of nature / for snaillis be good and holsome and be eten in many placis / and so lykewise / yf a woman shulde haue worne a mans germent she hade done abhominable in the olde law / and for abominacion yt was forbidden / and yet yt was not agaynste the lawe of nature And so were thinges in that lawe callyd filthy and vnclenly and forbidden / and yet they were not against the lawe of nature / leu xv as to touche caren of certayn bestes / and many other thinges were forbidden as fylthynes and foule thinges / and finally you must note that the great and greuous punyshementis that were thretenyd yn the olde law / were not always thretenyd for brekynge of the lawe of nature / as the childe that was not circumcisyd was thretened that he shulde perishe from the middest of the people / and yet a childe that is not circumcisyd / doith not offende agaynst the lawe of nature And yet beside all this ye must note that the same thinge that was one against the lawe of nature / ys always against the lawe of nature / for the lawe of nature doith neuer moue nor altere hyr self in no maner of tyme sens Adam fell FIrthermore ye must marke and note that sayncte Ierome saith in the Prologe vppon Oseas that almyghty God doith commaunde no thing but that which ys honeste / nor almyghty God coÌ„maunding vnhoneste thingis doith not make them honest suche as be fowle of them self wherfor by this it folowith that for a man to mary his brothers wif a widow / was neu r foule nor euyl of it self / for than it coulde neuer haue bene good thowghe almyghty god had commaundid yt neuer so muche But almyghty God did commaunde suche mariage / wherfore suche mariage can not be agaynst the law of nature / So nowe these fewe rewlys yow must take / and they shal helpe yowe to perceue the falsite of thies deceyuers NOw where as these deceyuers in the xx seife of their boke say / forsoith yf a man will waye well and examine these forsaid thinges religiously and with goode consciens and so as they owght to be / how can he but approue the trewth allow the conclusions and determinacions of thies vniuersites thinke certaynly that yt is forbiden both by the law of God and by the lawe of nature that a Christen man shuld mary his brothers wife a widowe this is these persons sayng To the whiche thus I answere / forsoith yf a man wil way wel this case of matrimony / yf a Cristen man may mary his brothers wife a widow lefte withe out yssew / and examyn yt with good consciens as it owght to be / how shulde he not streyght waye reproue and disalowe the conclusions and determinations of thies vniuersites that saye the contrary / and to think certaynly that it is nether against the lawe of God nor against the law of nature for a Christen man to mary his Brothers wife a widowe cetera This shal euery lernyd man that haith good consciens iuge to be trewe MOreouer where as thies deceyuers in the .xxi. leife of their boke saye that the sonnis of Cayn the whiche were drouwnyd in Noys flowid / they were so punyshed by cause they did foully abuse theyr sisters and theyr brothers wifes / wherfore these persons wold conclude that it is against the lawe of God and agaynst the law of nature for a man to mary his Brothers wife a widow c. Here yow maye see a goodly Argument Cayn sonnys did fowly abuse theyr sisters and theyr brothers wifes / wherfore yt is ageynst the lawe of God aÌ„d agaynst the lawe of nature for a man to mary his brothers wife a widowe cet What shuld a man saye to so lewid an Argument but as the conclusion is manifeste false / so is all that the makers of the argument go abowt to proue ALso where as they saye in the same leif of theyr boke / Here ye maye see before yower eyes the holy lawes of God / here yow maye see the lyuely Prophecyes and the wordes of excedynge vertue and strength c. And anone after they saye / forsoith it be comyth a Cristen herte more to regard the wordes of God and his auctorite / whiche doith forbide and so hathe in abhominacion / so doith punyshe and reuenge suche matrim mary his stepmother / wherfor yt is forbiden by the lawe of God and by the lawe of nature that a man shulde mary his Brothers wife a widowe lefte without yssew / the maior of this argument is false / the whiche is this That yt is forbiden yn the same place of the lawe for a man to mary his stepmother where yt is forbidden for a man to mary his brothers wife a widowe ce This proposicion I saye is false for yt is not forbidden in all the hoâ—â— lawe for a man to mary his brothers wife a widowe left without yssew and so therfore the wordes of saynte polle helpith nothinge for thies persons Purpose ANd also suche mariage and fornication that the Apostle doith here reproue / ys not spoken of in the Leuitical prohibicion for this yonge man that had maried his mother in lawe / did take hyr from his father and so maryed hyr / his father beyng a lyue / as the wordes of sayncte Poll a fore rehersed do shewe / and therfore sayncte Poll did not grounde hym in the Leuiticall lawe when that he rebwlâ—ed this Coryntheane for mariyng of his fathers wife That the father was a lyue of the Coryntheane that maryed his mother in law / it semyth also by thies wordes of the Apostle where he saithe ther is not suche fornication herde of amonge the gentiles / and sayncte Poll beynge so well lernyd as he was knewe very wel that the Gentils had sum tyme abusyd theyr fathers wifes / also he knewe that the Iues had abusyd their fathers wifes bothe before the lawe and in the lawe before the law Ruben abusyd his fathers wife / aÌ„d so did Absalon in the lawe abuse his fathers wifes / therfore this offence that this Coryntheane did was more than for to lye withe his fathers wife / or ellis saincte Poll wold not haue callid yt suche / so greuous fornication as hath not ben hard of / among the gentiles But for a man to take awaye his fathers wife from hym and openly mary hyr and so kepe hyr still / suche maner of fornication hath not ben herd of amonge the gentilz and for by cause this Coryntheane had done so / therfore the holy Apostle did call that suche fornicacion as had not bene hard of / and therfore he did sharpely rebuke yt and greuously correcte yt ALso Theophilacte expoundinge the v. Chapiter prime Epistole ad Corinthios / doith suppose that the father of this Corintheane was a lyue / when that this yonge man maryed his mother in lawe For
thies persons haue writen and made theyr boke / Here thei leve owt the bokes name / wher they allege Tertulian and they saye on this wise in the .xxviij. leif of their boke and the same Tertuliane writith in an other place / and so they leve owt the name of the boke whiche in dede is callid monogamia the whiche boke is condemnid Also in theyr ynglysshe boke thei leue out parte of Tertulians sayng and argument / wher he wold haue concluded to haue condempned the second mriages By this you euidently perceue that thies persons opinion sayng / where they affirme that it is against the lawe of God and ageynst the law of nature / for a man to mary his brothers wife a widow left without yssewe ys euidently false ye and suspecte hereticall / seynge that they goo about to proue their rehersed opynion and saynge / by tertulian wher he is condemned for an heretike Now to the fowrth I wil shew ye / for what resonable causes it was comaundid in the olde law that euery man shuld mary his brothers wife / a widow left ce The first was that the land is of the iues the which shuld goo and continew by inheritaunce / shuld not goo owte of the blode / and name and house that it cam of / and therfore it was commaundid to the Iues that they myght not sel their inheritaunce leuiti xxv aÌ„d than it was commaundid and ordyned that if a man died without yssew that his brother if he had any / Deute xxv or els his next kinnesman shulde mary his wife / and the first childe that this seconde brother hade by his brothers wife / shuld be namyd the first brothers childe and enioy his lande and so kepe vp the ded mans house and name Wherfore holy Crisostome saithe that almyghty God in commaunding theiues to mary their brothers wifes widows left without yssewe / Super mat homelia xlix did excogite and made a meane to counfort suche persons as shuld chaunce to dye without yssew This ys holy Crisostomes mynde / so by this commaundment and lawe if he chaunced to dye without yssewe he was in a suerty that the next of his blode shuld enioy and inheret his landes / and vpholde his house and name / the which was alwais to him that so died a coÌ„forte For euery man naturalli had leuer that one of his own blode shuld enioy haue his landes than a straunger not of his kyn / also euery man wold gladly haue his name house that he cam of / to remayn continew also beside this conforte that the man had / this lawe was a mene to confort the widow who is husband dyed without yssew / for thowgh she lefte hyr husband / yet she was suer to be maryed agayne to one of his next kyn / whiche was no small counforte to hyr / to be in a suerte to mary one that she louyd for hyr husbandes sake and also to mary one that louid hyr for hyr husbandis sake Also this maner of mariage was a meane to cause hyr husbandes kynred to bere and owe loue and fauour styll vnto the woman that had buryed hyr first husband for by cause she maryed agayne hyr husbandis kynsman for whos sake this kindred had loued hir husband before the whiche loue wold sone haue wexid colde and grown sklender toward the wedow / if she had maryd out of hir husbandis kyndred / as we may see / daily by experyence And finally / this maner of mariage was a speciall meane to kepe and continew the loue and kyndenes that was betwene the womans kynred and the kynred of hyr first husband the whiche loue / and kyndenes wold haue mynyshed and haue decayd / if the wife had maryed out of hir husbandis kindred / wherfore so to marye was a speciall meane to kepe loue and kyndenes betwene kindredis And yf sum of thies causes had strength now in this Realme by an ordinaunce decreyd / they wold not be iuged but good and resonable / As this that no man shuld sell his inheritaunce / nor agayne that many inheritaunces shuld neuer come to one mans hande / this were parauenture a good and a resonable law So thus yowe maye see that thies be resonable and honeste causes / and politicall meanis / and very mete for that tyme for the comen welth of the Iues and therfore almyggty God made this lawe that euery one of the Iues shulde always mary their brothers wifes widows left without yssewe And commaunded the Iues to kepe it / Wherfor you may euidently perceue that it can not be againste the lawe of nature and reason for a man to mary his brothers wife a widow c. And also it is hy blasphemy to almyghty God to saye that he with his infinite sapience and wisdom did make a lawe againste reason and commaunde it to be kepte vppon a great payne But now where as thies persons saye that this lawe that commaundid suche mariage / ys now ded and hath no strengthe sewerly that is trew for men as I shewed ye before but yet standeth it in theyr lyberty to mary or not marye their brothers wifes widows ceter and so it doith not follow that it is now ageynste the law of God and ageynste the lawe of nature for a man to mary his brothers wife a widow left without yssew and that the pope can not dispence vppon suche mariage IN the .xxx. leif of their boke they bâ—ynge in Gregory answeryng to a question that saynte Augustyne had mouid concerning mariage with in degreys of affinyte / saynge on this wise There is a certayn erthly and a worldly lawe with in the dominacion of Rome / that the sone and the doughter of brother and sister or of .ij. brothers germayne / or of .ij. sisters / may mary togither but we haue lernid by experience that ther coulde neuer yssew cum of suche mariage To this it maye be thê° answeryd that nowe at this present time ther ys comen of suche mariage noble and great yssew as the Emperours children for the Emperowr and his wife that now ys / came of .ij. sisters germane / for the Emperours mother and his wifes mother where both sisters and doughters to Don Ferdinando that was kyng of spayne Also we may se great and noble yssewe that is come of a man that maryd .ij. sisters germane the whiche mariage ys hyer in the degreys of affinite than is the children of the brother and sister germane in consanguinite As the kyng of Portingall that now is / and his brothern and the Emperours wife and hyr sisters the whiche cam of the Kynge of Portingaill / this mans father that maryd two sisters germane that were both doughters to Don Ferdinando Kynge of spayne And this sayd Kynge of Portingaill had by bothe thies sisters yssewe / ye and yet after the deth of thies two
theâ—for he commaundid the bishope that he shulde not suffer henry that hath sworne to mary his yonge soon to the maide to fulfill his purpose To this I answere that it is not forbidden in the Leuitical law that a man shal not mary his brothers spouse nor there is no maner of mencion made of eny suche mariage / and so ye may see that all that euer thei bring / ys not for their false purpose IN the lxxxxiij leif of their boke / vpoÌ„ their vndowted fals lyes and sayngis / thei wold thus conclude their false purpose sayng Wherfor seyng that thies thinges be thowghte trewe to so many and discrete auctours that it is not leful for a man to marey his brother spouse how much more vnlawful owght we to thinke this thing / that a man shuld mary his brothers wife a widowe with whome his brother hath had carnally to do and that he shuld vncouer the priuites of hir cet Here agayn they continew in their customable lying For thei say the many discrete auctours haue iuged that it is forbiden in the leuitical law that a man shal not mary his brothers spowse that suche mariage is so vnleful / that the Pope can not dispeÌ„ce vpoÌ„ it This ye se is manifestly false for ther is no discrete auctor that so saith / if ther be eny auctores that so iuge why do not theis persons bring them in but they saye verey falsly for ther be no discrete auctoâ—râ— that so iuge and saye WHerin this their sayng thei wolde haue men to iuge beleue that it is vnlawful for a man to mary his brothers spowse And than muche more vnlawful for a man to mary his brothers widowe with whome his brother hath hade carnally to doo c. Here thies false deceyuers speke couertly but I wil shewe yow a verey treuth / whiche is this The Quenis grace that now is / was a mayden when hir grace was maryed laste / and in witnes and recorde that this is trewe hir grace haith sworne / and testyfyed vppon a boke and receyued the blessid Sacrament of the auter / that she was a mayden when hir grace was last maryed Wherfore the determinacions of the facultye of diuinite and the canon of the vniuersite of Paryse thoughe that thei be false yet they make nothing against this matrimony / nor the determinacions of both the facultes of lawe / of thuniuersite of Angew nor the determinacion of diuinite of the vniuersite o Biturs / for thies haue determined on this wise That if ther were paste betwene the husband and the wife / carnal copulacion that than the brother / may not marey his brothers widowe nor the Pope can not dispence vpon suche mariage / so now thowgh the determinacioÌ„s of thies vniuersites be false / as be al the o th r yet thies reherside / helpe no thing the pestileÌ„t malicious purpose of thies pestilent ê‘sons for asmuche as the Quenis grace was a mayden / when she was last maryed HEre now ye haue harde parte of thies shameles persons maners parte of their manifeste errours / parte of their dampnable lyenge and parte of their blasphemy / yow haue also herde how that thei haue brought in holy scripture / counsels and doctours for to haue coloured and fortified their vngracious and false opinion and yet thei can not bringe it to passe nor neuer shal Wherfore / althowghe in the beginninge of this my answere I shewid and prouid sufficiently the trewthe of this proposicion That it is not against the law of god nor against the law of nature / for a man to marey his brothers wife a widowe left without yssewe And that the pope haith no power to dispence vppon suche mariage now yet / I wil shewe yow the same more largely by holy fathers / doctours / and Popes saynges / aÌ„d first that suche mariage is not agaynst the law of nature FIrst sainte Hierome doith excuse Abraham / in that he maryed his sister / doith iustifye and defende Abraham for so mariynge In qÌ„st heb super gen For suche mariages saith saynte Hierome / were not than forbiden of the law of nature And if it be not forbiden bi the lawe nature a man to marey his sister miche lesse was it forbiden / a man to marey his brothers widowe left without yssew SAynte Austen saith that in the tyme of Abraham / men might lefully mary with their sisters of the one side coÌ„t faustum li. xxij ca. xxxv or of bothe sides if yt were leful not agaynst the law of nature than for men to mary their sisters it is not against the law of nature then for a man to mary his brothers c. super mat ho m. xlix HOly Crisostome doth shewe reasonable causes why almighty God did commaund the Iues to mary their brothers widows c. aÌ„d than suche mariage cannot be against the law of nature and reason TErtulian / theis deceyuers doctoure doith allege certayne causes which be iuged good and reasonable why the iues shulde in the tyme of the olde law marey their brothers wiues widows c. Wherfor he did not iuge suche mariage to be against the lawe of reason seinge he assigned after his mynde reasonable causes wherby men might lefully mary their brothers widows yet ye shall vnderstonde that I doo not approue Tertulians reasons / that he shewith for suche mariage but yet by his reasons it appereth that he did not iuge mariage betwene the brother and the brothers widow c. to be against the lawe of reason and nature RVperte vpon the leuitical / saith that Abraham after the custome of the heithens / among the which he dwellyd / did marey his owne sister and yet for all that he did not syn / for asmoche as vnto that tyme / he had not by the law commaundement to the contrary nor yet by the voice of almyghty god Now where ther is no commaundment saith he there is no transgression of the law so by this doctours saynge / ye may clerely se / that it is not against the law of nature for a man to mary his sister / aÌ„d than it is not against the law of nature for a man to marcy his brothers wife left without yssewe HEwgh of saynte victore saith that in the institution of matrimony / there were but two persons excepte li. iij. de sacramento p. ij ca. iiij that is but the fath r and the mother so that it was forbiden than / that the father shulde not mary with the doughter / nor the mother with the sonne but al other persones might lefully mary togither by the first institucion of matrimony After this saith this doctour came the seconde institution of matrimony / which was made by the lawe writen / and that did excepte certayne other persones besyde the father and the mother / and this was done / other for to ornate nature
cause that almyghty God did commaund his people the iues to mary theyr brothers wifis widows left without yssew / was for by cause as yet the olde blissing of god Encreasse yow and multiply / owght to run forthe and continew This cause ys nothing worthe nor yet meyt to shewe why almyghty God shuld commaund the brothers to mary theyr brothers wyfs widows c. For yf other men beside the brothern had maryed the widows of the Iues that were left without yssew / the olde blissyng of God / Encrease yow / and multyply / myght as wel haue runnfurthe and contynewid as thowghe the Brothers had maryed theyr Brothers widowes lefte without yssew ¶ This no man can deny therfore Tertulians reason yt but small The second cause that Tertuliane doth assigne why almyghty God did coÌ„maunde the Iues to mary theyr brothers wifes widows c. was this for bicause than the children were punyshed for their fathers fawtes / and euery man nowe ys punyshed for his owne syn / this is not trew For almyghty God saith by his Prophet Ezechiel that the soon shall not be punyshed for his fathers fautes Ezech. xviij Also yt were agaynst reason that almyghty God shuld make a lawe to punyshe the childe for the fathers fautis / when the childe is innocent / and the father fautie / also yt were more agaynst reason to punyshe the childe for the fautes of his owne father natural / and for the fautes also of his father that is his father but by the law wherfore this can be no resonable cause why almyghty God did commaund the Iues to mary theyr brothers wifes widows left without yssew THe thirde cause that Tertulian doith assigne why almyghty God did commaund the Iues to mary their brotheâ—s wifis widows left with out yssewe was this bycause that the barren and dry persons were hade for defamyd persons therfore an ordinaunce was made that they shuld haue yssew by other of their kyn as you wold saye by a proctour / This cause lykewyse is nothinge worthe / for the dry and barren persons myght as well haue had yssewe / yf other persons / besides their brothern and kinsfolke / had maryed their wifes widows c. as though their brothern had maryed theyr widows / this is euydent / Wherfore thies saynges of Tertulyan do not seme to be causes why that almyghty God dyd commaund the Iues to marye their brothers wifes widowes left without yssew NOwe to the seconde poynte that I sayd I wold shewe you that this commaundment that bounde the Iues to mary always theyr brothers wyfes widowes lefte without yssewe / is now ceassed and ded that is to saye / that no man now / Iue nor Gentile / nor Christen-man is bounde to mary his brothers wife a widowe left with out yssew vnder a payne For this commaundment was in the olde lawe a Iudiciall and all those commaundements be ded and ceassed Nowe as touchinge the bonde and payne / this is trewe But yet yt folowith not of this that now it is agaynst the lawe of God and agaynst the law of nature for a man to mary his brothers wife a widow left without yssew / and that the Pope haith no power to dispence vpoÌ„ such mariage so it is false / which is the thyrde poynte the I sayd I wold shew you / to saye that this iudicial commaundmeÌ„t / that bound men to mary theyr brothers wifis widows c. ys ceassed and ded after this facioÌ„ thê° the coÌ„trary to haue place as ye may se by exaÌ„ple If a king in his realme wold make this lawe that who so euer put out a mans eye shulde lese his owne eye for it / who than coulde say that this lawe were now agaynst the lawe of god and agaynst the lawe of nature trewly no man And yet this was a Iudicial commaundmeÌ„t and lawe with the Iues the whiche is now ceassid and ded that ys to saye / it byndith no more now by that lawe And yet the same may agayne be a newe constitucion ye and likewise this commaundment myght haue be made agayne by the churche / that a man in certayne causes shuld haue bene bownd to haue maryed his brothers wife a widow left without yssew Wherfore yow maye see / that it is false to saye that this commaundment that bounde men to mary their brothers wifs widows c. ys now ceassid and ded / and the contrary nowe to haue place is false to that is to saye / that it is nowe ageynst the lawe of God and lawe of nature / for a man to mary his Brothers wife a widowe c. ALso that this is false / yt is euident bi the opynion that Tertulyane helde and did conclude vppon this sayng for Tertuliane had this opynion / that it was vnlawfull for any woman to mary agayne after the deth of hyr husband / Thus he makith his reason / the lawe is ceassid wherby a man shuld be bound to mary his Brothers wife / wherfor if a womans husband be ded she maye not mary her husbandes Brother / for that is now forbidden and she may not mary eny heythen man for that is lykewise forbidden to euery cristen woman and all Christen people be brothern in God ergo c. All this saynge is Tertulians / and of this saynge it folowith that a woman after the deth of hir husband may mary no more For first Tertuliane faith that a woman after the deth / of hir husband may not mary hir husbandes brother / for that / he saith is now forbiden / and all Cristenmen be brothern in Christe and so than by that meane they be brothern to hir husband that is dede and than she may not mary any of them / nor agayne / she may mary no heythen man / for that Tertuliane saith is forbidden also Wherfore he concludethe that no Cristen woman maye mary after the deth of hyr husband the whiche I saye is false / and ageinst the holy Apostil saynge where as he writeth / that yf a womans husbande doo dy / let hyr mary / sayth he / where she will / so that she mary a Cristen man i. cor vij And Tertuliane in his saynge / and boke that he writ it he yt in / ys conuicte and condemnid for heresy And thus I saye therfore it is false / and heretical to saye / and affyrme / that this commaundment that bounde the Iues to mary theyr brothers wifis widows c. ys now ded and ceassid and the contrary hathe place that is to saye / that yt is now forbidden by the lawe of God and by the cawe of nature that a man shuld mary his brothers wife a widow left without yssew And the Pope hath no power to dispence vppon suche mariage ALso by brynging in that heretike Tertuliane on this wife and in the boke that ys condemned for heresy / you may perceue with what spirit and consciens
aÌ„d no thinge for thies mens purpose For as the case was put furth in general / so that case purposed / the Pope answereth in generall / that is to saye that yf a woman whiche was departed frome hyr husband without iugement of the churche because hir husband / and she were in so nyghe degre of kynred / that he sea Apostolik coulde not / nor yet was not wont / to dispence with yt Than saith the Pope if the woman knewe this / and so vppon this is departyd from hir husband she may not be restored to hyr husband agayne / nor ly withe hym without dedly syn For how coulde she be restored to hyr husband agayne or company with hym without dedly syn When that she knew hyr husband so nere to hyr of kyn that in kepinge hym company / and to be restored to hym / she shuld do agaynst the law of God / and that the Pope could not dispence with hyr that she myght turn agayne to hir husband / nor he was not wonte to dispence in suche a case all this is trwthe / but all this is in general for it is not shewid in what degre of kynred the woman could not be restored agayne to hyr husbande / nor in what degre the Pope could not / nor was not wont to licence a woman that was departed from hyr husband to be restored agayne And so all this saynge of Pope Innocent makith no thinge for thies mens purpose For the case that they speke of / ys particuler and speciall that ys it againste the lawe of God and agaynste the lawe of nature for a man to mary his Brothers wife a widowe ce And that the Pope hath no power to dispencr vppon suche mariage This Pope innocent doith not saye / nor vppon all his sayng / this no man can conclude / But this Pope innocent ys directly against this false opinion / as it is manifeste in the chapiter Deus qui Ecclesiam Where yt appereth that he sufferd the Iues whiche turned to Criste and receyued Baptism to continwe still with their Brothers wifes that they had maryed before But the heythens that turnyd and receyued baptism / the sayd Pope wold not suffer them to haue mo wifes then one which befor had maryed them to mo And thus by this may ye se that Pope innocent ys against thies deceuers false opinion / likwise he is agaynst them in the chap. Gaudemê° IN the .xxxvi. leif they saye Now beside all this we shall proue the same by the auctorite of holy counsels This they mean that they will proue by the auctorite of holy councels that it is againste the lawe of God and againste the lawe of nature for a maÌ„ to mary his brothers wife / a widowe left without yssew c. To all the councells that these persons do bringe in / yt may be brefely answered / that there is none of them that saye yt is agaynst the law of God / and againste the lawe of nature / for a maÌ„ to mary his brothers wife a widowe lefte without yssew / nor yet this That the Pope hath no pow r to dispence vppon suche mariages MOreouer ye must note that the prohibicions that the counsels haue decreyd to let mariage in degreys of affinite / were not made for bycause suche affinite did set mariage by the law of nature as it is manifest / in the thyrde and fowerthe degre of affinite no more ys the first nor the second degre in the right lyne in the second lyne after the mynde of thies persons great doctour / Peter de Palude for he saith vppon the .xviij. Chapiter of the Leuiticall boke that the Pope maye dispence in all the degreys of affinite there conteyned NOw where as there be diuerse counsels and many decreys and saynges of fathers that do forbide that a man shal not mary his sister / his brothers wife / his nece / nor his cosin germane of sych counsells decreys and saynges / a man maye gather that in the begynninge of Cristes churche the people did vse comenly to mary their sisters / their brothers wifes / their nere kynswomen and suche as were nye to them in affinite / for els sewerly the councels and fathers wolde not haue spoken so often of suche mariages as they did for experience doith teche vs that counsels parliamentis / and sinodes do not often tymes make many decreys agaynste thos thinges that be not in vse / but where therbe many decreys and lawes made agaynste a thinge the same decreys and lawes do euidently shew that the thinge that they speke so muche agaynst was greatly in vse Wherfore seynge that therbe diuerse counsels and many decreys and saynges that do now forbide that the people shal not mary in the first degre of affinite / in the ascendent lyne / nor in the side lyne / nor yete in the second nor in the thirde degre of affinite it ys euydent that the people did vse to mary in thies degreys before / and at the beginninge of the churche and than the peple lyued more iustly and godlyer than they doo now Wherfore it folowith that for a man to mary his Brothers wife a widowe lefte withe owte cete or in the second degre of affinite / can not be agaynste the lawe of God / nor agaynste the lawe of nature For yf suche mariage had ben so euyll / the people that lyued so iustly and so holely before the prohibicions of suche Mariage were made / and at the begynnynge of the churche / wolde neuer haue vside suche Mariage So now by this reason yowe maye see that the counsaills and decreys that do forbid nowe suche mariage make agaynste these Pestilent persons false opinyone TRewly the cause why thies Fathers and counsailles did orden and decre / that the people shuld no more marye with their kynred and affinite in the first / second / and thirde degre / was this For asmyche as those holy Fathers and prelats did se and manifestly perceue that the charitable loue and kyndenes that was wont to be amonge Cristen people did sore mynyshe and decay Wherfore thies Fathers and Prelats ordenyd aÌ„d decreyd that the Pope shuld mary all owt of their kinred and affynite / to knyte in loue suche people to gither by mariage that were not knyte to gither in love by kynred and affinite We se by comyn experyence that by mariage the kyndred of bothe the persons that be maryd do loue togither Wherfore the holy Fathers and consailles did lymit owte certayn degreys of affinite and kindred in the whiche they supposid that loue wolde contynewe without the helpe of mariage / and so they did forbide and commaunde no man to mary in non of thies degres of affinite and kyndred without the Popes licence But that the people shuld mary owt of thies degres of kynred aÌ„d affinite This did thies Fathers and councels orden and commaund to the entent to
spreyd abrode and sowe loue and charite by mariage amonge the people that were not ioynid togither in kynred and affinite Here ye haue hard the causes why the counsels and decreys did forbid mariage in the first / the seconde / and the thyrde / and fowerth degre of affinite and kyndred wherby ye may see that for a man to mary his brothers wife a widow ce or his nece or cosyn germane / ys not against the lawe of God / nor agaynst the lawe of nature but againste the lawe of the churche with the whiche the Pope maye dispence IN the .xxxvij. leif of their boke / thyes persones bryng in the counsaile of Necene and the synode of Gregore the yongar where it was decreyd accordinge to the wordes of God that a woman whiche had ben maryed to .ij. Brothern shulde be put bake frome communyon / and from the receyuinge of the sacrement vntyl she died / and a man that had maryed his brothers wife / shuld be an Anatheme / In the whiche synode / al to gither answeryd / Anatheme be he / that is as myche to saye as thies pestilent persones do expounde it as damnacion to euerlastynge dethe / To this sayng of the counsel and synode / I answere that theyr saynge and excommunycacion ys vnderstād to be applyed vnto suche persons as do mary them selues in suche degreys of affinite without licence of the Pope As that woman that doith mary hyr self after the deth of hir husband to hir husbandes brother and so in lyke wise / that man which maryeth his brothers wife a widowe cet For they that presume to mary on the rehersed maner / owght to be punyshed as it is a fore spoken of except that they be penitent and sory for that they haue done / ye and leaue and forsake / the men their wifes / and the women their husbandis without the Pope lycence them to mary the saide men and women that thei hade taken before / But yet the counsel and synode did not decre to punyshe that woman / whiche after the deth of hir husband / maried hir husbandis brother nor yet the man whiche maryd his Brothers wife a widow c. for by cause they maryed agaynste the lawe of God / and agaynste the lawe of nature / as it is manifest For ther is nother the counsell / nor the synode that doith decre and saye that suche mariage is against the law of god and agaynste the lawe of nature But the counsel and synode did orden and decre the punyshements before rehersed for suche persons as did presume to mary / as the woman with hir husbandis brother / or the man with the Brothers widow against the prohibicion and decre of the churche / And so nowe this counsel and sinode do not helpe thies vngracious persones false opinion / But yet if these deceyuers will saye that the sinode and counsell / or any other decre or counsell doith forbid that a man shal not mary his brothers wife a widow c. for by cause that suche mariage is against the law of God and against the lawe of nature when that they shew me this of any decre or counsell I shal be redy to make answere to it IN the .xxxij. leif of their boke / they say on this wise last of all / and for a conclusion That the sentence of Wiklif wherin he did holde that the prohibicions of matrimoney writen in the Leuitical / be onely iudicial preceptis of Moyses / therfore the causes of diuorce brought in by the meane of kinred of affinite to be brought in without ground fundacion / onely by the ordinance of man / was condempnyd as contrary to all vertu ād goodnes / as heretical / expresly agaynste holy scripture / in the great conuocation that was first at London / after at Oxforde last of al in the counsel of Constancy Here these persons saye falsly / they lye on Wicleffe for Wik lef did neu r say that al the prohibicions of matrimoney writen in the leuiticall law be but only iudicials nor the cōuocation / nor yet the counsel doith not condempne Wiklyf in the point yet if he had sayd / that al thies prohibicions of matrimoney had bene but onely Iudicials / the conuocacion and counsel to haue condempnyd hym for the same saynge / and to haue iuged all thies prohibicions to be moralles yet al thies wold no thing haue holpen thies deceuers fals opiniō For as mych as in the leuitical prohibiciōs ys not forbid◠as I often tymes sayd that a mā shal not mary his brothrs wife a widowe lefte withoute yssewe / and thus ye maye see that all that they bringe in / for them can do them no seruice IN the same leif of their boke / they say there be decres of other counsails and answers in writing of other of the popes whiche do subscribe agree to thies forsayd determinacions / and a none after this / it folowithe in theyr boke But we truste gētill ād indifferent reder / that thies forsaid rehersyd thinges shal fully content the / for thow seyst here first of all in maner an hole comen assent and agrement of the holy churche / and firthermore thow seist the Popes them selues do gyue so great magestye and godly auctorite vnto the Leuiticall prohibicions / that they doo playnly affirme and hold stedfastly that who so euer doith mary contrary to the commandment of thies lawes be not in ded man and wife nor they cannot render one to the other the dewty of matrimony without dedly syn nor they can not be togither by any iugement of the churche / thus say the Popes / all this ys these deceyuers sainge / and so with thies wordes saynges they wold swade and moue the reder to beleue that it is against the lawe of God / against the lawe of nature / for a man to marye his Brothers wife a widowe left without yssew that the Pope hath no power to dispence vppon suche mariage / but this as ye haue sene prouyd before ys verey false and where as they saye yow maye in maner se a hole comen assent and agrement of the hole churche / the whiche they vnderstand to their opinion this ys also false For the hole assent and agrement of the churche hath agreyd that the Pope maye dispence vppon mariage betwene the brother and the brothers wife widow c. And consequently that suche mariage is nother agaynst the lawe of nature for ells the hole churche / and lernyd men of the Princes and Popes counsaill / wolde not haue consentyd that he shuld haue dispenced vppon suche mariage if it had bene agaynste the lawe of God / and againste the law of nature / and thus you maye see / that thies persons saynge is false / whiche is this That the hole assent of the churche doith affirme matrimony
wif a widow left without yssewe This thies deceyuers promise to shewe and brynge in / but they do not IN the .liiij. leif of their boke / they brynge in saynte Hierome that meruelyth at the Patriarke abraham for by cause he maryed his sister seing the thinge is so abhominable / and seynge agayne that almyghty God ordenyd afterward a law for it wherin he thretenith that who so euer shal take his sister / other on the fathers side / or on the mothers side shal se hir fowlnes yt is a rebuke a shame / he shal be dryuen owt of his countre in sight of his owne kynne he haithe vnhilled the priuetes of his sister / he shal receiue his reward for his synne after this saing / thies deceuers make an exposicion vpon sainte Hieroms writing for bycause yt is not to the purpose / I let it passe / thowghe it be false / to saynte Hierome sayng I answere thus what so euer saynte Hierome saith wher they do allege him / I wolde shewe ye / that saynte Hierome doith not meruell nor iuge abrahams mariage to be euyl but doith excuse abrahaÌ„ in that he maryd his sister saynge / In the Hebrew tonge / yt soundith that Sara was abrahams sister In qÌ„sti hebraicis super gen in his excuse he sayth that at that tyme suche mariage was not forbiden by the law Here ye may se that sainte Hierome doith excuse the Patriarche abram in that he maryed his sister saith that in the tyme of abraÌ„ suche mariage was not forbidden by the lawe the whiche must be vnderstand / that suche mariage was not forbidden bi the lawe of nature For yf that suche mariage had bene lefull and againste the lawe of nature than saynte Hierome had not iustifyed and excused Abraham in that he maryed his sister saynge that suche mariages at the tyme were not foebidden by the lawe And so thus nowe yow maye perceyue that Saynte Hieroms mynde and writinge here ys / that it is not agaynste the lawe of nature for a man to mary his sister And so by this saynte Hierome is agaynst thies persones false opinion IN the .lv. leif of their boke / thies persons brynge saynte Augusten wher he writith againste Faustus the greate heretik and saythe that the commaundment of God that bownde the iues to mary with theyr brothers wifes widowes lefte without yssew / was a figure / and dyd signifie that the preachers shuld labour in the gospell to styre vp the sead / vnto his brother departyd that ys to our sauiour Crist / which died for vs. Here ye maye see that saynte Austen saith that the commaundment of God that bownde the Iues to mary theyr brothers wyues widows / was a figure / then it can not be againste the lawe of nature as to offer vp incense and to be circuncysed were figurs / yet now they be not agaynste the lawe of nature and thus Saynte Augustyn is not for these menis purpose IN the .lvi. leif / They brynge in saynte Augustyn in an other place where as he saith Althowghe in tyme past men maried thier sisters / yet that thinge was doen bycause necessite compellid men vnto it / but this thinge is not now so olde / nor was neuer so necssary but it was made afterward as damnable / bicause religion doith forbidde yt Thus here is the englisshe of saynte austens wordes / and after the same wordis that thies persons haue in their Latyn boke but they haue in theyr ynglishe boke that it is not now as damnable / by cause religion doith forbide it / And saynte Austen saith is was made afterwarde as damnable / bycause religion doith forbide yt And than yf this / for a man to mary his sister be nowe made dampnable bycause religion doith forbide yt Than it is euident that for a man to mary his sister / is not damnable of the owne nature for that thynge that is damnable by nature / was / and ys always dampnable and saynte augusten saith that this thyng / for a man to mary his sister / was made afterward dampnable / because religion doith forbid yt and therfore it is not agaynst the lawe of nature for a man to mary his sister also saynte augustyn saith in the same place where thies persons allege hym / that in the begynninge of man kynde 〈◊〉 was leful by al meanys the brothern to mary witâ— sisters but now saith he the custom ys so agaiâ—â—â—â—e mariage as thoughe siche mariage had â—â—â—er ben lawfull By this ye may se that for a maÌ„ to mary his sister / is leful by the law of nature it is â—â—â—â—â—den 〈◊〉 â—e custome than yt folowith that yf suche 〈◊〉 â—e be lefull by the lawe of nature / it is 〈◊〉 â—y the same lawe for a man to mary h◠〈◊〉 â—s wife a widowe lefte withowt yssewe For this can be no more forbiden than for a man to marye his Sister And thus yowe maye perceyue that sainte augustyn is against thies persons false opinion IN the same leif / thies persons wold haue yow call to yowr rememberaunce of the iugement of thies great diuines fower / or fyue thinges First what so euer persone of Cristes beleue brekith eny of the leuiticall prohibicions of mariage / he shal be dampned both body and sowle into euerlastinge deith in hell Note here I beseche ye how thies pestilent persons openly sclaunder and saye false vpon sainte ambrose / sainte Hierome / and sainte Augustin For ther is none of them that doith iuge / that what so euer person of Cristes beleue brekith eny of the leuiticall prohibicions of mariage that he shall be dampned bothe body and sowle into euerlastinge deith in hell / as thies persons do saye vppon them but it is thies ' pestilent persons owne malicious iugement and yet all this makith nothing for their false opinion For ther is no prohibicion leuitical that doith forbide that a man shal not mary his brothers wife a widowe c. THe second thinge that thei wolde haue yow note of the iugement of sainte ambrose / sainte Hierome / and sainte augustin is this That not only the Iues did abstaine frome marying their Brothers wiues euen as yow wold say / for fere of sum mischef / and yet thei might haue don it bi auctorite of their law but the very heythens also after the deth of their wiues / did euermore abstaine frome mariage of their wiues sistern / as frome a certain impiete or abominacion againste nature Here thies shameles persons falsly sclaunder againe thies holy Doctours / for they neuer did iuge nor saye that the Iues did abstayne frome maryinge of their Brothers wiues for fere of sum myschefe that shulde fall vppon them / for so maryinge Nor yet thies holy men neuer sayde that the heythens did euermore absteyne from maryinge their wiues sisterne / as frome a certaine
impiete or abhominacion againste nature Wherfore yowe maye see that these vngracious persons do falsly saye and sclaunder Sainte Ambrose / Sainte Hierome / and Sainte Augustin / and not onely in this their false sainge sclaunder these holy men / But they also doo blaspheme almightye God for in saynge that the Iues did absteyne frome mariynge their Brothers wifes for fere of sum myscheif that shuld fal vppon them for so mariynge / they saye that almyghty God in commaundinge and biddinge the Iues to mary theyr brothers wifes widowes cet commaundid and bounde them to a thinge that myschefe shulde cum to the Iues for fullfillinge and kepyng of the same commaundement / ye and beside all this yt followithe that almyghty God in commaunding and biddinge the Iues to mary their Brothers wifes widows cet set the Iues in a myserable state and in a greuous perplexite / for yf they maryd theyr brothers wifes widows c. accordynge to the commaundinge of almyghty God than they lokyde for myschef to fall vppon them for so mariynge and agayne / if they did not marry their brothers wifes widowes c. than they shulde be punyshed withe perpetuall infamy and dishonour For so had almyghty God commaundid to punyshe all thos that wold not mary their brothers wyfes widowes c. and thus by thies false deceyuers saynges almighty God in commaundinge the Iues to marye their brothers wifes widows cet set them in a meruelous greuous perplexite Who durst thus saye by almyghty God / seynge that he nouresshed the Iues with singler beneuolence and meruelous kynenes holy and iuste lawes concerning them and theyr tyme Wherfore yowe maye see thies persons in theyr sayng do highly baspheme almyghty God and do falsly saye vppon thies holy men and Doctours NOw to the seconde parte of this their second saynge / wher as thies persons affirme that the verey heythens after the deth of theyr wiues did euermore abstayne frome mariynge of theyr wyues sisters as froÌ„ a certayn impiete or abominacion against nature Here thies deceyuers confounde them selues and speke againste their owne writinge For in the .xviij. leif of their boke / they saye that beside other myscheuous vices this thinge was also lefull and customable amonge thies haythens to myngle and marcy them self by the most shameful lust and pleasure of their bodyes with them that be most nyghe of their blode and affinite puttinge no difference betwene them and other women This they sayd and write there / and here they saye the contrary They saye that the heythens after the deth of theyr wiues did euermore abstayne frome mariynge of their wiues sisters as frome a certayne Impiete or abhominacion against nature Therfore yow may cleerly se / thies persons be past shame / and care not whate they write and saye / that they myght cause the reder to beleue their false opinion THe thirde thinge that thies deceyuers wolde haue yow note of the iugement of saynte Ambrose / saynte Hierome / and saynte Austen is this That mariage contracte contrary to theis prophibicions be vncomely and abhominable and as nere as can be to the lyfe of bruyt bestis c. ye and forther / thei be the transgression aÌ„d breking of al the lawe Here these false lyers saye agayne falsly on these holy men For this they can not shew to be the iugement of Saynte Ambros / Sainte Hierome / and Saynte Augusten Also thies lyes and false saynges make no thinge for their purpose For they speke of the leuiticall lawe and there ground the them self wher it is in no wise forbiden that a man shal not marey his brothers wife a widowe left without yssew THe .iiij. thinge that thies deceyuers wolde haue yow to note and marke of the iugement of saynte Ambrose saynte Hierome / and saynte Austen is this / That mariages made contrary to the leuitical prohibicions be so greuous aÌ„d so hateful in the sight of God / that thei haue destroyd holl nacions / poluted the land / and beyng polutyd caused it naturally to gruge and to put them owt whiche hade committed suche thinges Here agayn theis deceyuers saye falsly vppon thies holy men for thei cannot shew thies their sayngis to be thies doctours iugement Also thies lyes and false saynges make no thing for thies persons false purpose for al their saynge ys grownded in the Leuiticall lawe and there yt is not forbidden that a man shall not marey hys Brothers wife a widowe left without yssewe THe .v. thing that thies persons wolde haue yow note of the iugement of saynte Ambrose / sainte Hierome / and sainte Austen is this That the prohibicions leuiticall perteyne not only to theiues / but to all Cristians whiche cum to serue God And that thei which be poluted with eny of thies not to be spoken dedis / ar defilyd with them al. Here thies shameles lyers saye falsly on Ambrose / Hierome / and Austen for as I haue shewid yow / they cannot bringe where that this their sayng shuld be thies holy menys iugementis and agayne this their false sayng doith not helpe thies deceyuers false opinion / as you haue hard before / by cause they grownd them in the leuitical prohibicions But now for asmuche as in this their saing / thei affirme that if a man be polutid corrupte with eny of thiâ—s not to be spokeÌ„ dedis / he is defylid with theÌ„ al he r ye may se how like theÌ„ self thei speke / for of this their saing / it folowith that if a manly with his sist r so is polutid in that syn that than he is poluted with his moth r / with his stepmoth r / with his doughter / poluted with his nece / with bruet bestis / polutid with offering his sede in sacrifice to the ydol Moloch For al thies oth r mo / be forbideÌ„ in the leuitical law who wold say thê° but thies filthy lying persons Nowe yowe hard howe thies deceyuers haue sclaundered and falsly sayd of thies .iij. holy men saynte Ambrose / sainte Hierome / and sainte Augustin IN the .lvij. leif / they exhorte yowe to marke wel saynte Ambrose his saynge / and to that yow haue herd my answere before AFter thies doctours thies persons bringe holy saynte Ancelme Breifly he in all that pistel / which thies persons saye is his / doith not saye that it is against the lawe of God and against the lawe of nature / for a man to mary his brothers wife a widowe ce nor yet this that the Pope haith no power to dispence vppon suche mariage nor this can not be gatheryd nor concludid of this saynge of saynte Ancelme in the rehersed pistle as it appereth in the .lx. leif of their boke That Cristiane religion and perfeccion haith ordyned that the boundis and butailes of consanguinite shulde be streched furthe vnto the .vi. degre on euery side / accordinge vnto the decreys of holy
fathers and canons so that kynsfolke beyng in the .vi degre maye not marey toghither by this you may se that sainte Ancelme doith speke of suche mariage as is forbiden bi the lawe of the churche and therfore in the ende of his pistel he shewith that bothe before the law and in the law / men vpon certaine honest causes and consideracions maried their nere knswomen / as their sisters and their neces before the lawe / as Abraham / Isaac / and Iacob In the law / Othoniel / the whiche mariages sainte Ancelme doith not saye that thei were against the lawe of nature But he doith approue them good for bicause the persons which so maryed / did marey for good consideracions and honest causes / yet for all that saith he Cristiane religion the perfytnes that owght to be in a Cristen man wil iuge nothinge to be honest that is against the honestie of nature So here sainte Ancelme doith swade that we shuld not mary nowe owr kinneswomen / but mary other for to spreyd a brode loue and charite / for it is against the honestye of nature aftir his mynde / to mary within the .vj. degre For men and women do bi the reason of affinite kindred bare loue naturally vnto that degre And therfore sainte Ancelme did extende the honestie of nature to the .vi. degre / as it aperith bi his sainge before / And thus yow may se that sainte ancelme doith not saye that it is againste the law of nature for a man to mary his sister and nere kynswoman but that for honeste cawses men haue so maryed IN the .lxv. leif / thies persons bring in Hughe Cardinal Rauffe Flamacensis / Rute Tintiensis / Hildebart Cenomanese / Iuo Carnotense / al bishops and one water of constance archedeacon of Oxforde / and truly the first two Hughe Cardinal / and Rauffe flauiacensis expoundinge the xviij chapiter leuitical Brefely here I answere / there is none of thies Doctours that saith it is againste the law of God and againste the lawe of nature / for a man to mâ—ry his brothers wife a widow left without yssew nor yet this that the Pope haith no power to dispence vpon suche mariage nor this can not be concludid of their saynges Wherfore I passe ouer vnto the .lxxv. leif of thies deceyuers boke where they allege for their purpose the scholasticall doctours NOw amonge the scolastical doctours thies persons do bringe in Thomas in the .lxxviij. leyf of their boke whiche saith that at the beginning of mankinde there were exceptid frome mariage the father and the mother / that is to be vnderstand / that the father myght not marey with the doughter / nor the mother with the soon / but afterward when mankynde was encreaside and multiplied there were many moo persons excepte bi Moyses lawe Brefely saynte Thomas in all hys reasons before and after doith no thinge but declare that the father and the dowghter / the mother and the soon were forbiden to mary togither bi the lawe of nature The othâ—r persons that were afterward except / he saith were forbiden to mary togither by the lawe of Moyses whiche law / Thomas callith sum tyme the lawe of God This maye yowe see plainly in al the processe that thies persons do bringe in of Thomas from the .lxxv. leif / vnto the .lxxix. leif / and thus Thomas speketh not one worde against this that a man maye mary his brothers wife a widowe lefte withowte yssew / nor yet againste this / that the Pope haithe power to dispence vpon suche mariage THies persons promised to bring doctours to speke againste thies thinges but they be verey slake in performinge their promesse IN the same leife / thies persons doo bring in Thomas sayng / infidels contracte within the degreis forbiden in the xviij Chapiter of Leuitical / contrary to the lawe of God whether both to or one of them be conuertid to the faith they maye not bide still togither in suche mariage for as myche as saynte Thomas speketh here of the degreys forbiden in the .xviij. chapiter of the leuitical I wil answere no other wise but thus / yt is not forbiden in the .xviij. Chapiter of the leuiticall that a man shal not mary his brothers wife a widowe left with out yssew and therfore saynte Thomas spekith nothinge for thies deceyuers purpose ALso to Altissiodorensis saynge / where thei allege him to saye that the preceptis Leuitical be moralles this saynge doith no seruice to thies deceyuers false opinion For as I haue shewid you / and am compellid often tymes to shew yow / that it is not forbiden in the Leuitical lawe that a man shal not mary his brothers wife a widow left without yssew And if thies deceiuers were not paste shame they wolde not allege so often the leuitical lawe and prohibicions as they do seyng it makith nothinge for their purpose / or ells they shuld reherse sum prohibicion leuiticall that doith forbede that a man shal not mary his Brothers wife a widowe left c. IN the .lxxxij. leif / thei bringe Peter de Palude whiche saith the Pope hathe no power to dispence in the first degre of affinite no more than he haith in the first degre of consanguinite for mariageis forbiden bi the lawe of God in the first degre of consanguinite or affinite not one streghter aboue the other but the one of syde half to the other as the brother and the sister in this degre Also the Pope hath power to dispence bycause it is sumwhat against the lawe of nature / and a litle after this Docter Peter de Palude saith that the Pope hath no power to dispence that a man shulde mary the wife of his brother althowgh he died without children / for how be it men were sufferde to do thus in tymes past yet that was not but by dispensacion / ye and that dispensacion was by the lawe of God and not by the lawe of men / and agayne a litle after this he saith that the Pope hath no more power to dispence with a man to mary his brothers wife a widow left without yssew / than he haith to dispence for a pluralite of wiues For mariage betwene the brother and the brothers widowe left without yssewe was sufferd for a certayn tyme by the dispensacion of almyghty God / like as it was to haue many wifes Here is this Doctours mynde whiche spekith sum what for thies persons purpose NOw to this Doctours saynge I answere thus / and first to this pointe where he saith that the Pope hath no power to dispence in the first degre of affinite no more than he hath in the first degre of consanguinite and that not only in the right lyne no more than in the side lyne as the brother to mary with the sister for by cause this is sumwhat against the lawe of nature To this / this Doctour Peter de Palude expownding the
wold not tarry vpon it / nor vppon Pope martines approuinge of Waldens boke / nor yet vpon the Doctours whiche thei name without eny rehersinge of their writinges and opinions For all thies be impertinent to the purpose as euery man may see in these deceyuers boke Wherfore I passe ouer to the .lxxxvii. leif IN the .lxxxvij. leif / thies persones doo allege two glosers of the lawe of Canon / Iohn Andre and Iohn Imola which do gather and conclude by the wordes of the very texte of the chapiter Literas and also bi the wordis of gloses there / that the degreys writen in the leuiticall lawe be the same self degreis in the whiche Pope innocent hym self doith saye that the Pope hath no power to dispence with Here thies persons saye falsly of Iohn Andre for in the ende of his answere he concludith that the Pope may dispence in the first degre of consanguinite after that the matromony be ons coÌ„summat / thus ye may se how thies shamles persons doo lye IN the .lxxxviij leif / thei say that maister Abbot is of Iohn andres opinion here also thei say falsely vpon Maister abbot / for he ther rehersinge diuers opinions / finally doith conclude that the Pope may dispence in the first degre of affinite after that matrimony be consummate Thus ye may se that thies false deceyuers do not ceasse to lye IN the .lxxxix. leif / thies persons say that to those persons which the law of god doith cal neyest of blode / ther can be no good nor iuste cause for the which it might be sufferd or dispensed with the one of theÌ„ that shuld diskou r the fowlnes of a nother / nor the r can not be alleged anything so honeste / that is able to cov r the dishonesty of this thing This is your own pestilent saynge here they greatly accuse AbraÌ„ / Isaac / Iacob for thei maryd with their sistern with their vncles doughters / if ther can not be allegid eny thing so good honeste / that is able to couer the dishonestie of suche mariages / than thies persons do condempne thies holy patriarkes / say that in mariyng their kinneswomen thei did shamfully / euen that thing which is so euyl that ther can not be alleged eny thinge soo honeste that is able to couer the dishonestye of their Mariages Who will saye thus by thies holy fathers and patriarchâ—s / but thies vngracious persons Sainte Hierom doith excuse Abraham in that he maryed his sister / and shewith that in so mariynge he did not offend / as ye haue harde before And sainte austen against Faustus the manachye / shewith that Iacob did not offende in maryinge of his vncles doughter / and saynte ancelme in the epistle / that thies persons affirme to be his / sayth that for certain consideracions and honest causes / men sum tyme maryed their nere kynswomen both before the lawe and in the lawe / before the lawe / as abraham / and Isaac / and Iacob / in the lawe / as Othoniel / thies holy men iuge thies mariages to be honeste / iuste / and goode whiche thies vngracyous persones do falsely dampne for to coloure their dampnable opinion IN the lxxxx leif / of their boke thies persones wold haue yow to marke specially / which diuerse of thies holy and approbate doctours do holde / also that the brother can not mary a woman that is but only handfaste vnto his brothere and if he doo the mariage can not stande by helpe of eny dispensacion / and that al suche mariages must nedes be vtterly broken / Of this opinion thies persones saye is mayster lyre / and also the noble diuine Hugh de sancto victore and so in the lxxxxij leif of their boke / they saye that mariage in the firste degre of consanguinite and of affinite is not only forbiden in the leuitical lawe but also mariage in the first degre / for a iustice groundid only vppon a certain comyn honeste and comelines / is forbidden by the lawe of God in the leuitical and so can not be dispensid with all by me Here ye may se howe openly and without all shamfastnes they lye they bid yow marke whiche diuerse of the holy aÌ„d approbate Doctours do hold that the brother can not mary a woman that is but only handfaste to his brother after his dethe thus they muste vnderstande yt and if a man doo the mariage can not stande by helpe of eny dispensacion First thies persons haue brought no doctoure that this doith affirme / and ther is nether maister Lyre / nor Hughe de sancto Victore that doith saye that the pope can not dispence with a man that he maye mary that woman whiche was only but handfast to his broth r aft r his brothrs deth Hugo de S. vic in al his longe processe that thies persons bring in / hath not a worde of the Popes power and dispensacion / nor maister Lyre in this case / moreouer yt is euident that it is but only forbiden by the lawe of the churche that a man may not mary his brothers spouse after the dethe of his brother ther is no scripture nor Doctour saynge that suche mariage ys forbiden by the leuitical lawe / nor agayne ther is no Doctour that doith saye that the Pope can not dispence in this case yow may se what persons be thies / thei care not howe falsly thei saye / thei be not ashamid to speke agaynst al reason and lerning FOr to proue their a fore rehersed saynge / thei bring in a case that ther was a man whiche had his eldest soon hand fast to a mayde / and so this yonge men died and than his father bounde him selfe by an other to the mayden / that he wold marey his yongest sone to hyr / and vppon this / he made suyte to the Pope whiche was Alexandre the thirde and he wolde not dispence and lycence this mannis yonger sone to marey the maiden but lete the man that swore he wolde mary his yonger soone to the mayden be pariuride where vppon thies persons wold conclude / that the Pope can not dispence that a man maye mary his Brothers spouse after his brothers dethe / which is false for this argument ys nought to saye The Pope will not dispence vppon suche mariage wherfore it folowith that he can not dispence vppon suche mariage This yow se doith not folowe For the Pope doith not alwais dispence where he may dispence Also if the Pope were bounde to dispence in the thyrde and fowerth degre of affinite withe euery man that did or wolde swere to mary in thies degreis / than the prohibicion were no prohibicion / Also where as thies persones saye that the Pope alexandre did affirme in his answere to the Bishope of Papye / the it is writen in the leuitical / that the Brother can not haue the Brothers spouse / and
brothers wiues widowes left c. that vpon a great payne / therfore it is false to saye that almighty God did commande in the olde law that no man shulde mary his brothers widowe c. so therfore is this false that the Pope haue no power to dispence vpon suche mariage which these persons wolde conclude vpon there false proposicion IN the .c. .xlv. leif of their boke these persons write that the leuitical prohibicion that a man shulde not mary his brothers wife a widow c. Thus thei must vnderstand yt or ells it is not to the purpose thoughe it was lymyted restrayned of almighty God in the Deuteronomi / yet for al that bicause afterwarde the said restraynt was taken awaye of God him self by the comyng of Cr st here these persons do not declare whate they meane vnderstande / by lymytynge restrayninge of the leuiticall prohibicion / nor yet what they wolde haue vnderstanden by the taking awaye of the restraint / at the coming of o r sauiou r crist but where as thei say that the leuitical prohibicion that a man shuld not mary his brothers widowe c. was restraynide in the Deuteronomi / here these persons say manifestly false for as I haue saide oftin tymes / as ye haue harde many doctours saye / ye as the leuitical law it self sayth / that ther is no suche prohibicion there therfore ther was no restraint made vpon that prohibicion nor yet owr sauiour Criste did not at his cominge take awaye the restraynt for ther was none to be taken away but in the Deuteronomi almyghty God did playnly streyghtely commaunde that the Iues shulde mary always their brothers wyues widowes left c. this confirmeth Isichius sayng in commē leui that the law Deuteronomical did not onely commāde mē to mary their brothers wiues widows but it did also compell them so to mary This therfor can be callid no restraynt and thus all these persones saynge ys false IN the same leif / theis deceyuers say / that yf the Pope now a dayes coulde by dipensacion / cause that a man might mary after the law of the Deuteronomi his brothers wife which doith dye hauing none yssewe for to reyse vp sede to his brother withoute doughte he shulde make Cristen men at thys daye to folow the Iues ceremonyes supersticion sues / which the Pope can not do / no more than he can cause that we shulde kepe the Sabot daye or that thei shulde be circuncisid To this I answere / that the Pope can not by dispēsacion cause a mā to mary his brothers widow c. as the Iues in the olde law maryed theirs Nor the Pope doith not licence a man to mary his brothers widowe after the facion maner but the Pope doith licence dispence that a Cristen man may mary his brothers widow as a kynge or a prince to mary his brothers widowe / to be meane that queytnes peace may be kepte betwene realme realme for to continew loue frendeship betwene Cristen princes / for other suche reasonable profitable causes concerning the comyn welthe of Cristendome / thus for theis / suche causes the Pope doith maye dispence that a man may mary his brothers widowe c. not after the maner of the Iues therfore theis persons bringe yn a thing that no man will deny / and yet it is nothing for their purpose IN the .cliij. leif of their boke / these persones saye that like as a man may frely fulfil his purpose of a more holyer lyuynge the sayng nay frowarde forbiddinge of his indiscrete prelate notwithstanding euen so it is yn mariage that if a mans consciens moue him to diuorse that he dyuorse hym self though the church say contrary Here now ye may se perceyue theis pestilent persons vngracious maliciouse entent what thei counsail / wolde haue done the is to saye a man to diuorse him selfe / to forsake his wife yf his conscience moue him to diuorse without eny further profe or shewing of eny iust cause to mary where yt plesid him thoughe the churche sayd the contrary which is clerly against al reason ALso by this their saynge yowe may perceyue that these persones wolde vtterly destroye the blissed sacrament of matrimony For by this meane waye euery man as often as he wold chaunge his conscience to diuorse / so often he might chaunge his wife / ye the wife hyr husband / without shewinge of eny other profe or cause / without eny maner of sentence iugement of the churche ye thowgh the church said commaundide the contrary / so by this / shulde the sacrament of matrimony be destroid Here ye may se what pestlent persons these be / whiche haue compiled this boke that I answere to FVrthermore theyr comparison and similitude wherby they wolde proue that a man maye diuorse hym selfe frome hys wyfe by hys conscience / thowghe the Churche saye contrarey / ys openly false Fore thowghe yt be so that a Prieste / be mouede yn hys mynde to be a religious man / may frely fulfil his purpose of a more holier lyuinge notwithstanding the nay of his indiscrete prelate yet it doith not folowe / that euen so yt is in mariage that yf a mans conscience moue him to diuorse / that he may diuorse him self forsake hys wife / mary anoth r / thowghe the church say contrary This case is not like the oth r first forbicause that a priest which goith to religion for a more holier lyuing / may fulfil his godly purpose lefully notwithstanding the frowarde / forbidding of his vndiscrete prelate for asmuche as the priest beyng at libertye / doing no wronge to no person by the reason of his going to religion but seruith almighty God better Thus he may fulfil his godly purpose thoughe his vndiscreite prelaite saye contrary / but so may not a man that is maryed / diuorse hym self whan his conscience mouith him to diuorse / for bicause the maried man is not at libertie / For he is bounde to continew with his wife accordinge to the lawes of matrimony during al the tyme of his lyfe / nor he can not departe frō his wife for to mary anoth r while that his wife is a lyue Wherfore there is no conscience that can helpe a maryed man in the mater of diuorse / excepte he can manifestly proue some iuste cause befor the church that his mariage ys not good And than he must abyde stonde to the churches iugement determinacion And therfore this is false / to say that lyke as a priest may for a more holier lyuinge / fulful his purpose notwithstanding the forbiddinge or nay of his vndiscreite prelate euen so it is in mariage / that if a mans conscience moue him to diuorse that he diuorse hym self thowghe
the church say contrary Nowe here ye may se what thinge these persones wolde haue done / and after what maner NOw for to come to an ende / these deceyuers say in the preface of their boke that the vniuersites wil put for the reasons of more waight shortly to al the worlde than these persons haue shewid in theyr boke sewerly so had thuniuersities nede to do For theis persons as ye haue sene haue brought noone but suche as be abhominable / shamful false / but the vniuersites aft r due ordyr aÌ„d reason / shulde a put for the first theyr reasons than their determinacions / that specially in determininge a mater or a pointe of our faith / I suppose so they wolde haue done / yf thei had determined the trowth / but for as myche as they haue determined that thinge that is very false / to be trew therfore thei put forth no reasons with their determinacions nor thei can none fynde to put forth / why they haue thus determined wherfor I breuely conclude / that the vniuersities haue determined falsly in this case that I haue spoken of / that this proposicion is false / that yt ys against the law of God against the law of nature for a man to mary his brothers wife a widow left c ¶ Now ye haue harde parte of theis persons blasphemy / parte of their errors / parte of their shamful lies / falsnes / beside al this ye may perceyue how these vngracious persons haue geuen great occasion to destroy kyndenes amite among cristen princes / the thei sowe for loue / hatered discorde / also ye may perceyue what great myscheif these persons with their labour / counsell / opinion / boke haue begun â—ye how mych more myscheyf they wold do / yf thei might bringe their maliciouse purpose to effecte ye may lykwise ê‘ceyue in what confusion with their false opinion thei wold bring princes concerning their mariages And finally what a sisme a diuision with their opinion thei haue stered vp in cristendom / for by their opinion / thei affirme that al cristes church haith thus many yeres erred in the faith in dispensing in the firste second degre of affinite consanguinite / al this foloweth of these vngracious persons false opinion / with mych more than I reherse / wherfor let no maÌ„ iuge that in my answer I rebuke them / with yre and passion but rath r I had cause to reproue them sharpelyer for the thei haue so hiely offendid almighty god ye aÌ„d they cause many so to do / wherfor theis euil persons ar wel worthy rebuke reproue o r sauio r crist vehemently rebuked the false scribes phariseis and false teachers / bicause thei offendid god taught other so to do / also Iohn bap reproued sharply rebuked false prophetes teachers / so did Pol Iohn in theyr pistils / Hierom / Ambros / austen many oth r holy fathers for nothing offendeth God more than teachers of false doctrine / nor ther is non so incurable a pestilence / nor so hurtful to mans sowle / as is false doctrine / yf it be accept beleued / wherfor ye may perceyue that I had a iuste cause to rebuke reproue these vngracious persons that haue set forth this boke that I answer to For they teche false doctrine wold haue yt to be accepte beleued thoughe I haue not so substancially profoundly answered here in euery pointe / as other better lernyd men parauentur shal do heraft r yet for all that my conscience wold not suffer me to hold my peace / but compellid me to offer with the poor widow a farthing of my lerninge to the honour of almighty God Wherfor I will mekely beseke ye to accepte this my answere / my zele / and will / in good wurth as I trust he doith / for whose sake aÌ„d cause I toke vpon me to make this answer / which is owr sauiour crist to whome be gyuen all honour and laude AMEN The lefe / pagyn / lyne the fautes thameÌ„demeÌ„ts B. i. Pagi i. Lin. i. almighty almighty god H. i. Pag. i. Lin. viij ys it it ys N. i. Pag. ij Lin. viij other oth N. iij. Pag. i. Lin. xv hath no pow r / hath power ¶ Imprinted at Luneberge the yere of ower Lorde God M.D.XXXII in Maye