Page 59
The Learned have observed, That Plato and Aristotle both condemned Usury as unlawful and unnatural. Cato is more severe, making it worse than Theft; because if a Man borrow an hundred pound, a Thief comes and takes it only from him; but the Usurer comes after, and robs him over again, and takes eight or ten pound more from him; which is very inhu∣mane, and against the Light of Nature. * 1.1 Mr. Fenton out of Plutarch, renders Usurers to be Devils, and by their policy, such as turn the Hall of Judgment into Hell; because the Usurer cozens the Law, by writing into his Bill or Book more than he delivered; so the Law taking Use to be a part of the principal Debt, is deceived, and causeth the whole Sum to be paid. Yea, such Bonds as commonly Usurers will have, Plu∣tarch likens to the Chains and Halters which Darias sent to Athens to bind the Prisoners there. * 1.2 And B. Hall, out of Alexand. Gen. dierum, That Usury hath been interdicted in all times, as appears (saith he) suffi∣ciently by the Records of Egypt, of Athens, of Rome; and not only by the restraint of the Twelve Tables, and of Claudius and Vespasian, but by the absolute forbiddance of many Popular Statutes. To be short, The Light of Nature teacheth Mankind to tender the preservation of many rather than a few, when it is in our power to do it. Now we know that Usury inricheth but here and there one, but decayeth many, and especi∣ally when the Borrower loseth by some accident, the Principal, or some part thereof. Now Reason wills, that he that hath a certain Profit, should go some hazard, and not he that hath only an uncertain hope of Profit to hazard all. Mankind was never taught to be so cruel one to ano∣ther by the Principles of Nature or Humanity. And beside, this custom of Usury hath destroyed (or tends to destroy) that natural Property which sheweth a Man to be a kind and merciful Creature, Psal. 112. 5. kind to all, even them that have no absolute necessity, and merciful to the Poor in their necessity.
Finally; It destroys the Law of God (so I think I may call it) in the case of Lending, and perverts the Law which God hath given in the case of Hiring. For thus saith God, Thou shalt not shut up thy compassion, but shalt lend, Deut. 23. 8. Now Hiring cannot properly be called Lend∣ing; which is an Act of Mercy, and also a Testimony of our Love and true Kindness one towards another. And that it perverteth the Law of God concerning a thing which is hired (seems probable); Which being lost, without the fault of him that hired it, is not to be restored, because it came for his hire, Exod. 22. 15. True it is, it is also said, That if the Owner be not by, then the Borrower shall make it good. The Rea∣son is evident, because it's a very difficult thing to know, whether what a Man lends, be not lost through his want of care that hired it. Otherwise the reason of the Law is the same, whether the Owner be present or not.