matters of their soules the honorable groundes of our fayth the maiestie of Christe of God hym selfe Is it lyke that God wyll powre there his spirite of trueth of puritie where suche lyes such fyltynes is kept in store where mere malice wryteth and slaunder so doth aduaunce her selfe Surely the longer suche men write in this sort the farther of they dryue indifferent conscionable men from them and the more earnestlye prouoke the weake men to reuenge their spyte in them selfe and in their frendes the more prouoke they some men to vse some bitternesse againe and to put abrode in syght that whiche otherwyse myght haue ben kept in scilence Which for that stories be coÌ„mon though some yet in fewe mens handes so farre as the reuelation may make to extoll gods glorie his trueth and veritie to make the blynde worlde to see somewhat except they be altogether blynde is some mens intendement rather peraduenture prouoked then sought of purpose so to weare out the vaine tyme of this pilgrimage tyll the sonne of man shal come Vt auferat omnia scandala omnes iniquitates qui reddet vnicuâ—que secundum opera sua iustus iudex But a gods name why shoulde they make this their doctrine of transubstantiation and grosse presence to be so newe that Berengarius must be the first auctour most vntruely so faced out Where auncient recordes proue so farre the contrarie and setteth out suche the true doctrine so to be vrged and appoynted both for priestes in their synodes for religious in their collations for the common people in their orderlye exhortations expressed in Homylees of a great number extant in Saxon speache for all the festiuall dayes in the yere which written were so vsed many a yere before Beringarius was borne or hearde of So that the bishoppes of olde may aswell be charged to be Caluanistes yf the assertion be so considered aswell as the bishoppe of Sarum or any bishoppe at these dayes And aswell maye that learned archbishop Rabanus Maurus be charged to be a Caluanist beyng in the yere of our Lorde 808. because his opinion was agaynst the scolasticall transubstantiation affirmyng that the materiall parte of the sacrament is turned to the noryshment of our bodies and therfore saith he is the bread called the body of Christe because as the bread doth noryshe the body so Christes body norysheth the soule and because the wine worketh blood in the fleshe therfore it is to be referred to the blood of Christ. This to be Rabanus iudgement is so aduouched by the auctour who dyd abridge Amalarius booke wrytyng de ordine Romanae ecclesiae Whiche Amalarius in the begynnyng of his seconde booke doth shewe the cause why of olde tyme emonges the Romanes the lessons were read in Greke and also in Latine as it is at this day vsed saith he at Constantinople for two causes One for that there were present Grecians to whom was vnknowen the Latine tongue and also for that the Romanes were present to whom was vnknowen the Greke tongue an other cause to expresse the vnitie of both nations So that the sayde Amalarius may be witnesse that in the olde tyme the lessons of the scriptures were so read in the Churche as by the readyng the people myght vnderstande to their edification But as concernyng the sayde Rabanus it is not vnlyke that he had receaued his iudgement from his maister Alcquine an olde Englyshe wryter whose auditor he was and Alcquine agayne sometyme auditor of Bede as Tritemius testifieth Wherevpon to consider the iust computation of yeres it is not vncredible but that such faith towardes the sacrament which we nowe professe was in the Realme before the conquest and so continued tyl Lanfranckes dayes And for all the examinations and executions which were done in the Englyshe Churche afterwarde by diuers Ordinaries in the Realme yet from age to age it was reteyned and men founde for holdyng that auncient fayth by their inquisitions though cruelly brente in such mercie as of late was shewed to poore christian men women and chyldren wherein the order of their doyng ouer that article was alwayes vrged and charged vpon them whiche they woulde condempne for heretiques though their greatest greefe was to heare of those contemned persons other practises of their lyues and religion so dispised and reproued but thinking by laying that cause of the sacrament to their charge it would compel al other men to beleue them to be heretiques and worthyly brent But God doth open men eyes better to iudge then before was knowen God graunt for such knowledge men may be thankfull to God in their lyues and conuersations But to returne agayne to the matter purposed and to walke in the wyde discourse of testimonies and examples whiche myght be brought in to proue both bishoppes and priestes as haue ben in matrimonie in this Realme before the conquest the recordes whereof howe enuiously so euer haue ben suppressed rased defaced yet remaine enough of that sort to proue the fact though the scriptures fayled to be brought forth for triall of this trueth And to aleage the stories of other countreys what bishoppes and priestes of great fame and learning haue ben of this state openly aduouched and commended were a matter of greate largenesse the numbers be so many and therfore the matter to be but needelesse to such as haue any meane syght in stories So that to rude and vnlearned persons who esteeme al thinges newe which they haue no remembraunce of or haue not ben of late dayes in vre were not worthy any more to be written And yet to the learned or suche as make moste bragge of learnyng all this to muche especiallye yf they be suche as haue eyes to see and wyll not see and eares wyll not heare heartes and wyll not vnderstande and therefore let it suffise them whose consciences be fearefull and woulde gladly be enfourmed of the trueth at the least waye to serue their turne whose cause it is to serue God in a pure conscience in the lawfull vsage of his institution not vnlawfull for them and geue their humble thankes to God and let enuious men barke what they can against it For whyle the Gospell shall haue any credite or estimation they shal neuer preuayle after so much lyght of gods worde shewed to beate downe this institution of God free for all maner of persons by the libertie of the Gospell as all other creatures of tyme and place be made for mans necessitie and comfort And yf men crye out agaynst the vnhonest or vnlawfull abuse of Gods institution in any person I wyshe with them that the abuse were by lawe and decree refourmed But good men wyshe the libertie therof no more worthy to be taken awaye in it selfe then they thynke reasonable to be plucked from them any other such benefite of God erected and instituted by his diuine ordinaunce to the represse of fylthynes other abhomination not to be commonly rehearsed though to commonly
realme my mynde is not to haue any one man to misconceiue ought of the highest aucthorities in this matter I would wishe for your owne sakes that some other could so well bee discharged I meane some certaine aswell of the Laie fee Phil. ii as of the Clergie Qui in hoc negotio suum penitus negotium agunt quae sua sunt querunt noÌ„ que Iesu Christi non que ecclesiae non principis non regni That is who in this matter handle their owne businesse seekyng their owne gaine not Iesus Christes not the Churches not the princes not the Realmes And I appeale here to diuerse Spirituall ministers and to all their adherentes and instigators of whom some be bothe iudges and parties and the thyng iudged wonne to them selues where thei seeme to haue it muche for their defence that there hath been no examples that euer priestes maried after order What example haue thei in stories before time that depriuations haue been thus handeled before our daies I will not speake of particular cases M. Richard Wilkes M. Bradford Nicholas Bullingham Doctor May A greate nomber D. Ponnet D. Tailor D. Parker where some men haue been depriued neuer conuicte no neuer called Some called that were faste locked in prison and yet neuerthelesse depriued immediatly Some depriued without the case of mariage after their order Some induced to resigne vpon promise of pention and the promise as yer neuer performed Some so depriued that thei were spoiled of their wages for the whiche thei serued the halfe yere before and not tenne daies before the receipte sequestred from it Some preuented from the halfe yeres receipt after charges of tenthes and subsidie paied and yet not depriued sixe weekes after Some depriued of their receipte somewhat afore the daie with the whiche their fruictes to the Queenes Maiestie should bee contented and some yet in the like case chargeable hereafter as I heare saie if the Queenes mercifull grace be not informed thereof by mediation of some charitable sollicitour But I saie without the compasse of all suche particular cases what example haue thei in tymes paste that their owne lawes haue been thus executed depriuations so spedelie so headely without warnyng without election offered to be executed Wée read that Pope Pelagius the second made this offer to the Subdeacons that either thei should put awaie their wiues or els if thei would retaine theim still to forgoe their benifices And for that thei thought neither nother reasonable and would not agree to suche condition the saied Pope in his anger commaunded by decree that thei should bee diuorsed from their wiues as Polidore writeth Polidorus Exemplo post homines natos importunissimo An example saieth he moste insolent and damnable that euer was seen since the firste man was borne Whiche decree Gregorie the firste nexte immediately followyng thought to be very vnreasonable and contrary to Christes precept and therefore did eftsones release it We reade in our Chronicles and recordes of Englishe proceadynges how that Munkishe Archebishop Dunston DuÌ„stanus quasi rex râ—gis imperator est effectus c. thondered out yet neuer so boisterously nor lightned so terriblie to depriue the maried seculer Priestes in Winchester Worcester Elie and suche other places that he proceded flatlie to depriuation without conditions and respites offred or without forme of iudgement graunted Sâ—premnem ei poenitenciam iâ— dixit vt in toto hoc spatio coronaÌ„ regni non gestarâ—â— Antoninus in croniâ—is parte â— titulo 16. ca. 6. pag. 3. c. though he had king Edgar at those daies in neuer so muche awe to doe what he lusted And for redemption of his penaunce for a little wantonnesse made hym to stablishe no more but seuen and fourtie Abbeies with further promise to make theim vp to the number of fiftie to counteruaile cleane remission of the yere of Iubiley howe able soeuer he was to keepe hym seuen yeres from his Coronation as Fabian writeth yet he restrained his abilitie in this case of the Priestes how faine so euer he was to bryng in his Monkes in their places For we reade in a verie auncient written storie that in his firste summonynges to suche priestes bothe awarded by particuler citacions as also vttered in sinodall conference he vsed these verie wordes Aut canonice inquit est viuendum aut de ecclesijs exeundum Ether saithe hee muste ye liue accordyng to the canons or els must ye go out of your churches And then it followeth in the storie Ex quo factum est vt complurimi ecclesiarum clerici dum contemnerent proposita conditione corrigi authoritate pontificis sunt expulsi monachi introducti Whereupon folowed that for that the clarkes of verie many churches refused with that offred condition to be reformed by aucthoritie of the Bishoppe thei were expulsed and Monkes there entered That is to saie as in Fabians chronicle euill Priestes excluded and worse MoÌ„kes receaued When this was thus in doyng the matter was presented to the Kyng his Nobles on the behalf of the Priestes suing by supplication that their matter might be heard It foloweth in the storie Dunstanus itaque hijs que rationabiliter postulabantur contraire nolens coacto concilio Ex veteri historia Eliensis ecclesiae ex Antonino c Ioannes Capgraue in vita Dunstani wintoniaÌ„ venit Vbi ex sententia totius concilij de aduersarijs victoriam cepit Intererat tantae controuersiae Brithnodus sanctae Eliensis ecclesiae primus abbas cuÌ„ cetera religiosorum turba auxilium de celo non de terra a deo non ab hominibus praestolabantur Cumque inimici domini ex iure nihil sibi superesse conspicerent vsi auxilio regis principum ad preces se conuertunt quibus ipsum flagitant quatenus intromissae personae de ecclesiis expellantur expulsae restituantur DubitaÌ„te igitur viro dei nulluÌ„que ad rogata responsum porrigente res mira seculis inaudita coÌ„tigit Ecce corporis duÌ„i forma ex lapide incisa vexillo crucis ifixa atque iÌ„ editiore domus parte locata humanos exprimens modos oiÌ„m voces compescuit dicens Absit hoc vt fiat Absit hoc vt fiat iudicastis benè mutaretis non benè Ad quam vocem rex omnesque maiores ferè vsque ad halationem spiritus perterriti clamore pariter dei laudatione areaÌ„ compleÌ„t c. That is to saie Dunstan therefore not mindyng to goe againste this petition whiche was so reasonablie requested gathered a Councell and came to Winchester where he had the victorie of the aduersaries by the iudgement of the whole Councell At the debatement of whiche greate controuersie Brithnodus the firste Abbotte of Elie was presente with all the other multitude of Monkes and waited and looked for helpe from heauen and not from the yearth from God and not of man And when the enemies of God perceiued that
allowe his counsailes and doynges and make as it were of an olde Iudas a newe Christe Here had I a greate fielde to walke in describyng these dissemblers with princes and with suche realmes where thei beare rule but wee will ceasse to vtter their deseruynges and returne again to that matter whiche doeth more properly appertaine to the argumeÌ„t of our writyng and therefore will resume that was begonne in the .32 leafe B. continued vnto .35 B. before sm that the Apostles had their wiues as all writers aunciente confesse the same and all reasonable men will agree thereto Now if it can be borne of mennes eares to heare that the Apostles had wiues why should this aucthor by his tragical exaggerations make it so odious for Bushoppes and Priestes the apostles successors to haue their lawfull wiues I thincke he will not saie that the beste of his chaste Priestes be better then the Apostles Againe to consider what Paphnutius saied and counsailed for the priestes of his tyme not to be seperated and that it is chastitie to company with their wiues and that to seperate them might be an occasion of great inconueniencie in them bothe If in that holy tyme whan God was truely honored his worde and Sacramentes moste holyly ministred Priesthode was then in greate high estimation and that in maried priestes and bushops as by name shall be hereafter expressed why doeth this aucthour so stifly crie for seperation in Priestes married nowe sequestred by power and not by right from ministration wher thei of Nicene were suffered with them in ministratioÌ„ If like perill may bee feared in the parties now coupled together why should thei be seperated more then the other If their Sacramentes were none other nor holier then oures their worde none other then that we haue why maie not oure order stand with mariage as well as thers If lyke necessitie of Ministers in this realme be as great as hath been in other places where maried Priestes did minister and yet doeth in some places of the Occidentall Churche Why shoulde this wryter exclame so vnlearnedly againste Englishe Priestes mariage as though it were not decent nor tollerable but against Goddes lawe and mannes law liyng against them bothe and saiyng that order and Matrimonie that a wife and a benefice can not stand together And in the bolsteryng out of this matter is almoste all his booke emploied againste antiquitie against the practise of the primatiue Churche against the worde of God wrytten againste the practise of tolerations in the lyke case of diuerse counsailes and deâ—rees of the Busshops of Rome as shall be proued when it cometh to place I truste this Ciuilian is not yet so addicte to the Canonicall procedynges that the matter lieth onely in this poincte that if the Bushop of Rome allowed the matter all were well for me thinke so he can not meane For if his assertions be true he must proue the Bushoppes of Rome diuerse of them to be very Antechristes if thei haue dispensed against Goddes expresse woordes yea he must condempne a great many of Canonistes and of scholemen and a greate many of Catholike writers traueilyng in controuersies of this tyme whiche peraduenture hath read as muche in Diuinitie and Canon lawe as I thinke this Ciuilian hath doen in his Ciuill whiche bee of cleane contrary assertion to this singular man But yet I heare this writer obiecte againe suche an obiection as was once made by a Canonist in the expending of this verie poincte Distingue tempora saieth he personas concordabis leges Canones Weye the difference of tyme and of persones and so shall ye make the lawes and Canons agrée Then was then and now is now For the case saieth he is farre vnlike betwixte the priestes of the Greke Churche whiche were maried before thei were priestes and the priestes of our Churche time whiche he maried after their order And this he thinketh to be an high wittie inuention and insoluble and by this shifte he pronounceth the victorie of the cause before any stroke bee striken standyng stoutely in the difference of the tyme mariage to goe before order or to come after To answere if it be true as he can not deny but that it was not lawfull by their saiynges of the Counsaile of Nice to bee separated by Lawes and constrainte and that it was chastitie for the busshoppes and priestes to kepe company still with their wiues yea when thei were ministeryng busshoppes and priestes in an other maner attendaunce and holinesse then the best chast busshoppes and priestes of our tyme practise in their doynges so that by their iudgement the one state dishonored not thother nor was impediment to the other as hereafter shal be proued by the testimonie of their owne Canonistes and Doctors what difference is there in the substaunce of the order in them of the primitiue or Greke churche and in the priestes of this Latine churche and Occidentall churche but that order and matrimonie maie stand together in one figure in them bothe As for vowe or promise shall bee hereafter considered open protestation or no protestation chastitie of congruitie dependyng or included by the nature of order or for the Churche constitution shall be hereafter answered and expended Now I saie if the priestes of the Greke Churche liued godly in ministration with their wiues why maie not the priestes of the Occidentall churche be iudged to liue as godly in Matrimonie and as lawfully to in Englande hauyng the highest Lawe in the realme on their side But here this doctor will be offended to haue any thing brought in for declaration of this cause out of Grece and maketh a greate matter that men should so doe and repelleth al their doing thus what is that saith he to the matter are not we of an other territorie and iurisdiction If I should answere you so master doctor with your owne obiectioÌ„ then might it bee a full sufficient answere by it self a lone to all your whole booke to saie when ye bryng Romishe Canons out of Spaine out of Fraunce out of Grece I might so answere you what bee all these to the matter are not we of an other territorie and iurisdiction When ye alledge from Prouinciall coÌ„stitutions Sinodes nationall lawes of Emperours Ciuile and Panim lawes what are all these to the matter of our Imperiall lawes are not we of an other territorie and iurisdiction And thus your booke is fully answered and ye may now put vp your pipes with al your choristers of forren Lawes and Canons Moreouer in the seuen Chapiter ye also saie that it bewraieth the weakenesse of the cause for priestes to wander into Grece to bryng in their maner of liuyng of mariyng orderyng If that declareth the weakenesse of the cause I praie you then what is the strength of the cause ye haue taken in hande For ye be not content to raile and wander ouer all the Realmes and Churches of Europe but ye runne
votum negatiuum Now saie thei the priest if he Marrie he surely breaketh his vowe and is in great daunger but if he committe but adulterie or fornication he breaketh no vowe for he vowed but the abiuration of Mariage and no refusall of fornication though peraduenture Chastitee maie bee thought to be annexed to his order by some scrupulous Pope-holy obseruation But yet in greate disputation emong theim whether single fornication be sinne or no and greate argumentes pro contra and long occupied in the Schooles yet at the worste he breaketh no vowe nor is any heretique as the Prieste that taketh a wife Suche conclusions beyng so openly expressed in summarie bookes it is no maruaile though thei repente so seldome and though thei them selues can not trust well one an other of chaste liuyng For Nicholas Panormitan beyng an head Lawier and in chief aucthoritie emong them sawe so little cause by his experience to bee out of suspition towarde the Clergie that he geueth a rule to spirituall iudges in this cause saiyng that an othe maie neuer be geuen to hym of whom maie bee taken a vehement suspicion that he will breake it and there vpon geueth a greate charge to the Ordinarie that he compell not the Clergie to sweare to forsake their Concubines the Iudge synneth deadly saieth he to offer and exacte suche othes And Alexander the third Extra de cohab cleri mulie prescribeth it as a Lawe that the Clergie ought not to bee compelled to abiure their concubines Thei bothe sawe what presumptions might be taken that thei would neuer forsake them yea there is nothyng more earnestly restrained in their Canons then that any Priestes should haue any womeÌ„ in their houses where at the tyme of Nicene Counsaile and in Ciprians daâ—es thei were yet contented that priestes had in their houses their mothers their doughters or sisters or their wiues but yet no maide beside So in the latter daies it was decréed in a Counsaile at Magunce that thei should haue neither sister aunte nor mother in their companie For saieth the Counsaile it is well knowen that by the instigation of the Deuill abhomination hath been committed with theim Thus though theim selues were neuer of that belief for thei sawe by inuincible experience alwaie the contrary so that thei could not truste thereto them selues yet the laitie muste beleue their chastitée to be of the old auncient faithe of the churche that thei maie not bee euill thought of and so commaunded by Nicholas the first in his rescriptes Tit. 14. de presbyteri distinct 28 consulenduÌ„ de presbyteris Vobis qui laici estis nec iudicandum est nec de vita eorum quicquam inuestigandum Of the priestes you that be laye people maie not once iudge of theim nor yet to make any serche of their liues And to proue that it was the common faithe many hundreth yeres ago and so accepted by the examples of the higheste potentates of the worlde as of one of the moste and firste Christian Emperours that euer was or euer shall bee thus it is there written what he would dooe if he sawe a Busshoppe lye in bedde with an other mannes wife as Nicephorus telleth the storie In scripturis narratur Constantinum Imperatorem dixisse Vere si vidissem proprijs oculis sacerdotem dei c. peccantem chlamidem meam expoliarem cooperirem eum ne ab aliquo videretur c. It is tolde in the scriptures that Constantine the Emperor said thus Truely if I should see with myne owne eyes Goddes Prieste or any of those that bee in the habite of Religion to sinne I would doe of my clocke or purple Robe and would couer hym that no man should se him Lo this ConstaÌ„tine was our countrie man the rather should Englishe menne be good to Priestes Concubines I thinke it would be a greate while ere this holy Martin of his Ciuilitée would extende his charitee so farre as to cast to poore maried priestes any parte of his cloke to couer their lawfull Matrimonie from the eyes of enuious and ignoraunt people as this Emperour of his charitée would couer the Priestes harlottes But it maketh no matter seyng that Elie the Prophet hath caste downe the cloke of Gods woorde to defende the maried Priestes from the colde frosen hartes of wicked ignoraunte Lawiers and captious Sophisters Thei neede care the lesse to come vnder his patched beggars Cloke But let vs heare what is more saied to the aduauncemente of the catholike faithe The self same Constantine beyng presidente in the holie Counsaile of Nice when he heard that there should be brought to hym coÌ„plaintes of certaine Bushoppes saied openly Vos a nemine diiudicari potestis quia ad dei solius iudiciuÌ„ reseruamini Ys maie not be iudged of any man for ye bée reserued to the iudgemente of God a lone which catholike saiyng sainct Gregorie reporteth to Maurice the Emperoure with some further circumstaunce thus The Ecclesiasticall storie saieth he witnesseth that when there were presented certaine libelles of accusation againste certaine Busshoppes to Constantine of Godlie memorie he tooke them in his handes Not the Bushoppes but the Lâ—bels and he called the self same bushoppes before hym and castyng them into the fire saied goe ye and order your owne Counsailes emong your selues Ego vos non iudicabo a quibus debeam ipse iudicari I will not geue iudgemente ouer you of whom I ought in myne owne persone to be iudged For it besemeth not our worthinesse that we should iudge Gods In whiche senteÌ„ce saith Gregorie he wrought hym self more honor by his humilitée then he did to theim to whom he shewed suche reuerence Although yet my Lorde of Winchester write quam vocem presentis reuerentia virtutis non potestatis aliquaÌ„do expresserat whiche saiyng declared more the humilitée of his preseÌ„t vertue then expressed the truthe of his aucthoritie The vtteryng of whiche his affection ought not so to be forced saieth my lorde that ye should mocke out or defeate the charge committed by God to the Princes aucthoritie Dioretus lib. i. cap. xx reporteth an other maner of saiyng by hym spoken whereof thei liâ—â—e to make no greate boste to the Bushoppes of Nicomedia Si habemus Episcopos castos orthodoxos humanos gaudemus si quis audacter inconsulteque ad memoriam ac laudem pestiuÌ„ illarum exarserit illius statim audatia ministri dei hoc est mea executione coercebitur If we finde the Bushops chaste catholique and curteous we will be glad but it any will boldly and rashely reuiue again by his furiousnesse the pernicious examples that be paste his presumption shall bee restrained by iuste execution of my self that am Goddes minister But these saiynges bee nothyng so pleasaunt nor so often vttered of Emperours and kynges as that other whiche Pope Paule the thirde in his admonition to Charles Emperour that now is could repeate again as his predecessours hath alwaies been wonte
and an auncient writer in the Churche whiche if he be then be you a yong fonde and a newe starte vp wrangeler But because ye be a Lawier I shall reporte you a Counsaile and a Lawe to that vseth this propositioÌ„ vniuersally and not within suche narrowe limittes as ye driue it vp euen a counsaile of Spaine holden at Tollet the seconde Counsaile the firste Chapiter in the v. yere of their kyng Amalrike and aboute the tyme of Pope Ihon the seconde whiche is a reasonable Canon in respecte bothe for the age of him that is receiued to order also for the libertie that is geueÌ„ either to abide or to recede froÌ„ his purpose of subdeacoÌ„ship or deaconship Hijs auÌ„t quibus voluntas propria interrogationis tempore desiderium nubeÌ„di persuaserit coÌ„cessam ab Apostolo licentiam i. Cor. vii auferre non possumus But as from those who by their owne proper will are perswaded and haue a desire to marrie at the tyme of their examination we caÌ„ not take awaie from theim that libertée that is graunted theim by the Apostle I praie you what other sentence or license is concluded in the seuenth Chapiter in the section a but this propter fornicationem autem vnusquisque vxorem suam habeat c. For the aduoydyng of fornication let euery man haue his wife And in the Lawe ye shal finde the self same againe reported Dist. 28. de hijs where the gloser saieth thus vpon the verie place Quod ergò de iure coÌ„muni competit negandum non est The benefite of the common lawe maie be taken awaie from no man Moreouer Chrysostome vpoÌ„ that place Bonum est homini mulierem non tangere it were good for a manne not to touche a woman Where as he saieth some would haue it applied perticularly vpon Priestes he saith vpon the consideration of the circumstaunce of the place that it is not so particularly to bee taken but vniuersally and concludeth non ergo sacerdoti dum taxat hoc dicitur this is not spokeÌ„ to the priestes onely Which discourse foloweth immediatly vpoÌ„ that place brought in by the saied maister Martin vpon whiche wordes Theophilact writeth thus Bonum eximia res est cuiuis mortalium nec soli sacerdoti promde ac nonnulli malè intelligunt mulierem non attingere sed virginem permanere Tutior autem nostramque plurimum imbecillitateÌ„ adiuuans est matrimoninij res Et postea quia si se non continent nubant vides sapientiam Pauli quomodo meliorem moÌ„stret esse continentiaÌ„ nec interim tamen cogat si quis non possit vt ne peius flagitium committatur Si enim multam inquit vim sustinet vstionem magna enim concupiscentiae tyrannis est discede a laboribus istis ne quando subuertaris It is a good and an excellent thyng to euery man in the worlde not to touche a woman but to continue a virgine and that not onely to the Prieste as many men doe euill vnderstande it Notwithstandyng the matter of Matrimonie is more sure for it helpeth verie muche our weakenes And vpon that place if thei conteine not lette them marrie the said Theophilact noteth thou seest the wisedome of Paule how he sheweth that continencie is better and yet notwithstanding he compelleth not thereto if any manne can not and that leaste worse inconuenience should bee committed For if he suffereth muche violence saiethe he and brennyng for surely the tyranny of concupiscence is greate recede from those labours least thou beest ouerthrowen at any time Then maister Martin vpoÌ„ these two old writers saiynges I argue If Paule did write this matter aswell to priestes as to Laie men then either must ye grauÌ„t that sainct Paule would priestes then maried for feare of fornication should retaine still their wiues whiche thei had married already or els that priestes vnmaried muste for auoidyng fornication get them wiues Whiche whether soeuer ye graunte is the subuersion of the moste parte of all your whole booke In chroni abb vrspergensis But will ye heare what Huldaricus Bushoppe of Augusta writeth to Nicholas the firste of whom ye maie here your name He reciteth the text Propter fornicationem dixit Vnusquisque suam vxorem habeat ê™ specialiter ad laicos pertinere mentiuntur hypocritae qui licet in quouis sanctissimo ordine constituti alienis reuerav xoribus non dubitant abuti ê™ flentes cernimus omnes in supradictis saeuiunt sceleribus Hi nimirum noÌ„ rectè scripturam intellexerunt cuius maxillam quia durius pressere sanguinem pro lacte biberunt For fornication he said let euery man haue his wife Which saiyng and confession to perteine specialy and onely to the laye folke is a plaine lye of the Hypocrites which in what holy order soeuer thei be set yet without boubt thei force not to abuse other mennes wiues And these be thei whiche doe rage in the forsaied crimes sc of abusing their fathers wiues to vse the filthie occupiyng of mankinde and of brute bestes which filthines we can not beholde saieth he but with weeping teares These bee thei whiche doe not vnderstand the scriptures aright whose breastes whiles thei presse so harde thei sucke out cruell blood in the stede of sweete milke And further in the ende of his Epistle chargeth theim with the crime of heresie that inioyne suche constrained Chastitée where ye affirme Chap. ix.q.x. that thei were all heretikes that did continue with their wiues whiche thei had maried before their orders And here to preuente your cauilation where ye might saie that I should haue gone a litle further with this bushops writyng for sooth I answere I would all the whole were written in Englishe that laye menne might see how it maketh for you that would haue Priestes diuorsed For the whole Epistle is an vtter confutation of youre booke But sir till hereafter stande vpon that whiche followeth as strongly as ye can and yet shal ye neuer be able to extende that saiyng vpon seculer priestes ordered in England who haue made no profession or vow of perpetuall chastitie But ye will replie vpon occasion of Chrysostome Theoqhilact saiynges before rehearsed that this former text Bonum est mulierem non tangere it is good for a man not to touche a woman to belong aswell to the laye man as to the priest But this saiyng for avoidyng fornication let euery man haue his wife to pertaine to laie menne onely whiche yet Huldarichus sheweth the contrarie Sir if ye bee so harde for nigardshippe to holde the priestes to the straite of the first sentence and not to giue them the libertie of the sentence followyng I weene ye will be answered of the priestes maried and vnmaried as seruanntes in the countrie will answere their nigard maisters that will ioygne them to fast on the vigils in haye seile and haruest That is if we be compelled to fast in the vigill precedyng we will suerly make
maner of fastynges but mere hypocrisie yea worse then hypocrisie in such circumstaunces as ye haue many a daie vsed them dare pronoūce with Chrisostome inueiyng against the iewes fastyng that your fastinges be worse then very dronkennesse Thei call your filthie fained chastitie a bandie Sodomiticall carelesse liuing As the practise declareth to manifest to stande in to proue Thei call al suche as haue not the gifte by their yerely experience séeth the impossibilitée not frō chastitée but from filthines of brutishe buggery and boyly bestlynesse to mariage chastitée Ye neuer red or hard of any suche writers suche as ye would slaunder to the worlde I saie of the knowen and comonly approued writers out of Germanie But that dothe excite the readers in their bookes to Godly and oft prayour to pure abstinence from all excesses and to a christian mortification of all their vices and affections to continencie and soole liuyng if God will so haue them to serue hym in that state And if God by the experience of them selues vnfainedly calleth them to wedlocke as to a remedie of their infirmitie or a domesticall comfort in their hospitalitée thei counsel with all the doctours of the Churche to take the surest waie to saue their soules Although the saied old authors were the most part of them very vntreatable to remitte that discipline but when very necessitee moued conscience to remitte the rigour of their saied Canons In dede the old fathers and their Clergie had a greate oportunitie by the maner of their liuyng to bée further from daunger of temptatiōs to haue the more professors and kepers of their chastitée then the state of this world wil suffer Yea suche a Clergie as ye will frame here in the realme and for all their diligent discipline and calling on yet how oft do thei complaine of the nombers of them whiche liued to the slaunder of the rest In deede it can not be denied that thei had great zeale to liue in virginitee and soole life when the fathers in Nicene Counsaill and some other councels after that decreed that all suche as should geld naturally themselues should not be receiued into the Clergie Belike Paphnutius was moued in conscience vpon the knowledge he had of them that came single to the state of order whom the old traditions of the Churche charged so to liue not to agree to suche lawe where thei would haue constituted that married priestes should absteine from their wiues and so to ieopard a greater nomber in this fier of temptation he was contēt to saue yet some parte of the house from daunger of the fier though he could not saue the whoole Affirmyng that it was inough that thei whiche receiued orders before thei maried accordyng to the old traditions of the Churche should from thenceforth abstaine from mariage I doe not saie that his mynde was to moue the whole Clergie to mariage but counsailyng then all and singularly to soole life as more free to serue God in that vocation But yet not of suche straite mynde to prescribe Lawes of necessitie to force them to tarrie euen still will thei nill thei But left them to the rule of their owne conscience For what other thing was ment master Martine in the first decree either of Lucius if it be his or Siricius or vrban the second but to leaue that liberty yet to suche as was of the Clergie if thei would not or could not conteine to suffer them to liue in their Matrimony afterwarde taken if thei would not relinquishe their Ecclesiastical degrées And what ment the third Canon of the thirde Councell at Carthage the .v. Canon of the Councell at Tollet or the sixt Counsaile holden there when sainct Augustine was presente Or the thrée and thirtée Canon of the Councell called Elibertinū about Pope Siluesters daies Or the Councell holden in Grece before Siluesters daies called cōcilium Ancyranum with many other more where thei decreed that such as beyng subdeacons deacōs or Priestes that would chose to marry should not enioye their Ecclesiasticall liuynges But I doe not as yet reade that in all of those Counsailles thei were compelled from Matrimonie whether thei would or no or that thei were seperated from their wiues after thei were so depriued or their Matrimony called adulteries As of that Councell wherat sainct Augustine was present I thinke I dare boldly saie thei were not seing his iudgement is in his woorkes to the contrarie As for the sixt Councell holden at Constantinople permitted bothe wiues and liuinges too And in other Councelles their wiues and liuynges so thei would but in tyme of their ministration abstaine from their wiues But to contend with hym in suche causes of Councels Canons and Stories whiche he contorteth by all shift of wit to make them to plie to his gostly purpose were a long businesse But maruaile not gentle reader though he take so muche vpon hym in suche infinite and intricate Churche Lawes wherein he thinketh to leade thee in a mase as not readie for euery man to see and expend for thou maiest see his impudent boldnesse otherwhere For if ye note hym well ye maie finde hym hackyng at the Lawes of the Realme clippyng the Queenes coyne the best that her grace hath nexte to the worde of God for defence of her Princely estate the Actes of Parliamente I meane because he would be ready in seruice to her highnesse to the beste of his wit and power Note howe he trauerseth and wreasteth with his gloses an Acte of the very firste Parliament that her grace hath here caused to bee had since her raigne and coronation not so long since that it can so sone bee out of remembraunce nor the Actes so harde to come by but that all the worlde maie expende them I meane how he forceth and draweth the Acte of repeale in the cause of Priestes mariages not onely to importe to take awaie the libertee that was therein graunted for suche Priestes as vsed not the benefite thereof as at that tyme of whiche nūber though there wer a great sort more hasting a good pase thervnto and were half agréed as thei saie by wordes of the present time and present sute to yet be now many of them as hot against the state in open pretense as can be but also to inferre a plaine dissolution and reuocation of suche Mariages as were aucthorised by the saied Actes before Wherin the very originall of the Acte is plainly expressed in open wordes that the said Kyng Edwardes actes be repealed but for hereafter as other more in the said acte Is not he thinke you a trustie gloser to be so bolde in gloses not onely in his owne Lawes but thus to glose the Lawes of the Realme so lately made cleane otherwise then as wise men as he in the Realme doe construe them and by the practise of diuerse other thynges of like nature and condition in the like case appeareth Seyng this writer aduaunceth hym self so highly
to the honorable nobilitée to all the learned and wise men in the realme and is not a shamed in his owne conceipte or at the least waye stande not in doubt in hymself that he can not so scape with his vntruthes so clearly but that some men will tell them at length to the nobilitie other graue personages of the realme whiche hath not the leasure to peruse and compare his writynges with the originalls them selues But it is to true in hym that is saied comonly Malè examinat verum omnis corruptus iudex Full euill is a true cause examined and expended by the iudge that is corrupt In his eight Chapiter where he laboureth to proue that all priestes be votaries whiche he shall neuer be able to proue of seculers Priestes ordered in this realme of England do the best he can he hath diuerse fetches Some tyme by argument of taciternitie out of scripture ther he glorieth highly that he hath scripture for the purpose to the wonder of all men to se how suche FreÌ„che Ciuilians wittes can contorte sciripture In deede it may be called an argument of Taâ—iturnitie for there is so muche scilence of any vowe makyng that neither the Bushop speaketh any suche matter whiche the prieste might for his scilence bynde hymself nor the Prieste professeth any suche vowe whiche the Busshops scilence should ratifie And then ye see how proper an argument it is out of the scripture whiche he bringeth an example of ye maie se how good a Logitian he is how quicke and wittie Then he cometh to the woordes that the Bushop speaketh to the Subdeacons as he saieth and first putteth in the Latin then Englisheth them and after glose them and biddeth the readed of good felowship to expende the Bushops wordes whiche he reciteth when he geueth orders Examine here with me good reader Cap. 8. lraÌ„ O. ij saieth he this the Bushops proposition and thou shalt anone see whether our priestes be not votaries and thou shalt espie also what trueth is in oure newe preachers that haue slauÌ„dered the church c. Who would thinke that vpon suche protestation he would euen straight waie for all this preamble bléere the readers eye with a manifest lye Now good reader as he desireth thee to examine this poynt euen so do I beseche thee And then espie by thy self what truthe is in this new Ciuilian And for the triall of his truthe and honestie aske hym if euer he heard any Bushoppe or suffragane in Englande speake that proposition to the Subdeacons And if he haue thei haue dreamed it of their owne heades for their haue it not in their owne pontificals by the whiche thei geue all their orders Therfore it is a most shamefull boldnes to beare the reader in hand that it is so saied by the Busshoppe when it is not by hym spoken And therefore in this poincte he is to impudent to make his strong argumentes vpon suche groundes as bee not aduoucheable But yet good reader leste he should blynde thine eye with a sleightie craft as is all his doynges in his boke peraduenture he maie for the aduouchyng of his report bryng thee to a pontificall booke shewe thee his wordes in deede But yet before thou geuest firme credence desier his good maistership of his worship to tell thee whether it be a very Englishe pontificall booke in deede by the which Englishe seculer priestes be coÌ„secrated in their orders And if he can proue that then vpon this poincte I am content that my whole boke be taken for false and vntrue If he can not proue his â—aiyng true where he saieth that our priestes bée votaries by force of those wordes beleue hym not in this lye though ye haue some cause to mistrust him in his other probatioÌ„s Mary sir if he bryng you to a pontificall booke of his holye father the Pope wherby at Rome and in Italie he geueth orders to his Subdeacons and priestes there what doeth that boke bind priestes in England beyng of an other territorie iurisdiction hauyng an other seueral maner in their orderyng and hath so vsed before this mannes great grandfather was borne or christened wherin the Busshop speaketh these onely woordes to the prieste wheÌ„ he laieth the stoale aboute his necke Accipe iugum domini Iugum enim eius suaue est onus eius leue stolam innocentiae induat te dominus Take the yoke of the Lorde for his yoke is swete and his burthen light And the lorde put vpon thee the stole of innocency In déede where in th ende of his xiij Chapiter this Doctor bryngeth in like wordes as be in the Englishe pontificall for Bushoppes Lâ—raÌ„ LL. â— but yet euen there he vseth a violent contorted argument against doctor Ponet alledgyng these wordes Vis castitatem ac sobrietateÌ„ cum dei auxilio seruare Wilt thou through the helpe of GOD keepe chastitée and sobrietée Yet in the Englishe pontificall it is thus Vis castitatem sobrietateÌ„ cum dei auxilio custodire docere Wilte thou by the helpe of God keepe and teache chastitee and sobrietee I will not contende with hym in this saiyng for the bushops but in his former wordes of his allegation for Subdeacons of Englishe makyng he shall neuer make it good to his liues end that those wordes be in the Englishe pontificall Notwithstandyng he thinketh that he hath made moste strong proofe of his purpose where ye see by that that is hitherto perceiued in his booke he hath made foure principall groundes that Englishe Priestes be votaries Firste by Origens aucthoritee writyng vpon the Numbers Secondly by the maner of their Orderyng Thirdly by the Priestes crounes Fourthly by an argument of Taciturnitie And that once dooen he spendeth his eighth Chapiter in prouyng that vowes muste be kepte whiche belike must be his fifte argumente And thus these argumentes holde The first the Priestes where Origen was borne or where he did write were votaries Ergo Englishe Priestes be votaries And yet Origen did not write so But in that Homilie speakyng aswell to Laye menne as to Priestes saieth that thei bee moste meete to offer vp the continuall Sacrifice of Mornyng and Euenyng praier that will kepe continuall chastitie And then his argument holdeth thus Thei which can continually praie kepe continuall chastitee Ergo Englishe Priestes bee votaries But thus I argue Priestes maried maie offer to God that continuall Sacrifice of Mornyng and Euenyng praier Ergo thei neede not to vowe that chastitee whiche ye speake of Or thus Origen writeth not there any woorde of Priestes vowes Ergo in that place he doeth not proue them votaries The seconde for the maner of the Busshoppes proposition The Busshop speaketh suche a proposition to Priestes in Spain or Italie Ergo Englishe priestes be votaries Now the truth is no suche proposition is spoken to the Englishe Subdeacon at all Further this Ciuilian writeth manifestly euen there thus that the vowe of
Christi conficiendum surgere cum eodem die corpus Christi confecisset cū meretrice post vesperam interceptus est Res apertissima negari non potuit celari non debuit Summus honor vbique habitus in summum dedecus versus est Repedauit igitur in sua dei iudicio confusus inglorius At Easter Ihon Cremensis Cardinall of Rome came doune into Englande and makyng his progresses through Busshoprickes and Abbatées not without greate rewardes aboute the Natiuitée of our Ladie helde a solemne Counsaile at London But because Moises Goddes secretarie in the holie storie as he wrote the vertues so did he also the vices yea of his owne parentes that is to saie the outrage of Lothe the abhomination of Ruben the treason of Symeon and Leuy the vnnaturalnesse of the brethren of Ioseph euen so it becometh vs to followe the true Lawe of storie bothe of good and euill But if it shall displease any Romaniste or Prelate saieth he I reade hym to holde his peace and be still leste it will be demed that he desired to folowe Ihon Cremensis in woordes and deedes He therefore when he had made greuous processe in that Counsaile against Priestes wiues saiyng that it was a foule synne and a greate to rise frō a strumpettes side to make Christes body when he hym self the same very daie had saied Masse was taken with a strumpet after Euensong the facte beyng moste open could not bee denied nor ought to bee hidden That high honour had euery where to hym before was tourned to high shame and rebuke Whereuppon he trudged home againe by Goddes iuste iudgemente confounded to his greate dishonestee Thus farre Henry Huntyngton a manne liuyng at that age Here you se master Martin an auncient writer no heretike Archdeacon of Huntyngton foure hundred yeres paste and an halfe to haue tolde this storie of this good holy ympe of Rome Church beyng warned yet afore by Pope Honorius whose letters to hym and others Symon of Duresme doeth recite in his booke wherin he nameth hym Praesbiterum Cardinalem prieste Cardinall and praieth hym as beyng sent before into England by his next predecessor Calixtus that he would behaue hymself in his Legation as a wise a discrete childe of the Rome church and as may appartaine to the honour of God and the honestie of the Apostolike See The same Honorius writyng to the Archebusshops Busshops Abbattes and nobles suppressyng yet the kynges name charged thus we praie you admonishe you and commaūde you that you would reuerently receaue hym as the vicar of holy S. Peter humblie to heare hym and at his call to hold solemnely with hym conuocations so that by his and your diligence all thinges may bee reformed in your realme whiche are to be amended and those thinges whiche are to be stablished may by the inspiration of the holy ghost be confirmed emongest the Canons of which holy Counsaill priestes be plaine separated from their wiues vnder paine of losse of their Order and Mariages either of consanguinitée or affinitée contracted within the seuenth generation be commaunded to bee seperated Now if neitheir Secular Prieste nor religious Monkes testimonie will serue Maister Martin Roger Houeden a secular man in courte with the kyng Henry seconde in greate estimation and credit writyng in his storie saieth that there fell a marueilous misfortune to this Cardinall beyng so hotte in his Coūsell against priestes mariage and agreeth fully with the forsaied testimonie of the saied Henry in the same If yet you will haue more testimonies Polydore in his stories the tenthe booke how craftely soeuer for the honour of Rome Churche he suppresseth his name as belike you would haue the laye people to take it for a lye to saue the honor of your wiueles church how leude soeuer it be notoriously knowen reporteth of the same cardinall that after his solempne sermon inueighyng against lawfull mariages he was so priuely waited that within a while after he was taken with an harlotte in companie vnlawfull Furthermore Sir this matter semeth so little counterfeited that other writers affirme the same as Fabian somtime Citezen and Sheriffe of Lōdon in his Chronicle saieth that this dissimuled doctor tooke so great feruencie in the correction of the priestes of England that in the euenyng folowing after that he had so lewdly blowne his borne saiyng that it was a detestable sinne to ryse from the side of a strumpet to sacre the bodie of Christe he was taken with a strumpette Lib. 7. Cap. 16 Anno. 1125. to his open shame and rebuke From whose testimony differeth not Ranulph of Chichester in his Polichronicō Further Matheus westmonasteriensis otherwise named Florilegus writyng of the saied Ihon Cardinall thus saieth Dictus Ioannes qui in concilio omnes concubinarios Sacerdotes maximè damnauerat in eodem vitio deprehensus est The saied Ihon whiche in his counsell had verie greatly blamed Priestes that vsed concubines was taken hymself in the same crime Also Mathew Parise in his Chronicle in that verie yere recordeth the same storie of this holy and chaste Cardinal of Rome who came into England with great honour but packe home againe with worthie shame Loe suche commonlye are the slaunderers of true matrimonie in others most shamefully abusing themselues with harlottes pretendyng and exaltyng their Churche chastitie in hypocrisie but hate it in their whole practise of their life as stories fullie make mention of suche beyng the very successors of Hierax an heretike of whom Epiphanius writeth in his story of whom some mention is made before And if yet none of all these will serue to discharge Ihon Bale to make hym the firste aucthor therof or to disproue it to be a forged or counterfet story ye maie looke further in other histories bothe in Frenche and Latine and finde almoste all that write of those daies to speake of the same Cardinall to like effecte And therfore M. Martine is it reason that ye write that it was some heretike that forged this tale as ye would make the world beleue Is it not a shame for you to boste of so muche vniuersal and absolute knowledge in al stories both Ecclesiasticall and prophane of al countries in Christendome and out of Christēdome and to be blind and bare at home in the stories of your owne countrey beyng so many written by mē bothe of great credite and of notable learnyng life And dare you pronounce all these in your bolde arrogante spirite to bee heretikes none of them all woorthie credite with you of so diuers vocations as thei are Some Seculer Priestes of worship some reguler Monkes in profession some seculer lay menne in place of credit and estimation some liuyng at that very tyme and members of that holy Synode I do but meruaile what confidence you had in other mens credites to write so impudently not castyng with your self to what commendable ende your gaye bolstered booke would come vnto when it were once examined by
the Sacrament of order So that Master Doctor Martin may plainly perceiue that he hath the most parte of the Busshops in England and of greatest learnyng and aucthoritee against hym And that their assertions and confessions ouerthrowe all his strong buyldynges of Lawes and Canons though there were no more learnyng to alledge in the cause Where it is alledged that the Churche hath constituted that order should haue chastitée annexed it may bée answered that is but only of mannes constitution of the churche tradition as al writers bothe Deuines and Canonistes do coÌ„fesse the same And where I might alledge bothe Thomas Albertus Stotus Orbellensis Bonauenture Durande Abbas Panormitanus Petrus dâ— Palude Astexanus Prepositus Gratian and the comon gloser yet for them all I shall report one whiche was bothe learned in diuinitée and law Cardinalis Caietanus whose wordes be these Nec ratione nec authoritate probatur ê™ absolute loquendo Sacerdos peccet contrahendo matrimonium Nec ordo in quantuÌ„ ordo nec ordo in quaÌ„tum sacer est impeditiuus matrimonij ê™ Sacerdotium non dirimit matrimonium coÌ„tractum siue ante siue post seclusis omnibus legibus Ecclesiasticis stando tantum in hijs quae a Christo ab Apostolis habemus It can not bee proued neither by reason or auctoritée that to speake precisely a prieste should offende in contractyng matrimonye For neither order in that it is order nor order in that it is holy is any lette to Matrimonie and that priesthode doeth not dissolue Matrimonye contracted either before or after settyng a parte all Ecclesiasticall Lawes standing onely to that whiche we haue of Christ and his Apostles If then by the doctrine of the Clergie of England the kynkes aucthoritée maie do as muche in positiue Lawes as euer the Busshoppe of Rome was able to doe And it is the consent of all diuines and Canonistes vniuersally holden that the Busshop of Rome hath full aucthoritée to make and to vnmake to dispense in all Churche Lawes of what name and nature soeuer thei be yea vniuersally with al maner lawes except the Articles of our faieth which yet he may interprete why shall not then the kyng with consent of his Parliament be thought to haue done rightfully in the late dispensing with that positiue lawe whiche was onely thought to bee againste priestes If as sainct Paule saieth Christe by abrogatyng the commaundement Ephe. 2. Coll. 2. whiche was conteined in the lawes of the decrees written hath put out the hand writyng that was against vs and so discharged vs of all maner condempnation vnder whiche we were holden thereby why in lyke maner maie it not be saied that priestes be discharged of all maner condempnation bothe of depriuation and diuorsyng seiyng that all Lawes were by the kynges iust aucthoritée abrogated whiche conteined any maner condempnation For what other thyng do restreine priestes from that libertée that God hath graunted frelye to all menne but either Lawe or els vowe and promise made by them selues If it be lawe then seyng it is but mannes Lawe mannes Lawe againe hath taken it a waie and therefore on that side there is no daunger And as for vowe and promise there was none passed by Secular Englishe Priestes nor none required at their orderyng And though there were yet writeth Alfonsus plainely Philippica .xix. that yet after their promise this libertée of the Apostle is still wholy remainyng to them sc propter fornicationem vitandam vnusquisque vxorem suam habeat c. For auoydyng of fornication lette euery manne haue his wife c. And moreouer saieth that he can not see how any manne can depriue hymself of this libertée vnlesse therewith he depriue hymself also of eternall saluation And affirmeth further that when the libertée of any lawe of restraint is graunted by aucthoritée his conscience maie bee in suertée to whom suche concession is graunted And as concerning the case of votaries how strong so euer the bonde of a vowe is yet it followeth the nature of an oth For thei bothe walke after one sort votum iuramentum pari passu ambulant saieth the Lawiers and an othe maie not bee a bonde of wickednesse Furthermore how muche offence so euer the votaries doe runne in before God or the worlde to breake their well aduised vowes constituted by man yet after mariage bée so attempted by them it maie not bee dissolued Seyng mariage is of Gods ordinaunce the vowe but of mannes constitution Dist. 27. Diaconus For it is written in the Decrées by GratiaÌ„ Si diaconus a ministerio cessare voluerit contracto matrimonio licitè potest vti Nam si in ordinatione sua castitatis votum obtulerit tamen tanta est vis in sacramento coniugij ê™ nec ex violatione voti potest dissolui ipsum coÌ„iugium If the deacon will cease from his ministerie he maie lawfully vse matrimonie contracted For although wheÌ„ he was ordered he offered vp the vowe of chastitée yet there is so greate strength in the Sacramente of Wedlocke that the self same mariage maie not bee dissolued no not after the breache oâ— the vowe Whiche was also further affirmed by Gratian grounded vpon sainct Augustines aucthoritée Cum quispiam post votum castitatis ducit vxorem iuramento firmans nunquam ab ea discessurum quod quamuis illicitum sit quià iustitia sibi probatur deesse tamen authoritate Augustini seruari precipitur 22. q. 4. â—unocens When any manne after the vowe of Chastitee marieth a wife bindyng it faste with his othe that he will neuer departe from her whiche although it bée vnlawfull for as muche as it is euident that righteousnes and iustice wanted in the acte yet neuerthelesse by the aucthoritée of sainct Augustine it is coÌ„maunded to be conserued still And there Gratian proueth that this thyng standeth vpon the strength of the othe where he saieth other mennes opinions bee that it is by the prerogatiue of Matrimonie And whether Gratian mente that aucthoritée of sainct Augustine De bono viduitatis or whether that whiche he reporteth in the Lawe in these wordes to be sainct Augustine Dist. 17. quidam Let the reader iudge Quidam nubentes post votum asserunt adulteros esse Ego autem dico quòd grauiter peccant qui tales diuidunt Some affirme saith he that suche as doe marriâ— after their vowe bee adulterers but I saie that theé offende greuously whiche doe separate suche Whiche forme of wordes in suche asâ—eueration maie sone make vs vnderstande how earnestly sainct Augustine was in this opinion And lest it should be taken that sainct Augustine did write this his senteÌ„ce vpon sodaine consideration he expresseth the same againe vpon the .lxxv. Psalme Quae autem respexit ad nuptias non quia voluit nubere daÌ„natur sed quia iam ante recesserat fit vxor Loth respiciendo retrorsum She that hath looked backe to mariage is not dampned because she
would marrie but because she had gone backe before and is made like to Lothes wife by her lookyng behinde her But if ye yet desire to knowe a reason of this strong assertion of sainct Augustine so reported in the Decrees the Lawe sheweth it plainly Voti solemnitas ex sola constitutione ecclesiae est inuenta matrimonij vero vinculum ab ipso ecclesiae capite rerum omni conditore ipsum in paradiso statu innocentiae institueÌ„te vnionem indissolubilitatem accepeâ—it The solempnitée of the vowe was deuised onely by the Churches constitution but the bonde of Matrimonie toke his inseparable vnitée and knotte of hym that is creatour of all thynges who did institute it in Paradise and in the state of innocencie And here I would aske this Lawier a question by occasion of the woordes that there further followeth of that extrauagant whether Englishe secular priestes haue made a simple vowe or a solempne vowe in the takyng of their orders If it be a simple vowe then though it be neuer so seriously made before neuer so many witnesses neuer so aduisedly made earnestly promised yea sworne in the face of the Churche yet it dissolueth not matrimonie once made saith the lawe Ergo in this vowe if it were that Priestes were ordered yet their mariages be not to be broken But let it be graunted that the priest hath made a solempne vowe then teacheth this Lawe that the solemnitée is deuised but onely of the positiue Lawe of the Churche Ergo it standeth but vpon mannes constitution Ergo dispensable by manne and manne hath dispensed with them by open constitution of Lawe here in England What bindeth them then in their order Yea why be thei not free of all handes And their mariages good and indissoluble from all lawes of man For this bonde whiche this Lawier vrgeth so importunatly muste stande either of the nature and substance of order either of the nature and bonde of the vowe either of the promise and profession of the Prieste at receiuyng of his orders or els of the constitution and positiue Lawe of the Churche Of the nature and substaunce of order it standeth not for then should the Gretians offende saieth Panormitane in whose Priestes standeth Order and Matrimonie iointly together betwixte whiche Priestes and their owne wiues is Chastitée of Mariage saieth the saied Panormitan And further he saieth Exâ—ra 〈…〉 that it is not long of their custome that thei bee excused for that is nought worthe againste the Lawe God And further it can not stande of the nature of order seyng that in the Apostolique Churche and a greate while after till Pope Siricius daies thei might contracte as the gloser of the decrees auoucheth plainely the opinion of certaine aucthoures in the Lawe whose opinion he doeth not disproue saiyng ê™ olim sacerdotes poterant contrahere ante Siricium Dist. 84. cum in pretenio vnde Moyses contraxit In tymes paste Priestes might marrie before Siricius wherevpon Moyses did contracte And there he reporteth that the Apostles made no constitution for not vsyng Matrimonie once contracted Moyses presbyter apud Ciprianum Li. 2. Epistola 4. Iâ—st 82. proposâ—â—â—â—â— For if the Apostles had made any suche Canons The Orientall churche would haue admitted it And further he writeth that by Gratians opinion the Churche hath constituted certaine thynges whiche were not so decreed of the Apostles And there nameth in his examples the continencie of the ministers and aduoucheth S. Augustine for hym Can. 35. q. 2. Cum igitur De ciuitate dei li. xv Cap. xvi whiche saied Gratian also writeth that before the Counsaile of Ancirane whiche was about the yere of our Lorde 308. continencie was not yet coÌ„stituted vpon the ministers of the aultar And further it is writteÌ„ 2.6 q. 2. Ca. Sors Copula sacerdotalis nec legali nec EuaÌ„gelica vel Apostolica authoritate prohibetur tamen lege penitus interdicitur The mariage of Priestes is neither forbidden by the aucthoritée of the olde Lawe neither of the Euangelistes nor of the Apostles but by the Lawe it is vtterly forbidden SecoÌ„dly it standeth not of the nature and bonde of the vowe for the said expositour of the Lawe saieth 27. q. 1. Sâ— quis ê™ votum de sui natura non obligat sed coÌ„stitutio circa votuÌ„emissa A vowe of his owne nature bindeth not but the constitution whiche is made and diuulged about the vow And further he writeth in the same cause and question that a simple vowe doeth not dissolue Matrimonie of his owne nature and so no more doeth a solempne vowe for thei be all one he saieth in that respecte For if it were of the nature of the vowe saieth he why should not one vowe as well as an other dissolue Matrimonie for so muche as the solempnitées bee not of the substaunce but deuised by the churche And therefore by his opinion it is but the méere ordinaunce of the churche that dissolueth and not the vowe For if a manne should openly saie in the Churche Voueo continentian I vowe chastitée Yet by this is no solempne vow made And Pope Celestine the third affirmeth ê™ simplex votum apud deum non minus obliget quaÌ„ solennis That is A simple vowe byndeth no lesse before God then a soleÌ„ne vowe And in these poinctes doeth the schole Diuines agrée with the Canonistes Antoninus Saiyng ê™ vinculuÌ„ vito solennis solutio eius est ex statuto ecclesiae The bonde of a solempne vow the breach therof is by the churches coÌ„stitutioÌ„ WhervpoÌ„ he writeth that the obligation whiche dependeth vpon order noÌ„ esseÌ„tialiter sed accideÌ„taliter is annexed therto but by the churche coÌ„stitutioÌ„ Thirdly as for the promise or vowe made by the priest at his orders it is manifest that the priestes ordered in England make none as is before saied and though thei did yet write the saied Diuines and Canonistes that howsoeuer a man byndeth hym self either by othe or by vowe yet alwaie is vnderstanded the exception of the aucthoritée of the superiour And the bande of the vowe dothe ceasse either by dispensation commutation or irritation and the obseruing of a vowe is then of the Lawe of nature or of Godes Lawe so longe as the Obligation continueth And in this case writeth Antoninus he that is so dispensed with is not to bee charged as a lyer to God Parte 2. Titulo xi Ca. 2. for not performyng his vowe For a man must haue of thinges to come Godly conditions whiche bee alwaie annexed either implied or expressed S. Thomas defineth that to the essentialnesse of a vowe 2.2 q. 88. Extrauag de regularib Ca. ad nostraÌ„glosa Pag. 11â— muste thre thynges concurre An aduised deliberation of mynde a fast purpose of the will and a promise made to God And if there bee not saieth he a full intention of the professour to bynde hymself he is not bouÌ„d for all the
the remedies of the inconuenience As for Eckius Cocleus Murnerus and suche other filthie draffe sackes I make noe tale of them whose liues were knowen well inough to bee to beastly Yea Pighius hymself the God of this Ciuilian vseth yet a moderation suche as it is where this man for curste hart will vse none at al. Alfonsus a catholike busshop doeth so learnedly christianly handle the matter that although he wissheth Philippica 19. as it is to bee wished that all the Clergie could liue in perpetuall continencie yet he wisheth for them that can not so liue that mariage were graunted and that to priestes after their orders and merueileth at suche mennes conscienses that will so pinche vpon the aucthoritee that is in the Churche that thei should haue power onely but to curse and to excoÌ„municate and not to saue and deliuer Whiche thing he prosecuteth in a great spirite and saieth by those wordes of sainct Paule vnusquisque propter fornicationem vitandam suam vxorem habeat c. That is to auoide fornication let euery man haue his wife maie euery man clayme his interest and right to marye if he can not otherwise liue And affirmeth further that he can not see how any man can depriue hymself oâ— that his interest of that concession of mariage gaunted by sainct Paule except he will euen so depriue hymself of eternall life And moreouer saieth plainly that euery man cannot conteine and that therfore no man can be so holden by lawes or vowes but that he ought to prouide for his saluation And that howsoeuer a Prieste hath by his owne voluntarie consent depriued hymself of his libertée to marie after that yet in this case when he hath proued all remedies and none will serue then yet to hym is reserued still whole and found his right and interest of that same concession of sainct Paule propter fornicationem vitandam vnusquisque vxorem suam habeat vnaqueque suum virum Whiche generall proposition this Ciuilian would needes straine to a particuler contrarie to the circumstaunce of the context it self yea contrarie to the vsyng of diuerse Doctors of the church as we haue proued before And further we there brought in S. Hieromes manifest woordes to proue it against his owne manifest wordes wherein he denieth it And here I require this CiuiliaÌ„ with his gloses to proue those two contradictories or .ij. contraries if he can Or to make S. Hierom agre with others to see what it is to brabble with mennes woordes and not to sticke to the woordes of the holy ghost euident in them selues to them that of mere frowardnes listed not to wrangle and to be contentious to make vprores in comon wealthes to nosell the vnlearned still in palpable blindnes to recouer their olde honour of the churche to do as thei lusted in al matters bothe of God and man and then we should haue a merie world again and all should be plentious neither warres nor commotions but suche as thei themselues would stirre for their owne turnes And because I named vnto you a diuine of these daies Michael vehe whom the rather among many of that sort I do alledge for that I se in him a quiet spirite soberlye and Godly with learnyng debatyng his controuersies of conscience vtteryng his iudgement not as Pighius Eckius and this Ciuilian doeth of a set purpose onely and of a froward and proud nature that will in no respect giue ouer or will condition indifferently of that which is once beaten and setteled in his stubborne head but muste winne all or lose all come of it whatsoeuer will I will shewe you what moderation he vseth in this cause of priestes matrimonies wherin he declareth his conteÌ„tation that it could stand with his iudgement and conscience for priestes yea after order once consecrated to mary so that thei were not suffered still in their ministration And moreouer against them that might be of that opinion to thinke that for a greate cause in respect of a realme or of a comon peace dispensation might be had as it was so dispensed with he saieth with the kyng of Arragon But peraduenture not alludyng to this storie in this matter he saieth these wordes At omniaÌ„ pregnantissima causa est animarum periculuÌ„ cui nec vna totius mundi precio estimari possit c. What cause soeuer maie appeare to dispence in positiue Lawes for the weale of a whole Realme surely saieth he there can be no greater or more pregnant cause then the perill of mennes soules wherein the losse but of one is not estimable by the price and value of all the world This man was in coÌ„science moued to saie his learnyng he would not dally in so weightie a cause He knewe he muste come once before the tribunal seate of Christ and his Apostles to make answere of his wordes and writynges And therfore as in the sight of God not as pleasyng man or keping the world in a comon traded errour for glory or lucre thought it very meete for suche Canons and Lawes to be dispensed with for the saluation of mennes soules for the whiche as for his owne he knewe Christ spent his precious blood he was not ignorant as I thinke this Ciuilian is not or els ought not to bee of the trade and practise of the holy Fathers of the Churche in their daies It is not vnknowen to hym how soeuer Epiphanius was affected to the continencie of the Clergie and for the defence thereof vnaduisedly did write that it was the institution of the Apostles for them to conteine that yet hym self was compelled for necessitée of ministers to permit theim in mariage as otherwhere he telleth that thei did so although not altogether agreable to the prescripte of the Canons Yea Epiphaniuis Lib. 2. To. 1. Hero 61. he confesseth plainly of those and also of votaries to that it were better for them fallen from their race of their runnyng in virginitée openly to marrie a wife by the Lawe rather then to be daiely wounded with the secrete dartes of Cupido by the importune temptation of the Deuill And better for them to runne into iudgemente of penaunce sufferable for a tyme then by couÌ„terfettyng chastitée to fall into condempnation to bee excluded from the kyngdome of heauen For he condempneth euen there suche of the Clergie because thei would not abide the shame of the worlde belike for mariage yet secretly committed whoredome and that vnder the pretence of solitary liuyng and continencie practised vncleannesse with them selues to aduoyde whiche inconuenience he is faine to remitte of his Canons how Apostolike so euer thei were Tract 7. in mas This diuine afore saied I saie Michael Vehe was not ignoraunte how that in Origens tyme the Busshoppes in those dayes for the releuyng of a woman in her frailtée were contenâ—ed to despence with her to marrie againe though her husband was a liue Peraduenture saieth he thei did suffer it for
profession yet they preuayled not as may appeare in an epistle written to Anselme from Girardus seconde Archbyshop of Yorke after the conquest Sitio clericorum meorum integritateÌ„ sed praeter in paucis admodum vel aspidis surditatem vel fabulosi cuiusdam Prothei mutabilitatem inuenio Variis linguarum aculeis modo minas modo conuitia infligunt sed hoc facilius in iis qui remotiores sunt tolero Illud omnino graue genus mali est quod hii qui quasi in sinu meo sunt qui canonicorum nomine gaudent canones aspernant aduersus consilii nostri statuta quasi Sophistici disputatores argumentantur professiones vero mihi paenitus abnegant canonici illi qui sine professione ad sacros ordines inordinabiliter suÌ„t prouecti qui in presbiteratu vel diaconatu constituti vxores siue concubinas in publico hactenus habuerunt ab altari nulla se reuerentia continuerunt Cum vero ad ordines aliquos inuito dura ceruice renituntur ne in ordinando castitateÌ„ profiteantur I do muche desire the puritie of my clarkes saith Girarde howebeit except in very fewe I fynde to raigne eyther the deafnesse of the aspe or the inconstancie as it were of Protheus of whom the poetes speake with their manyfolde styngyng tongues they do ouerlade me sometyme with threates sometyme with tauntes but it is more easye to beare this in them whiche be farther of But this is a more harde griefe for that they which as it were be in my very bosome who glory in the name of canons do despise canons and agaynst the decrees of our councell as Sophistes vse in their disputation make argumentes As for professions they vtterly denie me these canons Prebendaries whiche are promoted inordinately to holy orders and when I call any to orders they resist me very obstinately that they wyl make no profession of chastitie in their orderyng Thus Girarde the Archbyshop in whiche epistle the good father writeth howe that the sonne of a certaine prieste and archdeacon obteyned of hym by meanes of the brybe of a summe of money geuen hym the gyft of his fathers prebende and of the tythes whiche his father had in possession his father beyng alyue and as yet he is saith he and so foorth And wryteth that he can not abyde to see the byer of his Churche to remayne in his stall dayly in his eye Which fact yet this Girarde seemeth to repent of and prayeth for pardon and remedie at Anselmes handes To the which epistle Anselme doth aunswere epistol 78. centuria 2. that he wyl release nothyng of his decree Fabian as he wryteth the same to Herebert byshop of Thetford he beyng the begotten sonne of Robert intruded into the abbacie of Winchester who bought the abbacie for money and he the byshopricke of Thetforde for one thousande poundes Suche a monstruous symoniack that his spurious progenie and his symonie is noblie set out in vearse in W. Malmesbury emongest which vearses this is one Filius est praesull pater abba Symon vterque beyng a very hotte enemie in all his tyme agaynst priestes maryages as commonly personages of such honestie sheweth them selues It is much to be marueyled that this man with other of his suite woulde haue their decrees and constitutions so rigorously obserued and they them selues no folowers of them howe seriously soeuer they were made of late by Hildibrand then by this councell holden in the west part of S. Peters Church in London whereof the first canon is this Primum ex auctoritate sanctorum patrum symoniacae heresis surreptio in eodem concilio damnata est First by the auctoritie of the holy fathers the cryme of the symoniack heresie in that same councell is condempned In which cryme saith the councell were certaine Abbottes founde and deposed there they be named For which Abbottes yet being thus depriued for symonie certaine Bishoppes faultie in such crymes as were worthy â—eposition the sayd Anselme was a great suter to pope Pascall to whom he made his viage at Rome as offended with the kyng in the third yere of his raigne and caryed with hym those Abbottes degraded And Anselme was receaued of pope Pascal very reuerently at what tyme wryteth Matthew Paris Anselmus archiepiscopus pro episcopis et abbatibus degradatis multa precuÌ„ instantia PapaÌ„ rogare caepit vt cum illis misericorditer dispensaret vt possent amissas recipere dignitates Tum sedes clementissima quae nulli deesse consueuit dummodo albi aliquid vel rubei intercedat prescriptos poÌ„tifices abbates ad prestinas dignitates reuocauit c. Anselme the archbyshop began to entreate the pope with much instaunce of supplication for the byshoppes and the abbottes so degraded that he woulde mercyfully dispence with them that they shoulde receaue agayne the dignities that they had loste Then the most mercyfull sea whiche is not wont to denie any mans request so that some red thyng or some whyte thyng may make intercession he reuoked agayne the foresayde byshops and abbots to their olde dignities and sent them home to their owne proper seas Is not this a conscience bronded with an hot iron vtteryng falsehood in hypocrisie so earnestly to entreate for them that offended against the holy ghost where their money shoulde rather haue ben reiected act viii as it was once sayde Pecunia tua tecum sit in perditionem rather then vnrepentauntly doublyng symonie vpon symonie to haue lyght pardon and Anselme so wylfully rigorous agaynst the maryed priestes whiche by Gods lawes they myght do and without all mercie to seperate them where pope Pascall wylled hym to shewe mercie and referde it to his owne libertie and discretion yea to seperate a number of such whom he founde maryed lawfully in a synode by Lanfranc stablyshed wherein was also constituted that they shoulde not be seperated Besydes these saith the councell were remoued from their Abbacie others euery man for his owne cause If ye aske what other causes those were lyke to be Some wryters affirme that it was the cause of infamous Sodomie a peculier vice then moste vsed emonges the religious Against which enormitie in the selfe same councell they made constitutions to suppresse that horrible cryme founde chiefly in the persons of the religious order partly of the laitie Good reader yf a man shoulde expende the great heate of this father Anselme and his brethren in hypocrisi loquentium mendacium prohibentium nubere may not a man maruayle to heare why they forbad matrimonie Gods very remedie and institution appoynted agaynst all fylthynesse and vncleanenesse when that horrible vice not muche to be named so franckly raigned that they were compelled to make constitutions agaynst it Was this prohibition of maryage thinke you fytte to extynguyshe this enormitie Or rather flowed it not out ex doctrina demoniorum in hypochrisi loquentium mendacium cauteriatam habentium conscientiam O consciences marked and scarred with an
munckes coate for they sayde they dyd not lyke nor loue the gouernement of the munckyshe archbyshoppes Which thyng the kyng graunted and they therevppon presented one Wyllyam Curboyl Chro. saxo Petriburgē in anno 1123 Canon of the minster of Chichester And though the Prior of Canterbury and other munckes there with the helpe of Henry an Abbot of Amely legate of Rome tolde the kyng that it was agaynst ryght to set a clarke ouer the munckes yet these munckes at this tyme preuayled not though before they dyd immediatly after Anselmes death yea after by their trauayle to Rome the munckes laboured to the pope to denie the sayde Wyllyam his pall the aduersaries hoped well to haue their purpose Yet saith the storie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That which ouercame Rome that ouercame the whole worlde that is golde and syluer and so the pope alowed hym and sent hym home with his pall and with his blessyng It is a wonder to see howe the order of munckes in those dayes were sterne and stoute yea checkmate with the kyng and nobles of the Realme and howe they laboured to deface all others to the settyng vp of their owne estimation howe holy they aduaunced their owne order their religion and the estimation of their holy vowes which to blase out to the simple credite of the people they cared not what lyes they made of the greatest personages no what lyes they made openlye in stories wherof they were for the moste part the greatest wryters their wealth so abled them If ye aske an example ye shal reade in the storie of the muncke of saint Albons and out of Thomas Rudborne muncke of Winchester of no lesse personage then of king Henry the first his wyfe Mawd daughter to Malcolyne kyng of Scottes and to that moste holy woman margaret sister to Edgare Adelyng and maried to the same Henrie by the sayde Anselme Archbyshop who after due processe for that she was once for her safegard kepte in an Abbey at Winchester to put by vnworthy woers hauing on the vayle only without professing or vowyng and so proued to be free to consent to kyng Henries request in spousage as she her selfe dyd much stande in allegation to proue her selfe free and desirous to accept the kynges beneuolence Whiche storie and processe is tolde fullye by Edmere Anno. 1101. sometyme muncke of Canterburie who was a continuall associate to Anselme in all his doynges and iourneyes and auoucheth vpon his credence this to be true Yet commeth in the sayde muncke in magnifiyng the vertue of their monasticall vowes and wryteth that she vtterlye abhorred to be maryed to a mortall kyng seyng she had alredy Christe for her husbande insomuch that she was fayne to be long laboured of her father and all her frendes she hadde to geue her assent and with pure force and compulsion was compelled to geue her assent agaynst her wyll to marry with kyng Henry But with these wordes as is falsely fayned of her spoken in great bytternesse of heart Forasmuch as thus it must be after a fashion as I may I geue my consent but as for the fruite of my wombe that shall folowe this matrimonie I commende it to the deuyll for I haue vowed my selfe to God as to my spouse whose spouses ye haue attempted thus wickedly to defyle Thus farre that storie with more sclaunderous matter both to the kyng and his lawfull wyfe in respect of settyng out the vertue of their monastical vowes And leste ye shoulde thynke that he wryteth thus alone nowe foloweth the sayd Thomas Rudborne muncke of Winchester and telleth the same sclaunder of her and wryteth that she dyd curse the fruite that shoulde spryng of her body Wherevpon he saith further that Christe her spouse toke such vengeaunce in his ielousie for his spouses thus temporally maryed to a mortall kyng that so it folowed that the chylder of them both Wylliam his eldest sonne duke of Normandie and heyre apparaunt to whom the Realme was sworne and dyd their homage and Richarde his other sonne and his daughter with his neece and many other noble personages of the cleargie and laitie were drowned in the sea to the number of an hundred and fourtie persons and this miserable fortune dyd they ascribe to the mothers cursyng anno 1201. where Henry Huntyngton and others do ascribe it to the iust wrath of God for the sinne of Sodomie wherwith all or almost all were infected Whiche extreme plague of God so was sent for that vice of whiche Anselme gaue the occasion by his Sodomitical decree But thus was their estimation in munckery laboured for by them As it is also wonder to consider howe Munckes were conspired togethers to aduaunce them selues their houses and landes their vowes dignities insomuch that they had obteyned of Iohn 13. pope of Rome his letters to Edgare then kyng so councelled by Duustane archbyshop and other his sworne companions Ethelwolde byshop of Winchester and Oswolde byshop of Worcester to wryte to him requiryng him to see in his cathedrall Churches none to be chosen byshops but suche as shoulde be of the monasticall religion and wylled hym to exclude the seculer prebendaries at Winchester and in their place to put in munckes In whiche his letters the same pope Iohn wylled that neuer any of the seculer clarkes shoulde be promoted to the dignitie of the byshoppe there but first to be chosen out of the very same Churche or els of any other abbay whatsoeuer so he be a muncke or els he doth accurse both the geuer and the receauer iudgeeth him to be perpetually dampned at the day of iudgement Yea so superstitious they were in their phansies concernyng this monasticall vowe that archbyshop Oddo whose surname was Seuerus called to the Archbyshop sea anno 934. woulde not take vpon hym after his election to be consecrated before he had taken vpon hym for the more holynes of his dignitie the habite of a muncke at the abbay of Florence in Fraunce because saith he whiche yet he saith vntruely all the Archbyshoppes of Canterburie before hym were munckes And Baldwine Archbyshop anno 1184. after he had taken his pall and intronizated by and by he toke vppon hym the habite of profession at Mereton and declared saith Nubergensis the purpose of his religious mynde in outwarde habite Lib. 4. ca. 33. and so dyd his next successour Reginalde before his consecration dying by the way to Canterburie yet first takyng vpon hym the habite of a priuate muncke Wherevpon saith Treuisa of Oddo that he was lewdelye moued therefore to make him a muncke for Christe ne none of his apostles was neuer muncke ne fryer Loe after this sort dyd diuers of them magnifie the vertue of their vowes and habites to blynde the worlde with pretendyng holynesse outwardly but inwardly I feare were euen such as Wylliam Malmesburie before doth testifie of them Pag. 215. and recited agayne by Wylliam Thorne a muncke hym selfe
of the cleargie in their booke wherein they instructe a christian man to lyue godlye that it was lawfull for hym by gods worde to abrogate canon lawes repugnaunt to the lawes of the Realme and affirmyng further by testimonie of olde wryters that whatsoeuer was so enacted in this Englyshe churche had sufficient strength aucthoritie and power beyng a catholike and an apostolyke churche in it selfe the rather for doing their endeuour to returne all the order of the primatiue church agayne and therfore beyng more agreeable to Christes doctrine makyng more to edifiyng and benefite of Christes church What learned men standyng only to learnyng and reason can iustly eyther impugne the late state and order in this behalfe taken in the raigne of the noble prince king Edwarde the sixt or yet can reasonably suggill the doctrine and assertions published and set out in the dayes of that famous prince kyng Henrie the eyght by al his best learned cleargie as makyng way and preparation by their wrytynges and preachynges to put in execution that which was of late so vsed and practised If the fathers of Rome Churche diuers of the best learned by their prudence thought it meet to release the rigour of canons and rules of the churche whervpon they sometyme did dispence in diuers cases of great importaunce geuyng theyr assent before they were done sometyme bearyng and tolleratyng many thynges passed without auctoritie after they were done If their scribes and registers expositors of their lawe leaned alwayes to the equitie of the lawes fauourablie expoundyng them to the moste benefite and sauegarde of suche as were offenders agaynst Goddes morall lawes If the head fathers and pastors of other churches in their pastorall prudence vsed their tollerations in such cases as Origen doth testifie that the bishoppe in Alexandria permitted without agaynst the scripture a maryage to be made with a certaine woman in respect of her infirmitie as Millane churche and Constantinople churche vsed in the election of their bishoppes Ambrose Nectarius contrarie to the rule of the apostle as not yet christened as is before rehearsed And if that sayde holy bishop Ambrose dyd in his churche permit priestes to be maryed as Barnardinus Corius in his chronicle maketh report saith further that one Henribaldus Cotta a lawyer by profession beyng one of the first that woulde forbyd priestes to marry wyues was slayne of them for his importune extremitie Whiche thyng is reported of Ioannes Neuisanus doctor of lawe in his booke entituled Silua nuptialis where he aleageth howe the canonistes and schole men racke violently the lawes scriptures and gospels in this cause agaynst the true sense of the wordes and aduoucheth further that these canonistes make large thonges of other mens leather euen lyke saith he as the strumpet dyd of an other bodies chylde and that because they haue no wyues them selues Who when they haue any be aboue al other men burnyng in the fire of gelosie as he bryngeth his auctoritie therfore But nowe thus they speake saith he because them selues hauyng not only one paramour but haue many wyues and paramours and otherwhyles concubines also at one tyme together Whervpon he wysheth the lawe of continencie to be remitted and bryngeth in to ioyne with hym in this his iudgement not only the famous lawyer Panormitan but that notable man Felinus also with others And furthermore he affirmeth that the reasons of the canonistes of these dayes do proue that priestes after they be ordered may not marry be to no purpose because saith he they be grounded in couetousnes whiche is not conuenient to the true folowers of Christe And there in that his disputation he citeth diuers doctors who do disclose the corrupte intention of the canonistes in deprauyng and falsyfying the letter textes of Ambrose other doctors in the same cause If the churche of Ptolomais attempted so muche agaynste Christes religion and his apostles consentyng to electâ— a platonicall philosopher miscredityng the principall articles of our fayth and that after his open protestation that he woulde not as then either relinquishe his opinion or yet his wyfe and was accepted with them both What wyse man indued with any consideration of christian pollicie can iustly quarrel with the head pastor of our churche of Englande to tollerate thynges standing against no scripture at all so passed as they be Yea though they should vse more mercie and clemencie towarde the miserie of those ministers then some euyll and vncharitable instigatours woulde wishe they dyd If the vniforme assent and consent of wryters haue attributed so large auctoritie to counselles and bishoppes decrees to dispence so vniuersally that they say a bishop a mere diocesan may dispence with heretickes that other may the sooner returne agayne with scismatickes with simoniackes with suspended and excommunicates with adulterers with murtherers in theft in sacrilege in deacons matrimonie for afterwardes to be contracted with their protestation in priestes matrimonies alredy contracted so it be with a virgin and that he may dispence in orders and dignities vnder the state of a bishop If he ought saith the lawe as bounde by necessarie constraint of spiritual gouernaunce to dispence either in such cases where either some greater commoditie to folowe may be hoped or where the peryll of some greater inconuenience may be feared and sometyme in respecte of the multitude and to auoyde sclaunder of offence that els might be taken What may be gathered hereof by the wise reader and what auctoritie is and may be iustly thought to be resiaunt in the whole order and seignorie knit and conioyned al wholly togethers in one yf so muche be graunted to euery one of them seuerally alone If the Canons of one councell be drawen commonly to expounde an other as one lawe to declare an other then where it is decreed in the fourth councell at Tollet Quod Clerici qui sine consultu Episcopi sui vxores duxerint c. seperari eos a proprio Episcopo oportebit That clarkes that without councell or consent of their byshops haue maryed wyues c. must be seperated by their owne byshop agayne Howe reasonably then do these men crie for seperation of such of the Cleargie who dyd not vpon their owne heades attempt the state they be in and diuers of them neyther without the counsell nor yet instigation of their onely proper Diosesant but with the consent and aucthoritie of the whole order of all the Metropolitanes and Diocesantes in Englande in their deliberat consultation first among them selues and after so exhibited to the state of the Parliament afterwarde in their priuate diocesses commendyng the statutes passed and sendyng their Chaplaynes abrode in their diocesses to declare the commendations and necessitie of the same as be yet at this day auncient Bishoppes styll alyue remaynyng that can beare witnesse of this whiche is here affirmed yf they were therto required Last of all where that noble prince of famous memoriâ— kyng Henrie the
clericorum hactenus emanauerint sententiae patrum nullatenus ipsorum reformari quiuerit correctio morum vsque adeo sententiam iudicantium protraxere commissa culparum vt noÌ„ tantum ferretur vltio in authores scelerum verum in progenie damnatoruÌ„ c. Where as there hath passed before time many decrees of the fathers vpon the incontinente life of the Clergie and yet by no maner waies their correction of maners could bee brought to staie whereupon their incorrigible maners hath so far prouoked the fathers to geue sentence and iudgement that not onely due punishement should be executed vpon the aucthours themselues for suche enormities but also vpon the issue of these dampnable persones Therefore what soeuer he be from a Bushoppe to the Subdeacon that shall hereafter beget children on their maides free or bonde in suche detestable Wedlocke the saied children shall not onely not inherite their fathers gooddes but also shall bee in perpetuall bondage in that Churche where their fathers ministered Beside that the fathers themselues shall be condemned by the Canons c. Understande saieth the glose that this rule serueth for Priestes whiche do lawfully marie wiues for such be more greuously punished But what soeuer saieth he is here saied seiyng the churche hath not vsed this law she loseth her right in this point Ex Canone Apostolorum 24. Presbiter aut Diaconus qui in fornicatione Dist. 8â— Presâ—â—tâ—â— aut periurio aut furto aut homicidio captus est deponatur nòn tamen communione priuetur dicit enim scriptura non iudicat deus bîs in idipsum A Prieste or a Deacon which is taken in fornication or periurie or felony or murther lette hym bée desposed But let hym not bee excommunicated for the scripture saieth God iudgeth not twise vpon one thing Taken Dist. 50 si qui. Ca. DnoÌ„ sanct saieth the glose nay by sainct Marie not taken only must suffice And in the same Distinction he saieth that though the Canon of the Apostles bee the better because it is the more auncient then the other canons According to the woordes of the law Clericis Laicos infestos opido tradit antiquitas Laici in accusationem vèl testimonium ClericoruÌ„ nón sunt adnâ—â—â—tâ—naâ— exir lib. 3. cap. 3. De immunita te Eâ—â—leâ—iaruÌ„ Mary God forbid one to bewreye an other except it be in confession Dâ—st 81. Clericâ— In glosa yet it is preiudiced and derogated by the later And there he teacheth that though the CanoÌ„s be repugnant one against an other yet thei be all made by the instinct of the holy ghost But to the glose again Taken But how shall the lay men proue that saieth he seyng thei can not bee witnesses against a Clerke And when thei be so admitted for witnesses yet thei are not to be credited except thei haue seen the clerke euen from the beginning in his adulterie Yea beside all this laie menne may not be beleued in this poinct For the laitie saieth he is alwaie vtterly against vs. The verie wordes of the Canoniste But I put you a case saieth this good lawier and fauorable patrone of the Clergie that .ij. clerkes doe witnesse against one and aduouche that he hath committed fornication with suche a woman and suche a daie and then in this case ij laye menne on the other side affirme that he was with them all the daie longe in an other place I hold saieth he that then those .ij. laie menne ought to be better beleued because thei stand on his side that is accused And here ye maie see saieth he a good aucthoritie â—hat a clerke may purge hymself some tyme with laye menne Furthermore be it in case that a Prieste doe lie with an other mans wife in the churche the woman confesseth the fault the priest denieth it in this case commaundeth Pope Alexander the iii. that she be put to penaunce for a foole for bewreiyng confession The Churche must be clensed with holy water the Prieste must be put to his purgation of priestes of his neighbours more or fewer as please the Busshop If thei will depose for hym then let the prieste continue in his office notwithstandyng But what if the matter be so apparant that bothe the mother with her oth the childe with his face aduouch it and at the last the prieste confesseth it What remedie for suche a mischeife to saue the honour of the Churche Marie after he be examined priuely in thordinaries chambre he is inioyned penaunce but secrette to for the sclaunder of the Churche For it is decreed by their Lawes Dist. 28. Presbyter solennem poenitentiaÌ„ Clericus facere non debet A Clerke may not doe open penaunce As once I harde of a prieste examined of a Bushoppe that was a liue within these twentie yeares in his inner chamber whiche for suche kinde of blessyng his spirituall daughters was followed with earnest commendation of a gentleman in the parishe The Prieste confessed the deede before the Bushop and certen other so chosen Wherwith the Bushop was very angry for that he denied it not and blamed him much that he toke a single woman Ah nodie saieth he hadste thou no more witte but so A mannes wife dawe I tell thee a mannes wife I trust that if this Bushoppe were aliue he would bee more gentle then some Bushops be nowe except he had suche conscience as some Bushops haue now Dist. 81. Si qui sunt Now cometh in Gregorie in the same distinction and thundereth with wonderfull wordes to all maner menne throughout the dominions of Italy and Duchland Si qui sunt presbyteri Diaconi vèl Subdiaconi qui in crimine fornicationis iaceaÌ„t interdicimus eis ex parte dei Patris omnipotentis sancti Petri authoritate Ecclesiae introituÌ„ vsque dùm paeniteaÌ„t emendent c If there be anie Priestes Deacons or Subdeacons whiche doe lie in the crime of fornication we forbidde them or interdicte them of the behalfe of God the father almightie and by the aucthoritie of holy sainct Peter once to entre the Churche till thei be repentant and haue amended it But if any of them will rather haue a desire to perseuer in the offence let none of you all once presume to heare their Masse or seruice For their benedictions shall bee turned into maledictions and their praier shal be turned into sinne For so the lorde testifieth by the prophet I wil curse saieth he your blessynges Now whatsoeuer thei be saieth Gregorie that will not obey this wholsome precept thei shal incurre the sinne of Idolatrie c The glose there Dist. 81 si quis Understand this yet but vpon maried Priestes Saieth the Rubriche as this learned Lawier coâ—torteth it in the Chapiter folowing saieth that thei which bee constitute in holy orders maye not resorte or traine to their Concubines or wiues for if thei doe it continually thei must bée depriued of their ministerie and benifice too I maruaile that
where Ciuilians and Canonistes by suche iontly and commonly procedyng in degrée together and therfore haue greate agréemente and affinitie together and that of this Ciuilian it cannot be saied that he is ouer seen in the lawe Cannone But maie bee called Can all And then againe hath suche a pleasure to bryng in his Tolet counsailes out of Spaine so oft and so thicke that thei beare the greateste rule in his greate mustre of his strounge lawes and great Canons because he would not flater as ye may be suer that he would not yet bring some of these lawes gloses and deuine Canons where by yet he mought haue declared howe throughly and vniuersally seene he is in the Canon lawe and expositours of the same But peraduenture he meaneth the aduauncement again of the Church to restore the old puritie and chastitie of the Clergie as hath been practised And therefore would haue all the world beleue that maried priestes be the most vnlearned priestes in the world most slouthfull and negligent in ministration and that it is most impossible for them to bee oft in the pulpit or visiting the sicke in the night as he saith not keping hospitalitie in the daie nor be at home resideÌ„t and that thei be moste couetous to gleane and scrape for their wiues and children and therefore keepe no howses at their benefices and that thei bee most vncarefull and vnnaturall for their neuewes and that thei dooe nothyng els but sitte by their wiues side and daunce them on ther lappes all the daie longe and that thei cannot be well iudged in any thyng that thei do but are to be suspected in all the towne beside for their experience and are to bee iudged that thei can not bee contented with one woman alone Now on the other side he would haue good catholike menne brought again to good belief to thauncient faithe of the churche to the good opinioÌ„ that thei haue had of the clergie before tyme to suppose well of all their doynges not to suspect them in any case because thei looke so sainctly thei speake soe deuoutly and carpe so catholikely not to feare them though their wiues cal for them oâ—te in their sickenesse to be visited in the night and to be confessed and though thei knowe by Lente confession for whom thei shall praie for al the yere folowyng not to iudge their doynges but to presume alwaie well of theim And therefore he would haue the worlde wonne againe to the Articles that bee in their holy Canon lawe Where it is written by thaucthoritie of Pope Antherius â—i q. 3. Absit Absit vt quicquam sinistrum de his arbitremur qui Apostolico gradui succedentes Christi corpus sacro ore coficiuÌ„t per quos Christiani sumus Qui claues regni coelorum habentes ante iudicij diem iudicant c. God forbid that we should thinke any thyng sinisterally of theim whiche beyng the successours of the Apostles in degree make the bodie of Christe with their holie mouthe By whose meanes wée bee Christen people For thei haue the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen and doe iudge before the daie of iudgement In the old lawe saith he who soeuer had not obeied the priestes either he was cast out of the hoste and stoned of the people or els had his head strikeÌ„ of with a sworde and so the contempte reuenged by his blood But now saieth he the disobedient is cutte a sunder by spirituall execution or els is he caste forthe of the Churche and is rente in péeces with the rauenous teethe of the deuill The glose noteth therevpon Clericus amplectens mulierem presumitur bene agere Si ergo clericus amplectitur mulierem interpretabitur ê™ causa benedicendi eam hoc faciat vt Dist. 96. In scripturis quamuis CanoÌ„ solam coÌ„fabulationem interpretatur in deteriorem partem c. A Clerke embrasyng a woman-muste bee presumed that he doeth well Some old peuishe Canon of the Apostles or of the primatiue Churche If therefore a Clerke take a woman by the middle it must be interpreted ê™ he that he doeth it to geue her his blessyng as in the .96 Distinction Ca. In scripturis although saith he the Canon will interprete the onely talkyng with her into the worste parte Yea S. Peter is brought in in the same distinction to speake when he ordeined Clement to be his successor Dist. 96. ca. quicunque Quicunque contristauerit doctorem veritatis peccat in Christum patrem omniuÌ„ exacerbat deum propter quod vita carebit aeterna What soeuer he be that will molest and make sadde a doctor of the truth he offendeth against Christe and doeth prouoke God the father of all for whiche cause he shall also want eternall life Thus thei would haue the people brought againe to their olde faithe and credulitie and not to bee to suspitious of them that professe virginitie But of the maried Priestes let theim thinke as euill as thei can deuise for he so desirâ—th it and to muche punishment is to little for theim And yet theim selues stande in doubte some tyme whether thei maie performe this common catholike faithe one of them to an other In so muche that in respecte of their holy chastitie 24 q. â— Quis vidâ—â— belike wherof thei neuer haue hartie repentaunce their owne Canonistes saie Quis vidit dignè sacerdotem poenitenteÌ„ Who euer sawe a prieste worthely sory for his offence And therefore sainct Hierom in that distinction searching the old stories saith I can not finde any other to haue rent the churche and that haue deceiued the people but onely those whiche are set of God to be the Priestes and Prophetes thâ—se be thei which be turned to craftie snares in all places geuyng slaunder Chrysostome agreeth to hym de poenitentia Dist. i. Quis aliquando vidit clericum citò poenitentiam agentem si depraehensus humiliauerit se non ideo dolet quòd peccauit sed ideo coÌ„funditur quia perdidit gloriam suam Who euer sawe the spirituall man tourning from his faute For though he be taken and humbleth him self yet he is not heauie for that he hath offended but for this cause he his confounded for that he hath lost his estimation And in deede there bee some misteries in doctrine in this matter that priestes committyng fornications with twentie women and so liue all their life long bee not yet halfe so euill as Priestes that haue wiues Whiche wholsome doctrine a man maie some tyme heare not onely of meane learned men but of some of the hiest learnyng that holdeth so Which secret mischief me thinke this man Marten should haue in his head by the maner of his writyng For where he laboureth with greate trauaill of his witte to proue secular Priestes votaries that the Priestes vowe standeth in this point sc neuer to marrie that is to abiure mariage and to conteine from mariyng which vowe some Lawiers and Deuines to do call