but as for the bearde they neuer thought theron Also of the busshe onely we fynde lyke commaundement in many placis in rhe decrees of auncient bysshops to gether with other thynges concernynge the lyfe of priestis Finally Aniceius by the preceptes of the apostels decreed that the clergie shuld not nouryshe theyr busshes and surely he wold not haue passed ouer without spekyng of the bearde if he had estemed it a thynge vnhonest For of truth to nourishe the bushes is the facion of women or els of suche men as lyue delicatly and vnchast For the longe heared people were euer estemed both of the grekes and Latines for a token of foule lust and fylthye lyuynge Wherfore the lawes wyllynge religious men not onely to be with oute vycis but also to eschewe the occasyons of the same doo not withoute a cause forbydde theym to nourysshe theyr busshes But ageyne on the other syde hit besemethe menne to haue longe beardes for chiefely by that token as I haue often sayde the vigorous strengthe of manhode is decerned from the tendernes of women so that women oughte to nourysshe theyr busshes and men theyr beardes And for this cause the priestis were commaunded by the determination of the solemne counsel of Carthage not to shaue theyr beardes to the intent that they myght seme lyke as they be men and shewe as it were a certayne maiestie of their owne kynde in theyr vtter apperaunce But ye folowe the Rodians whiche had a lawe amonge theym ageynste shauynge and yet commonly they were all shauen Ye begynne also nowe to countrefeyte theym of Bysance whose maners Chrysippus dydde mooste hate for that same cause For they dydde not onely make lawes ageynste shauynge of berdes but also ordeyned extreme punysshementes for the same and yet the moste parte of them lyke as ye doo loued to be shauen Thus maye ye see that in manye places the frowardenes of yuelle people distroye manye tymes the good maners And lette no manne marueylle thowghe false and corruptly wrytten bokes haue done moche harme by the space of so many yeres paste soo that by the meanes of that erroure many decrees punyshmentis of the proude and stubborne and cruell chastisinges haue bene brought vppe O good lorde how many thynges shall ye fynde in all olde bokes here and there moste fautily redde Howe many wordes chaunged howe many cleane lefte out howe many stryken oute And I wolde to god that there were fewer at this daye whiche of theyr iniquitie doo peruerte many thynges But beholde I beseche you what harmes ryse by reason of depraued bokes The sentence of Gelasius the pope in the xv distinction in our spirituall lawe is thus Venerabilis uiri Sedulij Pascale opus quod heroicis descripsit uersibus insigni laude proferendum The pascall worke sayth he of that honourable man Sedulius whiche he wrote in heroicall versis is greattely to be preysed And yet hytherto ye shall fynd writen in bokes that go commonly abrode in the place of Heroicis uersibus hereticis uersibus whiche turneth the sentence after this maner The pascal worke of that honourable man Sedulins whiche he wrote in erronious or hereticall versis is greattely to be preysed This one false worde brought suche a suspicion to certayne men which were true ê“fessers of the lawes that they thought all poetis versis were erronious and that they were nat worthye to be accompted amonge good men though they intreated of holy matters whiche thynge we sawe was also after suche a maner perswaded to the pope Adrian the .vi. that he hated no kynde of peple worse then poetes thynkyng that no thyng that they dyd was wel done And yet to this day there be some discrete prelates so disceyued with this false redynge and with that other errour of shauing that they thinke no man worthye to be a priest that eyther maketh versis or weareth a bearde suche a thynge it is ones to taste an yuell opinion But we shall lette passe to brynge in any mo exaumples seinge we see dayly howe olde auctours haue ben corrupted by the meanes of false wryters Nor I wolle not reherse howe vngentilly the olde lawyers were intreted by our lawyers that cam after them For after theyr warkes were ones cutte in pieces by Tribunianus and such other bouchers thei did not kepe these peces to gether but suffred welnere euery vnlerned man to adde and minysshe at his pleasure and yet the same scrappis euyll and falsely recited be taken for lawes and they lack not a gret sorte of defenders Thus many thynges are dayly brought to lyght whiche gyue vs warnynge of the errours of our forefathers wherin they haue bene ouersene this many yeres or deceyued by the falsenes of bokes Wherfore it is the lesse meruayle if the decree of the counsell of Carthage be founde nowe otherwyse wrytten than it was put forth in tyme past Well go to we haue sette here a sure fundation for oure defence A lawe is recyted whiche we haue playnely proued no lawe Nother berdes ar not forbydden by the law of exaumples It is also proued that it besemeth euery good and honest man to weare a bearde Neuerthelesse they brynge forthe one reason to make them seme Romaynes and yet they intende to folowe the delycate maners of the Sicilians Many of them suppose that beardis were disanulled by the popes of Rome bycause the Grekes vsed to weare them For they sey it is not leful for a priest of the Romaynes to folowe theym in habyte maners that haue forsaken the churche of Rome Therfore we muste shaue our berdes except we wol be heretikes or rebelles To this what other answere shall I make but that our accusers be perauenture good men I wol not call them inuious vplandyshe nor vnlerned but may happe more simple than good men shuld be which thinke that beardes shulde be despised of the Romaynes and that the people be accurste that weareth them and also they thynke where so euer they be they make the place vnholye and voyde of all good lucke bycause the grekes wol not obey to theyr constitutions I maruayle from whense they gatte these opinions whiche howe foolysshe and howe chyldysshe they be euery manne perceyueth For if they wyl affirm it to be done bycause of the grekes I beseche you lette them tell me to what Italian it hathe doone good or what hathe the pope gotten by it when the same discorde hath ben the cause of so many euyls whiche yet abhorreth any man to remembre I wolde to God oure forefathers hadde not benne so wylfulle and fulle of stryfe somme beynge to extreme in kepynge of certayne ceremonyes and lawes whiche were but of smalle effecte somme in makynge of newe somme in breakynge and chaungynge of olde customes and maners the whyche hadde benne kepte manye yeres I speake onely of customes bycause those thynges that perteyne to the feythe are of an other kynde but yf such busynes had not bene
men haue ordeyned some constitutions withoute any mencion made before of god or his disciples or any example shewed but onely styred vp as they saye by that same godly inspiration the whiche thinges nede nat here to be rehersed Of this sorte are the decrees of the counsels I mene those whiche we are bounde to beleue For I beleue this that a generall counsell truely gethered determyneth nothynge concernyng our feyth without the inspiration of the holy goste and them we ought alway to allow and firmely beleue But the lawe of maners and customes varienge ofte tymes by the meanes of the place tyme or condicions of the persons sauer more humayn thā godly yet our accusers prepared of these wepons taken out of olde vulgar bokes and putte ageynst our armie the counsell of Carthage vnder whose helpe and defence they make warre ageynste beardes despisynge theym and thretnynge theyr vtter distruction like as though the distroyeng of that same beautyfull warke of nature were done by the inspiration of the holy gooste and as though he whiche in tyme paste dydde not without a cause shewe hym selfe mercyfull to those that made vowes to let their beardes grow shulde nowe be ageynst hym selfe in the counselle of Carthage and begynne to despyse beardes The whiche thynges truely howe vnworthy they are to be counted the actis of god the moste innocent chylde in the worlde may perceyue yet those felowes are not ashamed to make god the auctour of suche abiecte and fylthye busynesses But thoughe theyr feblenes of brayne ought to be forgyuen bycause they can not frame theyr wyttes to conceyue hygher thynges yet it is wysedom to take hede lest vnder the colour of goodnes they shulde deceyue other men Therfore nowe lette vs here what law they allege for them and that is this Clerici neque comam nutriant neque barbā Clerkes shall neyther lette grow theyr busshes nor beardes They sey this lawe was fyrste made by the counsell of Carthage and renewed by Alexander the thyrde strengthed by many of later tyme that it ought not to be despised of vs. As though we were suche maner of people that we wold inforce some thynge ageynste the lawes or els that we dyd not vnderstande if men shulde begyn to despyse the lawes that soone after euery thynge wolde be brought out of frame and than shulde we see holy and vnholy thynges mixt to gether nothing holy nothing honest nor nothing laudably done For whē the lawes are ones broken the recourse of marchādyse betwene citie citie shal be lost the leege of the people shall not be kepte no good order shall be regarded no reason no Iustyce nor no ryghte shall remayne It shoulde be leful than for euery man to leade his life after his owne luste than shulde we see suche trouble amonge all sortis of people that we shuld be constreyned to hyde vs in the woddes to crepe in to dennes and deserte places of the erthe to be kepte safe from the inuasions of them that are of greatter power Wherfore I thynk that a law made allowed of the reulers and strengthed by the vse of the people ought to be kept of al men What shall we do therfore in this case There is a lawe layde ageynst all our resons our matter is at a poynte we are ouercomen we are shatered abrode and put to flyght the sectis of delycate persons beare all the rule they bynde vs to trifelynge maners The sobre and ernest facion of the Romaynes is decaid we must nowe waxe wanton by a newe law we muste be shauen there may no heer grow on our facis and to speke one worde for all ye and that a newe worde we muste become womanlyke This is euen the very thynge that our accusers haue chosen onely for the defence of their delycatenes With this they stryue ageynst vs with this they wounde vs euerychone with this thynge alone they thynke to distroye vs So that except men of holy orders haue smothe and shynyng facis they shall be pulled away from the aulters they shall be putte out of the churches there shall be no place where people resort lefte free for them to abyde in But we haue to longe kepte silence Therfore nowe go to lette vs bryng forth oure armye agaynste theym and fyrste of alle lette vs wynde awaye frome theym that same ingyn that is the chiefe grounde of our warre therby we shal ouerthrowe all theyr holle power I denye it playnly I say it is not made in the counsaile of Carthage For we may lightly proue that certayne yeres afore tyme for lacke of a true copie theyr bokes were falsly printed and this worde radant shauen awaye whiche chaungeth the holle sentence For the mooste ancient moste holy and most wysest men do agree that it is redde in Gracian after this maner Clerici neque comam nutriant neque barbam radant Clerkes shal nother lette growe their busshes nor shaue theyr beardes There is no man can denye but these wordes are wrytten of the counsel of Carthage It was happye that this same storye of counsels was of late brought to lyght wherin without doubt the counsell of Carthage dothe agree in this sentence with the olde wrytten bokes whiche are in the librarie of Palatine and there of truthe we fynde it wrytten thus Clericus nec comam nutriat nec barbam radat A clerke shall nother lette grow his busshe nor shaue his beard At this our ennemyes waxe pale therfore let vs stycke to it lyke men we shall set vpon them with an other wyng◠whiche shal constreyne them to gyue ouer incontinent They allege these wordes folowynge to be redde in a pistil of Alexander the thyrde written to the archbysshoppe of Canturburye Clerici qui comam et barbam nutriunt etiam inuiti a suis archidiaconis tondiantur Clerkes that lette growe theyr busshes and beardes shall be shorne of theyr archedeacons whether they wyl or not But lyke as in the sentence before some vncleane shauer hath shauen away a worde so by lyke here in this pistyll of Alexander some brayneles felowe hath added to a word For by the agrement bothe of well lerned and approued auctours it shulde be redde thus Clerici qui comam nutriunt ab archidiacono etiam si noluerint tondiantur Clerkes that let growe their busshes shall be shorne of their archedecon whether they wyll or not And this appereth playnly to be the true redyng bycause the interpreters saye this sentence was taken out of a law made in the counsell of Agathense And therin without doubte it is so written Clerici qui comam nutriunt ab archidiacono etiam si noluerint tondiantur without any mention makyng of barba the bearde Also in the fourth counsell of Toletan it was commaunded that the doctours and chiefe prelates shoulde shaue all the vpper partis of their heedes and to leaue on the nether parte a garland of heare aboue their eares
preserueth the feethe longe frome peryshynge whiche doth not lyghtely happen to those that are often shauen For they for the mooste parte are other totheles longe before theyr tyme or els they haue very moche peyne of the tothe ache More ouer in the hotte sommer it defendeth the face from the burnynge and parchynge of the sonne beames and in the winter it bereth of the colde stormes and sharpe blastis of the wynd and it saueth a man from the quinsie the guÌ„me piles many other diseases And to the intent we shulde gyue the more credence to these thynges it is writeÌ„ of the fablyng philosophers that Asculapius did alway weare a berd whan his father before hym was euer shauen Than it is to be thought that he the whiche was called the auctour of helth wold folow such thingis as perteined to helth Therfore seinge there be so many good qualities in a bearde I see no suche fylthynes nor viciousnes in it for whiche it shulde be lothed Welle than if suche thyngis whiche are honourable whiche are profytable and helthefull and whiche are of any estimation at all shall be iudged vnworthy for a priest I thynke it wol be harde for vs to fynde what thyng shal be mete for the priestly state But whether shall I call these despisers of beardes vnequall or malicious whiche are so enuiously sette ageynst vs that all our worshyppinges all our prayers all our offrynges which we ministre to god immortall in conclusion all that euer we do be hit neuer so pure and chaste is vnsauerye to them onely by the meanes of our beardes And they allowe no priestis but those whiche ageynste the sentences of most sobre and wyse men cutte away the worshyp of manhoode In so moche that if any man deny to shaue his bearde by and by they woll suspende hym and despyse hym lyke one that had forsaken his feyth For truly they think where a bearde is there can be no goodnes no holynes nor no perfecte religion And fyrste of all they ley ageynste vs the power of the lawes cryenge oute that all thynge shall fall to mischefe if we say that the lawes are nat to be obeyed But without doute they knowe full well howe moch we esteme the lawes Therfore they are so moche the bolder bycause we haue euer gladly gyuen place to suche argumentes oure maâ—er lawis Yet fyrst let them tel me whether they wyl allege for them the lawes of nature or the lawes written or the lawes taken by the exaumples of holye menne or elles the lawes ordeyned by the inspiration of the holy gost I fynde that these foure haue bene kyndes of laudable lyuynge euery one in his tyme wherby that menne mighte haue ledde their lyues in as moche as perteynethe to dyuyne thynges frome the begynnynge of the worlde hytherto bothe with laude and preyse to them selfe and saluation of their soules Then if they woll allege the lawes of nature that men shall shaue theyr beardes the thynge it selfe woll repugne ageinst them ye and also both wyse men and foles as many as are nowe or as euer haue bene syns any man could remembre can tel them that Nature hath made women with smothe facis and men rough and full of heere And more ouer it hathe bene euer a monstruous thynge to se a woman with a beard though it were verye lyttell as the Grekes storyes shewen of the woman bysshoppe whiche amongest the Pedasenses was chiefe ruler in the sacrifice of Minerua Therfore who so euer by any crafte or busynes gothe aboute to make a man beardles it may be leyde to his charge that he hath done ageynst the lawes of Nature ¶ To this they wolle make aunswere that Nature hathe made many thynges whiche were but of smalle effecte tylle after by mannes wytte they were broughte to a better pourpose as the fruites of the erthe onely for meate and water for drynke nature hath ordeyned wherof mans wyt hath diuised to make both breadde and wyne with many other delycates Also nature hath sette all placis as a wyldernes full of sharpe thornes busshes and great trees where soone after the inuentiue wyttes of men haue diuised to make gay gardens goodly earable feldes fayre medowes and orchardes And lyke as many thynges haue ben brought to a better order by the inuentions by the perswasyons by the counnynge and by the experience of wyse men euen so it was ordeyned that beardes shulde be shauen to putte awaye the discommoditie But me thynketh that those delicate lawyers myght well be lykened to the Sybarytans the whiche in lyke maner distroyed all the cockes in theyr countrey lest with theyr importunate crowyng before day they shuld be diseased in theyr swete mornynge slepes But yet this gothe well that the lawe of nature is on our syde whiche they can nat denye and yet theyr wyttes are so frowarde that styll they brynge forth suche tryfils ageynst it Therfore they lette passe the lawe of nature and flee to a lawe wrytten for the commoditie of a fewe persones in whose helpe they putte all theyr hope of victorye But there be thre maner of lawes wrytten The fyrste is the lawe of Moyses Threâ—â—ner oâ—â—â—wes â—â—ten durynge vnto the comminge of Christe The seconde is that whiche we haue taken to folowe by the exaumple of Christe or elles institute by auctoritie of the appostels The thyrde is the Decrees made by the power of the bishoppes and counsels But bycause we beganne with the lawe of Moyses let vs fyrst se whether shauynge be commanded there or not Verily if ye lyst to marke the maners of the Hebrewes ye shall rede in the history of kyngis 2. Re. â— that certayne messangers were sente from Dauid to kynge Hannon to comforte hym for the deth of his father the whiche messangers this barbarous kynge suspectynge sente theym ageyne with theyr faces halfe shauen in dispyte and scorne of theyr prince Wherfore Dauid commaunded them to remayne in Ierico tyll their beardes were growen agein lest that fylthy syght shulde be shewed to the people The whiche thynge he wolde not haue done if shauynge had ben vsed at that tyme for then they might haue shauen the reste of theyr faces and all had bene well In lyke wise if we serche the lawes of them we shall fynde shauynge forbydden in many places â—ui 19. Also it is forbydden in the Leuiticall bokes to all people in generalle and speciallye to the priestis it is a commaundement withoute anye exception that they shall not shaue theyr beardes â—aie 7. â— 15 Furthermore amonge other miseries whiche god thretnethe to the Moabitis by the wordes of the prophete Esaie well nere in euery chapiter he saythe Theyr beardes shall be cutte awey Here ye maye see howe moche this token of a womannyshe myndâ— was hated amonge them â—sal 132. It is not for nought that the honourable memorie of Aarons bearde is songen dayly in our temples before
lawes and moste honest maners it is estemed and taken for a verye greatte offence to kysse an other mans wyfe or his doughter And yet in the chiefe parte of the same region and betwene the fountayne of Pady and Doria and from thense by all the mountaynes of Allobroges and in euery citie that is moste populously inhabyted with frenche menne and villages betwene Pyren and Reynes from the easte partis to the greatte occean see the same licence of kyssynge is so moche suffred that whan so euer thou shalte come to the howse of thin ooste or of thy frende excepte thou fyrst of all kysse his wyfe his daughters and al other women in the howse and beclyp theym in thyne armes thou shalte be iudged churlysshe or proude or els to be theyr ennemie And so that that among vs here is thought to be a shamefulle thynge is taken amonge them for a great gentylnes and a familiaritie Of suche weight is the custome and maners of people of longe tyme vsed Also in some cities and countreyes some thynges not so honeste are yet by reason of custome and vse and longe and sure consente of the people growen into a lawe And thynke ye than to take away this same venerable maner of grauitie and sadnes that hath bene receyued and allowed both by the examples of the high byshoppes and also by the imitation of al the people Neyther ye remembre not the sayenge of the most wise prince beinge daylye proued afore your eyes Eos qui aliter uiuere uolunt quam se habeant mores eorum inter quos uiuunt suspiciosos aut intemperantes haberi They that lyue after an other sorte then the custome is of the people and countreye where they dwelle are taken for suspicious and vnruly persones And if ye thynke it best to stycke to one lawe what so euer it be whether it be weake corrupte or of small effecte doo ye not see the mooste sadde sentences of men ageynste you whiche haue the high auctoritie bothe to interprete and to make the lawes For they whiche by their high power haue made lawes to all the worlde what lawes they haue made of priestis beardes it appereth more playnely by theym selfe thanne thoughe they hadde grauen it in a table of brasse But admytte it be an offence graunt also though it appere not that Alexander the thyrde was of the same mynde as printed bokes do shewe More ouer graunte it to be estemed a lothly dede and that a priest with a bearde ought nat to meddell with ministration of the holy sacramentis nor be in cōpany among mē but after your iugemēt to be exiled or kept in perpetuall prison Wel go to let your oratours begyn to accuse vs let them do theyr vttermoste lette them ley to our charges what so euer they can before the iudges let them make vs to forfayt our goodes and lyke as rebels murderers ar wonte to be handled let them mynde to intreate vs. But where Where shal the iudges be Before whom shal they plede their cause Who shall aknowledge this to be an offence Who shall condempne vs I wolle haue them go to those that be moste sadde best aduised and vnto them to whose sentences and determinations not onely al the common people but also men of gret reputation and might wyl stande This is the iugement of the twelue men whiche are ordeyned to sytte in the bishops palaice to gyue sentence vpon matters in debate Of the whiche maner there were some tyme certayne menne amonge the Grekes when they flourysshed called Amphictyones whiche concerninge the lawes did make answere to al maner of people And these I seye be the iudges whiche we had nede to haue to make an ende of our matter Therfore beholde vs here redy at hande we neither rebelle ageynst you nor we are not about to flee we be contente to abyde the iudgement ye shall not nede to attache vs and kepe vs in holde Begyn ye nowe to call for iudgement Beholde here afore your eies a holle college of chosen men of good lyfe and well skylled in the lawes Whervppon do ye tarie For what cause are ye so abashed Me thynketh your answeres be very farre to seke Where is nowe the begynnynge of your accusation that horrible wounder that priestes shuld weare beardis whiche ye saye is a newe crime that was neuer harde of before this tyme Verily ye maye nowe perceyue youre owne folye and what tryfils ye haue gethered to gether amonge the thornes For ye can fynde no iuges but they gyue sentence ageynst you before ye begynne to speake excepte your selfes wolde be bothe iudges and accusers Do ye not see if ye stryue ageynst beardes there be so many good men that weare berdes that your busynes shall be laughed to scorne with euery man Neither there is any cause why that you being but thre in nombre or foure at the moste shulde thynke to haue the true knowlege This is your wyl not your iugement where as al men thoughte before that it was but an errour in you for lacke of knowlege nowe seinge ye stycke styl in your opinion the truth apperyng so plein afore your face euery man maye knowe ye do it not of ignorance but of a very proude and obstinate mynde lest your euyl meninge shoulde be perceyued Stynte ye therfore nowe to make any further busynesse and those maners of men whiche ye se are mete to be vsed allowe ye them also or els if you be so tender and delycate that ye can not abyde to be sene lyke men yet be contente at the leeste waye that other men vse them selfe as they shulde do Thus yf ye intende to determyne youre matter by the lawes ye see to what passe it wyll comme If ye grounde you vpon honestie ye can fynde no suche honestie in smothynge of a mans face If ye wolle speake of custome and maners the same custome to weare a bearde is so vsed with princis and chiefe reulers that nowe it maye be taken for a lawe Behold I beseche you the ancient doctours of our Senate howse whiche are men so excellent in all mener sciences whiche are not wonte to do any thynge out of good order ye se them weare beardes which thyng they wolde not do excepte they thought it mete for a prieste for euer honest man In conclusion amonge all these excellent men thou shalte fynde very fewe without beardes And those few if thou woldest demaund for what cause they were no beardes they woll make many other excuses rather thē sei it is vnsemely for a mā of holy orders not doubtynge to preferre the truth before their own maners What shuld I here reherce any mo exāples of other holy men as archbyshops and bysshoppes that haue worne beardes whiche wolde not haue worne them excepte they had knowen very wel it was not repugnant to the lawes of Christ shal any man be so bolde to recite