338 A PROPOSAL FOR AMENDING 



workman, than the reducing and recompiling of the 

 laws of England. 



Your majesty is a king blessed with posterity ; 

 and these kings sort best with acts of perpetuity, 

 when they do not leave them, instead of children ; 

 but transmit both line and merit to future genera 

 tions. You are a great master in justice and judi 

 cature, and it were pity that the fruit of that virtue 

 should die with you. Your majesty also reigneth 

 in learned times ; the more, in regard of your own 

 perfections and patronage of learning ; and it hath 

 been the mishap of works of this nature, that the 

 less learned time hath wrought upon the more 

 learned, which now will not be so. As for myself, 

 the law is my profession, to which I am a debtor. 

 Some little helps I may have of other learning, 

 which may give form to matter ; and your majesty 

 hath set me in an eminent place, whereby in a work, 

 which must be the work of many, I may the better 

 have coadjutors. Therefore, not to hold your ma 

 jesty with any long preface, in that which I conceive 

 to be nothing less than words, I will proceed to the 

 matter : which matter itself nevertheless requireth 

 somewhat briefly to be said, both of the dignity, 

 and likewise of the safety, and convenience of this 

 work : and then to go to the main : that is to say, 

 to shew how the work is to be done : which in- 

 cidently also will best demonstrate, that it is no 

 vast nor speculative thing, but real and feasible. 

 Callisthenes, that followed Alexander s court, and 

 was grown in some displeasure with him, because 



