sayth A prince that is to saye the Emperoure or kynge is aboue the lawes and although the empresse is bonde by the lawes yet the emperour frely granteth her as great priuileges as he hath hym selfe Wherfore it is permitted vnto noble women to iudge to arbytrate and decyde matters to doo and take homage and fealtie to keepe courtes and mynyster Iustyce amonge theyr tenauntes And for this pourpose the woman may haue couenant seruauntes of her owne as well as the man may and a womanne may be iudge yea amonge straungers She maye also gyue name to her familie and kynred so that the chyldren shalbe named after their mother and not after their father And in dyuerse places of the lawe cyuyle womenne haue touchynge theyr doweries many great priuileges graunted them Where amonge other thynges it is ordeyned that a woman of good name and fame shall not be imprysoned for dette and the Iudge that commytteth her to pryson shall lose his heed If she be suspected of any faute she shal be putte into a monasterye or secrete place or elles be delyuerid to womē to be imprysonde by them For the lawe saythe A woman is of better state and condition than a man and also in one selfe kynd of offence the manne trespasseth more than the woman Wherfore the man taken in auoutrie loseth his head but the woman aduouterer is put into a monasterye Azo the Lawyer gethereth mo priuiledges for the womenne in his Summe and briefe Annotation vpon the title named Ad Senatus consultum uelleianum Speculator vpon the title De renuntiationibus ¶ Also the auncyente lawe makers and stablyshers of common wealthes the moste graue wyse and prudent menne Licurgus I say and Plato knowynge verye welle by the secretes of Phylosophy that women were not inferiours to men neyther in excellencye of mynde nor in strengthe of bodye nor in dygnitie of Nature but lyke able vnto all thynges decreed and made lawes that women shoulde exercise suche maystries as men vsed yea all feates perteynynge to the warre in the bowe in the slynge in hurlynge of stones in shotynge in fyghtynge in armour as well on hors backe as on foote in pytchyng of tentes in settynge men in arraye and couductynge of an hoste and to be briefe they ordeyned that women shuld as cōmonly as men vse all maner exercyses Lette vs rede writers of antiquitie worthy to be beleued and we shall fynde that in Getulia Bactris and Galletia the maner was that menne gaue them selfes to ease and delicacy and the women to plow and tylle the fieldes to buylde to bye and sel to ryde to go on warfare and to do all other thynges whiche nowe amonge vs the men do Amonge the Cantabrians men gaue dowerye to the women bretherne were gyuen to mariage by theyr systers doughters were appoynted to be heires Amonge the Scythians the Thracians and Frenche menne all worthy dedes were as cōmonly done by women as by men and in matters concernynge warre and peace women were called to councelle to gyue theyr aduyse and sentence Which thynge the Truce that the Celtes made with Hanniball dothe well declare to be trewe by these wordes If any of the Celtes complayne to haue had wronge of any of the Carthaginences of that thing let the rulers officers of y e Carthaginences or els the capytaynes which shal be in Spayne be iudges If any of the Cartha ginences hath hadde any wronge done hym by anye of the Celtes lette the women of the Celtes be iuges and determyne that thyng But by the great tyranny of men preuaylynge ageinst the lawes of god and nature such libertie was gyuen to women ¶ Thou wylte saye that is nowe forbydden by lawes abolished by custome extincted by education For anon as a woman is borne euen from her infancy she is kept at home in ydelnes as thoughe she were vnmete for any hygher busynesse she is pmitted to know no farther than her nedle and her threede And than whan she commeth to age able to be maried she is delyuered to the rule and gouernance of aielous husband orels she is perpetually shutte vp in a close nounrye And all offyces belongynge to the common weale be forbydden theym by the lawes Nor it is not permitted to a woman though she be very wise and prudent to pleade a cause before a Iuge Furthermore they be repelled in iurisdiction in arbiterment in adoption in intercession in procuration or to be gardeyns or tutours in causes testamētary and criminall Also they be repelled frome preachynge of goddes worde agaynst expresse and playn scripture in whyche the holy gost promised vnto them by Iohel the prophet saieng And your daughters shall prophecie and preache lyke as they taught openly in the tyme of the apostles as it is well knowen that Anna the wydowe of Symeon the daughters of Philyp and Priscilla the wyfe of Aquila dydde But the vnworthy dealyng of the later lawe makers is so great that breakyng goddes commaundemente to stablysshe theyr owne traditions they haue pronounced openlye that women otherwyse in excellency of nature dignitie and honour most noble be in condicion more vyle than all men And thus by these lawes the women being subewed as it were by force of armes are constrained to giue place to men and to obeye theyr subdewers not by no naturall no diuyne necessitie or reason but by custome education fortune and a certayne tyrannicall occasion ¶ Furthermore there be somme men whyche by relygion clayme authoritie ouer women and they proue theyr tyranny by holy scripture the whiche haue this cursed sayenge spoken to Eue contynually in theyr mouth Thou shalt be vnder the power of man and he shall haue lordeshyp ouer the. But yf it be answered vnto them that Christe toke awaye that cursed sayenge they wyll obiecte ageyne the wordes of Peter with whome Paule agreeth sayenge Lette women be in subiection of theyr husoandes Lette women in the churche kepe sylence But he that knoweth the dyuers fygures of Scripture and the effectes of the same shall soone se that these thynges be not repugnant but in the rynde For this is the order in the churche that men in ministration shall be preferred before women lyke as the Iewes in promyssion are before the Greekes yet neuerthelesse God is not accepter of persones For in Christ neither male nor female is of value but a newe creature And manye thinges were permitted vnto mē for the hardenesse and crueltie of theyr hartes ageynste women as in times past diuorces were granted vnto the Iewes whiche for al that nothyng hurteth the dignitie of women But whan men commytte offence and erre the women haue power of Iudgement ouer theym to the great shame and rebuke of menne And that quiene Saba shall iudge the men of Ierusalem Therfore they whyche beynge iustifyed by fayth are become the sonnes of Abraham the chylderne I say of promyssion be subdewed to a woman and bounden by the cōmandement of god sayenge to Abraham what so euer Sara saith vnto the folow it ¶ Nowe at laste brefely to recollecte Fyrste I haue shewed the great excellency of womankynd by her name order place and matter and what greate dignitie she hath obteined of god aboue man Farther I haue declared it by relygion nature humayne lawes by diuers authorities reason and examples myngling one with an other And yet haue I not so moche sayd but that I haue left moche more vnspoken For neyther Ambition nor the cause of myne owne commendation but my dutie and the very truthe moued me to wryte lest that I as one commyttynge sacrilege holdynge my peace shuld seme priuyly to steale and bribe away by a certayn wycked silence from so noble a kynde the laudes and preyses due to it as it were burienge in the groūd the talente that god hathe gyuen me But yf anye man more curyous than I shal fynde any argument or reason that hath escaped me whyche he thynketh worthye to be added to this my booke I woll not recken my selfe blamed but rather holpen thereby in that this my worke by his wytte and counnynge he wolle make better Therefore leste this worke shuld growe to ouer great a volume here I make an ende FINIS A Londini in aedibus Thomae Bertheleti typis impress Cum pri nilegio ad imprimendum solum ANNO. M.D.XLII Gen. 1. Luc. 20. Marc. 12. Matt. 22. Hebr. 1. Phil. 2. Cyprl de montibus Syna et Syon Aug. sup Gen. li. 7. Gen. 2. Arist vl 8. de auditu Sapi. 8. Io. 1. Gen. 9. Gen. 12. Gen 24. 1. Reg. 15. 2. Reg. 11. 3. Reg. 1. Hester 1. et 2 Iu. 8. et 10. Dan 13. Iob vlt. in fine Num. 31. Deut. 21. Galē 2. de Sparmate 14. de vtilitate particularum Aui doc S Fen. 1. primi Val. li. 5. cap. 4. Arist de anima Eccle. 36. Pro. 18. Eccle. 26. Ibidem Pro. 12. 1. Cor. 11. Gene. 17. Gene. 17. 28. Gen. 2. Hier. 31. Ioan. 20. Mat. 16. Luc. 24. Matt. 27. Arist de anima 1. Cor. 1. Gene. 2. Iudic. 14. 16. Gene. 19. .2 Reg. 11 3. Reg. 11. Matt. 15. Ioan. 18. Matt. 20. Marc. 14. Luc. 22. Plaut 8. Gene. 31. Gene. 27. Iosue 2 Iudic. 4. Pro. 18. Gene. 3. Gene. 4. Gene. 9. Gene. 10. Gene. 37. Exod. 1. Gene. 18. Arist de anima 1. Cor. 1. Iusue 7. 2. Reg. 19. 3. Reg. 4. Lactā lib. insti Eus de p̄p Euangel August de ci dei Exod. 15. 4. reg 22. 2. Para. 34 Rom. 4. Genes 15. 21. Gene. 25. Luc. 1. Luc. 2. Act. 21. Ioan. 4. Matt. 15. Marc. 7. Mat. 9. Mar. 5. Luc. 8. Ioan. 11. Matt. 16. Luce. 7. Ioan 19. Matt. 27. Mar. 16. 17. Luc. 23. 24. Act. 18. 2. Mach. 7. Sanctuary a place consecrate or halowed Iudic. 4. 4. Reg. 2. 2. Par. 22. Act. 8. 3. Reg. 10. 2. Paral. 9. Matt. 12. Luce. 11. 2. Reg. 14. 1 Reg 25. 3. Reg. 1. 1. Reg. 20 Iudic. 9. Hest 7. 8. Anno d̄ni 1428. Iohel 8. Genes 2. ◠Pet. 3. Ad col 3. Ad eph 5◠Rom̄ 2. Act. 10. Gene. 21.
was decreed in the law of the .xii. tables that women shuld not scrape nor shaue theyr chekes leaste at any tyme the bearde shuld growe out and shamfastenes be hyd Alsoo of the clennes and puritie of woman this maye be to all men the moste euydent argumente and token That a woman ones washed clene ouer as ofte as she is wasshed afterwarde in cleane water that water receyueth no spotte of vnclennesse but a man be he neuer so clene wasshed as ofte as he washethe agayne troubleth and fouleth the water Furthermore Nature hath so ordeyned that women auoid superfluous humours by secrete partes that men auoide by the face the moste worthy part of mannes body And where it is graunted to man aboue all other beastes to haue the face and continaunce lokynge vppe to heuen Nature and fortune haue prouyded so wonderly for woman and shewed so great fauor that if she chaunce to fall she seldome or neuer falleth on her head or face ¶ Shall we ouer passe the preferrement of nature to woman aboue man in the procreation of mankynde Whyche thynge is thus very well perceyued For only the womans seede as wytnessen Galen and Auicen is the matter and nourishment of the chyld and not the mans whiche is but an accident to the substance For as the lawe sayth the greattest chiefest offyce and duetye of woman is to conceyue and to saue that is conceyued For which cōsideration we se very many to be lyke theyr mothers by reson they be begotten of their bloudde and this lykenes is very oft well perceyued in the proportion and makyng of their bodies but it is alwayes in their maners For if the mothers be foolyshe the chyldren proue foolysshe also If the mothers be wyse the chyldren shall haue a sent thereof But contrarye wyse it is in the fathers For thoughe they be wyse ye manye tymes they gette folyshe children and foolysshe fathers gette wyse chyldren so that the mothers be wyse And there is none other reson why mothers more than the fathers shuld loue theyr children but that the mothers perceyue that theyr chyldren haue and soo they haue in dede in theym more of theyr mothers substance than of theyr fathers For this cause that I haue shewed you I suppose it naturally grafte in vs to be more kynde and louyng to our mothers than to our fathers In so moch that we seme to loue our father meanely and to loue oure mother hartelye And for this cause Nature hathe gyuen vnto women milk of so great strength and vertue that it not onely nourissheth infantes and babes but also restoreth such as ar brought lowe by sycknes and is a sufficiente foode to preserue the lyfe of those that are of perfecte age As we rede an example in Valerius Maximus of a certain yong woman whiche with the mylk of her breastes norished her mother in prison that otherwyse shoulde haue famysshed for hunger For the whiche pietifull dede her mother was deliuered out of pryson and vnto them bothe a perpetual lyuynge was gyuen And of that prison they made a Temple and called it The temple of Pitie ¶ It is well knowne that for the more parte a woman hath alway more pite and mercy than a man Whiche thynge Aristotle doth attribute to womākynd as a thing appropried therevnto Wherfore Salomon sayth Where as is no woman there the sycke man waileth eyther bycause that in seruynge and helpynge the sicke she is full diligent orels by reason of her mery chere she is full comfortable or els bycause that womās mylke is the chiefe and principall reliefe for such as be feble weke yea beynge broughte to deathes doore they are therby restored ageyne vnto helthe And the phisitions say That the heat of a womans breastes and pappes layde and ioyned to the breastis of feble olde men consumed a way by age styrreth vp encreaseth and conserueth in them lyuely heate Whyche thyng was well knowen to Dauid that in his olde aege chose the mayden Abisag a Sunamite with her collynges clippinges to hete kepe him warme Also woman is rather redye and more prompt to the holy offyce of generation than man as it is wel knowen ¶ Further it is a wonderful myracle of Nature that a womanne bredynge chylde sore longyng for it hathe eaten rawe fleshe rawe fyshe coles erth stones mettals poysons many suche other lyke thynges which without hurt she doth digeste conuerte and turne into the holsome nutrimente and substance of the body Now great myracles and maruailes that nature hathe endowed woman with shal he fynd that redeth throughly the volumes and bokes of philosophers and phisitions whiche for brefenes we here ouerpasse ¶ Nowe let vs speake of speche and langage whiche is the gyfte of god and by whiche one thing we passe and are better than all other brute beastes Trismegistus Mercurius iudgeth it to be of as great pryce as moch worth and as good a thynge as immortalitie And Hesiodus nameth it the chiefest treasure of Mankynde And is not a womā better spokē more eloquent more copious and plentyfull of wordes than a man Do not all we that be men lerne first to speke of our mothers or of our nources Truely nature her selfe the former of thinges sagely prouidyng for mankynde gaue this gyfte to womankynde that scarse in any place ye shall fynde a dumme womanne Is it not right faire and cōmendable that women shulde excelle men in that thing in whiche men chiefly passe all other beastes But from prophane mattiers lette vs retourne home agein to holy scripture and begynne at the verye fountaynes of our relygion ¶ We know surely that god blessed man for womans sake whiche blessynge the vnworthye man deserued not to haue tyll the womā was created and made wherwith Salomon in his prouerbes agreeth Who so fyndeth a good woman fyndeth a good thinge and receyueth an holsome benefite of the lorde And it is written Ecclesiastici 26. Happy is the man that hathe a vertuous wyfe For the number of his yeres shall be double And no man may be compared to him in dignitie that for his worthynes hathe a good woman For as Ecclesiasticus saythe A good woman is a gyfte aboue all other gyftes And therfore Salomon in his prouerbes calleth her the crowne of her husbande and Paul the glorie of man For glorie is defined to be the accomplishment and perfection of a thinge restyng and delytyng in his ende that is to say when nothing more may be added to encreace or amēd the perfection thereof A woman therfore is the ende perfection felicitie benediction and glorye of the man and as Augustin sayth the fyrste societie and company of mankynde in this morall lyfe Wherfore of necessitie euery man loueth her whome who soo euer wyl not loue but hate is a stranger not only to all humanitie and gentylnesse but also to all vertue and grace And to speake
agayne of the Cabalisticall mysteries Abraam was blessed of god by the woman Sarah and takynge the letter H from the womans name and puttynge it to the mans called hym Abraham Also the blessynge of Iacob was gotten hym by a woman his mother There be many suche examples in holye Scripture but not to be shewed in this place ¶ Thus blessyng was gyuen for the woman and law for the man The lawe I say of anger and of curlynge For why the fruyte of the tree was forbydden to the mā but not to the woman which was not than created For god wolde her to be fre from the begynning Therfore the manne sinned in eatynge not the woman The man gaue vs deathe not the woman And all we synned in Adam not in Eua. And we toke orygynalle synne of oure father the man not of our mother the woman And therfore the olde law commanded all the malekynde to be circumcised but the females to remayne vncircumcised that is to witte he ordeyned the originall synne to be punyshed onely in that kind whiche had trespassed Furthermore god rebuked not the woman for that she had eatē but bicause she gaue occasion of yuelle vnto the man and that dyd she vnwarely intyced therto by the dyuell The man knew well he dyd amisse but the woman being deceyued erred ignorātly For she was fyrst tempted of the dyuell whom he knewe to be moste excellent of all creatures And as Bernarde saith The dyuell seing her wonderful beautie and perceyuynge her to be suche one as he had knowen before in the godly lyght whiche aboue all aungels shoulde reioyce with the speche of god conceyued enuye onely ageynst the woman for her excellencye Wherfore Christe borne into this worlde most humble and lowe to thende he woulde with his great humilite make satisfaction for the synne of pryde cōmitted by our forfather he toke vpon hym manhode as the more humble and lower kynde and not womankynde the more hygher noble Furthermore bycause we were condemned for the synne of the man and not of the woman god wolde that in what kynd the synne was committed in the same shulde be the purgation of synne and by the same kinde whiche ignorantly was deceyued we shuld also be reuengid Therfore it was said vnto the serpent that the woman or more truly the sede of the woman shoulde breake his head and not the man nor the seede of the man And perchaunce hereof it came that the order of priestehode is of the churche rather committed to the man thā to the woman bycause euerye prieste dothe represent Christe and Christe the fyrst man that is to wite the synner Adam To this purpose we vnderstande the Canon that begynneth Haec imago whiche sayth that a woman was not made to y e ymage of god but to the simylitude of Christe Yet for all that I say that he beynge verye god I speake of Christe wold not be the sonne of man but of a woman the whiche he so hyghly honored that of a womanne onely he toke fleshe and bloudde For onely for the woman Christ was called the sonne of man and not for the mā ¶ This is that great myracle at the whiche the prophete so moche meruayled that a woman comprehended manne whan a virgin conceyued mankynde and bare Christe in her body ¶ Also Christe risynge vp ageyn from deth to lyfe appered first vnto women not to mē And it is not vnknowen that after the death of Christe men fell from the faythe but it was neuer knowē that women slypte and fell from Christen fayth and religion Farther there was no persecution of the faythe at any tyme no heresye no errour in the faythe that arose and came by women but by menne Christe was boughte and solde accused condemned scourged hanged on the Crosse and at the last putte to cruell deathe onely by men Yea he was denyed of his owne Peter forsakē of his other disciples and only accompanied wayted vpon and folowed of women vnto the crosse and graue Also the very wyfe of Pylate an hethen woman went aboute and laboured more to saue Iesus than any mā yea any of these men that beleued in hym Furthermore almost the hole schoole of diuines afferme say that the churche dyd than remaine only with the woman that is to say with the virgin Marye And therfore woman kind is worthyly called relygyous deuoute and holy But yet if any man wolsay with Aristotle that among al beastes and lyuyng creatures the male kynd is more valiāt strong wise and noble Vnto him a more excellent man the great doctour the holy apostel saint Paule woll answere and say Those thynges that be folyishe before the worlde god hathe chosen that he myghte confounde wise menne and those thynges that be feble and weake in this worlde he hathe chosen to confounde the mighty the vile and dispised before the world god hath chosen yea those thynges which be nothing of no reputation that he myght destroy those thinges which be in price moch set by For who amonge men in all gyftes of nature and of grace was higher than Adam yet a woman brought him low Who was stronger than Sampson A woman ouercame his strength Who was more chast than Loth A woman inticed hym to inceste Who was more religious than Dauid A woman disturbed his holynes Who was more wyser than Salomon a woman deceyued hym Who was more paciēt than Iob. whom the dyuell stryped out of al his goodes kylled all his family and chyldren and filled al his body full of boyles and soores and yet for all that he coulde not prouoke hym from the olde symplicitie of his mynde but the woman intyced hym and in that she was more hygher and constaunt than the dyuell and so vexed hym that he cursed god And if it myght be leful to make any cōparison with Christe who is most myghtyfull and moste wyse for he is the eternall and euerlastynge wysedome and power of god dydde he not suffer hym selfe to be ouercome of that poore woman of Chanaan sayinge hym selfe It is not good to take the chyldernes breade and cast it to dogges She answered and sayde Trouthe lorde neuer the lesse the dogges eate of the crommes whiche fall frome their masters table Now whan Christ perceyued that he could not ouer come her with that reasonne he blessed her sayenge Be it vnto the as thou desyrest ¶ Who was more hotte and feruent in the faythe of Christe than Peter A woman made hym so greatte a Mynyster of Chrystis Churche to denye Christe Lette the Canonistes crake what they wylle that theyr Churche can not erre a woman pope moked her by a goodlye imposture and deceyre ¶ But nowe some men wyll say that those thynges redounde rather to the dysprayse than prayse of women Vnto whome women shall make this aunswere If it were
man beinge ouer aged vnmeete for mariage or otherwise vnlusty to do the dedes of Venus had maried a maiden it shoulde be laufull for his wyfe to chose a goodly and a tall younge manne to dalye and play with her and the chylde gotten betwene theym shoulde be ascribed to her housbande and not to be called a bastarde and though those lawes were made and establyshed yet we rede not that they were kepte not so moche through the sturdynesse of the men as by the chastitie of the womenne refusynge those lawes ¶ There be innumerable excellent women whiche with notable clennesse of lyfe and perfet wiuely loue haue farre passed al men as Abigail the wyfe of Naball Arthemisia the wyfe of Nausoleus Argia the wyfe of Policinis a Chebane Iulia the wife of Pompeius Portia the wyfe of Cato Cornelia the wife of Gracchus Messalina the wife of Sulpice Alceste the wyfe of Admetus Hypsicratea the wife of Mithridates kynge of Pontus and also Dido the buylder of Carthage and the Romayn Lucrece and Sulpitia the wyfe of Lentulus There be innumerable other whose hartes were so fyxed on vyrgynitie and chastitie that the very dethe coulde not remoue theym of whom thexamples are manyfest and playne as Athlanta Calidonia Camilla Volsca Iphigenia of Grece Cassandra and Crise With these gone the Vyrgynes of Lacedemonye of Spartane of Milesia of Thebes with other innumerable of whome the storyes of the Hebrewes of the Grekes and of other Macyons doo make mencyon the whyche estemed vyrginite aboue kyngdomes yea and aboue theyr very lyues ¶ If the examples also of pitie and louing kyndnes be required amonge al other Claudia Vestalis towarde her father and that poore yonge woman of the whiche we spake afore towardes her mother are wonderfull ¶ But here some enuious felow wyl obiect ageinst those thynges the deadely mariages of Sampson of Iason of Deiphebus of Agamemnon and such other tragedies on whyche as saythe the prouerbe if a man loke throughly with clere eies he shall fynde that theyr wyues are falsely blamed of the whyche neuer chaunced vnto a good man one yll For yll wyues neuer chaunce but to ylle husbandes vnto whome all though the good somtyme chāce yet their husbandes vyces make them naught ¶ If it had bene laufull for women to make lawes too wryte histories how gret tragedies trowye wolde they haue writen of the inestimable malice of men amōg whom many ben murtherers theues rauishers of vyrgins periurers robbers burners of houses traytours of whome also in the tyme of Iosue Dauid the king so greatte a multitude were murtherers robbers that they were able to make princes capytaynes ouer theyr companies Yea and at this day there is an infinite number of them For all prisons be filled with men and al the galowes in euerye place be loded with the carcases of men But contrarye wyse womenne were the fyrste inuentours of all honest craftes of all vertue and benefittes Whiche thyng the very names of sciences and vertues beinge of the femynine gender do playnly specifye Whereof this is a notable profe that the circuite of the hole world is callyd by the names of women that is to say of the Nymph Asia of Europa the doughter of Agenor of Libia the doughter of Epaphus the whiche is also callid Aphrica And finally to recite all kyndes of vertue a woman shall euery where obteyne the hygheste place For the vyrgin Mary was a woman the whyche fyrst dydde vowe her vyrginitie to god and thereby deserued to be the mother of god The womenne prophetes were euermoore inspyred with a more diuine spyrite than the men Whiche thynge is welle knowen by that Lactātius Eusebius and Augustine wytnessen of the Sibylles ¶ So Mary the syster of Moses prophecied And whan Ieremye was taken prysoner his vncles daughter Olda rose vp and prophecied beyonde mans reache to the people of Israell atte the poynte redy to peryshe Lette vs serche holy scripture and we shall fynde that women in constancye in feythe and in other vertues ar commended farre aboue men as in Iudith Ruth Hester the whiche with so great glory and praise were celebrate and honored that holy bokes beare their names And all though Abraham for the stedfastnes of his fayth is called in scripture a iuste man by cause he surely beleued in god yet for al that he muste submyt hym selfe to his wyfe Sara For by y e voyce of the lorde he was cōmanded thus What so euer Sara saythe to the here her voyce So Rebecca beleuyng stedfastly went to aske god certayne questions and she being reputed worthy harde this oracle or aunswere of god Two maner of folke are in thy bealy and two maner of people shall be deuyded from thy bealy And the wydowe Sareptana gaue credence to Helias all thoughe it were harde to beleue that he tolde her So zachary rebuked of the aungell for his incredulitie was dumme and his wife Elizabeth with her wōbe and voyce prophecied is praysed bicause she beleued faithfully and she afterwarde praysed the most blessed virgin Mary saying Blessed art thou whyche dyddest beleue those thynges that were spoken to the of the lord So Anna the prophetesse after the reuelation of Simeon cōfessed god spake of him to al that wold here whyche loked for the redemption of Israel And Phylip had foure vyrgins to his doughters which dyd prophecy What shall I saye of her the samaritan with whom Christe spake at the well and beinge fedde with the faythe of this beleuing womā refused the meate that the apostelles broughte To these may be ioyned the faithefull woman of Chananee and the woman dyseased with the blouddye flyxe Was not also the faith and confessyon of Martha lyke the confessyon of Peter The Gospell wytnesseth howe greate constācy of faith was in Mary Magdaleyn For whyle the pristes and Iewes crucyfyed Christe she wepeth she bringeth oyntmentes vnto the Crosse she seeketh in the Tombe she asketh the gardyner for hym she aknowledgeth god she gothe to the apostles and sheweth them that he is rysen They were in doubte therof but she beleued it verily Ageyn what shall I saye of that holy woman Priscilla the whiche instructed Apollo apostolycke man perfitely lerned in the lawe and byshoppe of the Corinthians Nor it was no shame for a postell to lerne of a woman what he shulde teache in the churche ¶ Moreouer they that haue shewed the stedfastnes of theyr faith by sufferyng of Martyrdom and by the dispisynge of deathe be no fewer in number than men Nor that wonderfull mother shuld be lefte vnspoken of so worthy to be remembred the whiche not onely behelde her .vii. sonnes putte to deathe by most cruell martyrdom but also she boldly exhorted them stedfastlye to dye And she aboue all thynges trustyng in god was after her
⧠OF THE NOBILITIE AND EXCELLENCIE OF VVOMANKYNDE ALMYGHTY God the maker nourisher of all thynges the Father and goodnesse of both male and female of hys great bountyfulnes hath create mankynde lyke vnto hym selfe he made them man and woman The diuersitie of which two kyndes standeth onely in the sondry situation of the bodily partes in whiche the vse of generation requireth a necessary differēce He hath giuen but one similitude and lykenes of the sowle to bothe male and female betwene whose sowles there is noo maner dyfference of kynd The woman hathe that same mynd that a man hath that same reason and speche she gothe to the same ende of blysfulnes where shall be noo exception of kynde For after the euangelicall truthe they that ryse in theyr owne proper kynde shall not vse the offyce of theyr kynde but the lykenes of angelles is promysed vnto theym And thus betwene man and woman by substance of the soule one hath no higher preemynence of nobylytye aboue the other but both of them naturally haue equall libertie of dignitie and worthynesse But all other thynges the which be in man besydes the dyuyne substance of the sowle in those thynges the excellente and noble womanheed in a maner infynytely dothe excell the rude grosse kynd of men the whiche thyng we shall playnly proue to be true not with counterfayte and fayre flatteryng wordes nor also with the subtyll sophimes of Logike wherwith many sophisters were wont to blynde and deceyue men but by the auctorytye of moste excellent auctours and true writers of historys and with manifest reasons yea with the testimonies of holye scrypture and by the ordynances and constitutions of lawes ¶ Fyrst to enter into this matter the womā is made so muche more excellent than man in howe moche the name that she hathe receyued is more excellente than hys For Adam soundeth Erthe but Eua is interpretate lyfe and as moche as the lyfe doth excel erth so moche the woman is to be preferred aboue the man Nor there is no cause why this shulde be called a feble argumēt to gyue iugement of thynges by the names For we knowe that the hyghe artyficer and maker of thinges and names fyrst dyd knowe the thynges before he named them which for as moch as he could not be deceyued for thys purpose he made the names that it myght expresse the nature propertye and vse of the thynge For the trouthe of antyque names is suche as the veraye Romayne lawes testyfye that the selfe names are consonāt to the thinges and manifest significations of them Therfore an argument of the names of thinges amonges dyuynes and lawyars is of greate weyghte As we rede written of Nabal after his name is a fole and folyshenes is with him Of this Paule in hys Epistle to the Hebrewes purposynge to shewe the excellency of Chryste vseth this argument sayeng that he is made as moch more excellēt than the aungels as he hath enherited a name more excellente than they And in an other place God hath gyuen hym a name the whiche is aboue al names that in the name of Iesu euery knee shall bowe both of thynges in heauen of thynges vpon earth of thynges vnder theearth Further this thynge to approue there is no smal strengthe of lawes comprehended and conteyned in the bondes of wordes in signification of wordes in conditions and demonstrations in conditions annexed and suche other kyndes of dysputations and highe poyntes and tytles of the lawe as in the same tytles and other lyke a man may perceyue For soo we make argumente and reasons in the lawe of the interpretation of the name also of the strength of the word and vocable Moreouer of the interpretation of the name and also of the dyfynytion and composition and order of the worde For the lawes theym selfes do quyckelye and sharpely consyder the significations of the names that of thē they myghte some thynge interpretate ¶ Also Cyprian againste the Iewes argueth that the fyrste man Adam receyued hys name of the iiii princypal partes of the world that is East weast North and Southe and in the same boke he dothe expound the same name Adam because erth was made flesh althoughe suche exposition dothe dyffer from the tradition and teachyng of Moses sens among the Hebrewes it is not wrytten with foure but with .iii. letters Yet for all that this exposition in so holy a man is not to be dyspraysed for as moche as he was not lerned in the Hebrewe tongue the whiche verye many saynctes and exposytours of holye scrypture to theyr small blame knewe not But if I can not haue lyke leaue and liber tye for the prayse of womanheed after my mynde and iugement to vse lyke etymologie and declaration of the word and name of Eue at the leaste lette me be suffered to speake this one thynge out of the misticall decrees and agreeable wylles of the Cabalistis the very name of a woman to haue more affinitie with the ineffable and in enarrable name of the diuine power almyghtye called Tetragrammaton than the name of man the whiche with the name of god neither in letters nor in figure nor in nombre doth agree ¶ But nowe we wyll leaue these thynges for they be redde of few and of fewer vnderstande they requyre a longer processe than is mete to be spoken of here In the meane season we wol serche oute the excellencie of womanheed not of the name onely but of the very thynges dueties and merites Therfor let vs as they say serch the scriptures and takynge oure grounde at the fyrste creation let vs dispute and reason what dignitie woman obteyned aboue mā whanne she was fyrste made We knowe that whatso euer god almyghty made do chiefely differre in this point that certain of them shuld abyde and remayn for euer more incorruptible and withoute putrifaction and certaine shuld be subiecte vnto corruption mutabilitie and change And in creatynge those thynges god proceded forwarde after thys order he beganne at the more noble and excellente of one thynge and ended at the most noble of an other And thus he created incorruptible angels and soules for so doth saint Augustyne dispute reason that the soules of our fyrste parentes were created with angels before the bodyes were made Furthermore he created incorruptible bodies as the heuēs the sterres and the elementes incorruptible but subiecte to dyuers mutations of the whiche he made al other thinges that be subiecte vnto corruption From the more vyler by seuerall degrees and orders of dignitie agayne ascendynge and goinge vp vnto the perfection of the hole worlde Firste he made minerals thanne thynges vegetable plantes and trees after that thinges lyuinges than brute beastes some crepynge some swymmyng some fleynge Fynally he created two creatures lyke to hym selfe fyrst the male and last the female in whiche female the heuens the erthe and al the goodly ornament of
chylderne cruelly put to deathe for the mayntenaunce of the lawes of her countrey ¶ Dyd not also Theodelina the doughter of the kynge of Bauarians conuerte the Lumbardes to the fayth And Greisilla the sysrer of Henry the fyrste Emperour conuerte the Hungarians Clotildis the daughter of the kyng of Burgundia conuert the Frenche men And a certayn woman called Apostola of a lowe degree conuerted the Hiberians Eche of them turned innumerable people vnto Christis faythe And fynally this is the onely and speciall relygious kynd in whom vnto this day the catholike faith and the continual workes of vertue and goodnesse doo flourysshe and shyne ¶ But to the ende that noo man shuld doubt women to be as able to doo all those thynges that men can let vs handle the matter with examples and we shal fynd that there was neuer noble nor worthy acte in any kynde of vertue doone by men but that as noble hath ben done by women In doinge sacrifyce as the paynyms in olde tyme vsed Melyssa Cibeles was the Mynyster after whose name the other Goddesses that vsed the priestes offyce were callyd Melyssae Also Hypeccaustria was Mineruas mynyster Mera of Venus Iphiginia of Diana And the mynysters of Bacchus were very notable as Thyades Menades Bacche Eliades Mimallonides Eonides Eubiades Bassarides Triaterides Also amonge the Iewes Mary Moses syster entred with Aaron into the Sanctuarie and was taken as a mynyster or priest And although women be forbydden in our religion to vse the order of presthod yet it appereth by hystories that a woman on a tyme by counterfaitynge her kynde was bishoppe of Rome There haue bene in Christis churche many abbasses and nunnes whiche in olde tyme men disdayned not to calle holy mynisters There haue bene among all nations that excelled in prophecienge as Cassandra the Sybilles Mary Moyses sister Delbora Holda Anna Elyzabeth the foure doughters of Philip many other holy womē of later time as Brigida and Heldegardis Furthermore in the inuyncible arte magyke whether it came of good spirytes or bad Circes and Medea wroughte farre greatter wonders than Zoroastes hym self whiche as many suppose was the fyrste fynder of the sayde scyence More ouer in phylosophye many haue ben very excellent as Theano the wyfe of Pythagoras and Dama his daughter was ryghte famous in openynge and declaringe her fathers obscure darke sentences Also Aspasia and Diotima Socrates scholers Mantinea and Philesia Axiochia both scholers to Plato Finally Plotinus highly prayseth Gemina and Amphiclea Lactantius Themisten Christis churche reioyceth in saynt Caterine which being but a lyttell mayde dyd farre passe in lernynge the wyse menne of that tyme. ¶ Let vs not forget in this place the queene Zenobia scholer to the phylosopher Longinus whiche for her great vertue and cunning was called Ephenissa whose holy workis Nichomachus translated into Greke ¶ Let vs speake of the oratours arte and of poetrie Behold here commeth Armesia surna med Androgenea Hortentia Lacera Valeria Copiola Sapho Corinna Cornificia the Romayne Erymna Telia or Thesbia whyche was named an Epigrammatist in Saluste Sempronia in the law ciuyl Calphurnia And were it not that women in our tyme ar forbydden to gyue theym to good lernynges we shulde euen nowe haue women more excellēt in wyt and lernynge than menne What shulde we hereof say that women onely by nature are sene to excelle the very artificers in all sciences Doo not the Grammarians take vppon theym to be the maysters of eloquence And that do we far better lerne of oure nources and mothers than of the Grammarians Dyd not Cornelia fourme and fasshyon the tongues of her moste eloquent sonnes Gracchi Dyd not Istrineus mother teach Syles the sonne of Aripithus kynge of Scythia the Greeke tongue Dydde not the chyldren borne of theym that were sente to inhabyte in straunge countreyes alway obserue and kepe theyr mothers tongue amonge strangers Surely for none other cause Plato and Quintilian so diligentlye ordeyned a mete and conueniente nource for chylderne to be chosen but that the chyldernes tongue speche myght be ryghtlye and discretely fourmed ¶ But nowe be not the poetes in theyr trifles fables the logitians in their cōtentious talking ouercome of women Ther was neuer oratour so good or so happy that in perswasyon coulde get the vpper hande of an harlot What arithmetrician by false recknyng coulde deceyue a woman in payement of her det or what musitian can compare with a woman in singynge and swetenesse of breaste Be not these Phylosophers these astrologians in theyr diuynatiōs forknowleges many tymes inferiours to the coūtrey wiues yea very ofttymes a sely olde woman excelleth the phisitian Socrates hym selfe aboue all other reckned the most wyse man being very aged dyd not disdain to be taught of the womā Aspasia Lyke as Apollo a man so wel lerned in Christis doctrine was not ashamed to be taught of the womā Priscilla ¶ Nowe for prudency you maye take for examples those women Opis for her wysedome counted a goddesse Plotina wyfe of Troianus themperour Amalasuntha the queene of Ostrogottes Emilia the wyfe of Scipio with whō recken Delbora the wyfe of Labidoth a meruaylouse wyse woman whiche as we rede in Iudicum was a certayn tyme Iudge ouer the people of Israel and the chylderne of Israell came vp to her for iudgement in all causes And whan Barach refused to go ageynste their ennemies excepte she wolde go with hym Delbora was chosen capitayne of the host of Israell and sleynge and dyscomfytynge theyr foes she returned home with vyctorie ¶ More ouer it is redde in the fourth boke of kingis that quene Attalia reigned was souerayne Iudge in Ierusalem seuen yeres space And Semiramis after the deathe of kynge Ninus iudged the people .xl. yeres And all the quenes of Ethiope called Candaces were moste wyse and reigned moste myghtely of whomit is written in the actes of the apostels And meruaylouse thynges of them speaketh the faithful writer of antyquytie Iosephus Also Nicania the quene of Saba cam from the ende of the world to here the wysedome of Salomon and as Christ witnesseth she shall condemne all the people of Hierusalem And there was a certain wise woman of Thecoa whyche concluded kynge Dauids demaunde with a question with a ryddle she taught hym and by the exāple of god swaged his wrath Nor here we shulde not forget Abigail and Bathsaba of whiche two Abigail delyuered her husbande from the wrathe of Dauid and after the deathe of her husbande she was queene and wyfe of Dauid The other the mother of Salomon by her prudēcy opteyned that her sonne was kynge ¶ More ouer in the Inuention of thynges Isis Minerua Nicostrata be examples In rulyng of realmes and buyldynge of cities women excelle Semiramis was the souerayne gouernour of the vniuersall worlde Dido was the buylder and queene of Carthage the Amazones were moste worthy in warre and