7. The king calling his friends from the parliament, because he had use of them at Oxford, is as if a man should have use of a little piece of wood, and he runs down into the cellar, and takes the spigot; in the mean time, all the beer runs about the house. When his friends are absent, the king will be lost.

KNIGHTS' SERVICE.

KNIGHTS' service, in earnest, means nothing; for the lords are bound to wait upon the king when he goes to war with a foreign enemy, with, it may be, one man and one horse; and he that doth not, is to be rated so much as shall seem good to the next parliament; and what will that be? So it is for a private man, that holds of a gentleman.

LAND.

1. WHEN men did let their land underfoot, the tenants would fight for their landlords, so that way they had their retribution; but now

they will do nothing for them may be the first, if but a constable bid them, that shall lay the landlord by the heels; and therefore it is vanity and folly not to take the full value.

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2. Allodium is a law word contrary to "feudum," and it signifies land that holds of nobody. We have no such land in England. It is a true proposition, all the land in England is held, either immediately or mediately, of the king.

LANGUAGE.

1. To a living tongue new words may be added, but not to a dead tongue, as Latin, Greek, Hebrew, &c.

2. Latimer" is the corruption of "Latiner"; it signifies he that interprets Latin; and though he interpreted French, Spanish, or Italian, he was called the king's "Latiner," that is, the king's interpreter.

3. If you look upon the language spoken in the Saxon time, and the language spoken now, you will find the difference to be just as if a man had a cloak that he wore plain in queen Elizabeth's days, and since, here has put in a piece of red, and there a piece of blue, and

here a piece of green, and there a piece of orange tawny. We borrow words from the French, Italian, Latin, as every pedantic man pleases.

4. We have more words than notions; half a dozen words for the same thing: sometimes we put a new signification to an old word, as when we call a piece a gun. The word gun

was in use in England for an engine to cast a thing from a man, long before there was any gunpowder found out.

5. Words must be fitted to a man's mouth. It was well said of the fellow that was to make a speech for my lord mayor, he desired to take measure of his lordship's mouth.

LAW.

1. A MAN may plead not guilty, and yet tell no lie; for by the law no man is bound to accuse himself: so that when I say, not guilty," the meaning is, as if I should say by way of paraphrase, I am not so guilty as to tell you; if you will bring me to a trial, and have me punished for this you lay to my charge, prove it against me.

2. Ignorance of the law excuses no man ; not that all men know the law, but because it is an excuse every man will plead, and no man can tell how to confute him.

3. The king of Spain was outlawed in Westminster-hall, I being of counsel against him: a merchant had recovered costs against him in a suit, which because he could not get, we advised him to have him outlawed for not appearing, and so he was: as soon as Gondomar heard that, he presently sent the money, by reason, if his master had been outlawed, he could not have the benefit of the law; which would have been very prejudicial, there being then many suits depending betwixt the king of Spain and our English merchants.

4. Every law is a contract between the king and the people, and therefore to be kept. A hundred men may owe me a hundred pounds, as well as any one man, and shall they not pay me because they are stronger than I? Objection. O, but they lose all if they keep that law. Answer. Let them look to the making of their bargain. If I sell my lands, and when I have done, one comes and tells me, I have nothing else to keep me; I, and my wife, and children must starve, if I part with my land-must I not therefore let them have my land that have bought it and paid for it?

5. The parliament may declare law, as well as any other inferior court may, viz. the king's bench. In that or this particular case, the king's bench will declare unto you what the law is, but that binds nobody whom the case concerns so the highest court, the parliament, may do, but not declare law, that is, make law that was never heard of before.

LAW OF NATURE.

I CANNOT fancy to myself what the law of nature means, but the law of God. How should I know I ought not to steal, I ought not to commit adultery, unless somebody had told me so? Surely, 't is because I have been told So. 'T is not because I think I ought not to do them, nor because you think I ought not ; if so, our minds might change; whence then comes the restraint? From a higher power; nothing else can bind: I cannot bind myself, for I may untie myself again; nor an equal cannot bind me, for we may untie one another : it must be a superior power, even God Almighty. If two of us make a bargain, why should either of us stand to it? What need you care what you say, or what need I care