Selected quad for the lemma: law_n
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A07949
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The tryall of the nevv religion Contayning a plaine demonstration, that the late faith and doctrine of the Church of Rome, is indeede the new religion. By Thomas Bell.
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Bell, Thomas, fl. 1593-1610.
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1608
(1608)
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STC 1832; ESTC S101552
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27,259
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56
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as they may wel end 〈◊〉 the naxt day Sixtly because great iniury is done to the poorer sort by this kind of Popish fastiâ—â— For where at the rich in â—ort are either neere the sua or else haue store of Fishes within themselus or at least haue money enough to prouide the same and other daineties withall others haue all others want all This not with standing the Popish Law abandoneth the poore as well as the rich from Egges Cheese Butter milke the onely foode they haue to liue vpon Seauenthly because all the day long they commonly will drink wine eate bread funnels manchets fruites and fed thereon at night as if it were an ordinary setled dinner And if they deferre theyr dinner till night as sundry do for better liking Iundry times and as Englishmen haue done of latter dayes generally on Christmas-Eeue then doe they practise the former priuiledge in eating drinking lâ—octally at noone Where I wish the Reader to obserue this with me that the popish Lent-fast cannot be broken with drinking though one be drunken twenty times a day no learned papist can this deny For albeit hee sinne by their law so often as he is drunken yet doth he not thereby breake their holy fast O wondoâ— of all wonders in the Christian world Hurtfull to the soule because by meanes heereof many haue belieued false doctrine to be the word of God and not onely so but they haue also-ludged rondemned themselues for transgressing mens traditions as the very lawes of God Wherein while they sought to establish their own tighteousnes they fell from the righteousnes of God For to put religion in mans traditions is flarly to abandon the worship of the liuing God Yea by reason of these fasts their soules were after in damnable stare I prooue it because they perswade theÌ„selues that they were aswell bound to keepe the Popes lawes therein as the flat commaundements of God and consequently so often as they brake them which was norare thing so often did they commit damnable sinne because their acts were not of fayth Hurtfâ—ll to the body First because many haue shortned their dayes by forbearing necessary foode which they did through fond perswasion of popish holinessâ— Secondly because the poore soules are so wringed with these superstitious fâ—sts that by reason of their excessiue hunger they reioyce aboue measure when the fast is at an end Yea they keepe a better reckoning how Lent passeth and how they may fall to flesh againe then euer they did of and for their sinnes Thirdly because Lent-fast is not proportionable to mans body or to the season of the yeere For as there be foure distinct times of the yeere the Spring-time Summer Autumne and Winter so be there foure different diets aptly corespondent to the same Whosoeuer wiâ—l eate temperately and in measure must eate according to the force equabilitie of his digestion and consâ—quently he ought to moderate and rule his diet after the qualification and season of the yeere Natiue heate is the proper workman of digestion as granteth euery skilfull Phisition and coÌ„sequently because our bodies are most hote in vvinter as saith Hippocrates at that time they stand in need of most meate And because our bodies be then cold and moist hote and dry meates be conuenient In Summer because natiue heate is dispersed by exhalations concoction is weakened and so lesse meate required And because our bodies then be hote and dry cold and moist meats are proportionall In Autumne because the extrinsecall heate is more remisse then in Summer and the naturall heat thereby more vnited meate ought more largely to bee vsed The Spring-time keepeth a meane between Winter and Summer and taketh part of them both and therfore out diet then must neither be altogether of hote and dry meaâ—es as in Winter 〈◊〉 either yet altogether of cold moist meats as in Summer And consequently popish institution of Lent was not onely superstitious and vngodly but also altogether preuidieiall to the health of the body I proue it because as Hypocrates wâ—iteth all suddaine murations are dangerous â— so after aboundant eating of flesh all the Winter season suddainly to abstaine wholy from the same cannot but be euill This is confirmed vnto vs sundry wayes first because there is like proportion in cating fish suddenly after flesh as there is in eating flesh suddainly after fish Which alteration how dangerous it is the vsuall infirmities in Easter-weeke doe witnes Secondly because the nourishment of fish is cold and moist and so very disproportionable to the Spring time Thirdly because concoction is very strong as well for the ambrient restraint termed Antiperistasis as by reason of long sleepe And therefore since much meate is necessarie at that time our popish Lent-fast prescribing little meate must needes be preiudiciall Although there were in the auncient Church a free kinde of yeerely fast whereof the Papists pretend an Apish imitation yet is their vsuall Popish Lent-fast not onely superstitious but altogether different from the same Superstitious because they intend thereby to satisfie for their sinnes and to merrite heauen Different many wayes First because the anncient Church neuer intended any meirite by het fast Secondly because the saide fast commonly called Lent was not vniformely practised in the 〈◊〉 Church but lest indifferent to the discretion of thery one The old Romans fasted three weekes before Easter intermitting their fast weekely vpon their Saturdayes and Sondaiâ—e The Slauonians Alexandrians and Greecians fasted 〈◊〉 weekes Others continued their fast senueil weekes but they fasted onely fine dayes in euery weeke Thirdly because the fast of the aunclent Church was free voluntary and not commaunded by anie Law Fourthly because as in the auncient Church the time was variable so was also the manner of their diet For some ate nothing that liueth some of liuing things ate nothing but onely fish some are both fish and also byrds some ate onely herbs and egges some onely becade othersome nothing at all other-some at night are all kind of meates All which Cassiodorus both summarily pithily compriseth in these golden words Because there is no Lawe made for fasting I thinke saith hee the Apostles left this matter to our owne consideration that euery one should doe without feare or necessitie what seemed most conuenient for himselfe Fiftly because S. Spiredion a man so holy that he was renowned with miracles in his life time refused not to care flesh in the time of Lent no not in his owne house Yea he did not onely eate flesh himselfe but also earnestly introated a Stranger that lodged with him to eate as he did And wheÌ„ the Stranger refused to eate flesh with him alledging for his refusall that he was a Christian and so prohibited to eate flesh at that time S. Spiridion replyed said that he ought the rather to eate because he was a christian For saith S. Spiridion All
therefore seeing the holy councell of Chalcedon acknowledged the authoritie of the Bishop of Constantinople to be equall with the Bishoppe of Rome Secondly seeing Celestine the Bishop of Rome could alledge neither Scripture councell Father or reason for his pretended Primacie but one onely false allegation out of the councell of Nice Thirdly seeing the Fathers of the Affrican councell contradicted and reproued the Pope for his forgery of the Nicene councell concerning Appiarius Fourthly seeing S. Polycarpus S. Policrates S. Iraeneus and S. Cyprian with many Bishops of Europe Asia and Affrica contemned the Bishoppe of Rome his Decrees his supposed Supremacie I cannot but conclude with this inevitable illation Ergo the late pretended Soueraigntie of the Pope is but a rotten ragge of the new Religion as which was neuer heard of in Christ his church for the space of sixe hundred yeres and odde Al◠this is proued at large in my Suruey of Popery CHAP. 3. Of the mariage of Priestes and Ministers of the Church MArriage was lawfull for all Priestes in the old Testament For the Prophet Ieremie was the sonne of Helkiah who was one of the Priests at Anathoth Hophni and Phinehas were the sonnes of Eli the Priest Sephora was the daughter of Iethro who was the Priest of Midian Saint Iohn the Baptist that holy precurser of our Lord Iesus was a priests sonne euen the sonne of Zacharias Yea the marriage of Priestes was then so deere in Gods sight that the High-priest was forbidden to marry not simply and absolutely but to marry a Widdow a diuorced or polluted woman and hee was charged to take a Maid of his owne people In the New Testament no prohibition can be found as which is consonant to the Old pronouncing Marriage honorable in all and a bedde vndefiled Marriage as the Apostle teacheth vs was ordayned for a remedy against fornication to be vsed of all such as find themselues grieued with that disease consequently seeing that disease is as well incident to persons Ecclesiasticall as to persons secular and oftentimes more the Medicine is as necessary and as lawfull for the one sort as it is for the other For this respect did holy Paphnutius stand vp in the Councell of Nice at such time as the Fathers then and there assembled thought to haue seuered married Priests and Bishops from their wiues and told them according to Gods word that to forbid mariage to priests was too seuere a Law Hee yeelded this reason because marriage is so honourable in all sorts of men Thus writeth Cassiodorus thus writeth Socrates thus writeth Sozomenus For this respect was it that the Bishops Priestes and Deacons of the East-Church would neuer admit or receiue the Canons of the West and Romish Church For this respect was it that Priestes were euer maried in the East Churches vntill these our dayes and in the West Church generally for the space of three hundred eightie and fiue yeeres at which time Pope Siritius excited by satan prohibited Priestes marriage as an vnlawfull thing Yea Priestes continued still married in Germanie for the space of 1074. yeeres vntill the dayes of the vngracious Pope Hildebrand who termed himselfe Gregorie the seauenth so soone as hee had crept into the Popedome by naughty meanes For this respect was it that the famous Popish Cardinall Panormitanus committed to print to the view of the vvhole World that Priestes marriage was neither of the substance of their Order nor forbidden by Gods Lawe and that therefore it were for the saluation of soules that all such as would might marry Hee addeth the reason Because experience saith hee teacheth vs that the Priests debarred frō marriage liue not spiritually but are polluted in vnlawfull copulation though they might liue chastly with their owne wiues For this respect was it that the great Papist Polydorus could not containe himselfe but pittifully exclaime against the wicked prohibition of Priests mariage affirming stoutly and resolutely that the compelled chastitie of vnmarried Priestes was so far from excelling chastitie in wedlocke as no crime whatsoeuer hath brought greater shame to Priesthood more harme to Religion or more griefe to all good men then the vnchast life of Priests For this respect was it that Pope Pius the second of that name who before his Popedome was named Aeneus Syluius a very learned man famous Writer after he had reproued many vices in the Romish Church concluded very grauely that though there had beene great reason to debarre Priestes from marriage yet was there greater reason to restore marriage againe vnto them For this respect was it that many holy and learned Bishops were married men in the auncient time and florishing state of the Church viz. S. Gregory Saint Clement S. Spiridian S. Chereman S. Philogonius S. Eupsichus and others First therefore seeing Priestes marriage is approued both by the Old and New Testament Secondly seeing all Priests were alwayes married or at the least might haue married in the East Church Thirdly seeing Priestes marriage was holden for lawfull in the famous Councell of Nice and that the holy Bishoppe Paphnutius a man full of miracles in his life time did pronounce openly in the same Councell that the coniugall acts of married Priestes was true chastitie whose sentence was approued of the whole Councell and therevppon the matter was left as indifferent for euery Priest eyther to marry or not to marry at his owne choyce Fourthly seeing priestes marriage was euer holden lawfull and Christian for the space of three hundred eighty fiue yeeres euen vntill the time of the vntimely birth of Siritius then the Bishop or Pope of Rome and in the great country of Germany for the space of 1074. yeeres euen vntill the dayes of wicked Pope Hildebrand whom at that day the whole Clergie of Germany accused of flat heresie for that his most damnable Decree or Constitution against the honest and lawfull marriage of Priestes Fifily seeing the famous popish Abbot and Bishop and Cardinall Panormitanus for he was all the three and seeing withall that the great learned Papist Polydore Virgill did bitterly and pittifully exclaime against the vngodly and vnchristian prohibition of Priestes marriage crying out that it was the destruction of many soules and seeing also that Pope Pius the second cōfessed freely that it was time to restore marriage to their Popish priests again and to suffer thē to liue as they had done in old time all which and much more for the lawfull and honest defence of the marriage of all Bishops Priests Ministers of the Church the indifferent Reader shall finde pithily and copiously prooued in my Suruey of Popery I cannot but perforce I must conclude vvith this ineuitable illation Ergo the prohibition of the marriage of Priests is a rotten ragge of the New Religion CHAP. 4. Of the Popish execrable Pardons THE famous Popish Writer Syluester for his great learning surnamed by the