes has du as distinguēs, de generatione legit­tima sic affatur. O quam pulchra est casta gen̄acio cū claritate? īmorta­lis est enī memo­ria illius, qm̄ apud deū not’ ē et apud homines. Altera [Page 97] vero non est no­ta apud homines quo filii ex eanati, filii populī nominātur De generatione vti (que) il­la atlera liber ille sic dicit: ex iniquis ōnes filii qui nas­cuntur, testes sunt nequitiae aduersus parētes suos in interrogatione sua. Sapiētioe eodē, iiii. capi, interrogati etenī de parētibus suis, eorū ipsi reuelāt peccatū, vt fi­liꝰ Noe nequā reuelauit pudenda (pr’is) patris sui. Creditur idcirco, cecū illum natū de quo Pharisei. Ioh .ix. dixerūt, tu in peccatis natus es totꝰ, fuisse bastardū q̄ nascit’ totaliter ex pec­cato et dum sub­ditur [Page] et tu doces nos, videtur eos intellexisse bastardū nō vt legitimū in naturalibꝰ esse dispositū ad sciētiā et doctrinā. Nō igitur bene diui­dit lex illa q̄ bas­tardos a natiuita­te, et legittimos parificat in here­ditate paterna, cū eos dispares iudi­cet ecclesia in he­reditate dei, simi­liter et distinguat sacra scriptura in forma p̄notata, diuidat (que) natura in donis suis signans naturales tātū ne­uo quasi naturali quodam licet la­tente, in animis suis. Quā igitur legū istarū Anglicarū, videlicet et Ciuiliū, [Page 98] in casu hoc tu princeps illus­trissime, āplec [...]eris et iudicas p̄fe [...]ēdā

Surely euen to that law do I geeue the prefer­ment, quod the prince, which is of more force to abandō synne out of the royalme, and to auaunce vertue. Those also in the benefites of mans lawe do I suppose abiect and base, whom the lawe of god consydereth vnwor­thye, and whō the church in her benefits reiecteth and nature also iudgeth more prone vnto synne. I thīke you do not iudge amysse, quod the Chaūcellour. wherefore I wyl reherse yet other cases, [Page] wherein the said lawes disagree.

PRinceps, Re­uera eam que fortiꝰ a regno peccatum eliminat, et firmiꝰ in eo virtutem conseruat. Arbitror etiā illos in legis humanoe bn̄ficiis minoran­dos, quos lex diuina indigniores cō siderat, et quos postponit ecclesia in beneficiis suis natura quo (que) ꝓcliuiores iudicat ad peccandum. Cancellarius, Recte estimo te sētire quare et casus alios [Page] memorabor, ī quibꝰ discrepant hec leges duae.

The Ciuile lawes decre that the yssue euer fo­loweth the wōbe, that is to saye, the mother. As for example, yf a bōd woman be marryed to a freman, theyr issue shalbe bond. And contrarywise if a bonde man marrie a free woman, he begetteth none but free children But the lawe of Englād neuer iudgeth the issu to folowe the mothers con­dicion, but alwaye the fa­thers. So that a free man begetteth free children aswell of a bonde woman as of a free woman: and a bōde mā in wedlock cā beget nōe other but bōd [Page 96] childrē. Whether of these lawes is better thynke you in theier sentences. It is a cruell lawe which without offēce subdueth the free mans chylde to bōdage. And no lesse cru­eltie is to be thought in y ^e lawe, whiche without a­nye deserte oppresseth the free womās chylde with bōdage. Yet the Ciuiliās saye that y ^e Ciuile lawes in these their iudgemēts do excell. For an euil tree saye they can not brynge furthe good fruites, nor a good tree beare euyll fruites. And by the cōsēt of all lawes it is agreed that euery plante yeldeth to the nature of y ^e groūde wherein it is planted the chylde also hath muche more certeī & sure know­lege of y ^e mother thē of y ^e [Page] father, Whereunto the lawyers of Englande aū swer on this wyse: That a child laufully begotten hathe no more certein and sure knowlege of y ^e mother then of the father For bothe these laws thꝰ disagreeynge, agree yet in this poynte, that he is the father, whō wedlock declareth. And is it not then more conuenient y ^t the condicion of the childe should haue relation ra­ther to the fathers condi­cion, then to the mothers. Seynge that Adam spea­kīge of marryed couples, sayde▪ They shalbe ii. in one fleshe. which our lord expoundynge in the ghospell sayethe: Nowe are they not ii. but one fleshe And forsomuch as y ^e mal’ as more worthi cōteineth the [Page 100] female, then the whole flesh so vnited must haue relation to the male as to the worthyer. wherefore the lorde called Adam & Eue not by the name of Eue, but because they were bothe one fleshe, he called them bothe in the name of Adam the man, as it apeareth in y ^e fifthe chapter of genesis. The Ciuile lawes also holde that women do euer glis­ter with the shyenynge beames of their husbāds Wherefore in the title begynnynge withe these wordes: Qui se prosessione excusant, in y ^e nynth boke L. fi. the text sayeth thus. we auaunce women w ^t the honoure of their hus­bandes, and with the kī ­red of their husbādes we worshippe thē: in y ^e court [Page] we decree matters to passe in the name of their husbandes, & into y ^e house and surname of their husbandes do we translate them. But if afterward a woman marrye with a man of baser degree, thē leseth she her former dignitie, and foloweth the cō diciō of her latter husbād And forsomuche as all children, specially male children bear the fathers name, & not the mothers, whereof then shoulde it cōe, that y ^e sonne by reasō of the mother should lese the honour, or chaunge the condiciō of the father whose nāe neuerthelesse he shall styll keepe. Specially seeynge the mother herself receaueth of the same father honour, worshippe, & dignitie. which honour, worshippe, and [Page 101] dignitie of the husbande cā neuer be disteined or īpeached through y ^e fault of the wyfe. Truely that lawe may well bee de­med cruell, which with out any cause cōmittethe to bondage the free mās sonne, and which disheri­tinge the innocent sonne of the īnocent free father adiudgeth his lāde to an vnworthie straunger: whiche also withe y ^e base state of bōdage in y ^e sōne defaceth the name of the free father. Cruell also of necessite must that lawe be compted, which aug­menteth thraldom, and diminisheth libertie or freedom. For libertie is y ^e thinge that mās nature euer coueteth. For by mā & for synne did bondage first enter. But free­dome is graffed in mans [Page] nature of god. whereof if men be depriued, he is e­uer disierous to recouer y ^e same agayne, lyke as all other thinges do that are spoiled of their naturall libertie. wherefore wyc­ked and cruell is he to be deemed that fauoureth not libertie. which thīges the lawes of England duely consydering, do in all respectes shew fauour to libertie. And thoughe the same lawes iudge hī thrall, whom a bounde­man ī wedlock begetteth of a free womā, yet here by cā not these lawes be reputed seuere and cruel For a woman which by mariage hath submitted herself to a boundeman, is made one fleshe withe him. wherefore, as y ^e for­said lawes determine, she [Page 102] foloweth the state of his conditiō, and of her owne free wyll hathe made her selfe a bonde womā, not forced thereto by the law muche lyke to such as in kynges courtes become bondemen, or sell thēselfs into bondage without a­ny compulsiō at all. And howe then can the lawe determine that childe to be free, whom suche a mother hathe thus borne. For the husband can ne­uer be in so much subiec­tion to his wyfe, thoughe she be a right greate la­dye, as this womā is subiect to the bondeman, whom she hathe made her lorde: insomuche as y ^e lorde sayeth to al wifes Thou shalt be vnder the power of thy husbonde, & he shall haue dominion ouer thee. And what is it [Page] that these Ciuilians saye of the fruite of a good or euyll tree. Is not eue­rye wyfe of a fre or thral condition accordynge to y ^• state of her husbād And in whose ground hathe y ^t husbande planted, while his wyfe is one fleshe w ^t him. Not in his owne? And what thē if he haue graffed a slyppe of a swete nature ī a stock of a sower tree: So y ^t y ^e tre be his owne, shall not the fruites, thoughe they eū sauer of the stocke, be his owne fruites? So the childe which the wyfe bareth is the husbandes is­sue, whether the wyfe be free or thrall. Howbeit y ^e lawes of England de­cree that if a bonde wo­man without the cōsēt of [Page 102] her lorde bee maryed to a free man, though they can not be deuorced, beecause the ghospell saieth, whom god hathe conioyned let not man seperate, yet shal her lorde recouer agaynst the same free man all the dammages that hee hathe susteyned by reason of the losse of his vassall or bond woman. This nowe as I suppose is the somme and fourm of the law of Eng­lande in the case nowe de­clared, What therefore is your opinion most excellēt prince in the same case?

And whether of these two lawes doe you esteeme to be of more worthinesse & excellencye.

Leges ciuiles s̄actiūt, qd ꝑtꝰ sēper sequitur vē ­trem, vt si mulier seruilis cōdicionis nubat viro cōdicionis liberae, Proles eorū seruꝰ erit, et ecōūso, seruꝰ maritatꝰ liberae, nō nisi liberos gignit. Sed lex Anglioe nun­quā matris, sed sē ­per patris condi­cionē imitari par­tū iudicat. Vt ex libera etiā ex na­tiua non nisi libe­rū liber generet, et non nisi seruū in matrimonio ꝓ [Page 96] creare potest ser­uꝰ, Que putas le­gū harū melior ē in sētētiis suis? crudelis ē lex, q̄ libe­ri prolē sine cul­pa subdit seruitu­ti. Nec minꝰ cru­delis cēsetur, quae liberae sobolē sine merito redigit in seruitutē. Legistae vero dīcūt, leges Ciuiles p̄ualere in his iudiciis suis. Nā dicūt: qd non po­test arbor malafructꝰ bonos facere. Ne (que) arbor bo­na fructus malos facere. Ac ōni [...] le­gis sētētia est, qd plātatio q̄libet cedit solo quo īseritur. Certior quo­ (que) multo ē ꝑtꝰ, q̄ eū fuderūt viscer’ quam quis eum pater procreauit [Page] Ad hec legis An­gliae cōsulti dicūt: qd, ꝑtꝰ ex legitti­mo thoro nō cer­tiꝰ noscit matrem quā genitorē suū Nā am bae leges q̄ iam contendunt, vniformiter dicūt qd ipse est pater, quem nuptiae de­mōstrāt. Nunquid tunc magis est cō ueniens, vt filii cō ditio ad patris potiꝰ quā ad matris conditionem referatur, cum de cō ­iugatis dixerat Adā? erunt ipsi duo in carne vna. qd dominꝰ exponēs in euangelio ait: Iam non sūt duo sed vna caro, et cum masculinum concipiat femini­num, [Page 100] ad masculi­nū qd dignius est referri debet tota caro sic facta vna Quare Adam et Euam vocauit dominus, non Euā, sed quia caro vna ipsi erant, ambos eos vocauit ipse nomine viri, vide licet, Adam: vt patet Genesis quin­to capit’. Ipsae quo (que) ciuiles leges di­cunt: qd mulieres semper coruscāt, radiis maritorum suorum. Vnde. C qui professione se excusant. libro no no .l. fi. textꝰ sic loquitur: Mulieres honore marito­rum erigimus, et genere nobilita­mꝰ, et forū ex eorum [Page] ꝑsona statui­mus, et domiciliū mutamꝰ Sin autē minoris ordinis virū postea sorti­tae, priore dignitate priuatae, posterioris mariti conse­quantur cōditio­nē et domiciliū. et cū nomē patris et nō matris gerat ꝓles ōnis, et maximè masculin̄. Vn­de tūc ꝓuenir’ poterit, qd filiꝰ ratione matris amitte­ret honorē, cōdi­cionemue patris sui mutaret, cuius tamē nomē ip̄e retinebit, p̄sertī dū honor’ patris eiusdē ac conditione resplendeat mat (er) eiꝰ et dū viri ho­nor vel conditio [Page 101] nunquā ꝑ vxoris vitiū denigratur. Crudelis nēpe cē seretur lex que si­ne causa filiū libe­ri seruituti cōmit­tit, et terrā ꝓ qua liber ille īnocēs a crimine innocētis filii sui titulo, non sudanti tradet extraneo possidēdā, ac patris nomē e­tiā filii seruitutis nota cōmaculat. Crudelis etiā ne­cessario iudicabi­tur lex q̄ seruitu­tē augmentat, et minuit libertatē, Nam pro ea natura semper implo­rat humana. Quia ab hōine et ꝓ vi­cio ītroduct’ ē seruitus. Sed libertas [Page] a deo hominis est īdita naturae, Quare ipsa ab homine sublata, sēper redire gliscit, vt facit ōne qd libertate naturali priuatur. Quo īpius et cru­delis iudicandus ē qui libertati nō fauet Hec consi­derantia Angliae iura, in omni casu libertati dant fa­uorē. Et licet iura illa iudicent eum seruū, quē seruus in coniugio ex li­bera procreauit, non per hoc iura illa rigida, crude­liaue sentire po­terunt. Nam mu­lier q̄ cōiugio ser­uo se subiecit, facta ei caro vna, quo ipsa vt dicūt leges [Page 102] suprascriptae, eius cōseq̄tur cōditio­nem, et ꝓprio ar­bitrio se fecit an­cillā, sed potiꝰ seruā, nullatenus a lege coacta, qua­liter et faciunt q̄ se seruos reddunt in curiis regū, vel in seruitutē se vē dunt nullatenus ad hoc compulsi Quomodo tunc liberū sācire pos­sūt leges filium illum, quem mater talis, taliter est e­nixa? nūquā enī sic subiectus ē vir vxori, licet maxi­ma domina ipsa fuerit, vt subiecta est libera hec ser­uo, quē ipsa fecit dominum eius, dicente domino vxori omni. Eris sub [Page] potestate viri, et ipse dominabitur tuī. Et quid est qd dicunt legistoe illi, de fructu arboris bōae vel maloe. nō ­ne cōditionis liberoe vel seruilis est vxor omnis, qua­lis est maritus eiꝰ? et in cuiꝰ solo plā tauit maritꝰ, dum vxor eius est sibi caro vna? Nonne in ꝓprio? quid si surculū dulcis naturae inseruerit ip­se stipiti arboris acerbae: Dūmodo arbor illa eius est. nōne fructꝰ (licet ex stipite redolēt) sēꝑ sint fructꝰ eiꝰ Sic ex muliere genita ꝓles, mariti ē progenies, fuerit mater libera vel ā cilla. Sāctiūt tn̄ leges Angliae, qd dominꝰ [Page 102] natiuae a li­bero ī matrimon̄ sūptae ip̄o īcōsulto cum eam repudiare nequeat dicen­te euāgelio: quos deus coniunxit, homo nō seperet: re cuperabit ver­sus liberum illum, omne damnum quod ipse sustinuit ratione deperditi seruicij, et amissoe ancillae suae. Hec iam vt estimo, est summa et forma legis Angliae, in casu iam enarrato. Quid igitur iam tibi videtur prīceps in casu isto? et quae legum predicta­rum p̄stantior aut eligibiliora te iu­dicatur?

REasō suffereth vs not to doubte, quod y ^e prīce but that in this case the lawe of Englande surmounteth the Romaine lawe. And that lawe is to me more alloweable, which vnto children she­weth fauour rather then rigour. For I remēber a rule of the lawe that sayeth. It is behouable that cruell hate be repressed, and fauour auaūced. And good reasō, quod y ^e Chaū cellour. Yy ^et wyl I exp̄sse vnto you an other case wherein thes lawes are repugnaunt. And shortly after I wyll make an ende, least it be tedioꝰ to you to be troubled w ^t so manie disagreīgs & least you happē to be weried [Page 104] withe mye ouer longe talke.

PRinceps. An­glorum legē ī hoc casu, Roma norū lege presta­re dubitar’ nos ra­cio non permittit. Et optior mihi sē per est lex, quae fauorē, potiꝰ quam rigorē, ꝑtibus ad ministrat. Recolo nam (que) illius iuris regulā, que sic di­cit: Odia pestrīgi et fauores cōue­nit āpliari. Cācel­larius. Et bene q̄ ­dem. Aliū adhuc casū tibi referam, princeps, in quo, cōcertant leges istae, et non multū postea, tūc desistā ne onerosū tibi sittātis solicit (er) scisma tibꝰ, etiam ne infas tidiū tibi veniat desceptacio mea [Page 104] diutius protelata.

THe Ciuile lawes commit the tuition of or­phanes to the next of their bloud, whether the kinred grow on the fathers syde or on the mothers syde, that is to saye, to euerye man accordynge to the degree and order, wherein his tourne is nexte to suc­ceede the pupille in his in­hertiaūce. And the reason of this lawe is that: that no man will beehaue him selfe more tenderly or mo­re fauourably in the care­full education of the in­faunte, thenne hee that is nexte of hys bloude. [Page] Neuertheles the lawes of England touching the custodie of orphanes do determine muche otherwise For there if an inheritaū ce beeinge holden in so­rage descend to an orpha­ne from anye of the kyn­red of his fathers side, the same orphane shall not be vnder the keeping of any of that kynred, but he shal be gouerned by his cosins or kynesfolke of his mo­thers side. And if the inheritaunce come to him frō anye kinesman of his mo­thers side, then the pupill with his inheritaūce shall bee in the custodie till hee come to lawefull age of hym that is nexte of hys kynne of hys fathers side and not of anye kynes­man of the mothers syde. [Page 105] For our lawes saye, that to commit y ^e tuition of an īfāt to him y ^t shal next suc­cede him, ys lyke as if one shoulde beetake a lambe vnto a woulfe to bee de­uoured. Butte if the inhe­ritaunce bee not holden in socage, but by knightes feruyce, thenne by the la­wes of the same lande the childe wythe his inheri­taunce shall bee in the keepinge of none of hys kynred of neyther syde, but in the custodie of the lorde of the fee vntill hee come to y ^e age of one and twenty years. And think you that anye man can or will better instructe and trayne vp the childe in feates of armes, whyche bye reason of his tenure he is boūd to yeelde to y ^e lord of his fee, then y ^e lord hīselfe, [Page] to whom suche seruice is by him due? Whyche is also to bee iudged of mo­re power, and honoure thenne the friendes and kynesfolkes of his tenant. For hee to the intente hee maye in tyme to come bee the better serued of hys tenaunte wyll vse the more diligence towarde hym. And it is to bee pre­sumed that he is more ex­perte and skylfull to tra­de him in this thynges, then his other friends ru­de peraduenture and vn­practised in martiall feats speciallye yf his patrimo­nie bee but small. And what can be more profitable for the chylde, whiche by reason of hys tenure shall in the seruice of hys lorde endaunger his life, [Page 106] and all that hee hathe in the actes of chiualrye, thē in his nonage to be brou­ghte vppe in the discipline and practise of the same, seeynge that in his rype age hee shall not bee ha­ble to auoyde the aduen­ture thereof? And to saye the truethe it shall bee no small commoditie for the royalme, y ^t the inhabiters of the same be well expert in the knowledge of ar­mes. For as saieth the philosopher, euerye man do­the the thynge boldelye, wherin he assureth hīselfe to be skylfull. And do you not thē most noble prince allowe this lawe and cō ­mende it aboue the other now described.

LEges Ciuiles impuberum tū telas, proximis de eorū sanguine cō ­mittunt, agnati fuerint seu cognati, vnicuique videli­cet secundum gradum et ordinem quo in hereditate pupilli successurus est. Et racio legis huius est quia nullus teneriûs fauo­rabilibûsue infantem alere sataget, quam proximus de sanguine eius. [Page] Tamen longe ali­ter de impuberū custodia statuunt leges Angliae. Nā ibidem, si heredi­tas quae tenetur in Socagio, descen­dat impuberi ab aliquo agnatorū suorum, non-erit impubes ille sub custodia alicuius agnatorum eius. Sed per ipsius cognatos, videlicet consanguineos ex parte matris, ip̄e regetur. Et si ex parte cognatorū hereditas sibi des­cenderit, pupillus ille cū hereditate sua ꝑ proximum agnatū et nō cog­natum eius custo­diet’. Quous (que) ip̄e fuerit adultus.

[Page 105]Nā leges illae dicūt qd’ cōmittere tutelā īfātis illi q̄ est eī proximè successu­rꝰ, est quasi agnū cōmittere lupo ad deuorādū. Sed si hereditas illa non in socagio, sed te­neatur ꝑ seruiciū milita’, tūc ꝑ leges terrae illiꝰ, īfās ipse et hereditas eiꝰ, nō ꝑ agnatos ne (que) cognatos, sed per dn̄m feodi illiꝰ custodiē tur, quous (que) ip̄e fuerit etatis vigīti et vnius ānorū. Quis putas infantē talē in actibus bellicis quos facere ratiōe tenurae suae ipse as­tringitur dn̄o feo­di sui, meliꝰ instruere poterit, aut ve­lit quam dn̄s ille, [Page] eui ab eo seruici­um tale debetur? et qui maioris po­tentiae et honoris estimatur. q̄ sunt alij amici et ꝓpinq̄ tenentis sui? Ipse nā (que), vt sibi ab eo­dē tenente melius seruiatur, diligen­tem curam adhi­bebit, et melius in his eū erudire ex­pertus esse cense­tur, quam reliqui amici iuuenis, ru­des forsā et armo­rū inexperti, max­ime si nō magnū fuerit patrimoniū eius. Et quid vtili­us est infanti qui vitam et omnia sua periculis belli­cis exponet in ser­uicio domini sui ratiōe tenurae suae, [Page 106] quam in militia actubusque belli­cis imbui, dumminor est, cum actus huiusmodi ipse in etate matura declinare non poterit. Et reuera non minime e­rit regno accomo­dum, vt incolae e­ius in armis sint experti. Nam vt dicit Philo. audac­ter quilibet facit, qd’ se scire ipse non defidit. Nun­quid tunc legem hanc tu approbas fili regis, et collau­das super legem alteram iam descriptam.

YEs good Chauncelour, quod y ^e prīce, this lawe I do allowe much more thē the other. For in the firste parte of it whiche you no­ted, it prouideth much more waryly for the securitie and saufegarde of the pu­pill, then the Ciuile lawe dothe. Howbeit in the se­conde parte of the same I do take more delyte. For thereof it comethe to passe that in Englande noble mens chyldren canne not easelye degenerate, butte rather passe and surmoūt theire auncestours in ver­tue, in courage, and in ho­nest condicions, forsomu­che as theye are broughte vp & instructed in an higher & an honorabler court, [Page 107] thenne in the houses of theire parentes, thoughe theire parents weare par­aduenture broughte vppe in the lyke places. For theire parents house was neuer yet lyke the lordes house, whome aswell the parentes, as allso the children serued. The princes allso of the royalme bee­ynge ruled bye thys la­we, and lykewyse other lordes holdynge theyre lande immedyatlye of the kynge, canne not lightlye fall to wantonnes and vnseemelynes, seeynge that in theire childehoode, whyle theye bee orphanes they are broughte vppe in the kynges house. Wherefore I muste needes highelye prayse & cōmē [...] y ^e ryches, [Page] and high porte of the kin­ges court, in that it is the chiefest schole within the royalme for the nobilitye of the lande. It is also the scholehouse of manhoode, of vertue, and of good maners, wherby the royalm is honored and flourisheth and is preserued againste inuasions: so y ^t it is drea­ded bothe of friendes and foes. And to bee plain this greate commoditie coulde not haue happened to the royalme, yf noble mens children beeinge orphans and pupilles hadde beene nourished and brought vp by the poore friendes of their parentes. Neyther canne this bee preiudicial or hurtefull to the weal­the of the royalme, that the children of burgeses, [Page 108] and of other freeholders, whiche holde theire tene­mentes in socage, and are not thereby bound to warfare, are brought vp in the houses of their like frien­des, as to him y ^t shall tho­roughly weigh the mater it may euidently appeare.

PRinceps. Immo Cancellarie le­gem hanc, plusquā alteram, ego lau­do. Nam in eius parte prima, quam tu notasti, cautè magis quam ciuilis ipsa prouidet securitati pupilli. Sed tamen in eius par­te secunda, multo magis ego delec­tor. Nam ab ea est quod in Anglia, nobilium progenies de facili degenerari nonpotest, sed probitate potius, strenuitate, et mo­rum honestate antecessores suos ip­sa transcendet, dum in altiori, no­biliorique curia, [Page 107] quā in domo pa­rentum illa sit im­buta, licet indomo consimili forsan parentes eius edu­cati erant: Quia consimilis adhuc non erat, domus parentum illorum domui domino­rum, quibus ip̄i parentes et ipsi infā ­te [...] seruierunt.

Principes quoque regni sub hac lege regulati, similiter et domini alii a re­ge īmediate tenē ­tes, non possūt deleui in lasciuiam ruditat en [...]ie l [...]bi, cum in pueritiadum orphani fue­rint ipsi, in domo regia nutriuntur. Quare non īnmo [Page] domus regiae opu­lentiā magnitudi­nē (que) collaudo, dū in ea ginpnasiū supremū, sit nobilitatꝭ regn̄ Scholaquo que strenuitatis, ꝓbitatis et morū quibus regnum honoratur, et florebit, ac contra irruen­tes securatur, etiā formido ipsa erit inimicis et amicis regni. Hoc reuera bonū accidisse nō potuisset regno il­li, si nobilium fi­lij, orphani et pupilli, per paupe­res amicos paren­tum suorum nu­trirentur. Nec regni bono officere potest, licet burgē tium filij et aliorū libere tenentium [Page 108] q̄ in socagio tenēt tenemēta sua, quo ip̄i ad militiā non astringūtur, in do­mo consimiliū a­micorū suorū educantur vt ꝑspicuè considerāti lucidè apparere potest.

THere bee yette diuers other cases, quod the Chaunceloure, wher­in the lawes aforesayde do varye. As in that the Ciuile lawes do iudge o­pen thefte to bee satisfied by the recompence of fo­wer folde, & priuye thefte by the recompence of double. Butte the lawes of [Page] Englande suffer neither of those offences to be mo­re fauorablye punished then wyth the offendours deathe, so that the value of the thynge stolen bee abo­ue the value of twelue pē ­ce. Also a libertine that is to saye, a free man that sometyme was bonde, yf hee beecome vnkynde or churlishe, the Ciuile la­wes reduce hym into hys former state of seruitude againe. But by the lawes of Englande he that is once made free, be hee grate or ingrate, is aiudged to enioye his freedome styll. There be other like cases allso not a fewe, whyche at thys tyme for breuities sake I ouerpasse. Neither in these twoo cases doe I dispute the excellencye of the foresayde lawes, [Page 109] seeynge the qualities of thē requier no great sear­che. And I doubte not but the quicknes of your witte is suche, y ^t it can sufficiēt­ly discusse the same.

TVnc Cācella­riꝰ. Sūt et alij casus nōnulli ī quibus differūt leges antedictae, Vt q ⁱa legꝭ Ciuiles iudicāt furtū manifestū ꝑ reddiciōē quadru­pli, et furtū nō manifestū, ꝑ dupli recōpensationē ex­piari. Sed leges [Page] Angliae, neutrum facinorum illorū mitius quam committentis morte puniri permittunt dummodo ablati valor duodecim denariorū valorē excedat. Itē libertinum ingratum leges ciuiles in pristinā redigūt serui­tutem: sed leges Angliae semel ma­numissū, semper liberum iudicant gratum et ingra­tum. Alij quoque sunt casus huiusce modi non pauci, quos iam studio breuitatis pretereo Et ne (que) in hijs du­obus casibus pre­dictarum legum prestancias ego iā describo, cum nō magū sit īdaginis [Page 109] eorum qualitates nec diffido inge­nij tui solerciam eas sufficiēter pos­se rimari.

NO nor it booteth not good Chauncelloure herein muche to tarye, quod the prince. For though in Englande as­well open as pryuy thee­ues are commenlye putte to deathe, yette ceasse they not there from stealynge, as thoughe theye hadde no feare of so greate a pu­nishemente. Howe much lesse then would they w ^t ­holde their hāds frō thefte [Page] if thei foresaw once y ^t y ^e punishmēt were mitigated? And godde forbid that hee whyche once hathe esca­ped miserable seruitude should euer after tremble and quake at the threat­nynges of bondage, speci­allye vnder the coloure of ingratitude or vnkindnes seeynge the kyndes of in­gratitude are so manye that they can skante well be numbred: and mans nature in the cause of liberty or freedome more then in other causes requireth fa­uour. Wherefore at thys tyme, good Chauncellour I beseeche you hartelye medle no more withe the examination of any suche cases. But now explane & opē vnto me why y ^e laws of England being so good [Page 110] so fruitefull, and so com­modious, are not taughte in the vniuersities, as the Ciuile and Cannon la­wes are, and whye in the same none are commen­ced bachelers and doctors as in other faculties and sciences it is accustomed.

PRinceps. Nec expedit Can­cellarie in hijs multum suadere quia licet in Anglia, fu­res clandestini et manifesti passim morti plectantur, non cessant ipsi i­bidem omnino p̄ ­dari ac si penam tantam illiminime formidarent. Quā to tunc minus se abstinerēt a crimīe [Page] si penam preuide­rent mitiorem? Et absit a seruitute semel euasum, sem­per deinde sub minis tremere serui­tutis, maxime in­gratitudinis colo­re, cum ingratitu­dinum species, vix poterint pre mul­titudine numerari et humana natura in libertatis causa, fauorem semper magis quam in causis alijs depre­cetur. Sed iam Cancellarie, obnixè te imploro, vt amodo amissó plurium casuum huiusmodi exami­ne, michi edicas, quare leges An­gliae tam bonae, frugi, et optabiles in [Page 110] vniuersitatibus nō docētur, vt Ciui­les similiter et ca­nonū leges: et quare in eisdē nō dan­tur baccalariatus et doctoratus gra­dus vt in alijs fa­cultatibꝰ et sciētijs est dari cōsuetum.

In the vniuersities of Englande, quod the Chauncellour, sciēces are not taughte butte in the latine tonge. And the la­wes of that land are to be learned in three seuerall tonges, to wytte, in the English tongue, y ^e french tōgue, & y ^e latine tongue. [Page] In the Englishe tongue, because that law is moste vsed, and longest continu­ed amongest the English men. In the Frenche ton­gue, beecause that after the French menne vnder William the conquerer of Englande hadde obteyned the lande, they suffred not theire men of lawe to pleade their causes, but in the tongue whi [...]he theye knewe, and so doe all the men of lawe in Fraunce yea in the course of parliament there. Lykewise the Frenchemen after theire cōmyng into Englād re­ceaued not the accōptes of their reuenues, but ī their own language, least theye should be deceaued therin Neither had they delyte to hunte, & to excercise other sportes & pastimes, as diceplaye, [Page 111] and the hand balle, but in their owne proper tonge. Wherfore y ^e Englishe mē by much vsing of their cōpanie, grewe in suche a ꝑfectnes of the same language, y ^e at this day in suche playes & accomptes they vse the Frenche ton­gue. And theye weare wonte to pleade in Fren­che, tyll by force of a cer­teine statute that manner was muche restreyned. But it could neuer hether to be whollye abolished, aswel by reason of certein termes, whiche pleaders do more properly expresse in Frenche, then in Englishe, as allso for that declarations [...]ppon origi­nall wryttes can not bee pronounced so agreably to the nature of those writtes as in Frenche. [Page] And vnder the same spee­che the fourmes of suche declaracions are learned. Moreouer all pleas, argu­eynges, and iudgementes passed in the kings courts and entred into bookes for the instruction of them that shall come after, are euer more reported in the Frenche tongue. Manye statutes also of that roy­alme are writen in Frenche. Whereof it happe­neth that the commē spee­che nowe vsed in Fraūce agreethe not, nor is not lyke the Frenche vsed a­monge the lawyers of Englande, butte is by a certeine rudenes of the cō mon people corrupte.

Which corruptiō of spech chaunceth not in y ^e Frēch [Page 112] that is vsed in England, for so much as that spech is there oftener written then spoken. Now in the thirde of the saide iii. ton­gues, whiche is the latine tongue are written all writtes originall and iu­diciall: and likewise all the recordes of plees in the kinges courtes, withe certeine statutes also.

Wherefore while y ^e la­wes of England are ler­ned in these three tonges, they cannot conueniently be taught or studyed in y ^e vniuersities, where onlye y ^e latine tongue is exerci­sed. Notw ^tstandinge the same lawes are taught & learned in a certein place of publique or comen stu­dy more cōuenient & apte for attaining to y ^e know­ledge of them, then anye other vniuersitie.

[Page]For this place of study is situate nighe to y ^e kingez courtes where the same lawes are pleaded and argued, & iudgementes by the same geeuen by iud­ges menne of grauytie, auncient in yeares, per­fecte and graduate in the same lawes. Wherefore euery daye in courte the studentes in those lawes resorte by greate num­bers vnto those courtes, wherein the same lawes are redde & taught as it were in cōmon scholes.

This place of study is set betwene y ^e place of y ^e said courtz & y ^e Citie of Lōdō, which of al thīgs necessa­rie is y ^e plētifullest of all y ^e cities & towns of y ^e realm So y ^t y ^e said place of study is not situate w ^tin y ^e citie, [Page 113] where the confluence of people might disturbe the quietnes of the studentes but somewhat seueral in the suburbes of the same Citie, and nigher to the saide courtes, that the studentes maye daylye at theire pleasure haue ac­cesse and recourse thether without wearines.

CAncellariꝰ. In vniuersitati­bus Angliae non docentur scientiae nisi in latina lin­gua: et leges terrae illius in triplici lingua, addiscuntur, videlicet Anglica, Gallica, et Latina. [Page] Anglica, quia in­ter Anglos lex illa maxime inoleuit. Gallica, quia post­quam galli, duce VVilhelmo An­gliae conquestore terrā illā optinue­rūt, nō ꝑmiserunt ipsi eorū aduoca­tos placitare cau­sas suas, nisi in lin­gua quā ipsi nouerunt, qualiter et faciūt ōēs aduocati in Frācia etiā in curia parliamēti ibi­dē. Cōsimiliter gallici post eorū aduē tū in Angliā, ratiocinia de eorū pro­uentibus non re­ceperunt, nisi in proprio idiomate ne ipsi inde deciperēt’. Venari etiā, et īocos alios excer­cere, vt talorū et [Page 111] pilarū ludos, nō nī si in ꝓpria lingua delectabāt’. Quo et Anglici ex fre­quēti eorū ī talibꝰ comitiua, habitū talē ’ contraxerūt, qd’ hucus (que) ipsi ī ludis hm̄odi et cōpotis, linquā loquuntur gallicanā et placi­tare in eadē līgua soliti fuerūt quousque mos ille, vigore cuiusdā statutī quā plurimum restrictꝰ ē, t [...] ̄ in toto hucus (que) aboler [...]nō potuit tū ꝓpter termīos quosdā, quos plꝰ ꝓprie placitantes in gallico, quā in Anglico expri­mūt, tūc q̄a decla­ratiōes suꝑ breuiae originalia, tā cōueniēt’ ad naturā breuiū illorū ꝓnūciari neq̄ūt vt ī gallic̄ [Page] sub quali sermone declarationū hu­iusmodi formulae addiscuntur. Re­portātur etiā ea q̄ in curijs regijs placitantur, disputantur, et iudicantur ac in libros ad fu­turorū [...]ruditionē redigūtur, in ser­mone semper gal­lico. Quā plurima etiā statuta regni illius in gallico cō ­scribūtur. Vnde accidit qd’ lingua iā in Francia vul­garis, non concor­dat aut consimilis est gallico inter legis peritos Angliae vsitato, sed vulga­ri quadam ruditate corrupta. Quod fieri non accidit in sermone gallico [Page 112] infra Angliā vsitato, cū sit sermo ille ibidē sepius scriptꝰ quā locutus. Sub tertia vero linguarū predictarū, vz sub latina, oīa breuia originalia & iudicialia, similiter et oīa recorda placitorū in curiis re­gū, etiā et q̄dā sta­tuta scribūt’. Quare dū leges Angliae in his tribus addif­cūt’ linguis, ipsae in vniuersitatibꝰ vbi solū latina excer­cet’ lingua, cōuen [...] ēter erudiri nō poterūt aut studeri. Leges tn̄ illae, ī quodā studio publico ꝓ illarū apprehēsione (oī vniūsitate cōueniētiore et ꝓniore) docēt’ et ad discūt’

[Page]Studiū nā (que) istud, situm est prope curiam regis, vbi leges illae placitāt’ disputātur, et iudicia ꝑ easdē reddū tur, ꝑ Iudices, vi­ros graues, senes, ī legibꝰ illis peritos et graduatos. quô ī cur’ illis ad quas oī die placitabili cōfluūt studētes in legibus illis, qua si ī scolis publicis leges illae leguntur et docent’. Situat’ etiā studium illud inter locū Curia­rū illarū, et ciuita­tē Lōdon̄, q̄ de oī ­bus necessariis o­pulētissim̄ est, oīū ciuitatū et opido­rū regni illiꝰ. Nec in ciuitate illa vbi cōfluentiū turba, [Page 113] studentium quie­tē perturbare possit situm est studi­um istud, sed seor­sum parumper, in ciuitatis illius suburbio, et proprius Curiis predictis, vt ad eas sine fa­giagionis ī cōmo­do, studentes in­dies ad libitum accedere valeant.

BVt to y ^e intent most excellēt prince ye maye conceaue a fourme & an ymage of this study, as I am able I will discribe it vntoo you. For there bee in it tenne lesser housez or ynnes, & somtimes moe, [Page] whyche are called ynnes of the Chauncery. And to euerie one of them belon­geth a C. studients at the least, & to some of them a muche greater nomber, though they bee not euer all together in the same. These studentes, for the most part of thē, are yongmen, lerning or studying y ^e originals, & as it were y ^e elements of y ^e law. who profiting therein, as they growe to rypenes, so are they admitted into y ^e greater ynnes of the same stu­dy, called ynnes of court. Of the whiche greater ynnes there are .iiii. in number. And to the lest of them beelongeth in fourme aboue mentio­ned twooe hundrethe Studentes or thearea­boutes.

[Page 114]For in these greter ynnez there can no studient bee mainteined for lesse expē ­ses by the yeare then xx. markes. And if he haue a seruaunt to waite vppon him, as moste of thē haue then so muche the greater will his charges be. Now be reason of this charges the children onelye of no­ble menne doo studye the lawes in those ynnes.

For the poore and com­men sorte of the people are not hable to beare so greate charges for the ex­hibition of theire children And marchaunt menne can seeledoome fynde in theire heartes to hynder theire marchandise with so greate yerly expenses. And thus it falleth out y ^t there is scant any manne founde within y ^e roialme [Page] skilfull and connynge in the lawes, excepte hee bee a gentleman borne, and come of a noble stocke.

Wherefore they more then anye other kinde of menne haue a special re­garde to theire nobilitie, and too the preseruation of theire honour & fame And to speake vprightly there is in these greater ynnes, yea and in the lesser too, besyde the study of the lawes, as it were an vniuersitie or schole of all commendable quali­ties requisite for noble men. There they learne to singe, and to exercise themselfes in all kinde of armony. There also they practise daunsing, and o­ther noble mennes pas­times, as they vse to doe [Page 115] which are brought vppe in the kinges house.

On the woorkyedayes the moste parte of them applye themselues to the studye of the lawe. And on the holyedayes to the studie of holye scripture: and out of the tyme of di­uine seruice to the rea­dynge of chronicles. For there in deed are vertues studyed, and all vices ex­iled. So that for the en­dowement of vertue, and abandoning of vice Knightes and Barons, with other states and no­ble menne of the roialme place theire children in those ynnes, though they desire not to haue them learned in the lawes, nor to lyue by the practise therof, but only vpō their fathers allowaunce.

[Page]Skante at anye tyme ys there harde among them any sedition, chydynge or grudginge. And yet the offendours are punished with none other paine, but onelye to be amoued from the cōpany of their felowshippe. Whiche punishement they doe more feare, then other criminal offenders doe feare im­prisonment and yrons.

For hee that is ones ex­pelled frō any of those fe­lowships is neuer recea­ued to be a fellow in any of the other felowshippes And so by this meanes there is cōtinual peace: & theire demeanour is like the behauiour of suche as are coupled together in ꝑ­fect amitie. But after what manner & sorte the [Page 116] lawes are learned ī those ynnes, thereof heere too make rehersall, it is not needeful, forsomuche as it is not for your estat most noble Prince to putte the same in vre. Yet knowe ye this, that it is pleasant and delectable, and in any wise expedient for the learninge of the law, and worthy with all affection to bee embraced. But one thīg ther is that I would haue you to knowe, that neyther at Orleaunce, where aswel the Canon as the Ciuyle lawes are taughte, and whether out of manye Countreys scholars doe repayre, nor at Angeo, or at Cane, or any vniuersity of France (Paris onelye excepted) are founde so many stu­dentes past chyldhoode, [Page] as in this place of studye, notw ^tstanding y ^t al y ^e stu­dētes there are Englishe borne.

SEd vt tibi con­stet, princeps huius studii forma & ymago, illā vt va­leo iā discribā. Sūt nā (que) ī eo decē hos pic̄ minor’ et quā ­do (que) vero plura, [Page] quae nominantur hospitia Cācellar’ ad quorū quodli­bet ꝑtinēt centum studentes ad minꝰ et ad aliqua eorū maior ī multo nu­merus, licet nō oēs semꝑ in eis simul cōueniāt. studētes etenim isti ꝓ eorū parte maiori, iuuenes sūt, originalia et quasi legis ele­mēta addiscentes, qui in illis ꝓficientes, vt ipsi matu­rescunt, ad maiora hospitia studij illiꝰ quae hospitia curiae appellantur, assu­mūtur. Quorū ma iorū quatuor sunt in numero, & adminimū eorum, ꝑ­tinēt in forma pre notata, ducēti stu­dētes aut prope▪

[Page 114]In his enim maio­ribus hospiciis, ne­quaquā potest studens aliquis sustē ­tari minoribus ex­pēsis in anno, quā octoginta scutorū et si seruientē sibi ipse ibidē habue­rit, vt eorū habet pluralitas, tanto tunc maiores ipse sustinebit expēsas. Occasione vero sūptuū huiusmodi tm̄ ipsi nobilium filij in hospitiis il­lis leges addiscūt. Cum pauperes et vulgares, pro filio rū suorū exhibiti­one tātos sūptꝰ neq̄ant sufferre. Et mercatores raro cupiāt tātis on̄ibꝰ annuis, attenuare mercādisas suas.

[Page]Quo fit, vt vix doctus in legibus il­lis reperiatur in regno, qui non sit nobilis et de nobilium genere egressus. Vnde magis aliis consimilis sta­tus hominibꝰ, ipsi nobilitatem cu­rant et conserua­tionē honoris & famae suae. In his reuera hospiciis ma­ioribus, etiam et minoribus vltra studium legum, est quasi gimnasi­um omnium mo­rum qui nobiles decent. Ibi cātare ipsi addiscunt, si­militer et se excercent in omni ge­nere harmoniae. Ibi etiam tripudi­are ac iocos sin­gulos nobilibus [Page 115] cōuenientes, qua­liter in domo re­gia excercere so­lēt enutriti, in feri alibus diebꝰ eorū pars maior legalis disciplinae studio, et in festiualibus sacrae scripturae, et cronicarū lectioni post diuina obse­quia se cōfert Ibi quippe disciplina virtutū est, et viciorū oīm relegatio Ita vt ꝓpter vir­tutis adquisitionē vicij etiā fugā mi­lites, barones, alii quo (que) magnates et nobiles regni, ī hospiciis illis po­nūt filios suos, quā uis nō gliscāt eos legūimbui disciplina, nec eiꝰ exerci­tio viuere, sed solū ex patrociniis suis. [Page] Ibi vix vnquam seditio, iurgium, aut murmur resonat, et tamen delin­quentes non alia pena, quam solum a communione societatis suae amoci one plectuntur, quia penam hanc ipsi plus formidāt quā criminosi ali­bi carcerem timēt aut vincula, nam semel ab vna so­cietatū illarū ex­pulsus, nūquā ab aliqua ceterar’ so­cietatum earundē recipit’ in socium quo ibi pax est continua et quasi amicitia coniunc­torum est eorum omnium conuer­satio. Formam vero qua leges il­lae in his discuntur [Page 116] hospiciis, hic ex­primere non expedit, cum tibi prin­ceps eam experiri non liceat. Scito tamen quod de­lectabilis ipsa est, et omni modo expediens legis illius disciplinae, omni quoque affectio­ne digna. Vnum tamen te scire de­sidero, quod ne (que) durelianis vbi tam Canones addis­cuntur, quam Ci­uiles leges, et quô a quam pluribꝰ re­gionibꝰ cōfluunt scolares, ne (que) An daganis, aut ī Ca­damo, aliaue vni­uersitate Franciae, preterquā solum Parisiis, reperiunt’ tot studentes in­fantiam euasi: [Page] sicut ī hoc studio licet ibi addiscētes oēs solum ab An­glia sint oriūdi.

BVt forsomuch as you desier to knowe, most gracious Prīce, for what cause the degrees of ba­chelars and doctours are not geeuen in the lawes of Englande, as they are accustomablye geeuen in bothe lawes within vni­uersities, youre maiestie shall vnderstande that though these degrees are not geeuen in the lawes of England, yet there is geeuen in them not a de­gree only, but also a state no lesse worshipfull and solempne then the degree [Page 117] of doctours: which is cal­led the degree of a Ser­iant at lawe. And it is geuen vnder the manner & fourme fo [...]owyng. The lorde chiefe Iustice of the commen benche by y ^e coū sell and assent of all the Iustices vsethe as ofte as he thinketh good to chose vii. or .viii. of the discree­test persones, that in the foresaide generall studye haue most profited in the lawes, and whiche to the same Iusticez are thought to bee of best disposition, and their names hee pre­senteth to the lord Chan­cellour of Englande in writtynge. Who incon­tinent by vertue of the kinges write shal charge euery of the ꝑsons elect to be beefore the kinge at a daye by hym assigned, [Page] too take vppon him the state and degree of a ser­ieaunt at lawe, vnder a greate penaltie in euerye of the said writtes limit­ted. On the whiche daye euery one of them appea­ring shalbe sworne vpō the holye gospell of God to be ready at the daye & place then to bee appoin­ted to receaue the state and degree aforesaide, and that he the same daye shall geeue golde accor­dynge to the custome in that behalfe vsed.

Howe bee it howe and after what sorte euerye of the saide chosen per­sones shall that daye de­meane himselfe, and al­so the fourme and maner howe that state & degree shalbee geuen & receued, [Page 118] forsomuche as the same can not so briefelye bee written as to the short­nes of this woorke is re­quisite, therefore at thys tyme, I will leaue these pointes vntouched. And yet I haue declared the same to you ere nowe by waye of talke. But thys you must vnderstande, that when the day appoī ­ted is come, those electe persons among other so­lemnities must keepe a greate dinner, like to the feast of a kinges corona­tion, which shal continue & last by y ^e space of seuen daies. And none of those elect ꝑsones shall defraye y ^e charges growinge to him about y ^e costes of this solempnitie with lesse ex­penses then the summe of foure hūdreth markes [Page] So that y ^e expēses whiche viii. menne so electe shall then beestowe will sur­mount the summe of thre thousande and two hun­dreth ma [...]ks. Of y ^e which expenses one parcel shall bee this. Euery of them shal geue ringes of golde to y ^e value of xl. poundes sterling at the least. And your Chauncellour well remēbrethe that at what tyme hee receaued this state and degree, y ^e ringez which he then gaue stode him in fifty poundes.

For euery suche serieant at the tyme of hys crea­cion vseth to geeue vntoo euery Prince, Duke, and archebishop being presēt at that solempnitie, and to the lord Chauncellour and Lorde Treaseroure of Englande a ringe of [Page 119] the valu of .xxvi. shillings viii.d. And to euery earle and bishop beeinge like­wise present, and also to the Lorde priuie seale, to both y ^e lordes chief Iusti­ces, & to the Lorde chiefe baron of the kinges exchequer a ringe of the value of xx.s. And to euery lord baron of the parliament & to euery abbott, & nota­ble prelate, & worshipfull knight being then presēt, & also to y ^e maister of the roles, & to euery Iustice a ring of y ^e value of a mark And likewise to euery baron of y ^e exchequer, to the chaumberlaines, and to all the officers, and nota­ble menne seruynge in the kinges courtes, rin­ges of a smaller pryce, but agreable to theire es­tates to whome they are [Page] geuen. Insomuch y ^t there shall not bee a clerke, speciallye in the court of the commen benche, but hee shal receaue a ring cōue­nient for his degree. And besydes these they geeue dyuers rynges too other of theire fryndes. They geue also liueries of cloth of one sute or colour in greate abundaunce not onelye to theire houshold meanye, but also to their other fryndes and ac­quaintaunce, whiche du­rynge the tyme of the foresayde solempnytye shall attende and wayte vppon them.

Wherefore though in the Vniuersities they that are promoted too the de­gree of Doctors do sustaī no small charges at the tyme of their cōmēcemēt, [Page 120] as in geuīge of bonnetes and other ryche gyftes, yet y ^ey geue no gold: nor do bestowe any other giftes or costes lyke vnto these expenses. Neither ī any coūtrey of the world is there any special degre geuen in the lawes of the sāe lāde, but onely in y ^e royalme of Englande. Neither is there any man o [...] lawe throughe out the vniuersall world, whiche by reasō of his office or ꝓfession gaynethe somuch as one of these seriaunts. No man also be he neuer so connynge & skylfull in the lawes of the royalme shalbe exalted to y ^e office and dignitie of a Iustice in the courte of pleas be­fore the kīge or ī y ^e courte [Page] of the cōmē bench, which are the chiefe ordinarie courtes of the same roy­alme, oneles he be first ꝓ­moted to the state and degree of a seriaunt at law. Neither shall any man but onely such a seriaunt pleade in the courte of y ^t commen benche, wheare all reall actions are pleaded. Wherefore to this state and degree hath no man bene hetherto admitted, except he haue first cō tinued by the space of xvi yeares in the said gene­ral studie of y ^e lawe. And in token or signe that all Iustices ar thus graduat euerye of them alwayes whyle he sytteth ī y ^e kīges courtes, weareth a white quoyfe of silke: whiche is [Page 121] the principal and chief in signemet of habite where with seriauntes at lawe in their creation are dec­ked. And neither the Ius­tice, nor yet the seriaunt shal euer put of y ^e quoyfe no not in the kynges presence, thoughe he be in talke withe his maiesties highnes. wherefore, most noble prince, you can not hereafter doubt, but that these lawes, which so sin­gularli aboue the Ciuile lawes, yea and aboue the lawes of all other roy­almes are honoured, and with so solempne a state of such as are learned therein, and do professe y ^e sāe are worshipped must needes be precioꝰ, noble and hieghe, and of greate excellencie, and of speciall knowlege and vertue.

SEd cū tu prin­ceps, scire desi­deres, cur ī legibꝰ Angliae nō dantur baculariatꝰ et doctoratus gradus si­cut in vtro (que) iure in vniuersitatibus est dare consuetū Scire te volo, qd’ licet gradus hm̄oi in legibus Angliae minime cōferātur datur tamen in il­lis nedum gradus, sed et status qui­dam, gradu doc­toratꝰ nō minꝰ celebris aut solēnis, qui gradus serui­entis [Page 117] ad legē ap­pellatur. Et cōfertur sub hac q̄ sub­sequitur forma.

Capitalis Iusticia­rius de cōi banco, de cōsilio et assēsu oīm iusticiariorū, eligere solet quo­tiēs sibi videtur oport [...]mū, septē vel octo de maturioribus ꝑsonis qui in p̄dicto gen̄ali stu­dio maius in legi­bus proficerūt, & qui eisdē iusticiar’ optimae dispositio­nis esse vidētur, et nomina eorū ille deliberare solet Cācellario angliae in scriptis, qui illi­co mādabit ꝑ bre­uia regis (cuilꝪ) cuilibet electorū illorū, qd. sit corā rege ad diē ꝑ ipsum assignatum [Page] ad suscipiēdū sta­tum et gradū ser­uiētis ad legē, sub ingēti pena ī quo­libet breuiū predictorum limitata: ad quē diē (quilibꝪ) quilibet eorum cōparēs, iurabitur (suꝑ sācta dei euāgelia) fore paratum, ad diē et locū tunc sibi sta­tuēdos, ad recipiē dum statū & gra­dum predictos, et qd’ ipse in die illo dabit aurum secū dum cōsuetudinē regni in hoc casu vsitatā. Tn̄ qualit (er) ad diē illum quili­bet elector’ predictor’ se habeb. nec nō formā et mod’ qualit (er) statꝰ & gradus hm̄oi cōferēt’ et recipiuntur, hic inserere omitto: [Page 118] cum scripturam maiorem illa exi­gant, quam con­gruit operi tam succincto. Tibi ta­men ore tenus ea alias explicaui.

Scire tamen te cupio, qd’ aduenien­te die sic statuto, electi illi inter ali­as solempnitates festum celebrant et conuiuium, ad instar coronatio­nis regis, quod et continuabitur ꝑ dies septem, necquisquam electo­rum illorum sūp­tus sibi contingentes circa solēpni­tatem creationis suae, minoribus ex­pensis perficiet, quam mille et sex centorūscutorum [Page] quo expensae quas octo sic electi tūc refūdēt, excedent sūmā. 3200. marc. quarū expēsarū ꝑs q̄dā inter cetera, hec erit. Quilibet eorū dabit anulos de auro ad valētiā in toto quadragī ­ta librar’ (ad minꝰ) monetae Anglican̄ et bene recolit Cā cellarius ipse, qd’ dū ille statum & gradū hm̄oi rece­perat, ipse soluit ꝓ anulis quos tūc distribuit, quinqua­ginta libras, q̄ sūt 300. scuta. Solet nā (que) vnusquisque seruientū hm̄oi tē pore creacōis suae, dare (cuilꝪ) cuilibet prīcipi, duci, et archiep̄o ī solēnitate illa pre­sēti, ac Cācellar’ et Thesa. ang. anulū [Page 119] ad valorē 26. s. 8. denar’, et cuilibet comiti et ep̄o cōsimiliter presētibus, nec nō custodi priuati figilli, vtrique capitali iusticiario et capitali baroni de scaccario regis ānulū ad valorē 20. s. et oī dn̄o ba­roni ꝑliamēti, et oī abbati et notabili prelato ac magno militi, tūc p̄sēti, custodi etiā rotul’ cācellariae regis & cuilibet iusticiario anulū ad valenc̄ 1. marc̄. Similiter et oī bar’ de scacc̄ regis, camerariis, etiā oībus offic̄ et notabilibꝰ viris in cur’ regis mīstrātibꝰ, anulos minor’ p̄cij, cōueniētes tn̄ statibus eorū (q ⁱb) quibus [Page] donātur. Ita quod non erit clericus, maximè ī curia cō munis bāci, licet ī ­fimus, quin anulū ipse recipiet cōue­niētē gradui suo. Et vltra hos ipsi dant anulos non­nullos, aliis amicis suis. Similiter et liberatā magnā pā ­ni vniꝰ sectae, quā ipsi tunc distribu­ent in magna abū dātia, nedum fa­miliaribꝰ suis, sed et amicis aliis et notis, qui eis attē ­dēt et ministrabūt tēpore solēnitatis predictae. Quare licet in vniuersitatibus in gradum doctorat’ erecti, expensas non mo­dicas faciant tēꝑe [Page 120] creacionis suae, ac birreta, alia quo (que) donaria quā bona errogēt: nō tamē aurū ipsi cōferunt aut alia donaria sūptusue faciūt, his expēsis similia. Ne (que) in regno aliquo orbis terrarū datur gradus spe­cialis in legibꝰ regni illiꝰ, p̄terquā solū ī regno Angliae Nec est aduocatꝰ in vniūso mūdo, q̄ ratione officii sui tātū lucratur vt seruiens huius­modi. Nullꝰ eciā, licet in legibꝰ regni illius scientissi­mꝰ fuerit, assume­tur ad officium et dignitatē iusticia­rii ī curiis placito­rū corā ipso rege [Page] et comunis banci quae sūt supremae curiae eiusdē regni ordinariae, nisi ipse primitus statu et gradu seruiētis ad legē fuerit insignitus. Nec quisquā preterquā seruiēs talis ī curia comunis banci, vbi omnia realia placita placitantur placi­tabit. Quare ad statum et gradū talē, nullꝰ hucus­ (que) assūptus est, qui non in p̄dicto ge­nerali legis stu­dio, sexdecim an­nos ad minus an­tea cōpleuit et in signum qd ōnes iusticiarii illi talit (er) extāt graduati, q ⁱ libet eorū sēp vtitur dum in curiis regis sedet, birreto [Page 121] albo de serico. qd p̄mū et p̄cipuū ē de īsign̄ habit’ quo seruiēt’ ad legē in eorū creacion̄ de­corāt’. Nec birret’ illud iusticiariꝰ, si­cut nec seruiēs ad legē vnquā depo­net, quo caput suū ī toto discoope riet, etiā ī p̄sēt’ reg. lic̄ cū celsitudin̄su a ip̄e loquat’ Quare prīceps p̄claris­sim̄ tu amodo hesi tar’ nō pot’is, quin leges istae q̄ tā sigularit’ supr’ ciuiles leges leges etiā ō ­niū aliorū regno­rū honerāt’ et tam solēpni statu eru­ditorū et ministrā tiū ī eis venerāt’ p̄ciosae sit nobiles et sublimes, ac magn̄ p̄stāciae, maximae (que)-sciētiae et virtutis

BVt to the intent the state of Iustices as­well as of seriauntes at lawe maye be knowen to your grace, as I cā I wil describe vnto you their fourme and office. In the commen bēche there are custumable v. Iustices or vi. at the most. And in the kynges benche .iiii. or v. And as ofte as the place of any of them by deathe or otherwyse is voyde, y ^e kynge vseth to choose one of the seriauntes at lawe and him by his letters patents to ordeine a Iustice in the place of the iudge so ceassynge. And thē the lorde Chauncellor of England [Page 122] shall enter into y ^e courte where the Iustice is so lackynge, bryngyng with him those letters patents, and sittynge in y ^e myddes of the Iustices, causeth the seriaūt so elect to be brought in, to whō in the open courte he no­tifieth the kynges plea­sure touchynge the office of the iustice then voyd and causeth the foresaid letters to be openly read. Whiche dōe the maister of the rolles shall reade before the same elect per­son the othe that he shall take. Which whē he hath sworne vpon the holy gospell of god, the lord Chaū cellour shall deliuer vn­to him the kynges letters aforesaid. And the lorde chiefe Iustice of y ^t courte shall assine vnto him a [Page] place in the same, where he shall then place him: & that place shall he after­ward kepe. Yet you must knowe, most noble prīce, that this Iustice shall thē amonge other thinges sweare, that he shal indifferently minister iustice to all men aswell foes as frendes, that shall haue any sute or plea before hī And this shal he not for­beare to do thoughe the kinge by his letters, or by expresse worde of mouth woulde commaunde the contrarie. He shall also sweare that from that tyme forwarde he shall not receaue or take any fee or pension, or lyuerye of any mā, but of y ^e kīg onely nor any gyfte, re­ward or brybe of any mā hauīg sute or plea before [Page 123] him, sauynge meate and drīke. which shalbe of no great value. You shall also knowe that a Iustice thus made shal not be at the charges of any diner, or solempnitie, or anye other costes at the tīe whē he taketh vpō him his of­fice & dignitie, forsomuch as this is no degree in y ^e facultie of the lawe, but an office onely & a rowm of autoritie to cōtinue duringe the kynges pleasur Howebeit the habit of his raimēt he shall from tyme to tyme forward in some poyntes chaunge, but not in all the ensignements thereof. For beīge a seriaūt at lawe he was clothed in a longe robe priestlyke, with a furred cape about his should [...]rs, & therupon a hoode with [Page] ii. labels such as doctours of the lawes vse to weare in certen vniuersities, w ^t the aboue discribed quoife But beinge ones made a Iustice, ī stede of his hood he shal weare a cloke closed vpon his right shoulder, all y ^e other ornamēts of a seriaunt still remai­ning: sauīge that a Ius­tice shal weare no partie coloured vesture as a seriaunt maye. And his cape is furred with none other then meneuer, whereas the seriauntes cape is e­uer furred w ^t white lābe. And this habite I would wishe your grace to brīg into hieghe estimation, when it shalbe ī your po­wer, for the worshippe of the state of the lawe, & y ^e honour of your royalme [Page 124] Furthermore I woulde ye shoulde know that the Iustices of England sitt not in the kinges courtes aboue iii. houres in a day, that is to saye, from viii. of the clock in y ^e forenone till xi. complete, For in y ^e afternones those courtes are not holden or kepte. But the Suters then re­sort to y ^e ꝑusing of theire writinges and elswhere consulting with the Ser­iauntes at lawe and o­ther theire counsailoures Wherfore the Iustyces after they haue taken theire refection, doo passe and bestowe all the resi­due of the daye in the stu­dye of the lawes, in rea­dynge of holye scripture, and vsynge other kynde of contemplacion at their pleasure. So that theire [Page] lyfe may seeme more contemplatiue then actiue. And thus do they leade a quiete lyfe discharged of al wordly cares and troubles. And it hath neuer bene knowen that ani of them hathe bene corrupt with gyftes or brybes. whereupō we haue sene this kynde of grace folo­wynge, that skante anye of them dyethe without yssue, which vnto iust mē is a token of the great & peculiar blessynge of god And in myne opiniō it is to be iudged for no small poynte of the bountefull goodnes of god, that out of the generation of Iudges there haue hetherto spronge vp mo states & peares of the royalme thē out of any other state of mē: which by their owne wytte & policie haue aspi­red [Page 125] vnto great wealthe, nobilitie, & honour Yea thoughe the state of mer­chauntes surmount the nūber of Iudgeis by ma­ny thousans beinge men of suche singular wealth that amonge them com­mēly ther be such, as one of thē in riches passeth all the Iusticeis of y ^e royalm For this cannot be ascri­bed vnto fortune, which is nothynge. But it is to be attributed (as I take it) onely to the blessynge of god. For somuche as by his prophet hee saieth y ^t the generatiō of righ­teous men shalbe blessed And the prophet in an o­ther place speakīg of iust men, sayeth y ^t theire chil­dren shalbe in blessynge. wherefore o most magni­ficēt prince be you in loue w ^t iustice, which thus ēri­cheth, exalteth to honour [Page] and auaunceth to perpe­tuite the children of them that haue her in veneration. And be you a zelous louer of the lawe, the ve­rie welsprīge of Iustice, y ^t by you it may be sayed y ^t is writē of y ^e righteous And their seede shall re­mayne for euer.

SEd vt Iusticiari [...]orū (sicut et seruiētū ad legē) statꝰ tibi innotescat, eorū formā officiū (que) (vt potero) iā discribā. Solēt nā ­que in comuni bā cō quin (que) iusticiarii esse vel sex ad maius. Et in bāco regis quatuor vel quin (que) ac quociēs eorum aliquis per mortē vel aliter cessauerit, rex de aduisamento consilii sui eligere so­let vnū de seruiē ­tibus ad legem, et eū ꝑ litteras suas patētes constituere in iusticiariū loco iudicis sic cessā tis et tunc cancellarius [Page 122] Angliae adibit curiā vbi iustitiariꝰ sic deest, differēs secū litteras illas, ac sedens in medio iusticiario­rū introduci sacit seruientē sic elec­tū, cui in plena curia ipse notifica­bit volūtatē regis de officio iudicia­rio sic vacante, et legi faciet ī publi­co literas p̄dictas Quo facto, cus­tos rotulorum cā celariae regis leget corā eodē electo iusiurādū qd ipse facturꝰ est, qd et cū super sctā dei Euāgelia ipse iu­rauerit, cācellariꝰ sibi tradet litteras regis predictas, et capitalis iusticiarius curiae illiꝰ assig­nabit [Page] sibi locū ī eadē, vbi deīceps ille sedebit, et mox eū sedere faciet ī eodē. Sciēdum tamē tibi ē Prīceps qd Iusticiariꝰ iste int (er) cetera tūc iu­rabit: se iustitiā ministraturū īdiffe­rēt (er) ōnibꝰ hominibꝰ corā eo placi­tātibꝰ, īimicis et amicis, nec sic face­re differet, etiam si rex per litteras suas aut ore tenꝰ cō trariū iusserit. Iu­rabit etiam quod extunc non reci­piet ipsae ab aliquo preterquā a rege, feodū aut pencionem aliquam seu liberatam, neque donum capiet abhabente placitum coram eo, preter­quam esculenta [Page 123] et poculēta, q̄ nō magni erūt precii Sciendū etiā tibi est, qd Iusticiarius sic creatus, cōuiuī um solēpnitatēue aut sūptꝰ aliquos non faciet, tēpore susceptionis offi­cii et dignitatis suae, cū nō sint ill [...] gradꝰ aliqui in facultate legis, sed officiū solū illa sīt & magistratꝰ, ad regis nutū du [...]atura, habitū tn̄ indumēti sui (ī q̄busd’) ip̄e ex tunc mu­tabit, sed non in oībꝰ insigniis eiꝰ Nā seruiens ad le­gē ipse existēs, ro­ba lōga, ad instar sacerdotis, cū ca­picio penulato circa humeros eius et desuꝑ collobio, cū duobꝰ labelulꝭ [Page] qualiter vti solēt doctores legū in vniūsitatibꝰ qui­busdā, cum supra discripto birreto vestiebatur. Sed Iusticiariꝰ factus, loco collobii cla­mide induetur, firmata super humerū eiꝰ dexterū, ce­teris ornamentis seruientis, adhuc permanētibꝰ, ex­cepto qd stragu­lata veste, aut coloris depertiti vt potest seruiēs ius­ticiariꝰ nō vtetur et capiciū eiꝰ non alio quā meneue­ro penulatur. Ca­pīcium tn̄ seruiē ­tis pellibꝰ agninis semper al bis im­plicatur, qualē habitū te plꝰ ornare optarē, cū potes­tas [Page 124] tibi fuerit, ad decorē status legis et honorem regni tui. Scire te etiam cupio qd’ iusticia­rii angliae nō sedētī curiis regis nisi pertres horas in die. s. ab hora viii. ante meridiē, vs (que) horā xi. cōpletam, quia post meridiē curiae illae non tenentur. Sed placitātes tūc se diuertunt ad ꝑ­uisū et alibi, cōsu­lētes cū seruienti­bus ad legē et aliis cōsiliar’ suis. Qua­re iusticiarij post­quā se refecerint totū diei residuū ꝑtrāseūt studēdo in legibus, sacram legēdo scripturā, et aliter ad eorū libitū cōtēplādo, vt [Page] vita ipsorū plꝰ cō templatiua videatur quā actiua. Sic (que) quietā illi vitā agūt, ab oī solicitudine et mundi turbinibꝰ semotam: nec vnquā cōꝑtū ē eorū aliquē, do­nis aut muneribꝰ fuisse corupt’. Vnde et hoc genus gratiae vidimꝰ subsecutū, qd vix eo­rū aliq ⁱs sine exitu decedat, qd iustis magn̄ et quasi apꝓpriatae benedic­tionis dei est, mi­hi quo (que) nō mini­mi muneris diui­ni censetur esse pēsād, qd ex iudi­cū sobole, plures de proceribus et magnatibꝰ regni hucus (que) ꝓdierūt, quā dealiquo alio statu hoīm regni, [Page 125] q ⁱ se prudētia et industria ꝓpria opulētos, inclitos, no­bilesque fecerunt Quāquā mercatorū statꝰ, quorū aliqui sūt, q ⁱ oībꝰ iu­sticiariis regni p̄s­tāt ī diuitiis iudicū numerū in mili­bꝰ hoīm excedat. Nā fortunae q̄ ni­hil est, istud ascri­bi nō poterit: sed diuinae solū bene­dictioni fore arbitror tribuēd. Cū ipse ꝑ ꝓphetā di­cat: qd generatio rectorū benedicetur. Et alibi de iustis loquēs ꝓpheta ait: qd filii eorum in benedictione erūt. Dilige igitur, (fili regis) iusticiā quae sic ditat, co­lit, et ꝑpetuat f [...]tꝰ [Page] colentium eā. Et zelator esto legis que iustitiam pa­rit, vt a te dicatur qd a iustis scribi­tur: et semen eo­rum ineternū manebit.

THere remayneth now but one thynge good Chauncellour, quod the prīce to be declared, wherwith my mynde sōewhat yet wauereth and is dis­quieted, wherī if you stay and satisfie me, I wyll trowble you with no mo questions. The lawes of England, as the reporte goeth suffer great delaes in [Page 126] their processes, more then the lawes of other nati­ons. which vnto suters is not onely a hinderaunce of their right, but also many tymes an importable burden of charges, & chiefly in those actions, wherī damages are not alowed

Princeps. Vnum iā solum super est Cācellarie de­clarādum: quo parumꝑ adhuc fluctuat, inq̄etat’ quo­ (que) mens mea. In quo si eā solidaueris, nō āpliꝰ te q̄s­tionibꝰ fatigabo. Dilationes ingentes, vt asseritur, patiuntur leges An­gliae in ꝓcessibus [Page 126] suis plusquā leges aliarū nationum, qd petētibꝰ, nedū iuris sui ꝓgatio ē, sed et sumptuum quādoquidem importabile onꝰ, et maxime in actio­nibꝰ illis in quibꝰ damna petētibꝰ nō redduntur.

IN actions personall, quod the Chaūcellour, out of Cities & townes of merchandise where the maner of proceedynge is acordynge to the customz and liberties of the same there the procedinges are ordinarie. And thoughe they suffer great delaies, yet they be not excessiue. But in the same Cities and townes, chiefeli whē [Page] any vrgent cause so requireth, there is quicke dis­patche made, lyke as in other partes of the world and yet not w ^t suche hote hast as in some other pla­ces, that the ꝑtye be there by endammaged. Agaīe in accions reall the procedynges are verie slowe almost, in all partes of the worlde. For within the royalme of Fraunce in y ^e hieghest court ther, which is called the court of par­liamēt, there be certeī processes y ^t haue hāged there aboue xxx. yeares. And I knowe that a cause of appeale, which in that court betweene Richard Herō an Englishe merchaunt & other merchaunt mē for a trasgression made hath ben debated withī the iu­risdiction of that courte, [Page 127] hathe alredy hāged by y ^e space of x. yeares. And it is not yet lyke that it can be decided within other x. yeares [...] ▪ whyle I was lately abydynge ī Paris myne hoste shewed me his processe in writynge, which in the court of par­liament there he had thē folowed full viii. yeares for iiii.s. rēte, which ī our monei maketh not aboue viii.d. and yet he was ī no hope to obteyne iudgmēt in .viii. yeares more. And I knowe other cases ther lyke vnto these So that the lawes of Englād, as seemeth to me, cause not so gre [...]t delayes as do y ^e lawes of that countrey. But to speake vppright­ly, it is necessarie that delayes be had in the processes of all actions [Page] so that the same be not to muche excessiue. For by reasō thereof the parties and chiefely the partie defēdant, do often tymes ꝓ­uide themselfes of good defenses and also of coū ­sels, which els y ^ey should lacke. And in iudgemēts there is neuer so greate daunger toward as whē processe goeth foreward with ouer muche haste. For I sawe ones in the Citie of Salisburi before a certein iudge at a gaole delyuerie there with the clerk of the assyfes, a wo­mā attaīted & burned for the death of her husband within a yeare a [...]ter he was slaine. In the which case it was in the iudges power to haue reprieued or respected that womās [Page 128] arraygnement til the end of that yeare. And about a yeare after that I saw one of y ^e seruants of the slaine man cōuict before y ^e same Iustice of the death of the same his maister. Whoe then openlye confessed, y ^t he himselfe alone slew his master, and that his maistres hys wyfe whiche be­fore was burned, was al­together innocent of hys deathe. And he for y ^e same was drawen and hanged And still euen at y ^e pointe of death he lamented the womā burned, as one cle­are from that offence. O what perplexitie & remor­se of c [...]nscience it is to bee thought that this so hasty a Iustice hadde of thys deede which might iustly haue stayed the processe? He himselfe (alas) often [Page] confessed vnto me that hee should neuer durynge his lyfe be hable to cleare hys conscience of this fact. For manye times in delibera­tiōs, iudgemēts growe to riepenes, but in ouer hasty processe neuer. Wherfore the laws of England ad­mit essoyne, and so do noe other laws of al y ^e worlde Are not vouchinges to warrant right profitable Are not the aydes of them profitable, to whom the reuersion of tenementes brought in plea belonge­the, and whiche haue the euidences of the same.

Are not also the aydes of coperteners ꝓfitable whi­che shall paye accordinge to the rate of a tenemente allotted to their coꝑtener by force of the law euicted [Page 129] from him. And yet al the­se are delayes as you most noble prince by my talke at other times do wel knowe. And the like delayes to these do no other lawes admit. Neither do the la­wes of Englande admyt tryeflinge and vnfruteful delayes. And if any suche fonde delayes shoulde be vsed they maye at euerye parliament be cut awaye Yea and other laws vsed in the same royalme, whē in any pointe theye bee­gynnne to haste theye maye at euery parliamēt be refourmed. Wherfore it maye well bee conclu­ded, that all the lawes of that royalme are ryghte good either in deede, or in possibilitie. So that if they bee not presentlye good, [Page] theye maye easlye be re­duced to the present per­fection of goodnes. To the perfourmaunce wher­of as ofte as equytye so re­quyrethe, euerye kynge there is bounde by an othe solempnelye taken at the tyme of hys coro­nation.

Cancellariꝰ. In actionibꝰ personalibꝰ extra vr­bes & villas mer­catores, vbi ꝓce­ditur secundū cō ­suetudines et li­bertates earundē processꝰ sunt or­dinarii. Et quātas libet dilationes paciuntur, non tamen excessiuas. In vrbibꝰ vero et [Page] villis illis potissim̄ cū vrgēs causa de poscat, celeris, vt in aliis mūdi ꝑtibꝰ fit ꝓcessꝰ nec ta­mē (vt alibi) ipsi nimiū aliquando festināt’. quo sub­sequitur ꝑtis lesio Rursꝰ in realibꝰ actionibꝰ, in ōni­bꝰ fere mūdi ꝑti­bꝰ morosi sunt ꝓcessꝰ. Sed ī Anglia quodamodo celeriores. Sūt quip­pe ī regno Frāciae, in curia ibid’ sup̄ ­ma, q̄ cur’ ꝑliamēti vocitatur, ꝓcessꝰ quidā, q̄ in ea plus quā triginta ānis pepēderūt. Et noui ego appellationis causā vnā, q̄ in curia illa, agita­ta fuit, iam ꝑ decē ānos suspēsā fuis­se, et adhuc veri [Page 127] simile nō ē, eā ifra ānos decem alios poste discidi. ostē dit et mihi dudū dū Parisiis morabar hospes meꝰ ꝓcessū suū in scrip­tis, quē ī curia pliam̄ti ibidē ip̄e tūc octo ānis ꝓ qua­tuor solidatis redditꝰ, q̄ de pecunia nostr’ viii.d. nō ex cedūt ꝓsecutꝰ est, nec sperauit se in octo annis aliis iuditium inde op­tēturū. Alios quo (que) nōnullos nouicasꝰ ibidē, his similes, sic qd leg. An­gliae nō tantas, vt mihi visū ē, dilati­ones sortiūt’ vt faciūt leges regionis illiꝰ. Sed reūa ꝓne cessariū ē dilatio­n̄s fieri ī ꝓcessibꝰ oīm actionū, dū ­modo [Page] nimiū ipsae non fuerīt exces­siuae. Nā sub illis, ꝑtes et maxim̄ ꝑs rea, quā sepe sibi ꝓuident de defē ­sionibꝰ vtilibꝰ, si­militer et consiliis quibꝰ alias ipsi carerēt. Nec vnquā ī iudiciis tātū īmi­net periculū, quā tum parit ꝓcessꝰ festinatꝰ. Vidi nē ­pe quōdā apud ciuitatem Sarū, co­rā iudice quodam ad gaolā ibidē de liberādā, cum clerico suo assignato mulierem de morte mariti sui infra ānum ab īterfectione eiꝰ attinctā similiter et cōbus­tā, in quo casu li­cuit iudici illi vs (que) post ānum illum [Page 128] arrettamentū siue disration̄ mulier’ illiꝰ respectuasse et post annū illū vidi vnū de seruiētibus īt erfecti illiꝰ, corā eodē iusticiario de morte eiusdē ma­gistri sui cōuictū, q̄ tūc publice fatebatur ip̄mmet solum magistrū suū occi­disse, et magistram suā vxorē eiꝰ tunc cōbustā īnocētē ō ­nīo fuisse de mor­te eius: quare ipse tractꝰ et suspēsꝰ fuit. Sed tn̄ ōnīo, etiā ī ip̄o mortis articulo mulierē cōbustā īmunē a crimīe il­lo fuisse ip̄e luge­bat. O quale putā ­dū ē ex hoc facto cōsciētiae discrimē et remorsū euenis se iustic̄ illi tā p̄ci­piti, q̄ potuit ꝓces­sum [Page] illū iuste re­tardasse? Sepiꝰ ꝓh dolor ip̄e michi fassus est, qd’ nūquā in vita sua animū eius de hoc facto ipse purgaret: cre­bro etenī ī delibe­rationibꝰ iudic̄ maturescūt. Sed in accelerato processu nūquā Quare le­ges Angliae essoniū admittunt, qualia nō faciūt leges aliae mūdi vniuersi. Nō ne quā vtil’ sūt vocatiōes ad warrantū? Auxilia de his ad quos spectat reūtio tenemētorū q̄ ī placitū deducūt’ et q ⁱ hēnt euidēti­as eorūdē. Auxilia etiā de coꝑticipibꝰ q̄ reddēt ꝓ rata, si tenemēt’ cōꝑticipi allottatū euīcatur [Page 129] et tamen hec, di­lationes sūt: sicut tu prīceps alias nosti ex doctrina m [...] a. Et dilationes his similes leges aliae nō admittūt ne (que) leges Angliae friuolas et infructuosas ꝑmittunt inducias. Et si q̄ in regno il­lo dilationes in placitis minꝰ accomodae fuerint vsitatae in ōni parliamēto āputari illae possūt etiā et oēs leges a­liae in regno illo v­sitatae cū in aliquo claudicauerint, in ōni parliamēto poterunt reformari. Quôrectê cōcludi potest, qd’ omnes leges regni illius optimae sunt, in actu vel potentia, [Page] quo faciliter in actum duci poterūt et in essentiam re­alem. Ad quod fa­ciendum, quotiēs equitas id popos­cerit, singuli reges ibidem sacramen­to astringuntur so lempniter prestito tempore receptionis diadematis sui.

I Haue wel & euidētly ꝑ­ceaued, quod y ^e prince, by y ^e ꝓcesse of your talke good Chaūcellour, y ^t those lawz are not onely good, but also of most perfecte & excel­lēt goodnes. And if any of thē haue neede to be amē ­ded that may quicklye bee done as the fourmes and [Page 130] orders of y ^e parliamentes there do plainlye prooue Wherfore y ^e roialme is e­uer really or potentiallye gouerned by most excellēt and most worthie lawes. And I doubt not but that your instructions in thys our talke shalbee profita­ble for the kings of Eng­lande whiche hereafter shall bee: so that they ha­ue noe pleasure in gouer­nynge by vnpleasaunt la­wes. For the vnhandsomnes of the toole or instru­mente werieth the work­manne: and a blunte pike or a dulle sweorde ma­kethe a cowardelye soul­diour But like as a soul­diour is encouraged to fight not onelye when hee hathe handsome and fitte weapons in a readynes, but also much more when [Page] he is expert and skilfull in warlike actes, accordinge to the saying of Vegetius in his boke of chiualrie, y ^e knowledge & connyng in martiall feats ministreth boldenes in fightinge (for no man feareth to do that whiche he trusteth hee ha­the well learned) in lyke maner euery kinge hath a feruēt zeale, & earnest de­sire to y ^e maintenaunce of Iustice, not only knowīg y ^e lawes, whereby y ^e must be don, to be most iust, but also beinge skilful in the forme & nature of y ^e same. Whereof it shal suffice y ^e prince to haue onely an v­niuersall, a superficial, & a confuse knoweledge, the discreete and determinate perfectnes, & deepe vnder stādinge of the same bee­ynge lefte to his iudges. [Page 131] So also oughte all prin­ces to bee wel seene in the holye scriptures of god, as sayethe vincentius Bel­uacensis in his booke of the morall institution of princes Forasmuche as the scripture aboue men­tioned sayethe that vayne are all theye in whom is not the knowledge of god and for that in the sixteen the chapter of the prouer­bes it is thus written. Let prophecye or the woorde of god be in the lyppes of the kynge, and then hys mouthe shall not go wrō ­ge in iudgement. And yet is not a kinge bounde to haue profounde knowledge, and determinate vn­derstāding in y ^e holy scrip­tures, as it becommethe a professoure of dyuinitye. [Page] For it shalbe ynoughe for hī suꝑficially to tast y ^e sen­tēces therof, as also of his lawes. Thus did Charles the great, Lewes his son­ne, and Robert sometime kinge of Fraunce whoe wrote thys sequence.

Sancti spiritus adsit nobis gratia: and diuers other princes, as the foresayde Vincēcius in the fiftene­the chapter of his booke aforesayd plainly shewe­the. Wherfore y ^e doctors of y ^e lawes do say, y ^t an ē ­perour beareth al his la­wes in y ^e box of his brest: not for y ^t he knoweth all y ^e lawes reallye & in deede, but for that he vnderstan­deth the principles of thē, lykewise theire fourme, & theire nature: in whiche respect he is iudged to bee skilfull in all hys lawes. [Page 132] Whiche also he maye al­ter, chaunge, and repeale. So that in him are poten­tiallye all his lawes, as Eue was in Adam befo­re she was made. Butte now, good Chauncellour seeynge I perceaue mye selfe sufficientlye perswa­ded to the studie of the la­wes of England, whiche thing in y ^e beginninge of this worke you promised to perfourme, I wil no lō ger trouble you in this behalfe. But thus I instātly desire you, y ^t ye wil īstruct me in y ^e prīciples of y ^e law as you once began to doe And that you will teache me to knowe and vnder­stande the fourm and na­ture thereof. For thys la­we shall bee euermore pe­culiar to me amonge al o­ther lawes of the worlde, [Page] amonge the whiche I see it shiene as lucifer amōge the starrs. And forsomuch as I doubt not, but youre intent, whereby you were moued to this conference is fully satisfiyd: bothe ty­me and reason requirethe, that we make an ende of our talke, yeeldynge ther­fore laudes and thankes to him, whiche beganne, furthered, and hathe fyni­shed the same. Whom we call Alpha et O, who also be praysed of euerye ly­uinge creature. Amen.

PRīceps. Leges illas nedū bo­nas sed et optimas esse cācellarie, ex ꝓsecutiōe tua in hoc dialogo certissime dep̄hēdi. Et si q̄ ex eis meliorari deposcant, id citis­sime fieri posse, [Page 130] parliamentorū ibi dem formulae nos erudiunt. Quo re­aliter potētialiter­ue, regnum illud semper prestantis­simis legibus gu­bernatur, nec tuas in hac concionati­one doctrinas fu­turis Angliae regi­bus inutiles fore conijtio, dū nō di­lectet regere legi­bus quae non delectant. Fastidet namque artificem ineptio instrumenti, et militem ignauum reddit debilitas lā ciae et mucronis. Sed sicut ad pug­nā animatur miles cū nedū sibi ꝓnasīt arma, sed et magis cū in actibꝰ bellicis ip̄e sit exꝑtus, [Page] dicente Vegetio de re militari: qd’ sciencia rei bellicae dimicandi audaci­am nutrit, Quia nemo facere metuit quod se bene di dicisse confidit. Sic et rex omnis ad iustitiam anima­tur dum leges quibus ipsa fiet, ne­dum iustissimas esse agnoscit, sed et earum ille exper­tus sit formam et naturam, quas tantum in vniuersali, inclusiuè, et incō ­fuso principi scire sufficiet, remanen te suis iudicibus, e­arum discreta de­terminata (que) peritia et scientia altiori. [Page 131] Sic equidē et scripturarum diuinarū peritiam, vt dicit Vincentius Beluacensis in libro de morali institutiōe prīcipum: Omnis princeps habere deberet cum dicat scriptura superius memorata: qd’ vanae sunt oēs in qui­bus nō est scientia dei, et ꝓuerbi .xvi. scribatur: Diuina­tio, id est diuina sē ­tentia vel sermo diuinus, sit in labi­is regis: et tunc in iuditio non erra­bit os eius. Non tamen profundè, determinatèue intelligere tenetur Prī ceps scripturas sa­cras, vt decet sacrae theologiae ꝓfessor [Page] sufficit nā (que) ei earū in cōfusô degusta re sententias, qualiter et peritiā legis suae. Sic et fece [...]ūt Carolus Mag [...]us, Lodouicꝰ filius e­iꝰ, et Robertꝰ quō dā rex Frāciae, qui hanc scripsit seq̄n­tiā: Sācti spiritꝰ ad sit nobis gratia, et quā plures alij, vt ī .xv. ca. lib. p̄dicti Vincentius p̄dictꝰ luculenter docet. Vnde et doctores legū dicūt: qd’ imperator gerit oīa iura sua in scrinio pectoris sui, nō q̄a ōīa iura ip̄e noscit realiter et in actu sed dū prīcipia eorū ip̄e ꝑcepit, for­mā similiter et na­turā, oīa iura sua ipse ītelliger’ cēsetur [Page 132] q̄ etiā trāsformare ille potest, mutare et cassare quo ī eo potētialiter sūt ō ­nia iura sua, vt in Adā erat Eua an­tequā plasmaretur Sed quia Cācella­rie, ad legū Angliae disciplinatū mihi iā conspicio suffici enter esse suasum, quod et in huiꝰ o­peris exordio facere ꝓmisisti: Nō te āplius huius p̄tex­tu, solicitare cona­bor, sed obnixê de posco, vt in legis huius principijs, vt quōdam incepisti, me erudias: docēs quodamodo eius agnoscere formā et naturam, quia lex ista mihi semꝑ peculiaris erit īter ceteras legꝭ orbis, [Page] inter quas ipsā lu­cere cōspicio, vt lucifer inter stellas. Et dū intentioni tuae qua ad collati­onē hanc concita­tus es, iā satisfactū esse nō ābigo, tempus postulat et ra­tio, vt nostris col­loquiis terminū cō feramus: reddētes ex eis laudes ei et gratias qui ea in­cepit, prosecutꝰ est et finiuit, Alpha et O quē dicimꝰ, quē et laudet ōnis spi­ritus Amen.