Mercurius verax, or, The prisoners prognostications for the year 1675 wherein are prophesied several truths of very great moment yet to come to pass, which he that contradicts let him have a care he does not find them true by experience / by the author of the first Montelion and Satyr against hypocrites.

April's Observations.

THE Semstress melts into tears like the Month, and cries, He might have bin more kind to her, she was sure she was none of his back friend—'Twas a most ungentleman like part to undo a poor wo∣man in both senses. But let them all say or doe what they will, Prisons are like the Well in Derbyshire, that turns the tenderer sub∣stance of Iron into Stone, so when a man is once put in prison, his heart becomes Petri∣fy'd to that excess, so that neither the soft words of a flattering Creditor, nor the most sharp and piercing execrations of a passio∣nate one, can make the least impression there∣in. Now Astrologers, unless they can have the Goodluck to lie with their Mistresses, being generally very poor, and great Borrow∣ers, make a Dispute, whether a man ought to be compell'd against his will to pay his Debts or no? Saturn a Sage Planet and a great Law-giver among the Latins, was positively in the negative: for, saith he, If according to the Maxime of the Law, no injury can be done to him that is willing; then it follows, that all Injurie must be done to him that is unwilling: now what greater Injury can be

done to a man, than to compel him to pay Money against his will, whether he has it or no? Again, no man was ever compell'd to lend mony; what reason then why a man should be compell'd to repay it? Other∣wise lending of Mony seems a kind of inven∣tion of man to trapan his fellow creature, to lend him money that he may afterwards make him his miserable slave and vassal and triumph over his Calamity. Then up stept Jupiter, and said, There was no reason, that that man who imprison'd the body of his Cre∣ditor should be paid one farthing of his Debt, though it were to the ruin of the Creditor's wife and family. For, quoth he, There can be no greater Mischief done to a man than to ca∣ptivate his body, and deprive him of his di∣vine priviledge of Freedom; he then that in∣tends the ruin of another, ought to have the same ruin intended, to himself: and he is wise that expends in Charity at home what'ere he has, rather than relieve his perishing Adver∣sary.