WARDS AND TENURES. 27 



be to attend his majesty s times at his good plea 

 sure. And this they do with the more comfort, 

 because that in his majesty s answer, matching the 

 times, and weighing the passages thereof, they con 

 ceive, in their opinion, rather hope than discourage 

 ment. 



But the principal causes of the conference now 

 prayed, besides these significations of duty not to be 

 omitted, are two propositions. The one, matter of 

 excuse of themselves ; the other, matter of petition. 

 The former of which grows thus. Your lordship, 

 my lord Treasurer, in your last declaration of his 

 majesty s answer, which, according to the attribute 

 then given unto it by a great counsellor, had &quot; ima- 

 ginem Cassaris&quot; fair and lively graven, made this 

 true and effectual distribution, that there depended 

 upon tenures, considerations of honour, of consci 

 ence, and of utility. Of these three, utility, as his 

 majesty set it by for the present, out of the great 

 ness of his mind, so we set it by, out of the justness 

 of our desires : for we never meant but a goodly and 

 worthy augmentation of the profit now received, and 

 not a diminution. But, to speak truly, that consi 

 deration falleth naturally to be examined when 

 liberty of treaty is granted : but the former two in 

 deed may exclude treaty, and cut it off before it be 

 admitted. 



Nevertheless, in this that we shall say concern 

 ing those two, we desire to be conceived rightly : 

 we mean not to dispute with his majesty what be- 

 longeth to sovereign honour or his princely con. 



