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<DATE>2008-02-07</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
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<P>A MOTION AGAINST Impri&s;onment, Wherein is proved that Impri&s;onment for debt is again&s;t the Go&s;pel, again&s;t the good of Church, and Common|wealth</P>
<BIBL>MATTHEVV 18. 29.</BIBL>
<Q>Have patience and I will pay thee all.</Q>
<P>By <HI>Thomas Grantham,</HI> Ma&s;ter in Arts; Curate of <HI>E&s;ton,</HI> neere <HI>Toce&s;ter</HI> in <HI>Northampton-&s;heire.</HI></P>
<P>PRINTED at London for <HI>Francis Coules</HI> 1642.</P>
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<HEAD>A Motion again&s;t Impri&s;on|ment.</HEAD>
<P>_AMong&s;t the great abu&s;es of this age, I have taken into Con&s;ideration, that cruell, and inhuman act of impri&s;on|ing men for debt: and my harty wi&s;h|es are: that this Tyrany may no long|er raigne, for the&s;e rea&s;ons.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t it is again&s;t the law of God <HI>Deu:</HI> 24. 12 if the man be poore thou &s;halt not &s;leepe with his pledge, in any ca&s;e thou &s;halt deliver him the pledg againe, when the &s;unne goeth downe, but impri&s;on|ment is a farr greater affliction, or torment, then keeping of a pledge, therfore if I ought not to doe the le&s;&s;er, I ought not to doe the greater, a man was bound by the l<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">w of God to lend his brother &s;uffi|cient for his need, although he was &s;ure to loo&s;e it Deut: 15. 7. 8. and in the 9 ver&s;e, It was &s;inn unto him, if he did it not then how great &s;inne &s;hall it be: to deprive his Brother of all wayes to live by im|pri&s;oning of him?</P>
<P>Then every &s;eaventh yeare was a yeare of rel<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">a&s;e a free forgivene&s;&s;e of all debts <HI>Deu.</HI> 15. 1. then every fifteth yeare was a Iubile, every mans po&s;&s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">n re|turned to him againe <HI>Leviticus</HI> 25. 10. Gods law was full of mercy to the very &s;trangers that dwelt a|mong&s;t them <HI>Deu:</HI> 24. 19. the lo&s;t &s;heafe was for the &s;tranger, Fatherle&s;&s;e and widdow, then ver&s;e the
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20. of that Chapter the Olive tree was to be beaten but once, &amp; the remnant to be left for the &s;tranger, Fatherle&s;&s;e and widdow, and in the next ver&s;e he was to do &s;o when he gathred the grapes of his vin|yard He that takes the nether mil&s;ton, takes a mans life to pledge <HI>Deut:</HI> 24. 6. but he that impri&s;ons a man takes not only the nether mil&s;tone, but the up|per, he takes away all cour&s;es of liveing for a man, hath no wayes to grind or labour for his living then he was not to take the widdows rayment to pledge much le&s;&s;e her body <HI>Deut:</HI> 24. 27. Gods law is full of mercy, <HI>Exodus</HI> 22. 25. 29 27. and <HI>Deut.</HI> 15. 13. 14 15. and many other places.</P>
<P>Then this Tyrany of impri&s;onment is again&s;t the Go&s;pell, our &s;aviour tels you <HI>Mat:</HI> 8. 32. how hee was v&s;ed that tooke his fellow &s;ervant by the throat and ca&s;t him into pri&s;on, and in this la&s;t ver&s;e he tells you his heavenly father will do &s;o to tho&s;e who will not forgive their debtors, the Apo&s;tle &s;aith <HI>Romans</HI> 13. 10. that love is the fulfilling of the law, and he gives there the rea&s;on becau&s;e it workes not ill to his neighbour, now how farr is that man from obey|ing Gods law that doth &s;o great a hurt to his neigh|bour as to impri&s;on him, Saint <HI>Iohn</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Iohn</HI> 1. 3. 17. how can the love of God dwell in that man who &s;hutts vp his bowels of compa&s;&s;ion from his needy Brother? but what &s;hall we &s;ay of that man who is not only farr from reliveing his brother, but impri&s;ons him and forces him to all neede and affli|ction, where hunger withers him, di&s;ea&s;es lick up his blood, and &s;warmes of care and trouble &s;ting him and torment him; Saint <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> &s;aith of the cove|teous
<PB N="5" REF="3">
rich man, <HI>e&s;t panis famelici quem tu <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">enes, quem nos parer<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">s, occidi&s;ti:</HI> and <HI>Cyprian</HI> &s;aith the like in his &s;ermon <HI>de Elemo&s;in<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">y</HI> if any man &s;tarve at thy dore, or by thy means that is for want of thy a&s;&s;i&s;tance thou &s;halt an&s;wer for it, &amp; the Digddi<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">n<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">es Theologi (as Bi&s;hop <HI>Davenant</HI> calls them in his book <HI>de pace eccle|&s;iae</HI>) the <HI>p<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">l<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">mi<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters">ll</HI> divines &s;ay, the altitude of a &s;inne is taken as it doth depart or is di&s;tant from Charity, the further a &s;inne is from Charity, the greater it is, and what greater uncharitablenes can there be then to lay a man in pri&s;on, where he is deprived of wife, Children, Freinds, Trade, profe&s;&s;ion, where he is deprived of all manner of helpe or comfort.</P>
<P>Then it is again&s;t the good of Church and com|mon-wealth, one man may be worth ten Thou|&s;and men, as the people &s;aid to <HI>David 2&punc; Samuel</HI> 18. 3. &s;uch an one as <HI>Io&s;eph</HI> may be a Steward for a King|dome, as <HI>Eliah</HI> who&s;e fiery &s;pirit, con&s;umes the fal&s;e prophets, why &s;hould that fiery&punc; &s;pirit be &s;mothered and buried in a Cave. God him&s;elfe calls him out twice 1. <HI>Kings</HI> 19. 10. 14. what do&s;t thou heare <HI>Eliah?</HI> what &s;hould <HI>Iohn Bapti&s;t</HI> to whom all <HI>Iudea</HI> came out and they of <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> doe in a pri&s;on? what &s;hould <HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">chaiah</HI> do in a pri&s;on who oppo&s;es all the fal&s; Pro|phets? <HI>Paule</HI> &s;pake many languages, was effectuall in his preaching, he could make <HI>Felix</HI> tremble and <HI>A|grippa</HI> become halfe a Chri&s;tian, but this man could beget but one <HI>One&s;imus</HI> in his bonds, <HI>Philemon</HI> 10. whereas it he had beene at liberty, he might have begot Thou&s;ands as <HI>Peter</HI> did at one &s;ermon.</P>
<P>Then it is again&s;t the good of a private family for how are the members greived, if the head ake.</P>
<P><PB N="6" REF="4">It is again&s;t the nature of man to be impri&s;oned his &s;oule is <HI>actus Corporis,</HI> his mind is continually in action all wayes thinking of &s;omthing never idle, his thoughts run &s;wifter then the &s;un in a &s;uperior or be ready to overtake Eternity, &s;ome tran&s;lations reade that 5. ver&s;e in 8. <HI>P&s;alme</HI> thou ha&s;t made him little lower then God, not little lower then the Angels, but little lower then God, and <HI>E&s;tius</HI> main|taines this tran&s;lation in his &s;econd booke of his &s;en|tences, the fir&s;t di&s;tinction, the ver&s;es following (&s;aith hee) proue this tran&s;lation, thou ha&s;t made him to have dominion of the workes of thy hands, thou ha&s;t put all thinges in &s;ubiection under his feet the fowles of the Aire, Fi&s;hes of the Sea, for that he is &s;aith <HI>E&s;tius Microtheos</HI> a divine God, a little God, I have &s;aid ye are Gods <HI>P&s;alme.</HI> 82. 6&punc; and although man be not the highe&s;t God, yet he is the Image of the highe&s;t God and will any man fetter him that carries &s;uch an Image livery.</P>
<P>In &s;om ca&s;es the &s;cripture doth approve a Pri&s;on as for bla&s;phemy <HI>Leviticus</HI> 24. 12 for Sabath break|ing <HI>Numbers</HI> 15. 14. for Davids Concubines that were defiled by <HI>Ab&s;olom 2. Samuel</HI> 20. 3. and &s;o we grant it for a &s;editious man for, a man that will make away him &s;elfe, for a quarrellar, a prodigall, a Rover but for debt altogether unlawfull.</P>
<P>A good action produces a good effect. <HI>Aquinas in prima &s;ecundae que&s;tione 18. Articulo 1. in corpore.</HI> but this hath an ill effect as the &s;tarving, pining, griving of his Neighbour.</P>
<P>And as in nature &s;aith he what&s;oever is deficient in generation is a fault, &s;o in morality what&s;oever cau&s;es thy Neighbour to be deficient is a fault.</P>
<P><PB N="7" REF="4"><HI>Aquinas</HI> in his Secund: <HI>Secunda que&s;tione <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters">. Articulo</HI> 3. &s;aith every impri&s;onment mu&s;t be in <HI>Pe|namuel</HI> in <HI>Cantelum,</HI> either for puni&s;hment or to make a man an example. Now for a man to &s;ay he will puni&s;h his debt or becau&s;e he is not able to pay him and that he will make dice of his bones, is not Chris|tianity.</P>
<P>Then it cannot be for a warning, or to make a man an example to others fro~ runing into debt, for what trad&s;man will &s;ay I will make this man an example for running into debt, I will make men take heed how they runn into my debt, that man would have little cu&s;tom that &s;hould &s;ay thus, they rather pro|te&s;t they never arre&s;ted man, they will not doe a Gentleman that wrong, and thus they flatter men into their debts, if any man &s;hall &s;ay I neither arre&s;t him to puni&s;h him, nor to make him an example, but for my money I confe&s;&s;e thats allowed of, if he have money to pay, but if he have it not, tis Diaboli|call, for divines doe hold that what&s;oever is a mans owne is his neighbours in ca&s;e of nece&s;&s;itie, <HI>quo az proprietatem</HI> thine, <HI>quo ad u&s;um</HI> thy Neighbours, if he want it tis his as well as thine, but he that impri&s;ons in&s;tead of releife adds affliction.</P>
<P>Who can but greive to &s;ee a mans cattle looke leane like Pharoahs leane Kine, his Carts drive heavily like Pharoahs troopes, follow fa&s;t after him, and he ready to be drowned in a Sea of mi&s;ery.</P>
<P>And if the voyce of Neighbours, a mi&s;erable and beggarly living, the want of meanes to put forth his children, proclaime a man in&s;uffitiant I &s;ay and have proved, it is &s;uper-Diabolicall to impri&s;on this man.</P>
<P><PB N="8" REF="5">But will &s;ome reply you di&s;pute again&s;t the law, the law allowes impri&s;onment.</P>
<P>I an&s;wer the law &s;uppo&s;es a man is able to pay and upon that ground does admit an impri&s;on|ment, but when a man is not able and hath neither able, nor willing freinds, he ought not to be impri|&s;oned, for <HI>Ra<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">io &s;tanima legis</HI> &s;aith Sir <HI>Francis Bacon</HI> rea&s;on is the &s;oule of the law, and there is no rea&s;on, to impri&s;on a man becau&s;e he payed not when he is unable.</P>
<P>Then rea&s;on tells us <HI>bona Corporis</HI> are better then <HI>bona fortunae,</HI> a mans body is of more value then his e&s;tate, and why &s;hould the better &s;uffer for the wor&s;e, there is no Corri&s;pondency.</P>
<P>I conclude all with this. Chri&s;t bids &s;ome goe into everla&s;ting torments becau&s;e they did not feed him, when he was hungry, nor vi&s;it him in pri&s;on, and if this be the doome of tho&s;e that would not give releife, what &s;hall be the doome of tho&s;e that have beene the cau&s;e of their brothers hungring, and &s;tarveing, and if he &s;hall beca&s;t into everla&s;ting torments, who did not vi&s;it, &s;urely his torments &s;hall be great, who was the cau&s;e of ca&s;ting men in|to pri&s;on.</P>
<P>And thus will I end this little treati&s;e, which be|cau&s;e of my great occa&s;ions, I have writ <HI>Currente ca|lamo,</HI> for he that knowes me, knowes, it was as much for me to &s;pare this little time, as it was for the Wid|dow of <HI>Zar<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">pta,</HI> to &s;pare <HI>Elias</HI> a Cake out of her little barrell of oyle 1. <HI>Kinges</HI> 17. 12. but rather then <HI>Elias</HI> &s;hould want, I have ca&s;t in this little mite.</P>
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