the meane season he lent the paryshe a foule euell fauored hole an ende of an olde abbey very strayt narow euell couered and euery daye lyke to fal vpō the poore peoples heades and as for other churche the poore people cā get none vnto thys houre Where is there any good parsonage in Englande but it is ether bought and dronken vp of some gentlemen or els is let to ferme to some gentleman As wyth great honesty and prayse the noble mennes seruauntes had wont to come home to theyr maisters houses wyth hares wylde cattes foxes vpon their backes so wyth muche shame they come wyth tythe pygges by theyr tayles wyth tythe egges and tythe hemp and flaxe Well they that cam from the donghyl muste go thether agayne Nature wyll out although it be holden in wyth forke a whyle as the dauncyng of the ape doth testefye in Esopes fables whych daūced wel vntyl the nuttes were castē abrode in the floure In dede I fynde this dropsy for the moste part alwayes in the crowish stert vppes Crowish stert vp and not so muche in the ryght and olde nobilitie How be it euen some of the stocke of the olde nobilitie haue growen and gone out of kynde and are also sycke in thys common sycknes There was an erle wythin these fewe yeares that had lande good enoughe coulde not quenche hys thyrst therwyth vntyl he had gotten one of the greatest deanryes in Englande and so was made my Lorde deane also But he left to hys successours the lādes vndiminshed and therfore dyd muche better then he shoulde haue done yf he had takē the Deanerye quyte awaye into his owne handes for euer for hym and his heyres Some haue bene so thirsti of late that they drank vp not onlye hole comones and great fyldes but also the very hyghe wayes and the foule puddels in them A certayne felowe of mine which had ben lōge from hys frendes gat leue to go to them and went thetherwarde but when he came wythin a litle of hys fathers house he could fynd no way a lōge tyme into his fathers house the thirsty gentleman had so dronk vp al the hygh wayes there Some haue dronke vp of late hole riuers and meres and fennes whych had wont to be common and wyl not suffer a mā to angle therin nether any man to put a veast there but let them to ferme Some when as they haue dronken vp as muche of the cōmones of abbey landes of byshoppes landes of deanes landes of persones lādes and of beggers landes I meane of hospitalles as wolde serue .iiii. as honest and as honorable men as they be yet for to spare theyr owne drynke at home are not ashamed to begge drynke of suche poore mē as I am When as I had but .74 lib. to spende in the yeare my fyrst frutes yet vnpayd And yet they neuer gaue me a cup of ale vndeserued ī al their lyues I haue yet copies of theyr begging letters here in germany to be witnesses of their shameles beggynge I wolde there were some acte of parlament made agaynst suche valiāt beggers whiche vexe poore men as I was much worse then the lousye beggers do Honest gentlemen that are not syke in the dropsye when as they are verye thyrstye and entre into a cytie they do not lyght and drynke in the fyrst alehouse that they se in the cytie but for sauyng of theyr honestye differ to drynke vntyl they come into an honest in there they drinke as muche as they nede but no more He that is an honeste gentleman wyll leuer suffer great honger and thyrst at home then to earne drinke in the market with sellyng of coles or bere or of bullockes of plowes of shepe or of shepes dōge or of pisse or of suche like vile thinges as some haue done do at thys tyme wyth shame enough yf they were not past shame Buth suche gentlymē as the dropsye hath taken awaye theyr honestye shamefacednesse frō them that they care not howe they get drinke whether it be wyth honour or shame so that they maye haue it while as some gentlemen yea some Knightes and lordes do nowe in Englande not be ashamed to sell oxen shepe bere corne mele malt coles thynges muche vyler then these be Nowe it is euident that there are many of the nobilitie of Englande sycke in the spiritual dropsye let vs se whether it is any perilus disease or no. This dropsye is a disease very harde to heale and kylleth many a man and woman and it bryngeth not onely death of bothe bodye and soule but in the lyfe tyme mocketh men and bryngeth men into false opiniōs The holy scripture sayeth that the spirituall dropsy bryngeth death and euerlastyng damnacion as Paule .i. Corin .vi. 1. Cor. 6 wytnesseth in these wordes Nether theues nether couetous men nether dronkerdes nether cursed speakers where extorcioners or rauen ous men shall haue the heritage of the kyngdome of God He that is syke in the dropsye thynketh that plentye of drynke shall helpe hys disease and that hys drynke shal be turned into bloude and that he shal be noryshed therwyth So is it also in the dropsy that our gentlemen are sycke in They thynke that in heapyng together of muche golde and syluer in gettynge of many fermes in gettynge of many benefyces that their gredye appetite shall therwyth be quenched but they are deceyued For the noble poetes in these verses folowyng affirme the contrary Crescit amor nūmi quamtum ipsa pecunia crescit Quanto plura parasti tanto plura cupis Semper auarus eget quare quia competit vsus Tangere parta timet cur ne minuatur aceruus At primum scelerem matrem quae semper habendo Plus sitiens patulis runatur faucibus aurum Trudis auaritiam Crescit indugeirs sibi dirus hydrops Nec sitim pellit nisi causa morbi Fugerit venis aquosus albo corpore langor The loue of the peny groweth as muche as the pkny groweth The more thynges that thou haste gottē the more thou desyrest A couetous man is euer nedy and why the vse requyreth he is afrayed to touche that whych he hath gotten why because that his heape should not be mynished or made lesse But fyrst thou thurstest downe couettousnes the mother of myschiefe whyche the more it hathe the more golde it gapeth for wyth open iawes and is more thyrsty The cruel dropsye fauourynge it selfe to muche can not put awaye thyrste excepte the cause of the syknes flye out of the veynes the wattery siknes leue the pale body The preacher in the .v. Eccle. 5. cha cōfirmeth the same that the poetes haue sayd A couetous man sayeth he wyll neuer be fylled wyth mony Furthermore as in the bodely dropsye the great plentye of drynke is not turned into bloud nether into any good noryshment of the body but is turned all into water and wynde and the body is neuer
drynker or the lesse whyche of these two kynges heyres was lefte rycher at the death of hys father ye wyll saye I am sure that the heyre of the lesse drynker was left much rycher Or els what neded kynge Edwardes counsellers and good housbandes so ofte crye the kynge is poore the kynge is poore and to get al the chauntries in Englande vnto him and so ofte to spoyle the byshoppes landes to enryche hym therewyth ye se therfore that in both the kyndes of dropsy that the exceding plentye of drynke nether quencheth the thyrst of the syke nether helpeth the disease nether increaseth any good blood Therfore seyng that the spirituall dropsye wherein dyuers gentlemen of Englande are sycke in at thys tyme bryngeth at length death of both body and soule and maketh suche a folishe opinion in them that they beleue that it that moste of all engendreth the syknes helpeth it that it that most destroyeth both the blood naturall heate ingendreth bothe the same it muste nedes be a perillous disease Then where as it is so perillous a disease they that ar syke in it had nede of some remedy for it whych I intende to offer vnto them But before I shewe the remedye of thys dysease it is mete that I shewe the causes of it that I in healyng of it maye shewe the practice more lyke a workeman then a foole for he that knoweth not the cause of the disease howe shall he take the cause away of it And he that knoweth not the cause of the disease how shal he take it awaye and he that taketh not the cause of that disease away howe shall he take the disease away when as the cause abydyng styll the effecte muste nedes folowe It is also necessary for all my patientes to knowe the cause of theyr diseases that after that they are ones healed they maye exchewe the disease by puttyng awaye and auoydyng the causes of it It shal be also necessary for them that are not yet sycke in that sycknes but are disposed naturally therto to knowe the causes of thys disease that by flyeng and eschuyng the causes of it they maye auoyde it Sycknesses come two wayes moste cōmonly of a naturall cause and sometyme though it be but seldome immediatly of God without any natural cause for the reuēging and ponyshyng of some open synne or offence As for an exemple The leprye moste cōmonly cōmeth of a melancholike humour or of a salt burned humour that is in a mannes body But we reade that wythout any suche natural cause it commeth immediatly of God ponyshyng sōe notable and opē offence 4. Re. 5. Nu. 12. 2. pa. 26. as it came vnto Gehasi to mary Moses syster to kynge Osias The bodely dropsye cōmonly cōmeth of the stopping of the liuer and the stoppyng commonly commeth ether of colde or of grosse humores Euen so the spiritu all dropsye cōmeth of colde or grosse humores Vnder the name of colde humores I vnderstande suche spirituall drinke as is not warmed with an earnest preacher but is coldely serued out wythout any zele or feruentnes in sprete after whych maner our newtralles and manpleasers of late and now the latin sacrificers serue the people in England By grosse humores I vnderstande fleshely and grosse ceremonies whiche were neuer tryed wyth the fyer of Goddes worde But as thys is the cōmon waye wherby mē come to the dropsye so is there also an other preuye straunge and seldome waye wherby I reken that many of oure gentlemen haue fallen into the spiritual dropsye That is by the ponyshment of almyghtye God whych suffered them to fall in to thys sycknes for theyr open synnes as he brought the .iii. aforenamed persones into the lepry The noble wel borne kyng Henry the .viii. by the counsel of certeine of hys scripture learned counsellers toke in hāde to reforme heale some of hys clergie whyche was so sycke in the dropsye that they had almoste dronkē vp a quarter of the hole realme and accordynge vnto the worde of God and hys bound deutye he began to dryue out of hys lande the seuen kyndes of people whereof is motion made in the seuenth chap. of Deuteronomi that is the Hethites the Bergelces Deu. 7. the Amores the Canarees the Pherisees the Euees and the Iebusees And in dede he healed the clergye after one maner that phisicianes vse that is per ablati onem he droue out after a maner the forsayd enemies of God whych had gotten them by continuaunce of longe tyme seuen newe names Yf any man wyll knowe theyr names that he droue out their names are these Iacobites and Minorites Augustinianes Carmelites whyt monkes blacke monkes and Chanones c. Because he coulde nether heale all the watersyke alone nether coulde alone dryue out so many enemyes he cōmaunded hys nobilite to helpe hym and they not vnwyllyngly toke hys parte But howe healed they the dropsye howe droue they awaye the seuen heathen nacions Surely nether accordynge vnto the rules of bodely nor of spiritual phisyck What maner of phisiciane is he that cōmeth vnto a house where as there are some parsons syck because they had to many humores and others for lacke of sufficient humores other are not syck he not onely cōmaundeth them al together both syck and hole to faste alyke for the space of an hole yeare and to gyue hym for hys labour al it that they shulde haue eaten that yeare but enioyneth thē al alyke for all the tyme of theyr lyues euer after to departe wyth the tenth parte of the meate that they had wont to spende and to gyue it vnto hym Haue not the noble phisiciās occupyed the same phisick whylse they went about to heal the clergie yes doutles For some of the clergye had to muche and some to litle some no more thē enough and yet muste euery man haue one kynde of medicine all muste be purged bothe the sycke and the hole and all muste faste and kepe one dyet both the hole and the two kindes of sycke Wolde these phisicians be cōtent that doctor Wendy or doctor Owen doctor Wotton or doctor Huic or I shuld practise wyth them so yf we were called to theyr houses to heale certeyne syck persones there Doutles they wolde not Wherfore when as they do otherwyse vnto theyr brethren then they wolde be done to them selues they haue broken the rule of oure maister doctor Iesus the chife phisician and haue cōmitted an open synne that all the world may se For the which synne God hath suffered them to fall into thys foule dropsy that they are syck in now euen as he ponished Gehasy wyth a lepry for cōmittynge the same synne that our gentlemē dyd For as Gehasy synned in couetousnes in takynge of rewardes of the heathen man that hys maister healed hauyng no cōmaundemēt so to do so these when as they had no commaundemēt of theyr maister Christ
A nevv booke of spirituall Physik for dyuerse diseases of the nobilitie and gentlemen of Englande made by William Turner doctor of Physik Prouer. 12. The waye of the folyshe man semeth ryght in hys owne eyes but he that is wyse wyll heare counsell Ad nobilem Britannum Viuere fi cupias multos feliciter annos Et post hanc vitam regna videre Dei Pharmaca quae grata Turnerus mēte propinat In mentem penitus sume quam tutus eris Anno. 1555. 10. Calen. Martij ¶ To the ryght honorable Dukes Erles the Duke of Northfolke the Duke of Suthfolke the Erle of Arundale the Erle of Derbi the Erle of Shrosbery the Erle of Huntyngton the Erle of Combrelande the Erle of Westmerlande the Erle of Penbrook and the Erle of Warwik William Turner Physician wyssheth perfyt knowlege in Goddes holy worde and grace to lyue acordyng vnto the same RYght myghtye princes honorable lordes thys haue I marked in dyuers places of Germani that after that the burgesses and cytezenes haue bylded them cyties and haue made good and holsome lawes for the maintenaunce of all kynde of good order there haue chosen vnto them certeine lordes whyche they call in theyr tounge Schermheeren that is defendyng lordes to defende theyr cities when as they are perfytlye bylded and set in good order Knowyng wel by experience that there is no cytie so strongly bylded and well ordered but it shal haue enuyers and mortal enemyes at one tyme or other Euen so I after that I had made thys lytle boke and set it in as good order as I coulde fearyng nay rather precyslye knowynge that there shall many aryse whych wyl either slaunder it and blame it or els wyl condemne it and burne it as an hereticall and seditius booke before they haue caste and reproued it by any sufficient wytnesses ether of scripture or of reason amonge all the hole nobilite of Englande I am compelled by great nede to chuse you and desyre you to be patrones and defenders of this my lytle boke onely so farre as it agreeth with natural reason and wyth the wrytten worde of God Yf that any wise and learned man can reproue and iustly ouercome any thynge that I haue wrytten in thys booke wyth reason and scripture I wyll amende it that is amysse and recant it whyche is wrytten agaynst the scripture But yf no suche thynge can be founde in it I beseche you as Goddes ministers and officers vnder hym to defende it so longe as it shal be founde reasonable and godly But leste I shuld put you vnto to muche paine I wyll aunswere aforehand to sum obiections whych I reken wyll be made agaynst me Some who wold be loth that theyr sores shulde be touched wyll saye why do ye not go aboute as well to heale the clergye the cōmones as ye go aboute nowe to correcte vs There is neither of bothe those orders but it hadde as muche nede of Physike as the nobilite hath I aunswere that yf the clergye be sik the nobilite ought to be their phisicianes and healers Howe can the nobilite heale them when they are sik them selues Howe shall the cōmones be healed when as their physicians in politike thynges the noble men and theyr physicianes in spirituall matters the shepherdes are bothe so sik that they are not able to do theyr owne duties Therfore it is not possible to heale the other two orders excepte the order of gentylmen be fyrst healed Forthermore whē as I intende to intreate of diuerse matters after the order of physike what a foolyshe Physician shulde I haue bene yf that I shulde beselye haue gone aboute to heale the legges and the thyghes and not offered any remedye at all vnto the harte the lyuer and the hede When as all physik wolde that the principall partes shulde be fyrst loked to and healed because all the prosperite and health of the lower partes hange vpon the health and welfare of the ouer and principall partes and the nether partes muste nedes be sike as long as the ouer partes are not perfytlye healed Thys matter is proued to be true not only by physik and naturall reason Eccl. 10. but also by the scripture whyche sayeth Eccle 10. As the gouerner of the cytie is so are also they that dwell in it Then seynge that these gentylmen wyll be the principall partes and the hede of the common wealth acording vnto reason and to nature they muste go before all the reste in the cōmon wealth whyche thinge they can not do yf they be not healed before Therfore it is necessary that the gētlemen be fyrste healed Where in when I haue done as muche as I can do for my parte I wyll offer some physike both vnto the clergye and to the yemanry of thys realme leste I shulde seme to fauour one kynde of men more then an other Yf any man thynke that I dishonor your lordshippes in dedicatyng my boke vnto you and in speakynge vnto you and to other lordes in many places of the booke as thoughe ye were onely the sik men to whom I offer physik onely to I aunswere that therin I dyshonour you not but honor you as muche as lyeth in me whilse I make you the heade of all the nobilite in Englāde vnder the Quene For when as ye are the heade of the bodye of the nobilite it were no wysedome for me to speake vnto the sik belly fete and backe whyche for lacke of eares can hear nothing at all When a man hath the goute in his too or the ciatica in hys huckell bone or the collik in hys bellye no wyse physician wyll speake vnto the too nether vnto the hukkell bone nether vnto the bellye but he speaketh vnto the heade whych heareth and receyueth counsell and physik also for all the reste of the partes of the hole bodye and thoughe these aboue named partes be onely vexed and the hede be hole and sounde yet God and nature haue ordeyned that the hede shall bothe receyue all maner of counsel medicines be they neuer so bitter vgly for the vylest parte of al the bodye Therfore I dishonor not your lordships but honor you as mych as lyeth in me whē as I do none other wyse vnto you then God and nature wolde that I shulde do Thys in moste humble wyse I beseche your lordshippes for the loue that ye owe vnto God and to the cōmon welth of Englande that ye loke well vpon my physik and trye it to the vttermoste yf ye fynde it lawfull then take it vnto you and into you and dispose it and sende it to suche partes of the bodye of the nobilite as haue moste nede of it and I dout not but that many that are nowe sicke shal be well healed to the glorye of God and to the profyt of the common welthe The Lorde Iesus the great Physiciane whyche is able to heale both bodye and soule heale all them that are sik and
is so symple in degre or of so smale lyuynge but there cōmeth oft tymes some matters to be iudged by you when as nether learned seruaūt nether any lawyer is at hande who is so single a gentleman but he hath some tenātes who hath any tenantes that ar so quiet but that at some tyme they fall out one wyth an other Ther is no gentleman that hath so smale a lordshyp but he muste sometyme be a iuge in suche maters as learning is to be requyred in Can he at al tymes haue hys lawyer or other learned man by hym or wyl hys lādes that is but a poore gentlemā hath many chyldren be able to fynde a lawyer or learned man at hande at all tymes who is so simple a gentle man but that he is sometyme called to be a cōmissioner in one mater or other Muste a gentlemā with shame brynge hys learned man or lawyer wyth hym to the reste of the cōmissioners when as the mater oughte not to be disclosed to any but only to the cōmissioners alone At Assises sessions both in matters of lādes good and of lyfe and death who are more cōmonly chosen yf the mater be any thynge weyghtye to be iudges in suche maters thē gentlemē when as the gentleman is kept fast in a housewith his felowes is it not to late then to sende for hys learned man or his lawyer there No kynde of men ought so muche to be of the kynges counsell as gentlemen both ought to be and are also Shall the gentleman beyng a counseller be suffered to brynge hys learned mā or lawyer into the counsel chamber with hym Gentlemen muste oft tymes go to the parlament and there they muste intreate of matters concerning the glory of God and the cōmon wealth and somtyme maters of heritages and of landes and goodes are intreated there Sometyme men are appeched of heresye somtime of treason so that they that are of the parlament are both coūsellers and iudges Shall the vnlearned gentlemen iudges and counsellers in the parlament house be suffered to bring in with them thyther their lawyers learned men But what yf a Kynge or a Duke or any other gentleman had alwayes a learned man by hym and myght cary hym to all these places aboue named Howe shall the vnlearned Kynge duke lorde or any other gentlemā yf he be vnlearned hymselfe be able to iudge whether he that he hyreth for hys learned man be learned in all suche thynges as he shal be axed counsel of or no or whether he be but a bragger of learnyng or a learned man in dede And though he be learned in dede how can the vnlearned gentilmā knowe whether hys learned man iudged after hys learnyng or no and whether he geueth good counsel or yl or geueth true iugement or false when as he that is vnlearned can not tel whether hys learned mā do after hys knowlege or no or for a brybe or for hys frendes pleasure gyueth euel counsel or false iugemēt Yf a mā were blynd and when he heareth men go by hym and inquired of them that go by whether there be any man that wyll be hys gyde for halfe of that whych they two can get wyth beggynge or no. There cōmeth one to hym offereth hym selfe to be hys gyde and he taketh hym Now how can the blynde man tel whether hys gyde be blynde or no And yf he do knowe that hys gyde can se howe shal the blynde mā knowe whether hys gyde leadeth hym the ryght waye or no or what not the blynde man when he byddeth hys gyde lead him into the church whether he leadeth hym vnto the galowes or no I aske one of the flatterynge Cyphers whiche call prynces yonge lordes and other yonge gentlemen from theyr bokes to haukyng and huntynge suche other ydle pastymes sayeng to their maisters what nede ye to studye ye haue landes and heritage enough ye nede not at al to studye except ye intend to be scolemaisters or a man of lawe or preestes Maister Cypher yf youre maister commaunded you to ryde frō London to Cābrige in the myddes of wynter whether had ye leuer ryde blyndefelde thorowe bushes and bryers thorow thycke thynne folowyng an other mā whych leadeth thy horse by the brydle or thou had leuer ryde bare faced and seyng that thou myght chuse the waye thy selfe Yf thou had leuer chuse thy waye thy selfe then to be led blyndefelde thorowe a foule waye euen by hym that thou trustest beste and knoweth the way beste in al thy maisters house What kyn a dissemblynge vnkynd beste arte thou whyche for feare onely of falyng in a poole or rentynge of thy face a lytle had rather se thy waye thyne owne selfe then to be led by a gyde be he neuer so perfyt and yet wyll counsell thy maister to go blyndfelde with vncertayne and vnknowē gydes thorow suche matters as yf he hit not vpon the ryght waye shal be in ieopardye of lesyng both hys body goodes and heritage yea and hys soule to Let al noble mē beware of suche noughty counsel lest they fal into an hole palsey that is a waryng of al mouyng felyng which can not be holpen with any mans physik yf it be ones olde The remedy to auoyd this perillus foule disease is whilse it is but yet in the begynnyng for gentlemen to go earnestly vnto their bookes to saye to suche talewanyng talkers these wordes auaunt idle and vnlearned best because thou arte vnlearned thy selfe and arte nether borne to beare rule in the common wealth nether haste learnyng nor wytte to receyue learninge thou wold haue me to be suche an asse as thou arte Yf ye vse this medecine I warrand you that ye shal neuer cōe into the daunger of the forsayd perilus disease But of this disease I wil speake more largely herafter This false opiniō that a kynge or a noble mā nede not to be learned his own selfe so he that haue lerned officers is contrary both vnto the ordinaunce of nature to the auncient philosophers learning to the holy scripture and to the exāples lyfe bothe of alwyse heathen kynges and of godly and religious kynges whyche are cōmended by holy scripture The same are also enemies vnto the cōmōwealth and the honor of the realme that they are of as I shall proue at large here after Thys can no man denye but that nature hath ordened in all lyuynge beastes byrdes and fyshes that part whych gouerneth and ruleth al the reste of the bodye shulde haue moste knowlege and manifest wyttes senses Nature hath ordeyned that the heade shulde gouerne and rule al other partes of the bodye therfore where as she hath geuen vnto al the reste of the body but one sense or wytte that is to were touching or felyng she hathe geuen vnto the Kynge of the bodye the heade euen of brute beastes al the .v. Wittes that is hearinge seyng taistyng smellyng
his seruauÌ„t Dauid in the second psalme Et nunc reges intelligâ—te erudimini iudices ierre Bet you vnderstandynge o ye kynges and be you lerned o ye that iuge the earthe Here haue al kynges a playne coÌ„maundement to seke seke for learnynge and to be learned and not onely they but al other whych by theyr callyng are ordened of God to iuge hys people or to gyue sentence betwene one man and an other Almyghty God in the .xvii. Deute 17. of Deuteronomi geueth an expressed and a plaine coÌ„maundement vnto kynges that they shulde diligently study the scripture the wordes of God are these After that the kynge sytteth in hys seate of dignite or hys kyngdome he shal wryt out for him selfe the Deuterono of this lawe in a volume and he shall take the copy of the offerers or preestes of the trybe of Leui and he shall haue it wyth hym and shal read it al the dayes of hys lyfe that he may learne to feare hys lorde God and to kepe hys wordes and ceremonies The same commaundement was geuen vnto the noble gentleman Iosue the Iudge and gouerner of the chyldren of Israel in these wordes Take a good harte vnto the and be very stoute that thou may kepe and fulfyl al the lawe whyche my seruaunt Moses hath coÌ„maunded the to kepe Thou shalt not turne from it nether to the right hande nether to the left haÌ„de that thou maye vnderstand al thinges that thou doest Let not the volume of thys boke go awaye froÌ„ thy mouth but thou shalt be occupyed in it daye and nyght that thou maye kepe and do all thynges wrytten in it It is a meruelous thynge to se how that noble men wemen are so busy to kepe those thinges that the deuel the worlde the fleshe haue founde out and coÌ„maunded howe slacke and slowe they are to do it the God hath commaunded so earnestlye The deuel deuysed dycyng and cardyng and wantoÌ„ daunsyng the worlde wyth the deuell hath founde out to costly proude lyght and temptyng apparel the fleshe with the deuel hath founde out waÌ„ton balades and bokes of loue and lechery whether are there mo gentlemeÌ„ in Englande that folowe the counsel of theyr Lorde God which byddeth them studye the scripture be exercised therin or of them that folowe the counsel of the aforenamed enemyes both to God and man Wyl ye not nowe my lordes and maysters take those phisicianes for murtherers of your soules whych forbyd you to eate of almyghty goddes triacle that is to reade hys worde whych he hath so earnestly coÌ„mauÌ„ded for the sauing both of your bodyes and soules Are they worthy to be of a kynges counsel or of a quenes counsell that haue burned thys booke whyche God inioyneth you to reade and haue ponysh the readers thereof as heretikes yf they be of the same iudgement styll Nowe let vs se whether that the coÌ„maundement of God concernyng that princes should be learned and the scripture to be red of al kynges and rulers was so vnderstande of holy men euen as it standeth that is that they should studye and reade the scripture in their owne persones or they muste learne the scripture and reade it and knowe it onely by their chaplaynes other suche like officers as the moste part of princes and noble men expound that commaundement of God now a dayes All blessed and happy and holy meÌ„ reade the scripture and are exercised in it nyght and daye their owne selues in their owne persons Then they that wyll not reade the scripture nether nyght nor day in their owne persones nether ar exercised in it are cursed vnhappye and wycked be they neuer so ryche noble so holye in the syght of the blynde worlde Dauid in the fyrst psalme describing a blyssed happy and godly man proueth it that I sayd now to be true Blessed is the man sayeth Dauid whose wyl is in the law of the Lorde and in hys lawe is exercysed in his mynde thinketh vpon it both day nyght And the cursed man or the wycked man sytteth in the seat of scorners that is to say wyll nether be vertuously occupied in goddes worde them selues nor wyl suffer other to read it but mock the readers of it as they do nowe a dayes that for a spytfull mocke call the readers of Goddes lawe gospellers sometyme heretikes mock them that ether in open preachyng or in preuie admonition tell them of their fautes and exhorte them to godlynes and vertuous lyuynge Dauid in the .119 Psal 119. psalme beareth also wytnes that the coÌ„maundemeÌ„t of almyghty God concernyng the scripture to be reade and studyed of kynges iudges and noble men ought to be vnderstande that they shulde reade it and be exercised in it in their owne persones they that talke not wyth them selues of the scripture and are not exercised therin their owne selues are not blessed happy and godly but cursed vnhappy and vngodly for he sayeth Beati qui scrutantur testimonia eius in mandatis tuis exercebor considerabo vias tuas in iustificationibus tuis meditabor non obliuiscar sermones tuos Seruus tuus exercebatur in iustificationibus tuis nam testimonia tua meditatio mea est consilium meum iustificationes tuae Ne auferas de ore meo verbum veritatis vsquequaque ConfundaÌ„tur superbi quia iniuste iniquitatem fecerunt in me ego autem exercebor in mandatis tuis Tribulatio angustia inuenerunt me mandata tua meditatio mea est concupiui salutare tuum lex tua meditatio mea est Yf it be true that the noble men whych serche and seke for the commaundementes of God and studye the lawe of God and are exercysed therin are good and blessed men theÌ„ are they euel cursed and vnhappy men whyche searche not for the commaundementes of God nether studye the scripture nether exercise them selues there in The reason is good for all the good kynges wherof is mencioÌ„ made in the scripture were diligent setters forth and readers of the scripture and the wicked vngodlye kynges cared not for it reade the bokes of the kynges and the bokes of the cronicles and you shall fynde thys that I saye ryghte true 4. Reg. 22. In the .xxii. of of the .iiii. of the kynges ye maye se in the historye of Iosias howe that al hys forfathers that were euel kynges cared not for the scripture but let it lye many yeres buryed hyd so that they were not exercysed therin accordyng to the expressed commaundement of God Yf ye require one priuate exaÌ„ple of one man Iere. 36. reade the .36 of Hieremie the prophete and there shall ye fynde how that the wycked kyng Ioachim cut in peces the worde of God and burnt it in the fyre and sought after and persecuted Hieremie the authour of the boke and Baruch the writer of it as certaine geÌ„tlemen bothe of the laite and also of the clergie haue intreated
shamefully many hundreth yeres and no maÌ„ is able to defende the contrarye I do perceyue that some of you are indiffereÌ„t and are not maryed vnto one kynde of men more then another wherfore ye maye in these controuersies be the more indiffereÌ„t iudges But I hear saye that there is an other sorte of the nobilite that are so partial in these maters that are nowe in controuersie that what so euer reason or scripture be brought of the other parte that they fauour not they wil not beleue it but yet wythout any reason or scripture or any other sufficient profe or trial of theyr doctrine embrace and gladly receyue all suche doctrine and tradicions as theyr chosen prophetes teache them whome they fauour and fantasye The same affectionate people whyche truste so in these men wythout any trial of theyr doctrine whether it be good or bad are so tender ouer theyr owne bodyes that they wyll nether eare any meate nor drynke any drinke though theyr cokes and butlers be neuer founde fautye in theyr offices in al theyr liues except there be an assay takeÌ„ of their meat and drynke before Yea I heare say that some dare not eate of the meat that is dressed of theyr coÌ„moÌ„ cookes in the coÌ„mon kytchens be the cokes neuer so honest men and these wyll neither truste their cookes nor assayers and therfore eate no meate but suche as is dressed of their maidens in theyr owne presence in theyr owne secrete chambers Wolde to God these loued their soules so wel the soules of all them that are vnder their gouermeÌ„t as they do their owne natural bodyes As the meat of the bodye yf it be good fedeth and norysheth the body and saueth it froÌ„ peryshynge and yf it be poysoned it kylleth the bodye euen so the doctrine or preachynge whych is the food of the soule yf it be good saueth the soule so yf it be noughty and false it poysoneth and kylleth the soule Is it theÌ„ godly wysedome to se and trye it which goeth into their bodies wyth theyr owne eyes to be good holsome before they receyue it and to receyue of their olde gostly cokes what so euer they dresse for them vnsene vntasted and vnassayed Though their bodely cokes haue serued them neuer so longe they wyl take nothyng that is dressed of them except they se it wyth theyr owne eyes assayde whye truste they then their spirituall cookes so well that wythout any further assay or trial receyue into theyr soules what so euer meate they dresse for them gyue them Perchance they wyl say that seculare and maried cookes hauing wyues and chyldren may easely for a brybe be brought to poysone their masters and maistresses but spiritual and vnmaryed men are more to be trusted in their spiritual cookery because they are wyuelesse and nede not to be compelled vnto poysenynge for lacke of lyuinges because they haue enoughe and also by touchyng dayly the body bloud of Christ are holyer then the worldly cookes are and so halowed wyth the holy oyle wherwyth they were anoynted in the tyme of their consecracion that they can not kyll vs with poysoned meate as the secular may easely do And therfore what so euer our spirituall cookes sende vs that is good and holsome that wyl we receyue wythout any further tryal We knowe them and trust them so well To whom I answere that not only forein stories but also that our owne cronicles beare wytnes that these spirituall wyueles cookes for all their touchynge of their Christes bodye dayly and for all theyr holye oyntment haue euen bodely poysoned not onely kynges and princes but also dyuers other honest men besydes that I can proue that spiritually they haue poysoned many thousandes In the cytie of Berna iiii freres poysoned a tayler wyth the poysoned bread of the sacrameÌ„t in our dayes the same were burnt for their labor A spiritual wiueles cooke a black monke wel anointed poysoned kinge Iohn as our stories beare wytnes We reade in dyuers stories the monkes other wyueles anointed cookes poysoned not only Emperors kynges but also poysoned the sacramentall bread whyche they toke for their Lord their God TheÌ„ euen wyueles spiritual cookes wyll poysone kynges quenes wheÌ„ as they ar not aferd to poyson their God him selfe Thus far haue I spoken of bodely poyson But as touching spiritual poison that is to say concernyng marring of mens mindes with false doctrine the coÌ„ningest beste betrusted cooke that they haue nowe at this tyme who rueleth the roste alone hathe ether serued out poyson vnto kynge Henry the .viii. to al Europa or els Quene Mary is a bastard yf false doctrine be poyson of the soule she be a bastarde that is borne out of lawfull matrimony Steuen Gardiner an vnder cooke in the Cardinal Wolfe Wolsey hys house and afterwardes alowed of kynge Henry the eyght to be a maister cooke and hys principall cooke for a loÌ„ge tyme râ—led the roste in the kynges house as boldly as saucely as hys maister dyd before hym as the blowe vpon his cheke that my Lorde of Warwyke gaue hym maye beare wytnes But wheÌ„ as thys cooke shoulde serue out a dyshe of obedience vnto the kynge and vnto all the West churche he poudered it wyth suche poyson that he made the kynge an hore master our Quenes mother an hore oure Quene Mary a bastard Is it good trustyng of suche a wyueles anoynted cooke Are not then wyueles cookes as muche to be suspected of spiritual poyson as other cookes are to be suspected of bodely poyson Yea a great deale more For your bodely cookes were neuer taken wyth any suche offece for yf they had ben taken therwith they shoulde haue bene streyghtwaye hanged or scalded to death for their labour Thys cooke for all hys poysoned seruice is so trusted nowe that he is made Chancelor of England and presideÌ„t of all the counsell But lest any maÌ„ should denye that theyr maister cooke S. Garde dyd euer any suche thing I wyll brynge hys owne wordes wherin he confesseth opeÌ„ly to al the worlde hys dede and as yet I for my parte haue neuer herd nor red that he repeÌ„ted him of his so doyng Hys wordes are these The Leuiticall coÌ„maundementes of the forbydden and vnnaturall horyshe matrimonies pertaynyng vnto the chastitie and clenenes of matrimonye wherin the hole felowship of mannes lyfe is conteined and the beginnyng of encrease of issue standeth haue alwayes so ben takeÌ„ as fyrst to be geueÌ„ in dede vnto the Iewes because they were expounded to set clerely forth the lawe of nature and therfore shoulde alwayes perteyne vnto all kyndes of men Wherein doutles both the voyce of nature the coÌ„maundement of God agreing together forbad it that was contrarye vnto the condicion of bothe But amongest these when as the coÌ„maundement of not mariyng the brothers wyfe is also conteyned what other thynge ether oughte or coulde the excellent maiestie