power here oucht in al cases to be ruled ordred by lerning For here if power in the least thing that can be be contrarye to the keye of LERnynge that is the cnowlege of the law of god the determination shulde be nothinge worth For if the Pope wolde by any maner of power determyne any thynge other wyse than lernyng that is the cnowlege of goddis lawe wolde haue it be determyned other in our fayth or in good maners his determinacion shulde be vtterly nothinge worthe at al yea it shulde be lefull for euery christian man that knoweth this to crie out ageinst it and all to be spyt be spue it and to reproue and damne it as hereticall For if any power do commaunde the to do any thinge that thou oughtest not to do then doubtlesse contemne and dispice that power as saynt Austine sayth For saith he take hede of the degrees that be in worldly thynges For if the Marshall of the hoste bidde vs do any thynge shall we do it if it be ageynst the grande capitayne Agayne if the graunde Capitayne byd vs do any thinge and the kynge or Emperour commaundeth vs to do a nother dost thou doubt but that we muste obey the coÌ„mandement of the kynge or the emperour and contemne the coÌ„mandement of the grande Capitayne Therfore if the kynge or the emperour bydde one thinge and god an other we must obey god conteÌ„ne not regard nother kyng nor emperour Therfore we may not thinke that the Popes licence in the degrees forbydden by goddis lawe is iuste and a richtfull dispensation but rather an vnrichtfull and an vnresonable dissipation and mysorderynge of the lawes of god For truli god doth not alowe such maryages whiche be ageynste his owne lawe nor yet suche ouchte not to be called trewe mariages For that oucht not to be iudged mariage whiche is made ageynste the lawe of god But when it is ones knowen it muste nedes be amended as saynte Ambrose sayth ¶ YEA AND besyde al this though we wolde euen grauÌ„t neuer so moche that the popes haue ben wont of custome to put to or to take awey from the lawe of god and so to make expositions restreyntes vpon goddis lawe yet for all that the doctours of the lawe do thynke that it is lefull for them but only in .ij. cases ¶ One case whan that one lawe of god is expouned and restreyned by an other lawe of god as this commaundement THOV shalt not slee is lymytted and expouned thus that it is lefull to slee mysdoers ¶ An other case whan the pope of a iust and a leful cause and suche as is without synne doth put to or take away some parte from the lawe of god as to this coÌ„maundement IN the mouth or wytnesse of .ij. or .iij. standeth all the profe the pope for a iust cause vseth somtyme to put more wytnesse than .ij. or .iij. ¶ But the pope can by none of these .ij. weyes expoune or restreyne this Leuiticall commaundement That a man shulde not marie his brothers wyfe For all thoughe that it was limitted and restreyned before tymes of god in the Deuteronomi yet for all that bycause afterwarde the sayde restreint was taken awey of god hym selfe bi the coÌ„minge of Christe truly the pope can not brynge vp agayne nowe in these dayes the same restreynt For if the pope now of dayes coulde by dispensation cause that a man micht mary after the law of the Deuronomi his brothers wyfe whiche dothe dye hauynge no issue for to reyse vp sede to his brother without doubte he shulde make christian meÌ„ at this day to folow the Iues cerimones supersticiousnes which the pope can not do no more then he can cause that we shuld kepe their sabbat dai or that there shulde be circumcisyon as saint Gregory saith After that the grace fauour of almichtie god appered the coÌ„mandmeÌ„tes of the law which were spoken bi figure mystically can not be kepte as we haue shewed you before of the sabbat day of circuÌ„cisioÌ„ other figural or mystical lawes as is also that coÌ„maÌ„dmeÌ„t of the Deuteronomi That we shulde marie our brothers wyfe wherfore if the pope wold brynge vp this nowe amonge vs christian men he could not For he can by no meane bringe vp ageyn the customes and ceremonies of the Iues whiche were abrogate clene taken awey bi the coÌ„ming of Christe This saint Paule proueth saying IF you be circuÌ„cised Christ shal ê“fet you nothing at al which did speke ageinst Peter to his face bicause he coÌ„streined the geÌ„tils to folowe the Iues ceremonies And also saint Thomas saith that whan thapostol doth publisshe the law of god it is nat leful for the pope to dispense as for an exemple where the apostoll sayth IF you be circuÌ„cised Christe shall profette you nothinge whose sayenge also Ioannes de Turre cremata doth folowe Therfore the pope can not restreyne this Leuitical lawe in the first case that is by cause it is restreyned by the Deuteronomi lawe whiche is but a mystery and a ceremony ¶ And agayne in the seconde case that is to say for a cause or consideration the pope can moche lesse dispense in this Leuiticall lawe seynge there can be no cause founde lefull inough and that shulde be without synne for the whiche he may dispense For to discouer the foulenes of our brother is in the maners of men foule and shamefull and suche couplynge is called inceste and incest is as greuous a synne as can be And therfore playnely euin as the pope can not dispense that a man may commytte adultery or to kepe a concubyne or leÌ„man or to haue many wyues at ones and in suche other lyke by cause they be of them selfe and by their owne nature euermore yl and nouchty so nother in this kynde of inceste mariage where as is deadely synne after the law of god ther can be no cause fouÌ„de whiche can excuse that synne For seynge that honestie is cause of this prohibition whyche is the contynuall companyon of mariage this kynde of mariage playnly is to be thoucht so euyl in the maners of meÌ„ and also so myscheuous in example that it can not be mainteined in no case nother by man nor by aungell nor by apostoll nor by any apostollyke man ¶ Nor let not the Pope here lay ageynste vs his full power For we graunt that the Pope hath in dede a fulle power and not yet all thinge so full as the worde souneth so that this full power shulde be able to do any dede that is possible to be done or any thynge that hym lustethe to do as though there were no superior For suche power is onely mete for Christe according to that sainge of Christe VNTO me is giuen all power bothe in heuen and in erthe but this power of the Pope is restreyned and drawen in to tho thinges whiche belonge to the pastorall or sheperdly cure of soules
feyth beleue and truste what to knowlegynge of synne what to holynesse what to perfection to rightnes to equitie and conscience to loue and charitie breuely what thinges before god are taken for cleane or vncleane fyled or vnfiled comely and acceptable abhominable and cursed holy and vnholy All these thynges teacheth the sayde lawe of god And the historie of Moses concernynge the sacrament of matrimony is after this maner and forme folowynge ⧠The fyrste chaptre GOd that is best and almightie after that he by his power whiche can in no wise be expressed had made heuen erthe and all thynges that be conteyned within the compasse of the same and at the laste had made Adam also he sawe accordynge to his incredible knowlege and wysedome that it was nat conueniēt nor yet good that Adam shuld leade his lyfe in Paradyse solitary and all alone without company and destitute of all helpe and comforte for god made hym naturally to lyue in amitie and frendship in loue and good wyll and hadde grauen nowe alredy in his soule with his fynger of the holy goste certayne generall vnder standynges perceyuynges and knowleges the whiche shulde nat onely moue and sturre hym to the loue of god and man to amitie and frendeshyppe and to other dueties dedes and offices of vertue but also shulde greatly helpe and strength hym make hym able and of power to performe and fulfyll those same offices of vertue after suche maner as they ought to be done Therfore god soone after he hadde made Adam cast hym in a deed slepe and toke out one of his rybbes of his side and made it a womā And whā he had broght her vnto Adā had coupled them straitly to gethers by the bōde knot of mariage by and by he made the lawes of mariage sayenge by the mouth of Adā Nowe this bone of my bones and flesshe of my flesshe For the which cause a man shal leaue his father and mother and shall stycke vnto his wyfe and they shall be two in one flesshe or body or two shall be made one flesshe or bodye But the deuyll hauynge enuy at their felicitie by and by came vpō them by subtiltie and suche crafte as can nat be tolde and dyd nat ceasse tyl he had allured them into the snare of synne And therfore they were owtlawed and dreuen forthe of Paradyse and were cōpelled to till and labour the erth There when they had applyed them selfe to brynge forthe children and nowe by proces of tyme the multitude of men was increased vnto an infinite noumbre god seynge that moche was the malyce and vyce of men in the erth and that all the thought and mynde of the herte of manne was sette and bent euermore and at all tymes to noughtynesse and synne in so moche that they toke them wyues at aduentures whome so euer they hadde chosen sparynge or forbearynge no maner degree of affinitie or kynred oure lorde repentynge hym selfe that he hadde made man brought in the waters and Noes fludde vppon the erthe and slewe all the flesshe in the whiche was the spirite of lyfe vnder heuen excepte those fewe whome he commaunded to go in to the arke or shyppe of Noe the whiche fewe whanne after the drownynge of the worlde they were called out of the shyppe abrode that is to witte whan that our lord was atone ageyne with mankinde he gyuyng his blessing to Noe his children whan he was about to publisshe vnto them agayne the lawes of maryage Fyrste and before all thynges he commanded them to do their dutie in mariage and to encrease and multiplie and fyl ful the erthe But after this whan certayne hundredes of yeres were paste and nowe the children of Israel after theyr departyng out of Egypte where they hadde dwelled of a longe tyme had ben in the wyldernesse .lx. dayes more or lesse and had pyght their tentes ageynste the mounte of Oreb and there our lorde had shewed vnto Moses with wonderfull religion and fearefulnes nat onely the commaundementes and iudgementes the whiche he wolde to be gyuen to his people but also had instructe hym at large of the buyldynge of the tabernacle and of the ornamentes of the same of sacrifice doinge and of bole bourned sacrifice and of the place and tyme of the same of the prestes of the kynred of Leui of the difference of meates of the clensynges of leprijs and of other mistycal thinges in the whiche outwardly appered a shadowe of feythe and of good maners not the very thynge in dede our lorde called Moses vnto hym agayne out of the tabernacle of witnesse or promyse and by cause that the tyme was euen at hande for the people of Israhell to entre into the londe that god hadde promysed them he commaunded Moses ageyn that by his worde and cōmaundement he shulde admonysshe the people of newe of kepynge the moralle preceptes and that perteyne to good maners and to the orderyng and wel rulinge of theyr lyfe and that he shulde make them playn and open vnto them after the moost largest and playnest maner that he coulde Therfore by cause that god dyd study and dyd care before al thinges that his people whom he had chosen for his owne propre flocke shuld with suche chastitie and pure holynes as becometh kepe their matrimony the whiche is in honour and reuerence amongest al folkes And bicause they shulde kepe their beddes vnspotted and vndefiled nor shulde nat pollute them selfe with suche maner of mariages as he had abhorred and had in abhominacion nowe of longe tyme amongest the hethens had ryghtfully be reuēged vpon them by mooste greuous punysshementes bycause they were vncharytable incest and a cursed our lorde cōmaunded Moses that he shulde prescribe vnto his people lawes of matrimoni that shuld be cōformable and agreing with honestie and shamefastnes naturall and that he shulde vtterly forbydde suche maryages whiche had foulenes and dishonestie in them And therfore our lorde vsed these wordes vnto Moses in the .xviij. chaptre of the Leuiticall sayenge O Moses speake vnto the children of Israhell speke and tell them nat thy worde nor thy commaundement but myne For I my selfe their very lorde and god do teche them this and this commaunde them that they lyue nother after the abhomynable custome of the Egiptiens from whose miserable bōdage I haue delyuered them into perfecte and full libertie by my valiaunt arme and myghtie power nor yet after the vngracious vsages and maners of the Cananees whose lande I wyll gyue vnto them and wyll brynge them into it ▪ but that they from hensforth obserue and kepe my commaundementes my iudgementes and my lawes and that they folowe them and lyue after them For besyde other myscheuous vices this thyng also is leful and customable amonge those hethens to myngle or marye them selfe by moost shamefull luste and plesure of their bodyes with women that be most nyest of their bloud and of their affinitie puttynge no
of all the holle worlde if his conscience pricked hym for suche incest wyll not feare the terrible iudgement of god Fyrst leest he shulde prouoke and brynge vpon hym selfe the vengeance of god as dyd the sonnes of Cain the whiche were drowned in Noes floudde by cause they did fouly abuse their systers and their brothers wyues as approued doctours do saye Seconde lest he shulde be constrayned to flee his countrey and his children either to be distroyed or disherited lyke as the kynges of Canaan were serued and as it came in tyme paste to the kynge Iechonias Finally leest that after this lyfe he fall also into the tourmentes of euerlastynge punisshement For here you se before your eies the sacre holy lawes of god here you se the lyuely prophecyes and wordes of excedynge vertue and strengthe the whiche be more persynge as Paule sayth than any double edged sworde whiche ronnethe through til they haue diuided the life and the soule and haue deuided the ioyntes the mary whiche wordes seing they be so playne and open that if any man will adde and put any thinge vnto them it shulde be ieopardie leest he shulde be reproued and founde false and a lyer accordynge to Salomons sayenge Forsothe it becometh a christen harte more to regarde the wordes and auctoritie of god whiche so doth forbydde so hath in abhominacion so dothe punysshe and reuenge suche matrymonie that is contracte with the brothers wyfe than any maner auctoritie of men or any felicitie of this worlde that shulde brynge a man to so great vice and vngodlynesse to so great dedly remorse and tearinge a sondre of a mans mynde and conscience For who doth nat vnderstande that we ought rather to obeye god than man and that hit shall be smalle proffyte to a man if he wynne all the worlde and lose his soule For if he lose his soule he leseth his body also And truely it is a heuy wynnynge for the whiche a man leseth hym selfe that is to saye his bodye and his soule into euerlastynge damnacion ⧠The seconde Chaptre THerfore all thoughe a good and a christen reder after that he hath ones sene these sayenges of god can not resonably desire any thyng more to moue his cōsciēce that he shud surely beleue that he can nat breake this Leuiticall forbyddynges that a man shulde nat marie his brothers wyfe without greuous sinne and transgression both of the lawe of god and of the lawe of nature also we neuerthe lesse wyll brynge forthe also wytnesse of the lawe of the gospell suche as shall be thought to helpe for the clerynge of this matter and also we shall shewe what the sacre holy counsayles and the best lerned and moost approued doctours of the churche haue iuged in this matter And first of al the auctoritie of saynt Iohn̄ and saynt Paule doth maynteine and confyrme the sentence of these vniuersities The auctorite of saynt Paule where as he gyueth his iudgement that christen men euen at this tyme are bounde to kepe that other Leuiticall lawe that a man shulde nat mary his stepmother whiche law was made and publisshed in the same place the same text by the same sprite and the same selfe tyme that this other law was that a man shulde nat marye his brothers wyfe And Paule calleth that vnclenlines or fornication vtterly agaynst Nature and beastly that a man shulde marie his fathers wife Ageyn the auctoritie of saint Iohn̄ is playn where as he openly rebuketh Herode the kynge sayenge It is not leful for the to haue thy brothers wyfe For what so euer the interpretatiō or vnderstandyng of those wordes is whether they be vnderstande of his brother beyng a lyue or deed yet this thynge is sure as it is also sene to great lerned men that saynt Iohn̄ dydde take those wordes out of the Leuiticall boke And by cause that those thynges whiche he did saye shulde haue the more auctorytie strengthe and vertue he pourposely did rebuke and reproue the shamelesse incest life of Herode not bi his owne wordes but by the wordes of god For it shulde haue bene to no pourpose to haue layde any crime to kynge Herodes charge for this thynge vpon any other cause seinge that Herode was an alien and an heathen and therfore was not forbydden by none other lawe wherby he myghte not marye his brothers wyfe ye and thoughe his brother had lefte .x. childerne by her for as the prohibitions of the lawe Canon they were nat that tyme made the lawe Deuteronomi dyd bynde the Iues onely wherfore seinge that this no doute most rightfull sentence of saint Iohn̄ was giuen agaynst kynge Herode an hethen man generally and without any exception lymitation or distinction nor hit is nat restreined vnto the wyfe of his brother lyuyng or of his brother leauyng children what other thynge shulde we thinke that saynt Ihon̄ did meane then that this Leuiticall lawe that a man shulde not marie his brothers wyfe dothe indefferently belonge vnto all men as well hethens as Iues by cause it is merueilous agreable with naturall reason and that all christē men are necessarely bounde vnto the obseruatyon or kepynge of the same as well as they be to the kepynge of the cōmandement of god and of nature For though we graunte that Moses lawe was not taken a wey specially amonge them vnto whom the gospell was not yet shewed vntyll suche tyme as the gospell and this happy tidinges of Christ was published and openly declared vnto them yet all that euer is conteined in Moses lawe as many as belonge either to iudgement or to cerimonies they were deed by and by and of no strength vnto them which all redy did knowe and did preache and teache that Christe grace or fauour of god and the gospel was come And truly it is not reasonable to beleue that Iohn̄ wolde haue vsed suche witnesse or that he wold haue shedde his bloudde and haue died in the quarell to maintaine the truth of those lawes whose credence auctorite he knewe well before that they were allredy vaneshed a wey of nomore effecte or at leste that they shulde ceasse and be takē awey sone after Furthermore Paule dothe greuously rebuke the hedes and rulers and the comunalte of the Corynthes by cause they suffered one of the citye of Corinthe to be conuersante amonge them vnpunyshed whiche beynge blynded I wot not by what errour parauenture by pretence of lybertie of the gospell hadde takē his stepmother to wyfe Ye and more ouer he dothe condempne the same selfe felowe vnto the most greuous punishemēt of excōmunication not so moche by cause he had done agaynst the lawe as bycause he hadde done ageinst nature saynge that is suche fornication as is not euin amonge the hethens whiche be led or ruled by the lawe of nature menynge no doubte that nature dothe abhorre that one the same selfe flesshe that is to sey the fader and the son
speke ageynst this poynte And agayne whan he was asked of the same bysshoppe vnto what degree Christis faithfuls might marye with their kynsewomen and whether it was lefull for them to marie with their stepmothers with their brothers wiues whom at that tyme they called cosyns he answered in order to both two questions in this maner There is a certayne erthly and worldly law within the dominioÌ„ of Rome that the sonne and daughter of brother and syster or of two brothers germayns or of two sisters may be maried to gether but we haue lerned by experieÌ„ce that ther coulde neuer issue come of suche mariage and the holy lawe of god forbyddeth vs to discouer the foulenes of our cousyns wherfore it muste nedes be amongest faith full or Christian people that if they that be of kynne will laufully mary that they be in the thirde or fourth degre of kynred For they that be in the secoÌ„de degre whiche we spake of before maye in no case be maryed to gether And as for a man to be maried with his stepmoder it is a greuous synnne why so bicause it is written in the lawes of god thou shalte nat discouer the foulenes of thy father For although the sonne can nat discouer the foulenes of the father yet bicause it is written The man and wife shal be two in one flesshe or body doutles who so shall presume to discouer the foulenesse of his stepmother whiche hath ben one flesshe and body with his father he in dede doth discouer the foulenes of his father Ageyn it is forbidden by the Leuiticall lawe that a man shulde myngle or marye with his cosyn that is to sey his brothers wyfe bycause that she being ones ioyned with the former brother is made his flesshe and for the same thynge saint IhonÌ„ Baptist loste his heed and by an holy martyrdome was brought to his ende Vnto whom it was not seyde that he shulde deny Christe yet he was slayne for confessynge Christe But bycause our lorde Iesus Christe had sayde I am the treuth saynt IohnÌ„ truely shed his bloud for Christe by cause he was slayne for the treuth But bycause there be some amoÌ„ge the Englysshe people whiche whyle they were yet infidels or vnfaythfuls as hit is sayde haue myngled them selfe by suche abhomination and not to be spoken mariages they muste be warned whan they come to the faith that they absteyne and forbere their carnal pleasure betwene man and wife and that they beleue and grauÌ„t that it is a greuous sinne to vse it let them feare the terrible iudgement of god lest for a lyttell carnall pleasure they falle into the tormentes of euerlastinge paynes ¶ Nowe reder marke diligently with me these wordes of saint Gregory consider me here in his writinge .iii. or .iiii. thinges Fyrst that the most holy most excelleÌ„t lerned doctor both in the law of god of maÌ„ vtterly plainly affirmeth these Leuitical lawes that a maÌ„ shulde not mary his brothers wyfe with the other to be of suche auctorite that he saythe openly that they be the very lawe of god SecoÌ„de that the same lawes be nowe at this tyme of suche auctoritie strengthe that it is not leful in any case to contracte matrimony contrary to that is forbidden in the same Thirdly that the occasion of saynt IohnÌ„s martyrdome was this bicause he wold meinteyn vphold the truth auctorite of the same lawes ageinst Herode the king which had maried his brothers wyfe Fourthe that the mariages which certain englisshe men had coÌ„tract with their broders wiues and that euen before they had taken the fayth vpon them to be so vnleful not to be spokeÌ„ that they could not without dedly sinne rendre their duetie of mariage one to an other nor yet abide stil in thesame mariagê the whiche thing truely we thynke ought not lightli to be passid ouer For ones saint Paule biddeth and coÌ„mandeth that they whiche be laufully maried shulde nother be diuorsed nor yet the ton to deny the tother the right dutie of mariage Agein saint Gregory had grauÌ„ted liceÌ„ce vnto the said englisshemen that they might coÌ„tract matrimoni in the .iiij. degre that mariage coÌ„tract in the .iiij. degre shuld nat be brokeÌ„ wherfore these thingis coÌ„sidered it must nedes be that there was doutles some great cause why saint Gregory wold nat admit or suffre such mariages as the englisshmeÌ„ had coÌ„tract with their brothers wiues at the lest wise to haue suffred them by a dispensation or lycence if it had ben lefull to haue dispeÌ„sed with theÌ„ And truli ther lacked not causes which ought to haue moued him for to haue dispeÌ„sed with theÌ„ As bicause of the faith of christeÌ„dom the whiche some freill persons had leuer ê‘aueÌ„ture vtterly to forsake and renouÌ„ce thaÌ„ to haue departed from their tenderly beloued wyues as the tymes were than in the begynnynge of the faith An other cause shulde haue ben this that they had bouÌ„de them selfe by maryage before the wasshynge of baptisme at the whiche tyme there were no lawes wrytten by the whiche the heathens were forbidden from suche mariage of their brothers wyues But this moste holy and moste wyse man thought that in all and before all a man shuld regarde the commaundement of god And he wolde nat be author nor causer to no man for to breake that lawe He sawe and playnely dyd iudge that he whiche had maryed his brothers wyfe hath done contrary to the principal cause of mariage and against the naturall inclination of man whiche he hath to haue issue and posterite bycause that god saith He that marieth his brothers wyfe shall dye without children he sawe that this is plainly an vngodly dede abhominable before god and man and also ageynst the nature of man and as nygh as can be vnto the nature and lyfe of beastes He sawe howe greuous punisshment is abiding them which haue defiled them selfe with this foule synne Therfore he iuged that nother peace nor yet faith and christendome nor any other thinge in this worlde beside forth is of suche vertue and goodnes that it is able to recompeÌ„ce and weye out the malyciousnes of this dede He wolde nat than that suche mariages shulde stande styll and remayne or be called or so moche as be thought to be mariages but he wolde rather haue them broken and vndone and dyd commande that as many as had intangled them selfe with suche mariage shuld be admonisshed and warned that if they wolde professe Christes religion they shulde from thens forwarde absteyne and forbere from medling the one with the other If nat they shuld haue for theyr carnall pleasure the tourmentes of euerlastyng punisshment ¶ Furthermore reder there be other bysshops also whiche in tyme passed were in very dede greattest and hyghest nat onely for their lerninge and wysedome but also for the holynesse of theyr lyfe that maye clerely teache the that these Leuitical forbyddynges of
dyd gyue the keyes of the kyngdome of heuen hath no power to gyue a dispensation to any man for to contracte suche a mariage for any maner of cause consideration or suggestion And all we be redye at all tymes and in al places to deende and maynteine the treuth of this our conclusion In wytnesse wherof we haue made this present writing and haue fortified the same bothe with the seale of our vniuersitie and also with the seale of the college of the doctours of diuinitie and haue subscribed signed it with our general and accustomed subscription In the cathedrall churche of Bonony the .10 daye of Iune the yere of our lorde 1530. vnder the popeshyppe of Clemente the ▪ eyght The determination of the faculte of diuinitie of the vniuersitie of Padway in Italy THey that haue written for the mayntenaunce of the catholike feyth affirme that god best and mightiest dyd gyue the preceptes and cōmandementes of the olde lawe with his owne mouthe to be an exampler for vs wherin we might se bowe we shuld order our life our maners and this god had done before he became mā And after that he had put vpon hym our manhode and was become redemer or byer of mankinde he made the newe lawe or testamēt and of his mere liberalitie dyd gyue it vs nat only for the cause beforesayd but also to take away and declare al maner of doutes and questions that myghte arise the whiche ones opened and declared what their very true meanynge is to the intent that therby we myght be made perfectly good be greatly frutefull vnto vs and holsome and seinge that this was the mynde of god in makyng these lawes it hath ben our intent and euermore shal be as it becometh christen men to folowe these most solempne ordinaunces of the moste hygh worke mayster god and by the helpe of light that is aboue the capacite of nature to vtter our iudgement in al maner of doutes and harde questions After that we had ones consydered the thynge after the best maner and had by suffycient leyser made it clere by many euident reasons of bothe parties and by many auctorites of fathers of the churche determinynge no thinge as nere as we can rasshely or with out conuenient deliberation seynge therfore that certeyne great orators or ambassadours dyd humbly praye vs that we wolde wytsaue to serche out with all the diligence that we coulde this case folowynge and afterwardes to gyue our sentence vpon the same playnely symply loking vpō the only treuth all the doctours of diuinite of this vniuersite came to geder after that we had euery mā examined the thynge particularly at home in our owne houses and haue beatē it out with all lernynge and counnyng that we were able anon whan we were to gether we cosydered examyned and weyed all thynges by them selfe and brought in all maner of reasons whiche we thoughte myghte in any meanes be made to the contrarye and without all colour or cloke dyd holly and clerely dissolue them take them awaye and amongest al euyn the dispensation by the lawe of the deuteronomi of styrrynge vp the brothers sede and all maner other reasons and determinations to the contrary that semed to vs to perteyne any thing to the purpose we vtterly confuted and dispatched them And the question that was put vnto vs is this whether that to marye the wyfe of our brother departed without children is forbiddē only by the lawe of the churche or by the lawe of god also and if it be forbydden by both the .ij. lawis wheder the pope may dispēce with any man for suche matrimonie or no. whiche question nowe that we haue discussed it and as farre as we coulde haue made it clere bothe priuately euerye man by hym selfe all to gethers openly we say iuge decree wytnesse and for a treuth affirme that such mariage is no mariage yea that hit is to be abhorred and cursed of euerye christen man and to be abhomynate as a greuous synne and that it is as clerely as can be forbydden vnder moost crudell penalties by the lawe of nature of god and of man And that the Pope vnto whom the keyes of the kyngdome of heuen be commytted by Christe the sonne of god hath no power to dispense by ryghte and lawe for any cause or suggestion or excuse that any suche matrimonie shulde be contracte for tho thynges whiche be forbidden by the lawe of god be nat vnderneth his power but aboue hit nor he is nat the vicar of god as concernynge tho thynges but only in suche thinges as god hath nat determined him selfe in his lawe but hath lefte them to the determination and ordinance of man And to mainteine the truth of this our sentence and cōclusion and for most certaine vndoubted defence of the same we all of one mynde and accorde shall at all tymes and in euerye place be redye In wytnesse wherof we haue made this writinge and haue auctorised it with the accustomed seale of our vnyuersitie and also of our college of diuines Dated at Padway in the church of the hermites of seynt Austen the .1 day of Iuly an 1530. The determination of the vniuersitie of Tolose THer was treated in our vniuersite of Tolose a very harde question whether it is leful for the brother to mary her whiche had ben wyfe vnto his brother now departed and that without childerne There was be syde this a nother thynge that troubleth vs very sore whether if the Pope which hath cure of Christes flocke wolde by his dispēsatiō as men cal it suffer this that thā at the leest wise it myght be lefull The Rector of the vniuersite called to coūsell all the doctours regentes that were that tyme at Tolose for to shewe theyr myndes vpon this questiō and that not ones but twyse for he iuged that counsell gyuynge ought not to be hasted nor done vpon heed and that we had nede of tyme and space to do any thynge conueniently and as it ought At the last there came to gether in to one place all the best lerned and counningest doctours both of holy dyuinite and also doctours that were most best lerned in bothe lawes yea and finally as many as had any experiēce in any matter were able to do any thing other by iudgement and discretion or by eloquence or by their excellēt wyttes and did swere that they wolde obey the sacre holy coūsels and wold folowe the decrees of the fathers whiche no man that hath any good conscience will violate or breke and so euery man sayd his mynde and the matter was debated and resoned diffusely and at large for both parties In cōclusion we fell so faste vnto this poynt that this was the sentence and determination that our vniuersite with one voyce of all dyd determine and conclude with moste pure and clere conscience and defyled with no maner of leuen or corruption that it is lefull for no
difference betwene them and other women Therfore I wyll haue my people to be very farre from their maners and conditions And therfore I myn owne selfe theyr verye lorde and god saye vnto them coÌ„mande them that no maÌ„ so hardy to come nye any woman that is nere of his bloud for to discouer her foulenes or shame as to his owne mother to his step mother to his syster to his nece to his aunte or fathers syster to his mothers syster to the daughter of his son in lawe to the daughter of his daughter in lawe or to his wyues syster Also no man shall take the wyfe of his brother and no man shal discouer the foulenes of his brothers wyfe bycause it is the foulenes of his brother For who so marieth his brothers wyfe dothe a thynge that is vnlefull he shall be without sonnes or heyres male Therfore lette nat my people be polluted with none of these thynges with whiche all the hethyns be defyled whome I shall cast out before their faces and with whom that lande is polluted and I shall visite loke on the mischeuous sins of that lande that it shall vomette and spewe forth the inhabitantes of hit Lette them kepe my lawes and my iugementes and se they do none of all these abhominacions whether he be of the countrey borne or a tyll man that is a straunger amonge them For the dwellers of this lande whiche were in hit before them and haue polluted hit haue done all those cursed thynges Therfore let them beware lest that whan they haue done like thingis the lande vomet spewe them out likewyse as it hath vomet and spewed out the nacion that was there before them For euery soule that shall do any of these abhominations shal perisshe from the myddes of my people nor shall nat be rekened amongest my holy people ¶ And trewly hytherto we haue shewed you by a certain breue exposition and that only vpoÌ„ the feythe credence of the most approued doctours that be and also as shortely as we coulde almost all that euer is prescribed and commaunded in the olde testament by the mouth of god hym selfe vpon the begynninge and fyrst ordynaÌ„ce of maryages and of the lawes thereof and more ouer vpon the impedymentes or lettes of maryage by the meane of kynrede and affinitie the which haue place at this day wherby it may easely be perceyued that suche an impedyment of mariage is expressely fouÌ„de in the holy scripture wher by persones be made vnlefull to contracte matrimonie that is to say the impedimeÌ„t by nerenesse of bloudde as Moses called hit by the whiche we vnderstande bothe them that be of kynred and them that be of affinitie also and that nat generally in al kynsfolke but specially in those degrees and persons whiche bothe we haue rehersed and they be expressely rekned vp in the foresayde .xviij. chaptre of the Leuiticall And by the same foresayde thynges a man may also well se that no man can pretende any colour or cloke or fynde any maner of cauillation wherby that man which hath maried his brothers wyfe shulde nat be iuged of all the holle people nat onely to haue contemned and dispised god the whiche hath with so great maiestie coÌ„maunded the contrary but also to haue offeÌ„ded by infectynge and corruptinge the maners of the people by suche a mischiuous example to haue done agaynst the lawes of nature and also to haue broken fouly and vngodly the ryghtes and holy kepynge of shamefastnes and mariage finally to haue hyndred vniuersally the propagacion and increasynge of loue and charitie betwene christen people For who so euer wyll consyder aryghte and accordynge to reason the order the strength and vertue of these lawes and also the wyse intent and reason of the makinge of them he shal sone perceiue howe true it is that we haue seyde And first of al consider howe greatly these lawes of matrimoni do helpe for the maynteininge exercise of vertue of chastite of clennes of holynes puritie of mariage of natural demurenes shamefacidnes reuerence that ought to be betwene kynsfolke specially in mariage of propagacion or increasement of loue and charite and finally of diuers other dueties offices and dedes of vertue whiche both of them selfe be honest good and besydes forth be necessary also to the purchasing obteining of euerlastinge felicitie Ageyn ponder how god most of power and most best doth exhorte in a maner by certaine obtestations or affectuous harty desiringes prayengê nat only the Iues but also the strangers that lyue after Moses lawe to perfourme and fulfyll these foresayde lawes nat onely for his benefites and goodnes that they haue had shulde haue of him but also for his owne auctorite and maieste which is most great and in no wise to be disobeyed Ouer beside al this consider with howe great strengthe weyghte of wordes and with howe great care and thought god in decreenge these lawes doth often reherse sayeng â–ª It is nat for a man it is foulenes it is mischeuousnes it is cursidnes it is abhomination it is nat to be spoken it is nat lefull it is agaynst the very lawes of god breuely hit is fylthye and sklaunderous that any man shulde do any suche thyng â–ª Last of all for a conclusion consider what and howe greuous punysshementes god dothe threten them with whan he dothe require of them the kepyng of this lawes ye and more ouer how sore he hath taken vengeaunce and hath punysshed the hethens by cause they had contracte cursed mariages within these degres and that before this lawe was made And he dothe threten also lyke and not a whitte lesse punisshementes vnto the Iues and hethins that professe the Iues lawe if at any tyme they dyd coÌ„mitte like enormities Forsoth if any man will wey well and examin these foresayde thynges religiously and with good conscience so as they oughte to be howe shal he nat streight approue and allowe the conclusions and determinations of those Vniuersities and to thynke certaynely that it is forbydden bothe by the lawe of god and the lawe of Nature that any christen man shulde take to wyfe his brothers wydowe For seynge that these prohibitions as we shall here after more largely declare were hallowed founded by god hym selfe vpon the feare of god vpon the treuthe vpon iustice vpon holynesse and equite and conscience on feyth apon perfetnesse and ryghtnes and on charite and for to declare and open the knowlege of our synne for to declare the knowlege of the grace and fre goodnes of god for clennes for comelinesse finally for good reasonable and holy obedience or seruice of god and suche as shuld be to our lorde god pleasaunt and acceptable what man hauynge pure conscience in his soule doth not iudge suche forbidden mariages to be incestuous foule vncleane abhominable and a cursed before god and manne And what man ye though he were gouernour
of goddis lawe of the lawe of nature most hollely made and euermore to be obserued and kepte and at no tyme to be broken ¶ Nowe to come to the doctours of the churche Tertulian the most oldest writer of all that were sins the tyme of the apostels is author and dothe wryte that this Leuitical forbyddynge that a man shulde not mary his brothers wyfe was brought in taught and ordeyned specially and by name euen of Christe him selfe and his apostels bycause that all the holle churche and company of Christes faith shulde obserue and kepe it with all deuocion and reuereÌ„ce For the same Tertulian disputeth agaynst Marcion vpon this poynt that Christ in the gospel dyd excuse rather then distroye Moses constitution of the lawe of diuorse or departynge of man and wyfe This matter saythe he of diuorse is nat here brought in sodeinly of Christe but it taketh his rote and grouÌ„de of that thinge that IohnÌ„ maketh mencion of For IohnÌ„ did sore rebuke Herode the kyng by cause he had contrarye to the Leuiticall lawe maryed the wyfe of his brother whiche was deed and leste a doughter that he had of her And therfore IohnÌ„ was caste into prison by kynge Herode and afterwarde by hym slayne Therfore saythe Tertulian that after there was mencion made of IohnÌ„ and what ende folowed of hym our lorde for an example of vnlefull maryages and adulterie dyd vehemently crie out vpon kinge Herode sayeng openly and playnely that euery man also was an adulter who so euer dyd marye her that was departed froÌ„ her husbande that ther by he might make the vngodlines and abhominacion of Herode the more greuous and heinous whiche had maried her that was departed from her husbande as well by his deth as if she had ben diuorsed froÌ„ him specially seing that his brother had a daughter by her so that she was maryed vnto hym vnlaufully and hit were but for this thinge bicause he dyd it by instinction and mocion of foule luste of the body and nat by instinction and mocion of the lawe and therfore slewe the prophet which was the meynteyner of the Leuiticall lawe And the same Tertulian also writeth in an other place Bycause saythe he that certayne persones some tyme do saye that they haue no thing to do with Moses law whiche Christe doutles did nat take away but fulfylled and made hit perfecte do some tyme take those thinges of the lawe that lyketh them and make for their purpose playnly we also say this that the law is departed and gone as touchynge this poynte that accordinge to the mynde and sayenge of the apostels the burdens of the lawe whiche our fathers were nat able to beare be vtterly ceassed and taken aweye But as for those thynges that perteyne to Iustyce and vertue do remayne holle nat onely reserued but also amplified and increassed so that our instyce and goodnes whiche be christian people shulde be moche greatter and perfecter than the iustice of the scribes and phariseis and be suche iustyce as a very iuste man ought to haue And our chastite likewise shulde excel and passe theyrs and in no poynt be lasse than theyrs Nowe bicause it is coÌ„manded in Moses lawe that a man shuld take to mariage his brothers wyfe that is departed without children bicause he shulde stir vp sede or gette issue to his brother And bycause this thyng may happen often tymes to one persone as that one woman may be maried to .vi. or .vij. bretherne one after an other for lacke of issue by the former brother accordinge to the subtile question of the Sadduces in the gospell therfore some do thynke that the oftennes of mariage is permysed also in other cases But these men shulde haue vnderstanden first of all the reason and consideration of this precept so they shulde haue well knowen that this reason is nowe ceassed and one of the thinges whiche be nowe voide and of no strengthe nor auctoritie For a man was bounde of necessite to marie the wife of his brother whiche was departed without chyldren Fyrste bycause that as yet that olde blessyng of god Increse you and multiply ought to run forth and continue Seconde by cause the children were punisshed for the fathers fautes Thirdly bycause that the drye and baren persones were had for defamed persons therfore an ordynaunce was made that they shulde haue issue by other of theyr kynne as ye wold say by a proctour and bigotten after the dethe of the father bycause that they whiche were departed without issue nat by the faute of nature by preuencion of deth shulde not therfore be iudged accursed and vnhappy But nowe the blessynge of encresynge and multiplyeng bodily and carnally is ceassed bicause the worlde is at an ende For the apostle induceth counsayleth vs sayenge There is no more but that they also whiche haue wyues shuld be as if they had none bicause the tyme is shorte And agayn The soure grape that our fathers dyd eate that is the sinne that they dyd doth no more stonysshe or set on edge the tethe of the childerne For euery man shall dye for his owne synne And more ouer the baren nowe be nat all onely without infamy and rebuke but also haue deserued thanke fauour of god being inuited and admitted into the kingedome of heuen And therfore nowe this lawe that a man shuld succede into his brothers mariage or that he shuld marie his brothers wyfe is nowe vtterly deed and buryed the contrary of this lawe hath place that a man shuld nat succede into his brothers mariage nor marie his brothers wife And by this as we said before that lawe whiche is ceassed and is no more of strength by cause the reason of it is taken away or ceassed can nat be a coÌ„uenient prosse for an other thinge ¶ Therfore seinge that these thingê before said were writen of TertuliaÌ„ at that tyme whan the church had made very fewe lawes or truly none at all beside tho thiÌ„gê which Christ him selfe his apostels had taught it is plainly to be beleued that this law that a man shuld nat marie his broders wife came by the ordinance of Christ his apostels that it was renued coÌ„firmed declared as ye wolde say by a new conuenaÌ„t agremeÌ„t by a latre testameÌ„t as a law very worthy to be obserued of al christian men for euer more and that ought to be kept with al reuereÌ„ce religioÌ„ ¶ And that holy maÌ„ saint Gregory whiche for his great lernynge and vertue was named Great dothe greatly confirme the same thinge whiche whan saint Augustine the bysshop of the Englysshe men had in tyme past writen to him for counsell whether two brothers germayn myght marie ij sisters which were descended of a stocke farre from them he answereth that this thinge in all cases was lefull to be done by cause there is nothinge fouÌ„de in holy scripture that is thought to
but by the holi fathers and the custome is this That if any man ouercome with a shameles and an vnclenly affection lustynes do fortune to ioyne so vnlefully that he coupleth him selfe by mariage with .ij. systers this man is iuged nother to haue contracte any mariage and that he must not be admitted in to the cōmunion of the churche or to come into the company of christian folke before that they haue broken this so vnleful couple or bōde be departed the ton from tother in so moch that if we had none other thinge in this matter to kepe awey this so great a mischefe only the auctorite of this custome were sufficiēt But bicause who so euer wrote this epistle went onely aboute this thinge to brynge in to the maners of men so great a pestilence corruptiō by colours of argumentes by a craftie and subtile reason it shal be necessarie also for vs not vtterly to absteyne from the ayde and helpe of reasons how be it in thinges that be very plain and wel knowen the opinion that men haue conceyued alredy and that doth appere to haue bene receyued by the opinyons and myndes of holye men in so moche that there is a custome brought vp by the same ought to be of more weight regarde with euery man than that thyng whiche reason inuented and imagined afterwarde shulde be of power to persuade It is written saye they in the Leuiticall Thou shalte nat take the syster of thy wyfe beynge yet a lyue to cause them stryue whiche of them shall be beste beloued and mooste sette by for to discouer her foulenesse vpon her By the whiche wordis it is open sey they that it is suffred to take thy wyues sister whan thy wyfe is deed whervnto first of all I answere and say this what so euer the lawe saith it speketh to them that be boūd to kepe the law as to the Iues but not to vs that be christē folke For by this meane we shulde be bounde to be circūcised to kepe the sabbat or day of rest and to forbeare and absteine from meates For we shuld not submit vs binde our selfe to the yoke of the bōdage of the lawe where as we finde any thinge that doth agre with our apetite plesure and when there appereth any thing in the lawe that is heuy and hard and contrary to our pleasure and appetite then to ronne to the libertie and fredome that Christe in his godspell and lawe hath set vs in But if any man aske this questiō whether this thing be writen in the lawe or no whether a man that hath maried the one sister may also marie the other I saye for a suertie ▪ that whiche vnto vs is bothe manifest and true that there is no suche thinge writtē in the law for a thyng that is not expressed in the text or letter but it may be gethered of the wordes that the lawemaker meaned so if suche a thynge be brought in by maner of a reason as that must nedes folowe of that is sayde there though it be nat expressely wrytten to saye whether the lawe maker meaned thus or no this is a poynt that belongeth to the maker of the lawe selfe to determine and nat to hym whiche is desired to telle what is expressed in the scripture For els if euery mā may say that this was the lawers mynde thoughe he spake it not yet he vnderstode it this he did mene as of the wordes may wel be gethred thā if ther be any mā of so vngodly audacitie wicked boldnesse whiche euen while his wyfe is alyue wold haue her sister to his wyfe he shall not lacke wherby he may proue that he maye laufully do it by a like glose distinction ye no doubt herof for the scripture is this Thou shalt nat take thy wyues syster while thy wyfe is a lyue for to make stryfe and debate betwene them whiche of them shulde be better loued Of this it foloweth and so the lawemaker shuld seme to meane that if there be no suche stryfe for preeminence of loue betwene them thā it is not forbid for a man to be maried at ones to .ij. sisters For he that wyl set his minde vpon his lustines and pleasure wyll holde styffly and say that it is nat possible that any suche emulation or stryfe shulde chaunce betwene systers And by this meane syns that the cause is ceassed and gone for the which the mariage of .ij. systers vnto one man is forbydden what nowe can let that it shulde not be lefull for any man to haue at one tyme .ij. systers to his wyues if we wyl admit suche facion of reasoninge in scripture ¶ But thou wylt say to vs this reason that we make nowe is not in the scripture ▪ we graunt and say like wise agayne to the no more is that reason determined and certeyned by scripture by the which it shuld be proued of the contrary parte that it is lefull for a man to mary .ij. systers For the inuention and glose by the whiche bothe the parties saith that their intēt and purpose doth folowe of the scripture though it be not expressed in scripture is all of lyke on the one syde and on the other and gyueth asmoche lybertye and lycence to do noughtli with as moche impunishmēt the tone glose as doth the tother But a man ought dilygently to haue consydered the preceptis that go before and then he shuld haue had no nede to haue taken all this labour and payne for to inuente and imagen additions to scripture on this maner For it appereth that the lawemakers mynde was not to speke generally in those lawes of all maner of sinne but to forbyd specially and onely those vices the whiche were commonly vsed amonge the Egyptions from whens the children of Israell came and also that were specially vsed amonge the Chananees into whose lande they were goinge at that time For in this place of the Leuiticall the very texte of the scripture is thus written worde for worde as foloweth you shall not do sayth god after the custome of the lande of Egypte where you haue dwelled nor you shal not do after the maner and vsage of the region of Chanaan in to the whiche I shall bringe you nor ye shall not lyue after their lawes nor folowe suche thynges as be lefull amonge them In so moche truly that it is very likely that as yet there had ben no suche piacull or abhominacion comitted amonge those nacions And therfore it was thought that there neded no lawmaker nor lawe to forbid that kinde of synne that was not vsed but that the custome vsed of longe tyme amonge them shulde be sufficient to make men abhorre and deteste so great a vice ¶ Howe is it then seynge he forbyddeth the greatter vice that he speketh not also of the lesser doubtles by cause he iudged that there shuld come many which wold be geuē
p̄tēdest in thy letters that by this lawe of god mariage betwene suche pledges or childerne as thin be is suffred sins that it is not forbidden And I sey plainly that it is forbidden For sithins that those thynges whiche be not so greuous vices be forbydden as that we sayde of brother children moche more this I thynke is forbydden where is moche nerer kynred For he that byndeth vs to flee the lesser dothe not set vs at libertie for the greatter synne but byndeth vs the more Than if thou thinke it is permised for this bicause it is not forbidden specially and expressely and by name no more thou shalt not finde this thynge forbydden by the wordes of the lawe that the father shulde not take his doughter to wife And is it lauful therfore by cause it is not forbydden ye nothinge so It is forbydden by the rycht of nature it is forbydden by the lawe that is in euery mans hert and conscience it is forbidden by loue and charite which by long vsage custome bi continuance proces of time hath gottē this thinge by p̄scription which forsoth is not to be broken it is forbiddē by title richt of nigh kinred howe many suche great thinges shalt thou fynd not forbydden expressely by the lawe that Moses made and yet the same be forbidden by a certeine playne expresse cōmaundement of nature ye and ageyne how many thinges be there whiche are lefull to do and yet not expedient All thynges be leful but al thinges do not bylde and edifie That if the apostoll dothe calle vs backe from those thinges that do not edifie how can we trowe that suche a thinge is to be done that is not lefull by the sayenge of the lawe nor yet doth not edifye by cause the ordre of pitie loue and charitie is agaynst it and it agaynste the ordre of loue and charitie For what is more solemne or more customably and reuerently obserued than the charitable kysse betwene the vncle and the nece whiche he oweth to her of duetie as to his doughter and she to him as to her father Shalt thou then go and make this innocent kysse of loue and charite in the whiche is none offence nor suspycion of euyll to be suspecte whyle thou dost intende suche mariage And wilt thou take aweye from thy dere pledges or childerne so deuout and religious a sacrement and holy token of pure and naturall loue And beside al this what a great confusyon of other wordes shulde there be thou one man shalt be called of one womā graundefather and father in lawe She also shall be called of the by contrarye names as nees and doughter in lawe Also the brother and sister shal borow contrary names For she shall be her brothers mother in lawe and he shall be sonne in lawe to his syster Shall the nece be maried vnto her vncle or mothers brother and shall the pure loue and charite of thyn innocent children be tourned in to lusty and carnall loue But thoughe thou suffre the commaundement of god go by at the leest wise thou shuldest haue regarded the cōmaundementes of the Emperours of whome thou haste hadde great honour and preferment For Theodos the emperour forbadde the brothers and the syster children to comme to gether in the waye of matrimonye and hathe establysshedde verye sore punisshment if any person be so bolde to disteyne the brethers dere gages and yet brothers chylderne be in equalle degree nor the one is not superyour or as it were parent vnto the tother as in thy children wher the vncle shuld mary his nece By cause brether childerne be in a maner bretherne and sistern cōming al of one parentes if it were for nothing els yet for the reuerence that they owe to the same parētes the Emperour wolde haue them absteine from marieng the one with thother If thou say that it hath ben dispensedde with all by god and though it hath yet is this no p̄iudice or president vnto the lawe For that statute that is made in commune and generally for al if it be releassed it helpeth hym onely to whome it appereth to be releassed and none other And though we rede in the olde testament that some man called his sister wyfe yet this was neuer harde that any man shulde take his nece to his wyfe and shulde calle her his mate Nowe furthermore that is the gayest thynge of all where thou denyeste that thy nece is nere of kyn vnto her vncle thy sonne by cause she is not of kynne vnto him by agnation or by her fathers side but onely by cognation or by her mothers syde as who saith that belly brotherne that is they that be gotten of dyuers fathers and of one mother myght make a maryage and yet these persones be not of kynne by the fathers syde but only by the moder side wherfore no remedi thou must go from this intent and purpose whiche if thou mightest atteyne yet shuld it neuer increace thy familie or linage ¶ The seconde doctour that we mencionid is saint Hierome which writeth thus what kyn thinge is this that Abraham a iust a good man toke his fathers doughter to wyfe seing that the fyrst men which were Adams children though they dyd so in dede yet for the holynes of mens eares the scripture dothe not expresse it but wylleth it rather to be vnderstanden than spoken the thinge is so abhominable And seinge ageyn that god afterwarde ordeyned a lawe for it wherin he threteth that who so shal take his sister other on father side or on mothers syde and shall se her foulenes it is a rebuke and shame he shall be dryuen out of his countrey in sight of his owne kynne he hath vnhilled the priuities of his syster he shall receyue his rewarde for his sin This saint Hierome speaketh ▪ as if he wold say that this Leuitical lawe that a man shulde nat marye his syster is so grounded on naturall reason that not onely Abraham ought to haue kepte this lawe and that before it was publysshed in wrytynge but also as many as professe the same faythe beleue and truste in god that Abraham had and that all faithfuls in Christe ought to haue ¶ Laste of all saint Augustine where he goth aboute to confounde and ouer come Faustus that sore ennemye to Christes faythe whiche leyde it for a foule vice and punysshable that christian men at that tyme wolde nother admit nor yet abyde to here the lawe of Deuteronomi ones to be spoken on that a man might mary his brothers wydowe his brother beyng dead without children aunswerethe to Faustus on this maner Certayne lawes of the bokes of the olde testament we do nat kepe nowe a dayes bicause suche lawes were made onely to be a shadowe of thynges that shuld folowe And these lawes though they were conuenient and fit to be commaunded and suffered for that people and for that tyme yet we nowe a dayes that be christian
were forbydden to meddle mary with them that be nexte of their bloud But amonge the Iewes this lawe of naturall loue and affection scant did passe the thirde degre of consanguinite but amonge vs vnto whome the tyme of correctyon and amendement is come by whome god hath corrected and amended the worlde and brought it to perfection whiche shal not be changed loue hath growen and encressed and honestie greatly aboūded and multiplyed and for to be token and declare the perfectiō of the gospell that nombre of 3. is doubled hath extende it selfe in to .6 whiche is a perfecte nombre stondith by his owne partes euen as the trueth of the gospell stondeth by it selfe alone nedeth nothinge elles to vnderset and staye it vp ¶ But here thou wilte leye to my charge say that there were in the olde tyme certaine good vtuos men which for certain honeste causes did presume auenture to break disteine euen the firste secōd degre of cōsāguinite as before the lawe did Abrahā Isaac Iacob which lately before had ben disseuered cōmanded to go aparte frō other naciōs for auoidinge the couplinge mariage with the same nacions and so did mary with them that were nexte of their bloud and this was done before the lawe was gyuen and after that the lawe was gyuen Caleb gaue Axam his doughter in wyfe to his yonger brother Othoniel for a rewarde of victory whan he conquered and ouercame the cite of Letters And also Thamar kynge Dauids doughter whan she was oppressed of her brother Do not brother sayd she but aske me of the king my father and he wyll nat denye the. The which kyng Dauid truly that was said to gyue the syster to her brother in wyfe was father to them bothe wherfore where as I say they dyd presume vpon some certain honeste causes and consyderations that chaunsed yet for al that christian religion the perfectnes that ought to be in a christian man wyll iudge nothynge to be honest that is ageynst the honestie of nature ¶ Lo here thou haste my mynde what I thynke in this question of thyne saythe saynt Ancelme If thou be pleased and cōtented it is well if it displease the I shall lyghtly get forgeuenes and perdon of the. ¶ In this opinion also be Hugh Cardinal Raufe Flauiacensis Ruperte Tuitiensis Hildebart Cenomanense Iuo Carnotense all bysshops and one water of Constance archedeacon of Oxeforthe And trewely the first two Hugh Cardinal Raufe Flauiacense expoundinge the .xviij. chaptre of the Leuiticall shewe howe that chaptre dothe hange with tho thinges that go before Many misticall thinges say they hitherto the lawe hathe gyuen to the olde people of the Iues to obserue and kepe wherin onely was a shadowe of our faith and maners not the very truth in dede and as for here the lawe instructeth and teacheth the people and gyueth them mo preceptes wherby they may knowe what belongeth to good maners to vertue and honestie For those thynges that folowe here must be euen so vnderstanden as they be spoken wherwith the people whiche had nowe betaken them selfe to an other lorde and maister is informed and taught to the intent that they for theyr lyttell power shulde endeuer them selfe to do some good nor shulde not be content with the heuye bourdon of bondage and to be vnderneth sacremētes or signes and tokēs of sacre holy thinges the whiche shulde signifie and betoken iustyce and goodnes not in them selfe but in other men Euen lyke wyse as if a Currour or poste shulde carye any kynges letters into farre countreis by the whiche he shal shewe other what they shall do and yet he shal not do the same him selfe And this same Flauiacense a litell after saith thus Al though saith he that these mariages here forbydden in forne yeres at the begynnyng of the worlde had a certaine facion of their holines neuertheles bicause in processe of time the vertue of continence and chastitie and refraynynge of bodily luste and pleasure was to be promoted set forwarde and encreased and the licence and lybertie of mariage to be restrayned more straytely and not so at large as it was wonte this Leuiticall lawe was made to forbyd suche maryages betwene them that be nygh of kyn and of affinite for the encreasse of honestie and vertue bicause that it was more comly to absteyne from suche maryages And who so euer after this goddes forbod presume to enterprise any such mariage he is a transgressor of the lawe and doth ron in to the abhominable crime syn of incest ¶ Forther more Rupert also If thou askest sayth he whiche be those vncleanly beastes spoken of in the olde testament that god doth hate they be these you shall not do after the custome and maner of the londe of Egypt where as you haue dwelled nor after the custome and vsage of the countrey of Chanaan into the whiche I shall brynge you And afterwarde he sheweth their customes saynge No man come nygh to her that is next of his bloudde For these verely be the vnclenly beastes these be the caroginous and stynkinge beastes whiche the people of god is bounde not to eate that is not to admitte them in to their company For all those persones that do such thynges that commit suche vnclenly and vnresonable beastly vices that discouer the foulenes or preuities of their mother or father that discouer the shame of their syster other by the fathers syde or by the mothers syde those men I saye that do these thinges and in any maner of meane discouer the foulnes of their kynsfolke and do vncouer the foulenes or priuities of a womā that hath the floures that haue a do with their neighbours wyfe that gyue of their sede vnto the image of Moloche and do translate it vnto hym by fyre these and al suche other workers of wickednes be defyled and vncleane vnto whom nothing is cleane For these thynges accordynge to the true sayenge of the gospell do defyle and pollute the mā For that that cometh into the mouth as meate and drinke doth not defyle or pollute a man And we waste no time in these forbiddinges that be here rehersed to serche out the depenes profoundnes of mysticall meaninges or vnder standynges of these wordes for they be plainly iuste and rightwise and the reason why they be so is open and playn at euery mans eie and easye to se by cause they do bryng great rest and quietnes of conscience to the herers but rather I shulde haue said to the doers and the folowers ¶ More ouer Hugh of saint Victore saith thus The fyrst tyme whan god dyd make mariage he dyd forbydde vs onely to contracte matrimonie with .ij. persons that is the father and the mother afterwardes whan he ordined mariage the secōde time whiche was done by the lawe he dyd excepte certayne other persons both bicause nature shewed vs that it was
can succede the. ¶ And he agayne wryteth to Damberte the Archebysshop of Senon of a knight whiche before laufull maryage with his wyfe laye with her syster and dyd confesse his faute openly wherevpon saynt Iuos wordes be these I answere vnto your fatherheed that thinge whiche you knowe well inough that if he had brought vp an opē infamy and sklander and that against an honeste persone that hath deserued no suche thing hereafter he can nother accuse nor yet be wytnesse But bycause no man that is gilty can make no confession except it be of some naughtie thynge we can not denye but we oughte to receyue and take suche confessions as they that be penitent or sorye for that they haue myssedone do make against their owne selfe for the feare and drede of god and for the helth of their owne soules nor we deny not also but that we ought to īioyne them lauful penāce the whiche if we shulde deny them we shuld caste them euen to the mouthe of the inuisible wolues to be deuoured And if we suffre suche accusors of them selfe lyghtly to passe and to skape withoute punysshement the goodnesse and honestie of mariage whiche frome the begynnynge was cōmaunded to be kepte holyly bothe by nature and also by lawe we putte it perillously in daunger to be steined and distroyed Bicause therfore that the ende of all stryfe and controuersie that belongeth to the determinacion of the Churche is an Othe after the sayenge of the apostel this confession muste be confirmed and proued by seuerall othes of euery persone and by vi sufficient and honest persones the whiche either were present knewe the thinge done or elles maye by profe of that that they beleue and thynke lykely affirme and vpholde the trouthe Bycause that newe kyndes of diseases compelle vs to seke experience of newe medicines Therfore whā this confession shall be thus confyrmedde and prouedde than it shall be open and playne that this mariage is vnchaste and vnkynde And we reserue no maner of forgyuenesse for vnchaste mariages after the canons vntyll they haue healed suche synfull mariages by departinge and diuorse And he that did contrarie to the lawes of matrimony and did accuse hym selfe lette hym abide vnmaried either for euermore or at the least til the time that he hath fulfylled his penāce This alweys vnderstād that the woman whiche shal be diuorsed from hym lese not her dowere whiche is the price of her chastite And by this meanes we shal do al that his cōfession requireth and shal make a profitable and a sufficient prouision for the honestie of mariages for the tyme to come ¶ Finally walter of Constance Archidiacon of Oxforthe wrote vnto the bysshop of Exceter worde for worde as here after folowethe Seinge that bothe great lernynge and also vse and experience of matters hath made you wise and circumspect in iugement and decision of causes we maruayle other also whiche be very wel lerned in both the lawes maruayle wherfore you haue so longe time differred to make a diuorce betwene Roberte and Ismen his kynswoman specially seing that you haue expresse cōmandement of the Pope for the same and seynge that holy Canons do repute and compte it for a damnable and abhominable synne to suffre suche persones to dwelle to gether Trewely there were brought forthe laufull wytnesse and suche as no exception nor refuse or chalenge can be layde agaynste them whiche if they haue not made full profe vnto you in this matter than as well accordynge to the clause of the Popes letters where as he saythe you may proue the matter by many other as also by auctoritie of Fabian and Celestine and other holy fathers you muste admytte them whiche after these forsayde men be moste nigh vnto you and of moste sage counsaile that suche diligent inquisition and serchynge out of the truth may be a lanterne to your feate that you may tourne iustice into iugement For the more abhominable and beastly synne that incest is so moche the more scrupulouse curious you must be to fynde out the certeinte of this kynrede so that in makynge the diuorce the iuges sentēce do not wauer or hange doutfull It is not leful for a iuge in this matter to dissemble or to vse any cloke or colour and to make as he dyd not knowe that thing that he knoweth in such a matter wherin stondethe the perylle of mens soules More ouer there is one thing in this matter that troubleth vs aboue al. For wher as the said Robert is myn eldest brothers eldest son and bicause that al the progenie of our stocke dothe hange vpon hym as of the heed by reason of his father we feare leaste this synne of inceste or vnchaste mariage shulde passe from hym into his posterite and to al that euer shuld come of hym For all the holle succession and generation shall receyue and take corruption and infection if the membres come not laufully and without corruption from the heed if the riuers come not pure from the spryng and the braunches without corruption from the body of the tree as holy scripture also dothe witnes sayinge The childerne of inceste persones be abhominable before god And as saynte Gregorye dothe playnly saye There cometh no laufull nor good issue of vnchast or inceste and vnkynde medlinge to getheer ¶ Nowe for to come also to the scole doctours whiche do vpholde and mainteine bothe with great nombre great consent this iugement of these forsaid fathers vpō the Leuiticall prohibitiōs Forsothe saint Thomas saith In cōuersacion of persons that be of kynrede or of affinite we fynde that ther shuld be no venereous medlyng for .iii. resons And first bicause that naturally a mā oweth a certayne honor reuerence feare to his parentes and therfore also vnto other of his kyn which come very nigh of the same parentes In so moche that in olde tyme as Valerius Maximus sheweth hit was not leful for the sonne to baath in one place with his fader lest they shuld se eche other naked And it is manifest that in venereous dedis there is a certaine foule vse of medling and homelynes whiche is cōtrarie to honour reuerence wherfore men do blusshe be asshamed of suche dedes And therfore it is vncomely that there shulde be any suche wantonne medlynge betwene suche persones And this reason semethe to be expressed in the xviij chapitre of the Leuiticall where it is sayde She is thy mother thou shalte not vncouer her foulenes or priueties And the same selfe thynge is sayde there also afterwardes on other persones The seconde reason is bybause persones that be of one bloudde muste nedes be conuersant and in company to gether wherfore if suche persons shulde not be forbidden to vse suche wanton pastimes one with an other men shuld haue to moche oportunite and occasion to vse suche lustful intermedlyng And so the stomakes of men shulde be out of courage and
their hartes cowardelike and as it were womaÌ„s hartes by the meanes of lechery and beastly pleasure of the bodye And therfore in the olde Leuitical lawe those persones seme specially to be forbydden maryage whiche muste nedes dwell to gether The thyrde reason is bicause that by suche mariages shulde be lettedde the multyplyenge and increace of frendship For whan a man dothe take a wyfe that is a straunger to hym all the kynsfolke of his wyfe be knytte vnto hym by certayne frendeshyppe and loue as if they were his owne kynsfolke wherfore Augustin sayth There was very great regarde taken of loue and charite and that accordynge to ryght and reason to the intent that men vnto whom loue and concorde is bothe profitable and also honeste shulde be knytte to gether by sondry degrees of kynred And that one man shulde not haue many but sondry to be disseuered in sondry persones And Aristotell an heathen man in the .ij. boke of the politikes putteth to the .iiij. reason bicause that where a man doth loue his kinswoman by Nature if there shulde be put to the loue that comethe of bodely medlynge there shuld be to moche heate and feruentnes of loue and to great a prouocation of flesshly luste whiche is contrary to the chastite of mariage where suche pastime is to be vsed for necessitie and not for pleasure Thus sayth saint Thomas here And in an other place he sayth thus That thynge in mariage is cleane contrarye to the lawe of nature wherby matrimony cometh not vnto the ende whiche it was ordyned for by coÌ„uenient meanes And the chiefe and fyrste ende of mariage of it selfe is the good or benyfite of issue the whiche doubtles by some certayne degrees of kynrede is lette as betwene the father and the doughter the mother and the sonne not bicause that issue here is vtterly taken a waye for the doughter maye haue issue of her fathers sede and nourysshe it vp with the father and teache and instructe it in the whiche thyng stondeth the benifite of issue but by cause that this ende of mariage that is to haue issue childreÌ„ can not be brought to passe in this case by any lefull honest maner For it is ageynst all good ordre reason that the doughter shuld be coupled bi mariage with her owne fader to be his coÌ„panion to bringe hym forthe children to brynge them vp seinge that she ought to be subiecte to her father in all thynges as that dothe come of hym and hath her beinge of hym and therfore by the lawe of nature hit is forbydden that any persone shulde marie father or mother yet more with the mother than with the father by cause that hit is more contrarie to the honour and reuereÌ„ce that is due vnto the parentes if the sonne take his moder to wife than if the father shuld take his doughter to his wyfe bicause that the wife is bouÌ„de by the coÌ„mandement of god to be subiecte and obedient vnto her husbande ¶ But the seconde ende of mariage is repressynge and quenchinge of bodely luste and concupiscence whiche restraint of carnall luste though it be not the fyrst chiefe ende of mariage but the seconde yet of it selfe it is an ende of mariage And this ende also shulde perysshe and be loste if a man myght marye whiche of his kynswomen he wolde For there shulde be opened a great wycket vnto lustes of the bodye except there were some restraint and flesshly medling forbidden amonge those persons whiche muste nedes be conuersaunt to gether in one house And therfore the lawe of god hath not only forbiddeÌ„ mariage with the father and the mother but also with other persons that be of our kynred whiche muste nedes company to gethers and are bounde to conserue the one the others chastite and honestie And the lawe of god doth assygne this cause sayenge Vnheale not the foulenes of suche suche persones bicause it is foulenes But an other ende of matrimony not properly and of it selfe but ioyned vnto it is byndynge and knyttynge to gether of men and multiplyenge and increasse of frendshyppe loue and charitie while a man is in lyke maner to his wynes kynsfolke as he is to his owne kynsfolke â–ª therfore this increase of loue and charite shulde wrongfully take harme if any man shulde mary her that is knytte vnto hym all redy by bloudde For by this mariage there shulde be none increasse of any newe frendeship loue and charite And therfore by the lawes of man and also by the estatutes of the church there be many degres in the whiche folke are forbidden to mary ¶ Ande saynt Thomas sayth in an other place on this wyse Accordynge to dyuers tymes it is founde that kynrede hath lette mariage in diuers degres for in the beginnynge of mankynde father mother were onely forbydden to marye with by cause there were fewe men and of necessite men were bouÌ„de to do al their labour diligeÌ„ce that they coulde for the increase of mankinde therfore there were no more ê‘sons to be except but those whiche were not fit to be maried withal I say fit as concerning the principal ende cause of mariage which is the good or benifit to haue issue childreÌ„ as I said before But afterwardes whan mankinde was increased and multiplied there were many mo persons excepte by Moses lawe whiche began euin at that time to restrayne and refrayne mans concupiscence luste wherfore as sayth Rabbi Moses al those persones be excepte from mariage whiche be wonte to dwelle to gether in one house For seinge it must nedes be that they whiche come of one pareÌ„tes or of one father and mother bothe men women indifferently company to gether of loÌ„ge tyme in one house plainly they shuld haue great prouocacioÌ„ stirringe to flesshly luste if it were not forbidden that there shulde be no suche medley betwene those persons And now whan that they thinke sureli and beleue that there can in no meanes mariage be contracte made betwene them laufully streight wayes that filthie luste and plesure is quenched ceassed nor doth not prouoke nor stirre their myndes any longer to desyre tho thynges that be vnpossible can not be done wherby they instructe and taught to tame and refrayne their fylthy desire as it were by a certayne former exercise practise and assayenge of them selfe no doubte but by this custome they shal the better absteyne afterwardes from other women for as saynt Augustin saythe custome to a thynge maye do very moche either to prouoke mans appetite and to make him haue a lust or desire to it or to turne away his appetite from it and to make hym to abhorre it And therfore seinge that custome doth kepe in restrayn our vnmoderate luste and concupiscence in this matter men do well to iudge that it is a shamfull thynge to breke and corrupt it For if hit be ageynst right for
the law of god But at the last he knowleged his errour and sayd that the Pope had no power to dispense in the degrees forbydden by the lawe of god in the .xviij. chaptre of the Leuitical And afterwarde whan he had asked this question whether we kepynge the Leuiticall lawe of the Iues be our selfe Iues also or no in so doyng did make answere him selfe That the lawe of the gospell doth admyt the lawe of nature But naturall reason dothe abhorre that a womā shuld be subiect vnto a mā which is her kinsman in the first degre ¶ Also walden widforde and Cotton very christian and catholic authors reproue diuers other cursed heresies of wyclefe and that stoutely and with great profette of Christes churche amonge al other they do damme also this hereticall and more than phrenetical and madde opiniō where he did holde as some wolde nowe a days that these Leuitical prohibitions be onely iudicial preceptes and that it is ordined at this tyme by man without foundacion or grounde that consanguinite betwene persons of side halfe yea and more ouer that affinite in the first degree is an impediment and let of mariage and they do clerely and plainly proue that those Leuitical forboddes whiche there do prohibite to vncouer the foulenesse of our kynne or affinite that they be nat only no ceremones of the Iues as wiclefe wold but that eueri one of them euin at this day do bynde all christiā folke by the lawe of god and that by al right reason they ought to be nombred amonge the moral preceptes of the .x. commaundementes For walden sayth that the Leuitical lawes do binde vs as well as they did the Iues as concerninge the very substāce pithe of the lawe but not as concerninge the penalties put vnto them For consideringe the lawes in them selfe onely they be morall and of the preceptes of the .x. commandemētes and that euin to so many degrees as be rekened vp there al thoughe they be mere and vtterly iudiciall as concerninge the penaltie adioyned This lawe from the first begynninge of Christes faith by all the fathers that haue ben hitherto one after an other was iuged to bynde by cause it was the commaundement of god And howe it is expired and vanyssed awey nowe at wiclefes cōmynge that it shulde be no more of the makynge or ordinaunce of god but the handy worke and ordināce of man this thinge lette wiclefe and his scholers trie oute Certaynly he dothe offende and breke the honestie and shamefacidnes naturall who so euer discouerethe the priuey partes of his owne flesshe and bloud as it were the priueties of a strange persone ¶ And the same opinion of walden Pope Martine the fyrste did approue confirme it and that not without discrecion sufficient deliberation For fyrst of al he toke it to the best lerned men he coulde fynde that they shulde with all diligence they myght examin the sayde opinion and when it was examined alowed and commended by agremēt of all them to whom the examination of it was cōmytted than the Pope by his auctorite and power did confirme it ¶ with these men doth agre amonge the diuines Peter of Tarantase Durāde Stephan Brulifer Richarde de Media villa Guy Brianson Gerson Paule Rice and al moste all the schole doctours whiche with one assent do stedfastly holde that Infydels or vnfaithfulles al though they be not vnder neathe the lawes of the churche yet they be bounde to kepe the lawe of nature of god And therfore suche mariages as they haue contract in any degre of consanguinite that is forbydden by the lawe of god be no mariages and that thei muste nedes be dyuorsed And they thinke that the contrary custome of certayne barbarous bestly people do nothynge make to the contrary For saye they the heate and feruentnes of carnall luste and concupiscence hath ouer caste and blynded in them the preceptes and reules of the lawe of nature ¶ And amonge the glosers and doctours of the lawe canon Iohn̄ Andre and Iohn̄ of Imola do gather and conclude bothe by the wordes of the very text of the chaptre Literas and also by the wordes of the gloses there that the degres writen in the Leuitycall be the same selfe degres in the whiche Pope Innocent him selfe doth say that the Pope hath no power to dispense And they holde vtterly that these wordes THE POPE CAN NOT be put there in their owne propre signification and that this takynge and vnderstandynge to say the Pope can not and to vnderstonde it for he wil not or that it is not expedient that this glosinge dothe distroye the texte ¶ And mayster Abbate also doth holde the same opiniō sayeng that the preceptes Leuiticall be morall and denyenge preceptes whiche do bynde for euermore that is to say at al tymes and that the Pope is neuer a boue this lawe of god Ye more ouer that he is bounde to defende it and mainteine it with al that euer he can make and do and to lease therfore not onely all his goodes and landes temporall but also his bloudde and his lyfe And the same Abbate sayth also in a nother place I say sayth he that the very wordes of goddes lawe muste be pondered and wayed and if this seconde degre be forbydden by the lawe of god doubtles the churche can not dispense therin and in lyke maner seynge that bi the very wordes of the law of god wayed and ponderd the brother is forbid by the lawe of god to take his brothers wyfe it folowith that the churche can not dispense in that case that a man shuld mary his brothers wyfe ▪ The whiche thynge sayth he is worthy to be noted in practisynge of the lawe by cause of these great princes the whiche do many tymes desire dispensations of the Pope And likewyse sayth the glose in the Chapter Pitatium And Mathewe Nerew of saynte Gemin in his laste question of his tree of consanguinite and affinite dothe also folowe the same opinion as the vniuersall opinion of all the doctours of Canon And Vincent and Innocent and Ostiense and Abbate folow the same opinion ¶ But here had nede to be some measure in citynge and rekenynge vppe of Auctors for this worke shuld increase growe to an infynit thing if we shulde reken vp here all the names and sayenges of all doctours whiche with hande and foote do approue and folowe this opinion of ours ¶ And by the witnesse sayenges of those auctors that we haue cited thou mayste well and sufficiently knowe and perceyue gentyll indifferent reder fyrst that in those persones whiche the lawe of god dothe calle nyghest of bloudde there can be no good and iuste cause or excuse for the whiche it myght be suffred or dispensed with that one of them shuld discouer the foulenes of an other nor there can not be alleged any thynge so honeste that is able to couer the dishonestie of this thynge Seconde that all
bothe parties and confirmed by their vowe and promis it can not be iustely required afterwardes of other of them and yet for all that the sacrament of maryage stondethe euen in this case stedfaste and sure wherof the carnall couplynge is nother cause of the vertue and goodnesse of it whan it is there nor can not take away the vertue and perfectnes of mariage if it be not there And therfore this onely consent and agrement of their myndes is thoughte to vpholde and contynewe this vnpartable conuersation and lyuynge to gether And this consent was ordyned for this cause that this company of the tone with the tother the whiche was begonne betwene them by this consent and agrement shulde not be suffered to be broken at any tyme as longe as they were bothe alyue ¶ So that now reder as thou hast seen by these two auctours it is playne and open that not onely the fyrste degree of consanguinitie and affinite but also the fyrste degre wherin maryage is forbydden for a Iustyce grounded onely vpon acertayne commune honestie and comelynes is forbydden by the lawe of god in the Leuiticall and can not be dispensed withall by men ¶ And that this thynge is very certayne and trewe thou mayste take this for a good profe that Alexander in tyme passed the thyrde Pope of that name hadde leauer to suffre Henry a citizin of Papi to be periured than that he wolde take vpon hym the auctoritie to dispense with hym for his othe by the whiche he hadde bounde hym selfe to marye a maydden to his yongeste sonne whiche hadde bene made sure before to his eldest sonne nowe beynge departed For he aunswered the bysshoppe of Papi on this maner Bycause saythe he that it is wrytten in the Leuiticall that the brother can not haue the brothers spouse we commaunde the that thou suffre not this fore sayde Henry to fulfyll his purpose and that thou compelle hym by the ordre of the churche to do penaunce for his vnleafull othe ¶ wherfore seynge that these thynges be thought trewe to so many and so discrete auctours that it is not laufull for a man to marye his brothers spouse howe moche more vnlaufull oughte we to thynke this thynge that a man shulde marie his brothers wydowe with whome his brother hadde carnally a do and that he shulde vncouer the priuities of her whiche before is one flesshe with his brother not onely by the bonde of mariage selfe with the other brother but also by reason of carnall commixion and medlynge with the same And therfore doubtles euery man ought greatly to approue and commende this determination of these vniuersities whiche do holde and conclude that to marye her whom the brother departed without children hath lefte is so forbydden by the lawe of god and also by the lawe of Nature that the Pope hath none auctorite nor power to dispense with suche mariages whether they be contracte all redye or for to be contracte excepte perauenture there be any man whiche hath a pleasure to calle agayne into lyghte olde reproued errours and heresies that of many yeres haue ben condemned ⧠The fyfte Chaptre THus nowe we haue rehersed and shewed before faithfully and truely what the sacre holy auctorite of the olde testament and the newe what the vse and custome consente or agrement of the hole christian churche what the Popes what the doctours interpreters and declarers of holye scripture finally what the assent of wise and wel lerned men both in mans lawe and in goddis law do thinke and iudge of these Leuitical prohibitions and specially that a man shulde not mary his brothers wyfe And we doubt not but that these auctorities and iudgementes be of suche strengthe that there is no reasonable nor indifferent man but they ought so to satisfie his iugement and conscience that he shulde desyre no further proues vpon these conclusions of the vniuersities and vpon this sentence that they haue determined and decreed but that these foresayde thynges be sufficient and able to defende them vtterly from all maner of cauillation Howe be it for as moche as ther be some that loue well reasons and there be many and that stronge and inuincible reasons the whiche maye seme to lyghten and declare this sentence of the vniuersities and also greatelye to confirme and proue the same the nexte thynge that we must do nowe is to vse the helpe of them also in this matter and to bringe forthe shewe some of them as we toke vpon vs and promysed before to do All the doubte and question of this our matter is dissolued and vndone rather by definitions and by shewynge playnly what euery thynge is than by argumentes and reasons For this question is growen and spronge vp by the errour and false opinion of men that were ignorant and did not knowe the very true and naturall propertie or propre nature of the lawe of god the lawe of nature and of the lawe morall And for this cause firste of all it shal be very well done and necessari to define and to shewe proprely and certaynly as a man wolde say by a certayn portrature what goddis lawe is what the lawe morall and the lawe of Nature is And to sette these definitions as ye wolde say for certayn principalles and chiefe pointes of our disputation of the whiche we may take all our reasons and proues And we wyl not folowe here the scrupulose and curious labour and diligence of some men whiche diuide and drawe into ouer many gobettes and peaces the true signification meanynge and nature of these wordes Surely we wyll not medle with no suche thynges whiche all though they seme at other tymes quicke or sharpe and maye gyue and shewe to thorny crabbed and comberous wittes stertyng holes to skape out bi if at any time their armi be brought into a streyte yet doutles as for this matter they do nothinge but make it darker and incombre mens iugement And if this treatise that hereafter foloweth gentyl indifferent reder shall seme vnto the somewhat strange and harde yet hardely take the peyne to rede it and I doubte not but thy labour shall not be so great but the profet hereof shall be moche more not only for the vnderstandynge of this matter but of many other whiche be very necessarie for christian men to knowe Therfore to come to our purpose the definition of goddis lawe is this ¶ The lawe of god is the worde or minde of god cōmāding thinges that be honest or forbidding thinges that be cōtrary to honestie whiche lawe the sacre holy vniuersall churche hath of longe time by her auctorite receiued cōfirmed as other beinge sowed plāted in the resonable creature of god by the mouth spirite of almighty god orels shewed to him bi reuelation ¶ Here if we chance to mete with a froward and to curious a reder we feare lest that we shal not obteyne of hym that he wyl be contēt with
this definition He wyll streicht condemne it as falsly forged coūterfet shal reason and say that it is not made formally clarkly maisterly nor after schole lernynge And agayne he wyll fynde cauillations and say that it is not large and generall inough For that it doth not conteyn the lawes other cōsultori or permissiue that is to saye lawes that giue coūsaile and lawes that do suffre and permit and this he wyl obiecte bicause we haue defined that onely to be the lawe of god which doth bid or forbid Moreouer he shal cry out say that ther lacketh the finall cause or ende that is gettynge of the eternal blis so that by this note or marke goddes law might be distinct and knowen a sondre frō the iudiciall ceremonial and mans lawes the whiche he wyl say be not the lawes of god by cause that the nexte and streicht intent of them is not to ordre leade man to that ende whiche is laste of al and aboue or beyonde nature and how that he shall lyue with god in heuen but only to an ende natural howe he may lyue in a cōmen welthe and in company of men whiche is called a politike or a ciuill ende Fynally he wyll fynde cauillations say that it is a new or a strange definition and made of our owne heed and far vnlike the definitions whiche haue ben so lōge vsed receyued in the scoles Of the whiche this is one that goddis lawe is a true signe or tokē notificatiue which sheweth to a resonable creture the richt true reson minde of god willīg the same creature to be bōde to do somwhat or not to do to suche like definitiōs as this is These such other resons he wil perauenture forge and imagin who so euer he shal be that wil be curious in weying examininge this matter more than richt and reson requireth But we do appele frō suche iugementes to a resonable indifferent and a lerned reder to whome we doubte not but that we shall lyghtely persuade and proue that it was neuer our mynde to plucke downe or breke tho thynges that haue ben receiued and approued and that we haue expressed and declared not vndiscretely and without consideratiō but perfectly inough by this definition the substaunce or nature of the lawe of god ¶ For fyrste seinge that al lawes either be the lawes of god or man and the lawes of man be all those that be ordyned made not by the mouthe and spirite of god but immediatly of man and by the wyll tradicion and auctorite of man and that commande thinges that be honeste or forbyd thinges that be vnhonest for some cause agreable to reason whether this cause be euerlastyng or during for a tyme Furthermore seinge that all that euer god dydde speake in approued scriptures thou canste not cōueniently call them lawes or cōmandementes but them onely whiche do cōmaunde or forbyd any thyng and the whiche of necessitie bynde vs to do as they bid and commande vs Finally seinge that all men do surely beleue and so ought to beleue that the vniuersal church alone hath that key of knowlege and also of power wherby she may discerne and iuge by her auctorite the wordes of god frō the wordes of men By these forsayd .iii. reasons we knowe that a gentyll and an equall reder can require nothinge more in this our definition And we trust that he wyl openly graunt that it is not vnlyke or disagreynge from those definitions that be receyued and approued for as moche as is perteynynge to this purpose ye and that it is also somwhat more fytte and conuenient thā these other be This chiefely was our intent and pourpose that we myghte declare and set forthe the lawe of god after suche maner that it shulde not alonely be euidēt and playn wherby it differeth from mans lawe but also that we shulde ascertayne you what it is as it dothe comprehende the lawes moral iudicial and ceremonialles as many as be rehersed in holy scripture to haue ben ordined and made of god and as do bydde or commaunde any thynge to be done or not done whiche all alyke we compte to be the lawes of god ¶ For as for the streyt or streytest takyng or definition of the lawe of god we did not so moch regarde it and of purpose and for the nonse we dyd leaue out the lawes consultory and permissiue For when the scripture dothe counsayle or suffre vs to do or not to do any thynge this is gentylnesse goodnes and perfectnes of lawes rather thā the lawes selfe bicause it is a point of a good and a perfect lawe to counsayle and suffre those thinges which be nother to be bidden nor forbyddē And yet if any body wyll examine and trie out this definition of ours by the rules of logike perchaunce he shal fynde that it is absolute and perfet in al pointes But it is no tyme here to playe the logition and to brynge proues not necessary nor requisite in a matter playn and euident inough ¶ For we haue declared as we thinke sufficiētly inough what goddes lawe is and also what lawes be worthy to be referred and counted in the ordre and noumbre of goddes lawes and what lawes agayne oughte to be banysshed out amonge the sorte and route of mans lawes Morouer of goddis lawes the diuines make thre kindes that is to sey moralles whiche also be called naturals and iudicials and ceremonials The difference of these the Diuines fynde out on this maner ¶ They calle morals whiche teache and gyue preceptes of the actes offices or dueties of morall vertue that is to saye they shew howe a man shall do vertuously and after good maners what dedes be good and what be not ¶ Iudicials they calle those lawes whiche giue preceptes of particuler actes of Iustice betwixte man and man and preceptes of punishementes and rewardes as euery man deserueth ¶ And ceremonials they call whiche commande vs to do certayne outwarde dedes to the worshipping of god from whēs the name of ceremonies seme to haue sprōge come vp ¶ we will speke nothinge here of ceremonials whiche pertayne nothinge to our purpose by cause that our matter is no cerimonie As for the difference or diuersite of the moralles and iudicials howe thei ought to be takē vnderstād we must nedes declare more plainly For herebi we haue sene men that wel lerned oftētimes blynded deceyued while they thought that this worde Iustice whiche is large conteyneth many kyndes vnderneath it to be single and conteyne but one kynde nor to be taken but one weyes onely where as in dede there be diuers kyndes of Iustyce ¶ One kynde of iustyce is called Legall vniuersall or generall an other is called particular ¶ Legall or generall Iustice is whiche generally conteyneth all vertues vndernethe it and it by it selfe alone is all hole vertue that is euen as scripture
dothe calle a iuste man for a good and a vertuous man and iustice for goodnes and vertue as contrary wyse iniustice generall is not part or a kynde of vice but it hathe in it holly all vice and synne that is ¶ And nowe of particular iustice there be ij kyndes Distributiue and CoÌ„mutatiue ¶ Iustice particular distributiue standeth in distribution or partynge of honour promotion or of money or of other thinges whiche maye be distribute amonge them that be felowes of one citie or coÌ„munalte For these thinges may be diuided amonge vs equally and vnequally and so iustely or iniustly ¶ Particuler iustice coÌ„mutatiue is ordined to mende and correcte suche bargaynes as we make one with an other Therfore when there is ani doubte or question of this poynte of iustice we go to a iudge whose office and deutie is to make them euin whiche be not euin as when he dothe condemne a man in a summe of money and so taketh awey the wynnynge from him whiche had more than ryght afore by deceyte and wronge Than whan the hurte is ones measured and estemed one parte is called losse thother wynnyng and he is called the wynner that putteth the other to losse and he the loser that hath losse ¶ These thynges we haue spoken for this pourpose that we shulde vnderstonde that the Diuines while they say that the iudiciall lawes do treate vpon particular actes of Iustyce betwene man and manne they wyll and meane that the Iudicials onely commaunde and teache by what meanes and punisshementes those thingis maye be correcte amended and brought to a iuste and an euen poynte whiche belonge to particuler iustice to order likewise as morall preceptes belonge to general iustice to order And plainly if any man wyll serche seche out the exacte meaning definition of the iudiciall preceptes specially that be spoken of in the olde testament he shall fynde that they only be iudiciall and so ought to be called whiche be statutes of peynes or at the leest those whiche god in tyme passed dyd answere vnto Moses whan that he asked hym counsaile of the sutes and controuersies of the Iues. For seynge the begynnynge of wysedome is the feare of our lorde that same people so stubbourne and intractable oughte for feare of punysshement to haue ben moued and prouokedde to vertue and to be drawen backe from their wonte and accustomed synne leste that they as men vnreuly and intractable shulde by theyr synne so greatly haue moued and prouoked god that they shulde rightfully and of their deseruing haue gone downe quicke to hell Therfore afterwarde that the morall preceptes were gyuen in the mount called Syna with incredible feare and horrour or quakynge of the herers anon after were gyuen them also the iudiciall preceptes in the whiche god did nothing els but teache and shewe what vengeaunce oughte to be taken vpon them that do trespas and traÌ„sgresse those forsayd morall preceptes For the iudicials as Thomas saythe haue their name of this worde iudgement And as for this worde iudgement betokeneth exercysynge of iustice whiche is done by reason applienge the lawes or rules of iustice certainly to suche speciall cases as belonge only to the ordryng of some certaine people amonge them selfes that considering the state of that people only for saith he seing the moral preceptes be coÌ„mune to al people and that many of them specially of the affirmatiues do apoint neither time place nor maner how to kepe them it is necessarie that these circuÌ„stances be specified determined by some lawe either of god or man And therfore as that general commaundement that god must be honoured and worshypped is specified and declared outwardely by ceremoniall preceptes so lyke wise that same coÌ„mandmeÌ„t of kepyng iustice amonge men called the lauful or generall iustice is determined by the iudiciall preceptes that is done by a iudge applyenge the vniuersall fyrste rule of generall iustice to some particuler matter to the priuate state of some one coÌ„mun welth and to the profet and benifyt of the same only ¶ By these foresayde thinges we thynke that it is euident and playne what lawes ought of rycht to be called iudiciall lawes of god Truly those whiche haue beÌ„ made ordined of god him selfe iÌ„ holy scripture to the gouernynge not of all people but of the Iues to gether amonge them selfe and that in suche thinges as perteyne to particular iustice and haue no morall reason in them selfes nor shulde be of no strengthe nor auctoritie if there were nothynge but reasone to moue thereto but the cause of their makynge was the state of that people and other auctoritie and strength haue they none but onely by cause they were made for their auctorite staÌ„deth rather in that they be decreed and commaunded thaÌ„ in any reason of general iustice of god as whiche stonde more in decrees and penalties then by reule or by reason of commune iustice For there is no commune nor generall iustice in them but they be onely iuste for them that they were made for ¶ And thus we haue shewed the what is the iudicial law of god Now iÌ„ the definitioÌ„ or certeintie of the morall naturall lawe is great derkenes and doubtfulnes bicause it is coÌ„munly vnknowen nor hath not ben written nor declared clerely and diligently of any diuine as farre as we haue redde by what shorte and substanciall waye we myght fynde out by a sure facion of reasonynge what is the lawe of nature howe many kyndes there be of it and also whiche be the thynges that natural reasone shulde shewe and teache vs. These thynges doutles be very darke and ouer rolled and wrapped in moste depe and thicke derkenes by cause that all people on al sydes in maner by a commune consent and agrement folowe vice synne and of so longe tyme hath fallen away and cleane forsake their very propre nature so that partly by cause there be so many vicious customes partly by cause there be so many vayne opinions misordered iugementes so many croked errours and ignorance so many frowarde maners fynally bicause there is so great diuersitie bothe of mens wyttes and of mens appetites and disposytions the holy light of nature is in maner vtterly extincte and put out and skante appereth or sheweth it selfe at all any where and the sharpe or quicke syght and trewe iugement of mans reason by the whiche he shulde knowe what is good what is yll what is true and what is false destitute of his lyght and rightnesse and lackynge the holy goste or spyrite of god whiche is the ruler and gouernour of reasone is vtterly become obscure and darke Therfore here we muste reste and tarye a lytle whyle that as farre as our wytte capacite will serue vs and this our matter wyll suffre we may gyue lyght to these darke thinges and vndo the knottê of the doubtes so as it may be ¶ Ther is in maÌ„ all though it be meruailously
man is made good And as for those iudicial lawes serued not but onely to the orderynge of the Iues amonge them selfe and in those thynges onely that belonged to particular Iustice. The lawes morall haue of them selfe a naturall and morall cause generally to all nations why they were made but there was no cause why the iudiciall lawes of god were made but only the state or condicion of the Iues. The lawes moral be perpetual and vnchaungeable by the consent of al nacions and so remayne and endure by cause they haue their strength and power by the teachynge of naturall reason so illightened although they were neuer commanded by none other lawe These iudiciall lawes be vsed and accustomed onely by ordynaunce ⧠The syxte Chaptre BVt of the licht and trouth of our two worthye groundes principilles that is the definicion of the lawe morall and the lawe iudicial of the whiche two we wyll make a sylogisme or perfecte reason we haue spoken sufficientely Therfore nowe we wyll go forthe with other thinges that pertein to our purpose and shal endeuour our selfe to shewe and declare that tho Leuiticall prohibitions whereby we are forbydden to marye our brothers wyfe and to shewe his filthines is a lawe moral comminge of nature And this thinge we shall brynge to passe perauenture if we make you a reason out of the definitions after this maner ¶ Euery sayenge of god that commaundethe honeste thynges and forbyddethe vnhoneste thynges whiche the naturall reason of man clered by the lychte of the worde of god commaundeth to be done or to be eschewed accordynge to the rule and teachynge of generall Iustyce or vertue and that hath auctoritie and strength euen by naturall reason onely all thoughe it hadde neuer ben ordyned by none other lawe is a lawe diuine morall and naturall But these Leuitical prohibitions be sayenges of god that do forbydde vnhonest thynges whiche the natural reason of man lychtened by the worde of god commandeth to be eschewed after the rule of generall iustice and vertue and haue their auctoritie and strengthe euen by naturall reason onely all thoughe they had neuer ben forbydden by none other lawe Therfore they be godly morall and naturalle lawes ¶ But if that any man here by chaunce wyll by his crafty witte reason and bolde stubbournely that some of those thynges whiche we haue taken to proue our cōclusyon with all be not trewe the texte and the order of the historie and of the place that we haue before rehersed out of the Leuiticall shall sone ouercome him ¶ For truely fyrst of all that those lawes be sayenges cōmaunded to the reasonable creature not by the wyl of man but by the auctoritie or teachynge of god hym selfe the maner the tyme and causes of theyr institution or fyrst ordynaunce do playnely declare yea and this thinge also that is so often rehersed there declareth sheweth the same that is I your lorde god So that we nede no more to doubte of the auctor or maker of these lawes ¶ Seconde the vniuersall catholyke and apostolyke churche hathe shewed that those lawes were taughte vs by the spirite of god and by god by cause that the churche hath putte the .v. bokes of Moses and amonge them the holle boke Leuiticall in the noumbre of these werkes whiche by vndoubted vsaunce and consent of longe tyme the churche hath approuedde and confyrmedde to haue ben wrytten by the spirite of god This same thinge truely the sacre holy coūsayles the honorable Seanis haue decreed the holy fathers priuatly euery man in his workes hath iudged the same thinge till this day hath ben beleued and receiued of all christian men And forsothe seynge that the catholic church hath approuid this thing as strongly as can be and hath publisshed and wytnessed the same openlye to all the worlde that those prohibitiōs the which we nowe speke of be expressely and plainly written in the boke Leuitical and that the boke Leuiticall which can not erre nor lye dothe playnely shewe and declare that these lawes were shewed and spoken by the spirite of god through the mouthe of Moses to the people of the Iues truely no man can say naye but that these Leuiticall lawes be oracles or sayenges that came oute of the mynde of god nor were not made by the ordinance of any man ¶ Thirde and that these Leuitical prohibitions be sayinges whiche do forbydde suche thinge that of it selfe is nought and agayne honestie and suche a thynge truly as the naturall reasone of man lychtened with the licht of the worde of god dothe shewe shulde be auoyded that is to saye the fylthy foule and shameful couplynge with our brothers wife the pith strēgth of this word MAN sheweth declareth by the whiche worde it is signified that they which so come to their broders wife be no lōger men but brute bestes in so moche that god calleth it fylthines a mischeuous and acursed dede abhomination and infamy and a thynge vnlaufull that any man shulde mary his brothers wyfe And this thynge is playne also by cause that god dothe threten to punysshe greuously and sharpely the breakers of these lawes that is to saye that they shall be blotted and cleane wyped out of the myddes of his people and that they shulde be spued out of their lande and they shall dye without chylderne and yet we wyll not speake one whit of the more greuouse and sorer punisshementes For marke wel god threteneth .iij. maner punysshementes to the breakers of these lawes fyrste temporall punisshmente that they shall be caste and banysshed out of their countrey Seconde that they shal be without children whiche punisshment cometh onely of god And thyrdly euerlastynge punysshement that is the banisshment of the soule out of the company of god for euermore For as this seyinge to be put oute of the myddes of his people meaneth not that we shulde be punysshed by any bodely deathe but that we shall not be reckened nor compted in the nombre of saintes or of chosen people And not onely they were thus punysshed but also their bastardes that came of suche forbydden mariages whiche in Hebrewe be called Manzer were forbidden the temple for the Iues call him Manzer whiche is begotten by any of these forsaid fylthy couplinges reken him as a bastarde and borne of an harlot All these trewely were thoughte vnworthye and vnmete to come in cōpany of the people whiche was gathered to kepe and celebrate the feastes and holy dayes or vnworthie to haue any thinge a do or any office in the churche of our lorde wherof this thynge semeth to haue come vp that nowe vnder the gospell bastardes can not be promoted to holy orders ¶ Therfore seynge that god him selfe here doth plainly pronounce and gyue sentence that the Chananes and the Egyptions did defile their lande and spotted it with filthines while that they didde contracte mariage with their brothers wiues and that he for that