Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
judgement_n	action_n	court_n	defendant_n	3,192	5	9.7483	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11376	Of the antient lavves of great Britaine. George Saltern	Salteren, George.	1605 (1605)	STC 21635; ESTC S116514	35,849	88

Epistle doth require that before I enter into the discourse of our auncient Britaine lawes I speake somewhat concerning the Romane Lawes that it may appeare that neither the reuerend Elutherius was deceiued in judgement nor the Godly Lucius in his choise nor the learned Fortescue in his testimony but that our said auncient Lawes were indeed as well as by the Romanes owne confession in that they did not change them better then their owne I speake as a Christian for asmuch as Brittain receaued the Lawes of Christ before it knew the gouernmēt of Rome but because I wold be loath to offend I will remit the reader that is desirous to know what may be said of the Authors composers of the first Romane Lawes Aug. de Ciuit Dei L. 3 Wesembech prefat in Isag Riuall in hist Iur. de Iustiniano to St. Augustin and of these now extant to VVesembechius Rivallius Procopius and others And for the principles and groundes I will referre them to consider the particulars of the twelue tables yet in parte remayning and to measure and examine the rules of the Institutes by the wordes of the Authors out of which they seeme to bee taken Aristotle Tully Isidorus c. and both by the Scriptures a woorke worthy the vacation of a learned man But for the Lawes of Brittaine my principall intention before I come to speak of them I will intreate a little leaue to speake somewhat first of lawe in generall and secondly of the auncient inhabitantes of this I le For by knowing what they were wee shall the better knowe their Lawes and manners Cap. 3. THe Lawe by Aristotle is called a couenant of the societie of men Polit. 1. De Leg. By Tully the reason and minde of God discerning just and vniust If we joyne these two and call it the couenant made by God with the societie of men according to his owne reason Ex. 34.27 20. v. 5.6 Deut. 5.2 discerning just vniust it agreeth with the words of Moses and will be as I take it a perfect definition The end as Tully saith is manifest Ad salutem ciuium De Leg. 2. ciuitatumque incolūnitatem vitamque omnium quietam et beatam Agreeing also with Moses if Salus et Incolumitas et Beatitudo bee taken for all the blessing of this life and the life to come Lawes are called Diuine or Humane The deuine Lawes are those which God immediately made first written in nature secondlye described in the ten commaundements the Scriptures Humane Lawes are Lawes deriued out of the diuine Lawes by applycation of the generall commaundements First to the principal parties viz. to God to the common estate and to priuate men according to the diuision of the twelue Tables Auson secondlye to particular circumstances of Persons thinges actions times places Penalties and such like as the Institutes are deuided Heerehence followeth a conclusion obserued also by Tully that if a Law be made contayning any thing contrary to the Lawe of God it is not to be called a Lawe though all the world in a ioynt Parlamēt confirme it For neither is it deriued out of the general precepts nor partaketh of the common definition seeing it is not a couenant of God but a confederacy against God The property and effect of the Lawe is first to make a distinction of just from vniust Secondlye to commaund and forbid Thirdlye to punnish and rewarde These thinges are performed originallye and gennerally by the Lawe of God and secondarily and particularly by the Lawe of men The quallities of a true Lawe are reckoned vp by Isidorus and others Esse debet Lex Honesta Iusta possibilis Decret Part. 1 Wesemb secundum naturam et consuetudinem Loco et tempori conueniens necessaria vel vtilis manifesta c. A Lawe must bee honest just possible agreeable to nature and custome to time and place necessarie or profitable and manifest of this proceedeth another ground also jus nemini violare vel ignorare Licet Item lex obligat ad scientiam ad obedientiam ad paenam The Lawe bindeth to knowledge obedience punishment no man may breake it no man may be ignorant of it and that which Isidore saith when Lawes are made no Man may judge of them but according to them The exact performance of the Lawe is called Iustice 5 Ethic. the moderation of the Lawe vppon consideration of circumstances is called equitie the contraries to the law are jniurie jniustice jniquity wrong force fraud such like Whatsoeuer is said of the Law of God absolutely may proportionally be applyed to the Lawe of men The end of the Lawe of God is al happines That happines which is the end of Humane Lawes consisteth chieflie in the conseruation of Religion Psal 72.85 Peace and Iustice all which thinges are comprehended by St. Augustin vnder the name of peace which also he maketh the finall end of the Citie of God De Ciuitate Dei li. 19 The matters which the Lawes doe handle are chiefly persons things places times contracts offences and actions In this Iland persons appointed specially for the procuration of Religion are the Archbishops Bishops Ministers for the preseruation of Peace are the Nobilitie Sheriffes and Iustices of peace For the administration of Iustice the Iudges professors and Officers of Lawe And the King hath from God supreame authoritie ouer all according to the sentence Rex est Vicarius Dei Other distinctions there be of Persons but it is not my intention to speake of euery difference but onely so much as may serue to giue light to the Discourse intended Things also haue many diuisions whereof I meane to touch but one which is that some may passe by course of inheritance as Landes and tenements some cannot as Chattelles Of places some haue sacred priuiledge as Temples representing God by his woord The Kinges presence and Iudiciall Courtes representing God in power and Iustice others are ordinarie and common and of them some are publique as Markettes Wayes Some priuate as Houses Shoppes c. Times are likewise diuided into sacred and common the Day the night and such like diuisions Contracts haue manifold Distinctions which see in Bracton Bracto L. 3 Crimes are either against Religion Peace or Iustice and againe are considered as publike offences so Rex pro pace sequi debet Bracton in which all the Pleas of the Crowne are contayned or as some particular person is interessed who is to sue accordingly Againe they may be pursued ciuilly or criminally Lastly actions are distinguished for the moste parte according to the things which they demaund or the persons plaintifes or defendants or the Courts wherin or the times whē c. In actions are these principall partes Sūmons or Citations triall Iudgement and execution These points as fitter to be sought in other places as to learned men and as my selfe not halfe learned I doe briefely passe

of Caesar and al of them are laid to their charge by Gildas Ephes 5. and other Histories For such thinges procure the wrath of God to bee powred out vpon them as saith the blessed Apostle as Italy France and other Countries haue by that meanes receiued some barbarous touches and Ireland yet wasted and subiect to great calamities desolation is an eye witnesse of the same experience which heeretofore was gouerned with peace ad ciuilitie and now hath many examples extant of strange immannities And as these are the iust plagues inflicted by the diuine Iustice vpon our Neighbour Iland for the contempt of the Gospel and such offences as aforesaid so were the same inflicted in those times vpon the Britaines for treading vnder foote the light of nature and the knoweledge of God which Gildas signifieth that the first inhabitāts had many excellent doctrines of Religion of justice which were but obscurelye in part preserued by the Druidae and some fewe of the better sort But to returne where wee left as in other thinges the Britaines maintained the manners of the auncients Diodor Sic. so in that auncient diuision of this Land into seueral Nations and families the most antique manner of great nations was obserued For not onely amongst the Hebrewes but amongst the Persians Athenians Romans Xenophon ●●uy et ali in this Iland the Scots being freer from publike inuasions had the like diuisions being a poynt of ciuill gouernment verie necessarie for many good and Politicke constitutions and therefore vsed and preserued amongst all the primitiue Nations as agreeable to reason and nature and is to this day obserued as most consonāt to the word of God Cap. 8. AS in the distribution of persons and of the land the Britaines were politick and ciuil so in their proceedings of Lawe in their iudgements and in their Sciences it appeareth that they were not so barbarous as hath been taken for their varieties of excellent learning to note that by the way Sir Iohn Prise in his booke to King Edward the sixt Sir Iohn Prise Historiae Brit. Defensio prooueth that all learned sciences were knowne and handled amongst them To his booke I send those that are desirous to be satisfied in that point And although it may be strongly inferred that a Nation giuen to the studdies of all excellent learnings must needes be polished with good lawes yet for the more cleere euice heereof I purpose to shew that their lawes in particular were most iust good as being deriued out of the lawe of God written in nature and in Scripture and for that reason not altered but transmitted to posteritye and that they doe yet remaine amongst vs as I said before First of al vnder fauour I cannot agree the opinion conceiued by Gratian that al thinges by the Lawe of nature were common Part. 1. Dist but as I take it the distinction of properties was enacted by Almighty God in the beginning by him imprinted with other Lawes in nature by vertue of the wordes Gen. 1. vers 28.29 Beare rule ouer the earth which gaue to man both dominion and propertie of all thinges And to proue that it was so that it was so vnderstood Gen. 4. it appeareth by Cain and Abel who in the verye beginning were seueral possessors of grounds Lands Sheep fruites of the earth and Cities inhabited and in the Historyes of Abraham Iob and other the Patriarches there is mencion made of buying and selling and of diuers offences punished by Lawe But by what Lawe if not by the Law of nature And if the Law of nature be the same which is contayned in the Lawe the Gospell as Gracian in the first entrance of his distinctions affirmeth If the terme commaundements be an abridgement or exposition of the Law of nature as he saith in an other place And if distinction of propertyes be inacted the desire of other mens goods forbidden euery where in the Lawe the Gospell and the tenne commandements then is Gratian in this poynt contrary vnto him selfe But that it is so forbidden appeareth by the eight and tenth Commaundement and in the first to the Romanes where Couetousnes euen in an heathē man is accounted for a sin Rom. 1. which could not be but by the lawe of nature as it is in that place vrged For where there is no Lawe there is no transgression saith St. Iohn other lawe there is not to condemne a Pagan Therefore taking that for a point not hard to be proued and which all lawes haue taken as a principall confessed by vertue of that lawe which is euery where the same how-soeuer some authorities haue swayed to the contrary we finde partly by the wordes of Caesar Dio Arist Eihic that this Island had her owne lawes concerning the diuision of groundes inheritances Iudges the distinctiō of properties that there were certaine courses of proceedings and that there were punishments for contempts and offences Dio Lib. 53 First Dio saith that 20. yeares after the comming hither of Caesar Britannia suis Legibus vsa est Britain vsed her owne Lawes and what these owne Lawes of Britaine were Caesar sheweth his wordes be these Druidae fere de omnibus controuersiis publicis priuatisque constituunt et si quod est admissum facinus si caedes facta si de Haereditate definibus controuersia est ijdem discernunt praemia praenasque constituunt si quisaut priuatus aut populus eorum decreto non stetit sacrificijs interdicunt The Druidae saith Caesar whose discipline he affirmeth to be foūd out and most perfect in Britaine doe iudge for the moste part of all publike and priuate controuersies If any offence or Homicide be committed or if the controuersie bee for bounds or inheritance they doe determine it appointing punnishments rewardes If any priuate man or corporation stand not to their decree they forbid them their sacrifices c. vnder the names of offences and Homicides he comprehendeth all criminall causes vnder controuersies of lands or inheritance are contained all ciuil actions by the words of controuersie iudgement determination and decree he sheweth that they had a certaine forme of proceeding by punishments and rewardes he sheweth that their sentence was compulsiue So this testimony proueth that they had a setled forme of iudgements in those three maine parts whereof Iustinian hath composed his whole worke I say De personis rebus et actionibus To touch a few particulars it must needes be inferred vpon Caesars words that they had a certaine forme of conueyance and course of inherit●●ce in their lands For else how could controuersies of inheritance and Lands arise to be decided in iudgement Now if any man consider well of our auncient forme of conueyance by Feoffment and Liuerie and the solemnitie thereof vsed not onely after but before the conquest Histor Ely he shall finde it to bee are like of the