from our church Ergo ours is not the discipline of Christ Then by this reason should no reformed churches be said to reteine the discipline of Christ or to be well ordered manie of them vpon diuersitie of occasions differing euen from themselues before and euerie one in some point or other differing among themselues Are all the churches of Denmarke Sweueland Poland Germanie Rhetia Vallis Tellina the nine Cantons of Switzerland reformed with their confederates of Geneua of France of the low countries and of Scotland in all points either of substance or of circumstance disciplinated alike Nay they neither are can be nor yet néed so to be séeing it cannot be prooued that any set and exact particular forme therof is recommended vnto vs by the word of God And therfore maister Deane of Paules in the said * Ibid. pag. 16. booke saith that one end of so manie counsels gathered so often in the primitiue church was this to make canons For the externall gouernement of the church which had not néeded if such a perfect platforme had béene deliuered thereof in scripture as some men vainelie blunder about And I verelie doo persuade my selfe that he being a man yet liuing and well knowne to be farre from anie vnreuerent opinion of the state and policie of our church whereof he is no inferior member himselfe and being best able to interpret his own meaning would if he were demanded quicklie conuince this man of factious and slaunderous wresting and racking of his words And seeing he obiecteth vnto vs the president of reformed churches in matter of discipline let him first by some proofe out of scripture or ancient writers approoue vnto vs if he can the debarring of the ciuill magistrate from all gouernment in ecclesiasticall causes and a presbyterie or segniorie consisting most of laie persons yet both of them practised by some churches which he and his clients most admire and as he shall deale in these he shall haue more of our worke of like nature which peraduenture will trouble the sconses of all the new discipline-framers we haue to auow by good and substantiall proofes Now vpon the quite ouerthrowe as he wéeneth of the discipline of this church of England he laieth foorth in behalfe of all inferiour ministers an action of wrongfull detinue for I thinke he will not saie it is but nouell disseisine against Our Bishops and archdeacons for challenging all punishing of malefactors within their seuerall iurisdictions If it be their iurisdiction by law why may they not so doo Forsooth bicause They permit not the minister to exercise any discipline at all Yes truelie as was touched afore they doo and may execute the discipline of declaring by doctrine according to the word of God mens sinnes to be bound or loosed and the censure of rebuking and reproouing openlie those that doo fréeze in the dregs of their sinnes which are not the least parts of discipline which is as much for auoiding of intollerable inconueniences which otherwise would ensue as is expedient to be attributed vnto euerie one and so is it all which the law dooth enable them with as may be easilie gathered out of the verie same demand of the Bishop for at the latter end thereof it is said So that you may Teach the people committed to your care and charge with all diligence to keepe and obserue the same so that the discipline which the minister is to execute reacheth no further than to Teach his parish with all diligence to kéepe and obserue so much of the doctrine sacraments and discipline of Christ as apperteineth to them And if no especiall preheminence might be attributed in matter of execution of discipline to one minister aboue other why is it said by S. Paule excommunicating the incestuous Corinthian Absens decreui being absent I decréed 1. Cor. 5. seeing they had ministers of their owne and willed the denuntiation of the said excommunication afterward to be doone openlie in the church And at the time of his absolution Paule being absent saith To whom you forgiue any thing I forgiue also Likewise speaking of the anathematisme of Hymenaeus and Alexander I haue giuen 1. Tim. 1. them vp vnto sathan not naming either their owne minister or anie segniorie But we must yet a little followe our author leaping backe for Another reason to prooue that This statute hath appointed the discipline of Christ to be ministred as the Lord commanded onlie and none otherwise which we will easilie grant him vnderstanding it in a generalitie not as though euerie particular ceremonie rite or circumstance of externall policie if they had beene as they are not in scripture mentioned but being not commanded were at an inch to be followed For else how could the primitiue church without any prescript word I doo not onelie saie haue brought in a new ceremonie but haue altered the sabboth daie by God appointed at the first and being our saturdaie vnto the first daie of the wéeke in scripture twise or thrise called the Lords daie and with vs sundaie or yet the time of receiuing the sacrament of the eucharist being according to the institution vsuallie receiued after supper to haue it receiued as it is in the morning fasting His reason for the proofe of this conclusion I gather vp thus If this part of the booke doo not abrogate all discipline vsed in time of poperie amongst the idolatrous priests as well as their false doctrine and prophanation of the sacraments then dooth it ordeine nothing but it dooth ordeine something or else it were an absurd law Ergo it abrogateth discipline vsed in poperie If this conclusion were granted yet his matter he hath in hand would not here vpon be prooued to wit That therefore discipline is no otherwise to be ministred than the Lord Christ hath commanded But I haue shewed afore this Minor to be false and that those words of the Bishop doo not dispositiuelie ordeine or abrogate anie thing for discipline more than they doo for the doctrine or sacraments which were prouided for by other acts and not by these words which were indéed absurd once to be imagined Also his Maior foloweth by no consecution for it might haue béene that those words had ordeined something and yet not to haue abrogated all the discipline vsed in poperie except it had by him first béene shewed that the same was contrarie to the commandement of the Lord and otherwise than this realme hath receiued it Which being not prooued we may conclude that he hath in all this section plaied vpon the Petitio principij a fallacie not fit for his person pretending some learning and too plaine for a man to be ouerséene in And therefore in his conclusion hereof he might haue spared his vehement expostulation of Open wrong and intollerable iniurie by the cheefe A proud and insolent terme full of pharisaicall contempt prelats for denieng to the saints of God the discipline they call for c. But if
all their forces are but wast wind and papershot The first reason he vseth for proofe that The administration of sacraments and execution of their offices hitherto is rightlie doone by such as he iudgeth to be no ministers is taken from the vncerteintie of their lawfulnesse and quoted verie strangelie Cod. de test li. 1. which would require a longer time to seeke it out where it cannot be found than I may affoord him Yet I thinke he ment L. 1. C. de testamentis which decideth in another cause something to the like purpose that It is not to be discussed whether the witnesses were bond or free which in opinion of all men were holden as freemen at that time when the testament was consigned and such as against whome none to that daie had mooued any controuersie of their condition So that the reason of the decision of this law is not the vncerteintie of their state which could not be called vncerteine being not so much as doubted of but the generall error which is his second reason in this behalfe And where â—e saith I know not vpon what warrant Contrarietie That the thing which is vncerteine is as though it were not at all he ouerthroweth his owne purpose in this place for if such ministers State before controuersie therof mooued were vncerteine then are they hereby euen at that time to be reputed as no ministers at all In the first place brought for proofe that a generall error maketh lawe and that therfore the generall error conceiued hitherto of such ministers lawfulnesse shall vphold all publike functions of the ministerie by them till this time performed no direct mention of any common error is made but that the award of a compromittée shall stand which is giuen by a bondman in truth yet being in possession of his fréedome His second place is false quoted Ad Maced in stead of De S. C. Macedoniano In his third place both in his originall and in his translation by following the corruption of the old text yeelding no perfect sense and contrarie to the credit of the Florentine or Pisane Pandects he taketh Propter Mistaking vsum imperatorum bicause of the vse of emperors in sted of Propter vsum imperitorum by reason it is so vsed by rude and ignorant His fourth place * L. 1. C. de lestamentis to this purpose which is the place he quoted wrong afore in this section is here left quotelesse Out of which places togither with the lawe Barbarius Philip. he concludes that in those seuerall cases so in the matters doone by these onelie pretended ministers the common error shall make them auaileable and to be reputed Rightlie and dulie doone where vpon I doo further aske as Barbarius Philip. though a bonduÌ„aue indeed being dulie chosen pretor in Rome was reputed a lust possessor of his office though he himselfe knew that he was of seruile condition and * L. quod attinet ff de reg luris therfore not capable Pag. 94 whether an vnskilfull minister for mallie ordeined though as our author heareth him in hand he himselfe full well doo knowe that he was vnworthie and therefore came in by guile and deceit may not in like sort be cleared from intrusion and be adiudged a iust possessioner by the said common error And if he may so why may he not continue still his said possession séeing he is no more In mala fide than he was in at the first by our authors supposall But he is afraid of another doubt least as the said Barbarius being once chosen pretor though the people who elected him knew not so much and therfore could not haue any such intention was by the verie operation of law thereby infranchised so our ministers though indéed vncapable yet by the ordination of the Bishop being a publike person trusted by the whole realme in this action should be likewise reputed in the eie of the law thereby inabled against anie incapacitie This knot he wrestleth with to vntie thus that as the award of an Vmpier reputed generallie a fréeman shall therfore be in force though he remaine a bondman as afore to his former maister and as the sonne being once commonlie reputed otherwise but afterward indéed detected to be vnder his fathers power and tuition cannot become a debtor vnto me vpon borrowing of monie which our author contrarie to law extendeth generallie to any contract and as bondmen vpon common reputation Ignorance in law for fréemen hauing profitablie béene vsed for witnesses being knowne as they are may be reiected from bearing witnesse euen so though Barbarius were Childish babling made frée by the people yet the maister was by lawe to haue the price of his seruant at their hands Which being thus anatomized we may well perceiue are so far from all consecution that they haue not so much as any similitude togither But what if the people must paie the price of the seruant may he not be frée as the law appointesh And may not any thing here notwithstanding the minister duelie ordeined for outward forme reteine in like maner his ministerie as Barbarius did his fréedome But I cannot coniecture either why he saith that Common error cannot take a waie priuate interest which no man affirmeth or how he can conclude with any colour vpon these vnlikelie comparisons That much lesse can common error of a few barre the whole church from a publike benefit due vnto them And I pray you if this be the error but Contrarietie Of a few in authoritie how can it be common and thereby vphold the functions of the ministerie executed by no ministers Pag. 89 Naie how can it be the error of the Bishops whom he meaneth when as he chargeth them to be In mala fide and to Knowe at the time of ordination that such cannot be qualified accordinglie as is required for the ministerie But to cut off all at once and to shew plainelie that if such as be no preachers or any other be indéed and truth no ministers at all as our author hath laboured to prooue then Common errour though in some cases it be a L. 1. ibi DD. C. de testamentis l. 2. C. de sentent ex pericrecitandis in l. Barbarius ff de officio Praetoris holden for truth and doo b 3. q. 7. §. tri ver verum make law yet in this point it shall not make good those pretended functions of the ministerie which erroniouslie such men haue executed and performed It is to be vnderstood that among manie exceptions and limitations of that rule this is one First if the partie vpon whome the common error runneth be not c Bart. in l. actuariorum C. de nummularijs li. 12. in l. de qui. ff de legibus Bald. in l. 2. C. de manumiss vind solemnelie and dulie elected to his place then dooth it make no lawe nor make the acts of force
thus Pag. 18 1 Whosoeuer taketh vpon him the office of a teacher amongst the people of God ought alwaies to attend to reading to exhortation and to dwel in the same Pag. 18 2 But the Minister taketh vppon him the office of teaching amongst the people of God 3 Therefore he ought to attend to reading to exhortation and to dwell in the same 1 He that taketh vpon him the office of a teacher amongest the people of God ought to bestow his labour in preaching and in doctrine 2 But a Minister hath taken vpon him the office of a teacher 3 Therefore he ought to bestow his labour in preaching and in doctrine Wherevnto agree diuers other decrees following THe reason why a Prior shoulde haue knowledge and be learned is for that the lawe chargeth him with cure of soules PRIOR AVTEM c. Let the Prior in comparison of the Ex de statut Monacho c. cum ad Moenasterium § prior rest next after the Abbot be a man of power as well in deede as in worde that by his example of life and worde of doctrine he may instruct his brethren in that which is good and draw them from euil hauing zeale of religion according vnto knowledge both to correct and chastise offendours and also to comfort and cherish the obedient Out of which constitution I conclude thus à similibus ad similia From like vnto like 1 Whosoeuer cherisheth and comforteth the obedieÌ„t to the faith and correcteth or improoueth the disobedient must be mightie in word and deede 2 But euerie Minister ought to cherish and comfort the obedient to the faith and to correct improoue the disobedient 3 Therfore euery Minister ought to be mightie in word deed Pag. 19 ANd therefore sithence both in this and in the former constitution the lawe-maker abused the worde of the Lord and applieth it to haue people taught false religion I meane Popish religion for that was the intent of the decrees And seeeing the Chaplaine of the diuell applieth the truth to establish his diuellish doctrine and vnder colour of veritie were so carefull to feede the soules of them that beare his markes with errour superstition and false religion Popish religion Seing I saie the superstitious law maker was so carefull for his superstitious time Our chiefe Prelates who haue not yet abandoned the pollicie of this traiterous law-maker as perillous for the gouernement of the state of the Lordes houshold ouer whom they challenge the gouernement but with tooth naile maintaine this his pollicie to be a pollicie meete for the Lords seruaunts to be guided by what can they ansâ—ere in defence of their wilfull disloyaltie to the Lord in this behalfe The lawe which the enimie vnto the Lord did make in the time of Popery for maintenaunce of popish procurations popish dispensations popish ceremonies popish non residents popish excommunications popish visitations popish paiments of oblations popish courts of faculties popish licences the very same laws and the selfe-same ordinances to serue their owne turnes they turne to the maintenaunce of their prelacies dignities and ministeries vnder the Gospell A reason of these their doings if they were demaunded I coniecture would be this namely that a law appointed by the aduersarie to abuses hauing good grounds may be applied to good vses and that it is not executed now any more as the popish law but as the law appertaining to her Highnesse crowne and regall dignitie being established by the high court of Parlement Pag. 20 Wherein touching the former they saide somewhat if the matter did consist inter pares and not the most highest as it were accusing him that he had not dealt faithfully in his fathers houshold giuing them as perfect a law for the gouernment of his houshold by discipline as by doctrine And yet by their leaues why then should not this law of the enimie last specified nay rather now their owne law hauing better grounds and better reasons for the validity thereof than the lawes mentioned before concerning their prelaties and dignities c. Why I say should not this be as auaileable with them now to exhort the people vnto the truth as it was with the idolaters to exhort vnto lies to dehort now from popery as it was then from the Gospell to instruct men now in the true knowledge of Christ as it was then to teach men the knowledge of Antichrist to correct offendours now against pietie and holie religion as it was then to correct contemners of impietie and prophane religion to comfort and cherish the obedient now to the faith as it was then to comfort and cherish the disobedient to infidelitie and Paganisme Touching the Acts of Parlament sithence they chalenge by them immunitie for the confirmation of their abuses it were requisite for them to giue the seruaunts of the Lorde leaue a little to chalenge as great a priuiledge by the same for the stabishment of the right vse of things through their default yet amisse and out of frame with vs. If the cause of the former in truth and veritie be as good as the cause of the latter in shew and semblance onely yea if it be far better for theirs in truth is starke naught the law authorize for the one indeed that that the same law in appearance onlie approueth for the other If for their fellow seruants sakes they will not be more fauorable vnto their Lord maisters cause yet were it expedient for theÌ„ to be intreated to be more fauorable to the iustice equitie of their owne laws than continually by placing vnable men in the ministery thereby as it were accusing the same of imperfection and insufficiencie Pag. 21 as though it tollerated anie such thing when as in truth it doth nothing lesse euermore speaking as followeth Pag. 22 VERVM QVI. A c. But because after Baptisme amongest Extra Cum de priuilegiis c. mtcr cuÌ„ctas § verum quia other things the propounding of the worde of God is most necessarie vnto saluation whereby the hearers hearing that which is our victorie be instructed in the faith be taught to flee things to be auoided and to followe things to be followed by which such as by sin are fallen do rise againe wee haue great care that such brethren be promoted which by sweete oile of the worde may comfort our subiectes may forbid them sinnes may nippe the wounds of their sins by reprehension and may prouoke and induce them to purge and wipe their offences with bitternes of repeÌ„tance Vnto the execution whereof the knowledge of the lawe of God is required the integritie of life and soule is to be had For it is written Thou hast refused knowledge and I will refuse thee that thou be no Priest vnto me because the lips of the Priests keepe knowledge and they search the law at his mouth For otherwise he can not as his duetie is discerne betweene sinne and sinne c. All which decrees of
which the Lorde Christ hath commaunded which is vtterly vntrue as appeareth First and principally by the word of God Secondly by the discourses written betweene the learned on that behalfe Thirdly by the Discipline practized by all the reformed Churches and lastly by Maister Nowell his Catechisme commaunded generally by the Bishop to be taught vnto the youth of the Realme in all schooles of their Diocesse yet notwithstanding the Minister contrary to a vowe made by him at the commaundement of his Ordinarie appointed therevnto by lawe is very iniuriously dealt with for that he is not permitted to exercise any discipline at all our Bishops and Archdeacons challenging vnto themselues a principall prerogatiue to punish all malefactors within their seuerall iurisdictions An other reason that this statute hath appointed as well the discipline of Christ as the doctrine and sacraments to be ministred as the Lord commaunded onely and none otherwise is this namely for that this statute was made to reforme as well the disordered discipline vsed in the time of popery amongst the popish idolatrous Priests as it was to reproue their false doctrine and prophanation of the sacraments so that neither the one neither the other should be ministred by the Ministers of the Gospell for otherwise this braunch of the statute should ordaine nothing and so contrary to the nature of a lawe be Lex absurda an absurd lawe Pag. 37 And therefore what open wrong and intollerable iniutie is offered the Saincts of God and loyall subiects to her Maiestie calling for discipline at the chiefe Prelats hands commaunded by the Lord and in truth established by the lawes of her Highnesse Empire euery indifferent man may easily discerue It followeth in yâ— booke of making of Ministers Bishop Will you be diligent to frame and fashion your owne selues and your families according to the Doctrine of Christ and to make both your selues and them as much as in you lyeth wholesome examples and spectacles of the flocke of Christ Answere I will Bishop Will you maintaine and set forwards as much as lieth in you quietnesse peace and loue amongst all Christian people and specially amongst them that are or shall be committed to your charge Answere I will In the ende when he layeth on his hands he sayth to euery one be thou a faithfull Dispensor of the word of God and of his holy Sacraments And againe Take thou authoritie to preach the word of God and to minister the holy Sacraments Which action speeches of the Bishop are to be wel wayed and considered The words which the Bishop pronounceth Be thou a faithfull Dispensor c. Take thou authoritie to preach are wordes appointed him by the whole State to be pronounced What was it trowe you the meaning of all the States and Nobles of the Realme or was it our most excellent Soueraigne the Queenes Highnesse her pleasure to haue enacted by Parlement that a Bishop should commaund an Apothecarie not exercised at all in holy Scriptures and altogether vnable to teach to be notwithstanding a faithfull dispensor of the word of God and to take authoritie to preach Pag. 38 No no they very well knewe that the outward sound of the Bishops words in the eares of such a man could not worke any inward grace or giue any inward vertue to the performance of so high a calling or of so holy a function And therefore as it becommeth a true and loyall subiect I dare not for my part so dishonourably conceiue of their wisedomes much lesse I take it should the Bishop so disloyally abuse their credite and authoritie Was their intent and purpose trow you that the Bishop by these his demaunds and the Minister by these his aunsweres should not bind the Minister himselfe to performe by himselfe this duetie to preach but that the same should be done by a third person I trowe no. For my Maisters and Doctors of the Canon and Ciuill Lawe Burgesses in the house of Parlement knowe that Promissio facti alieni inutilis Institu de inuâ—tilistipu § si quis est quod si testator iusserit aliquem in certum locum abire vel liberalibus studijs imbui vel domum suis manibus extruere vel pingere vel vxorem ducere per alium id facere non potest quia haec omnia testatoris voluntas in ipsius solius persona intelligitur conclusisse A promise made of an other mans fact is vnprofitable and that if a Testator shall will any to goe to a certaine place or to be furnished with the liberall Sciences or to builde an house or to paynt a table with his owne hands or to marry a wife that he can not doe any of these things by an other man because the will of the Testator hath concluded all these things onely in his owne person Was their meaning that the Bishop pronouncing these words Pag. 39 Be thou a dispensor was their meaning I say by those words to haue the Bishop commit the office of reading homilies to a Minister or to iudge reading of homilies to be preaching No no Their proceedings appeare to be of greater wisedome knowledge iudgement discretion and godlinesse They appointed by the same their consultation three kindes of offices to be in the Church Deacons Ministers and Bishops appointing seuerally to euery officer his seuerall dueties and hath expresly appoy nted reading homilies to be the office of a Deacon For in the ordering of Deacono the Bishoppe by vertue of the Statute pronounceth these wordes vnto the Deacon It pertayneth to the office of a Deacon in the Churche where he shall be appoynted to assist the Prieste in diuine seruice and specially when he ministreth the the holy Communion and to helpe him in the distribution thereof and to reade holy Scriptures and Homelies in the congregation c. I take it and hold it for a principle that the Bishop hath no authoritie by his Lordship to alter or transforme an act of Parlement and therefore I take it that I may safely conclude without offence to his Lordship that he can not by law appoint any Minister to reade any Homilies in any Church Statute lawe is Siricti Iuris and may not be extended What will you then by law positiue barre reading of Homilies in the Church No. But I would haue the Law positiue obserued and so barre reading of Homilies from a Minister because the Law positiue hath appointed that office to a Deacon For it is not lawfull for one priuate man and fellow-seruant to transpose from his fellowseruant an office committed vnto him by publike authoritie Pag. 40 And it is verily to be thought the Bishop himselfe will challenge as much vnto himselfe by this statute from the Minister and plainly tell him that by this statute he alone hath authoritie to make Deacons and Ministers and to gouerne them and that therefore it beseemeth not a Minister to be ordered otherwise then according to the forme of the booke and no
Otho I haue before cited this decree following which Constitu Otho Sacer. may aptly be repeated againe to prooue the hauing of a scrutine to be necessary before the making of Ministers as it was there to proue what qualities were requisite in them Quare cum nimis periculosum sit c. Considering that it is a thing verie perillous to ordaine men vnworthie idiots illegitimate irregular persons vnlearned persons vagarant and such as haue not anie certaine or true title indeed we ordaine that before the conferring of orders diligent inquisition and search be made by the Byshoppe of all these things And the glose vpon the word antè Est ergo necessarium c. It is therefore necessarie that this scrutine of the examinants preceede the conferring of orders euen as the commaundement of the father or maister must necessarily preuent the taking of an inheritaunce by the sonne or by the seruant and this must be so done for the irreuocable preiudice that otherwise might happen And because this collation hangeth on the disposition of law any preposteration contrarie to the order appointed by law shall annihilate the whole act Againe an other glose hath these wordes Ordinandi ita sunt subtiliter examinandi inquirendum est de natione in qua nati sunt an sint de illa diocesi an legitimè nati an bonae famae Men to be ordained are Glos in cap. constitutus ver ordinanâ— dos exide purgatione c. narrowly to be examined and there must inquirie be made what countrie men they are whether they be of the same Diocesse whether they be legitimate whether they be of good fame Quia in nullo debet eorum opiâ—â—o vâ—cillare Because their credite ought not to be Distinc 33. 〈◊〉 shaken in anie case And the Pope in that Chapter reprehending the curiositie of the Bishop vnto whome he writeth for too too narrowly inquiring after the manners of certaine compurgatours Vtinam saith he sic discuteres ordinandos I wish thou wouldest make such inquisition of those whom thou preferrest to holie orders Another reason why a Minister should be tried is because he must be learned but qualitas extrinseca vt literatura non praesumitur nisi probetur Glos de elec le â— ca si â—orte ver 〈◊〉 â—â— Dâ—â—â—tu â—â—p l. qui liberos An outward qualitie as learning is not presumed to be in a man vnlesse it be so prooued and therefore he is to be examined vpon the same Pag. 53 Et vbi dare volo filiam meam id est ecclesiam in sponsam debeo inquirere de dignitate sponsiâ— ratio quia eligens tenetur inuenire conditionem debitam filio And where I minde to giue my daughter that is to saie a Church to be a Bryde I ought to Extrauag â—om c. ad â—uiusâ—â—bet de praebâ—nd dig The triall of Ministers enquire of the worthinesse of the Brydegroome videlicet of the Prelate the Brydegroome of the Church and the reason is for that euerie father choosing an husbande for his daughter is bounde by lawe to choose one of condition meete for his daughter In forme and manner of ordering Deacons by the Booke of Edward the sixth a certaine triall is likewise commaunded the Bishoppe vsing these wordes to the Archedeacon Take heede that the Persons whome yee present vnto vs be apt and meete for their learning and godlie conuersation to exercise their ministerie duelie to the honour of God and edifying of his Church This manner of triall cannot better appeare than by a comparison to the proceedings and Commencements in Oxenford or Cambridge familiarly knowen to Schoolemen in both Uniuersities Whosoeuer is to take any degree in Schoole either Bacheler Maister or Doctour in anie facultie he must first set vpon the schole doores his questions where in he is to aunsweare He must publikely aunsweare to euery one that will appose him he must afterward in the Uniuersitie Church submit himselfe priuately to the examination of euery one of that degree wherevnto he desireth to be promoted He must afterwards be brought by his presenter into the congregation house to the iudgement and triall of the whole house and if he shall there haue a sufficient number of his superiours voices allowing his manners and pleased with his learning he is then presented by one of the house to the Vice-chauncellour and Proctours and by them as Iudges in the name of the whole house admitted to his degree The examination whereof mention is made in the Booke of King Edward the sixth somewhat varieth from this kinde of trial and consisteth in the interrogatories betweene the Bishoppe demaunding and the parttie aunswering For saith the Bishoppe Doe you thinke c. Do you vnfainedly beleeue c. Will you applie c. Pag. 57 And the partie aunsweareth I thinke so I doe beleeue I will c. For saith the Booke then shall the Bishop examine euerie one of them that are to be ordained in the presence of the people after this â—l 7. pag. 1. manner following Do ye trust c. Do ye beleeue c. There is also to be required by the Booke that the Bishoppe shoulde haue knowledge of the partie to be made a Deacon or Minister Which knowledge euery man wil gesse should not be a bare view or externall sight of the comelinesse and proportion of his bodily shape and personage but a sure and stedfast iudgement grounded vpon substantiall proofes of the vertues and ornaments of his minde and the same also should be a farre more exquisite knowledge than onelie to know the man to be an honest man because the Booke requireth him also to be an apt and meete man to execute his ministerie duelie for which one amongest euen the meanest of vs all hauing vppon a sodaine espied one like an honest man yea or one happily commended vnto vs to be a right honest man indeed which one I saie of vs would foorthwith familiarly greete this man clappe his handes vppon his head and liberally entertaine him to teach his sonnes Demosthenes in Greek or Cicero in Latine the partie him selfe being such a one as neuer had learned the Greeke Alphabet or the Latine Grammar Would we not be thus circumspect trow you as to trie his cunning ere wee trusted his honesty in this case With what qualities such as are to be made Ministers or Deacons ought to be adorned hath beene alreadie sufficiently declared out of the lawes positiue in force And now what is to be vnderstoode by the face of the Church whereof mention is made in the saide booke that that followeth may sufficiently instruct Distinct 24. c. quando vs. The Canon law touching this point saith thus Alià s autem c. Pag. 58 But otherwise let not a Bishoppe presume to ordaine anie without the councell of the Cleargie and the testimonie of the people Againe see that solemnly at a conuenient time and in 70. Distinct c. ordinationes the
but those who should sée more in them than they are able in themselues are to be blamed for approbation of them as appeareth by the * C. innotuit nobis Ext. de elect §. habito ergo law here quoted Pag. 17 But his first proofe which he here bringeth for the ouerthrow of meane competent and sufficient degrées of knowledge in a minister bicause he imparteth not vnto C. ignorantia dist 38. vs from whence he borrowed it belike he would haue vs to take it vpon his owne poore credit By the waie this I obserue that the highest degrée of knowledge which the law termeth Eminent or excellent he in his discourse termeth Sufficient perhaps to insinuate that no knowlege is sufficient for a minister but that which is eminent Yet this exhortation that Ignorance be auoided in ministers that bicause they haue An office of teaching the scriptures by them are to be read and that all their labour consist in preaching and doctrine dooth neither ouerthrowe the said distinction of meane competent and eminent bicause these points may be in men according to all these degrees nor yet argueth if these be not so exactlie performed by them that therefore they are intruders S. Paule exhorteth a minister to rebuke reprooue and to be instant in season and out of season yet if some performe these offices more perfectlie other more sparinglie according to their seuerall gifts of mildnesse and knowledge shall we saie that he which fulfilleth not those in the highest degrée and according to the best is therefore no true minister or rather that he dooth not the duetie required of a minister so fullie as he ought And so in this place by him alledged though a perfect patterne of the most necessarie part of their function of labouring wholie in preaching and doctrine is set before them for to striue to be attained vnto yet neither is praier visiting of the afflicted hospitalitie or administration of the sacraments hereby inhibited to a minister neither are all condemned hereby for Intrudors which being not so fullie furnished to performe that which in cōmon speach we call preaching doo teach according to the abilitie giuen vnto them of God and publish foorth his will out of the word though it be onelie by reading But in another respect this canon cannot necessarilie inferre such a skill in euerie minister whereby he may be a preacher bicause as in the most of the old canons Presbyteri are taken for ministers and Clerici for inferiour ecclesiasticall persons so is this word Sacerdos taken not for euerie inferiour minister but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the chéefe minister in the diocesse or Bishop and so * Gl. in C. quando dist 38. verbo a sacerdote the glosse in the next chapter following dooth expound it à sacerdote id est ab episcopo of the priest that is of the Bishop of whom the law in sundrie places laieth both a greater care in preaching and also a greater sufficiencie therevnto than ordinarie Also it may be trulie said that by Preaching in law is not alwaies meant that solemne expounding and breaking of the scriptures as we doo vsuallie speake but sometimes anie publishing of the word of God euen such as is done by reading may well be vnderstood And therefore the glosse dooth * Gl. in verbo praedicare dist 25. C. perlectis §. ad lectorem interpret those words of the canon Quae prophetae vaticinati sunt populis praedicare hoc est legere to preach those things to the people which the prophets haue prophesied that is to saie to read them openlie to the people But yet if we should admit this canon to be spoken of inferiour ministers and of preaching in the most vsuall signification we might with more probabilitie thus conclude than as our author dooth seeing for increase of his knowledge a minister is exhorted to attend to reading and exhortation of doctrine therefore he may rightlie be called a minister before he haue atteined to that perfection of knowledge which he ought to endeuour for And though he which dooth not bestowe his labour in preaching and doctrine to the vttermost of that abilitie which God hath endowed him withall dooth not as he ought yet as it followeth not of any thing by him brought so may we not peremptorilie thus saie that he is no minister at all or pronounce him An intrudor or without anie lawfull calling as the anthor dooth in this discourse though he come short of the proofe thereof in the conclusions of his syllogismes which are nothing else but foolish fallacies proouing a matter vnknowne or doubted of by a matter no lesse doubtfull 11. Section Pag. 18 19 20. HE draweth neere the dregs of his proofes héere when vpon a bare occasion of this to be Mightie in word and deed required of a prior being next to the abbat not to any intent of preaching but for obseruation of the regular discipline of the monasterie consisting as in the same chapter is mentioned in the maner of their meats their apparell their not enioyeng their goods in propertie and in the maner of their silence in some places and vpon the largenesse of Law racked that word as it is vsed in scripture for much more excellent gifts he would inforce that there cannot be such degrées in ministers as some to be of meane some of competent some of eminent knowledge and learning or else would No consequence in his reason gather whosoeuer is not so mightie in word and déed as this speach is sometime in scripture vsed for to be an intrudor and to haue no lawfull calling Whereas we sée no such matter of learning is hereby required to be in the prior as he imagineth neither if it were is it necessarie that euerie minister should be of as great sufficiencie as a prior though in a generalitie some offices incident to the one were also required to be in the other In his glosse or discourse herevpon as hauing prooued that which he promiseth he climeth into his throne and stoutlie demandeth of our chéefe prelats What they can answer in defense of their wilfull disloialtie to the Lord in not being so carefull as the superstitious lawemaker was for his superstitious time And by the waie he accuseth them To maintaine tooth and naile a policie of a traitorous lawemaker a policie perillous for the gouernement of the state of the Lords houshold and as though that gouernement which they vse were rather by them Challenged than duelie attributed vnto them And for proofe that the policie by them vsed is such he reckoneth diuerse points as popish Which they turne as he saith to the maintenance of their prelacies dignities and ministeries vnder the Gospell Surelie a verie gréeuous accusation being so generall and indefinite against so manie reuerend Fathers supplieng one at the least of the thrée estates of the land in parlement euen by the ancient policie of the same being
that euerie minister by his ordination is made a preacher Also the law * Reg. iniuncti art 80 40. Vide resp ad 40. sectionem dooth expresselie in many places authorise a minister to suffer preachers to preach in his cure and therefore it cannot be doubted but they may haue this dutie furnished by another The next alledged out of our prouinciall constitutions dooeth reason thus Persons and Vicars ought to labour to informe the people committed vnto them with the food of Gods word according to the measure that shall be inspired them Ergo it is directlie forbidden that the office of preaching should be deputed to anie other Héereof me thinke a man might more probablie collect against the principall matter now handled séeing the synod knew well enough the words of preaching sermons and such like which neuerthelesse in this place hauing so fit an occasion it dooth not vse but tempereth it in other maner by Feeding according to the measure that shall be inspired into them that therefore it was not the meaning of the synod to exact of euerie beueficed person a necessarie abilitie of preaching but were contented to staie vpon a competent skill where more exact learning could not be procured But a modest man would haue béene ashamed thus purposely to haue abused his readers by sending them to séeke the last constitution by him alleged in stead of * C. presbyterorum consti prou de off archipresbyteri another brought in afore or yet to auouch that this place more at large manifesteth his purpose to prooue that one may not preach for another wherof it hath neuer a word nor yet any resemblance neither yet dooth it exact of them to preach but to Informe their parishioners by the food of Gods word which may be done many waies beside preaching though not so profitablie And therfore the glosse distinguisheth preaching from doctrine and other * Glossa ibid. verbo latraeu information by a disiunctiue as being diuers things The beginning of the decretall Inter caetera Ext de off iudicis ordin perteining onelie to the Bishop may well be a reason to inforce a necessitie to haue the people of God fed with the word of God but it nothing helpeth any of these his Three issues by the authour to be prooned principall issues that he is no minister at all who cannot preach or that there may not be admitted the former degrées of seuerall measure in learning or that a man not able to preach may not procure that dutie by another to be supplied And if it had pleased him to haue called to remembrance the next wordes following the allegation which he brought in the next page afore out of the same Pag 23. in fine chapter he might haue séene * Inter caeterae Ext. de off iud ord vers generali there that Bishops either hindred as there is said or hauing great diocesses should choose fit men for the office of holie preaching which in their stead when they are otherwise letted may execute the said office and carefullie visiting their flocks committed vnto them might edifie them by word and by example and so be ioint-helpers and workers with them Therfore if that decretall should conteine a reason why one might not preach in anothers sted as the author séemeth to thinke it were a verie strange Antinomie and Brocard hardlie to be reconciled by anie supersubdistinction whatsoeuer 15. Section Pag. 25 26 27. Pag. 23 AN inquisition in this behalfe how the préests whom he transiateth Elders haue done their duties being no otherwise than is shewed before dooth not adde any weight to the former proofes for any of the said three issues set out and the words of Preaching or publishing vsed with a disiunctiue doo argue plainelie that he did not deale simplie before when hée would haue the expounding in the vulgar toong of the articles of beléefe the ten commandements c to be so manie sermons séeing they are héere plainelie distinguished so that any publication thereof sufficeth For a * Bald. in l. 4. C. de ver rerum signif gl in c. Ext. parte Ext. de rescript disiunctiue being put betwixt two persons is vnderstood for a copulatiue but being set betwixt two things as in this place it is far otherwise and implieth a disiunctiue indéed though the glosse doo séeme otherwise to salue it For euerie publication of a thing cannot be called preaching as we vse the terme in common spéech But why are Presbyteri such as are to expound in the church translated Elders I trust he mindeth not héereby to shut out all laie men from the eldership or seigniorie which is dreamed of least peraduenture he himselfe be Exclusisstmus But here he enforceth againe a place before alledged accompanied with two other glosses the place was afore spoken vnto and the glosses speake not to any other purpose as is euident than to require and with as great abilitie in a minister as conuenientlie may be had yet not condemning thereby all As intrudors or as no ministers at all that haue not aspired to that perfection which is the point in issue by him laid downe But in these two glosses also he kéepeth his old woont to quote them so generallie that a man may seeke them where he will for he shall be sure by any direction he giueth neuer to find them For although in nine or ten pages afore manie other allegations being brought betwixt he alledged the Constit Othoni◠cum sit ars place from whence he borrowed them yet now as though it had béene the next allegation before he vseth the quotation of Glossa ibidem the which dealing with other like by him vsed doo argue this at the least that he was loth to séeme to borrowe so much out of one place least he should thereby bewraie his want I the will gather for his purpose any thing of that which Rebuff saith That those are accompted vtterlie vnlearned that knowe not how to doo the office to the which they are bound then must he first prooue that no ministers besides preachers doo knowe how to doo the office to which they are bound and that of necessitie the office of preaching is incident to euerie minister according to that vnderstanding that this word Preaching is vsuallie taken in Yet it is verie generall thns to alledge Rebuff without quotation who hath written manie bookes and some of them of great largenes All that I can find any thing sounding this waie is Rebuff in praxi benef pag. 9. infol this Illiteratus c. A man vnlettered cannot be preferred bicause he that caret literis that is cannot reade or is not book-learned cannot be fit for diuine offices The Art 43. Iniunct Regi iniunction which he alledgeth prouideth that such as not long before the making of the said iniunctions had béene made priests being children and otherwise vtterlie vnlearned should not by the Ordinaries
sirra are you gone so soone my meaning is not that you shall take him away or haue any vse of him except vpon your desert I shall thinke good to ratifie this my figt vnto you vnder my hand and seale hereafter may I thinke you herevpon be so bold as of mine owne head before I haue his hand seale to breake open a gap in the hedge and ride awaie with him Truelie how he would take it I know not but I feare me my mistresse his wife would thinke me verie hastie vpon so slender a warrant to ride awaie with his graie ambling gelding and peraduenture I should fare the woorse at his hand also for my snatching Whereby he may sèe that this is but a Wrest of a gooses quill indeed not fit to set these Iars and ods in tune according to his purpose which differeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 srom the true meaning of the canon and iniunction The reason he bringeth if onelie By the licence to preach authoritie therevnto were giuen that then the making of a minister without a congregation should hereby be committed vnto the Bishop dooth no waie follow sèeing that preaching is neither the onelie office of a minister neither dooth the booke of ordering authorise simplie euerie minister as afore hath beene shewed but such as shall be So appointed whereof the * Art 8. iniunct Râ—g iniunction declareth the particularities for how can it appéere to others that he is licenced but by writing And in like sort is that reason out of the Eight iniunction Bicause ministers are inioined to suffer no man to preach within their cures but such as shall appeere to them to be sufficientlie licenced therevnto Ergo speciall licences to preach are onelie for men to be admitted to preach in other mens cures The reason of which consecution must néeds be this A man may not without licence preach in another mans cure Ergo he may without licence preach in his owne which is apparentlie grounded of no reason A negatione vnius disparatorum ad positionem alterius non valet argumentatio As if he should reason thus None but a freeman of Yorke may vse any trade in that citie therefore without any fréedome a man may doo it in the citie of London Or thus Whosoeuer denieth our author to be a puritane saith true but whosoeuer saith he is a foolitane denieth him to be a puritane bicause that he himselfe hath made an antithesis betwixt them Pag. 91 Ergo whosoeuer saith he is a foolitane saith true His other reason out of the iniunction which saith No other shall be suffered to preach out of his owne cure than such as shall be licenced Ergo euerie one in his owne cure may preach vnlicenced dooth no waie follow by the rules of Logike For licenced and vnlicenced in his owne cure and not in his owne cure are no contraries but contradictories which beginning with the vniuersall negatiue admitteth no consecution but his own contradictorie with a negation as thus None vnlicenced may preach out of his owne cure Ergo some not vnlicenced that is licenced may preach out of his owne cure Yet I grant the lawe admitteth diuerse times such reasonings and they are called A contrario sensu and grounded vpon this rule Quod * 32. q. 1. c. dominus exceptio firmat regulam in casibus non exceptis an exception dooth giue strength to a rule in cases being without the compasse of the exception whereof there be diuerse examples in the ciuill law insomuch that it is called by Papinian a 〈◊〉 1. § huius rei Fortissimum argumentum in one place Yet notwithstanding it hath diuers ff de officio eius cui maÌ„d est iurisd l 20. § mulier ff de testam l. 8. § si ignorantes ff mandati L. 3. §. prima verba ff de sepulchro vio l. 26. §. cum inter ff de pactis dotalibus limitations wherein it dooth not hold and namely b l. 2. §. fin ff de donationibus L 6. ff de condicti causa dati L. 1. §. quod vulgo ff de vi vi arm l. vlt. §. fin ff de iuris facti igno where the mind of the law-maker is otherwise as where it is put onelie by waie of exposition and not condition or c Instit de haeredita quâ— ab intestato §. 1. where the law dooth otherwise specially dispose as in this case it both hath béene afore shewed sufficientlie and appeareth also by the fourth iniunction where it is said they shall preach in their cures Once at the least in euerie quarter of the yeere in their owne persons being licenced especiallie therevnto as is specified hereafter that is to saie as is in the eight iniunction either by hir Maiestie one of the Archbishops for their prouinces the Bishop for his diocesse or by the Queenes Maiesties visitors to which we may adde or by one of the vniuersities of Oxford or Cambridge their privileges since that time being by act of parlement confirmed wherof this is not one of the least And lastlie it holdeth when the like reason is in d l. 14. §. 1. ff de seruo corrupto both the contraries as it is in this point For there is as good reason that a minister should be forbidden to preach in his owne cure as in another mans if he be not able to deliuer sound doctrine in that forme as such high mysteries ought alwaies and in all places to be handled The other argument brought in the last place Whereas in king Henrie the fourths time restraints were made for preaching and yet none were forbidden to preach in their owne parishes that therefore in their owne cures none now are or ought to be forbidden is a verie féeble reason First there is a great difference betwixt Not licenced and forbidden Againe Viueudum est we must liue according to our owne lawes now and not by examples forepast Further it commeth néerest to a reason A simili but then it should conclude that as they ought not so neither ought we And not thus They did not forbid it therefore we may not forbid it And here also he driueth vs like water spaniels to séeke out once againe where we may find that which perhaps he was not willing we should hit of But first I would obserue if it were not vsuall with him Theonino dente rodere his disloiall and vndutifull carping at hir Maiestie and hir lawes where he saith The verie same lawes were established Distoiall speech against hir Maiestie against Wickliffe and his brethren to staie the course of the gospell hauing spoken afore immediatlie of hir Highnesse iniunctions Secondarilie I find by the perusall of the * Const. prou 1. de haereticis verb. si tamen constitution it selfe that he hath cut it off by the waste in that which most directlie maketh against him For in the next words following his first allegation is adioined
desire to be vntaught therefore as concerning these proofes I cannot imagine I saye how they should be made It resteth then that the euidence of the fact must be the proofe whereon plarlfied men relie that the brgent necessitie and euident vtilitie of the Church for the hauiâ—g of many benefices is a thing so notorious and euibent to all the worlde that none may deny the same Wherein how grosse and palpable their errour is I lenue to the consideration of indisierent men thorow out the whole worlde Now if you ad this last parte of the definition of a Dispensation and suppose that it must be graunted Cum causae cognitione with knowledge of the cause that is by alleadging and prooning thinges inste and equall in the sight and indgement of the Parliament house you shall finde cithèr all or the most parte of Dispensations graunted in the Courte of Faculties for manie Benefices not to be the thinges defined and so to be nothing in câ—â—ect at all and therefore though they as yet seeme to stande good by Lawe yet to be suche as ought to be rcuoked and made vopde by Lawe Quicquid contra leges accipitur per Distinct 10. c. vides Extra de priueg c. porro c. pe Extra de priuileg cod de leg coÌ„stetu l. 2. leges dissolus meretur Pag. 159 Whatsoeuer is admitted egainste Lawe deserueth to be loosed by Lawe Et sic eos voiumus priuilegiorum suorum seruare tenorem quod eorum metas transgredi minimè vide antur And we will them so to heepe the tencr of their Priuileges that they seeme not in any cause to passe their boundes Nam qui permissa sibi abutitur potest ate priuilegium meritur amittere Et qui malitiosè priuilegium princepis interpretatur infamis efficitur For hee that abuseth power graunted vnto him deserueth to loase his Priuiledge and hee that malftioustie interpreteth the Priuiledge of a Prince is made infamous Besides these there are diuerse and sundrie other causes for the which also a priuiledge as vnlawsull is reuocable Priuatur 3. 9. b. c. haec quippe 1. 1. 93. priuilegiuÌ„ Extra de De cret Suggestum 25. q. 1. c. de ecclesiassicis ff de vulg pupil Substitâ—s l. ex pacto glos c. imperator ver quod non 25. 9. 2. xcix distinct ecclesie ff de constitu princ l. penult De. glos in c. quid pernouale Extra de ver 6. signifi c. magis lib. 6. De rescrip statutum quis priuilegio propter scandalum qui non exercet ad subditorum vtilitatem sed ad suam voluntatem c. A man looseth his Priuiledge if an oftence growe by meanes of his Priuiledge and hee that dooth not exercise his Priuiledge to the prosit of such as are vnder him but at his owne pleasure such a man loofeth his priuiledge And a reseript ought to bee such that it hurt none and at what time so euer a priuiledge â—urneth to 〈◊〉 it forth with preuâ—â—leth not neither ought the Poye for the increase of his owne honour diminish the right of the Church or of anie other And the reason is this Prepter euidentem â—tilitatem enorme damnaÌ„i 〈◊〉 ab eo quod diâ— vsâ— obtentum est For some common profie some inordineie hurt we for go that that a long time hath ben vsed and obserued Now whether the lawfull bounds of dispensations bee passed whether they be abused or inaliciouslie vsed whether anic offence growe by them whether they bee vsed rather to the profit of the people then to the pleasure of the person whether anie iniustice be committed and the right or title of anie other bee impeached or anie great damage ensue by them I referre it to the iudgement of men of experience in our time Sure I am that the Lordes seruants speake against them preach against them and write against them Pag. 160 Sure I am that the bices growing by them are as rife as euer they haue beene in anie age heeretofore Sure I am that the prosperous state of the Ministerie is impouerished by them Sure I am that the people are vntaught by them And fore I am that the Lorde is dishonoured by them and his Gospell hindered by them And therefore I conclude thus against them Cessante ciusa cessare debet effectus the cause ceasing the effect ought to cease The assumption is manifest For equitie grounded vppon vtilitie and necessitie of the Church was the cause of Dispensations but the equitie ceaseth therefore the other shoulde cease What is more contrarie to naturall reason saith a Lawyer of singular iudgement then that one and the selfe same man shoulde take vnto himselfe diuerse stipends of the Church in diuerse and farre disraunt places What common weaith of man sayth hee suffereth her Iudges her Rulers her Notaries and other officers to gadde abroade and in their absence to inioye their stipendes What man though his House bee ample and verie rich dooth vaie to his seruaunt absenting himselfe the wages due to many seruants or adinitteth to serue in his roome whome so eure the same his seruant shall appoint him in his roome onelie the house of God the holie Church is by such inordinarie dealing depriued of her Ministerie and defrauded of her lawfull duetics what shall the Church of God the best beloued spouse of Iesus Christ which he hath redeemed by whippinges by buffets by the shedding of his bloud feede hawkes bring vp dogs pamper horses nourish whoores flatterers and seditious men which trouble the common wealth and in the end concludeth thus Effect us dispensation is est vt siperperam concesse sit tam animam concedentis Rebuff de dispensatione ad plura bene fic fo 149 64. quam dispensantis ad infernum deducat Pag. 161 The effect of a Dispensation is that if it be graunted vnorderlie it carrieth the soule as well of hun that giueth it as of him that receiueth it to hell Whereas it may be supposed that fees paide into the Hanaper by passing of Dispensations vnder the great seale are a great increase of her Nighnesse treasure and an augmentation of her teuenues I aunswere that dispensations for Syinonie Nonresidencie and manie benefices are so farre from becing anie increase of her Maiesties treasures as that they are indeed a great diminishing of the same For first as touching dispensations for Syinonie whereas by cuery dispensation granted vnto a Symoniacall person her Nighnesse receiueth into her hanaper at the most shillings the greatest ordinarie fee limited by the said statute for anie dispensation to be graunted her Maiestie for the same looseth 10. 20. 30. 40. or 50. pounds to be paide into the court of Tenths and First-fruits For were the partie committing Symonie for the same offence by lawe depriued from his benefice her Nighnesse were then to haue of the next incumbent the whole First-fruits of the said benefice euen ten times so much at
in the f c. Clericum c. sequente ib idem Councell of Chalcedon that a man may be a Bishop of one place and an Archbishop of another all at one time yet the one by title the other by way of Commendam like as we read of Oswald who in the daies of king Edgar before the conquest reteined both the Archbishoprike of Yorke and the bishoprike of Worcester together An example also here of more ancient dooth appeere in the g c. relatio c. vl ibidem daies of Gregorie the Great where by his appointment one was both Bishop of Terracon and Bishop of Funda at one time yet the one by title and the other Commended vnto him by waie of trust for tuition And the glosse hath verie well gathered out of Hostiensis fiue other causes wherein two benefices may be committed vnto one man to be holden in title h c. vnio 10. q. 3. c. eam te Ext. de aetat qual First when the churches be of poore and meane reuenue i c. vli §. sique dist 70. Next by the dispensation of the Bishop so that it be in his owne diocesse and in simple benefices for k Add. ad gl ver in duabus ibidem otherwise it belongeth saith he to the Pope to dispense l c. 1. in fine 21. q. 1. Thirdlie for scarsitie of sufficient men to serue in that function vpon which consideration the canon alloweth in villages in the countrie one man to haue two benefices m c. relatio d. c. de multa c. ordinarâ— Fourthlie by dispensation of him that hath authoritie which in those times they attributed to the Pope n Gl. in ver pendeant c. eam te Ext. de aetat qual c. super co c. cum singula in pri ver nisi vnus de prebendis in 6. Fistlie and lastlie if one benefice be annexed or doo depend vpon another 7. Section Pag. 113 114 115 116. THe Abstractor seemeth in this section so big with matter that he confusedlie shuffleth togither the confutation of his aduersaries supposed obiections with the proofes which he bringeth to ouerthrowe dispensations as not knowing whether of them he had best to be first deliuered of and yet it will prooue but a timpanie which in this maner dooth no lesse trouble him than if it were an arrow sticking in a dogs leg First of all he here telleth vs that Although the magistrate in some cases besides the law may licence and dispense yet in the matter of pluralities it will not be found being as much in effect as if he had said None authoritie whatsoeuer can lawfullie warrant a man to reteine two benefices This neuerthelesse he leaueth vnproued wholie and passeth on by waie of obiection vpon ground of certeine generall rules to frame for those which are Abbettours of pluralists a reason which I will breefelie gather into a syllogisme though he haue onelie framed an enthymeme thereof and in steed of the antecedent to wit Pag. 120 that Churches were founded and distinguished by law positiue which afterward he affirmeth to be vnture he héere denieth not that but the Consequence as vnnecessarie and sophisticall The argument may be thus gathered The same authoritie which hath first distinguished churches may vnite them againe For the reason and ground whereof he bringeth these generall rules He may pull downe who hath set vp and the interpretation of the law belongeth to the law-maker But the authoritie of positiue law hath first distinguished churches Ergo the authoritie of Positiue law may vnite them againe To those generall rules in the first place he answereth that If they be generallie vnderstood without limitation distinction they be either vtterlie false or else contrarie and repugnant to other principles of law Truelie this is verie strange law vnto me to heare that one principle of law is contrarie to another If he had said repugnant alone it had béene tolerable but he speaketh with a copulatiue and saith they are both contrarie and repugnant Wherin also he ouerleapt his Logike a little for there can be no doubt but that euerie Contrarietie is a Repugnancie though not contrariwise And I alwaies was charged to beléeue that there were no Antinomies in law though yet this be true that méere contrarieties yea and contradictions also as afore hath bene touched may be collected and will follow vpon those reasons which may be gathered vpon generall rules And therefore the safest and most sound reasoning is drawne from the particular decisions of law and not by the inâ—nit disputes and altercations as Tullie calleth them arising of generall rules And where he saith that If they be generallie vnderstood without limitation they be false how can he applie this anie waie to his purpose Except happislie he will reason in this sort There are some cases wherin they faile Therfore they faile in this point also which we now speake of and then this is a Fallacie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Also where he secondarilie answereth that No Maxime in law is so infallible but that it receiueth limitations and restrictions he saith trulie though to his purpose verie impertinentlie except he could shew that in this case which we now haue in hand it is so limited and restrained as he would inforce And yet by the waie it may please him to call to mind that now he Inconstant dealing condemneth that reasoning vpon generall rules As weake and without any sure settling which so oft he himselfe in the first treatise hath vsed Also in this place we may obserue a contradiction by him deliuered where he saith No rule A plaine contradiction can be so generallie giuen that receiueth not some limitations which is as he affirmeth an infallible Maxime in law For either this Maxime generall rule must not be so infallible but that it shall receiue some limitations or else that other must be vntrue that there is no generall rule but it hath his limitations But he leaueth at the last these reasons of randon for proofe onelie that generall rules may receiue limitations and taketh now vpon him to prooue that these two rules then doo faile in déed and receiue limitation when the cause of the prohibition is perpetuall But his proofe hereof is nothing else but his owne assertion without either law or interpreâ—or of law which so dooth limit it For in déed the law which he here quoteth and the glosse which alledgeth that law saith nothing else but * L. 35. si stipulor ff de verb. obliga this that If I take stipulation or bond of a man to doo that which either nature forbiddeth to be done or which the lawes doo forbid so that there shall be a perpetuall cause of the said prohibition the bond is void But how dooth this prooue that the generall rules afore touched be limited and distinguished by this law whereof it maketh no mention Yet if we should
manie or more weightie reasons do swaie one waie against fewer or meaner reasons of the other side Secondarilie this happeneth when as one reason and principle is so counterpeised with another to the contrarie that it cannot well be decided whether of them ought to be of more moment As when it was doubted whether in fauour of libertie it were better to permit a yoong man alreadie come to his owne guiding to manumit his bondmen or else to bind him from it till he should atteine the setled ripenesse of xxv yeares of age required to other his alienations It was by Iustinian prouided Feriendo medium bicause of inconuentences that appeared on both sides that he might manumit them at the going into the xviij yeare of his age And this equalitie indifferencie of principles differing as it were euenlie among themselues is that which bréedeth such great diuersitie of iudgements and so manie controuersed opinions in law both In schooles and consistories when men in pondeting and waieng of them are distracted into diuerse opinions thereabouts Whereof rightlie to determine is in truth the cheefest point of maturitie and discretion that may be wished or can be had in a notable iudge And yet herein it offentimes commeth to passe that in respect of right and iustice it is not greatlie materiall whether the one reason or the other be allowed bicause in regard of sundrie circumstances reasons and motions of a mans mind the selfe-same thing may be diuerse waies if not well determined of yet at the least not vniustlie which bicause vnskilfull men doo not vnderstand thinking that vpon euerie externall transmutation of anie matter the inward propertie thereof is changed and haue not learned to conceiue that as in the sea it is not requisite nor skilleth greatlie to haue all men saile iust in one line which go for one hauen or port they doo therefore make great stirre about nothing as some huge volumes of law for want of consideration hereof vainelie written may testifie Thirdlie when as the weight of these contrarie principles about a matter are neither such that one of them may farre surmount the other nor yet of such equalitie but that the one shall something rebate and diminish the force of the other whereby that which directlie cannot be brought to passe is by some circuition otherwise effected As although no law of nature be to the contrarie but I may freelie marrie hiâ— which was betrothed onelie in mariage vnto my brother without solemnization or carnall knowledge yet is this in regard of a kind of externall publike honestie not permitted by law positiue And though reason would that a man should not be damnified by anie contract wherevnto he is inueigled by guile and mal-engine neuertheles it is thought necessarie that he should first by sentence haue his intire restitution vnto that condition which he was in before his circumention And further vpon due consideration of circumstances euen the principles and reasons that be generall doo often yeeld and giue place to those which be but singular ordinarie to extraordinarie internall to externall yea and naturall to such as be but ciuill and positiue though by ordinarie course it be cleane contrarie Which due pondering of circumstances is of such force that it interpreteth offentimes the generalitie of some lawes of God and declareth in some especiall cases the reasons of them to cease though they themselues in generalitie or in Abstracto as others do speake are immutable For though the law of God be generall that he which sheddeth mans blood his blood shall be shed by man that we should doo no murther yet is not the magistrate or executioner of iustice vpon malefactors nor they which in their owne iust and necessarie defense or by chance-medlie and misaduenture doo happen to kill another guiltie of the breach hereof or to be punished with penaltie of death And therefore vpon these and such like circumstances God himselfe did dispense with their life and appointed vnto them certeine cities of refuge as sanctuaries to flie vnto for their safegard So did he by Moses his seruant dispense for the hardnes of their harts with the law of thâ—indissoluble knot of mariage And though by the law of God and of nations all contrectation of another mans goods without the owners consent be theft yet is this matter so qualified and abridged not vnlawfullie with vs in England that an apprentice or seruant which carieth and imbezeleth awaie his maisters goods and wares remaining in his custodie and vnder a certeine value shall not be holden as a theefe or punished as a fellon And it is euident that exceptions doo abridge and limit the generalitie of rules the common law of the land dooth restraine and interpret the Maximes in that law and the statutes and acts of parlement doo cut off the common law But let vs passe from those things which in generalitie being forbidden haue yet their exceptions and vpon the concurrence of some circumstances are exempted from the reasons and generalitie of such lawes Touching his Antecedent which is that The reasons of prohibiting pluralities are drawne from the law of nature and of God which hereby he prooueth bicause they were forbidden For auoiding of couetousnesse ambition theft murther of soules dissolution and for reteining of comlinesse and decencie in the church it hath béene partlie spoken vnto in the beginning of the examination of this treatise Further it is to be remembred that if these inconueniences doo but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and for the most part follow the enioyeng of mo benefices by one man or be but Causae 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or impulsiue vnto that prohibition for the surer auoiding of such danger then cannot anie sound reason be grounded vpon them to prohibit mo benefices to be reteined by one man both bicause a good man may vse that thing well which might be an occasion of sliding vnto some other not so well staied and also for that the law may remaine where the impulsiue cause thereof ceaseth and of the contrarie such cause may be of force when the law is abrogated But if he will make them necessarie actuall effects arising as of a formall or efficient cause from the reteining of mo benefices and presume necessarilie that all these must needs possesse him that inioyeth them then should this fall out to be so either by reason of the quantitie of the stipend liuelihood arising of them by the quantitie of ground and content of both the parishes by the number of the parishioners of both or by the diuiding of the auditorie whome at seuerall times the minister is to instruct If the quantitie of the liuing and reuenue doo so necessarilie infâ—ct a man with these vices and enormities then should he haue set downe what ought to be the iust measure and standard of euerie ministers yéerelie reuenue which he may not come short of least he want sufficiencie of maintenance nor anie waie
such souereigne is the lawgiuer himselfe or by presumed intention that they which made the law meant to yeeld power of dispensing with the rigor and extremitie of it vnto him in all * Arg. ex gl §. fina l. tale pactum ff de pactis such cases as by likelihood and probabilitie they themselues would haue dispensed with if they had bene in particular it ie opened and recounted vnto them at the first establishing of it But an inferiour vnto whom anie such authoritie is expresselie yet without full power and authoritie committed is to follow in all points the direction of his commission or where the same is defectiue the common positiue law concerning the ruling and guiding of such dispensations And this same presumed intention of the meaning of the lawemakers is the most proper cause that in my iudgement can be assigned generallie of euerie dispensation of this qualitie and condition Now when a c. si quis culpatur 23. q. 1. c. in pres de renunciat gl in c. ad aures de temp ord in c. 2. de maior obed Cynus Bart. in l. fin C. Si contra ius vel vtil Fely nu 60. Dec. nu 24. in c. quae in cccle Ext. de constitut a souereigne prince dooth dispense with any positiue law of man the lawe teacheth vs to intend and presume both that there is a cause why he should so doo and that the same cause is iust and sufficient insomuch that b Anchor cons 288. Fulgos cons 143. Loazes pag. 371. no proofe to the contrarie of this presumption may be admitted as some doo hold but if he doo dispense with such a law of man as hath some necessarie and neere coherence with the law of God or of nature as for example sake we may assigne lawes for distribution of almes and other beneficence to the poore godlie bequests and deuises of the dead vnto good vses without a good and sufficient cause in déed though both the dispenser and he which is dispensed with in vsing of it doo in the inward court of conscience and before God offend yet neuerthelesse that verie relaxation of the bond there of being onlie of man shall stand so farre foorth good and effectuall as that the acts c Fely vt supra nu 6. Bart. post gl in l. relegati ff de poenis which by vertue thereof are doone shall be in the court of man auailable and not to be impugned Yea by the opinion of some verie well learned such acts doone shall be of force d Syluest rer Papa que 15 euen in the inward court of a mans soule and conscience For example wherof they bring a dispensation granted without any cause for the mainteining and sirengthening of a clandestine matrimonie contracted which is condemned iustlie by the law of man vpon verie good and pithie reasons And howsoeuer both the parties themselues saie they haue offended therin first in so contracting then in vsing a dispensation vpon no iust ground and he also that shall condescend to dispense with it being mooued with no good reason therevnto yet the matrimonie shall be of force and the issue thereof is in both courts legitimate And whereas a Fortun in l. Gallus §. quid si tantū ff de l. post some doo seeme to be of contrarie opinion héerein which thinke such a dispensation granted without cause not to enable any act to be of force which is done by vertue thereof their opinion is thought not to be sound except it be vnderstood of an inferiour that shall by commission haue a limited and not full authoritie from the souereigne to dispense b Innoc. in c. cum ad monasterium de statu regulaerium in c. dudū 2. Ext. de electio bicause such a dispensation from him cannot be of any validitie either in the one court or the other except it be warranted as procéeding vpon some good cause For we are not by law to presume and intend for the goodnesse and sufficiencie of the c Fely in c. que in ecclesiarum Ext. de constitut gl DD. in L. relegati ff de poenis est com opinion Loazes in loco citato cause for any dispensation passed by an inferiour not endowed with full power and authoritie vnlesse it doo so appeare indéed Now on the other side if he that hath authoritie be he souereigne or inferiour doo grant a dispensation without any reasonable cause about such a law as is méerelie positiue and hauing none immediate or néere relation vnto the law of God or of nature then albeit he in so dispensing d Ber. in c. non est Ext. de vnto Thom. 1. 2. q. 97. ar 4. dooth offend by breaking that right and equabilitie of the law intended to publike good and which is common to all in fauour of one yea and that without any iust cause of preheminence to him aboue other yet he that vseth such dispensation especiallie if it be without greeuous offense giuen and direct damage of others dooth not e Gl. in ver execrabilis Ext. execrab de praebend Fely c. ad audientiam 2. de rescriptis Gigas de pensi q. 6. nu 13. offend against a good conscience but may lawfullie inioy it bicause he is by the same authoritie deliuered from the bond of that law by the which he stood bound as is euident in the verie matter of pluralitie and dispensation which we haue in hand And according to these distinctions are all those things to be vnderstood which to like purpose here and there in this treatise as occasion was or shall be offered are by me vttered whereby the grounds and causes wherevpon all dispensations and exemptions may lawfullie and safelie be granted and vsed according to the more sound opinion of the best learned lawyers and schoolemen may partlie I hope with some plainenesse be discouered But if it should be asked in which degrée and sort of these three dispensations those for pluralities which by statute of the realme are committed to the Archbishop of Canturburie ought to be placed Truelie in consideration that both they and other dispensations by him to be granted are there so bounded for the matters themselues and for the persons though not for the maner of procéeding are so exacted of him to passe them where iust cause appeareth that if he shall refuse to dispense then this power and authoritie giuen by the whole church and the realme to him shall be deuolued ouer to others I cannot see but that they are to be reckoned either amongst those Dispensations of iustice which are conuersant about the positiue lawes of man or amongst such as be mixt of both 14. Section Pag. 129 130 131 132 133 134 135. HEere the Abstractor fansieth that he hath so battered vs with his canons that we must be forced to raise a rampier of our statutes to make vp the breach whereas in truth
the papist and other heretikes are suppressed and barbarisme is kept out will follow after a beggerlie and contemptuous cleargie when as by their liuing they shall be scarse able to find themselues and their families and therefore much lesse be able to furnish themselues with such bookes as are requisite to atteine vnto any exactnesse or maturitie in learning The lamentable experience of which decaie of learning by the smalnesse of church liuings some notable churches and common-weales of the other side do alreadie partlie féele but the wiser sort of them doo more feare to smart for hereafter And therefore where the Abstractor assumeth that the cause and reason wherevpon such dispensations were vsed dooth cease and would thereby gather that the effect should cease I saie that when he or any other shall haue prooued that not onelie some one cause thereof but all the causes and not * Arg. l. 1. §. sextan ff de postulando onelie the impulsiue but also the finall causes of it are ceased then as law willeth I must grant the act in that point to be laid on sleepe and not to be put in vre till some of the same causes shall happen againe But besides his owne assurances which are sure and good inough for anie such as will trust him vpon so sufficient securitie he inforceth this matter by the words Of a lawyer he saith of singular iudgement Whereas now for any thing we know of him at his hands he may be who he will peraduenture the famous Grangousier grand-father to prince Pantagruel or some such great renowmed clearke as he was said to be which first in this world deuised to plaie at dice with a paire of spectacles on his nose But it may be that one cause hereof was bicause he would not séeme to haue taken so much of Rebuff by waie of loane and vpon credit which yet is no blemish for such déepe lawyers as he and I are and another bicause he hath falsified FalsificatioÌ„ his author I know not in whose fauor by translating quid debet ecclesia Dei plurium nobilium vanitati vt patrimonio Iesu Christi dilectissimi sponsi sui c alat accipitres educat canes c thus What Shall the church of God the best belooued spouse of Iesus Christ c feed hawkes bring vp dogs c. Whereas in truth it is What dooth the church of God owe vnto the vanitie of manie noble men that with the patrimonie of Iesus Christ c it should féed hawkes bring vp dogs c. But the great learned lawyer himselfe whome he indéed meaneth euen Bernardus Diazius and whome * Rebuff de dispens ad plur bene 〈◊〉 60. Rebuff termeth a reuerend father dooth in the next words following declare that he directed this inuectiue Against husbandmens sonnes more vnlearned than their parents which Illicitis modis plura occupant beneficia by vnlawfull meanes doo occupie manie benefices and also against such which being neuer so cunning or how learned soeuer Doctrina sua nunquam Catholicae ecclesiae profuerunt nec prodesse curant yet did neuer by their learning profit the catholike church nor euer care to do good in it The peremptorie iudgement of Rebuff which he afterward alledgeth * Ibidem nuâ— 84. fol. 249. but wrong quoted is somewhat too sparinglie by him translated in that word Si perperà m concessa sit if it be granted vnorderlie whereas it should be If it be naughtilie granted And it is grounded vpon a false principle of poperie that he which breaketh euen the positiue â—â—w of the pope * Rebuff de dispensat ad plura benefic 〈◊〉 22. such as the prohibition of pluralitie is dooth as they terme it sinne mortallie euen directlie and immediatlie against conscience which is no small part of his Antichristianisme whereby he sought to sit in the consciences of men Yet thus much may be gathered of this saieng that where it is orderlie granted as law prescribeth there it carrieth not in his iudgement any danger with it vnto either partie the condition of it thereby ceasing 20. Section Pag. 161 162 163. BUt now hauing so substantiaslie as you haue heard ouerthrowne all dispensations he was belike afraid he should be iustlie called Corà m for inforcing so violentlie a diminution of hir Maiesties reuenues arising by the taxes of them To salue vp which sore he letteth all other faculties alone wherein hir Highnesse must at his request sit downe by the losse and for thrée of them that is Dispensations for simonie non residence and maniâ— benefices he dooth assure hir Maiestie vpon the credit of his arythmetike and auditorship that They are indeed a great diminishing of hir reuenues But albeit he laie out all thrée in his conclusion to be prooued yet he dooth not in his proofes once name the facultie of non residence which by no shadowe can preiudice hir Maiesties cofers And when he should descend to the casting foorth of his proportions and extraction of the root by the rule of Coss and Algebra he misseth the principall matter euen his taxes to worke vpon and leaueth in his Booke a blanke or a glasse window for anie such to glaze vp as come and will doo him that fauour so that Cùm desint vires tamen est laudanda voluntas The man was willing to haue doone somewhat if he could but haue told what to haue said That the facultie for Simonie commited is a diminution to hir Maiesties reuenues he prooueth supposing first the tax thereof to hir Maiestie to be in shillings whereas it is indéed in pounds bicause if the partie dispensed with for simonie were depriued for it then hir Highnesse should reape more benefit a great deale by the first fruits of the next incumbent than the taxe mounteth vnto But how is the Abstractor here become so strict laced as to call for their depriuing whose fault in waie of gratification of simonicall patrons he almost wholie excused in the former treatise The truth is this kind of dispensation is verie seldome vsed bicause most of those which are guiltie of that fault doo deale so closelie and are so iustlie doubtfull of obteining it vpon petition that they hold it better without opening of themselues to sit still quietlie Whereby it can not easilie be put in practise but where some not knowing the rigor of the canon herein which condemneth for simonie euen entreatie and meanes-making and that recompense also which is but conceiued in hart perhaps onelie in waie of thankfulnesse after so the same may vpon necessarie circumstances be gathered and therefore of simplicitie without corrupt meaning falling into it and fearing the malice of those which stand hardlie affected to them are forced for their further safegard to procure this facultie It may haue a good and a commendable vse besides where an old man meaning to resigne treateth in simplicitie with him which is to succeed for a pension according to lawe without the