him learne better to ken a lorde or els he sayd he wolde whyp hym naked And as they were talkynge sodenlye came rydyng towarde them the sheryffe of Murra all in veluet hauynge a cappe all full of golden agglettes The fool stepped forth to mete him and as soone as he came nere vnto hym he sayd gued day my lord and ye be not a mule Some man wyll saye that the saynge or doynge of a foole is but of smale strēgth to ouer throwe the opinion of many wyttye yonge men whyche describe a lorde or a gentle man onely by costlye apparel To whome I answere Saepe etiam stultus fuit opportuna loquutus That is a fool oft tymes hath spokē thynges to good purpose or in season Dyd not Balaams Asse speake wysely at a certayne tyme Well yf any man be greued that hys opiniō shulde be confuted wyth the sayeng and doynge of a fool let hym chuse one of these two whether he wyll the is whether the fool in thys hys doynge dyd wysely or foolyshly Yf he answer that he played the wysemās parte in takynge and halsyng the mules for lordes then muste he also do so and call al brute beastes mules that are trapped wyth veluet trimmed wyth golde lordes gyue that name whych belōgeth vnto honorable men vnto brute mules Yf he played the ryght foole then is he a foole that taketh and greteth hym for a lorde whych not by learnynge and knowlege but onely by costlye apparel differeth from an other mā Well thus dyd the poore Scottishe foole were it not pytie that manye wyse Englyshe men as they are taken shulde take and gret mules for lordes gentlemē Is it not possible that one mule may at this day cary an other Master Latemer thought so when syr Martin mydas rode to heare master Myles preache sayd when the sermō was done that hys mule was as wel absolued as he And as for buyldyng of costlye houses and trimmynge of them wyth costly hangynges and fayre waynscot manye marchauntes vse to do those thynges better thē many gētlemen do and yet for all that are no gentlemē Therfore these thinges are nether proper offices nor workes of gentlemē nether the seueral tokens whereby a gentleman may be knowē frō an other cōmon mā Then seyng these are nother offices nor workes nor markes belōgyng properly vnto a gentleman I must seke out what is his proper office what tokens he hathe and ought to haue whereby he maye be knowen from the cōmon people The propre office and worke of a ryght noble man is to set forth and defende the true religion of almyghty God to defende the innocentes to ponishe the euel doers and to shewe iustice and iudgement vnto all men that are vnder hys gouerment That the settynge forthe of Goddes worde the mayntenance of the same the destroyeng of al false doctrines contrary vnto it belōgeth vnto a noble man both general commaundemētes and proper examples in the holy Bible do playnly beare wytnes Almyghtye God geueth these commaundementes folowyng vnto all hys people and namely vnto the nobilite and iuges which are the chefe workers of these cōmaundemētes and all suche lyke as pertayne vnto iugement and ponyshynge of horrible trespasses although the cōmons be bounde in executyng of them Deute 7. to ayde them and helpe them Ouerthrowe sayeth almyghtye God the aultares of the heathen breake in peces their ymages and cut downe their groues Deuteronomi vii It is also wrytten Deuterono Deute 18. xviii Yf there by any prophete made frowarde wyth arrogancye that wyll speake those thynges in my name whych I commaunded hym not to speake or wyll speake in the name of other goddes he shal be slayne Who shall se these lawes executed but the nobles and gentlemen Thē belongeth it vnto them to destroye all false and conterfet religion and to destroye all false teachers preachers and to mayntayne the true learnynge of almyghtye God and the preachers of the same We reade in the bokes of the Kynges and Paralipomenon that all the moste excellent and best kynges soone after that they began to reigne dyd mainteyne goddes true religion in puttyng downe of Groues chappels churches wherin false religiō was mayntayned and dyd set forth the true religion and maynteyned the preachers of the same We reade in the same bokes that some of the Kynges besyde that they destroyed ydoles and their tempels dyd also both reade the scripture in the Temple their owne selues and sent out many preachers to preache the true worde of God whiche had bene before their dayes in the tyme of their fathers hyd and vnknowen vnto the folke of God 3. Reg. 15. Asa as it is wrytten in the .xv. chapter of the thirde boke of the kynges whyche dyd it that was ryght in the syght of the Lorde as hys father Dauid dyd before hym toke awaye the effeminate out of the lande and scoured quyte away al the fylth of the ydolles which his fathers had made He remoued also his mother Maachan that she should not be the cheffe in the sacrifice of Priapus and in that place that she had hallowed He also ouerthrewe her denne and brake the moste fylthy ydole burnte it besyde the broke Cedron Thys dyd the good Kynge Asa and he dyd it that was ryghte in the syghte of god But though these thinges had ben good of them selues yet yf they had not perteyned vnto his office or had perteined vnto an other vocacion then to hys God wolde haue ponyshed hym for enteryng into an other mannes office as he ponyshed the Kynge Ozias wyth a perpetual Lepry for entryng into the office of the Sacrificers when he offered vp frankencense vpon the frākencense altare ◠par 26. But the scripture maketh no mention of any ponishment of God that came vpō Asa for puttyng downe of ydoles But it sayeth expresselye that Asa dyd it that was right in the syght of God Therfore it was hys office to put downe ydolles temples and to destroye ydolatrye And it that is said of Asa muste haue place also in other good Kynges whiche did such like thinges vnto these that Asa dyd Iosaphat as the .xvii. Chapter of the seconde boke of Paralipomenon beareth wytnes 2. par 17. was a ryght good man and the Lord was wyth hym Thys Iosaphat after that hys herte had taken boldnes for the wayes of the Lorde toke also out of Iuda the high places and the groues And in the thyrde yeare of hys reygne he sente out of hys princes and ruelers Benail Abdia zacharias Nathanael and Micheas to teache in the cyties of Iuda and wyth them Leuites Semia Nathonia and zabadia wyth other wyth them Belisima and Ioram sacrificers or preestes And they hauynge the boke of the lawe of the Lorde taught the people of Iuda and they wente about into euery cytie of Iuda and taught the people The same Iosaphat as it is written in
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
maye easely learne of the decrees and decretalles and of diuers historiographers wherin we fynd that false religion superstition and ydolatrie was founde out by the Romyshe hore alowed offered yea and thrust into all kyngdomes of Europa by the same and so earnestly cōmaunded to be kept that they that wolde ether speake agaynst the baggage of Rome or wolde not receyue it were takē for heretikes put to shameful painful deathes There is sōe 〈◊〉 amōgest that lerned mē who brought into thys lāde the Romish pokkes We reade in olde histories that the Britānes receyued the true and vnleuened religion in the tyme of kynge Lucius the kynge of the Britannes and that it cōtinued vndefiled vnto that tyme of Gregory the great who sente into Englande a monkyshe apostle of his which brought wyth him the Romyshe pox in to thys lāde that is to wete crosses copes vestments shauyng of crownes syngyng and rynging c. with an infinite sorte of superstitius and abominable ordinaunces ceremonies and learninges of men where with the hole churche of the Britānes at length was infected and poysoned and the liue worde of God choked or at the leste shamefully mynished and these trifles receyued and occupyed in the stede of it Other holde that he brought not the romishe pox sayeng that he brought the fayth into Englande The truth is which can be easely proued by the churche story of Bedes wrytynge that the Brytannes had the fayth many yeares euen cccc yeares and more before that Austen came into Englād and that the same Austen Austen although he brought in the fayth to the Englyshe yet brought he wyth hym the Romyshe pokkes whych dyd not only infecte the Englyshe but also the Brytannes yf that the Romyshe pox stande in crownes coules vestmentes crosses syngyng of latin in the churche wyth suche other Romyshe tryfles and ordinaunces as it is easye to be proued both by reason by scripture But who in oure dayes restored and renewed the Romyshe pokkes in Englande when as it was almoste taken away partlye by Luters bokes and other new wryters and partly by preachynge and by the translacion of the newe Testament Doctor Steuen and the readynge of the same it is not hard to geue Doctor Steuen was longe wyth the hore of Babilon and as it doth appere laye with her there for he doutlesse brought the Romyshe pokkes into Englande agayne and infected many a christian soule therwyth The same hath so defended hys lemanis horedome here in Englande that all the other Romyshe horemaisters are nothyng to be compared wyth him For that intent that ye maye saue your selues from the Romyshe pokkes I muste shewe you certeine other tokens where by they that are moste infected with the disease may be knowen that ye maye auoyde them What so euer man ye shall se wyth a great balde plat in his crowne hauyng womans clothes aboue mans clothes and a messayer wyth all take hym for a pokky hore maister of Rome for the hore of Rome gyueth suche garmentes vnto her chiefe pokke louers and requyreth of them to were suche garmētes as badges and tokens for her sake And they to please their lemman do wear suche womanly apparel that they maye please her and continue styl in her loue and fauour as sardanapalus desyered to please hys lemannes when as he put on womās clothyng whylse he taryed at home when all hys counsellers and commones were fyghtyng with the enemyes of hys realme They are also syoke in the Romyshe pokkes verye sore and it is verye leopardous to eate or drynke wyth them that are not ashamed no more of theyr bare plat that is bared wyth the pokkes but for theyr lemmannes sake loue it so well that they blesse it crosse it wyth the paten of the chalyce as a very holy holy thynge Yf any mā wolde be free frō the Romyshe pokkes let hym nether eate nor drynke wyth these pokky marchauntes nether suffer to breath vpō hym in theyr confession boothes They that loue theyr chyldren let them take hede that none of these pokky prelates put any of theyr pokky spattell in to theyr chylders mouthes leste they be infected with this perilus euell fauored disease therby But leste ye shoulde thynke that thys disease is not greatly to be cared for as though it neuer brought death I wyll proue you that it bryngeth both death and damnacion Apoca. 18. In the .xviii. of the Apocalips the voyce whych came from heauen sayde to them that dwelled in Babilon Go out of Babylon o my people lefte ye be partakers wyth her of her fautes and leste ye receyue not of her plages Apoca. 18 Thē they that go not out of Babylon but continue in Babylon that is in the Romyshe poxe muste be dāned wyth the hore of Babylon Moreouer the hore and the horemaysters muste be ponysshed wyth lyke ponyshement but the Romyshe pokkye hore muste be damned therfore all her pokkye louers muste be damned also I proue the same matter thus All men that preache doctrines or learnynges whych are the cōmaundementes of men worship God in vayne But al Romyshe preachers preache and teache doctrines and learnynges whyche are preceptes of men therfore all Romyshe preachers worship God in vayne Marke the argumēt But all they that worship God in vayne shal be damned and al Romyshe preachers worship God in vayne therfore all Romyshe preachers shal be damned Yf all Romyshe preachers shal be dāned then shall all they be dampned that beleue Romyshe preachynge for yf one blynde leade another as Christe sayeth they both fal into the dirhe Then when as all doctrine Matth. 15. whych is the cōmaundement of mā onely and not of God and the Romyshe pokkes are all one al that haue the Romishe pokkes excepte they be healed of them shal be damned wyth them of whome they receiued them Then when as the Romyshe pokkes is suche a perillus disease it is very nedefull that all they that are sycke in that sycknes be healed therof To the healing of the Romishe pokkkes a strayt diet many purgacions and a good confortatiue afterwardes are requyred And suche diet as the bodely phisiciās inioyne to them that are sycke in the french pokkes must I also inioine vnto al them that are sycke in the Romyshe pokkes They that cure and heale them that are syck in the frenche pokkes inioyne theyr patiētes to drinke water wherin is sodden the pouder of guaiacū or lignum sanctum and that they shall eat only twyse baked bread called bisco and none elles and of it and of al other meates but a smale quātitie that is to wet but .iii. vnces or iiii at the moste Euery fyfte daye or syxte they muste be purged and ofte tymes muste they swet that all the euel humores may go .iiii. wayes out by the pores by the foundament by the water vessels and by the mouthe Euen suche lyke dyer muste
saue you from all enemies both bodely and goostlye Amen ¶ Yf thou be mynded gētle reder to rede thys booke here folowynge wyth pleasure and profyt amende these fautes folowynge as I shall teache thee Red in the fyrst lefe and al thorowe the booke cuntre not countre In the thyrde lefe rede surname and Dikson In the .iiii. lefe rede curtesey In the .vi. lefe and .xxx. lyne rede for a and. In the .vii. lefe rede byldynge and in the last lyne red foles and no foules In the .viii. lefe rede streyght and not strayght In the .ix. lefe rede brute bestes and mules In the .xi. rede manteyneth not mantayneth In the .xiiii. rede in the syght of God clenged and altares and not clēsed and aultares In the .xv. rede conteyned In the .xxiii. lefe and .xiiii. lyne red wote for not for mā of lawe men of lawe In the .xxiiii. lefe and .xxxvi. lyne rede manyfest in the last lyne of the same lefe sauyng one rede bodyes In the .xxvi. lefe rede for eglates aglates In the .29 rede for ponish ponished In the .xxxi. .xxxii. lyne rede where and not whe in the same syde red gyue me and not my In the .xxvi. lefe rede Wolseys house and not Wolsey hys house In the .xlii. in the .iii. lyne make for yf sum what yf sum In the .xlvii. lefe rede betulle In the .xlix. lefe rede for bag beg In the .50 lefe and .7 lyne rede fathers In the .51 lefe rede felde for fylde In the .52 lefe rede in the .30 lyne nether in the seconde syde rede scelerum rimatur In the .53 rede penny and mo and not more In the .57 lefe and in 20.21 and 23. lynes put out thys superfluus sentence and he that knoweth not the cause of the disease howe shal he take it awaye for it twyse together In the .59 rede chefe In the .62 rede se iungere for se iunge In the .75 lefe rede betokenyng In the .78 rede Ezechiel reherseth amonge the causes of the great c. In the 79. lefe rede springeth out of In the .80 lefe rede for .3 iiii ether 3. iiii or vncias .iiii. In the .85 and 31. lyne rede any stert vpppes are In the 86. rede sterlynges In the .90 lefe rede episcopus for episcupos In the laste lefe of all rede Imprented at Rome by the vatican Chyrche agaynst Marcus Antonius constantius otherwyse called thraso or gloriosus Pape miles The contentes of thys booke IN the fyrst parte of thys boke the auctor sheweth who be noble and gentle men and howe many workes and properties belonge vnto a noble or gentleman and where in hys office chefelye standeth whyche he proueth is to maynteyne defende and obserue the wrytten worde of God and the true worshippyng of hym according to the same sheweth that neither faire buylded and trimmed houses nor yet ryche apparell dauncyng lutynge dycyng nor cardyng haukyng nor huntyng are the chefe tokens offices or dueties of noble and gentlemen In the seconde parte he proueth great diseases to be in the true nobilite and gentlemen whyche letteth them to do theyr offices and duties In the thyrde parte he nameth the diseases that are in the nobilite to be these the hole Palsey the Dropsey the Romyshe pockes and the Lepre and sheweth the nature of the diseases the daunger of them and telleth the remedies for euery of the diseases acordyngly And in the ende of the boke is added the prayer of Daniel conteyned in the .ix. Chapter of hys prophesie To the noble men and gentle men of Englande THe loue that I owe vnto my Lorde God to my neyghbor and my naturall countre hathe compelled me at thys tyme to offer vnto you my lordes maysters some parte of suche substance as almyghtye God hath geuen vnto me Whyche thynge excepte I should haue done I might haue ben easely proued nether to haue loued God nor my neyghbour nor my countre He that hath the substance of thys worlde and seeth hys brother wantyng helpe and shutteth vp his bowels from him how doth the loue of God abide in him How can he loue god whom he seeth not whiche loueth not his neighbour whome he seeth How loueth he his neighbour that whē he may saue helpe him wil nether help him nor offer any help to him at al How loueth he his naturall countre which suffreth the postes pillers of his coūtre wtout the which his coūtre must nedes be destroyed for lack of helpe to peryshe when as he can helpe them yf he wil Then when as almighty God hath indued me with the knowlege of spirituall Phisick and se my brethrē and countre mē the noble and gentyl men of Englande sore syck and lyke to peryshe except they haue spedye remedye wolde offer them no helpe I might iustly be iuged nether to loue God my neighbour nor my countre Therfore for the declaracion of my loue vnto all thre I intende according vnto my bound deutie to offer you some of my spirituall Physick whiche God hathe lent me to heale suche diseases as ye are sick in When as of late yeares I practised bodely phisick in Englande in my lorde of Sūmersettes house diuers sick beggers came vnto me not knowyng that I was a Phisician asked of me myne almose To whō I offered to heale their diseases for Goddes sake But they went by and by awaye from me and wolde none of that ▪ For they had muche leuer be sick styll with ease and ydlenes then to be hole with great payne and labour to earne honestly theyr lyuing It were great shame if any noble man or gentle mā shuld be lyke vnto a lyther begger as all they are doutles yf there be any suche which had leuer be sicke in a death bringing disease that for a tyme they might haue their ease pleasure then to be healed and to do their office with labour and paine where vnto almightye God hathe called them Other that are sore sick wil not knowlege that they haue any sicknes at all and therfore wyll byd me bestowe my phisick vpon them that nede it As for the former kynde I will offer them phisick yf thei wil not receiue it I am discharged and to their ieopardy be it As for the other kynde that saye that they are not sick and pretend that yf they knewe surely that thei were sick wolde both seke remedye for their diseases and wolde thankfullye receyue suche remedies as are offered thē I wil proue by good authorite and reason that thei are sick although thei do not nor cā not perceiue and se their owne sicknes A sicknes is a passion in a bodye against nature hurting stoppinge the naturall worke of the same bodie Then thei whose natural work is hyndered and stopped by some passion against nature are sick But many noble men and gentyll men in Englande do not their naturall worke that belongeth vnto their vocacion Therfore there are many noble
men and gentyll men sick in England To proue that dyuerse gentle men and noble men in Englande do not their offices that belonge vnto them it is required that I first tell who is a noble mā or a gentil man what is the office of a gentlemā how many workes and properties belōge vnto a noble or gentleman and wherin hys office standeth It is therfore necessary to shewe what is a nobleman or a gentilmā because in thys boke I make so ofte mention of noble men and gentlemen lest some shuld not knowe to whome I ordeyne prepare thys phisick Nobilis in latine be tokeneth any gentilman what so euer degre he be of so that he be aboue the cōmō people not only a Duke or suche gentilmen as are onely aboue the degrees of a knyght as this worde Noble is cōmonly vsed in our Englyshe tōge now a dayes Nobilis cōmeth of Notabilis by taking awaye of ta He is Notabilis which is well knowen and may be discerned from the cōmon sorte by some excellent qualitie of body or mynde A gentleman hath hys name of thys worde gens gentis whych may be called in Englyshe a folk a nacion or a family so that it appereth that a gentleman is he that is commed of some notable house famely or surname for gentlemen cōmonly haue their surnames other of their famely or mansion houses where as they were borne The cōmon sorte of men which are no gentlemen in many countres haue none other name of their folk or kin but suche as they receyued of their Godfathers when they are baptised As it is in lowe Germany and in Scotlande In low Germany where as I haue ben moste there is almoste no man sauyng gentlemen that haue any surname or name of theyr famely or kynred For the yemen are ether called by the townes that that they are borne in as Herman van Vtrecht Ian van Munster Henryk van der Busche Or of their fathers name as Iohan Henricus Bernard Clause or of their occupacion or of their fathers occupacion as Bert luchtemaker Hanse Dretler The Scottes in great plentye and some Englyshe men which are yemē men and of no famose famelye or kynred haue their syrnames of their fathers christē names and of their fathers occupatiōs as Iohn Wilyems Thomas Diksen Rafe Robson Steuen Gardiner Thomas Turner Laurēce Taylor and many suche other whose parentes haue bene no gentlemen but of the low and base sorte of the people Hetherto haue I onelye spoken of the etymologi of the name of a noble man and a gentle man Now wyll I describe a gentleman as well as I can A gentle or noble man is an excellent persone ether in qualities of body or mynde or one that is cōmed of noble parētes forefathers ordened promoted of God alone or of God and his gouerners vnder hym in earthe to dignitie and to gouerne ether all or some parte of the cōmon wealth or churche of Christe in matters pertaynyng vnto the outwarde gouernement And thys description is grounded vpon Scripture Reason Philosophie as I shall partly declare here after ¶ Of the office workes learnynge and knowlege that belonge vnto a noble or gentilman NOwe after that I haue tolde you what a gentilman is and that it is God that maketh hath made all ryght gentlemen let vs se for what ende purpose he made them and whether a gentleman serueth for any purpose in the cōmon welthe or no or he is but an ydle superfluus and a dead parte of the politike bodye or no. And yf he be a parte of the bodye whether is he the belly that wasteth all thynge that the rest of the bodye wynneth or he is an arme that defendeth the body wyth hys strength or the head that saueth it wyth wit and learnyng or no. The common sorte of gentlemen beleueth that God hath made them in vayne and that they are bounde to do nothyng at all for their lyuyng that they haue and that the proper office worke and callynge of a gentleman is onlye to hauk and to hunt to dyce and to carde to sweare and to bragge to pype synge and daunce to make fyne cursy to banket to weare proude apparell and to haue gorgius houses The Philosophers and wyse men of the gentyls whych by the lawe of nature that was wrytten in their hartes knewe partlye the nature of god by his creatures wyth one assent and agremēt holde that God made nothyng in vayne The same thynge maye ye learne of the partes of a mans body wherin no parte is so lytle or smale but it serueth for one purpose or other As ye maye well learne of Galene the Phisiciane in hys boke that he wrote of the vse and office of the partes of a mans bodye Then whē as the politike bodye of the common welthe ought to be lyke vnto the naturall bodye of man whyche is called of some wyse men the lesse world ther ought no part to be in the politik body without office wherfore yf ye be creatures of Goddes makyng true members of the politik bodye ye muste nedes haue some worke office in it or els ye muste be vnprofitable brāches which brynge forth no frute and therfore worthy to be cut of and to be caste into the fyre Yf ye requyre scripture to proue it that I haue proued before by Philosophers and by reason I wyl proue you by scripture that gentlemen ought to haue some worke and office in the cōmon wealthe and that they are not ordened of God to be idle and to haue no office as many idle ruflers do beleue at thys tyme. Moses sayeth that God dyd se that all thynges that he made were very good Then yf gentlemen be of goddes creation they are very good for somthynge Yf they be made good and that for some good thyng then are they not ordened for to be ydle and vnoccupied Whē as almyghty God sayd vnto Adam in the sweate of thy browes shalte thou eate thy breade he graūted no priuilege vnto gentlemē that they should be exempted frō all labour for they were at the tyme of that curse as well in the loynes of Adam as the yemen men were Therfore they muste also labour haue some office and do some seruice to God for their meat and drynke for their other good turnes that they receyue of their lorde and maister almyghty God Paule the Apostle in the seconde epistle vnto the Thessalonians cannot abyde suche ydle felowes as wil go vp and downe wyl do no good for their meat drynke And the same Paule cōmaundeth suche as are warned to labor and to fall to some kynde of honest exercise profitable for the cōmon wealth and wyl not shulde be excōmunicated The wordes of Paule 2. thes 3 2. thes 3. are these Brethren we commaunde you thorowe the name of our Lorde Iesu Christ that ye wythdrawe your selues frō euery brother
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
and felyng and to the heade of a mannes bodye besyde all these reason and vnderstādyng Then as so many wittes or senses are nedefully requyred in the head that hath the rule but of one body how much wyt learnyng and knowlege is to be requyred in that heade that hath the rule of an hundreth bodyes Is there not muche more wyt knowlege requyred in the heade that hath the gouernement rule of .x. thousande bodye Where are nowe the fals flatterers and the enuius learned men that wolde haue none learned but themselues that saye that a Kynge or a Quene or any other prince whych hath committed vnto his cure and charge two hundreth thousande mēnes bodyes nede not to haue any more wyt learnynge knowlege then a mā that hath but one bodye to gouerne who wyll be angry wyth the hele yf it heare not who wyll be displeased wyth the kne because it can not se who wyll be myscontent with the thygh yf it can not smel who wyl chyde wyth the breste because it can not taist But yf any of these want in the head then is all the hole bodye hurte therby Be the heade neuer so faire and well fauoured to loke to yf it haue not suche wyt as is requyred in it not only men wyl mocke it and call it blockheade but euen the brute fox wyll saye vnto it as farre as Esop maye be beleued O pulchrumsme cerebro caput O what fayre a braynles head arte thou Though the heade of the cōmon welthe be neuer so wel trimmed and appointed wyth golde and precious stones yf he haue no more wyte thē a poore foole of the coūtre hath what wyll al that costly apparel helpe the cōmō wealth doth costlye apparell and gorgious houses great welfare help the cōmō welth nothyng at all The heade in a mās bodye gyueth felyng and mouynge vnto all the reste of the hole bodye that is sensible Yf the heade be wytlesse and wythout sense howe can it gyue vnto the body it that it hath not it selfe The byshop of Rome of late yeares taunted very properly suche a painted wytles heade as ther are to many in England after this maner A byshop of Germany a Duke by his byrth and a goodly mā of person came to Rome to shewe hymself to his father the Pope the Pope spake latyn to hym and Italien but he coulde speake nothynge at all but Duyche Therfore when the Duche byshop was gon forth the Pope answered one that asked hym howe he lyked the Duche byshop after thys maner par la corpe de sancto Francisco e la bella bestia that is by saint Frances bodye he is a trime fayre or proper beast What thynke you wyll wyse men thinke although they dare not saye so muche when they se a lustye rutterken wyth a hauke on his hād and dogges folowyng hym a golden cheyne dobbel about his necke with a cappe al ful of egglates and a bushe of fethers in it as great as a capones tayle whiche can scantlye wryt his owne name and sauynge the shape hathe nothyng elles of a man Wyll they not thynke of hym as the foxe spake of the paynted head and it that the Pope spake of the forsayd byshop yes I warrant you for all hys bragges hys swearyng and staring and proude lokes A certain Italien beyng demaunded the question who was a gentleman answered thus in latyn meanynge of an vnlearned and wytlesse gentlemā Est vna bestia sedens super bestiam portans bestiam super manum habens bestias se sequentes insequens bestias That is a wytles and an vnlearned gentleman is a beast syttynge vpon a beste bearyng a beste vpon hys hāde hauing bestes folowyng hym and he folowing bestes also It is therfore agaīst nature that he that is a best in wyt and learnyng shulde be the head of resonable men in a common welth or that the head of the cōmon welth shulde be a beste that is a mā wyth out al wyt and learnyng differinge nothyng from a very beste sauyng in forme and lyknes The noble philosophers also thought it mete that a kynge shulde be learned and therfore sayd Plato as I remember Happy is that cōmon wealth wheras ether philosophers are kynges or kinges play the philosophers Vigetius in his first boke de re militari in the first chapter requyreth learnynge of rulers and gouerners in these wordes It becōmeth no man to knowe better thynges and mo thynges then a prince whose learnyng maye be profytable to all hys subiectes Therfore prynces oughte to gyue them selues vnto the studye of wysedome Scipio the greater when as he had any leysure from warre and from cyuil busynes gaue himselfe as Plutarch writeth vnto hys boke and sayd that when he was ydle after that maner he dyd then the greatest worke and labor Iulius Cesar one of the noblest gouerners that euer was or euer shall be thought learnynge so necessarye for a gentleman and namely for an hyghe maiestrate that whyles he was a warfaire he had hys spere in the one hande and hys booke in the other Kynge Alexander the conquerour as noble a mā as well borne as any noble man of thys our tyme is thought it so greatly belonge vnto a gentle man to excel in learning and knowlege that when as he had herde tel that his maister Aristotell had set out his bokes of natural philosophie wrote vnto hym after this maner folowyng Where as thou haste set forthe abrode the bokes of Natural philosophie thou hast not done wel for in what other thynge shall we be able to excell other men in yf they be made common to all men whych we haue learned of the for it is my desyre to excell all other men rather in learning and knowlege then in nombre of hostes and great ryches thys far Alexander whyche I wolde haue you marke wel Mithridates the kynge of Pontus and Bethinia because he knew hymselfe to be the head of al his subiectes and that it was hys dutie to gyue iudgemēt in hys owne person in very many maters toke suche payne to learne to do hys dutie that he learned .xxii. dyuers tonges euē as many nacions as he was kynge ouer and answered euery man parfytly in hys owne tonge The same was so wel learned in philosohhy phisick that he made of hys owne wytre a souerayne remedye against poysone and many greuous diseases of a mans body called after hys name vnto thys daye Mithridatium Alfonsus the noble kynge of Arragon sayd that an vnlearned kynge was lyke vnto a crowned asse and where as there was a Kynge of Spayne which said that it was not semyng that a noble man shulde be learned he sayd that his sayng was the voice of an oxe not of a kynge Yf that a noble man regarde not the workes of nature nether any good reason neyther any authoritie of Man let hym heare what almyghtye God sayeth by the mouthe of
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
of the kynge of Englande do then that he hath done wyth the great consente of hys people and the iudgement of hys church that is that he deuorsed from vnlawfull baÌ„des or couenauntes shulde enioye lawfull mariage and that he obeyeng the coÌ„maundement of God as it was mete shulde forsake her whom nether lawe nor right would suffer him to holde stil In whych mater when as the sentence of Goddes worde had ben sufficient whych al men are bound to obey yet the moste sacred kynges maiestie disdeyned not to put vnto it the voyces of the moste auncient graue men and the iudgement and censures of the moste famus vniuersities of all the worlde Thus farre hath maister Gardiner spoken the cooke whose cookery ye wyl not suspect because he hath bene alwayes so honest and true But let vs se what maner of seruice he serueth sendeth vnto all the worlde howe honestlye he thynketh of our souerayne lady Quene Mary Quene Katherin her mother Fyrst he sayeth that the mariyng of the brothers wyfe is an vnnatural horyshe incestuus mariage and he iudgeth the matrimony betwene the Quenes father mother to be suche therfore he sayeth the kinge dyd wel in breakyng the vnlawfull bandes of matrimony whylse he put hys vnlawfull wyfe awaye Ye maye se my lordes and maisters that thys maÌ„ calleth and iudgeth Quene Katherin to be none of kynge Henries lawfull wyfe whych sayeng conteyneth in it that Kynge Henry the eyght was an incestuus horemaister that Quene Katherin was an hore and that Mary theyr doughter nowe Quene is a bastarde For who so euer lyeth wyth a womaÌ„ that is not his lawful wife is an hore maister and she that hath carnall copulacion wyth a man that is not her right husband is an hore the childe that is begotten borne of these .ii. is a bastarde I pray you my lordes yf ye dare axe this cooke whether he wyl abide by this cokery or no. Yf he wil not abyde by it theÌ„ may wyueles cokes soÌ„tymes send poisoÌ„ to their lordes or ladies tables as wel as maried cokes Yf he wil recaÌ„t deny this his sayeng say tonge the lyest theÌ„ ye muste not suffer hym to haue thys new found glorius name of Constantius ConstaÌ„tius which he gaue him self in his boke of the sacrameÌ„t IactaÌ„tius but let hiÌ„ be called iactantius for that agreeth with this his coÌ„dicion better then constantius doth But yf he wyll stande to hys olde sayeng and defende that hys meate had no poyson in it and that the mariage was vnlawfull betwene the Quenes father and mother I maruel why that maister Ridley of late byshop of LondoÌ„ and dyuers other are ponyshed as traytors for the same wordes and that thys man shal be taken for the Quenes hygh frende Gardiner was loÌ„ge at Rome in labourynge as I herde saye to obteyne of the Pope a lycence of dyuorce for the kynge and it is lyke that he purchased in the meane tyme a pardon of the Pope that he myght saye what he lyste for hys lyfe tyme vnponyshed whyche pardone belyke some men that thynke that the Popes lycence is styll in full power strength seyng the same pardone suffer hym to enioye his pardone at hys pleasure and gyueth him leaue to do and saye what he lyste Yf he sayd nothyng but the truthe in sayeng that the mariage betwene the Quenes father mother was vnlawfull yet there are other wordes of hys owne that wyl condeÌ„ne him to be a perillous cooke and a poysonyng cooke In the very fyrst leaf of hys boke of hys obedience he coÌ„fesseth that he wyth many other graue and learned meÌ„ by a folyshe and an olde superstition for a season wythstode the truthe Yf he wythstode the truthe for a season for the same tyme he helde with falshod for to wythstande the truthe is to holde wyth falshode he that holdeth for a season wyth falshode and teacheth and preacheth the same he serueth in the same tyme out poyson for holsome meate and therfore is more to be suspecte in hys spiritual cookery theÌ„ the bodely cooke is to be suspect in hys cookery whyche at no tyme was coÌ„uicted ether by word or dede to haue done any other thynge then became a christian maÌ„ to do In the same place he graunted playnlye that he departed from the truthe that he was a ielous folower an earnest defender of the law and the letter and that he dydde neuer any thyng more vnwillyngly theÌ„ to go awaye from those opinions that he once had taken what so euer they were He sayeth also that he was not lyke vnto Paule whych wheÌ„ as he was ouerthrowen was so obedient to the voice of God that he said Lorde what wylt thou haue me do Yf a man thynke that these senteÌ„ces be not in hys boke I wyll reherce hys owne wordes in Latin as he wrote them Neque vero dubito quin in haÌ„c eandem aut certe aut multo dissimilem cogitationem mecum multi ijque docti graues ac boni viri inciderint quibê° inepta quadam inueterata superstitione impeditis veritatique aliquamdiu reluctantibus eadem hec cogitatio omnes dubitationis scrupulos prorsus ademit lucemque vere veritatis diuina operante gratia attulit atque adduxit Equidem autem vt de meipso ingenue confitear cum legis litterae vt ita dicam aemulator ac propugnator essem acerimus nec quicquam illibentius vnquam aut inuitius facerem quam vt a receptis qualiacuÌ„que essent discederetur quo quidem longius mens in eare iudicium a veritate recessit hoc certe vehementius atque acrrius quiddam in veritate agnoscenda passus videbar non aliter sane atque oculi tenebrarum caligine hebete iam facti ad subitum irradiantis luminis splendorem solent obstupescere Mihi naÌ„que illud haud datum fuit quod diuo Paulo constat accidisse qui simulatque a deo prostratus ceciderit vocem obedientiae protinus emisit dicens domine quid vis me facere Hoc enim electo illi vasi vberior Dei gratia contulerat vt vocem corripientis Dei ab errore reuocantis confestim agnoscens totum se Deo coÌ„mitteret regendum ei in omni veritate statim obediret ac pareret in omnibus c. Nowe maye ye se by hys owne wordes that he was an enemye vnto the truthe he that was ones an enemye vnto the truthe may nowe also be an enemye vnto the same againe and whether he be a frende at thys tyme or a foe vnto the truth howe can they iudge that ether waÌ„t al iugement or yf they could iudge wyll not take the payne I beseche you my lordes for the loue that ye beare to God and the coÌ„mon welth axe hym in what opinions he went from the truthe whether it were in defendyng holy water holy bread in the inuocacioÌ„ of
saintes in purgatory in the iustificacion of workes in the nombre of the Sacramentes in the ceremonies of the Church or in defendyng of the real presence of Christes body in the Sacrament or in what other articles he erred in Because he dyd not tel in what pointes he erred in it may chaunce that he is fallē into the same errores againe as we se certaine of hys secte which had forsworne in the two last kynges dayes diuers errores and had subscribed to the cōtrary and nowe afreshe are fallen into the same errores agayne Yf that master Gardiner alowe his doctrine styl of kyng Henries mariage let hym set forth the same doctrine in Englyshe at large because the cōmō people may learne some holsome doctrine of it euen as he or at the leste some of his haue handeled maister Barlowe which wrote a noughtye and a false lyeng boke compelled by feare to do so But yf he wyll not set out hys booke in Englyshe both because he knoweth in hys conscience that it is a false boke and an heretical boke and therfore wyll not knowlege it now to be his boke because he was compelled by feare to wryte against the open truthe he or at the leste some of hys popyshe prentises is very vncharitable vniust vnto maister Barlowe whych hādeleth hym otherwyse then he wolde or wyll be handeled hym selfe Yf that men wemen that are so maryed vnto certein men that they wyl not examin theyr doctrine but take it to be the veri truthe what so euer they saye wold stande to the iudgement of the holy scripture I shulde easely condemne them for theyr so doynge and proue that they dyd playne contrary vnto the mynde of the holy ghost But because they care not for scripture I wyll let them alone and talke a lytle with you my lordes and masters that are indifferent men and haue not sworen to holde wyth the wordes of any one scole maister Saint Iohn in the .iiii. chapter sayeth 1. Io. 4. Ne cui vis spiritui credatis sed probate spiritus an ex Deosint Beleue not euery spirite but trye the spirites whether they be of God or no but they beleue all spirits that holde wyth the messe purgatory holy water holy bread inuocation of saintes and such lyke ordinaunces of man and trye not whether they be of God or no and yf they wolde trye the spretes shuld they not trye them wyth the worde of God Haue they knowlege in the worde of God they confesse they haue none at all but they saye that it is enoughe for them to trye all doctrine wyth theyr fathers fayth and other of theyr olde ancetores with the authorite of the catholyke churche What yf some of theyr forfathers or els of theyr mothers wythin these fewe hundreth yeares were heathen men or heathē wemē shall it be mete for them to iudge all doctrines by theyr fathers fayth Whych of theyr fathers or mothers was not a Papist Shall men iudge ryghtly matters of religion by the fayth of papistes What yf theyr fathers haue erred shall we be compelled to folowe theyr fathers errors that were great pytie What yf some of theyr fathers bylded Abbayes to fynde a sorte of ydle monkes in and founded chantre prestes to synge for soules in purgatory What yf some of theyr fathers put downe abbayes and chantres howe shall they iudge here who dyd better and whome they and we ought to folowe Yf some of theyr fathers helde thys opinion that it was lawfull to put awaye theyr lawfull wyues to cleue to hores as some of them can not denye but that theyr fathers haue both so beleued and also so done Was thys a good beleue I thynke that they theyr selues will saye that the beleue was nought Shall it be then mete to examine al doctrines wyth theyr fathers fayth and theyr ancetores beleue Yf any of the ydle and vnscripture learned traditioners for so muste we call them because we maye call no man now a Papist do holde that it is not requyred that a Kynge or a Quene or any ruler shulde be well learned in the scripture because all matters and controuersies of religion oughte to be tryed by the authoritie of the catholyke churche meanynge therby the common consent of almoste al the byshoppes prelates and vniuersities in all the west parte of Europa and the determinacions of generall counselles I answere yf we shulde folowe the iugement of thys catholyke church then shulde we boldly pronoūce that the mariage betwene kyng Henry the eyght and his fyrst wife Quene Katherine was not lawfull For the moste principall parte of the catholyke churche of our tyme as it is taken that is the moste parte most notable vniuersities of thys part of the world and the moste part of learned men and all the Byshoppes of the churche of Englande sauynge one condemned the mariage betwene kynge Henry the eyght and lady Katherine thys Quenes mother I haue enowe to beare me wytnes that it is true that I saye Cuthbert Steuen Sāpson besyde Cuthbert nowe byshop of Durram Steuen byshop of Wynchester Samson nowe byshop of Couentre But yf these forsayd Vniuersities and byshoppes of Englande had ben corrupted for money as scolares are poore and sometyme graunt it that ought not to be graūted for mony namely suche where as that Pope beareth rule and these .iii. fornamed byshoppes as some other lawyers do as they be had sold theyr tonges and handwrytynges for mony and promotion and for theyr princes fauour Yet the olde Canones and generall counselles are not so to be suspected of corrupcion as paraduenture some of these forsaid byshoppes be heare therfore what the olde Canones and counselles iudge of thys matter Thys that I wyll allege is wrytten in the seconde parte of the decrees the .xxvii. cause seconde questiō Cap. Si quis disponsauerit sibi aliquam praeueniente mortis articulo eam cognoscere non potuerit frater eius non potest eam ducere in vxorem That is yf any man be handfaste or betrouthed vnto a woman and he beynge preuēted wyth death could not haue carnall copulaciō wyth her hys brother maye not mary her Gregory the bysshop of Rome also speaketh thus of thys matter in the same place as he is alleged Nulli christiano licet de sua consanguinitate vel quā cognatu suus habuit in matrimonium assumere It is not lawfull for any christen man to mary any of hys owne kyn or her that hys kynsman hath had The same Gregory sayeth also these wordes in the same place Si quir vxorem desponsauerit c. Yf any mā betrouthe or be handfast vnto a wyfe or gyue earnest vnto her and he beyng taken awaye by death before so can not mary her none of thys mānes kyn may take her afterwardes to wyfe Iulianus also byshoppe of Rome as he is alleged in the same place hath the same sentence and