vnto them that lacke waight herein shall that bée sayde Discedite a me operarij iniquitatis Goe from mée ye workers of iniquitie Luke the thirtéenth It is no suspected or vnsound counsell set downe in Decretals by these wordes Ante omnia opus est vt patres non solum nihil peccando verumetiam honestè singula peragendo manifestum res è filijs exhibeant exemplar vt in corum vitam se vt in speculum intueantur Before all thinges it is néedefull that fathers should shew themselues vnto theyr children as a manifest patterne or erample not onely be not sinning but also by doing al things honestlie that they may looke into their liues and peruse themselues as in a glasse Aristotle being asket in what sort we ought to shew our selues to our frendes marie saith he in that sorte as wee woulde wishe that they shoulde shew themselues to vs. If this point pertaineth to frendship much rather to parentage who finde it a harder matter to enfourme their children well then it is to beget them For according as they are trayned vp by their parentes wordes and examples such wil they proue to be after the prouerbial verse Arbor naturam dat fructibus atque figuram Fruites are woont to take their shape and nature of the tree All things are deriued from the worthier parts whether they be good or euill and the vertue of an honest man or good Father is like to the sauour of muske which impartteth his goodnes to others that buy not of it Of this minde appeared to bée that vertuous Prince Lewes of France called the good King who least his eldest Sonne Charles the Dolphin shoulde bée vnmindefull of those thinge which he taught him by good example in his life time at the time of his death lefte these preceptes in writing to bee deliuered vnto him of likelyhood as a Codicill or parte of his will which Christian like counsailes are worthy to bee knowen and remembred especially by them that succéede in nobility authority or generosity The aduertisementes were these 1 First yéelde an account of thy sinnes diligently vsing the helpe and sound counsaile of foure wise and well learned men that will not bee afraide to rebuke and controll thee 2 Serue God deuoutly in the Church 3 Be conuersant with vertuous men and such as liue in good order 4 Ruffians and such as haue no feare of God let them be farre off from thée 5 Be ready and willing to heare good counsaile bée it secretly or openly 6 Let not blasphemers of God and despisers of holy thinges escape from thée vnrebuked or vnpunished 7 Towardes all Christians be thou a seuere and an vpright Iudge not fauouring one parte more then the other 8 If thou must needes make warre be a protector of Christes Church and all innocents 9 Be not the meanes of swearing and forswering but rather forbid it Lastly my Sonne I exhort and pray shée I leauing this worlde before thée that thou wilt haue a godly charitable and dutifull regard towards mee The precepts be such as it may bee wished there were more practisers of the like The wise and vertuous Prince seemed a carefull and diligent follower of ghostly counsaile and namely of this out of Ecclesiasticus Who so informeth and teacheth hys Sonne greeueth the enemy and before his friends he may haue ioy of him though the Father die yet is he as though he were not dead for he hath lefte one behinde him that is like him The bishop of Augusta in his booke De via Regia hath this aduertisment vnto parents When thy Sonne saieth hee shall aske thee which be the auncient wayes thou shalt tell him of the auncient faith and of the holy and approued life and good workes of the Patriarkes Prophets Apostles and others the seruaunts and freindes of God who by the true and sincere faith raised the dead cleansed the leaporous and restored sight to the blinde The like Christian and religious lessons ought to be taught as readily as any worldly instructions That which a man soweth that he shall reape Let the Father giue good examples and hee shall reape the fruite thereof on the life maners and prosperity of his children Let him bee milde and louing and he shall taste of the loue of God Let himselfe not be stubborne against the wil of God and lawes and he shal finde it recompenced in the duetie and obedience of his children Let him forgiue the offences of reasonable sonnes and he shall ouercome their frowardnesse and ill disposition if the Philosophers words be true which saieth Filium beneuolentia patris meliorem facit that is The beneuolent fauouralbe dealing of the Father maketh the sonne better CHAP. II. That Fathers ought not to giue ill examples AMongs the Lacedemonians if two brethren fell at strife betwéene themselues the Magistrate awarded that the Father shoulde be punished for that either he was the cause of it or did not preuent it before or remedy it after For they thought the young men were to be pardoned And if they offended by the intemperance of youth their father was to bée blamed whose authority ought to forsée and prouide that no strife or debate rise betwéen his sons And therefore a Father ought to bée very carefull in nourishing and maintaining naturall loue and concord in his family and in any wise not to suffer any sparke of hatred to enter into their heartes least it kindle a fire in their brest much lesse ought he to cast in coales of discorde among thē him selfe by any vnkinde or iniurious examples of dealing For the state of a family if it bée in due order is like to a frame of ioyning worke or building wherein if some one peece bée out of his place it tendeth to a disordering of all the rest and one disorder following an other all becommeth out of ioynt and falleth vnto a confusion verie dispraisable Therefore it séemes this saying of the holy Ghost is not of light regarded Vae dantibus malum exemplum woe vnto them that giue ill examples the grieuousnesse whereof the holy Doctor Saint Augustine rather augmenteth then diminisheth when he saieth that a man may slay others by his examples Euen as the Father beginneth so it is like the sonne will procéede for as the Philosopher saieth Amat vnusquisque sequi vitam parentum Euerie man loueth to doe as his father did before him And as Seueca saieth Ther is no wicked act but the example of it hath been followed If the Father neglect the expresse will of God who would and ought to strike a stroke as well in the ordering of his family as in the directing of his life or if hee swarue from the vsage of the wisest or best forte of parentes preferring his owne fancy or wilfull conceite before all other reason the Sonne by his example will doe the like If the Father by an example of iniurie or disorder giueth an entry to venim of minde and
Philosophy but their lucke is ill in making sew good Philosophers The cause is for that they for the most part wish and would that all their husbandes children were rather fooles than wittie or well deseruing so well it would make for their part and purpose And because they be themselues parties of so good merise one Callimachus mentioneth in an Epigram that a young fellow whose Stepdame was lately deceased would haue placed ouer her Toome or Hearse I wot not of what mourning intent a fresh and faire garlande it happended so that by moouing or medling with the Hearse or Toomestone it fell on his legges and did him such hurt that hée neuer recouered it after By which example Stepdames are to bee feared and taken héede of euen when they bée dead What shoulde I saye there is in Stepdames so much wylinesse and boldnesse to attempt euen the vtter most meaâ—es of exterminating and vndooing of their husbandes children that in all ages and degrées there haue béene sonne in lawes brought to ruine and destruction by them I wot not whether I should impute it more to the husbands effeminatenesse and follie than to the womans wylie woorking and dexteritie Iuno though a goddesse counted afterwardes bearing the like loue to her husbands some Hercules whiles he was yet but in his cradle vouchsafed to shift into him two venemous adders in stéed of two pretie birds for the litle boy to play with but by the mercy and prouidence of God who defendeth innocentes which are sine macula ante thronum Dei the poore childe was sounde safe without hurt clipping fast the two snakes in ech hand one But this was not all she skath and sorrow she wrought him for besides this when he came to mans state and perfection those monstrous toyles which were called Hercules labours were deuised by her and enioyned to him to performe and accomplish The Britaine King Vortimer the sonne of Vortiger was poysoned by Rawen his Stepdame The Saxon King Edward the sonne of Edgar was killed on his horsebacke by procurement of Elphreda his deceased Fathers wife because she would haue her sonne Etheldred King But might there be no more examples brought foorth of the like bad dealinges in former ages then such as are onely registred of Kinges Or be there not in our present age many meaner mischieuous dealings of as bad testimonie for this purpose No doubt yes but this is enough to enforce any indifferent man to be of this opinion that as an euill man may bee compared with manie woemen that be counted good so doth a Stepdame little differ from the iust proportion of an euill woeman And often times the hatred both of the one and the other is borne against them that be good euen for truth or goodnesse sake Truely enough it may bée sayde after the sentence of some wise men There is no euill more greeuous than a Step-mother It was therefore ordayned as a lawe by Charondas a lawe giuer among the Grecians that Whosoeuer brought vnto his children a Stepmother the same father should be without the fauour and reputation of bearing anie office in the common wealth Neyther was his iudgement or opinion héerein to be thought singular or priuate which was receiueb as an inuiolable lawe to a wise Nation And of the like minde was Euripides the Philosopher a man counted of no lesse wisedome and fame when hee sayde Qui liberis suis Nouercam superinduxit non honore dignus sed infamis sit vipote dissentionis author that is to say who so bringeth a Stepdame vppon his children lette him not bee worthy of worship or reputation but rather counted infamous Phineus King of Arcadia bringing a Stepdame vnto his children shée wrought so that in shorte space shée procured the eyes of some of them to bée put out For the which acte God was displeased wyth him and depriued the King of his owne sight and for a worse punishment when soeuer he shoulde go to his meate there did vsually come certaine cruell birdes or spirites like Harepies to scratch the meate out of his handes and mouth whereby hée was so vexed and pined in his diet that hée liued not long tyme after The worde Stepdame is not of vnkinde calling but of harde and iniurious dealing For we can not truely call her a mother who sheweth her selfe rather a persecuter then a Nurse and comforter It is a saying or resolute Sentence of hym that yée call Maister of the Sentences Non sunt filij sanctorum qui loca tenent sanctorum sed qui imitantur opera sanctorum These be not the somes of holy men or successors of holy Bishops that occupie their Seates and places but such as followe their steppes and doings Likewise we may say these be not mothers because they be coupled with fathers but such are to be called mothers as succéede them in motherly dealing and kindenesse But that is not agréeable vnto the nature and propertie of a stepmother who for the most part is enclined rather vnder the shape and milde looks of a Doue to beare at length the stinging tayle of a Scorpion Then what is the remedie Euen as there be manie euilles done or borne with vnder the name of Iustice so I wote not howe we may resist or auoide these sundrie inconueniences hatched and shrowded vnder the name and solemnitie of marriage But this is to be wished that fathers in such case shoulde somewhat striue to maister their owne fleshly affections that they doe auoide such mischiefs as he ouer déere bought Ecclesiast saieth A wise man hath his eyes in his head and not in the ground nor below the girdle that is to say he hath regarde to soule health and concorde of his house and other ghostly good of his samilie if he will Which otherwise doth redounde the more vnto his blame and sinnefull defaulte It is a saying of Saint Gregorie Non potest esse pastoris excusatio si lupus oues commedit pastor nescit It can not bée a sufficient excuse for a Pastour or Gouernour when his flocke is deuoured by the Woolfe to saie hée knewe not of it And when children are infected wyth grudging mallice dissention and disobedience brought quite out of kindelie loue and fauour and depriued of such comforte and benefite as otherwise might come vnto them it is not a full excuse for the father to saie It was her dooing and not mine I founde best ease or contentment by suffering her for to beare the sway and for to haue her owne will Or thus It was my fortune and who may resiste the ordinance of GOD Forsooth a goodlie excuse by a gay glose when hée doth blame GOD for his owne fancie and follie and imputeth the faulte of his farewell to Fortune which wrought no more in his matter then the Crosse in Cheape side or the Pasquill at Rome Well dooth hée deserue the reprehension of Chaweer in this péece of méeter following He that buildeth his
tricenarius federa nuptiarum ipsa digitorum coniunctione testetur Digamia in quo erit numero imo extra numerum certè in bona terra non oritur sed in vepribus spinetis vulpium quae Herodiae impijssmae comparantur vt in eo se putet esse laudabilem si scortis melior sit si publicanorum victimas superet si vni sit prostituta non pluribus that is Whereas the Gospell teacheth or mentioneth of a hundred folde fruit sixtie folde and thirtie folde to come of the séede sowne in good ground and that the hundred folde helde the first and chiefe degrée for the crowne of virginitie the sixtie folde the second degrée for the labour and good worke of widowes the thirtie folde signifieth a rewarde for the true obseruing of matrimony made by ioyning hands The state of Digamie or such as marry twise in what degrée or number be they In déede they are in none séeing it groweth not in good grounde but in bushes and thornes which are compared to the wicked Herodias that might thinke her selfe laudable in this point if she be somwhat better thē they that be naught if she serue one mans turne not many Diuers sundry other proofs reasons likelihoodes might be brought that woulde shake and quasle the very foundation of a Stepdames ouer great reckoning and presumption but this shall suffice for this turne That which may be gathered of the aboue mentioned places of testimony if it be well considered and weighed in the ballance of a mans christen conscience I doubt not but that any father standing in this case of such as haue flexible hearts and be not ouermuch hardened will at the length haue both an outward and inward respect vnto the qualitie dignitie and preeminence of the first marriage and likewise the issue thereof yea and whatsoeuer he thinketh a while there is such a remorce to be had herein specialy if he haue iniured the first as wil make his pulses work and his heart to drop teares if that be enough Which remorce and remembrance of himself may be drawne and deriued euen from example and experience in our first fathers the patriarchs and faithfull seruants of God The Bishop of Wurmace Doctor Bourchard in his common places of the decrées and counselles Ecclesiastike alleadgeth this as the wordes of Saint Hierome Ebron dicitur esse ciuitas trium virorum c. Ebron is saide to be the Cittie of the thrée men because in the same were buried the thrée Patriarchs there in a double caue with theyr thrée wiues to wit Abraham and Sara Isaac and Rebecca Iacob and Lea. They had other wiues of whome appeares not the like regard but these were the first to whose ofspring the blessing was due and by whose fruitefulnes the heretage of the faithful and the faith it selfe was maintened and vpholden by propagation and spreading vnto the posteritie from whom we clayme Answerable to this Tobias said to his son Cum acceperit deus animam meam c. When GOD shall receiue my soule thou shalt bury my body and honour thy mother al the dayes of thy life and when she hath likewise accomplished her time thou shalt bury her harde by me in one sepulchre Saint Augustine hereuppon hath these wordes In primo connubio coniuncti quia vna eadem caro est in vno sepulohro sepeliantur They that in the first marriage be ioined togither forasmuch as they be one and the same flesh it is méet they be buried in one graue or sepulchre If the examples of the patriarks the counsel of the holy doctors do persuade and induce to bring the deceased fathers to their first spouses or the first espoused to them in burialles what should we gather hereof but perfection validitie and diuine allowing of the one weakenesse clement tolleration and scantie commending of the other With what conscience then may the woman of the second marriage iniure the first by a supplanting drift and indonour of hir part first rooting out all kindely good will that should come towards the son from his father and at length stripping him of the blessing birthright and heretage due by the right of laws nature and so great antiquitie Woulde she shrowde hir wicked working and wrong doing vnder the example of Rebecca defrauding Esau of the blessing due vnto the eldest sonne No she can not for that the cases bée not like Rebecca was the first wife and Esaus own mother and also it came of the will and prouidence of God since reuealed who knewe before what was néedefull to be done for the helpe of his Church the planting of his faith and the encrease of his glorie But as for the vsuall sorte of Stepdames I wote with what Spirite they be endowed and directed who can not so well chalenge to them the worthines mysticall vnion and right of the first marriage though they be called wiues Thē is she a wrong doer by the vniuersal law of cities matrons which saith locupletari nō debet aliquis cū alterius iniuria vel iactura no man nor womā ought inrich thēselues with the wrōg or losse of others But the diuine lawe whose sentence is most to be dreaded gyueth a harde construction and a more scuere iudgement against any Stepdame and hir complices in the lyke wrongfull action as appeareth in Ecclesi◠◠34 Who so depriueth his neighbour of his liuing dooth as great sinne as though hée slewe hym to death I trowe she will not deny hir husbands sonne to be hir neighbour very neare in this meaning Wherefore not to be ouer tedious in this point as ye haue heard before the sentence of the heauenlie King against the iniurious woman deliuered by the trump of the holy Ghost euen so let the iudgement of the earthlie Emperour Marcus Aurelius against the misaduised father be digested as a pleasant reprehension and profitable admonition which is thus He is a foole that taketh counsel of a woman he more foole that asketh it but he most foole that fulfilleth it CHAP. IX That disheriting of the eldest sonne is an acte verie wrongfull and vngodly ONe of the Romane Emperours though namelesse because he was vicious yet did he ordaine sundry lawes that imported great iustice and humanitie namely amongest the rest this one That no Romane whatsoeuer should cast out of his doores any seruant slaue horse or other beast were it but a dogge for olde age sickenesse or any infirmitie grounding and confirming his law with this reason that men serue from their youth to be succoured when they come to olde age Humanitie and Iustice are so vniuersally commendable and so particularly néedfull in the life of man that we may draw infinite examples of the obseruing due regard therof euen from Paynims infidels which is the losse to be maruelled at by this saying of Strabo Moriales maxime Deos imitantur quoniam benefici sunt All people doe followe the propertie and goodnesse
Newnams Nightcrowe A Bird that breedeth braules in many Families and Housholdes Wherein is remembred that kindely and prouident regard which Fathers ought to haue towards their Sonnes Together with a disciphring of the iniurious dealinges of some younger sorte of stepdames Vnicuique secundum opera cius Cor. 2. Vix reijcis florem qui dulcem prebet odorem LONDON Printed by Iohn Wolfe 1590. The Bookes purpose For widdowes and elder brothers For children that haue lost their mothers Or be iniured by stepdames might And Sonnes that lost their births right With others needyng restitution These finde in me some meete fruition To the right worshipful Maister Thomas Owen Esquire one of the Queenes Maiesties learned Seriants at the Lawe AT what time King Darius inuaded Scithia the people of the same did retire and gyue back so much from the force and first brunt of the inuador that in a maner they seemed to giue ouer and relinquishe the defēce of that part which was of best fertility and were nowe entring into their desert of their land Darius sent to knowe what they meant and how farre they purposed to flie they aunswered wee haue no Citties to fight for but as soone as Darius shall beginne to medle with the Townes and Monumentes of our fathers and auncesters hee shall knowe whether the Cittizens can fight It is nowe more then twenty yeeres space since it hath been my fortune to beare the assaultes dammage iniury discomfortes and vnkindnesse of a stepdame by her ouermuch preuailing which oftentimes is found to bee as puissant in vanquishing as the strong army of Darius All this I thought to haue put vp and giuen place vnto by silent patience as a crosse ordained for mee vntill at length shee proceeded so farre in malignity as I thought it intollerable and that was by an vtter supplanting and disheriting of mee in some meane or competent portion her driftes thus extending to the spoiling mee of my birth-right which to euerie man is the best Monument of his parent I could not but be moued with that pricke or instinct of Nature which sheweth it selfe in the leaste creatures of which it is saide Habet musca splenem formicae sua bilis inest The Flie will resist and the Ant will turne againe Nowe for that some purpose or ende of knowledge and insight is to drawe good out of euill and to make medicines of diseases I thought it good with some labour bestowed to conuert the harme of my owne calamitie to the instruction of some and benefit of others in no small number And because the subiect of the whole matter seemeth to shroud it selfe most vnder the nature propertie and maners of a stepdam which perswadeth as much by night as by day shee is vulgarly called the Nightcrow best worthy to be my childs Godmother and to haue the preheminency of the name And although all sorts of fowle Coruini generis of crowes kinde were forbidden to the children of Israel which argueth some ill property vnwholesome or vnsauorie taste of the flesh of that kind yet I hope there is nothing in this intellectuall or spirituall bird that may offende or dislike the taste of any good Christian or true Israelite The Diuines howsoeuer it commeth to passe make the Crowe a figure of procrastination and deferring to doe good It may be of his crie or voice and the continual iterating of this worde cra cra put to it one letter it is cras so is there nothing in her mouth if she could speak English but to morrow to morrow Therefore it pleaseth some of them when they woulde counsel vs to beware of deferring repētance or the performing of good deeds to bid vs beware wyth the Israelites to eate Crows flesh as though Crowes by property or nature be hinderers in al goodnesse and no furtherers They that by the like hap are brought into the aduerse condition of disherison be not many nor yet very few the most being of some honest valure howsoeuer affection hath wrought to the verefying of that saying Prou. 13. Some men are rich though they haue nothing some men are poore hauing great riches This notwithstanding no man is naturally willing to giue place vnto wrong Appetere proprium bonum est omnibus naturale To desire our owne good is naturall to all men saieth Aristotle And therefore that wise Prince and louing Captaine of the Lacedemonians Agesilaus seeing a childe taking a mouse by the taile and pretilie to pull him out of his hole the mouse turning againe bit the childe by the fingers so escaped Which small and childish matter he applied to waightie and sadde purpose bidding indeede the best of his Captaines to take an example hereof saying If so little a beast will resist iniurie what should men of valure do if they be prouoked God of his infinit goodnesse giue grace vnto all wrong doers such as haue erred in this behalfe through ill counsel or other illusion to remoue from themselues their way to eternitie that blocke of iniurious misdoing and in the meane time to sende likewise the grace and gift of Christian patience to the iniured of this sorte till remedie be vouchsafed Thus not with the least of your well willers nor with the last of your vndeseruing accomptance I wish you long life with the accomplishment of true happines presuming to dedicate to your acceptation and patronage the homely fruites of this my rusticke labor Your Worships dutifully dignitatis tuae cum salute studiosus Iohn Newnham To the Reader ALthough friendly Reader I haue read that the Emperour Tiberius so little condescended to any purpose or motion of tyranny in himselfe that hee would openly say In a free Citie tongues should be free yet in the bodie of this simple treatise wherein I seeme in part to haue some conflict with them that be nymble and skilfull at the weapon of tongues I trust I haue not ouer-lashed my selfe to the misusing or offence of my owne tongue well I wot that folke shall giue an account for idle wordes but those bee not idle that are meant to admonish exhort reprooue commende or misprayse so long as they bee spoken truely and soundly If any wordes of this kinde be more than the infirmitie of any woman or man would willingly heare of let him wit that which they dislike or finde not belonging to themselues it pertayneth to some others as an admonition of the fault I wot well that besides Nightcrowes there be Noctuae Vespertiliones There be also Momi which be mimi in English I meane busie controullers and but small dooers themselues as light and trueth is delectable to all other birdes and creatures of sound eye-sight so vnto these playne truth without starching and setting foorth in order is eyther so offensiue or seemeth so boysterous in their tender eyes and they can as ill away with it as that mother in lawe which deserueth to bee called a Stepdame can abide
parents if they should néede yet by lawe and order they are appointed rather to receiue benefites of their Parents than to giue vpwardes For well you wot that loue benefites and all other good thinges are woont to descende Lawe will not that the father bee the sonnes heyre but willeth rather that the father should restore that to his posteritie which himselfe receiued from his auncestors Wherefore sith no guift or token of beneuolence is more fitter for children to bestowe or for the parentes and benefactors to receiue than the benefite of heartie and daily prayer it shall not be much amisse for all dutifull children to remember their debt in that point after the forme of the Grammer case rule Nominatino First to pray for your selfe that you may be so ghostly strengthened that you fall â—ot into mortall sinne by frailtie and that you may haue right knowledge of God by fayth Genitiuo For your Progenitors as Parentes brothers sisters and kinsfolke Datiuo For your benefactors Accusatiuo For your enemies Vocatiuo For them that be in errour or infidelitie that they may come to the right way of their saluation Ablatiuo For them that be absent Saint Paule vnto Timoth. sayth If any man haue not a care for them of his owne familie hee is an infidell And therefore he sayth in an other place Si quid patitur vnum membrum compatiuntur omnia membra If one member be in paine all the rest be not without anguish or griefe O good God who is so harde hearted that will not haue compassion or christian regarde on his parent kinseman or friend if he thought him in the case of straight imprisonment or if he wist he were in any miserable or daungerous state where prayer or friendship might helpe or doe him good The state of a man in misbeléefe infidelitie or securitie in sinning without tokens of repentance and amendment is daungerous God wot and not without néede of assistance by hearty and earnest praier of faithfull friends and naturall children For we must beléeue that God will punish sinne and all other impietie else why doth he threaten sinners so sharpely by that example in the 5. of Matth. Amen dico vobis non exies inde donec solueris nouissimum quadrantem that is Verely I say vnto you thou shalt not depart thence vntill thou hast payd the vttermost farthing I sée not how you can pertake with parents brothers or kinsfolke in nature and haue no féeling of their sinefull life erronious condition or other their pitifull state in your compassion and commiseration But euen as you deale towards them vnto whom ye owe any charitable or naturall dutie so shall they serue you at whose â—euotion you shall happen to stande Then with the same measure ye meate vnto others it is to be doubted will be measured to you againe somewhat according to the wordes of Naomie to Ruth saying cap. 1. Faciat vobiscum Deus misericordiam suam sicut fecistis cum mortuis The seconde part bewrayeth the malignitie of a Stepdame the monstrous transfourming of the Father and the often calamitie of the first children CHAP. VI. Of the vngentle dealing of some stepmothers towards their husbandes first children WHen a Father so little remembreth or regardeth the bond of nature and faithfull dealing of a kinde parent that hée forbeareth not to bring into his family a Stepdame he can not doe a thing of better liking to his foes if he haue any such that foresée it and wish ill betiding vnto him and his For what may bring vnto a Citie or house more harme or inconuenience than discord which diuideth a house and maketh of one Cittie two Intestine diuision is euer counted worse than the malignitie of outwarde foes as warre is accounted worse than peace In discord no man prayseth the Lorde As witnesseth Saint Ambrose What blessing then doe they depriue vs of that take away peace and good agréement Well may some children complaine with the Poet in this case who sayth in his pleasant méeter Sunt tria gaudia pax sapientia copia rerum Haec tria diluit haec tria destruit ars mulierum This Stepmother by the pretence and name of mariage is called in Latine Vxor quasi vnxor a Wife as it were an Annoynter for that the new married Spowse in olde time at her first comming home was wont to annoynt the poastes and principall partes of the house in token that she came to heale and cure all faultes or to remooue sorrow and to plant and encrease gladnesse in the place But I frowe this our Stepdame at this day annoynteth not with the oyle of gladnesse nor with the vnction of the holy spirite by whom so much sorrowe is many times brought in and so many vngodly effectes wrought and encreased Call yée this annoynting she annoynteth in déede but vnhappie be those postes parts of the house where she laieth her vnluckie handes as Euripides sayth Stepdames seeldome with and woâ—ke any good to their huâ—bands children and too much experience teacheth they be their vtter ouerthrowe and cause of confusion For what be their ordinary practises in manner as principles of then partment pollicy For sooth first and chiefely to bring their husbandes children out of conceipt fauour to frame the matter so that they may be counted disobedient by that meanes to wipe from theÌ„ all good will They thinke they must not suffer so much a let and blocke in their way to their husbandes wealth as the bulworke of loue and concord This is a great eye sore and hardly tollerable with them This they imagine they must assault and assay to batter and beat downe by the best engine they haue they can bend against it Cannon shot of great displeasure they are sufficiently furnished with powder of a malicious and wicked spirite nor want they any shot of quarrelous deuises to perce shake this poore remnant of kindly good will with kindled strife and contention Of this kind they can sharpe them new supplies from time to time specially if they haue their husbandes well tempered to their humour and appetite then may it be sayd of the poore enchanted men as we find it in the Psalme Os habent non lâ—quuntur aures non audiunt oculos non vident They haue mouthes and speake not cares and may not heare eyes and will not see They stande in dread and awe they wot who must be foothed in all thinges or else will followe but colde kissing she claimeth all the loue and goodwill to her selfe and if she vnderstoode Latine she would chuse this good verse for her husbande to measure his loue by it Est tibi plus catus quam Papae Pontificatus She may beare no partaker of her husbands honest loue where she ruleth as Quéene She is to be counted very fauourable if she procure them no hatred or vouchsafe it not her selfe These Stepmothers be against their wils great teachers of
of GOD because he is full of good dooing Wherof comes the prouerb Homo homini deus maÌ„ is a god to 〈◊〉 Yea iustice is so naturall erpedient in humaine dealings that it is obserued and religiously regarded euen towardes enemies and not without good cause sith as Saint Chrisostome sayth Iustitia est radix vitae Rightfull dealing is the roote of mans life Which as it deserueth commendation and is of all mankinde to be embraced so the contrarie thereof which is iniury and wrong-doing is no lesse to be eschewed For according to the saying of S. August lib. 2. Ciu. Dei Nihil homini tam inimicum quam iniustitia There is nothing so much an enemie to man as is Iniustice and dooing of wrong Then is it verie vnméete that one man should vse it towardes an other But howe much more inconuenient for a Parent to shewe and perfor ne towardes his owne sonne But perchaunce you will say that a Father hath eyther such authoritie ouer his son or suâ—h interest in that which he possesseth and is counted his owne that in such behalfe hee cannot doe his sonne wrong which is to be préeued to the contrarie and the wrong to be so much the greater as there is betwéene them proximiâ—ie and néerenesse of friendship constitute and appointed by the lawe of nature And therefore as that law decréeeth iâ— all sortes of thinges that the first sowen should be first ripe and the first set first to flourish or waxe gréene so the law of reason willeth that he that first coÌ„meth should be first sped séeing by nature he is enioyned first to depart And as nature in all her workes for the most part séemeth to make some one thing to be chiefe before all the rest whereby the same is and the rather continueth so reason in the order of a family which is an imitation of a state ciuile or bodie polliticke perswadeth of experience necessitie that there be one before the rest as chiefe Whereby may bée conserued that beautie of Vnitie and harmony of concord which the almightie in his creation so woonderfully and diuersely teacheth and our Saniour him selfe so carefully and specially commended to his flocke and hereof séemeth to come that preeminence or more speciall regard which the lawe of God in the olde testament appointed to his people the Israelites to be obserued towardes the first begotten sonne and likewise somwhat concerning other dinnbe creatures which first were brought foorth into the world By the auncient lawe of the Iewes the eldest had dubble so much as the others of the Fathers goods and alone to the eldest pertayned the blessing of the Father wherewith should séeme alwayes the heritage to goe and succéede as appeareth by the will of God in Deut. 21. Thou shalt not make the sonne of the seconde wife heire before him that is first borne though his mother were hated For to him belongeth the right of the first borne The Patriarkes and others the seruantes of God although by diuine reuelation and other notice of the will of God they were certified that they might marry many or sundry wiues at one time yet did they exclude from their heritage and prerogatiue of the blessing all the children of those secondarie and after marriages this appeareth by Gen. 21. The Sonne of the bonde woman shall not be heire with my sonne Isaac Yet he was the eldest but was not the sonne of the first marriage Also an heire is the worke and institution of nature and heritage is dew to the sonne by nature therefore it is so dewe that hee must néedes haue it séeing those thinges which come by nature or be naturall are not mutable or to be chaunged Moreouer this name heire which in a manner with all Nations is the eldest hee is the successor of the lawe Nationall besides the lawes naturall and diuire And that Father who maketh an other heire than is by these authorities appointed can not but expresse himselfe rebell in disobeying contenming so great lawes and authoritie beginning a newe lawe of his owns head contrarie thereunto Then what is more vniust than to doe contrarie to all lawes and therewith to disobey the will of God to peruert the dew order of discent preferring the second mariage before the first dispraysed Bigamy before the mariage best approued honored with the merite of the thirtiefold frute as S. Hierome sayth The younger before the elder the later offpring before primogenitum so much tendered and respected Now as the greatest iniury a Father can do to his sonne is to disherite him so is it the most reprochfull blot or dammage to suffer the infamy discredite of disherison For if he be worthy to be disherited in his fathers house hee may be thought not woorthy to drawe breath out of it for that he ought to be conuinced faulty in those crimes hainous offences which be either repugnant to the dutie of a child or not méete for the profession of a christian Namely if he strike or offer violence to his Father If he oppresseth him with some great wrong If he séeke his death or destruction by poysoning or otherwise If he lye with his fathers wife If he will not suffer his father to make his will If he be not of the true and Catholike sayth but is conuinced to be an Hereticke whereby his life and heritage is in hazard Or if he refuse to succour and deliuer his father out of prison by his suertiship or if hee followe the trade and company of such persons as in the lawe be counted infames as wée say infamous vile and most dishonest as Iuglers Sorcerers Coniurers Théeues and Pirates Or if the Father offering him méete marriage vnder fine and twentie yeares he refuseth it and delighteth to liue continually in whoredome and filthie order of life these be I suppose all the causes that the Ciuill or Ecclesiasticall lawes doe assigne And yet doe some Doctors of the Church make it a question whether a sonne ought to be disherited at all for any of these causes But all doe agrée that séeing disherison is of all others most odious and vtterly contrarie to the office and dutie of nature a man ought not to fall to disheriting nor yet ad preteritionem which is an omitting or putting out of the will except it be for the greatest or worst deseruinges by these causes In which case of disheriting there is noted this sentence or iudgement of the holy Doctor S. Aug. Quicunque vult exheredato filio heredem facere DoctoreÌ„ EcclesiasticuÌ„ quaerat alteruÌ„ qui causam suscipiat non AugustinuÌ„ immo Deo propitio nemineÌ„ inueniet whoso euer sayeth he disheriting his sonne would make an other heire let him séeke an other Doctor of the Church to meddle with the cause and not Augustine but by the grace of God he shall finde none But the iudgement of whome and of the most part of all other good and learned men that
vnkinde practise of disheriting séemeth both absurde and vngodly among the people of Christes flocke séeing we are all called to claime our owne birthright and do desire to attaine vnto that inheritance of the kingdome of heauen which is but one If one brother disherite an other contrarie to the will of the father may not the father by common equitie thereupon pretend cause of disheriting the disheritor We are all brothers and the sonnes of one heauenly father We are all so fraile and giuen to offende that we are not fit to disherite but rather should feare to be disherited Neither néede we to bring foorth any written examples aunswerable in this place sith wee haue eye testimonie in manner of common experience in many who haue disherited vndermined or defrauded others and thereby haue giuen an example howe other men should deale towardes them or theirs and so at length haue bought with the same measure they solde vnto others A learned Doctor of this age writing vpon the matter of Testamentes or Willes making hath these wordes worthie recitall Prudentia bonorum virorum consilia aliquando suadebunt liberos malos non omnino exheredes scribendos esse sed in eis honorandum esse naturam legittima portione a iure prescripta Illi vero parentes non digni sunt aut parentum nomine aut qui hac luce fruantur qui partes suas a se proijcere exponere audent Wisedome and the counsaile of good men sayth he will at one time or other perswade that euill children are not at all to bee disherited but that nature be honored in them by letting them haue their lawefull portion appointed by the lawe But those Parents who cast off their children from them are not worthy the name of Parentes nor scarse to haue the fruition of this life If this iudgement be such according to laws ecclesiasticall and diuine towards sonnes lewdly enclined or of ill behauiour how impious and vniust doth he thinke to be the disheriting of such as be honestly giuen or rather make testimonie of some vertue and valure Yee haue heard before that by someout of Imperiall lawe asses and dogges were not to be cast out of the doores and shall christen men cast out their owne sons to the reproch and scorning of the worlde Asses may beare the waight and griefe of such burdens and dogges may away to digest such bones but with the most sorte of men they are eyther taken as heauie at the heart as mil-stones or as venomous in the intrailes as poison some haue yéelded themselues vnto desparation of minde and therevppon haue runne madde Others haue addicted themselues vnto damnable trades as of robbery piracie coniuration treason and others in hatred of that bad vnkinde mind of their parents haue forsaken true Religion and fallen into Mahometisme or other peruerse reprobate sence of doctrine Others that haue béene of more credite or power haue entred into most bloody facts of warre and conspiracies wherof haue ensued vncharitable broiles and more then vnchristian contentions all procéeding from the roote of stomaching the like iniurie or more rather from the Iustice of GOD who would not leaue so high an example of iniustice and wrong dooing vnpunished And although the acte of Disherison is rare and monstrous among good men yet such as put it in practise will thinke they may the rather doe it because others haue done it before them Vnto whome Seneca answereth saying There is no wickednes which a man may not finde taught by example if he be so ready to followe it Some other fathers there be who being caried away into partiality and wrong iudgement by the perswasion of women of whose partes and practise you haue sufficiently heard will pretende and lay vnto their sonnes charge the accusation of ill Religion Let such Parents take héed least bearing the name of Christians they be found persecuters of the same It is a more then fault to render euill for good or to reward vertue with punishment Therefore it is not safetie for any father of meane knowledge him selfe to condemne his sonne to disherison in a difficult cause so much he may be deceiued and blinded by the wrong perswasions of a woman and by other fine flatterie of supposed friends But if it would please such a father as is enclined by anie manner of meanes to disherite his sonne to looke vnto him selfe and setting apart affection in matters of controuersie to weigh his owne euill with his owne good no doubt hée would confesse and say with the Poet Peccantem damnare caue nam labimur omnes Condemne not him that offendeth for we al do offend He might sée that in his life he hath done but little good as he should do No works of vertue none of charitie none of true godlinesse little of kindenesse none of chastitie litle of trueth none of true faith but rather all to the contrary laying aside mercie and refusing to vouchsafe and performe the effectes of forgiuenesse vnto his owne sonne so much is his vnderstanding peruerted and his heart hardened which I feare me may boade vnto anie father little good sith it is the saying of Saint Bernard Nemo vnquam cordis duri bonum habuit nisi forte commiserans Deus abstulit cor lapideum contulit carneum that is Neuer any man gotte any good by his hard heart vnles peraduenture when it pleaseth GOD of his infinite mercie to take from him his stonie heart and giue vnto him a heart of flesh then well hée sée his owne ouersight in omitting to giue good examples of naturall loue and affection to his children therwithal perceiue what had fruits he hath reapt by his examples of vnkindees hard dealing and peruerting of order in his family Then will be find what ghostly comfort a peaceable charitable mind haue in auoiding the dangerous flames of wrath inward disquietnes Then it will appéere howe beneficiall and happie it had beene for his children and how godly and séemely for him selfe if hee had followed sound counsaile and the prompting of grace in disobeying those his lusts and wilfull liking the seruing and pleasing whereof hath heaped vpon him those euils which he findedeth now so hardly to be remembred And further that gay-shew of a womans loue which first was founded either vpon the hope and opinion of his wealth or of purpose to defraude and depriue his first children of inwarde affection or outward possibility now will séeme vading and vanishing like the moone before her change Now wil tourne to his remembrance those causes of sorrow and griefe which were giuen to his own children by her malignity in bringing tâ—eÌ„ out of his fauour into hatred and displeasure then will remorse of wrong doing specially in supplanting and disheriting if any be compas him on euery side On the right haÌ„d to see how hée hath continued and cast from him the due regard and worthinesse of the first mariage On the left hand
peceatoris I will not the death of a Sinner Ezech. 18. He that worketh iniquitie shall dye in the same Ezech. 3. We thinke saith S. Paule that man is iustifyed by saith without the workes of the law Rom. 3. But the same spirite saith God shall rewarde euery man according to his doings Rom. 2. But true it is that in the like doubtfulnesse or ambiguitie we ought to followe this rule Non intentio verbis sed verba deserâ—â—ire debent intentioni that is We must not west a mans meaning to the words but the words should he brought to agrée with the sense or meaning To returne againe to the matter of timely restitution and of deferring the same S. Aug. hath these wordes Non inueni in quinque millibus annis saluatum in fine suo nisi solum latronem I find not any where of any that was saued at the very ending of his life but only the theese Also some diuine sayth they who deferre to performe the parts of repentance vntill extreme infirmitie come be in the case of law De arâ—oriâ—us cedendis where it is adiudged that the trée shall be his in whose ground it grew and was rooted and not to be his in whose ground it fell So it is to be thought of lâ—â—n who so long as he liued stoode by his unpenitencie in the diâ—els soyle at his death fell towardes God into the ground of his saluation by ouer late repentance And many there be that can like well enough of the beginning of repentance which is dew sorrowing of heart and could vouchsafe to procéede vnto confession by mouth but they can not away with this restitution least it should vtterly begger them or their children or make them to be the worse able to liue in the world by it But such are foolishly cruell or cruell fooles to their owne soule who chust rather the state of dammation than to be gâ—éeâ—ed here with a little pouertie But let all vngodly wrong dooers and such as get goods or landes by hooke and by crooke together with their counsellors and assistents not vtterly despise this historicall example least it may happen to be verefied in themselues Anthonius de Florentia a Doctor of some confinned credite and fame reporteth that there was a certaine vsuror who would not make restitution of the money gayned by interest alleaging if he should so doe his children might go begge or be sent to the Hospitall The father dyeth in the same state his eldest sonne succéedeth and likewise wist not restore The younger brother demandeth hâ—s part of those goods and restoreth vnto the parties after the rate of his protion the rest that remayneth he giueth to the poore and entereth into the state and trade of solitary liâ—e Shortly after the eldest brother dyeth whereupon was shewed to the younger brother liuing in chast contemplation this vision following He séeth his father and his brother in torment one cursing the other the father saying that the sonne was the cause of his damnation because it was for the loue and enciching of him that he did not make restitution of the money gayned by vsurie or interest The sonns he cursed and sayde that his father was the cause of his danmation because he left him these ill gotten goods the kéeping wherof hath wrought his perdition The example is full of terror specially to such as haue ill gotten goods in their handes or else are intangled with the iniquitie thereof who in their life time peraduenture will not make restitution theÌ„selues at the like perill nor yet at the extreame point sende for or admit any good man of knowledge to enforme them and consult with least this aduise might be to thâ—â—â— worldes disprosite To be short if procure â—s 〈◊〉 counsellers of disherison and wrong dooers themselues are not yet by grace prepared to receiue and followe these wholesome admonitions of diuine Doctors yet at least it were to bee wished they would take the best of Artibâ—â—â—es meaning before specified which was to deuise how a man â—â—ny not be charged at all for those thinges which otherwise he is to accompt for FINIS Ric. Par. in Nycticoracem Iohannis Newnam Carmen RVstica Nycticorax viuens vectensibus agris Per mare per terras nocte diéque volat Vt done extremas vrbis perting it ad oras Fortunáque meas incidit illa manus Hanc ego perspiciens alitis cognoscere mores Quam primum rediens ad mea tecta volo Visa loquax nimium est nec garrula vellet haberi Súntque haec arbitrij verba relata mei Missa columba Noe ramum semel ore reportat Nycticorax fructus attulitore duos Henr. Serae gen in eandem Sentia non sera QVid simulas coniuÌ„ magis est laudata coluÌ„ba Corue places satis at grata coluÌ„ba magis In Zoilum CVr tumes iratus nulli nisi dira nocenti Omen Nycticorax Zoile triste canit YOu shew what Fathers ought and how to vse their goods and pelfc You giue them rule that neuer were a Father yet your selfe You heape your stuffe in had aray no Methode in your worke Your building base I thinke it sure more cause to lie and lurke You fourde vs of your chaffe and straw you kéepe your corne in stackes Your labours like to that of Bées wée féede vppon your waxe To all you seeme to preach that are no Prophet in your dwâ—â—e A shallow soile that soâ—â—ds you not in credit déeper growne For promise made of solid proofe Performance is but poore Sa. L. Ar. Auctori carmen beneuolum MAgna cadunt multis mediocria nulla cadenti Magna paâ— as Vectilectus in vrbe liber Munia multa mones viuens sine munere scriptor Qui satis est alijs Vtilis esse potest Dat Deus omne bonuâ—â— sed non per cornuataurum Det tibi pro meritis munus amice Vale. Aunsweres by the Auctor VVIth wise and graue a beardlesse man full oft some credite beares Let Fathers not disdaine to heare a ladde with frosty heares Faire glistering shewes be seldome golde your buildings bée too fine In rude dispersed Abbay roomes a man might suppe and dine Although there were but lefte inough to bake your selfe a cake Proue when you will to thresh as much will make your heart to ake A shallow shifte so shaps him friends and speedes with shallow doomes That shallow hearts to shallow mindes must yeeld the shallow roomes Vnlight pas in shew your male I opened you the doore MAgnacadunt mulis sessoribus atque caballi Magne peris vento vectus in Orbe labor Dat Deus omne bonum sed ceruis cornua tantum Vulpinae caude sorsque fabella mihi est Englished Great fortune fals on backes of mules some hackneis on their fraight Tho sayling toile on worlds globe some times doth perish straight God giues all good and I shall haue sith Harts no hoofes doe want A flappe with Rainard foxe his taile or els my lotte is scant
hatred of heart in his family the Sonne of pronesse vnto euill and to imitation of his Fathers steps will not bee so ready to extinguish and quenche this kindled mischiefe but rather adde stickes thereto and augment it by obseruing a badde tradition from his auncestors passing that iniurie ouer to others which he receiued himselfe namely when by want of good example in the parent the regarde and awe of lawe and good order is taken away and a gappe opened to the actions of infidelitie and inhumanitie I say infidelity seeing the life of a Christian consisteth of two partes vidz faith and good workes of his faith I wil not iudge but let his good workes bée the meetest triall which are commanded and required to the glory of God to the profite of our neighbour or to taming of the fleshe and brideling of the fleshly appetites Here is no glory of God regarded where his will taketh no place and as little good to come to our neighbour where he vouchsafeth so much hurt to his owne children What should I say in this case aboue all the fleshly will and appetite is followed and preferred without forsight of the inconueniences to come thereby or any indeuour to auoide them And surely if either wée were so good Christians as wée pretend or did carrie in vs the minde of naturall and kinde parentes or but the constant and heartie affection of a true friende wée shoulde be as ready to make hast to put out and extinguishe an iniurie as wée woulde bee to put out fire taking holde in our neighbours house and ready to flame forth and consume it For if an iniury bee not redressed and taken away in the beginning it groweth and increaseth to infinite rage of furie But what shoulde I speake of these thinges that bee matters of Christian charity and workes of faith where vnto men are not so readily inclined to performe them as to talke of them bidding him blowe the coale that is a colde euerie man posteth it ouer and thinketh it pertayneth not to him because it belōgeth as much to others And therefore in some places of Christendome these and the like offices of Christian charitie are appointed vnto sundry companies or fraternities of men Vnto one sorte is committed the care and regarde of prisoners vppon life and death that by their trauaile and charitable industrie the wretched and infortunat creatures may make a happie ende and recompence their sorrowes and misfortune with the blisfull estate of penitent and clensed soules Vnto others is committed the charge of reconciling open or priuy enemies and aduersaries Some are appointed to be workers of reconcilement betweene men and their vnlawful wiues liuing a parte without iust cause of seperation or diuorce Others there hee that are enioined to trauaile and perswade women of loose and lewde life to remember themselues and their soules health and after their going astray to returne home vnto the honesty of their parentes and duetie of good Christians and from thenceforth to liue an honest and vnsuspected life These and such like bee weake and ruinous places ofte in the walles of some states that might bee repaired if charitie were not so colde and the workes of faith so much decayed in apparaunce chiefly through ill examples giuen whereof the account will bee somewhat heauy and grieuous to discharge Aske the Lawiers De iniuriis damno dato If any man open a Cesterne or maketh a pit and doe not couer it and in the mean space an Oxe Cow or some other cattle faleth therein I thinke they will say hee is bounde to make satisfaction O but howe much more if the soules of thy children fall by thy ill example If wee looke into the bequeathed examples of some Fathers what a Chaoe and disorder might there bee noted either wrought by their peruerse dealing or by the malice and vnhappinesse of a woman peruerting al. Strifes and iarres lefte in steede of kindly accorde hatred and maliciousnes occupying the place of brotherly loue wrangling and wresting one from another in stéede of helping and comforting Socrates did bid young men to looke in a glasse to the ende that finding themselues wel formed and of good shape they might beware to doe any thing that was vnséemely for that naturall grace and if they were of ill shape they might endeuour to supply and recompence their bodily defect with some vertue and qualitie of the minde Euen so would I wishe that some parentes shoulde looke into the example of the best sort as into a glasse and it the finde thēselues deformed and blemished by any vnkinde actions or naughtie examples they may recompence it with beneuolent and Fatherlie dealings CHAP. III. That Fathers ought not to prouoke their children to wrath and disobedience COtys King of Thrace a man inclined by nature to bee angry and wrathfull and therewithall a seuere corrector of such as chaunced to offende or committe a fault in seruing him on a time a straunger brought him for a present certaine fine vesselles of earth glased very curiously wrought and delicate to beholde He rewarded the bringer but straight wayes cast the vesselles against the wall Others about him maruailing that he did so marry quoth he I doe it because they shall not make mee angry with them that shall happen to breake them He knewe his owne disease and therefore wisely preuented the hurt and displeasure likely to happen by auoyding the meanes and occasion Now for as much as wrath is an immoderate perturbation that hardeneth the affection and maketh the forces of a man violent being sometimes the cause of manslaughter and sometimes of other calamitie yea some times the originall and beginning of treason and if it flie not so high the best that commeth of it is disquiet losse or discredite who would not by possible meanes auoyde the prouoking of an affection so troublesome and so bad in an other mans house or with them with whom he hath nothing to doe much rather ought he to kéepe such a guest out of his owne house which is the greatest enemie a man can haue For it maketh a man that should séeme reasonable and of decent behauiour and doings to shew like a trée set a fire which is like neuer after to beare good fruit or otherwise he may be likened to a barke or shippe subiected to the rage of a cruell storme and thereby in great hazard of perishing The Apostle S. Paule Hebr. 12. knowing such an infirmitie to beare sway in many persons gaue a ghestly admonition to preuent it saying See that no man be destitute of the grace of God and that no roote of bitternes spring vp trouble you for thereby many be defiled But Valerius Marimus excéedeth some what the modestie of this sentence and sayth that wrath and hatred doe stirre vp great floudes in the heartes of men for whom such disguising passions be most vnséemely as may appeare by this verse of the Poet Candida