Usury Stated Overthrown, Treatise · Part 2 · Section 40 – Section 44
NUM. XL.
Anſw. 5. But this is not all that I have to ſay, to make Uſury infamous: for this is alſo yet behind to be ſpoken, That if the Champion ſhall think that though Uſury hath been ſo infamous in the days of Caeſar, and of old Writers, yet it is not ſo now in our time, wherein Uſury is ſo common; I, and thouſands more, can tell him, that it is as infamous now alſo among us; for one ſhall hear both Miniſters, that lend their Money upon Uſury, and other rich men, though they look never ſo big, called Uſurers by way of diſgrace.
1. Miniſters: For what do the People ſay, when a man diſcourſes with them about Uſury? Such a Miniſter, ſaith one, is an able man, and preacheth well; but he is an USURER, for I know where he hath out ſo much in ſuch a mans hands, who payeth him uſe for it; and ſuch a Miniſter has lent ſo much, it may be Forty, or Fifty, or a Hundred Pounds, to ſuch a Tradeſman, and ſuch a back-handed man, who payeth him Uſury for it, who can hardly pay it, ſaith another. And ſuch a Miniſter, ſaith a third, is an Uſurer; for I had Hundreds of him, and paid him Uſe for it; (This I have heard with mine Ears confeſſed.) I muſt confeſs that he abated me ſomewhat, he addeth: But yet, for the Courteſie ſhewn him therein, he calleth him Uſurer: And ſo they do all call ſuch Lenders of Money Uſurers, that is the nick-name they give them, though ſome take no more but ordinary Uſury, or ſomewhat leſs.
2. The like is ſaid of other rich men in common talk, if they be Lenders of Money upon Uſury, Such a one is an Uſurer too, though he takes Uſe but after the ordinary rate and ſtint, yea, even thoſe that take much leſs: for I am told of one, by a Friend who borrowed Money of him, that he took but Three in the Hundred for Hundreds, and yet is called an Uſurer for all that, becauſe he lendeth upon Uſury; that is a nick-name, the diſgraceful ſtile and reproachful nuncupation, which is put upon every Lender upon diſgraceful Uſury; even as in old time alſo thoſe were called Uſurers who took but Five in the Hundred for the Loan of their Money, or much leſs; for ſome had but Four in the Hundred, which was called led Uſurae trientaria, that which an Emperour of Rome practiſed; as Six in the Hundred was called Semiſſalis Ʋſura, and Eight in the Hundred, Uſur… ex Beſſe: All which kinds by godly Divines are held to be improbous and unlawful, and condemned by (a)Has ſpecies omnes judicamus improbas …ure divino & humano damn…tas. Aret. de Uſuris, p 625.Divine and Humane Right, and ſo are juſtly called Uſurers, by God's own Word condemned Uſurers, as here by my Citations it appeareth: And how Uſurers will help it, that they may not be called ſo, by ſuch an infamous and reproachful Name, I ſee not, unleſs they will repent, reſtore if they be able, and leave off this Uſury, as Nehemiah prayeth them to do; (b)N…hem. 5.10.I pray you let us leave off this Uſury.
My ſixth Anſwer is, That whereas he makes me a Carrier and Bookſeller, to be avenged on me, ſaying, (after other Paſſages) Unleſs upon the like grounds we ſhall call Mr. Jelinger a CARRIER or BOOKSELLER, becauſe he carrieth his Books from County to County, from Town to Town, and from one Gentleman to another, to get vent for them; I cannot but, 1. break out into this Exclamation; O ſpite! O bitterneſs! O ſpleen! which is and lodges in this Man's Breaſt, for no hurt or harm that ever I have done to him, unleſs he count this to be a great injury done to him, that I have publiſhed my late Book called The Uſurer caſt, becauſe he lends upon Uſury; for which thing I not once named him, as here he names me by a reproachful Name, to diſgrace me, if he could: The Lord forgive him; ſo I prayed when I wrote this.
2. I anſwer, That he wrongs me grievouſly; for the truth of the matter is this: I went indeed into a neighbouring County, and there beſtowed Four Books upon my choiceſt Friends, which were Perſons of Honour, and great Quality, but ſold none. To London alſo I went▪ where I printed ſome of my Labours, and took a courſe for printing more, and preſented my Books, which I had dedicated to that Illuſtrious Prince, and to another Eminent Perſon more, to which The Uſurer caſt is dedicated, but (c)Though I was much follicited to ſe…d ſome of my B…eks, by a Stationer, upon that account.ſold none. And in this County of Devon I gave Six or Seven to ſome certain Gentlemen and Ladies, to whom I was much obliged, and had formerly dedicated the fruits of my Miniſtry, but ſold none in any Fair or Market, (as it is ſlanderouſly reported by him, and ſome other Uſurers, who would gladly caſt an Odium and Aſperſion upon me, for writing againſt their DIANA:) for there was no need, becauſe I was ſent unto from Towns, and by ſundry Perſons, to ſend Books for them, and to them, which I can prove ſufficiently: Only this I add, That to ſome in that City, unto whom I had dedicated my Labours, I gave (not ſold) ſome of the ſaid Books, as others of my Brethren that print Books do likewiſe: and muſt I only be called a Carrier, above all others?
NUM. XLI.
Anſw. 7. And whereas the Champion brings in ſome noted Authors in the cloſe of his Reply, ſaying, It's not ſo infamous a thing, that a Man may be aſhamed to own it, ſeeing ſo Reverend Divines as Mr. Baxter, Hughes, Perkins, and Calvin, have not been aſhamed to plead the Lawfulneſs thereof; I ſhall now, in the laſt place, anſwer his naming of theſe great Names. And,
1. In general, That neither of theſe godly Men, nor any other, did ever plead for that Uſury which my Friends and I plead againſt, viz. Uſury properly ſo called, and by the Word of God condemned.
2. That I will here ſet down the Words of famous Dr. Slater: (a)Dr. Slater upon Rom. 13.May not this Sin wind it ſelf into their Affections, and from thence into their Intellect, till it have caten out all ſoundneſs of judging and diſcerning between Good and Evil? Uſury being a Trade ſo eaſie, ſo gainful, ſo pleaſing; this advantage the Devil hath got by it, that it being ſo eaſie, it is eaſily believed what theſe Divines ſay for it. Thus that Learned Doctor: with whom I will joyn (b)B. Downam on Pſ. 15.5.Biſhop Downam, who having alledged Dr. Luther upon Pſal. 15.5. ſaying, That that Verſe againſt Uſury had no need of expounding, but fulfilling and pr… ctiſing, makes this application of his Words; If Luther were living in theſe our Times, and underſtood, beſides the common practice of Uſury openly, and the cunning Shifts whereby it's cloaked, the open DEFENCE alſo thereof undertaken, not only by Ʋſurers themſelves, but alſo by divers DIVINES, &c. who have either ſpoken or written more wittily than truly in favour of Ʋſury, aſſuredly he would confeſs, that there is ſcarcely any one Moral Point which needs more fully to be expounded, and more exquiſitely to be diſcuſſed; which makes me ſo to enlarge my ſelf upon it.
3. That I, for my part, if I might win the World by it, would not defend it, much leſs practice it, conſidering, 1. How dangerous a thing it is for a man to make himſelf a partaker of other mens ſins, contrary to 1 Tim. 5.22. And, 2. How a whole (a)Concil, Viennenſe.Council has condemned all for Hereticks who hold it lawful, even as the Proteſtant Univerſity of Wittenberg doth likewiſe.
NUM. XLII.
Secondly, and more particularly, I will now deliver my mind about his Authors. And,
1. Concerning Reverend and Renowned Mr. Baxter, That I ſhall freely and willingly ſubſcribe to his Definition, as I have declared it formerly, and hold with him in this too, That all Uſury is not unlawful; becauſe there are Fenories improperly ſo called, which my Brethren and I approve of alſo, as I have already ſaid before now: though they and I do ſpeak againſt all Uſury properly ſo called, and by God himſelf, and all good men, condemned. And laſtly, I do with heart and good will aſſent to divers of his godly Cautions by him (b)Richard Baxter.given, and eſpecially this, That a Lender muſt as well bear a part in the Borrower's Loſs as Gain, which maketh ſuch a kind of Dealing Partnerſhip indeed.
2. As for (a)Mr. Hughes.Mr. Hughes (who was my Colleague and Fellow-labourer, and whom I have read, as well as Mr. Baxter) I have this to ſay of him▪ That he is a little too ſhort to decide ſuch a great Queſtion, and to make Uſury lawful, (as alſo Mr. (b)Together with R. T. a late Champic… for Uſury.Ames his third Author is, whom I have read too, and formerly anſwered) and that I have heard enough by the report of others, who will ſwear it, how he has declared his mind againſt Uſury, to a godly Miniſter, Mr. B. Cl. ſince departed, and has kept ſome from the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper for their Uſury; which I hint at now again, becauſe my Adverſary alledges him ſo often.
His fourth Author, next to Ames, is (c)Perkin….Perkins; which will do him but little pleaſure: for in his Expoſition on Chriſt's Sermon upon the Mount, he doth (as bleſſed (d)Bolto… ▪ p. 7….Bolton obſerves it) ONLY approve Liberal and Recompencing Uſury (which my Brethren and my ſelf alſo approve of, as even now I intimated, ſpeaking of Mr. Baxter) and not of Uſury truly and properly ſo called, and commonly practiſed in this Kingdom, which I here ſpeak againſt and oppoſe, I ſay, with Bleſſed Bolton.
NUM. XLIII.
His fifth and laſt Author is (a)Calvin Epiſt. Reſp. de Uſuris.Calvin, who will do him leſs good: For,
1. (b)Idem in Ezech. 18.Himſelf having delivered his Opinion concerning Ʋſury, would have no man to ſtand upon his Judgment for the full and abſolute determination of this Controverſie.
2. He ſaith, (c)Idem.That it is more than a rare thing, that the ſame man ſhould be an Ʋſurer and an honeſt man.
3. (d)Idem.We muſt always hold it to be a thing ſcarce poſſible, that he which takes Ʋſury ſhould not wrong his Brother.
4. (e)Idem.It were to be wiſhed, that the very Name of Ʋſury were buried, and utterly blotted out of the memory of men.
5. And he wiſheth, that none would write to him any more about it.
6. (f)Dr. Fenton.And it is believed, that if it had not been for the French Exuls, that flock'd and fled to Geneva, being perſecuted out of France, we ſhould not have heard of ſuch defending of Uſury. For then it was when Calvin was asked, What thoſe poor Exuls ſhould do with their Money, that they might live, becauſe their Lands they could not carry with them, but only their Money, which they could not adventure at Sea for a Livelihood, becauſe Geneva is no Sea-town, but far from the Sea, ſtanding upon a Lake only, (For I lived there as a Student and Exul too, and therefore can ſpeak it.) and which would be ſoon ſpent, if it ſhould not be imployed, for a maintenance, one way or other? I ſay, then it was that poor Calvin was put to it to reſolve them; ſo as that he was driven to adviſe them to a quaſi Uſura, that is, to a kind of Ʋſury, which was ſo caution'd by him, as that it was rather Partnerſhip than Ʋſury. So that Uſurers have little cauſe to ſtand upon Calvin, becauſe of his godly Sayings, I add, and Cautions, which they do not obſerve, and which I intend to mention hereafter, together with more of his Sayings.
But I deſire to return again to this bleſſed Calvin, to vindicate him, becauſe I love him dearly, and read his Inſtitutions, as near as I can, daily, being adviſed ſo to do by a godly Divine, when I lived in the famous Univerſity of BASEL in Helvetia; I ſay, a godly Divine, who told me that he did ſo himſelf▪ ſo as that I wiſh that others would do ſo too, it being ſuch an excellent Book, as that one made theſe (a)Praeter Apoſtolicas poſt Chriſti tempora Chartas, Huic peperere Libro ſaecula nulla parem. Surius Baſti… gius, to the Reader, upon his Comment upon the Catech. in the County Palat.Verſes upon it, which I ſet down in the Margin; and that one may ſay of it, that which (b)Doctor Fabricius.Fabricius ſaith of Tully, Let him know, that he has profited much, which is much delighted in Calvin.
I ſay again, That I deſire by this to vindicate Calvin, becauſe the (c)Videatur Lorinus in Pſal. 15.Papiſts do brand him with this, That he and his Calvinians hold for that Uſury which is every where ſo much ſpoken againſt, and by God's Word condemned; which is falſe: and becauſe a late Proteſtant Doctor, a Couſin and Countryman of mine, hath written a Book, wherein he calleth Calvin That Saboudian Innovator, to pleaſe ſome, by way of reproach; which I dare not, nor will do, though he be alledged againſt me in the Point of Uſury, which he is as much againſt as I; Uſury, I mean, properly ſo called, and commonly practiſed in the World.
NVM. XLIV.
Laſtly, I ſuperadd, That if the Champion ſhould bring Forty more to theſe Four, and Forty to them over and above, I ſhould be no more troubled at it, than at the having of One only; becauſe theſe holy and learned men, who have ſomewhat favourably written of ſome Uſury, have, like Mr. Baxter, and Calvin, ſpiced it ſo with ſuch Cautions, as make it no Uſury, properly ſo called, but another Contract, and commonly that of Society: I will inſtance in famous Virel (in his Cat…h.) who holds this Uſury lawful, if, 1. The Borrower beſprinkle the Lender with part of his Encreaſe, rather out of his voluntary thankfulneſs, than by way of exaction. 2. If the Lender be context to bear part of the Borrowers Loſs, as well as of his Gain. 3. If the Principal do miſcarry without the Borrowers fault, the Lender will not only remit the Principal, hut alſo lend him afreſh; which I think never any Uſurer in the World did. So that here I will end with the Words of deep-learned Powel, (in his Poſit. pag. 52.) NO Writer that ever I could ſee, or hear of, ever allowed of USURY. And preſently after he explains his Saying: There are many ſtrong Poyſons, which the learned Phyſicians can ſo qualifie, that a ſick Perſon may take a Potion wherein ſome of the Poyſon is: ſo holy men of God have done and do temper and qualifie the Uſurers Poyſon, that they make thereof a wholeſom Medicin… for many diſtreſſed Perſons: For by their h…ly and religious Caveats and Leſſons, they alter the quality of the Uſury, and make it indeed no Uſury at all, but a lawful kind of Trade and Dealing. Thus he. Whereby it appears, that my Adverſary has gotten no advantage at all by his Authors, (though Uſurers moſtly ſtand upon it, and ſome others) becauſe their holy Caveats are not obſerved by them.
My Fourth Deſcription oppoſed, and my firſt anſwer to it.
MY next task will be to defend my fourth Deſcription of Ʋſury, Numb. 41.viz. That it is a moſt mo… ſtrous encreaſing thing, wherein my examiner holds himſelf and his, not to be concerned in, but only thoſe Monſters which I name, adding that he which takes but a mite for a 100 l. paſſeth with me under the ſame Condemnation: whereunto I anſwer,
1. That not a word or ſyllable of a mite taken for a 100 l. is to be found in all my deſcription: let the Reader peruſe my Book p. 15. *In theſ. Wittenberg.Some famous men, indeed have mentioned a mite upon another account, and their words were quoted by me as theirs, not mine, and they doubtleſs will be able to give an account, of their words upon the great day of Accounts, and ſuch men have named five in the 100 too, and made it hereſie; and ſo damnable, as the Wittenburge Doctors, whom upon ſeveral accounts I have often quoted.