of Lincolne a young striplyng deyntyly brought vp he begat him saith Huntington when he was Chauncellour to William the great kyng Hen. Hunt li. 8 ca. 2. Nowe though the sayde William Archbishop attempted the matter agayne at Michaelmas tyde and woulde geue the priestes no longer respite to put their wyues a daye but to saint Andre â—es daye Yet sayth the storie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chr Saxon. anno 1129. This dyd byd the archbyshop of Canterburie and the byshoppes which were in Englande And yet all these decrees and byddynges stoode not al held their wyues by the kinges leaue euen so as they before dyd In whiche tyme the stirre was so great and the cause so harde to be wonne that William the archbyshop gaue ouer and referred the controuersie wholly to kyng Henrie aâ—â—â— 25. Henrie Wherevpon he decreed that the priestes shoulde continue with their wyues styll Of whom for that the kynges officers toke pencions the byshoppes began to repent them of their committyng so the cause wherof they woulde haue had the orderyng them selues to some other purpose For which pentionarie matter Anselme had certaine yeres before by his epistle well chydden the kyng wherof yet belyke the kyng as beyng well learned in the lawes as Matthewe Paris testifieth made not so great â— conscience as certaine of the votarie bishoppes dyd as oâ—fended that fayth shoulde be inuiolablie preserued betwixt such as were in matrimonie seyng hym selfe had such conscience of breakyng his fayth that he made and as he iudged it not dispensable by the popes auctoritie as he not long before had declared to pope Calixtus hym selfe For yf he had thought it to haue ben agaynst the precept of God he woulde neuer haue suffâ—ed so many yeres the continuaunce of the same by his auctoritie anno 11â—8 〈…〉 Chro. Aug. Chro. 〈◊〉 After William folowed Theobaldus in whose dayes the house of saint Gregories in Canterburie was brent anno 1145. the churche and almost the whole citie of Rochester was first brent the chathedrall church of Yorke was brent and without that citie the church of saint Marie where was an Abbey with the goodly Hospitall founded by the archbyshop Thurstone brent for good rule ye maye be sure their chastitie deserued no lesse That Thurstone archbyshop was he that builded the monasterie of Fountaynes and repented hym therof by open worde and sayde he neuer repented hym more of any thyng and when certaine laye men present hearde him so say and were offended at his saying he sayde ye be laye men and knowe not the pith of my wordes and therfore he afterwarde alwayes sayde that he woulde rather geue to lecherous men then to munckes But as concernyng the plague of God in the burnyng of so many Abbeys professing such holynes as is to be marueyled what may be read in storie Chro. Peter 1070. annal eiusd 1113.1114 VValterus weekes 1116.1121.1112 Houenden 1184. Houenden 1188. Gualter Couent 1212. Fabian 1261.1370 besydes these that are alredy spoken of and those that do folowe in other mens dayes As Howe the abbey of Peterborowe was once brent Howe the monasterie of Worceter was brent Howe the abbey of Chichester was brent Howe the abbey of Peterborowe was brent once agayne Howe the churche of Powles with many other cathedrall churches were brent Howe the abbey of Glocester was brent Howe the abbey of Glastenburie was brent Howe the churche of Beuerlay was brent Howe saint Maries churche of the Chanons in Southwark was brent Howe the steeple of Euesham was set on fire by lyghtnyng Howe the Abbacie of saint Edmundes was brent with diuers more as hereafter partly doth folow The rather may these examples thus so generally vniuersally and so thicke executed vppon these munckes houses be a more proofe of gods plague agaynst their munckyshe lyfe and order as nothyng pleased with the most of them then the aduersaries can iustly charge the vniuersall religion of the Gospel receaued by the particuler burnyng of one steeple in the Realme so seldome seene in these dayes To note what intemperate weather what immoderate wyndes what lightning what thunder what earthquakes fell vpon these houses besydes to note howe vniuersally before the conquest all these monasteries howe much soeuer they were multiplied and increased God dyd euer bryng them downe agayne and complaned them euen with the grounde that fewe or none remayned vnbrent or vndestroyed by the inuasion of infidels and other nations from tyme to tyme commyng vppon them shall not be nedefull to cumber the reader at this tyme with tediousnes Neuber lib. 3. cap. 5. Well these houses were not brent for other mens faultes Where the cronicle of Peterborow ascribeth this plague of God in burnyng their churche and all that was therein to their retchlesse lyfe and wretchednes and dronkennes they vsed And William Thorne muncke of S. Augustines anno 1168. ascribeth the burnyng of their churche abbey to the foule abuse of takyng infantes scant weaned from their nurses to be munckes professed among them A pretie age for a perpetuall vowe and a worthy cause to make such subiect to the austeritie of archbyshop Pecchams constitution Apud Lamhith anno 1281. ca. Item moniales where he ordereth that yf the Nunne tarry one yere in the habite before she haue taken the bishoppes benediction must yet be reputed for professed and may not returne to the world again for if she do she must be accompted vsed as an apostata Although saith he the religious haue not receaued the byshops benediction with the solempnitie of a vowe they may not yet iudge themselues to be free if they be once come to the yeres of discretion and reason and be able to perceaue fraude and deceyte Where there be many examples lefte in writers what wretchednes hath folowed of these young professions I wyll report but one the tragidie wherof is suche that it shoulde hurt chaste eares to heare the fylthynes that therin is tolde of a certaine young chylde of foure yeres of age brought into the Nunrie of Wattune in Yorkeshire in the dayes of Henrie Murdack an ambitious munke of Cistercense as Polidore writeth who gate his Bishopricke of pope Eugenius by suite and craft by the disprouyng of William elected thervnto Which Abbey was founded or rather restored by Gilbert a priest of Semplingam Whiche storie is expressed at large by Ethelrede a Cister muncke in Rhieuall in the dioces of Yorke abbote a man eloquent in his tyme. Which young girle when she came to age he wryteth howe maruelouslye she was delyuered her chylde conueyed awaye by the sayde Henrie Murdack then dead who brought her first into the Abbey Whiche byshop in a Palmers weede appeared in a vision hauyng with hym also in the vision two auncient celestial women they three only at the birth and no man knewe where the chylde became no not the mother who was so sodenly restored to her health againe that there was
of the sweetest wines As for scarlet furres golde syluer horse plate sent hym before he came into the Realme and after he was once come how he vsed himselfe let Matthew Paris be read and see the pompe and pryde of that prelate whom the king himselfe a gods name must meete on the waye Rex autem ei vsque ad confinium maris occurrit et inclinato ad genua eius capite vsque ad interiora regni deduxit officiose The kyng dyd meete hym at the borders of the sea and at his first syght bowed his head downe to the legates knees and brought hym very seruisablie into the inwarde partes of the Realme If ye aske who was lyke to be the cause he came into the Realme For he was sent for by the kynges commaundement where all the lordes sore complayned of it yea good Edmunde archbishop of Canterburie dyd much blame the kyng for his sendyng for he knowyng saith the storie that to the great preiudice of his dignitie dyd hange ouer his Realme much losse and daunger thereby In deede the bishoppes his brethren belyke not lykyng the colde and easy proceedyng of the sayde Edmunde in his constitution in the defence of the cleargies liberties and agaynst the priestes concubines agaynst which he proceeded no more sharply then he did his brethrē thought that it was to litle and therfore gaue councell to sende for a legate as is to be gathered by the gorgeous meetyng him at Paris and by sendyng hym suche great rewardes gyftes by the bishoppes and famous clarkes receauyng hym with such processions most honorable with belles ryngyng with all reuerence as was belongyng yea saith Matthew vt decuit plus quam decuit more then was meete and conuenient and therfore may be soone iudged who were lyke to be councellers to the kyng who in their dryftes then doubtyng nothyng but by the meanes of a legate sent from Rome by the pope hymselfe that what he woulde constitute should be terrible and set out for a good countenaunce to the worlde and kept notwithstandyng some of his constitutions at leysure For these zelous men concernyng this pretensed holynesse of the cleargie rather meant to make a shewe to the worlde of a perfect chastitie in refourmyng the state thereof as it was then thought decayed muche their estimation among the people then meant it in deede or that they euer thought these decrees and lawes shoulde be obserued For the practise declared howe after the great shewes of terrible decrees agaynst concubinaries the matter was handeled beyng lyke that by such restraynt seyng the inuinciblenes of conteynyng in their priestes to be seene that their tollerations and qualifications shoulde turne partlye to their owne better obedience hauyng the concubinarie priestes euer in their daunger and shoulde turne the more to the commoditie of their officers which dyd serue them And it is not vnlyke but they learned of their holy father the pope by tollerations to seke their gaynes For saith the lawyer vppon Othos constitution ca. licet ad profligandum that by some lawyers iudgementes as Iohn Andrew though Hostiensis and hym selfe holdeth the contrarie Quod crimen meretricii debet ecclesia sub dissimulatione transire nam marescallus pape de facto exigit tributum a meritricibus hoc forte ad maius malum euitandum 32. q. 1. non est culpandus That the churche onght to passe ouer by dissimulation the cryme of open harlottes because the popes marshall in deede at this present saith he exacteth tribute of harlottes and that peraduenture for auoydyng a greater mischiefe wryteth the glose If ye aske what shoulde sounde to suche a gesse that most of them meant to make many decrees from tyme to tyme but neuer meant or thought to haue them kept Consider good reader howe their expositors glosers the lawyers wipe away with their gloses the pith strength euen of this strayte lawe of Otho the legate nowe constituted so that they make it but a shypmans hose and so trauesable that it can neuer be executed meanyng in dede to shew rather outwardly a chastitie to bleare the eyes of the worlde then hopyng to haue it so in deede For euen in that very chapiter is recorded and well brought to remembraunce the watchword they had among them si non caste tamen caute for that was their principall care to go closely away to cary cleane and to lyue in secrete as they lust and then all very well With which banbery gloses they hadde at the laste brought the open cleargie to renounce open auouchyng of their wyues and lyued yet diuers of them secretelye with wyues of late dayes For euen of late in archbishop Pecchams dayes Pecham anno 1281. they after Othos decree of the same styll prouided agaynst priestes chyldren that they shoulde not nexte and immediatly succede their fathers in their benefices without the popes dispensation for feare as the glosers shewe the cause to make spirituall lyuynges temporall inheritaunce The reason of whiche their decrees do playnely declare that they toke priestes maryages for lawfull for els a bastarde in deede is not inheritable nor can clayme by inheritaunce his fathers possessions and lyuyng No more doth the cōmon lawe of the Realme count them bastardes borne in priestes matrimonie so long as the ordinarie doth not execute the canon of the churche against them whyle they liue whose mariages though they be voydable yet not voyded make their chyldren heritable Nowe this misterie si non caste tamen caute was secretelye delyuered from hande to hand to them which were the wyser and of more experience and so lyued secretelye with their frendes not openly vouched for wiues But in affectu sororio amore vxorio fide coniugali as they vse the tearmes In which kynde of lyfe there be no small argumentes that some bishoppes and the best of the cleargie lyuyng within the memorie of man dyd continue c. Where the poore simple priestes and ignoraunt idiotes hauyng litle skyll of such misteries and hauyng as feruent prouocation the most part of them in the fleshe as the better sort had knowe no other remedies but eyther to lyue in single fornication or secretly in adulteries with other men wyues euer hauyng before their eyes si non caste tamen caute But yf it chaunced that they were taken to manifestlye in the cryme that there coulde be no excuse for them then were they be ye sure extremely punyshed but yet seldome with open punyshement for it is agaynst the lawe Quia clerici solennem paenitentiam agere non debent And further for to comfort the concubinarie priestes Guilermus Lynwood vpon the title de constitutionibus ca. Distinct. 28. Presbiter Quod incontinencie moueth a question An contraueniens constitutioni peccet mortaliter he saith Qui voluntarie siue contemptabiliter sine rationabili causa transgrediuntur praeceptum legis siue constitutionis aut canonis peccant nam tales impediunt
¶ A DEFENCE of priestes mariages stablysshed by the imperiall lawes of the Realme of Englande agaynst a Ciuilian namyng hym selfe Thomas Martin doctour of the Ciuile lawes goyng about to disproue the saide mariages lawfull by the eternall worde of God by the hygh court of parliament only forbydden by forayne lawes and canons of the Pope coloured with the visour of the Churche Whiche lawes canons were extynguyshed by the sayde parliament and so abrogated by the conuocation in their Sinode by their subscriptions Herewith is expressed what moderations and dispensations haue ben vsed heretofore in the same cause other like the canons of the Churche standyng in full force Whereby is proued these constitutions to be but positiue lawes of man temporall Let Matrimonie be honorable in all persons But fornicatours and adulterers God shall iudge Hebre. xiij ¶ The contentes of this booke noted in the pagies of the same as in these titles folowyng 1 A moste humble supplication to the hygh and most myghtie princes the Kyng and Queenes excellent maiesties Fol. 1. 2 An humble suite to the ryght prudent and most honorable of their councell Fol. 2. facie 2. 3 A lowly request and obsecration to the reuerent fathers of the Churche Fol. 3. facie 2. 4 A tractation to the discrete iudgement of the worshipfull of the lower house of parliament and to the professours of the lawe Fol. 7. facie 2. c. 5 An admonition to the naturall subiectes of the Realme and certayne notes for their aduertisementes Fol. 8. facie 2. c. Fol. 9. facie 2. d. 6 An expostulation with certayne of the Clergie for lacke of charitable indifferencie Fol. 11. facie 2. 7 Generall considerations in the booke folowyng 8 That Saint Paules sentences for auoydyng of fornication let euery man haue his wyfe â–ª c. and yf they can not conteyne let them marry be generally spokeÌ„ to al persons pag. 133. 136. c. 9 To seculer priestes and to votaries 140. b. 159. a. 10 And that continencie from mariage is a rare gyft 201. c. 204. a. 247. c. 251. 11 And that it is not lyke that the Apostles dyd enioyne the same to the Clergie seing they them selues and diuers other Bushoppes and priestes had wyues 32. b. 42. 156. d. 12 That it is only of mans constitutions for continencie to be annexed to orders 71. 72. 153. c. 13 And that seculer priestes votaries haue ben dispensed with to marrie 230. 14 And that our elders and the fathers of thâ— Churche haue thought it meete alwayes for lawes and canons to be restrayned remitted 41.85.175.179 c. 196. a. 197. b. 209. a. 210. d. 15 And that the same haue ben dispensed with in matters of greater importauÌ„ce then priestes mariages 204. a. 205. 267 a 16 And haue ben dispensed to kepe their wiues 222. a. 274. a. 17 That seculer priestes ordered in England be no votaries pag. 181. d. 181. c 184. a. 18 And myght marry after order as before 60.61.76.103.155 d. 253. d. 257.272 a 19 And that they haue ben before tyme maryed in the Realme Fol. 15. b i 20 And that it is no dishonour to the order nor burthen to the Realme for priestes to marry pag. 69. 70. 59. 21 That maryages of the Clergie made by force of the lawe of the Realme be good mariages â—69 238. b. 22 And that they lye not vpon the daunger of the canons to be impeached or dissolued 67.65.58.167.171 b. 200. d. 23 No more then the maryages of the laitie which were made in kyng Henry the .viii. his tyme by the act concernyng precontractes 170. d. 24 And that forayne positiue lawes with their paynes concernyng the same be abrogated not reuiued by the act of repeale 170. c. 25 That scripture ought to be iudge and is most certayne to be sticken vnto 73.74.98 b. 100. c. 245. b. 26 That D. Martin hath rigorously without all moderation expended the cause of these sayde parties iustly maryed by lawe 83.201 27 That D. Martin hath wrested misreported scriptures in the deprauyng of the sayde lawfull maryages 135. b. 147. a. 150 d 28 That D. Martin hath peruerted and falsified the scriptures stories councels aleaged by hym 53.54.105 b. 111. b 136. b. 144 a. 146 b. 148.155 a. 156 b 164.182 b. 221. b 238. d. 29 And doctours of the Church as Origen Ambrose 145. b. Austen 101. c. 104. a. 107. a. 150. b. Ierome 108. b Isodore 109. c Eusebius 144. Ignatius 118. c. Nicephorus 156. 106. a. 30 That D. Martin sclaundereth with euyll names aswel the matrimonie of the lay men as of priestes 66.82.163 a. 31 That D. Martin hath vsed to many lyes yf his cause were good insparsed in his booke part wherof be touched 43.44.45.50.51 52.53.54.55.56.107.115.136.145.151.157 c. 182. b. 216. c. ¶ A preface to the reader WHere by chaunce came into my handes of late a booke sent from beyonde the sea wherein was highly magnified a treatise written by one Thomas Martin doctour of the Ciuile lawe and there muche labour bestowed to disproue the lawfull matrimonies of Ecclesiasticall Ministers There came to my remembraunce a certayne wrytyng beyng in my custodie gathered together and written in the raigne of Kyng Philip Queene Marie wherin much of the treatise of this Ciuilian is reproued Which said booke was written by a learned man of that tyme who shortly after dyed meanyng yf God had lent hym longer lyfe to haue confuted more of the sandye groundes principles of the sayde Ciuilian And thynkyng it at these dayes not vnprofitable to be read for this controuersie I committed it to the Printer praying thee good reader to beare with the maner of the wrytyng in some partes therof beyng more meryly penned then some graue wryter would peradueÌ„ture alowe of In which fourme of wrytyng somewhat he foloweth as he sayth hym selfe thexample of Sir Thomas Moore knyght in his booke of Dialogues for purgatorie This wryter abstaynyng yet from vnchaste tales such as be in his 〈◊〉 booke ouermuch insparsed and partly being in aduersitie gaue himself to some solace to refreshe his minde with yet vsyng fewer insultations reprofes then the vnworthinesse of the said Ciuilian by his vnreasonable chalenge myght haue moued him to Now because I wold nether adde to another mans writing neither diminishe the same I haue preseÌ„ted vnto thee good reader the whole booke as it is affirmyng this that thou shalt finde all his allegations truely aduouched by the writers that he doth name assuring thee also persuaded by the nature of the man whom I haue hearde wel reported that no malice or corrupt indignation moued hym to write as he doth but pure zeale to the trueth of Gods most holy worde to their instruction who woulde be taught in this trueth to the amendement of his aduersarie in his manifest vntruethes to the comfort of theÌ„ who loue God and his veritie and to admonishe all such as be eyther wylfully ignoraunt or malicious well to expende
liue chaste to whom God by his secrete iudgemente geueth his gifte and that to some he geueth it not But these lyes with suche other many bee the flowers of your virginall preface in letter wise presented to Queene Marie a virgine as ye can flatter her as your maner is to flatter Princes to maintaine your owne partiall causes Ye professe to dedicate your boke to her highnes because ye haue taken vpō you the defence of virginitée but your boke is rather a bolsterer out of al vncleannes a defacer of Gods holy institutiō of Matrimonie a defence of vnpure liuyng vnder the cloke of virginitée Ye make her beleue that God hath sente her to trauaile for the reformation of the Churche of Englande and for restitution of the Catholike faithe againe to the same I will to this saie no more but God graunte that whiche is pretended to bee performed in opere veritate in deede and truthe Yet one thyng had I almost passed awaie whiche were worthy to be expended This Ciuilian affirmeth manifestly that the doctrine of Priestes mariage was firste inuented by Archeheretiques and practised also of their disciples In whiche saiyng I would knowe how he can discharge saincte Paule who in doctrine prescribed to Timothe Titus reckoned mariage emong the ornamentes of a Bushop Ad Oceanum as Hierome nameth it And Leo the first faieth that emong the rules and Canons of the election of a Bushop suche one is to be ordered who is certainly knowē fuisse Ad episcopos Aphricanos Epistola xlix ii ad cor 11. aut esse vnius vxoris virum to haue been or that now is th◠husbande of one wife And where this doctor saieth that the practise thereof should bée in the Archeheretiques disciples lette hym aunswere whether he meaneth Peter and almoste all the Apostles or no For all the Apostles saieth sainct Ambrose except Ihō and Paule had wiues Thus he writeth Virgines vult eos esse in fide hūc est hij sunt qui cum mulieribus non sunt coinquinati In mulieribus errorem significans nā si mulieres mulieres intelligas vt ideò putes dictas virgines quia corpora sua incontaminata seruauerunt excludes ab hac gloria sanctos quia oēs Apostoli exceptis Ioanne Paulo vxores habuerunt vide an conueniat accusare Petrum Apostolum qui primus inter Apostolos est c. That is he willeth theim to bee virgines in faithe therefore it is saied these are thei whiche are not defiled with women by women is signified errour for if thou shouldest vnderstande by women women in deede to thinke that the Apostles therefore were called virgines because thei kepte their bodies vndefiled thou shalt then exclude holy men from this glorie for all the Apostles excepte Ihon and Paule had wiues and see whether it be conuenient to accuse Peter the chief emongest the Apostles Thus farre sainct Ambrose Saincte Augustine also writeth In questionibus noui veteris testamenti ex vtroque mixtis q. Natus ex Anna sanctissimus Samuel filios genuit non tamen iusticiae suae merita minuit Zacharias sacerdos vir iustus in senectute sua dei nutu genuit filium quo nondum nato meruit Prophetare Qua ergo ratione accusatur quod minimè obesse probat Et quis neget bonum debere dici ▪ quod neminem ledit Et vt hoc loco aliquid de Apostolis dicatur quod ad robur pertinet causae Certè S. Ioannes castimonae suae erat custos condiscipulus autem eius S. Petrus vxorem habuisse cognoscitur primatum vt acciperet inter Apostolos non ei obstitit generatio filiorum Quomodo ergo condemnandum putatur quod non est impedimentum Hinc Apostolus eum qui vxorem habeat si in caeteris seruet mandata sacerdotem fieri posse debere ostendit Quod si illicitum erat non poterat vtique peccatorem dicere debere fieri sacerdotem The moste holy Samuell borne of Anne did begette children and for all that did not lose thereby the worthy praise of his righteousnesse And Zacharie the Prieste a righteous man by Goddes biddyng in his olde age did begette a sonne who before he was borne deserued to haue the gifte of Prophesie by what reason then is that thyng blamed whiche is thus proued to bee no hinderaunce And who can deny that ought to be called good which hurteth no man Furthermore to speake now in this place of the Apostles somewhat whiche maie make to the confirmation of this cause though sainct Ihon kept his chastitie yet it is knowen that his fellowe disciple that is to saie S. Peter had a wife and that it was no impediment to hym though he begatte children to obtaine the chief place emongest the Apostles How then can that thyng bee thoughte worthie condemnation whiche is no hinderaunce at all And therevpon the Apostle proueth that he whiche hath a wife if besides forthe he kepeth Goddes commaundementes maie be and ought to bee a Prieste whiche if it were vnlawfull he could not saie that a synner oughte to bee made a Priest Hetherto sainct Augustine So likewise Ignatius doeth testifie that Peter and Paule and other of the Apostles were maried men Qui non libidinis causa sed posteritatis subrogandae causa coniuges habuerunt whiche had wiues not for pleasures sake but for encrease of the posteritie Yea sainct Clement to reproue suche as Eusebius affirmeth that defamed mariage Lib. 3. ca. 30 saieth An Apostolos improbant Petrus enim Philippus vxores habuerunt filias etiam viris nuptum dederunt Sed Paulum non tedit Apostolum in quadam Epistola sua mētionem vel salutationem facere comparis suae quam ideo se negat circumducere vt ad predicationem Euangelij expeditior fiat Doe thei disallowe the Apostles Peter and Philip truely had wiues and maried their daughters to husbandes Yea the Apostle Paule was not ashamed to make a certain mention or salutation of his mate and yokefellowe in a certaine Epistle of his and saieth that he would not for this cause leade her about that he might be the lighter to the preachyng of the Gospel And this same Clement beyng with Peter Lib. vii a perpetuall companiō in his preachyng progresse saieth that Peters wife was with him And some stories saieth that he caried his wife and his daughter Petronell with hym to Rome And the saied Clement saieth Beatum Petrum cum vidisset vxorem suam duci ad passionem gauisum esse electionis gratia ac regressionis ad propriam domū exclamasse ad eam cum duceretur ac proprio nomine compellantem dixisse O coniunx memento domini c. When S. Peter saw his wife ledde to martyrdome he reioised for her elections sake and for her retourne againe to her owne home and with a loude voice callyng her by her proper name as she was
to expende and to expound the lawes of the realme in suche preiudiciall maner as he doth I would faine knowe how he can glose that Acte of Parliamente made in the .xxxij. yere of that noble Kyng Henry the eighte whiche is not as yet repealed but confirmed a newe for some parte thereof concernyng the prohibitions of the Leuiticall Lawe and standeth in sure force at this very daie wherein is plainly expressed that no reseruation or prohibition Goddes Lawe except shall trouble or empeche any mariage without the saied Leuiticall degrees And that all suche bee lawfull persones to contracte whiche bee not prohibited by Gods lawe to marrie I thinke this man can not saye that priestes mariages bee within suche degrees Ergo thei ought not to be troubled or impeched as this Lawe commaundeth And where this doctor writeth in th ende of his .ix. Chapiter full learnedly bee ye suer R. ij specially for a greate maister of the Chauncerie that the two actes in Kyng Edwardes daies aucthorisyng priestes mariages doeth not take a waie the penalties of the Canon lawe whiche assertion for the like how far it may be extended let wise menne iudge But if thei did he saieth yet could not the priestes take any aduauntage by them longer then thei did continue And he addeth his reason because saith he the auncient lawes of the churche as sone as the saied two statutes were taken awaie came straight in force againe Further saieth he for that thei were neuer extinguished but only for a time shadowed and brought a slepe And this he saieth is the opinion of the chief Doctors of the Ciuill lawe Now Master Ciuilian if ye had alledged this opinion as of suche as be learned and beareth good hartes to their owne naturall lawe of the realme your saiyng had been better proued in my conceite And I doubt muche whether it bee true that ye saie that the beste Ciuilians agréeth with you I thinke if it were searched there might be found as good Ciuilians comparable with those whom ye note to bee the chief Doctors of the Ciuill that bee not in your iudgemente in this your gaye booke And whether ye haue any manne learned in the temporall lawe that will ioyne in this opinion with your chief doctors in the Ciuill Lawe I would yet wishe euâ—n those though ye haue craftly trained them into suche opinion by the odiousnes of this cause of the poore priestes yet to aduise theÌ„ well for suche causes might arise to them selues in compasse of seuen yeares in the like cases that peraduenture thei would wishe not to haue it so vniuersally concluded as ye conclude it But sir yet let me aske you a question by the occasion offred of that Lawe of Kyng Henrie Anno. xxcij where it is determined in lawe wherof I thinke ye cannot shewe the like in this realme since Brute came first into England and ye knowe that it is a great wonder to your wit for thinges to come in law that fewe menne hath seen the like example before tymes I meane I saie for the nature of precontractes whiche by that statute bee vtterly voide if a second contract followeth and bee consummated with bodely knowledge Ye knowe that this acte for precontractes is repealed againe Anno secundo Edwardi sexti and restored to that force as once it was and so long before continued many hundreth yeres What do ye entend with such mariages as at this daie be a great meiny in Englande which began and were aduailable by force of that act seyng this act is now repealed Whether maie ye dissolue suche marriages and pronounce them nought seyng ye saie the â—orce of the olde Canons yea the force of a statute lawe too is in strength againe and debarryng euery man to vse that kinde of second contractyng for hereafter When ye haue well answered this one question I thinke suche as bée learned in the law could deuise more of suche kinde to set your gaie witte on worke And if ye list ye maie read that suche equitie was prouided for in the first yere of Kyng Edwarde the sixte in the .xj. Chapiter concernyng the peaceable enioiyng of mennes interestes geuen by acte before though afterward followeth a repeale by the Kynges letters patentes of the saied actes the parties might pleade the said actes repealed for there grauntes so enioyed by lawe I praie you coÌ„sider whether these rules of the lawes folowing might not haue place in this cause where it is saied Factum legitimum retractari non debet licét casus postea eueniat quo noÌ„ potuit inchoari A facte that was once lawfull ought not to bee called into question againe although afterwardes there happen somethyng that myght hinder the beginnyng of it Et multa prohibentur fieri que facta tamen tenent Many thynges are prohibited to be doen whiche when thei once bée doone must yet stand Indultum a iure beneficium non est alicui auferendum A benefite graunted by law must be taken from no man If any cause might be reduced to the equitie of these lawes I thinke the cause of Matrimonie beyng Gods ordinaunce ought to bée indissoluble and not to be retracted Moreouer if these mariages aforesaied ought not to bee dissolued but muste enioye the benefite of that statute when it so stode though it be repealed for hereafterward why should that act of repeale made in the first yere of our soueraigne Ladie the Quéenes maiestie Quéene Marie takyng a waye only but the libertie for Priestes to marrie for hereafter impeache or hinder those lawfull mariages of priestes before aucthorised by as good lawe and as often tymes before these daies seen more then king Edwardes repeale caÌ„ or ought molest these mariages for their maner of contractyng Furthermore if vpon repeale of actes as ye do saie your slepyng Canons should therby be straight waie in force watching and wakyng to shewe their face to byte and barke as the ordinaries in some places would haue them I doubt whether al the Quéenes highnes subiectes should haue so quiet reste in their beddes as thei would wishe and as their forefathers before tyme prouided for them selues by kepyng this slepyng tye dogge in his kenell not to come to farre a broode for bityng And because this Ciuilian deliteth to skoure his wit in lawest I desire his resolution in one doubt rising by occasion of his forsaied determination whiche is that all Ecclesiasticall persons lieth open to the old Canons of the Churche by reason of this acte of repeale Kyng Edwarde in his first yere made a statute repealyng all maner actes before his tyme made for punishement of Heresies as well the acte of King Richarde the seconde made in his first yere the act of Henrie the .v. made in his second yere the actes of Kyng Henrie the eight made in his xxv yere the act of .vj. articles made in the .xxxj. yere one other act made in the .xxxv. yere concernyng qualification of the
commendation he went about to haue spoiled them for his sake but the nobilitee restrained his hastie and vnruly violence and attemptes Of whose doynges in diuerse countrees what hurte came vnto them by his hotte spirite how many thousandes were destroyed in seditions for his sake and what furie he shewed euen to some simple folkes that erred of simplicitee in a mattter of no greate importaunce for the precise daie of keepyng the Easter whiche menne were called quarto decimani it were to long to write of But in the ende this Nestorius for his vnworthie behauiour in pride and insolent extremitee woorkyng altogether contrary to the custome of the Churche saieth the historie againste suche heretikes God forsooke hym with his grace so that hym self was entangled with a certaine heresie whereof his Chaplen Anastasius who was in greate estimation with hym was the first deuiser Whiche he held strongly because he sawe his glory and estimation hange thereon But yet afterward at an other tyme perceiuyng daunger to bee at hande if he had not tourned Catte in the panne euen in an hower space as earnestly with it and as earnestly againste it in pretense and in woorde onely reuolted whereupon God I saie for so daliyng and foltryng in his conscience did reuenge it at the laste moste worthely in hym But first it was the occasion of a greate scisme that could not be pacified but by the Ephesine Counsaile whiche was specially for the condempnation of his erroure gathered together vnder Celestine And finally after his tongue was eaten with wormes died most miserably by Goddes hande as Nicephorus telleth Where he began in the catholike faithe but subtelly and not simplye weiyng the principles of the faithe proceadyng not fatherly but tirannically in his doyng died in heresie and is now regestred for an Arche heretike shal be so taken to the worldes ende Whiche storie yet I dooe not rehearse as though I would insinuate an immunitée to heretikes that troubleth the quiet of the common wealthe or as I were in that opinion wherein once yet S. Augustine was but by experience recanted his opinion that heretikes should bee suffered to doe and saie what thei lusted 48. Epistola ad vincentuo◠and so by a little and little kendle the fire of intestine sedition to perill the whole body But I reporte it partly to note that extremitées of proceadynges doeth hurt and that sodaine alterations in Realmes maketh perturbations And yet my opinion is as the opinion of diuerse olde and newe learned menne be that it maie be borne with suche a manne whiche quietly liuyng in his state and in his owne conscience tariyng vpon Goddes workyng in his harte by hearyng and expendyng Goddes woorde to holde that whiche maie be to his soules saluation if he doe no outward déede and example to disturbe the Ciuile societée of the common wealthe where he dwelleth And this storie maie also serue for al kyndes of men to be a very fearfull example if we will in Gods causes daily at our pleasure for such I saie as out of one mouth breathe out bothe hotte and cold allowe and condempne the self same thyng with the tourne of their hande praiseth and dispraiseth as the daie tourneth very successours of Lybanius that inconstant Sophist or rather Sophister whiche with his eloquēce praised the Emperour Constantius by his life tyme and when he was once dead dispraised hym againe as faste Inconstaunte flatterers tournyng like Weathercockes not of conscience from the worse to the better but as the windes blowe so set vp the saile Whiche maner of menne muste néedes stande in feare that the vengeaunce of God hangeth nigh ouer their heades if thei repent not of their saiyng and vnsaiyng He can not but be spued out of Goddes mouthe that is neither hotte nor colde but will haite on bothe legges for the gaine of his peny Noughtee and deceiptfull menne saieth sainct Paule that will not be contente to erre theim selues but muste induce other into the same with them Menne that haue delight to be aucthours of sectes to haue the traine in pompe to followe theim whither soeuer thei goe vtterly tourned vpsidoune bearyng in them selues the iudgemente of their owne damnation Yea in conclusion pronouncyng the sentence of iust condempnation vpon them selues with their owne mouthes reproued and conuinced by their owne cōscience For as the wise man saieth Sapi. 17. Formidolosa res est malitia proprio teste conuicta in conscientia delitescens mala semper praesagit It is an heauy thyng when a mannes owne consciēce beareth recorde of his owne wickednesse and condemneth hym For a vexed and a wounded conscience taketh euer cruell thynges in hande and driueth hymself to an ende As we reade in the Ecclesiasticall storie Tripert Lib. Cap. 38. reported by Socrates who telleth of a certain Sophister called Hecebolus emong diuerse others whiche he saieth bearyng in pretence onely the Christian name of a corrupte mynde for that thei preferre their treasure and presente wealthe and honour before the dignitée of true faithe and therevpon fall to the wickednesse of Sacrifices The same Hecebolus saieth he folowyng and attemperyng hym self to the maners of the Emperours fained hym self in the daies of Constantius to be a most feruent Christian. But when Iulian the Apostata was ruler by and by he was a Panime and by his orations made Iulian a God And when Iulian was dead in Iouinians tyme he would haue béen a Christian againe Whereupon for the mutabilitée and lightnesse of his religion his conscience draue hym to the Churche gates and there caste hym self flatte doune and cried out with a loude voice Conculcate me sal infatuatū come saieth he and treade me vnder your feete vnsauery Salt that I am From whiche tournsicke spirite God preserue vs all Now to finishe that was promised to declare what moderations and tollerations hath been vsed before tyme and be at this daie to be séen in some other dominiōs of Christendome to shew the opinions of certen learned menne that bee knowen to haue had some iudgement in suche causes as well old as new that be of a farre other determination then this singuler Ciuilian is of I shall beginne with that noble Prince Charles the .v. Emperour that now is a Prince of some experience I thinke this aucthour will not deny me He vpon debatement of matters in religion wherewith his realmes and dominions were sore disquieted and disordred set out his booke of Interim written and published I thinke with the allowaunce of more heades then one expresseth a toleration in the Clergie for their wiues which were then maried And permitteth them in the Ministerie and yet not maried by any Lawe that was passed by his aucthoritée whiche he would neuer haue deferred to a generall Coūsaill but would haue flatly condēpned thē therin if it had béen of such nature as this writer would make this realme beleue And where as he wisheth as all wise
kyng of the lande our owne Chronicles will tell you as for Constantia and Ramirus I doe auouche the aucthour aforesaied de ritu nuptiarum where ye maie moste redily see it testified And here master Martin I wonder that where I thinke ye haue seen that booke for it is printed with you of late in Englande ye consider not the tracte of that writyng wherby ye might learne many necessary pointes of learnyng As in his seconde booke of the vtilitée and necessitée of dispensation to tempre the rigour of lawes and in the beginnyng of readyng that seconde booke to tell you plainly my contemplation therein ye came by and by into my remembrance by the occasion of a sentence written therein in the beginnyng reported out of Plato wheÌ„ce peraduenture Terence fetched out his saiyng Homine imperito nihil quicquam iniustius qui nisi ê™ ipse facit nihil rectum esse putat that is There caÌ„ be nothyng worse then an vnskilfull man who thinketh nothyng well doen but that whiche he doeth hym self But the saiyng is this Legem Plato simileÌ„ esse ait homini pertinaci imperito praeterque suuÌ„ praescriptuÌ„ nihil fieri permitteÌ„ti qui ne interpellari quideÌ„ se patitur etiam si qua incidat extra ordineÌ„ causa in qua coÌ„modissimuÌ„ sit aliter fieri quam pro ratione quam ipse semeliÌ„stituerit Plato saith that lawe is like vnto a froward ignoraunt man that will suffer nothyng to be doen but as he appoincteth it and will not let his deuise to be altered although some bycause should happen in respect wherof it were berter to be doen otherwise then as he in his reason had once determined it Iâ— this sentence had béen wel pondered of you master Martin before ye beganne your booke either would you haue holden your hande froÌ„ the booke to haue auoided the checke of this notable senteÌ„ce or els if that notwithstandyng ye would haue yet written as ye haue doen you must needes shewe your self to bee of suche a nature as I would praie to GOD none the like should euer come to bee a counsailour in the Chauncerie so long as I should haue ought to doe there Well master Martin looke to the same sentence yet once againe Et dic te stultuÌ„ intus dic sapiens eris Ye might haue furthermore there learned that it is affirmed ê™ condere leges munus sit regiae facultatis So to dispence with them in necessitée of tyme and place is so belongyng to the prudeÌ„ce of a kyng that els his subiectes should by extreme right bee oppressed with extreme wrong And this is an other sentence whiche would doe well to be expended in the defence of the cause that ye haue takeÌ„ in hande where ye saie that this matter of mariages perteined not to the kyng And if that forein ruler at Rome hath so ample aucthorite as to dispence not with one man onely to haue .ij. wiues for a nede but with al the lawes that euer God or maÌ„ made exceptyng no more but tharticles of the faithe yet some Canonistes write that he maie interprete them also why then can ye not be contente that your late naturall leige Lorde and maister with the assent of his Parliament should doe so little a thyng in despensation that is one of the leaste crummes that fall from the Popes table I dare saie so small that the worste tourne broche in his ketchin could gette it of his holinesse by an easie entreatée for all his kinsfolkes if thei were all Priestes and Uotaries to Master Martin I will not here vrge a contemplation that is now in my mynde vpon you but praie you once againe looke if you can sée your face in Platos glasse before spoken and aduise you in tyme or els all the worlde will wonder master Martin stones will speake and blockes will write yea God will be angrie and that is worste of all Happie is he that hath a trustie friende to tell hym good counsaile yet happier is he that hath it of hym self if he should want hym happie is he that hath a good nature but yet more happie is he whose nature grace hath reformed to haue GOD alone alwaies in his eye Also ye might further haue learned of hym in his thirde booke that it is but Popes lawe that orders should withstand matrimonie And that the Greke Priestes at this daie liue in Matrimonie And moreouer that he writeth that in his Spanishe priestes whiche be ordered by the Popes very pontificall nothyng doeth so muche let them from mariage as their vowe whiche is vowed vtcunque after a certain maner saieth he of them in their orderyng I dare saie so indifferent a manne as he semeth to be if he had knowen the maner of our priestes orderyng by the Englishe pontificall speaking in suche maner timidè vtcuÌ„que of the priestes of Spain he would haue saied that our priestes maketh no maner of vowe in no maner of maner But to go forwarde and discharge my promise of that other two priestes maried after thei were priestes if ye loke in the storie Tripartite Lib. 5. Ca. 44. consider whether Socrates reporteth not of one there named Apollinaris a Prieste that maried after his priesthode and begatte a child called by his owne name Apollinaris Consider the place indifferently the rather for that S. Hierome doeth affirme that he was a Priestes sonne in Catalogo script Ecclesiastic If that will not serue you yet I will be suer to make vp my .iiij. promised by one that is written of in the saied booke Eupsichius a Busshop Lib. 6. cap. 14. Who alitle before his martirdome maried his wife wher he was reputed tyll that tyme but haÌ„dfasted As I was writyng this in came Genius quidam and sittyng at myne elbow tolde me plainly that these placis were like to bee bulted and sifted to the branne And that now the greke bookes should be sent for to vnderstand some startyng hole to crepe out at For that can not be borne that in suche autentike stories specially of the Churche we should find any suche one and then againe no mention made that thei did it by dispensation of the father at Rome For rather then that should appeare in storie openly thei would haue plaied the partes that is like thei haue doen in the Apostles Canons in Clementes workes of recognitioÌ„ of the recordes of the Counsails yea in al antiquities to chop in and out at their pleasure for their purposes Blessed bee God that he yet preserued his holy Testamentes cleane from their sophistications for the text self whiche shal be able euermore in al ages to purge it self what drosse soeuer thei haue cast vpon it to blemishe the cleare light therof Well it will be meruaill if Magdalen College in Oxford be not brought forthe or some other text other where searched out And here I am sure their heads must be set a worke that caÌ„ saie
the remedies of the inconuenience As for Eckius Cocleus Murnerus and suche other filthie draffe sackes I make noe tale of them whose liues were knowen well inough to bee to beastly Yea Pighius hymself the God of this Ciuilian vseth yet a moderation suche as it is where this man for curste hart will vse none at al. Alfonsus a catholike busshop doeth so learnedly christianly handle the matter that although he wissheth Philippica 19. as it is to bee wished that all the Clergie could liue in perpetuall continencie yet he wisheth for them that can not so liue that mariage were graunted and that to priestes after their orders and merueileth at suche mennes conscienses that will so pinche vpon the aucthoritee that is in the Churche that thei should haue power onely but to curse and to excoÌ„municate and not to saue and deliuer Whiche thing he prosecuteth in a great spirite and saieth by those wordes of sainct Paule vnusquisque propter fornicationem vitandam suam vxorem habeat c. That is to auoide fornication let euery man haue his wife maie euery man clayme his interest and right to marye if he can not otherwise liue And affirmeth further that he can not see how any man can depriue hymself oâ— that his interest of that concession of mariage gaunted by sainct Paule except he will euen so depriue hymself of eternall life And moreouer saieth plainly that euery man cannot conteine and that therfore no man can be so holden by lawes or vowes but that he ought to prouide for his saluation And that howsoeuer a Prieste hath by his owne voluntarie consent depriued hymself of his libertée to marie after that yet in this case when he hath proued all remedies and none will serue then yet to hym is reserued still whole and found his right and interest of that same concession of sainct Paule propter fornicationem vitandam vnusquisque vxorem suam habeat vnaqueque suum virum Whiche generall proposition this Ciuilian would needes straine to a particuler contrarie to the circumstaunce of the context it self yea contrarie to the vsyng of diuerse Doctors of the church as we haue proued before And further we there brought in S. Hieromes manifest woordes to proue it against his owne manifest wordes wherein he denieth it And here I require this CiuiliaÌ„ with his gloses to proue those two contradictories or .ij. contraries if he can Or to make S. Hierom agre with others to see what it is to brabble with mennes woordes and not to sticke to the woordes of the holy ghost euident in them selues to them that of mere frowardnes listed not to wrangle and to be contentious to make vprores in comon wealthes to nosell the vnlearned still in palpable blindnes to recouer their olde honour of the churche to do as thei lusted in al matters bothe of God and man and then we should haue a merie world again and all should be plentious neither warres nor commotions but suche as thei themselues would stirre for their owne turnes And because I named vnto you a diuine of these daies Michael vehe whom the rather among many of that sort I do alledge for that I se in him a quiet spirite soberlye and Godly with learnyng debatyng his controuersies of conscience vtteryng his iudgement not as Pighius Eckius and this Ciuilian doeth of a set purpose onely and of a froward and proud nature that will in no respect giue ouer or will condition indifferently of that which is once beaten and setteled in his stubborne head but muste winne all or lose all come of it whatsoeuer will I will shewe you what moderation he vseth in this cause of priestes matrimonies wherin he declareth his conteÌ„tation that it could stand with his iudgement and conscience for priestes yea after order once consecrated to mary so that thei were not suffered still in their ministration And moreouer against them that might be of that opinion to thinke that for a greate cause in respect of a realme or of a comon peace dispensation might be had as it was so dispensed with he saieth with the kyng of Arragon But peraduenture not alludyng to this storie in this matter he saieth these wordes At omniaÌ„ pregnantissima causa est animarum periculuÌ„ cui nec vna totius mundi precio estimari possit c. What cause soeuer maie appeare to dispence in positiue Lawes for the weale of a whole Realme surely saieth he there can be no greater or more pregnant cause then the perill of mennes soules wherein the losse but of one is not estimable by the price and value of all the world This man was in coÌ„science moued to saie his learnyng he would not dally in so weightie a cause He knewe he muste come once before the tribunal seate of Christ and his Apostles to make answere of his wordes and writynges And therfore as in the sight of God not as pleasyng man or keping the world in a comon traded errour for glory or lucre thought it very meete for suche Canons and Lawes to be dispensed with for the saluation of mennes soules for the whiche as for his owne he knewe Christ spent his precious blood he was not ignorant as I thinke this Ciuilian is not or els ought not to bee of the trade and practise of the holy Fathers of the Churche in their daies It is not vnknowen to hym how soeuer Epiphanius was affected to the continencie of the Clergie and for the defence thereof vnaduisedly did write that it was the institution of the Apostles for them to conteine that yet hym self was compelled for necessitée of ministers to permit theim in mariage as otherwhere he telleth that thei did so although not altogether agreable to the prescripte of the Canons Yea Epiphaniuis Lib. 2. To. 1. Hero 61. he confesseth plainly of those and also of votaries to that it were better for them fallen from their race of their runnyng in virginitée openly to marrie a wife by the Lawe rather then to be daiely wounded with the secrete dartes of Cupido by the importune temptation of the Deuill And better for them to runne into iudgemente of penaunce sufferable for a tyme then by couÌ„terfettyng chastitée to fall into condempnation to bee excluded from the kyngdome of heauen For he condempneth euen there suche of the Clergie because thei would not abide the shame of the worlde belike for mariage yet secretly committed whoredome and that vnder the pretence of solitary liuyng and continencie practised vncleannesse with them selues to aduoyde whiche inconuenience he is faine to remitte of his Canons how Apostolike so euer thei were Tract 7. in mas This diuine afore saied I saie Michael Vehe was not ignoraunte how that in Origens tyme the Busshoppes in those dayes for the releuyng of a woman in her frailtée were contenâ—ed to despence with her to marrie againe though her husband was a liue Peraduenture saieth he thei did suffer it for
hotte iron of Antichristes stampe Dani. xi whose notes be Quod erit in concupiscentiis feminarum O blyndnes of hypocrisie which would leade vs out of the ryght way walkyng in the holynes of angels Coloss. ii counterfaytyng thynges which he neuer sawe him selfe causelesse puft vp in the iudgement of his fleshe Mercifull God what meant this rigorous Anselme as at this tyme to vrge so importunely this doctrine of Satan when he knewe and confessed in his epistle written to Wylliam his Archdeacon thus Considerandum etiam est quia hactenus ita fuit publicum hoc peccatum sodomiticum Epistol 78. cent 2. vt vix aliquis pro eo erubesceret et ideo multi magnitudinem eius nescientes in illud se praecipitabant It is to be considered that hytherto this sinne hath ben so publique that scant any man was ashamed therof and therefore many ignorant of the greatnes therof fell headlong thereto Wherevpon the sayde Anselme on a tyme when kyng Wylliam was going ouer sea to Normandie Edmer he made earnest suite to hym that he woulde geue commaundement yf it so pleased hym that the olde auncient synodes myght be renued agayne to refourme that which is amysse that christianitie whiche in this realme is in many almost wholly lost saith he may be restored to his olde state for the most horrible outrage of the Sodomiticall vice saith he is to much spread abrode besides the vnlawfull copulations of consanguinitie and other such detestable crymes that they haue defyled very many by their excesse ▪ c. If Anselme knewe this vice so foully to raigne in the realme Edmer li. i yea among the laitie who had libertie of maryage what myght he gather shoulde folowe where this libertie should be by his decree restrayned euen frō them who had presently their wyues in house with them and in possession What other thyng was lyke to folowe of this prohibition then such fylthynes as before rehearsed For as saint Barnarde doth inuey agaynst such Sup. Cant. serm 66. Tolle de ecclesia honorabile connubium thorum immaculatum nonne reples eam concubinariis incestuosis seminisluis mollibus masculorum concubitoribus omni denique genere immundorum Take away from the Churche honorable maryage and the bed vndefiled shalt thou not replenish it with concubinaries with incestuous copulations with sodomiticall vices and finally with all kynde of beastly persons This good religious man belyke perceauyng about that tyme the extremitie of these rigorous hypocrites inueyed sharpely agaynst them in the selfe same sermon with these wordes here and there They be sheepe saith he in outwarde habite but foxes in lyfe and woolfes in subtiltie and crueltie these be they that woulde be seene good but not so to be they woulde not be seene euyll but yet wyll so be these be they whiche to the cloke of their fylthynesse haue adournde them selues with the vowe of continencie and do iudge fylthynes to be reputed in wyues only where that only cause of hauing a wyfe is it which doth excuse al vncleanenes in companie these be they of whom saint Paul dyd speake Men attendyng to spirites of error and doctrines of deuyls not by the reuelation of Iesu Christe but rather and that without doubt as the holy ghost dyd prophesie before by illusion and fraude of deuyls peakyng lyes in hypocrisie forbyddyng to marrye Plainely they speake this saith he in hypocrisie and in foxes subtiltie pretendyng that they speake so for the loue of chastitie which they haue inuented rather to noryshe and multiplie the cause of fylthynes Yet saith he the matter is most euident that I do maruayle howe euer it coulde be perswaded at any tyme to any christian man Note this contemplatiue Barnardes spirite in these so sharpe wordes except that they be eyther so beastly that they do not perceaue how they geue ouer the brydle to all vncleanenes in condempnyng maryages or els be so full of wickednes and swallowed vp in deuyllyshe malice that though they do consider it yet they wyll not see it and so delyght in the dampnation of men For saith he take away mariage out of the Churche and by and by foloweth all fylthynesse as it is sayde afore Surely saith he continencie is very rare vpon the earth and thervppon the same Barnarde doth insult agaynst such Quid manum dei abbreuias quid largam benedictionem nuptiarū restringis c. Why doest thou abridge the hande of God why doest thou restraine the large and liberal benediction of mariages why doest thou chalenge that to be only appertayning to the virgin that is graunted to the whole kynde Ueryly Paul woulde not permit this except it were lawfull and yet I say not enough that he doth graunt it but he wylleth it also c. What is more manifest Ergo he graunteth it because it is lawfull and he wylleth it also because it is expedient And doth the heretique saith he forbyd that which is both lawfull and expedient He shall proue nothyng by this his prohibition but that he is an heretique And thus farre Barnarde agaynst these hypocrites and condempners of maryagies in diuers persons wrytyng euen about the very same tim when these prohibitions and seperations were a doing So hat Epiphanius as is afore rehearsed wryteth of such Pag. 81. a. Serpens alatus hic est scorpius alas habens secundum multos modos volans imitans quidem ecclesiae virginitatē non habens autem puram conscientiam This serpent fleeth abrode this scorpion hath wynges after diuers fashyons fleyng here and there and counterfaytyng virginitie of the Churche but yet without a pure and sincere conscience Iudge reader whether of these two mens spirites were most lyke to be of God or of Satan Anselmes who diuorced in this wretched and slyppery tyme them which were maryed agaynst the spirite of Pathnutius and other of the fathers in the Nicene councell and Lanfranckes spirite in his prohibityng maryed priestes to be seperated Or the spirite of Gregorie the great Sup pag. 201 who dyd write agaynst a lyke decree of Pelagius his predecessour and dissolued it saying Quod mihi durum atque incompetens videtur Dist. 31. ca. ante trien vt qui vsum continenciae non inuenit neque castitatē promisit compellatur a sua vxore separari atque per hoc quod absit in deterius cadat That is thought to me to be very harde and also importable that they which haue not the vse of continence nor haue promised chastitie shoulde be compelled to be separated from their wyues whervpon they may as God forbyd fall into worse It is not without good cause that the Byshoppes in kyng Henries tyme the first after the departure of Radulph archbyshop of Canterbury next successour to Anselme of a further experience agayne made suite to the kyng that they might chose a seculer clarke to be their primate and no more of the
feceris quod postulo ab hac te fidei sponsione absoluam I am in the apostles sea and yf thou wylt do that which I request I wyl absolue thee from this promise of thy fidelitie Well sayth the kyng I wyll entreate of this hereafter and shortly sent vnto hym his messengers to signifie that it is not for the kynges honour to consent to such absolutions agaynst a mans fayth And farther sayde that except Thurstone woulde make his profession to the sea of Canterburie he shoulde neuer sit in the Churche at Yorke whyles he was kyng of Englande by compulsion of any edict from the pope whatsoeuer this haue I promised and this sayth he wyll I obserue But it may be thought peraduenture vnlike to be true that the pope would come so farre as to Gisors aforesaid his owne person to speake with the kyng it may so be obiected by some Romanistes who labour so hye to aduaunce his deitie but to such as be indifferently read in storie it is not incredible For Matthewe Paris reporteth howe that pope Innocent vsed his craftie deuice by his Cardinals towardes kyng Henrie the third in the .xxix. yere of his raigne Which Cardinals only louers of money craftyly sent to the kyng vnder the colour of great frendshyp their counsell which they auouched to be both holsome honorable glorious to the Realme and very profitable that was that he shoulde sue by his messengers to the popes holynes to come personally into his Realme which say they shoulde be honor most excellent to Englande and immortall glorie that in your dayes the lorde pope whiche is knowen to be the father of all fathers shoulde appeare personallye within the coast of the Englyshe nation For say they we remember well that hym selfe hath sayde whereof we reioyce that he would very gladly see the daintie sightes of Westmonasterie and the riches of London When this was knowen to the kyng he was very glad and woulde easelye haue bowed to this subtyll councell except he hadde ben holden vp by the contrary counsayles of his subiectes learned to gaynesay it or dissent to satisfie this his desire Qui dicebant quòd satis imo nimiū iam suorum caursinorum vsuris Romanorum ac Italicorum rapinis simoniis Angliae puritas maculatur quamuis non presentialiter bona ecclesiae regni dissipet predetur Which sayde that the puritie of the Realme of Englande was alredy enough yea to much defyled by the vsuries of his cormorantes and by the extortions and simonies of the Romanistes and Italians though that he do not by his presence waste and robbe the goodes of the Churche and of the Realme And farther they sayde for that the sayde pope was denyed any entrie into the Realme of Fraunce though that he required the same by his solempne ambassadours so his entrie was denyed to enter into the realme of Aragon For saith the writer Infamia enim curiae papalis id promeruerat cuius fetor vsque ad nubes fumā teterrimā exhalabat The infamie of the papall court had deserued this repulse the stinche whereof dyd breathe out euen vp to the cloudes a most detestable fume Edm. lib. 6. And as concernyng any commyng of any legate into the Realme he woulde neuer admit one as long as he lyued And though that pope Calixt sent into the Realme afterwarde his moste solempne legate Petrus Romanus monachus Cluniacensis commyng in a more portly glorie then euer any dyd before the kyng so disposed the matter that after he was come into Englande wylled that he shoulde neither visite churche nor monasterie commaunded that he shoulde be brought to be at hoast with him for he sayde his Realme of Englande was free from the iurisdiction of any legate and so shoulde be duryng his lyfe for so had Calixtus promised hym Wherevpon after some liberalitie bestowed vpō him on the kynges behalfe the king sēt him ouer againe the way he came out of England though his cōmyng was to haue exercised his office of legatship thorough the hole Realme If the reader wyl know the cause why that Thurstone fell into the kinges displeasure was for that he askyng licence of the kyng to go to this councell of the bishop of Rome and coulde not possiblie obteyne the same before he made his promise vpon his allegiance that hè would do nothyng with the pope in preiudice of Canterb. churche nor woulde by any mans perswasion receaue his episcopall consecration at his handes which so faythfull a promise to the kyng he contemptuously brake notwithstandyng wherat both the kyng and the nobilitie dyd much maruell for such infidelitie But suche was the obedience in those dayes to their princes for the more fauour they bare to this forrayne vsurper that is in playner tearmes falsely forsworne to the kyng their liege lorde and enemie to the Realme so farre as it myght stande to the aduauncement of the popes iurisdiction whose creatures they were and so reioyced in common speache to call them selues and as it myght with the satisfiyng of their owne gaynes dignities and pleasures Thus farre out of the common written stories haue ben alleaged the rather by the occasion of entreatyng of byshop Anselmes tumultuous doynges who was the firste that euer in England toke vpon hym to diuorce lawfull matrimonies in all priestes so many hundred yeres vsed in quiet possession in the Realme and many of them stablyshed by Lanfranckes constitution and as he the first so the most extreme agaynst all ryght and conscience vntyll the raigne of Quene Marie in whose dayes Hildibrandes spirite was raysed vp agayne and Anselmes whot Munckyshe zeale in lyke sorte prosecuted as it was in his tyme. If any man be offended with so much in particularitie vttered let hym vnderstande these matters to be fetcht out of the bokes of such stories most written by munckes who both in wordes deede and wrytyng professed the state of perfection expressyng all charitie therfore can not be thought to rayle in the writing of their stories which saith both Matth. Paris and Henrie huntyngton muste be perfourmed in all trueth without any parcialitie eyther of personages for honour and holynes nor maye not be transgressed for loue of kyn or frendes whatsoeuer After Anselme archbyshop folowed Rodulph a seuere muncke in profession also Rodulph first an Abbot in Normandie after that byshop of Rochester and in conclusion archbyshop of Canterburie of whose dayes no great recorde is extant of makyng or forcyng any decrees or constitutions agaynst maryed priestes although it is reported of Edmer that he was very seuere agaynst the said Henrie the first Ioannes Hagustaldensis beyng a prince of such godlynes that one Cronicle writeth so much to his cōmendation that he saith Post quem princeps non surrexit alius qui sic iniustas regni exactiones interdiceret subditos in pacae modestia sapientius disponeret c. After whose death there folowed no
where he a freshe renewed the old prohibitions and decrees agaynst priestes concubines Roger Houenden Geruasius anno 1174. Chro. Ierouallensis who yet of his fatherly pitie dyd consecrate one Galfride Ridel archdeacon of Canterburie to be bishop of Elye who was the thirde in order of the first erection as the catologes of the bishoppes of Elye doth recorde Which sayde Galfride shoulde haue gone to Rome with the sayde Richard elect of Canterburie and with Reginald elect of Bathe for the confirmation of their elections Whereas Alexander then pope dyd much blame the absence of the others elect bishops of Englande vidz elect of Winchester Herforde Chichester and of Elye Whiche pope dyd more earnestly aske why the elect of Elye came not with them The bishop of Orleans aunswered Forsooth sayde he Habet excusationem Euangelicam He hath the excuse of the Gospell What is that saith the pope Sir saith he he hath maryed a wyfe and therfore can not come And though there was then much altercation brought before the pope and cardinalles yet the pope dyd foorthwith consecrate the elect of Canterburie And he after he was returned home to Englande dyd consecrate the said Richarde anno 1174. pridie nonas Octob. anno regni Hen. 2 xxi who lyued bishop there vntyll he dyed though he ended his lyfe at Winchester intestate anno 1189. the firste yere of kyng Richarde In which sayde catologe is also recorded that the sayde Richarde before his election dyd openly purge his innocentie by oth that he procured not the death of Thomas Becket neither by worde nor deede nor wrytyng which was also required of Roger archbishop of Yorke and of Gilbert bishop of London and so in the Assention day in his owne churche he was intronizate whereto he gaue very great giftes saith the storie Thus hytherto this holsome decree of Anselme belyke howesoeuer saith the storie it had fauour of some at the first and what earnestie soeuer he shewed therin was not kept nor yet receaued vniuersally seyng that this Richarde wyttyngly dyd consecrate the sayde Galfride hauyng a wyfe and so aduouched before the popes holynes and the whole consistorie of cardinalles In this Richarde his dayes was a synode holden by hym and some of his brethren at Wodstocke anno 1175. Hen. 2.21 to chose a bishop for the bishopricke of Norwich and for chosyng of abbottes whiche were many vacant Amongst which their election they dyd elect Galfride the kynges sonne to the bishopricke of Lyncolne after that it was voyde xvij yeres almost by reason of the morgagyng therof into the kynges handes But king Henrie his father would not haue hym then consecrated for that he was within yeres and knewe not whether he was necessarie to the gouernement of suche a dignitie VVil. Neu. lib. 2. cap. 22. and therfore the kyng sent hym to Towres to haue some exercise in the scholes there vntyll he was thought worthy that he might take the dignitie of such honor Though yet his sonne aunswered not his expectation and thervpon for his vnworthynesse compelled hym to resigne it agayne Nubrigen lib. 4. cap. 2. whom notwithstandyng kyng Stephen his brother next succeedyng hym preferred to the archbishopricke of Yorke See here this good kynges zeale whiche he had in the election of a bishop Belyke it may appeare that the kyng had more regard then all the bishoppes had besides Which acte is worthy to be had in remembraunce to shewe to all princes to cleargie men and noble men specially patrones of benefices to haue a conscience with them in preferring men to such heauenly chargeable and worthy office of the cure of mans soule And in the dayes of this bishop the kyng was counsayled to build an Abbey to the honor of God and S. Thomas of Canterburie Rog. Houeden anno 1177. Rex Hen. 2 23. for the remission of his sinnes as the storie saith And so was the churche of seculer prebendaries in Waltham turned out they expulsed for their wyues belyke and reguler chanons brought in That is vi chanons from the abbey of Circester and vi of Osney and iiij of S. Oses and of some of them made officers and replenyshed the house with chanons about the number of an hundred or fourscore at the least besydes their externe officers of the house Thus was religion the decaye of seculer learned men a cause of their expulsions so much had they blynded the eyes of princes at that tyme to multiplie dumbe munckes and to hynder preachyng prebendaries VValter Couentriensis Neuerthelesse the kyng gaue to the Deane in recompence a manour of his duryng his lyfe and gaue the prebendaries accordyng to the value of their prebendes and suche prebendaries as woulde not receaue such recompence that they shoulde holde their prebendes duryng their lyues at the discretion and estimation yet of archbishop Richard who was present with other bishops as were also the deane and the prebendaries when the kyng in his owne person put the reguler chanons in possession In deede the Romishe sleyght wrought in this kynges facte Fabian ann Henr. 2.28 for such alteryng the house of Waltham abbey is to be considered the grounde wherof was as it is tolde by storie that the kyng had vowed and sworne before two cardinalles to go in his owne proper person to warre agaynst Christes enemies in the holy lande they so deuising to bereue the realme of their prince and to ieoperde his person to the reuenge of Thomas Beckets death whiche was layde to his charge But the wyle was perceaued and he promised for dispensation of his oth to buylde three Abbeys in Englande Which sleyghtie iniunction of the cardinalles the kyng was councelled as prudently to fulfyll For he turned as is sayde the seculer chanons of Waltham into reguler chanons for one foundation and for buyldyng of the seconde Abbey he turned the Munkes out of the Abbey of Almesbury and set in their steede Nunnes and for the thirde foundation he renewed sparyngly the charterhouse of Witham besides Salisburie and thus perfourmed the condition of his dispensation of buyldyng of three Abbeys But thus was not the Romyshe quarrell quieted towardes the kyng For the pope Lucius the thirde was well contented when one Heracleus patriarch of Ierusalem came into the Realme to moue hym to trauayle agaynst the Sarasens and was very instant vppon hym to take that iorney puttyng hym in mynde of the oth that he once made before the two cardinalles aforesayde But the kyng perceauyng the craftie dryft aunswered that he would liberally bestowe of his owne to the charge of such vyage but he myght not depart from his owne lande and leaue it as a pray to the aduersarie This aunswere the Patriarch toke very displeasauntly and angerly The kyng yet somewhat to pacifie hym accompanyed hym vnto the sea syde but the more the kyng laboured to satisfie hym the more was the Patriarch offended speaking spytefull wordes agaynst the kyng
chargyng hym that he was vntrue to the Frenche kyng but the more true to his owne lande that he slewe Thomas Becket and lastlye that he had forsaken the protection of Christes fayth and in his rage charged the kyng that he was worse then a Sarasen and sayde of his chyldren that they came of the deuyll and to the deuyll they shoulde But the kyng saith the storie kept his pacience and sayde that he woulde not in any wise depart out of his owne lande Wherevpon the Patriarche departed from the kyng in great ire for that his Foxie deuice toke no better place Lo here was a worthy Patriarch a creature of the pope thus to deale with so noble a prince Maye it not here be timely brought in Psal. 2. Et nunc reges intelligite erudimini qui iudicatis terram c. If kynges and princes wyll suffer them selues quietlye to be thus shamefully abused in their owne realmes to their owne faces by suche externe commers whose vocation ought of moste congruence to haue dryuen them to the reuerence of kynges and princes who maye haue pitie of them yf they be deluded Although this noble prince for his most notable pacience ought to haue immortal commendation so is he more worthy to be aduaunced for his wisedome and prudence for that he coulde not be moued to leaue his Realme for a pray then his seconde sonne Richarde the first folowyng hym who was so soone induced by Romishe perswasion to seke aduentures abrode first impoueryshyng his Realme and by sellyng of the castles of Barwicke and Rothisborowe for a great summe of money for some part of the exployte of his viage and made other such sales neither princely to his honour nor profitable to his Realme And so he passyng on more valiauntlye then prudently was at the last dryuen by force and taken of the armie of the duke of Ostriche and thereof suffred harde imprisonment for the terme of a yere and fyue monethes but at the last was raunsomed for suche a huge summe of money as pinched the whole state of his crowne collectyng both of the laitie and cleargie aswell churche as chappell within the whole Realme Which extremitie he myght haue well escaped yf he had folowed the example of his father Henrie Let this suffise for this tyme for one example of Romishe practises to learne princes to be wyse After this Richarde folowed Baldwinus archbishop Baldwine of whom we reade of no constitution that he made nor of his next successours tyll the yere of our Lorde 1222. when Stephen Langton kepte his councell at Oxforde whiche Stephen was the cause of all the broyle betwene the pope and kyng Iohn for his admission to the Archbishopricke agaynst the kynges wyl and pleasure to the intollerable iniurie of the crowne and sclaunder of the Realme besydes the innumerable hurtes that came therof He made in his constitutions a decree against priestes concubines of whom the world swarmed full after the open forced restraynt from maryage yet then many of the cleargie as they myght kept in secrete wise their wyues for conscience sake and hadde belyke suche successe as other of his predecessors decrees had Edmund For his seconde successour from hym Edmunde in his constitutions tempered the matter more easely Who dyd decree that yf these concubines would not turne them selues into religion after monitions geuen vnto them they shoulde lose the priuilege to kysse the paxe at masse and also be put from the holy bread and yf they woulde stubbernlye persist they shoulde be excommunicate when it pleased the Ordinarie so long tyme as the concubinaries shoulde deteyne them in their owne houses Mat. Par. anno 1226. or publiquely out of their houses and then should afterward be deliuered to the seculer power After whiche Edmundes departure Boniface came into the sea Bonifacius of Sauoye vncle to Queene Alienour wyfe to kyng Henrie the thirde The same archbishop who was wont to say that his three nexte predecessours Stephen Langton Richarde and Edmunde in whiche three mens dayes was made the great haule at Canterburie with other the buyldynges there had let hym a haule to hire to buylde vp For they left the bishopricke indetted Mat. Par. 1245. partly for that buyldyng more then xv thousande markes though some recordes speake of a more summe which he was fayne to pay to redeeme the bishopricke cleare although some wryters referre a greater part of that debt to the great prodigalitie of the sayde Stephen Langton anno 1120. in the translation of Thomas Becket from vnder the shrowdes to a more glorious shrine aboue At which translation he procured the presence of the kyng and of the most part of the nobles of the Realme with an infinite concourse of people to be present and gaue to all that woulde aske it both hay and prouender all the way from London to Canterburie At which tyme he made such cheare that the storie saith he made the wine to runne plenteouslye out of diuers places in the citie in conduites all the whole day to glad the people withall Wherevpon saith Ranulphus he spent so much that his fourth successour Bonifacius was scant able to pay the expences It may be that they were very mery that day for the wryter of that translation almoste spent his whole matter in setting forth the ioy that was made amōgst them and how the people were inebriated wonderfully and muche he speaketh of inebriations but leste the posteritie should grosly take these inebriations he turneth it vp and downe in his storie and translateth it to the inebriation of the holy ghost with whose grace saith he they were deepely inebriated and as it were spiritually dronken with ghostlye aboundaunce of ioye In deede some men otherwhere were ouermuch inebriated for the kepers of Westminsters notable palace suffred it to be brent about that yere very negligentlye But as concernyng this archbishop Bonifacius though he made certaine constitutions yet he suffred that matter of priestes maryages alone Yea Othobone kepyng a synode in his time decreed nothing against priestes wiues though against concubines he renewed Othos constitution but not so his constitution de clericis coniugatis and yet had priestes after wyues For Iohn Peccham in his constitutions folowyng the next successour of Bonifacius made his lawe De filiis sacerdotum And this sparyng of lawes makyng agaynst maryages in Bonifacius tyme not vnlyke to be done of fauour he bare to the state For in the yere of our Lorde .1250 he purposyng to make his visitation in diuers places of his prouince Mat. Paris in hist. maioai as by his legantine ryght he well myght do beyng at London came to the cathedrall church of Powles for that matter but was there repelled and after that commyng to Saint Barthelmewe though there he was solemly receaued of the couent in procession the chanons being in their copes yet would they not that he should make any inquirie
great parte of them were made against priestes that liued in adultery and fornication without wiues The fourth Then in processe of his boke he extendeth his witte to charge al maried priestes without all exception of heresie lecherie inceste and treason to make them odiouse and to endauÌ„ger them to the rulers and people And vseth no moderation to any of them all but pronounceth depriuation to be the leste that thei all deserue And other whyles in hote zeale semeth to desire an vniuersall destruction of them Sometyme notyng them by the multiplication of their children to pestre the realme whereby the inhabitantes should bee in perill of hunger for lacke of foode as though the lande were not able to geue sustenaunce to suche encrease The fifte He in the perusing of the canons lawes euer forceth the rigor of theÌ„ against maried priestes and euer willeth the self same Canons to be reuiued for open fornicators in other priestes nor for any other offence punishable by depriuation and other paynes so that he semeth to giue them an immunitie contrary to the old canons The sixte We maie also note iustlie his inconstrancie for other whiles to make for his purpose he contendeth that the rules and traditions of the primatiue churche be of moste aucthoritie and must be obeied before all other ordinaunces And at an other time he wil haue it stand for a ground that the latter lawes and councels derogate the first and so ought to waie in the discussement of this cause The seuenth His probations and confutations whiche he bringeth in bee seldome out of god his worde except it be contorted but altogether of humain aucthoritie of writers doctors canoÌ„s and decrées and that commonly wher thei write furthest dissonant from god his worde and other good writers and some tymes from them selues And therevpon he is here confuted and answered by the selfe same men in other places of their woorkes and by other of like aucthoritie for reason as saincte Hierome saieth it is Quod ex verbo dei non habet authoritatem eadem facilitate reijciatur qua probatur SupÌ„er Mat. cap. xxiii That whiche hath not aucthoritie of the worde of god may as easely be reiected as receiued The eight And in the meane tyme till this doctour can conciliate their saiynges and writynges either with the scriptures or betwixte them selues I aduise thee gentle reader to folowe the counsell of Saincte Ciprian Si in aliquo mutauerit vacillauerit veritas ad originem dominicam euangelicam apostolicam traditionem reuertamur Ad Pompalianum inde surgat actus nostri ratio vnde ordo origo surrexit That is If the truthe should be in doubte or stagger in any matter then lette vs returne to the Lordes originall to that whiche is deliuered to vs by the euangelistes and apostles and let the reason of our doyng rise thence whence rose bothe ordre and oryginall Super cap. â—x â–ª Hie. For as S. Hierome saieth Nec parentum nec maiorum error sequendus est sed athoritas scripturaruÌ„ dei docentis imperium We should not followe the ouersight of our parentes or yet of our elders but the aucthoritie of scriptures and supreme rule of god his doctrine If euer it was nedefull and necessarie to resorte to Chrisostomes rule writyng vpon this place of Mathewe the xxiiij chapiter Tune qui in iudea sunt fugiant ad montes then thei whiche be in Iurie let theim flee to the mountaines it is more then necessarie now perceauyng antichriste his hooste and armie of mennes Lawes and Canons so faste mustre together to deface and debell Christe his doctrine and veritie whiche notable discourse good learned reader I desire thee to reade and to note the contentes And if sainct Augustine did any seruice to the Churche of Christ when he did write his notable booke de vnitate Ecclesie againste the Donatistes who onely chalenged the catholike Churche to be with them so may he doe now moste profitable seruice against these apishe catholikes that resemble sorilie the true catholiques in face onely and els in neuer a parte beside The ninthe Remember this also good reader that we doe not deny but that virginitie is an excellent vertue and that pure chastitie and single life without hypocrisie is more to be wished to priests and ministers in the churche then is matrimonie considering bothe states in them selues But the question is whether to them that cannot containe mariage were not more méete to be graunted And whether a priest in chast matrimonie maie not do the office of a prieste as the scripture requireth of hym The tenthe Knowe this that howsoeuer chastitie is annexed or dependyng vpon the ordre of priesthode yet it is meerly and intierly by the constitution of the churche and by positiue lawe disspeÌ„sable And moreouer it is to be iustified that seculer Priestes of Englande be no votaries nether in their orderyng any vowe inioyned them nor required at their handes nor thet makyng any suche vowe as by the Englishe poÌ„tificall is to bée proued and as in open conuocation was exactly so debated concluded and subscribed by the handes of them that were present and so presented to the whole Parliament house The eleuenth Expende furthermore that we be not ignorant but that the first councels and canons for the moste part geue no libertie to a prieste or a Bishoppe once consecrated to mary And that the latter councelles forbidde a prieste maried before his orders to kepe companie with his wife And that the aucthoures of the Latten Churche require suche ministers in the moste part of their writynges But then againe it muste be considered that the same Councels and writers require a chaste clargie in deede and maketh more gréeuous paynes of suche Priestes whiche abuseth other mennes wiues and maidens then vpon those priestes that haue their owne wiues and vse them And if the saied aucthores had perceiued the experience of these latter daies thei would not so rigorouslie haue forced suche lawes but rather mitigated theÌ„ as diuerse of them did in suche cases as shal be declared The twelft Right so we do not deme but that vowes aduisedly made to god with suche circumstaunces as the old fathers require in a vowe be to be obserued and that it is not lawfull for anie man of his owne hedde to breake suche vowes and that thei offend god that rashely breake them But whether suche vowes be vndispensable by mans aucthoritie and whether vowes suche as haue been moste commonly of late made of votaries binde them to the perfourmance yea or noe And if either of these vowes bee relinquished whether matrimonie succedyng is to bee dissolued againe to the perill of breakyng gods commaundemente for the obseruation of mannes traditions These notes aforesaied bee to be discussed and considered ¶ An expostulation with certaine of the Clergie Here I might ceasse of further excityng any other states of the common
wealthe to the consideration of equitie and moderation in this cause if I feared not that the reste of the Clergie as yet vnspoken to would be greeued to be passed ouer in sileÌ„ce as either neglected or contempned by whose importunitie as the common opinion goeth or for whose gratification as the deuision of the common spoile declareth at the eye This sharpe seueritie is exercised and rigorous extremitie executed in the maner of the late depriuations although for my parte I can not nor will not comprehende all the whole Clergie vnder one note in this matter beyng perswaded with my self that thei maie bee considered in triplici differentia that is to bee of three sortes Some for the brotherly pitie that is espied in theim to bee onely spoken to but with interpellation with many for want of indifferente affection to bee expostulated with but the moste parte so spitefully extreme and cruell in their tragicall doynges deseruyng neither gentle interpellation nor frendly expostulation but plaine accusation and manifest condempnation And though I maie be moued in myne owne persone with the vnworthines of suche doynges consideryng the case as a cause of trueth and a cause publike touchyng all men in the Common wealthe I truste to expende the matter yet truly in it self as well to winne the more credite of them to whom I shall speake as also to moue the parties in heuinesse to quiete and to reduce theim to a more reasonable temperaunce in them selues not to be greeued with the whole for the vnreasonablenes of a parte of the whole And as I must in this my writyng desire them whiche be aduaunced or maie bee by the depression of their brethren to take indifferently that whiche I shall speake confusedly either here in this my appellation vnto them or in the bodie of the booke folowyng distributyng the waight and charge of my wordes vppon the saied three sortes of the Clergie as of congruence thei maie bee seen worthie so muste I also entreate hos fratres meos lugentes that is these my mournyng brethren thus bereued from their spirituall children daiely hearyng paruulos suos petentes panem non sit qui frangeret eis that is their little ones crauyng for breade where no man is founde to breake it vnto them I saie I must request of them not to be offended with me though that I doe not entreate their cause more sharpely and egarlie then I doe For as I doe knowe that to these persones musica in luctu sit importuna narratio mirthe in mournyng is pastyme out of tyme so the other maie chaunce to iudge more lightly of the weight of the cause beyng so easely without galle examined whereby peraduenture it shall leane obtusiores aculeos more blunte prickes in your myndes whom it doeth concerne But lette them bothe yet remember ê™ aliquando etiam holitor valde oportuna loquutus est that sometyme the poore herbe seller hath spoke well to the purpose How soeuer it shal be reputed my minde was to doe good in the cause whiche I take to be gods and the common wealthes without exasperating either parties the one with to muche anger the other with to muche heauinesse My desire is that thei who bee greeued in deede and feele the smarte maie retourne home into their hartes and saie humbly to almightie God Omnia quecunque fecisti nobis o domine in vero iudicio fecisti quia peccauimus recessimus a te Whatsoeuer thou hast doen vnto vs O lorde accordyng to thy right iudgemente haste thou doen all vnto vs because we haue synned and departed from thee Not yet so muche for conscience in the facte it self as for some euill circumstaunce precedyng or folowyng the facte partly knowen to God in the secrete of their hartes partly perceiued to the eyes of the worlde in their offendyng And yet notwithstandyng vpon their meeke repentaunce to accompt them selues inter secundum deum lugentes quibus tandem retribuetur consolatio EmoÌ„gest those who in the feare of God doe mourne who at the length shall receiue comforte So againe would I wishe ii Cor. vii that suche as for the successe that is growen to them by this alteration where others be cutte of and thei graffed in and so might be inter secundum mundum ridentes qui iam gaudent exultent emongest them that after the worlde doe laugh who now reioyce and triumphe that yet ne efferantur animo sed timeant potest enim deus denuo inserere illos that thei be not pufte vp but feare rather for God can plaÌ„te them in againe Luke xxi that thei take heede Ne corda eorum grauentur crapula ebrietate curis huius mundi that their hartes bee not ouercome with surfettyng and dronkennes and the cares of this worlde And againe euen so to confesse to God in their hartes ê™ non propter mundiciem manuum suarum propter aequitatem cordium suorum haec contigerunt illis sed expendant ê™ iudicium domini inscrutabile sit Imo timeant potius ne verum in illis aliquando possit videri Psal. ixxii propter dolos posuisti eis deiecisti eos dum alleuarentur That these thynges happened vnto them for the clearnesse of their owne handes or the vprightnes of their owne hartes but rather let theÌ„ consider diligently that the iudgement of the lorde is vnsearcheable yea let them rather feare leaste that maie truely bee verified vpon them For their craftie dealynges hast thou made an ende of theÌ„ and whilest thei were in the waie to prosperitie and honor thou didst cleane ouerthrowe them And if thei will for their further contemplation thei maie reade out the whole Psalme And yet againe not so to beholde their chaunce as it is by aucthoritie fallen vnto them to be proude of their possession but rather to turne their meditation to expende their consciences by what meanes mediations thei be crepte into their roumes to make Christe a good answere Amice quomodò huc intrasti Math. xxii Frende how camest thou in hither And againe let them consider what purposes and intendementes bee in their heartes to doe their offices to walke in what faieth in what charitie that at the laste thei make their finall answere good Luke xvi when God shall call them to an accompt with redde rationem villicationis tuae render an accompte of thy Stewardship yea let bothe the parties as we all ought haue this depely in remembraunce ê™ mundus transit concupiscentia eius that the worlde passeth awaie and the luste thereof Vt qui gaudent sint tanquaÌ„ qui non gaudeant i. Ihon. ii i. Cor. vii qui plorant sint tanquaÌ„ qui non plorant preterit eniÌ„ figura huius muÌ„di That thei which reioyce be as though thei reioyced not and thei that lamente as though thei lamented not for the fashion of this worlde fleeteth awaie And here I proteste before God to all the