Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A17421
|
A treatise co[n]cernynge impropriations of benefices. Cum priuilegio regali
|
Bigod, Francis, Sir, 1508-1537.
|
1535
(1535)
|
STC 4240; ESTC S110964
|
14,361
|
52
|
nat preche he is worthye to haue no penye of suche fruites / albeit he mumble vp neuer so many mateÌ„ses / Dauid psalters / trentals / diryges / and suche lyke longe prayers / as we proued before whaÌ„ we spake of loÌ„ge prayers For this is a good argument He preacheth dilygently and trewly Ergo / he is worthy to haue therefore a lyuynge / and euen so is this He doth neither of theÌ„ / ergo / he can chalenge no lyuyng and this is Paules mynde / whan he sayth He that minystreth the worde of god / must lyue therby excepte peraduenture ye can proue that to muÌ„ble vp a longe payre of mattens be to preche the worde of god / whiche if ye can bringe to conclusyon / by my trouthe ye haue wonne the maistrye for me / for I truste than / that whan I saye my mattens / that my mattens maye stande for a symple collation as wel as your mattens and than I se nat but that an impropriation were as holsome for my bodye as for yours And where it maye be obiected that ouer that / that the prestes kepe none hospytalytie / they neither preache at their benefyces / nether come at them neither yet euer loke thytherwarde some of them yea / and if it chaunce some of them to preache / it is suche geare / that it were more for the helth of his parisshens soules that he wer tonge tyed Forsoth that is euen as trewe as the gospell yea / so trewe that it maketh myne herte wepe to thynke vpon it I beseche god ones to amende it whan his wyll is Is it nat great pitye to se a man to haue thre or foure benefyces yea / paraduenture halfe a score or a dosyn / whiche he neuer cometh at / but setteth in euery one of them a syr IohnÌ„ lacke laten / that can scarce rede his porteus / orels suche a rauenynge wolfe as canne do nothynge but deuoure thesely shepe with his false doctryne / and sucke their substaunce from them Lorde / if it be thy pleasure / ones haue mercye vpon vs / and gyue grace that we may haue some remedye founde for thys myschiefe / bothe of impropriatyons / and also of them that minister nat the worde of god faythfully vpon theire benefyces as they ought to do for I haue knowen suche / that whan they haue ryddeÌ„ by a benefyce wherof they haue ben persone / they coulde natte tell that is was their benefyce This is a wonderfull blyndnesse And yet I thynke / suche or the same benefyced man wyll natte stycke to ryde an hundreth myles / to prycke a brouche vpon an ymage cote / and thynke it a righte hyghe merytoriouse dede But to suche tyme as it shall please the kinges most honourable maiestye / of his benygne mercy and pytie / with his most honourable counsel to se a reformation / as well for thabuse of impropriatyons as for the incharytable demeanoure of all benefyced men / that be nat resydent abydynge vpon their benefices / there to do their boundeÌ„ duty It shall neuer be wel in this church of Christ in Englande / wherof his grace is the supreme heed / nor yet the truthe of goddes holye worde shall euer go forwarde in his righte trade and kynde They haue yet an other abiectyon / and this is it If impropriatyons be taken from monasteryes / say they / than coulde they kepe no houses nor hospytalyte / but shulde be compelled to lyue all in pouertye Where vnto I answere / that as for pouertye it is their professyon / and standeth with their own monastycall rules for they all professe the same at their fyrste enterynge into relygyon yea / and it must be wylfull pouerty also / wherfore I can nat se by their professyoÌ„ but that they ben bounde to helpe to all thinges that standeth with pouertye And as for kepiÌ„ge hospitalyte with stollen goodes of impropriatyons / I thinke it can nat vayle theym but lytell to allege it / wherefore this obiectyon is nat worthe a strawe / and maye better be called an abiectyon / than an obiectyon Besydes this I knowe very fewe or none / but and if these impropriatyons were clene taken awaye frome theym yea / and a gret dele more / yet shulde they haue more lefte in their handes than euer had Benedict / Bernard / Dominik / or Fraunces / or yet Brimo ye / more than many men thinke or can thinke well bestowed vpon them But a man might sauyng their pacyence be so bolde with them / what mater were it vnder correction I speke if all these improfytable sectes / and stronge sturdye route of idle paunches were a lytell poorer / to th ende that the trew relygion of christ miÈt thereby somthynge be sette vp and a vaunsed / and syffycient company of the ministers of goddes true worde prouyded for in all parttes I praye you / what an idle sorte be fouÌ„de and brought vp in Abbeyes / that neuer wyll laboure whyles they ben there / nor yet whan they come thence to other mens scruyce / in so moche that there goth a comen prouerbe That he which hath ones ben in an abbey wyll euer more after be slouthefull / for the whiche cause they ben called of many men / Abbey loutes or lubbers And some saye that many of our holye fathers spende nat a lytell vpon my cosyn Iane / Elsabeth and Marget ye knowe what I meane insomoche that / that eueÌ„ they which be most popysshe of all / knowe none other god almost than the gret drafsacke of Rome / can nat deny this to be trew Which popysshe ê‘sons nat withstandynge wyll nat ones open their lyppê to sue for a reformatioÌ„ to the kinge our most soueraine lorde And the cause why / as it is noysed / as good sygnifycatioÌ„s ben therof giuen / is for that / that some such abbot or priour wyll nat stycke to gyue an hundreth pouÌ„des at a clappe to such a chaÌ„pyon to speke in his fauour in tyme of nede And I can beleue it well for I se no meÌ„ in the world haue mo sure stakes to stande with theÌ„ whan they haue any vrgent busines than the monkes haue euen of them that knowe their noughty coÌ„uersatyon / as well as I knowe my right haÌ„de froÌ„ my lyfte Now what shuld cause men to be so vntrusty in a matter of vntruth / let other men iuge I can gesse no mater or cause more lykely / than Huri sarra fames as Vergyll calleth it that is the myscheuouse insacyable hunger couetousnesse of golde And I fere me that euen at this day / money passeth fast from marchant to marchant A thynge there is in the wynde / what soeuer it be / that euery maÌ„ knoweth nat of / which I trust in god wyl one day come to lyght / as well as other thiÌ„gê haue for I dout nat but christ is true / which sayth Qihil est
blessed ordynaunce of almighty god Here nowe to boste as some man wolde that were a ioyly papyst that I am suffyciente to confounde conuynce all them that wolde withstande me in this one argumente and cause / in dyspyte of all their subtyll sophistry and nyghe scraped scryptures / wrested out of frame / it shall nat moche nede / for my mynde is with no man to contende or stryue either moch or lytell But playnly I entende to vtter my coÌ„scteÌ„ce without either payntynge or colourynge / sophismes / or sophystrye / after to leue the mater to the iugemente of them that ben in authoritye / and maye / whan it shall lyke theÌ„ well set a redresse / nat onely in this / but also in all other abuses nat to be suffred Neither do I moche regarde the blynde reasons and carnall persuatyons / that maye be broughte for the defence of their feble fouÌ„dation / wherwith here tofore they haue allured the nobles of this realme / to impropriate as they call it vnto theym suche benefyces for truthe shall at length ouercome all their falshed Truth maye well be blamed / but it can neuer be shamed Suche is thexellency and vertue of truth For asmoch than as the cause of it selfe is so heynouse / that it can with no conscyence any loÌ„ger be suffered of any Christen stomake / but that it oughte to be reclaymed at / of all well mynded people / bothe with hert and soule And for as moche as the truthe standeth with me / both of good scrypture reason / that these impropriatyons be false abhomynable in the syght of god / as my iugement serueth me / me thynketh I may right well without any suspect of temerytie / or any other euyll affectyon entre into the mater / whiche I entende and purpose I thynke no man to be so blynde / but he knoweth that almightye god hath ordeyned in his faythfull congregatioÌ„ of christen people / one specyall kynde of ministers / which are bounden afore thadministratyon of all sacramentes / chefely and princypally to applye them selfe to the syncere declaratyon and publysshynge of his most holy worde and gospell this wytnessiÌ„ge Paule by these wordes Non enim misit me deus vt baptizarem / sed vt euaÌ„gelizem Et alibi Ve mihi si noÌ„ euangelizem The lorde saith he hath nat sent me to baptyse / but rather to preache Yea / wo be to me saythe he in a nother place if I do nat preche But what nede me to proue that men be bounde to preche / whan no man denyeth it The thinge that we entende to proue / is to proue that impropriatyons are nat to be suffred / no / nat of a Turke / if he wyll haue his relygyon lawe to contynewe and florisshe How moche lesse than are they nat to be promytted of a cristen maÌ„ Thauctour of whose relygion is nother the pope nor Machomet / nor yet any maÌ„ / but euen the lyuing god / the god of all goddes / and the creatour of heuen and erth Nowe if ye graunte me that meÌ„ be bounde to laboure in the vyneyard of the lorde / and in the worke of his gospell I trowe beleue that it were nat moch agaynst good reason / that a good workeman / and he that laboureth iustly for his lyuynge / had as he is worthy / and as reason and scripture wyll / a rewarde worthy / accordynge to his laboure For the scrypture sayth Dignus est merceuarius mercedesua A true work man is worthy to haue for his worke And I am sure that the Turke for very shame could nat deny this But let vs se more of the scrypture Paule sayth Si nos vobis spiritualia seminauimus / magnum est si carnalia vestra metamus That is If we do minister vnto you those thynges that ben heuenly and spuÌ„al do you thynke it a high thinge if we reape and receyue of you agayne those that ben but worldly and transytorie thynges And in another place Quis suis stipendtis militat vnque Quis plantat vineam / et de fructu eius non edit Quis pa scit gregem / et de lacte gregis non manducat This is Who goth a warrefare any tyme at his owne proper charge Who planteth a vyneyarde and eteth nat of the fruite Who fedeth a flocke and eteth nat of the mylke Se you nat here howe vehemente Paule is / in this that he wolde haue the precher to be honestly founde Yea / and to th entent that all the world may vnderstande how feruent he is in this mater Marke also how he bringeth in the olde law for him / as who shulde saye If ye were / or be so vnreasonable to deny these authorityes and reasons / that I haue here adduced brought in / as thynges inuented of myne owne braynes / as a new fouÌ„de holyday / deuysed with out authorite or counsell yet I trowe you neither wyll or can denye / but that longe many thousande yeres before I was borne / or you either / it was well and substancyallye prouyded of god almightye for his ministers seruauÌ„tes / whiche laboured / or were otherwyse occupyed at his coÌ„maundement in his holy temple Therfore saith Paul marke what the scrypture sayth Qiscitis quoniaÌ„ hit qui in sacrario operant / que de sacrario sunt edunt c. Do ye not sayth he vnderstande / how that they which minyster in the temple / haue their fyndynge of the temple and that they whiche attende vpon thaultare / are partetakers of the aultare Euen so sayth Paul doth the lorde ordeyne that they which preache the gospell / shulde lyue by the gospell And yet Paule here in thaduouchynge of the olde ordynance of god / made in his olde testament / enforceth nat to proue the payment of tythe / but all his dilygence is to iustifye his doctrine to be no newe lernynge / nor yet inuented of his owne fantasy / but that in all tymes / all ages / god wolde euer his ministers to be honestly susteyned and founde Now this confyrmed / stablysshed / and grounded / as I thinke it wyl be denyed of fewe or none I besech you all my lordes ladyes / and maisters of impropriacyons / what other thinges ben your imê“priatioÌ„s / than thinges directly fyghtynge agaynst goddes holy ordynaÌ„ce agaynste his holy wyll / agaynst his most blessed pleasure / agaynst his holy spyrite Fynally agaynst himselfe and all that is god And consequently what can ye make of them / but thinges abhominable / thiÌ„ges detestable / playne thefte and robberye Yea / and more than twyse sacrylege I besech you what do you call them yea / howe moch are they to be hated / that ben but euen preuy pykepurses were he lesse worthye than to be set vpon the pyllary But what of him that robbeth a man euen at noone in the kynges high waye yea / euen in