thy iudgement, to thinke therupon, as thy wisedome shall lead thee.

Marginalia(D)
An other false report of sir Iohn Oldcastle that he intēded to kill all maner of estates in the realme.(D) It foloweth more in the foresayd preface: And to destroy all other maner of estates, of the same Realme of England, as well spirituall as temporall. &c. By the course of this preamble it appeareth, that the sayd sir Iohn Oldcastle was a wōderfull cruell tyraunt and murderour, who beyng not yet satisfied with the bloud of the king, nor of the two Dukes his brethren, would also make hauoke and swepestake, of all maner of estates in the Realme of England. What, and leaue no maner of estate aliue? No, neither Lord spirituall nor temporall, but altogether should be destroyed. And what had all these estates done, thus so miserably to be destroyed? Although percase the moode of this mā might haue been incensed and kindled agaynst the king, and the Lordes spirituall, by whom he had bene cōdemned, as is aforesayd: yet why should all other maner of other estates both spirituall and temporall be killed? If none of all the estates in Englād, neither Duke, Earle, Baron, Lord, Knight or other gentleman had bene his frend, but all his enemies, how then is it like, that he hauyng all the estates, peres, nobles, and gentlemen of the Realme agaynst hym, and none to stand with him, either could or durst attempt any commotion agaynst the whole power of the land, he beyng but one gentleman onely with sir Roger Acton, and maister Browne left alone? At least, good reasō yet would, that those hundreth Knightes should haue bene spared out of this bloudy slaughter, whom he offered to produce vnto the kyng before, for his purgation, pag. 538. And finally, if this was his purpose that all these estates both spirituall and temporall should haue bene cut down, what needed then that he should haue made himselfe a Regēt, when he might as well haue made himselfe a kyng, or what els he would, beyng left then Prince alone?

Marginalia(E)(E) The preamble as it began with vntruth, and continued in the same figure, heapyng one vntruth vpon an other: so now endeth with an other misreport as vntrue as the rest, shewing and declaryng, the intent of sir Iohn Oldcastle was also to destroy all maner of policie, and finally the lawes of the land. &c. MarginaliaAn hard matter to destroy all policie and lawes of a land.We read of William Conquerer, otherwise named William Bastard: Who beyng a puisaūt Duke in his countrey, when that the crown of Englād was alotted to him, and he commyng ouer with all his peres, nobles and barons of his whole land, into this Realme, and had with great difficultie obteined victorie agaynst kyng Harold: yet to alter and destroy the policie and the lawes of the land, it passed his power. In somuch that it had not bene permitted vnto him to haue proceded so farre as he did, vnles he had first sworne to the nobles of this land, to retaine still the lawes of king Edward, as he founde them. And albeit he afterward forsware himselfe, breakyng his othe in alteryng & chaungyng many of the foresayd lawes, yet wild he, nyld he, could not so destroy them all (for the whiche much warre and great commotions endured long after in the Realme) but that he was constrayned and also cōtented to allow and admit a great part of the sayd lawes of kyng Edward. pag. 173. And if he beyng kyng and Conquerour with all his strength of Normandes and Englishemen about him, was to weake and insufficient to destroy all maner of policie, and lawes of this land, which he had conquered: how much lesse then is it to be supposed, that Syr Iohn Oldcastle beyng but a priuate subiect, and a poore Knight, and a condemned prisoner, destitute and forsaken of all Lordes, Earles, & Barons, who to saue his owne lyfe had more to do, thē he could well compasse, would either take in hand, or conceaue in his head any such exployet, after the subuersion of Christen fayth, and law of God, after the slaughter of the king, and of all maner of estates, as well spirituall as tēporall, in the Realme of England, after the desolation of holy Church, to destroy also all maner of policie, and finally the lawes of the land? Which monstruous and incredible figment how true it may seeme to M. Cope, or to some other late Chroniclers of the like credulitie, I cannot tell: Certaine to me, and as I thinke to all indifferent readers it appeareth as true, as is the Verse of the Satyre, wherewith it may well be compared.

Nil intra est oleam, nil extra est in nuce duri

MarginaliaObiection,But here will be sayd agayne perhaps, that the matter of such preambles and prefaces beyng but pursuantes of statutes, and containyng but wordes of course, to aggreuate, and to geue a shew of a thyng, which they would to seeme more odible to the people, is not so precisely to be scande or so exquisitelye to be stand vpon, as for the grounde of a necessary case of trouth.

MarginaliaAunswere.This is it (M. Cope) that I sayd before, ans now do well graunt & admit the same, that such preambles or forefaces lyned with a non sequitur, containyng in them matter but of surmise, and wordes of course (and rather monsters out of course) and many tymes rising vpon false information, are not alwayes in themselues materiall, or necessary probations in all poyntes to be followed: as appeareth both by this statute, MarginaliaEx originali statut an. 2. Henr. 4. cap. 15.and also by the statute of this kyngs father, an. 2. Henr. 4. chap. 15. begynnyng Excellentissimo. &c And yet notwithstandyng out of these same preambles, and forefrontes of statutes, and other inditemētes, which commōly rising vpon matter of informatiō, runne onely vpon words of course of office, and not vpon simple truth, MarginaliaThe reason & cause, how chroniclers oft times be deceiued.a great part of our Chroniclers do often take their matter, which they insert into their storyes, hauyng no respect or examination of circumstaunces to be compared, but onely followyng bare rumours, or els such words as they see in such fablyng prefaces, or inditementes expressed. Whereby it commeth so to passe, that the younger Chronicler folowyng the elder, as the blind leading the blynd, both together fall into the pyt of errour. MarginaliaAlanus Copus deceiued by his chroniclersAnd you also (maister Cope) folowyng the steppes of the same, do seeme likewise to erre together with them, for good felowshyp. And thus cōcerning the face of this statute hetherto sufficiently.

Now let vs consider and discusse in like maner, first the coherence, then the particular contentes of the sayd statute. As touchyng the which coherence, if it be well examined, a man shall finde almost a Chimera of it. In which neither the head accordeth with the body, nor yet the braunches of the statute well agree with thēselues. Wherein he that was the drawer, or first informer therof, seemeth to haue forgot his Verse and art Poeticall.MarginaliaHorat. de Art. Poet.

Atque ita mentitur, sic veris falsa remiscet
Primum ne medio, medium ne discrepet imo.  

Latin/Greek Translations     Close

Citation from Horace, Ars Poetica 1.151

Foxe text Latin

Atque ita mentitur ... discrepet imo.

Translation

John Wade, University of Sheffield

And he so makes things up, and so mixes falsehoods with truths, that the beginning is not at variance with the middle, nor the middle with the end.

For where as the preface of the statute standeth onely vpon matter of treason, conceiued by false suggestion and wrong information. The body of the sayd statute whiche should follow vpon the same, runneth onely vpon matter of heresie, pertaining to the Ordinaries, as by euery braunch thereof may appeare.

Marginalia(F)
The body of the statute an. 2. Reg. Hen. 5. cap. 7. examined.(F) For first where he saith, at the instaunce and request of the ordinaries or their commissaries. &c. Hereby it appeareth, this to be no cause of treason, nor felony. For that euery man of duety is bounde, and by the lawes of the Realme may arrest & apprehend a traytour, or a felō, if he can: where otherwise by this statute an officer is not bounde to arrest him which offendeth in case of this statute, without request made by the ordinaries or their commissaries, and therfore this offence seemeth neither to be treason, nor felony.

Marginalia(G)(G) Secondly, where it foloweth that the same ordinaries and commissaries do pay for their costes &c. This allowaunce of the officers charges in this sorte, proueth this offence neither treason nor felonie.

Marginalia(H)(H) Thirdly, where the statute willeth the kyng to be aūswered of the yeare, day, & wast. &c. By this also is proued the offence not to be treason. Or els in cases of treason, the whole inheritaūce (I trow, maister Cope, speakyng as no great skilfull lawyer) is forfait to the prince.

Marginalia(I)(I) The fourth argument I take out of these wordes of the statute, where as such landes and tenements which be holden of the ordinaries, are willed wholy to remaine to the kyng as forfait. &c. Wherby it is manifest, that the Prelates (for their matter of Lollardrie onely) were the occasioners and procurers of this statute: & therefore were barred of the benefite of any forfet arrising therby, as good reason was, they should. And thus it is notorious, that the preface runnyng specially and principally vpon treason, and the statute runnyng altogether vpon pointes of heresie, do not well cohere nor ioyne together.

Marginalia(K)(K) Fiftly, In that such persons indited, shalbe deliuered vnto the Ordinaries of the places. &c. It can not be denied, but that this offence concerneth no maner of treason. For somuch as Ordinaries can not be iudges in cases of treason, or felonie, by the lawes of our Realme, Bracton, in fine. 1. Libri.

Marginalia(L)(L) Sixtly, by the inditementes prouided not to be taken in euidence, but onely for informatiō, before the Iudges spirituall. &c. it is likewise to be noted: to what end these inditementes were taken, to witte, onely to informe the ordinaries, which can not be in cases of treason.

Marginalia(M)(M) Lastly, where it foloweth toward the end of the statute, touchyng escape or breakyng of prison. &c. by this it may lightly be smelt, whereto all the purpose of this statute driueth, that is, to the speciall escape of the L. Cobham out of þ^e tower, to this end to haue his landes & possessions forfait vnto the king. MarginaliaIustice Stāford of the pleas of the crowne. lib. 2. cap. 33.And yet the same escape of the Lord Cobham in this statute considered, is taken by Maister Iustice Stanford in Lib. primo of the plees of the crowne.