¶ A DEFENCE of priestes mariages stablysshed by the imperiall lawes of the Realme of Englande agaynst a Ciuilian namyng hym selfe Thomas Martin doctour of the Ciuile lawes goyng about to disproue the saide mariages lawfull by the eternall worde of God by the hygh court of parliament only forbydden by forayne lawes and canons of the Pope coloured with the visour of the Churche Whiche lawes canons were extynguyshed by the sayde parliament and so abrogated by the conuocation in their Sinode by their subscriptions Herewith is expressed what moderations and dispensations haue ben vsed heretofore in the same cause other like the canons of the Churche standyng in full force Whereby is proued these constitutions to be but positiue lawes of man temporall Let Matrimonie be honorable in all persons But fornicatours and adulterers God shall iudge Hebre. xiij ¶ The contentes of this booke noted in the pagies of the same as in these titles folowyng 1 A moste humble supplication to the hygh and most myghtie princes the Kyng and Queenes excellent maiesties Fol. 1. 2 An humble suite to the ryght prudent and most honorable of their councell Fol. 2. facie 2. 3 A lowly request and obsecration to the reuerent fathers of the Churche Fol. 3. facie 2. 4 A tractation to the discrete iudgement of the worshipfull of the lower house of parliament and to the professours of the lawe Fol. 7. facie 2. c. 5 An admonition to the naturall subiectes of the Realme and certayne notes for their aduertisementes Fol. 8. facie 2. c. Fol. 9. facie 2. d. 6 An expostulation with certayne of the Clergie for lacke of charitable indifferencie Fol. 11. facie 2. 7 Generall considerations in the booke folowyng 8 That Saint Paules sentences for auoydyng of fornication let euery man haue his wyfe â–ª c. and yf they can not conteyne let them marry be generally spokeÌ„ to al persons pag. 133. 136. c. 9 To seculer priestes and to votaries 140. b. 159. a. 10 And that continencie from mariage is a rare gyft 201. c. 204. a. 247. c. 251. 11 And that it is not lyke that the Apostles dyd enioyne the same to the Clergie seing they them selues and diuers other Bushoppes and priestes had wyues 32. b. 42. 156. d. 12 That it is only of mans constitutions for continencie to be annexed to orders 71. 72. 153. c. 13 And that seculer priestes votaries haue ben dispensed with to marrie 230. 14 And that our elders and the fathers of thâ— Churche haue thought it meete alwayes for lawes and canons to be restrayned remitted 41.85.175.179 c. 196. a. 197. b. 209. a. 210. d. 15 And that the same haue ben dispensed with in matters of greater importauÌ„ce then priestes mariages 204. a. 205. 267 a 16 And haue ben dispensed to kepe their wiues 222. a. 274. a. 17 That seculer priestes ordered in England be no votaries pag. 181. d. 181. c 184. a. 18 And myght marry after order as before 60.61.76.103.155 d. 253. d. 257.272 a 19 And that they haue ben before tyme maryed in the Realme Fol. 15. b i 20 And that it is no dishonour to the order nor burthen to the Realme for priestes to marry pag. 69. 70. 59. 21 That maryages of the Clergie made by force of the lawe of the Realme be good mariages â—69 238. b. 22 And that they lye not vpon the daunger of the canons to be impeached or dissolued 67.65.58.167.171 b. 200. d. 23 No more then the maryages of the laitie which were made in kyng Henry the .viii. his tyme by the act concernyng precontractes 170. d. 24 And that forayne positiue lawes with their paynes concernyng the same be abrogated not reuiued by the act of repeale 170. c. 25 That scripture ought to be iudge and is most certayne to be sticken vnto 73.74.98 b. 100. c. 245. b. 26 That D. Martin hath rigorously without all moderation expended the cause of these sayde parties iustly maryed by lawe 83.201 27 That D. Martin hath wrested misreported scriptures in the deprauyng of the sayde lawfull maryages 135. b. 147. a. 150 d 28 That D. Martin hath peruerted and falsified the scriptures stories councels aleaged by hym 53.54.105 b. 111. b 136. b. 144 a. 146 b. 148.155 a. 156 b 164.182 b. 221. b 238. d. 29 And doctours of the Church as Origen Ambrose 145. b. Austen 101. c. 104. a. 107. a. 150. b. Ierome 108. b Isodore 109. c Eusebius 144. Ignatius 118. c. Nicephorus 156. 106. a. 30 That D. Martin sclaundereth with euyll names aswel the matrimonie of the lay men as of priestes 66.82.163 a. 31 That D. Martin hath vsed to many lyes yf his cause were good insparsed in his booke part wherof be touched 43.44.45.50.51 52.53.54.55.56.107.115.136.145.151.157 c. 182. b. 216. c. ¶ A preface to the reader WHere by chaunce came into my handes of late a booke sent from beyonde the sea wherein was highly magnified a treatise written by one Thomas Martin doctour of the Ciuile lawe and there muche labour bestowed to disproue the lawfull matrimonies of Ecclesiasticall Ministers There came to my remembraunce a certayne wrytyng beyng in my custodie gathered together and written in the raigne of Kyng Philip Queene Marie wherin much of the treatise of this Ciuilian is reproued Which said booke was written by a learned man of that tyme who shortly after dyed meanyng yf God had lent hym longer lyfe to haue confuted more of the sandye groundes principles of the sayde Ciuilian And thynkyng it at these dayes not vnprofitable to be read for this controuersie I committed it to the Printer praying thee good reader to beare with the maner of the wrytyng in some partes therof beyng more meryly penned then some graue wryter would peradueÌ„ture alowe of In which fourme of wrytyng somewhat he foloweth as he sayth hym selfe thexample of Sir Thomas Moore knyght in his booke of Dialogues for purgatorie This wryter abstaynyng yet from vnchaste tales such as be in his 〈◊〉 booke ouermuch insparsed and partly being in aduersitie gaue himself to some solace to refreshe his minde with yet vsyng fewer insultations reprofes then the vnworthinesse of the said Ciuilian by his vnreasonable chalenge myght haue moued him to Now because I wold nether adde to another mans writing neither diminishe the same I haue preseÌ„ted vnto thee good reader the whole booke as it is affirmyng this that thou shalt finde all his allegations truely aduouched by the writers that he doth name assuring thee also persuaded by the nature of the man whom I haue hearde wel reported that no malice or corrupt indignation moued hym to write as he doth but pure zeale to the trueth of Gods most holy worde to their instruction who woulde be taught in this trueth to the amendement of his aduersarie in his manifest vntruethes to the comfort of theÌ„ who loue God and his veritie and to admonishe all such as be eyther wylfully ignoraunt or malicious well to expende
wee liue of suche menne as will make vowes whiche doctrine ye write to be reproued by the next texte of sainct Iames that foloweth Whiche ye report thus Nunc autem exultatis in labiis vestris and ye doe Englishe it euen so but now ye reioyce in your lippes But how truely let the very Cobler iudge what lippes ye haue And as for the conditions aforesaied the blindest of all the Lawiers and Schoole men whiche doe entreate of vowes throughly defineth plainly that in euery made vowe this generall condition is implied and annexed If it please GOD if I maye if I liue c. In omni voto saieth some considerari debet quid liceat quid deceat quid expediat And againe Sicut iurameÌ„tum factum in materia iuris recipit omnes limitationes iuris sic votum cum ambulent pari passu that is to saie In euery vowe muste bee considered what ought to bee doen what maie be doen what becommeth to bee doen. And as an othe made in forme of Lawe receiueth all the limitations of the Lawe euen so doeth the vowe for bothe of them walke after one gate and fashion But because ye bee a lawier ye maie peraduenture thinke that your self is of as good aucthoritie as these Summarisâ—es be I will for your learnyng bryng you suche a writer as I thinke ye will neuer bee so good a Ciuilian as he is knowen to bee a Deuine 〈◊〉 9. cap. 18. Cirill by name who writyng vpon S. Iohn and vpon Peters bold promise confuteth your vnlearned writyng in that whole parte of your booke whiche ye doe so boldly bolster out Quoniam quae priscis acciderunt ad doctrinam nostram scribuntur hoc loco moneri nos arbitror non oportere quicquam deo a nobis promitti vt certum quasi nos domini rerum essemus partim quia quod posse a nobis fieri credimê° vires nostras non nunquam excedit partim quia non sine arrogantiae crimine hoc nos aut illud facturos dicimus Illud enim in omnibus quae agere volúmus diceÌ„dum est quod discipulus Christi nos docuit Si dominus voluerit Voluntas enim apparatusque animae nobis bene agendi semper messe debet Viam autem potestatemquè agendi quam non habemus temerarium est nobis attribuere Sic deo rerum omnium nostrarum gubernationem vt decet accomodabimus tutiûs faciemus non vouentes qùam ea vouentes quae reddere potestatis nostrae non est Forasmuche as suche thinges as chaunced to the old fathers bee examples written to vs for our learnyng In this place I iudge that we be put in mind that nothyng as certen ought to bee promised of vs to God as though wee were the Lordes of thynges Partly because that it excedeth oure abilitie many times whiche we beleue maye be doen of vs partly for that we can not say that we shall doe this or that without the crime of arrogancie For this must be alwaie saied and spoken in al matters that wee will doe that same whiche Christes disciple hath taughte vs If the Lorde will For a will and an indeuoure of minde must bee alwaie in vs to do well But to attribute to vs the waie and power to do that is not in vs is a soolehardie boldnesse And so by this meanes shal we as it is mete for vs referre to God the gouernance of all matters and more safely shall we doe if wee vowe not then to vowe suche thynges as are not in â—ure power to render and to perfourme Also ye affirme fiue or six tymes in youre booke Ca. 12. P.M. that sainct Augustine called the mariages of votaries worse then adulteries and ye make hym to saie thus Non dubitauerim dicere tales nuptias esse peiores adulterio I doubte not to affirme that suche mariages are worse then adulteries Where in verie dede sainct Augustine proueth them to be mariages And saieth in that conference Non possum dicere quidèm a proposito meliore lapsas si nupserint faeminae adulteria esse noÌ„ coniugia Sed planè noÌ„ dubitauerim dicere lapsus ruinas a castitate sanctiore quae vouetur deo adulterijs esse peiores That is I cannot saieth he call the mariages of those women which be fallen from the better purpose if thei marie adulteries and not mariages but plainly I would not doubt to call their slidynges and fallinges froÌ„ their holy chastitie whiche is vowed to God to bee worse then adulteries S. Augustine confirmeth this to be his iudgement writing vpon the 75. Psalme Saiyng Quae autem respexit ad nuptias non quia uoluit nubere damnatur sed quia iam ante recesserat fit vxor Loth respiciendo retrorsum She that hath looked backe to mariage is not dampned because she would marie but because she went backe before is made like to Loth his wife by lokyng behinde her Also ye teache Ca. 12. E◠〈◊〉 Ca. 2. C. q that sainct Paule exhorted Tymothie not to marie and make hym to saie these woordes Oportet Episcopum puduum esse A Bushoppe must bee chaste Yet Chrisostome vpon the Epistle whiche he writeth to the saied Tymothie saieth that though he wished euery manne as himself was that is to meane coÌ„tinent yet did he not require that perfection of Busshops but was content to prescribe to them not so hie a charge Lesse saieth he the Churche should want necessarie and honest ministers Of whoÌ„ ye maie learne that S. Paule ment not to bind Bushops from liyng with their wiues if thei weere not endued with the gift Cap. xi y. ij Also you teache that the old lawe is confounded by the newe lawe Meanyng that this texte crescite multiplicamini growe ye and mulplie is confounded by the writyng of sainct Paule art thou free from a wife Seeke not then to haue one Where all Deuines holde that that text standeth yet as strongly for the institution of all mariages till the worldes ende as this texte He that striketh with swoorde shall perishe by swoorde standeth strongly to mainteine the lawe of the sworde to the worldes ende De habitu virginum But Ciprian writeth more learnedly and truely and saieth that this first sentence grow and multiplie commaunded generation The second sentence counsailed to continencie Yet but to them whiche be able to attaine to continencie saieth he Cap. 3. D. 1. Also ye affirme statly without all doubt that Pope Calixtus whom ye alledge to be so nighe the Apstles daies that he might haue knowen them for ye saie that he was within one hundreth yeare after that the longest liuyng apostle died Where if ye had saied within twentie yere of sainct Ihons death Dist. 82. proposuisti ye had spoken more like that he might haue knowen hym as Pighius saieth but yet so should ye both lye in so saiyng But to go on he should as ye saie
cōpte our selues in any perill Can our nexte neighbours house be on fire that parteth vs paraduenture but the breadth of one thinne wall and we without care of our owne Will we lie still quiet in our beddes And yet this I speake not as vpbreindyngly to your worshipfull wisedomes but as out of a free naturall harte in loue towarde our common countrey puttyng to your consideration that common perrill that maie ensue by humble sute requestyng your wisedomes to peruse this simple worke whiche maie geue you further occasion to consult with your selues what ye shal thinke méete as it maie be to God his glory honourable to the realme worshipfull to your selues and profitable to all our assuraūces ¶ An admonition to the naturall and louyng Subiectes of the realme Emong the earnest warnynges that our sauiour Christ left behinde him to admonishe his electes to the worldes ende good Christian reader I reade none in my iudgemente to bee had in more deepe remembraunce then suche as when he biddeth vs beware of false Prophetes Math. vii whiche come vnto vs in Shepes clothyng beyng inwardlie rauishyng Wolues Marke iiii Luke viii Take hede saieth he and beware what and how ye heare Take heede and beware of the Leauen of the Phariseis whiche is hypocrisie For there shall arise false Christes Math. xiii and false Prophetes and shall shewe miracles and wonders to deceiue if it were possible euen the very elect But take ye hede behold I haue shewed you all thinges before Of which graue and weightie admonitiōs of our sauior the holie Apostle S. Paule was not forgetfull to put vs still in remembraunce Collos. ii as in his Epistle to the Collossians saiyng Beware leste any manne come and spoile you through Philosophie and deceiptfull vanitie through the traditions of men and ordinaunces of the worlde and not after Christ. Let no man make you shoote at a wrōg marke whiche after his owne imagination walketh in the humblenesse and holines of Angels in thynges whiche he neuer sawe without cause puffed vp with his fleshly minde ii Peter i◠Iude. and holdeth not the head c. Thother Apostles in their writynges put vs likewise ofte in remembraunce of the like and prophecied infalliblie that suche should come to trie the faithe and constancie of christian people And as thei tolde vs before of their arisyng so thei prophecied certainly of their destruction The more subtillie the perswasion is cloked vnder coloure of aucthoritie of high names ii Timo. iii. Fathers Counsailes and Canōs wonder of witte miracle of learnyng pretence of Angelicall holinesse the more hede ought to be taken lest suche as haue not their senses exercised in Goddes woorde and grounded vpon the stable rocke of the same by suche worldlie tentations beginne to be offended and so their buildynges fall flatte downe The more daungerous the hurte is that ensueth to vs of this deceipte the more studiously should we looke about vs leste vnwarely we be caught therewith Yea the more aduisedly we bee before warned by no lesse monitour then the redeemer of our soules the sonne of God the wisedome of his father and the ofter we be putte in mynde by his Apostles who in spirite knewe what would folowe the more without excuse muste wée needes be if we will bee wilfullie ledde blinde and deluded To the entent therefore that either the writer of the late set forthe booke againste the lawfull mariages of Priestes namyng hym self Thomas Marten Doctor of the Ciuile Lawe maie bée admonished how he hath againste all Ciuilitie handeled hym self in the greate outward shewe of his writyng wherby he maie in some other suche like labour hereafter bee better aduised how to publishe his sodaine verdite in matters of learnyng in controuersie to write more aduisedlie then he shal be proued to haue doen in this gaie glorious prankyng booke either to amēde his fault or to stande to the defence of that whiche he hath written or at the leste waie if he haue determined in hym self that he will not for curste harte as GOD forbid redresse his ouersight or in a worldlie respecte were lothe to lose the gaine and praise that he supposeth to haue deserued by this his greate trauell at the handes of a greate many in these daies addicte already for sunderie vncomely respectes to his saied sentence and opinion Yet at the leaste waie that the indifferent learned reader maie haue some notes and aduertisementes to expende the substance of his reasons and that the weaker reader be not slaundered and betraied with the subtilitie of his Philosophie I haue thought it requisite to sette out a little taste of his saied booke till some other hereafter maie take in hande more ripely and groundly to examine his processe particularly to the full debatement of the truth which as he pretendeth to wishe to haue the better hande So I praie God we maie all in one accord and Christian agreement wishe it without hypocrisie in sinceritie and veritie to the glory of God his maiestie to the honourable and Godly contentation of the Kyng and Queenes highnes to the comfort of their graces Nobles and Commons and to the aduauncement of pure and perfecte chastitie in Cleargie to the suppression of superstitious and carnall carelesse life in filthinesse and vncleanesse of the same And that thou maiest haue gentle reader some introduction to leade thee into his boke I shall premitte a fewe notes to summe the substaunce of his writyng ¶ Summarie notes and obseruations to admonishe the Reader of D. M. booke as after in particularitie shal be shewed ¶ The first note M. Doctor in the allegation of his aucthours vseth violence in the translation of them to hurte the sense and misreporteth them leauyng out that might open the trueth and puttyng into the texte that is not in the aucthour Or els draweth and wresteth them to other senses then the aucthours did intende in so writing whiche is the common practise of the moste part of suche doctours who foloweth one an other in false reportyng and aduouchyng the aucthours As this doctour foloweth blindely the reporte and iudgement of Pighius and one or twoo suche more who were blinded them selues and be leaders of the blinde The seconde As he ascribeth to the procedyng preachers for soe he calleth them suche saiynges assertiōs as himself pleaseth to slaunder them with so he maketh them to speake in suche sort that it may be the easier for hym to confute them or els if the reason be good and strong he passeth a waie with silence and setteth a good countenaunce on it and stealeth so a way priuille The thirde Thirdlie he putteth no difference betwixt mariage in a priest and notoriouse adulterie or incest And what so euer any aucthor writeth against horedome he applieth the same against mariage and maketh the aucthors so to speake vntruely and so applieth all his lawes and canons to priestes mariages where in déede a
a fornicator with many then to be twise maried Montanus and suche as folowe the scisme of Nouatus say that thei haue takeÌ„ presumptuously vpon them the name of chastitie whiche thinketh that seconde mariages oughte to bee forbidden from the Churches Communion Wher the Apostle charged this thing of Bushops and Priestes and released it to other not that he moueth to seconde mariage but geueth pardon to the necessitie of the fleashe And surely to be a Bushop of Priest without blame and to haue one wife is in our power thus far S. Hierome And here againe maie wee learne what it is to fight in controuersies with mans reasons humaine aucthoritie yea though thei bee not craftely couched together contorted as the bragge of this mans booke standeth wholy vpon that poincte and to exclude the scripture or els to bring in the sciâ—iptures for a countenaunce but yet with violent gloses to drawe them against the heere to applie them to that sentence that is satteled in his head alreadie before he coÌ„meth to theim as it is this mannes greate grace in his whole booke And againe here wee maie expende howe circumspectly the Canonistes of Rome affirme that the writynges of the doctors and holie menne of the Churche muste bee holden to the vttermoste ynche Yea thei bee nowe commaunded to bee holden saie thei in all that thei write to the vttermost title Distinct. 9. Nolâ— For so thei speake in the booke of the decrées If this bee true then let Hierome be holden in this pointe or els let them rather force no further mans saiynges and aucthority then of right the authors themselues would be taken and red and as thei themselues vsed to take other mennes writings of what antiquitie aucthoritie soeuer thei were There is a great difference saith S. Augustine betwixt thaucthoritie of the Canonicall scriptures and the writynges of Bushops whether it be of our owne or of Hyllarius or Ciprian or any other And therfore saith he to Vincentius the Donatiste Epistola 41. stirre vp no quarel of their writynges for thei be not so to be redde that in suche wise their testimonies be brought in as though it weere not lawfull to iudge and thinke contrarie if perhappes thei thought otherwise then the truthe required These are his wordes Noli ergò frater colligere velle calumnias ex episcoporum scriptis siue nostrorum siue Hillarij siue Cipriani quiá hoc genus literarum ab authoritate Canonis distinguendum est Non enim sic leguntur tà nquam ex eis testimonium proferatur vt contrà sentire non liceat si fortè alitèr sapuerint quam veritas postulat And in an other book of his de peccatorum meritis Libro primo Caâ—itulo 22. he saieth cedamus consentiamus authoritati scripturae sanctae quae nescit falli néc fallere hominum est labi hallucinari falli fallere decipi decipere Paulo dicente Videte nèquis vos decipiat c. diuinae auÌ„t scripturae robur nullum eiusmodi defectum admittit Lette vs geue place and geue our assente to the aucthoritie of holy Scripture whiche can not bee deceaued nor deceiue It is naturall to menne to slide to bee blynded Collossians 2. to be deceaued and to deceiue to erre and to induce to erroure as sainct Paule saieth take heede leste any man deceiue you by philosophie and wittie reason and by vaine subtilitie accordyng to mennes traditions accordyng to the elementes and ordinaunces of the worlde and not after Christ. As for the stabilitie of the scripture is not subiect to suche defaute And therefore saieth Cyrill Ad Reginas de recta fide Necessarium nobis est diuinas sequi literas in nullo ab earum praescripto discedere It is necessarie for vs to folowe the holy scriptures and in no point to shrincke from that thei do prescribe Yea let vs reade sainct Hierom and all other with that same rule as hymself redde other For in his Epistle to Mynerius and Alexander he saieth Non praeiudicata doctoris opinio sed doctrinae ratio ponderanda est sciat me illud apostoli libentèr audire omnia probate quod bonum est tenete c. Meum propositum est antiquos legere probare singula retinere quae bona sunt a fide Ecclesiae catholicae non recedere It is not the opinion of a writer in his iudgement so before declared that must be weighed so muche as the reason of his doctrine For I am glad saieth he to followe sainct Paules precept proue all thinges and holde that is good And also to giue heade to the wordes of our sauioure saiyng be ye wise and approued triars that if any Coyne be fourged and haue not the figure of Caesar nor is not striken lyke the currant Mony let it be reproued and that whiche clearly beareth the face and Image of Christe lette that bee laied vp in the purse of oure harte for further saieth S. Hierom I professe this as well in my youth as in my age that Origen and Eusebius weere very great learned menne but yet did erre in the trueth of doctrine In the ende he saieth it is my constant vse and purpose to reade the olde wryters to examine euery thyng to holde fast that is good and not to recede from the saieth of the catholike Churche But heâ—re leste this wryter shoulde take aduauntage by these wordes from the faieth of the catholike Curche it is not his minde to enclude the faieth of the Catholike Churche in suche notes persons and places as now men forceth on vs the faieth of the Catholike Churche For the aucthorities writinges of the Clergie in his tyme was not taken of hym to be the catholike churche for his saied opinion was clearly against the constitutions of the Bushoppes in his tyme. And as he saieth in a certen place ad Heliodorum â— q 7. Non omnes Episcopi sunt Episcopi attende Petrum sed Iudam considera c. Non est facile stare in loco Petri Pauli scilicêt tenere locum iam cum Christo regnantium c. Al be not Bushops that haue the name of Busshoppes marke Peter consider Iudas it is no easie thyng to stande in the place of Peter and Paule that is to holde the cheare of them that reigneth with Christe Thei be not the childreÌ„ of the sainctes whiche occupieth the place of the saintes but thei whiche perfourme their woorkes Infatuatum sal ad nihilum prodest nisi vt proijciatur forà s a porcis conculcetur The salt that is vnsauery is good for nothyng but to bee cast forth out of the doores and to be troden vnder foote And sainct Augustine saieth Non omnis qui dicit pax vobis quasi columba audiendus est Corui de morte pascuntur Hoc Columba non habet c. Not euerie one that saieth pax vobis must be hard as a Doue for Rauens féede of carreine the
hym in deede and also hath the gifte of God to performe it then he can not come afterwarde without blame to mariage whiche is not so good for hym as the other state wherof he hath the gifte and vpon experience of Goddes gifte in hym hath decreed aduisedly to liue therein For as sainct Thomas writeth In. 4. contra Gentileâ— Quamuis vniuersaliter dicatur homini melius esse continentiam seruare quam matrimonio vti tameÌ„ alicui hoc melius est Vnde dominus facta de continentia mentione dicit Non omnes capiunt hoc verbum sed qui potest capere capiat Although it be saied vniuersally that it is better to a manne to liue in single chastitee then in mariage yet to some manne mariage is better Whervpon the Lorde hym self vpon mention made of continencie saieth Not all men taketh this woorde but he that can take it let hym take it And because we haue made mention of Thomas de Aquino tell hym that he counsaileth the A colyt whiche is in feare to leese his benefice for his wiuyng secretly to kepe his wife and to deceiue the eyes of the Busshop though he call hym farther to higher holy orders For we thinke saieth he that that mans ghostly father if he bee discrete doeth not muche offend if he geue that clarke libertée in secrete confession to liue with one in secrete Matrimonie for we iudge saieth he it to bee lesse offence to retain his benefice and to liue in Matrimonie vnknowen then to haue a concubine against the precepte of God Capi. xxiii and rather to haue a wife then to commit fornication with any other Furthermore Thomas in suÌ„mâ— Ca. 165. if it should so chaunce that after this deliberate vowe and promise the votarie perceiueth that he is in perill of brennyng or fornication tell this Ciuilian by aucthoritee of sainct Paule or if he would captiously glose his wordes by aucthoritee of sainct Augustine whom he can not without shame wreaste that it were better euen for suche to marrie then to brenne writyng De virginitate Multas earum reuocat a nubendo non amor praeclari propositi sed aperti dedecoris timor veniens ipse a superbia qua formidatur magis hominibus desplicere quà m deo Hae igitur quae nubere volunt ideo non nubunt quia impune non possunt quae melius nuberent quam vrerentur id est quam occulta flamma concupiscentiae in ipsa concupiscentia vastarentur quas poenitet professionis piget confessionis nisi correctum cor dirigant dei timore rurâ—us libidinem vincant in mortuis deputandae sunt siue in delitijs agant siue in laboribus ieiunijs magis ostentationi quam emendationi seruientibus That is Many of these professed virgines be holden backe from mariage not by the loue of so excellent a purpose but for the feare of open shame whiche cometh of very pride wherein thei bee more afraied to displease manne then GOD. These women therefore that haue a will to Marrie and Marrie not because thei can not doe it without blame whiche women should doe better saieth he to Marrie then to brenne that is Then that thei should with the secrete flame of concupiscence be consumed in the saied concupiscence who for that thei repent them of their profession and bee weary of that thei haue confessed excepte thei reforme their harte and better directe it and in Goddes feare againe ouercome this lecherous affection of theirs thei are to be coumpted as dead whether thei liue in pleasures or yet in labors and fastynges doyng all that thei doe for ostentation and outward preteÌ„se rather then for amendemente of life in deede Thus bryng this Ciuilian to expende these wordes of sainct Augustine whiche should doe better to Marrie then to brenne and see what he can saie And shewe hym an other place of sainct Augustine de bono viduitatis Capi. viii Where he saith the same in these wordes Melius esset illis posse continere quam nubere Sed melius nubere quaÌ„ retro post sathanam ire id est ab illo excellenti virginalis vel vidualis castitatis proposito in posteriora respicieÌ„do cadere interire It wer better for them thei could conteine then to marrie but yet better to marrie then to goe backe after the deuill that is to say to fall froÌ„ that excellent purpose and vowe of virgines and widowes continencie to looke backe behinde her and to perishe Although S. Augustine saieth there that suche as doe not performe their promise be iustly condempned And if S. Augustine will not coÌ„tente hym bring in Cyprian writing of virgines professed in chastitée whiche afterwarde neuerthelesse were founde to liue vnchastly with certain deacons not as with husbandes openly as Pighius writeth the woordes but as with lecherous Deacons secretely Si auÌ„t perseuerare nolunt aut non possunt 〈◊〉 Epistolaâ—on xâ— melius est vt nubant quam vt in ignem delitijs suis cadant If thei will not abide or can not perseuer better it is saieth he that thei did marrie then that thei should fall into the fire of lustes and concupiscences by their deintee behauiour Now if sainct Cyprian can not contente this manne who of all writers in the Churche could not abide this Iackanapes pretensed and coloured chastitée in the Clergie against the whiche he did write an whole boke De singularitate clericorum And saith thus Peius est quam moechari continentiam ducere criminosam infamem ferre sanctimoniam It is worse then adultery to liue in chastitee that is faultee and to pretende holinesse that is defamed in it self And in the processe of that booke against suche as refuseth wiues and receiue women into their houses vt quid sibi adhibuit mulierem qui ducere coÌ„tempsit vxorem Why a Deuill dooeth he take a woman in to him saieth he that disdained to marrie a wife And saieth moreouer that suche Here might as good an argument be made that the Clergies susspected chastitie is worse then adultery and incest as D. Martine maketh in saiyng that votaries mariages be worse then adulteries incestes for breakyng their vowe Ad demetriadem virginâ—â— Ingerunt blasphemiam religioni Et ê™ huiusmodi coniunctio suspecta etiam si adulteros non possit facere facit tamen peiores adulteris incestis Suche saieth he that refuse wiues and yet will haue women thei bespot our religion with blasphemie and how soeuer thei pretende that honestee is not hurte by suche familiaritee saieth he and that thei can liue in their company without committyng any adulterie yet saieth he thei be worse then adulterers and incest persons in so doing But if S. Ciprian can not stop his mouth then saieth sainct Gregorie bryng hym in his owne very doctor so oft alledged by hym S. Hierome to whose aucthoritée he recourseth so ernestly for his defence writyng that for hymself
sacerdotibus Anglorum antea non prohibitas quod quibusdam mundissimum visum est Li. 7. Chro. Iorenalli Nicho. Trucet quibusdaÌ„ periculosum nè dum munditias viribus maiores appeterent in immunditias horribiles ad Christiani nominis summum dedecus inciderent That is Anselmus Archbusshoppe at the feast of S. Michael helde a Counsaile at London in the whiche he forbade priestes to haue wiues which were neuer before forbidden the whiche thyng semed to some to be moste pure to some others daungerous leaste that whiles thei seeke puritee more then strength is able to beare thei fall into horrible impuritee to the greate dishonor of their Christian name Loe thus writeth Huntyngton of Anselmus Counsaile a Busshop more seuere superstitious in this poincte then became his learnyng and peraduenture in some other poinctes also Anno domini 1502. ColaÌ„tes culiâ—â—â—â— Cameliâ—n de glutien if it be true that WillyaÌ„ of Malmesburie writeth of hym sc that he neuer vttered any woorde the remembraunce whereof did greue his conscience where yet he remembryng that aboute supper tyme he did eate a rawe Herryng he knocked hymself on the breast and bewailed his synne for that he had taken rawe meate against the Lawe Well this good father in his hotte zeale against mariage chastitee gaue great aduenture to induce libertee of Sodomiticall vice for whiche he was compelled in the self same very Counsaile to prouide by Canon chargyng that crime with excommunication vntill the offenders and continuers therein by coÌ„fessioÌ„ and penaunce should deserue absolution where the Clergie for mariyng continuyng in the same should neuer bee absolued by confession or penaunce In deede Dunstane before the Conqueste with Ethelwolde of Winchester and Oswolde of Worcester all three Monkishe Busshoppes expelled Secular maried Priestes out of Cathedrall Churches but condempned not their mariages nor separated them Yea the stories reporte that thei expelled secular priestes bothe maried vnmaried except suche as would by coÌ„uersion be made Monkes Of whiche three Ranulph saieth of Ethelwolde beyng commonly called the father of Monkes that he was a good manne in other deedes though he were badde in that dooyng Li. 7. and broughte thereto by counsaile of whisperers and titifilles And certainly it could bee no greate good deede of charitee so muche to iniurie the Secular priestes and to aduaunce the Monkes suche as thei wer in those daies de Pontificibus as Willyam of Malmesburie writeth De pontificibus whose woordes be these Monachi Cantuarienses sicut oeÌ„s tunc temporis in Anglia secularibus haud absimiles erant nisi quod pudicitiam noÌ„ facile proderent canum cursibus auocari auium praedam raptu aliorumque volucrum per mane sequi Spumantiâ— equi tergum promere tesseras quatere potibus indulgere delicatiori victu accuratiori cultu frugalitatem nescire parsimoniam abnuere caetera id genus vt magis illos CoÌ„sules quaÌ„ Monachos frequentia famulantium diceres That is The MoÌ„kes of Canterburie as also at that tyme all the rest in England were not vnlike to the Secular menne sauyng that thei would not lightly lose their Chastitee thei were sone called from their religious contemplations to see the runnyng of their houndes thei followed earely in the Mornyng their praie in haukyng of birdes and other wilde foule thei ride abrode on their fomyng Palfraies thei plaie at the dice thei geue them selues vp to drinkyng and quaffyng and by their more delicate fedyng and their more nise apparellyng thei had no knowledge of frugalitee and contemned temperancie and suche other of that kynde that a man might haue called them rather Consulles then Monkes by the greate traine of their waityng men Whiche thyng saith the storie Lanfrancke the Archbusshoppe beholdyng held his pacience for a tyme and would not vtterly discharge their daintée myndes with any sharpe discipline For he knewe as he was moste skilfull in the arte of artes that is in gouernyng of soule that long custome is halfe an other Nature and that by sodaine tourne of maners the tender myndes might sone bee exasperated Wherfore with gentle monitioÌ„s as occasion of tyme would serue abatyng sometyme one vice sometyme an other he did whette their myndes to goodnesse with the Whetstone of vertues and so forthe in the storie Thus maister Martin ye maye not onely see prudente moderation of this auncient father in his gouernaunce cleane contrary to your disposition but also ye maie note how truely Polidore writeth in this greate matter of expeliyng Secular Priestes out of their churches That is as it is afore rehearsed expellyng euill priestes and brought in worse Monkes But to retourne againe to our former matter To alledge more writers in so manifest a matter were to tedious and therefore in this allegation your owne reproofe may be well retorted against your self MendaceÌ„ memorem esse oportet A liar had neede to haue a good remembraunce Now sir because you would hold your penne still in slaunderyng immediately after you fall to an other slaunderous lye where you bee not ashamed to saie that the tale written of Ioannes Cremensis Presbyter Cardinalis is forged of some heretike and that it is like to be one of Bales counterfette stories in his booke of votaries whiche ye call a filthie and scouldyng booke Litera KK a. hauyng more lyes then liues Wherein ye saie is neither honestie of woordes nor truthe in matter O maister Martin if your self and those whiche framed your boke had seen so muche in historie as Ihon Bale had doen ye would neither haue slaundered his writyng neither belyed historicall antiquitée Ye would rather haue inwardly lamented for suche monstrous filthines to be charged by storie vpon suche as ought to bee lightes and Lanthornes vnto all other in godlines and puritee of life and would rather haue remedied that vnspeakable vnclennesse by them to openly vsed with Goddes holy institution of Matrimonie But sir where you attribute this storie of Ihon Cremensis to some heretike ye make many fatte heretikes and where you saie it is but a tale forged and one of Bales counterfette stories Lib. 7. ye shall heare what Henry Huntington recordeth thereof Ad Pascha Cremensis Cardinalis Romanus descendit in Angliam peregrinatusque per episcopatus abbatias non sine magnis muneribus ad natiuitateÌ„ sanctae Mariae celebrauit concilium solenne apud LondoniaÌ„ c. Sed quià Moses dei secretarius in historia sancta parentum etiam suorum vt virtutes ità vitia scilicet facinus Loth scelus Ruben proditionem SymeoÌ„ Leui inhumanitatem fratrum Ioseph nos quoque veram historiae legem de bonis malis sequi dignum est Quòd si alicui Romano vel praelato displicuerit taceat tamen ne Ioannem Cremensem sequi velle videatur Cum igitur in concilio seuerissimè de vxoribus sacerdotum tractasset dicens summum scelus esse à latere meretricis ad corpus
kyng of the lande our owne Chronicles will tell you as for Constantia and Ramirus I doe auouche the aucthour aforesaied de ritu nuptiarum where ye maie moste redily see it testified And here master Martin I wonder that where I thinke ye haue seen that booke for it is printed with you of late in Englande ye consider not the tracte of that writyng wherby ye might learne many necessary pointes of learnyng As in his seconde booke of the vtilitée and necessitée of dispensation to tempre the rigour of lawes and in the beginnyng of readyng that seconde booke to tell you plainly my contemplation therein ye came by and by into my remembrance by the occasion of a sentence written therein in the beginnyng reported out of Plato wheÌ„ce peraduenture Terence fetched out his saiyng Homine imperito nihil quicquam iniustius qui nisi ê™ ipse facit nihil rectum esse putat that is There caÌ„ be nothyng worse then an vnskilfull man who thinketh nothyng well doen but that whiche he doeth hym self But the saiyng is this Legem Plato simileÌ„ esse ait homini pertinaci imperito praeterque suuÌ„ praescriptuÌ„ nihil fieri permitteÌ„ti qui ne interpellari quideÌ„ se patitur etiam si qua incidat extra ordineÌ„ causa in qua coÌ„modissimuÌ„ sit aliter fieri quam pro ratione quam ipse semeliÌ„stituerit Plato saith that lawe is like vnto a froward ignoraunt man that will suffer nothyng to be doen but as he appoincteth it and will not let his deuise to be altered although some bycause should happen in respect wherof it were berter to be doen otherwise then as he in his reason had once determined it Iâ— this sentence had béen wel pondered of you master Martin before ye beganne your booke either would you haue holden your hande froÌ„ the booke to haue auoided the checke of this notable senteÌ„ce or els if that notwithstandyng ye would haue yet written as ye haue doen you must needes shewe your self to bee of suche a nature as I would praie to GOD none the like should euer come to bee a counsailour in the Chauncerie so long as I should haue ought to doe there Well master Martin looke to the same sentence yet once againe Et dic te stultuÌ„ intus dic sapiens eris Ye might haue furthermore there learned that it is affirmed ê™ condere leges munus sit regiae facultatis So to dispence with them in necessitée of tyme and place is so belongyng to the prudeÌ„ce of a kyng that els his subiectes should by extreme right bee oppressed with extreme wrong And this is an other sentence whiche would doe well to be expended in the defence of the cause that ye haue takeÌ„ in hande where ye saie that this matter of mariages perteined not to the kyng And if that forein ruler at Rome hath so ample aucthorite as to dispence not with one man onely to haue .ij. wiues for a nede but with al the lawes that euer God or maÌ„ made exceptyng no more but tharticles of the faithe yet some Canonistes write that he maie interprete them also why then can ye not be contente that your late naturall leige Lorde and maister with the assent of his Parliament should doe so little a thyng in despensation that is one of the leaste crummes that fall from the Popes table I dare saie so small that the worste tourne broche in his ketchin could gette it of his holinesse by an easie entreatée for all his kinsfolkes if thei were all Priestes and Uotaries to Master Martin I will not here vrge a contemplation that is now in my mynde vpon you but praie you once againe looke if you can sée your face in Platos glasse before spoken and aduise you in tyme or els all the worlde will wonder master Martin stones will speake and blockes will write yea God will be angrie and that is worste of all Happie is he that hath a trustie friende to tell hym good counsaile yet happier is he that hath it of hym self if he should want hym happie is he that hath a good nature but yet more happie is he whose nature grace hath reformed to haue GOD alone alwaies in his eye Also ye might further haue learned of hym in his thirde booke that it is but Popes lawe that orders should withstand matrimonie And that the Greke Priestes at this daie liue in Matrimonie And moreouer that he writeth that in his Spanishe priestes whiche be ordered by the Popes very pontificall nothyng doeth so muche let them from mariage as their vowe whiche is vowed vtcunque after a certain maner saieth he of them in their orderyng I dare saie so indifferent a manne as he semeth to be if he had knowen the maner of our priestes orderyng by the Englishe pontificall speaking in suche maner timidè vtcuÌ„que of the priestes of Spain he would haue saied that our priestes maketh no maner of vowe in no maner of maner But to go forwarde and discharge my promise of that other two priestes maried after thei were priestes if ye loke in the storie Tripartite Lib. 5. Ca. 44. consider whether Socrates reporteth not of one there named Apollinaris a Prieste that maried after his priesthode and begatte a child called by his owne name Apollinaris Consider the place indifferently the rather for that S. Hierome doeth affirme that he was a Priestes sonne in Catalogo script Ecclesiastic If that will not serue you yet I will be suer to make vp my .iiij. promised by one that is written of in the saied booke Eupsichius a Busshop Lib. 6. cap. 14. Who alitle before his martirdome maried his wife wher he was reputed tyll that tyme but haÌ„dfasted As I was writyng this in came Genius quidam and sittyng at myne elbow tolde me plainly that these placis were like to bee bulted and sifted to the branne And that now the greke bookes should be sent for to vnderstand some startyng hole to crepe out at For that can not be borne that in suche autentike stories specially of the Churche we should find any suche one and then againe no mention made that thei did it by dispensation of the father at Rome For rather then that should appeare in storie openly thei would haue plaied the partes that is like thei haue doen in the Apostles Canons in Clementes workes of recognitioÌ„ of the recordes of the Counsails yea in al antiquities to chop in and out at their pleasure for their purposes Blessed bee God that he yet preserued his holy Testamentes cleane from their sophistications for the text self whiche shal be able euermore in al ages to purge it self what drosse soeuer thei haue cast vpon it to blemishe the cleare light therof Well it will be meruaill if Magdalen College in Oxford be not brought forthe or some other text other where searched out And here I am sure their heads must be set a worke that caÌ„ saie
great parte of them were made against priestes that liued in adultery and fornication without wiues The fourth Then in processe of his boke he extendeth his witte to charge al maried priestes without all exception of heresie lecherie inceste and treason to make them odiouse and to endauÌ„ger them to the rulers and people And vseth no moderation to any of them all but pronounceth depriuation to be the leste that thei all deserue And other whyles in hote zeale semeth to desire an vniuersall destruction of them Sometyme notyng them by the multiplication of their children to pestre the realme whereby the inhabitantes should bee in perill of hunger for lacke of foode as though the lande were not able to geue sustenaunce to suche encrease The fifte He in the perusing of the canons lawes euer forceth the rigor of theÌ„ against maried priestes and euer willeth the self same Canons to be reuiued for open fornicators in other priestes nor for any other offence punishable by depriuation and other paynes so that he semeth to giue them an immunitie contrary to the old canons The sixte We maie also note iustlie his inconstrancie for other whiles to make for his purpose he contendeth that the rules and traditions of the primatiue churche be of moste aucthoritie and must be obeied before all other ordinaunces And at an other time he wil haue it stand for a ground that the latter lawes and councels derogate the first and so ought to waie in the discussement of this cause The seuenth His probations and confutations whiche he bringeth in bee seldome out of god his worde except it be contorted but altogether of humain aucthoritie of writers doctors canoÌ„s and decrées and that commonly wher thei write furthest dissonant from god his worde and other good writers and some tymes from them selues And therevpon he is here confuted and answered by the selfe same men in other places of their woorkes and by other of like aucthoritie for reason as saincte Hierome saieth it is Quod ex verbo dei non habet authoritatem eadem facilitate reijciatur qua probatur SupÌ„er Mat. cap. xxiii That whiche hath not aucthoritie of the worde of god may as easely be reiected as receiued The eight And in the meane tyme till this doctour can conciliate their saiynges and writynges either with the scriptures or betwixte them selues I aduise thee gentle reader to folowe the counsell of Saincte Ciprian Si in aliquo mutauerit vacillauerit veritas ad originem dominicam euangelicam apostolicam traditionem reuertamur Ad Pompalianum inde surgat actus nostri ratio vnde ordo origo surrexit That is If the truthe should be in doubte or stagger in any matter then lette vs returne to the Lordes originall to that whiche is deliuered to vs by the euangelistes and apostles and let the reason of our doyng rise thence whence rose bothe ordre and oryginall Super cap. â—x â–ª Hie. For as S. Hierome saieth Nec parentum nec maiorum error sequendus est sed athoritas scripturaruÌ„ dei docentis imperium We should not followe the ouersight of our parentes or yet of our elders but the aucthoritie of scriptures and supreme rule of god his doctrine If euer it was nedefull and necessarie to resorte to Chrisostomes rule writyng vpon this place of Mathewe the xxiiij chapiter Tune qui in iudea sunt fugiant ad montes then thei whiche be in Iurie let theim flee to the mountaines it is more then necessarie now perceauyng antichriste his hooste and armie of mennes Lawes and Canons so faste mustre together to deface and debell Christe his doctrine and veritie whiche notable discourse good learned reader I desire thee to reade and to note the contentes And if sainct Augustine did any seruice to the Churche of Christ when he did write his notable booke de vnitate Ecclesie againste the Donatistes who onely chalenged the catholike Churche to be with them so may he doe now moste profitable seruice against these apishe catholikes that resemble sorilie the true catholiques in face onely and els in neuer a parte beside The ninthe Remember this also good reader that we doe not deny but that virginitie is an excellent vertue and that pure chastitie and single life without hypocrisie is more to be wished to priests and ministers in the churche then is matrimonie considering bothe states in them selues But the question is whether to them that cannot containe mariage were not more méete to be graunted And whether a priest in chast matrimonie maie not do the office of a prieste as the scripture requireth of hym The tenthe Knowe this that howsoeuer chastitie is annexed or dependyng vpon the ordre of priesthode yet it is meerly and intierly by the constitution of the churche and by positiue lawe disspeÌ„sable And moreouer it is to be iustified that seculer Priestes of Englande be no votaries nether in their orderyng any vowe inioyned them nor required at their handes nor thet makyng any suche vowe as by the Englishe poÌ„tificall is to bée proued and as in open conuocation was exactly so debated concluded and subscribed by the handes of them that were present and so presented to the whole Parliament house The eleuenth Expende furthermore that we be not ignorant but that the first councels and canons for the moste part geue no libertie to a prieste or a Bishoppe once consecrated to mary And that the latter councelles forbidde a prieste maried before his orders to kepe companie with his wife And that the aucthoures of the Latten Churche require suche ministers in the moste part of their writynges But then againe it muste be considered that the same Councels and writers require a chaste clargie in deede and maketh more gréeuous paynes of suche Priestes whiche abuseth other mennes wiues and maidens then vpon those priestes that haue their owne wiues and vse them And if the saied aucthores had perceiued the experience of these latter daies thei would not so rigorouslie haue forced suche lawes but rather mitigated theÌ„ as diuerse of them did in suche cases as shal be declared The twelft Right so we do not deme but that vowes aduisedly made to god with suche circumstaunces as the old fathers require in a vowe be to be obserued and that it is not lawfull for anie man of his owne hedde to breake suche vowes and that thei offend god that rashely breake them But whether suche vowes be vndispensable by mans aucthoritie and whether vowes suche as haue been moste commonly of late made of votaries binde them to the perfourmance yea or noe And if either of these vowes bee relinquished whether matrimonie succedyng is to bee dissolued againe to the perill of breakyng gods commaundemente for the obseruation of mannes traditions These notes aforesaied bee to be discussed and considered ¶ An expostulation with certaine of the Clergie Here I might ceasse of further excityng any other states of the common
saie Qui nocet noceat adhuc qui in sordibus est sordescat adhuc qui iustus est iustificetur adhuc saÌ„ctus sanctisicetur adhuc vsque dum dominus venerit cito merces illius cum eo vt reddat vnicuique vt opus illorum erit He that doeth euill let hym doe euill still and he whiche is filthie let hym be filthie still and he that is rightuous let hym be more rightuous and he that is holie let hym bee more holie vntill the Lorde come shortlie and his rewarde is with hym to render vnto euery man accordyng as their deedes shal be Concludyng with the laste wordes in all scripture Amen etiam veni domine Iesu So be it euen so come Lorde Iesu. Gratia domini nostri Iesu Christi cum omnibus vobis Amen The grace of our Lorde Iesu Christ bée with you all AMEN Generall considerations AS it standeth all men in hande to looke well about theim leste thei bee deceiued with the subtile clokes of hypocrisie So it were moste agreable for theim that beare the names of learned men and be in the roumes of Iudges and Commissioners specially in Ecclesiasticall executions to haue good groundes both of Goddes Lawes and mennes lawes to aunswere bothe God and man at all tymes to kepe them selues within learnyng and discretion to the conseruation of the lawes of their owne naturall countrey accordyng to the charge that is committed to their truste and not to hange the suertie of their doynges vpon other mennes sleaues as is at these daies commonly perceiued in diuers Chauncellours and Comisaries whiche partely by their hastie runnyng before lawes without Commission and executyng their offices so extremely in depriuyng and diuorsyng the late maried Priestes alottyng theim no maner of liuyng out of their benefites whom thei admitte again to ministration as the Quéenes maiestie commaundeth them Articl 8. in the articles of Commission I saie it maie appeare that many of them haue neither eye to that whiche God in his lawe requireth of theim neither yet what their owne Ecclesiasticall lawes bindeth them to neither regardyng what the dignitie of the lawes of the Realme might aduise them nor yet what the Quéenes aucthoritie commaundeth them but in abusyng all take aduauntage of all to sette forthe their owne priuate stomackes or els belike takyng comforte and counsaile at this late set forthe booke thinke all is Gospell that thei read there and to be executed to the vttermost Whiche if thei doe peraduenture Christes woordes maie take place of theim Math. 15. b. Luke vi Si caecus caeco dux fuerit c. If the blinde leade the blinde bothe shall fall into the diche For if his aucthoritie be no greater for their warraunte then the substaunce of his truth and doctrine as he handleth hymself I feare me that he will bée to rotten a poste for them soundly to leane vnto when thei shall see hym once throughly examined by learnyng whiche thyng might be sone perceiued of them selues that be ledde by the perswasion of his booke and therefore doe as thei doe if thei were learned in the matters whiche he reporteth or yet indifferent to expende his reasons whiche vniuersally be so vntruly alledged and so violently contorted that I wounder that either hymself was not ashamed so openly in this learned worlde to abuse mennes eares that be ignoraunt or that thei that bee trained in learnyng should esteeme the cause the worse for his handelyng the matters as he vttereth them To expende but halfe of his vntruthes aswell in learnyng as his slaunders in deprauyng would require as greate a booke as his whole is for the worthie settyng out of them Now to geue you some taste of his sinceritie till wee shall expende howe he handleth hym selfe in the bodie of his booke note his clearkelie dealyng in his charitable preface or Epistle written to the Queenes highnesse wherein because ye might iudge of what heere he is of it pleaseth hym to treade in Albertus Pighius steppes right vp and downe as in moste of his wrytinges reasons and allegations and in corruptyng of the same he followeth hym at the harde heales Controuersia 15. Pighius in his booke of controuersies complaineth of the common contempte of Priestes as it is nowe a daies to bee seen and attributeth the same first to the greate swarme and multitude of Priestes As Masse Priestes Dirige Hriestes Chaunâ—tâ—rie Priestes Sacrificyng Priestes to the greate iniurie of Christes blessed sacrifice once for all made by his bloud for the renussion of synn ouer manie secondly too the greate vnworthines of theim for lacke of learnyng and knowledge and thirdlie to the vile sclaunderous incontinent lieâ— thei openly liued in as this Ciuilian also in like forme of wordes dooth vtter the selfe same groundes out of the which spring this open contempt of Priestes héere in England sauyng that it pleaseth this Ciuilian not to laie the whole burden of this matter in thadmission and choice of the Ordinaries as Pighius doeth but chargeth the patrons from whose corruption and coueteousnesse this vnworthinesse proceaded who as he saieth for frendship more then for learnyng for goodes more then of goodnes elected many into their holie orders neither of age neither of learnyng nor of discretioÌ„ worthie to take so high a function vpon them Expende here good reader the sleight of this Ciuilion in that he would insinuate to the reader that the patrones of Benefices for coueteousnesse sake are in this matter moste culpable who vseth to electe suche vile persones in to the Clergie by whiche meanes he would seme to laie the burden in their neckes and remoue it from suche as had by their office charge to admitte none but suche as by diligent examination should be founde able and worthie For who is in the fault the Patrone who presenteth his clarke to the iudgemente of the Ordinarie to be examined worthie or vnworthie and so by hym to be admitted or repelled or the Ordinarie who would against the lawes admit suche blinde Asses suche corrupte men of life to suche high functions How be it by the waie the greate high dignitie of suche Massyng Priestes as thei vsed to elect and admit wer fitte enough for suche as thei were coÌ„monlie whose offices were but to syng Masses for money mumble vp their Mattens to make a preteÌ„ce of praiyng to be at tables and in the ale house all the daie folowyng where thei should haue been at their bookes but what needed thei to be geuen to learnyng where Massyng might as well be performed of an vnlearned beast as of a learned man and what needed thei to studie to preache to their flockes hauyng suche number as many of them had neuer regarded nor once seen in all their liues either with teachyng in their owne persones either releuyng theim in hospitalitie or leadyng theim to vertue by good example of life And for that commonly thei supposed preachyng to be but
ledde saied to her O wife remember the Lorde Suche were the mariages saieth the storie of holy persones so perfecte was the loue and affection of these blessed folkes And Druthmarus an olde aucthour writyng vpon saincte Matthewes Gospell affirmeth of him thus Cap. xix Quod Christus beatum Petrum coniugatum praeposuit omnibus ordinibus ne virgines superbirent aut coniugati disperarent non posse peruenire ad illum perfectionem quas virgines essequebantur That is Christ made Peter in his mariage head ouer all orders and degrees leste that virgines should bee proude and maried folkes should despaire to attaine to that perfection whiche the virgines had obtained Moreouer if suche priestes as practise mariage be heretiques disciples why did that holy confessor Paphnutius in Nicene couÌ„sail which yet neither had hymself the experieÌ„ce of Matrimonie pronounce with the assent of three hundred Bushops and more of whiche Bushops Nicephorus writeth that some were Maried though at the firste the moste parte were otherwise purposed that maried priestes ought not to be diuorsed or yet separated from their wiues affirmyng that wedlocke was honourable and that it was chastitie the man to coÌ„panie with his wife and so counsailed theim not to make any suche Lawe saiyng that els there were greate cause geuen whiche might be occasion of fornication either to them selues or to their wiues And thus greuously reprouyng them willed them to beware lest by to sharpe a lawe the Churche should bee muche oppressed euery man not beyng able to bears suche austeritie of life and to bee voide from all lustes and affections wherevpon the whole counsaile with one voice did agree to this sentence In confirmation of whiche sentence of Paphnutius the Lawe of Honorius and Theodosius was written A A.L. eum qui. C. de episcopis clericis whiche is at this daie in the East Churche yet obserued But here it wil be obiected paraduenture of this writer or of some other that the Appostles lefte their wiues after thei were called to be Apostles as not meete to be with them in progresse when thei went in preaching into diuerse partes of the worlde and farther thei maie looke to haue it resolued whether priestes alreadie consecrated without wiues maie marrie after their orders or no either by Goddes lawe or by mannes dispensation and whether there haue been anie examples in this realme of Englande that Priestes or Deacons had attempted to marrie after their orders and whether that the fruicte coming of suche mariages were legittimate or no. Untill we come to aunswere suche obiections whether Priestes consecrated vnmaried maie marie after let vs beare in minde that it is affirmed and proued already by the testimonie of auncient Doctoures of the churche that Peter and the moste part of the Appostles had wiues Now whether thei left theÌ„ by mutuall consent after their apostleship or whether thei ought so to do by reason of their vocation vntill this writer can iustlie proue that thei did so by scripture storie or probable reason able to conteruaile scripture storie and reason that maie be brought in to the contrarie we shall geue hym leasure to séeke In the meane time we will further go on to prosecute that wee haue begon that is to expende how proueablie and truely this Ciuilian hath written in this controuersie how boldlie so euer he set a good countenaunce on his matter and as though he had alreadie the victorie And here wée purpose to examine the substaunce of the firste Chapiter of his shameles booke But to folowe on particularlie all his vntruthes were to tedeous for the hearer And therefore wee will deale the more briefly with some of his matter in this Chapiter wherein he confidently affirmeth that heresie and lechery be commonly ioined together and in the fourth leafe of his boke he saieth that heresie misseth not to kepe lecherie coÌ„panie ¶ The examination of doctor Martins first Chapiter and answere to the chief poinctes of the same IN this shameles liyng bookes first chapiter Martine confidently affirmeth that heresie and lecherie bée commonly ioyned together and farther saith that heresie misseth not to kéepe lecherie coÌ„panie whereto maie be added this minor or meane proposition but the Papistes bee heretiques as hath been at large otherwhere fullie proued In Doctor Ponnettes Apologie and firste answer to Martines boke and the rest of his coÌ„plices that thei haue taken parte in the moste principall partes with al the heretiques that haue corrupted the true religioÌ„ of Christ Ergo the papistes be lechours Lo it is often tymes séen he that will be busie to casâ—e stones vp into the aire may haue them light again vpon his owne pate For els to what purpose doeth he speake of Simon Magus Basilides Carpocrates and such other heretiques if it were not to giue hym occasion that should confute his folishnes to searche how the opinions and lies of the Papistes theirs agrée together If it were to declare that because thei were heretiques thei must also be lechours the same induction being now brought against hym and his felowes muste bee no lesse able to proue him and all other Papistes lechours seyng thei do so well agree with the maners of heretiques If it were to proue that priestes which be maried are heretiques because thei faine with their liyng tongues them to bee Lechers then it should followe that all whores of the stewes and whoremoÌ„gers as many of theÌ„ selues be were heretiques whiche I am sure the Papistes dare not so saie for feare of inquisitio hereticae prauitatis that is now entred into Englande and like with the Spaniardes to destroye the libertie of Thenglishe nation wherby no doubt shortlie the noses of the nobilitie shal be holden to the grindestone the neckes of the commons tied vnder the priestes girdles from whiche miserie I beseche Iesus Christ saue so many as fauor from the botome of their harte Christ and the noble realme of England Amen But it maie be that ye sought some occasion in the beginning of your boke to deuise a quarel by colour of your Retorique called canina eloquentia .i. Dogges eloquence Martines weake kinde of reasonyng wherby to bring maried priestes into hatred in alledging that the first maried priestes in Spaine in Rome in France in Italie and so forth wher ye will were heretiques And yet if ye had minded that proofe ye should haue named no heretiques but suche as were maried priestes But seyng al these heretiques whom ye name were vnmaried as it is euident by their opinions condeÌ„pnyng mariage Your argumente is tourned against your self for that thei were heretiques and lechers as you holde and vnmaried virgin priestes as your papistes be And what would ye conclude thereof if it were true Would ye by this define that al maried priestes be heretiques That kinde of reasonyng is not vnlike to this The first borne childe that Adam had Gene. iiii Sam. xv Titus Liuiê° dec i. lib.
his master for the most cankered heretique in the companie Well seyng it is so that we be condempned for heretiques because we smell of perfumes and whot sauoures and delicate fare c If it be true that Martine saieth then take you hede you féelâ—e soulde Papistes of youre nedeles breakefastes of your stretch belly diners of your gluttonouse suppers reare suppers blousing bankettes and Epicurious fare Take heede of youre hoote wines of your hote spices and continuall iuncketing cheere Take hede héede howe you vse bawmes or strong sauoures Take héede ye painte not youre faces to make you séeme more beautifull then you be in déede Take héede ye cary not cloues or some like thing in youre mouthes to saue youre breathes from stinckyng Take héede ye dwell not in the North whiche is an other of Martines notes for in case you offeÌ„de in these thynges your great learned procter master D. Thomas Martin the Lawier by his diuinitie hath proued you all Heretiques And as touchyng my self and other whom it pleaseth Martin to call Heretiques wée are conteÌ„ted lette this be the issue whether of the Papistes or of vs haue more of these notes let theim bée called Heretiques with shame enough And let the other side be called Catholikes and Christians accordyng to his clarkely determination Oh saieth Martine if sainct Hierome had liued in our daies trowe you that he would haue writteÌ„ lesse of our maried priestes Uerely it might be thought if he were a liue at these daies sawe Martins writhyng of his writyng he would not iudge Martin one of the wisest appliyng that S. Hierome spake of the filthie vnmaried Heretiques to the godlie maried Priestes of our daies For besides all other profes this one where S. Hierom saieth he speaketh of them qui pudiâ—itiam amare se simulaÌ„t as Martin also alledgeth that is which pretend thei haue a loue to chastitie shewed plainly that his saiynges muste be applied to suche vnmaried as the Popishe Priestes be and can not bee applyed vnto them whiche without dissemblyng their infirmitie for the auoidyng of fornition take them wiues and liue the godly estate of Matrimonie Also besides his plaine wordes qui pudicitiam amare se simulant i. whiche pretende that thei loue chastitie the Heretiques which sainct Hierome rehearseth for profe and example were vnmaried priestes therefore as thou séest must néedes be applied to suche a wiâ—eles dissemblyng generation as S. Hierome noteth Antechrist their holy father Yea and it is further to bee thought that if he were these daies aliue he would commende doctor Luther Oecolampadius Doctor Capito Bucer and Doctor Peter Martyr for the sinceritie of their doctrine and for that with writyng vpon the scriptures thei haue geuen suche a light as S. Hierom his eyes would be ioyfull to see though it were with the retraccatioÌ„ of other things beside those wherwith his frendes charged hym in his bookes against Iouinian suche like as I haue noted before It is like that you fell into this wishe of S. Hieromes life in these daies because ye would finde some waie to tel the world that Oecolampadius Capito and Munster were Monkes or Friers and afterwardes maried men No man can iudge otherwise that noteth your processe and perceiueth the desire that your toÌ„gue hath to liyng Wel seing Capito was no MoÌ„ke nor Friar as you report hym you shall not chose but suffer me to saie this is an other of your lies For it is true that of these al that you report he was neither Monke nor Friar And in case thei had been as doctor Luther doctor Bucer and the other were it could neither further your matter nor hurte oures vnlesse it bee to ease your tongue a little when it is desirous to raile And where you saie their mariage was bothe against the Lawe of God and the Lawe of man and also where in the seconde Chapiter of your booke you saie it is an olde heresie newe scoured I doubte not before I haue doen with you The mariage of Priestes is an old truth newely made heresie by the Papistes and your fellowes ye shall see it proued before your face that it is an old truthe taught by Christ and his Apostles newlie by you Papistes and Gods enemies made heresie In whiche discourse it shall also appeare that D. Luther doctor Martyr c. were not the first founders of this religion as you sclanderouslie reporte but the Patriarches the Prophetes and Christe and his Apostles But seyng Martine brought in this matter but for a railyng purpose I will leaue it of for this present And will tell thee good reader of an other solempne lye that Martine hath made whiles his tongue runneth railyng after D. Luther He saith there that Luther hath written in his booke de captiuitate Babilonica Si vxor non possit aut non vult ancilla venito That is to saie If the good wife can not or will not the good man maie take his maide Speake againe Martine where saieth Luther these woordes Thou saiest in his booke De captiuitate Babilonica The self same lye maketh Pighius of Luther Take that booke in thy hande good reader and read it ouer when thou findest there as doctor Martine doeth report I am content let it be saied that I haue sclandered Doctor Martine if not testifie with me that he is a liyng witnesse and one of those Doctors whom the Apostle calleth Pseudoprophetas in populo i. Peter ii falsos doctores qui clam inducent sectas perniciosas That is false Prophetes emongst the people and false liyng Doctors whiche shall priuely bryng in pernicious sectes I assure thée good reader that is a foule lye that Martine and Pighius his fellowe maketh of Luther For that saiyng whiche thei all alledge in Latine as though it had been so by Luther peÌ„ned is not in all that booke where Martine moste shamefullie aduoucheth the same to bee Shame ye not you Papistes that suche a loude liyng bablar and so false and vaine a manne hath taken vpon hym the defence of your cause Whos 's owne mouth and penne condemneth hym for an open lyer Tremble ye not to shedde any mannes bloud vpon the report of suche an impudent man as he is I will not hide froÌ„ thee good reader Luthers iudgement in that booke concernyng that matter In one place there speakyng of the impedimentes of Matrimonie he saieth that if the man bee suche a one by nature that is impossible for hym to doe the duetie of a husbande The papistes can not abide Luther wheÌ„ he teacheth their awne doctrine then his contracte with a woman shall not binde her to be his wife and this is his reason Quia error ignorantia virilis impotentiae hic impedit matrimonium Because saieth he the errour and ignorauncie of the impoteÌ„cie of the man in this case letteth the Matrimonie which saiyng if you papistes would condemne ye coÌ„demne the doctrine of your owne
quarelled with and drawen into suche accusation that his louyng subiectes takyng the benefite thereof should bee reputed as persones giltie or that thei whiche bee faultie theim selues and nedeth the like pardon that thei would bee greeueâ— and grudged therewith I would neuer haue beleued that master Martine commyng so late out of the stinckyng dungion of SorboÌ„ after his miserable captiuitie and Egyptiacal seruitude of the rustie and heauy chaines of Popishe diuinitie and Romish lawes would haue been angrie at his retourne againe into Englande that other were releassed and enfraunchised the rather for that he whiche is enuious of the wealthe and healthe of an other maÌ„ maie to his shame and rebuke heare out of the Gospel by the mouthe of this good and Christian Father and Prince of the housholde of Englande frende if almightie God and I bee good why is your eye and entente naught Doe you not knowe how God hath so reuealed the old pretensed Clergies chastitee that almoste it maie be saied all hath synned God hath searched them out and hath charged theim and hath founde them within the compasse of this synne to the entente to shewe them mercie that repenteth theim of their filthinesse that where synne so fréely raigned notwithstandyng Lawe after Lawe Canon after Canon Constitution after Constitution in this olde pretensed and forced chastitie now should Goddes grace the more appeare for the deliuerauÌ„ce out of that intollerable burthen suche a burthen as neither the Clergie of our time nor our old fathers before tyme could so clearly beare but all men sawe how thei spilt in the cariage And that now at the laste the grace and gift of honest wedlocke should appeare in the Clergie as once it was coÌ„mendable in the fathers and priestes of the primatiue churche Surely and without doubt the virginall chastitee is to high a tower for the most parte of them and is not fitte but onely to suche as specially bee called thervnto by the rare and singular gift of God The priestes déere babes and the bushops neuewes that in the old Babilonicall Captiuitie were most made of and promoted be now by Gods worde vttered to be but adulterous ympes Sap. iiij and bastardly broodes whiche doe but testifie of the wickednes of their progenitours and fathers in the interrogation of their consciences where the issue of chaste matrimony coupled with godly temperaunce of them that feare God shall bee spite of the Deuill i. Timo. iiii and all his Tatians allowed of God and so approued of menne that knowe the truthe Where I saie in the worde of the Lorde it is testified that God will so iudge fornicatours and adulterers that the plenteous multiplication of bastardes the frierly frie of Nunnes and Munckes vnlawfull generation shal be neuer voucheable What though the blynde of the worlde preferre these copulations before the fruicte of honourable wedlocke in the Bushops and Priestes Yet wyll God iudge fornicatours and adulterers Though nowe Priestes maried be preast downe yet thei shall stand vpright in a good conscience before God and trust no lesse euen then so to appeare when he shall come to iudge the secret of mens hartes Where the aduiterous plantes shall take no rotyng and there Parentes haue no permanent ioye but with the winde of Gods mouthe in this worlde shall be tossed lyke the dust of the yearth in the vaine doctrines of men and at the last shall be blowen with there ympes into the burnyng fiery lake of brymstone the place appointed for Sodomites and Gomorreans I saie these first begotten heyres of these Egiptiacall Locustes be reuinced and slayne by Gods woord And that ther be come forthe out of this Egypt I trust in conscience infinite nombers so that there is not one left to beare this beastly and intollerable yoke if thei haue not the gifte and will yet come forthe if any yet remaine still to saue their soules in wedlocke as is better for them as holy Barnarde telleth them no lesse De contemptu mundâ— saiyng Esse sine dubio melius nubere quaÌ„ vri saluari in humili gradu quà m in cleri sublimitate deterius viuere distractius iudicari SuÌ„ptuosa quidèm loquitur de caelibatu turris est verbum grande quod non omnes capere possunt It is saieth he without all doubt better to marry then not onely not to liue in fornication but to burne And better it is to be saued in a lower degree and sâ—ate then to bee in the hieromes of the Clergie to liue there worse and so to be the more sharpely condempned Uirginitie and soole life saieth he is a verie high tower to clyme to and the worde is verie great whiche all men can not take De cura pastoralâ— Audiant inquit Gregorius peccatorum carnis ignari quam per semetipsum de hac integritate veritas dicit Non omnes capiunt verbum hoc Quod eo innotuit summuÌ„ esse quo denegauit omnium Let them heare saieth he suche as be vneâ—perte of the sinne of the fleshe that the trueth it self pronounceth with his owne mouth of this puritie not all take this worde Whiche he notified to be a verie high thing euen herein in that he plainly affirmed it not to be euery mans gift And yet these aduertisementes notwithstandyng riseth me vp againe a barkyng Heretike a verie Cayn in dede an enuious murtherer of his brother and holdeth that all maie haue the gift for asking who that will and that chastitie as Pelagius affirmeth whom sainct Augustine confuteth is of our election Sée howe this dead viper vnder the grene herbes and faire flowers of Catholike names hath long lurked and nowe begynneth to hysse out againe and woulde lift vp his head so â—attred and broken as sainct Austen hath vanquished hym where before tyme yet this Papisticall Heresie denied matrimony but in part to them that were votaries and made no secular Priestes votaries Nowe this hissyng Hydre cometh forthe with his monstruous heades and doeth deny the whoole institution to Priestes and other Ministers neither lawfull before orders nor after orders Where yet the fathers of the primatiue Churche would not disseuer the mariages no of votaries but firmely did decree in doctrine to bee verie mariages and pronounced that thei do greuously offende that separate suche Nowe this Goldsmith of S. Martins setteth out his fine polished ware with suche facing and staryng that he destroieth the whole ordinaunce as well in votaries as no votaries and defaceth these their mariages taken and entered by the strength and aucthoritie of a iust lawe of the supreame heade of the Churche of Englande to whom belongeth of duetie of his office to constitute lawes for redresse of sinne and for good ordre of the Clergie euen in spiritual matters writeth my Lorde of Winchester in his learned booke de obedientia so spirituall matters saieth he that though thei be the whoredome of spirituall men yet his power and
no mariages but rather adulteries thei appeare to me not to consider wisely enough what thei saie for thei bee deceiued with a similitude and apparaunce of truthe Chrysostomus ad Theodorum epistola Angelorum enim societati semel iunctum illud relinquere vxoris laqueis implicari adulterij crimen incurrere est â—uis frequenter hoc ipsum nuptias voces ego tamen illud adulterio tanto peiâ—s affirmo quanto maior ac melior est angelus To forsake that state whiche is so nearely knitte to the societie and felowship of Angels and to bee wrapped in the snares of a wife is to incurre the faulte of adulterie although you neauer so ofte call it Mariage yet doe I aduouche that it is so muche worse then adulterie by howe muche an Angell is greater and better Ergo by this aucthorie thei bee adulterers respondeo The Bushoppe of Winchester in his third booke against Bucer noteth vpon this place brought in by Bucer that he in these woordes consenteth with sainct Augustine de bono viduitatis and so the manifeste forme of the woordes importeth Then bee thei not by this aucthoritie affirmed adulterours and no Mariage what soeuer blame thei be worthie Also the forme of suche wordes must be interpreted as Pope Euaristus teacheth Aliter legitimum non sit coniugium nisi petatur a parentibus sponsetur legibus dotetur cum precibus benedicatur solemniter accipiatur biduo triduo orationibus vacetur c. Aliter presumpta non coniugia sed adulteria non continentia sed vel stupra aut fornicationes potius quam legitima coniugia esse non dubitatur Let it not otherwise be compted lawfull matrimonie vnlesse it haue the parentes consent and the parties be trouthed and accordyng to the lawes endowed and blessed with praiers and solemnely receiued and geue them selues â—o praier twoo or three daies for if thei come otherwise together it is not to bee doubted that suche are not mariages but adulteries not continencie but either whoredome or fornication rather then lawefull wedlocke Astexanus lib. viii tit viii sic interpretatur Non sic intelligendum quod non sint legitima sed quod non habent decorem honestatem debitam fiunt coÌ„tra prohibitionem sic habent culpam hic locum habet quod scribitur 22. q. 4. Innocen parag vnde datur intelligi c. It is not so to bee vnderstande that thei are not lawfull Mariages but that thei lack the comelinesse and honestie due vnto theim and are made against the prohibition and so are fautie And here now doe I demaunde once for your sixe tymes demaundyng in your booke of all the Finers and Goldsmithes in sainct Martines lane in London and all the counterfettes in Englande to with all their gaye giltyng and fine polishyng of a plain peece of Coper Let me heare what glose thei can set vpoÌ„ these foresaied wordes that can so shine and glister to bewitche their eyes that haue halfe their sighte yea thoughe thei bee brought but to your halfe lightes and can not spie what the mettall is How faire a peece of glasse soeuer ye sette out gorgiouslie with subtile foyles beneath to make it appere a faire Diamond aboue whereby ye deceiue sometyme a good ieweller Lette me heare how ye can make these places before alledged to teache your wicked malicious and slaunderous opinion Sir there ye maie reade expended so by Erasmus as well séen in sainct Augustine and Chrysostome and others Cap. 11. as ye be Solutio voti mala Cap. 10. coniugium tamen bonuÌ„ the breach of the vowe is euill neuerthelesse the Wedlocke is good And againe Quae voto soluto nubunt dirimi noÌ„ debent suche as marrie after the breache of their vowe ought not to bee separated And againe Quae post votum nubunt verum contrahunt matrimonium suche as Marrie after their vowe contracte true Matrimonie Nowe maister doctor is ther any man in his right wittes that will saie S. Augustine here defineth Priestes Mariages yea regulars to bee adulteries As ye vnlearnedly force sainct Augustine to speake What daunger and blame soeuer it be that votaries bee worthie for the breache of an holy vowe yet their mariages bee mariages and good Maie not I now saie in your owne words that ye declare your self farre destitute of the grace of God Not onely vtterly banished from trueth but also neither to haue conscience at the hart nor shame in the forhed whiche so shamefullie do interprete an authour and to lye so impudentlie as ye do in your tenth Chapiter T. ij that sainct Augustine was demaunded whether suche virgins as came to Nunries with a full purpose to liue in perpetual chastitie betwixt God and them made a vowe if suche married whether their mariages might stand c. Where haue ye learned that this question was so propounded But to this shift ye be driuen to peruert S. Augustine But wee shall hereafter put this and suche other places to the iudgement of the reader And will discusse your BaÌ„berie glose and vaine distinction of Votum simplex and Votum solenne Whiche though it maie haue his place sometyme yet in this saiyng of sainct Augustine simplie it can haue no place howe solempnely soeuer ye sette a face on it And then he shall iudge whether I refraine not iustly my stomacke to contorte againe some suche pretie names as ye in youre hoote zeale sprinkle vpon poore menne But it is not the name that chaungeth the nature of persones for we bee as we bee howsoeuer we list one to name an other But sirre as ye folowe Pighius or some Sorbonicall deuines iudgemente and reporte his saiyng blindly in the expendyng of sainct Augustine So belike ye stale awaie with you when you came last out of Paris some of their spectacles and neuer sawe the places your self So trulie doe ye report the bokes name of sainct Augustine in this place For where ye alledge in youre x. Chapiter Litera T. i. a. this place to bée in sainct Augustine de bono coniugali ad Iulianam a woman Maister Martine ye bee foulie deceiued For this booke whiche is written de bono coniugali is in the 6 Tome written contra Iulianum an obscure man and an heritike and this place whiche ye report to bee de bono coÌ„iugali is in the .4 Tome de bono viduitatis written as some thinke by one Iulian a catholike man ad IulianaÌ„ a noble catholike woman and not as ye say de bono coniugali But this is a Comon grace in you vntruely to reporte authors bookes and names and then boldlie to glose them Or els youre vse is to sende vs to bokes that be no where but in your owne studie or els to some boke that is of a dosen long leaues to reade ouer and yet after our narrowe searche to trie your trueth not to be founde there neither But now if ye can laie that
aucthoritie for his saiyng he sendeth you to S. Hieromes woorkes and to Isodore and there finde it if ye can and telleth you that many other olde writers so expound it But yet there is some misterie mente that he nether reporteth any suche nor yet referreth vs to the place where specially S. Hierome so writeth In deede if he had named the place ye should haue perceiued one inconuenience or twoo xii q. r. Duo sunt whiche had been euidente at the eye one that he belieth sainct Hierom in this matter whereby ye should haue espied his truthe sc in aduouchyng his doctor and that ye maie perceiue it thus saieth sainct Hierom. Priestes be kynges for rulyng themselues others in vertue and thus haue thei a rule and a kyngdome in God This thyng saieth he is tokened by the crounes in their heads This croune haue thei affirmeth the saied Hierome by the institution of the Rome Churche in token of that kyngdome that is loked for in Christ. And by the shauyng of their heades saieth he is meante the deposition and laiyng awaie of all their temporalties and so forth Loe good reader if he had reported S. Hieromes woordes or would but haue alledged his place where to haue seen it ye should by and by haue espied his liyng and beside that haue séen an other inconuenience whiche I thynke he would not wishe should bee learned of sainct Hierome Intelligendum est aâ—â— Antoninus lib. 3. tr 23. ca. 5. secundum illa tempora cuÌ„ viuebant in coÌ„muni Cleriâ—â— vel de religiosiâ— as eloquent a doctor as he is nor in good faithe were reasonable for Christes Religion it should bee that the priestes should forgoe all their temporalties and stande at the curtesie of mennes deuotions as it is now adaies But yet sainct Hierom maketh that to be the signification of their crownes whiche inconuenience if it should the rather by the busie braine of this Ciuilian chaunce I dare saie that al the priestes in Englande would in good sadnesse beshrewe his pen and hymself should not muche winne by that neither For if thei had no temporalties how could he haue any greate rewardes of them for writyng his painfull booke For as for the spirituall blessynges of the head priestes I thinke verely he is not so gostly to sette more by theim then the begger did whiche desired rather out of the Busshoppes purse Platiâ—a saith before that â—aie all the Popes were Martirs and from that daie neuer one since one poore halfpeny then twoo of his beste blessynges Yea I dare bâ—e bolde to saie that bothe this Ciuilian all the Canonistes to in christendome had rather suffer the maried priestes with their wiues still with a very mischief rather then vpon the occasion of rackyng and writhyng of suche textes of doctors to proue them votaries thei should bee so farre imperiled and then if to this opinioÌ„ of sainct Hierom some other newe fangled head should ioyne further matter Durandus in quarto dist 24. q. 4. tondentur in signuÌ„ depositionis superfluâ—e curae quia verò preperunt ad ministerium dei â—ui seruire regâ—are est ideò â—aduntur in modum coronae que est signum regale Religiosi vero noÌ„ appliâ—antur ad ministeriuÌ„ diuinuÌ„ vâ—de walden â—â—ira witcliffe â—itu 7. ca. 64. de Ordinis Saâ—â—amentalibus Fol. 139. to reporte what that heretike either Platina or Valla writeth of good sainct Catholike Constantines gifte of his patrimonie for healyng of his corporall Leprosie what dolorous voyce was hearde when Pope Siluester accepted it Surely the more of suche matter the worse I truste though this Ciuilian affirmeth plainely that all the slepyng Canons of the Churche bee awake againe to bite the married priestes by the Queenes graces statute of repeale yet he would not wishe suche slepyng saiynges of Doctors to be raised vp to barke so odiously as the wordes pretendeth It is an olde saiyng Malum bene conditum ne moueas that is Sturre not vp an old mischief once well buried muche like to this Englishe Prouerbe It is ill to wake a bityng bandogge Well thus ye see that he hath wonne nothyng either to hym self or to the crowned priestes by aduouchyng sainct Hierome as craftely as he reporteth his name and suppresseth where to finde it But what shall we saie to Isodore peraduenture he saieth that priestes crounes signifieth their vowe here I doe saie that Isodore saieth not so But if our Englishe poÌ„tificall had knowen it so I thinke that where it bryngeth in thre or foure significatioÌ„s of Priestes crownes it would not haue ouerleaped that signification especially for that it should seme that be reporteth the aucthoritie of his saiyng either out of Hugo de sancto victore or els out of Isodore For there it is reported that it is a signe in the priestes that thei be elected into one portion of godly ministerie and that their heere is shorne in maner of a rounde crowne and their heade shauen a lofte to expresse the regalitie in Christe and also to signifie that there maie be no coueryng betwixt God and them but that the prieste maie see the glory of his maiesties open face For a clarke saieth he maie not be ignoraunt of gods secretes as the Laye man maie bee for he is a messenger to the Laye people and therefore this superfluous heere must bee torced awaie euen to the sight of his eyes and eares that no worldly businesse nor yearthly ambition hinder hym from hearyng and vnderstandyng Goddes woorde These be all the significations that bee in the pontificall and if ye tourne ouer bothe the gloses and the textes in the decrees where priestes crownes bee intreated of ye shall finde no suche signification as he reporteth here to be a strong argument to proue Englishe priestes votaries As for other writers what thei be I can not tell and searchyng emong many I can not finde that signification Yet after that I went to other kynd of writers in suche matters and came to one Petrus Bercharius who wrote a greate Dictionarie of woordes in diuinitie and there he writeth thus of crownes saiyng Quod corona praelatorum est dignitas Ecclesiastica vel etiaÌ„ quorumlibet iuste praesidentium magnorum Isti enim ad litteram portant coronas que sunt signa dignitatis excellentiae status sui quod etiam ipsa natura videtur facere quia Basiliscus qui est rex serpentum dicitur esse quodam circulo candido coronatus c. The crowne of prelates and all other that beare rule and be greate men is their Ecclesiasticall dignitie For these after the letter doe weare crownes whiche are hadges and tokens of the dignitée and excellencie of their estate The whiche thing Nature also her self semes to shewe for as the Basiliske whiche is king of serpentes is said to haue a crowne of a certaine round white circle c. But of that signification of vowes he speaketh not a
the reading and looking ouer all sainct Hieroms woorkes and Isodore beside and many other old writers also yea the Spanish Libraries too if we should seke whither he may seme to send vs. But here peraduenture this graue Ciuilian will be offended with suche my woordes and interprete my saiynges to bee scoffes and not weightie argumentes and that he will quarell that it is talke suche as menne spende for pastime rather then deliberate debatement of so weightie a cause In deede to coÌ„fesse a trueth When I had considered the odious and impudent countenaunce of his preface the swingyng taile of his lamentable conclusion the moÌ„strous bodie betwixt bothe and then againe meruelyng where and how he had gotten so muche matter and pregnauncie of witte farre aboue that which I loked would haue been in hym by this daie by the gesse of the talke that I had last with him consideryng that he doeth somwhat more then scoffe or boorde in diuerse partes of his boke as if I should so beastly scoffe with the serious reuereÌ„t articles of our faith drawyng them to such an obscéen and filthie sense as he doth raile in his .ix. Chapiter of Carnis resurrectionem vitam eternam Uerely if he called me Pighius or Pogius or Porphyrius or Iulianus he might well doe it And then consideryng hym to bee a yonge man and a Ciuilian I could not refraine my penne but thus sportyngly to bee a Comentar of his booke And yet sir to alledge a Poetes aucthoritie to a Ciuilian whose worde hath yet no greate aucthoritie Ridentèm dicere verum quis vetat hae nugae seria ducunt A wiser man then we bothe be maie some tyme ride on a long réede yet keepe grauitée of countenaunce when he cometh where grauitée should bee shewed as some haue doen here in Englande before now in as serious matters as these bee by open writinges wherewith I dare sweare not all of the Clergie hath been muche offended hetherto And if ye will learne how tollerable it is in writyng ye maie resort to sir Thomas Moores first Chapiter of his Dialogue of ê™ I and ê™ he and he will proue it vnto you I am sure your selfe as hye as ye now caste vp your head will come lower some tyme when ye be pleased and that ye repent ye not of your own merie scoffyng in many partes of your booke whiche bee sometyme not merie bourdes but sharpe checkes and daungerous tauntes to Uerely M. Martin the discoloured insolencie of your booke put me in remembraunce of some Poetrie Scribimus indocti doctique poemata passim Semper ego auditor tantum nunquam ne reponam c Whiche drewe my penne whether I would or no as before this daie it neuer was occupied for any printed ware to bungle with you But yet for the truthe of all that I saie if ye finde any thyng misreported and not truly aduouchyng myne aucthorities I desire you to tell it in your nexte booke as sharpely as ye can And if ye will beare with me for my mirthe nowe as I beare with yours whiche I do interprete that ye vsed it to solace your self to holde the reader of your booke from wearinesse to medle some softer musike emong the dint and dinne of your terrible greate Canons shotyng nothyng but haile shotte all the tyme of your stoute debellation of this your wonne fortresse where in no man was to resiste you and that is a valiaunt conquest who can saie nay I will so rule my penne in my next booke if almightie God will so haue it that ye shall I truste perceiue your self grauely answered And not so muche you but all others graue writers and deuines in déede by profession of whoÌ„ in parte you stole your booke that this matter shall not so obscurely be strangeled vp but that it shall shewe bothe life and light And yet good reader I desire thee impute not this to any arrogancie as though I would aduaunce my self so high of myne owne poore readyng and vnderstandyng but the graue and verie Catholike writers in the first beginnyng of the churche shall be my warrant not as aucthours and iudgers of the scriptures but as good faithfull witnesses in their confessions of the same So that I trust the harmony shall not mislike indifferent men though I hit not all my purpose But now againe further to shewe your dexteritee master Martin in aduouching your allegations ye tel vs very pretely how in the Librarie of Magdalen College at Oxforde there is an olde booke written of Ignatius wherein is not expressed that Paule is named for a maried maÌ„ to haue had a wife although the Heretikes of Germanie haue corrupted hym in the printed copies ê™ you If ye be asked who tolde you so we maie knowe that master doctor Smithe in his wise booke written against Priestes Mariages hath reported so and many good studentes and worshipfull menne that hath been felowes in that College can tell saie ye that thei haue had a written copie of Ignatius Sin this maie be true â–ª and yet you may lye to say that Paules name is not there â–ª But now good reader leste yet thou shouldest take vpon thee to iourney so far thether to seeke and finde hym how true he is in his tale he discourageth thee of goyng thether for he telleth thee euen there that parhaps some brother of late yeres hath stolen the booke awaie out of the Librarie and loe thus thou mightest lose thy labour And therefore searche no further neither spende any labour to trye hym but simply trust all that he telleth thee Is not this a proper allegation thinke ye and well handled But yet ye must beleue that ye see not with your eyes for Beati qui non viderunt crediderunt blessed are thei that haue beleued though thei neuer sawe it Yea ye must thinke that he reporteth all thinges vprightly in all his allegations specially in Lawe Ciuile and Canon wherein he is moste skilled in stories wherein he is so depely traueled and in expoundyng of scriptures wherein he is wonderfull as he handeleth sainct Paules place to Timothe te ipsum castum custodi kepe thy self chast so purely with suche integritee that Lyranus Hugo Cardinalis as greate bunglers as thei be thought to be of some but yet be worthie the praise be ashamed so to expouÌ„de the places there But yet he setteth suche an earnest glose of his owne head that ye would thinke he must needes bée of hym self an incomparable deuine and exactly seen in the Greke tongue in the Greke commentaries and schoolies as ye know by the exposition of Nazareus He is throughly well seen in the Hebrue tongue vnderstandyng all the Rabines rites and customes to the vttermoste In Rhetorike he is incomparable throughout all his booke As if ye liste to haue the sight but of one proofe looke in the beginnyng where he confuteth doctor Ponettes boke Cap. xi littera â—iâ— b. whiche
and an auncient writer in the Churche whiche if he be then be you a yong fonde and a newe starte vp wrangeler But because ye be a Lawier I shall reporte you a Counsaile and a Lawe to that vseth this propositioÌ„ vniuersally and not within suche narrowe limittes as ye driue it vp euen a counsaile of Spaine holden at Tollet the seconde Counsaile the firste Chapiter in the v. yere of their kyng Amalrike and aboute the tyme of Pope Ihon the seconde whiche is a reasonable Canon in respecte bothe for the age of him that is receiued to order also for the libertie that is geueÌ„ either to abide or to recede froÌ„ his purpose of subdeacoÌ„ship or deaconship Hijs auÌ„t quibus voluntas propria interrogationis tempore desiderium nubeÌ„di persuaserit coÌ„cessam ab Apostolo licentiam i. Cor. vii auferre non possumus But as from those who by their owne proper will are perswaded and haue a desire to marrie at the tyme of their examination we caÌ„ not take awaie from theim that libertée that is graunted theim by the Apostle I praie you what other sentence or license is concluded in the seuenth Chapiter in the section a but this propter fornicationem autem vnusquisque vxorem suam habeat c. For the aduoydyng of fornication let euery man haue his wife And in the Lawe ye shal finde the self same againe reported Dist. 28. de hijs where the gloser saieth thus vpon the verie place Quod ergò de iure coÌ„muni competit negandum non est The benefite of the common lawe maie be taken awaie from no man Moreouer Chrysostome vpoÌ„ that place Bonum est homini mulierem non tangere it were good for a manne not to touche a woman Where as he saieth some would haue it applied perticularly vpon Priestes he saith vpon the consideration of the circumstaunce of the place that it is not so particularly to bee taken but vniuersally and concludeth non ergo sacerdoti dum taxat hoc dicitur this is not spokeÌ„ to the priestes onely Which discourse foloweth immediatly vpoÌ„ that place brought in by the saied maister Martin vpon whiche wordes Theophilact writeth thus Bonum eximia res est cuiuis mortalium nec soli sacerdoti promde ac nonnulli malè intelligunt mulierem non attingere sed virginem permanere Tutior autem nostramque plurimum imbecillitateÌ„ adiuuans est matrimoninij res Et postea quia si se non continent nubant vides sapientiam Pauli quomodo meliorem moÌ„stret esse continentiaÌ„ nec interim tamen cogat si quis non possit vt ne peius flagitium committatur Si enim multam inquit vim sustinet vstionem magna enim concupiscentiae tyrannis est discede a laboribus istis ne quando subuertaris It is a good and an excellent thyng to euery man in the worlde not to touche a woman but to continue a virgine and that not onely to the Prieste as many men doe euill vnderstande it Notwithstandyng the matter of Matrimonie is more sure for it helpeth verie muche our weakenes And vpon that place if thei conteine not lette them marrie the said Theophilact noteth thou seest the wisedome of Paule how he sheweth that continencie is better and yet notwithstanding he compelleth not thereto if any manne can not and that leaste worse inconuenience should bee committed For if he suffereth muche violence saiethe he and brennyng for surely the tyranny of concupiscence is greate recede from those labours least thou beest ouerthrowen at any time Then maister Martin vpoÌ„ these two old writers saiynges I argue If Paule did write this matter aswell to priestes as to Laie men then either must ye grauÌ„t that sainct Paule would priestes then maried for feare of fornication should retaine still their wiues whiche thei had married already or els that priestes vnmaried muste for auoidyng fornication get them wiues Whiche whether soeuer ye graunte is the subuersion of the moste parte of all your whole booke In chroni abb vrspergensis But will ye heare what Huldaricus Bushoppe of Augusta writeth to Nicholas the firste of whom ye maie here your name He reciteth the text Propter fornicationem dixit Vnusquisque suam vxorem habeat ê™ specialiter ad laicos pertinere mentiuntur hypocritae qui licet in quouis sanctissimo ordine constituti alienis reuerav xoribus non dubitant abuti ê™ flentes cernimus omnes in supradictis saeuiunt sceleribus Hi nimirum noÌ„ rectè scripturam intellexerunt cuius maxillam quia durius pressere sanguinem pro lacte biberunt For fornication he said let euery man haue his wife Which saiyng and confession to perteine specialy and onely to the laye folke is a plaine lye of the Hypocrites which in what holy order soeuer thei be set yet without boubt thei force not to abuse other mennes wiues And these be thei whiche doe rage in the forsaied crimes sc of abusing their fathers wiues to vse the filthie occupiyng of mankinde and of brute bestes which filthines we can not beholde saieth he but with weeping teares These bee thei whiche doe not vnderstand the scriptures aright whose breastes whiles thei presse so harde thei sucke out cruell blood in the stede of sweete milke And further in the ende of his Epistle chargeth theim with the crime of heresie that inioyne suche constrained Chastitée where ye affirme Chap. ix.q.x. that thei were all heretikes that did continue with their wiues whiche thei had maried before their orders And here to preuente your cauilation where ye might saie that I should haue gone a litle further with this bushops writyng for sooth I answere I would all the whole were written in Englishe that laye menne might see how it maketh for you that would haue Priestes diuorsed For the whole Epistle is an vtter confutation of youre booke But sir till hereafter stande vpon that whiche followeth as strongly as ye can and yet shal ye neuer be able to extende that saiyng vpon seculer priestes ordered in England who haue made no profession or vow of perpetuall chastitie But ye will replie vpon occasion of Chrysostome Theoqhilact saiynges before rehearsed that this former text Bonum est mulierem non tangere it is good for a man not to touche a woman to belong aswell to the laye man as to the priest But this saiyng for avoidyng fornication let euery man haue his wife to pertaine to laie menne onely whiche yet Huldarichus sheweth the contrarie Sir if ye bee so harde for nigardshippe to holde the priestes to the straite of the first sentence and not to giue them the libertie of the sentence followyng I weene ye will be answered of the priestes maried and vnmaried as seruanntes in the countrie will answere their nigard maisters that will ioygne them to fast on the vigils in haye seile and haruest That is if we be compelled to fast in the vigill precedyng we will suerly make
sed tamen appetenda est causa vitaÌ„dae fornicationis propter prolem Matrimonie is not to be desired for it self That is true saith the Glose for that it helpeth not to life but yet it is to be desired that fornication maie bee aduoided and for issue sake Thus vpon occasion of your woordes we haue straied a little further then we purposed and yet I trust not vnprofitably to the reader But to you maister Martin I write thus muche Your self performed no maner of sinceritée in reportyng either your aduersaries or your frendes for all your assured assuraunce of credite and your promised warrantise As in reportyng sainct Hierome ye doe violently racke hym and leaue out that whiche he did write a little before for the chief declaration of the matter so ye doe euen the same in reportyng the saiyng of Chrysostome leauyng out that Cap. 10. â— i whiche immediatly doeth followe to open the truthe And yet ye write in your booke thus that it is the nature euer of the heretikes to take a peece of the aucthors wordes and not the whole sentence If this be a true maior and then to you the minor is so manifestly agreable what will the indifferente man then knit vp thinke you in the conclusion How faste soeuer ye call other men heretikes and your self catholike Math. 12. Ex operibus saieth Christe iudicate of the fruites and deedes geue iudgement Ex verbis tuis iustificaberis ex verbis condemnaberis Of thy wordes shalte thou be iustified and of thy wordes shalt thou be coÌ„demned And if ye would yet se this assertion proued an other waie with an other reason I would desire the reader to expende an excellent poinct of his corrupt wrestyng wranglyng to iudge whether he in the beginnyng of his writyng putte not on his naturall visure and chaste forhead quae nescit erubescere whiche knoweth no shamfastnesse Euen to saie with the good Prelates of whom Esaie writeth in his Prophesie Cap. 28. Posuimus mendacium spem nostram mendatio protecti sumus wee haue laied liyng for our hope and foundacion and with lyes bee wee armed In his seuenth Chapiter Litera N. 1 Lib. 4. cap. 23. he reporteth a storie out of Eusebius of an Epistle whiche was written by Dennis Bushoppe of Corinth to Pymrus a Busshpppe in Creta of whiche storie he marueileth verie muche that none of our menne nor the Germanes euer alledged the place in their writynges But yet he saieth when he had throughly considered the storie he lefte his marueilyng because he saieth it maketh quite againste them Firste I might retorte his owne checke that 〈◊〉 â—eueth to the lorde of Cauntorburie in that he saieth Ca. 5. 〈…〉 that no auncient writer maketh sufficient proofe that Clementes Epistles were al true and not counterfete For hath M. Martin so reade all the Germaines that he can so saie that it is not alledged of them in their writynges If I would so spende paper I could referre him to half a dosen that do expresly alledge the storie for a strong place against him al such as will laie heauy burthens of compelled chastitie as is there written or as Nicephorus termeth it Lib. 4. Cap. 8. onus caelebatus the burtheÌ„ of sole life as of necessitie in the neckes of their Disciples by the whiche their infirmitie might bee in greate daunger Whiche sentence thus vttered by Dionisius the saied Pynitus did well accept as for the better counsail and by his letters did desier the said Dionisius to write to hym after that some further matter of stroÌ„ger meate to feede his people withall c. Now sir he leaueth quite out the first senteÌ„ce written by Dionisius and also how Pynitus allowed his counsaill for the better whiche is the pithe and chief matter of the Epistle and storie and then violently draweth the laste woordes of stronger meate to sounde to that purpose that to lyue in syngle lyfe and menne to renounce theyr wyues Lawfully Maried should bee that strong meate wherewith he should feede his people Whiche is so impudentlye wreasted and falsified that a manne maie wonder what he meaneth thereby Where sainct Hierome in catal script Ecclesi makyng mention of Dionisius letter and Pynitus aunswere draweth no suche sense out of theÌ„ And he can not saie that he followed some mannes reportyng the place or had not seen the place hymself For he saieth that he had througly considered that storie to see Eusebius conclusion as he hath here vttered it Is this youre through seeyng and considering matters of weight thus to peruert euident stories which be in euery mannes handes and yet for shame be not a shamed For verely youre throughly consideryng this cause whiche ye haue in hande is but througly falsifiyng the trueth thereof with youre wilfull writing sleighty ouerseyng And how soeuer ye would blinde the reader yet Nicephorus storie will sufficiently trie out the truthe of this matter if ther were yet no other helpe to maintaine the saied storie If the reader will now take youre maior again wher ye saie that it is the nature of Heretikes to take a peece of the authors wordes and not the whòle sentence how might he proceede in probleme againste you And that ye maie better perceiue how throughly he hath considered other of his aucthorities and doctors LraÌ„ Ee. iiij b. if ye do but only loke vpon one page in his xij Chapiter ye shall see how throughly he hath belied more of his aucthors and how negligently he hath coÌ„sidered what he there writeth In the beginnyng of the page he would make you beleue that S. Ambrose wrote that whole senteÌ„ce Vri est desiderijs agi ac vinci Ne vincamur auÌ„t in nostra potestate est per dei gratiam And then he Englisheth it thus That is to saie To burne is to be vexed with concupiscence and to be ouercomed But that we might not be ouercomed is in our power through Goddes grace Maister D. Martine for all youre throughly aduised writyng ye haue falsified sainct Ambrose in twoo pointes For first sainct Ambrose saieth vri est desiderijs agi vel vinci And not agi ac vinci To bee caried with desires or to be ouercomed and not to bee caried with desiers and to be ouercomed For as well agi desiderijs as vinci desideriis as other interpretours expounde the place is vstionem pati That is to burne And to auoide either of them sainct Paule graunteth mariage For either of them excedeth Volatiles Lubricas cogitationes innatae concupiscentiae the soden and transitorie cogitations of luste that is in manne But he saieth S. Ambrose that séeth hymself not able to perseuer by the violent motions of his fleshe let hym marrie rather then burne and so peraduenture he maie afterwarde obtaine this thyng So that he whiche either lieth in the flame of perpetuall desier of the other kinde in hart or in outward
of the Apostles should bee deposed from their liuynges and that suche Deacons and Priestes as for holinesse or religion sake will expell their wiues from them ought to be excommunicated And if thei persiste to be deposed whiche said Counsaile yet ye wreste to make it sound that Priestes should bee bounde to promise a conuersion and a forsakyng of their wiues in your seuenth Chapiter when ye alledge the seconde Nationall Counsaile Cap. 7. M. iij. holden at Carthage wherein ye saie was decreed that Deacons Priestes and Busshops should be continent with these woordes vt quod Apostoli docuerunt ipsa seruauit antiquitas c. Where ye admonish the reader to ponder those wordes quod Apostoli docueruÌ„t c. that is whiche thyng the Apostles taught and the Elders haue obserued In whiche glosyng and notyng maister Martin ye make shamefull worke as to hym that will compare these CouÌ„sailes together will appeare For firste ye belye the Apostles to saie on their heades that thei taught suche coÌ„uersion from their wiues as ye maie see euidently here in the sixte Counsaile at Constantinople the contrary Also this seconde Counsaile at Carthage did nothyng els but ratifie that decree whiche was made in the firste Counsaile there And that was no other but that deacons priestes and bushoppes beyng single at their admission should not marrie wiues a newe after their orders and not to forsake those whiche thei had married before hande And where ye would haue these wordes pondered quod Apostoli docuerunt c. I praie you maister Martin where did the Apostles teache suche doctrine in all their Epistles If ye alledge the .xxv. Canon ascribed to the Apostles then is that a pleasaunt Canon for your purpose to haue so many senses conteined therin sometyme to importe that Priestes maie not marrie after order and now that Priestes married maie not vse their wiues maried before I perceiue ye maie drawe what sense it pleaseth you of that Canon Dist. cum inpraeterito But when ye haue all doen M. Martin ye must come to the glose that is commonly made vpon those woordes Apostoli docueruÌ„t id est docuerunt exemplo by exaÌ„ple as the text in the decree saieth opere admonitione non institutione vel constitutione that is by deede doctrine not by institution decrée as the glose saith And this is the glosers minde on the Decretalles whom also I doe aduouche for this your confutation and detertion of your craftie peruertyng the said CouÌ„sailes But yet how sounde this glose is that the Apostles taught by their example that after Apostleship thei forsoke their wiues the storie wil impugne it But thus I set an olde tried and aucthorised Canonist against a newe starte vp Ciuilian or a self willed Lawier Also ye affirme that Clement the seconde Pope as ye contende after Peter made a decree that Priestes and Deacons should not lye with their wiues And vpon this aucthoritée ye make a great a doe and aske how can this be auoyded with any face or colour c. and ye saie that it was sainct Peters doctrine and that sainct Peter commaunded hym to write his bookes to Iames. Cap. 〈…〉 c. How truely ye saie it let the Counsaile before spoken be iudge and let Paphnutius also bee iudge whom for shame ye can not but aduouche in your booke who resisted that any suche Lawe should bee brought in who was a good while after sainct Clement was dead and rotten And he called suche companiyng of priestes with their wiues chastitée where ye call the self same mariages that Paphnutius ment of licensious liuyng and libertie And further ye call suche Priestes as continued with their wiues Cap 9. Q. â— that thei had married before their Priesthode flat heretikes Also ye deny plainly Ca. 13. GG â— that Philippe the Apostle was married or that he had any daughters where Eusebius affirmeth it plainely that bothe Philippe the Apostle had three daughters and Philippe the Deacon and Euangeliste had foure Also ye doe aduouche it by Nicephorus storie that Philippe the Apostle liued euer a virgines life Cap. 13. GG i and was neuer married Where the self same Nicephorus euideÌ„tly writeth thus Lib. 2. ca. 44 How stoÌ„oâ—th it with this that the Apostles forsoke their wiues and caried other womeÌ„ about with them An isti tamen Apostolos quoque reijcient Petrus sequidem Philippus liberis creandis operam dederunt Et ê™ idem Philippus Apostolus tres filias habuit That is to saie will these a Goddes name reiect the Apostles also For truely Peter and Philip did geue theim selues to begette children and that the saied Philip the Apostle had three daughters and where ye saie that Philip caried about with hym his sister Mariamna and ye reporte these woordes vpon the saied Nicephorus Cum ipse caelibem vitam duceret when he on his parte liued a single life and was vnmaried and neuer maried The truthe of the story euen by the same Nicephorus saieth Cum ipsa vitam per virginitatem sibi exigeÌ„dam statuisset when she on her partée had purposed with her self to liue out her life in virginitée whiche could not bee spoken of Philip if he had three daughters and gaue himself to get more Also ye laboure to proofe that all the Apostles except Peter were without wiues Cap. 13. 〈◊〉 Ca. 13. 〈◊〉 1. Cor. 11. where sainct Ambrose as ye alledge your self affirmeth plainly that all the Apostles had wiues except Ihon and Paule And Orygen saieth that some of the Apostles were in wedlocke And Ignatius testifieth in a booke printed before Luther was borne whom 〈◊〉 Epistola ad philadelphienâ—â— and the other Germanies ye defame to haue corrupted the bookes suche is youre foule shift writyng thus Sicut Petrus Paulus caeteri Apostoli qui nuptijs fuerunt sociati As Peter and Paule and other the Apostles whiche were conioyned in matrimonie Ca. S.P. ij And where ye number S. Luke the Euangelist among them that weere neuer maried Platina saieth that he liued in Pope Cletus daies and liued fower score yere and thrée and had a wife at Bithinia And Platina his reporte maie bée true though sainct Hierome saie that he liued fower score yere and fower then hauing no wife For though he died without a wife yet it foloweth not that he neuer had one And again sainct Hierome was not verie indifferent to mariage as appeareth in appliyng SalomoÌ„s text to maried folkes stultorum infinitus est numerus and furthermore in the ouermuche praise of virginitie he would saie more then inough As in his booke of Ecclesiasticall writers rehearsyng Lucius Seneca among them he writeth that he was vitae continentissimae that is of a moste continent liuyng Yet stories make mention what an excellent woman he had to wife whiche would nedes die with hym in the like death that he was iudged vnto by Nero. Let Nauclerus
will not for length cumber your eares with conuenient contemplatioÌ„s Well I leaue them to this Ciuilian to muse on for I knowe he hath suche a wit that no lawe or statute can be laied before hym but he can set his comment vpon it if ye will accepte his gloses If a manne obiecte that the states of the Realme hath made Lawe and taken order in this cause or any other suche like and therefore muste stande againste all the Lawes and Canons of the Churche then straightwaie he will beate you backe with the aucthoritée of the Churche and saie as the moste parte of all his disciples and adherentes allege that a particular Churche a little member of the whole can not derogate the vniuersall law of the churche Whiche saiyng how sounde it is let that old lawe testifie whiche was made in a Parliament holden at Northampton in the daies of kyng Henry the seconde almoste CCCC yeres ago whereat was presente a Legate called Hue sent from Rome by Alexander Pope then and notwithstandyng his presence and though Thomas Becket sporned at it before yet was it enacted cleane derogatory to the Lawes and Canons of the Churche that Priestes if the hunted in the Kynges Parkes or committed felonie murther or treason thei should be iudged before temporall Iudges accordyng to the Lawes of the Realme whiche Lawe and others is practised to this daie And furthermore let this foresaied article of the Queenes maiestie testifie whiche doeth plainly determine this question wherin her grace commaundeth that her Lawes the Lawes of her Croune shall stande in strengthe against all the vniuersall Lawes of our mother holy churche And I thinke all her graces progenitours froÌ„ tyme to tyme hath foreseen that Romishe Canons shall be but rules and Canons taken and refused vpon consent and as shall bee meete for the policie of the Realme Whiche poincte of learnyng is in suche absolute wise debated learnedly in a Booke written here in Englande intituled De potestate Regia Ecclesiastica that neither this Ciuilian nor all the Canonistes in Englande shall euer be able to answere it For it hath hetherto laine vnanswered these twentie yeres of all the Romanistes in Christendome And if this Ciuilian will reade it and expende it ouer and doubteth further of any poincte conteined therein let hym consulte with certaine of the Bushoppes that bee in moste aucthoritee at this daie by whose learnyng and collection the booke was written and thei can further resolue him And if that booke will not satisfie hym let hym resorte to an other intituled the Institution of a Christian man presented to kyng Henry the eight by all the Bushoppes of the Realme for stable doctrine to be vniuersally preached and so assured by the subscriptions of all their names as ye maie there reade their names Looke ouer the exposition of the .ix. and .x. article of the Crede and their doctrine written in the Sacramente of Order and consider their iudgementes If it be further obiected that the king could doe no more in dispensation then the Pope was able whiche as some saie caÌ„ dispense with the singular case of one or twoo in a Realme but not with a whole Realme or with the whole state thereof as kyng Edwarde hath doen with the whole Clergie if their opinion bee true how could the Busshoppe of Rome Innocent the viij as Volateran writeth dispense with the whole countree of Noruegia to coÌ„secrate the Cuppe without wine in Ale or Bere contrary to the vsage of Christe and his Churche How could he dispense with whole Bohemie for receiuyng the Communion in bothe kindes And how could Paule the thirde offer the same dispensation to all Germanie as appeareth in his Bulle for the reduction of the same nation to Rome Churche againe Howe could Gregorie the firste dispense with all the Realme of Englande for their mariage within the degrees prohibited Or yet how could he dispense and geue licence to Augustine our apostle not to folowe Rome Churche so precisely in forme of Spirituall gouernaunce but hadde hym deuise a forme hym self of the vsages of other countrées and to take the best and so instill it and other suche thinges as he could other where learne into the tender myndes of the Englishe nation as many of suche nature might be alledged If it bee obiected that the Pope can not dispense with the generall Counsaile that will not serue For it is commonly holden of the Canonistes that the Pope is aboue the Counsaile and maie dispense with the Counsaile as thei alledge Extra de consang affi non debet of Innocent the third which released the prohibitions of consanguinitée affinitee in Counsailes before restrained yea in suche degrees as Gregorie saith who that dissolue them beleueth not that Goddes woorde will endure for euer Can. 35. q. 10. Fraternitatis Now if this Ciuilian would haue this poinct yet further debated by the learnyng of the Iudges of the realme scilicet how farre Ecclesiasticall Lawes are to be admitted let hym go to the statute of the .xxvij. yere of kyng Henry the eighte and see what thei reserue from the makers of Ecclesiasticall Lawes Prouided alwaie saie thei that no Canons constitutions or ordinaunces shall bee made and putte in execution within this realme by aucthoritée of the Conuocation of the Clergie which shal be contrary or repugnaunt to the kynges prerogatiue royall or the customes lawes or statutes of this realme And in the xxv yere in the like statute fearyng belike the dint of these double strong CanoÌ„s that might be made thei speake more precisely in the like prouiso and saie not onely contrary or repugnant but derogatorie to the Lawes of the realme And if the Iudges and Sergeauntes of the realme will now for to doe this man pleasure geue vp their holde in these and suche poinctes whiche their forefathers hath with tothe and naile alwaies maintained before tymes I wene it would come to passe before twentie yeres should come to an ende that men would rather retaine one poore Canonist for counsaile in their causes then fixe of the best Iudges and Sergeauntes of theim all whereby Westminster hal might chaunce to be colder bothe in Winter and Sommer to for their gaine I warraÌ„t you these whom he calleth the chief doctours of the Ciuil Lawe whom he aduoucheth to bee of this â—aithe and belief would loose nothyng by that bargaine If his chief doctors could but obtaine that thold acte of prouiso made in king Edward the third his daies in the .xlviij. yere of his raigne wonderful derogatorie to the lawes of our mother holy churche might in suche a good season as this is be throwen vnder foote although yet it were better it were at a more certaintie ye shall sone espie that these CiuiliaÌ„s would not long tracte the tyme to be then the chief doctors of bothe the common Canon lawe to Whiche lawe of Prouiso although Pope Gregorie the leuenth did muche repine at
men doe the same that there could bée founde many in the Clergie whiche while thei liue in soole life might perfourme a true chastitie in deede yet bearyng at the least with other he leaueth it as he founde it Now to inferre of this his acte what might bee more iustly saied for the priestes of Englande alreadie so maried in so greate scarsitee of Ministers so many Chresten menne and women forced to liue without all maner religion throughout the whole realme I leaue it to the Magistrates to expende And to the christianly harted readers occation to praie to God for whatsoeuer Gods good spirite within them shall moue them therto And because this man is a Ciuilian let hym loke in the Code whether he reade not that some of this noble Emperors progenitors did priuelege spirituall men their Wiues their Children and Seruauntes both menne and women to be free from the homage called Perangaria Wherby he may fortune espie that their mariages were not only thought tollerable but also iudged honorable beyng so priuileged with suche prerogatiue And if he will looke further lette hym searche whether Iustinian the Emperour commended not a certen Bushop specially in respect that he had priestes and Busshops to his auncestours In nouellis constitut iii. That prudente and Christian Prince of noble memorie Kyng Henrie the eight vnderstandyng that certen in his realme were maried as well Regulers as seculers without aucthoritee and common Lawe made an open proclamatiō in the .xxx. yere of his reigne wherin he did but for afterwarde charge that no man should attempt the same again And did not dissolue the saied mariages being so priuatly contracted The wordes of whiche proclamation be these The kynges maiestie vnderstandyng that a fewe in numbre of this his Realme beyng Priestes as well religious as other haue taken wiues and maried themselues c. his highnes in no wise mindyng that the generalitée of the clergie of this his realme should with the example of suche a few number of light persōs proceade to mariage without a comon consent of his highnes his realme doeth therfore straightly charge cōmaunde as well all singuler the said priestes as haue attempted mariages that be openly knowen as all suche as wil presumptuously proceade to the same that thei ne any of thē shal minister any Sacrament or other ministerie misticall Ne haue any office dignitée cure priuilege profit or commoditée heretofore accustomed belongyng to the Clergie of this realme but shall be vtterly after suche mariages expelled and depriued from the same and be had and reputed as laye persones to all intentes and purposes And that suche as shall after this proclamation contrary to his commaūdement of their presumptuous mind take wiues and be maried shall runne in his graces indignation and suffer further punishment and imprisonment at his graces will and pleasure Datū xvi Nouembris anno regni sui xxx Here it maie be considered what moderation this wise Prince thought mete to be vsed in suche mariages as wer passed without comon consent of whiche he knewe by information a good number from tyme to tyme and yet did bothe tolerate the same whiche were vsed secretly and such as were openly knowen did not seperate them but commaunded them to bee reputed as lay persones And his highnes was not ignorant how necessary it had beene to haue graunted the libertée in his daies whiche but for some certane zelous Counsailers pretendyng how euill the people would take it had been doone by his aucthoritee As was not vnknowen to diuerse whiche heard hym oft speake of that matter If suche moderation as kynges and Emperours haue made in this matter will not serue to moue this maister of Chauncery to temper his extremitie wee will laie before hym some suche potentates whiche paraduenture he accoumpteth to bee of hier aucthoritée in suche matters and will soner bee perswaded by them as Popes Coūsailes and Bushops decrées To satisfie his expectation somewhat wee reade in Platina that Pius Pope of Rome the second of that name was wont to speake these woordes Quòd magna ratione sublatae sunt nuptiae a sacerdotibus sed tamen sibi videri maiori ratione restituendas He affirmed that the cause was great whiche toke a waie mariage from priestes but yet there was greater cause why thei should bee restored to them againe This was this Popes opinion and iudgement And further he writeth Epistola 130. contra Bohemos that in the primatiue churche the Clergie had wiues and that the communion was distributed in bothe kyndes This Pope called before Aeneas Siluius a mā of learnyng as his bokes doth testifie could vpon his owne experience to be fidelis Pontifex that is a faithfull Busshop beare better with the infirmities of others then our holie virgins maiden priestes can now at these daies For in the tyme that he was Cardinall he was not without his remedie For he had one hymself and whether he was werye of her and would haue a newe or that for age he listed now to bee holier it is testified in the .361 Epistle that he gaue her for her dowrie to set her out with thre score florence I doubt not but that he dispensed fauorablie inough when he came to be Pope with suche as hymself was was not so froward as our holy hypocrites be that lay heauie burthens vpon other mens backes will not ease the burthen with the least finger of their handes These head fathers at Rome haue been before now and be at this daie I doubt not more gentle then we be in this particuler Churche For we reade in the life of Franciscus Petrarcha who was a prebendarie at Padua and Archedeacon of Parma that holy Pope Benette the twelft of that name he that would not knowe his kynsfolkes when thei came to hym and saied that a Pope hath no kyndred in yearth This holy father perceauyng how this Poet Lawreate was in such amorous loue with a certē wenche called Laureta peraduenture his sisters brothers daughter that he could neuer dreame and speake to muche of her worthines in his sonettes and sounges of poetrie And leste the saied Archedeacon should be ouercome with to much heauie loue and lose the full fruition of her saieth the storie he graunted hym of his gratious pardon to take her to his wife and ex vberiore gratia graunted further that he should not lose thereby any one of his promotions but should haue more benifices added to those he had alreadie so that of gentle curtesie againe he would graunte to the saied holy Pope the vse of his sister which he brought also with hym to Rome in whose beautie the holy father was taken whose companie and fauoure should do hym more pleasure for his conscience then his owne kinsfolkes Reade the storie and se whether I lye Platina Fasciculus temporum and the said life of Petrarcha Yet good reader here treade warely in the iudgyng of this Popes
Christi conficiendum surgere cum eodem die corpus Christi confecisset cū meretrice post vesperam interceptus est Res apertissima negari non potuit celari non debuit Summus honor vbique habitus in summum dedecus versus est Repedauit igitur in sua dei iudicio confusus inglorius At Easter Ihon Cremensis Cardinall of Rome came doune into Englande and makyng his progresses through Busshoprickes and Abbatées not without greate rewardes aboute the Natiuitée of our Ladie helde a solemne Counsaile at London But because Moises Goddes secretarie in the holie storie as he wrote the vertues so did he also the vices yea of his owne parentes that is to saie the outrage of Lothe the abhomination of Ruben the treason of Symeon and Leuy the vnnaturalnesse of the brethren of Ioseph euen so it becometh vs to followe the true Lawe of storie bothe of good and euill But if it shall displease any Romaniste or Prelate saieth he I reade hym to holde his peace and be still leste it will be demed that he desired to folowe Ihon Cremensis in woordes and deedes He therefore when he had made greuous processe in that Counsaile against Priestes wiues saiyng that it was a foule synne and a greate to rise frō a strumpettes side to make Christes body when he hym self the same very daie had saied Masse was taken with a strumpet after Euensong the facte beyng moste open could not bee denied nor ought to bee hidden That high honour had euery where to hym before was tourned to high shame and rebuke Whereuppon he trudged home againe by Goddes iuste iudgemente confounded to his greate dishonestee Thus farre Henry Huntyngton a manne liuyng at that age Here you se master Martin an auncient writer no heretike Archdeacon of Huntyngton foure hundred yeres paste and an halfe to haue tolde this storie of this good holy ympe of Rome Church beyng warned yet afore by Pope Honorius whose letters to hym and others Symon of Duresme doeth recite in his booke wherin he nameth hym Praesbiterum Cardinalem prieste Cardinall and praieth hym as beyng sent before into England by his next predecessor Calixtus that he would behaue hymself in his Legation as a wise a discrete childe of the Rome church and as may appartaine to the honour of God and the honestie of the Apostolike See The same Honorius writyng to the Archebusshops Busshops Abbattes and nobles suppressyng yet the kynges name charged thus we praie you admonishe you and commaūde you that you would reuerently receaue hym as the vicar of holy S. Peter humblie to heare hym and at his call to hold solemnely with hym conuocations so that by his and your diligence all thinges may bee reformed in your realme whiche are to be amended and those thinges whiche are to be stablished may by the inspiration of the holy ghost be confirmed emongest the Canons of which holy Counsaill priestes be plaine separated from their wiues vnder paine of losse of their Order and Mariages either of consanguinitée or affinitée contracted within the seuenth generation be commaunded to bee seperated Now if neitheir Secular Prieste nor religious Monkes testimonie will serue Maister Martin Roger Houeden a secular man in courte with the kyng Henry seconde in greate estimation and credit writyng in his storie saieth that there fell a marueilous misfortune to this Cardinall beyng so hotte in his Coūsell against priestes mariage and agreeth fully with the forsaied testimonie of the saied Henry in the same If yet you will haue more testimonies Polydore in his stories the tenthe booke how craftely soeuer for the honour of Rome Churche he suppresseth his name as belike you would haue the laye people to take it for a lye to saue the honor of your wiueles church how leude soeuer it be notoriously knowen reporteth of the same cardinall that after his solempne sermon inueighyng against lawfull mariages he was so priuely waited that within a while after he was taken with an harlotte in companie vnlawfull Furthermore Sir this matter semeth so little counterfeited that other writers affirme the same as Fabian somtime Citezen and Sheriffe of Lōdon in his Chronicle saieth that this dissimuled doctor tooke so great feruencie in the correction of the priestes of England that in the euenyng folowing after that he had so lewdly blowne his borne saiyng that it was a detestable sinne to ryse from the side of a strumpet to sacre the bodie of Christe he was taken with a strumpette Lib. 7. Cap. 16 Anno. 1125. to his open shame and rebuke From whose testimony differeth not Ranulph of Chichester in his Polichronicō Further Matheus westmonasteriensis otherwise named Florilegus writyng of the saied Ihon Cardinall thus saieth Dictus Ioannes qui in concilio omnes concubinarios Sacerdotes maximè damnauerat in eodem vitio deprehensus est The saied Ihon whiche in his counsell had verie greatly blamed Priestes that vsed concubines was taken hymself in the same crime Also Mathew Parise in his Chronicle in that verie yere recordeth the same storie of this holy and chaste Cardinal of Rome who came into England with great honour but packe home againe with worthie shame Loe suche commonlye are the slaunderers of true matrimonie in others most shamefully abusing themselues with harlottes pretendyng and exaltyng their Churche chastitie in hypocrisie but hate it in their whole practise of their life as stories fullie make mention of suche beyng the very successors of Hierax an heretike of whom Epiphanius writeth in his story of whom some mention is made before And if yet none of all these will serue to discharge Ihon Bale to make hym the firste aucthor therof or to disproue it to be a forged or counterfet story ye maie looke further in other histories bothe in Frenche and Latine and finde almoste all that write of those daies to speake of the same Cardinall to like effecte And therfore M. Martine is it reason that ye write that it was some heretike that forged this tale as ye would make the world beleue Is it not a shame for you to boste of so muche vniuersal and absolute knowledge in al stories both Ecclesiasticall and prophane of al countries in Christendome and out of Christēdome and to be blind and bare at home in the stories of your owne countrey beyng so many written by mē bothe of great credite and of notable learnyng life And dare you pronounce all these in your bolde arrogante spirite to bee heretikes none of them all woorthie credite with you of so diuers vocations as thei are Some Seculer Priestes of worship some reguler Monkes in profession some seculer lay menne in place of credit and estimation some liuyng at that very tyme and members of that holy Synode I do but meruaile what confidence you had in other mens credites to write so impudently not castyng with your self to what commendable ende your gaye bolstered booke would come vnto when it were once examined by
any maÌ„ of meane learning or reading But ye put me in mynde by your owne woordes wherewith you charge other menne that ye bee like to be blowen vp spiritu impostoris with a spirite of error that ye can within so few lines write two so notable lies and errors It is to true that the wise man saieth of suche men Quod frequentur prae occupent pessima Sap. 17. redarguente conscientia Thei oft take vpon them matters of the worste to the condemnation of their owne conscience For where wickednesse is alwaies doubtfull in it self it geueth testimonie to his owne shame For euer doth a spiced coÌ„science take vpoÌ„ hym to attempte matters of crueltée Wherevppon I may conclude with your owne wordes in the self same place that he maye well be called a poore soule that will put you and suche as you bee in truste with the information of his soule that is so little trustie or true in his wordes Shall a man credite such a doctor or teacher that within not twoo leaues as ye write but within twelue lines compace wil vtter suche slaunderous lies vpon other men And deface the creditte of open stories beyng in many mennes handes Uerily if we should consider how vniuersallie this man sheweth hymself vniforme constant in wrestyng contortyng and false reportyng of Scriptures of doctors of Busshoppes decrées of Counsailes Canons and of stories throughout all his booke in suche fashion so impudently that I can not imagine that Lucian hym self when he wrote his booke De veris narrationibus had halfe so good a bouget to the vtteraunce of his veritees as this manne hath broughte awaie belike out of Paris from emong the Sorbonistes So that I maie sair Totus quantus quantus est a vertice ad vltimum vsque calcaneum ex mendacijs meris dolis confictus est conflatus In like maner to note a poincte or twoo how he handeleth hym self in his Counsailes alledgyng and wreastyng in the x. Chapiter of his booke prouyng that Priestes maried in Englande â—oraÌ„ R. iiij are not onely to be depriued but also to bee separated he alledgeth a fragmente of a Canon Gan. 30. out of Concilium Epaunense Incestis coniunctionibus nihil prorsus venie reseruamus nisi cum adulterium separatione sanauerint Incaestus vero nec vllo coÌ„iugij nomine pallietur We doe reserue no pardon at all saieth the holy Counsaile for Incestuous copulations excepte thei amende their aduoutrie and filthy life by separatyng them selues a sunder Neither let Incests be coloured or couered with the cloked pretense of Matrimonie Here maister doctor ye doe moste impudently bothe curtall the Canon and also as vntruely wreste it For that it might be knowen what be these incestuous mariages against Nature which ye saie can not be otherwise healed but by separation The Canon further reciteth them by name orderly Emong whiche Incestuous mariages Priestes mariages bee not numbred and thoughe thei were yet there is expressed a greate moderation whiche ye will not make mention of For after the Canon had named fower of suche vnlawfull copulations it saieth thus of them Quos vt a presenti tempore prohibemus ita ea quae sunt anterius instituta noÌ„ soluimus Which mariages as for hereafter we doe forbidde so those which be already made we will not disseuer After whiche woordes the Canon rehearseth the reste and defineth of them thus Sanc quibus coniunctio illicita interdicitur habebunt ineundi melioris coniugij libertatem That is To whom suche vnlawfull copulations bee forbidden shall bee graunted libertee to get theim better mariages Whiche latter parte of the Canon in the Print of Peter Quintell Anno. 1538. though it hath Non habebunt yet the texte is purged in the seconde Counsaile at Towers in the twoo and twentie Chapiter where it is at large set out Furthermore the selfe same degrees of blood whereof these incestuous mariages be made are also recited in the Counsaile Agatensi holden vnder Pope Celestine the first Anno domini 428. and there the Counsaile after dissolution geueth them libertee to marrie a newe Here maister Martin ye maie see that in none of these three Counsailes Priestes copulations be either spoken of or meante as ye vntruely inferre of a peece of the Canon Secondly if thei were yet if ye folow this Counsaile either ye should suffer them still to remaine or els after ye haue disseuered them ye should graunt them to marrie a newe But here maie be considered how muche moderation these Counsailes vsed to beare with an inconuenience once passed to tollerate suche vnnaturall mariages as thei were and were contented onely for necessitee to forbidde them for afterward Lette wise menne iudge of this moderation as thei see cause where wise menne maie sone espie how Doctor Martin abuseth the Counsaile In the same page also it is wonder to note howe he vntruely reporteth the second Counsaile of Macon and as he writeth in the fourtene Canon as forbiddyng Priestes Deacons and Subdeacons former wiues euer to marrie againe after their husbandes decease where in deede no suche matter is in the fouretene Canon In the sixtene Canon there is mention made that the wife of a Subdeacon Exorciste or Acolite should no more marrie But not a woorde of Prieste or Deacon as he vntruely reporteth in that Counsaile Seekyng for this your Counsaile and Canon and none suche to be found I reade in that same seconde Counsaile Canon 4. where it is decreed Vt omnibus dominicis diebus altaris oblatio ab omnibus viris mulieribus offeratur tam panis quam vini vt per has immolationes peccatorum suorum fastibus careant c. Whiche Canon M. Martin may English at his leasure And because he forceth so muche separation he maie reade that in the firste Counsaile of Macon Canon .xj. Bushoppes and Priestes and all the better of the Clergie are bounde aswell to renounce all the secular actes as the companie of their former wiues not vnder paine of separation as you would make menne to beleue you but vnder paine of losse of their dignitees Whiche Canon is woorde for woorde none otherwise recited in Concilio Aruermesi Cap. xii In like maner he doeth violently wrest in the self same leafe a decree of Calixtus if it be his as there bee greate reasons and aucthoritees to proue that it is but feined vpon hym But so muche the more apte for Doctour Martin to aduouche it emong his other suche stuffe the woordes bee these Presbiteris Diaconis Subdiaconis Monachis concubinas habere seu matrimonium contrahere penitus interdicimus contractaque matrimonia ab huiusmodi personis disiungi Upon whiche woordes beside that he vntruely auoucheth in slaunderyng the Apostles primatiue Churche that it was their doctrine that thei should bee separated He noteth three notable poinctes Firste that he putteth no difference betwixt them that bee bounde by their consecration and them that bee bounde
finem quem legislator intendit Vbi tamen non voluntarie non contemptibiliter fed ex causa rationabili aliquis transgreditur canonem non peccat mortaliter secuÌ„dum Thomam recitatur per Arch. 76. dist vtinam c. And to helpe foorth the matter De habitu clericorum const Otho ca. QuoniaÌ„ de habitu Iohn Aton the gloser of Othos constitutions mouyng the question whether a constitution or councell whiche the subiectes neuer accepted or obeyed do constrayne or bynde to the obseruation thereof After many constitutions and alegations of lawes and contrarie determinations of lawyers and glosers of the popes lawes in tanta Papalardia as he doth vse the tearme he byddeth the reader to holde that whiche he doth determine Which tearme of a Papalard Gaulfride Chauser doth vse for a dissemblyng hypocrite pretendyng one thyng meanyng another Fol. 154. Howebeit in the discusment of this question he saith that yf of the behalfe of the lawe there myght folowe eyther sclaunder or more harme then shoulde the common custome obserued preuayle concernyng the excusation from temporall punyshment Yet saith he in facte this is very seldome obserued when by the obseruyng of the constitution the purses of the prelates shoulde be made emptie thereby But saith he all other constitutions which be Bursales prelatis auaylable to the prelates purses such be well commended to memorie and be also executed to the vttermost inche And lest the lawe of Otho shoulde be to sharpe for the concubinarie priestes or they to soone condempned the gloser thus handeleth the matter vpon those terrible wordes of Otho Statuimus et statuendo precipimus vt clerici et maxime in sacris ordinibus constituti De concub clericoruÌ„ ca. licz at pro qui in domibus suis vel alienis DETINENT PVBLICE CONCVBINAS eas prorsus a se remoueant infra mensem et ipsas vel ahas de cetero nullatenus detenturi alioqui ab officio beneficio sint suspensi c. vsque digne satis fecerint de beneficiis se nullatenus intromittant alioqui ipso iure ipsos decernimus fore priuatos volumus districte precipimus vt archiepiscopi et episcopi diligenter faciant inquisitionem c. We decree and by decreeing do commaunde that clarkes specially such as be in holy orders which in their owne houses or other mens do deteyne openly concubines that they remoue those froÌ„ them vtterly within a moneth and that they in no wyse deteyne them or other from hencefoorth or els be they suspended froÌ„ the office and benefice c. vntyll they shal make condigne satisfaction that they intermedle in no wise with their benefices or els we decree them to be depriued ipso iure And we wyll straytely commaunde that the archbishops bishops make diligent search hereof c. Nowe commeth in this fauourable gloser to temper all the matter more gently in fauour of the concubinarie priestes and saith that these three wordes detinent publice concubinas that do deteyne openly concubines muste concurre ioyntly together so that this tearme openly must aswell determine this detention as this tearme concubine that is to say that this detention be pulique and this concubine kepyng be publique for els it taketh no place As for example when a woman is commonly beleued to be the persons sister though this deteynyng be publique yet she is not knowen to be a concubine But what saith he yf he be founde to lye with a woman I aunswere A fauourable glose vpon an harde texte yet it is to be taken secrete and for this maye not he be compelled to voyde publiquely excepte it can be proued otherwise Againe this worde deteynyng is to be taken when these concubines be deteyned by the priestes proper costes for els yf the woman lyue of her owne though the priest haue to her publique accesse it maketh no matter for the entent of this constitution is to restrayne vnhonest dilapidation of the priestes And agayne saith he this constitution was made more easie by pope Alexander the seconde whiche nowe may not be preiudiced by a legate only therfore in that poynt doubtfull whether it byndeth And where it is sayde openly or publiquely vnderstande that saith he when the priest is not afearde to appeare so before the whole multitude for els it forceth not as yf he deteyne her secretelye within his owne house or any of his frendes for then he shall not incurre into the penaltie of this statute seyng that an house declareth a thyng secrete and not puâ—lique And further he saith it is not enough to be taken for publique because it is knowen only of some certaine therefore holde thou saith he these wordes publiquely to signifie coÌ„monly and before many and yet is not the prieste to be charged to deteyne a concubine though openly and commonly once or twyse he be seene to resort to her which maketh not this fact of his notorious as is here decreed And hereto agreeth VVilhelmus Lynwood that though these thynges ought not to be done publiquely yet belyke they maye do them secretely as the doctors say Yet saith he this is true to theffect of escapyng the payne which though it be inflicted to them that do these forbydden thynges publiquely yet it is not extended to them that do them secretely and so be they excused concernyng the payne but not concernyng the fact Lo here is a fauourable glose of their watchworde si non caste tamen caute And againe to note the deuotion of these good men to worke an immunitie to their concubinarie priestes De habitati clericorum li. 3. ca. vt clericalis where as Stephen in his constitution in the auncient written copies and bookes forbyddeth them to kepe their concubines both publice occulte and that they haue no accesse vnto them either publicum or occultum They haue put out these two wordes occulte and occultum out of their bookes of constitutions prouinciall as also in their common printed bookes of councelles generall late printed at Paris 1555 per Franciscum Iouerium wherein the same councell holden at Oxforde by Steuen is inserted Agayne to minse this matter to make the pillowe more softe to put vnder the elbowes of these concubinarie priestes he wryteth the it must be considered what perseueraunce he vseth in this crime for it must be taken for a continuall perseueraunce proued yf it shoulde charge hym And furthermore it must be a full moneth and this moneth must stande of no fewer dayes then xxxi saith he And where it is decreed that within a moneth she must be put away that is saith he though some rigorously do expounde these wordes within a moneth from the publication of this decree or from a month after warnyng geuen yet holde thou councelleth he from a moneth of suche publique detention begun and proued And yf all these wyll not help the matter then he saith vpon the word deteynyng that
matters of their soules the honorable groundes of our fayth the maiestie of Christe of God hym selfe Is it lyke that God wyll powre there his spirite of trueth of puritie where suche lyes such fyltynes is kept in store where mere malice wryteth and slaunder so doth aduaunce her selfe Surely the longer suche men write in this sort the farther of they dryue indifferent conscionable men from them and the more earnestlye prouoke the weake men to reuenge their spyte in them selfe and in their frendes the more prouoke they some men to vse some bitternesse againe and to put abrode in syght that whiche otherwyse myght haue ben kept in scilence Which for that stories be coÌ„mon though some yet in fewe mens handes so farre as the reuelation may make to extoll gods glorie his trueth and veritie to make the blynde worlde to see somewhat except they be altogether blynde is some mens intendement rather peraduenture prouoked then sought of purpose so to weare out the vaine tyme of this pilgrimage tyll the sonne of man shal come Vt auferat omnia scandala omnes iniquitates qui reddet vnicuâ—que secundum opera sua iustus iudex But a gods name why shoulde they make this their doctrine of transubstantiation and grosse presence to be so newe that Berengarius must be the first auctour most vntruely so faced out Where auncient recordes proue so farre the contrarie and setteth out suche the true doctrine so to be vrged and appoynted both for priestes in their synodes for religious in their collations for the common people in their orderlye exhortations expressed in Homylees of a great number extant in Saxon speache for all the festiuall dayes in the yere which written were so vsed many a yere before Beringarius was borne or hearde of So that the bishoppes of olde may aswell be charged to be Caluanistes yf the assertion be so considered aswell as the bishoppe of Sarum or any bishoppe at these dayes And aswell maye that learned archbishop Rabanus Maurus be charged to be a Caluanist beyng in the yere of our Lorde 808. because his opinion was agaynst the scolasticall transubstantiation affirmyng that the materiall parte of the sacrament is turned to the noryshment of our bodies and therfore saith he is the bread called the body of Christe because as the bread doth noryshe the body so Christes body norysheth the soule and because the wine worketh blood in the fleshe therfore it is to be referred to the blood of Christ. This to be Rabanus iudgement is so aduouched by the auctour who dyd abridge Amalarius booke wrytyng de ordine Romanae ecclesiae Whiche Amalarius in the begynnyng of his seconde booke doth shewe the cause why of olde tyme emonges the Romanes the lessons were read in Greke and also in Latine as it is at this day vsed saith he at Constantinople for two causes One for that there were present Grecians to whom was vnknowen the Latine tongue and also for that the Romanes were present to whom was vnknowen the Greke tongue an other cause to expresse the vnitie of both nations So that the sayde Amalarius may be witnesse that in the olde tyme the lessons of the scriptures were so read in the Churche as by the readyng the people myght vnderstande to their edification But as concernyng the sayde Rabanus it is not vnlyke that he had receaued his iudgement from his maister Alcquine an olde Englyshe wryter whose auditor he was and Alcquine agayne sometyme auditor of Bede as Tritemius testifieth Wherevpon to consider the iust computation of yeres it is not vncredible but that such faith towardes the sacrament which we nowe professe was in the Realme before the conquest and so continued tyl Lanfranckes dayes And for all the examinations and executions which were done in the Englyshe Churche afterwarde by diuers Ordinaries in the Realme yet from age to age it was reteyned and men founde for holdyng that auncient fayth by their inquisitions though cruelly brente in such mercie as of late was shewed to poore christian men women and chyldren wherein the order of their doyng ouer that article was alwayes vrged and charged vpon them whiche they woulde condempne for heretiques though their greatest greefe was to heare of those contemned persons other practises of their lyues and religion so dispised and reproued but thinking by laying that cause of the sacrament to their charge it would compel al other men to beleue them to be heretiques and worthyly brent But God doth open men eyes better to iudge then before was knowen God graunt for such knowledge men may be thankfull to God in their lyues and conuersations But to returne agayne to the matter purposed and to walke in the wyde discourse of testimonies and examples whiche myght be brought in to proue both bishoppes and priestes as haue ben in matrimonie in this Realme before the conquest the recordes whereof howe enuiously so euer haue ben suppressed rased defaced yet remaine enough of that sort to proue the fact though the scriptures fayled to be brought forth for triall of this trueth And to aleage the stories of other countreys what bishoppes and priestes of great fame and learning haue ben of this state openly aduouched and commended were a matter of greate largenesse the numbers be so many and therfore the matter to be but needelesse to such as haue any meane syght in stories So that to rude and vnlearned persons who esteeme al thinges newe which they haue no remembraunce of or haue not ben of late dayes in vre were not worthy any more to be written And yet to the learned or suche as make moste bragge of learnyng all this to muche especiallye yf they be suche as haue eyes to see and wyll not see and eares wyll not heare heartes and wyll not vnderstande and therefore let it suffise them whose consciences be fearefull and woulde gladly be enfourmed of the trueth at the least waye to serue their turne whose cause it is to serue God in a pure conscience in the lawfull vsage of his institution not vnlawfull for them and geue their humble thankes to God and let enuious men barke what they can against it For whyle the Gospell shall haue any credite or estimation they shal neuer preuayle after so much lyght of gods worde shewed to beate downe this institution of God free for all maner of persons by the libertie of the Gospell as all other creatures of tyme and place be made for mans necessitie and comfort And yf men crye out agaynst the vnhonest or vnlawfull abuse of Gods institution in any person I wyshe with them that the abuse were by lawe and decree refourmed But good men wyshe the libertie therof no more worthy to be taken awaye in it selfe then they thynke reasonable to be plucked from them any other such benefite of God erected and instituted by his diuine ordinaunce to the represse of fylthynes other abhomination not to be commonly rehearsed though to commonly
forgeuen hym and that heauen was open vnto hym the trueth wherof the angell proued to hym then by a miracle And so Remigius by the commaundement of the sayde angell restored hym to his bishopricke agayne and there he continued tyll he dyed And yf we shoulde credite stories that be written Some doth write saith Antonine that because S. Iohn was called from his maryage that same that was in Cana Galileae In summa part 3. tit 1. cap. 21. whereat Christe and his mother were present by some mens opinion vnto the Apostleship against his wyues wyll Marie Magdalen yf it be true that some affirme she vpon indignation hereof fell to her incontinent lyfe and was a publique euyl lyuer in the citie But this holy father Genebaldus with his wife lyuyng in forced professed chastitie by stealth dyd as their kynde dyd leade them but yet kepte all thynges close from the eyes of the world and then all was well Had it not haue ben more honorable for this bishoppe to haue folowed the example of RESTITVTVS sometyme bishoppe of London Restitutus who to the eyes of the world manifestlye lyued with his wyfe or to haue folowed that notable learned martir Phileas bishop of Thmuis whom Eusebius so hyghly doth commende for his eloquence testifiyng that he dyd write a notable martiriloge a booke of martirs of the number of such christian folke whiche suffred at Alexandria whō Ensebius also prayseth much for his constancie who hauyng a wyfe and chyldren to the knowledge of all the worlde Eccle. hist. Euseb. lib. 8. cap. 8. woulde not forsake his fayth when he was ledde before the president and towarde his martirdome for his fayth to Christe though his kynsfolkes moued hym to saue hym selfe Hillarius floruit anno Dom 350 and to haue respect of his wife and chyldren yet vertue preuayled in hym agaynst such perswasions and would not so redeeme hym selfe Or had it not haue ben more commendable to haue folowed the example of HYLARIVS bishop of Poyters who in his bishopricke auouched both wyfe and chyldren openly whiche the sayde archbishop of Florens affirmeth was not agaynst his order Quia saith he episcopatus ex sui natura non habet opponi ad matrimonium Lib. 3 tit 1. cap. 21. in summa A bishopricke of his owne nature hath no contradiction to wedlocke This Hylarie in his dayes dyd sore lament the order of discipline of the churche to be then much decayed To which complaynt agreeth that religious father Baptist Mantuan who wrytyng of the sayde byshop Hylarius testifieth thus and there improueth the lawe of forced chastitie more at large Lib. 1 fast Non nocuit tibi progenies non obstitit vxor Legitimo coniuncta thoro Non horruit illa Tempestate deus thalamos cunabula taedas Sola erat in precio quae nunc incognita virtus Sordet et attrito viuit cum plebe cucullo c. Thy progenie was no shame to thee thy wyfe coupled in lawfull matrimonie was no impediment to thee God at that tyme dyd not abborre eyther the maryage chamber or the cradle or the publique lyghtes vsed to be caryed afore maryed persons Vertue only was then in price which now is not knowen and therfore is vylely esteemed and lyueth only with the common people where the cowle is therein worne and slytten But as concernyng S. Paules canon for a bishop to be the husband of one wyfe he had great cause so to order it for that saith S. Ambrose he shoulde shewe a more perfection then was commonly vsed of others For but xvij yere before Christe euen emongst our nigh neighbours in Scotlande it was lawful to haue as many wyues as they listed Polidorus Lanquet anno 17. ante Christ. Insomuch that their king Ewinus hauing an hundred concubines at once made it lawfull by lawe that a man myght haue a pluralitie of wyues and further prouided by lawe that the wyues of the poore commoners shoulde be common to the nobilitie and that the Lorde of the soyle might clayme the virginitie of all his tenauntes daughters except they woulde redeeme them selues by some pension The first two saith Polidore dyd Christes religion abolyshe Lib. 10. hist. the last was long continued amongst them tyll kyng Malcolyne at the request of that vertuous Queene Margarete mother to Mawde the first wyfe of kyng Henrie the firste dyd abrogate that foule pencion Which kyng then dyd decree that the virgin after her maryage shoulde paye to the lorde of the fee but one peece of golde for her redemption Which statute saith Polidore is at this day kept In deede S. Hierom writeth thus Aduersus Iouin lib 2. Quod Scotorum natio vxores proprias non habet that the nation of the Scottes had no wiues peculiar De prepa euangelica lib 6 cap. 8. Ab vrsper De antiqui Iudaica lib. 17. ca. 2. lib 4. cad 6. De bello iud lib 1. cap. 18. Aduer iud Tripartit lib. 8. cap. 11. Of some suche disorder wryteth Eusebius Multi apud Britannos c. In Britanie many men haue one woman to wyfe Among the Parthians and in Thrasia contrarie many women haue but one husband and lyue all chaste in obeying the lawes Iosephus recordeth that it was an auncient vsage among them to haue many wyues at once For Herode saith he had nine wyues As the Iewes had by permission two wyues at once as he testifieth where Iustinus martir inueyeth against the Iewes that their insolence grewe so great that their teachers dyd permit euery one of them to haue foure or fyue wyues accordyng to their desires though Valentinian brought it by lawe to onlye a couple a good emperour yf he had had good counsayle and nothyng saith the storie he wanted to the perfection of all honour but godly counsayle of his faythfull seruauntes This was it not without good grounde in so much corruption of the worlde In catalogo Cesareum 6 when all nations dyd what they lysted If Paul required of a bishop in his perfection to be content with one wyfe Which prudence saith Hierom Paule dyd iustly vse for that he knewe it graunted by lawe and so practised by the examples of the patriarches and of Moyses Ad Ocean lib 2. to this effect that the people might haue large issue by their many wiues And for that the electiō of this libertie was open to priestes also he gaue commaundement that priestes should not chalenge such licence in the churche to haue two or three matrimonies at once but that they myght haue euery one of them one only wyfe at one time And there in that discourse S. Hierom doth much blame the harde and contorted exposition of vnius vxoris virum to be the husbande of one wyfe that is of one churche only and there he doth reiecte that exposition for to much violent In conclusion these matters aforesayde with many others well and aduisedly pondered by that noble
eyght vsed so much prudencie in reducyng and reposyng his Realme in such godlye knowledge and christian peace as the measure of Gods giftes graunted vnto hym dyd moue hym to the same where in this case what clemencie he vsed it is not vnknowen and yet vnder sharp lawes so tempred the rigor of them that of his owne disposition a verie few felt the extremite of the execution though many were drawen into feare by them His onely example myght reasonably stande agaynst all detractours for the defence of all such his naturall subiectes left behynde hym of whom he promoted many so much that they can not forget hym so soone after his departure which deserued so much at their handes when he was here lyuyng Wherby all estates as be aliue may by prudent comparison gladly assure them selues to see the lyke after their departure of those whom they fauour and preferre in the tyme of their lyues These thynges I say considered may I trust be thought of indifferent and learned christian men not out of tyme spoken nor out of due order of obedieÌ„ce or charitie vttered at the lest way no otherwyse then charitably meant and intended by the writer of the same Who as charitably desireth the christiaÌ„ quiet reader to peruse as benyngly to interprete that which is written which yet be it alway subiect to reformation of all such as of conscience and godly zeale wisheth the aduauncement of Gods glorie the trueth of his worde the honour of the Churche and quiet of this our naturall countrey Amen Aug â–ª de nup et concupis Ista controuersia iudicem querit iudicet ergo Christus Iudicet cuÌ„ eo et apostolus quia et in apostolo ipse loquitur Christus This controuersie requireth a iudge let Christ therfore be iudge And let thapostle iudge with hym for in thapostle also Christe speaketh Non afferamus stateras dolosas vbi appendamus quod volumus et quomodo volumus pro arbitrio nostro dicentes Aug. contra donatist li 2 ca 6. Hieronim 24. q. 1. cap. non afferamus hoc graue est hoc leue est sed afferamus diuinam stateram de scripturis sacris tanquam de thesauris dominicis et in illa quid sit grauius appendamus immo non appendamus sed a domino appensa recognoscamus Let vs not bryng foorth deceytfull balaunces wherein we may waygh what we wyll and howe we wyll saying after our owne opinion this is heauy this is lyght But let vs bryng foorth Gods balaunces out of the holy scriptures as out of the treasures of the Lorde and in that let vs waygh what is more wayghtie nay I say not let vs not waygh but let vs acknowledge the thynges alredy wayghed of the Lorde FINIS A Table of the principall matters conteyned in this booke A ABbesse of Ramsey maryed .316 Abbesse of Amesburie depriued for incontiuencie .316 Abbottes depriued by Anselme .285 Alphonsus vpon the place propter fornicationem vitandam 140 228. a. 264. a. 235.103.206 Aldelme purged pope Sergius .200 b. Ambrose chosen bishop before he was baptised .267.274 writeth vpon melius est nubere c. 145. a. Amalarius testimonie for church seruice .337 Anselme entreated the pope for priestes .15 b. first separated priestes mariages in Englande .214 b. his superstition .214.281 his boke contra offendiculum sacerdotum .280 entreateth for simoniackes .284 resorteth to the pope .294 whose auctoritie he defended .294 his intreatable seueritie .293.295.296 against Thomas of york .298 his decre how it succeeded .298.299 Antonine witnes of priestes dispensations .267 b. Apostles all had wyues pag. 32. b. 33. d. 156. b. 157. a. they dyd not constitute sole lyfe .258 c. 260. c. Appollinaris a priest maryed after order .157 b. Ariminensis sinodus .212 Augustine preferryng scriptures before councels and doctors .98 d. proueth votaries mariages to be good .101 b. 102. a. 225. a. not callyng their mariages adulteries .150 b. 229. b. Augustine corrupted by Gratian .153 a. he reproueth the Nouatians for seconde maryages .163 b. in whose tyme the churche had not defined vowes to be indispensable .233 a. Aethelwolfus subdeacon maryed .272 Alfricus â—â—dgement of priestes maryages .243 Auentâ—â—â— Iohn of priestes maryages .345 Apostles canon against priestes leauyng their wyues .354 B Barnardus against restraynt of maryages .287 Brennyng of diuers abbeys and churches .308.309 Boniface archbishop resisted in his visitation .323 charged to haue a wyfe .323 his habilitie and qualities .324 Boniface pope the eyght terrible to princes .173 a. Bishops charge Fo. 3. pag. 2. a. their ryght stablyshed by parliament Fol. 5. pag. 2. d. they are charged Fol. 6. pag. 1. b. not enioyned to conteyne of necessitie .251 their slacknes to refourme priestes .333 Bishop of Ely Galfride maryed .317 Bishoppes maryed before bishop Cranmer .355 Bookes de potestate Regia and institution of a christian man neuer aunswered .176 b. Barnardinus Corius .346.356 C Calixtus decree not obserued .151 c. Canon of Gangrense councell .259 a. Canon of Matiscone councell for honoryng of priestes .96 c. Canons of the churche howe allowed Fol. 4. pag. 2. b. Canons of the church be not reuiued vpon the repeale of a statute to empeache that was done by force of the statute .172 b. and they do not disable the lawes of the Realme .174 b. 180. and be receaued as they make to the policie of the realme .176 a. Conuocation abolished lawes of continencie .351 Canons of another iurisdiction not allegeable .60 b. Canons rehearsed which do but depriue and not seperate maryed persons .168 a. Canonistes reasons against maryage of priestes vaine .356 Canterburie munckes described by William Malmesbury .215.291 Cardinall legates returned home againe .303 Cardinalles delecte bewray errors of the Churche .187 b. Cardinall Caietane of orderyng .227 a. Carnall reasons against maryage .237.239 Carterius Hispanus named by S. Hierom .212 a. Catholique name abused .79 c. Cayns boy of Cambridge .99 d. Chastitie a rare gyft .148.251 a. Chastitie lesse fauoured then lecherie .272 Chastitie is not to be charged by necessitie .248.347 Churche buylded on Peters confession not on his person .76 a. Churche of Englande hath defined votaries maryage to be good .233 c. Churche of Englande a catholique churche .355 Church of the pope cruel .269 a. Churche tollerateth the cryme of open harlottes .328 Chrisostome of votaries mariage .102 b. Chrisostome councelleth to auoyde the daunger of fornication by goyng to maryage .138 d. Chrisostome exacteth not of a bishop to be vnmaryed .276 d. Cleargie some of them expostulated with Fol. 11. pag. 2. d. Clarkes maryed do open penaunce .89 b. Concilium Agathenâ—e .222 b. Concilium Epaunense .221 c. Councelles hath Christe really present saith Martin .210 a. Concuâ—mate must needes folowe after prohibition of mariage .286 Constitutions ecclesiasticall howe to be obeyed .329 Constantines fauour in hydyng priestes incontinencie .94 c. Constantine sharpely threatneth the cleargie .96 a. Cremensis Cardinall .217.307 D Deacons at their
orders not renouncyng maryage may take wyues after .196 b. 228. c. Deacon beyng a murderer dispensed with .267 d. Dionisius epistle to Pinitus .144 a. DispensatioÌ„ of the pope for Norwegia to consecrate in 〈◊〉 or beere .176 Dispensation of the popes are mutable .177 b. Dispensations and moderations for maryages by Emperours .196 b. Dispensations howe to be made .253 a. Dispensations necessarie .255 c. 265. d. Dispensation of bishoppes howe large they be .268 c. Druthmarus .34 c. Dunstanes wordes in his decree .14 pa. 1. a. not seperating mariage 21â— E Earle of Shrewesburies aunswere .127.128 a. Edmer aduouched .289 Edwarde the thirde his victories .131 Epaunense concilium .221 c. Epiphanius auctoritie .266 b. 287. Erasmus iudgement of single lyfe .260 c. Ethelwolde of winchester father of munkes .215 b. Euaristus canon of lawfull matrimonie .102 c. Eupsychius a bishop maryed after order .157 b. Eustachius an heretique taught maryed priestes to be despised .259 a. Ewinus lawes of Scotlande .350 F Factes lawfull are not to be reuoked vpon repeale of a statute .171 c. False prophetes must be taken heede of Fol. 8. pag. 2. c. Franciscus Petrarcha dispensed with for his concubine .199 b. G Gangrense concilium .259 b. 279. Gelasius pope his moderation .274 Girarde archbishop of yorke his epistle 28â— Girarde his simonie .288 Glosers of Othos constitution .331.332 God helpeth in necessitie vsyng his remedie not temptyng hym .237 d. Gods preceptes transgressed for mans tradition .238 c. Gregories moderations for contractes .202 b. 288. Genesius Iohn .275 Glosers diuers of lawyers vaine .186 c. Greke priestes mariages good .230 c. Gregorie against dissolution of maryages .200 d. 201. v. and his repentaunce for deuorcyng .201 d. Gregorie appoynteth maryage for a remedie against incontinencie .160 a. 204. d. Gildas of Vnius vxoris vir 344. Genebaldus a bishop maried .347 H Henrie Beuclarke the kyng restrayned the popes auctoritie .299 Heraclius the patriarke abused the kyng .320 Herebert bishop of Norwiche .283 Heretikes daintinesse .47 c. Heretikes and lechers whether they be separable pag. 36. b. 78. â— Henry Beuclarke kyng learned .340 Hesebolus changyng with the tyme .195 c. Hierax an heretike condempned by Epiphanius .165 a. Hieromes counsayle to a frayle man .249 Hieromes deprauations of maryage .82 c. Hierom vpon Vnius vxoris vir Hieroms discourse to Ocean .63 a. Hieromes treatise of the ornamentes of a bishop .69 b. Histories most written by munckes .304 Hilarie a maryed bishop .43 b. 349. Hildebrande pope what he was Fol. 16. pag. 1. a. his decree .89 d. 278. Hildebrande extremely ordered Henrie the Emperour .160 c. Hugh bishop of Durham a concubinarie .314 Huldericus epistle .202 c. Hypocrisie charged by Chrisostome .78 b. Hypocrites counterfaytyng chastitie Fol. 19. pag. 2. c. 49. c. I Iames saying corrupted .148 d. Iewyshe constitutions folowed of the pope .113 a. Iâ—o Carnotensis iudgement towardes the decrees .98 b. Innocent pope slaundereth maryage .163 a. Interim tollerateth priestes mariage .196 c. Incest mariages what they be .221 c. Innocent the thirde dyd abridge the prohibitions of maryage .235 a. Inuestitures much defended .293 Iuo Carnotensis of priestes chyldren to succede their fathers .313 Iohannes Genesius .185 b. 140. b. 175. c. Iohannes Cremensis .217 Iudges ecclesiasticall what they ought to be Fol. 17. pag. 1. a. Iustinian of bishoppes mariages .197 a. Irishe religion .344 Ireland kyng Henrie the seconde refourmed .345 Irelandes counsayle .345 K Kynges auctoritie leaf .4 pag. 1. c. Kyng Henrie sclaundered by Martin .53 b. Kyng Henrie dissolued not priestes mariages .197 c. Kynges auctoritie in dispensyng .234 Kyng Ethelwolfus first subdeacon and after maryed .272 b. Kynges sonne elect to the bishopricke of Lincolne .318 L Lanfranckes constitution .279 d. Lanfranckes nephewe abbot of S. Albons .280 Leo pope his dispensation .213 his moderation .270 c. 273. Licet et non licet howe to be taken .62 b. Libanius mutable in doctrine .195 a. Luther belyed by Martin .50 c. Lechery sometyme more priuileged then chastitie .272 Latro succeedyng in his fathers bishopricke .348 M Matrimonie the ordinaunce of God .1 a. Fol. 2. pag. 2. Fol. 3. pag. 1. b. the roote of mans felicitie .1 c. forbydden diuerslye .81 a. abhorde by the Maniches .81 c. falsly accused to encrease concupiscense .158 c. it is blessed with procreation of chyldren .159 b. sclaundered by foule names .164 c. but priestes maryages worse named .165 b. and only forbydden by humane lawe .251 b. Maryage permitted maketh fewer concubinaries .339 honorable in priestes by Iustinian .315 which geueth no libertie to lewdnes .339 seconde mariages of lay men more lawfull then honest .163 a. 250. c Maryed priestes recanted in Queene Maries tyme .169 b. Martin extreme Fol. b. pag. 2. b. his sclaunders pag. 28. a. his skyll in stories Rhethorike and Arithmaticke .190 b. 120. his fonde accomptyng .123 his argumentes vaine .184 a. Martine Poresius aloweth the popes dispensation to those that cannot conteyne .267 b. Magdalen colledge librarie hath Ignatius .118 b. Mawde kyng Henrie his first wyfe sclaundered .290 Michael Paleologus belyed .52 c. 56. b. Michael Uâ—e .265 Miracles forged .311 Montanus and Nouatus condempnyng seconde maryages .72 c. Munkes and priestes do differ in profession .224 a. Munkes gouernyng dislyked .288.306 who wholly aduaunce them selues and depraue their princes .289.290 who only by pope Iohn are to be bishops 290. which first professe before consecratioÌ„ .291 Munkes why they dyd bewray their owne abuses .311 Munkes howe disordered against their archbishop .312 Moyses and Maximus maryed .245 b. Marie Magdalen maryed .348 N Nauclerus wrytyng of Hildebrande Fol. 15. pag. 2. b. Nazaries shauyng of their heere .111 b. Nestorius arrogancie .192 d. Notes of doctor Martins booke Fol. 5. pag. 2. b. Nubrigensis testimonie .333 Nestorius mutabilitie .194 b. Nazianzene Gregorie .341 O Orders takyng defeateth not mariage .227 a. Order howe it hath vowe annext .232 Origen bare with dispensations agaynst scripture .266 d. Origen corrupted for priestes mariages .106 a. Oth after orders takyng dissolueth not matrimonie folowyng .229 a. Otho Cardinall commyng into the Realme .325 Othoes constitution .330 Otho howe he was entertayned .326 Oxforde first buylded by Alured .273 a. P Paules place interpreted qui celebs est 339. d. Pastors fewe .20 pag. 2. b. Paphnutius sentence .34 d. 156. a. 58. a. 133. b. Paules place Propter fornicationem c. 138. a. 133. b. Paules place bonum est mulierem non tangere .138 a. Paules place Ter dominuÌ„ Rogaui 147. Pastors reprehended .190 c. and charged to beare other mens infirmitie .191 a. Panormitans opinion .237.247 a. Paules place de doctrinis demoniorum .277 Pecchams constitution agaynst priestes chyldren .328 Peters wyfe .34 b. whom he dyd not put away .39 b. but had her about with hym .157.158 Petrus Cantor parisiensis of positiue iustice .98 a. Peters penurie .161 his daughter Petronel .162 b. Philosophers before baptime admitted to bishoprickes .274 Pighius leader to Martin