effect emōg y e priestes of the Weste parties vntill the tyme of Gregory the seueth whiche was the yere of our lorde M.lxxiiii AND here Polydore protesteth that the syngle life of priestes dooeth more harme to the religion shame to the ordre and griefe to honest menne then their constrained chastite profiteth if thei wer restored to the libertie and chose it were no preiudice to the christen common wealth and honesty for the ordre In the beginnyng menne maried their sisters and kinswomen but Moses restrained theim of the Hebrues from the first and seconde degrees and Fabianus forbad the third and fourth whiche custome stādeth now in effect Theodorus did inhibite first that a manne might not mary that mayde to whō his father was a godfather It was confirmed firste by Gregory and after by Alexander the third that no man should mary his brothers wife lest it should bee thought to be a counterfet of the Hebrues Lamech was the first that euer had two wiues whose example many other ensued afterwarde The custome of purifiyng was taken of y e Hebrues but there is no daie or time appoincted for it Neuerthelesse for an honest order thei vse cōmonly not to be purified afore the moneth daie then with a few honest matrōs she cōmeth accompained to the church offereth a waxe taper the chrisome ⧠The .v. Chapiter ¶ Of the temples churcheyardes when the crosse was firste had in reuerence IN the old testement Moses sette vp a tabernacle curiously edified to God wherin supplicacion and intercessiō was made to hym for the sinnes of the people And in that he made the Arke of couenaūt in the whiche he put the twoo tables of stone conteignyng the lawe of the ten commaundementes Aarons rod and the potte of Manna After hym Salomō kyng of the Hebrues made at Hierusalē a temple of costly araie and sumptuously wrought I cannot to saie trueth perfectely tell where the firste churche of christen menne was buylded but by all coniecture it semeth that it was made of the Apostles either in Ethiopia where Matthewe preached or in lower Inde where Bartholomewe taughte or in Scythia where Andrewe shewed the worde of God Where thei doubtles either caused newe churches too bee edified or els transposed the idolles temples to serue the christen mennes vse abolishyng supersticion plantyng the true religiō of Christ Albeit it were not against reason to suppose there was a temple or hous of praier appoyncted by Iames at Hierusalē IN Rome the first that I reade of was cōsecrated by Pius bishoppe of Rome in the strete called Patricius at Nouatus bathes in honour of the virgin Prudentia at the requeste and suite of Praxedis her sister And after Calistus made a temple to the virgin Mari in a place beyōde Tyberis and instituted a churcheyarde in Appius strete and called it after his owne name notwithstandyng Abraham was the first that made any place of buriall in Hebron where he bought of Ephron an Hethite y e double caue for thre hundred sicles of siluer with the grounde aboute it and ther was Sara his wife and he himself buried NOHA buylded the firste alter and offered vpō it a burned sacrifice to the lord And Bonifacius the third caused that thei wer couered with linen clothes Constantinus when he had wonne the battaill against Maxentius by reason of a vision that he sawe of the crosse the daie of the battaill ordained that from thēce furth no manne should suffre death on the crosse And so in processe of tyme it was had in muche reuerēce and worship And Theodosius made a lawe that there should no Image of the crosse bee grauen in stone marble or in yearth lest men should tread on it Helene Constantines mother a verie vertuouse woman repaired too Hierusalem to seke the crosse of our lord where with greate laboure and diligence she found it and with it the other twoo whereon the theues were hanged but it was easy to perceiue Christe his crosse by the title whiche then did remain albeeit sore wasted and corrupted with antiquitee ¶ The .vi. Chapiter ¶ Of the auncient rite of sacrificyng feastfull daies dedicatyng temples the mistery of Fire holy Water CAIN and Abell the two sonnes of our first father Adam offered in sacrifice to GOD the firste fruites of their goodes Abell his oblacion was milke Cain his gyfte was corne Afterward whē the priesthode was ordained Aaron and his sonnes offered diuerse thynges with sundry ceremonies whiche be shewed at large in the boke of Leuiticus The Gētiles almoste all sacrificed to y e idols men or women after sundry rites as appeareth in the histories Gentile auctours And if it fortune that thei omitted any suche abhominable idolatry thei had greate punishment destrucciō of their fruite corrupcion of their waters infeccion of y e aire deth of catel greate droughtes womē had eiuill deliueraunce with many suche plages as Dionisius Hilicarnasseus witnesseth which the spirites of the aire procured to delude seduce men and confirme theim in their errour THE holy daies emong the Iewes were diuerse as the Sabboth daie the feaste of y e newe Moone the passeouer the feaste of swete breade Pentecost the feast of Tabernacles the dedicaciō daie whiche bee al shewed largely in the olde Testament The vsage of dedicating churches is of great antiquitie for Moses did sacrifice the tabernacle Salomon consecrated the temple that he buylded at Hierusalem And Esdras after when thei returned from the captiue of Babilō hallowed the temple newe again Of them we receiue our rite of hallowyng of churches albeit we haue mo ceremonies thē thei had FIRE was kepte continually on the alter by the priestes for without it and salte could no sacrifice bee duly made or ordinarely offred and we in oure Masses haue euer a taper of waxe burnyng And the emperoures of Rome had Fire bourne afore thē the Vestales had euer perpetual Fire in the tēple where thei serued Vesta THE spirites of y e aire that gaue doubtfull answeres to them that required any question of theim wer at the commyng of Christe all destroyed For what tyme he was caried into Egipte whiche is a countree full of supersticion and Idolatry all the Idoles of that region wer ouerthrowē fell to the ground at his commyng thither And in the tyme of Adriane the Emperoure bothe the wicked sacrifices wer abholished and also the oracles of Apollo at Delphos Iupiter Hammon in Egipte with like vanities wer subuerted bi the power of God through his sōne Iesus Christ HOLY water was ordaigned by Alexander the first to be consecrated to driue away spitites and was commaunded that it should bee kepte as well in churches as in priuate houses for thesame vse whereof are growen emong the commō people many supersticiouse erroures contrary to the woorde of
and beast Albeit I cā rather take it to be an imitacion of y e olde Romayne feastes whiche thrise in the yere had sacrifices for the prosperous successe of their corne one Vinalia for their wynes the other Robigalia for all their grayne least it should be mildued The third Floralia for all their fruites These vayne superstitious old bishoppes of Rome turned to a godly vse and trāsposed their feastyng into fastyng that the rather at the contemplacion of oure praiers and fasting God might prosper the increse of al the fruites to the sustentacion of his creatures The .iiii. Chapiter ¶ Watches were turned into fastes fastyng of Fridaies and Wednesdaies namyng the daies of the weke in sundry wise IT was the maner from the begynnyng of oure christen faith that for so much as it pleased our sauioure to be borne in the night priestes dyd ryse in the nighte season and song the houres canonical otherwyse named the Matyus the laye people was accustomed on those sainctes euens that were any solemne feastes to watch at the tombes of Martyr spraiyng and singyng holy psalmes Which thing the testimony of Plinie doeth well approue wher he writeth in a pistle to Traiane how that much nomber of people was slaine in whom he could neuer espye any faulte sauyng that afore daye at certayne tymes and feastes they arose and song of cōmendacion of Christ whom they called God But as tyme is corrupter of al thynges worldely in processe as deuocion beganne to abate in stead of hymnes they song dissolute balades praier was turned into wanton daliaunce The youth went about lyght amorous companye the eldest personnes practised baudry women were not ashamed to geue them selues to be corrupted in al kynd of whordome Vpō this occasion the olde fathers seyng least it myght growe to a further in conuenience turned the Vigilles into fastyng dayes Notwithstandyng the priestes vsed their ordinarye tymes of seruyse as they were wont to do and suche feastes were called by the name of Vigilles and obserued with no lesse reuerence then the faste of Lent This remedy was prouided after sainct Hieromes tyme whiche died the yere of oure Lorde cccc.xxii when Bonifacius the seconde was bishoppe of the sea of Rome The lyke custome was also obserued among the Egyptians whiche on the euens of theyr hyghe feastes fasted and after thei had slepte thei offered a cowe all suche night sacrifices and obseruances for like causes wer by a perpetuall lawe in Grece abrogated by Diagundas a Thebane The faste of wednesdaie and Fridaie was cōmaunded by the fathers bicause on the one daie Christ was crucified and on the wednesdaie Iudas purposed in his minde to betray him as Apolonius the eloquent oratoure supposed Siluester the first bishoppe of Rome abhorryng the memorial of the vain Gentile godes decreed that the daies of the weke whiche had afore the names titles of the Sonne Moone Mars Mercury Iupiter Venus and Saturne should be called the first second third fourth fifth sixte seuenth ferie in semblable maner as the Iewes coumpted their daies frō the Sabboth daie He did also call y e firste ferie Dominicus dies that we name Sonday and called Saturday Sabbatum of the olde holy daie and rest of the Hebrues al these thynges wer dooen at the sute of Constantine then Emperour Albeit the Apostles afore that tyme had consecrated the Sondaie to the Lorde bicause that daie he rose from death the Iewes Sabboth was turned into it as maie appere by the decree of Pius that ordained the Easter to bee kepte on the Sundaie and therfore I thynke Siluester did but onely renewe thesame acte of the Sundaie It was the inuencion of the Egiptians y t the daies wer firste named after the seuen planetes as Diodorus recordeth Sācte Gregory was the authour that neither fleshe nor any thyng that hath affinitee with it as chese milke butter egges should bee eaten on suche daies as were fasted Wee haue also a maner vsage of hallowyng the table and meate afore wee bee set that begonnen of the imitacion of Christ whiche vsed thesame fashiō ouer the fiue loues in the wildernesse and at Emaus also he did insemblable wise consecrate the table in the presence of his disciples so was the fourme of saiyng grace after supper taken like wise of the custome that Christe commonly kept at his suppers The maner to reade apart of the Bible at dyner tyme hath been of long continuance and did proceade of the Godly doctryne that Christe instructed his disciples in at all tymes but namely at his last supper wherein he treated of y e perfecciō of al y e misteries of our religiō And thus our fathers to kepe in memory suche an holsom instituciō did bryng in this maner of readyng the scripture at meate or meale tyme. ⧠The .v. Chapiter ¶ The originall of holy daies Paschall candelles birthe daies LYKE as the Iewes had in their law whiche was but onely a shadawe of thynges too come holy daies appoyncted for the execucion of the misteries of their religion whom thei in one generall terme named Sabboth dais of the rest and vacasiō that thei had from bodely labours semblably our fathers haue ordaigned festiuall daies in the new testament wherein Christen men all profane businesses and eiuil maters laied aparte might wholy apply and bend themselfes to Godly and spirituall meditacions As the perusyng and readyng of scriptures heryng of deuoute sermons renderyng honor to God by sacrificyng praiyng and well dooyng bee woorkes fete and conuenient for the holy daie and also reuerencyng the memoriall of sainctes on suche daies as bee assigned to that purpose is on the holy daie laudable For oblacion is onely due to God as Paule Barnabas did openly testifie at Listra For whē he had commaunded by the power of the worde of God that the man whiche was lame from his mothers wombe should arise and walke the people for wonder and maruaile of the miracle would haue dooen sacrifice to them but thei renting their clothes departed out of the prese and with sharpe woordes rebuked their enterprise as a thyng vnmete to bee dooen to any mortall man or worldly creature Firste of all the feaste of Easter was instituted by y e Apostles and prescribed by Pius the first to be solemnised on the Sondaie Afterward as it chaunsed that alteracion of that matter arose Victor that was bishop of Rome aboute the hundred nynetie and sixe yere of our lord decreed that it should altogether bee kepte and celebrated on the Sondaie frō the fourtene daie of the firste moneth that was Marche vntill y e .xxii of the same least our ordre coumpte should agree with the Iewes whiche kept it somewhat soner then that appoyntemente speaketh of albeeit many foreyne bishoppes at the firste refused that cōstitucion bicause thei thought it not out of
him and vsed his counsail and he taught them to play on trumpes whiche were so feareful to y e Messenians by reason of straūgenes of the noyse that they fled furth with and so they obteyned victorye but in dede as Iosephus witnesseth Moses the valiaunt capitaine of the Hebrues founde the Troumpe and made it of siluer The Archadiēs did fyrst bryng al Musical instrumentes into Italye where afore that tyme thei vsed only vplādishe pypes Thucydides writeth that y e Lacedemonians vsed fyrst in war Shalmes Clarious and Rebeckes to thentent that when they were ready to the warres by suche plaiyng they myght better kepe array The Romaines fotemen ioyned Droumslades with Trumpettes Haliattes kyng of the Lydians had in the battail againste the Milesians Pipers and Fidlers plaiyng together the Gretians as thei went to warre had Lutes goyng afore them to modefie theyr pase all other countrees as wee dooe nowe vsed trumpettes in battail ¶ The .xiii. Chapiter ¶ The beginnyng of Philosophie THE science of Philosophie whiche Tully calleth the studye of wysedome searcher oute of vertue expulser of vice after the mynde of diuerse dyd procede out of Barbary in to Grece For it is sayd that in Persie the Magiciens for so they called their wise and sage men were excellent in knowlage in Assirie the Caldees in Inde the Gymnosophistes hauyng their name because they wēt naked had their part of wysedome of whiche faction one Buddas was chief in Fraūce the Druides in Phenice Ochus in Thrace Xamolxis Orpheus in Lybie Atlas The Egyptians say that Vulcanus the sōne of Nilus found the fyrst principles of Philosophie Laertius writeth that Philosophie beganne in Grece wher Museus and Linus were fyrst learned menne but Eusebius sayeth that Philosophie lyke as all other sciences sprong among the Hebrues and of them the Greke Philosophiers whiche were a thousande yere after Moses learned all their knowledge As for the name of Philosophie was not vsed among them tyll the tyme of Pythagoras for he called him selfe a Philosophier and his studie of wysedome philosophie where afore time it was named wysedome and they that professed it had the tytle of wyse menne There be of it thre partes one called natural another morall and the facultie of reasonyng called logike natural treateth of the worlde and contentes thereof whiche Archelaus brought out of Ionia vnto Athens Moral enfourmeth the life maners of men this part Socrates traduced and applied from heauenly thynges to the vse of life and to deserne good and bad Logike inuenteth reasons on bothe partes and was founde by Zeno Eliates other deuide it into .v. partes natural supernatural moral mathematical and logike Dialoges were made fyrst by Plato or at the least furnished with more eloquence for Aristotle sayeth that they were diuised by Alexamenus Scyreus ⧠The .xiiii. Chapiter ¶ Astrologie the course of the sterres sphere nature of the wyndes THE yearth is moste subiect to the influence and operacion of the Planettes and by the temperate seasonablenesse of the cōstellacions it bryngeth furthe aboundaunce of fruites and as Iulius Firmicus supposeth the sterres haue also a power in the birth of menne to make them of one fashion or other this or that complexion of good or bad disposicion accordyng to the respectes coniunctions or opposicions procure And the Egyptians haue deuysed and appointed to euery night and day his peculiar God and what destenie what death shall chaunce to him y t is borne on any suche day And the Chaldees sayd that to acheue any good or hurtful thyng the planettes helpe muche By this occasion men through diligent obseruyng of the celestial bodies inuented Astrologie wherin the whole mouable course of the heauen the risyng the goyng doune and ordre or the Planettes bee comprehended whiche the Egiptians aduaunce thē selues to haue found Albeit some say Mercurie was auctour of it and Diodorus affirmeth it to be Actinus the sonne of Phoebus Neuerthelesse Iosephus plainly declareth that Abraham enstructed thē and also the Caldees in that arte thence it came into Grece for all the learned menne of Grece as Pherceides Pithagoras Thales acknowledge that they were disciples to the Egyptians and Chaldees But Plinie writeth that Atlas was finder of it therfore the Poetes fayne that he beareth heauen on his backe Seruius thinketh it was Prometheus thar found it Neuertheles al these as I take it were the beginners of this facultie euery man in his owne coūtree onely where he dwelled for euen frō the beginnyng of the worlde the sonnes of Seth diuised fyrst the science of the sterres and for somuche as they feared least their art should perishe afore it came to the knowledge of menne for they had heard their graund father Adam saye that all thynges should bee destroyed by the vniuersal fludde they made two pyllers one of stone the other of brycke to thentent that if the bricke wasted with water or stormes yet the stone should preserue the letters whole and perfecte and in these pyllers they graued al that cōcerned the obseruaunce of the sterres And therfore it is credible that the Egypcians and Chaldes lerned Astrologie of the Hebrues and so consequently it spred abrode in other nacions and thus beganne Astronomie conceyued to seduce mens wittes Among y e Romaynes Sulpicius Gallus in Grece Thales Milesius perceiued the cause of theclipse of the Sunne and Mone Endymeon marked fyrst the course of the Moone and her changyng as Plinie writeth Pythagoras as some say obserued the course of Venus called the daye sterre but as Laercius supposeth it was Permenides The Sphere was diuised by Archemides a Siracusian but Diogenes taketh it to haue bene Museus and Plinie ascribeth it to Anaximāder The windes were fyrst obserued by Aeolus as it is reported vpon this reason The inhabitantes of the Ilelandes about Sicile prognosticate by the smoke of the sayde Isles three dayes before what wynde they shal haue and for that cause they say that Aeolus hath dominion ouer the wyndes The windes as some deuide theim bee foure accordyng to the foure principall regions of the ayre they that bee more curiouse make eight And specially one Andronicus Cyrrestes whiche buylded in Athens a turret and sette on euerye syde of it the Images of wyndes grauen agaynst the region whence the wyndes came and sette them on pyllers of marble and in the myddle he sette a brasen Image of Triton whiche he had made so that it would turne with the wynde and stand w t his face towarde the wynde that blewe and poincte with a rodde to the Image of the same wynde whiche maner is nowe vsed in al countrees for they sette vp wethercockes or fanes to shewe out of what quarter the wynde bloweth ⧠The .xv. Chapiter ¶ Who founde Geometrie Arithmetike
one day thre M. men and women And by the myracle of healyng the lame mā at the beautyful gate of the temple he stayed and confirmed them strongly in the fayth albeit he suffered persecucion greatly for the same And Stephyn for his faythful testimony was stoned to death Philip conuerted and baptised the Samaritanes and a certaine eunuche of Candaces quene of Ethiopia the eunuch turned the quene with her famylye and a great parte of that countree to the fayth of Christ After in Antioche the faythfull named them selues Christians Thomas preached to the Parthians Mathew in Ethiopia Bartholomew in Ynde Andrew in Scytia Iohn in Asia Peter in Galatia Pontus Capadocia Peter was borne in Bethsaida a cytie of Galile brother to Andrew He was by shyppe of Anthioche .vii. yeares and conuerted many people of Asia and after went to Rome in the tyme of Claudius there shewed the Gospel with great encrease at the same tyme Mari the virgine and mother of oure sauioure Iesus Christ dyd chaunge her lyfe and was Assumpted into the nombre of blessed spirites whiche was the yere of our saluacion .xlvii. Not long after Paule beyng conuerted from his phantasticall tradicions to a preacher of Christes Gospel was brought to Rome where he preached boldly the Gospel notwithstandyng the great persecutions that he suffered for it and afterwarde suffered death by the way of headyng at the cōmaūdement of Nero the same day that Peter was crucified on a crosse Thus dayly the cōgregacion of christians encreased more and more as the Actes of the Apostles and other histories doth declare at ful Albeit there was great trouble and persecucion in euerye place yet God by his power contrary to theyr expectacion turned theyr cruelnes to the furtheraunce of his worde confirmacion of the faythfull and confusion of them that vsed tyranny The .ii. Chapiter ¶ The institucion of circumcision and baptisme GOD whiche hadde made promyse to Abraham y t he should be father of many nations and that al the world should be blessed in his seede that Christ willyng to stay his farth in y e same promise appointed the couenāt of circumcision betwene him Abraham saiyng euery male shalbe circūcised and the fleshe of his fore skinne shalbe cut round about for a signe of the leage confederacy that I make with the. Vpon this cōmaundement Abraham then beyng .xcix. yeares of age dyd cut his fore skyn his sōne Ismales beyng then .xii. yeares olde whom he begatte by Agar his bondmayde and al his men seruauntes For this cause as s Cyprian saieth that he might haue the fyrste fruites of the blod whiche should afterward shede his holy blod for the redemption of manye yea of all that beleue in him The fashion of it was to cut the fore skynne of a mānes yarde with a knyfe of stone as God commaunded Iosue that he should make knyues of stone to circumcise all the Israelites the second tyme and Moses dyd circumcise his children with a sharpe stone Chrisostome calleth circumcision the fyrst and most auncient commaundement for there is no nacion that gaue any preceptes or rules to lyue by afore Abraham or Moses therfore it is to be supposed that other countries toke example at the Hebrues to circumcise their chyldrē as the Pheniciens and Arabiens the Sarrocenes the Ethiopians the Egyptiens and the Colchians This circumcision of y e fleshe was a fygure to vs of the circumcision of the heart and cuttyng away of al superfluouse luste carnal desyres and importeth a moderacion and mortifiyng of the affectes concupicences of the olde Adam I meane the sinnefull body he that had not this signe was banished out of the nōber of the people of God had no par◠in the promyses made to Abraham Baptisme wherein is lefte to vs a significacion bothe of the mortificacion of y e fleshe and diyng to the world that we may walke in a newe lyfe and also of the washyng away of our sinnes by Christes blod and is the token that we be of the body of the cōgregacion of the faythful was instituted by s Iohn sonne of zacharye the .xv. yere of the Emperoure Tyberius reigne in the wyldernes besyde the famoose riuer of Iordane wher he baptised muche people This baptisme and washyng was in the water to signifye the washyng away of our sinnes that shuld be by Christ whiche baptised in the holy ghost fyre There was signes of baptisme in the olde lawe as the cloud the red sea y e riuer of Iordain The fyrste that was christened of the heathen was Cornelius of Cesaria and the eunuchus of quene Cādaces Christenyng of enfantes was institute among vs as cyrcumcision of chyldren was of the Iewes celebrated the eight day Iginius bishop of Rome ordeyned fyrste that chyldren whiche should be Christened should haue a godfather and a godmother for to be wytnesse of the sacrament y t it was receiued And Victor bishop there dyd institute that one might be christened either by a lay man or woman in tyme of necessitie bycause enfantes were often in daunger There be thre maner of baptismes as Cyprian diuideth it One in water wherof Iohn was auctour another in the holy gost fyre wherof Christ was institutour the third is in blod wherein the children y t Herod slewe were Christened It was also the maner in old tyme that they whiche were growen in age should be baptised in white apparel and that was wont to be at Easter or Whitsonday only necessitie cōstrayned otherwise In the meane tyme tyll those daies came they were taught the misteries of the religion of Christ whiche they should professe Of that custome I suppose the sondaye after Easter is called the white sonday The .iii. Chapiter ¶ Of the priesthod of the Hebrues and degrees of the same LYKE as in y e christen cōmon welth there be two sortes of men one called the laytie to whō apperteyneth the ministracion of the publike wele and all temporl affayres the other is the Clergie to whō belongeth the cure charge of ministryng y e word of God sacramentes other decent ceremonies so in the olde lawe of y e Hebrues there were two iurisdictions one of thē was capitaynes gouernours of the cōmons the other was the priesthod that did offre vp the sacrifices other oblacions Of this degree of priestes Aaron and his sonnes were the fyrst ordeyned and cōsecrated by Moses at the cōmaūdement of God The maner and fashion of halowing of thē and their vestures is declared at large in the booke of Exodus As for Noe whiche made the fyrst alter Melchisedech Abraham Isaac and Iacob dyd make their offeryng rather of a naturall deuocion then any priestly auctorytee After that the Leuites whom we vse to cal deacons were
caurse or amisse to kepe that feaste after the precident of saincte Ihon the Apostle whiche renued euer the rite of the Iewes in the feast of Easter THE custome of hallowyng Paschall candelles on Easter euen was commaunded by Zozinus to bee frequented in euery churche THE maner of kepyng holy the birthe daie of euery manne was muche vsed in Rome albeit the Persians had that vsage afore theim for there it is the fashion that euery manne after his habiliteâ— should with many obseruances and greate dentie feastes worship the daie of their birthe and of theim the Romaines receiued that supersticion ⧠The .vi. Chapiter ¶ Of the institucion of holy daies and canonisyng AS you haue hearde y e sanct Ihon the Apostle did celebrate the feast of Easter eueÌ„ so the other Apostles as it is saied wer authores not onely of the same Easter feast but also ordained those daies wherin our sauiour had doen any mistery concernyng out saluacion or informacioÌ„ should be kept holy and to the entent thei might be more reuerenced of their posteritee thei themselfes kepte theim duryng their life very deuoutly as the Sondaies Aduent the Natiuitee CircuÌ„cision and Epiphanie of our Lorde the Purificacion of our lady called Candelmas Lente Palme Sondaie Maundy Thursdaie when Christ after supper washed his disciples feete Goodfridaie Easter the Ascension and Witsondaie As for the feaste of Pentecost was afore vsed of the Hebrues for .l. daies after that the laÌ„be was sacrificed in Egipt y e law written by the handes of God was giuen by Moses in the Mount Oreb in the wildernes of Sinay And .l. daies after the death of Christ whiche like a lambe was offered of the Iewes for our Paschal the Apostles receiued y e lawe of the spirite The feast of transfiguracion came also of the Iewes for like as Moses his face was transposed into a perfect brightnes after he had commoned with GOD in the Mounte so nowe after the shadowe and vaile wer taken awaie by Christ his comyng it pleased God to shewe to his disciples his transfiguracion as a declaracion of the shadowe past and a figure or significacioÌ„ of the immortalite to come In consideracion wherof the holy fathers perceiuyng the vse of suche holy daies coÌ„firmed and ratified theim by a decree made in the couÌ„saill had at LioÌ„s in FrauÌ„ce furthermore commaunded that suche daies as either our holy sainctes departed this life orels wrought ani miracle or did any notable deede to y e encrease of our religioÌ„ should be kept holy bycause christen people mighte haue more oportunitee too heare the woorde of God and more deuoutely serue hym in an vniforme ordre THEN were instituted the feastes of saincte Stephen Inuocentes Siluester IhoÌ„ Baptist the Apostles daies Conuersion of Paule our lady daies Laurence Michell Martyne and generally of all sainctes whiche was the constitucion of Bonifacius the fourth For he caused that the teÌ„ple whiche Marcus Agrippa did edifie in honoure of all the Romaynes Idolles as the name Pantheon doth pretende was by the license of Phocas then Emperoure turned into the churche of all Hallowes and consecrated the twelfe daie of Maie and Gregory the fourth afterward willed it too bee kepte the firste daie of Nouember THE festes of the inuencion and exaltacion of the crosse and Corpus Christi daie were dedicated by Vrbane the fourthe and denounced for holy daies Siluester at the suâ—e and instance of the Emperouâ—â— Constantine assigned the daie of ad Vincula sancti Petri called commonly Lammas in memoriall of Peters paines persecucion and punishment that he suffered for the religion Felix y e first of purpose to magnifie the gloriouse commendacion of Martyres made a statute that yerely oblacioÌ„ should be had in memoriall of theim and Gregory would that Masse should bee saâ—ed ouer their bodies whiche thing Vigilantius thought woorthy to bee reiected refused albeit the reporte goeth that Anacletus was of this coÌ„stitucion the first authour The same Felix instituted firste that the daie whereon any temple was dedicated should bee hallowed of that village or toune and made also a lawe that suche churches as menne doubted of whether thei wer consecrated or no should be hallowed again And Felix the fourth did ordain that bishoppes onely should dedicate them and that the same dedicacion daie should bee kepte holy yerely afterwarde THE fashioÌ„ to deifie menne that had dooen any benefites to the common wealth is one of the moste auncient vsages that I reade of For antiquitee euen froÌ„ the beginnyng was accustomed to make goddes of their kynges whiche either by aboundaÌ„ce of benefites or notable qualites and prowes had wonnen the heartes of their coÌ„mons And specially the Romaynes did that with greate pompe of circumstaunces and many obseruaunces as I did declare afore in the thirde booke out of Herodiane Of theim our bishoppes learned as by a paterne their rite of canonisyng sanctes and the yerely sacrifices that Gregory and Felix appoyncted coÌ„cerned nothyng els but too declare that those Martyres were sainctes and of the housholde of God Last of all AlexaÌ„der the third ordained that no suche diuine solemnitee should be giuen to any man openly without he wer canonised and admitted to bee a saincte by the bishoppe of Rome his bulle bicause no manne should chose hymself any priuate sainct or committe any peculiare Idolatry ⧠The .vii. Chapiter ¶ Institucion of yere daies or Obites and the maner of Mournyng FVNERAL exequies that be dooen ouer ded bodies were the institucion of Pelagius albeeit Isidorus ascribeth the originall of it to the Apostles and he hymself did augmente the rites that wee vse in this tyme. Ambrose supposeth that it proceaded of the custome of the Hebrues whiche lamented Iacob fourty daies and Moses the space of thirty daies for that tyme is sufficient for the wise to wepe in It was also y e vsage of auncient Romaines to mourne For Numa Pompilius assigned oblacions to the infernall goddes for the ded and did inhibite that a childe vnder the age of three yeres should bee bewayled and that the elder sorte should be mourned no mo monethes then he had lyued yeres But commonly the loÌ„gest tyme of a widowes mournyng was but tenne monethes and if any were maryed within the space agayne it was coumpted a greate reproche wherefore NVMA ordaygned that suche as had mourned vp afore the daie limited should offer a cowe that was greate with calfe for an expiacion Neuerthelesse if that rite wer vsed now a daies and namely in Englande we should haue smal store of veales there be so many that mary within y e tyme prescribed Plutarch writeth that the womeÌ„ in their mournyng laied a parte all purple gold and sumpteous apparell wer clothed bothe thei and their kinsfolk in white apparell like as theÌ„ the ded body was wrapped in white