thinke it fit to trouble your Ladiships eares with any tedious canuasses to and fro but rather to recommend it to your Ladiship in one briefe view to peruse the same at your best leasure And here it is in writing praying your Ladiships honour to pardon my rudenesse and plainnesse therein according to your honours promise to my Lady here Cur. Sir I thanke you very kindly wishing I could as easily requite your paines and courtesie as I can hardly otherwise deserue it Ioh. Madam your noble acceptance shall be to me as a most ample recompence Cur. I promise to bestow the reading of it thorowly Ioh. Madam God grant you may reape much fruit thereby The Lady CVRIA reades the Writing of M. Iohannes here set downe concerning the Booke intituled A Collection of Priuate Deuotions OR The Howres of Prayer And hereupon as it seemeth such is â—he affection of the Authour or Authours and Abbetters of this Booke of Deuotion that rather then they will be scrupulous to auow themselues affectionate well-willers at least of the Church of Rome if not rather symbolizers and intercommuners with her yea and to be Authours of reducing this Church of England backe againe to that spirituall Aegypt while all along without difference they shuffle all together in one Church as more particularly will appeare in the sequell They sticke not to prefix the Iesuits vsuall Marke IHS vpon the Frontispiece of their Deuotion and vnderneath it a votarie or two with a Crosse deuoutly erected As if they would with the Name of IESVS Inchanter-like coniure downe the Spirit of Truth and coniure vp the spirit of Pontifician errour and sedition againe in this our Church So that this Booke of Deuotion bearing and wearing the Iesuits badge vpon the Forehead we cannot better parallell then to that egregious dissimulation and counterfeit Deuotion which HENRY the Third of France tooke vpon him when he found that he could not by downe-right force suppresse the Truth with the Professors of it Therefore he attempts what force there is in framing and conforming himselfe to be a patterne of Deuotion to others Hereupon he builds Monasteries vndertakes Prilgrimages confirmes the Brotherhood of Penitents erects the Order of Hieronymites is daily and familiarly conuersant with the Capuchins and Fueillans called Iesuites carries a Crucifix and Beads in Procession with a whip at his girdle causeth many Bookes of Deuotion to be printed and to conclude he institutes the Order of the Knights of the Holy Ghost founded vpon such conditions as tye them by a strict and sacred bond to the Church of Rome And wherefore all this Saith the Storie to omit other complementarie ends For the entertainment of a number of Minions and Horse-leeches to whom they must rather weigh then tell money but chiefly to pull downe the Protestants to vndermine them by this lure of worldly greatnesse withdrawing the chiefe Heads who could not attaine to this high and stately degree of Knighthood but by renouncing of their Religion But see the mischiefe of it this dissembled Deuotion not so well suiting with his other hâ—mours of Feasts Maskes sumptuous pastimes drawing on new impositions to maintaine them led the first dance of rebellion While saith the Storie the Queene-Mother and those of Guise seeing the King drowned in these delights of Court did willingly entertaine him in that humor that either busying himselfe in numbring his Beads or treading the measures of a dance themselues might hold the Raines of Gouernment and dispose of affaires of State without controule What way also this made for the Spanish-faction working by his Indian-Gold the Storie sufficiently toucheth But this by the way The parallell I confesse is vneuen in regard of the persons compared the one a Prince the other meane Parsons But the things compared are not so vnequall as Popish deuotion on both sides that adorned with the Badge of the Holy Ghost this of Iesus in both those two Diuine Persons in the Trinitie most hellishly and impiously prophaned being made the Badges of those who are professed Vassalls of Antichrist that Man of Sinne and being worne by such as would still be reputed Protestants they are the verie Ensignes of Apostacie from CHRIST to Antichrist and therefore how true Seruants and Subiects such can be to Protestant Princes who by their Order of Knighthood are sworn Liegemen to the Pope I leaue to others to iudge Onely that King caused to be published sundry Bookes of Deuotion yet all of one meale But this Booke hath no fellow must alone be published for a singular and vniuersall Platforme of all Deuotion silencing and suppressing all other Bookes of the like nâ—ture So that what entertainment in time is this deuout Booke like to find in the world when none else shall be permitted to be printed yea when as not onely Bookes of religious Deuotion but also of sound Doctrine may not be allowed to see the light As therefore Popish Deuotion is the Daughter of blind Ignorance So on the contrarie this Deuotion is like to proue the Mother of Ignorance verifying that Riddle of the Water and Ice mutually bred of each other Mater me genuit eadem mox gignitur ex me And so plausible is this Booke of Deuotion to all Papists as they begin to triumph not sticking to say that they hope ere long these faire and towardly beginnings will grow on apace to the full and vniuersall reestablishment of their Roman-Catholicke Religion here in England telling their seduced Disciples as one of them now reformed blessed be GOD told me that we had now already at London a Booke of Seuen Sacraments publickly allowed In summe therefore let not the Authours of that Booke disdaine to be vulgarly reputed and reported for the Seruants of the Church of Rome whose Badge specially that of the Iesuites they sticke not to put vpon the Front of their Deuotion And so much for the first Frontispeice of the Booke Now to the next Page wherein they father this Septenary horary forme of deuotion vpon the practise of the ancient Church And these houres of prayer are compiled much saith the Booke after the manneâ— published by authoritie of Quéene ELIZABETH 1560 c. First for the ancient Church of CHRIST No Church did anciently obserue or precisely prescribe these Seuen houres of prayer duely and daily to be vsed as the Authour or Athours would beare vs in hand How ancient I pray you is this Canonicall obseruation Forsooth Pope PELAGIVS the Second was the first instituter of the Seuen houres and that was towards 600 yeeres after CHRIST This somewhat ancient But what authoritie haue we for it PAMELIVS vpon CYPRIAN saith They say so that this PELAGIVS was the first instituter Onely They say so Though POLYDOR VIRGIL speake a little more confidently Satis constat It is apparant enough but tells vs not whence Nor doe I find this Septenary to be more ancient then Pope GREGORY the Ninth who composed the Decretals about 400
yeeres agoe He indeed sets downe the Seuen houres in the Title of his Chapter iust as truly as our Authour in the Title of his Booke deriuing the same from some spring of antiquitie and namely the Agathen Councell Prouinciall in France which was some 800 yeers before his time But the Pope there committed a foule errour in setting downe Seuen canonicall houres for two The Agathen Councell mentioning but two houres of prayer the morning and euening So that the best authoritie and hoariest antiquitie for your Seuen canonicall houres is GREGORY the Ninth Pope of Rome This is that ancient Church wherein this practise appeareth first to be decreed and solemnely obserued This Pope then first decreed the Seuen canonicall houres But of whom to be obserued Namely of the Priests Friers Monkes and such like holy-day-persons for the most part Male feriati homines as Rome could afford â—now Of others he saith nothing saith the glosse although it say Others seeme not to be bound but surely they are But the Priests Monkes and other Votaries were specially bound to keepe them constantly Which seemes to be the reason why it is probable that some haue coniectured PELAGIVS the Second to haue beene the first institutor For about his time did all kind of Monkes and such like Orders begin exceedingly to be multiplyed many of them taking vpon them such a strict discipline as might admit yea in some sort necessarily require so many Canonicall Houres of Prayer at least to refresh the tediousnesse of that austeritie wherewith they exercised their extreame patience Some Monkes were called Insomnes for their continuall watchfulnesse And what could they doe better but pray to entertaine the tedious nights and vacant daies Some did so macerate themselues with immoderate fasting and course faire of small quantitie that they made themselues vnable to doe any thing but pray if that Others coopt themselues vp in such short and narrow and low Cells as vneath they could either lye along or stand vpright so that the best and easiest posture for them was to be on their knees praying Others forsaking humane societie and liuing among the wild Beasts called therefore Armenta Droues or Heards feeding on roots and grasse and lodging sub Dio or in the Caues what could they doe else but if they had so much sense left them pray Now seeing our Authour will needs reuiue and recommend to the Church of England these his seuen Canonicalls Vpon whom will hee impose their obseruation Vpon Courtiers Alas they are taken vp with a thousand thoughts perhaps how to rise higher perhaps how to keepe their standing perhaps how to preuent and take off enuie perhaps how to appease such an Opposite perhaps how to purchase such a Friend perhaps how to compasse such a preferment but specially the Female sex incombred with a thousand womanish Ceremonies if not State-proiects or their owne honours as I heard once a great Lady of the Court say there was neuer a day went ouer their heads but once at least their heart aked so as they cannot attend such tedious Canonicall Seruice Or Citizens or Countrey-men They haue their vocations to follow which if they should intermit to say ouer this Booke of Deuotion daily and duely as it prescribes how should they liue Except ye could perswade them to a thinner diet and courser habite too good an allowance for an idle life Or will you impose it vpon the Priests or Ministers of the Church But you know our golden Priests I meane in the best sense are not like those woodden Ones in the Church of Rome who hauing little else to doe but to say ouer their Masse or a few Mattens had need to be exercised with Canonicall houres to keepe them at least from worse exercises But you know most Ministers in the Church of England are labourious in their calling who if they should precisely â—uerie day say ouer your Booke of Deuotion they should haue little time left to prepare conuenient Food for their Flockes on the Lords day Although perhaps you could be content to dispense with that Nay rather if yee will needs inforce your Houres vpon vs lay them vpon dumbe Priests such as either cannot or dare not or at lâ—ast will not preach the Word to their people These being the men that cry so much for long prayers and short preaching you might doe well to bring them to a Canonicall obedience of your Canonicall houres and that they performe the same not by Proxie or Curacie but in their owne persons Otherwise if you cannot find Holy-day-men enough to take your Booke to taske what doth it import else but a necessitie of bringing in Monkerie and so of erecting Cells againe for the practise of your Deuotion Which I trust all your Deuotion will neuer bring to passe In the second place from the practise of the ancient Church the Authour descends to defend his Septiformious Deuotion to be Much after the manner published by authoritie of Quéene ELIZABETH 1560. Much after the manner is indeed a prettie qualification of the matter Much-what not so altogether But for your Much Distingue tempora Distinguish the times That Horarie the Authour speakes of was set out neere the first yeere of her Raigne when as Poperie was not buried nor the Gospell out of her Cradle That noble Queene of euer blessed memorie in the beginning of her Raigne did for the present prudently conniue at and act some things which afterwards by degrees she suffered to vanish For the purpose In the verie beginning of her Raigne before her first Parliament she set forth a Proclamation inhibiting all Ministers in and about London and else-where to preach at all lesse or more but onely to read Seruice vntill further order from her Maiestie Is this a good argument for the Author or any his Fautors by his seeming deuotion of making many long prayers to sholder preaching out of the Church or to wayne the people from hearing because forsooth QU. ELIZAB. once by Proclamation prohibited preaching and allowed onely reading of Seruice But how long lasted this restraint No longer then the Parliament approaching wherin was most happily established the liberty of preaching the Gospell and administring the Sacraments Take another example in the dawning of the Gospell in England before her time in King Henry 8. his raigne The Lord Cromwell in his English Primer 1535. in the Preface before the Letany apologizing his leauing out of the Letany in his former Primer saith wherefore for the contentation of such weake minds and somewhat to beare their infirmities I haue now at this my second Edition of the said Primer caused the Letany to be printed and put into the same c. Marke for the contentation of weake mindes Thus in the Primitiue Church some things were tolerated during the infancy of it which afterwards were quite abolished as Act. 15. The abstaining from blood and strangled was inioyned the Gentiles for a time And why for
perfection And now when all is done would the author with his bring vs backe at least to the brinke borders of Popery againe by his Canonicall houres and the like Being now men of ripe yeeres would he haue vs to become children againe And after we haue begun and gone on so farâ—e in the spirit now to be made perfect in the flesh by turning back to beggerly rudiments After the cleare meridian Sun-shine of the Gospell would he reduce vs to those duskish dawning shadowes out of which that first Horarium was but newly peeped but to last no longer then till time might more fairely shake hands with all Popish shadowes As the Iewish Ceremonies had a time euen after the establishing of the Gospell for their solemne obsequies But to conclude the plaine truth is to such a passe is Popery now come in these our dayes that if euer the Church of England ought henceforth to haue the least correspondence and conformity with it yea to be so farre from renewing any old acquaintance with it as vtterly to shake hands and if any ragges or reliques of that Whore haue beene patched to our Mothers Robe we ought to rip it off and strip our selues of it Rome is now fully reuealed to be the Whore of Babylon the Pope the head thereof to be that man of sinne that grand Antichrist which for any learned man not to see in these dayes of the Gospell is to stumble at Noone-day yea to be strucke blinde at the cleare light It followeth in the Title Taken out of the holy Scriptures the ancient Fathers and the diuine Seruice of our owne Church Here be three authorities the least whereof not to be contemned The first is that he saith his houres are taken from the holy Scriptures His quotations are strowed all along the booke but so as if we amasse all the generall precepts and particular practises of prayer in Scripture into one Canon or rule there should not be one houre or minute throughout the day and night which we should not spend altogether in prayer So that the abusiue vnderstanding of Scripture in this kinde was that which brought the Euchetâ— to do nothing else but pray The Scriptures commend to vs specially two times of publicke prayer for the day the Morning and the Euening prayer the one about our nine in the forenoâ—ne the other about three in the afternoone which our Church followeth these two were called the Morning and the Euening Sacrifice Hence it is that Christ began to bee offered from the Morning Sacrifice to the Euening Sacrifice as sanctifying all our Sacrifices of Prayer and Prayse Morning and Euening in that Sacrifice of himselfe But he speakes here of Priuate houres of Prayer And where will he find in Scripture any such practise as the obseruation of his Seuen Canonicall houres DANIEL prayed three times a day Yes DAVID saith Seuen times a day will I prayse thee But that 's of Prayse And though it may be meant also of Prayer it signifieth onely his frequent praying farre from a superstitious obseruation of Canonicall houres in those dayes not hatched or heard of But of Prayer he saith Euening and morning and at noone day will I pray c. But for all this mans colouring the matter with Holy Scripture he hath no other Scripture for his Canonicall houres but the Popes Scripture in his Decretalls where the Pope takes all his Canonicall houres from the actions about CHRIST in his death As in the Glosse Haec sunt septenis propter quae psallimus heris Matutina lâ—gat Christum qui crimina purgat Prima replet sputis causam dat Tertia mortis Sexta cruci nectit latus eius Nona bipaertit Vespera deponit tumulo Completa reponit Indeed the Scripture doth so command this excellent dutie of Prayer to vs as that no time should exempt vs from it but that we should be diligent in the practise of it vpon all occasions and especially keepe constantly ouâ— morning and euening sacrifice priuate and publike also as the day requireth Yea to let no oportunitie slip wherein we are not breathing out some eiaculations out of a sense and feeling of our manifold infirmities and necessities But nowhere doth the Scripture prescribe a set septenarie forme of Deuotion as the Authour would impose vpon vs. In the second place he nameth the Ancient Fathers But these faile him as much for his purpose as the Scriptures doe Indeed the Fathers doe euerie where following the Scriptures inculcate and prâ—sse the incessant practise of Prayer Hora nulla a Christianis excipitur quò minùs frequenter ac semper Deus debeat adorari c. saith CYPRIAN No houre is exempted from Christians that God might not frequently and alwayes be adored And he saith indeed that in his time the times and exercises of Prayer were much encreased Yet hee no where setteth downe seuen Canonicall houres Yea CLEMENS ROMANVS a great Authour with him though misquoted in his Constitutions which euen Pontificians themselues haue confessed to bee counterfeit yet fayle him at least in two of his houres as Câ—mplene and the last Onely GREGORY the Ninth fayles him not being as I said his first complete Authour of his seuen Canonicalls But after the Ancient Fathers in the third place hee nameth the Diuine Seruice of our owne Church out of which his Houres are taken Now surely for ought that euer I could learne out of our Seruice Booke I can find but two set Houres of Prayer besides certaines priuate Prayers recommended to priuate Families for Morning and Euening with a godly Prayer to bee said at all times in the latter end of the Booke Vnlesse out of this Prayer to bee said at all times hee would picke out his seuen Canonicall houres But whereas hee seemeth to ground the forme of his Deuotion vpon the Diuinâ— Seruice of our owne Church On the contrarie hee offereth foule violence to that more exact and profitable forme prescribed in our Liturgy For whereas the forme of Prayer in our Communion Booke is so compiled as that by a daily practise thereof the whole or most part of the OLD TESTAMENT is read ouer once in the yeere and the NEVV TESTAMENT three times and the whole Booke of PSALMES once euerie moneth The Authour or Authours of this Booke intruding a new forme of Deuotion hereby coozen GODS People of their allowance in the SCRIPTVRES while in stead of the whole hee cutteth out here a peece and there a peece here a quarter of a Chapter and there a quarter Herein crossing the Communion Booke which in the Preface fâ—atly reproueth this verie practise of the Authour in these words Now of late time a few of the Psalmes haue been daily said and oft repeated and the rest vtterly omitted And is it not so in this Booke of Deuotion Doth he not confine vs to a narrow circle of so many Psalmes so many peeces of Chapters so many Lawâ—eâ— as he calls them
and exact enumeration of all a mans sins in the eare of the Priest like the streame of a puddle or kennell emptying it selfe into a common sinke or Sewer Hereupon he receiues his Absolution which is a broome to sweepe the kennell to make it fit for more puddle water though sweet I wis to the Priests palate For Dulcis odor luchri ex re qualibet as the Emperour said of his Doung Gaine smels sweet though is come from a Dunghill The second of his misnamed Sacraments is for extreame vnction visitation of the sicke all is one with him Visitation of the sicke or Extreame vnction which yee will So that if our Author doe at any time goe to visit the Sicke as I feare he doth seldome at leastwise hio sicke flocke it happly someone desire his Ghostly father-hood in cafe when the Priest or Iesuite is not in the way I hope he carries his annointing or annealling bottle at his girdle like a carefull Shepheard with his tarre Botâ—le In the meane time it would diligently here bee weighed what a mistery of iniquity is wouen and wrapt vp in these Sacraments of the Church mentioned by the Author The summe whereof is to reduce vs all euen the Câ—urch of England to one Church the Church of Rome the onely Church which maintaineth 〈…〉 which Church he calleth the Catholicâ—e Church of Christ. Which summe doth 〈◊〉 and naturally â—â—â—olue it selfe into these particular 〈…〉 conclusionâ— First that the Church of 〈…〉 reformation and repurgaâ—â—â—◠〈…〉 chismaticall Church as 〈…〉 Church of Rome to be the 〈…〉 nor her selfe a member of the Romish Church Secondly that these being but one Church and that the Church of Rome and this Church of Rome hauing but one supreame Byshop the Pope and this Pope challenging a supremacie of headship ouer all other Churches as the Head ouer the Members and the Church of England being no otherwise distinct from the Church of Rome but as a member is distinguished not diuided from the Head or as a branch from the Tree or as a daughter from the Mother therefore it followeth that the Pope must be supreame Head of the Church of England Thirdly Jf the Pope be supreame Head ouer the Church of England he comes ouer our gracious Soueraignes Head and with his foote striketh off his crowne Fourthly hereupon it followeth that the Author and his Abbetors and Approuers doe impinge vpon and most impiously infringe and violate that sacred and solemne Oath which euery Deacon Minister and Bishop doe take at their ordination and consecration in which they sweare to renounce refuse relinquish and forsake the Bishop of Rome and his authoritie power and jurisdiction neuer to consent or agree that the Bishop of Rome shall practise exercise or haue any manner of authoritie jurisdiction or power within this Realme or any other within the Kings Dominions but shall resist the same at all times to the vttermost of his power to accept and repute and take the Kings Maiestie to be the onely supreame Head in earth of the Church of England yea to his cunning wit and vttermost of his power without guile fraud or other vndue meane to obserue keepe maintaine and defend the whole effects and singular Acts and statutes made and to be made within this Realme in derogation extirpation and extinguishment of the Bishop of Rome and his auâ—horitâ—e â—nd all other Acts and 〈◊〉 made or to be made 〈…〉 and corrâ—boration of the Kingâ— powâ—r 〈…〉 this to doe against all manner of persons of what estatâ— dignity or degree or condition they be and in no wâ—se to doe nor attempt nor to his power suffer to be done or attempted directly or indirectly any thing or things priuily or apertly to the let hinderance damage or derogation thereof or any part thereof by any manner of meanes or for any manner of pretence c. So helpe him God But our Author who set him a worke or subornd and animated him therein let them looke to it and let them be well lookt vnto contrary to the contents and tenure of this sacred and solemne Oath which how many times he hath taken I know not hath published a booke bearing Authority in the front wherein this whole Oath is crackt from the top to the bottome for all along speaking of the Church one Church the Catholicke Church of Christ which hee markes out in all points for the Church of Rome making and taking it for the Catholicke Church wherevpon the Pope makes himselfe the sole supreame Head ouer all particular Churches which acknowledge themselues members of that his Catholicke see he necessarily not only not renounceth refuseth relinquisheth and forsaketh the Bishop of Rome with his authority power and jurisdiction nor only consenteth and agreeth that the Bishop of Rome shall practise exercise or haue authoritie jurisdiction or power within this Realme and other the Kings dominions without resisting the same to the vttermost of his power nor doth accept repute and take the Kings Maiestie to be the only supreame Head on earth of the Church of England if this Church be a member of the Church of Rome as his whole booke mainely driues at and so the Pope will come in for the best share in the Headship nor only to his cunning wit and vttermost of his power doth obserue keepe maintaine and defend the whole effects and contents of all and singular Acts and statutes made within this Realme in derogation extirpation and extinguishment of the Bishop of Rome and his authority and all other Acts and Statute made in reformation and corroboration of the Kings power of the supreame Head in earth of the Church of England but with guile fraud cosening and vndue meane goeth about to defeat and frustrate the same and to bring in the Popes authoritie againe by the Head and shoulders yea and led no doubt with personall respects to some great ones of some high estate dignitie degree and condition he and his abbettors partly attempt to his and their power by such meanes and pretences as this his booke of priuate Deuotions a faire pretence to couer a whole packe of villany and partly suffer to be done and attempted directly and indirectly not onely priuily but apertly if not most malapartly past all shame or feare in their audacious daring the let hinderance damage and derogation of all the said singular Acts and statutes for the corroborating of the Kings Maiesties sole supremacie of the Church of England and for the perpetuall extirpating and extinguishing of all Papall pretence or interest in this Church and State and therefore the author with his Abbettors how will they not be found most notorious violators of this most sacred Oath and so guilty at least of periury in a high degree In the fift and last place it is lest to the wisedome and judgement of his Maiesties learned Councell and Iudges of the Land whether thus to go about to bring in Popery and the papacy againe
nothing during the Fast. Nothing at all If our Fast be for a day we are to eat nothing till night when the Fast is ended Such was Nineueh's Fast. Nor can that be a Fast of fourtie dayes in which space any thing is eaten or drunke But is that a Fast to eat no Flesh and to fill the stomacke with good Fish and the best Wine To eat no Butter but the purest Oyle To eat no Egges but the most restoratiue Figges Sint tibi Iâ—iunia pura casta simplicia moderata non superstitiosa saith St IEROME Quid prodest c. What auailes it not to eat Oyle and to seeke out meats hard and troublesome to be gotten As dryed Figges Pistacke nuts Almonds Dates Meale and Honey Tota hortorum cultura vexatur vt cibaria non vescamur pane dum delicias sectamur a regno Caelorum retrahimur All the Gardens and Orchards must bee troubled to serue our palate And while wee follow such delicacies wee are haled away from the Kingdome of Heauen And why should our Authour impose vpon vs such a Lent-Fast as a matter of Religion and a speciall part of his Deuotion Whereas this Noble and Religious STATE doth not prescribe or inhibite the vse of any Creatures but out of a ciuill regard and for a ciuill end In that case doe not men take Licences from the Exchequer And doth not the KINGS Proclamation inioyne forbearance of Flesh during that time of the Spring and that expresly for the increase of Cattle But if our Authour will needs vrge the Authoritie of the Church for the Lent-Fast I doe but referre him to the Order of Pope VRBAN the third afore cited We know no such constitution in the Church of England Neither after CHRISTS Resurrection wherein all Iewish ceremoniall obseruation of dayes was abolished remained in Scripture any one day in the weeke or weeke in the moneth or moneth in the yeere to be religiously and yeerly obserued of Christians but onely the Lords day The Church of Galathia intangling herselfe in Iewish Ceremonies the Apostle sharply reproueth them saying Ye obserue dayes and moneths and times and yeeres I am in feare of you least I haue bestowed on you labour in vaine This was as he tells them to begin in the Spirit and to end in the Flesh. And Col. 2.16 17. Let no man iudge you in meat or in drinke or in respect of an Holy-day or of the new Moone or of the Sabbaoth-dayes which are a shaddow of things to come but the Body is Christ. Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the Rudiments of the World Why as though liuing in the world are ye subiect to Ordinances Touch not tast not handle not which all are to perish with the vsing after the Commandements and Doctrines of men c. But now they that goe about to destroy or at least to defalke from the due obseruation of the Lords-day consisting in all religious exercises both publicke and priuate excluding all prophane pastimes and licentious mad mirth so as Christians being thereby inured to a religious conformitie of life in all seemely sobrietie haue the lesse need of superstious obseruations to be imposed or obtruded vpon them for their priuate humiliation seeing the whole tenure of their life is a constant walking in a sober and moderate course not mad to day and sad to morrow for fashion so adding drunknesse to thirst and neuer well as we say full nor fasting whereas euerie day to a true Christian is a day of sobrietie and all his life a Lent while all along his life is seasoned and sanctified with a conscionable keeping of the Lords day wherein he prouides his store for euerie weeke I say they that goe about to cut away a a great part from the religious and sober keeping of the Lordsday no maruel if they would fill vp the want of true Religion with some satisfactorie Superstition of mans deuising and so to expiate all the yeeres prophanesse with the seeming sanctitie and superstitious solemnitie of a pretended Lenten Fast which indeed is no Fast as men doe vse it And yet for all it is so abused it hath monopolized and ingrossed to it selfe all other true Fasts wherein Gods people in time either of any present publicke calamitie or eminent danger ought to be humbled in making their peace with God deprecating as the sinne so the punishment the consequent fruit of it But the Lent-Fast must keepe out all beat downe all other Fasts Good Lent either fast as thou pretendest thou shouldest or giue place to other Fasts which being performed as they ought may stand in the gap to turne away that wrath which thy Superstition and Hypocrisie is like to bring vpon vs. But the Authour cites St IEROME to proue the Quadragesimall Fast to be an Apostolicke constitution Indeed we read of one ABDIVS who tells strange Tales of St MATHEVV the Euangelist and among the rest that he taught that Saints must looke to goe into Heauen by their Merits That the time of Lent must be kept with abstinence from Flesh from coniugall beneuolence or else a man becomes polluted and commits a haynous offence which must be washed away with many teares These and other the like be so likely to be true as it may be lawfull for vs to belieue St MATHEVV wrot one thing and spake another But we must know that the Misterie of Iniquitie began to worke euen in those prime times while Satan wanted not his Instruments to lay the foundation thereof in superstitious Deuotions the strongest supporter of Antichrist As for S. IEROME and other of the Ancients who knowes not that many things of this nature haue been foysted into their Workes Neither is it necessarie that we should either labour in all things to cleare the Fathers nor in euerie thing to follow them But howsoeuer our Authour would draw down the Lent-Fast from the obseruation of the Church although he still meanes the Church of Rome yet wee know that the ancient Churches which were no members of the Church of Rome but as all then were ioynt members of the Catholike did obserue their Quadragesima after a different sort both for the time and manner Socrates who was much about the time of S. Ierome saith that in those dayes Qui sunt Roma c. They that are at Rome do Fast three weekes before Easter the Saturday and the Lords day onely excepted In Illyria and all Greece at Alexandria they begin their Fast 6 weekes before Easter and call that time Quadragesima Others begin their Fast 7. weekes before Easter although they keepe their Fast but 15. of those dayes scattered â—mong the rest and yet they call that time Quadragesima too Nor differ they onely about the time but about the maner of abstinence For some eate Fowles and Fishes as both comming of the water Others abstaine from shel-fruits and eggs some feed onely vpon drie bread and others
for Satan haply to worke vpon Yea and this ten weekes limitation from 〈◊〉 by the Authors allegation falls vnhappily if wee goe according to the course of Natures rules vpon the most dangerous 〈◊〉 of the yeâ—re the Springtime wherein the blood and spirits are most stirring But our Authour takes order for that hee will haue them well macerated and mortified tempered and tamed with Nine wéekâ—s 〈◊〉 The which had need to be full strictly imposed vpon young people not married to discipline and keepe them in order especially such as haue not the gift of continencie and cannot without danger stay till those ten weeke be expired And we know that our Communion Booke alledging the authoritie of the Apostle saith expresly That such persons as haue not the gift of continencie might marrie and keepe themselues vndefiled members of Christs Body where also no time is limitted or excluded But whatsoeuer our Authour may pretend for the time of solemne fasting and prayer as not seasonable for marriage Yet to restraine men from marriage in times of Festiuitie and ioy may seeme to be verie vnreasonable For what times fitter for Solemnizing the Rites of Marriage then times of Festiuitie and ioy Yea but the Authour doth not exempt all fast of festiuall times but onely such as are Solemne and Sacred holy times That 's somewhat to the purpose Holy times Alas poore Marriage art thou now become so vncleane vnholy as to be shut out from holy times Thou wast wont to be Honourable among all and the bed vndefiled If wee may belieue the Apostle And our Church calls it The holy estate of Matrimonie Yea and if we may belieue our Authour and if hee haue not forgotten himselfe he placeth Matrimonie among his Seuen Sacraments And if it be a Sacrament is it not holy And if Holy is the celebration of it vnsutable for Holy times But Marriage it seemeth is an vnnecessarie auocation as our Authour termes it An vnnecessarie auocation And is it not a necessarie vocation How then an vnnecessarie auocation But why should Marriage if rightly vsed according to Gods Ordinance be either a necessarie or vnnecessarie auocation Was the Marriage in Cana whereat it pleased CHRIST himselfe to be present any impediment or auocation to him from working a gracious Miracle whereby all the guests had abundant cause and occasion to prayse GOD and his Disciples especially to belieue more firmly in their MESSIAS And I pray you when was this Marriage in Cana When Not I hope within any of the holy times exempted from Marriage And least of all within Fourtie dayes of the Passeouer the Holy time of Lent Yet if wee may belieue all those that haue written and calculated the verie time of that Marriage they say all with one vnanimous voyce for the most part that it was within a little of the Passeouer or Easter yea within lesse then 40. or yet twentie dayes But we hope then that the married couple had procured a Licence out of the High Priests Court Alas they were a poore couple not able to prouide Wine as the vsuall manner of the Countrey required but water onely and scant of that too For there were sixe water-pots of Stone but wanting filling vp But no Wine at all And ten shillings or more for a Licence would haue said well to the filling of those Pots with Wine as Wine went in that plentifull Countrey But neither doe we read that on any such time or times Holy or Sacred or call them what you will were marriages euer prohibited to bee celebrated no not in that present corrupt state of the Church of the Iewes where notwithstanding the verie High Priests office was ordinarily bought and sold enough to haue put them to their wits to improue all meanes to scrape vp their disbursments again by hooke and by crooke by pilling and polling as well the people as the inferiour Priests But this particular improuement was not hatched in those dayes as bad as they were Antichrist was not yet knowne not yet ascended out of the Bottomlesse-pit to bring into the world such a Doctrine of Diuels Ob. But it may be obiected How then is this practise crept into the Church of England Answ. It is an easier matter to find which way it crept in then it seemeth how it may be swept out It lurked among some rubbidge of Romish Reliques and so escaped shipping away with other of Romes trinkets Yea it may well in my iudgement be answered That it is not professed or auowed in the Church of England but in certaine Courts onely And it were to be wished that the Authour with all his Deuotion could perswade those Courts that forasmuch as the times prohibited for Marriage are holy and sacred fit for fasting or festiuall ioy they would by these reasons disswade their Suters from taking Licences Marriages also being an vnnecessarie auocation and the like Thus by putting a difference betweene the times sacred and common the Courts may either disswade from Licences for the time or pully vp such Licences to a higher rate so putting a pecuniarie mulct vpon such Delinquents But a light gaine makes a heauie purse And Licenciâ sumus omnes deteriores And Auri sacra fames can easily dispence with the most Sacred times whether of Fasting or solemne Festiuitie Ob. But though the Ministers of the Church of England find it not as a Decree or Doctrine to subscribe to yet they conforme to the practise of it They doe not marrie in any prohibited times without a Licence Answ. This is a thing but taken vp of a fashion as I imagine and so practised as a Tradition not well thought of They I am sure I know no more reason or authoritie for this in the expresse Rubricks or Rules of our ministeriall Order then either by Tradition or from the anniuersarie Almanacke and now at last from our Authours Canonicall Booke of Deuotion And certainly there is no other law for it that I know but the Popes Canon Law I dare say it is not in all the Common Law of England nor yet in the Statute Lawes of the Land And whether the Popes Canon Law bee cancelled in England to be frustrate de iure at least though not de facto I cannot say But enough if not too much of this matter But come wee to the body of the Booke wherein we purpose not to insist but to touch vpon some points and passages lightly according to the moment of each Vpon the Second Commandement hee glosseth no otherwise in some particulars then a Iesuite may safely doe for the defence of Romes Doctrine of the worship of Images Offenders of the second Commandement saith he are they that make any other Images to wit of the Creatures or the likenesse of any thing whatsoeuer be it of Christ and his Crosse or be it of his blessed Angels with an intent to fall downe and worship them Now a Iesuite with a distinction can easily make this good for