De laudibus legum Angliæ writen by Sir Iohn Fortescue L. Ch. Iustice, and after L. Chancellor to K. Henry VI. Hereto are ioind the two Summes of Sir Ralph de Hengham L. Ch. Iustice to K. Edward I. commonly calld Hengham magna, and Hengham parua. Neuer before publisht. Notes both on Fortescue and Hengham are added

¶ Here are set forth the inconueniences proceeding of that Law, which no otherwise then by wit∣nesses admitteth trials. Cha. 21. (Book 21)

BY the Ciuill Lawes, the partie which in the issue holdeth the affir∣matiue, must bring forth witnesses, which hee him∣selfe at his own pleasure shall name. But the ne∣gatiue cannot bee proued directly, though indirect∣lie it may. For the ha∣bilitie of him is thought to bee very small and weake, and his witte much lesse, which a∣mong all the men that hee knoweth, is not a∣ble to find two so voide of conscience and trueth, which for dread, loue, or profit, will not be readie to gainsay all truth. Such then may hee produce for witnesses on his side.

And if the other partie would obiect any thing a∣gainst them, or their say∣ings, it chanceth not euer, that they and their condi∣tions & doings are know∣en to the contrary partie, so that by reason of their foule liues & vicious be∣hauiour such witnesses might be reproued. And while their sayings con∣teine y^e affirmatiue, it shal bee very hard to reprooue thē by circūstances, or any other indirect meanes: who then shall be able to liue in surety of his goods or of himself vnder such a law, that ministreth such aide to euery busie body y^e lusteth to troble another? And what 2. wicked men are so vnwary & vncircū∣spect, which touching the deede, whereof, they shal

be examined in iudgemēt, will not, before they are called forth for witnesses, secretly imagine & deuise a forme and fashion ther∣of, & frame therūto al cir∣cumstances, euen such, as must needs haue bin so, if the thing had bin true in∣deed? For the children of this world (saith the Lord) are wiser then the chil∣dren of light. So the most wicked Iesabel brought foorth 2. witnesses of the children of Belial in iudg∣mēt against Nabot, wher∣by he lost his life, & King Achab her husband obtai∣ned y^e possession of y^e vin∣yarde. So the most chaste matron Susanna should haue died for aduoutrie by the witnes of two old dotards being iudges, if the Lord had not maruei∣lously

deliuered her by a wōderful feat of prudēce, which of nature the yong childe had not, being yet vnder age. And though y^e same childe by their alte∣ring & doubling in their depositions did conuict thē to be false wretches, yet who (saue onely the Lord) could haue known that in their sayings they would thus haue disagreed? Seeing their was no Lawe that did mooue them to haue in remembrance what kind of tree it was, whereun∣der the fact was suppo∣sed to bee done. For the witnesses of euerie wicked deede are not thought to consider al cir∣cumstances apperteining to the same, beeing such as doe nothing helpe to

the aggrauation and de∣tection of the fault. But while those wicked Iud∣ges, willingly swea∣ring, did alter touching the kindes of trees, their owne wordes prooued them to bee false varlets: Wherefore they worthe∣ly suffered the same pu∣nishment themselues. You also, most gracious Prince, doe know how that lately Master Iohn Fringe, after that hee had continued three yeeres in the order of Priest∣hoode, was compelled by the deposition of two wicked persons, which witnessed that hee had, before hee was made Prieste, betrothed him∣selfe to a certaine yong woman, to forsake the ho∣ly order of Priesthoode,

and to marrie the same woman. With whom when he had liued foure∣teene yeeres, and had begotten seuen children of her, at the last be∣ing conuicted of Trea∣son, conspired against your Highnesse, hee con∣fessed before all the peo∣ple euen at the very point of death, that those wit∣nesses were hyred, and that their depositions were false. And thus ma∣ny times are iudgements peruerted by the meane of false witnesses, yea and that vnder the verie best Iudges, as vnto you it is not vnheard, nor to the worlde vnknowne, while this wickednesse (the more is the pittie) is often committed.

PEr leges Ciuiles, pars, quae in litis contestationē affir∣matiuādicit, testes {pro} ducere debet, quos ipsemet ad libitum suū nominabit. Ne∣gatiua autē probari nō potest, vz. dire∣cte, licet possit {per} ob¦liquū. Exilis quip∣pe creditur esse po∣tētiae, minoris quo{que} industriae, qui de oī∣b{us} quos noscit hoīb{us} duos reperire ne∣quit, ita conscientia & veritate vacuos, vt timore, amore, vel cōmodo, omni velint cōtraire veri∣tati. Hos potes tunc ipso in testes produ cere in causa sua.

Et si cōtra eos pars altera dicere velit, vel contra eorū di∣cta, non semper cō∣tinget, eos eorū quo que mores aut facta apud contradicere volentē, agnosci, vt ex eorū feditate & vitijs, testes illi pos∣sint reprobari Et dū eorūdicta affirmati∣uā cōtineāt, nō faci∣le poterūt illa {per} cir∣cumstantias aut ob∣liqua alia improba∣ri: Quis tūc poterit suorū aut sui ••psius, sub lege tali, viuere securus, dū cuilibet, sibi inimicari volēti lex tale praestat sub∣sidium? Et qui ini∣qui duo tam incauti sunt, quo facti, de quo ipsi examina∣buntur

in initio, non, antequā in tes∣tes producātur, oc∣culte fingāt imagi∣nem & figurā, com∣ponant quo{que} eidē oēs circumstantias, quales sibi fuissent, si illud in veritate constitisset? Prudē∣tiores nam{que} vt dicit dominus, sunt filij huius mundi quam filij lucis, Sic Iesa∣bel sceleratissima, testes duos, filios Be¦lial contra Nabot in iuditio produxit, quo ipse vitam per∣didit, & Achab rex, eius vineā posside∣bat. Sic duorum se∣num etiam Iudicū testimonio, mortua fuislet pro adulte∣rio, vxor castissima

Susanna, si non eam miraculose liberas∣set domin{us} inexco∣gitabili prudentia, quam a natura non habuit puer iunior, nondum aetate pro∣uect{us}. Et si ipsos, de∣positione sua varia, cōuicerat puer ille, esse falsarios, quis, nisi solū dominos, nouisse poterat eos in dictis suis taliter variaturos? dū, non de arboris natura, sub qua imputatum facinus fiebat, lex a∣liqua eos arctabat reminisci. Quia te∣stes sceleris cuius{que} cōsiderare nō putā∣tur omnia vmbracu¦la & caetera vicina il¦li facto, quae ad ag∣grauationē vel de∣tectionēcriminis

il∣li{us} minimè operātur Sed dum de arborū specieb{us}, iudices illi nequam vltro depo¦nētes, variabant, eo∣rum dicta ipsos ve∣ritatis fuisse praeua∣ricatores demōstra∣bant: quo & talio∣nis paenā merito in∣currerunt. Nosti & tu, Princeps diuine, qualiter iam tardé magister Iohannes Fringe, qui, post∣quam annis tribus sacerdotali functus est officio, duorum iniquorum deposi∣tione qui eum antea iuuenculam quan∣dam affidasse testati sunt, sacrū presbite∣ratus ordinē relin∣quere cōpulsus est,

& matrimoniū cū femina illa consum∣mare. Cū qua, post∣quam annis 14. mo∣ratus, sobolē septi∣mā suscitauerat, de∣mū de crimine lae∣sae maiestatis in tuā celsitudinem cōiu∣rato conuictus, sub∣ornatos fuisse testes illos, & falsū dixis∣se testimonium, in mortis suae articulo, coram omni popu∣lo, fassus est. Quali∣ter & saepe peruerti iudicia, falsorum te∣stium medio, etiam sub optimis iudici∣bus, non est tibi in∣auditum, nec incog¦nitum mundo, dum scelus illud (proh dolor) creberrime commitatur.