borrowing vpon vsurie are relatiues and therefore if to lend vpon vsurie be vnlawfull it cannot be lawfull to borrow vpon vsurie I answere as before that relatiues are not alwayes of the like nature and qualitie for to offer wrong and to suffer wrong to oppresse and to be oppressed are relatiues and such relatiues are to lend vpon vsurie and to borrow vpon vsurie through necessitie for to lend vpon vsurie to him that borroweth for vrgent necessitie it is to offer wrong and to oppresse therefore he which vpon necessitie yeeldeth to pay vsurie doth suffer wrong and is oppressed Thus therefore I may reason from the light of nature as before I did from the Scripture To suffer wrong is not sinne The borrower which vpon necessitie yeeldeth to pay vsurie doth suffer wrong Therefore he doth not sinne therein The proposition is an axiome of Aristotles in his Ethicks where proouing that it is a lesse euill to suffer injurie than to offer injurie he setteth downe this principle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To be wronged or to suffer injurie is without sinne and vnjustice And in another place he sayth That just dealing is a meane betwixt offering injurie and suffering wrong the one is to haue too much the other too little But yet sayth he justice is a mean not as each other morall vertue is a meane betwixt two contrarie vices but as a meane betwixt too much and two little that is to say as an equalitie from which whosoeuer swarueth runneth into both the extreames for where too much is giuen to the one too little is giuen to the other As for example the vsurer in taking from the borrower more than his own leaueth to the borrower lesse than his owne 2. You will say to be meerely oppressed or onely to suffer wrong we graunt to be no sinne but the borrower vpon vsurie willingly consenteth to that vsurie which is imposed vpon him yea he intreateth the vsurer that hee will so lend vnto him and therefore he is guiltie of his owne harme accessarie to the oppression of the vsurer I answer he that borroweth vpon necessitie with such cautions as before I mentioned is guiltie neither of the one nor the other For first in respect of himselfe wheras there are two euils propounded vnto him the one the inconuenience or mischiefe for auoiding whereof he desireth to borrow as perhaps the forfeiture of an hundred pounds the other the losse which he shall sustaine by vsurie which perhaps is fiue in fiftie the one whereof he must needs incurre therefore this latter being the lesser euill and hauing the respect of a good or eligible thing in comparison of the greater euill he maketh choise therof not minding or desiring his owne losse but hoping to redeeme a greater losse with a lesse And yet he doth not willingly consent to the payment of vsurie but his necessitie for auoiding a greater euill maketh him seeme willing to that wherunto he is simply vnwilling as I haue said before And as touching the vsurer whereas the borrower perceiueth him resolute to run into one of these two sinnes either not to lend at all or else vpon vsurie from both which it is not in his power to keepe him therefore the former which is not to lend at all to him that vpon vrgent necessitie is desirous to borrow being the greater sinne than the latter which is to lend vpon vsurie his desire is to keep both the lender from the greater sinne and himselfe from the greater euill Why but you will say if the borrower would not entreat the other to lend he should not need to fall into eito either of both those sinnes I answere when a man is in a case of vrgent necessity it is not onely lawfull for him but also he is bound in conscience to vse lawfull meanes to come out of the same When as therefore he wanteth presentmeans of his own it is lawfull for him to borrow hauing an honest purpose to repay yea and to desire those whom God hath enabled to lend vnto him In desiring the able man to lend thou onely moouest him to a worke of charitie and liberalitie but if vpon this motion of thine his couetousnesse cause him to sinne either by refusing to lend at all or by requiring vsurie well may that motion as many other good and lawfull things are be an occasion of his sinne but there is no cause thereof but his owne couetousnesse and the hardnesse of his heart and thou art not accessarie to his sinne But if at the first motion thou intreatest him to lend with promise of vsurie then thou inducest him to sinne and art accessarie to his offence as I haue shewed before either by making him an vsurer who was none before and so art deeper in the sinne than hee or at least by inducing him to the actuall committing of vsurie Which being the vsuall custome of borrowers vpon vsurie whose manner is to goe to the vsurer or to his broker to take vp on interest as they call it so much money as they desire perhaps an hundred pounds where no mention being made but of the principall for the other is presupposed bonds are drawn of two hundred pounds for the payment of a hundred and ten pounds it cannot be denied but that in this respect alone not to mention the rest the most borrowers vpon vsurie are accessarie to the sinne of vsurie At the first motion therefore thou mayest not offer vsurie but only desire to borrow which if thy need require thou mayest lawfully doe But what if the couetousnesse of the partie who is able and therefore ought to lend and the hardnesse of his heart be such that vpon thy motion of borrowing he wil either require vsurie or refuse to lend altogether in the former case if thy necessitie be such that thou must needs borrow and knowest not where to borrow freely elsewhere thou mayest lawfully yeeld to the vsurie imposed for in yeelding thou keepest both him from the greater sinne which is not to lend at all and thy selfe from a greater mischiefe Why but you will say ought I not to admonish him at the least and to dissuade him from the practise of vsurie seeing my yeelding to pay and my silence in not reproouing vsurie may argue that I approoue it and therefore am guiltie thereof as accessarie thereto I answere that difference is to be made of the partie with whom you deale for if the partie be tractable and of any hope that Christian course of charitable admonition and brotherly reproofe is to be taken with him but if he be a desperat sinner such as common vsurers commonly are whom if you admonish or reprooue you shall not profit him but hurt your selfe before such an hog the precious pearle of Christian admonition and brotherly reproofe is not to be cast But me thinkes a man of a tender conscience you will say should hardly seeke to such a man So I say also for
fully and more learnedly discourse of this controuersie than it hath been handled by others men of greater reading and riper experience yet seeing the holy ghost in this place reckoneth abstinence from vsurie among the markes of Gods children whereunto we are now by order come hauing alreadie intreated of those which goe before I may not nor will not refuse to set downe what we are to hold concerning this controuersie and as God shall enable me to determine this question That if vsurie shall be found to be lawfull and warrantable by the word of God the vsurers may hereafter practise it in faith which hetherto it is more than probable they could neuer doe or if it shall appeare to be vtterly vnlawfull that they wholly abstain and desist from the practise thereof as euer they hope to rest in the mountaine of Gods holinesse Of the name of Vsurie and of contracts in generall VSurie hath his name of the Latine word Vsura which in the first signification thereof signifieth the vse or fruition of any thing as of money Cic. 1. Tuscul. Natura dedit vsuram vitae tanquam pecuniae Secondly Vsura signifieth any accession addition ouerplus or increase aboue the principall which is yeelded to the creditour in respect of the vse of money lent or forborne or of any thing else which is spent in the vse And this increase is either voluntarie or exacted The voluntarie increase is a free gift gratuitie or reward which the borrower or debtour hauing gained by the imployment of the money borrowed voluntarily and freely giueth to the lender in testimonie of his thankfulnesse for the benefit receiued which some call vsuram or foenus liberale The exacted increase is that which the creditour demaundeth either as a recompence of some losse or hinderance which he sustaineth through the default of the borrower or as a gaine couenanted for loane The former is called Vsura compensatoria recompencing vsurie or interest the latter is termed Vsura quaestuosa or foenus gainefull vsurie Of the liberall Vsurie if I may so call it which is nothing else but a thankfull reward or gratuitie as also of the recompencing vsurie or interest there is no question to be made but that in themselues they are lawfull but of the gainefull vsurie is all the controuersie And thus the Latine word Vsura is distinguished the English word Vsurie though deriued thence yet is otherwise vsed for neither is it taken at any time for vse or for liberall vsurie or recompencing vsurie but onely for gainefull vsurie whereof our question is And in this sence it is taken two wayes either for the gaine it selfe couenanted or principally intended for loane which in Latine is properly called foenus or for the contract it selfe of lending for gaine which properly is called foeneratio Of the contract the holy ghost speaketh in this place whereby a man giueth or putteth forth his money to vsurie Whereas therefore Vsurie is a contract let vs briefely distinguish those contracts which concerne the alienation or permutation of goods that it may the better appeare what kind of contract it is for such contracts are either for the perpetuall alienation of goods or but for a time The perpetuall alienation if it be liberall and free is giuing if for recompence then is it a commutation either of ware for ware which is called barterie or of money for money which is called exchange or of ware for money which is selling or of money for ware which is buying The alienation which is but for a time is either of the vse onely or of the propertie also that which is of the vse only if it be liberall and free is called commodation or lending to vse if for recompence or hire then is it called location or letting to hire that which is not onely of the vse but of the propertie also if it be liberall and free it is called mutuation or lending to spend if illiberall and for gaine it is called vsurie What Vsurie is Wherefore the contract of vsurie is nothing else but illiberall mutuation and may thus briefely be defined Vsurie is mutuation or lending for gaine This briefe definition doth fully set forth the true nature of vsurie and sufficiently distinguisheth it from all other contracts whatsoeuer For first I say it is mutuation or lending wherein all learned men almost whether they write for vsurie or against it doe agree In solo mutuo sayth one vero vel interpretatiuo consistit vsura secundum omnes doctores that is Vsurie according to all the Doctors consisteth only in loane whether it be a bare contract of loane or else cloaked vnder some other contract which may be resolued or reduced vnto loane Likewise Car. Molinaeus the chiefe patrone of Vsurie It is the common opinion of all sayth hee that Vsurie properly is not committed but in loane and again loane is the subject of vsurie Which is also presupposed in the Scripture Exod. 22. 25 If thou lend money to my people namely and especially to the poore with thee thou shalt not be as an exactour or as an vsurer vnto him you shall not impose vsurie vpon him And the same if need were might be prooued by the other relatiue which is borrowing for lending and borrowing are relatiues And if he which taketh vp money vpon vsurie be a borrower then he that giueth or putteth it forth vnto vsurie is a lender The contract therefore of Vsurie is a contract of lending and whatsoeuer is not a contract of lending either plainely or couertly that is not a contract of vsurie Now in the contract of mutuation or lending diuerse things concurre which also belong to the nature of vsurie 1. That it is of such things as are spent in the vse and consist in quantitie that is to say in number weight or measure as money and victuals corne wine oyle c. which are particularly mentioned Deut. 23. 19. Leuit. 25. 37. Neh. 5. 11. 2. And therefore is alienation not onely of the vse but also of the propertie from which the vse of such things as are spent in the vse cannot be seuered 3. As the propertie is transferred to the borrower so the borrower standeth to the hazard of the thing borrowed 4. That it is not a perpetuall alienation of that which is lent but for a time which time being expired the borrower is bound to restore the principall 5. Because the thing borrowed is to be spent in the vse therefore the borrower is bound not to restore the selfesame particular which he borrowed but so much in the same kind or of the same value 6. It belongeth to the nature of lending that it bee free and liberall But herein vsurie peruerteth the contract of lending being illiberall and for gaine for vsurie is a contract of lending wherein the creditour or lender requireth of the borrower not onely the principall in the equiualent or full value thereof but also an ouerplus or
requiritur quaÌ„ datur It is vsurie when more is required than is lent Augustine goeth further If thou sayth he hast lent money to any man of whom thou lookest to receiue more than thou gauest not money alone but any thing more than thou gauest whether it be wheat or wine or oyle or any thing else if thou expectest to receiue more than thou gauest thou art an vsurer Vpon which testimonies Gratian concludeth behold it is euidently declared That whosoeuer for loane is exacted aboue the principall it is vsurie Lactantius also speaking of vsurie sayth To receiue more than thou gauest it is vnjust and afterwards addeth That a justman will not defile himselfe with such gaine Likewise all increase whatsoeuer required for loane in the ciuile law also is accounted vsurie Lastly the common lawyers are of the same judgement For Glanuile who was lord chiefe Iustice of England in the dayes of Henry the second teacheth that vsurie is committed when a man hauing lent any thing that doth consist vpon number weight and measure doth take any thing ouer and aboue his loane Lib. 10. cap. 3. And thus it appeareth that the true nature of vsurie is expressed in this definition Let vs now see how by this definition vsurie is distinguished from other contracts and also other things which may seeme to haue some affinitie therewith for of the rest it is needlesse to speake It is therefore distinguished I. from all liberall contracts as that of donation or free gift of mutuation or free lending to spend of commodation or free lending to vse because they be free and liberall but vsurie is illiberall and for gaine 2. From all lawfull buying because in buying there is a perpetuall alienation of money in vsurie but for a time and therefore in the contract of buying selling the seller is not bound to restore the money againe but in the contract of vsurie being a contract of mutuation or loane the debtour is bound after a time to restore the money againe Whereby it appeareth that a contract of buying rents whether for euer or for a mans life wherein there is an absolute bargaine and sale and a perpetuall alienation of the principall howsoeuer there may be injustice therein if equalitie be not obserued yet is it not vsurie for the subject of vsurie is loane and by the contract of loane the borrower vndertaketh after a time to repay the principall 3. From lawfull Location or letting to hire which is the rather to be obserued because some imagine that money and other things which are lent vpon vsurie may as well be let as other things But there is great difference betwixt vsurie and the lawfull contract of Location or letting And first they differ in the subjects so that the things which be lent vpon vsurie cannot bee let namely to that vse for which they are lent and those things which be let cannot be lent vpon vsurie Vsurie is in those things which are spent in the vse and consist in quantitie standing in number weight and measure Location is of such things as are not spent in the vse neither staÌ„d in number weight and measure The subject of vsurie are such things as haue no fruitful vse in themselues but the gain which is to bee raised by imployment of them is to be imputed to the industrie and skil of the imployer The subject of location haue a fruitful vse in theÌ„selues naturally The vse of things lent vpoÌ„ vsury cannot bee seuered or reckoned apart from the propertie and dominion because they are such things as are speÌ„t in the vse and therefore if you vse them you spend them The fruitfull vse of things lent may be seuered and reckoned apart and is valuable by it self as of laÌ„d goods house c. which remain in the vse vnspeÌ„t In the coÌ„tract of loane whether free or vpon vsury the lender graunteth to the borrower not only the vse but also the propertie of the thing lent froÌ„ which the vse of that which we lend to be spent in the vse cannot be seuered heÌ„ce it is called mutuum because by lending it is made ex meo tuum In the contract of location the letter granteth to him that taketh to hire the vse only of the things retaining the propertie to himselfe Because that which is the subject of loane and vsury is spent in the vse and is lent to be spent therforâ— the borrower is bound to restore not the same particular which he borrowed but so much in quantitie or full value in the same kind without any impairing or diminution Because that which is the subject of commoditie and location is lent let not to bee spent but only to be vsed therfore he that taketh the same to vse is bound to restore the selfe same particular which for the most part is impaired and made worse in the vse As in mutuation and vsurie the propertie is translated to the borrower so with the propertie also the hazard wholly appertaineth to the borrower for the verie contract of mutuation includeth in it an obligation binding the borrower that whatsoeuer becommeth of this particular which he borroweth he shall restore the full value thereof at the day appointed in the same kind And to this purpose the borrower maketh promise either by word or writing entereth into bonds and statutes laying his goods to pawne or his lands to morgage giueth sureties to assure and secure the creditor for the principall As in location the vse is communicated to the hirer but the letter retaineth the propertie so the perill and hazard of the thing if it shall miscarie without the default of the hirer belongeth to the letter and not to the hirer because it came for his hire Exod. 22. 14. And it is a rule in law To whom the hazard appertaineth to him the fruit and profit belongeth To conclude therefore things that stand in quantitie in number weight and measure as money meat and drinke wine oyle c. and are lent to be spent Non cadunt in commodâ—tum aut locatum they cannot be let For in such things contrarie to the contract of Location the propertie with the vse is transferred to the borrower and hee becommeth owner for the time thereof neither is there in such things themselues any fruitfull vse which is valuable by it selfe being spent in the vse but if there arise any gaine it is to be ascribed to the skill and industrie of the borrower who is the owner for the time of that which he borroweth Neither is he to restore the same particular impaired by the vse but the full value in the same kind with better rather than worse neither doth the lender but the borrower stand wholly to the hazard and perill And therefore the letting of such things as are not lettable is nothing but meere vsurie vnder another name Indeed if such things as stand in quantitie as money and such like be not lent to be spent
interest which as they say may be couenanted for proratione temporis according to the proportion of the time which they call intervsurium and confesse it to be called in the law vsurious interest yet those of soundest judgement doe hold that interest is not to be allowed nisi post moram but after delay for graunt intervsurium or successiue interest as they call it to be lawfull then can you not but allow of all vsurie For first interest is to be measured not ex parte debitoris but ex parte creditoris And therefore no respect is had therein whether the debtour do gaine thereby but onely whether the forbearing of the money be an hinderance to the creditour or not And secondly if it be lawfull for a man to agree according to the proportion of the time for so much gaine as the lawes permit euery lender may pretend that by the forbearing of his money he shall be so much at the least damnified therefore may couenant for so much at the least by way of interest Notwithstanding I will not denie but in some case a man lawfully require and take interest though the borrower haue not made delay as namely when by the borrowers authoritie or otherwise the creditor who cannot without his losse or certaine hinderance of some just and lawfull gaine forbeare his money is as it were forced to lend to a man whose estate or abilitie is such that he may better vndertake to saue the lender harmelesse than the lender may want his money prouided alwayes that it be true interest in respect either of certaine losse to be incurred by want of the money or of certaine hinderance of just and lawfull gaine to be sustained For in this case the borrower being the effectuall cause of the lenders hinderance or losse and being better able to beare that imposition of interest than the lender is to forbeare his money I doubt not but the lender may by requiring interest prouide for his owne indemnitie We haue heard two distinctions of vsurie the third and last remaineth viz. That vsurie is either simple or compound the simple wheu vsurie of the principall onely is exacted compound when vsurie not onely of the principall is required but of vsurie also and is therefore called vsurie of vsurie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aristoph Nub. 5. As for example when a man hauing lent an hundred pounds for a tweluemonth after ten in the hundred is content for a second yeare to forbeare both the principall and vsurie there is due to him the first yeare by simple vsurie a hundred and ten pounds but the second yeare by vsurie of vsurie a hundred and one and twentie pounds And for as much as vsurie of vsurie was euer condemned it hath beene an auncient practise of vsurers to joyne the former yeares vsurie vnto the principall and so anew to couenant for the vsurie of the whole summe Which contract of the Grecians is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and of Tully renouatiâ— fanoris renewing of vsurie We haue shewed what vsurie is and how many wayes it is committeâ—â—ow we are to consider the qualitie of it viz. whether it be lawfull or not for this the couetousnesse of these times hath made a controuersie which in former ages was neuer doubted of But not to hold you long in suspence I will in this short assertion determine what we are to hold concerning this question Which assertion I will afterwards not only proue by testimonies of Scriptures and by other arguments but also defend and maintaine against the objections of those who hold the contrarie opinion My assertion therfore is this That all vsurie which I haue defined to be mutuation or lending for gaine whether it be mentall or actuall whether manifest or couert whether simple or compound is simply and in it owne nature vtterly vnlawfull howsoeuer some vsurie is worse than other according either to the estate of the borrower or the quantitie of the vsurie I will begin with the law of God which in three places forbiddeth vsurie viz. Exod. 22. 25. Leuit. 25. 35 36. Deut. 23. 19 against which places the patrones of vsurie bring many exceptions which by the grace of God shall be refuted But I will chiefely insist on that place of Deuteronomie Thou shalt not lend vpon vsurie to thy brother the vsurie of money the vsurie of meat the vsurie of any thing that may be lent vpon vsurie That is thou shalt not lend for gaine to thy brother neither money nor meat nor any thing els which consisteth in quantitie as in number weight and measure and is spent in the vse and wherein vsurie is vsually committed Against these allegations there are diuerse exceptions taken as first concerning the words wherby vsurie is signified in the Scripture For in that place of Deuteronomie and in this Psalme not all vsurie say they is forbidden but Neshek that is morsurie or biting vsurie which biteth and damnifieth the neighbour For there is say they a certaine toothlesse or not biting vsurie which doth not hurt but helpe the neighbour But I haue shewed before that Neshek is the common and ordinarie name whereby all vsurie is signified in the Hebrew tongue And therefore this word doth not distinguish one kind of vsurie from another but in generall signifieth that all vsurie is biting And in like sort he which lendeth for gaine is called Masshik and he which taketh vp vpon vsurie though for his gaine is called Nashuk the money which is lent for gaine is called Noshek that is which biteth as appeareth euidently by this text because when it is repaid it biteth and as it were gnaweth away some part of the borrowers substance for an ouerplus or gaine to the creditour which is called Neshek as it were the bit So that all vsurie in it owne nature is biting because it biteth or shreddeth away some of the borrowers substance And although perhaps the borrower by reason of his wealth feeleth not this biting or else licketh himselfe whole by biting of others yet vsurie is a gaine which is bitten and shred away from the borower and that either to his losse or as hereafter shall be shewed to the hinderance of the commonwealth whose common profit in all contracts is especially to be regarded Secondly I haue shewed before that Neshek is all one with the other words Tarbith and Marbith whereby any gaine or cleare increase aboue the principall required for loane is signified and therefore the least gaine required for loane is Neshek and condemned for vsurie in the scripture as Leuit. 25. 36 Thou shalt not take of him vsurie or increase which the old Latine translation readeth thus Thou shalt not take vsurie of him nor more than thou gauest And vers 37 Thou shalt not lend him thy money vpon vsurie nor thy victuals for increase that is as Ambrose readeth in amplius recipiendum to receiue more Vpon which words he sayth Has sententia
his losse and therefore I ought not to make an absolute couenant for gaine whether he gaine or loose But on the other side it is lawfull sometimes to receiue things voluntarily giuen which it were vtterly vnlawfull to couenant for beforehand Many things are honestly receiued which cannot honestly be demaunded and much lesse by couenant be exacted It is lawfull in the commonwealth for priuat men when the magistrats haue done them justice and defended them from wrong in testimonie of their loue and thankfulnesse to bring them some present in the church it is lawfull for the ministers hauing beene freely preferred by their patrones to giue them some gratuitie in token of their loue and thankfulnesse and it is lawfull for the magistrat and patron to accept of such gratuities the magistrat hauing intended justice and not respected rewards and the patrone hauing regarded nothing else but the discharge of his dutie in preferring a worthie man But if the magistrat should couenant with the priuat man to doe him justice for reward it were the detestable sinne of briberie and selling of justice and if the patrone should indent with the minister for reward it were the sacrilegious sinne of symonie In like case it is lawfull for a creditour who hauing intended the helpe of his brother and not his owne profit by free loane to accept from the borrower a gratuitie in testimonie of his loue and thankfulnesse but if he should beforehand couenant with him therefore it were the damnable sinne of vsurie And whereas they add That we may make such a couenant so we prouide for the borrowers indemnitie I answere that the contract of actuall vsurie including an absolute couenant for gaine prouideth for the lenders certaine gaine as well out of the borrowers losse as out of his gaine which is most vnequall and vnconscionable Thus haue I prooued vsurie to bee an vnjust and vnequall thing Whereupon doth follow the proofe of the second point that it is also an vncharitable thing for where there is no justice there can be no charitie But my meaning is to prooue that as it is an vnjust and vnequall thing in it selfe so it is an hurtfull thing to our neighbour And this I will prooue first in generall For vsurie as it is an illiberall so also an vncharitable lending not onely peruerting and deprauing but also euerting and extinguishing that most necessarie act and dutie of charity and liberalitie that is to say free lending and consequently is most hurtfull and pernicious both to priuat men in particular and to humane societies in generall Now this is a principle That whatsoeuer peruerteth ouerturneth an act of vertue especially such a necessarie act to humane societies it is not onely a vice but a detestable vice for nothing is opposit to vertue but vice As for free lending it is a commendable act of liberalitie and a necessary dutie of charitie There are two acts of liberalitie dono dare mutuo dare to giue freely and to lend freely And this latter whereby one man doth supply the necessities of another is so necessarie that humane societies cannot stand without it Vsurie hauing stept into the roume of free lending you shall heare vsurers and patrons of vsurie not ashamed to say that commonwealths cannot stand without vsurie without lending indeed they cannot but without vsurie they both might and ought And surely if lending were taken away necessitie would driue many men into desperat courses as the Syriack interpreter vnderstood that speech of our Sauior Luke 6. 35 Lend causing no man to despaire But vsurie peruerteth and depraueth this necessarie act of liberalitie and charitie turning it vnto an act of selfeloue couetousnesse and crueltie For whereas by the ordinance of God and by the law of nature lending is free and charitable intending the good of the borrower and not of the lender vsurie hath made it illiberall and vncharitable intending the lenders profit chiefely if not onely and seeking yea couenanting for the lenders gaine as well out of the losse of the borrower as out of his gain The propertie of charitie is not to seeke her owne but the good of others and whereas other vertues serue for the good of the subject wherein they are the acts of charitie and liberalitie are referred to the good of others Lending therefore being an act of liberalitie and charitie ought to respect the good of the borrower if not only yet chiefely but lending by vsurie is made an act of selfeloue wherein the good of the borrower is sought either not at all or but in a secondarie respect as it serueth to further the lenders gaine For indeed the lender by vsurie couenanteth absolutely for gaine which happeneth sometimes out of the borrowers losse and somtimes also out of his gaine which the vsurer will pretend to seeke and respect but the truth is he will neuer look after his neighbours profit vnlesse therein he may be sure to find his owne gaine The vsurers lending therefore is an act of selfeloue and it is also an act of couetousnesse For whereas lending proceedeth from one of these three fountains either from Christian charitie or from ciuile loue and humanitie or from couetousnesse he is said to lend in Christian charitie who lendeth for the Lords sake to his needie neighbour looking for nothing againe in ciuile charitie or courtesie who lendeth to pleasure his friend looking for his owne againe in couetousnesse who looketh for more than his owne For indeed what is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is couetousnesse but an vnlawfull desire of hauing more If any man object that by the same reason I condemne all gaine which men doe seeke after by other contracts I answere That in the lawfull contracts of negotiation a man may as well seeke his owne profit as another mans for therefore they were ordained that by the mutuall communication of things vpon equall conditions both parties might be mutually profited And moreouer the gaine which is gotten by them may well stand with that equalitie which in commutatiue justice is required But lending was not ordained to be a contract of negotiation but an act of charitie and liberalitie wherein the lender should not respect his owne gaine but the borrowers good and the gaine which is sought for by lending doth not nor cannot stand with equalitie and justice as I haue prooued before Whereas therefore lending was ordained of God to be a contract whereby the lender should seeke the good of the borrower without respect of his owne profit so far should he be from doing wrong therein the vsurer hath made lending a contract wherein he seeketh for his owne gaine not onely vncharitably without respect of the borrowers either profit or losse but also vnjustly seeking gaine where he beares no hazard and taking another mans goods without his good will Lastly whereas lending is an act of bountie and mercie as the Psalmist sayth A good man is mercifull and lendeth vsurie
lawful and good to lend to the rich with a iust increase as to giue or lend freely to the poore and that the like opposit blessing of plenteousnesse equally belongeth to both As if Salomon had also said he that giueth to the poore freely and cheerefully and lendeth to the rich to increase himselfe shall vndoubtedly attaine to great riches Thus you see how a partiall and prejudicat mind seeketh rather to draw the Scriptures to it selfe than to conforme it selfe to the Scriptures This prouerbiall sentence is diuersly expounded the most of them that I haue seene expound the latter clause as a punishment of the former As if this were the sence and meaning of this prouerbe That he which seeketh to enrich himselfe by oppressing the needie shall contrarie to his expectation either by bribes giuen to magistrats that he may escape the punishments which by the lawes belong vnto him or else by forfeiture of his goods into great mens hands fall into pouertie Others obserue here to be noted two practises of worldly men which they read copulatiuely that is to take from the poore and to giue to the rich both of them in their intent and purpose referred to the enriching of themselues but by the just prouidence of God so disposed that in the euent they tend to their impouerishment As if Salomon had said He that taketh from the poore to enrich himselfe and giueth to the rich that from them he may receiue greater benefits which commonly is the end of gifts giuen to great men shall by the just judgement of God come to pouertie or as one vnderstandeth this prouerbe He that oppresseth the poore to enrich himself also who giueth to the rich small things that he may receiue from him greater matters and that he may do it oppresseth the poore in the meane while that he may haue to giue to the rich hee shall surely come to pouertie But suppose the holy Ghost did here match these two as equall sinnes to take from the poore and to giue to the rich yet the latter is not generally to bee vnderstood either as a sinne in it selfe as though it were simply vnlawfull to giue any thing to the rich or as great a sinne as to lend vpon vsurie to the poore but with limitation to such things as are giuen to the rich being vnjustly taken or vncharitably withheld from the poore Howsoeuer it is the holy ghost doth not speake here of lending at all and therefore those two collections from hence are absurd and impudent either that lending freely to the rich is as great a sinne as lending vpon vsurie to the poore or that lending vpon vsurie to the rich is as good a thing in his kind as lending freely to the poore Which wicked and shamelesse assertions of this patron of vsurie I wish may bee an admonition both to others that haue taken vpon them the defence of the same cause that through the partialitie of their affections they runne not into the like extremities and also to vsurers that they relie not much vpon such patrons nor hazard their saluation vpon their credit who are now growne to this passe as to call vertue vice and vice vertue Would a man thinke it credible that a Christian man hauing knowledge and learning joyned with a profession of the truth should euer conceiue and much lesse commit to writing That to lend freely to the rich is as great a fault as to lend vpon vsurie to the poore and to lend vpon vsurie to the rich as lawfull and good a thing as to lend freely to the poore O tempora â—o mores in which it is a sinne not to be an vsurer and a vertue not to be liberall friendly courteous or ciuile In which religion is made to countenance vsurie for a vertue and to condemne liberalitie and humanitie for a vice Fourthly they alledge Ier. 15. 10. I neither lent vpon vsurie neither haue they lent me vpon vsurie Whence they gather that lending vpon vsurie is of the same nature with borrowing vpon vsurie and both of them are there mentioned as indifferent things I answer that the Prophet speaketh not of lending vpon vsurie or borrowing vpon vsurie though some translations so read but of lending vpon securitie or with purpose to exact that which is lent And this signification better fitteth the purpose of the Prophet which is to shew the contentious disposition of the people who contended with him when he had giuen them not onely no cause as he had done if hee had bene an vsurer but none occasion of cursed contention for he had forborne all worldly though otherwise lawfull contracts from whence many times contentions arise among men as if he had said I did neither meddle nor make with them in worldly affaires neither bought nor sold neither borrowed nor lent and yet they contend Or if the Prophet had spoken of vsurie in this place it would serue rather for the condemnation of borrowing vpon vsurie which in manie cases is vnlawfull than for justification of lending vpon vsurie which in no case is lawfull the Prophet disclaiming the one as well as the other as causes or at the lest as occasions of contention And these with some few other before confuted are all their allegations out of the old Testament Let vs come to the new for as some of them say It is not to be omitted that the Apostles of Christ in their sundry catalogues of sinnes do neuer once make mention of vsurie which is an argument that it is lawfull especially seeing in the Romane empire vnder which they liued it was commonly exercised euen vnto twelue in the hundred as also among the Iewes to whom Iames Peter and Iohn did write I answer first although it be not forbidden by name in the new Testament yet that proueth it not to bee lawfull An argument drawne from the testimonie of some one part of the Scripture negatiuely doth not hold it is sufficient that it is forbidden in the old Testament and namely in the morall law of God which is common and perpetuall And farre be it from vs to thinke that Christ in his Gospell alloweth any sinne which is forbidden in the morall law as I haue prooued vsurie to be Againe there are many other sinnes forbidden in the morall law which are not once mètioned in the new Testament For to seeke no further biting and griping vsurie is condemned in the morall law and is a thing in the confession of all simply and vtterly vnlawfull and yet thereof is no mention made in all the new Testament and therefore if this argument be good no vsurie at all be it neuer so immoderat or excessiue is vnlawfull Secondly I answer that vsurie is forbidden and condemned in the new Testament not indeed expresly and by name neither is that needfull for many things are contained in the Scriptures which are not expresly mentioned in the Scriptures There be I doubt not some sinnes condemned in the morall
occasion of contention which he prooueth by these two particulars of lending and borrowing whether freely or vpon vsurie which are the most vsuall occasions of suits and contentions among men therefore the Prophets meaning was not to professe that he had done no vnlawfull thing but that he had giuen the contentious people no occasion of contention But what if the Prophet speake not of vsurie at all in this place as indeed he doth not but onely of ciuile lending vpon securitie that is when a man lendeth with purpose to exact againe that which he lendeth The verbe Nashah which here is vsed as heretofore I haue shewed signifieth in this argument exacting that which a man hath lent or lending with purpose to exact that which is lent Neither is there any necessitie that we should vnderstand the word in any place where it is vsed in the Scripture of lending vpon vsurie Howbeit the word Nosheh which signifieth an exactour sometimes is vnderstood of the vsurer because he of all creditours is the greatest exactour And because the vsurers aboue all others will be sure to lend vpon securitie purposing to exact not only their owne but also an ouerplus therefore some translatours vnderstand the word which signifieth no more but to exact or to lend with purpose to exact of vsurious lending Thus R. Dauid Kimhi vnderstandeth this place of lending in generall Thus Tremellius and Iunius translate Non dedi mutuum neque mutuo dederunt mihi or as some vnderstand the place I am not in debt to them nor they to me Neither ought that to trouble any that the Latine translation hath the word foenerare or other Latin authours that follow it for both in it and them the word foenerare is often vsed in the sence of free lending as appeareth by these places Deut. 15. 6. 28. 12. 44. Prou. 19. 17. 22. 7. where the Hebrew text and other translations haue those words which signifie free lending as also Luke 6. 34 likewise Ecclesiast 29. 1. 2. Out of which places it is euident that as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Greeke authours so foenerare and foenerari in Latine translations which also may be said of diuines who haue written in Latine are more often vsed in the signification of free lending than of lending vpon vsurie And euen in this place where the Prophet sayth Non foeneraui according to the Latine Lyâ—anus expoundeth it thus i. Non commodaui I haue not lent But you will say Where Nashah is construed with the preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as in this place it signifieth lending vpon vsurie No such matter Indeed some Hebrew writers haue imagined that Nashah simply signifieth to borrow but with the preposition to lend and so expound and read this place I haue not borrowed neither haue they lent to me that is I neither sought to borrow of them neither did they lend to me of their owne accord But the truth is that Nashah signifieth to lend and where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is added it is a note as the English to of the Datiue case hauing reference to the partie which borroweth as Nehem. 5. 10. I and my brethren sayth Nehemiah lend to them mony and corne vnlesse we will with my aforesaid English author absurdly affirme that Nehemiah and his followers did lend to their needie brethren vpon vsurie Or if I would in like sort vrge the signification of the word Noshâ—h which is more often vsed to signifie an vsurer than the verbe Nashah to lend vpon vsurie I might bring a manifest example out of the Scriptures of a man which feared God to prooue the lawfulnesse of borrowing vpon vsurie which the Prophet Elisha was so farre from condemning that he helped the widdow of that partie by miracle to pay her debt and as the Greeke translation hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the vsurie 2. King 4. 1. 7. The place therefore in Ieremie is thus to be read I haâ—e not lent meaning the ciuile kind of lending vpon securitie for so much the word signifieth neither haue they lent to me And therefore as I haue no cause to contend with them besides the duty of my calling in striuing against their sinnes so neither haue I giuen them any occasion to contend with me and yet I am a man of contention and strife to the whole land which may be vnderstood both actiuely in respect of their opinion of him and passiuely in respect of their behauiour towards him and euerie one doth curse me And as this translation doth best expresse the force of the Hebrew text so doth it best fit the scope and purpose of the Prophet which is to shew the vntoward disposition and contentious behauiour of the people towards him who when as he neither coÌ„tended with them about any worldly affaires nor yet gaue them any occasion to contend with him he had neither lent nor borrowed he did neither meddle nor make in any worldly dealing or traffique with them from which contentions vsually arise among men yet they contended with him and judged him a contentious man and for that cause cursed him But the signification of vsurie is not so fit for the Prophet meaning as I sayd to set forth their vntoward and contentious behauiour towards him would signifie that he had giuen them not onely no cause but not so much as any occasion of contention and hatred for although he had not dealt by vsurie with them nor any way wronged them but yet had otherwise intermedled with them by ciuile lending and borrowing or other worldly affaires they might haue had though no just cause yet diuerse occasions of contending with him neither was vsurie so vsuall among the Iewes as that he should mention it as the vsuall and ordinarie cause of contention among them And thus much I hope may suffice for answer to that allegation out of Ier. 15. 10. The other testimonie is out of Esay 24. 2 where the Prophet hath these words as some translations read Like lender like borrower like giuer like taker to vsurie But this allegation though it did speake of lending and borrowing vpon vsurie as I haue shewed there is no necessitie to graunt so much seeing the words may thus be read the exactour as he of whom he doth exact yet it would prooue nothing concerning this controuersie for there the Lord threatneth such a confusion of all estates and ouerturning of the commonweale that all men of dignitie and abilitie being bereaued of that which they had and so made equall with them of low degree and poore estate the people should be as the priest the seruant as the master the handmaid as the mistresse the buyer as the seller the lender as the borrower the exactour or vsurer as he of whom he exacteth And thus much concerning the testimonies of Scripture Now let vs consider what other reasons may be alledged against borrowing vpon vsurie 1. As first that lending and