The twentith Chapter. Of Nobilitie, of Bondage, of Occupying marchandise, and ingrosing of wares.
ARistotle in his seconde booke of Rhetorickes writeth of Nobilitie, 1 2 that the same consisteth héerein, that a ma~ haue excellent and famous Auncestors. For although that oftentimes euen in these our dayes are found me~ which atchieue notable interprises of no lesse excellencie than are those mentioned of the forefathers, yet are those auncient actes of greater estimation by reason of their antiquitie. For there is a difference betwéene ⟨…⟩ and ⟨…⟩. 3 For they are called ⟨…⟩ which are borne of noble parents, but ⟨…⟩ are those which retaine still the vertue of their Ancestours, and doe not degenerate from them. 4 We sée that in the families of noble men the selfesame thing in a manner happeneth which happeneth in corne: which is accustomed some yéeres to bring foorth more plentifully, and some yéeres more barrainly. And sometime it chaunceth, that after a fewe barraine yéeres, followe other fertill yéeres. So y e families of noble men sometime bring foorth manie excellent men, as it were a verie plentifull haruest; sometime as it were an vnfruitfull soyle, they lie barren and idle: And againe afterward they after a sort reuiue, vnto y e vertue of their Ancestors. And how this degenerating commeth, the same Aristotle after this manner declareth: It commeth to passe oftentimes (saith he) that y e children or posteritie of wise & wittie men become fierce and cruel, as it is written of the posterities of Alcibiades. And on the other side, of méeke, louing, and gentle Parents, are borne childre~ cowardish, sluggish, and blockish: which we read to haue happned in the families of Symon and Socrates. The selfe same things may we beholde in the children of Israel. They had Patriarkes as Princes of their stocke, being men indued with great vertues and singular nobilitie. Of their posteritie sprang foorth oftentimes excellent men: which posteritie although sometimes it séemed to lie still without any notable issue, yet GOD alwayes betwéene whiles stirred vp in it, some, either Iudges, or Kings, or Prophets, or Priests which excelled in life, wisedome and godlinesse. Moreouer the same Aristotle in his first Booke of Rhetorickes, writeth that the true nobilitie, or felicitie of any nation herein chiefely consisteth, 5 that together with prosperous successe it haue vertue ioyned: which two thinges God gaue aboundantly vnto the Hebrewes. He addeth moreouer, that y e people is called noble, which is not mingled with the mixture and confusion of other nations. For which consideration the Athenians boasted that they were ⟨…⟩, that is, of one and the selfe same soyle.
6 2 But there can be shewed of no nation which had a stocke so pure and vnmixt as had the Hebrewes. For Abraham was the head of their stocke: whose Nephew Iacob had 12. children, of who~ came the 12. tribes. Further euerie tribe had their certaine families, Landes, Cities, and Regions, which they inhabited. To be short, as writeth Eusebius De preparatione Euangelica, there was no common wealth, neither of the Lacedemonians, nor Athenians: (which two séemed of all other to bee most excellent) which had their stocke so certaine, or their tribes so certainly deriued from one Prince and progenitour. For to nobilitie is required that the people should liue in their owne lawes: But no nation at any time had their lawes so proper as had the nation of the Hebrewes. 7 For lawes were giuen them particularly from GOD, which infinitelie excelled the lawes of all other nations. And they liued vnder their owne lawes so long as they obeyed the Lord. For he then defended them from all misfortunes. But by reason of their sinnes, they were sometimes led awaie captiue by outward nations. But these captiues were not perpetuall: sith after that they had bin punished for their wickednes, they were restored to their olde places againe. Moreouer antiquitie commendeth and setteth forth the nobilite of a people. 8 For there can be nothing of Antiquitie founde in the histories of the Ethnickes, but that the same followed long time after that the common wealth of the Iewes was establishd. Before the warre of Troy, 9 whatsoeuer is set forth by Ethnicke writers is fabulous. And that warre was then made when Iephthe was now Iudge ouer the commonwealth of the Iewes. Also it furthereth no small deale vnto nobilitie to haue had excellent men of that stocke. And there was neuer either more or more excellent men than among the Iewes. I will not speake of the great multitude of children and the goodnesse in children, which woonderfully flourished among the Iewes.