Originall sinne is that in which we are borne and it commeth vnto vs by succession frō our first father Adam For you haue to know that when God made the first man and the first woman called Adam and Eue he gaue them seuen gifts First he gaue them his grace by which they were iuste and the friends of God his adopted children Secondly he gaue them great knowledge how to doe well and to shunne euill Thirdly he gaue them obedience of the flesh to the spirite that it should not be mooued to vnlawful desires against reasō Fourthly hee gaue them promptnes and great facilitie to do well and to flie euill and but one most easie commandement to obserue Fiftly hee freed them from all labour and feare For the earth brought foorth fruites sufficient for mans life of it self neither was there any thing that could hurt man Sixtly hee made them immortall that is that they should neuer haue dyed if they had not sinned Seauenthly hee would after some time haue translated thē into Heauen to such an eternal and glorious life as Angels haue But the first man and woman inueigled by the Diuell did not obserue that commandement and so they sinned against God and thereby lost those seuen giftes which I spoke of And because God gaue them those giftes not only for them selues but also for all their posteritie therefore they lost them for themselues and for vs all and made vs partakers of their sinne and of all their miseries as we should haue bene of all their graces and other benefites if they had not sinned This then is Original sinne an emnitie with God and a priuation of his grace with which priuation wee are borne Whereof proceedeth ignorance euil inclinations difficultie to do well and facilitie to do euill the paine trauel to prouide to liue the feares and periles in which we remaine most certaine death of the bodie also eternall death in hell if before we dye we be not deliuered of sinne returne not into the sauour of God S What remedie haue wee against this Originall sinne M It is already saide before that the remedie is the Passion death of Christ our Lorde For so God would that hee that should satisfie for the sinne of Adam should bee himselfe without sin and the same was God and man and so hee was infinitely acceptable to God and did obey not in an easie thing as that was which was commanded to Adam but in a most hard thing as was the ignominious death of the Crosse And this remedie is applyed to vs by holie Baptisme as hath bin saide And albeit God doth not straight-waies render vnto vs all those seauen gifts yet he hath restored to vs the most principall which is his grace by meanes whereof we are made iust the friends and children of God and heires of Heauen The other gifts shal be restored vnto vs hereafter with great increase in the other life if we behaue our selues well in this Cap. XVIII Of mortal and veniall sinne S DEclare vnto me now what is actuall sinne and how one is mortall and an other veniall M Actuall sinne is that which wee commit by our owne will when wee are come to the vse of reason As to steale to kill to sweare falsely and such like things contrarie to the law of God And it is mortal sinne when it depriueth vs of the grace of God which is the life of the soule maketh one worthie of eternal death in hell It is veniall sinne when it displeaseth God but not so much that it depriueth vs of his grace and meriteth punishment but not eternall S How shall I know whether the sin be mortal or venial M To know when a sinne is mortall you must obserue two rules one is that the sinne be contrarie to the charitie or loue of God or of our neighbour The other that it bee with full consent of the will For when either of these two things is wanting it is not mortall but veniall And a sinne is then said to bee a-against charitie when it is against the lawe in a matter of weight as when it is a sufficient offence to breake friendship but when it is in a small matter such as ordinarilie breaketh not friendship It is not then against charitie but is said not to be according to charitie And so such as commonly breaketh friendship is against the law because it is against charitie which is the end of the law such as commonly breaketh not frendship is not against the law but not acording to the law because it is not against charitie but not according to charitie Take an exāple to steale a great quantitie of money is a mortal sinne because it is against the law of God being in a matter of weight and in the iudgement of most men sufficient to breake frendship and so is against charitie but to steale a farthing or a pinne or a like thing is not a mortall sinne but a venial because it is in a small matter which although it be not according to charitie yet it is not against charitie because it is not a thing that in reason can breake frendship In like manner we may say of being voluntarie For when a thing is against the law in a matter of weight and fully voluntarie it is a mortall sinne but if it be not fully voluntarie as if one haue a thought or a sodaine desire to steale or to kill or to blaspheme and presently perceiueth his error before he fully consent with his will it is only a veniall sin Therefore a man must stand vpon his gard and presently as he is aware of an euil thought or desire he must driue it away before they geue consent Chap. XIX Of the seuen Capitall sinnes S I Desire now to know which be the most principall sinnes to the end I may flie them with more diligence M Some sinnes are more principal because they are as fountaines or roots of others and therefore called capital and these are seuen Others are more principall for that they are more hard to be pardoned and are called sins against the Holie Ghost and they are six Finally there are others more principall because they are more manifestly enormious and against all reason and therfore it is said that they crie for reuenge to Heauen and they are foure S Which are the Capitall sinnes M They are these Pride or as others call it Vainglorie Couetousnes Lecherie Enuie Glutonie Anger and Sloath. S Wherefore are they called capitall M They are not called capitall because they are mortal for many sins are mortall and are not capitall as blasphemie and murder and many capital which are not alwaies mortal as gluttony anger sloath But they are called capitall because they are heads of many others which proceed from them as branches from the roote and riuers from the fountaines S What is Pride what sinnes doth it bring forth and what is the remedie
wil not haue faith as Iewes Turkes Heritikes or because they wil not receiue the Sacraments as those that wil not be baptised or wil not confesse their sinnes or wil not do such penance as they can for their sins nor resolue to liue conformably to the law of God S I would haue some example to vnderstand this M Take the example of one which should take great paines and with sweate and labours should gaine so much money as were sufficient to pay al the debts of this citie and should put the same in a bank to the end it should be geuen vnto al such as should bring a warant from him this man surely had satisfied for al somuch as lieth in him yet manie might remaine stil in debt for that they would not either for pride or for slouth or for some other cause demand his warant and carie it to the bank to receiue the money S What signifieth He descended into hel and what doth hel signifie in this place M Hel is the lowest deepest place in this world to wit the midle of the earth And the Scripture in manie places putteth heauen as opposite vnto hel as the highest place vnto the lowest But in this depth of the earth there are foure as it were great caues one for the damned which is the deepest of al and so it is agreable that the proud Diuels and the men which imitate them be in the lowest place and furthest from heauen that can be In the second caue which is something higher are those soules which suffer the paines of Purgatorie In the third which is yet higher are the soules of those children that die with out Baptisme who do not suffer torments of fire but onely the perpetuall priuation of eternall felicity In the fourth which is the highest remained the soules of the Patriarchs Prophets and other Holie men that dyed before the comming of Christ for albeit those holy soules had not any thing to be purged yet they could not enter into glory before Christ by his death had opened the gate of eternall life therefore they remained in that higher place called the place of holy Fathers otherwise Abrahams bosome where they suffered no paines at all but enjoyed a sweete repose expecting the comming of our Lord with great joy And so we read in the Gospel that the soule of that poore beggar Lazarus was carried by an Angell to rest in the bosome of Abraham where hee was seene by the rich glutton who burning in flames of hell cast vp his eyes and saw Lazarus in a farre higher place remayning in great joy and consolation enjoying the fruits of his former patience S Into which of these foure partes of Hell did Christ descend after his death M There is no doubt but hee descended into the place of holy Fathers and suddainely made them blessed after led thē with him in to the kingdome of heauē He made himselfe also seene vnto all the other parts of hell terrifying the Diuels as a victorious Triumpher threatning the damned as a supreame Iudge comforting the soules in Purgatorie as their Aduocate and deliuerer So that Christ descended into Hell as a King vseth sometimes to repaire into prisons to visite prisoners and to shew fauour to whom it pleaseth him S If Christ was dead his body did lye in the sepulchre then he did not whollie descend into hell but onely the soule of Christ and how is it then said that Christ descended into hell M Death had force to separate the soule of Christ from his body but it could not separate either the soule or the bodie from the Diuine person of the same Christ And therefore we beleeue that the Diuine person of Christ remained with his bodie in the sepulcre that the same person descēded with his soule into hel Of the fift Article S HOw is it true that our Lord rose from death the third day seeing that from Friday in the euening when he was buried vnto the night before Sunday when hee rose there wanteth of two whole daies M We doe not say that Christ rose after three whole daies but the third daye which is most true For he was buried on Friday which is the first day though not a whole day and so hee remained in the Sepulchre all Saterday and a part of Sundaie which is the third day For the natural day beginning the night before at the setting of the Sunne the first houre after the Sunne-setting is the first of the day following S. For what cause did not Christ rise streight after his death but would expect the third day M Because he would shew that he was truely dead he would remaine there in the graue so long as sufficed to prooue this truth Moreouer I would haue you considder that like as Christ liued amongst men thirtie three or thirty foure yeares so hee would stay amongst the dead at least thirtie three or thirtie foure houres For so many they are if you put together one houre of Friday for hee was buried an houre before Sunne-setting twentie foure houres of the Saturday and eight or nine houres of Sunday For he rose after midnight towards the beginning of the morning S Why is it said of Christ that hee rose and of other dead as of Lazarus and the Widdowes sonne that they were raysed from death M The reason is because Christ being the Son of God rose of himself to wit by vertue of his God-head he reunited his soule to his bodie so began to liue againe But other dead men can not returne to life by their owne power And therefore it is said they were raised by others As we al at the day of Iudgment shal be raised by Christ S Is there anie other difference betwixt the Resurrection of Christ of others which returned to life before him M There is this difference that the others rose mortal therefore they died againe but Christ rose immortal neither can he euer die anie more Of the sixt Article S Now let vs come vnto the sixt article which is of the Ascension I desire to know how long our Sauiour remained vpon earth after his Resurrection and for what cause M He remained fourtie dayes as you may consider by numbring the dayes betwixt the feasts of his Resurection and Ascension And the reason of his so long stay was because he would with manie diuers apparitions establish the Mysterie of his most true Resurrection For that the same seemeth as it were the most hard And he that beleeueth it hath no difficultie to beleeue the rest For he that riseth was certainly dead before And he that was dead was first borne And so he that beleueth the Resurrection of Christ findeth no labour in beleeuing his death and natiuitie And likewise for so much as the earth is not a conuenient place for glorious bodies but heauen therefore he that beleueth the Resurrection of our Sauiour can
that either God is ignorant of the matter or that hee is a friend of lying and of antiquitie S Declare I pray in particular what is to sweare with truth M That one may sweare with truth it is necessary that he do not affirme with an oth any thing but that hee certainely knoweth to be true and that he promise not with an oth any thing but that he will vndoubtedly performe Whereupon they are periured and sinne greeuously that affirme with an oath such thinges as they know are false or do not know to be true And in like maner those that promise by oath that which they meane not to fulfil S What meaneth to sweare with iustice M The meaning is that a man promise not with an oath to do anie thing but that which is lawful And therfore they sinne most greeuously who promise with an oath to reuenge injuries or to do anie thing that displeaseth God Neither ought they to obserue such promises neither do they binde in anie sort For no man can be bound to do euil for so much as the law of God bindeth vs that we must not do it S What meaneth to sweare with iudgement M The meaning is to sweare with aduisement maturely cōsidering that it is not conuenient to call God to witnesse but in needful things of great importance and with much feare and reuerence And therefore they offend that for euerie trifle yea playing jeasting do sweare Who by this euil custome of swearing often do easely incurre perjurie which is one of the greatest sinnes that can be committed Whereupon aswell our Lord in the Gospel as S. Iames in his Epistle do command that wee do not sweare that is without necessitie And holie men doe yeelde the reasō thereof because an oath being inuented for remedy of the weaknes of a mans credit for that men doe hardly beleeue one an other therfore an oath ought to be vsed as we vse a medicine which is not oftē to be taken but as seldome as well may be S Declar then if you please the third part of this commandement which consisteth in vowes M A Vowe is a promise made to God of some good thing grateful to his diuine Majestie Where you haue to considder three things First that a Vowe is a promise and therefore it sufficeth not to the making of a Vowe to haue a purpose much lesse a desire to do any thing but the expresse promise is required either by word of mouth or at the least in heart Againe you haue to consider that this promise is to be made to God to whom Vowes doe properly belong And when you heare that a Vow is made to our Ladie or to other Saints you must vnderstande that the same is principally made to God but in the honour of our Lady or other Saints in whome God remaineth in a more particular maner and more excellently then in other creatures So that a Vow made to a Saint is nothing else but a promise made vnto God to honour the memorie of such a Saint with some present that is to honour God himself in his Saint Thirdly you haue to know that a Vow cannot be made but of a good thing and grateful to God as holy virginitie voluntarie pouertie and the like things Wherfore he that should vowe to commit anie sinne or anie act not pertaining to the seruice of God yea or anie good thing which should hinder a greater good should not make promise of a thing grateful to his diuine Maiestie and therefore should not do him honour but dishonour and he should sinne against this second commandement As he also sinneth greeuiously against the same commandement that maketh a vow and fulfilleth it not so soone as he can For God commandeth in holie Scripture that whosoeuer maketh a vowe do not only remember to fulfill it but also that hee slacke not to do it S Declare to me the last part which treateth of the praise of God and of blasphemie M God commādeth in the last part of this seconde commandement that a man shal not blaspheame but contrariwise that he praise blesse his holy name And first forasmuch as appertaineth to the praise there is no difficultie at all being manifest that all good things comming vnto vs from God and all the works of God being full of wisdome of justice and of mercie it is reason that in all things he be praised and blessed But touching blaspheamie it is necessary you know that blasphemy is nothing else but an injury done in wordes to God in himselfe or in his Saints And there are found six sorts of blasphemies The first when that is attributed to God which is false as that he hath hornes or like indignitie The second when that is denied to God which belongeth to him as Power Wisdome Iustice or other excellences As to say that God can not do or seeth some things or that he is not iust The third whē that is tributed to any creature which is proper to God as if one say that the diuel knoweth the things that are to come or can worke true miracles The fourth when one curseth God or our Ladie or other Saints The fift when some members of Christ or of Saints are named to doe some injurie as if there were any things in them to bee ashamed of as be in vs. The sixt when one nameth some parts of Christ or of Saints to jest at them as to saye To the bread of Christ or of Saint Peter or other like things which the enuie of the diuel and the wickednesse of man hath found out S I desire to know howe great the sin of blasphemie is M It is so great that it is in a maner the greatest of all other which may be vnderstood by the pain that it meriteth For that in the old Testament God commandeth that blasphemers should presently be stoned by al the people As the ciuil lawes do also punish blasphemers with death And S. Gregorie writeth that a litle child of fiue years old hauing learned to blaspheme God and not being corrected by his father died in his fathers lap and his soule was carried away by diuels that appeared visibly into hell fire Which was neuer read to haue happened for any other sinne Whereby wee may see what diligence ought to be vsed in auoyding so great an offence of his diuine Maiestie the auoyding of this sinne ought to be more easie seeing there is no commoditie nor pleasure gotten by it as by some other sin there is but the onely hurt which the sinne bringeth with it And yet wee ought neuer to sinne though wee could gaine neuer so great cōmoditie or pleasure thereby Of the third Commandement S I Haue vnderstood the two first commandements now I desire that you wil declare to me the third M The third commandemēt which is of keeping holie feasts is somthing differing from the others because al the others to wit the two
obey or giue eare vnto them no otherwise then if they were our enimies Finally we are bound to reuerence our father mother in bearing them respect and honoring them in words exterior behauior as is conuenient so great account God made of this in the olde testament that he commanded that who soeuer durst curse his father or mother should be killed S I know not for what cause the law of God hath cōmanded the children that they should help their father mother to assist them hath not also commanded the fathers mothers that they should helpe succour their children especially whiles they are little haue need of helpe M Truely the bonde is reciprocall and all one betwixt the parents and the children For euen as the childrē are bound to help to reuerence and to obey their parents so the parents are bound to prouide for the children not only meate clothes but also that they be taught and instructed But the law of parents towardes their children is so naturall and ordinarie that there is no neede of any other written law to put Parents in mind of their bond towards their children But contrariwise it is often seene that children are not answerable in loue towardes their parents And therfore it was necessary to admonish them by this commandement of their dutie neither is God contented with a bare commandement but hath adjoyned a promise and a threatning to make them obserue it S I would gladly know what promise and threatning that is M Vnto this fourth commandemēt God adjoyneth these wordes that thou maist liue long vpon the earth Meaning that those who honour their father and mother shall haue for rewarde to liue long and those who do not honour them shall haue amongst other punishmēts this particular not to liue long And it is a very iust punishment For there is no reason thar he enioy long life who dtshonoreth those of whom he receiued the same life S There occurreth vnto me to demand whether this that hath been said of the father mother be vnderstood also of other superriors who towardes vs haue the place of parents M It is very wel considered of you For indeed this commandement is extended vnto al Superiors as wel Ecclesiastical as temporal Of the fifth Commandement S DEclare now if you please the fiifth commandement M This commandement chiefly forbiddeth murder to wit to kil men For to kil other liuing things is not forbidden by this precept And the reason is because liuing things wen created for man and therefore where it is needeful that he serue himself of the life of those liuing creatures he may kil them but one man is not created for an other man but for God and therefore one man is not maister of an other mans life And so it is not lawfull for one man to kill an other S Notwithstāding we see that Princes and Gouernours put thieues and other malefactors to death who neuerthelesse are men it is not holden that they do euil herein but wel M Princes and Gouernours that haue publique authoritie put malefactors to death not as masters of mens liues but as ministers of God as S. Paul saith Because God willeth and commandeth that malefactors be punished killed when they deserue it that good men may be safe and liue in peace And for this purpose God hath geuen the sword into the handes of Princes and Rulers to do iustice in defending the good and chastising the bad And so when by publique authoritie a malefactor is put to death it is not called murder but an act of iustice and whereas the commandement of God saith Thou shalt not kil it is vnderstood by thy priuat authority S I haue heare a doubt whether this commandement forbiddeth a man to kil him selfe as it forbiddeth to kil an other M Without all doubt this commandement forbiddeth to kil himselfe because no man is maister of his owne life man being made not by himself but by God And therefore no man by priuat authoritie can take the life from himself And if any holie men not to lose their faith or their chastitie haue killed them selues it is to be thought that they had particular and cleare inspiration from God to doe it which otherwise could not be excused frō most grieuous sinne For that who killeth himselfe killeth a man and so committeth murder which is a sin principally forbidden in this fift precept of the lawe S Wherfore do you say principally M Because not only to kill is forbidden but also to hurt to beat or to doe anie other injurie whatsoeuer to the body person of our neighbor Yea Christ our Lord in the holie Gospell declaring this commandement forbiddeth also disdaine hatred rancour reuiling other like passionat behauiour and speaches which vsually are the cause roote of murders And contrariwise willeth that we be meeke and curteous procuring peace and concord with all men Of the sixt Commandement S VVHat is contained in the sixt commandement M The prohibition of adulterie is principally therein cōtained Which is to sinne with an other mans wife And for that next vnto life honour or honestie is most esteemed in this world therefore next after the commandement not to kill with great reason adulterie is forbid by which honestie is lost S Wherefore doe you say principally M Because in the ten commandements which are lawes of Iustice those sinnes are principally forbid by which injustice is more manifestly committed of which sort is adulterie But besides this all other sortes of carnall sinnes are also secondarily forbidden as sacriledge which is to sinne with a person consecrated to God incest which is to sinne with those of our owne kindred deflowring which is to sinne with a virgin fornication which is to sinne with a woman corrupted and single as a Widow or a harlot and other sortes of sinnes more abhominable which ought not so much as to be named amongst Christians S Albeit I doe beleeue that all is true which you haue saide yet I would be glad to vnderstand where vpon it is grounded that fornication is a sinne for that he seemeth not to do any harme or injurie vnto any that committeth simply fornication M It is grounded in all lawes in the law of Nature in the written lawe and in the law of Grace In the lawe of nature it is found that the Patriarch Iudas would haue put to death a woman called Thamar who had bin his sonnes wife and being now widdow was founde with childe Whereby it appeareth that in that time before the Law of Moses was giuen by the instinct of nature men did know that fornication was sinne After in the lawe of Moses fornication is forbidden in many places And in the Epistles of S. Paul wee reade many times that fornicators shall not enter into the glorie of heauen Neither is it true that fornication doth no hurt nor injurie to anie For it hurteth the same