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

¶ The Lawes of England are right good, the know∣ledge whereof is expedient for kings. Yet it shall suffice them to haue but a su∣perficiall knowledge of the same. Chap. 45. (Book 45)

PRinceps. Leges illas, nedū bo∣nas

sed & optimas esse cācellarie, ex {pro}secutione tua in hoc dialogo certissime deprehēdi. Et si{que} ex eis meliorari de∣poscāt, id citissime fieri posse, parlia∣mentorū ibidē for∣mulae nos erudiunt. Quo, realiter, potēti aliterue, regnū illud sē{per} p̄stātissimis legi bus gubernatur, nec tuas in hac concio∣natione doctrinas, futuris Angliae regi b{us}, inutilis fore cō∣ijcio, dum nō dele∣ctet regere legibus, quae non delectant. Fastidit nam{que} ar∣tificē, ineptio instru∣menti: & militē igna uū reddit, debilitas lanciae & mucronis.

Sed sicut ad pugnā animatur miles, cū, nedū sibi prona sint arma, sed & magis, cum in actibus bel∣licis ipse sit expert{us}, dicēte Vegetio de re militariqd, sciētia rei bellicae, dīicādi au daciā nutrit. (Quia nemo facere metuit qd se benedidicisse confidit.) Sic & rex omnis, ad iustitiā a∣nimatur, dū leges, quibus ipsa fiet, ne∣dum iustissimas esse agnoscit, sed & ea∣rum ille expertus sit formam & naturā, quas tantum in vni∣uersali, inclusiue▪ & in confuso, Principi scire sufficiet, rema∣nente suis iudicibus, earum discreta de∣terminataque

peri∣tia & sciētia altiori. Sic equidē & scrip∣turarum diuinarum peritiam, vt dicit Vincentius Belua∣censis in libro de Morali institutione Principum, Omnis princeps habere deberet, cum dicat scriptura superius memorata, quod vani sunt omnes, in quibus non est sci∣entia dei, & Prouer. xvi. scribatur: Di∣uinatio, id est diuina sententia, vel, sermo diuinus, sit in labijs regis: & tunc in iu∣dicio non errabit os eius. Non tamē pro∣fūde, determinate∣ue intelligere tene∣tur Princeps scrip∣turas

sacras, vt de∣cet sacrae Theologiae professorem: sufficit namque ei, earū in confuso degustare sentētias, qualiter & peritiā legis suae. Sic et fecerunt Carolus Magn{us}, Lodouic{us} fi∣li{us} eius, & Robertus quondā rex Frāciae, qui hāc scripsit se∣qētiā (Sancti spirit{us} adsit nobis gratia,) & quā plures alij, vt in xv. cap̄. lib. p̄di∣cti Vincētius praedi∣ctus luculenter do∣cet. Vnde & docto∣res legum dicūt: qd Imperator gerit om∣nia iura sua in scrinio pectoris sui, nō quia omniaiura ipse nos∣cit realiter & in actu sed dum principia

eorū ipse {per}cipit, for mā similiter & na∣turā, omnia iura sua ipse intelligere cen∣setur, quae etiā trās∣formare ille potest, mutare & cassare: quó in eo potētiali∣ter sunt omnia iura sua, vt in Adā erat Eua, antequam plas∣maretur. Sed quia, Cancellarie, ad le∣gum Angliae disci∣plinatum mihi iam conspicio sufficien∣ter esse suasum, qd & in hui{us} operis ex∣ordio facere promi∣sisti: Nō te amplius huius praetextu, soli∣citare conabor, sed obnixè deposco, vt in legis huius princi∣pijs, vt quondam in∣cepisti, me erudias:

docēs quodāmodo eius agnoscere for∣mā & naturā, quia lex ista mihi semper peculiaris erit inter caeteras leges orbis, inter quas ipsam lu∣cere cōspicio, vt lu∣cifer inter stellas. Et dum intentioni tuae, qua ad collationem hanc concitatus es, iam satisfactum esse non ambigo, tem∣pus postulat & ra∣tio, vt nostris collo∣quijs terminum cō∣feramus: reddentes ex eis, laudes ei & gratias, qui ea ince∣pit, prosecutus est, & finiuit Alpha & O. quem dicimus, quem & laudet om∣nis spiritus. Amen.

I Haue well and euidētly perceiued, {quod} the prince

by the proces of your talk good Chācellor, that those Lawes are not only good but also of most perfect & excellent goodnes. And if any of thē haue need to be amēded, y^t may quickly be done, as y^e formes & orders of y^e Parliamēts there do plainly proue. Wherefore y^e realme is euer, really, or potentially, gouerned by most excellēt & most wor∣thy Lawes, and I doubt not, but that your instruc∣tions, in this our talk, shal be profitable for the kings of England, which here∣after shall be: so that they haue no pleasure in gouer¦ning by vnpleasant laws. For the vnhansomnes of the tool or instrumēt weari¦eth the workman: & a blūt pike or a dull sword ma∣keth a cowardly soldiour.

But like as a soldiour is encoraged to fight, not on∣ly, whē he hath handsome & fit weopōs in a redines, but also much more, whē he is expert and skilful in warlike acts, according to y^e saying of Vegeti{us} in his booke of chiualry, y^e know∣ledge & cunning in Marti∣al feats ministreth boldnes in fighting (for no man feareth to doe that, which he trusteth he hath well learned) in like manner e∣uery King hath a feruent zeale, & earnest desire to the maintenance of Iu∣stice, not onely knowing the Lawes, whereby that must be done, to be most iust, but also being skilful in the forme & nature of the same: Wherof it shall suffice the Prince to haue only an vniuersal, a super¦ficiall

& a confuse know∣ledge, y^e discreete & deter∣minate perfectnes, & deep vnderstanding of y^e same, being left to his Iudges. So also, ought all princes to be well seen in the holy scriptures of God, as saith Vincentius Beluacensis in his booke of the Moral in∣stitution of Princes, For∣asmuch as the Scripture aboue mentioned saith, y^e vaine are all they, in whom is not the knowledge of God, and for that in the sixteenth Chapter of the Prouerbs it is thus writ∣ten: Let prophesie, or the Word of God, bee in the lips of the King, & then his mouth shall not go wrong in iudgement. And yet is not a King bound to haue profound knowledge and determinate vnderstan∣ding

in the holy Scrip∣tures as it becommeth a professour of Diuinitie: For it shall be enough for him, superficially to taste the sentences thereof, as also of his Lawes. Thus did Charles the great, Le∣wes his sonne, and Robert sometime King of France who wrote this sequence. (Sancti Spiritus adsit no∣bis gratia) and diuers o∣ther Princes, as the fore∣said Vincentius in the fif∣teenth Chapter of his Booke aforesaid plaine∣ly sheweth. Where∣fore the Doctors of the Lawes doe say, that an Emperour beareth all his Lawes in the boxe of his breaste: not for that hee knoweth all the Laws really and in deed, but for that hee vnder∣standeth

the Principles of them, likewise their forme and their nature, in which respect he is iud∣ged to bee skilfull in all his Lawes, Which also he may altar, change, and repeale: So that in him are potentially all his lawes, as Eue was in A∣dam before she was made. But now, good Cancel∣lour, seing I perceiue my selfe sufficiently perswa∣ded to the studie of the lawes of England, which thing in the beginning of this worke you promised to performe, I will no lō∣ger trouble you in this behalfe, But thus I in∣stantly desire you that ye will instruct mee in the principles of the Lawe, as you once began to do: and that you will teach

mee to knowe and vnder∣stand the forme and na∣ture thereof, For this Lawe, shall bee euermore peculiar to me among all other Lawes of the world, among the which I see it shine, as Lucifer a∣mong the Starres. And forsomuch as I doubt not but your intent, where by you were mooued to this conference, is fully satisfied: both time and reason requireth, that we make an end of our talke, yeelding therefore lauds and thanks to him, which beganne, furthered, and hath finished the same, Whom we call Alpha & O. who also bee praised of euery liuing creature. Amen.

FINIS.