3. Thirdly, As you must do justice speedily, so you must do justice sincerely. You must do justice out of love to justice, Isa. Ixi. 8. When the golden angels i appear to draAv you to pervert justice, you must say as Peter did to Simon Magus, ' Thy money perish with thee,' Acts viii. 20. Dent. xvi. 20, ' That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.' Or rather as the Hebrew hath it, pis, pliJ, tsedeJc, tsedeJc, justice, justice shalt thou follow, that is, pure justice shalt thou follow. The streams of justice should be always pure and clear, ' Justice, justice shalt thou follow,' that is, all manner of justice shalt thou follow, and nothing but justice shalt thou follow ; and thou shalt follow justice sincerely, exactly, carefully, and constantly: thou shalt be not seemingly just, but really just ; not hypocritically just, but entirely just ; not partially just, but universally just ; not just to some, but just to all ; not transiently just, but perpetually just ; not sometimes just, but always just; and so much the geminating of the word 'justice, justice,' imports. Prov. xxi. 15, ' It is joy to the just to do judgment.' This argues much sincerity and integrity in a man's spirit, when he doth not only do judgment, but joys to do judgment. It is a vanity to do justice slightly, lightly, wantonly; but it is an honour to do jus- tice from a principle of divine joy. He that joys to do judgment, he will do justice sincerely, he will do justice out of love to justice ; and indeed there are no judges, there are no justices to those that do jus- tice out of love to justice. Mazarinus complaineth of foreign judges, that they too much resembled the blood-stone, which hath a special property to stanch blood, but as jewellers observe, it puts not forth this virtue, unless it be let in or covered over with silver, and so ap- lied to the vein : but certainly these men were far from doing justice sincerely, from doing justice out of love to justice. Some judges and justices there have been, who, for the cleanliness of the conveyance, would, like mendicant friars, touch no money themselves, but have a boy or a clerk with a bag to receive it for them. Certainly these were as far from doing justice out of love to justice, as heaven is from hell, or as the Pope, the Turk, and the devil are from being real saints. Doubtless many magistrates, judges, and justices have found that * a gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous,* * = Monej'-bribes in coin so-called. — G.
THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY. 13
Exod. xxiii. 8. Golden dust liath put out more eyes than it hath done good to hearts. Oh, this golden wedge, this silver squinsie^ hath made many men silent and speechless in good causes ! Titus Vespa- sian was so delighted in doing of justice, that if a day had passed over his head wherein he had done no act of justice, he would cry out, ^ Amici, diem perdidi:' 0 my friends, I have lost a day. And so Epaminondas, a heathen, though he was very poor, and often tempted with great bribes and presents to be unjust, yet he refused and scorned all, and would commonly say, that if the cause were good, he would do it without a bribe, because it was good ; but if the cause was bad, he would not meddle with it for a world.^ These heathens will one day rise in judgment against all such corrupt judges and justices that will not do justice without a bribe. If this Treatise should fall into the hands of any such, I would then let them know that God will one day make good that dreadful word against them that you have in Job XV. 34, ' For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery ;' or as the Septuagint reads it. Of men that take gifts fire shall consume : or rather as the Hebrew hath it. Fire shall eat the tabernacles ; it shall feed on their tabernacles as greedily as a hungry man doth feed on his meat. Oh, the sump- tuous buildings and brave structures that have been built by the hands of bribery shall be set on fire by a hand of justice ! Prov. x. 2, 3, and iii. 33. If bribery brings in a thousand one year, divine justice will cast away two for it the next year. God will one day burn up on both hands all the comforts, and all the contentments, and all the enjoyments of corrupt magistrates, judges, and justices. I have read of a Polonian judge, that stood up very stoutly and resolutely a long time for a poor plaintiff against a rich defendant ; but at last he received from the defendant a great sum of money, stamped with the usual stamp of that country, which is a man in complete armour ; and at the next session in open court he adjudged the cause in the favour of the defendant : and being sharply blamed by his friends for it, he shewed them his large bribe, and demanded of them. Who could stand out against so many men in complete armour ? Ah, England, Eng- land ! it would be better with thee if this spirit did not still survive ; but alas, what good will all these men's men in armour do them in the great day of our Lord, when the thoughts of all such corrupt magis- trates, judges, and justices shall be exceedingly troubled, their coun- tenances changed, their hearts terrified, their consciences awakened, their souls amazed, and their knees dashed one against another ! Oh that all judges and justices would for ever make Isa. v. 23 their daily companion, ' Woe to them which justify the wicked for a reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him.' I have read of Sysamnes, a covetous, tenacious judge, who for filthy lucre pro- nounced a false sentence ; whereupon Cambyses, king of Persia, com- manded him to be killed and flayed, and his skin to be nailed over the tribunal : and then he commanded his son to sit as judge there, that so this sight might arm him against all injustice, and be a terror to all that succeeded him. If princes did but exercise such royal just-
^ Same as ' quinsy ' = a tumid inflammatioa in the throat, here used metaphorically.— G. * Plutarch, sub nomine, — G.
14 THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
tice upon all corrupt covetous judges and justices, justice would be had at a cheaper rate, and poor men would not be so often put to pawn their coats, nor rich men would not so often empty their purses nor mortgage their inheritances. But,