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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07116	A defence of priestes mariages stablysshed by the imperiall lawes of the realme of Englande, agaynst a ciuilian, namyng hym selfe Thomas Martin doctour of the ciuile lawes, goyng about to disproue the saide mariages, lawfull by the eternall worde of God, [and] by the hygh court of parliament, only forbydden by forayne lawes and canons of the Pope, coloured with the visour of the Churche. Whiche lawes [and] canons, were extynguyshed by the sayde parliament ...	Parker, Matthew, 1504-1575.; Morison, Richard, Sir, d. 1556, attributed name.; Ponet, John, 1516?-1556, attributed name.	1567 (1567)	STC 17519; ESTC S112350	311,635	404

maner of fastynges but mere hypocrisie yea worse then hypocrisie in such circumstaunces as ye haue many a daie vsed them dare pronoūce with Chrisostome inueiyng against the iewes fastyng that your fastinges be worse then very dronkennesse Thei call your filthie fained chastitie a bandie Sodomiticall carelesse liuing As the practise declareth to manifest to stande in to proue Thei call al suche as haue not the gifte by their yerely experience séeth the impossibilitée not frō chastitée but from filthines of brutishe buggery and boyly bestlynesse to mariage chastitée Ye neuer red or hard of any suche writers suche as ye would slaunder to the worlde I saie of the knowen and comonly approued writers out of Germanie But that dothe excite the readers in their bookes to Godly and oft prayour to pure abstinence from all excesses and to a christian mortification of all their vices and affections to continencie and soole liuyng if God will so haue them to serue hym in that state And if God by the experience of them selues vnfainedly calleth them to wedlocke as to a remedie of their infirmitie or a domesticall comfort in their hospitalitée thei counsel with all the doctours of the Churche to take the surest waie to saue their soules Although the saied old authors were the most part of them very vntreatable to remitte that discipline but when very necessitee moued conscience to remitte the rigour of their saied Canons In dede the old fathers and their Clergie had a greate oportunitie by the maner of their liuyng to bée further from daunger of temptatiōs to haue the more professors and kepers of their chastitée then the state of this world wil suffer Yea suche a Clergie as ye will frame here in the realme and for all their diligent discipline and calling on yet how oft do thei complaine of the nombers of them whiche liued to the slaunder of the rest In deede it can not be denied that thei had great zeale to liue in virginitee and soole life when the fathers in Nicene Counsaill and some other councels after that decreed that all suche as should geld naturally themselues should not be receiued into the Clergie Belike Paphnutius was moued in conscience vpon the knowledge he had of them that came single to the state of order whom the old traditions of the Churche charged so to liue not to agree to suche lawe where thei would haue constituted that married priestes should absteine from their wiues and so to ieopard a greater nomber in this fier of temptation he was contēt to saue yet some parte of the house from daunger of the fier though he could not saue the whoole Affirmyng that it was inough that thei whiche receiued orders before thei maried accordyng to the old traditions of the Churche should from thenceforth abstaine from mariage I doe not saie that his mynde was to moue the whole Clergie to mariage but counsailyng then all and singularly to soole life as more free to serue God in that vocation But yet not of suche straite mynde to prescribe Lawes of necessitie to force them to tarrie euen still will thei nill thei But left them to the rule of their owne conscience For what other thing was ment master Martine in the first decree either of Lucius if it be his or Siricius or vrban the second but to leaue that liberty yet to suche as was of the Clergie if thei would not or could not conteine to suffer them to liue in their Matrimony afterwarde taken if thei would not relinquishe their Ecclesiastical degrées And what ment the third Canon of the thirde Councell at Carthage the .v. Canon of the Councell at Tollet or the sixt Counsaile holden there when sainct Augustine was presente Or the thrée and thirtée Canon of the Councell called Elibertinū about Pope Siluesters daies Or the Councell holden in Grece before Siluesters daies called cōcilium Ancyranum with many other more where thei decreed that such as beyng subdeacons deacōs or Priestes that would chose to marry should not enioye their Ecclesiasticall liuynges But I doe not as yet reade that in all of those Counsailles thei were compelled from Matrimonie whether thei would or no or that thei were seperated from their wiues after thei were so depriued or their Matrimony called adulteries As of that Councell wherat sainct Augustine was present I thinke I dare boldly saie thei were not seing his iudgement is in his woorkes to the contrarie As for the sixt Councell holden at Constantinople permitted bothe wiues and liuinges too And in other Councelles their wiues and liuynges so thei would but in tyme of their ministration abstaine from their wiues But to contend with hym in suche causes of Councels Canons and Stories whiche he contorteth by all shift of wit to make them to plie to his gostly purpose were a long businesse But maruaile not gentle reader though he take so muche vpon hym in suche infinite and intricate Churche Lawes wherein he thinketh to leade thee in a mase as not readie for euery man to see and expend for thou maiest see his impudent boldnesse otherwhere For if ye note hym well ye maie finde hym hackyng at the Lawes of the Realme clippyng the Queenes coyne the best that her grace hath nexte to the worde of God for defence of her Princely estate the Actes of Parliamente I meane because he would be ready in seruice to her highnesse to the beste of his wit and power Note howe he trauerseth and wreasteth with his gloses an Acte of the very firste Parliament that her grace hath here caused to bee had since her raigne and coronation not so long since that it can so sone bee out of remembraunce nor the Actes so harde to come by but that all the worlde maie expende them I meane how he forceth and draweth the Acte of repeale in the cause of Priestes mariages not onely to importe to take awaie the libertee that was therein graunted for suche Priestes as vsed not the benefite thereof as at that tyme of whiche nūber though there wer a great sort more hasting a good pase thervnto and were half agréed as thei saie by wordes of the present time and present sute to yet be now many of them as hot against the state in open pretense as can be but also to inferre a plaine dissolution and reuocation of suche Mariages as were aucthorised by the saied Actes before Wherin the very originall of the Acte is plainly expressed in open wordes that the said Kyng Edwardes actes be repealed but for hereafter as other more in the said acte Is not he thinke you a trustie gloser to be so bolde in gloses not onely in his owne Lawes but thus to glose the Lawes of the Realme so lately made cleane otherwise then as wise men as he in the Realme doe construe them and by the practise of diuerse other thynges of like nature and condition in the like case appeareth Seyng this writer aduaunceth hym self so highly

to expende and to expound the lawes of the realme in suche preiudiciall maner as he doth I would faine knowe how he can glose that Acte of Parliamente made in the .xxxij. yere of that noble Kyng Henry the eighte whiche is not as yet repealed but confirmed a newe for some parte thereof concernyng the prohibitions of the Leuiticall Lawe and standeth in sure force at this very daie wherein is plainly expressed that no reseruation or prohibition Goddes Lawe except shall trouble or empeche any mariage without the saied Leuiticall degrees And that all suche bee lawfull persones to contracte whiche bee not prohibited by Gods lawe to marrie I thinke this man can not saye that priestes mariages bee within suche degrees Ergo thei ought not to be troubled or impeched as this Lawe commaundeth And where this doctor writeth in th ende of his .ix. Chapiter full learnedly bee ye suer R. ij specially for a greate maister of the Chauncerie that the two actes in Kyng Edwardes daies aucthorisyng priestes mariages doeth not take a waie the penalties of the Canon lawe whiche assertion for the like how far it may be extended let wise menne iudge But if thei did he saieth yet could not the priestes take any aduauntage by them longer then thei did continue And he addeth his reason because saith he the auncient lawes of the churche as sone as the saied two statutes were taken awaie came straight in force againe Further saieth he for that thei were neuer extinguished but only for a time shadowed and brought a slepe And this he saieth is the opinion of the chief Doctors of the Ciuill lawe Now Master Ciuilian if ye had alledged this opinion as of suche as be learned and beareth good hartes to their owne naturall lawe of the realme your saiyng had been better proued in my conceite And I doubt muche whether it bee true that ye saie that the beste Ciuilians agréeth with you I thinke if it were searched there might be found as good Ciuilians comparable with those whom ye note to bee the chief Doctors of the Ciuill that bee not in your iudgemente in this your gaye booke And whether ye haue any manne learned in the temporall lawe that will ioyne in this opinion with your chief doctors in the Ciuill Lawe I would yet wishe eu●n those though ye haue craftly trained them into suche opinion by the odiousnes of this cause of the poore priestes yet to aduise thē well for suche causes might arise to them selues in compasse of seuen yeares in the like cases that peraduenture thei would wishe not to haue it so vniuersally concluded as ye conclude it But sir yet let me aske you a question by the occasion offred of that Lawe of Kyng Henrie Anno. xxcij where it is determined in lawe wherof I thinke ye cannot shewe the like in this realme since Brute came first into England and ye knowe that it is a great wonder to your wit for thinges to come in law that fewe menne hath seen the like example before tymes I meane I saie for the nature of precontractes whiche by that statute bee vtterly voide if a second contract followeth and bee consummated with bodely knowledge Ye knowe that this acte for precontractes is repealed againe Anno secundo Edwardi sexti and restored to that force as once it was and so long before continued many hundreth yeres What do ye entend with such mariages as at this daie be a great meiny in Englande which began and were aduailable by force of that act seyng this act is now repealed Whether maie ye dissolue suche marriages and pronounce them nought seyng ye saie the ●orce of the olde Canons yea the force of a statute lawe too is in strength againe and debarryng euery man to vse that kinde of second contractyng for hereafter When ye haue well answered this one question I thinke suche as bée learned in the law could deuise more of suche kinde to set your gaie witte on worke And if ye list ye maie read that suche equitie was prouided for in the first yere of Kyng Edwarde the sixte in the .xj. Chapiter concernyng the peaceable enioiyng of mennes interestes geuen by acte before though afterward followeth a repeale by the Kynges letters patentes of the saied actes the parties might pleade the said actes repealed for there grauntes so enioyed by lawe I praie you cōsider whether these rules of the lawes folowing might not haue place in this cause where it is saied Factum legitimum retractari non debet licét casus postea eueniat quo nō potuit inchoari A facte that was once lawfull ought not to bee called into question againe although afterwardes there happen somethyng that myght hinder the beginnyng of it Et multa prohibentur fieri que facta tamen tenent Many thynges are prohibited to be doen whiche when thei once bée doone must yet stand Indultum a iure beneficium non est alicui auferendum A benefite graunted by law must be taken from no man If any cause might be reduced to the equitie of these lawes I thinke the cause of Matrimonie beyng Gods ordinaunce ought to bée indissoluble and not to be retracted Moreouer if these mariages aforesaied ought not to bee dissolued but muste enioye the benefite of that statute when it so stode though it be repealed for hereafterward why should that act of repeale made in the first yere of our soueraigne Ladie the Quéenes maiestie Quéene Marie takyng a waye only but the libertie for Priestes to marrie for hereafter impeache or hinder those lawfull mariages of priestes before aucthorised by as good lawe and as often tymes before these daies seen more then king Edwardes repeale cā or ought molest these mariages for their maner of contractyng Furthermore if vpon repeale of actes as ye do saie your slepyng Canons should therby be straight waie in force watching and wakyng to shewe their face to byte and barke as the ordinaries in some places would haue them I doubt whether al the Quéenes highnes subiectes should haue so quiet reste in their beddes as thei would wishe and as their forefathers before tyme prouided for them selues by kepyng this slepyng tye dogge in his kenell not to come to farre a broode for bityng And because this Ciuilian deliteth to skoure his wit in lawest I desire his resolution in one doubt rising by occasion of his forsaied determination whiche is that all Ecclesiasticall persons lieth open to the old Canons of the Churche by reason of this acte of repeale Kyng Edwarde in his first yere made a statute repealyng all maner actes before his tyme made for punishement of Heresies as well the acte of King Richarde the seconde made in his first yere the act of Henrie the .v. made in his second yere the actes of Kyng Henrie the eight made in his xxv yere the act of .vj. articles made in the .xxxj. yere one other act made in the .xxxv. yere concernyng qualification of the

and saied that to make suche a Lawe was nothing els but to diuide Christes churche to destroie Christian religion and that it was againste all Gods forbode and though Pope Martyn the v. of that name wrote sharper letters to Henry the .vi. to haue it reuoked yet the kinges and the nobles aforsaied would none of it thei would stande to their Lawes whiche thei made in their policy how cōtrary soeuer Rome lawes were against them or how faine soeuer the Bushops of Rome would haue had their eyes still bent vpon vs as my Lorde of Winchester writeth in that their vniuersall carefulnesse of Prouiso Well looke vpon kyng Henry the eightes Acte in his .xxv. yere and fourtene Chapiter for the preamble and then smell if ye can what this Ciuilian meaneth by this gaie inuention of his to saie that vpon a Statute of Repeale the Canons succeadeth by and by in full force and strength And here I muche maruell that one thyng skapeth not onely this farcastyng Ciuilian but all his chief doctors of the Ciuill Lawe to For if this deuice be so greate a warraunte as he maketh it to the Commissaries in the maried Priestes case how chaunceth it that because kyng Edwardes statute before rehearsed of his firste yere repealed al his progenitours Actes for punishemente of heresies thei doe not tell the Spirituall Lordes others of the Conuocation whiche would so faine haue newe mens heades vnder their old girdels by the Act whiche was so muche labored for for heretikes at this laste Parliamente that seyng now all the old statutes bee put awaie for this matter of heresie and the realme hath no Lawe in strengthe and necessary it were as true it is that heresie should be brideled that therevpon tombleth me in all the whole rablement of the Churche Canons and Lawes by heapes with all their force and paines And therefore this Ciuilian might bidde the Ordinaries and all their Commissaries how sore and extreme soeuer thei listed to bee bee of good chere and dispaire not to want their willes for if thei looke well about them thei haue now by the benefite of kyng Edwardes statute and in this respect he might be called good king Edward or king Edward the sainct more in their handes then euer thei had these CC. yeres Now how this wittie deuice would be receiued and where it would be most thankefully taken or whether it would turne to the wealth of the realme Let other men expende and make answere to this Ciuilian and to other of his cheif doctors whether there were any misterie of mischief in it or no. I thinke that as in all Kynges dayes sence the conquest the wise and learned menne of the realme from tyme to tyme hath alwaie moderated the Canons lawes of the vniuersall church as small a mēber of the same as the Romanistes of these daies in contemptuous comparison would make their owne naturall countrée to the aduauncement of a counterfette and vnnaturall congregation at Rome whiche Churche thei full aptly call the temple of God and toke Canons but as rules of consente and refused them againe as fréely by consent and extinguished them and their paynes with them And yet were no princes of infidelitie as ye make a faier insinuation therof in your v. Chapiter I. iiij and euer preferred the Imperiall Lawes of the state of the realme for their surest inheritances as the Quéenes highnes at this daie doeth euen the same with good deliberation And yet the Queenes grace and her Nobles nor her graces progenitours nor their olde auncitours neither not counted the lesse catholike to God and to the true churche of Christ for suche bridelyng in of these sléepyng and dreamyng Canons of whiche progenitours saieth my Lorde of Winchester some of them bee saintes in heauen and be so honoured and reputed at these daies So I thinke the wise and learned menne at the makyng of the saied act of Kyng Edwarde in his first yere ment not that wher thei deuised it specially to resist extremities of lawes thei should imprudently or wittyngly bryng in tenne tymes more extremities then euer thei were vnder before that act was made When wise menne by the occasion of suche cases haue pondered by them selues what signes and profers bee made by this Ciuilian by the case of Priestes mariages whiche though the Deuill and all his members laboreth by all meanes to foile yet standyng as thei do vpon the rocke of Gods lawes specially for seperation and that separation beyng against the iudgement of the beste and eldest writers in Christes Churche standyng the aucthoritée of the kynges Imperiall croune and so many lawes knitte and combined in suche validitée as thei be made I doubt not but some man at length will saie Quòd non est talis casus in tota lege quod est valdè difficilis That there is not suche a case in all the lawe and that it is very harde as easelye as this lawier passeth it ouer And then againe rauyng in this one case of poore Priestes mariages whom to ouercome in their priuate case is no great maistery nor no great care taken although yet priestes to suffer violence of priestes will in th end litle aduaunce the whole Clergie I saie what myre maie be raked vp to make a shrewed perfume to their owne nooses in their owne cases and states I lette other menne consider It was wonte to be saied Qui vni iniuriam facit omnibus facit He that dothe wrong to one in effect doth wrong to all But what forceth this Ciuilian what lawes soeuer be against hym so thei bée no better then statute lawes of this poore outcaste Isle and perticuler Churche of England And whatsoeuer be iudged of hym so he may haue the victorie in this cause what care taketh he either what miserie and mischeife cometh to the priestes whō he hateth so spitefully or what inconueniencies maye ensue to the whoole realme by suche barbarousnes as is induced for want of ministers or what inconueniencies of vnspeakeable whoredomes and filthines pretily in some places alreadie begunne and practised by reason of suche forced separations wil folowe so he maie haue his purpose of this noble conquest For if the glorie of victorie were not so vnreasonably sought for in his glorious booke and if he were not beyond al measure incensed with malice against them as he appeareth or if he were not the man that belike hath so highlye aduaunced hymself in his own conceite that he thinketh no man dare or will dissent from hym or els haue set his forehead impudently so headstrong against all menne that he careth not who loketh in his face He could neuer be so farre past shame as he is so openly in so many places of his booke to lye in aduouchyng such aucthorities as he doth in the perticulers of his probations I maruell before God that he is not a shamed so boldly and irreuerently to vtter his lyes to the Queenes highnes

¶ A DEFENCE of priestes mariages stablysshed by the imperiall lawes of the Realme of Englande agaynst a Ciuilian namyng hym selfe Thomas Martin doctour of the Ciuile lawes goyng about to disproue the saide mariages lawfull by the eternall worde of God by the hygh court of parliament only forbydden by forayne lawes and canons of the Pope coloured with the visour of the Churche Whiche lawes canons were extynguyshed by the sayde parliament and so abrogated by the conuocation in their Sinode by their subscriptions Herewith is expressed what moderations and dispensations haue ben vsed heretofore in the same cause other like the canons of the Churche standyng in full force Whereby is proued these constitutions to be but positiue lawes of man temporall Let Matrimonie be honorable in all persons But fornicatours and adulterers God shall iudge Hebre. xiij ¶ The contentes of this booke noted in the pagies of the same as in these titles folowyng 1 A moste humble supplication to the hygh and most myghtie princes the Kyng and Queenes excellent maiesties Fol. 1. 2 An humble suite to the ryght prudent and most honorable of their councell Fol. 2. facie 2. 3 A lowly request and obsecration to the reuerent fathers of the Churche Fol. 3. facie 2. 4 A tractation to the discrete iudgement of the worshipfull of the lower house of parliament and to the professours of the lawe Fol. 7. facie 2. c. 5 An admonition to the naturall subiectes of the Realme and certayne notes for their aduertisementes Fol. 8. facie 2. c. Fol. 9. facie 2. d. 6 An expostulation with certayne of the Clergie for lacke of charitable indifferencie Fol. 11. facie 2. 7 Generall considerations in the booke folowyng 8 That Saint Paules sentences for auoydyng of fornication let euery man haue his wyfe ▪ c. and yf they can not conteyne let them marry be generally spokē to al persons pag. 133. 136. c. 9 To seculer priestes and to votaries 140. b. 159. a. 10 And that continencie from mariage is a rare gyft 201. c. 204. a. 247. c. 251. 11 And that it is not lyke that the Apostles dyd enioyne the same to the Clergie seing they them selues and diuers other Bushoppes and priestes had wyues 32. b. 42. 156. d. 12 That it is only of mans constitutions for continencie to be annexed to orders 71. 72. 153. c. 13 And that seculer priestes votaries haue ben dispensed with to marrie 230. 14 And that our elders and the fathers of th● Churche haue thought it meete alwayes for lawes and canons to be restrayned remitted 41.85.175.179 c. 196. a. 197. b. 209. a. 210. d. 15 And that the same haue ben dispensed with in matters of greater importaūce then priestes mariages 204. a. 205. 267 a 16 And haue ben dispensed to kepe their wiues 222. a. 274. a. 17 That seculer priestes ordered in England be no votaries pag. 181. d. 181. c 184. a. 18 And myght marry after order as before 60.61.76.103.155 d. 253. d. 257.272 a 19 And that they haue ben before tyme maryed in the Realme Fol. 15. b i 20 And that it is no dishonour to the order nor burthen to the Realme for priestes to marry pag. 69. 70. 59. 21 That maryages of the Clergie made by force of the lawe of the Realme be good mariages ●69 238. b. 22 And that they lye not vpon the daunger of the canons to be impeached or dissolued 67.65.58.167.171 b. 200. d. 23 No more then the maryages of the laitie which were made in kyng Henry the .viii. his tyme by the act concernyng precontractes 170. d. 24 And that forayne positiue lawes with their paynes concernyng the same be abrogated not reuiued by the act of repeale 170. c. 25 That scripture ought to be iudge and is most certayne to be sticken vnto 73.74.98 b. 100. c. 245. b. 26 That D. Martin hath rigorously without all moderation expended the cause of these sayde parties iustly maryed by lawe 83.201 27 That D. Martin hath wrested misreported scriptures in the deprauyng of the sayde lawfull maryages 135. b. 147. a. 150 d 28 That D. Martin hath peruerted and falsified the scriptures stories councels aleaged by hym 53.54.105 b. 111. b 136. b. 144 a. 146 b. 148.155 a. 156 b 164.182 b. 221. b 238. d. 29 And doctours of the Church as Origen Ambrose 145. b. Austen 101. c. 104. a. 107. a. 150. b. Ierome 108. b Isodore 109. c Eusebius 144. Ignatius 118. c. Nicephorus 156. 106. a. 30 That D. Martin sclaundereth with euyll names aswel the matrimonie of the lay men as of priestes 66.82.163 a. 31 That D. Martin hath vsed to many lyes yf his cause were good insparsed in his booke part wherof be touched 43.44.45.50.51 52.53.54.55.56.107.115.136.145.151.157 c. 182. b. 216. c. ¶ A preface to the reader WHere by chaunce came into my handes of late a booke sent from beyonde the sea wherein was highly magnified a treatise written by one Thomas Martin doctour of the Ciuile lawe and there muche labour bestowed to disproue the lawfull matrimonies of Ecclesiasticall Ministers There came to my remembraunce a certayne wrytyng beyng in my custodie gathered together and written in the raigne of Kyng Philip Queene Marie wherin much of the treatise of this Ciuilian is reproued Which said booke was written by a learned man of that tyme who shortly after dyed meanyng yf God had lent hym longer lyfe to haue confuted more of the sandye groundes principles of the sayde Ciuilian And thynkyng it at these dayes not vnprofitable to be read for this controuersie I committed it to the Printer praying thee good reader to beare with the maner of the wrytyng in some partes therof beyng more meryly penned then some graue wryter would peraduēture alowe of In which fourme of wrytyng somewhat he foloweth as he sayth hym selfe thexample of Sir Thomas Moore knyght in his booke of Dialogues for purgatorie This wryter abstaynyng yet from vnchaste tales such as be in his 〈◊〉 booke ouermuch insparsed and partly being in aduersitie gaue himself to some solace to refreshe his minde with yet vsyng fewer insultations reprofes then the vnworthinesse of the said Ciuilian by his vnreasonable chalenge myght haue moued him to Now because I wold nether adde to another mans writing neither diminishe the same I haue presēted vnto thee good reader the whole booke as it is affirmyng this that thou shalt finde all his allegations truely aduouched by the writers that he doth name assuring thee also persuaded by the nature of the man whom I haue hearde wel reported that no malice or corrupt indignation moued hym to write as he doth but pure zeale to the trueth of Gods most holy worde to their instruction who woulde be taught in this trueth to the amendement of his aduersarie in his manifest vntruethes to the comfort of thē who loue God and his veritie and to admonishe all such as be eyther wylfully ignoraunt or malicious well to expende

saied acte of six articles and all other suche whatsoeuer I aske of this Ciuilian whether because no great strong lawe is peraduenture in force at this daie in the realme for punishement of Heresies the whole realme Nobilitée Clergie and Commons lieth faier flatte wide open to all the Canons of the Churche or no by reason of this forsaied act of Kyng Edwardes repeale Whether his slepyng Canons shadowed for a tyme muste nowe a wake and come to light to shewe their faces and to playe ther partes If this Lawier saie yea as he doeth plainly in the case of Priestes mariage I thinke all the realme that knoweth the tract of those Canons and haue felt the breathe of them will I weene as boldly saie naie and swere it to in their owne cases And I thinke it should stand thē all in hande to holde that opinion as strongly as thei holde any Copie or freée hold thei possesse Thei might els peraduenture standyng suche ordinarie Iudges and Commissaries as somewhere thei shew themselues be driuen out of the best holds thei haue Whiche matter because it is weightier then I am able to discusse I leaue it to be expended noted among the Studentes of the temporall Lawes for their owne gaine and their frendes to so it might hap vt ne pridie fortasse faciāt quod pigeat postridie ▪ That thei doe not that one daie whiche thei repent the nexte daie And if these studētes list to see but a little taste of the church lawes in cases of Heresie how indifferent and easie thei bee let them loke no further 6. decrete but on the lawes of that holy father Bonifacius the eight of whom Platina writeth that he entred into his papacie and Busshopricke like a For liued therin like a Lyon and died out thereof like a dogge Upon whose death the saied Platina writeth Afther this sort saieth he dieth this Boniface whose endeuour was rather to cast a terrour vpon Emperours Kynges Princes Nations and People then true Religion As for golde he gathered of euery hande beyonde all measure And heere therfore saieth he lette all Secular and Spirituall rulers learne by his example to vse their aucthoritie ouer the Clergie and the people not proudly contumeliously as he did but vertuously and courteously as Christ our gouernour did and as his disciples and true folowers vsed And let them rather desier to be loued of the people then feared whence springeth iustly the destruction that is wont to fall on tirauntes Thus farre Platina But to returne againe to this mans assertion wherin he defineth that the church Canons be ready watchyng straightway to fall into mens neckes vpon repeale of suche statutes as kept them backe whiche he doeth so boldly that belike the wise and well learned Commissaries in diuerse places without further aduisement taketh vpon them wonderouse stoutly to seperate not onlye Regulers but Seculers too against their willes and consentes Upon which their daynges I would aske them a question how thei can glose the wordes of Kyng Henries statute in his xxvij yere where it is plainly decréed in lawe that all maner Licences Dispensations and Faculties obtained of the Archebushop of Canterburie in matters not repugnaunt or contrary to the holy scriptures and lawes of God shall stand in full aucthoritie and strength without any reuocation or repeale hereafter to bee had of anye suche licence And I knowe diuerse maried Priestes whiche haue suche dispensations some corroborated by the Kynges broade Seale some by the saied Archebusshoppes seale I would faine learne how thei vnderstand these w●ightie lawes of the realme Belike as thei haue proceded in depriuatiōs of many men neuer called or cited neuer conuict nor confessed some called on th one daie and flat depriued on the next daie not examinyng whether he were seculer or reguler maried before orders or after without all maner inquisitiō So belike thei desire to proceade in separations against bothe Gods lawe their owne And as for the lawes of the Realme thei make but washe waie of them so little comptyng of them that if a lorde should see his tenauntes in his Court baron so little regard the bye lawes of his courtes he would thinke them not vnworthie to lose their Copies And therefore me thinke this Ciuilian doeth little good seruice to the maiestie of the lawes of the realme nor yet any pleasure to the learned in the lawes whose professiō is to sée the lawes kept in strength indifferently and as thei professe it in their Sergeauntes rynges Or els their occupatiō will be s●ne out of estimation Yea if ye consider the drifte of his boke ye shall perceiue that he laboureth by all meanes Loke in his ix Chapiter Litera R. vnto the ende of that Chapiter and expend it to aduaunce all foraine lawes whatsoeuer farre aboue themperial lawes of our countrée For he saieth that it is but a poore shifte for an Englishe manne to stande to the statute lawe of the Realme if the Churche Lawes bee against hym And in his conference byndeth strongly vpon Ciuill constitutions of the Emperor Yea moreouer bryngeth in a greate armie of Prouinciall constitutions made of Clarkes of Conuocation onely in other foraine realmes to counteruaile yea to deface and skorne out our statutes and temporall ordinaunces as he maketh but a lippe at them in effect For he saith that all statutes made against the lawes of the Churche be to be demed ipso iure ipso facto vnlefull voide and of none effecte And the Spirituall lawe must medle with Spirituall matters where the kynges aucthoritée maie goe plaie hym his Iudges and Sergeauntes maie haue in hand their leauynges and suche as thei will truste them with Oh if kyng Henry were a liue againe thinke you this man would so write to teache his subiectes And hath kyng Henry of all suche as he hath promoted with liuynges and lordships no frendes Or rather the truthe it self yea the honour of the Realme no patrones to monishe this Ciuilian what he goeth about Shall this geare bee applauded to and magnified Let gloses be gloses and will will but let lawe be lawe againste all captious Ciuilians And as for the Commissaries them selues who aduentureth belike vpon his writynges so boldely maie one daie bee called before God to shewe how well thei haue proceaded euē in their owne lawes Yea the Queenes maiestée maie fortune call them to accoumpte Whose grace willed them in these very matters to proceade agreably to learnyng and discretion Articles of Commssion in print published And in the very front of her graces articles chargeth the Ecclesiasticall Ordinaries to put in execution the Canons and Ecclesiasticall Lawes no other but suche as were vsed in the tyme of kyng Henry the eighte And commaundeth also moreouer that those should no further be put in execution but as thei maie stande with the Lawes and statutes of the Realme I could here saie somewhat but that I

will not for length cumber your eares with conuenient contemplatiōs Well I leaue them to this Ciuilian to muse on for I knowe he hath suche a wit that no lawe or statute can be laied before hym but he can set his comment vpon it if ye will accepte his gloses If a manne obiecte that the states of the Realme hath made Lawe and taken order in this cause or any other suche like and therefore muste stande againste all the Lawes and Canons of the Churche then straightwaie he will beate you backe with the aucthoritée of the Churche and saie as the moste parte of all his disciples and adherentes allege that a particular Churche a little member of the whole can not derogate the vniuersall law of the churche Whiche saiyng how sounde it is let that old lawe testifie whiche was made in a Parliament holden at Northampton in the daies of kyng Henry the seconde almoste CCCC yeres ago whereat was presente a Legate called Hue sent from Rome by Alexander Pope then and notwithstandyng his presence and though Thomas Becket sporned at it before yet was it enacted cleane derogatory to the Lawes and Canons of the Churche that Priestes if the hunted in the Kynges Parkes or committed felonie murther or treason thei should be iudged before temporall Iudges accordyng to the Lawes of the Realme whiche Lawe and others is practised to this daie And furthermore let this foresaied article of the Queenes maiestie testifie whiche doeth plainly determine this question wherin her grace commaundeth that her Lawes the Lawes of her Croune shall stande in strengthe against all the vniuersall Lawes of our mother holy churche And I thinke all her graces progenitours frō tyme to tyme hath foreseen that Romishe Canons shall be but rules and Canons taken and refused vpon consent and as shall bee meete for the policie of the Realme Whiche poincte of learnyng is in suche absolute wise debated learnedly in a Booke written here in Englande intituled De potestate Regia Ecclesiastica that neither this Ciuilian nor all the Canonistes in Englande shall euer be able to answere it For it hath hetherto laine vnanswered these twentie yeres of all the Romanistes in Christendome And if this Ciuilian will reade it and expende it ouer and doubteth further of any poincte conteined therein let hym consulte with certaine of the Bushoppes that bee in moste aucthoritee at this daie by whose learnyng and collection the booke was written and thei can further resolue him And if that booke will not satisfie hym let hym resorte to an other intituled the Institution of a Christian man presented to kyng Henry the eight by all the Bushoppes of the Realme for stable doctrine to be vniuersally preached and so assured by the subscriptions of all their names as ye maie there reade their names Looke ouer the exposition of the .ix. and .x. article of the Crede and their doctrine written in the Sacramente of Order and consider their iudgementes If it be further obiected that the king could doe no more in dispensation then the Pope was able whiche as some saie cā dispense with the singular case of one or twoo in a Realme but not with a whole Realme or with the whole state thereof as kyng Edwarde hath doen with the whole Clergie if their opinion bee true how could the Busshoppe of Rome Innocent the viij as Volateran writeth dispense with the whole countree of Noruegia to cōsecrate the Cuppe without wine in Ale or Bere contrary to the vsage of Christe and his Churche How could he dispense with whole Bohemie for receiuyng the Communion in bothe kindes And how could Paule the thirde offer the same dispensation to all Germanie as appeareth in his Bulle for the reduction of the same nation to Rome Churche againe Howe could Gregorie the firste dispense with all the Realme of Englande for their mariage within the degrees prohibited Or yet how could he dispense and geue licence to Augustine our apostle not to folowe Rome Churche so precisely in forme of Spirituall gouernaunce but hadde hym deuise a forme hym self of the vsages of other countrées and to take the best and so instill it and other suche thinges as he could other where learne into the tender myndes of the Englishe nation as many of suche nature might be alledged If it bee obiected that the Pope can not dispense with the generall Counsaile that will not serue For it is commonly holden of the Canonistes that the Pope is aboue the Counsaile and maie dispense with the Counsaile as thei alledge Extra de consang affi non debet of Innocent the third which released the prohibitions of consanguinitée affinitee in Counsailes before restrained yea in suche degrees as Gregorie saith who that dissolue them beleueth not that Goddes woorde will endure for euer Can. 35. q. 10. Fraternitatis Now if this Ciuilian would haue this poinct yet further debated by the learnyng of the Iudges of the realme scilicet how farre Ecclesiasticall Lawes are to be admitted let hym go to the statute of the .xxvij. yere of kyng Henry the eighte and see what thei reserue from the makers of Ecclesiasticall Lawes Prouided alwaie saie thei that no Canons constitutions or ordinaunces shall bee made and putte in execution within this realme by aucthoritée of the Conuocation of the Clergie which shal be contrary or repugnaunt to the kynges prerogatiue royall or the customes lawes or statutes of this realme And in the xxv yere in the like statute fearyng belike the dint of these double strong Canōs that might be made thei speake more precisely in the like prouiso and saie not onely contrary or repugnant but derogatorie to the Lawes of the realme And if the Iudges and Sergeauntes of the realme will now for to doe this man pleasure geue vp their holde in these and suche poinctes whiche their forefathers hath with tothe and naile alwaies maintained before tymes I wene it would come to passe before twentie yeres should come to an ende that men would rather retaine one poore Canonist for counsaile in their causes then fixe of the best Iudges and Sergeauntes of theim all whereby Westminster hal might chaunce to be colder bothe in Winter and Sommer to for their gaine I warrāt you these whom he calleth the chief doctours of the Ciuil Lawe whom he aduoucheth to bee of this ●aithe and belief would loose nothyng by that bargaine If his chief doctors could but obtaine that thold acte of prouiso made in king Edward the third his daies in the .xlviij. yere of his raigne wonderful derogatorie to the lawes of our mother holy churche might in suche a good season as this is be throwen vnder foote although yet it were better it were at a more certaintie ye shall sone espie that these Ciuiliās would not long tracte the tyme to be then the chief doctors of bothe the common Canon lawe to Whiche lawe of Prouiso although Pope Gregorie the leuenth did muche repine at