

ESSslYS CIVIL AND MORAL. 87 



hear, or of shortness of memory, or of want of a stayed and equal 

 attention. It is a strange thing to sec, that the boldness of advocates 

 should prevail with judges ; whereas they should imitate God, in 

 whose scat they sit: who &quot; rcprcsscth the presumptuous, and givcth 

 grace to the modest.&quot; I5ut it is more strange that judges should have 

 noted favourites ; which cannot but cause multiplication of fees and 

 suspicion of bye-ways. There is due from the judge to the advocate 

 some commendation and gracing where causes are well handled, and 

 fairly pleaded ; especially towards the side which obtaineth not : for that 

 upholds in the client the reputation of his counsel, and beats down in 

 him the conceit of his cause. There is likewise due to the public a 

 civil reprehension of advocates, where there appcareth cunning 

 counsel, gross neglect, slight information, indiscreet pressing, or an 

 over-bold defence. And let not the counsel at the bar chop with the 

 judge, nor wind himself into handling of the cause anew, after the 

 judge hath declared his sentence : but on the other side, let not the 

 judge meet the cause halfway; nor give occasion to the party to say, 

 his counsel or proofs were not heard. 



Thirdly, for that that concerns clerks and ministers. The place of 

 justice is an hallowed place ; and therefore not only the bench, but 

 the footpace, and precincts, and purprise thereof, ought to be pre 

 served without scandal and corruption. For certainly &quot;grapes,&quot; as 

 the Scripture saith, &quot;will not be gathered of thorns or thistles:&quot; 

 neither can justice yield her fruit with sweetness, amongst the briars 

 and brambles of catching and polling clerks and ministers. The 

 attendance of courts is subject to four bad instalments. First, certain 

 peisons that are sowers of suits; which make the court swell, and the 

 country pine. The second sort is of those that engage courts in 

 quarrels of jurisdiction, and arc not truly atnici curia&quot;, but parasitiir 

 curitc t \\\ puffing a court up beyond her bounds, for their own scraps and 

 advantage. The third sort is of those that may be accounted the left 

 hands of courts; persons that are full of nimble and sinister tricks and 

 shifts, whereby they pervert the plain and direct courses of courts, and 

 bring justice into oblique lines and labyrinths. And the fourth is, the 

 pollcr andcxacler of fees; which justifies the common resemblance of the 

 courts of justice to the bush, whcreunto while the sheep flies for defence 

 in weather, he is sure to lose part of his fleece. On the other side, an 

 ancient clerk, skilful in precedents, wary in proceeding, and under 

 standing in the business of the court, is an excellent finger of a court, 

 and cloth many times point the way to the judge himself. 



Fourthly, for that which may concern the sovereign and estate. 

 Judges ought above all to remember the conclusion of the Roman 

 twelve tables; &quot; salus populi suprema lex;&quot; and to know that laws, 

 except they be in order to that end, are but things captious, and 

 oracles not well inspired. Therefore it is an happy thing in a state 

 when kings and states do often consult with judges ; and again, when 

 judges do often consult with the king and state ; the one, when there 

 is matter of law intervenient in business of state; the other, when 

 there is some consideration of state intervenient in matters of law. 



