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<DATE>2014-07-09</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140523.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<VID>186046</VID>
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<PB N="1" REF="1">
<HEAD>Lex Talionis, OR, A RECEIPT for the Relief of our Pre&s;ent Di&s;tempers.</HEAD>
<P>AS Epidemick di&s;ea&s;es, when Infection hath po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed the ayr, raigns powerfully over the bodies of Mortalls, &s;o &s;ometimes even their Souls &s;eem to be po&s;&s;e&s;t with an Univer&s;all fren&s;y, when the &s;pirits of the ayr hath infu&s;ed, as it were a &s;pirituall madne&s;s into their mindes, to make them not only believe a lye, (even from the mouths of the mo&s;t Infamous) but like the deprav'd appetites of the body, which longs for all things that are poy&s;onous to them&s;elves; &s;o they with as much earne&s;tne&s;s hunt after all things that may encrea&s;e their di&s;temper, and give more di&s;order to their under&s;tandings; This is one of the greate&s;t puni&s;hments that God u&s;es to revenge the greate&s;t &s;ins with, to give them up to the belief of lyes, and put a lye into the mouths of their Prophets, thus puni&s;hing &s;in with &s;in, makes them run round in a vicious Circulation, and Endle&s;s giddine&s;s of Errour; From thence proceeds all tho&s;e fears, tho&s;e jealou&s;ies, that thus di&s;turb our quiet, and repo&s;e under the go|vernment of the be&s;t of Princes, and be&s;t of Laws: From the&s;e &s;u&s;pitions proceed the want of commerce and dearth of trade: From the&s;e di&s;tractions, Envy and hatred among&s;t neighbours, Relations, and Kindred: From the&s;e fatall feuds fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es, Briberies and pen&s;ions for per|juries ari&s;e: I would it were in my power even with the mixture of my Bloud to make a Salve for the&s;e wounds, or give a Cordiall to the&s;e di&s;tempers &s;o raging at this time among&s;t us: I &s;hall now only pre&s;cribe the Ingredients as I have received them from a <HI>Recipe,</HI> under his hand, that cannot lye nor deceive us, and con&s;equently I hope the better antidote again&s;t lyes, which is one of our pre&s;ent Evils; I &s;hall not compound nor pre&s;cribe the mea&s;ure of them, but leave every one to take what Do&s;e he thinks his own di&s;temper requires: I &s;hall not paraphra&s;e upon their perfections, becau&s;e none who&s;e madne&s;s is not beyond cure, can doubt them, coming from &s;o perfect a principle; plainly therefore, and as I finde them, you &s;hall have them.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t and mo&s;t Excellent again&s;t the multiplicity of vain and fal&s;e Oaths, and the perni|tious fren&s;y of Perjury is, <HI>Thou &s;halt not take the name of thy Lord thy God in vain,</HI> and if not <HI>vain|ly,</HI> much le&s;s <HI>fal&s;ely.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;econd and mo&s;t particular remedy again&s;t the di&s;traction of detraction, is, <HI>Thou &s;halt not bear fal&s;e witne&s;s again&s;t thy Neighbour.</HI></P>
<P>The third is, to &s;hew us the danger of this di&s;temper, and the Remedy for it is, <HI>If a fal&s;e witne&s;&s;e ri&s;e up again&s;t any man, to te&s;tify again&s;t him what is not true, The Judges, &s;hall make great In|qui&s;ition between them, and if the witne&s;&s;e be found a fal&s;e-witne&s;&s;e, and hath te&s;tifyed fal&s;ely again&s;t his Brother, Then &s;hall he do to him as he thought to have done to his brother, &s;o &s;hall you put away the Evill from among&s;t you: and then eyes &s;hall not pitty him, but life &s;hall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot,</HI> as <HI>Deut. Chap.</HI> 19. <HI>ver.</HI> 16. <HI>Neither &s;halt thou make di&s;tinction of per&s;ons; but you &s;hall have one manner of law as well for &s;trangers as your own Countrey-men: Lev.</HI> Chap. 24. <HI>ver.</HI> 22.</P>
<P>This as you &s;ee being the law of God is followed by the Civil law, or <HI>Jus Gentium,</HI> and called <HI>Lex Talionis,</HI> as the mo&s;t equall and rationall law of mankinde. This did the mo&s;t wi&s;e of Princes &s;et down as a Maxim among&s;t his Proverbs: <HI>A fal&s;e witne&s;&s;e &s;hall not be unpuni&s;hed, and he
<PB N="2" REF="2">that &s;peaks lyes &s;hall not e&s;cape, Prov.</HI> Chap. 19. <HI>ver.</HI> 5. And this doth our mo&s;t equal and excel|lent Municipall laws of our Land intend, when it &s;ays, No Free-man &s;hall be convicted but by the te&s;timony of two &s;ufficient, hone&s;t and credible witne&s;&s;es; and their evidence (&s;o called from the compo&s;ition of <HI>E</HI> and <HI>Video,</HI> which is clear and &s;een) ought to be, as Judge <HI>Cock</HI> &s;ays, <HI>Luce clariores,</HI> clearer then the light it &s;elf: And for the greater Caution in this important af|fair, our Law hath ordained that twelve able and under&s;tanding men of the vi&s;enage or Neigh|bourhood, where the fact was &s;aid to be Committed, &s;hould upon their Con&s;cience enquire, as well into the hone&s;ty and Integrity of the per&s;on accu&s;ing, and the per&s;on accu&s;ed, as the clear and evident matter of fact before them.</P>
<P>Now if a common, cheat a pickpocket, a hor&s;e-&s;tealer, or they who&s;e Life hath been only conver&s;ant in cou&s;enings and fal&s;ityes, without any previous appearance of amendment, &s;hall cau&s;e an hone&s;t upright and ju&s;t per&s;on to all appearance, and without more probabilitys then his particular a&s;&s;everation, what per&s;on think you (without the prejudice of his Nation) could believe it; But if indeed to pick a pur&s;e, to &s;teal a hor&s;e, to cheat &s;ome young ofe of his money, were the de&s;igne; none more proper for that con&s;ult, then leud Indigent, and vitious per&s;ons; But to rai&s;e a War, to Subvert Governments, and introduce a Religion, to u&s;e for the principall contrivers of that, tho&s;e who can rai&s;e nothing but a Regiment of Lice, who&s;e credit would not go for a crackt groat, and who&s;e Religion is wor&s;e then hone&s;t Athei&s;m, is incredible; for among&s;t Barbarians there hath not perhaps been found, &s;o horrid an example of perjury and partiality as is countenanced among&s;t us; much le&s;s can rea&s;on and Con&s;cience look on it without a blu&s;h, and not &s;uffer it to be redre&s;&s;ed without a blemi&s;h to the Ju&s;tice of our Nation: Let us therefore have recour&s;e not only to our own rea&s;ons, but to the Law of God and Man, as well Natural as civill, and you will finde no &s;ecurity too great for inno|cency, no puni&s;hment too &s;evere for perjury.</P>
<P>This, Gentlemen is our &s;afety both as to Law and Con&s;cience; this is the &s;ecurity of our lives, liberties, and fortunes, again&s;t all ba&s;e, unworthy, and leud ill-livers, who as they have &s;old their Souls to vice and liberty, &s;o will they &s;ell our lives to maintain their Luxury: If therefore you will free your &s;elves, and others, from this dangerous Infection; imitate the pious prudence of the Prophet <HI>Daniel,</HI> where &s;eperating the two fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es, he in|trapped them in their one lye, and caught them in the &s;ame &s;nare their lu&s;t and mal|lice had laid for innocent blood, who&s;e words crying to Heaven, (much more would her blood, had it been &s;pilt,) &s;he &s;aid, <HI>Eternal God, which art the knower of all hidden things before they are come to pa&s;s, thou knowe&s;t they have born fal&s;e-witne&s;s again&s;t me, and lo I dye, whereas I have done none of tho&s;e things which tho&s;e Men have maliciou&s;ly forged again&s;t me, and the Lord heard her voice,</HI> and returning to judgement becau&s;e they had given fal&s;e Te&s;timony, they did with them as they would have done again&s;t their Innocent Neigh|bours, <HI>Dan.</HI> Chap. 13. This is the be&s;t and only way timely to &s;top this dangerous In|fection from &s;preading farther among&s;t us, and prevent tho&s;e ills that may over-take tho&s;e that think them&s;elves the &s;ecure&s;t of us.</P>
<P>So long live the King, and all that love him, and let the Enemies of our Lord the King be like the young Man <HI>Ab&s;olon,</HI> as <HI>Kings,</HI> Chap. 18. Ver. 32.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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