Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	law_n	time_n	write_v	3,058	5	5.6338	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09898	The life of Alfred, or, Alvred: the first institutor of subordinate government in this kingdome, and refounder of the Vniversity of Oxford Together with a parallell of our soveraigne lord, K. Charles untill this yeare, 1634. By Robert Povvell of Wels, one of the Society of New-Inne.	Powell, Robert, fl. 1636-1652.; Alfred, King of England, 849-899.	1634 (1634)	STC 20161; ESTC S115025	29,645	188

yeares after his raigne consumed with fire with no small part of the Citie could speake for it selfe it would not be silent of his magnificent bounty The revenewes of his Kingdome he was as studious to husband as his time which that he might the better ascertaine and know his own which is the best part of thrift confine his expences unto the provent of his estate he enjoyned a generall survey of the kingdome to bee made and certified unto him and that with the particulars of his whole estate to be deduced into a booke which he committed to safe custodie within his treasury at Winchester The one halfe of his wealth he faithfully devoutly resolved to bestow in the service of him whom he ever served but to avoid the guilt of violating that caution of sacred Scripture Si recte offeras recte autem non dividas peccas He studied discreely to divide what he did religiously devote Therefore by a holy and divine direction of all the income of his annuall revenew he caused a twofold division to be made wherof one part for divine the other part for secular affaires 1 That part for Gods service he commands a quadruple subdivision to bee exactly and carefully made The first part whereof was to bee distributed to the poore of each nation wherin his hand was ever open to cast his bread upon the waters his bounty and almes-deeds were not circumscribed at home but liberally dispersed abroad and not onely to those of his owne and neighbouring nations but to others of forreigne and remote parts as if hee should have therein said Tros Tiriusque mihi nullo discrimine habetur In the yeare 888 hee sent by Athelmus Bishop of Winton much treasure of his owne together with a large collection of his well disposed subjects unto Marianus then Pope of Rome consigning a portion thereof to be conveyed to Hierusalem Another time by Sigelmus Bishop of Sherborne a large Almes or offering of his owne into India there was scarce any Countrey where the poore had not a portion of his bounty 2 The second part was allotted to his Monasteries for the support and maintenance of them 3 The third part was sequestred and appropriated for the benefit and indowment of his great Schoole or Academie at Oxford which hee had stored with many Students 4 The fourth he laid aside as a portion for all the bordering Monasteries in Saxonie and Mercia and in some yeares to releeve and repaire severall Churches by turnes in Brittaine Fraunce Ireland and other places The other moytie of his estate he did wholly addict to the service of the secular affaires which he carefully commanded to bee tripartited 1 Whereof the first part was yearely conferred on those of his military imployment whom he highly esteemed as also upon his meniall officers and Ministers who garded his person and guided his Court and being lifted into a trinall Company each of them wayted a moneth by turnes and then had two moneths recession for their ease and dis●●●ch of their owne affair●● 2 T●● second part on the Masters and Workemen of his Fabrickes whom he had in great numbers procured selected and sent for out of many nations The third portion he reserved for reliefe of strangers whom the deserved fame of his vertue goodnesse and bountie drew out of all parts to admire him and whether they sought and asked it or not to bee partakers of his liberall largesse which to every one according to their dignitie and desert hee did aboundantly dispose In all this if vertue and piety were hereditary hee might justly challenge a descent therof from Aethelwolphe his father a Prince more affected to devotion than Action who being a Subdeacon was by the dispensation of Pope Leo afterwards made King and gave the tenth of his kingdomes tribute with exemption of regall service to maintaine the ministery of God and his Church And in his last journey to Rome did confirme the pay of peeterpence to Leo IIIIth then Pope of Rome and his successours to the end that no Englishman should do pennance in bonds Adde unto Alfreds then unmatchable pietie his royall gratitude which ingratitude being the worst of vices is the best of vertues Asser makes ample relation of his munificence to him after his eight moneths abode in his Court yet with his excuse Non ideo se dedisse parva illa quòd sequenti tempore nollet dare majora which promise hee made good shortly after in bestowing the Bishopricke of Sherborne upon him in the yeare 873. His old Host of Athelnry hee afterwards well requited by advancing him to the Bishoprick of Winchester Anno Christi 879. He was not so carefull in apportioning his estate and time as he was in disposing the local government of his now setled Monarchie the league betweene him and Guthrun being so firmely established and before he could not doe it he did all things stato statuto tempore a president for all Princes yea and for all persons in imitation of Iethro his councell to Moses He was the first that reduced this confused Kingdome into an orderly rule of subordinate government And observing the old rule of Divide impera did divide this land into Shires hundreds and tythings respectively appointing the prepositure of them to severall Officers and Ministers now called Sherifs Constables and Tythingmen But no government could bee without Lawes and herein Moses is still his ensample who having first selected his wisemen and placed such to be rulers over thousands hundreds fifties and tens then and not before Iura dabat populo hee gave laws to the people frō the mouth of eternity it self Alfred with a religious majesty begins his Lawes Loquutus est Dominus ad Mosem hos sermones cites all the decalogue and then proceeds with the Lawes comprised in the 21 22 and part of the 23 Chapters of Exodus all which and the confirmation of these with the Lawes of King Inus and other his Ancestors I have elsewhere at large expressed He caused a booke containing Decreta judiciorum collected by King Ethelbert to bee written in the Saxon characters which the injury of times hath utterly suppressed Lawes without execution are but Vmbratiles cloudes without raigne shadowes without substance hee was therefore prepared jus sacere as well as jus dicere He was not sparing to administer justice and to dispose of affaires of most weight in his owne person Taediosus or districtus examinandae in judiciis veritatis arbiter existebat hoc maximè propter pauperum curam qui in toto regno praeter illum solum nullos aut paucissimos habebant jutores he was a most solicitous umpire in examining the equity and verity of judicatory proceedings and that principally for the cause of the poore who besides him alone had none or very few advocates or assistants he was the Patron and protector of Widdowes and Orphanes As