Page:The Works of Francis Bacon (1884) Volume 1.djvu/463

 IIISTOKY or KIM; u I:RY VH. as the king taking a liking to liiin, -and funlin&amp;lt;_ r mill ID liis mind, preferred liim to the Bishopric ol Hereford, iind afterwards to that of Math and ells, and employed him in ninny of his alTairs it Hate that had relation to Koine, lie was a man of great learning, wisdom, and dexterity in Imsiness of state ; and having not long after as cended to the degree of cardinal, paid the king large tribute of his gratitude, in diligent and judi cious advertisement of the occurrents of Italy. Nevertheless, in the end of his time, he was par taker of the conspiracy which Cardinal Alphonso Petrucci and some other cardinals had plotted against the life of Pope Leo. And this offence, in itself so heinous, was yet in him aggravated by the motive thereof, which was not malice or discontent, but an aspiring mind to the papacy. And in this height of impiety there wanted not an intermixture of levity and folly; for that, as was generally believed, he was animated to expect the papacy by a fatal mockery, the prediction of a soothsayer, which was, &quot;That one should suc ceed Pope Leo whose name should be Adrian, an aged man of mean birth, and of great learning and wisdom.&quot; By which character and figure he took himself to be described, though it were fulfilled of Adrian the Fleming, son of a Dutch brewer, Cardinal of Tortosa, and preceptor unto Charles the Fifth; the same that, not changing his Christian name, was afterwards called Adrian the Sixth. But these things happened in the year follow ing, which was the fifth of this king. But in the end of the fourth year the king had called again his parliament, not, as it seemeth, for any particu lar occasion of state: but the former parliament being ended somewhat suddenly, in regard of the preparation for Britain, the king thought he had not remunerated his people sufficiently with good laws, which evermore was his retribution for treasure. And finding by the insurrection in the north there was discontentment abroad, in respect of the subsidy, he thought it good to give his sub jects yet further contentment and comfort in that kind. Certainly his times for good common wealth s laws did excel. So as he may justly be celebrated for the best lawgiver to this nation, after King Edward the First; for his laws, whoso marks them well, are deep, and not vulgar; not made upon the spur of a particular occasion for the present, but out of providence of the future, to make the estate of his people still more and more happy ; after the manner of the legislators in an cient and heroical times. First, therefore, he made a law suitable to his own acts and times: for as himself had in his person and marriage made a final concord in the great suit and title for the crown, so by this law he settled the like peace and quiet in the private possessions of the subjects: ordaining, &quot;That fines thenceforth should be final, to conclude all strangers rights;&quot; and that upon fiii- ! vi&amp;lt; &amp;lt;1 an&amp;lt;| solemnly proclaimed, the subject should have hi-* lime of watch for live years after li is title accrued, vs hich it he forepassed, his ri;_;ht sin nhl he hound forever after; with some exception nevf-rtlielos of minors, married women, and such incompetent persons. This statute did in effect but restore an ancient statute of the realm, which was itself also made but in affirmance of the common law. The alte ration had been by a statute, commonly called the statute of &quot; non-claim,&quot; made in the time of Ed ward the Third. And surely this law was a kind of prognostic of the good peace, which since his time hath, for the most part, continued in this kingdom until this day : for statutes of &quot; non- claim&quot; are fit for times of war, when men s heads are troubled that they cannot intend their estate; but statutes that quiet possessions are fittest for times of peace, to extinguish suits and contentions, which is one of the banes of peace. Another statute was made, of singular policy, for the population, apparently, and, if it be tho roughly considered, for the soldiery and military forces of the realm. Enclosures at that time began to be more fre quent, whereby arable land, which could not be manured without people and families, was turned into pasture, which was easily rid by a few herds men; and tenances for years, lives, and at will, whereupon much of the yeomanry lived, were turned into demesnes. This bred a decay of people, and, by consequence, a decay of towns, churches, tithes, and the like. The king like wise knew full well, and in nowise forgot, that there ensued withal upon this a decay and dimi nution of subsidies and taxes; for the more gentlemen, ever the lower books of subsidies. In remedying of this inconvenience the king s wisdom was admirable, and the parliament s at that time. Enclosures they would not forbid, for that had been to forbid the improvement of the patrimony of the kingdom: nor tillage they would not compel, for that was to strive with nature and utility : hut they took a course to take away de populating enclosures and depopulating pasturage, and yet not by that name, or by any imperious express prohibition, but by consequence. The ordinance was, &quot;That all houses of husbandry, that were used with twenty acres of ground and upwards, should be maintained and kept up for ever; together with a competent proportion of land to be used and occupied with them ;&quot; and in nowise to be severed from them, as by another statute, made afterwards in his successor s time, was more fully declared : this upon forfeiture to be taken, not by way of popular action, but by seizure of the land itself by the king and lords of the fee, as to half the profits, till the houses and lands were restored. By this means the houses being kept up, did of necessity enforce a