A profitable and necessarye doctrine with certayne homelyes adioyned therunto / set forth by the reuerend father in God, Edmunde Byshop of London ...

¶Thexposition or declaration of the eyghte commaundement whyche is.

Thou 〈◊〉〈◊〉 not steale.

AFter that almyghtye God hathe in the. vi, commaundemente forbydden al hurtes, dammages, and iniuryes, to be done agaynste oure neyghboure in hys owne person, and in the seuēth commaundemente hathe also forbyd∣den all iniuryes, agaynste hym in the personne of his wyfe, whych next vnto hys owne body is, and ought to be, most dearelye beloued vnto hym, here nowe in thys eyght commaundemēt whyche is. Thou shalt not steale, he doeth forbyd all iniuryes & wronges to be done to oure neighbour, in hys worldelye riches goodes and Substaunce. And for the better vnder standynge of thys commaundemente, you shall note that vnder the name of thefte or stealynge, in thys commaundemente, is vnderstande all maner of vn∣lawfull takynge a waye, occupying, or kepynge of an other mannes goodes, whether it be by force, extorti∣on, oppressyon, 〈◊〉〈◊〉, vsurye, Symonye, vnlawfull cheuisance, or shiftes, or els, by false bying and sellyng eyther by false weyghtes, or by false measures, or by sellynge of a thynge counterfayte for a true as gylte, copper, for true golde, or glasse for precyouse stones,

and generally al maner of fraude and deceyte.

And not onely they that doo these foresaid things doo commytte thefte, but they also whyche eyther gyue counsayle, consent, or ayde, to suche their doings and they lykewise whiche winke at 〈◊〉〈◊〉, ededes done and reuele them not accordingly.

And like as the vyces before rehearsed be forbyd den by this precept, Euen so sundrye vertues cōtrary to the sayde vyces be commaunded by the same, as to deale truelye, & playnelye wyth our neygheboures in all thynges, to gette oure owne goodes truelye, to spende them liberallye vpon them, that haue nede to fede the hungrye, to gyue drynke to the thrystye, to cloth the naked, harborowe the harbourlesse, to com∣forte the sicke, to visite the prysoners: And fynallye to helpe oure neighboures, wyth 〈◊〉〈◊〉 learnynge, good counsayle, and exhortatyon, and by all other good meanes that we can.

Agaynst thys commaundement they all doo 〈◊〉〈◊〉, who by crafte, or violence, vpon sea or lande, spoyle, robbe, or take awaye anye other manes ser∣uaunte or chylde, lande or inheritaunce, horse, shepe or cattell, fy she foule, conneyes, or deare, mony Iuels, apparayle, or anye other thynge, whyche is not theyr owne.

Lykewyse they al do offend agaynst this commaun∣demente, who haue goodes gyuen to an vse, and put them not to the same vse, but kepe them to theyr owne aduauntage, as Maysters of Hospytalles, and false Executoures, who eyther doo forge coun∣counterfeyte

or ells adulterate the last willes, & testa∣mentes of deade men, or doo suppresse, and hyde true made willes, or Testamentes, they also who doo conuert the goodes giuen to the sustentatiō of the poore folkes, or to other good and charytable vses, vnto theyr owne proffecte. And also all they who do receyuerent or stippend, for anyeoffyce spiri∣tuall or temporall, and yet doo not theyr offyce be∣longyng therevnto, they (I say) are trangressoures of thys commaundement.

And so lykewise all they who doo take wages, or 〈◊〉〈◊〉, pretendyng to deserue it, and yet doo not in dede, as laborers, and hired seruauntes, who doo loyter, and doo not applye theyr busynes. And lykewyse aduo∣cates, Proctoures, Attorneys, Counsayloures in any of the lawes, who some tyme, for litle payne, take much stipende, or by theyr defaulte and neglygence, marre good causes, or maynetayne false and euyll causes, or doo anye thynge to the hynderaunce of spedye iustyce, for theyr aduauntages, they (I say) do transgresse this commaundement.

Also all Idle vacaboundes, and sturdy beggers who being hable to gette theyr liuing, by labor, take such almes, where with the poore and impotēt folkes shoulde be releued, and susteined, doo offend againste thys commaundement.

Moreouer all they doo trangresse thys commaun∣dement, who doo bye any stolne goodes, knowynge that they be stolne, or that doo bye thynges of them that haue none aucthorytye to sell them, or alyenate

them, yf they knowe the same. And lykewyse doo they offende thys cōmaundement, who do withhold goodes stolne, or that do fynde thynges lost, & know∣inge the owner thereof, wyll not restore them, or will not do theyr diligence to knowe the owner.

They also whyche doo defraude theyr hyred ser∣uauntes of theyr due wages, and they that borowe any thynge, or reteyne any thing 〈◊〉〈◊〉 vnto thē vppon truste, and wyll not restore the same agayne And they that vse false weyghtes or measures, or de∣ceytefull wares, or sell theyr owne wares at an vn∣reasonable pryce, farre aboue the iust value.

And they also that do ingrosse, and by anye kynde of wares whollye into theyr owne handes, to the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 that they maye make a scarcenes thereof in other mennes handes. And sell it agayne as they lyste.

And generally also all couetous men, who by anye meanes vnlawfully doo gette, or vnmercyfullye doo kepe theyr goodes frō them that haue nede, be trans∣gressours of thys commaundement.

And here (not to omit oure accustomed maner in alledginge scripture for the confyrmatyon of asserty∣ons made in thys booke) ye shall haue fyrste some testymonyes of holy scrypture, speakynge of thefte in generall, and afterwarde some other speakynge of certayne partyculer and speciall kyndes of theftes, and as concernynge thefte in generall, ye shall fynde thus wrytten in the fyrst chapiter of Ecclesyastycus. Super 〈◊〉〈◊〉 est confusio. That is to saye. Confusyon or

〈◊〉〈◊〉 doeth fall vpon the thefe. and in the fyfte of Zacharye there is thus wrytten. God sayde to me, what dost thou see and I sayde, beholde I see a booke flienge the lēgth of it. xx. cubits and the breadeth of it. x. cubytes, and he sayde vnto me, this is the malediction or curse whi∣che goeth furthe vpon the face of the whole earth, for euerye thefe, as it is there wrytten, shalbe iudged. And in the second chapter of Thoby we do reade howe that Thoby being blynde, and hea rynge the voyce of a kydde cryinge within hys house (whyche kydde hys wyfe had erned wyth her labour and he knowynge that he had no kydde of hys owne before dyd saye. Lake hede, leaste perchaunce this be a stolne kide, restore hym to the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 owners, for it is not laweful for vs to eate, or touche any thing of theft. Moreouer S. Paule in hys fyrst epystle to the Corynthyans, & the, vi, cha∣pter, doth amōgest other thynges saye thus. Nother theues nor pollers, nor couetouse men, shall possesse the kyngedome of God. And as concer∣nynge certayne specyall kyndes of theft, we do reade in the. x, of Esaye. Woo be to thē who do make 〈◊〉〈◊〉 or vnryghteous lawes, and wrytyng do wryte vniustice, to oppresse in iudgemente the poore, and doo violence vnto the cause of

the humble amongeste my people, that the wydowes myght be theyr praye, what wyll ye doo in the tyme of visitation, and destruc∣tion, which shall come from farre? To whom wylyou runne for helpe, or where wyll you leaue your honour, that ye be not made stope vnder the bonde, and fall with them that are slayne. And in the, viii. chapter of Amos we do find this terrible sayinge. The ende is come vppon my people of Israel: I wyl no more geue my mind to come amongest thē, and the hingles of the temple doores shall make a krykynge sayth the lorde God, many shall die, and in e∣uery place shalbe cast furth secretly. Heare this Oye, who do opresse the poore, & do destroye the nedye on the lande sayinge, whan wyll this month 〈◊〉〈◊〉 past, that we maye sel our wa∣res, & the Sabbote, that we maye hyde oure corne, that we maye make the busshell lesse and maye make the sicle greater, and that we may set vp false weyghts or balances to get the pore vnder vs wyth money, and the nedy also for 〈◊〉〈◊〉, and maye 〈◊〉〈◊〉 y^e chaf of the corne, And accordyng here vnto Salomō in the. xi. chap. of hys prouerbes doth say. He that doth hide vp his corne shalbe accursed amongest y^e people, but

blessynge shalbe vpon the heade of them that doo sell. And of another specyall kynde of thefte we doo reade in the, viii. of Iosue, a terrible example howe one Achan (whyche had contrarye to the com∣maundement of almyghtye God conueyed certayne thynges awaye at the destruction of 〈◊〉〈◊〉) was stoned to deathe, and wyth al that euer he had burnt God commaundyng it so to be. Further in the. xxiii, of Exodus we reade of such as receyue brybes (& therby commyt theft) in thys maner. And thou shalte take nore wardes, for they doo blynde euen the wise and subuerte the wordes, or iudge∣mentes of the iust. And in the, xvi, chapter of Deu∣teronomye, the lyke is wrytten. There is an other greuous kynde of thefte, and that (the more is the pi∣tie) cōmonly vsed, whych is called Symonye takyng name of Symon Magus, who fyrst attempted with mony to purchase spirituall offyce or function (which eyther to sel or bye is dampnable) and was moste bit∣terlye reproued and accursed of the holye apostle S. Peter who sayde vnto hym. Pecunia tua tecum fit in perditio∣nem, quoniam donum dei existimasti pecunia possidere, non est tibi pars ne{que} sors in sermone isto. That is to say. Thy monye be with the vnto perdition, because thou didest thynke that the gyfte of God maye be obtey∣ned wyth money. Thou hast no parte or fel∣low 〈◊〉〈◊〉 in this worde. Nowe emongest other 〈◊〉〈◊〉 kyndes of thefe, none was euer more drede

fullye punished in scripture, than sacriledge (which is thefte, spoile, and robberye, committed in suche thyn∣ges, as are dedicated or geuen to the honor of GOD specyallye, as are all churches, and all the ornaments, plate, treasure, landes, and goodes to the same belon∣gynge) as appeareth in the. v. of Danyell, by the ex∣ample of kynge Balthasar, and in the seconde booke of the Machabees, and the thyrde chapiter, of Helyo∣dorus, whoe goynge aboute the spoyle of the temple of Hierusalem, for the threasores sake of the same soo∣denlye was throwne downe to the grouude, and be∣ynge sore stricken wyth blyndenes, was caryed spech les also oute of the temple halfe deade. Whych kynde of punyshment, yf it hadde bene vsed in Englande, so ofte as sacrylege hath bene commytted, what a num∣ber shoulde there haue bene of them that should haue bene punyshed. But the thyng beyng of that sorte that it hath bene, and we not able to amend it, we wil yet here admonishe al men from henceforth, to make, & kepe theyr handes pure from al sacrilege And thus we make an ende of the declaration of thys com∣maundemente.