and defendant come to their Alfakins or chief judge, “and at once without any farther appeals or pitiful delays, the cause is heard and ended.”  Our forefathers, as [520]a worthy chorographer of ours observes, had wont pauculis cruculis aureis, with a few golden crosses, and lines in verse, make all conveyances, assurances.  And such was the candour and integrity of succeeding ages, that a deed (as I have oft seen) to convey a whole manor, was implicite contained in some twenty lines or thereabouts; like that scede or Sytala Laconica, so much renowned of old in all contracts, which [521]Tully so earnestly commends to Atticus, Plutarch in his Lysander, Aristotle polit.:  Thucydides, lib. 1, [522]Diodorus and Suidus approve and magnify, for that laconic brevity in this kind; and well they might, for, according to [523]Tertullian, certa sunt paucis, there is much more certainty in fewer words.  And so was it of old throughout:  but now many skins of parchment will scarce serve turn; he that buys and sells a house, must have a house full of writings, there be so many circumstances, so many words, such tautological repetitions of all particulars (to avoid cavillation they say); but we find by our woeful experience, that to subtle wits it is a cause of much more contention and variance, and scarce any conveyance so accurately penned by one, which another will not find a crack in, or cavil at; if any one word be misplaced, any little error, all is disannulled.  That which is a law today, is none tomorrow; that which is sound in one man’s opinion, is most faulty to another; that in conclusion, here is nothing amongst us but contention and confusion, we bandy one against another.  And that which long since [524]Plutarch complained of them in Asia, may be verified in our times.  “These men here assembled, come not to sacrifice to their gods, to offer Jupiter their first-fruits, or merriments to Bacchus; but an yearly disease exasperating Asia hath brought them hither, to make an end of their controversies and lawsuits.”  ’Tis multitudo perdentium et pereuntium, a destructive rout that seek one another’s ruin.  Such most part are our ordinary suitors, termers, clients, new stirs every day, mistakes, errors, cavils, and at this present, as I have heard in some one court, I know not how many thousand causes:  no person free, no title almost good, with such bitterness in following, so many slights, procrastinations, delays, forgery, such cost (for infinite sums are inconsiderately spent), violence and malice, I know not by whose fault, lawyers, clients, laws, both or all:  but as Paul reprehended the [525]Corinthians long since, I may more positively infer now:  “There is a fault amongst you, and I speak it to your shame, Is there not a [526]wise man amongst you, to judge between his brethren? but that a brother goes to law with a brother.”  And [527]Christ’s counsel concerning lawsuits, was never so fit to be inculcated as in this age:  [528]"Agree with thine adversary quickly,” &c.  Matth. v. 25.