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A53190
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A dialogue of polygamy, written orginally in Italian rendred into English by a person of quality ; and dedicated to the author of that well-known treatise call'd, Advice to a son.
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Ochino, Bernardino, 1487-1564.
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1657
(1657)
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Wing O126; ESTC R9210
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45,713
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173
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man But if you observe you shall find that one Cock has many Hens one Bull many Covves and so in other Creatures which are profitable to mankind If therefore God has ordained for the Commodity of Man-kind that one Cock should have many Hens much more has he ordained that one man should have many wives for the propagation of men whom he so highly prizes and so dearly loâ—es Och. If none of those live-Creatures you speak of were guelt and they should all converse together you should finde every male with his proper female and men ought to do the same much more But now many of the males being guelt and separated if one male couple with divers females it followes not therefore that it should be lawful for one man to have many Wives God put into the Ark of Noah just so many males as females to shew that every male ought to have only his own single female Tel. If there were in the world as many Men as Women I confess it were expedient that every man should have his own single Wife But seeing the number of Women is greater I conceive it fit that one man have many Wives for it is not in vain that God makes more Women If there were in the World for example sake only three hundred Women and as many men and every man should have one Woman they could not so soon propagate their kind as if of six hundred four hundred were Women and two hundred men every one of which should have divers Women For this cause therefore God ordained that the number of Women should be greater then the number of Men The life of one Man equalls that of two Women Och. In the first place I do not believe that you know there are more Women in the World then men Perhaps it seemes so to you because commonly we rejoyce at the birth of Boyes and grieve at the birth of Girles But though there be more Women born into the World yet they live not long for the most part by reason of the more tender constitution of their bodies Add hereunto that many more men perish then women by Warres Shipwrack and the Sword of justice that reason therefore does not prove Polygamy or plurality of Wives Moreover the love of carnal society is a most violent passion and if dishonest love cannot endure a Rival much lesse can that which is honest Tel. Holy love rather extends to all even our enemies Och. Iacob was an holy man and he loved barren Rachel more then fruitful Leah So also Helkanah loved Hannah that was barren more then Peninnah that was fruitful Solomon also said that his beloved was one It is therefore an hard thing to share out a mans love amongst many Wives which notwithstanding must be done in Polygamy When a man has but one Wife mutual love is better preserved then if he had more and if any falling out happen reconciliation is more easily made Where there are many Wives there are divers understandings divers Constitutions Distractions and Discords Tel. If there were a call from God there would be his blessing Polygamy is no enemy to charity And therefore if any man should have plurality of Wives and love were wanting between them that were not the fault of Polygamy but of the said Wives Och. If the filthy love of an Harlot is oftentimes the cause that a man is content with her alone much more ought the holy love of Wedlock work the same effect Tel. We see that filthy love is more effectual in some persons then holy love is in others as also in like manner superstition produces more good works in some then true Religion in others all which comes to passe by the instinct of Sathan Och. That plurality of Wives is a thing contrary to natural Reason hereby appears in that all Nations have alwayes abstained therefrom as from a thing unlawful Tel. You know that the light of nature that is to say the Law which is imprinted in the hearts of men is the gift of God and that it is just and that the Law of Moses is not contrary thereunto but an explanation thereof For if the Law of Moses were contrary thereunto God would be contrary to himself seeing both proceed from God or rather both are one and the same Law And therefore if plurality of Wives had bin contrary to the judgement of right Reason neither would Moses verily have dissembled the same neither would those most holy Patriarchs have used the same nor would God have born with it God by Moses commanding the Iewes that when they came into the borders of the Gentiles they should not imitate their vices would have named Polygamy among other vices if it had bin unlawful and he would have forbidden the same by Moses which nevertheless he did not do We no where read that ever God punished any man for having plurality of Wives nor that he ever did by his Prophets threaten such as had many Wives If you would have the manners of the Gentiles to be your rule and law you shall finde amongst them much wickedness And whereas you said that all Nations abhorred Polygamy that is false as appeares by the Iewes Also Chremes had two Wives if we will believe Terence also Boccâ—â— as Salust relates in a word Socrates himself who notwithstanding was the wisest of men and had much of the light of nature Och. Even wise men sometimes do amiss Tel. Never any man condemned or reprehended Socrates for having two Wives although for other things he hath been condemned What needs many words Polygamy was used as a good thing and very profitable to Man-kind by furthering propagation not only among the Iewes but also among the Persians and the Turks likewise Only in Europe it has been hateful in which Europe vice has abounded if not more yet not a whit lesse then in all other parts of the world Nay in the days of old Polygamy was commended even in Europe Only they would not have in one house many Mistresses to rule the Family which was a thing convenient to avoid confusion Och. I will never confess that it is a good thing to have many wives Tel. That is because you conceive it is an unlawful conjunction and you are over-powered with an old custome among the vulgar which in tract of time has wone the favour of the common people and the Magistrates by which it comes to passe that the common opinion prevails more with you then the truth it self Och. But what do you say to the Imperial Laws which are against you Tel. In what place Och. First of all the Emperors Dâ—ocletianus and Maximinus do fordid Polygamy in these words That no man within the jurisdâ—ction of the Roman Empire can have two wives seeing also in the Edict of the Praetor such men are branded with infamy which thing a just Iudge will not suffer to go unpunished Also in the same Code That man doubtless that has two
same cause he suffered them to have sundry wives that is to say he did not forbid or hinder it nor punish the same by any Law enacted in his Common-wealth But it follows not therefore that they did not sin in Gods sight and that they did not deserve punishment unlesse they repented Tel. That thing is permitted which is neither punished nor hindred nor forbidden Truly I will not say Moses sinned if to avoid a greater evil and to comport with the hardness of the Jewes hearts he permitted them to have divers wives that is to say he did not punish or hinder them But if he permitted them so as not to forbid them I cannot but say he sinned For Moses ought to have expresly forbidden that any man should have more then one wife which because he has not done we must needs confesse that it is not a thing unlawful Och. The having of many wives was then as it is now so apparently filthy dishonest and vitious that it was needless for Moses to forbid the same Tel. And was it not apparent that Adultery was a thing filthy dishonest vicious yea much more then the having of many wives and yet he expresly forbad adultery But in case it had been unlawful to have many wives he ought to have forbidden that so much the more expresly by how much the unlawfulnesse thereof was lesse manifest then the unlawfulnesse of Adultery was Is it not a clear case that Homicide is unlawful and yet he forbids that In a word What are the ten Commandements but an Expression of the Law of Nature Och. It may be said that God might remit the transgressions against the second Table because he is above not only all Creatures but his own Law and peradventure he might remit the same to all mankind born before the death of Christ and consequently be willing that they might have more wives then one without sin And so it comes to pass that those under the Old Testament that had many wives did not sin and under that consideration God might give many wives to David Though it may also be said that he gave them to him that is permitted him to have them in as much as he neither hindred nor punisht him Tel. That it is unlawful to keep more wives then one if your opinion be true is clear from the word of God who said that two should be made one flesh but that God did so far remit of his Laws that men should not sin in having more does not appear in the word of God that opinion therefore of yours has no foundation Och. If you consider well you shall finde that Lamech a very wicked man was the first that had two Wives Other holy men that preceeded him knowing the will of God had onely one a piece Tel. As if that Abraham Isaac and Iacob were not more holy then those very men you speak of But in the first place I cannot tell how you came to know that Lamech was the first man that had two wives although he be the first man whom the Scripture mentions to have had two But as this is a vain Argument The Scripture no where mentions that Cain had more then one Son therefore doubtlesse he had no more so as vain is this which follows It is no where in Scripture recorded that those men that lived before Lamech had more wives then one therefore none of them had above one wife Moreover where it is said that Lamech had two wives it is not charged upon him as a sin but seems rather to be set down as a thing pleasing to God that a man should have more wives then one seeing by them he gave Lamech such ingenious Sons as proved the inventors of Arts both delightful and profitable Neither can I see how you came informed that Lamech was so wicked a man as you talk of Och. God plagued him by suffering him to fall into the sins of murther and desperation only because he had married two wives Tel. But I cannot see either that he was a murtherer or fell into despair neither does the Scripture teach any such thing if it be rightly interpreted Or if the Scripture had intimated any such thing which I do not grant yet does it not thereby appear that God suffered him so to slip because he had married two wives Och. But we may conjecture that his having two wives displeased God seeing his murther is presently after mentioned Tel. In the first place I have already told you that by the words of that Text if they be rightly understood there is no signification made that either he was a man-slayer or in desperation and if such a thing were intimated it does not therefore follow that his plurality of wives was the cause thereof or that God was offended with him therefore inasmuch as presently upon the mention of his two wives he commends their Sons as if he would give us to understand that he approves of plurality of wives Add hereunto that nothing ought to be affirmed or avouched in the Church of God as necessary to salvation if it cannot otherwise be known save by conjectures only Och. Seeing I cannot convince you out of the old Testament I will try what I can do from the New Tel. You are in an errour if you think the Old Testament is not sufficient to teach us all things necessary to salvation If therefore that be the cause you betake your self to the New you are deceived seeing as Paul writes All Scripture of Divine inspâ—ration is profitable for reprehension correction and instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be made perfect furnished for every good work Now clear it is that Paul in that place speaks of those Scriptures in which Timothy was exercised from a child And because the new Testament was not then written you must be forced to confesse that Paul in that place speaks of the Old The old Testament therefore is profitable not only to assert the truth of such things as are necessary to salvation but also to confute falsities and consequently to render a man perfect For which cause Christ â—peaking thereof said Search the Scriptures for in them is fouâ—â—d 〈◊〉 life Och. Perhaps somethings are forbidden to us in the New Testament which were not forbidden to them in the Old Tel. In moral matters verily what ever is unlawful and to us forbidden was in like manner evermore forbidden to them and whatever was allowed and commanded to them the same is in like manner allowed and commanded to us God was equally Author of the old Testament as well as of the New nor was he ever contrary or unlike himself Och. That was allowed to those under the old Testament because of their imperfection which is not allowed to us in whom carnal desires ought to be much more mortified Tel. You take that for granted which you have not proved viz. That it is unlawful to have more wives then one Moreover you