the suter it is for no harme Then you may tell it openlye sayde the Iudge if it bée for good the matter sayde the suter is suche that it may not bée tolde openlye Wyll you sayde the Iudge promise me by your credite and fidelitie that it toucheth nothing this matter nowe dependyng before me and that it requireth such spéede that my hearing of it maye not be delayed Bée well aduised what you doe for I assure you if you shall lye vnto mée you shall haue the law executed on you according to the lie you tell Wherwith the suter stayed and sayde nothyng To whome the Iudge sayd is it not strange that he is now become dumbe that euen now was so desirous to speake If youre matter appertayne not to this I will heare you priuilye if you haue oughte to saye in this your Friends cause speake it openlye At whyche woordes hée would saye nothyng To whome the Iudge sayde then I muste néedes nowe thynke that you meante to offer mée a bribe secretely which you were afrayde to giue openlye and therefore nowe bycause you are like to incurre a mischief whether you speake a lye priuilye or the trueth openlye for that you sée I am not bente to shoote in youre Bowe therefore wiselye as you thinke you holde your peace But euery wise manne maye consider youre sodayne silence doeth shewe youre naughtie and subtile sute And if you will haue me and all the rest here to thinke the better of you vtter here openlye what you woulde haue spoken so priuily to mée Then the Suter sayde Good my Lorde iudge better of mée for my meanyng was not so euill as you make it Then tell oute your tale that I maye take it better Forsooth my Lorde sayd the Suter my wordes to you in secrete should onelye haue bene to desire you to be good vnto this Lord my friend Then sayde the Iudge was not that as muche to saye as to be euill to this poore manne that he misused as hys foe Forsoothe a preatie sute as thoughe thys poore manne had not wrong ynoughe but I that onelye am appoynted by GOD and my kyng to doe hym righte shoulde for your sake doe hym more wrong but truelye if these were the woordes that you meante to speake to mée it had béene better both for my credite if I would haue béene allured and for your honestie if you had meante to seduce mée to haue spoken these woordes openlye rather than secretelye for the secrete talke betwéene vs among all thys company mighte haue bredde a suspition where none was whereas the open telling thereof coulde neuer haue done it Mary I will not say but that I and manye other haue the worse opinion in you in speakyng for your friende in so euill a cause Well here is neuer a witnesse that can tell whether these were the very woordes that you meant to speake to mée in priuitie or not but onely GOD whiche is witnesse good inough and wyll be founde true in hys witnessing when all other shall be founde lyars and though you may now escape the worldlye punishement for lying bicause wée haue no worldly witnesses against you yet assure you you cannot escape the punishement in Hell without repentaunce for lying if GOD bée a witnesse agaynst you who sayeth that Lyars shall haue their portion in the Lake that burnes with fire and Brimstone Well suppose that these were the wordes that you meant to tell mée in secrete which I can hardly beléeue doe you thinke that I woulde doe more at youre requeste for thys Gentlemanne in an euill matter than I woulde at Gods request for this poore man in a good and righteous cause Doe you thinke that you are able to doe mée as muche good for doing of wrong as GOD caâ—ne and will for dooyng of righte beléeue it that list for I will not GOD my heauenlye Father and of all beléeuers that hath made me that protectes me that féedes mée that hath saued mée and hathe prepared for me hys Kyngdome of Heauen after my death the lyke pleasure none other hathe or can doe for me doth saye vnto me and all other Iudges Audite parnos ita vt magnos Heare the small as well as the greate and sayth also Iuste iudicate Iudge iustly or vprightly and you come to me and say which stande as much in néede of Gods helpe as I I praye you to be good vnto this my friende neuer a whit regarding the matter but the man Might not I be thought wise to loose the fauour of GOD for the friendship of you to refuse his good request to performe your euill desire and to loose Heauen for displeasing of GOD to winne Hell for pleasing of you Therefore content your selfe I meane not to goe vnto Hell for the dearest friend I haue in the worlde Therefore you haue offered mée greate losse to endaunger my selfe so for the plasuring of youre frinde as I woulde not wishe to my moste mortall foe What if our worthye and Uertuous Kyng were here nowe and dyd bidde mée himselfe to do iustelye and truelye in thys case doe you thinke that I woulde not doe righte at hys request before I woulde doe wrong at yours Nowe séeyng I woulde doe equitie and righte at an Earthlye Kings desire whiche is mortall and subiecte to deathe you may be sure vnlesse I were more than madde that I will iudge instelye and maintaine Equitie at my Gods request the King of all Kings who is immortall and doth liue raigne and rule for euer But if our king were here at this present and dydde commaunde me to fauoure this wicked Gentlemannes cause shoulde I doe it no I will rather doe righte at GOD my Heauenlye Kynges desire than I will doe wrong at my Earthly Kynges requeste Then séeyng I will doe no wrong at my Kynges requeste whyche may kill mée for disobeying him if hée liste then assure your selfe I will fauour no falshoode nor doe vniustely at your desire which are not able to hurte me if you would Therfore goe your waye and trouble me no more herein your friend shall finde suche fauour as be hath deserued And if you vse me agayne as you haue done I wil vse you then as I haue not done And the sayde Suter wente sorrowfullye awaye and as soone as hée was gone there came in an other with a letter verye hastilye and deliuered it straightwaye to the Iudge whiche the Iudge receyuyng perceyued it weighed very heauye It is verye like to bée a verye heauy matter saide the Iudge for the letter is verie heauy and saide moreouer to theÌ„ fellow that brought it who sent this letter to me Forsooth sayd the fellowe that dyd my Maister and named him goe thy way quickely sayde the Iudge to thy Maister and giue him moste hartie thankes for his louing letter the contents whereof I knowe well ynough therefore bid him in any wise come to me with spéed and tell him like wise
wisely but I praye you Syr what if a pore manne shoulde come as a suter to anye of them will they be contente to talke wyth them presently heare their tale gladly and helpe their sute spéedily OMEN For talking with them presentelye and hearing their tale gladly I am sure they will and if they can conueniently they wil likewise performe their requeste for they thinke it is the most dishonor to them that can be that a suter should go sad from them SIVQILA But what if any of their seruantes throughe disdainefulnesse or spite doe not tell their Lorde Ladye or Maister that suche a suter woulde speake with them being required thereto OMEN Forsooth euery such seruant shall be emprisoned one moneth after and al that while whatsoeuer he sues for shall be denyed him SIVQILA Truely a very good Lawe and order for all stoute and stubborne seruantes againste néedie and simple Suters Then I perceiue séeing they are wyllyng to helpe their Suters in that that is no gaine to themselues then I doe beléeue they wyll not denye to helpe theyr poore Suters in that that hathe béene profyte vnto themselues OMEN You maye bée sure of that for if anye noble manne Lady Knight or Gentleman with vs doe take or borrowe any thyng of any vppon their trust or credite they wyl eyther sende them theyr money at their day or else if they requyre to haue it before their daye standing in greate néede they will make verye harde shifte but they wyll helpe them to it not onely then moste willingly and gently thanking them for the good turn they haue done them in the forbearing of it so long but also will doe them some manifest pleasure therefore if they can and neuer after wil be vnmindful thereof SIVQILA Our Merchauntes and Artificers with vs would giue a good deale that al with vs were such as wold vse their creditors so curteously performe their promise so surely and accept a good turne so thankfully But that was neuer nor neuer wil be yet there are many suche wyth vs I dare boldly affirme Many will speake faire to bring themselues in credite and promise much vntill they cā get it but neyther pay nor kéepe promise when they haue gote it OMEN There was one with vs long since that of a base parentage came to great wealth and promotion who as he encreased in prosperitie decayed in honesty as he augmented in goods so he decreased in goodnes as he abounded in wealth so he abandoned wisedom and therby he became so proud that he had forgot al his old friends and no maruel for he had quite forgot himselfe He was more bold to borrowe than hastie to pay and bicause he was of great welth and lyuing many didde willinglye lend him for that they knew he was able to pay them but his abilitie and fidelitie were farre vnlike he neuer kept touch with his Creditors and he loued them so well that he woulde neuer haue his name out of their Bookes If Promise were paymente hée payde as well as any man for all his paymentes consisted in promises but his Creditors had rather had fewe promises and good payment than many promises and slacke payment So that his credite at first was turned into discredit at last for none would trust him of the value of a groat and why bicause he woulde not only if one asked it threat thē but also many times beat them SIVQILA That was but a homely kind of paymēt the creditors were scantable to liue on it He was a bountifull Gentlemā I warrant you of his owne goodes that was so gréedie of other mens goods belike he kept a good house for the pore He that woulde beate men for asking for theyr owne belike he would beate the pore if they craued oughte of his The common wealth no doubt had a greate commoditie of him Procéede nowe in your tale for I wil aduisedly heare you OMEN Many of his creditors had bin so ofte with hym for asking their owne whō he so threatned and misused that they were so wearie thereof that they let him alone wythal but one among the rest more stout thā the rest more pincht for want of his money than the rest and to whome he ought more than to any of the rest watcht his time and met wyth him thoughe he had rather haue shunned him thā séen him to whome he saide very gently and mildely Sir it is not vnknowne vnto you that you haue ought me a greate deale of money so long that I am muche endebted and endamaged throughe the want thereof If I could as wel spare it as you may wel pay it I woulde be content to suffer you so long againe to kéepe it in youre handes as you haue done But for that you knowe my case doth compell me necessitie doth enforce me and very pouertie doth procure me therfore I aske and craue of you for Gods sake that summe of mony which you owe me And though it be a little to you yet it is a great deale to me whiche small summe if you paye me wil make me to swim but if you withholde it it wil cause me to sinck Therfore my swimming or sinking lyes in your handes trusting that whereas with lending and forbearing of my mony I haue helped you you wil not by withholding of it hinder or hurt me To whom the welthy debter said both frowningly frettingly and furiously away thou varlet haue I nothing else to do than to waite to pay thée money Call you it wayting said the pore man you were verye wol content to waite to receiue my wares why can you not as well bée cōtent to wait to pay me my money Away thou knaue said the gentleman or my fist shal waite on your eare to whom the pore creditor said It were muche against reason to fight with him with youre fiste in whome you haue founde suche friendship and fauour to threate him so furiously that hathe lent you his wares so louingly and to offer to beat him so rashly that hath forborne the money you owe him so long Which vngentle gentlemā before the mā had ful ended his wordes did so hurt and beate him that therby he was lame euer after of one of hys armes And so he went away in a great rage giuing his friendly creditor strokes for siluer euil for good punishement for payment And thys was al that he coulde get on him for that tyme. And then the manne that was thus hurte or beaten as wel as he coulde wente to the nexte Iudge or Ruler to whome he declared all the whole cause and howe he was vsed for asking of his money whyche when the Ruler hearde hée sente for the sayde Gentlemanne immediatelye who came to him presentlye for he durste doe none other to whome he sayd with very great griefe If Gentlemen whose life oughte to be a Lanterne to lighten their inferiours whose lowlinesse ought to
wife with vs for they haue learned S. Paules lessoÌ„ too wel for that knowing that as Christ is the head of the coÌ„gregation so is their husband their head And they remember the promise and vow they made to their husbands at their marriage whereby neither pouertie nor sicknes nor any other trouble can release theÌ„ of their obedience But if they should be disobedieÌ„t their husbaÌ„ds may not beare them SIVQILA What then OMEN Hir husbande must persuade hir with gentlenes SIVQILA But what if that wil not serue OMEN Then the minister there muste persuade hir by y e scriptures to obey hir husband aswel in pouertie as in welth for whose persuasioÌ„s if she wil not ameÌ„d then she shal be compelled to weare such an attyre as is appointed for disobedieÌ„t wiues which wheÌ„ she wears al y e rest of the wiues wil wonder at hir which is the gretest infamy to hir that can be also hir husband shal not be bound to find hir neither food nor raiment vntil she becom obedieÌ„t to him SIVQILA That is a very good way to make them obey if it were but for fear of famishing But I pray you sir what remedy hath the wife if hir husband beat or misuse hir OMEN There be none now y â— beat or misuse their wiues with vs but I will tell you howe one was serued with vs long since that did beate his wife cruelly who was as obedient and louing to him as any could be SIVQILA How I pray you OMEN The woman was so godly and honest that shée tooke it patiently and did neuer complaine on him therfore SIVQILA Who then OMEN Hir neighbors that dwelled next vnto them and wheÌ„ the Ruler of the towne heard of it he sent immediatly both for the husband and the wife and when they wer come before him séeing the wife so pitifully aâ—ayed with strokes he asked the woman if hir husband had beateÌ„ hir in that order who said no then hir neighbors said to the Ruler sir we heard him beate hir so cruelly that we came into him found him beating of hir desiring him then to leaue off but neyther the humblenesse of his wife knéeling to him on hir knées neither our earnest desiring of him could once moue him to leaue beating of hir and then we made such a noise that more company came in so by streÌ„gth we made hym to stay or else I thinke he would haue killed hir Then wheÌ„ the wife that was beaten hearde them say so she knéeled before the ruler and desired him to be good to hir husbande SIVQILA There be fewe women with vs would haue taken their beating so patiently excused their husbands cruelty or entreated for their husband so ernestly nay many of them rather woulde not onely haue complained of their husbandes themselues but perhaps would haue made the thing worse than it was Therfore that woman is worthy to be registred among patient and louing wiues But what said the Ruler then to the â—ore beateÌ„ woman OMEN Forsooth he said thus vnto hir O good womaÌ„ I lameÌ„t thy case thou louest thy husbaÌ„d better thaÌ„ he loueth thée but bicause thou knowest thy duty to thy husbaÌ„d and he doth not know his duty to thée for that I sée thou art godly wise patieÌ„t obedient knowest better how to goÌ„uern thy house thaÌ„ he therfore my iudgemeÌ„t is that y u shalt receiue al pay al be chiefe ruler of thy house and shalte take an accompte of thys thy husbande of all that he shall gette vntil he become a louing husband to thée and doth vse himselfe in all points as a good husbande shoulde do and therefore stande vp and content thy selfe for thus it shall be And then he turned to hir cruell husband and sayd how canst thou loue thy neighbour how is it possible that thou canst loue thy dere friende though he do neuer so much for thée how canst thou loue thy parents or how canst thou loue thy children or any other or how canst thou loue thy superiors or thy soueraine that hatest thy selfe thou thinkest I lye bicause I say thou hatest thy selfe no I do not lye for vnlesse thou hadst hated this woman thy wife which is thy self thou wouldst not thus cruelly without all pitie haue beaten hir for by Christes owne wordes Man and Wife are twoo soules and one body If thou didst sée a man beating one of his hands with his other hande wouldest thou thinke that he loued that hand that he doth so beate for is not that hand part of himselfe then howe can I be persuaded that thou louest thy selfe bycause thou hast thus cruelly beaten thy most louing and obedient wife which is thy selfe and one of thy hands yea and thy better hande to vnlesse thou were better thy selfe And bycause thou hast followed Christs sayings and the Kings commaundement so well which is Do as you would be done vnto it is méete to do vnto thée as thou hast done Therefore I decrée and iudge here that as thou hast vsed thy wife so shalte thou be vsed that is thou shalte be tyed fast to a poste and foure of the stoutest wiues that dwell nexte vnto thée and are most angry wyth thée for giuing suche an euil example to their husbaÌ„ds to vse them so shall beate thée with foure good cudgels till thou be as well beaten as thou hast beaten thy wife And thys shall bée done immediatly in my presence for I wil not depart hence vntil I sée this my iudgement fully executed And then presently there was a post sette vppe purposely therefore and the cruel husbaÌ„d was fast tyed thereto and foure of the sayd stoulest wiues came with strong cudgelles by the Rulers commaundement and did beate him lustily that he cryed out again And one of the wiues said to him sirra Do as you would be done vnto and therewith reacht him such a blow that made him to shrinke an other of them saide if strokes be good for your wife they are good for you then she gaue him such a stroke that she made his sides ake the third woman not forgetting hir turne spake not so lowe but that one might well heare hir saying Is it good beating then she reached him suche a remnant that he had a cause to remember hir and the fourth woman for feare of forgetting so swinged him about the shoulders that he conned hir little thanke saying As you like this my friende beate your wife again And when the Ruler saw that he was throughly and wel beateÌ„ he caused him to be lewsed from the poste and said vnto him Now go your wayes home and sée that you suffer the rest of our iudgement to be performed vntill you haue learned what is the duetie of a husband and how to behaue your selfe and vse your wife and I truste you wil remember this lesson Doe as you would be done vnto And then the Ruler departed
hath said nor can say any thing for himselfe nor this fellow hyred by him as it séemes hath saide any thing to the purpose Then the man that was accused said to the Iudge oh my Lord consider y t truth the innocēts cause as I stand here before God you so I wil not lye neither to God nor you the truth is when I was presented to come before you I knew not the cause thereof whiche being true as God knowes y ◠is here presēt the time is very short as your Lordship al the rest here may veri wel iudge to premeditate procure or practise any such pollicy And as for this mā which y ◠lord I am sure hath sēt on my side I neuer saw him or spake with him in all my life to my remembraunce Therfore my Lord think that I am here as guiltlesse Susan and this man God hathe raised vp instead of Daniel which I doubt not at length but wil be able to counteruaile againste these two false witnesses that are in stead of two wicked Iudges And GOD that is here my perpetual patrone is sufficient and able to counteruaile this my wicked accuser And then as soone as this honest accused man had said these words to the Iudge an other straunge manne came in hastilye and preaced verye muche to speake to the Iudge and saide oh my Lord I feare that here are thrée Wolues determined to deuoure a simple and innocent Lamb. How knowest thou that said the Iudge truly then said the man I was going euen now within this houre thrée or four miles from home about certaine vrgent busines and as I was going I met by chance nay rather by Gods prouidence with one that asked me if I knew suche a man to whome I answered and said that I knew him not but I haue hearde a good report of him to bée both honest godly charitable Wel then said he againe to me he is like to be cast away this daye for hyghe treason against the King What is the cause and who is his accuser saide I and then he declared vnto me the words of treason that he should speake named this man that stands here to be his accuser therein which when I hearde hearing so much good of the man accused and knowing so much euil of the accuser I cut off my néedeful iorney came hither with great spéede to tel a truth and to saue an innocent if by any meanes I may Then saide the Iudge to him thinkest thou that this man that is accused of treason is guiltlesse therin Yea that I do said the fellow or else this his accuser wold neuer haue hyred me to beare false witnesse againste him therin Is this true that thou sayst saide the Iudge yea my Lorde that it is saide the fellowe he cannot well denye it for I am sure halfe a dozen times at the leaste he was very importunate on me to beare witnesse againste hym in thus same matter that he hathe accused him of and offered mée mony therefore largely and vnderstanding partly my néed he thought I coulde no more refuse his mony than he could resist the Diuel when he moued him to mischiefe For if I would haue consented to him herein this good man had not bin so long vnaccused as he is therfore I beséeche your lordshippe to consider wel of it for I am neither desired hyred brybed nor procured to come hither nowe to speake this that I haue saide Tel me truelye saide the Iudge doest thou knowe the man that is accused no sir said the fellow I neuer sawe him in al my lyfe that I wote of but I haue hearde of his good name and honest fame but I knowe his accuser very wel for he offered me money to be a false witnesse against him half a dozen times at the least as I sayde before Did not I tel you saide the Iudge that after thys fume fire woulde followe and then the accused knéeled downe vpon his knées with wéeping teares saying O Lord nowe I perceiue thou hast heard my prayer and performed my petitiō in stead of my accusers two false witnesses thou hast sent me two true witnesses by which two witnesses al throughe thée my truth shall be tryed and their falsenesse shall be founde And then the Iudge saide to the accuser how say you to this sirra here are two witnesses stirred vp by God against your two witnesses procured by the Diuel I perceiue thou lokedst for nothing lesse thā that these two shold haue come hither to declare the truth as they do Wel it is the Lorde our God that hath sent them and none else What canst thou say to this Then said the accuser oh my Lord both these are hyred for mony for the deliuery of this Traytour and for my destruction A vaine excuse saide the Iudge for this mā hath protested before God that he knew not the cause he was sente for when I did sende for him Whiche if it be so it is verye vnlikely that since I layde the matter to his charge he should procure this practise and finde suche friends that he neuer knewe before in so short a time especially séeing he neuer spake nor once whispered to any since his comming hyther but séeing saide the Iudge the trueth of euerye matter oughte to be tryed by the oths of the informers or witnesses therefore I will haue euery one of you in this case deposed And first wil you two that came of your owne motion or rather by God procured as I thinke sweare nowe before the Lorde without malice affection enuie spite hatred or without anye other sinister meanes onelye for truthes sake that this accuser of thys man of high treason againste the King woulde haue hyred you for money to be false witnesses against this accused mā in this same case whereof he nowe is accused Then sayde the same two men to the Iudge yea my Lorde that we wil with all our heartes for as the Lorde knowes the secretes of all our heartes we haue saide nothing nor will saye any thing but onely the trueth Then saide the Iudge to them nowe take youre othes thereof and so they were deposed and sworne then the Iudge bidde them stand aside and commaunded the accuser and his two witnesses to take their othes afore him that the accused man did speake such words of treason wherof they accused him And as they wer taking their othes the one of y ◠witnesses coulde not speake for the Lord did make his tong to swell in his mouth that it was horrible to sée The other witnesse immediatelye fell downe before them stark lame and the wicked accuser was then stroken blind At which sodaine change and righteous stroke of God y e Iudge al the rest wer amazed Then said the Iudge oh wicked wretches did not I warne you of this before do you thinke that God that is all truth wil wincke at wickednesse
be that suche doubtfull matters may arise sometimes and yet neither partie thinkes that they do other wrong which is méete to be tryed before learned Iudges SIVQ Are the pore constrained with you to go an huÌ„dred or two hundred miles to haue their matters tryed in lawe OMEN No nor the rich neither For as Market townes are appointed somthing nigh to euery parish or village for the ease of y â— people to buy their necessaries so we haue certain Courts Iudges appointed in such order for the tryall of matters and causes for the easie trauell smal expences of the people that none with vs shall néede to go aboue ten miles for the tryall of any matter or cause SIVQILA Surely these two things are very néedful specially for the pore that is that the pore may sue at al times for his right whether he haue mony or no mony and that he may haue his matter tried so nigh his habitation truely it was done of a godly consideration Many are constrained with vs to â—â—oâ— vpon their féet two or thrée hundreth miles and perhappes haue not so much in their purse as wil beare their charges the one halfe of y â— way Is not he like to spéed wel when he commeth to his iorneys end that shal neither haue law nor â—odging without money OMEN It had bin better for him to haue taryed at home SIVQILA Yea and many perhaps are constrayned to go by arresting through surmised matter that ofteÌ„ times by suche a one as wrongfully kéepes their liuing from theÌ„ and onely tyre and trouble them that they the more quietly may kéepe their right from them OMEN There are none such with you I hope SIVQILA Yes more than there are good Iudges with you I beléeue OMEN Oh if suche cruell cut-throtes were with vs they would be so hampered y â— they durst not for their eares oppresse the poore SIVQILA Well if we hadde such good orders and as well kept as you haue wée shoulde not haue so manye oppressours as we haue But sir I beséeche you tell mée doe the matters hang long in youre Courtes before they bée ended OMEN Two monthes is the most which if they be not ended and determined by that time vnlesse there be some great reason to the contrarie he that is the cause therof shal surely pay for it yea if it be the Iudge himselfe SIVQILA Some would be glad with vs if their matter might be ended in thrée yeares I heard one say that he had a matter in tryall in Law aboue eightéene yeares and as far as he saw then it was as nigh the ending as it was at y e beginning There haue two prosecuted the law togither for a Cocke or for a Goose they haue both bin almost vndone and y â— matter vntryed wherby they haue bin enforced wheÌ„ al their money was consumed and spent to haue their matter dayed and ended by arbitrement OMEN What fooles were they they had bene better to haue had their cause dayed and arbitrated before they spent their money than after they spente their money that is the nexte waye to make the Lawyers and Officers riche and themselues poore Which soeuer of them had had the matter iudged by lawe on their side they had gotte but a Cocke or a Goose for his labour SIVQILA Yea and looke whiche of them spent leaste spente aboue twentie pounde and hadde neyther Cocke nor Goose for his labour OMEN Wel by my consent the one of them shall bée a Coakes and the other a Goose. They had bin better to haue eaten the cock or the Goose betwéen them at the first than to spend al that money and put it to dayment at last SIVQILA Surely it is a common practise wyth vs to spende all the money they are able to make in the Law and then to haue theyr matter ended by arbitremente without the lawe OMEN The moe such the moe fooles SIVQILA Our Courts are so costly the fées so greate the expences so muche the delayes so many the trauayle so farre the tryall so long and the obtayning so doubtfull that poore men cannot nor manye wise men dare not begin or prosecute the lawe They had rather take halfe before they begin the lawe than to lay out their money in hope to haue all at the ende of the law Our law with vs passes building which building is founde to be such a priuie théefe that many vnwise builders haue bin muche impouerished thereby For looke what manye thinkes will frame vp the whole will scantly finish the halfe Yet are they sure to haue halfe a house for their money and if they bestow so muche more they are certaine to haue a house But he that goeth to the lawe with vs for the obtayning of his right as he thinkes and makes an accounte that twentie pounde will trye hys matter to the end it may chance cost him an huÌ„dreth pound yea and sell all the houses landes and liuing he hathe and yet go without that that he sues for OMEN It is good reason he should goe without it if hée haue no right to it SIVQILA Euen so it is as good reason he should haue it if it be his right OMEN That is true but me thinkes theyr Lawyers before they haue spente the fourth parte of so much money might perfectly knowe whether theyr Clientes cause were right or wrong which knowne they should perswade theyr Clients to procéede no further SIVQILA Truelye if their Counsellers should doe so as I beléeue many of them toe yet some of their Clientes are so witlesse and wilful that they wil neuer giue ouer vntill their ouerthrowe to their vtter vndoing And some of their Counselers I feare are of such conscieÌ„ce that as long as these sooles can féed them with fées they will procure theÌ„ to procéede saying assure you the matter must néedes go on our side as some that wil clappe their handes to sette dogs togither by the eares not caring so they may laugh if one dog teare out an others throat And those witlesse and wilful fellowes that wil not be aduised by their honest Counsellers but wil néedes procéede in the law to their empouerishing I compare to vnthriftie and péeuishe players at Dice Cardes and other games whose friends cannot dissuade them whose vnskilfulnesse and ouersight in play can not teache them and whose euil lucke can not warne them to ceasse off from play vntill the losse of al their mony must néedes make them to leaue OMEN You haue applyed theÌ„ very rightly but me thinks the suÌ„me that you spake of for y â— trial of one matter is much more than sufficieÌ„t for the triall and ending of ten matters SIVQILA Nay I knew two rich Cobs that went to the law for the triall of a matter betwéene them either of which spent a thousand pound at the least and yet their matter cause was vntryed by the law OMEN I