The Debt Book: Chapter I. Debts in General (1625)
| Artifact Summary | |
|---|---|
| Artifact type | Treatise section |
| Creator/author | Henry Wilkinson |
| Date | 1625 |
| Period | Stuart |
| City and country of origin | London, England |
| Abstract | |
Entry
Source PDF: Google Drive file. Parent page: The Debt Book (1625).
CHAP. I. The words opened; and a d isc o urs e to u chi n g D e bt s in generall, with reasons wh y we sho u ld n ot c on t i n ue in them. IN the words before, the Apostle exhorteth to render to euery man his due, tribute, custome, honour and feare to whom they belong, and in these things not to remaine debtors to any; but so farre as in vs lyeth to yeeld to euery man his right; from which particular enumeration, he proceedeth here to the generall admonition, to owe nothing to any man but loue, this is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, sayth Chrysostome, a Debt neuer fully paid, but alwaies to be yeelded and alwaies due; the Argument is thus. Debts must bee paid, but loue is an vniuersall and a perpetuall debt, therefore it must be yeelded to all: the Verse is resolued into two propositions. First, wee must not be in debt in such things as can be discharged. Secondly, we must alwaies continue and keepe on foote the debt of loue. A reason is annexed of the latter Proposition; Hee that loueth another hath fulfilled the Lawe. For the vnderstanding of the former proposition, we must consider what Debt is. Debitum est quicquid obligatione aliqua alteri praestatur: Debt is whatsoeuer is performed to another, vpon any bond or reasonable consideration: Now as is the obligation, such is the debt; obligations are of three sorts, of Nature, of Grace, and of Ciuill contract. Bonds of Nature and Grace are perpetuall, so long as the parties remaine, as a child oweth a perpetuall respect to the Parents, and they to him, euen by nature: so Christians are vnited in the bonds of grace, which must not faile but ought to continue. Yet the ciuill bonds of debt, which come by borrowing and lending, by buying and selling, or any interchangeable duties and seruices, doe then cease when they are payed and performed. The proposition is to be vnderstood of this third kind of debt as we may see by the exception in the Text, which keepes that debt on foot which cannot totally be discharged.
Now when he sayth, Owe nothing to any man, I took it not to be a simple prohibition of all ciuill debts, which cannot bee auoided, while humane contracts stand; but it is an admonition duly and truly to discharge all such debts, and so much as in vs lyeth, not to continue in them. Hortatur, sayth Chrysostome, vt nullius rei quám solius dilectionis debitores maneamus, soluentes scilicet quicquid rerum aliarum aut officiorum debemus. He exhorteth that wee remaine not debtors of any thing, but of loue only, paying forthwith whatsoeuer other things or duties wee do owe; this doth Bucer follow, and other the best Expositors. The instruction is this: That whatsoeuer ciuill debts or duties we owe to any, we must truly and duely pay them, and so much as in vs lyeth not continue vnder that bond and obligation. Giue vnto Caesar that which is Caesars, is an excellent rule, Mat. 22. 21. and is it not euen as true and as good; render to your neighbour that which is your neighbours? If the work-man be worthy his wages, Luke 10. 7. then euen the hireling must haue his due; the poorest labourer his due; specially the labourer in the Lords haruest. If it be a brand by Gods Spirit vpon the wicked, that he borroweth, but paieth not againe, Psal. 37. 21. Then should euerie good man, so much as in him lyeth, pay euery man his owne, and not willingly continue vnder the bond of debt. First, because debt consumes many a [Reason. 1] mans estate, by the hard conditions vpon which they are constrained to borrow; as vpon vsurious contracts, or vpon cruell bargaines, or vpon such pawns and Morgages and Obligations as vtterly vndoe a man in the forfeiture. Secondly, in many cases it is a seruile [2] thing to be indebted: and therefore when the Lord will set downe an vnderling, hee describes him by being a borrower, and not a lender. Deut. 28. 43. Hee shall lend to thee, but thou shalt not lend to him. Salomon is more peremptory; The borrower is a seruant to the lender, Prou. 22. 7. supposing them equall before, as we may see by his submissiuenesse and flatteries, and obsequiousnesse, and seruile obseruations. By Debt a mans state and person is in a manner mancipated to the lender. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, gifts for loane of money, make free men seruants, by turning, as I conceiue, the state of him that so borroweth, from freedome to seruility. Thirdly, by long continuance of a [3] debt, freely lent, the Lender may be damnified greatly by the Borrower. A man by trading and turning the Stocke, may raise maintenance to himselfe, and such as depend vpon him; whereas the money in another mans hand long deteined, is like aburied Talent, in respect of the owner. Fourthly, Debt may prooue vncomfortable [4] fortable to a mans owne Conscience, for what if payment be so long deferred till a man be not able to pay? till he be compelled to ingage others? what if it be deferred till a man dye? then that which might haue beene satisfied by ones selfe, will verie hardly bee discharged by his Executors. A man well able to pay his owne debts, may leaue an Heire that shal not be bound to pay. Lands pay no debts, or not in hast; not at a mans neede. Fiftly, a man indebted cannot (while he so continueth) liue comfortably, because, though otherwise frugall and industrious, yet hee enioyeth not the labour of his hands, but he soweth, and another reapeth; or hee reapeth to another that which he soweth: he earneth wages, but another mans bag must bee filled with it, and so he laboureth for the winde; specially when hee borrowes vpon vsury, for that will eate out all a mans increase. Nor can a man thus continuing, prepare to die contentedly, by setting his house and outward state in order. For, if debts must first be paid, as vndoubtedly they should, and then Legacies and Portions, what certainty can be assigned to the fatherlesse and widow, when whatsoeuer is most precious in a mans house or substance, must bee drawne out to the satisfying of the Creditour, before they can bee sure that they eate their owne bread? Many men seeming rich, are found poore and naked, when euery bird hath her owne feather.
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