314 READING ON THE STATUTE OF USES. 



deration whereof moved me to take the occasion of per 

 forming this particular duty to the house, to see if I could, 

 by my travel, bring the exposition thereof to a more general 

 good of the commonwealth. 



Herein, though I could not be ignorant either of the dif 

 ficulty of the matter, which he that taketh in hand shall 

 soon find, or much less of my own unableness, which I had 

 continual sense and feeling of; yet, because I had more 

 means of absolution than the younger sort, and more lei 

 sure than the greater sort, I did think it not impossible to 

 work some profitable effect; the rather because where an 

 inferior wit is bent and constant upon one subject, he shall 

 many times, with patience and meditation, dissolve and 

 undo many of the knots, which a greater wit, distracted 

 with many matters, would rather cut in two than unknit : 

 and, at the least, if my invention or judgment be too barren 

 or too weak, yet, by the benefit of other arts, I did hope to 

 dispose or digest the authorities and opinions which are in 

 cases of uses in such order and method, as they should take 

 light one from another, though they took no light from me. 

 And like to the matter of my reading shall my manner be, 

 for my meaning is to revive and recontinue the ancient 

 form of reading, which you may see in Mr. Frowicke s 

 upon the prerogative, and all other readings of ancient 

 time, being of less ostentation, and more fruit than the 

 manner lately accustomed : for the use then was, substan 

 tially to expound the statutes by grounds and diversities; 

 as you shall find the readings still to run upon cases of like 

 law and contrary law ; whereof the one includes the learn 

 ing of a ground, the other the learning of a difference ; and 

 not to stir conceits and subtle doubts, or to contrive a multi 

 tude of tedious and intricate cases, whereof all, saving one, 

 are buried, and the greater part of that one case which is 

 taken, is commonly nothing to the matter in hand ; but my 

 labour shall be in the ancient course, to open the law upon 

 doubts, and not to open doubts upon the law. 



EXPOSITIO STATUTL 



The order of it. THE exposition of this statute consists upon matter without 



the statute, and matter within the statute. 



3 Rep. 7. Hey- There be three things concerning this statute, and all 

 don s case. other statutes, which are helps and inducements to the 

 right understanding of any statute, and yet are no part of 

 the statute itself. 



