vnderstande generally the vnlawfull takynge awaye of our neighbours goodes It appereth that whan he speke the seid wordes / Luc. vi that his meanīge was nat that it shulde be laufull to take away the goodes of his neyghbours / ne that he that they were taken fro ought nat by iustyce to aske them agayne But rather that his wordes shulde gyue occasyon to him that the goodes were taken fro / to prepare himselfe to suffre the wronge as in his herte / and to do nomore for the reuengynge of the seyde wrongfull takynge than shulde be expedyent to reforme him that dyd the wronge / and to feare other that they shulde nat do lyke offence And to that intente charitye wyll that the owner shall aske his goodes agayne Also whan oure lorde sayde to his Apostles Luce. xxii Iudas than beyng one of the apostles I haue ordeyned to you as my father hathe ordeyned to me / the kyngdom of heuen / that ye shall sytte vpon my table in my kyngdome / iugynge the twelue Trybes of Israell And it can nat be taken that our lorde mente that the kyngdome of heuen was ordeyned to Iudas For Iohn̄ .xvii. He called hī the sōne of perdicyon / and therfore the wordes that oure lorde spake in that texte / were to be vnderstande of Matthias thappostell whō oure lorde knewe shulde be chosen in the place of Iudas / and he that taketh those wordes to be vnderstande of Iudas / as well as of anye other of the apostles is farre deceyued Also the same text what soeuer ye binde c. to one intent / is construed accordynge to th entent of the maker / that is to say of oure mayster Christe / nat onely accordyng to his wordes for his intent was that suche auctoritie as he wold his disciples shuld haue therby shulde go to their successours to the ende of the worlde / and yet his wordes streche onely to the apostels selfe But for asmoche as he came to make a lawe Testamente that shulde contynue to the ende of the worlde It is conueniēt to thynke that his wordes shall be taken accordynge / for if his wordes shuld be taken to streche only to his dyscyples / than by their dethe / his wordes had ben determyned / and that had ben a thynge of a small effecte / for commynge so farre as he came / and for sufferyng so gret payne as he suffered It is no doubte therfore but that his wordes in that behalfe shall be taken to streche to their successours / and than syth his entent shal be construed more largely than his wordes streche vnto as to the contynuaunce of their auctorite / why than shall nat his intent be construed more strayte than his wordes sounde vnto / for declaryng what auctorite he wolde his discyples shulde haue especyally concernynge the power of princes / seynge that he hath declared his intent him selfe / as it shall appere hereafter that he hath done / for declaration wherof it is to be considered that there be dyuers auctorityes of Scripture / wherby it appereth that oure lorde neuer intended by his commyng in to this world to take any power fro princes / but that they shulde haue lyke power ouer their subiettes after his commyng as they hadde before and that may appere thus He sayd Luce. xx Reddite que sunt Cesaris Cesari Et que sunt dei / deo That is to say / gyue ye to the Emperoure that is his / and to god that is his And he also payde to the Emperour tribute and what power entēded he to take fro the Emperour that payd him trybute / he also refused to deuyde the inheritaūce betwyxt the .ii brethern / sayeng to them / who hath ordeyned me to be deuyder betwyxt you Math. xxii As if he had sayd though I haue power to do it yet I am nat come to execute the power / but go ye to the Emperours lawes that be ordeyned for it / he sayd also Io. xviii Regnum meum non est de hoc mundo That is to say / my kyngedome is nat of this worlde / as who sayth though I be a kynge / and that the grettest kynge that euer was / and myght take all power frō kynges and princes if I wolde / yet I come nat to execute that power / Christe also refused to be a kynge / and so by all his dedes he shewed playnly that he came nat to be a kīg ne to take away any power fro prīces that lyued in pouertye hī self / so farre vnlyke to princes / syth euery dede of Christ is an instruction to euery christen man It must nedes be so most specyally to his apostels before all other to īstructe them that they shall do as Christ dydde And furthermore to proue that the meanyng of Christ was nat that his appostels discyples shulde take anye power fro prīces by any thyng that he had spoken to thē of before He sayd to his appostles after his resurrection thus Accipite spiritum sanctū sicut misit me pater et ego mitto vos Ioh. xx Take ye the holygost as my fader hath sent me / I sende you And certayne it is that the very intente / why Christ was sente by his father into the worlde nexte to oure redēption / was to teche preche the truth / and to fulfyll the wyll of his father in mekenesse / pacyence / sufferaunce / such other / and to enduce the peple through his example and doctryne / to dispyse this worlde / to desyre the worlde to come And to the same intente Christ sente his appostles / as appereth by the seyde wordes / nat to be lyke prīces or to take power fro princes / but onely to order thynges concernynge their ministracōn / as to appoint in what bred and wyne the sacrament of the auter shal be cōsecrated such other Also it appereth Act. xiii that the holyghost appered to the ministers at Antioche as they were ministrīg to our lorde / and dilygent in fastīg And commaunded theym to sende Saule and Barnabe / into a worke that he had appoynted them to And it appereth in the same chapiter that the worke that he appoīted thē to / was to preche Ihesu the sonne of Dauid to be the sauiour of the world / how he was gyltlesse put to dethe buryed / and rose agayne the thirde daye And who can thinke but that their successoures were sente to the same purpose as they were / and nat to take vpon them many powers auctorities that many of them haue vsed in tyme past And if it be asked to what intente Christe than speke those wordes Quodcumque ligaueritis c. If he ment nat that his disciples shulde therby haue power to make lawes to ordre the people / for he speke nothing without cause It maye be answered that he gaue them auctoritie therby / to seperate euyll men for their offences /
but that all power was in Christ / in heuen in erthe / both of bodyes soules / laÌ„des and goodes / lyfe deth But it is as lytell a dout but that Christ neuer gaue al that power to his apostels nor discyples / ne yet he gaue nat to theÌ„ all the power that was in him concernynge the ministracyon of the sacramentes / wherof he commytted a right high power vnto them as to minister any of the sacrameÌ„tes but in due mater / as in water / bred / and wyne or such other / as he might haue done him selfe Ne yet he neuer graunted power vnto theym to doo myracles by their own power / as he him selfe dyd And syth he grauÌ„ted nat to them power to mynyster the sacramentes but in due matter / which if he had done / it had nat dymynisshed the perfeccyon of theire ministracyon / but gretly enlarged it It is nat to thinke that he wolde gyue them power ouer such thiÌ„ges / wherby they shulde be the more vnapte and vnable to vse the spiritual ministracyon to the people that he had gyuen vnto them as is the medelynge with temporall matters temporall busynes And howe great perell and daunger hath comen therby / as well to the hurte of their owne soules as of the soules of many other / no man knoweth but god alone And for as moch as it is verye lyke that spyrituall mynysters wyll nat frely remoue them selfe fro such Temporall power and Temporall busynesse All christen princes are bounde in conscyence aswell for the helth of the soules of all spirytuall mynysters as of all other people that they haue taken charge of / to remoue the occasyons that haue caused theym to set theymselfe so fully to the medelynge of Temporall thynges as many of theym haue done in tyme paste The .xi. reason OVr master Christ sayd to his lxxii discyplê Luc. x. He that he rech you / hereth me And vpoÌ„ these wordes this reason hath ben made / that for as moche as our lorde speke the seid wordes generally to his disciples / to whom all prestes be successours and shewed nat what tyme / ne wherin they shulde be herde / that hys wordes muste therfore be taken to be of this effecte / that he wolde that his disciples their sucessours shulde be herde and obeyed as well in thinges spyrituall as temporall / wherof it muste nedes folowe that they haue both powers / That is to saye spyrituall and temporall An answer to this .xi. reason ¶ It is to be vnderstande / that the same tyme that oure lorde speke the feyd wordes to his discyples / he seÌ„te them forth to preach in to euery cyte and place where he shuld come and at that sendynge forth he sayde to theym on this maner The heruest is great the workmen be few pray ye the lorde of the heruest that he seÌ„de workmen in to his heruest Go ye forth Lo / I sende you as lambes in the myddes of wolues / Bere neither secke / scryppe / nor shoes / and salute no man by the way In what house so euer ye eÌ„ter fyrst say / peace be to this house / and if the sonne of peace be there / your peace shall rest vpon him / and els it shall retourne agayne vnto your selfe In the same house abyde ye / eatyng drinkyng such as they haue Truly the work man is worthy his hyre / go nat fro house to house And into what cyte soeuer ye enter they receyue you / eate that is set before you / and cure the sycke folkes that be in it / saye vnto theym / the kyngdome of god shall drawe nere vnto you And iÌ„ to what cyte soeuer ye entre / they receyue you nat / ye shal go iÌ„to the stretes and saye Lo / the duste that cleueth to vs of your cyte we cast vpoÌ„ you Neuertheles knowe this / that the kyngdom of god draweth nere And thaÌ„ after certayne wordes that he speke to them concernynge suche cyties as wolde nat receyue theÌ„ / he sayd the wordê before rehersed / He that hereth you / hereth me / wherby it appereth that his meanynge was to haue the people here hys discyples whan they preached such thinges as he commaunded them to do / that is to saye That the kyngdom of god drewe nere / as if he hadde sayde Whan ye preache that I commaunded you to preache / and as I my selfe do preache of the kyngdome of heuen / and vse youre selfe as lambes amonge the people / than he that hereth you / hereth me / for ye speke in me / and I in you And thaÌ„ also all they that heare you and folowe your teachynge shall haue as moch rewarde as if they had herde me parsonally and folowed my teachynge Furthermore it is nat lyke that the meanynge of our lorde was by those wordes that his discyples shulde haue both powers spirituall and temporall for if he had entended so he wolde nat haue sent them forth so poorely as he dyd withoute secke / scryppe / or shoes / and bydde them lyue of their prechynge The effecte therfore of the seyde wordes is this That whaÌ„ preachers preche the gospell truely vnto the people declare vnder what maner the kiÌ„gdoÌ„ of heueÌ„ may coÌ„e vnto theÌ„ / that they be thaÌ„ reuereÌ„tly deuoutly herd But if they pretende to haue by that text or any other more worldly honour power / or rychesse / than our master Christ lefte vnto them / than the people ar nat bounde to obey theym in that pretence ¶ Of abusions and defautes in the clergye / concernynge the lawes of the realme The .xix. chapiter FYrst / it hathe ben a great defaute in dyuers of the clergye that they haue reported affermed in tyme paste / that the statute made in the .xlv. yere of kinge Edwarde the thirde / concernynge the tythiÌ„ge of wood that is coÌ„menly called the statute of Silua cedua / is agaynst the lawe of god And that yet nowe that some questyon hath of late ben moued thervpon / none of them endeuoreth him selfe to proue it is so / ne yet to haue the matter sette in a good cleare waye but as it semeth force lyttell / though the matter rest styll in varyaunce as it hathe done before yf it be so suffered to contynue / great varyaunce wyll folow thervpoÌ„ for the one lawe wyll that the tyth wode be payed / the other lawe clerely prohibyteth it ¶ Also it hathe ben a great defaute in many of the clergy / for that they haue made pretence in tyme paste / as wel in open sermons as in other places / that it is agaynste the lawe of god / that prestê shulde be araygned before laye men / and that yet they haue nat endeuored theÌ„selfe to shew any suffyciente auctorite to proue that it is so / clerely to stable the realme in that behalfe / but rather shew theÌ„self content
put them to answere vpon And than is there great defaute in all the clergie / that so depely hath resysted the seyde custome vppon a surmyse that is nat trewe / ne can nat be proued And where dyuers spyrituall men haue in tyme past made pretence as well in open sermons / as in other coÌ„munycatyons / that it is agaynste the lawe of god to put preestes to aunswer before laye men And for profe therof haue layde this texte Nolite taÌ„gere christos meos pÌ„ ciiii That is to saye / Touch nat my annoynted / which they applye only to prestes It is apparant that it is no lytteral exposycion / for after the letter of the seyd texte It maye as wel be applyed to kynges / yea / and to euery christen man / as to prestes And after saynte Augustyne / and saynte Hierome / there is no sence of scrypture suffycyente to proue an argumeÌ„t but only the lyterall sence ¶ The .iiii. question the .vii. cha WHether any of the constitucyons prouyncyall be againste the kynges lawes and his pÌ„rogatyue or nat And of what effecte the exposycion of master Lynwode vpon the seyde constitucyons is of The .vii. cha ♣ The answere to the .iiii. questioÌ„ IT is no dout / but that dyuers of the constitutyons prouyncyall / also of the Legantynes of Octo and Octobon / be dyrectely agaynste the kynges lawes and his prerogatyue / which can nat be here conuenyently rehersed And than it must nedes folowe / that the exposycyon made by master Lynwod vpoÌ„ the same / is againste the kinge and his prerogatyue For vpon a feble foundacyon can nat be sette a stable buyldinge / wherfore it were righte expedyent / that the seyd coÌ„stitutioÌ„s and legantines so beynge againste the kynge and his prerogatyue And the seyde expositions also shulde clerely be prohybit and rased out of the bokes / so that the younge men that shall herafter sette them selfe to studye the Canons / shall nat be disceyued therby hereafter as manye haue ben in tyme paste ¶ The .v. questyon The .viii. cha WHether the treatyse that is called Circumspecte agatis / and that is set amonge dyuers statutes of this realme as a statute / be a statute or nat The .viii. chapiter ¶ An answere to the .v. questyon THe treatise that is recited in the .v. question that is called Circumspecte agatis / is recyted in a constitucyon prouyncyall / which is in the seconde boke of the constytucyons / and begynneth Circumspecte agatis infra / in maner worde for worde as it is conteyned in the seyd treatyse / that is taken for a statute amonges the learners of the lawes of the realme / which also beginneth Circumspecte agatis / and it is recyted in the sayde Constytucyon that is was taken out of the kynges answeres But we neuer sawe any proufe that it was so And there be in the seyde treatyse dyuers thinges that be directly agaynste the lawes of the realme as it is in this poiÌ„te That prelates for fornycatyon / auoutrye / and such other may somtime assygne bodily payne / and somtyme pecunare payne And the law is / that prelates shall neuer assigne pecunary payne for correction of sin but onely at the desyre of the partie And also it is recyted in the seyde treatyse / that if the prelate of any chyrche / or his aduocate aske of a ê‘sone a pencyon / that the sute shulde be in the spyrituall courte / and the lawe of the realme is euyn to the contrary And we thinke that if it had ben a statute / that the lawe shulde neuer haue ben vsed therin so directly agaynste the statute as it hathe ben vsed And in the .xix. yere of kynge Edwarde the thirde in a writ of Annuyte brought in the kynges courte agaynst the sayde artycle of the seid treatyse It is sayde that the seyde treatyse is no statute / but that it was named so to be by the prelates And also the seyde writ of Annuytie / is iuged to be mayntenable in the kynges courte / and that is dyrectly agaynst the seyde treatyse of Circumspecte agatis / wherfore we thiÌ„ke it is no Statute ¶ The .vi. question / The .ix. cha WHether kiÌ„ge Lucyus that was the fyrste christen kynge of the Bretons / in this realme / or kynge Ethelberte that was the fyrste christen kynge of Englysshmen / hadde any lesse auctorite and power ouer their subiectes after they were christened than they hadde before whan they wer paynymes or nat The .vi questyon / The nynth chapiter ¶ An answere to the .vi. question WE neuer sawe cause why kinge Lucyus or kinge Ethelberte recyted in the seyde syxte Questyon shulde haue any lesse auctorite ouer theire Subiectes after they were Christened than they hadde before whan they were Paynymes Howebeit truth it is that after they and theyr people were conuerted / they might nat compel their people to forsake the christen faith whiche they had receyued ne to do any thinge agaynste the christen fayth / but that was no bondage vnto them ne abatynge of their power / but a great lybertye and fredome in god Wherby they their people were deliuered fro the boÌ„dage of infidelitie that they were iÌ„ before their conuersion 1. ¶ And yf anye man wyll saye that the power of Princes shulde be abatted by the wordes that oure lorde sayd to his discyples Mat. 18. What so euer ye bynde vpon erthe shal be bounde in heuyn / and what so euer ye lose vpon erthe / shal be losed in heauen And that by those wordes his disciples their successours shulde haue power to make lawes / wherby princes and their subiectes shulde be bounde / and that therfore the power of princes after the commynge of Christe was abated euyn by the lawe of god To that it may be answered that holye scrypture is nat to be expounded onely after the lytterall sence of the texte / that it is written in / but after other textes of scrypture concerning the same matter And they to be so construed and declared / that there be no coÌ„traryositie in theym / as vndoutedly there is nat / if they be well and truly vnderstande And accordynge to that sayenge there is a texte construed Luc. vi that sayth Et qui aufert que tua sunt ne repetas That is to say / If any man take fro the that is thyne / aske it nat agayne And if that texte shulde be onely taken accordyng to the sence of the same text withoute anye further decleratyon therof / than all propertie were put awaye / and lawes and iustyce concerninge goodes shulde nothing be regarded / wherby the hole commen welth shulde be distroied And therfore that it was nat thentente of our maister Christ / that the seyde wordes shulde be so vnderstaÌ„de / it appereth by the wordes that he sayde Mat. xix Non facies furtuÌ„ Thou shalte do no thefte And in that he prohybiteth thefte / wherby is
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