matter for euery vvoorke Preseruid he not mankinde and the state of al other lyuing creatures by one shippe vvherin if a mā vvil search by reason and not by Gods omnipotencie Gen. 7.8 hovve one vessell coulde holde so many couples of beastes foules vvormes c. And if it could hovv so many straūge diuers and contrary natures should agree together pynned vp in one corner it shall appere not only vvonderfull but also inpossible VVhat helpe vvas in a sorte of pore men compassed aboute vvith enemies mountaynes Exod. 14. and seas to make the vvater contrary to nature to leaue his course and as it vvere vvith a certain choise and iudgement to giue passage and safetie to the stressed and cōfusion and destructiō to the proude prince and his company Num. 20. Exod. 17. Psalm 77.15.104 he forsed the harde rocke to yelde vvater as a moste plētiful vvel at the tycke of a vvande He saued his people by the hande of a vvoman poore Deborah He aduaunced them and ouerthrevve the enemies by a poore shepherde and his sling Iud. 5. He cut of the head of the proude captayne Olophernes by the hande of avveake vvoman Sam. 17. It vvas Iudith 13. in reason a poore helpe to Sampsons strengthe Iud. 16. a nōber of heares grovving vpon his hed or an Asses iavve bone in his hande to destroye so many enemies and bring the people to libertie Iud. 15. The breaking of .300 earthen pottes Iud. 20. vvas a sclender pollycie to make so many Myriades to flee and one to kille another And to come to the greatest of al it semed to the eye of the vvorlde and the vvisdome of the fleshe very vnlyke that a poore abiect cōdempned for a traytour hanged among thefes vpō a crosse moste vylie Math. 24. gronyng and morning at the panges of death should robbe Sathan of his kyngdom restore man to the fauour of God vvynne the victory of death and make a conquest of hel and synne This cōsidered in it selfe and not taught by the spirite invvardly made the Ievves to counte it madnes and the Greekes mere folishnes 1. Cor. 〈◊〉 VVhat shoulde I saye of the meanes vvhereby as by conduites this vvater of liyfe this doctrine of Gods sonne vvas caried about the vvhole vvorlde against all reason and pollycie by idiotes to confounde the learned by symplicite all the vvisdome of the vvorlde by fysshers the fyne Philosophers the proude Pharises the myghty princes and monarkes of the earth And to come to our dayes vvhen the lyght of this Gospell vvas put out Luther and Antechrist ruled and reueled in the temple of God vvhich is mens hartes and cōsciēce armed and garded vvith the povver of Emperours Sledanus Kynges Prynces and Lavves beyond all mens expectations contrary to hope a poore frier one man at that time not the best learned through the mighty hande of God according to his vnsearcheable decree vvas able not vvith svvoorde and armour not vvith bandes of men and povver not vvith fauour of princes and prelates not vvith any helpe of man or fauour of the vvorlde to set vp the crosse of Christ to pull dovvne the chaire of Antechriste to restore Gods vvorde to banyshe the deuels Sophistrie to make of darknes lyght of lyes truthe of playne folyshnes trevve vvisdome and as it vvere an other Helena to finde out the crosse of Christ hiddē in the dungeon of deuelishe doctrine Eccle. hist li. 10. ca. 7. couered vvith the rotten bones of Romy she Martirs synfull Sayntes and cōtersaited Confessores And as vve began vvith the matter of vvomen so to returne thither againe vvith the example of a vvoman Quene Anne the instrumēt of reuiuig the gospel King Hēry VVas not Quene Anne the mother of this blessed vvoman the chief first and only cause of bany shing the beast of Rome vvith all his beggerly baggage vvas there euer in Englande a greater feate vvrought by any mā then this vvas by a vvoman I take not from kyng Henry the due praise of broching it nor from that lambe of God king Edvvard the finishing and perfighting of that vvas begon Kyng Edvvard though I giue hir hir due cōmendacion I knovv that that blessid martir of God Thomas Cranmer Byshop of Cāterbury The Bysshop of Canterbury did much trauaile in it and furthered it but if God had not gyuen Quene Anne fauour in the sight of the kynge as he gaue to Hester in the sight of Nabucadnezar Hamā and his company The Cardinall VVynchester More Rochest and other vvold sone haue trised vp Mardocheus vvith al the rest that leaned to that side VVherfore though many deserued muche praise for the helping forvvarde of it yet the croppe and roote vvas the Quene God vvorketh oft by contraries vvhiche God had endevved vvith vvisdome that she coulde and gyuen hir the minde that she vvould do it Seing then that in al ages God hath vvroughte his moste vvonderfull vvorkes by moste base meanes and shevved his strengthe by vveakenes his vvisdome by folyshnes and his exceding greatnes by mans exceding feblenes VVhat doubt vve of his povver vvhen vve lacke pollycie or mistrust his helpe vvhiche hath vvrought suche vvounders VVho is placed aboue him saieth Iob Iob. 36. to teach him vvhat he shuld do Or vvho can say to him thou hast not don iustly He sendeth a vvomā by birth vve may not refuse hir by violence He stablissheth hir by lavve vve may not remoue hir by vvronge He maketh hir a head vve may not make hir a hande or foote Nunquid contendere cum deo est eruditio saieth Iob is it vvysdome to comptrolle Gods doynges or to breake that he hath made Iob. 39. or to pulle dovvne that he hath set vp If vve vveye our ovvne vvisdome vvhat folishnes it is and considre our ovvne pollycie hovve feable it is vve shall sone leaue this quarell and yelde our selues to his vvill The children of Israels pollycie vvas to haue a king 1 Sam. 8. a iolie fellovve to rule them vvith pompe as other nacions had and not a poore Prophet for that vvas to base I doubte not they had these consideracions that our polytikes haue He must be a man of courage that the forren enemy may feare him to maynteine that vve haue and recouer that vve loste to be vvith his souldiars abroade and sitte vvith his coūsell at home But vvhat folovved this their godlie pollycie Marry non reiecerunt te sed me dicit dominus They vvould not haue the Prophet apoynted them by God as these men vvill not haue a vvoman ordeyned by nature Therfore they had akyng at their ovvne asking to their owne vndoinge If an Ape should take vpon him to comptrolle a man Man gods ape he wold not suffer it thoughe it can somwhat countrefayte mens doing No more wyll God be taughte or corrected by man though he haue a shadowe of his similitude But lest
Scripture which commaundeth a brother to be a king emong the Iewes had no relacion to a sister as these meÌ„ make it but to straungers For it followeth non constituus regem alterius gentis Thou shalt not make the a kinge of a straunge nation For the people of God hauing no neighbours that worshipped the true God as thei did could not haue chosen any straunger to be their kinge but they shoulde haue bene in daunger of swaruing from God and falling to Idolatrie And therfore was it necessary to apoynt great coate to Englande no more than you wolde apoint the English law which is the litle cote to Rome our lawe muste direct vs because it best agreeth with our country we haue no further to do with the ciuil law then in arch matters that is for testaments mariages and such other as for landes and enheritance pains for offences and many other poynts touching the law ours doth meruelously iarre with the ciuill law as we shall in some poyntes declare VVherfore to burden vs with the ciuil lawe is asmuch as if you shoulde perswade the Scottes to vse the Garamantes law to kil men at .50 and women at .40 because the countrey being somwhat barren can not wel norish such as by their age can do no greate good But that you may see that the ciuill lawe and oures agreeth like harpe and harrowe we wil confer them in a fewe poyntes And because this matter wherof we treate concerneth enheritaunce we wil first speake of inheritance In England the Eldest sonne inheriteth the sathers landes only sauing in Gauel kind And in mi opinion it is good pollicie for the continuaunce of houses For nothing soner destroieth greate houses then the deuision of then heritance as it appeareth in Germany The deuision of inheritance destroyeth noble houses and wil more hereafter to our posterity when the yong brothern shall not be made abbottes bishops and cardinals as they haue hitherto bene In the Ciuil law the children succede indifferentlye in their fathers patrimony in fendis the sonnes and in other both sonnes and daughters l. max. vit ff sancimus C. de lib. praet IteÌ„ in Autent de hered ab intest in princ et in ff 〈◊〉 et ff cum filius Iust de hered VVhere you see not only our lawe farre to disagree with this But also that the ciuil lawe graunteth enheritaunce to the females whiche you would plucke away The cyuill lawe geueth the father power ouer his childe in lyse and death specially that whiche is called Ius vetus as it aperith Le. 2. C. de par qui fil dict et le in suis Edelib et posth C. de pat ptateÌ„ But in England if any father should kill his sonne he should be try sed vp for his labor The cyuill lawe maketh the children of traytors Infames but committeth them not to perpetual prison as they do in Englande In the cyuil lawe the king or lorde of the soile T it de legtute ff lo. Ti. Iust de le app tut hath nothinge to do with wardes or tutorshippes but the next of kynne if the father in his lyfe tyme apoynte none but in our law the kyng hath the wardeship of all that holde of him in capite or knightes seruice And as it was graunted to the crowne vpon a necessary respect So must it not be pulled away VVardeships are not rashly to be pulled from the prince so longe as the same cause remaineth It was geuen him at the first in consideration of the great charges in warre and the smale reuenues that belonged to the crowne And though suche orders seme hard thorough thabusing of theÌ„ by some gredy guttes Yet the realme hauing alwaies almost contynuall warres with the Frenche or Scottes or both who so euer goeth about to pul from the crown suche helpes vnwittingly maketh a breache for the enemy to inuade vs. VVherfore I would wishe that suche as out of gods boke will comptroll the kinges exchequer should well vnderstand the matter befor he brought it into the pulpit In the ciuill lawe CoÌ„st Iust l. fin C. quÌ„d tut velcur esse desinuÌ„t the tutorshippe endith in the males at .14 yeares of age and in the females at 12. But our lawe kepeth him in nonage vntill 21. yeres The cyuil lawe by ndeth not him to marry by the force of his wardship where his Tutor wyll Lâ—nec sil Cde nup. I sisil famile si puel tut l. in coÌ„ uict C de nup. C. de nup. Marriage must be free and in his own choise and may not be compelled by his father muche lesse by this tutor But in England he tutor hath his mariage or maketh him to paye tor his libertie how that coÌ„meth to passe and how in different it is let the lawyers answer I medle no surher but to she we that it is so The cyuill lawe so sauoreth lyfe that it graunteth a traitour his aduocate to defend his innocencie L. seruuÌ„ ff publ vi castr nu 5 Bart. but in our lawe he can haue none to speake for him but him self For the fault is couÌ„ted and that iustly so heynous that it taketh froÌ„ him all maner of helpe to put other in feare Againe the cyuill lawe coÌ„dempneth no man onles he either confesse the faulte or be openly conuicte by witnes sufficieÌ„t But our lawe coÌ„mitteth it to the veredict of 12. meÌ„ indwellers in the couÌ„trey wher the trespas is coÌ„mitted The triall of capitall crimes by 12. men who pronounceth giltie if they thinke so whether he confesseth it or no and oft tymes rather vpon their own coÌ„science then ani great witnes or other euideÌ„ce This order as it was in it self at the first without corruptioÌ„ was maruelous concionable and godly and in my iudgemeÌ„t much better then the cyuil order For they to wring out the coÌ„fession of the fault coÌ„mitted are driuen to vse tormentes and to puny she before they haue tried the faulte wherein they are ofte ty mes deceaued by rackynge those whiche haue not offended and dryuinge them for paynes of tormentes to saye that they neuer did as I haue harde happened at Tubinga in the wirtenberg lande Against racking that a man was broken vpon the whele for murdring an other which after was fouÌ„d a liue the smarts of the tormentes made him to confesse it and lye of him self In monument wherof his image standeth yet in a glasse wyndowe of the churche euen as he was vpon the whele Agayne there was in Englande an Italian not longe agoo who as they saye passed thorowe all the tormentes in Venice and escaped without confessing the faulte whiche in deede he hadde committed On the other syde our The quest mongers 12. men the questmongers being indwellers in the countrey and men of skyll shall learne by the circumstannces as by the life of the maÌ„ the commoÌ„ fame of the people or their own search in the matter
whether he be suche a one or no and so without racking wresting and tormenting the deede maye be founde But in deede at these dayes it is growen to great corruptiō and that thorow one speciall meanes or two which be these If there be any noble man dwellinge in the countrey either a Duke a Marques an Earle or Baron The iuries and quests corrupted He shall lyghtlye haue in his retynewe all the cobbes in the countrey whiche be the questmōgers and if any matter be touchinge him his man or his frende whether it bee a cryme capitall or Nisi prius sent downe for landes the case shal wey as he wil. The freholders reteinours to great men For his deteynors must nedes haue an eye to my lorde though they should go to the deuill for it and so be some innocentes knyt vp and some offenders delyuered some titles of inheritaūce lost agaīst al iustice and right Another is if my lord wyll not offend the Statute of retynewe then must the hyghe Shrife be his frende And the vnder thefe vndershrise I should saye his man He empaneleth the quest either suche as dare not displease my lorde or for good will will not And so that way betwixt the highe these and vnderthese my L. and the curstmongers The corruption of the Sherifs poore mē are out weyed This corruption if it be not loked to wil not make this order whiche was the best that could be to be the wickedst that can be But as I sayde in it selfe me thinke it hath much more iustice equytie and indifferencie then the cyuill or rather cruel rack hath If I should peruse and compare all poyntes wherein ours differ from the cyuill and shewe that for our countrey it is muche meeter I should neuer make an ende VVherfore these shal be sufficient to shewe that you must brynge our owne weyghtes to weye our matters by and not straungers or els we must take you for an euell Clarke of the markett Therfore if you will iudge well of our municipall matters you muste let vs alone with our own coate and geue the great boye his Nowe I passe to certen inconueniences whiche are thought to come of womens rule The incōueniences that folovve vvo mens rule The first Many inconueniences do commonly followe the rule of women and their enheritinge of kyngdomes as the losse of holdes and auncient possessions as experience teacheth of late daies by the departing from Hams Guisnes and Calyce with all that we hadde in Fraunce besides the daungeringe of the realme to be gouerned by straūgers which thing of late was muche feared and not vnlyke to happen For the first it is to trewe that in that womās reigne Englande was put to a sore plunge through hir wylfulnes which wold moue warre when she might haue bene at peax vpon no iust cause but because as you wold haue her she wold shew her a louing worme and an obediente wife rather then a catefull gouernes That follye was accidente to her person England hath hitherto taken greater losse by mens rule then by vvomens and not proper to her sexe But admit it to be throughe the fault of a woman haue we not had as greate and greater by men who loste olde Brytaine to Iulius and the Romaines men Vvho loste it againe to the Saxons men Of whom wone it VVilliam conquerour of men who lost it to the Danes mē who lost Normandie Brytanie Gascoigne and Guine and al our right in Fraunce men who lost Bulloigne Bullenois and all the rest a man VVho killed the Scottish King when Henry 8. was in Fraunce a woman or at the least her army who brought in the light of gods worde into Englande a woman who lighteth now again the candle after it was put oute a woman whereby it is euident that we haue not yet so muche cause to complaine of losse by them as by men And in oure histories whiche we haue before cited wee maye see manye common welthes by women enlarged or at the leaste well preserued but fewe ey ther muche weakened or vtterlye destroyed Onles you tell me of the destruction of Troye which notwithstandinge was rather thorowe the follie of Paris then anye rule of Helena and as for thys losse we haue nowe I doubte not but as the olde fathers are wonte to saye that as by a woman came death so by a woman was broughte fourthe life In like manner as bi a womans whether negligence or misfortune I wote not we haue taken this woūd so bi anothers diligence and felicitie we shal haue it againe healed If euerye man coulde perswade him selfe of as good successe by her as I do my selfe I doubte not but the Frenche and the Scottes bothe shoulde haue theyr handes full I praye God oure vnthanckfulnes make vs not to fare the worse The .2 inconuenience The next and greatest incōuenience and daunger to be feared is that if a woman inherit the realm by mariage shall be transserred to straungers A greate matter I confesse if it so bee yet GOD maye do with his owne what he liste Scitote saith the Prophet quia deus est dominator in regno hominum et ipsius regnum est cuicunque vult dabit illud if he will translate it Ecclesi 10. who can let it Yea in another King Henries daies And some translation and ioigning of realmes maye turne to muche good and the wealth and tranquilitie of many As if we had had a Kinge for your Quene or you a King for oures it had bene a goodly translacion to haue vnited bothe realmes in dominion regiment and law as thei be in nature lāguage ād maners I suppose a great dele better for your coūtry thē as it is now thus to be matched yea subiected and slaued to the proudest vntruest and the mooste tirannicall nacion The heny yokes of the french vnder the sonne I except not the Spaniardes whose dominion the Italians in Millane Naples Scicilie and elsse where can muche better brouke and abide then the light and inconstant French Caesar in comment as Cesar calleth them If you and we had ioigned together it had made no great matter on which side the kinge had bene so he had bene religious I graunte if all thinges answer it is better ioignynge at home then chusing abrode As if he be no verye base or meane person if he loue and feare God if he be of the same religion The orna mentes of an honieborie ma. indued with good and commendable qualities of wisdome Iustice Manhode Temperaunce giftes of languages knowledge of Countries pitifull mercifull constaunte sobre no hearer of flatterers continent not prodigal but liberal no extorcioner c. Such a one if God shoulde lot any Quene were to be preserred to any abrode Onles all these myght be found in a straunger and therto iouned nobilitie and auncientnes of lynage and the nation beyng such as vse not to rule