Classic Poem

Knight, Lord Keeper of the Great

Seale of England.

Well hath the pow'rfull hand of Maiesty,
Thy worthines, and Englands hap beside,
Set thee in th'aidfull'st roome of dignity,
As th' Isthmus , these two Oceans to diuide,
Of Rigor and confus'd Vncerteinty ;
To keepe out th'entercourse of wrong and pride,
That they ingulph not vp vnsuccoured right
By the extreme current of licencious might.

Now when we see the most combining band,
The strongest fastning of society,
Law , whereon all this frame of men doth stand,
Remaine concussed with vncerteinty,
And seeme to foster rather than withstand
Contention , and embrace obscurity,
Only t'afflict, and not to fashion vs,
Making her cure farre worse than the disease;

As if she had made couenant with Wrong,
To part the prey made on our weaknesses,
And suffred Falshood to be arm'd as strong
Vnto the combate, as is Righteousnesse,
Or suted her, as if she did belong
Vnto our passions, and did euen professe
Contention, as her only mystery,
Which she restraines not, but doth multiply.

Was she the same sh'is now in ages past?
Or was she lesse when she was vsed lesse:
And growes as malice growes, and so comes cast
Iust to the forme of our vnquietnesse?
Or made more slow, the more that strife runs fast,
Staying t'vndo vs ere she will redresse?
That th'ill she checks seemes suffred to be ill,
When it yeelds greater gaine than goodnes will.

Must there be still some discord mixed among
The Harmony of men? whose mood accords
Best with Contention, tun'd t'a note of wrong,
That when warre failes, peace must make warre with words,
And b'arm'd vnto destruction euen as strong,
As were in ages past our ciuill swords;
Making as deepe, although vnbleeding wounds,
That whenas fury failes, wisdome confounds.

If it be wisdome, and not cunning, this
Which so imbroiles the state of truth with brawles,
And wraps it vp in strange confusednesse,
As if it liu'd immur'd within the walls
Of hideous termes, fram'd out of barbarousnesse
And forren customes, the memorialls
Of our subiection, and could neuer be
Deliu'red but by wrangling subtilty.

Whereas it dwells free in the open plaine,
Vncurious, Gentle, easie of accesse;
Certaine vnto it selfe, of equall vaine,
One face, one colour, one assurednesse:
It's falshood that is intricate and vaine,
And needes these labyrinths of subtlenesse:
For where the cunningst cou'rings most appeare,
It argues still that all is not sincere.

Which thy cleere-ey'd experience well discries
Great Keeper of the state of Equity,
Refuge of mercy, vpon whom relies
The succour of oppressed misery;
Altar of safegard, whereto affliction flies
From th'eage purfuit of seuerity;
Hauen of peace, that labour'st to withdraw
Iustice from out the tempests of the Law.

And set her in a calme and euen way,
Plaine, and directly leading to redresse,
Barring these counter-courses of delay,
These wasting dilatory processes:
Ranging into their right and proper ray,
Errors, demurs, essoines, and trauerses;
The heads of Hydra springing out of death,
That giues this monster, Malice, still new breath.

That what was made for the vtility
And good of man, might not be turn'd t'his hurt,
To make him worser by his remedy,
And cast him downe, with what should him support:
Nor that the state of Law might lose thereby
The due respect, and reu'rence of her port;
And seeme a trap to catch our ignorance,
And to intangle our intemperance.

Since her interpretations and our deeds
Vnto a like infinity arise,
As being a Science, that by nature breeds
Contention, striefe, and ambiguities:
For altercation controuersie feeds,
And in her agitation multiplies:
The field of Cauill lying all like wide,
Yeelds like aduantage vnto either side.

Which made the graue Castillian king deuise
A prohibition, that no Aduocate
Should be conuai'd to th'Indian Colonies,
Lest their new setting, shaken with debate,
Might take but slender root, and so not rise
To any perfect grow'th of firme estate:
For hauing not this skill, how to contend,
Th'vnnourisht strife wold quickly make an end.

So likewise did th'Hungarian, when he saw
These great Italian Bartolists, who were
Call'd in of purpose to explane the Law,
T'imbroile it more, and make it much lesse cleere;
Caus'd them from out his kingdom to withdraw
With this infestious skill, some other-where:
Whose learning, rather let men farther out,
And opened wider passages of doubt.

Seeing euen Iniustice may be regulare,
And no proportion can there be betwixt
Our actions, which in endlesse motion are,
And th'ordinances which are alwayes fixt;
Ten thousand lawes more can not reach so far,
But malice goes beyond, or liues immixt
So close with goodnesse, as it euer will
Corrupt, disguise, or counterfet it still.

And therefore did those glorious Monarchs, (who
Diuide with God the stile of Maiesty
For being good, and had a care to do
The world right, and succour honesty)
Ordaine this sanctuary, whereunto
Th'opprest might flie, this seat of Equity;
Whereon thy vertues sit with faire renowne,
The greatest grace and glory of the Gowne.

Which Equity , being the soule of law,
The life of iustice, and the spirit of right,
Dwell's not in written lines, or liues in awe
Of bookes: dease powers, that haue nor eares nor sight
But out of well-weigh'd circumstance doth draw
The essence of a iudgement requisit;
And is that Lesbian square, that building fit,
Plies to the worke, not forc'th the worke to it.

Maintaining still an equall paralell,
Iust with th'occasions of humanity;
Making her iudgement euer liable
To the respect of peace and amity;
When surely Law , sterne, and vnaffable,
Cares only but it selfe to satisfie:
And often innocencies scarse desends,
As that which on no circumstance depends.

But Equity , that beares an euen raine
Vpon the present courses, holds in aw,
By giuing hand a little, and doth gaine
By a gentle relaxation of the law;
And yet inuiolable doth maintaine
The end whereto all constitutions draw;
Which is the well-fare of society,
Consisting of an vpright policy:

Which first being by necessity compos'd,
Is by necessity maintain'd in best estate;
Where, whenas iustice shall be ill dispos'd,
It sickens the whole body of the State:
For if there be a passage once disclos'd,
That Wrong may enter at the selfe-same gate
Which serues for Right, clad in a coate of Law,
What violent distempers may it draw:

And therefore do'st thou stand to keepe the way,
And stop the course that malice seekes to run,
And by thy prouident Iniunctions stay
This neuer ending Altercation;
Sending contention home, to the end men may
There make their peace whereas their strife begun,
And free these pestred streets they vainely weare,
Whom both the state, and theirs, do need elsewhere.

Lest th'humor which doth thus predominate
Conuert vnto it selfe all that it takes;
And that the law grow larger than debate,
And come t'exceede th'affaires it vndertakes:
As if the only Science of the State
That tooke vp all our wits for gaine it makes;
Not for the good that thereby may be wrought,
Which is not good if it be dearely bought.

What shall we thinke whenas ill causes shall
Inrich men more, and shall be more desir'd
Than good, as farre more beneficiall?
Who then defends the good? Who will be hir'd
To entertaine a right, whose gaine is small?
Vnlesse the Aduocate that hath conspir'd
To plead a wrong, be likewise made to runne
His Clients chance, and with him be vndone.

So did the wisest nations euer striue
To binde the hands of Iustice vp so hard,
That lest she falling to proue Lucratiue
Might basely reach them out to take reward:
Ordaining her prouisions fit to liue
Out of the publike, as a publike guard
That all preserues, and all doth entertaine,
Whose end is only glory, and not gaine.

That eu'n the Scepter which might all command,
Seeing her s'vnpartiall, equall regular,
Was pleas'd to put it selfe into her hand,
Whereby they both grew more admired far.
And this is that great blessing of this land,
That both the Prince and people vse one Barre;
The Prince, whose cause (as not to be withstood)
Is neuer bad but where himselfe is good.

This is that ballance which committed is
To thy most euen and religious hand,
Great Minister of Iustice, who by this
Shalt haue thy name still gracious in this land:
This is that seale of pow'r which doth impresse
Thy acts of right, which shall for euer stand:
This is that traine of State, that pompously
Attends vpon thy reu'rent dignity.

All glory els besides ends with our breath,
And mens respects, scarse brings vs to our graue:
But this of doing good, must out liue Death,
And haue a right out of the right it gaue:
Though th'act but few, th'example profiteth
Thousands, that shall thereby a blessing haue.
The worlds respect growes not but on desarts,
Pow'r may haue knees, but iustice hath our hearts.