OF THE UNION OF LAWS. 77 



Provence, Dauphiny, are countries governed by the 

 letter, or text of the civil law : but the Isle of France, 

 Tourain, Berry, Anjou, and the rest, and most of all 

 Britainy and Normandy are governed by customs, 

 which amount to a municipal law, and use the civil 

 law but only for grounds, and to decide new and 

 rare cases ; and yet nevertheless naturalization pas- 

 seth through all. 



Secondly, That this union of laws should precede 

 the naturalization, or that it should go on &quot; pari 

 &quot; passu,&quot; hand in hand, I suppose likewise, can 

 hardly be maintained : but the contrary, that natura 

 lization ought to precede, and that not in the pre 

 cedence of an instant ; but in distance of time : 

 of which my opinion, as I could yield many reasons, 

 so because all this is but a digression, and therefore 

 ought to be short, I will hold myself now only to one, 

 which is briefly and plainly this ; that the union of 

 laws will ask a great time to be perfected, both for 

 the compiling and for the passing of them. During 

 all which time, if this mark of strangers should 

 be denied to be taken away, I fear it may induce 

 such a habit of strangeness, as will rather be an im 

 pediment than a preparation to farther proceeding : 

 for he was a wise man that said, &quot; Opportuni magnis 

 &quot; conatibus transitus rerum,&quot; and in these cases, &quot; non 

 &quot; progredi, est regredi.&quot; And like as in a pair of 

 tables, you must put out the former writing before 

 you can put in new ; and again, that which you 

 write in, you write letter by letter ; but that which 

 you put out, you put out at once : so we have now 



