Selected quad for the lemma: justice_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
justice_n	court_n	king_n	sir_n	6,841	5	6.3401	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66711	Say on, or, A seasonable plea for a full hearing betwixt man and man and a serious plea for the like hearing betwixt God and man : delivered in a sermon at Chelmsford in Essex, at the general assize holden for the said county, before the Honourable Sir Timothy Littleton, one of His Majesty's Barons of the Exchecquer, July 8, 1678 / by Anthony Walker ...	Walker, Anthony, d. 1692.	1679 (1679)	Wing W308; ESTC R5261	13,981	60

this Woman addressed her ●●lf vers 4. Help O King So v. ● My Lord O King So in this ●welfth Verse Let thy handmaid I ●●y thee speak one word unto my Lord ●●e King and he said Say on This Book is stiled by a Learned Expositor the Throne of David whom the Holy Ghost represents as the Exemplar and Icon of an excellent Magistrate who himself had learn'd and practised that Lesson he taught his Son He that rules over men must be just ruling in the fear of the Lord. And this is not the least instance and proof of it that according to the old Verse Patiens sit Judicis auris he was willing to hear out the Plea of her who stood before him for help and by the forgetting which Rule and deflecting from which Method he contracted one of the foulest blots we read him to have stained his Justice with in all his Government I mean in the case of Mephibosheth 2 Sam. 19.29 He said Why speakest thou any more of thy matters I have said thou and Ziba divide the land Which precipitate Sentence had been prevented and an innocent Master delivered from the slanders of a treacherous servant if instead of why speakest thou any more he had said as he doth here Say on So that the words are a commendable instance which may have the force of a standing rule of a good Magistrate giving leave and encouragement to those who stand before them for Judgment to say all they can to make good their Plea and to grant them a full Hearing And to shew the excellency of this Rule we shall look upon the Words under several Aspects 1. As they are vox humanae naturae the voice of humane nature breaking forth from that first principle of it Do as thou wouldst be done by No Judge or Magistrate if instead of sitting on the Bench excuse the supposition which I will not make but with a modest Apology he should stand at the Bar as a reputed Criminal or as a Plaintiff or Defendant would be willing to have Judgment pass till his Plea were made and he had obtained a full and fair Hearing Therefore as we use to phrase it Turn the Tables Let the Reverend Judge suppose himself in his Circumstances who comes before him in Judgment and then do as Nature it self dictates as he would be done by Hear him out say as he would desire it should be said to himself Say on That 's the first they are the voice of humane nature 2. They are verba sapientiae words of wisdom Wisdom is highly requisite in a Judge Therefore Solomon wise already made it his Prayer which God so highly approved 1 Kings 3.9 Give thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people Or as it is 1 Chron. 1.10 Give me wisdom and understanding for who can judge this thy people that is so great And Hiram blessed God for giving to his Friend David a wise Son to judge his people Israel Now wisdom consists in the adapting sutable means for the attainment of desirable ends The end of judicial proceedings is to give to every Man what is right and due to him Now what means can be so sit and conduce so evidently to this as to sift out truth by a full and fair hearing of all the Allegations Pleas and Defences of the Parties concerned 'T was this that gave Solomon that Renown in judging betwixt the two Harlots 1 King 3. ult That all who heard it said The wisdom of God was in him to do judgment For 't was from their own mouths he discovered which was the true Mother of the Child which he had never done had he not let them Say on 3. Verba justitiae aequitatis They are words of Equity and Righteousness 'T is most just to hear Men out what they have to say before they be condemned or acquitted therefore 't is a customary question after Indictment read and Evidence produced What canst thou say for thy self and no Proclamation more common in Courts than Let them come forth and they shall be heard 'T is a Rule in every Man's Mouth Qui aliquid statuerit parte inaudita altera Aequum licet statuerit haud aequus tamen fuerit He that determines any thing without hearing both sides although he chances to determine what is just yet is not just himself in so determining Therefore 't was praise-worthy Justice in Agrippa Act. 26 that he said to the Prisoner Paul thou art permitted to speak for thy self And it was a standing Rule amongst the Romans a People so renowned for their Justice that S. Augustine ascribes all their Successes to God's rewarding of their Justice not to deliver any Man to die till the Accused had his Accusers face to face and liberty to answer for himself Act. 25.16 4. They are verba misericordiae words of mercy and commendable compassion and condescension The awful Solemnities which attend Courts of Judicature do often strike a consternation into those who appear before them and few Men of low and common Education have that presence of spirit and audacity whether Principals or Witness to recollect themselves suddenly 'T is therefore very commendable compassion to relieve them against their fears and amazements and not to discourage or put them out of countenance nor suffer others to do it but rather to raise them to a just confidence by bearing with and helping them against their weaknesses with these or words of the same import Say on be not dismayed or afraid but speak freely let us hear all you have to say 5. Lastly They are verba patientiae words of patience than which nothing is a greater ornament to the Tribunals of Justice no word worse becoming their mouths who sit on them than non vacat which made the poor Woman reply so smartly to Philip of Macedon who when she demanded Audience and Justice of him said He could not tend it or was not at leisure Why then will you be King I pray Sir let some body else be that can and will De vita hominis nulla cunctatio longa No deliberation no delay should be esteemed long in which so precious a thing as the life of a Man is concerned And because you Gentlemen of the Long Robe have a just veneration for the sage and grave Sayings of your Predecessors I 'll cite a memorable and very commendable Passage I heard near forty years ago at Cambridge Castle from the Lord Chief Justice Banks when an inferiour Officer of the Court prayed him to make haste for they should be too late He openly replyed I had rather travel all night or put my self to any inconvenience than the King's Justice should be denyed to any of his Liege People or huddle over business for want of time to hear it fairly And this for the Speaker as they are the words of a King or Judge ecchoing the sentiments of humane nature speaking as a wise a just a merciful a patient Judge Say on

All Virtues so ornamental to Tribunals that nothing can be more I proceed to the second Consideration that is of the Person to whom they were spoken that is to a Petitioner a Plantiff who came to plead her cause before him as her Judge And First they were dicta mulieri spoken to a woman whose Sex exposed her to some prejudice as not needing over much encouragement to speak yet he saith not She 'll talk enough without bidding and if I encourage her she 'll never have done No idle or frivolous pretences should debar those whose Lives Estates or other near Concernments lye at stake from a full and fair Hearing He saith to the Woman Say on 2. Dicta Viduae they were spoken to a Widow Widow-hood is a forlorn estate and Widow is a desolate name Had the Plaintiff been a great man no wonder that such an one should obtain a Full Hearing But to give leave and encouragement to a poor to a desolate Widow to Say on this was much to be wondered at but more to be commended 'T was such a piece of Justice in righteous Job that rendred him so eminent the words are so remarkable I cannot omit the rehearsal of them at large Job 29.11 12 13 14 15 16 17. When the ear heard me then it blessed me and when the eye saw me it gave witness to me Because I delivered the poor that cryed and the fatherless and him that had none to help him The Blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me and I caused the widows heart to sing for joy I put on righteousness and it cloathed me my judgment was a Robe and Diadem I was eyes to the blind and feet was I to the lame I was a father to the poor and the cause which I knew not I searched out and I brake the jaws of the wicked and plucked the spoil out of his teeth Than which words there can be no better Commentary upon David's saying to a desolate and poor widow Say on 3. Dicta Reo spoken to a guilty person For if it be true that in the eye of the Law Actor Reus eandem sustinent personam What is said to him or her that pleads the cause of the guilty is said as to the guilty To suspend prejudice and to hear out a presumed guilty party argues much candor and moderation The Law supposes every man honest and innocent and every man's cause just and good till it is found and appears otherwise and that cannot be without discussing it therefore no presumptive prejudices should stop their mouths or debar them their Plea Let even such therefore Say on 4. Dicta reo parricidii they were spoken to one guilty of Murder the worst of Crimes and Fratricide the worst of Murders The foulest offences cut not off the offender from liberty to plead his cause to defend and if he can to clear himself which minds me of God's own proceeding with Cain in the very same Circumstances when he had slain his Brother Abel Gen. 4. Where is thy Brother What hast thou done Which Questions imply a liberty to answer left him 5. Dicta consitenti to one who had confessed the Fact and in effect accused him whom she came to defend and plead for Circumstances oft alter the case very much and great alleviations may be urged which may extenuate the fault though they neither do or can deny the Fact therefore even confitenti reo say Say on 6. But lastly dicta humili supplicanti they were spoke to one who was humble and modest and made request for audience ver 4. She fell on her face and made obeysance She said Let thy handmaid I pray thee speak a word to my Lord the King She made supplication to her Judge she behaved not her self unseemly she did not extort an Hearing with noise and clamour nor like the other Widow Luke 18. weary him out with importunity and so teez the Judge that he did her Justice to be quiet and reliev'd her in his own defence no she sought it humbly and obtain'd it candidly 'T is infinitely indecent and a great desecrating and prophaning so sacred a place as a Court of Judicature and so holy a thing as Justice it self is to bawl and jeer and make a noise and is so far from being manly that this Woman may shame them to use their Tongues better And such procedure gives just suspicion that the merits of that cause are not very good which needs the raising so much dust to cloud them from the eyes of sober Reason When S. Paul pleaded before King Agrippa and Festus his Plea was words of truth and soberness Act. 26.25 The King 's presumed present in his Courts and a greater than He the King of Kings He judgeth amongst the Gods the judgment is the Lord's Therefore all things should be carried as becomes such a presence gravely modestly soberly seriously for though every good Judge will say to such with David here Say on I suppose no wise Judge will say in earnest what Job once said in Irony Job 21.3 Mock on 3. Quo fine for what end intent or purpose did he give her this leave and encouragement to Say on Certainly for many wise and great and good ones to suggest some of which may be useful and exemplary First To find out the truth and right The Tongue is the Hearts Interpreter and other mens Informer and truth is often bolted out by the moving of the Lips A plain Story innocently told that comes freely without pains disguise or artifice that is coherent and self consistent is a good argument of honest simplicity When on the other side fair liberty of Speech being granted if they shuffle hesitate and stick contradict themselves and have little or nothing to say 't is a shrewd presumption all is not right and so though it be uncomely in this place to name the Proverb 't is like occurs to all your thoughts offenders are oft ensnared by their own lips and their tongues fall upon themselves and they are judged out of their own mouths For nothing is easier than to tell a true Story plainly as the matter is truth being always consistent with it self and to defend a just and honest cause which carries with it it 's own evidence So nothing is harder than to make a false matter appear true and a foul cause to appear just and clear to a discerning mind Let them therefore Say on 't is the way to clear the innocent to convict the guilty and bring truth to light 2. To preserve the honour of Judicial Proceedings which is of great Concernment While the Judge judges the Criminals or between the parties litigant all the Assembly will be sure to judge him and therefore 't is not enough to decree what is just but to make it manifest that he proceeds justly even God himself whose nature secures him from all unrighteousness and makes it impossible for him to do