The Doctrine of Justification by Faith

Reatus is a word of late Admission into the Latin ⟨p. 279⟩Tongue, and was formed of Reus. So Quintilian informs us in his Discourse of the use of obsolete and new words, lib. 8. cap. 3. Quae vetera nunc sunt, fuerunt olim nova; quaedam in usu perquam recentia. Messalla primus Reatum, munerarium Augustus dixerunt; To which he adds Piratica, Musica, and some others then newly come into use. But Reatus at its first Invention was of no such signification as it is now applied unto. I mention it only to show, that we have no reason to be obliged unto mens Arbitrary use of words. Some Lawyers first used it, pro crimine, a fault, exposing unto Punishment. But the Original Invention of it continued by long use, was to express the outward state and condition of him who was Reus, after he was first charged in a cause criminal before he was acquitted or condemned. Those among the Romans who were made Rei by any public Accusation, did betake themselves unto a poor squalid Habit, a sorrowful countenance, suffering their Hair and Beards to go undressed; Hereby on Custom and Usage, the people who were to judge on their cause, were inclined to compassion. And Milo furthered his sentence of Banishment, because he would not submit to this custom which had such an appearance of Pusillanimity and baseness of Spirit. This state of sorrow and trouble so expressed, they called Reatus and nothing else. It came afterwards to denote their state who were committed unto custody in order unto their Trial, when the Government ceased to be popular, wherein alone the other Artifice was of use. And if this word be of any use in our present Argument, it is to express the state of men after Conviction of sin, before their Justification. That is their Reatus, the condition wherein the proudest of them cannot avoid to express their inward sorrow and anxiety of mind, by some outward evidences of them. Beyond this we are not obliged by the use of this word, but must consider the thing it self which▪ now we intend to express thereby.

Reatus is a word of late Admission into the Latine ⟨p. 279⟩Tongue, and was formed of Reus. So Quintilian informs us in his Discourse of the use of obsolete and new words, lib. 8. cap. 3. Quae vetera nunc sunt, fuerunt olim nova; quaedam in usu perquam recentia. Messalla primus Reatum, munerarium Augustus dixerunt; To which he adds Piratica, Musica, and some others then newly come into use. But Reatus at its first Invention was of no such signification as it is now applied unto. I mention it only to shew, that we have no reason to be obliged unto mens Arbitrary use of words. Some Lawyers first used it, pro crimine, a fault, exposing unto Punishment. But the Original Invention of it continued by long use, was to express the outward state and condition of him who was Reus, after he was first charged in a cause criminal before he was acquitted or condemned. Those among the Romans who were made Rei by any publick Accusation, did betake themselves unto a poor squalid Habit, a sorrowful countenance, suffering their Hair and Beards to go undressed; Hereby on Custome and Usage, the people who were to judge on their cause, were enclined to compassion. And Milo furthered his sentence of Banishment, because he would not submit to this custom which had such an appearance of Pusillanimity and baseness of Spirit. This state of sorrow and trouble so expressed, they called Reatus and nothing else. It came afterwards to denote their state who were committed unto custody in order unto their Trial, when the Government ceased to be popular, wherein alone the other Artifice was of use. And if this word be of any use in our present Argument, it is to express the state of men after Conviction of sin, before their Justification. That is their Reatus, the condition wherein the proudest of them cannot avoid to express their inward sorrow and anxiety of mind, by some outward evidences of them. Beyond this we are not obliged by the use of this word, but must consider the thing it self which now we intend to express thereby.