permitted by St. Paul, who, when, for the scandal's sake, he forbade "going to law before unbelievers," and for the danger and temptation's sake, and the latent irregularity, which is certainly appendant to ordinary litigations, he is angry indefinitely with them that go to law; yet he adviseth that Christian arbitrators be appointed for decision of emergent questions. And therefore, when the supreme authority hath appointed and regularly established an arbitrator, the permission is the same. St. Paul is angry, that among Christians there should be suits, but it is therefore he is chiefly angry because Christians do wrong; they who should rather suffer wrong, yet that they should do it, and defraud their brother, which in some sense enforces suits; that is it he highly blames. But when injustice is done, and a man is in a considerable degree defrauded, then it is permitted to him to repeat his own before Christian arbitrators, whether chosen by private consent or public authority; for that circumstance makes no essential alteration in the question : but then this must be done with as much simplicity and unmingled design as is possible, without any desire of rendering evil to the person of the offender, without arts of heightening the charge, without prolongation, devices, and arts of vexation, without anger and animosities; and then, although accidentally there is some appendant charge to the offending person, that is not accounted upon the stock of revenge, because it was not designed, and is not desired, and is cared for to prevent it as much as may be, and therefore offer was made of private and unchargeable arbitrators; and this being refused, the charge and accidental evil, if it be less than the loss of my sufferance and injury, must be reckoned to the necessities of affairs, and put upon the stock of his injustice, and will not affix a guilt upon the actor. I say, this is true, when the actor hath used all means to accord it without charge, and, when he is refused, manages it with as little as he can, and when it is nothing of his desire, but something of his trouble, that he cannot have his own without the lesser accidental evil to the offender, and that the question is great and weighty in his proportion; then a

• 1 Cor. vi. 1, &c.

suit of law is of itself lawful. But then let it be remembered,
how many ways afterwards it may become unlawful; and I
have no more to add in this article but the saying of the son
of Sirach, “He that loves danger shall perish in it.” And
certainly he had need be an angel that manages a suit
innocently; and he that hath so excellent a spirit, as with
innocence to run through the infinite temptations of a law-
suit, in all probability hath so much holiness as to suffer the
injury, and so much prudence as to avoid the danger: and
therefore, nothing but a very great defalcation, or ruin of a
man's estate, will, from the beginning to the end, justify
such a controversy. When the man is put to it so, that he
cannot do some other duty without venturing in this, then
the grace of God is sufficient for him; but he that enters
lightly shall walk dangerously, and a thousand to one but he
will fall foully. "It is utterly a fault among you," said
St. Paul," because ye go to law one with another." It is
not always a crime, but ever a fault, and an irregularity,
a recession from Christian perfection, and an entertaining of
a danger, which though we escape through, yet it was a fault
to have entered into it, when we might have avoided it.
And even then when it is "lawful" for us, it is
not expe-
dient." For so the apostle sums up his reprehension con-
cerning Christians going to law: We must " rather take
wrong, rather suffer ourselves to be defrauded;" and when
we cannot bear the burden of the loss, then, indeed, we are
permitted to appeal to Christian judges; but then there are
so many cautions to be observed, that, it may be, the remedy
is worse than the disease. I only observe this one thing,
that St. Paul permits it only in the instance of defraudation,
or matter of interest; such as are defending of widows, and
orphans, and churches, which, in estimation of law, are, by
way of fiction, reckoned to be in pupilage and minority;
add also repeating our own interests, when our necessities,

Ρ “Ω Πέρση, σὺ δὲ ταῦτα τεῷ ἐνὶ κάτθεο θυμῷ,
Μὴ δὲ σ ̓ ἔρις κακόχαρτος ἀπ ̓ ἔργου θυμὸν ἐρύκοι
Νείκε ̓ ὀπιπτεύοντ ̓, ἀγορῆς ἐπακουὸν ἐόντα·
*Ωρη γὰρ τ ̓ ὁλίγη πέλεται νεικέων τ ̓ ἀγορῶν τε
Ωτινι μὴ βίος ἔνδον ἐπηετανὸς κατάκειται
Ωραῖος

9 1 Cor. vi. 7.

r Ver. 12.

Hesiod. "Εργ. καὶ ̔Ημερ. lib. i.
Ὅλως ἥττημα, not παράπτωμα.

s Ver. 7.

or the support of our family and relatives, requires it for all these are cases of charity or duty respectively. But besides the matter of defraudation, we find no instance expressed, nor any equality and parallel of reason, to permit Christians in any case to go to law; because, in other things, the sentence is but vindictive, and cannot repair us; and therefore demanding justice is a rendering evil in the proper matter of revenge. Concerning which I know no scruple but in an action of scandal and ill report. But because an innocent and an holy life will force light out of darkness, and humility, and patience, and waiting upon God, will bring glory out of shame; I suppose he who goes to law, to regain his credit, attempts the cure by incompetent remedies: if the accusation be public, the law will call him to an account, and then he is upon his defence, and must acquit himself with meekness and sincerity; but this allows not him to be the actor, for then it is rather a design of revenge than a proper deletery of his disgrace, and purgative of the calumny. For if the accusation can be proved, it was no calumny; if it be not proved, the person is not always innocent, and to have been accused leaves something foul in his reputation: and therefore, he that by law makes it more public, propagates his own disgrace, and sends his shame farther than his innocence, and the crime will go whither his absolution. shall not arrive.

10. If it be yet farther questioned, whether it be lawful to pray for a revenge, or a punishment upon the offender, (I reckon them all one; he that prays for punishment of him that did him personal injury cannot easily be supposed to separate the punishment from his own revenge,) I answer, that although God be the avenger of all our wrongs, yet it were fit for us to have the affections of brethren, not the designs and purposes of a judge, but leave them to him to whom they are proper. When, in the bitterness of soul, an oppressed person curses sadly, and prays for vengeance, the calamity of the man and the violence of his enemy hasten a curse, and ascertain it. But whatever excuses the greatness of the oppression may make, I know not; but the bitterness. of the spirit, besides that it is pitiable as it is a passion, yet it is violent and less Christian, as it is active and sends forth prayers. Woe is pronounced " to them by whom the

offence cometh;" yet we must "beware of offences," because by them we are engaged in a sin: and he that prays for a revenge hath a revengeful spirit, however it be restrained by laws and exterior tendernesses, from acting such dire purposes. And he that prays for revenge may indeed procure a justice to be done upon the injurious person; but oftentimes it happens then to fall on him when we least wish it, when we also have a conjunct interest in the other's preservation and escape: God so punishing the first wrong, that we also may smart for our uncharitable wishes. For the ground of all this discourse is, that it is part of Christian charity to forgive injuries : which forgiveness of the injury, although it may reasonably enough stand with my fair and innocent requiring of my own, which goes no farther than a fair repetition; yet in no case can it stand with the acting and desiring revenge, which also, in the formality of revenge, can have no pretence of charity, because it is ineffective to my restitution. This discourse concerns private persons; whether it concern the question of war, and how far, is not proper for this consideration.

1. BUT Christian charity hath its effect also in benefits as well as gentleness and innocence: "Give to him that asketh, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away. But when thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." These are the precepts of the Lord, for the substance and the manner of alms, for the quantity and freeness of the donative, and the simplicity of him that gives; to which add those other words of his, "Sell your possessions, and give alms." This precept, with its circumstances, was intended as a defensative against covetousness and prodigality, and a suppletory to make up the wants, and to make even the breaches of mankind: in which we shall best understand our obligation, if we consider in what proportion we must give alms, and to what persons, and in what manner.

Injuriam qui tulit, oblivisci potest; qui fecit, nunquam. a Matt. v. 42. vi. 3.

Tacit.

b Luke, xii. 33.

2. First: For the quantity, we shall best take an estimate of it, if we remember the portion which God allows to Christians" having food and raiment, let us be content with it" and our blessed Saviour, at the latter end of this sermon, stirs us up to confidence in God, and not to doubt our provisions, by telling that God "feeds the ravens, and clothes the lilies, and he will much rather do it to us," he will clothe us and feed us; no more is in the promise, no more is in our need and, therefore, whatsoever is, beside our needs, natural and personal, that is, proportioning our needs to the condition of our life, and exigence of our calling, and quality of our person, all that can be spared from what we modestly and temperately spend in our support, and the supply of our families, and other necessary incidents, all that is to be spent in charity or religion. He defrauds the poor of their right, who detains from them beyond his own necessary, prudent, and convenient supplies, saith St. Hierom: and this is intended to be a retrenchment of all vain expenses, costly feasts, rich clothes, pompous retinue, and such excrescences of expense which, of themselves, serve no end of piety or just policy, but, by wise and temperate persons, are esteemed unnecessary, and without which the dignity and just value of the person may still be retained. Whatsoever is vainly spent was the portion of the poor; whatsoever we lose in idle gaming, revelling, and wantonness of prodigality, was designed, by Christ, to refresh his own bowels, to fill the bellies of the poor; whatsoever lies in our repository useless and superfluous, all that is the poor man's inheritance: and certainly there is not any greater baseness than to suffer a man to perish, or be in extreme want of that which God gave me for him, and beyond my own needs. It is unthankfulness to God, it is unmercifulness to the poor, it is improvidence to ourselves f, it is unfaithfulness in the dispensation of the money of which God made him but the steward, and his chest the bank for

c 1 Tim. vi. 8.

Aliena rapere convincitur, qui ultra sibi necessaria retinere probatur. Gratian. Dist. 42.

e Cur eget indignus quisquam te divite? Hor. lib. ii. Sat. 2.

James, v. 2, 3.

f Callidus effractà nummos fur auferat arca:
Quas dederis, solas semper habebis opes. Martial,

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