CHAPTER X THOMAS FULLER THOMAS FULLER, the author of Worthies of England, lived through the times of the Civil War, and was manifestly from his writings a man of a cheerful, merry habit of life. He wrote a style more easy and familiar than his predecessors, as suitable to his whimsical mind. He was far the most amusing writer of his times, and his good-nature is ever present. Almost anything will serve his turn for a sally of wit, the saying of St Paul, "Let not the sun go down on your wrath," does not appear to lend itself to anything droll, yet Fuller writes about it thus: 66 St Paul saith, 'Let not the sun go down on your wrath,' to carry news to the antipodes in another world of thy revengeful nature. Yet let us take the apostle's meaning rather than his words, with all possible speed to dispose of our passions; not understanding him so literally that we may take leave to be angry till sunset; for then might our wrath lengthen with the days, and men in Greenland, where the day lasts above a quarter of the year, have plentiful scope for revenge." When he heard that a Papist congregation had fallen through the floor of their meeting-place, he is quite unable to refrain from seeing the tragic event in a comic light : The sermon began to incline to the middle, the day to the end thereof; when on a sudden the floor fell down whereon they were assembled. It gave no charitable warning groan beforehand, but cracked, broke, and fell, all in an instant. Many were killed, more bruised, all frighted. Sad sight to behold the flesh and blood of different persons mingled together, and the brains of one on the head of another. One lacked a leg; another an arm; a third whole and entire, wanting nothing but breath, stifled in the ruins." Though full of merriment, he had discernment to know that one who concentrates all his mind upon the making of jokes, so as to become notable more for his jests than for anything else, ceases to carry any weight in the world. This is as true to-day as in Fuller's time, and those celebrated as jesters in the House of Commons have never been those that influenced votes inside the House, or opinions outside it. Fuller says: "It is good to make a jest, but not to make a trade of jesting. "The Earl of Leicester, knowing that Queen Elizabeth was much delighted to see a gentleman dance well, brought the master of a dancing school to dance before her. 'Pish,' said the Queen, 'it is his profession, I will not see him.' She liked it not where it was a master quality, but where it attended on other perfections. 66 The same may be said of jesting." Yes, indeed, and of many other specialised acquirements. I have known one whose talk is of bullocks and nothing else, and another whose mind and conversation is a blank outside the subject of serums. And as to professed jokers, I have known a fine and informing discussion on a matter of great interest spoilt by the interposition of a jest, excellent in itself, but nothing to the purpose. Fuller says, "Make not jests so long till thou become one." Jests, in fact, are the relish or sauce of good conversation; served alone they cause indigestion and leave us unnourished. CHAPTER XI THE ACT OF SUPREMACY IN the sixteenth century very fine English can be found enshrined in Acts of Parliament. In these present times no one would think of looking into our Acts of Parliament in a search for splendid language. I do not know who are the officials to whom is entrusted the drafting of our modern bills to be presented to Parliament; but it seems a pity that Acts of Parliament should be framed in a jargon that is often both a violation of the ordinary rules of grammar, and quite unintelligible. The gentlemen who draw up these bills, that ultimately may become the law of the country, almost invariably, as far as I have investigated, use the word " prior as an adverb, which it is not, never was, and I hope never will be. A clause in a bill may properly be described as a prior clause. But something in a bill cannot happen prior to something else. It can happen previously to" something else. And why in the world should it not be allowed so to happen? This is only one example of the miserable style of these bill-drafters. And the intention of the words used is often so obscure that it taxes the wits of learned judges to find out what they mean. The one place where obscurity of language is quite unpardonable is in an Act of Parliament. But in the old days of the Tudors Acts of Parlia ment not only were perfectly intelligible and grammatical, but they were often written in language of resounding splendour. In 1532 King Henry VIII. became, by Act of Parliament, the Head of the Church in England, and the Pope of Rome was deprived of all power in these realms. This was a momentous event in the history of this country, and it is fitting and becoming that it should be recorded and determined in words of solemn dignity. The Act opens thus: 66 'THE PRE-EMINENCE, POWER, AND AUTHORITY OF THE KING OF ENGLAND. 1532. "Where by divers sundry old authentic histories and chronicles it is manifestly declared and expressed that this realm of England is an Empire, and so hath been accepted in the world, governed by one supreme head and King having the dignity and royal estate of the imperial crown of the same, unto whom a body politic compact of all sorts and degrees of people, divided in terms and by names of spiritualty and temporalty being bounden and owen to bear next to God a natural and humble obedience, he being also institute and furnished by the goodness and sufferance of Almighty God with plenary whole and entire power pre-eminence authority prerogative and jurisdiction to render and yield justice and final determination to all manner of folk residents or subjects within this his realm, in all causes matters debates contentions happening to occur insurge or begin within the limits thereof without restraint or provocation to any foreign princes or potentates of the world . . . all causes testamentary, causes of matrimony and divorces, rights of tithes, oblations and obventions... shall be from henceforth heard, examined, licenced, clearly, finally, and definitely adjudged and determined within the King's jurisdiction and authority and not elsewhere." |