PART ment, against worshipping strange gods or images, with little paraphrases of his own, he concludes.

II.

Il y a autres places en la sainte escriture, tant apocryphes que autres, desquelles je ne fais nulle mention pour le present, qui toutesfois sont correspondentes à celles dont est fait mention par cy devant. Mais pour tant que quasi tous les prophetes et autres saints, desquels la sainte escriture parle deffendent de ne commetre idolatrie je desire et exhorte toute la congregation des Chrestiens qu'un chascun d'eux vueille delaisser cest abominable vice.

Cotton lib.

A discourse about the reformation of many abuses.

Number 2.

The government of this realm is divided into two parts, one ecclesiastical, and the other temporal.

THE ecclesiastical consisteth in setting forth the word of Nero C. 10. God, continuing the people in prayer, and the discipline. The setting forth of the word of God, consisteth in the good discreet doctrine and example of the teachers, and spiritual officers; for as the good husbandman maketh his ground good and plentiful, so doth the true preacher with doctrine and example, print and graft in the people's mind the word of God, that they at length become plentiful. Prayers also to God must be made continually, of the people, and officers of the church, to assist them with his grace. And those prayers must first, with good consideration, be set forth, and faults therein be amended. Next, being set forth, the people must continually be allured to hear them. For discipline, it were very good that it went forth, and that those that did notably offend in swearing, rioting, neglecting of God's word, or such the like vices, were duly punished, so that those that should be the executors of this discipline, were men of tried honesty, wisdom, and judgment. But because those bishops who should execute it, some for papistry, some for ignorance, some for age, some for their ill name, some for all these, are men unable to execute disci

II.

pline; it is therefore a thing unmeet for these men: where- BOOK fore it were necessary, that those that were appointed to be bishops, or preachers, were honest in life, and learned in their doctrine; that by rewarding of such men, others might be allured to follow their good life.

As for the prayers, and divine service, it were meet the faults were drawn out (as it was appointed) by learned men, and so the book to be established, and all men willed to come thereunto to hear the service, as I have put in remembrances in articles touching the statutes of this parliament. But as for discipline, I would wish no authority given generally to all bishops, but that commission be given to those that be of the best sort of them to exercise it in their diocesses.

Thus much generally for religion.

Temporal regiment.

The temporal regiment consisteth, in well-ordering, enriching, and defending the whole body politick of the common-wealth, and every part of the whole, to one part, not the other. The example whereof may be best taken of a man's body; for even as the arm defendeth, helpeth, and aideth the whole body, chiefly the head, so ought servingmen, and gentlemen chiefly, and such-like kind of people, be always ready to the defence of their country, and chiefly of their superior and governor; and ought in all things to be vigilant and painful for the encreasing and aiding of their country. And forasmuch as they, in serving their king and country, have divers great and manifold charges, even as the arm doth many times bear great stresses for defence of the head and body, having no kind of way to enrich themselves, neither by merchandize, neither by handicraft, neither by husbandry; as the arm doth decoct no meat it self, nor engendereth no blood; therefore even as the stomach, liver, and lights, which parts engender the blood, doth send nourishment to the arms and legs sufficient to strengthen the part, even so must the artificers so use their gain in working, and so truly and justly make that that they work the merchants must so sell their ware, and so labour to bring in

II.

PART strange commodities: the husbandmen must pay such rents, and so sell things that come of the increase of the ground, that the hands, and the legs, that is to say, the states of gentlemen and of servingmen, may well do the commonwealth that service they ought to do. And as the gentlemen and servingmen ought to be provided for, so ought not they neither to have so much as they have in France, where the peasantry is of no value, neither yet meddle in other occupations, for the arms and legs doth never draw the whole blood from the liver, but leaveth it sufficient to work on; neither doth meddle in any kind of engendring of blood. No nor one part of the body doth serve for two occupations; even so neither the gentleman ought to be a farmer, nor the merchant an artificer, but to have his art particularly. Furthermore, no member in a well-fashioned and whole body, is too big for the proportion of the body: so must there be in a well-ordered common-wealth, no person that shall have more than the proportion of the country will bear; so it is hurtful immoderately to enrich any one part. I think this country can bear no merchant to have more land than 1007. no husbandman nor farmer worth above 100 or 2007. no artifice above 100 merks; no labourer much more than he spendeth. I speak now generally, and in such cases may fail in one particular; but this is sure, This common-wealth may not bear one man to have more than two farms, than one benefice, than 2000 sheep, and one kind of art to live by. Wherefore as in the body no part hath too much, nor too little; so in a common-wealth ought every part to have ad victum et non ad saturitatem. And there is no part admitted in the body that doth not work and take pains, so ought there no part of the commonwealth to be but laboursome in his vocation. The gentleman ought to labour in service in his country; the servingman ought to wait diligently on his master; the artificer ought to labour in his work; the husbandman in tilling the ground; the merchant in passing the tempests; but the vagabonds ought clearly to be banished, as is the superfluous humour of the body, that is to say, the spittle and

H.

filth; which because it is for no use, it is put out by the BOOK strength of nature. This is the true ordering of the state of a well-fashioned common-wealth, That every part do obey one head, one governor, one law, as all parts of the body obey the head, agree among themselves, and one not to eat another up through greediness, but that we see that order, moderation, and reason, bridle the affections. But this is most of all to be had in a common-wealth well-ordered, That the laws and ordinances be well executed, duly obeyed, and ministred without corruption. Now having seen how things ought to be, let us first see how now they be ordered, and in what state they stand now, and then go forward to seek a remedy.

The first point in ordering the common-wealth we touched, was, that the gentlemen, noblemen, and servingmen, should stand stoutly to the defence of their superior and governor, and should be painful in ordering their country; which thing, although in some part, and the most part, be well (thanks be to God) yet in some parts is not absolutely, which I shall shew hereafter particularly.

But the second point, for maintenance of the state of landed-men, is ill-looked to; for that state of gentlemen and noblemen, which is truly to be termed the state of nobles, hath alonely not exercised the gain of living: for merchants have enhaunced their ware; farmers have enhaunced their corn and cattel; labourers their wages; artificers the price of their workmanship; and mariners and boatsmen their hire for service, whereby they recompence the loss of things they buy; but the most part of true gentlemen (I mean not these farming gentlemen, nor clarking knights) have little or nothing increased their rents; yet their house-keeping is dearer, their meat is dearer, their liveries dearer, their wages greater; which thing at length, if speedy remedy be not had, will bring that state into utter ruin, Quod absit.

The artificers work falsly; the clothiers use deceit in cloth; the masons in building; the clockmakers in their clocks; the joiner in his working of timber, and so forth all other almost, to the intent they would have men oftner come

II.

PART to them for amending their things, and so have more gain, although at the beginning they take out of measure. The merchants adventure not to bring in strange commodities, but loiter at home, send forth small hoys with two or three mariners, occupy exchange of mony, buy and sell victual, steal out bullion, corn, victual, wood, and such-like things, out of the realm, and sell their ware unreasonably. The husbandmen and farmers take their ground at a small rent, and dwell not on it, but let it to poor men for triple the rent they take it for, and sell their flesh, corn, milk, butter, &c. at unreasonable prices. The gentleman constrained by necessity and poverty, becometh a farmer, a grasier, or a sheep-master. The grasier, the farmer, the merchants become landed-men, and call themselves gentlemen, though they be churls; yea, the farmer will have ten farms, some twenty, and will be a pedlar-merchant. The artificer will leave the town, and for his more pastimes, will live in the country; yea, and more than that, will be a justice of peace, and will think scorn to have it denied him; so lordly they be now-a-days: for now they are not content with 2000 sheep, but they must have 20000, or else they think themselves not well; they must have twenty mile square their own land, or full of their farms, and four or five crafts to live by is too little, such hell-hounds be they. For idle persons, there were never I think more than be now; the wars, men think, is the cause thereof, such persons can do nothing but rob and steal; but slack execution of the laws hath been the chiefest sore of all; the laws have been manifestly broken, the offenders banished, and either by bribery, or foolish pity, escaped punishment. The dissention, and disagreement, both for private matters, and also in matters of religion, hath been no little cause, but the principal hath been the disobedient and contentious talking and doing of the foolish and fond people, which for lack of teaching, have wandered, and broken wilfully and disobediently the laws of this realm. The lawyers also, and judges, have much offended in corruption and bribery.

Furthermore, they do now-a-days much use to forestall,