Usury Stated Overthrown, Treatise · Part 2 · Section 44 · Answer 1 – Reply
My Second Anſwer.
2. That, tho in a ſpecial manner, I brand ſome notoriouſly oppreſſive Uſurers with monſtrouſneſs according to their deſerts, yet do I not exempt others: no more then both Fathers and Modern Writers, beſides the holy Prophets, as my book p. 15. evidently ſheweth it: for therein I quote Baſil, who ſpeaketh of Uſury in General, thus, that it begets it ſelf, and becometh bigger then it was by encreaſe:
3. I anſwer, that becauſe my Antagoniſt taketh but little notice of what I ſay to confirm my aſſertion, I will make my Deſcription to grow a little bigger by ſome addition to its ſtature, ſeeing I am now upon encreaſing, as thus: Declaring,
That it's a monſtrouſly encreaſing thing three wayes. 1. In that like a *Monſtrum eſt contra naturam. Cornel Fronto, de Differ. Vocab. & donatus qucque, And a Monſter in nature.Monſter which is againſt nature, it ſwells and ſuperabounds in parts and members; there was of late years a Child brought forth in a Town, where I was Preacher, with double and ſuperabunding parts and members in his infantile *B. Jewel in 1 Theſ. 4. an ugly Beaſt. Ariſtot. 1.7.*A ſwelling Monſter, Suidas in Ar…ſtoph de Nubibus.body and was called a Monſter, and here was a *A; I alſo deſive in this Book to write of the Monſte…, called Ʋſury. Whereof Mr. Smith writeth thus, this word moi… is like the ſixth finger, which makes a monſter becauſe it is m… than ſhould be p. 95. And as he, which firſt deviſed the breeding up Mules, in Geneſ…, joyned thoſe things, which God would … have joyned, and ſo brought forth a Monſter: ſo he that f… joyned gain with lending brought forth that Manſter, called Ʋſury.book written and publiſhed to the world. Anſwerably whereunto, Uſu… alſo may be called ſuch a Monſter, becauſe againſt *For in all Ʋſury, a barren thing brings forth, ſaith a fam… Doctor. Et Ʋſuraria acquiſitio eſt maxime contra naturam, dicit Ariſtot. 1. Pol. c. 7. Et Cicero in 3 Offic. Eſt magis contra naturam quam mors.nature i… brought forth, and becauſe the Uſurer is all for double, that is for Principal and Uſe; And many times for other pleonaſmes and excreſcences and ſuperaboundings▪ alſo, not being contented with the ſingle principal repaid, which is according to nature. As for advance money; and for bribes beſides ſix in the 100. a buſhel of Corn now and then, or ſomething elſe; for ſome Uſurers will firſt deny men to lend, pretending th… they ſhall have occaſion for their money to uſe it, but to do a man a pleaſure they will let them have it, and ſo they loo… for ſomewhat for their Courteſie, beſides their Uſe, and their Servants muſt have ſomewhat too, for the procuring of it.
2. In that, whereas the *Cum parere in rebus, quae non vivunt, eſſe non habent, iſte tamen vult nummus ſuos qui non vivu…, ſirgulis diebus vel menſibu; alios nummos parere, quod contr… naturam eſt. Peraldus De Avar. p. 66.dead cannot beget or bear *As a great Doctor calls Ʋſury gains as well as my felf.Children, the Uſurer by his money will bring forth in a monſtrous manner other money, tho the ſaid money be a dead thing and doth not live, which is againſt nature, ſaith, Peraldus; ſo that Uſury muſt needs be a monſtrouſly encreaſing thing.
3. In that againſt nature ſome Uſurers will bring forth by their Uſury hundreds, others thouſands of Children, as it were in a ſhort time: one Writeth of ſome, that they know how, by a 100 pounds to gain forty or fifty pounds in a year; and who knoweth not, ſaith he, that money continually put forth to Uſury after ten in the 100. (as it was in his time) doth in ſeven years almoſt double the principal, and in every ſeven years double the former Sum, ſo that a 100 pounds …et out a… ter this rate, from three moneths to three moneths ariſeth in ſeven years to almoſt 200. O monſtrouſly encreaſing Uſury: There is another great Perſon, who has made the like Computation in a Tract of his preſented to a Parliament in England, againſt Uſury, whoſe words I will not now rehearſe, but rather ſet down a little more of that, which the foreſaid Author adds to the words even now mentioned, who would not ſell his lands and Goods, and all that he can ſpare, to raiſe a ſtock of money, that thereout he might by Uſury reap ſo great and ſo certain a gain, if once in his Conſcience he were aſſured, that Uſury is lawful? Thus he, and as he ſaith this in General, ſo ſay I of my ſelf in particular, that I would ſell all that I have, and bring it to a ſum of money and lend it out upon Uſury too, as others do, if I were ſure that Uſury, which brings ſuch a monſtrous encreaſe were NO SIN: For then I ſhould be freed from all care, trouble, charge, hazards of lives, taxes, reparations, which men that have Livings, and lands are liable unto.
I add, and truly, truly, the world might well call us all, that will not put out our money upon fenory, FOOLS, and meer SOTS, that we will not do what lawfully we might do, to get ſuch exceeding great gains.
Numb. 42.4. To go on gradatim, higher and higher, it is a Monſtrous encreaſing thing, in that againſt nature, the Uſurer by it (as barren as mony is) doth beget, not only hundreds and thouſands, as his lending may be as ſo many Children in infinitum, even to infinite numbers, which is much more then I ſaid yet, as thus:
Whereas a Debtor borroweth but Forty or Fifty pounds, he makes himſelf a debtor not only of ſo many, (in caſe he come not off with his payment) but no man is able to tell of how many, tho he pay but ſix in the 100. which becauſe it may ſeem to be incredible, I will ſet down the words of a great Doctor inſtancing in ten Crowns borrowed, when money was lent out after ten in the 100. A borrower receiveth ten, or ſome ſuch certain number of Crowns, and thereby maketh himſelf debtor not only of ſo many, but no man can ſay how many more if the borrower pay but two Crowns over, by the year, in one 100 years he ſhall pay for ten Crowns 200 Crowns: and yet ſhall he ſtill remain debtor for the ten Crowns alſo.
And ſhortly after he ſaith further, that thoſe ten Crowns may from Age to Age be only ſaid to continue in the bank, as in ſome places it chanceth, and ſo within a 1000 years they make encreaſe of 2000 Crowns; add hereunto that in caſe the borrower do not pay his Uſury in ten years, he is then debtor of twenty Crowns, of ten for the Principal and of other ten for the Uſury, which the Uſurer begetteth and ingendreth (as it were) to the intollerable loſs to the borrower, and the exceſſive gain of himſelf, and yet theſe ten Crowns be not his own all this while, although he pick out ſo great advantage of them, yea, all this while they be no where at all, for in one moment they were *Nor could he purchaſe with them.conſumed and ſpent by him that borrowed them, and in place of them an idol is conceived which idol doth *Without Lands … Fields bought.remain refuſedly, not any where in nature b… in name and imagination: for its feigned, that the ten Crow… lie ſtill in a certain bank, and there do beget little ones, which again have other little ones, and whereas all other things die and periſh, and many beaſts which nature made apt to encreaſe, by caſualties prove barren, yet theſe ten Crowns, which by nature were barren, and in truth were ſpent, remain ſtill ſo fruitful in the USURERS vain imagination, and in the borrowers moſt greivous penſion, that if the world ſhould ſtand for ever, they alſo ſhould be immortal, and ſhould neither die, nor ever become barren.
5. In that againſt the nature of lending he will needs gro… rich and great, and yet ſo much as I have mentioned by lending, which ought not to be mercenary but free, for ſo all N… tions and unbyaſſed Writers, Greeks, Latins, Jewes, Philoſophers, Lawyers, Divines, and generally all Heathens, and Chriſtians that have ſoundly Written of this ſubject; take that to be the true definition or deſcription of loan, that it is to deliver to the borrower ſuch things as are ſpent with the firſt natural and proper uſe thereof, with Bond to repay him ſo much again and ſo good again, and no more, as I have formerly ſhown it: And, 2. So Chriſt himſelf would have it, ſaying, lend, looking for nothing again, Luke 6.35. Where note by the way, that Chriſt no where bids us to buy and ſell, as men ordinarily uſe to do, or to follow the uſual way of Merchandizing becauſe he knew that men were and would be of themſelves willing to do that, but to lend freely, which they are unwilling to do.
6. In that the Committant of Uſury againſt the natural Uſe and end of money, which is a formoſt equality, doth introduce into the World a monſtrous deformity, odneſs, and inequality, where let me diſcourſe a little of the coming in and uſing of money, and apply what I ſhall ſay concerning it, to the preſent matter of Uſury, but before I go on with this ſubject, I will firſt premiſe the ſaying of a wiſe man concerning money, when money is given to loan (as in Uſury it comes moſt times to paſs) there is a ſpecial DEFORMITY alſo in that behalf: And now for a fuller handling of this matter of money, let me declare here, that money was firſt invented by the common conſent of men, eſpecially to ſerve mans neceſſity and commodity in chopping and changing things to and fro; for in the beginning he that lacked any thing, as for example, a new garment he went to another man, that had veſtiments enough, and brought him ſuch ſtuff whereof himſelf had ſtore, as Cloth perhaps, or skins, or ſome like matter, to make an equal exchange between them both: So that thing for thing was exchanged: and that was the moſt ſimple and natural kind of Traffick between men: but experience declared that this at length was incommodious, and would not ſerve every mans turn for ſometimes he that had ſhoes, which I lacked, had alſo cloth and skins▪ as well as I, and then he was loth to take my cloth for his ſhooes, ſeeing that he had doth enough of his own. For which cauſe wiſe men deviſed that ſome certain metal ſhould ſerve the turn of all me…, ſo that who ſo needed any ſtuffe, he ſhould take ſuch a kind of metal, or Coyn, to wit lead or leather, and at length braſs, and for that he ſhould receive of any other man whatſoever he needed. Thus metal was at the firſt eſteemed by conſent and delivered by weight: ſo that a pound of braſs ſhould be (for example) the price of a pair of ſhoes: And when it was found troubleſome alſo, eſpecially for them that went abroad to carry ſuch weight of metal about them, and to ſtand long in weighing it, inſtead of a great deal of braſs, a little Silver and leſs Gold was at length invented; yea, then it was alſo further deviſed, that a certain Coyn or print ſhould be ſet upon Silver or Gold ſo that we ſhould not need alwayes to weigh it, but that the very form ſhould ſtraight ſhew the value thereof; money therefore was made to ſerve all exchanges and to be the price of all other things, and to ſet forth a form of equality in the world, and not a deformity as Uſury doth, together with a monſtrous inequality, whereof… have ſpoken formerly, at preſent I will but add what a great *Doctor Sand. In his Treatiſe of Ʋſury.Doctor ſaith concerring this matter: it is utterly againſt the end for which either any other exchange or money it ſelf was made; for it was made to bring all things to an equality, and to be, as it were a rule and meaſure, whereby the value of all things might be quickly known and eaſily counterpoiſed, but now Uſure… make money to ſerve for the greateſt inequality that can be deviſed of man, his words are too large to be inſerted wholly.
A Reply to my fifth Deſcription.
BƲT I muſt go onward and ſee how the Champion goeth onNum. 43.
Mr. Jelinger. Fifthly, A moſt cruelthing it is.
For its alwayes biting, day and night, Winter and Summer, &c. Reply, (to omit his odd compariſon, as not argumentative at all) it is great pity he had not been by the Parliament men, when they were paſſing the Act concerning Uſury to have exempted at leaſt the Nights and Lords days through the year from paying the Uſe: But doth not the Adventurer at Sea his gain go on too at the ſame rate, and he that Rents a Tenement; or Houſes, do not Nights and Lords days and Winter come into computation with other times, for which they pay? had his arguing been his own, we ſhould have counted it very weak and dregs, but he borroweth freely, and then makes a ſhew as if it were his own goods.