lawes and moste honest maners it is estemed and taken for a verye greatte offence to kysse an other mans wyfe or his doughter And yet in the chiefe parte of the same region and betwene the fountayne of Pady and Doria and from thense by all the mountaynes of Allobroges and in euery citie that is moste populously inhabyted with frenche menne and villages betwene Pyren and Reynes from the easte partis to the greatte occean see the same licence of kyssynge is so moche suffred that whan so euer thou shalte come to the howse of thin ooste or of thy frende excepte thou fyrst of all kysse his wyfe his daughters and al other women in the howse and beclyp theym in thyne armes thou shalte be iudged churlysshe or proude or els to be theyr ennemie And so that that among vs here is thought to be a shamefulle thynge is taken amonge them for a great gentylnes and a familiaritie Of suche weight is the custome and maners of people of longe tyme vsed Also in some cities and countreyes some thynges not so honeste are yet by reason of custome and vse and longe and sure consente of the people growen into a lawe And thynke ye than to take away this same venerable maner of grauitie and sadnes that hath bene receyued and allowed both by the examples of the high byshoppes and also by the imitation of al the people Neyther ye remembre not the sayenge of the most wise prince beinge daylye proued afore your eyes Eos qui aliter uiuere uolunt quam se habeant mores eorum inter quos uiuunt suspiciosos aut intemperantes haberi They that lyue after an other sorte then the custome is of the people and countreye where they dwelle are taken for suspicious and vnruly persones And if ye thynke it best to stycke to one lawe what so euer it be whether it be weake corrupte or of small effecte doo ye not see the mooste sadde sentences of men ageynste you whiche haue the high auctoritie bothe to interprete and to make the lawes For they whiche by their high power haue made lawes to all the worlde what lawes they haue made of priestis beardes it appereth more playnely by theym selfe thanne thoughe they hadde grauen it in a table of brasse But admytte it be an offence graunt also though it appere not that Alexander the thyrde was of the same mynde as printed bokes do shewe More ouer graunte it to be estemed a lothly dede and that a priest with a bearde ought nat to meddell with ministration of the holy sacramentis nor be in cōpany among mē but after your iugemēt to be exiled or kept in perpetuall prison Wel go to let your oratours begyn to accuse vs let them do theyr vttermoste lette them ley to our charges what so euer they can before the iudges let them make vs to forfayt our goodes and lyke as rebels murderers ar wonte to be handled let them mynde to intreate vs. But where Where shal the iudges be Before whom shal they plede their cause Who shall aknowledge this to be an offence Who shall condempne vs I wolle haue them go to those that be moste sadde best aduised and vnto them to whose sentences and determinations not onely al the common people but also men of gret reputation and might wyl stande This is the iugement of the twelue men whiche are ordeyned to sytte in the bishops palaice to gyue sentence vpon matters in debate Of the whiche maner there were some tyme certayne menne amonge the Grekes when they flourysshed called Amphictyones whiche concerninge the lawes did make answere to al maner of people And these I seye be the iudges whiche we had nede to haue to make an ende of our matter Therfore beholde vs here redy at hande we neither rebelle ageynst you nor we are not about to flee we be contente to abyde the iudgement ye shall not nede to attache vs and kepe vs in holde Begyn ye nowe to call for iudgement Beholde here afore your eies a holle college of chosen men of good lyfe and well skylled in the lawes Whervppon do ye tarie For what cause are ye so abashed Me thynketh your answeres be very farre to seke Where is nowe the begynnynge of your accusation that horrible wounder that priestes shuld weare beardis whiche ye saye is a newe crime that was neuer harde of before this tyme Verily ye maye nowe perceyue youre owne folye and what tryfils ye haue gethered to gether amonge the thornes For ye can fynde no iuges but they gyue sentence ageynst you before ye begynne to speake excepte your selfes wolde be bothe iudges and accusers Do ye not see if ye stryue ageynst beardes there be so many good men that weare berdes that your busynes shall be laughed to scorne with euery man Neither there is any cause why that you being but thre in nombre or foure at the moste shulde thynke to haue the true knowlege This is your wyl not your iugement where as al men thoughte before that it was but an errour in you for lacke of knowlege nowe seinge ye stycke styl in your opinion the truth apperyng so plein afore your face euery man maye knowe ye do it not of ignorance but of a very proude and obstinate mynde lest your euyl meninge shoulde be perceyued Stynte ye therfore nowe to make any further busynesse and those maners of men whiche ye se are mete to be vsed allowe ye them also or els if you be so tender and delycate that ye can not abyde to be sene lyke men yet be contente at the leeste waye that other men vse them selfe as they shulde do Thus yf ye intende to determyne youre matter by the lawes ye see to what passe it wyll comme If ye grounde you vpon honestie ye can fynde no suche honestie in smothynge of a mans face If ye wolle speake of custome and maners the same custome to weare a bearde is so vsed with princis and chiefe reulers that nowe it maye be taken for a lawe Behold I beseche you the ancient doctours of our Senate howse whiche are men so excellent in all mener sciences whiche are not wonte to do any thynge out of good order ye se them weare beardes which thyng they wolde not do excepte they thought it mete for a prieste for euer honest man In conclusion amonge all these excellent men thou shalte fynde very fewe without beardes And those few if thou woldest demaund for what cause they were no beardes they woll make many other excuses rather thē sei it is vnsemely for a mā of holy orders not doubtynge to preferre the truth before their own maners What shuld I here reherce any mo exāples of other holy men as archbyshops and bysshoppes that haue worne beardes whiche wolde not haue worne them excepte they had knowen very wel it was not repugnant to the lawes of Christ shal any man be so bolde to recite
but as for the bearde they neuer thought theron Also of the busshe onely we fynde lyke commaundement in many placis in rhe decrees of auncient bysshops to gether with other thynges concernynge the lyfe of priestis Finally Aniceius by the preceptes of the apostels decreed that the clergie shuld not nouryshe theyr busshes and surely he wold not haue passed ouer without spekyng of the bearde if he had estemed it a thynge vnhonest For of truth to nourishe the bushes is the facion of women or els of suche men as lyue delicatly and vnchast For the longe heared people were euer estemed both of the grekes and Latines for a token of foule lust and fylthye lyuynge Wherfore the lawes wyllynge religious men not onely to be with oute vycis but also to eschewe the occasyons of the same doo not withoute a cause forbydde theym to nourysshe theyr busshes But ageyne on the other syde hit besemethe menne to haue longe beardes for chiefely by that token as I haue often sayde the vigorous strengthe of manhode is decerned from the tendernes of women so that women oughte to nourysshe theyr busshes and men theyr beardes And for this cause the priestis were commaunded by the determination of the solemne counsel of Carthage not to shaue theyr beardes to the intent that they myght seme lyke as they be men and shewe as it were a certayne maiestie of their owne kynde in theyr vtter apperaunce But ye folowe the Rodians whiche had a lawe amonge theym ageynste shauynge and yet commonly they were all shauen Ye begynne also nowe to countrefeyte theym of Bysance whose maners Chrysippus dydde mooste hate for that same cause For they dydde not onely make lawes ageynste shauynge of berdes but also ordeyned extreme punysshementes for the same and yet the moste parte of them lyke as ye doo loued to be shauen Thus maye ye see that in manye places the frowardenes of yuelle people distroye manye tymes the good maners And lette no manne marueylle thowghe false and corruptly wrytten bokes haue done moche harme by the space of so many yeres paste soo that by the meanes of that erroure many decrees punyshmentis of the proude and stubborne and cruell chastisinges haue bene brought vppe O good lorde how many thynges shall ye fynde in all olde bokes here and there moste fautily redde Howe many wordes chaunged howe many cleane lefte out howe many stryken oute And I wolde to god that there were fewer at this daye whiche of theyr iniquitie doo peruerte many thynges But beholde I beseche you what harmes ryse by reason of depraued bokes The sentence of Gelasius the pope in the xv distinction in our spirituall lawe is thus Venerabilis uiri Sedulij Pascale opus quod heroicis descripsit uersibus insigni laude proferendum The pascall worke sayth he of that honourable man Sedulius whiche he wrote in heroicall versis is greattely to be preysed And yet hytherto ye shall fynd writen in bokes that go commonly abrode in the place of Heroicis uersibus hereticis uersibus whiche turneth the sentence after this maner The pascal worke of that honourable man Sedulins whiche he wrote in erronious or hereticall versis is greattely to be preysed This one false worde brought suche a suspicion to certayne men which were true ê“fessers of the lawes that they thought all poetis versis were erronious and that they were nat worthye to be accompted amonge good men though they intreated of holy matters whiche thynge we sawe was also after suche a maner perswaded to the pope Adrian the .vi. that he hated no kynde of peple worse then poetes thynkyng that no thyng that they dyd was wel done And yet to this day there be some discrete prelates so disceyued with this false redynge and with that other errour of shauing that they thinke no man worthye to be a priest that eyther maketh versis or weareth a bearde suche a thynge it is ones to taste an yuell opinion But we shall lette passe to brynge in any mo exaumples seinge we see dayly howe olde auctours haue ben corrupted by the meanes of false wryters Nor I wolle not reherse howe vngentilly the olde lawyers were intreted by our lawyers that cam after them For after theyr warkes were ones cutte in pieces by Tribunianus and such other bouchers thei did not kepe these peces to gether but suffred welnere euery vnlerned man to adde and minysshe at his pleasure and yet the same scrappis euyll and falsely recited be taken for lawes and they lack not a gret sorte of defenders Thus many thynges are dayly brought to lyght whiche gyue vs warnynge of the errours of our forefathers wherin they haue bene ouersene this many yeres or deceyued by the falsenes of bokes Wherfore it is the lesse meruayle if the decree of the counsell of Carthage be founde nowe otherwyse wrytten than it was put forth in tyme past Well go to we haue sette here a sure fundation for oure defence A lawe is recyted whiche we haue playnely proued no lawe Nother berdes ar not forbydden by the law of exaumples It is also proued that it besemeth euery good and honest man to weare a bearde Neuerthelesse they brynge forthe one reason to make them seme Romaynes and yet they intende to folowe the delycate maners of the Sicilians Many of them suppose that beardis were disanulled by the popes of Rome bycause the Grekes vsed to weare them For they sey it is not leful for a priest of the Romaynes to folowe theym in habyte maners that haue forsaken the churche of Rome Therfore we muste shaue our berdes except we wol be heretikes or rebelles To this what other answere shall I make but that our accusers be perauenture good men I wol not call them inuious vplandyshe nor vnlerned but may happe more simple than good men shuld be which thinke that beardes shulde be despised of the Romaynes and that the people be accurste that weareth them and also they thynke where so euer they be they make the place vnholye and voyde of all good lucke bycause the grekes wol not obey to theyr constitutions I maruayle from whense they gatte these opinions whiche howe foolysshe and howe chyldysshe they be euery manne perceyueth For if they wyl affirm it to be done bycause of the grekes I beseche you lette them tell me to what Italian it hathe doone good or what hathe the pope gotten by it when the same discorde hath ben the cause of so many euyls whiche yet abhorreth any man to remembre I wolde to God oure forefathers hadde not benne so wylfulle and fulle of stryfe somme beynge to extreme in kepynge of certayne ceremonyes and lawes whiche were but of smalle effecte somme in makynge of newe somme in breakynge and chaungynge of olde customes and maners the whyche hadde benne kepte manye yeres I speake onely of customes bycause those thynges that perteyne to the feythe are of an other kynde but yf such busynes had not bene
A TREATISE VVRITEN BY IOHAN Valerian a greatte clerke of ITALIE which is intitled in latin Pro Sacerdotum barbis translated in to Englysshe ¶ The preface of the translatour to the reder IT is not vnknowen gentyll reder that here in Englande hath bene dyuers tymes busynes for werynge of beardes so that as it appereth in no realme they haue bene lesse accepted Also we maye perceyue that in Italie all thoughe theyr vse varye farre from ours for shauynge is as lyttell vsed there as beardes be here yet hath there ben greatte variance for the same cause namely amōge the clergie Whervpon a lerned mā of that countrey called Ihon̄ Pierius Valerian wrote a pistell to the Cardinall Medices for the defence of priestis beardes whiche I haue translated into oure Englysshe tonge partly for the cause afore named and partely bicause I haue euer vsed to weare a bearde and haue ben many tymes challenged and rebuked for the same And here it is to be noted that if it be proued no vnmete thynge for a prieste to weare a bearde who shuld both in apparell and dedes shewe a sad and an honeste example it may seme so moche the more sufferable in a laye manne But peraduenture I myght be iudged of somme men to be a very presumptuous persone bycause that I hauynge but lyttelle lernynge wolde take vppon me to translate Howe be it whan I sawe it was no great weighty matter it made me so moche the more bolde to procede in folowynge myn intent Furthermore where as I haue founde my copy in many places very tedious by plentuousnes of wordes I haue in my translation vsed a shorter way gatheryng to gether the effecte of the matter as I thought most mete for my purpose More ouer yf I haue in any place varyed farre from the true menyng of the sentence I do submytte my selfe to them that be better lerned desyryng them to holde me excused and to accompt it as an vnlerned mannes acte But shortly to conclude yf those that shall rede this lytell boke do wey the matter indifferentely I truste they shall fynde it proued by good reason that berdes ar nat so gretly to be dispreised but rather to be vsed worne ¶ Iohn̄ Pierius Valerian to the most reuerende father the Cardinall Medices FOr bycause moste reuerende father there be dyuers not of small auctoritie goo aboute to tempt the pope hauyng no regard to his sycknes wherewith he is nowe greuously vexed to bryng vp ageyne a lawe of a certayne counseyle concernyng beardes strengthed and renewed as they say by Alexander the thyrd whiche before our tyme a fewe yeres hathe bene kepte and by our dayes I thynke worthyly lefte Therfore ye haue warned vs all that lyue vnder your dominion to begynne to shaue our beardes before this commaundement be put forthe and so we shall bothe be exaumple to other and also do that wyllyngely that elles we shulde be compelled to doo by a lawe The whiche thynge we are redye to obeye onely moued by your auctoritie and iudgemente without constraynynge of any lawe Howe be it there be many wyse counnynge ye and also vertuous men that allowe nat greatly this matter and thynke by this meanes the shaue their beardes for humilitie in dispysing of apparell that they myght be disfigured and hadde in derision amonge the people the whiche peraduenture we graunt in shearynge of the heare aboue the eares but there is not one man that dothe well consyder woll iudge humilitie in takynge so moche care for smothenes of the mouthe For truly shauyng of the chynne and all the face beganne of a wycked and a delycate mynde and they that often vse it are iuged without doubte to be of the feminine sorte though they haue manye other good qualities and excellent vertues I myght reherse here for my purpose exaumples innumerable of all the aunciente men bothe of grekes and hebrewes but bicause we be Romayns and it is the Romaine churche that we are nowe in hande withal it shall nat varie farre from our matter yf before we speake of thynges doone in oure tyme we fyrst reherse the dedes of our forefathers Wherfore nowe lette vs see howe the Romayns in tyme past estemed beardes They truely lyke manly menne were longe ere they wold suffre any barbours amongest theym and for that cause the auncientis of them amonge wryters were called for the moste parte the vnshauen men ☞ Of truthe the .544 yere after the buyldynge of Rome the vse of barbours was founde them P. Ticinius Mena brought out of Sicilia if we mowe beleue Varro And Plini also beareth wytnes before that tyme they lyued vnshauen and fyrste of all men Aphricanus vsed to be shauen dayely whom Augustus Octauianus folowed very diligently And truely Scipio was euer called a softe and a feminate felow so that his delycate facion and strange apparell neyther after the maner of the Romaynes nor yet ware lyke and also his great slouthe is spoken of to this daye In so moch that in that same busynes whiche was of greatte and as weighty as euer the Romaynes had any I meane when they wente aboute to distroye Carthage for the restorynge of the libertie of Italie and safegarde of them selfe and the honour of theyr name he was compleined of euen in the towne of Rome nat priuelye but openly in the Senate howse bycause whyles he ruled the exercysyng of the feates of warre were forslowed Therfore I say go ye to folow ye the exāples of the Sicilians folow ye asso the strāge apparelle the delicacie and prodigalytie of the Syracusans dampned by the manyfolde prouerbes of auncient men and admytte ye be not dastardes and cowardes but stronge excellent and triumphant yet by that meanes ye minysshe a great parte of your glory But what shall I speke now of Augustus he without doubte was neuer so moche suspected to be of a femynate mynde by the baudy versis that he wrote in the baynes as by the often vse of shauyng But leest I shulde bryng in many examples in so euident a matter in conclusion all puttynge away of heare hath ben estemed at al tymes and by the consent of all people to be as it were a certayne wo manny she thyng By that it came vppe that certayne nations wold shaue theyr beardes whan they mourned in the token of sorowe that they might bewayle theyr wretchednes with a womannyshe facion bycause they thought it agreed not to mourne with a manlye bearde And truly the Romains did esteme their berdis of so gret honor that they wold neuer picture Iupiter their god without a bearde Of how moch auctoritie grauitie berdes causid the anciētis of the toun of Rome to be it apperith plainly bi this that folowith whē Rome was taken of the Senons their enmies were entred euery one of the faders sitting at his doore with that beardly dignitie brought their ennemies al though they were right cruell in suche
admiration that they thoughte euery citizen that they sawe so syt had bene a god Tylle at the laste one that was somewhat bolder than the other began to stroke one of the senatours beardes and he wolde nat suffre hym but strake hym with a rodde For the whiche dede theyr cruel ennemies being wroth slewe al those ancient honorable Romaynes not leauynge one alyue Thus ye maye see that they that the Romaynes sworde coude nat tame were appeased by the reuerence of their berdes And ageyne those Romayns rather chose to lose theyr lyues with theyr berdes than to haue the maiestie of theyr mouthe defiled Yet I wol not deny but certayn people ye also of the noble sort coÌ„maÌ„ded the berd to be shaueÌ„ suffred the heer of the heed to grow loÌ„g behind the which thing they say the LacedemoniaÌ„s did And Homer writeth that the AbbaÌ„tes first diuised it for the same cause Pollux saith they were callid EuboiaÌ„s with the long heer behind Also wheÌ„ Timeus descriuid Hector he preised his goodly loÌ„ge heer hangyng down at his back But that thing made the LacedemoniaÌ„s vnlike all other nations And also manye other fonde thynges were brought vppe by the same farre frome the custom of other kyndes of people The cause why that they commanded beardes to be shauen and to nourysshe the heer longe behynd was to the intente that they myghte be the more safe in batayle bycause theyr ennemies shulde haue none aduantage in takyng holde by theyr chynnes More ouer if they dydde purpose to fle they shuld remembre a longe boundell of heare to hange downe behynde at theyr backes wherby theyr enmies might take theyr handes ful and draw them backe ageyne and so for feare of that they shuld not intende to flee but lyke men without other hope of remedy boldly resist and assayle their ennemies But when this constitution and those that ruled in that tyme were ones worne out and forgotten it was neuer more after vsed But nowe to procede to suche thynges as apperteyne to oure matter I wolde verye fayne that those delycate felowes our accusers whiche are so extreme ageynste vs bycause they thynke it soo moche vnsemely that a prieste shulde weare a bearde shulde declare to me what fylthynes is in a berde For truely I can fynde in it nothynge filthy nor dishonest But to the end it may the more playnly appere lette vs fyrst declare what a beard is and so parauenture if there be any thynge in it amys we shal perceyue it There be many thynges whiche are hydden in the begynnynge that by the definition shall be more openly knowen The bearde is a garment for manly chekes gyueÌ„ of nature for comlynes for helthe The deâ—â—nition oâ— bearde therfore the latines named it a garment and those that were shauen they counted them as naked and vncladde And also ye shal fynde wrytten in manye auctours these wordes Theyr chekes were cladde with yonge wolly heare That a bearde is a token of manly nature the thynge selfe dothe shewe more playne than any man can declare Diogines whiche despised all shauen facis dyd not without a cause make this aunswere to a barbour that he ware his beard to the intent he myghte euer haue in remembraunce that he was a man And yet to this daye all the nations of the Easte parties where so euer they se men with suche smothe faces they calle them women in scorne Also it is had in remembrance how Alexander of Macedone a prince of great name was scorned bothe of his subiectes and men of warre ye and also of all nations bycause he wolde be shauen to shewe hym selfe feminine And Atheneus dothe wytnesse in Chrisippus that he was the auctour of shauynge It is openly knowen amongest all kyndes of men that chyldren women gelded men those that are tender and delycat are euer sene withoute beardis and therby it may be easily vnderstande to whome those that are shauen may be lykened But leste we shulde tarie to longe in so euident a matter lette vs passe forth to other thynges whiche we purpose to speake â—hy naâ—â—re gyâ—ethe a bearde That the berde is gyuen of nature for comlynes we may ê“ue by this Where as nature hath garnyshed trees with braÌ„ches leues likeswise to meÌ„ for the more iÌ„cresing of their dignitie she hath apparelled them with heer in so moche that the poetis put no difference but plainly affirme that men ar as moch disfigured whan theyr beardis be shauen as trees be whaÌ„ their leues be falleÌ„ from theÌ„ It was nat for naught that Haliabâ—s with many other excelleÌ„t philosophers did write that the berde of a man was giuen of nature for comelynes dignitie And for that cause thou shalt fynd that euery one of them if he were but lyttell bearded eyther on the ouer lyp onely or els vpon the verye toppe of his chynne as often as he behelde hym selfe in a glasse or put his hand to his mouth he wold put great faute in nature and bewayle hym selfe for beinge so made For like as peerles are estemed the more precious for their gretnes euen so of the greatnes a bearde taketh his preyse Artemidorus saythe that the fathers are worthy to be honored whan their chyldren be sene with manly beardes Furthermore it is worthye oure labour to here the opinion of Lucian whiche thought it as moche vnnatural to shaue a mans beerd as if thou shuldest go aboute to shere a lyons maane Theseus the disciple of Hercules whiche atte that tyme was mooste excellente in strengthe wolde neuer shaue his bearde to the intent he myght professe his valyantnes by that same mannely state And for that cause some men saye he made a lawe that yonge men shulde shaue theyr fyrst beardes and offre theym to the goddes as a deere and thankefulle gyfte thynkynge that nothynge myghte be offerred more meeter for that age and also he wolde dedicate that as the fyrste fruites to the flodes to the god Apollo accordynge to the superstition of those dayes But this is nothynge to our purpose But Plinie the yonger in his tyme dydde very moche preyse Euphrates an excellente Philosopher the whiche opteyned moche honour by his great and white beard For beardes were so moch honoured in olde tyme that a philosopher without a bearde was very lytell estemed More ouer he that had a bearde excepte his lyuynge were approued in grauitie of maners he was yuell reported amonge the people bycause his honorable bearde and his habite was in syghte and the philopher appered nat In so moche that the moste aunciente and discrete men in those dayes wolde iudge bothe wysedome and good maners to be ioyned with a beard â—â—lth that â—earde â—â—seth Furthermore as concernyng the helth that cometh by a bearde we may proue by this that for nouryshynge of hym selfe it sucketh out the abundant grosse humours from the chekes and by that meanes it
the aulters of god and his sainctis in so moche that the oyntment wherwith his bearde was annoynted is had in remembraunce More ouer the people of Nazareth those mooste holy menne whiche were dedicate to god dydde lette growe theyr busshes and beardes in token of holynes And for that cause we rede that sayncte Iohn̄ Baptyste the messanger of Christe wolde neuer suffre the heare of his heed nor bearde to be cutte And by what argument more playne maye we proue beardes to please God than by this that the fathers when they could haue no chylderne they made vowes to let theyr beardes growe The whiche thyng if those fathers had thoughte vnthankefull to god doubteles they wolde not haue hoped to opteyne any grace of hym by suche vowes They without doubte beinge warned of the offence that perauenture certayne delycate felowes commytted by shauynge of theyr beardes dydde intende bothe to mende the erroure and also to gette ageyne the fauoure of God by the meanes of that vowe Trewely ye shall fynde amonge the Hebrewes dyuers tymes beardes shauen where any vnsufferable peyne or gret wretchednes dyd happen to them to the intente they myght shewe them selfe as men spoyled of all theyr welthe A hole daye ye a hole yere wolde not serue me yf I shuld continue after this maner to remembre all the places and exaumples written in those dayes where beardes are commended the whiche thynge seinge it is so playne I thynke it not mete to consume any longer tyme in a mattier soo openlye knowen It apperethe in the olde lawe that beardes were not forbydden but ordeyned to be worne and commaunded by God hym selfe not to be putte awaye Nowe go to let vs come to an other lawe whiche oure christen religion hathe folowed 1529. yere This lawe is named by our diuines the lawe of grace whiche we deuide into the lawe of examples the lawe writen by the inspiration of the holye ghooste The lawe of examples is of so great auctoritie that that alone suffiseth as it apperith by the wordes of Christ whan he hym selfe professed to gyue exaumple to vs. Therfore we are euer wonte to putte Christe afore vs for an example And by that argumēt Ignatius the disciple of sayncte Iohn̄ the Euangeliste was moued ageynst the supersticiousnes of certayne menne whiche thought them selfe the holyer bycause they absteyned euer from flesshe Christe sayth he dydde eate flesshe Peter dyd eate fleshe and those that folowed after wherfore shuld we than vnder the colour of holynes take awey the eatynge therof Christ hath gyuen vs example that what so euer he hath done we shulde do the same as farre as our power doth extēd And so we may playnly saye that euery acte of Christe our auctour is a lawe and forme of our lyuynge And this beinge graunted I wolde wytte of our accusers whether they haue any commaundement sayeng or example of Christe wherby he dothe eyther commaund or shewe or at the leest weye agree that mens beardes shuld be shauen Without doubte there is none founde of that maner On the other parte the exaumple of Christe hym selfe whiche is sayde euer to weare a bearde and the maners of Peter Paule and all the appostels may be iudged a sufficient defence for beardes And there be certeyn men which so descriue the face of Christ by knowlege of their fore fathers that they affirme he had a longe and a yelowe berde neyther he is none otherwyse peynted nor caruen of the grekes the latines nor none other nations as it is openly knowen Peter to whom chiefely was gyuen by Christe the auctoritie of our christen feythe we picture hym in our temples euer with a bearde both in brasse in marbull and with colours Nor we se no man pictured with a greater berde than Paule whiche was a maister of our liuynge to whose moste wyse instructions we are euer obedient Andrewe Thomas and all the felowshyppe of them are gloriously sette forth with great beardes To this they woll make answere that it is but a lyght argument to diuine by pictures what maner of face Christe and his apostils had seinge it hath euer ben graunted to poetis and peynters to feyne what they lyste Well lette vs graunte to that yet neuer the lesse ye can not denye but it is the generalle agreemente of all menne that Christe hym selfe and his apostels whiche are the chiefe auctours of our priestis shal be peynted caruen with beardes by the whiche common consente it maye easily be perceyued that a bearde hath some good propretie perteyning to holynes and doth brynge preyse to euery holy man The gentyles vsed a custome to shewe by the habyte of theyr goddis what thynges they estemed moste precious amongest them And for this cause the Lacedemonians dydde not onely picture Mars lyke a manne of armes but also for the moste parte all other goddis and goddessis for bycause they estemed nothynge more precious than armour thei thought it behoued the goddis to be garnyshed with armour The Phenices whiche were only gyuen to marchandise dydde appareyle theyr goddis with pursis full of money bycause they iudged him most blessed that had most money So in lyke maner bicause we thynk nothing more honorable thā a berd we iuge it best to picture our god his disciples with beardis Verily we can nat proue that euer sayncte Iohn̄ the messanger of Christe was shauen nor yet sayncte Iames who amongest other good gyftes of a vertuous mynd was greatly preysed for this that he wolde neuer suffre hym selfe to be shauen And shall we vnhappy people blame in any man or forbyd vnder peyne of cursynge that thynge whiche was by the allowance of all people suffred in those holy men taught by Christ our sauiour and very sonne of god and rekened amonge the warkes of vertue as an example of a perfecte and a moderate lyfe But nowe of late we haue not onely lefte the name of good maners but also the veri right patheway of the same Iamis whiche opteyned his name by the continuall kepynge of Iustyce was moche preysed bycause he neuer vsed shauynge nor annoyntyng nother yet washyng in baynes c. And shal we sclander them as yuel peple which despise shauing suche other fond delites Thus if our lord god ware a beerd in token of manhod if Peter if Paule al the apostels dyd the same finally if there be no ther sayeng nor monition foūde of the chiefe auctours of our feythe ageynste beardes for what cause then shulde we regarde the condemnynge of beardes by any lawe or feare the thretnynges of any man seing god is on oure syde whose sonne we folowe in that habyte The fourthe parte of our matter is that we shall serche whether this disanullyng of beardis be commended or not in the thyrde kynde of written lawes whiche were made by the inspiration of the holy goste Of truthe the gides of our vertuous lyuing called holy
we hadde not loste so manye sortis of people nor so many realmes The greekes had not forsaken vs we hadde kepte stylle the I le of Aegei we had not loste Thracia we had nat loste the realme of Byzance we had nat lost all Asia nother Hierusalem had nat ben inhabyted with infidels so greattely to oure dishonour ye and to speake of later tyme for such causes Boeme and Germanie shulde not haue sette so lyght by the pope For in gouernynge many tymes some incidentis happen whiche are of so smalle weyght that they maye be easily eyther graunted or els suffered the whiche thynges if they be stubbornely denied they cause indignation amonge the vnlerned people And soone after indignation cometh chauffynge and murmouryng after chauffyng daily increasing of malice shortly after malice cruel enmities and than mortall warre Whan our forefathers commaunded the Romayne priestis to shaue theyr beardes in dispite of the grekes to the intent there myght be a difference betwene the Romaynes and them they caused the Grekes to be so vexed with that same dissention that they bare euen as greate lyke malice ageynste vs than as they dydde atte the tyme whan they hauyng warre amonge them selfe were of so mischeuous a mynde that they hadde leuer make a leage with the Turkes and seke the felowshyppe of them than to aske helpe of vs or receyue our aide whan it was wyllyngly offred And so they were deceyued and by the fals fayth of their ennemies betrayed and vtterly distroyed They loste theyr kyngdome theyr countrey was spoyled theyr aulters were robbed made vnholy and lefte desolate and by and by we were broughte in the same perylle by the meanes of theyr chaunce To the which people if that thynge had bene granted that was of none effect the name of christendom had ben spredde abrode bothe far and wide neyther that same coote of our lord that had no seame had bene rent in so many peces as we se it nowe adayes But what nede we to make mention of other mens damages and fautis whanne we may se as touchyng berdes suche variances at home at our doores that it hath broughte vp a perpetuall sclaunder to the hygh order of preesthode In continuance of tyme the delites of our forefathers came so farre forth that by the meanes of shauynge the people was so disguised that men and women were scant knowen a sonder And by this it happened if the tale be trewe that is in enerye mans mouth that a woman was chosē pope of Rome to the perpetuall rebuke of that same holy order In remembraunce of whiche dede the Romaynes to this daye shewe the place poyntynge with a fynger where that same high woman prieste beinge in the popes stede dyd trauayle of a chylde And leeste suche an other chaunce myght happen many men beleue that euer after it was ordeyned by a lawe that the same foly of oure forefathers shulde be openly declared at the stallyng of euery newe pope For at the Pulpit of saynt Iohn where is gethered to gether on that solemne feaste day a great multitude of people of all maner of nations the newe Poope is there constreyned in the syght of them all to proue hym selfe a man by many sufficient wytnesses And whan the thyng is ones pronoūced by the voyce of the crier by and by it is shewed aboute in euery place and than we beleue surely we haue a laufull man to our pope when it myghte be euidently knowen we had him that we ought to haue without any such wōderment These I say be the thynges whiche haue comen vp in tyme past by the smothnes and delycatnes of shauynge where on the other part it was neuer founde that any suche inconuenience came by the meanes of beardes If the maners of priestis are to be corrected or loked nere vpon it is beste to take hede that they whiche are chosen to that honeste dignitie to be ministers to god almightye shulde not be defyled with vile occupations or offices Let them kepe no vittaylynge houses let them be no maryners lette them weare no longe daggers or suche other weapons let them weave none armour nor pied garmentis let theym not falle to quaftynge or to dronkennes finally let them forbeare al suche thinges whiche do shewe lyghtnes folyshenes or vnclenlynes Truely if our accusers had taken hede to these thynges they hadde not ben so lyttell regarded of euery man as they be But when they deuise with so great diligence to condemne their berdes whiche doth increce their dignite they do not only deserue to be dispreised but also they brynge them selfe in to sclaunder of waywardenesse and superstition I speake this for no malyce but hit greuethe me to see somme menne verye excellente otherwayes bothe in lernynge and perfectnesse of lyuynge excepte I shulde belye them whiche beinge deceyuid by some fooles what so euer they be vnder the colour of goodnes fal into suche contention and be so ernest for so lyght causes ye yf I myght speake it very foolyshe trifles and when there be many hygher matters to be loked vpon to exercyse theyr studye and to labour to put downe berdes which hurte nother god nor manne nor yet there is anye cause why they shulde go aboute to defende their oppinion by certayne newe prouinciall lawes the whiche thoughe they were neuer so firmely strengthed by man ye althoughe the pope agreed to thē hym selfe yet if there be founde a truer reason they be bothe broken corrected and changed For the lawes the decrees and institutions for cause made as the nede of matters requireth and as the tyme asketh the pope by the counsayle of his bretherne and of his hyghe power dothe daily correcte for do ordeyne and stablyshe and these thynges that they agree vpon or he alone be taken for lawes And it is moste firmely prouided by precepte of the hygh ruler of the lawes that euery laste lawe shall wype away the fyrste But what more euident or more holy lawe shall we seeke for the wearynge of beardes than that same whiche the hyghe bysshoppe Iulius the seconde and Clement the .vii. did shew in theyr tyme by theyr owne examples gyuynge It pleased Iulius longe tyme to weare a bearde It pleased Clement also to weare a bearde It pleased the holy college of Cardinalles to doo the same It pleased both the other prelates and poore priestis in lyke wyse And shall we tarie to loke out an other counsayle when in dede there is none suche at all Or shall we deuyse to renewe weake lawes or those that be nowe worne out when this same liuely lawe is to this daye euery where in strengthe euery where obserued louyngely receyued and putte in vse in euerye place for a lawe made and approued Amonge the Venetians the Pisans the Brutians the Calabers the Sicilians amonge them of Champayne amonge the Romayne the Etruscians and many other people of Italie where as eche citie is instituted with right laudable