ledde saied to her O wife remember the Lorde Suche were the mariages saieth the storie of holy persones so perfecte was the loue and affection of these blessed folkes And Druthmarus an olde aucthour writyng vpon saincte Matthewes Gospell affirmeth of him thus Cap. xix Quod Christus beatum Petrum coniugatum praeposuit omnibus ordinibus ne virgines superbirent aut coniugati disperarent non posse peruenire ad illum perfectionem quas virgines essequebantur That is Christ made Peter in his mariage head ouer all orders and degrees leste that virgines should bee proude and maried folkes should despaire to attaine to that perfection whiche the virgines had obtained Moreouer if suche priestes as practise mariage be heretiques disciples why did that holy confessor Paphnutius in Nicene couÌ„sail which yet neither had hymself the experieÌ„ce of Matrimonie pronounce with the assent of three hundred Bushops and more of whiche Bushops Nicephorus writeth that some were Maried though at the firste the moste parte were otherwise purposed that maried priestes ought not to be diuorsed or yet separated from their wiues affirmyng that wedlocke was honourable and that it was chastitie the man to coÌ„panie with his wife and so counsailed theim not to make any suche Lawe saiyng that els there were greate cause geuen whiche might be occasion of fornication either to them selues or to their wiues And thus greuously reprouyng them willed them to beware lest by to sharpe a lawe the Churche should bee muche oppressed euery man not beyng able to bears suche austeritie of life and to bee voide from all lustes and affections wherevpon the whole counsaile with one voice did agree to this sentence In confirmation of whiche sentence of Paphnutius the Lawe of Honorius and Theodosius was written A A.L. eum qui. C. de episcopis clericis whiche is at this daie in the East Churche yet obserued But here it wil be obiected paraduenture of this writer or of some other that the Appostles lefte their wiues after thei were called to be Apostles as not meete to be with them in progresse when thei went in preaching into diuerse partes of the worlde and farther thei maie looke to haue it resolued whether priestes alreadie consecrated without wiues maie marrie after their orders or no either by Goddes lawe or by mannes dispensation and whether there haue been anie examples in this realme of Englande that Priestes or Deacons had attempted to marrie after their orders and whether that the fruicte coming of suche mariages were legittimate or no. Untill we come to aunswere suche obiections whether Priestes consecrated vnmaried maie marie after let vs beare in minde that it is affirmed and proued already by the testimonie of auncient Doctoures of the churche that Peter and the moste part of the Appostles had wiues Now whether thei left theÌ„ by mutuall consent after their apostleship or whether thei ought so to do by reason of their vocation vntill this writer can iustlie proue that thei did so by scripture storie or probable reason able to conteruaile scripture storie and reason that maie be brought in to the contrarie we shall geue hym leasure to séeke In the meane time we will further go on to prosecute that wee haue begon that is to expende how proueablie and truely this Ciuilian hath written in this controuersie how boldlie so euer he set a good countenaunce on his matter and as though he had alreadie the victorie And here wée purpose to examine the substaunce of the firste Chapiter of his shameles booke But to folowe on particularlie all his vntruthes were to tedeous for the hearer And therefore wee will deale the more briefly with some of his matter in this Chapiter wherein he confidently affirmeth that heresie and lechery be commonly ioined together and in the fourth leafe of his boke he saieth that heresie misseth not to kepe lecherie coÌ„panie ¶ The examination of doctor Martins first Chapiter and answere to the chief poinctes of the same IN this shameles liyng bookes first chapiter Martine confidently affirmeth that heresie and lecherie bée commonly ioyned together and farther saith that heresie misseth not to kéepe lecherie coÌ„panie whereto maie be added this minor or meane proposition but the Papistes bee heretiques as hath been at large otherwhere fullie proued In Doctor Ponnettes Apologie and firste answer to Martines boke and the rest of his coÌ„plices that thei haue taken parte in the moste principall partes with al the heretiques that haue corrupted the true religioÌ„ of Christ Ergo the papistes be lechours Lo it is often tymes séen he that will be busie to casâ—e stones vp into the aire may haue them light again vpon his owne pate For els to what purpose doeth he speake of Simon Magus Basilides Carpocrates and such other heretiques if it were not to giue hym occasion that should confute his folishnes to searche how the opinions and lies of the Papistes theirs agrée together If it were to declare that because thei were heretiques thei must also be lechours the same induction being now brought against hym and his felowes muste bee no lesse able to proue him and all other Papistes lechours seyng thei do so well agree with the maners of heretiques If it were to proue that priestes which be maried are heretiques because thei faine with their liyng tongues them to bee Lechers then it should followe that all whores of the stewes and whoremoÌ„gers as many of theÌ„ selues be were heretiques whiche I am sure the Papistes dare not so saie for feare of inquisitio hereticae prauitatis that is now entred into Englande and like with the Spaniardes to destroye the libertie of Thenglishe nation wherby no doubt shortlie the noses of the nobilitie shal be holden to the grindestone the neckes of the commons tied vnder the priestes girdles from whiche miserie I beseche Iesus Christ saue so many as fauor from the botome of their harte Christ and the noble realme of England Amen But it maie be that ye sought some occasion in the beginning of your boke to deuise a quarel by colour of your Retorique called canina eloquentia .i. Dogges eloquence Martines weake kinde of reasonyng wherby to bring maried priestes into hatred in alledging that the first maried priestes in Spaine in Rome in France in Italie and so forth wher ye will were heretiques And yet if ye had minded that proofe ye should haue named no heretiques but suche as were maried priestes But seyng al these heretiques whom ye name were vnmaried as it is euident by their opinions condeÌ„pnyng mariage Your argumente is tourned against your self for that thei were heretiques and lechers as you holde and vnmaried virgin priestes as your papistes be And what would ye conclude thereof if it were true Would ye by this define that al maried priestes be heretiques That kinde of reasonyng is not vnlike to this The first borne childe that Adam had Gene. iiii Sam. xv Titus Liuiê° dec i. lib.
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
allowe his counsailes and doynges and make as it were of an olde Iudas a newe Christe Here had I a greate fielde to walke in describyng these dissemblers with princes and with suche realmes where thei beare rule but wee will ceasse to vtter their deseruynges and returne again to that matter whiche doeth more properly appertaine to the argumeÌ„t of our writyng and therefore will resume that was begonne in the .32 leafe B. continued vnto .35 B. before sm that the Apostles had their wiues as all writers aunciente confesse the same and all reasonable men will agree thereto Now if it can be borne of mennes eares to heare that the Apostles had wiues why should this aucthor by his tragical exaggerations make it so odious for Bushoppes and Priestes the apostles successors to haue their lawfull wiues I thincke he will not saie that the beste of his chaste Priestes be better then the Apostles Againe to consider what Paphnutius saied and counsailed for the priestes of his tyme not to be seperated and that it is chastitie to company with their wiues and that to seperate them might be an occasion of great inconueniencie in them bothe If in that holy tyme whan God was truely honored his worde and Sacramentes moste holyly ministred Priesthode was then in greate high estimation and that in maried priestes and bushops as by name shall be hereafter expressed why doeth this aucthour so stifly crie for seperation in Priestes married nowe sequestred by power and not by right from ministration wher thei of Nicene were suffered with them in ministratioÌ„ If like perill may bee feared in the parties now coupled together why should thei be seperated more then the other If their Sacramentes were none other nor holier then oures their worde none other then that we haue why maie not oure order stand with mariage as well as thers If lyke necessitie of Ministers in this realme be as great as hath been in other places where maried Priestes did minister and yet doeth in some places of the Occidentall Churche Why shoulde this wryter exclame so vnlearnedly againste Englishe Priestes mariage as though it were not decent nor tollerable but against Goddes lawe and mannes law liyng against them bothe and saiyng that order and Matrimonie that a wife and a benefice can not stand together And in the bolsteryng out of this matter is almoste all his booke emploied againste antiquitie against the practise of the primatiue Churche against the worde of God wrytten againste the practise of tolerations in the lyke case of diuerse counsailes and deâ—rees of the Busshops of Rome as shall be proued when it cometh to place I truste this Ciuilian is not yet so addicte to the Canonicall procedynges that the matter lieth onely in this poincte that if the Bushop of Rome allowed the matter all were well for me thinke so he can not meane For if his assertions be true he must proue the Bushoppes of Rome diuerse of them to be very Antechristes if thei haue dispensed against Goddes expresse woordes yea he must condempne a great many of Canonistes and of scholemen and a greate many of Catholike writers traueilyng in controuersies of this tyme whiche peraduenture hath read as muche in Diuinitie and Canon lawe as I thinke this Ciuilian hath doen in his Ciuill whiche bee of cleane contrary assertion to this singular man But yet I heare this writer obiecte againe suche an obiection as was once made by a Canonist in the expending of this verie poincte Distingue tempora saieth he personas concordabis leges Canones Weye the difference of tyme and of persones and so shall ye make the lawes and Canons agrée Then was then and now is now For the case saieth he is farre vnlike betwixte the priestes of the Greke Churche whiche were maried before thei were priestes and the priestes of our Churche time whiche he maried after their order And this he thinketh to be an high wittie inuention and insoluble and by this shifte he pronounceth the victorie of the cause before any stroke bee striken standyng stoutely in the difference of the tyme mariage to goe before order or to come after To answere if it be true as he can not deny but that it was not lawfull by their saiynges of the Counsaile of Nice to bee separated by Lawes and constrainte and that it was chastitie for the busshoppes and priestes to kepe company still with their wiues yea when thei were ministeryng busshoppes and priestes in an other maner attendaunce and holinesse then the best chast busshoppes and priestes of our tyme practise in their doynges so that by their iudgement the one state dishonored not thother nor was impediment to the other as hereafter shal be proued by the testimonie of their owne Canonistes and Doctors what difference is there in the substaunce of the order in them of the primitiue or Greke churche and in the priestes of this Latine churche and Occidentall churche but that order and matrimonie maie stand together in one figure in them bothe As for vowe or promise shall bee hereafter considered open protestation or no protestation chastitie of congruitie dependyng or included by the nature of order or for the Churche constitution shall be hereafter answered and expended Now I saie if the priestes of the Greke Churche liued godly in ministration with their wiues why maie not the priestes of the Occidentall churche be iudged to liue as godly in Matrimonie and as lawfully to in Englande hauyng the highest Lawe in the realme on their side But here this doctor will be offended to haue any thing brought in for declaration of this cause out of Grece and maketh a greate matter that men should so doe and repelleth al their doing thus what is that saith he to the matter are not we of an other territorie and iurisdiction If I should answere you so master doctor with your owne obiectioÌ„ then might it bee a full sufficient answere by it self a lone to all your whole booke to saie when ye bryng Romishe Canons out of Spaine out of Fraunce out of Grece I might so answere you what bee all these to the matter are not we of an other territorie and iurisdiction When ye alledge from Prouinciall coÌ„stitutions Sinodes nationall lawes of Emperours Ciuile and Panim lawes what are all these to the matter of our Imperiall lawes are not we of an other territorie and iurisdiction And thus your booke is fully answered and ye may now put vp your pipes with al your choristers of forren Lawes and Canons Moreouer in the seuen Chapiter ye also saie that it bewraieth the weakenesse of the cause for priestes to wander into Grece to bryng in their maner of liuyng of mariyng orderyng If that declareth the weakenesse of the cause I praie you then what is the strength of the cause ye haue taken in hande For ye be not content to raile and wander ouer all the Realmes and Churches of Europe but ye runne
into Asia and Affrica and bryng in Panim priestes to set out the matter There is nothyng in your booke written or vnwritten deuised by your owne braine or surmised by heare saie but ye make strong argumentes for your owne vaine and feble cause But briefly to answere this wittie deuise of the difference of the tyme till a â—uller debatemente of that poincte I shall answere as once sainct Hierom was answered in a matter of Priestes and Bisshoppes wiuyng and orderyng by a certaine disputer who defended the constitution of the churche as it was then and as it is at this daie where S. Hierome is on the contrary part holdyng that to haue one wife before Baptisme and a seconde wife after was not therefore an impedimente to be admitted to Priesthode Epistola ad Oceanum or to a Busshoppes office Nonne legisti ab Apostolo vnius vxoris virum assumi in sacerdotium rem noÌ„ tempora definiri that t s Doest thou not reade saieth he that by the Apostles aucthoritie the husbande of one wife is to bee chosen into Priesthode and that the cause and matter is thereby defined and not the tyme If this catholike disputer would haue the saiyng of S. Paule to bee weighed in the nature of the order and mariage rather then drawen to the circumstaunce of tyme and that he must bée the husbande but of one wife either before or after Baptisme at the tyme of his orderyng and therefore maie be eligible to be a priest or bushoppe And as sainct Hierom hym self writeth afterward that it is rather loked for in a priest or Busshop what he is for the tyme presente then what he hath been why not as well maie sainct Paules text and aucthoritie serue for a prieste and a busshoppe to be lawfully qualefied if he be the husbande but of one wife whether he had his wife in the tyme he was no prieste or he take a wife in the tyme after he bée in his priesthode So he be as it is said the husbande of one wife yea successiuely Wherewith ye maie quarell by aucthoritie of some expositours though not with the manifest woorde of God But to be the husbande onely of one wife before order and after order once for all as ye saie the Greeke Churche vseth to doe ye can not quarell rightly by Goddes worde nor yet by reasonable aucthoritie of mannes Lawe or Canon in suche necessitie as ye force and inferre of their saiynges As for the other peece of Nicene Canon where it is saied that accordyng to thauncient tradition of the Churche suche as were not as yet maried and were partakers of holy order should from thence for the contracte no mariage And as for the Canon of the Apostles whiche ye stande so strongly to or yet for the saiyng of sainct Augustine immediatly folowyng the place whiche is here before alledged leste ye should cauill as ye doe that I lefte out the pithe of the matter and would slide sleightly ouer the whole place of the aucthoritie and bryng theim in by patche meales with violent wrestyng as ye vse to doe I will heareafter bryng them put them all together to the iudgement of the reader to geue sentence betwixt vs how farre thei weye in this cause Yet in the meane tyme to make some insinuation to you of sainct Augustines question note ye well his woordes not as a subtile Lawier but like a Diuine and wreste not sainct Augustines licet Cap. 4. haÌ„ E. ii a. Vt notatur ca. â—i Christus de IureturaÌ„â—o and non licet out of their nature as ye doe Quaedam illicita sunt in sui natura quaedam ciuiliter .i. iure positiuo vel consuetudinario quaedam sunt simoniaca quia prohibita quaedam sunt prohibita quia simoniaca Quid autem liceat aut quid non liceat pleni sunt libri scripturarum August in Psa. 147 qui confirmat vectes portarum c. Some thynges are vnlawfull of their owne nature and some by Ciuile constitution that is by positiue lawe Some thynges are Simonicall because thei are forbiddeÌ„ and some are forbidden because thei are Simonical but what is lawfull and what not lawfull is fully set out in the bookes of scripture And then againe note if S. Augustine openeth not his mynde by the like licet and non licet Saiyng AntequaÌ„ Ecclesiasticus quis sit licet ei negotiari facto iam non licet That is Before one hath taken vpon hym the state of an Ecclesiasticall persone he maie geue hym self to worldly affaires but afterward he maie not In like maner Consilium Aurelianense saieth Episcopum presbyterum aut diaconum canes ad venandum aut accipitres NoÌ„ licet 〈◊〉 negotiari intâ—resse ludis c. Distinct. 88 per totum aut huiusmodi res habere non licet It is not lawfull for a Busshop Priest or Deacon to haue houndes haukes or suche like Now call to your remembraunce how your Lawe qualifieth this licet and non licet till we tell you more in this matter In your expendyng if ye take not quid pro quo ye shall doe the better But because the reader maie further heare what saith S. Hierome in the defence of his opinion as is spread in the processe of his saied Epistle and that the prudent reader maie expeÌ„de whether his Rhetorike might not bee applied againste the aduersaries of this cause as well as he vsed it in the like cause I will reporte his woordes what he writeth further there and leste ye should mistake the Epistle I will shewe you how it beginneth Thus therfore he writeth Nunquam fili Oceane fore putabam vt indulgentia principis calumniam sustinerer reorum de car ceribus exeuntes post sordes ac vestigia cathenarum dolereÌ„t alios relaxatos In EuaÌ„gelio audit inuidus salutis alienae Amice si ego bonus quare oculus tuus nequam est Conclusit deus omnia sub peccato vt omnibus misereatur vt vbi abundauit peccatum superabundet gratia Caesa sunt Aegypti primogenita ne iumentum quidem Israeliticum iÌ„ Aegypto derelictum est consurgit mihi Caina haeresis atque olim emortua vipera contritum caput leuat Quae non ex parte vt ante consueuerat sed totum Christi subruit Sacramentum c. Dicit enim esse aliqua peccata quae Christus non possit purgare sanguine suo tam profundas scelerum pristinoruÌ„ inherere corporibus atque animis cicatrices vt medicina illius attenuari noÌ„ queant quid aliud agit nisi vt Christus frustrà mortuus sit c. A paraphrasis of the same By swéete sainct Mary and good sainct Martine to I would neuer haue thought gentle master Martine that it would euer haue come to passe that the graunte and concession of that moste Christian Prince kyng Edward in his high Courte of Parliamente grounded vpon Goddes almightie woorde should euer haue been
ne postquam in Christo credederint noceat eis ê™ aliquaÌ„do non concubinas nec meretrices sed vxores habuerunt Recolat vnusquiâ—que conscientiam fuam totius vulnera plangat aetatis Audiat increpantem Iesum hypocrita eijce primum trabem de oculo tuo tunc videbis eijcere festucam de oculo fratris tui Verè Scribarum Phariseorum similes culicem liquanres Camelum glutientes Decimamus mentham anetum dei iudicium praetermittimus Quid simile vxor scortum Imputatur infoelicitas coniungis mortuae libido meritricia coronatur Ille si prior vxor viueret aliam coniugem non haberet Tu vt passim caninas nuptias iungeres quid potes excusare Forsitan timuisse te dicas ne si matrimoniuÌ„ copulasses non posses aliquando clericus ordinari I lle in vxore optauit liberos tu in meretrice sobolem perdidisti Illi scriptum est honorabileâ— nuptiae tibi legiâ—ur fornicatores iudicabit deus Ipse proijciet in profundum maris omnia peccata nostra Quomodo in lauachro omnia peccata merguntur si vna vxor supernatat Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates quorum tecta sunt peccata Beatus vircui non imputabit dominus peccatuÌ„ Arbitror ê™ possumus nos huic aliquid cantico iungere Beatus vir cui noÌ„ imputabit dominus vxorem c. Ab omnibus inquit mundabo vos sordibus in omnibus nihil praetermittitur Si sordes emundantur quanto magis munditiae non coinquinantur If all suche qualities saieth he whiche be required in the coÌ„secration of a Bushoppe be no preiudice to hym at his consecration though he had theim not before Baptisme for it is rather required what he is now for the tyme presente and not what he hath been why is onely the name of a wife a stop to him whiche onely was no offence All whoredome all maner of wickednesse againste God murtheryng of parentes and inceste c. bee purged and wasshed awaie in Christes water and Baptisme and shall the spottes of a wife remaine still Shall whoredome bee preferred before mariage And there in that place sainct Hierom doeth vehemently inueye against suche as rekoneth it a greate faulte to haue a wife but to haue whores and concubines thei are not so muche greued therewith saiyng Let them heare that are Gentiles Let them harken that are yet scholers in Christes schoole Lette them beware thei marie not wiues before thei bee Baptised Let them take heede thei ioyne not them selues in mariage Let them rather take women at all aduenture and haue children in common Yea let theim beware by any meanes the names of wiues leste after thei come to beleue in Christe it be hurtfull vnto them that thei neauer had coÌ„cubines and whores but had Lawfull wiues Lette euery one examine his owne conscience and bewaile the woundes of his whole age And then heare the Lorde Iesus ratyng them thus O hypocrite cast out firste the beame out of thyne owne eye and then shalte thou see to pull out the mote from thy brothers eye and woe bee to you Scribes and Pharisies hypocrites ye tithe Mint and Anise and haue left the weightier matters of the law vndoen ye blind guides whiche straine out a Gnatte and swallowe a Camell what similitude is there betwixte a whore and a wife The hauyng of a wife saith he is muche charged for a miserable case and the whores lecherie is aduaunced c. Let vs vnderstand the Apostle not in the honourable testification onely and qualitie of hauyng one wife but in all other qualities whiche he there rehearseth I will saith God clense you from all filthinesse If filthinesse be clensed how muche more is clennesse meanyng mariage not defiled How be all offences drowned in the water of Baptisme if a wife onely swimme a loft It is saied saieth he in the Psalme Blessed are thei whose sinnes bee remitted Happie is that man to whoÌ„ the lorde wil not lay his sinne to his charge Belike nowe saieth he wee muste ioyne and adde some thyng more to this verse and saie Blessed and happie is the manne to whom the lorde will not laie his wife to his charge and so forth A Busshop saieth he maie not bee a newe conuerse a yonglyng in learnyng and life c. I can not saith he maruell enough to se how greate the blindnesse of men is to brabble of wiues married before Baptisme and to drawe that thyng whiche is dead in Baptisme or rather reuiued in Christe to accusation where as so euidente a precepte is obserued of no man Yesterdaie but a Nouice vnder instruction to daie a Busshop At night a iester in a gamplaie at mornyng a Prieste at the aultere Was the Apostle ignoraunt of our brabling cauillations saieth he Knewe he not the childishenesse of our argumentes and reasons He that saied the husbande of one wife euen very he also commaunded that he should be without blame sober prudent honestly apparelled harborous a teacher modeste no dronkarde no fightex no quareller not couetous no yonglyng at all these saieth he wee shutte our eyes but at a wife wée sette them wide open In conclusion saieth he when thei obiecte againste vs a wife before Baptisme let vs require at their handes all suche thynges whiche be charged them after Baptisme thei passe awaie lightly thynges that bee vnlawfull and laye to greate blame that is graunted and lawfull Thus and in many more suche wordes doeth sainct Hierom spende his whole Epistle whose wordes the rather I desire to be expended because this Doctor and Ciuilian bryngeth hym solempnely in for a great aucthoritie in the partes of his disputation whom I dare saie this writer wil not allowe in this poinct howe vehemently and earnestly soeuer he speake And if he reiected sainct Hierom in this opinion as not to be holden as their owne lawe doth so condempne hym in dede we maie be as bold to excepte againste hym in his other saiynges wrytten againste the woorde of God Or at the least waie when sainct Hierome is drawen out of one place of his writyng we may be bolde to answere him with himself or with some other of as good aucthoritie as hymself if we wante Gods worde in the particularitie of any matter in our disputation But certen it is that S. Hierome in this poinct coÌ„dempneth all the late catholike churche and calleth them Hypocrites and superstitious to their faces with the words aforesaid Ca. 1. And writyng furthermore vpon Titus he saieth many supposeth more superstitiously then truelie that thei whiche in their gentilitie had one wife and after her departure maried an other after thei were Christianed may not bee chosen to priesthode Whiche if it were to be obserued rather suche should be hold backe from beyng bushops whiche before folowed their lecherous lustes abrode with harlottes and after their regeneration toke one wife And muche more detestable it is to be
where Ciuilians and Canonistes by suche iontly and commonly procedyng in degrée together and therfore haue greate agréemente and affinitie together and that of this Ciuilian it cannot be saied that he is ouer seen in the lawe Cannone But maie bee called Can all And then againe hath suche a pleasure to bryng in his Tolet counsailes out of Spaine so oft and so thicke that thei beare the greateste rule in his greate mustre of his strounge lawes and great Canons because he would not flater as ye may be suer that he would not yet bring some of these lawes gloses and deuine Canons where by yet he mought haue declared howe throughly and vniuersally seene he is in the Canon lawe and expositours of the same But peraduenture he meaneth the aduauncement again of the Church to restore the old puritie and chastitie of the Clergie as hath been practised And therefore would haue all the world beleue that maried priestes be the most vnlearned priestes in the world most slouthfull and negligent in ministration and that it is most impossible for them to bee oft in the pulpit or visiting the sicke in the night as he saith not keping hospitalitie in the daie nor be at home resideÌ„t and that thei be moste couetous to gleane and scrape for their wiues and children and therefore keepe no howses at their benefices and that thei bee most vncarefull and vnnaturall for their neuewes and that thei dooe nothyng els but sitte by their wiues side and daunce them on ther lappes all the daie longe and that thei cannot be well iudged in any thyng that thei do but are to be suspected in all the towne beside for their experience and are to bee iudged that thei can not bee contented with one woman alone Now on the other side he would haue good catholike menne brought again to good belief to thauncient faithe of the churche to the good opinioÌ„ that thei haue had of the clergie before tyme to suppose well of all their doynges not to suspect them in any case because thei looke so sainctly thei speake soe deuoutly and carpe so catholikely not to feare them though their wiues cal for them oâ—te in their sickenesse to be visited in the night and to be confessed and though thei knowe by Lente confession for whom thei shall praie for al the yere folowyng not to iudge their doynges but to presume alwaie well of theim And therefore he would haue the worlde wonne againe to the Articles that bee in their holy Canon lawe Where it is written by thaucthoritie of Pope Antherius â—i q. 3. Absit Absit vt quicquam sinistrum de his arbitremur qui Apostolico gradui succedentes Christi corpus sacro ore coficiuÌ„t per quos Christiani sumus Qui claues regni coelorum habentes ante iudicij diem iudicant c. God forbid that we should thinke any thyng sinisterally of theim whiche beyng the successours of the Apostles in degree make the bodie of Christe with their holie mouthe By whose meanes wée bee Christen people For thei haue the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen and doe iudge before the daie of iudgement In the old lawe saith he who soeuer had not obeied the priestes either he was cast out of the hoste and stoned of the people or els had his head strikeÌ„ of with a sworde and so the contempte reuenged by his blood But now saieth he the disobedient is cutte a sunder by spirituall execution or els is he caste forthe of the Churche and is rente in péeces with the rauenous teethe of the deuill The glose noteth therevpon Clericus amplectens mulierem presumitur bene agere Si ergo clericus amplectitur mulierem interpretabitur ê™ causa benedicendi eam hoc faciat vt Dist. 96. In scripturis quamuis CanoÌ„ solam coÌ„fabulationem interpretatur in deteriorem partem c. A Clerke embrasyng a woman-muste bee presumed that he doeth well Some old peuishe Canon of the Apostles or of the primatiue Churche If therefore a Clerke take a woman by the middle it must be interpreted ê™ he that he doeth it to geue her his blessyng as in the .96 Distinction Ca. In scripturis although saith he the Canon will interprete the onely talkyng with her into the worste parte Yea S. Peter is brought in in the same distinction to speake when he ordeined Clement to be his successor Dist. 96. ca. quicunque Quicunque contristauerit doctorem veritatis peccat in Christum patrem omniuÌ„ exacerbat deum propter quod vita carebit aeterna What soeuer he be that will molest and make sadde a doctor of the truth he offendeth against Christe and doeth prouoke God the father of all for whiche cause he shall also want eternall life Thus thei would haue the people brought againe to their olde faithe and credulitie and not to bee to suspitious of them that professe virginitie But of the maried Priestes let theim thinke as euill as thei can deuise for he so desirâ—th it and to muche punishment is to little for theim And yet theim selues stande in doubte some tyme whether thei maie performe this common catholike faithe one of them to an other In so muche that in respecte of their holy chastitie 24 q. â— Quis vidâ—â— belike wherof thei neuer haue hartie repentaunce their owne Canonistes saie Quis vidit dignè sacerdotem poenitenteÌ„ Who euer sawe a prieste worthely sory for his offence And therefore sainct Hierom in that distinction searching the old stories saith I can not finde any other to haue rent the churche and that haue deceiued the people but onely those whiche are set of God to be the Priestes and Prophetes thâ—se be thei which be turned to craftie snares in all places geuyng slaunder Chrysostome agreeth to hym de poenitentia Dist. i. Quis aliquando vidit clericum citò poenitentiam agentem si depraehensus humiliauerit se non ideo dolet quòd peccauit sed ideo coÌ„funditur quia perdidit gloriam suam Who euer sawe the spirituall man tourning from his faute For though he be taken and humbleth him self yet he is not heauie for that he hath offended but for this cause he his confounded for that he hath lost his estimation And in deede there bee some misteries in doctrine in this matter that priestes committyng fornications with twentie women and so liue all their life long bee not yet halfe so euill as Priestes that haue wiues Whiche wholsome doctrine a man maie some tyme heare not onely of meane learned men but of some of the hiest learnyng that holdeth so Which secret mischief me thinke this man Marten should haue in his head by the maner of his writyng For where he laboureth with greate trauaill of his witte to proue secular Priestes votaries that the Priestes vowe standeth in this point sc neuer to marrie that is to abiure mariage and to conteine from mariyng which vowe some Lawiers and Deuines to do call
the reading and looking ouer all sainct Hieroms woorkes and Isodore beside and many other old writers also yea the Spanish Libraries too if we should seke whither he may seme to send vs. But here peraduenture this graue Ciuilian will be offended with suche my woordes and interprete my saiynges to bee scoffes and not weightie argumentes and that he will quarell that it is talke suche as menne spende for pastime rather then deliberate debatement of so weightie a cause In deede to coÌ„fesse a trueth When I had considered the odious and impudent countenaunce of his preface the swingyng taile of his lamentable conclusion the moÌ„strous bodie betwixt bothe and then againe meruelyng where and how he had gotten so muche matter and pregnauncie of witte farre aboue that which I loked would haue been in hym by this daie by the gesse of the talke that I had last with him consideryng that he doeth somwhat more then scoffe or boorde in diuerse partes of his boke as if I should so beastly scoffe with the serious reuereÌ„t articles of our faith drawyng them to such an obscéen and filthie sense as he doth raile in his .ix. Chapiter of Carnis resurrectionem vitam eternam Uerely if he called me Pighius or Pogius or Porphyrius or Iulianus he might well doe it And then consideryng hym to bee a yonge man and a Ciuilian I could not refraine my penne but thus sportyngly to bee a Comentar of his booke And yet sir to alledge a Poetes aucthoritie to a Ciuilian whose worde hath yet no greate aucthoritie Ridentèm dicere verum quis vetat hae nugae seria ducunt A wiser man then we bothe be maie some tyme ride on a long réede yet keepe grauitée of countenaunce when he cometh where grauitée should bee shewed as some haue doen here in Englande before now in as serious matters as these bee by open writinges wherewith I dare sweare not all of the Clergie hath been muche offended hetherto And if ye will learne how tollerable it is in writyng ye maie resort to sir Thomas Moores first Chapiter of his Dialogue of ê™ I and ê™ he and he will proue it vnto you I am sure your selfe as hye as ye now caste vp your head will come lower some tyme when ye be pleased and that ye repent ye not of your own merie scoffyng in many partes of your booke whiche bee sometyme not merie bourdes but sharpe checkes and daungerous tauntes to Uerely M. Martin the discoloured insolencie of your booke put me in remembraunce of some Poetrie Scribimus indocti doctique poemata passim Semper ego auditor tantum nunquam ne reponam c Whiche drewe my penne whether I would or no as before this daie it neuer was occupied for any printed ware to bungle with you But yet for the truthe of all that I saie if ye finde any thyng misreported and not truly aduouchyng myne aucthorities I desire you to tell it in your nexte booke as sharpely as ye can And if ye will beare with me for my mirthe nowe as I beare with yours whiche I do interprete that ye vsed it to solace your self to holde the reader of your booke from wearinesse to medle some softer musike emong the dint and dinne of your terrible greate Canons shotyng nothyng but haile shotte all the tyme of your stoute debellation of this your wonne fortresse where in no man was to resiste you and that is a valiaunt conquest who can saie nay I will so rule my penne in my next booke if almightie God will so haue it that ye shall I truste perceiue your self grauely answered And not so muche you but all others graue writers and deuines in déede by profession of whoÌ„ in parte you stole your booke that this matter shall not so obscurely be strangeled vp but that it shall shewe bothe life and light And yet good reader I desire thee impute not this to any arrogancie as though I would aduaunce my self so high of myne owne poore readyng and vnderstandyng but the graue and verie Catholike writers in the first beginnyng of the churche shall be my warrant not as aucthours and iudgers of the scriptures but as good faithfull witnesses in their confessions of the same So that I trust the harmony shall not mislike indifferent men though I hit not all my purpose But now againe further to shewe your dexteritee master Martin in aduouching your allegations ye tel vs very pretely how in the Librarie of Magdalen College at Oxforde there is an olde booke written of Ignatius wherein is not expressed that Paule is named for a maried maÌ„ to haue had a wife although the Heretikes of Germanie haue corrupted hym in the printed copies ê™ you If ye be asked who tolde you so we maie knowe that master doctor Smithe in his wise booke written against Priestes Mariages hath reported so and many good studentes and worshipfull menne that hath been felowes in that College can tell saie ye that thei haue had a written copie of Ignatius Sin this maie be true â–ª and yet you may lye to say that Paules name is not there â–ª But now good reader leste yet thou shouldest take vpon thee to iourney so far thether to seeke and finde hym how true he is in his tale he discourageth thee of goyng thether for he telleth thee euen there that parhaps some brother of late yeres hath stolen the booke awaie out of the Librarie and loe thus thou mightest lose thy labour And therefore searche no further neither spende any labour to trye hym but simply trust all that he telleth thee Is not this a proper allegation thinke ye and well handled But yet ye must beleue that ye see not with your eyes for Beati qui non viderunt crediderunt blessed are thei that haue beleued though thei neuer sawe it Yea ye must thinke that he reporteth all thinges vprightly in all his allegations specially in Lawe Ciuile and Canon wherein he is moste skilled in stories wherein he is so depely traueled and in expoundyng of scriptures wherein he is wonderfull as he handeleth sainct Paules place to Timothe te ipsum castum custodi kepe thy self chast so purely with suche integritee that Lyranus Hugo Cardinalis as greate bunglers as thei be thought to be of some but yet be worthie the praise be ashamed so to expouÌ„de the places there But yet he setteth suche an earnest glose of his owne head that ye would thinke he must needes bée of hym self an incomparable deuine and exactly seen in the Greke tongue in the Greke commentaries and schoolies as ye know by the exposition of Nazareus He is throughly well seen in the Hebrue tongue vnderstandyng all the Rabines rites and customes to the vttermoste In Rhetorike he is incomparable throughout all his booke As if ye liste to haue the sight but of one proofe looke in the beginnyng where he confuteth doctor Ponettes boke Cap. xi littera â—iâ— b. whiche
by their solempne profession betwixt an inclusiue and an open vowe betwixte Priestes and Monkes Thus farre doctor Martin I report this note good reader but to thyne owne iudgemente whether thou maiest not marke a notable poincte of folie ignoraunce or wilfulnesse in this fonde Ciuilian thus to wrest and drawe the woordes of his aucthoritees â—xtra de voto quod voti reâ—emptione so farre against the heere as though bothe al mennes reasons were not against his note and as though the Lawe it self saied not ê™ alia est causa monachi alia clerici â–ª And further there is written ê™ plura profitendo promittit Monachus quaÌ„ recipiendo sacrum ordinem clericus And for diffrence it is written in the Extrau of Ihon the .xxij. Chapiter Antiquae Coniugatus ante copulam sacrum ordineÌ„ suscipiens cogitur ne ad coÌ„iugem sed habitum monachi suscipiens Exâ—t de coÌ„uers comugas Cap. verum â—â—vobas qui transgredimi mandatum Dei propter traditioneâ— vestram Math. potest inuita vxore ire ad religionem cogendus ibi manere vinculum coniugii inefficax redditur The maried manne that vndertaketh holy orders before carnal knowledge of his wife is inforced to go to his wife but he that becometh a Monke maie against his wiues wil goe forwarde to his Religious profession and ought to bee compelled therein to remain and so the band of mariage to be without force or strength Cardinall Caietane writeth whiche Thomas also .2.2 affirmeth Quòd votum per se solemne est indespensabile per illud decretale cum ad Monaste Quod est regularium sed votum per accidens quod est annexum ordini sacro quod est secularium est dispensabile .4o. sententiarum Ergo alia est causa Monachi alia Presbyteri That a vowe whiche of it self is solempne is not to bee dispensed with if it bee of Regulers But a vowe of a secular not annexed to his holy order called a vowe per accidens maie bee dispensed with well inough and therefore the condition of the Monke and of the Prieste bee diuerse Whervnto bothe Antonine in Summa part .iii. and Bonauâ—nture .iiii. sententiarum Distin .xxxvii. doe agrée WhervpoÌ„ your thrée notable poinctes beyng well waied are not worthe three agglettes It is a true lawe to bee verified of hym self that he reporteth in his fifth Chapiter Lâ—aÌ„ G .iiij. Semel malus semper presumitur malus in eodem genere mali If it be true that your self pronounce in your tenth Chapiter that it is the nature of heretikes euer to take a peece of the aucthours woordes and not the whole sentence I would desire the indifferent reader by expendyng your reporting of your Doctors and Counsailes after this maner to iudge of what complexion ye be of Seing therefore to borowe some of his owne woordes this Doctor Martin coyneth suche notes and argumentes whereof some of them be false in forme and some false in matter saiyng in his obiections he depraueth scripture misconstrueth his aucthours misreporteth stories misnameth his doctors seinyng Ambrose to be Augustine and Cirill Origen and yet corrupteth them all all to this ende that he mighte frame a probable argumente in an vnprobable matter I truste good reader thou wilte credite no further his stoute bolde assertions and glorious processes then the truthe of the matter will beare his cause But because I will not be ouer tedious I lette diuerse other suche foule shamelesse lyes and deprauynges vntouched But as for the aucthoritée of sainct Augustine de bono viduitatis where he proueth the mariages good euen of votaries though their promise breaking be condempned he toke the next waie to corrupt the text For he saw plainly it could not be otherwise shifted of with all the gloses he can deuise it is so manifest And though it hath béen wonderfully drawen racked of diuerse suche wittes 17. q. 1. Nuptiarum bonum In glosa as doctor Martin hath yet to the indifferent reader that will expend the very text in S â–ª Augustine and the processe he goeth about it must nedes purge it self of al the drosse thei can cast vpon it though Pighius falsifieth the text and Petrus Lombardus leaueth out the woordes of the moste pithe to blinde the reader And some there be that to plaie it a waie expound all the whole treatise of sainct Augustine in that poynct to be ment of a simple vowe and not of a solempne vowe Some glosers affirme the first part of the processe to be ment of simple vowers and the latter parte sc plane non dubitauerim dicere c. to bee ment of solempne vowers And these two shiftes hath this doctor Martin of those glosers beside his owne peculiar deuise of mangling and manifest corruptyng the texte Some glosers affirme it to bee wholly ment of solempne vowers and some glosers are so bolde to deny sainct Augustine and affirme that here he slept and that he did not well reason in this matter As the common gloser of the decrées Gardineâ—us contra BuceruÌ„ Lib 3. And some shifteth of the matter after a newe sort and saie that sainct Augustine did write this his opinion before the churche had otherwise defined this cause vz. that mariages after the vowe should be no mariages wherby he meaneth that sainct Augustine speaketh of solempne vowes For the church at these daies doeth not yet decree that mariages after simple vowes be no mariages or that thei ought to bee dissolued Whiche saiyng if it bee true then I put it to the indifferent reader to expends whether the mariages of votaries after their vowes beyng thought good and not to be dissolued from the Apostles daies â—â—l sainct Augustines age and so in his tyme thought good how nought soeuer thei were to breake their aduised vowes whether we may not better sticke to sainct Augustines aucthoritée and to the common faith that was before his tyme rather then to that definition whiche hath been made since contrarie to the faithe of those writers Specially seyng the Busshops of England many of them yet liuyng at this daie in their booke of institution of a christian man teache plainly that it apperteineth to christen kinges and Princes in the discharge of their duetie to God to reforme and to reduce againe the lawes to their old Limittes and pristine state of their power and iurisdiction whiche was giuen theim by Christe and vsed in the primatiue Churche For it is saie thei out of all doubt that Christes faithe was then moste firme and pure and the scriptures of God were then best vnderstand and vertue did then most abound and excell And therfore the customes and ordinaunces then vsed and made must nedes be more conforme and agreable vnto the true doctrine of Christ and more conducyng to the edifiyng and benefite of the Churche of Christ then any Custome or Lawes vsed or made since that tyme. And so forth in their exposition of
the Sacrament of order So that Master Doctor Martin may plainly perceiue that he hath the most parte of the Busshops in England and of greatest learnyng and aucthoritee against hym And that their assertions and confessions ouerthrowe all his strong buyldynges of Lawes and Canons though there were no more learnyng to alledge in the cause Where it is alledged that the Churche hath constituted that order should haue chastitée annexed it may bée answered that is but only of mannes constitution of the churche tradition as al writers bothe Deuines and Canonistes do coÌ„fesse the same And where I might alledge bothe Thomas Albertus Stotus Orbellensis Bonauenture Durande Abbas Panormitanus Petrus dâ— Palude Astexanus Prepositus Gratian and the comon gloser yet for them all I shall report one whiche was bothe learned in diuinitée and law Cardinalis Caietanus whose wordes be these Nec ratione nec authoritate probatur ê™ absolute loquendo Sacerdos peccet contrahendo matrimonium Nec ordo in quantuÌ„ ordo nec ordo in quaÌ„tum sacer est impeditiuus matrimonij ê™ Sacerdotium non dirimit matrimonium coÌ„tractum siue ante siue post seclusis omnibus legibus Ecclesiasticis stando tantum in hijs quae a Christo ab Apostolis habemus It can not bee proued neither by reason or auctoritée that to speake precisely a prieste should offende in contractyng matrimonye For neither order in that it is order nor order in that it is holy is any lette to Matrimonie and that priesthode doeth not dissolue Matrimonye contracted either before or after settyng a parte all Ecclesiasticall Lawes standing onely to that whiche we haue of Christ and his Apostles If then by the doctrine of the Clergie of England the kynkes aucthoritée maie do as muche in positiue Lawes as euer the Busshoppe of Rome was able to doe And it is the consent of all diuines and Canonistes vniuersally holden that the Busshop of Rome hath full aucthoritée to make and to vnmake to dispense in all Churche Lawes of what name and nature soeuer thei be yea vniuersally with al maner lawes except the Articles of our faieth which yet he may interprete why shall not then the kyng with consent of his Parliament be thought to haue done rightfully in the late dispensing with that positiue lawe whiche was onely thought to bee againste priestes If as sainct Paule saieth Christe by abrogatyng the commaundement Ephe. 2. Coll. 2. whiche was conteined in the lawes of the decrees written hath put out the hand writyng that was against vs and so discharged vs of all maner condempnation vnder whiche we were holden thereby why in lyke maner maie it not be saied that priestes be discharged of all maner condempnation bothe of depriuation and diuorsyng seiyng that all Lawes were by the kynges iust aucthoritée abrogated whiche conteined any maner condempnation For what other thyng do restreine priestes from that libertée that God hath graunted frelye to all menne but either Lawe or els vowe and promise made by them selues If it be lawe then seyng it is but mannes Lawe mannes Lawe againe hath taken it a waie and therefore on that side there is no daunger And as for vowe and promise there was none passed by Secular Englishe Priestes nor none required at their orderyng And though there were yet writeth Alfonsus plainely Philippica .xix. that yet after their promise this libertée of the Apostle is still wholy remainyng to them sc propter fornicationem vitandam vnusquisque vxorem suam habeat c. For auoydyng of fornication lette euery manne haue his wife c. And moreouer saieth that he can not see how any manne can depriue hymself of this libertée vnlesse therewith he depriue hymself also of eternall saluation And affirmeth further that when the libertée of any lawe of restraint is graunted by aucthoritée his conscience maie bee in suertée to whom suche concession is graunted And as concerning the case of votaries how strong so euer the bonde of a vowe is yet it followeth the nature of an oth For thei bothe walke after one sort votum iuramentum pari passu ambulant saieth the Lawiers and an othe maie not bee a bonde of wickednesse Furthermore how muche offence so euer the votaries doe runne in before God or the worlde to breake their well aduised vowes constituted by man yet after mariage bée so attempted by them it maie not bee dissolued Seyng mariage is of Gods ordinaunce the vowe but of mannes constitution Dist. 27. Diaconus For it is written in the Decrées by GratiaÌ„ Si diaconus a ministerio cessare voluerit contracto matrimonio licitè potest vti Nam si in ordinatione sua castitatis votum obtulerit tamen tanta est vis in sacramento coniugij ê™ nec ex violatione voti potest dissolui ipsum coÌ„iugium If the deacon will cease from his ministerie he maie lawfully vse matrimonie contracted For although wheÌ„ he was ordered he offered vp the vowe of chastitée yet there is so greate strength in the Sacramente of Wedlocke that the self same mariage maie not bee dissolued no not after the breache oâ— the vowe Whiche was also further affirmed by Gratian grounded vpon sainct Augustines aucthoritée Cum quispiam post votum castitatis ducit vxorem iuramento firmans nunquam ab ea discessurum quod quamuis illicitum sit quià iustitia sibi probatur deesse tamen authoritate Augustini seruari precipitur 22. q. 4. â—unocens When any manne after the vowe of Chastitee marieth a wife bindyng it faste with his othe that he will neuer departe from her whiche although it bée vnlawfull for as muche as it is euident that righteousnes and iustice wanted in the acte yet neuerthelesse by the aucthoritée of sainct Augustine it is coÌ„maunded to be conserued still And there Gratian proueth that this thyng standeth vpon the strength of the othe where he saieth other mennes opinions bee that it is by the prerogatiue of Matrimonie And whether Gratian mente that aucthoritée of sainct Augustine De bono viduitatis or whether that whiche he reporteth in the Lawe in these wordes to be sainct Augustine Dist. 17. quidam Let the reader iudge Quidam nubentes post votum asserunt adulteros esse Ego autem dico quòd grauiter peccant qui tales diuidunt Some affirme saith he that suche as doe marriâ— after their vowe bee adulterers but I saie that theé offende greuously whiche doe separate suche Whiche forme of wordes in suche asâ—eueration maie sone make vs vnderstande how earnestly sainct Augustine was in this opinion And lest it should be taken that sainct Augustine did write this his senteÌ„ce vpon sodaine consideration he expresseth the same againe vpon the .lxxv. Psalme Quae autem respexit ad nuptias non quia voluit nubere daÌ„natur sed quia iam ante recesserat fit vxor Loth respiciendo retrorsum She that hath looked backe to mariage is not dampned because she
soleÌ„pnitée outward And my lord chauÌ„celour in his laste booke against Bucere supposeth not that any man pleaseth God in his vowyng if he be not brought thervnto by a godly inclination And further the saied scole diuines hold that he who is so dispensed with either for respecte of the coÌ„mon wealth or yet in respecte of his owne saluation in his obedience he meriteth more then if he kept his vowe For in this case saye thei this obedience is a more worthie vertue and more meritoriouse then is chastitée Quantum ad premium substantiale And the saied Antonine holdeth that if the Pope should dispense without a iuste cause in the solempne vowe of chastitée either of the man or of the woman yet were that true Matrimony Quantum ad vtrunque quia claudicare non potest That is on bothe sides for it may not halt on the one legge But seyng as I haue saied that the saied seculer Priestes make no suche profession nor the Busshop speaketh the saied proposition to the Englishe priestes vnder suche condition then it standeth onely but of the decrees and Canons of the churche whiche can not nor ought not nor the Queenes Maiestie will not as by the firste Article in her Commission appeareth haue executed to the preiudice or derogation of any Lawes of the realme Furthermore vpon that deuise that is alledge to defeat sainct Augustines sentence and iudgement affirming that the church as then had not defined votaries mariages to bee adulteries or to be dissolued If the matter standeth but vpoÌ„ the definitioÌ„ of the Churche then thus I reason The Churche hath defined of olde precontractes to make Matrimonie and the second contractes to be voide The churche of EnglaÌ„d of late defined the second contract with carnall copulation to be Matrimony the first contract to be none In the time of this definition diuerse persones vpon the seconde contract were maried and so continue together still at this daie I aske of you Master Martin whether the definitioÌ„ of the Churche of England wil not be warrant inough for their mariages I truste ye will not dissolue them nowe though that definitioÌ„ be now repealed again and restored by an other definition Euen in like maner the church afore tyme defined priestes mariages to be no mariages but to be dissolued â–ª duryng the vigor of which definition priestes wer not suffred to marrie Now of late the Church of Englande whiche as was shewed before is as well a catholike and Apostolike church as Rome churche or any other and of lyke and equall aucthoritée iurisdiction and power This churche I saie not stelyngly but aduisedly in two sondrie cessions not of the Laytie onely but of the Clergie did define Priestes mariages to bee good and auailable against all Lawes positiue Then standyng this definition whye were not their mariages good and this definition beyng repealed but for hereafter whie shall it not serue for those that were then made and now standyng in strength by Goddes Lawe and not as yet dissolued by mannes Lawe But ye will obiect that the Church definition maketh not the thinge to be but sheweth it to bee So that ye maye saie suche mariages were euer vnlawfull But then declared vnlawfull when the church definition was published Though this cauillatioÌ„ might be otherwise by good reasoÌ„ example and aucthoritée sufficiently answered yet take ye this answere for this tyme. If I were of the nombre of those priestes who beyng hindered by no other impediment of Goddes Lawe had maried vpon the definition of the Princes Law I would as gladly erre with sainct Augustine and with that age wherin he was in this matter as to be a catholike with doctor Martin and suche other of his affinitee Who by pleasure and displeasure by gaine of promotioÌ„s and lucres fallen to them by their opinion holde the contrarie But here ye will doubt whether the kinge or yet the Pope haue so muche aucthoritée to dispense with an vniuersall Lawe of the Churche Sir if for enuy ye beare to the kynges power ye beginne to doubt of the Popes power so ye maye shewe your self a stout catholique to the one as ye shewe your self a double subiect to thother And if ye doubt of the Popes power aske couÌ„saile of Ioannes Genesius deritu nuptiaruÌ„ how vniuersall it is And if ye miscredit hym aske the whole number of the Canonistes who some of them stand in more doubt whether the Pope can dispense with Regulers to haue proprietie and seculer promotion vnder the perfection of a Busshoppe then â–ª whether he can dispense with Priestes seculer to marye after their order If thei should be iudged by their factes there be examples innumerable of suche dispensations of decrees and the Canons made in generall councels whiche is more that the Busshoppe of Rome hath largely delt out in his aucthoritée If ye doubt that the kinges aucthoritée can do so much I can no more but â—end you to all the learned resolutions of the beste of the Clergie at this daie If ye beleue them ye must beleue me For I come but out of their bookes assertions If ye bryng in a great heape of councels of later daies I answere to them al as many as were made for the policies of Spaine Fraunce Italy thei belong not to vs. Ye maye laie these councels to the charge of those priesteâ— that be ordered ther. If ye saie that a particuler realme can not dispense with the whole Lawe of the Churche we answere we force no dispensation of the whole churche but of this particular churche of England for the perticular state of the Clergie of the same And as this particular Churche by their assent receiued that Lawe so by dissent againe hath refused that lawe And therfore is no further bound If ye yet againe will saie that the king may not dispense so vniuersally with the whole realme I answere if the king may do as much as the Pope why maie not he dispeÌ„se with his whole realme and Clergie for them that will aswell as was saied before As Paule the thirde to offer to the whole state of the Regulers in Germany to be temperally beneficed against the Canons of the Churche Extrae de consiguinitate affinit Can. 35. q. 10. Fraternitatis or as could Innocent the thirde release to al realmes of christendome the prohibitions of consanguynitée and affinitée in Councels before restrained If ye obiect that a greate many of Counsailes haue defined not onely depriuations but also separations I answere that as good Counsailes in the primatiue Churche as there bee many of this later Churche haue not so decreed but made this to bee the worste to be sequestered from their ministration Concilium Constant. vi And some not separating the ministers from their wiues but in tyme of their ministration And depriuyng the ordinaries whiche would separate theim contrary to the Canons of the Apostles CoÌ„cil gaÌ„grense And some
no signe or token left in her that euer she was in that takyng and the infamie which myght haue rysen to the couent quite abolyshed whiche was the greatest inconuenience that the Nunnes dyd feare in the close handlyng of this matter as the storie bewrayeth whiche processe begynneth in these wordes â–ª Miracula domini manifesta diuinae pietatis indicia scire tegere portio sacrilegii est To knowe the miracles of God and the manifest examples of his diuine mercie and to suppresse them is a spice of sacrilege c. Further the sayde auctour doth auouche the matter to be very true who comming from his owne monasterie at the request of the father of the house dyd see with his owne eyes this young mayden in the strawe where she lay newely and miraculously delyuered hearyng all the rest of this tragidie of such persons saith he which neither the sobernes of their age neither their approued holynesse woulde suffer them any maner wayes to lye If it be replied why shoulde these hystories be renewed agayne to the defamation as it may be iudged of these holy professers of chastitie Aunswer may be made Why dyd these contemplatiue fathers leaue in wrytyng to the pâ—steritie these practises so shamefull except that eyther they woulde blynde the eyes of the worlde in excusyng their fedities coueryng the outrages of their lyues as wrought by the miracles of God so abusyng the peoples ignoraunce to make them beleue what they listed to set out and magnifie or els whether God by his secrete iudgment vsed these munckyshe parciall wryters as instruments to detect their hypocrisie to the shame of their counterfayte lyuyng who dyd all that they coulde by wrytyng reporte to shame gods holy institution deuised by his gracious and diuine foresyght to preuent all such fylthines which he knew must nedes folow when his ordinaunce should be put out of the waye But suche was the endeuour of all these professed persons to kepe secrete their foule misteries or els when they must needes come abrode to knowledge then to turne their practises to be as gods miracles for neuer woulde they suffer any but them selues to be priuie of their misteries they coulde not abyde the lyght No not Thurstone archbyshop aforesayde hym selfe coulde be receaued of the religious of Saint Maries house in Yorke when they were in chapter together where he commyng vnto the Abbey accompanied besydes his owne familie with other notable learned men the whole couent made open exclamation agaynst hym yet their archbyshop and so threatned hym that as he saith himselfe in his epistle written to William archbishop of Canterburie he was afrayde of their violence and whereas the archbishop woulde haue pacified them saying that he came but for their peace and commoditie they rose vp agaynst hym and were redye to laye their handes vpon hym and tolde hym playnely that neither he nor Richarde their Prior with his complices shoulde bryng in any newe reformation amongst them agaynst their olde customes though the sayde Richarde and other of his good brethren woulde fayne haue enduced them better to obserue saint Benets rule which the Byshop testifieth in his epistle was almost through the whole world of Munckes commonly despised and troden vnder foote And in further talke with them the archbyshop sayd to them that yf ye despyse my episcopall auctoritie takyng that from me which belongeth to my office to visite you then saith he your Church must soone decaye Wherevnto was aunswered hym that we had rather haue our Churche for an hundred yeres shut vp then thus to haue any new reformatioÌ„s amongst vs against our olde wont And they all cryed out Voce frenatica capite inquiunt capite rebelles apprehendite proditores c. as they had ben mad Lay handes saye they vpon them lay handes vpon them attach these rebelles and apprehend these traytours So with much a do to the great wonder of the people abrode the Archbyshop was fayne to returne home againe to his palace and leaue them as he founde them Lo here is the state of perfection which they so much boast of and this was their rule But nowe to returne agayne to the foresayde Theobalde This sayde Archbyshop belyke had no great conscience for byshoppes and priestes to haue wyues and their chyldren to be preferred to ecclesiasticall lyuyng For as Iuo Carnotensis dyd iudge by the report of Radulphus de diceto anno 1161. in anno 1161 This Theobalde dyd consecrate Richarde Archdeacon of Couentree and sonne of Robert Pech Byshop of the sea of Chester to be Byshop of the same sea after his father Wherevppon saith he these wordes Non igitur vel a sacris ordinibus vel a parochialibus curis vel ab ecclesiis cathedralibus vel etiam ab ipso papatu silii sacerdotum si probalilis vitae fuerint sunt arcendi c Priestes sonnes are not therefore to be kept backe eyther from holy orders or from the cures of paryshes or from cathedral churches no not from the papacie it selfe yf they be of good conuersation And by and by in the storie he reporteth that Felix the thirde beyng a priestes sonne was after made pope and Agapitus the sonne of Gordian a priest was made pope Gelasius the sonne of Valerius a byshop was made pope Siluerius the sonne of Hormisda a Romane byshop was made pope Deusdedit the sonne of Stephen a Subdeacon was made pope Theodorus a greke borne sonne to Theodorus a byshop was made pope VVylliam Neuber lib. 2. cap. 6. Nicholaus an Englyshe man sonne of a priest was made pope after called Adrianus quartus Thus farre the sayde Radulph in storie Which sayde byshoppes of Rome so written in number by pope Damasus to Hierom Distinc. 56. Osius are not to be vnderstande to be borne in fornication as Gratian doth auouch there but were borne in priestly lawfull matrimonies whiche were lawfull euerywhere to priestes before the prohibition and in the Oriental churche be proued euen vnto this day lawfull vnto them His wordes therin be these Cum ergo ex sacerdotibus nati in summos pontifices dicuntur esse promoti non sunt intelligendi de fornicatione sed de legittimis coniugiis nati que sacerdotibus ante prohibitionem vbique licita erant in orientalâ— ecclesia vsque hodie eis licere probantur And pope Vrbane saith there Ca. Lenomansem that priestes chyldren are not to be kept from a Byshopricke yf other vertues be found in them as a priestes sonne was elected byshop of Cenomannia and so admitted by hym And but for tediousnes I myght rehearse many more as Adrian the seconde Iohn the eleuenth Iohn the fourtenth Iohn the sixtenth sonnes of popes and byshoppes So honorable saith Paul is wedlocke amongste all Hebre. 11. and the bed vndefiled Whereas adulterers God shall condempne Such a grace saith saint Augustine is in mariages De bono coniugal cap. 24. through all nations and all sortes
they haue ben vsed of some persons who be now the more vnexcusable hauyng the libertie graunted yf they defyle them selues as haue ben accustomed So that by this libertie is no bridle geuen ouer to lewdnes as some do talke or that they be lyke to haue the fewer to be chaste but the more to be wyllyngly chaste in deede the restraynt thus reuoked as in examples of these dayes who lyst well to consider may heare of graue men vifiting in diuers dioces of the Realme abrode howe fewe concubinaries howe fewe fornicators howe fewe adulterers of the ecclesiasticall state be detected and proued in suche comparason as of xij or xiij hundred diuers paryshes of one dioces not foure accused Who yf any be resident at home kepyng vp their houses in due reparations vsyng such hospitalitie as they be able teachyng their flockes as they may be most of that sort condition And if this serue not to the godly policie of the Realme for such outrages to be extynguyshed and suche as can not lyue chasâ—e to haue their libertie and suche as can by the secrete gyft of God lyue chaste in the same quietly to folowe the state of their vocation and haue thereby their iuste commendation for the same I leaue it to be considered of men of godly consciences of wyse men in experience and of true policie in deede And here is to be aunswered that obiection which is commonly made of diuers persons whiche both feare God and wyshe all offendicles to be taken out of the Churche that the Gospell myght haue his full credite They vse to obiecte the saying of S. Paule 1. Cor. 7. He that is syngle careth for the thynges of the Lorde hovve he may please the Lorde But he that hath maryed a vvyfe careth for the thynges of the vvorld hovve he may please his vvyfe To aunswere such it is good to heare the saying of one godly deuine where he saith they must vnderstande that S. Paules wordes must be taken in such sort as he meant them For he meant not vtterly to sequester from all maryed persons a care and desire of heauenly thynges and to discharge them by all maner meanes to please the Lorde and to attribute to them the onlye care of worldly busines howe they shoulde please their wyues as peculierly to them But he spake only of that which is commoÌ„ly wont to be done specially in such matrimonies which be contracted and spent out in worldlynes that be ledde and entangled with the desire and loue of worldly thynges For an infidell woman which is geuen to the worlde is wont to withdraw the man froÌ„ godly matters to worldly carnal busines of which sort of persoÌ„s S. Paul speaketh this sentence For els no christian man can denie but that a godly wyfe is an helper to honest and godly lyfe in this worlde to all such as haue not the gyft of single lyuyng geuen them of the lord For the wordes whiche almyghtie God spake Gen. 2. must needes stande in strength where he sayde It is not good for a man to be alone let vs make an helper which may be with hym lyke vnto hym selfe Whiche wordes the Lorde vnderstode not but of such an helper as myght serue a man towardes a godly and heauenly life for whatsoeuer doth not helpe therto can not be called of the Lorde an helper of man but an impediment or hynderaunce It is manifest and euident to all men that as S. Paule dyd not pronounce this sentence generally of all them which lyue in single state that they all care only for the thinges of God and are nothyng ledde with the desire and care of worldly thynges Euen by lyke reason he meant not his saying of all maner persons that they care only for such thynges whiche be worldlye and despise those thynges which be heauenly and godly for wedlocke is holy and the bedde vndefyled These be the wordes of the holye ghost Ad Heb. 13. which is only the spirite of trueth only holy and pure and therfore must needes be verified of all such wedlocke that is contracted and vsed accordyng to his institution whether it be of priest or of lay man whether it be the first mariage the seconde or the thirde for the worde of God maketh no difference either of person either of number Wherefore yf an honest wyfe that feareth God be maryed in the Lorde she can not be but an helper to perfourme a godly lyfe and that to priestes specially such as haue not the gyft of chastitie or to suche as wyll passe ouer the sowre pylgrymage of this passyng lyfe to haue a trustie and faythfull frende to beare the burden of all greefes and heauynesse in comfortable moderation and therby to auoyde the daungerous temptations that otherwise myght encomber his lyfe As Elizabeth was an helpe to her husbande in the seruice of god Luk. 1. in the ministerie of the priesthood And the mother of Gregorie Naziazene dyd also helpe her husband in the episcopal office of whom Naziazene in the funerall sermon of his sayde father wryteth that she was not only a notable and excellent helpe of his father in godlynes but also a teacher and defender of his cure with many other wordes of hye commendations of both their vertues so that their mariage was aswel a copulation of vertue as of body Which thyng haue many other godly women perfourmed to their husbandes and do the same at this day And the said Gregorie Naziazene doth tell that Basil a priest was father of three bishoppes of Basil the great of Cesaria of Peter of Sebastia and of Gregorie of Nize Which Basil saith he though he bounde hym selfe in matrimonie yet he lyued so therein that he had no impediment therby to attayne both perfecte vertue and perfecte knowledge So that in his coniugall state he kept his lyfe priestly order wherof these three chastitie matrimonie and priesthood whiche be wont to make diuers kyndes of lyfe were nothing repugnaunt in hym or dyd any wayes hynder his vertue Wherefore it cannot be sayde that holye wedlocke yf it be begun in the Lorde shoulde be by it selfe an impediment to the office of a priest specially forasmuche as the holy ghost hath ordeyned it and hath enioyned it in the first place among the ornamentes of a minister of the church Whervpon further it foloweth that saint Paule wrote not these wordes He that hath maryed a wyfe careth for the thynges of the worlde howe he may please his wyfe of all maryed persons but of those only which be ioyned in matrimonie after the worldly maner and with such persons as be geuen to the worlde and therfore he addeth strayghtway after these wordes this I speake to your profite not to entangle you in a snare By which saying he doth acknowledge a wyfe to some men to be so necessarie for a godly lyfe that single state to such men must needes be a snare most greeuous
of the cleargie in their booke wherein they instructe a christian man to lyue godlye that it was lawfull for hym by gods worde to abrogate canon lawes repugnaunt to the lawes of the Realme and affirmyng further by testimonie of olde wryters that whatsoeuer was so enacted in this Englyshe churche had sufficient strength aucthoritie and power beyng a catholike and an apostolyke churche in it selfe the rather for doing their endeuour to returne all the order of the primatiue church agayne and therfore beyng more agreeable to Christes doctrine makyng more to edifiyng and benefite of Christes church What learned men standyng only to learnyng and reason can iustly eyther impugne the late state and order in this behalfe taken in the raigne of the noble prince king Edwarde the sixt or yet can reasonably suggill the doctrine and assertions published and set out in the dayes of that famous prince kyng Henrie the eyght by al his best learned cleargie as makyng way and preparation by their wrytynges and preachynges to put in execution that which was of late so vsed and practised If the fathers of Rome Churche diuers of the best learned by their prudence thought it meet to release the rigour of canons and rules of the churche whervpon they sometyme did dispence in diuers cases of great importaunce geuyng theyr assent before they were done sometyme bearyng and tolleratyng many thynges passed without auctoritie after they were done If their scribes and registers expositors of their lawe leaned alwayes to the equitie of the lawes fauourablie expoundyng them to the moste benefite and sauegarde of suche as were offenders agaynst Goddes morall lawes If the head fathers and pastors of other churches in their pastorall prudence vsed their tollerations in such cases as Origen doth testifie that the bishoppe in Alexandria permitted without agaynst the scripture a maryage to be made with a certaine woman in respect of her infirmitie as Millane churche and Constantinople churche vsed in the election of their bishoppes Ambrose Nectarius contrarie to the rule of the apostle as not yet christened as is before rehearsed And if that sayde holy bishop Ambrose dyd in his churche permit priestes to be maryed as Barnardinus Corius in his chronicle maketh report saith further that one Henribaldus Cotta a lawyer by profession beyng one of the first that woulde forbyd priestes to marry wyues was slayne of them for his importune extremitie Whiche thyng is reported of Ioannes Neuisanus doctor of lawe in his booke entituled Silua nuptialis where he aleageth howe the canonistes and schole men racke violently the lawes scriptures and gospels in this cause agaynst the true sense of the wordes and aduoucheth further that these canonistes make large thonges of other mens leather euen lyke saith he as the strumpet dyd of an other bodies chylde and that because they haue no wyues them selues Who when they haue any be aboue al other men burnyng in the fire of gelosie as he bryngeth his auctoritie therfore But nowe thus they speake saith he because them selues hauyng not only one paramour but haue many wyues and paramours and otherwhyles concubines also at one tyme together Whervpon he wysheth the lawe of continencie to be remitted and bryngeth in to ioyne with hym in this his iudgement not only the famous lawyer Panormitan but that notable man Felinus also with others And furthermore he affirmeth that the reasons of the canonistes of these dayes do proue that priestes after they be ordered may not marry be to no purpose because saith he they be grounded in couetousnes whiche is not conuenient to the true folowers of Christe And there in that his disputation he citeth diuers doctors who do disclose the corrupte intention of the canonistes in deprauyng and falsyfying the letter textes of Ambrose other doctors in the same cause If the churche of Ptolomais attempted so muche agaynste Christes religion and his apostles consentyng to electâ— a platonicall philosopher miscredityng the principall articles of our fayth and that after his open protestation that he woulde not as then either relinquishe his opinion or yet his wyfe and was accepted with them both What wyse man indued with any consideration of christian pollicie can iustly quarrel with the head pastor of our churche of Englande to tollerate thynges standing against no scripture at all so passed as they be Yea though they should vse more mercie and clemencie towarde the miserie of those ministers then some euyll and vncharitable instigatours woulde wishe they dyd If the vniforme assent and consent of wryters haue attributed so large auctoritie to counselles and bishoppes decrees to dispence so vniuersally that they say a bishop a mere diocesan may dispence with heretickes that other may the sooner returne agayne with scismatickes with simoniackes with suspended and excommunicates with adulterers with murtherers in theft in sacrilege in deacons matrimonie for afterwardes to be contracted with their protestation in priestes matrimonies alredy contracted so it be with a virgin and that he may dispence in orders and dignities vnder the state of a bishop If he ought saith the lawe as bounde by necessarie constraint of spiritual gouernaunce to dispence either in such cases where either some greater commoditie to folowe may be hoped or where the peryll of some greater inconuenience may be feared and sometyme in respecte of the multitude and to auoyde sclaunder of offence that els might be taken What may be gathered hereof by the wise reader and what auctoritie is and may be iustly thought to be resiaunt in the whole order and seignorie knit and conioyned al wholly togethers in one yf so muche be graunted to euery one of them seuerally alone If the Canons of one councell be drawen commonly to expounde an other as one lawe to declare an other then where it is decreed in the fourth councell at Tollet Quod Clerici qui sine consultu Episcopi sui vxores duxerint c. seperari eos a proprio Episcopo oportebit That clarkes that without councell or consent of their byshops haue maryed wyues c. must be seperated by their owne byshop agayne Howe reasonably then do these men crie for seperation of such of the Cleargie who dyd not vpon their owne heades attempt the state they be in and diuers of them neyther without the counsell nor yet instigation of their onely proper Diosesant but with the consent and aucthoritie of the whole order of all the Metropolitanes and Diocesantes in Englande in their deliberat consultation first among them selues and after so exhibited to the state of the Parliament afterwarde in their priuate diocesses commendyng the statutes passed and sendyng their Chaplaynes abrode in their diocesses to declare the commendations and necessitie of the same as be yet at this day auncient Bishoppes styll alyue remaynyng that can beare witnesse of this whiche is here affirmed yf they were therto required Last of all where that noble prince of famous memoriâ— kyng Henrie the
eyght vsed so much prudencie in reducyng and reposyng his Realme in such godlye knowledge and christian peace as the measure of Gods giftes graunted vnto hym dyd moue hym to the same where in this case what clemencie he vsed it is not vnknowen and yet vnder sharp lawes so tempred the rigor of them that of his owne disposition a verie few felt the extremite of the execution though many were drawen into feare by them His onely example myght reasonably stande agaynst all detractours for the defence of all such his naturall subiectes left behynde hym of whom he promoted many so much that they can not forget hym so soone after his departure which deserued so much at their handes when he was here lyuyng Wherby all estates as be aliue may by prudent comparison gladly assure them selues to see the lyke after their departure of those whom they fauour and preferre in the tyme of their lyues These thynges I say considered may I trust be thought of indifferent and learned christian men not out of tyme spoken nor out of due order of obedieÌ„ce or charitie vttered at the lest way no otherwyse then charitably meant and intended by the writer of the same Who as charitably desireth the christiaÌ„ quiet reader to peruse as benyngly to interprete that which is written which yet be it alway subiect to reformation of all such as of conscience and godly zeale wisheth the aduauncement of Gods glorie the trueth of his worde the honour of the Churche and quiet of this our naturall countrey Amen Aug â–ª de nup et concupis Ista controuersia iudicem querit iudicet ergo Christus Iudicet cuÌ„ eo et apostolus quia et in apostolo ipse loquitur Christus This controuersie requireth a iudge let Christ therfore be iudge And let thapostle iudge with hym for in thapostle also Christe speaketh Non afferamus stateras dolosas vbi appendamus quod volumus et quomodo volumus pro arbitrio nostro dicentes Aug. contra donatist li 2 ca 6. Hieronim 24. q. 1. cap. non afferamus hoc graue est hoc leue est sed afferamus diuinam stateram de scripturis sacris tanquam de thesauris dominicis et in illa quid sit grauius appendamus immo non appendamus sed a domino appensa recognoscamus Let vs not bryng foorth deceytfull balaunces wherein we may waygh what we wyll and howe we wyll saying after our owne opinion this is heauy this is lyght But let vs bryng foorth Gods balaunces out of the holy scriptures as out of the treasures of the Lorde and in that let vs waygh what is more wayghtie nay I say not let vs not waygh but let vs acknowledge the thynges alredy wayghed of the Lorde FINIS A Table of the principall matters conteyned in this booke A ABbesse of Ramsey maryed .316 Abbesse of Amesburie depriued for incontiuencie .316 Abbottes depriued by Anselme .285 Alphonsus vpon the place propter fornicationem vitandam 140 228. a. 264. a. 235.103.206 Aldelme purged pope Sergius .200 b. Ambrose chosen bishop before he was baptised .267.274 writeth vpon melius est nubere c. 145. a. Amalarius testimonie for church seruice .337 Anselme entreated the pope for priestes .15 b. first separated priestes mariages in Englande .214 b. his superstition .214.281 his boke contra offendiculum sacerdotum .280 entreateth for simoniackes .284 resorteth to the pope .294 whose auctoritie he defended .294 his intreatable seueritie .293.295.296 against Thomas of york .298 his decre how it succeeded .298.299 Antonine witnes of priestes dispensations .267 b. Apostles all had wyues pag. 32. b. 33. d. 156. b. 157. a. they dyd not constitute sole lyfe .258 c. 260. c. Appollinaris a priest maryed after order .157 b. Ariminensis sinodus .212 Augustine preferryng scriptures before councels and doctors .98 d. proueth votaries mariages to be good .101 b. 102. a. 225. a. not callyng their mariages adulteries .150 b. 229. b. Augustine corrupted by Gratian .153 a. he reproueth the Nouatians for seconde maryages .163 b. in whose tyme the churche had not defined vowes to be indispensable .233 a. Aethelwolfus subdeacon maryed .272 Alfricus â—â—dgement of priestes maryages .243 Auentâ—â—â— Iohn of priestes maryages .345 Apostles canon against priestes leauyng their wyues .354 B Barnardus against restraynt of maryages .287 Brennyng of diuers abbeys and churches .308.309 Boniface archbishop resisted in his visitation .323 charged to haue a wyfe .323 his habilitie and qualities .324 Boniface pope the eyght terrible to princes .173 a. Bishops charge Fo. 3. pag. 2. a. their ryght stablyshed by parliament Fol. 5. pag. 2. d. they are charged Fol. 6. pag. 1. b. not enioyned to conteyne of necessitie .251 their slacknes to refourme priestes .333 Bishop of Ely Galfride maryed .317 Bishoppes maryed before bishop Cranmer .355 Bookes de potestate Regia and institution of a christian man neuer aunswered .176 b. Barnardinus Corius .346.356 C Calixtus decree not obserued .151 c. Canon of Gangrense councell .259 a. Canon of Matiscone councell for honoryng of priestes .96 c. Canons of the churche howe allowed Fol. 4. pag. 2. b. Canons of the church be not reuiued vpon the repeale of a statute to empeache that was done by force of the statute .172 b. and they do not disable the lawes of the Realme .174 b. 180. and be receaued as they make to the policie of the realme .176 a. Conuocation abolished lawes of continencie .351 Canons of another iurisdiction not allegeable .60 b. Canons rehearsed which do but depriue and not seperate maryed persons .168 a. Canonistes reasons against maryage of priestes vaine .356 Canterburie munckes described by William Malmesbury .215.291 Cardinall legates returned home againe .303 Cardinalles delecte bewray errors of the Churche .187 b. Cardinall Caietane of orderyng .227 a. Carnall reasons against maryage .237.239 Carterius Hispanus named by S. Hierom .212 a. Catholique name abused .79 c. Cayns boy of Cambridge .99 d. Chastitie a rare gyft .148.251 a. Chastitie lesse fauoured then lecherie .272 Chastitie is not to be charged by necessitie .248.347 Churche buylded on Peters confession not on his person .76 a. Churche of Englande hath defined votaries maryage to be good .233 c. Churche of Englande a catholique churche .355 Church of the pope cruel .269 a. Churche tollerateth the cryme of open harlottes .328 Chrisostome of votaries mariage .102 b. Chrisostome councelleth to auoyde the daunger of fornication by goyng to maryage .138 d. Chrisostome exacteth not of a bishop to be vnmaryed .276 d. Cleargie some of them expostulated with Fol. 11. pag. 2. d. Clarkes maryed do open penaunce .89 b. Concilium Agathenâ—e .222 b. Concilium Epaunense .221 c. Councelles hath Christe really present saith Martin .210 a. Concuâ—mate must needes folowe after prohibition of mariage .286 Constitutions ecclesiasticall howe to be obeyed .329 Constantines fauour in hydyng priestes incontinencie .94 c. Constantine sharpely threatneth the cleargie .96 a. Cremensis Cardinall .217.307 D Deacons at their