fro the coÌ„munyon of the good people / to commauÌ„de the good people also to eschewe theire company / to make absolution therof agayne c. whiche be great powers and maye do gret good if they be charytably put in executyon But if they wyll declare the seyde texte / in suche maner that they shulde therby take power fro princes which Christe lefte vnto them / or to exalte their owne power more than Christe gaue vnto them Than princes maye resyst their declaration theriÌ„ yea / ar bouÌ„d to do it / there princes ought to be iuges takyng such of the clergie vnto theÌ„ as they shall thynke conuenyent wherof vndoutedly there be righte many that wyl nat be blinded with suche worldly honour and vanyte And so it semeth that the seyd texte / Quodcumque ligaueritis c. shal be taken specyally accordiÌ„g to theffecte of the other auctorities before rehersed and nat onely accordyng to the lytterall sence of the same texte Also though some men haue sayde that our lorde gaue to his discyples both powers That is to saye Spyrituall and temperall / whan the apostles sayde vnto him Luc. xxii Lorde / here be two swerdes / And he answered That is ynough And that he shuld mean therby that he wolde that they shuld haue both powers / for if he had nat ment so / he wolde nat haue sayd of the .ii. swerdes / It is ynough But it is to moche And that therfore princes haue had sythe that tyme their temporall power of the spyrituall power To that it maye be answered / that those wordes were neuer spoken of those two powers / as the letter of the seyd gospell playnly declareth For the letter is this Our lorde a lyttel before his passyon / sayde to his discyples thus WhaÌ„ I sent you with out secke / scryppe / or shoes dyd you wante any thynge And they sayde naye Than he sayde vnto them But nowe he that hath a secke let hiÌ„ also take his scryppe And he that hath no swerde / let him sell his cote and bye a swerde / for I say to you that it behoueth that that is written of me shal be fulfylled Et cum iniquis deputatus est that is to saye he is accouÌ„ted among wyked men And than he sayd further And truly tho thinges that be written of me be nygh at an ende to be fulfylled And than they sayd / lorde / lo here be two swerdes / and he sayde vnto them / it is ynough And Lyre whiche treateth princypally vpon the lytterall sence of Scripture / sayth that tho wordes were spoken by oure lorde to instructe his discyples / that somtyme it is lawfull for a man to defende him selfe moderatly from persecutours / and that therfore the Appostelles beyng at that tyme well couraged to defende them selfe / regarged more tho wordes that our lorde spake of the swerdes / than they did eyther of their seckê or of their scripbes And therfore they answered / here be two swerdes / than he knowynge that it was the wyll of his father that he shulde suffre deth for redeÌ„ption of man sayd it is ynough As though he had sayd / those two swerdes suffyce and be ynough to defende me fro deth aswell as many thousand of swerdes shulde do / for I that accordyng to the wyl of my father wyl wylfully suffre deth for maÌ„ loke for no defeÌ„ce of swerdes This semeth to be the intente why he sayd of the two swerdes / it is ynough / nat to sygnyfye therby that thappostelles shuld haue both powers spirituall and temporal / and if it shuld be taken to be ment so it shulde nat be by a litterall sence / after Saint Augustyn and saynt Hierome / it is onely of the lytterall sence of holye scripture that a suffycient argumeÌ„t may be taken / so we thynke those wordes to bere but a small effecte any thynge to abate the power of priÌ„ces And where some meÌ„ haue sayd that the clergye haue auctorytie by the gospell to here all causes that shulde be shewed vnto them by any maner of complaynt and that that shulde appere by the wordê that our lorde sayd Math. xviii If thy brother offend the correcte him betwen him and the onely / And if he here that thou hast wone thy brother / and if he here the nat / take with the one or two wytnes / and if he here the nat than / than shewe it to the chyrche / and if he here nat the churche / lette him be to the lyke an Ethenyke and a publycan / and that in somoch that the gospell coÌ„mmaunded to shewe the offence to the chyrch / sheweth nat in what cases that it shall therfore be vnderstaÌ„de in all cases / and that bycause it is sayd / shewe it to the chyrche / that it was mente thereby that it shulde be shewed to the clergye To that it maye be answered that by that worde chyrche is nat vnderstande only the clergye / for they vndoutydly make nat the chyrche / for the hole congregation of ChristeÌ„ people maketh the chyrche And bycause the hole people of christeÌ„dom can nat be gathered togyder / so that they may haue such matters shewed vnto them all therfore it can nat be taken that our lorde ment that it shuld be shewed to al the people / for he coÌ„mauÌ„ded nothyng but that may well resonably be obserued And therfore whan it is sayd shewe it to the chyrch It is to be vnderstande therby / that it shall be shewed vnto theÌ„ that by the lawe custoÌ„e there vsed haue auctorite to correct that offeÌ„ce And therfore he that in this realme wyll gyue charytable monycyon to his neyghbour that offendeth in suche a thynge as the kynge by his lawes custome of his realme may lawfully punysshe / and he wyll nat yet amende Wherfore he sheweth it to the kynge or to his iuges / or to his iustyces of peace iÌ„ the coÌ„trey / or other offycers that after the lawe custome of the realme may reforme it He hathe therin right well fulfylled the gospell And if the offence be of such thynges as by the custom of the Realme be called spyrituall As it is of auoutry / fornycation / such other / wherof the clergy maye holde ple. And thervpon bycause the partye that he hath gyuen monicyoÌ„ to / according to the gospel / wyll nat amende / he sheweth it to the ordynary or to his offycers We thynke that he hath also right wel obserued the gospell But to saye that the seyd wordes Dic ecclesie shulde take any power fro princes that they had at the commynge of Christ / or that they haue had syth that tyme by the lawes customes of theire realmes and countreys We thinke that the seyde wordes do nothynge amount vnto it And furthermore it shulde seme to make a repugnauncy in scripture If it coulde be proued that our lorde gaue
And of .iiii. of the most dyscrete brethern of the sayd coueÌ„t Yet neuertheles / the statute is that it shal be put into the kepyng of the sayd foure brethern vnder the priuate seale of the Abbot / and so the wordes that folow after in the statute / that is to say / so that the Abbot or Prior of the house may in no wyse make a contracte or obligacyon by him selfe / be voyed and of none effecte / for natwithstandynge that the comen Seale be in the kepyng of the foure brethern vnto the priuate seale of Abbot Yet may the Abbot make a contracte or obligacyon / as well as he might haue done before the makynge of the seyde statute And so the vncertainte therof is one cause why it hath nat ben put in executyon Ther be also dyuers other statutê / whrein the miÌ„de and intente of the makers / were nat so playnly declared / that the iuges after the ordre of the lawe might iuge vpon them / tyll they were more plainly declared and interpreted by parlyament For none maye interpretate a statute but the parlyament onely And one of the statutes that were in themselfe vncertayn for the Iuges to iuge vpoÌ„ is this It was inacted in the seuenth yere of kynge Rycharde the seconde the .xv. chap That no man shulde cary / armour corne / vytayll / nor other refresshement into any party of Skotlande on payne of forfeyture c. And for bycause Berwicke which is in skot laÌ„de was nat excepted iÌ„ the statute though it were than as it is nowe in the Kynges handes yet it was thought that the goodes caried thy ther were forfeyt And the Iudges wolde nat take vpon them to enterprete the statute otherwyse than the expresse wordê of the statute warraÌ„ted theÌ„ to do Wherfore in the .xv. yere of his reygne it was declared by ê‘lyament That it was nat th entent of the seyde fyrste statute / that they that caryed anye vytayles to Berwycke shuld ronne therfore iÌ„to any penaltie of that fyrst statute Also a statute was made in the .viii. yere of kynge HeÌ„ry the .vi. wherby it was ordeyned that the chusers of the knightê of the parlyamente shulde be of the same countye / haue landes to the yerely value of .xl. shyllynges ouer the reprises But the statute sayd nat expresly that the chusers shulde haue laÌ„des to the yerely value of .xl shyllynges within the same shyre / wherfore som men were of an oppynyon / that if he dwelled in the same shyre and had .xl. shillynges yerely in another shyre that it sufficed / and some other thought the contrary And that lyke as the entente of the makers of the seyde Statute was that suche an elysour shulde dwell within the same shyte / that their intente was that he shulde also haue landes within the same shyre And finally the matter was shewed in the parlyament in the tenth yere of kynge Henry the syxte / where it was inacted That euery chewser of the knyghtes of the parlyamente shulde haue .xl. shillingê of freholde within the same shyere And so we thynke that one cause why the seide statute of Carleole was natte putte in executyon / was the vncertayntie of the wordes of the statute And therfore / if it were yet declared and made more certayne / we thynke it were a right good dede Another cause why the seyde statute was nat put in executyon / we suppose to be this That is to saye / that abbottes and other spiritual meÌ„ in tho dayes pretended that it was nat in the power of the parlyament to ordre such spyrituall matters / as they thought the kepynge of the comen seales in spyrituall houses was / that therfore / they were vnder the pretence of a more clere way in consyence encouraged the iuges to suffre the seyd statute to lye vnexecuted / and what so euer the occasyon therof was / the truth is / that the seyde statute was neuer yet put in execucyon But if the statute were playnly declared put in execucyon herafter it shulde seme to be a right expedyente acte / for the well ordringe of many relygyouse howses within this realme ¶ The .xi. questyoÌ„ The .xiiii. cha IF a man be accursed for dysobeyenge of any of the constytucyons prouyncyall or decres that be agaynste the kynges lawes and his prerogatyue / what daunger he renneth in by that excomunicacion The .xiiii. chapiter ¶ An answere to the .xi. questyon IF a man be accursed for dysobeynge of any of the constitucyons prouyncyall or decres / that be agaynste the kynges lawes and his prerogatyue / or for anye cause wherof the sute parteyneth to the kiÌ„ges courte / the excommunicacyon is nat suffycyente in the lawes of the realme / ne a significauit lyeth nat in suche case if the truth of the matter appere to the kynge / and if the bysshoppe certifye the excommunicatyon to the kynge / and sheweth nat the case therof And therupon the excoÌ„municate is taken by a significauit put in prison / than he by his frendes sheweth the matter before the kyng in his Chauncery / the partye oughte therupon to be delyuered out of prison And if the bysshoppe wyll in nowyse assoyle him whan he is delyuered out of the prison he offendeth agaynst the kynge and his lawes right greuously for denyenge the absolucyon ¶ The .xii. question / The .xv. cha WHether the kynges Courte be put out of iurisdictyon for tythes by the lawe of god or by custoÌ„e of the realme The .xv. chapiter ¶ An answere to the .xii. question THe people be bounde by the lawe of reason and also by the lawe of god to gyue vnto theyr spirituall mynysters a suffycyente portion of their goodes to sustayne them with But that the spirituall mynysters shulde haue the .x. parte in the name of the reasonable porcion is onely by the lawe of man and by a custome of the realme And therfore if that .x. parte were nat suffycyent in any place for a reasonable sustentacion of the spirituall mynistres the people were bounde to gyue them more And yf it be to much and ouer greuous to the people / the parliament may moderate it But than though a reasonable porcyon be due to the spirituall mynystres by the law of god as is sayd before yet that the sute shal be takeÌ„ for that reasonable porcyon in the spirituall courte yf it be denyed is only grouÌ„ dyd vpon a fauour that the kyngê of this realme and the hole realme haue in tyme paste borne vnto the clergye / for though the porcyon be due by lawe of god yet it were no thynge agaynste the lawe of god though the sute for the porcyon shulde be takeÌ„ in the kynges courte And paraueÌ„ture it were the more indifferent wey if it were so / for nowe they be both iudges and partyes / but as for the tenth parte it is much more stronger that the sute myght be taken in
that who so euer had any variaunce and wolde put it in iugement of the bysshops / that anon without doutyng it shuld be sent to the iugement of the bysshoppes yet that graunt is of none auctoritye in this realme for the kinges grace here knoweth no superiour vnder god And therfore for hiÌ„ lyeth no appeale And ouer that / if the kiÌ„ges grace made such a grauÌ„te to his bysshops in this realme / that they might holde ple of Temporall thynges / the graunte were voyde for it were agaynst his lawes And furthermore we knowe no auctorite to proue that the seyde Emperours made the seyd grauÌ„t confyrmacoÌ„n but onely the recytall of the seyde lawe made ex de iudicus Ca nouit And that semeth nat suffycient to bynde the Emperoures / ne their successours / onles their assent could be proued by other suffyciente matters of recorde The .viii. reason ALso it is sayde Deutro xvii If any thynge be harde and doutfull to the bytwext blode and blode / cause and cause / leprye and leprye / thou seest the iugemeÌ„t variant bytwext the persones / thou shalt come to the prestes of the Leuytycall kynde to the iudge that shal be that tyme / which shall shewe the the truth of the iugement / and thou shalte do what so euer they that be there in the place that our lord hath chosen saye / and thou shalt folowe their sentence / and than they saye that syth prestes in the newe law be of no lese auctorytie and power thaÌ„ preestes of the olde lawe were c. that they ought to haue no lese auctorytye and power than the other hade / but rather more An answere to this .viii. reason ¶ It is no dout but that the offyce and ministracyon of the prestes of the newe lawe are more notable more worthy than the offyce or ministracyon of the prestê of the old law were For they were iÌ„ a derknesse these in the lyght They in fygure / these in truth of the thinge fygured And therfore for the highnes of their auctoritye in spuÌ„all spirituall thynges / the iugement orderynge of temporall thinges is the more vnconuenyente for them And for that cause it was that the apostels sayd Act. vi It is nat mete for vs to leue the worde of god and minyster to the tables And sith the appostles thought that the ministracyon to the tables / thoughe it were a right charitable dede / was vnmete for their offyce which stode specyally in preachyng and teching and in prayer and contemplacyon / and other ghostly counseyls and ministracyons to the people How far vnmete is it thaÌ„ to their successours to take vpon them as it were a dede of highe ê‘fectyon / to iuge betwixt cause and cause / tytle and tytle / as well of landes tenementes / as of goodes and catales yea and somtyme of thynges concernynge the lyfe of man Therfore the same reason that is made to proue that bycause the auctorytie and power of prestes in the newe lawe / is no lesse thaÌ„ the auctorite and power of the prestes of the olde law was / that therfore they shulde haue as moch auctorite to iuge betwyxte blode and blode / cause and cause / leprie and leprie as the other had / maketh right strongly agaynst theÌ„ And further it is to be noted that in the seid texte of Deu. xvii It is nat sayde onely that the partye shall come to the prestes of the leuytycall kynde / but that he shall come also to the iudge that shall be that tyme / but whether that iudge muste be of the leuytycall kynde or nat it doth nat appere c. ⧠The .ix. reason ALso in this mater in hath beÌ„ sayde / that Emperours at the begynnynge had some right in the Empyre / but for their siÌ„ne that they dyd agaynst holy sayntes / and that specyally agaiÌ„ste the high bysshops they were depryued of the right of the Empyre / and that the right therof was translated vnto the church / for he deserueth to lese his priuilege that abuseth the power to him coÌ„mitted xi q. iii. Ca. priuilegium An answere to the .ix. reason ¶ Emperours had tytle to the Empyre of the immediat gyfte and ordynaunce of god long tyme before the comynge of Christ / and it appereth nat that euer Christe toke that power from them And though soÌ„e of them mysdemeaned themselfe agaynst holy sayntes / and that specyally against the high bisshoppes Yet why they / or their successoures shulde therfore lese the right of the Empier which was gyuen to them of god There is no reason / for though some of theÌ„ were euyll / the successoures might be good as vndoutedly many of theym haue ben And some tyme an euyll man is suffered of god / for the proufe of good men / ouer that admytte that they wer worthy to be depriued for their offences fro the right of the Empier Yet why that right shulde be translated to the churche / it wyll be harde to proue it by reason For as for to the lawe that is aleyed for the proufe therof that is to say .xi. q. iii. Ca. PriuilegiuÌ„ That he deserueth to lese his priuilege that abuseth the power to him coÌ„mytted / proueth nothynge that it shulde be translated to the churche / takiÌ„ge by that terme church / the bysshops and clergye For it is no dout but that the emperours receyued nat the emprye of the Clergye / wherfore it semeth that that reason is but of lytell streÌ„gth to proue that both powers / that is to say spuÌ„al and teÌ„peral shulde be in the clergy ⧠The tenth reason ALso it is sayde Psal lxxi Deus iudicium tuum regida et iusticiam tuaÌ„ filio regis iudicare populum tuuÌ„ in iusticia et pauperes tuos in iudicio That is to saye / O lorde god gyue thy iugement to a kynge / and thy iustyce to the sonne of a kynge to iuge thy peple in iustyce / and thy poore folke in iugemeÌ„t And thaÌ„ this reason hath ben made thervpon / that these wordes were spoken lytterally of christ as they were in dede / as a prayer that the father of heuen wolde gyue his iugement iustyce to Christ And they saye as the trouth is / that that power was fulfylled iÌ„ Christ as it appereth Ioh. v. Where it is sayd Pater omne iudicium dedit filio The father hath gyuen all the iugement to his sonne And also christe sayth himself Mat. xxviii All power is gyuen to me in heuen and in erth And than this reason is made further That that power that christe had he neuer gaue to emperours or kynges / but to his discyples / whan he sayd to them QuodcuÌ„que liga c Wherfore bothe powers spuÌ„all spirituall and teÌ„porall syth the tyme of christe hath ben in his appostels and discyples / and in their successours An answer to this tenth reason ¶ It is no dout