motions of the mind vnto things forbidden wicked deliberations naughtie indeuours corrupt customs Wherefore the apostle vnder the name of sin comprehendeth both the root it selfe and also all the fruit of the same Neither must they be hearkened vnto which babble that these things be no sinnes for séeing the holie Ghost calleth them by this name I sée no cause why we also ought not so to speake and stand vnto his doctrine And moreouer the â—erie etymologie of the word it selfe dooth shew The etymologie of the word sinne that the first motions of the mind and corruption of nature be sinnes for this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Sinne commeth of this verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth To erre from the right scope appointed by what means soeuer the same commeth to passe The rule of our nature And séeing it is the rule of our nature and of all our actions that we should be verie conformable to God in all things surelie we being then prone vnto those things which be forbidden vs by the lawe of God and euen at the first push are carrie streight headlong vnto them without all controuersie we must be said to sinne that is to erre from the scope and from the end appointed vnto vs. The like signification there is of the Hebrue word for that which is in that toong called Chataa is deriued from the word Chata which thou shalt find in the booke of Iudges verse 16. the 20. chapter vsed in the selfe same sense wherein I declared the Gréeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be taken that is To misse the marke For it is there written of the seuen hundred children of Beniamin that they were woont so to throwe stones out of a sling as they could hit euen a heare and would not misse one whit Besides this experience it selfe teacheth how gréeuous these euils are euen in vs which be regenerate for we be so hindered by them as we cannot fulfill the lawe the which neuerthelesse we are bound to obserue in euerie poinct Exod. 12 17 We are also commanded not to lust to the which precept euerie one giueth his secret consent and is witnes to himselfe how much he dooth withstand by reason of our pronesse vnto sinnes and first motions vnto vices In what sort the law is fulfilled in men regenerated But if the Fathers doo séeme to write sometime that the lawe may be fulfilled by men regenerated in Christ they spake of an obedience begun and of such a kind of fulfilling as hath much imperfection ioined therewith For they pronounce them to be perfect They be perfect which perceiue their owne imperfection Matt. 6 12. and to performe the lawe of God which can perceiue their owne imperfection that they maie dailie saie with others Lord forgiue vs our trespasses and acknowledge with Paule that they haue a great waie further to go Also the same Fathers doo confesse that there is found none no not the holiest The most godlie man hath not performed all vertues that hath most perfectlie loued all vertues For as Ierom saith He that excelleth other in one vertue dooth oftentimes faile in another And he citeth Cicero who said that There cannot easilie be found one which is most excellent either in the knowledge of the lawe or in the art of Rhethorike but to find one that excelled in both kinds together it was neuer heard of Wherfore that the apostle maie make famous and renowmed the entire benefit of God through Christ bestowed vpon vs he not onelie toucheth originall sinne but also comprehendeth vnder one name of sinne all kinds of vices which doo flowe from thence By Adam as by the common roote and masse sinne entered 46 Now we must sée by which one man it is that Paule saith sinne had such an entrance into the world The same vndoubtedlie was the first Adam who was as a certeine common lumpe or masse wherein was conteined all mankind which lumpe béeing corrupted we cannot be brought foorth into the world but corrupted and defiled The fault is ascribed to Adam not to Eue. And although Eue transgressed before the man yet is the originall of sinning ascribed vnto Adam because the succession is accompted in men and not in women Howbeit Ambrose by One man vnderstood it to be Eue. But séeing that word One in that place is the masculine gender the signification therof cannot but hardlie and with much wrestling be applied to the woman Others doo thinke that vnder the common name of man both of them as well Adam as Eue are vnderstood so that this spéech maie not differ much froÌ„ that which is in the first chapter of the booke of Genesis Male and female created he them Gen 2 27. Neither doo they much regard this adiectiue Gen. 2 24. One because the scriptures testifie that Adam and Eue were all one flesh The first interpretation is the more sincere and easie therefore I willinglie followe the same But we must remember what Paule writeth vnto Timothie 1. Tim. 2 14. that although both those two first parents sinned yet there was not one maner of transgression in them both Paule saith that Adam was not deceiued for he saith that Adam was not deceiued Which is gathered by that which they answered God when he reprooued them for the woman being asked wherefore shée did it shée accused the serpent Gen. 3 13. The Serpent saith shée deceiued me But Adam when he was demanded the same question said not that he was deceiued but he said The woman Gen. 3 12. whom thou hast giuen me deliuered me an aple and I did eate These things must not so be vnderstood as though we affirmed that no error did happen vnto man when he transgressed An error was in Adam that transgressed for as it is plainelie taught in the Ethiks In euerie kind of sinne there alwaies happeneth some error This onlie we be taught that man was not seduced by so grose a guile as the women was And this did verie much further Paules reason for in the same place he willed the woman to kéepe silence in the church bicause she was an instrument fit to deceiue And this he confirmed by the example of the first parents for she that persuaded man to sinne it is not likelie that she can rightlie instruct him and she that could be seduced by the diuell and deceiued by the serpent it is not méete for her to beare office in the church Eccle. 25 33 saith that sinne began at the woman Yet the booke of Ecclesiasticus saith that sinne had his first beginning from the woman whch is not to be denied if we consider the historie of the booke of Genesis But Paule as we haue alreadie said dooth kéepe the vsuall maner of the scriptures which ascribeth succession and procreation vnto men and not vnto women For his purpose was not to teach at that
whatsoeuer else rather than that which behooued Vndoubtedlie godlie Kings erected Schooles Colledges that in them yong men should be brought vp to good learning and godlinesse Neither was there any Cathedrall Church but a Schoole was ioined thereunto At Alexandria and Antioch did Pantenus Clemens Origen and other most learned men publikelie professe At this day also among the Canonistes a place is assigned for the Schoolemaister but he doeth nothing lesse than teach the youth And hereof commeth so great darkenesse euerie where in the Popes gouernment 1. Sam. 10. 5. either bicause the youth are not taught at all or else bicause they are taught wicked things Samuel was president of this Colledge Before his time there is no mention made in the holie scriptures of anie such fellowship of Prophets Of taking a spirituall charge looke the Oration that beginneth Those causes In Iud. 4. v. 4. 10 But when as God chose Debora vnto the Ministerie of iudging being weake in Sex he straight waie made hir very famous and honourable through the gift of prophesying By which grace and perhappes many other miracles more she was constituted by God and confirmed by miracles as a womā chosen to so great an office Neither was onelie this woman indued with the spirit of prophesie for in the holie scripture we reade of other women also which were in such sort instructed by the holie Ghost Marie the sister of Moses Exod. 15. 20. 1. Sam. 2. 1. 2. Kings 22. 14. Luke 1. v. 42. 46. 2. 36. Hanna the mother of Samuel Holda in the time of Iosias the king were Prophetisses And in the newe Testament to speake nothing of Marie the virgin of Elizabeth the mother of Iohn and of Anna the daughter of Phanuel the daughters of Phillip the Deacon That womē Prophets did openly teach the people as it is written in the Actes of the Apostles were Prophetisses Neither thinke I it ought to be denied that some of those women indued with the gift of prophesie did openlie teach the people in declaring of those things vnto them which had bin shewed them of God séeing the gifts of God are not therefore giuen that they should lie hidden but to the intent they should further the common edifying of the Church And yet hereby it followeth not that what God doeth by some peculiar priuiledge we should forthwith drawe it into an example vnto vs bicause according to the rule of the Apostle we are bounde vnto an ordinarie lawe 1. Tim. 2. 12. 1. Cor. 14. 34. Why womā were commaunded to be silent in the Church whereby both in the Epistle to Timothie and in the first Epistle to the Corinthians he commandeth that a woman shoulde kéepe silence in the Church And of the silence commanded he assigneth causes namely for that they ought to be subiect to their husbandes but the office of a teacher doeth declare a certaine authoritie ouer those which are taught which must not be attributed vnto a woman ouer men For she was made for man whom to obey she ought alwaies to haue a respect which thing is also appointed hir by the iudgement of God whereby he said vnto the woman after sin was committed Gen. 3. 16. Thy disposition shall be towardes thy husband Further the Apostle deriued a reason from the first fault 1. Tim. 2. 14. wherein he saith that Eue was seduced and not Adam So as if women should ordinarilie be admitted to the holie ministerie in the Church men might easilie suspect that the diuell by his accustomed instrument would deceiue the people and for that cause they would the lesse estéeme the Ecclesiasticall function if it should be committed vnto women wherefore by the ordinarie right and by the Apostolicall rule it ought to be appointed vnto men Howbeit if God doe otherwise sometime yet can he not be iustly accused for so much as all lawes are in his power If then sometime he send a Prophetisse and adorne hir with heauenly gifts the same woman speaking in the Church must vndoubtedlie be hearkened vnto but yet so as hir state be not forgotten Therefore the two testimonies of Paule Two places of Paul are reconciled which séeme to be repugnant one to another may easilie be reconciled In the first Epistle to Timothie he writeth That a woman ought to be silent in the Church Which towarde the ende of the first Epistle to the Corinthians 1. Cor. 11. 5. he most manifestlie confirmeth Howbeit in the same Epistle he commandeth that a man prophesying or praying should haue his head vncouered but the woman while the prophesieth should haue it couered whereby doubtlesse he teacheth that it is lawfull for a woman both to speake and also to prophesie in the Church For it would not séeme that so doing she should haue bin commanded to couer hir head if she were vtterly to kéepe silence in the holie assemblie After this sort the matter must be expounded namely that the precept of silence is a generall precept Why the women that prophesie are cōmanded to be couered on their head but the other which is for couering of the head when they pray or prophesie pertained onelie to those which were Prophetesses They verilie are not forbidden to prophesie for the common edifying of the Church but least they forgetting the propertie of their owne state by reason of the extraordinarie office committed vnto them shoulde waxe proude they are commanded to haue their head couered whereby they might vnderstand that they haue yet the power of man aboue them Moreouer where in the 2. Chapter to Titus Tit. 2. 3. it is commanded that the elder women should admonish the yonger women of temperance that they should loue their husbands and children and should likewise be diligent housewiues in their familie this must not be vnderstoode as touching publike doctrine or Ecclesiasticall Sermons but of priuate exhortations which are méete to be vsed by the elder sort vnto the yonger In Rom. 12 11 When Paul saieth in the xii to the Romans He that distributeth let him doe it with synceritie The office of Deacons he touched the office of Deacons as they were at that time and ought also to be in our time Their office was to distribute to the poore the Almes and oblations of the faithfull Let them doe their office saieth he with simplicitie let them withhold nothing by craft and ill practise For naughtie and deceitful men when they haue dealing in publike receites doe nothing syncerelie but vse woonderfull guiles and subtilties These things would Paul haue to be remoued from this kind of ministerie Others think that In giuing with simplicitie he meaneth without any respect vnto worldlie praise which some séeke for in the bestowing of other mens Almes But the first interpretation in my iudgement séemeth most fit And whereas he addeth He that ruleth let him doe it with carefulnesse although I doubt not but that there were many
easilie be vnderstood by those things which we spake concerning the causes 6 But heauenlie inspiration was not communicated to all the prophets alike Degrees of prophets For some sawe more and some lesse In the 12. of the booke of Numbers God saith Num. 12 6. that he did insinuate himself to other prophets after diuers fashions but that hée presented himselfe vnto Moses mouth to mouth and face to face Deut. 34 10 And at the end of Deuteronomie it is written A comparison betweene Moses and Iohn Baptist Matt. 11 11 that after Moses there was neuer the like prophet Which yet must be vnderstood of the time before the comming of Christ For otherwise by the testimonie of Christ himselfe Iohn Baptist was greater than Moses For saith he Among the children of women there arose not a greater than Iohn Baptist For other prophets foretold that Christ in time would come but he with his finger shewed him to be present and conuersant among men We may also although somewhat rudelie thus distinguish the degrées of prophesies if that we call one an oracle another a dreame and an other a vision An oracle is What is an oracle a dreame a vision when by the voice of God him selfe it is told what we should doo So was Abraham warned by a voice from heauen that he shuld not kill his sonne As for the maner of dreaming there is no néed of examples Of these things read more in the next place they are plentifull in euerie place of the holie scriptures A vision may be in thrée sorts either when true things be discerned by an infused light and by the méere vnderstanding or else when besides that light images also are described and that either in the mind Zach. 1 18. and 4 2. Ierem. 1 13. as when Zacharias sawe the hornes and the candlesticks and Ieremie the pot or else in the eies and outward sense as was that hand spoken of by Daniel which appeared on the wall and as that Daniel 5 5. when angels were séene to talke with men in bodilie shape of men A difference in prophesie according to times And in prophesies there is a difference of times For some were before the lawe as were those of Abraham Noah Enoch and Adam some in the lawe as of Moses and others some in the gospell as the prophesies of manie holie men in the primitiue church And this gift God denied not euen to women For we reade of Marie Women prophets Debora and Olda that were prophetisses besides other women And in the beginning of the primitiue church the daughters of Philip and other godlie women did prophesie And Paule saith that a woman praieng or prophesieng 1. Cor. 11 5. should couer hir head But here How women may prophesie they being forbidden to speake in the church 1. Cor. 14 34 by the waie ariseth no small doubt For if at that time it were lawfull for a woman to praie and prophesie openlie why dooth Paule writing to the Corinthians and to Timothie admonish that a woman should not speake in the church These two saiengs although they may séeme somewhat repugnant yet may they diuers waies be reconciled Some thinke that Paule meaneth that a woman praieth and prophesieth when she is present and heareth publike praiers and prophesiengs in the church directed by some godlie and learned man Others suppose that two errors crept into the church of the Corinthians euen so soon as the same church beganne the one that women should prophesie openlie and the other that they should doo it bare-headed And they thinke that Paule confuted the first error in the 11. chapter to the Corinthians 1. Cor. 11 5. and the other in the 14. and in the 2. to Timothie 1. Tim. 2 11. and that so Paule altogither forbiddeth that either of them should be doone in the congregation Other some vnderstand those words of Paule as touching the ordinarie ministerie which by no meanes must be permitted to a woman but that by an extraordinarie meanes it is lawfull for women sometimes to prophesie as it was vnto Marie Debora Olda and others of whom we spake before the which if it doo happen at anie time they saie that Paule warneth that a woman should haue hir head couered Others thinke that women are quite forbidden by Paule to prophesie openlie but that it is lawfull for them to doo it priuatlie so they couer their heads But howsoeuer it be it importeth not much our purpose is onelie to teach that God dooth sometime impart this gift vnto women Prophets must not diminish the word nor adde to of their owne 7 But aboue all things prophets must beware that they corrupt not nor that they adde not or diminish anie thing For some otherwhile hauing receiued the illumination of God doo adde ouer and besides of their owne In the Acts certeine holie men lightened with the spirit of God said Acts. 21 4. and 10. that manie gréeuous afflictions were prepared for Paule at Ierusalem And this in verie déed they spake trulie but they added other things of their owne For they gaue counsell vnto Paule that he should not go to Ierusalem which thing they had not of the holie Ghost Good prophets ought not so to behaue themselues For if they will mingle their owne wisedome with the oracles of God they may easilie both be deceiued themselues and also cause others to be deceiued Besides this Prophets must not be corrupted for fauour or reward Num. 22 23. the prophets must take héed that they suffer not themselues to be corrupted either by monie or fauour as we reade that Balaam did For they which so doo saith Ierome are not prophets but diuiners As when Logicke is corrupt with errors and Fallaxis it is no longer Logicke but Sophistrie For they which may be hired to speake in fauour for reward sake be rather the diuinors of idols than the prophets of GOD and if they beare anie office in the church they will soone infect their auditorie with errors and so both shall be cast headlong into the ditch Further they must indeuour themselues by their life and maners to win credit to the woord of God By their life they must win credit to the word Matth. 3 4. 2. Kings 1 8. A fond imitation of Elias Iohn Baptist in apparell This is thought by some to consist in apparell and so they will imitate Elias and Iohn Baptist and be appareled in camels heare and we are girdles of leather But this did the prophets by the instinct and warning of God to drawe the people vnto God by woondering at them Contrariewise there be some which will abound in pleasures and excesse and this we reade in the Ecclesiasticall historie of Prisca and Maximilla for they vsed painted colours and all kind of nicenesse Prisca Wherefore a certeine meane waie must be vsed for offence may be committed on
prouided by lawe that they which were néere of kin should not be ioined in marriage but that the same lawe was afterward released vpon this occasion For a certeine man which both was honest and of good reputation among the people of Rome being verie much pressed with penurie maried a cousine germane of his which was verie rich and wealthie for which cause he was accused of incest But his cause being heard he by the iudgement of the people of Rome was absolued For fauour bare a great stroke in the citie By meanes whereof there was a lawe made by the people that from thence forward it should be lawfull for cousine germans to marrie These things I thought good to declare of this kind of marriage both out of the laws of God out of the laws of the Romans both ancient and later and also out of the fathers ecclesiasticall Canons Wherevnto I will adde that there be manie cities acknowledging the Gospell which doo not allow the marriage of brothers and sisters children namelie Zuricke Berna Basil Schaphusium Sangal Bienna c. Also in the kingdome of England where I was there this degrée was excluded from marriage So as in places where the magistrate dooth forbid these marriages the faithfull sort must forbeare them for those reasons which I haue before declared But Othniel if he were the cousine germane to Achsa he might marrie hir by the lawe of God but if he were hir vncle he might not doo it by the common lawe howbeit he married hir Wherefore one of these two things we must saie either that there was a fault in him for the fathers as we haue alreadie said were not alwaies frée from sinne or else that God by a certeine priuiledge or prerogatiue would haue these things to be doone which neuerthelesse must not be challenged for an example Neither must we forget that by a custome verie vsuall in the scriptures In the scriptures kinsmen are called brethren they which by anie meanes were ioined in bloud were called brethren Euen as Lot is called the brother of Abraham and the kinsmen of Iesu Christ the sonne of God in the euangelicall historie be called his brethren So likewise in this place it may be that Othoniel is called the brother of Caleb when he was onelie ioined vnto him by some néere kindred And this exposition the interpretors for the most part doo vse the which I would not mislike vnlesse I sawe added in the text this particle The yoonger which is not accustomed to be added but when brethren or sisters are in verie déed compared togither VVhether anie dispensation may be made in degrees of kindred prohibited by God In 2. Sam. 13 verse 6. 48 Now let vs declare whether anie dispensing may be in the degrées forbidden by the law of God For at this daie those which would be counted christians being matched in the degrées forbidden doo saie Let vs go to the Pope let vs talke with him he will dispense with vs so we reward him with monie Neither doo the common sort onelie saie this but our maisters which be the Schoole-diuines The schoolmen defend the Popes dispensations in the fourth booke of sentences the 34. distinction concerning matrimonie write that the Pope can dispense And they indeuour to prooue that this he may doo For they saie that those precepts which be in the 18. and 20. chapter of Leuiticus Leuit. 18 and 20. touching degrées forbidden partlie be morall and partlie iudiciall The morall and naturall are that the father may not marrie his daughter nor the sonne his mother Here they saie is such an indecencie as by no meanes it can be taken awaie but that it should be a perpetuall impediment For they saie that the father and the daughter the mother and hir sonne be one flesh Notwithstanding in matrimonie it behooueth that one flesh become another than it was howbeit those are not seuered But if the reason were firme Adam might not haue married Eue she was his flesh for he saith Gen. 2 23. This is now flesh of my flesh They answer that Eue was the flesh of Adam not by waie of nature but by miracle sith God so framed Adams rib as it was made a woman Howbeit when kindred is defined we haue no recourse to miracles but it is said to be a bond of those persons which be deriued from one beginning by procreation so Eue might not be called a kinswoman of Adam Wherefore they saie that in those precepts which be in Leuiticus the indecencie betwéene father and daughter mother and sonne is naturall morall and perpetuall and that the rest of the degrées doo apperteine to the iudiciall lawes Some indecencie they would haue to be there but yet not so much as hath béene alwaies forbidden Deut. 25 5. For brethren sisters did at the first time marrie one to another yea and the sister of the brother departed was married in the lawe Gen. 29. for the raising vp of séed Iacob had two sisters in wedlocke Amram had his aunt Abraham had Sara Exod. 6 20. Gen. 20 12 whom he called sister Wherefore saie they these degrées namelie the father and the daughter the mother and the sonne are after a sort perpetuallie forbidden by the lawe of nature and by the morall lawe but other persons which be forbidden by God were kept backe from marriages howbeit that was by the iudiciall lawes But those lawes endured so long as the ciuill regiment of the Iewes continued which being decaied we are not tied to those lawes anie further than the church hath allowed of them so as vnto vs they be lawes of the church and not morall lawes neither are they laid vpon vs by the lawes of God but by the lawes ecclesiasticall and positiue And whereas they make the Pope to be president ouer the whole church they saie it is in his power for certeine iust causes to release these impediments They so flatter the Pope that Caietane Secunda secundae Thomae question 154. article the ninth saith that the Pope dooth for iust causes dispense in all those degrées except for marriage betwéene the father and the daughter and betwéene the mother and hir sonne not by a common lawe alreadie ordeined but by the Popes licence This he assigneth to be the cause for that they be iudicials Experience teacheth Emanuel king of Portugall that these things haue sometimes happened Emanuel the king of Portugall married two sisters Catharine Quéene of England two brethren Catharine Queene of England Ferdinandus the king of Naples married his aunt Pope Alexander the sixt allowing the same I haue read Incestuous marriages that Martin the fift gaue licence to marrie with a naturall sister whereof manie of the Canonists saie that it is to be doubted whether it were lawfull or no. This licence is horrible Ye sée how great matters these men challenge vnto themselues I am of another mind and those
things which be conteined in Leuiticus touching degrées forbidden I estéeme them to be morall Such marriages séeme rather beastlie than humane The prohibition of degrees in Leuiticus 18. is morall And that the same prohibition of degrées is rather naturall and morall I prooue by the verie words of those lawes When GOD made those lawes he spake on this wise Obserue ye these things Leui. 18 24. and defile not your selues with these abhominations as the Chanaanites which were before you and I did cast them out If ye shall imitate them and shall defile your selues the earth also shall cast you out Thus I reason The Chanaanites were not the people of Israel God did not giue lawes vnto them by Moses yet were they punished for such kind of marriages wherefore they were bound to these precepts If they were bound they were bound by the light of nature and the precepts did also perteine to other nations A nature being well instituted might perceiue that shamefulnesse The Lord said that he for that cause hated the Chanaanits So then it should not be conuenient for vs that those precepts were but of small value perishing togither with the ciuill administration of the people of Israell Of the children of Adam What doo they speake of the children of Adam Our cause and theirs is not all one Their cause stood vpon great necessitie Moreouer God dispensed saieng Increase and multiplie and fill the earth And God can dispense when he will It was not his pleasure to bring foorth other women That this should be doone without such a necessitie as that was we haue not a word to shew it Gen. 29. The example of Iacobs two wiues In that it was once doone men must not imitate the same True it is that Iacob married two sisters but publike honestie was after a sort defaced in Mesopotamia and elsewhere Neither were all things well doone which the fathers did vnlesse we can saie that the spirit of GOD would this to be doone peculiarlie We speake of the common lawe and vsuall course Iacob had two sisters against his will his will was to haue had but onelie one but through the wiles of Laban the one was put to him against his will and the other died by the waie before he entred into the holie land The Hebrues saie that God would not that so great wickednesse should be in the land of promise We must not liue by examples but by lawes Against that example we alledge the lawe of God We must not liue by examples but by lawes There were such things in other nations also but not to be allowed therfore Eusebius Caesariensis in Praeparatione euangelica writeth that the Persians had marriages betwéene the father and the daughter and betwéene the mother and the sonne Berosus writeth that giants before the floud did not refraine from such marriages Caracalla said to his stepmother If it were lawfull The vnchast woman answered If it like thée it is lawfull An Emperour giueth lawes he taketh none Among the Atheniens it was lawfull to marrie sisters These things be shamfull Against those shamfull things let vs oppose the good lawes of the Romans As touching this matter we sée things verie repugnant in the Popes licences By a common and forbidden lawe they abridge the libertie of marriage and forbid more degrees than God did appoint For once they forbad the seuenth degrée within a while the fourth degree afterward they so licence at their owne pleasure as they except onlie the first degree So will I so doo I command Let will for reason stand I denie not but that in these contracts the incest is greater in one degrée than in an other but what things soeuer God hath forbidden be vnhonest If they saie that they doo this by a fulnesse of power Baldus let them saie saith Baldus by a fulnesse of tempest wherewith the church is troubled and corrupted Doo not thinke that anie man God I will except can giue licence that the brother should marrie his sister Of Dowries In the Commentaries vpon Iudges the first chapter and the 14. verse 49 But whether husbands receiued dowries of their wiues before the lawe it is vncerteine Looke In 1. Sam. 18 verse 23. Whether husbands in old time receiued dowries of their wiues The seruant of Abraham rather gaue gifts vnto Rebecca than receiued for so much as he brought with him golden and siluer vessels in the name of Abraham and Isaac which were to be giuen to the spouse But there is no mention made of the maidens dowrie Also Iacob serued for his wiues so farre was he from receiuing anie thing of them in the name of a dowrie Sichem also the sonne of Hemor inordinatelie louing Dina the daughter of Iacob with whom he had committed fornication said vnto the sonnes of Iacob Increase hir dowrie as ye list I will refuse no condition so I may haue your sister to be my wife Howbeit I cannot tell how the custome of the ancient fathers in not taking but giuing dowries to wiues which they should marrie ought to be commended yet I thought good to recite those things which I haue read héereof by the waie And to begin with Megadorus in Plautus Comedie Aulularia when he should take to wife the daughter of a poore man being also without dowrie commended his counsell by those words If saith he other men would doo after my example the citie would then be in better concord and enuie shuld not be so rife among vs as it is They namelie the wiues will feare vs the more and we shall kéepe them with much lesse cost c. When I consider these things they séeme to be verie wiselie spoken For now and then it happeneth that one citie is after a sort diuided into two parts when as the daughters of poore men are without hope to marrie with them that be of the richer sort either for the slendernesse of their dowrie or else bicause they haue no dowrie at all for they atteine not thereto except it be by chance or else verie sildome Wherefore the richer and mightier sort are much enuied and gréeuouslie hated of the poorer Besides this wiues which haue good dowries stand in the lesse awe of their husbands yea rather they despise and set nought by them counting them as vnwoorthie to be matched with them Lastlie their decking and lusts cannot be satisfied but with extreme charges Plutarch Plutarch in his Apophthegs of Lycurgus when he was asked wherefore he had commanded that virgins should marrie without dowrie answered To the intent that some should not be left vnmarried for pouertie sake or other some should be ouer-much desired or wooed for their wealth but that euerie man diligentlie considering the maidens conditions might choose him a wife for vertue sake He sheweth also in the thirtie probleme that the bride brought to the bridegroomes house onelie a distaffe and a spindle A lawe
donation granted in respect of marriage whereas the adulterer susteineth no losse In the Extrauagants De donationibus inter virum vxorem in the chapter Plerúnque in the end Adam and Eue being found to be in one kind of sinne haue not both one punishment Eue is punished more gréeuouslie That adulterous men sinne more greeuouslie than the women 31 On the other side the causes séeme to be verie great which persuade otherwise The first is that a woman is more weake and vnperfect than a man she wanteth vnderstanding and iudgement These things séeme to serue for diminishing the fault And manie lawes persuade vs that in punishing we should haue a consideration of the sex Some of the lawes I will recite In the Digests Ad legem Iuliam peculatus it is said that In punishment there must be consideration had of the sex the lawe beginneth Sacrilegij poenam Also Ad legem Iuliam de adulterijs in the lawe Si adulterum in the Paraph Fratres and in the Paraph Iacestam they would haue a difference to be considered of in the sex bicause women are not forced to be skilfull in the lawes sometimes they be deceiued they thinke that to be lawfull which is not lawfull Also the Ecclesiasticall lawes teach that there ought to be a consideration had of the sex In the Extrauagants De homicidio in the chapter Si dignum in the Code Ad legem Iuliam maiestatis in the lawe Quisquis in the Paraph Filias There is more fauour shewed to the daughters of conspirators than vnto their sonnes In the Decrées cause 32. question 6 the chapter Indignatur there is consideration had of women euen in the selfe same cause of adulterie There be saiengs also of most excellent men which be agréeable to this sentence Augustine in his treatise De adulterinis coniugijs ad Pollentium citeth the letters written by Antonius Pius which we may read in the Gregorian Code that It is verie vniust that men should require that faith of women which themselues will not shew In the Digests De adulterio in the lawe Si vxor in the Paraph Si iudex It is commanded that if the iudge haue knowledge of the adulterie let him looke whether the husband haue liued chastlie And so the fault of the woman is mitigated bicause the men themselues by their ill liuing be causes of their vncleane life Whervpon Seneca in his 94. epistle vnto Lucillus saith that It is a most vniust thing for men to exact faithfulnes of women when as they themselues be the corrupters of other mens wiues Neither did Augustine put this matter in silence who saith that Vir that is to saie Man hath his name of Virtus that is Vertue and that therefore he ought to excell the wife in all vertues and chastitie In his litle booke De decem chordis and it is also read in the 32. cause question 5. in the chapter Non moechaberis saith that The husband is the head of his wife if the head fall into adulterie and the wife be chast he is a man turned vpside downe the head is vnder the féet It hapneth ofttimes that the adulteries of the wife are reuengements of an adulterous husband It is said of Clytemnestra that she gaue the power of hir bodie to Aegistus bicause she heard that Agamemnō preferred Chrysis before hir That such a punishment is brought by the iudgement of God it appéereth that Iob vnderstood who in the 31. cha saith verse 9. If my hart hath been carried aside to a strange woman and if I haue lien in wait at my neighbors doore then let my wife grind vnto an other man and let hir yeeld hir bodie to other men So then there be reasons to be made on both parts What shall we saie If credit be giuen to the Schoole-diuines An vnfolding of the question the distinction must be made which is mentioned in the fourth booke of sentences in the 35. distinction If the faith of wedlocke be considered the sinne is equall on both parts either is bound vnto other whether the woman giue hir selfe to another or else the man commit adulterie If the condition of the person be respected séeing man is the more perfect he hath the firmer iudgement and ought to excell his wife his sinne is more gréeuous than hirs Howbeit if we note the confusion of things the supposed heires and the shame of the familie the woman is more gréeuouslie charged But as touching the verie lawe it selfe of wedlocke they saie well that the bond is all alike that sinne is committed as well by the one as by the other they must be brought to an equalitie Equalitie we prooue out of the holie scriptures Vnto one Adam the Lord gaue one Eue and to one Eue he gaue one Adam and he said Gen. 2 24. They shall be two in one flesh Paule when he treateth of these things in the first to the Corinthians the seuenth chapter saith that The wife hath not power ouer hir owne bodie verse 4. but the husband And on the other side he maketh this lawe equall to the one and the other Neither dooth he speake vnto the one partie of rendering due beneuolence but vnto them both And if they shall thinke good to seuer themselues for praier sake he willeth that the same be doone by both their consents In case of religion if they will not dwell togither ech partie is set at libertie The same is also spoken there concerning the vnbeléeuing husband The lawe of God commandeth that both as well the adulterer as the adulteresse should be slaine Séeing therefore he maketh this equalitie we also ought to followe the same An answer vnto the contrarie arguments 32 Now it remaineth that we answer to the arguments It was said that a woman must not be heard This lawe is ciuill and refused of the Ecclesiasticall writers and that iustlie To the first Ierom in his epistle to Oceanus vpon the death of Fabiola wrote a verie excellent sentence Those things which in the holie scriptures are commanded vnto men doo redound vnto women Wherefore if it be lawfull for a man to start from his wife for the cause of adulterie it is also lawfull vnto the wife Among vs there is the same libertie and the same bondage vnto both parties to correct after a sort the ciuill lawes Both parties must be heard Touching infamie also To the second it is mans ordinance Euen as praise is called the celebration of other mens vertues so infamie is to dispraise that which is in another And it may be they will speake more of women than of men But with God this fame is of no importance There is more spoken of the women by reason of the harme which they bring and bicause they make a confusion in families To the third As concerning that it hath béene lawfull for men to kill their wiues and not for the wiues their husbands
an other difference in that the fellowship is with that flesh which is bound vnto an other by the faith of matrimonie Why is it said Not vnto it selfe but vnto an other To the intent we may vnderstand that in the polygamie which was in old time there was no plaine adulterie For one of the wiues when she was ioined with a husband was ioined with that flesh which was also tied to another woman Therfore it is said Which is not ioined vnto it selfe but vnto an other by the faith of matrimonie Further if we will more narrowlie examine that péece of the sentence To haue carnall fellowship may be vnderstood to be either in act or cogitation For Christ saith Matt. 5 28 He that shall looke on an other mans wife to lust after hir hath alreadie committed adulterie in his hart But héere we speake of adulterie that breaketh out into act not of that which as yet is within the hart 34 Moreouer it was said to be more shamefull for women to haue bastards than it is for men This also hath procéeded of mans reason a shame it is both to the one and to the other but perhaps it appéereth more in women than in men Those places of Ecclesiasticus which vrge parents to kéepe their daughters or the bodies of their daughters haue not respect vnto this place No rather the wise man dooth consider that if daughters be corrupted they are to bring great harme ignominie to their fathers house and the father is accused of negligence But men children must also be well brought vp howbeit the fowlnes of this fact in this crime appéereth else-where not in the fathers house Neuertheles these things bring not to passe but that they both commit sin An other argument But wiues loose their dowrie whereas adulterers be not so punished That is false for euen as if matrimonie be vndoone by the fault of the woman she looseth hir dowrie and donations giuen in respect of marriage so if it be doone through the mans fault he looseth the dowrie it selfe and donations also and must restore them vnto hir Againe somwhat was said of Adam and Eue that they were in the like fault yet Eue was more gréeuouslie punished than Adam A comparison of the sinne of Adam and Eue. Here may either of both be said either that the sinne was not of like weight or else that the punishment of Eue was not more gréeuous It is excused by some that the mans fault was the greater For it is said Curssed is the earth for thy sake in sorrowe shalt thou eate of it thorne and thistle shall it bring foorth vnto thee and thou shalt eate of the herbe of the feeld in the sweate of thy face shalt thou eate thy bread c. These euils were continuall vnto man he should labour he should eate in great sweat and trauell and the earth gaue not vnto him the fruit that he looked for Women séeme to be lesse punished onelie the paines of child-birth and conceiuing are laid vpon them the which be not perpetuall but the labours of men doo alwaies continue Further the man ought to prouide not onelie for himselfe but also for his wife children and for his whole familie But if thou wilt saie that the wife is subiect vnto the husband and must be vnder his gouernement this importeth not much for by the verie constitution it selfe she is inferiour vnto man Wherefore it might by this meanes be denied that woman is more gréeuouslie punished than man But if we would grant vnto this we might also saie on the other part that the sinne in woman was somewhat more gréeuous namelie bicause she was seduced by the diuell and so seduced as she thought she should become equall vnto God and this she verie much desired Neuerthelesse Adam beléeued it not bicause he sawe it was not possible to be and therefore the apostle saith that he was not seduced but did onelie eate to the intent he might obeie his wiues mind and made more account of his wife than of God therefore he was not deceiued with the same kind of errour Moreouer the woman did not onelie sinne but she also induced hir husband to sinne But on the other part she is somewhat lightened bicause she was the vnperfecter and was seduced Howbeit if anie of their sinnes were more gréeuous than other the womans sinne was to be weighed the greater This is the opinion of the Maister of the sentences in the second booke distinction the 12 and he alledgeth manie places out of Augustine But I for my part would saie that the mans sinne was more gréeuous and that his punishment was the greater by reason of his perfection and excellencie Wherefore this argument maketh nothing to the purpose either the punishment was of equalitie or else the circumstances were not alike gréeuous to be aggrauated to them both The circumstances were manie some were more gréeuous in Adam and some in Eue. 35 Also it was alledged on the contrarie part that the sinne is lesse in women Why a consideration must be had of the sex for a consideration should be had of the sex Indéed this is to be granted yet the cause must be searched out why those lawes be fauourable vnto the sex And there is a cause brought by the lawes themselues namelie that women are not driuen to haue the knowledge of all lawes and customs and therefore may the more easilie erre and the error dooth somewhat mitigate the fault But here this erring hath no place for there is no woman so foolish but she knoweth that she ought to kéepe hir faith and promise with hir husband But in incest they rather forgaue vnto women than vnto men bicause they knew not those degrées wherein it was lawfull or not lawfull to be married and therefore they were not so gréeuouslie punished Whether adulteries of men must be punished by adulteries of women And wheras it was alledged that the adulteries of the men are oftentimes punished by the adulteries of the women as it hath béene said of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra We answer that such reuenges are not to be allowed for that they are repugnant to the word of God and therefore we allow no such forms of reuenging True indéed it is that sinnes are punished with sinnes and he that kéepeth not faith himselfe must not looke to haue another kéepe the same with him neuerthelesse this is doone by the order and prouidence of God It is not lawfull for anie man to doo ill bicause another hath sinned for by that meanes euill would growe till it were infinite In that women are somewhat forborne in the great offense of treason it is no maruell for Why in case of treason children are punished for the parents the cause why that the sonnes of conspirators which haue sinned against the prince are punished in such sort as they be is least that if they should reteine the authoritie and riches of
all created at the beginning but are dailie created of God to be put into the bodies proposition 3 Those things which are spoken of paradise must not be vnderstood so allegoricallie as the truth of the historie should not be reteined but the allegories may profitablie he ioined vnto the thing that was doone proposition 4 Whether that garden of pleasure be yet extant cannot be defined by the holie scriptures proposition 5 The dignitie of the lawe of GOD is not to be estéemed by deserts of actions commanded or forbidden therein but for that in it is conteined the iudgement of GOD for dooing of things which alwaies must be preferred before the counsell of man proposition 6 Both kinds of death as well of the bodie as of the soule was set before Adam if he transgressed the commandement of God proposition 7 The first man was created mortall albeit it was in him not to die proposition 8 It is not good for a man to be alone bicause it is not pleasant nor honest nor profitable proposition 9 Thrée exercises were set before man at his creation namelie to obeie God to behold the natures of things created and to exercise husbandrie proposition 10 The sléepe of Adam in the bringing foorth of the woman signifieth vnto vs that Christ by his death purchased his church Probable proposition 1 THe breathing of God whereby the first man was made a liuing soule is a token shewing vs that the reasonable soule is giuen vnto men not by the strength of nature but â—uâ—wardlie by the helpe of God proposition 2 The garden of pleasures was planted in the region of Eden as the name declareth not far from Assyria Mesopotamia and Arabia proposition 3 The trée of life hauing fruit which prolonged life to them that should eate of it allegoricallie signifieth Christ proposition 4 The trée of good and euill is not onelie so called of that which followed but bicause of the same there was a lawe giuen whose propertie is to shew the difference of good and euill proposition 5 By forbidding the fruits of the trée of good and euill we are taught not to be so hardie as to rule our selues by the wisedome of the flesh or else to determine by mans iudgement what is good and what is euill which neuerthelesse is requisite that we decrée by the spirit of God and by the word proposition 6 Séeing the lawe was giuen to Adam the woman being not yet created it sheweth that women should be instructed by men as touching the lawe and word of the Lord. proposition 7 The woman was made of the rib of man to declare that the church was foundes in the strength of Christ Propositions out of the second and third chapters of Genesis Necessarie proposition 1 CHildren must not for their wiues sake so leaue their parents as not to succour or reuerence them albeit they are bound to liue néerer to their wiues than to their parents proposition 2 Whereas the husband and wife are said to be one flesh matrimonie is declared to be inseparable so long as they can be one flesh which is taken awaie by adulterie and for want of power to performe the dutie of marriage one towards another proposition 3 Matrimonie is therefore said to be a mysterie bicause it representeth vnto vs the most streict coniunction of Christ with his church proposition 4 The church immediatelie from hir beginning had Adam for hir gouernour not without the word of God for he being indued with the spirit of GOD spake with the selfe-same words both as touching Christ and as touching matrimonie proposition 5 Temptations are therfore permitted by God bicause they be profitable for the church proposition 6 The diuell promised vnto the woman those things which she had alreadie to wit the opening of the eies and likenesse to God Probable proposition 1 WHereas God brought Eue framed vnto Adam we are thereby taught that those marriages are not well knit where God ioineth not the parties togither proposition 2 Since that mans soule is a spirituall substance and is immortall we must not grant that it is deriued vnto the children by the séed of the parents proposition 3 The serpent was the fittest instrument in temptation to expresse the ill practises of the diuell and his craftinesse against men proposition 4 The wicked will of the tempter declareth the most skilfull wisedome of GOD whereby he knew how to vse wel euen most wicked things proposition 5 This did the diuell by his first temptation chéeflie indeuour that Gods word should not be beléeued as it was requisite proposition 6 The originall of Eues fall was that setting aside the earnest cogitation of the word of God she began to weigh in hir mind the commoditie of the forbidden fruit which the diuell set before hir togither with the beautie and swéetnesse thereof proposition 7 The shame and the deuise of the couerings are not to be ascribed to the diuell but to the goodnesse of God as a bridle whereby the euill now brought in might the lesse spread it selfe abroad Propositions out of the third chapter of Genesis Necessarie proposition 1 SHame and the shunning of Gods sight are properties which followe sinne proposition 2 The enimitie which GOD put betwéene the diuell and the woman belongeth vnto all godlie men proposition 3 Albeit the power of treading downe the diuell be proper vnto Christ yet dooth he communicate the same with the faithfull proposition 4 The cursses which GOD laid vpon the first men were not onlie punishments but also they shewed men their duties and brought remedies against temptations and sinnes proposition 5 If the creatures through mans transgression fell into a woorse condition than they were it is méet that vpon the restitution of him those also should be restored proposition 6 Since God remooueth idlenesse from man they which altogither shun labour agrée not with his will proposition 7 Christ tooke not awaie by his first comming the punishments of these cursses but mitigated them howbeit at his second comming he will altogither take them awaie proposition 8 Séeing garments are inuented for the profit and honestie of this present life those garments are iustlie found fault withall which haue anie thing against these two properties proposition 9 Sacrifices be signes whereby we confesse the excellencie of God proposition 10 Anie man is accepted of GOD before his works be acceptable vnto him proposition 11 Those things which God either by exhorting or commanding sheweth should be doone those are not in our power to be doone of vs vnlesse we be holpen by his grace Probable proposition 1 THe scripture therefore saith that the eies of the first men were opened after sinne bicause there brake out a new féele of new punishments proposition 2 By the example of God who so preciselie inquired after sinne iudges are admonished that they condemne not men before they be heard and their cause examined proposition 3 In the curssing of the serpent those punishments of
450 a Whether an adulterer may Marrie an adulteresse 2 479 b Felix a Romane did Marrie Drusilla a Iewe. 2 450 a It is more for womens profite ease to Marrie out of their kin than in it 2 451 b The mother doeth Marrie the husband of her daughter 2 450 a In the lawe are not rehersed all the degrées that are forbidden to Marrie 2 447b Cicero did Marrie his pupill which the Romane lawe forbad 2 450 a It is not certaine that Abraham and Amram did Marrie within the degrées forbidden 2 448b Who more than others offende against the degrées forbidden to Marry 2 448 a Married In what cases Married parties bée set free 2 422 b Marriage Of dowries gifts and ioyntures in Marriage 2 455 b 456 ab What the canon and ciuil lawes of it determined with a maid stolen away 2 433 b Betwéene persons of a contrarie religion misliked of Tertullian 2 434 b Seuerall causes wherefore it may be dissolued by mens decrees 2 458 a Counted vnlawfull euen by the rescript of a king 2 433b What the fathers and councels determine thereof being made with or without parents consent 2 432 b 433 a When betwéene Cousins Germane it was lawfull and not lawfull 2 451b 452 ab Of a widow to the next of kinne 2 451 a Whether without parents consent it be lawfull 2 431 b What the schoole diuines thought thereof 2 434 ab Of Dauid when he was olde and whether it were of lust 2 467 b Betwéene brothers and sisters vsed in Adams familie 2 451 a What ceremonies rites were vsed therein of an Hebrue with a captiue woman 2 446 b Whether Salom contracting Marriage with and Aegyptian woman broke the lawe 2 447 a Of Thrée great doubts therein betwéene two of contrarie religions 2 465 b 466. Eunuchs were prohibited and forbidden it 2 467 a What is to be obserued and touching such as are to be knit therein with them that be of a contrarie religion 2 446 ab What the scriptures determine in a case of rapt in pretended Marriage 2 441 b 442 a Whether the Pope can dispeÌ„ce with the law therof 2 445 b The propertie thereof and that it is a verie néere friendship 2 443 b Whether it may be concluded and made vp betweene parties comming together by rapt 2 440 ab Whether Marriage polluted the Priest in the lawe and the ministers of the Gospell 3 195 b 196ab Howe the Pope hath dealt in the case of Marriage betweene parties within the degrées forbidden 2 450b 451 a Of Marriage or sole life specially of ministers 3 192 b so forward Not forbidden the Nazarits nor Rechabites 3 191 a Of Esau without his parents consent 2 436 b We must beware of whoring before Marriage and why 2 434b The consent of parents in Marriage is necessarie for children 2 435a 436 a An incestuous Marriage of the brothers daughter allowed by Claudius Cesar 2 429 b What the Ethniks and the ciuill and Canon lawes determined touching Marriage made with or without parents consent and otherwise 2 432. all Marriage verses 3 312 a Marriages What the scriptures determine touching Marriages done by rapt 2 441 b 442 a Made onely for beautie and dowries sake haue ill fuccesse 2 455 b What the ciuill and Canon lawes and Councels haue determined touching theÌ„ doone and intended by rapt or violent taking away 437 b 438. 439. Wedding garlandes worne therein and what they meant 2 434 b 435b Whether adulterous be lawful and of Dauids marriage with Bethsabe 2 179 b Against forced or compelled and what is concluded 2 435 b Made with Infidels are dangers and woundes of faith as how 2 444 b What we are to count of them made without parents consent 2 436 b 437 a What blemishes of infamie they incurre that contract newe Marriages their first wife beeing dismissed without the magistrats consent 2 458 b 459 a Of certeine which helde opinion that Marriages ought to be common 2 424 b Causes why the fathers would admit no newe after diuorse in case of adulterie 2 461 b 462 b Secrete condemned 2 456 b Without parents consents whoredomes 2 436 ab A false decrée that they cannot bee made without dowries 2 456b What mischiefs followes of them made with strangers 2 443 b Incestuous 2 453 b 454 a 462b 463 a 449 b 424 b 451 a 445 b Decrees touching them 2 452 a c Diuerse Christian countries where Marriages betwéene brothers and sisters are forbidden 2 452 b Betwéene parties of contrarie religion must not be made 2 450 b Within the degrées forbidden are whoredoms 2 450 b Vnlawfull and forbidden Marriages thought to bee vndertaken of Abraham and Amram 2 448 b Betwéene persons of diuerse religions prooued lawfully by ten reasons 2 442b Of newe Marriages after diuorsement of both partes 2 459 b 460 ab What is to be regarded in iudging of lawfull Marriages 2 448 a Causes why manie degrees of kinred are forbidden in contracting of Marriages 2 451 ab Against stolne Marriages compassed by rapt 2 438 ab Marriages with men that be cold of nature are not firme by mans lawes 2 466 a Of certeine Marriages before the law which after the law were vnlawfull 2 440 b In what cases new Marriages are graunted by the scriptures 2 461 b Examples of Marriages made betwéene brothers and sisters 2 4â—3 b 454 a What the general Councels haue decréed touching Marriages with Infidels 2 445 b ¶ Looke Matrimonie Martyrs What maketh Martyrs 3 282 b 283 a What God did respect in their death 2 364 a A commendation of theÌ„ that died for the trueth 2 284b Whome Cyprian counteth such 2 386 a Their death pleaseth not God in their own nature how then 2 360 b 361 a Temples are not builded vnto theÌ„ saith Augustine 1 104 a They pray for the ende of the world 2 398 a That it is not enough for men to be such in the preparation of the minde 1 172 b Their valiantnesse 3 271 b 272 b There would be no vertue nor patience of them if Tyrants were not 1 172 ab Why they were sometimes ioyfull in torments 3 297 a It was giuen to them to despise the loue of their owne flesh 3 322 a Consolation for them 3 343 a 347 b 348 ab Whom Ierom calleth the Martyrs of foolish Philosophers 2 392 a Martyrdome Thrée things required vnto Martyrdome 3 282 b The Martyrdome of the Iewes vnder tyrants 3 282 ab Martyrdomes Martyrdoms be sacrifices 3 185 a They make no satisfactions for sinnes 3 185 a Masse From whence the Masse taketh his name 4 216 b 217 a The partes thereof as they were in auncient time 4 217 b 218 ab 219 It is a certeine signe whereby Papists knowe their companions from others 2 323 b Whether it must be gone vnto for voyding of offence 2 321 a With what artes ornaments it is decked 3 241 a Two things which the fauourers
act for a yoong man to commit fornication And there wanted not some in the church of Corinth which were of that opinion So as by these reasons the filthinesse of whoredome is so extenuated that either it is not counted for sinne or else thought that it should be reckoned among the least sinnes 2 We must not haue a respect vnto the reasons of men but vnto the word of God not what men thinke or iudge but what the holie Ghost speaketh in the holie scriptures In the prophets and in Salomon there is detesting of fornication in euerie place Fornication is forbidden by testimonies of the lawe but in the lawe they saie there is nothing decréed against it Séeing they will reson by the lawe I also will bring testimonies out of it whereby it may easilie be vnderstood that fornication is forbidden In Leuiticus in the booke of Numbers and in Deuteronomie the Iewes are forbidden to linke themselues vnto strange women Againe verse 17. in Deuteronomie the 25. chapter it is commanded that there should be no harlot nor common woman in Israell Let these places be compared togither It was not lawfull to haue anie harlots neither strange women nor yet women of Israell Therefore they were all forbidden But some will saie How then had Samson fellowship with an harlot Some of the Hebrues answer Iud. 16 1. that she was not an harlot with whom Samson had fellowship but one that kept a vitling house But forsomuch as that is but a weake answer me thinketh that an other answer must be made The publike weale of the Hebrues was at that time corrupted for they liued then vnder the Philistines Neither is it anie maruell if they had then receiued some of their vices and corrupt maners Wherefore some harlots they had howbeit not by reason of their owne laws but through the vse and conuersation of the Philistines 3 But in the new testament It is forbidden by testimonies of the new testament Heb. 13 14 whoredome is openlie and manifestlie forbidden To the Hebrues it is thus written Adulterers and fornicators the Lord will iudge The Lord is not said to iudge and to auenge except it be for gréeuous sinnes And to the Ephesians not onelie couetous men and idolaters Ephesi 5 5. but also fornicators are excluded from the kingdome of God To the Corinthians also where Paule writeth of excommunication I speake not saith he of all sorts of fornicators 1. Cor. 5 11. but if anie brother be named a fornicator with such ye shall not so much as eate But he treateth much more manifestlie of all this matter in the sixt chapter of the same epistle and that of verie purpose For manie as it is said were of an euill opinion as touching this kind of wickednesse First he saith Meate is ordeined for the bellie 1. Cor. 6 verse 13 c and the bellie for meate but God shall destroie both this and that now the bodie is not for fornication but for the Lord. Moreouer all meate of his owne nature is pure but for the offense of our neighbour we ought sometimes to absteine Howbeit some man might saie Meate is necessarie to liue by It is saith Paule in this life but in the blessed resurrection God shall destroie both the meate and the bellie Wherefore thou must not so much estéeme it that for such a cause thou shouldest offend thy brother It is not commanded that thou shouldest absteine from all meate generallie but from that onelie whereby thy weake brother is offended But as touching fornications saith he of which ye make small account Ibidem there is a far other respect Your bodie is not appointed for fornication but for the Lord. And this must not be passed ouer that Paule with great wisedome saith not that the bodie is not giuen for procreation but that it is not giuen for fornication sith the bodie is also giuen for procreation sake Oftentimes men are woont to excuse their faults and to impute them vnto nature The nature of the bodie saith he is that it may be giuen vnto the Lord so then the rule of life must be taken thereby and not by euill examples The nature of relatiues This is the nature of relatiues not onelie of those relatiues which in the selfe-same thing that they be belong to other but also of those which by anie meanes are referred to another thing as the head vnto the bodie and likewise the bodie vnto the head For when we sée the head we straitwaie require the bodie and againe when we sée the bodie we require the head Such relatiues as the Logicians saie are called Secundum dici The Lord is the head of the bodie of the church and the church is the bodie of his head Wherefore Paule both wiselie and pithilie disputeth when he saith The bodie is not made to this end that it should pollute it selfe with lusts but to be correspondent vnto the head and to be conformable vnto it And he addeth verse 14. God which hath raised vp Christ shall raise vs vp also by his power The first argument was taken from relatiues the second from God himselfe For if he shall raise vp our bodies as he hath raised vp Christ why then doo we shamefullie vse them He procéedeth further verse 15. and saith But doo you not knowe that your bodies are the members of Christ Shall I then take the member of Christ make it the member of an harlot Vndoubtedlie a weightie argument which he concludeth Shall I take saith he the member of Christ As though he should haue said No without doubt for this were to rent in péeces the bodie of Christ And it is a most cruell thing to plucke awaie the members from a liuelie bodie and to ioine them to a rotten or dead bodie But herein the strength of the reason dooth consist Christ cannot commit fornication wherefore if thou wilt commit fornication thou must be first plucked from Christ Here is shewed that fornication is not onelie a sin but also a deadlie and most gréeuous sin bicause it plucketh vs awaie from Christ 4 Afterward he addeth verse 16. He which coupleth himselfe vnto an harlot is beecome one bodie with hir for they shall be two in one flesh And he which is ioined with God is one spirit This place is verie full of consolation Before in the tenth plac art 6. forsomuch as it declareth that we are ioined most nigh vnto Christ from whom we must néeds be plucked awaie before we be made the members of an harlot He which cleaueth vnto an harlot is become one bodie with hir for they shall be two in one flesh The apostle séemeth at the first sight to abuse the words of Genesis in transferring them to whooredome which be spoken of matrimonie For these words were first spoken of Adam and Eue bicause the flesh of Eue was before in the flesh of Adam from whom GOD tooke a
rib and made thereof a woman which he againe ioined vnto Adam to be with him one flesh But in verie déed the apostle abuseth not this sentence forsomuch as whooredome is a certeine corrupting of matrimonie séeing one matter namelie the coniunction of the flesh is common to both For bodies are communicated as well here as there So as Paule had a respect to that which is common to them both when as yet there is this difference betwéene them that in whooredome the coniunction is against the lawe of God and therfore fornicators must be pulled one from another otherwise there is left no hope of saluation for them But in matrimonie the knitting togither is brought to passe by God and therefore it is become an indissoluble knot Séeing then the coupling togither is all one and the selfe-same in either of them Paule did rightlie applie that sentence to whooredome He that cleaueth vnto God is one spirit These words serue much for this present matter for if we be with God one spirit we must with earnest labor flie from thâ—se things which he hath forbidden Wherefore aptlie hath the apostle added Flie from whoordome He saith moreouer Euerie sinne which a man committeth is without the bodie but he which committeth whooredome sinneth against his owne bodie If the arguments which I haue brought before doo not mooue you at the leastwise haue a regard to your owne bodie the which you séeme to hate and contemne How we sin against our owne bodie by fornication when ye commit whooredome But it may be demanded how other sinnes be without the bodie and how by fornication we sin against our owne bodie For we doubt not but he which is verie angrie nourisheth and augmenteth choler whereby the bodie is not a little hurt Sicknesse also dooth verie much weaken the bodie Pro. 17 22. wherefore Salomon saith A sorrowfull spirit drieth vp the bones Againe droonkennesse and gluttonie doo hinder health and doo in a maner vtterlie destroie the bodie Yea and enuious persons doo séeme also to sinne against their owne bodie for thou maist perceiue them to be dried withered and in a maner dead with leannesse How can it then be that other sinnes are without the bodie Some saie that fornicators doo sinne against their owne bodie bicause verie manie times through the companie which they haue with whoors they are infected with the pocks and with leprosie But let others saie what they will I had rather thinke that the apostle had respect vnto those things that went before in so much as he had said that the fornicator is made one bodie with an harlot And he séemeth to sinne verie gréeuouslie against the worthie state of his bodie who maketh it all one with the most vile and filthie bodie of an harlot For if anie king or prince should marrie a wife of a simple and base degrée A similitude it will be said that he hath stained his kindred I knowe there be some which thinke that these words are spoken hyperbolicallie bicause there be found other sinnes also which hurt the bodie but this sinne dooth most gréeuouslie and most of all hurt it 5 The same Paule dooth yet further argue Doo ye not knowe that your bodies are the temple of the holie Ghost 1. Cor. 6 19. And assuredlie he which destroieth the temple of God him will God destroie As if he had said Ye haue not your bodies of your selues but of God God hath made them his temple the holie Ghost dwelleth in them ye are not your owne wherefore ye doo not a little violate iustice in defiling the thing that belongeth to an other Ye are bought with a great price glorifie therfore God in your bodie These arguments of Paule are excellent and of verie great weight wherwith if anie man be not well satisfied let him looke vpon Samson He was no idolater no murtherer no théefe and yet was he taken bound his eyes put out cast into prison and compelled there to grind as if he had béene a foure-footed beast Paule by manie arguments laboureth to prooue whordome to be sinne And no maruell séeing he then wrote to the Corinths who at that time excéeded others in fornications whereof came the prouerbe Non cuiuis Corinthum that is It is not méet for euerie man to go to Corinth And generallie all the Ethniks were in an ill opinion touching this vice For which cause when the church was yet in growing as Eusebius testifieth in the 3. booke of his historie Eusebius the 29. chapter The Nicolaits did openlie and manifestlie commit fornication and fathered the custome of their naughtinesse vpon Nicolas the deacon The historie of Nicolas the deacon Clemens of Alexandria Howbeit Clemens bishop of Alexandria in his Stromata dooth excuse Nicolas for he saith that he neither thought nor taught anie such thing But hauing a verie faire woman to his wife and was thought to be gelous ouer hir he brought hir foorth before the people and said This is my wife And that ye might vnderstand that I am not gelous ouer hir I am content for my part that anie man take hir to wife Which also he ment so farre as the lawe of God would suffer Howbeit they which were afterward called Nicolaites vnderstanding his words peruerselie supposed him to thinke that wiues among Christians ought to be common Of this sect it is written in the Apocalypse But this thou hast Apoc. 2 6. bicause thou hast hated the dooings of the Nicolaites which I also hate So that it is no maruell if Paule tooke so great paines to teach that whoredome is sinne 6 This mischéefe is an enimie vnto matrimonie séeing they which follow wanton lusts harlots are enimies vnto marriage Whervpon Terence saith They which loue can ill abide to take a wife For which cause Clemens saith Clemens that Whoredome leadeth from one matrimonie vnto manie that is from one lawfull coniunction to manie vnlawfull wicked Heb. 13 14. The epistle to the Hebrues ioineth fornicatours with adulterers testifieth that God will iudge them And these two vices are so ioined togither that they are comprehended in the selfe-same precept wherein it is said Thou shalt not commit adulterie Exo. 20 14. Also this pestilent vice is repugnant both vnto charitie and to the publike weale Vnto charitie I saie bicause the fornicatours doo iniurie vnto their children who not being lawfullie procreated are scarselie at anie time brought vp honestlie and vertuouslie And they hurt the Common-wele bicause they defraud it of good citizens For Manzer a bastard I meane Deut. 23 2 and one borne in fornication is forbidden to be receiued into the church not that he is restrained from the holie communion or from the mysteries of saluation but bicause it is not lawfull for him to rule the publike weale and to be numbred among citizens Some thinke that this euill would be remedied if a man might kéepe a