AS it standeth all men in hande, to looke well A about theim, leste thei bee deceiued with the subtile clokes of hypocrisie: So it were moste agreable for theim that beare the names of learned men, and be in the roumes of Iudges and Commissioners, specially in Ecclesiasti­call executions, to haue good groundes, both of Goddes Lawes, and mennes lawes, to aunswere bothe God and man at all tymes, to kepe them selues within learnyng and discretion, to the conseruation of the lawes of their owne natu­rall countrey, accordyng to the charge that is committed to their B truste: and not to hange the suertie of their doynges vpon other mennes sleaues, as is at these daies commonly perceiued in di­uers Chauncellours and Comisaries, whiche partely by their hastie runnyng before lawes, without Commission: and execu­tyng their offices so extremely, in depriuyng and diuorsyng the late maried Priestes, alottyng theim no maner of liuyng out of their benefites, whom thei admitte again to ministration, as the Quéenes maiestie commaundeth them, Articl. 8. in the articles of Com­mission: I saie it maie appeare that many of them, haue neither eye to that, whiche God in his lawe requireth of theim, neither C yet, what their owne Ecclesiasticall lawes bindeth them to: nei­ther regardyng, what the dignitie of the lawes of the Realme, might aduise them, nor yet what the Quéenes aucthoritie com­maundeth them, but in abusyng all, take aduauntage of all, to sette forthe their owne priuate stomackes, or els belike, takyng comforte and counsaile at this late set forthe booke, thinke all is Gospell, that thei read there, and to be executed to the vttermost. Whiche if thei doe, peraduenture Christes woordes maie take place of theim. Math. 15. b. Luke. vi. Si caecus caeco dux fuerit. &c. If the blinde leade the blinde, bothe shall fall into the diche. For if his aucthoritie be D no greater for their warraunte, then the substaunce of his truth and doctrine, as he handleth hymself: I feare me that he will bée to rotten a poste for them, soundly to leane vnto, when thei shall see hym once throughly examined by learnyng: whiche thyng might be sone perceiued of them selues, that be ledde by the per­swasion [Page 24] A of his booke, and therefore doe as thei doe, if thei were learned in the matters, whiche he reporteth, or yet indifferent to expende his reasons, whiche vniuersally, be so vntruly alledged and so violently contorted, that I wounder, that either hymself was not ashamed, so openly in this learned worlde, to abuse mennes eares that be ignoraunt, or that thei that bee trained in learnyng, should esteeme the cause the worse, for his handelyng the matters as he vttereth them: To expende but halfe of his vn­truthes, aswell in learnyng, as his slaunders in deprauyng, would require as greate a booke as his whole is, for the worthie B settyng out of them.

Now to geue you some taste of his sinceritie till wee shall expende, howe he handleth hym selfe in the bodie of his booke, note his clearkelie dealyng in his charitable preface, or Epistle written to the Queenes highnesse, wherein because ye might iudge of what heere he is of, it pleaseth hym to treade in Alber­tus Pighius steppes right vp and downe, as in moste of his wry­tinges, reasons, and allegations, and in corruptyng of the same he followeth hym at the harde heales. Controuer­sia. 15. Pighius in his booke of controuersies, complaineth of the common contempte of Prie­stes, C as it is nowe a daies to bee seen, and attributeth the same first to the greate swarme and multitude of Priestes, As Masse Priestes. Dirige Hriestes. Chaun [...]t [...]rie Priestes. Sacrificyng Priestes, to the greate in­iurie of Chri­stes blessed sacrifice, once for all made by his bloud, for the renus­sion of synn. ouer ma­nie: secondly too the greate vnworthines of theim for lacke of learnyng and knowledge: and thirdlie to the vile sclaunderous incontinent lie [...] thei openly liued in, as this Ciuilian also in like forme of wordes dooth vtter, the selfe same groundes out of the which, spring this open contempt of Priestes héere in England, sauyng that it pleaseth this Ciuilian, not to laie the whole bur­den of this matter, in thadmission and choice of the Ordinaries, as Pighius doeth, but chargeth the patrons, from whose corrup­tion D and coueteousnesse, this vnworthinesse proceaded, who, as he saieth, for frendship, more then for learnyng, for goodes, more then of goodnes, elected many into their holie orders, neither of age, neither of learnyng, nor of discretiō, worthie to take so high a function vpon them. Expende here good reader, the sleight of this Ciuilion, in that he would insinuate to the reader, that the [Page 25] patrones of Benefices for coueteousnesse sake, are in this mat­ter A moste culpable, who vseth to electe suche vile persones in to the Clergie, by whiche meanes he would seme to laie the bur­den in their neckes, and remoue it from suche as had by their office, charge to admitte none, but suche as by diligent examina­tion should be founde able and worthie. For who is in the fault, the Patrone, who presenteth his clarke to the iudgemente of the Ordinarie to be examined, worthie or vnworthie, and so by hym to be admitted or repelled, or the Ordinarie, who would against the lawes, admit suche blinde Asses, suche corrupte men of life, to suche high functions? How be it, by the waie, the greate high di­gnitie B of suche Massyng Priestes, as thei vsed to elect and admit, wer fitte enough for suche as thei were cōmonlie, whose offices were but to syng Masses for money, mumble vp their Mattens to make a pretēce of praiyng, to be at tables, and in the ale house all the daie folowyng, where thei should haue been at their boo­kes, but what needed thei to be geuen to learnyng, where Mas­syng might as well be performed, of an vnlearned beast, as of a learned man, and what needed thei to studie to preache to their flockes, hauyng suche number as many of them had neuer re­garded, nor once seen in all their liues: either with teachyng in C their owne persones, either releuyng theim in hospitalitie, or leadyng theim to vertue by good example of life. And for that commonly thei supposed preachyng, to be but vaine labour spēt, and daungerous to haue the people wise in knowledge, and thought that muche preachyng broughte in but heresie, where ignoraunce was the mother of obedience, and quiete behauiour of the people to their Lawes. But if any of theim thought good for maners sake, to haue some sermons in their Cures, thei had Friers at their handes, ready to supplie suche partes at their pleasure. And what neded thei to bee residente, where thei were D otherwise set on woorke, some to bee surueiours of landes, some receiuours, some stewardes, some clarkes of the Ketchin, many gardiners, and orcharde makers: for commonly this was the trade, the better benefice, & the cure the more, the seldomer was the Person or Uicar resident at home. But I maruaile how this [Page 26] A Ciuilian can be so impudent, to laie the greate faulte of all these disorders vpon the Patrones, as though thei had the orders of clerkes, either in their admissions, or in their residencies. Again if the Ordinaries were (as iustly thei might bee) charged for ge­uyng suche occasion of contempte of the Priestes, why on Gods name did thei not prouide for to represse this enormitie? Why made thei not Lawes and Canons, or if thei made suche, why did thei not execute suche Canons, to reforme this foule disorder whereof thei so muche complain? Is it reason to crie out against other men, who iustlie sawe cause to despise suche rable of rude B and filthie Goates, and thei thē selfes whose faulte onely it was, for suche to bee admitted, to goe quite vnder suche a [...]ie forme of complainyng, as this Ciuilian here gloriously laboureth, to blind the Queenes eyes with? Though he would not in so plain and manifest a matter, dissemble the cause of this contempte of clarkes, yet would he haue it other where drawen, then where it should be laied. O craftie and wilie Foxes in their generatiō. The penner of this solemne preface, might well haue taken him self by the nose in this disorder, and laied his hande on his owne harte, and seriouslie to haue confessed his faulte, with other of C his brethren, and earnestlie to haue laboured with his brethren, to haue reformed it. For of conscience, in this preface I must ex­cuse this seelie Ciuilian, whose witte and studie could not couch vp suche matter, in so glorious a stile. He was abused by others, who set hym a worke to beare the name, and to desire a fame of so gaie a booke, rather then the aucthour of it in deede, yet be­cause he deliteth to be father thereof, he must be spoken to as the aucthour thereof, whiche be like he so muche glorieth in.

But sir Ciuilian I praie you, if this matter be worthie so tra­gicallie to bee cried out on, what meaneth it, that it is not at the D laste reformed in these times, now that the faulte is so manefest­lie spéede? Do we not yet see by what meanes, by what deseruin­ges, and worthinesse men bee now presented and admitted, into the clergie? Doe we not sée horse kepers, and the basest sort of all men, without all knowledge of Gods worde, now adaies admit­ted and allowed? Doe wee not sée how thei intrude theim selues [Page 25] [...] [Page 26] [...] [Page 27] moste ambitiously? And yet be not repelled by the Ordinaries? A If this be so greuous an enormitie, that should ouer reach their powre to redresse, why do not thei sue by peticiō to the Quéenes highnes, to haue it reformed emong suche other greate surmised deformities, whereto, not couertly, but openly, and therefore the more impudētly this Ciuilian onely imputeth the decaie of true Religion, and right estimation of the ministerie, as the pretense of his Epistle doeth necessarilie minister to the reader that he meaneth? Excepte peraduenture Pighius his leader, and lan­terne in this whole cause, telleth hym not so farre: or excepte he forgotte of purpose, what greate occasion was offered thereby to B hym, to haue saied somewhat more for redresse, if he had meante in deede, the true reformation of thynges amisse in the Clergie. Wherein, good reader, note this Ciuilians Philosophie, howe wittelie and grauely, he thinketh to wade in the deepe of this cause, beleuyng to goe so inuisiblie in this matter, that his frēdes will not, and his enemies can not spie hym, or if thei doe, he ca­reth not greatly, so that certaine be pleased. I assure you this his beginnyng well expended, declareth what a free vpright minde is in hym, farre from flatterie, to take vpon hym to teache, or goe about the earnest redresse of thynges out of order. Moreouer let C it bee considered, how little truthe he purposeth to performe in the processe of his principall matter, when he forgettyng his truthe, chargeth them whom he calleth heretiques, with so ma­ny vntruthes and lies, vntruely, in his Episile, euen in the en­trie, saiyng, that thei make the ministerie but a bare ministrati­on, in that the prophane the holy Sacrament of Orders, and de­ny it to bee an holy thyng: if ye had saied, that the order of Mini­sterie is an holie thing, none of them would haue reproued you, but to make it a Sacramente, to make it an office of sacrifisyng, that must thei still deny: ye saie that the heretiques (as ye cal thē) D make the ministration, but a bare ministration, as though ye would haue men thinke, that your ministers be not dumme mi­nisters, but ministryng to the peoples edification in all their do­ynges, not bare and naked Ceremonies, but the liuely and sa­uorie misteries of Christ. Ye auouche, that the heretiques, would [Page 28] A haue the people to elect them, where bylike your ministers come in immediately by the holy ghost, and not by men, as these daies declare how thei enter. Ye saie that the heretiques affirme, that euery man in Baptisme, is appoincted to the externe Office of Priestes administration, without exception: by whiche saiyng, ye shewe your self to be a captious deprauour of their saiynges, or els declare your enuie, to the holy woorde of God, whiche at­tributeth the name of a prieste, and of a kyng, onely in respect of Spirituall rule, and offeryng Spirituall Sacrifices to God, to euery laie christian man and woman. But belike ye would haue B your Priestes annointed, to haue onely the aucthoritie of sacri­fisyng Christes bodie, and none to bee in felowship with them in that action. Ye saie that the heretiques would haue all order and decent distinction of estates in apparel, and other notes, to be ba­nished, and that thei should affirme, that all Priestes and Bus­shoppes, must of necessitie marrie, whether thei haue the gift of sole life or no: and these ye note for groundes, whereon the here­tiques builde. Sir, it is a shame for you so impudently, to sclan­der their saiynges and writynges, that any where thei should so write: but what care ye to charge them with lyes apparaunte, C when ye be not ashamed to saie, that thei be so beastly and igno­raunte, that thei should teache, that the felowship and companie of a woman, in a spirituall man, is a meane to perfite Religion: and single life to bee an hinderaunce to the same: and that thei should despise all maner of virginitie and single state, in theim that haue the gift of God, pronouncyng it (as ye saie) wicked and abhominable: and that thei should terme single life, to be the do­ctrine of Diuilles, and the inuention of Antechrist. Be not these your woordes master Doctor? Is not this your charge, where­with you falsly bourden the Protestantes? Sir, thei saie with D saincte Paule, that the prohibition of Matrimonie to them that haue not the gifte, cometh of the doctrine of Deuilles, speakyng lyes in hypocrisie. Surely thei were very ignoraunt and blinde, if thei should so write, as you faine of thē, where belike ye would haue the writers of your Churche to bee beleued, and to write nothyng vnaduisedly, and to ensue nothyng but pure holinesse, [Page 29] and perfecte virginitie, who can not erre, as of the heade of your A Churche ye doe plainlie affirme, that it is impossible for them to erre in doctrine, for that thei be the Uicars of Christ, successours of Peter, folowers of the Apostles, equall with theim (as some of them write) in aucthoritie, Augusti. de anchona. and yet not bound, to succede them in holinesse of good life: and that thei make lawes of prohibition of mariage, and yet be no Ta [...]ianistes: and that thei maie apply, or rather abuse the textes of Scripture, speakyng againste the workes of the fleshe, Qui ī carne funt. &c. contrary to the fruictes of the spirite, to the estate of wedlocke, and yet will not bee noted faultie in the con­demnation of Matrimonie: and that their Canons be of so high aucthoritie, excellyng the scriptures, that the scriptures doe but B counsell virginitie and single life, but their Canons doe com­maunde it, as this Doctor in his precise circumspection writeth. But I praie you sir, whose fault is it, that the contēpt of Christes true religion, is issued forth, of the cōtēpt of his ministers? If ye doubt therof, heare Leo y ^e first, who crieth out against thē, which cōmit the Pastorall dignitie, Episto. 44. to the vnworthie. Heare ye what he saith. Nō est hoc inquit cōsuiere populis, sed nocere: nec prestare regimē, sed augere discrimē: principatus quē aut seditio extorfit, aut ambitus occupauit, ipsius inicij sui est perniciosus exēplo, & difficile est, vt bono peragātur exitu, quae malo sūt īchoata prin­cipio. C This maner doyng (saith he) is not to prouide for the saftie of the people, but to destroie them, & this is not to performe good gouernaunce, but to encrease the cōmon perill: for gouernaunce wonne by sedition, or obtained by ambition, is hurtfull for the example of the attempte, and harde is it that any thyng should haue any good ende, whiche is begonne in so euill a foundation.

In Acta A­post. con. 3.And where is the faulte to be laied of these vnworthie Mini­sters? vpon the Patrons? or vpon the Ordinaries? lette Chriso­stome be iudge, if the Prieste or Deacon do commit anie offēce, D the crimes of them all do redounde vpon their heades, saieth he, who did admitte them. Further ye saie that the losse of the Prie­stes estimatiō, is chiefly risen of the vnabilitie and vnworthines of the Priestes. Alas why is it not then forseen of the Ordina­ries, to prouide chast Priestes in chaste Matrimonie, rather th [...]n [Page 30] A by the filthines of their liuyng, so to shame their state, and deface Christes religion? But when I praie you, was religion more in honour then when Priestes wéere maried at will without com­pulsion? though diuerse others hauing the gifte of soole lief, con­tinued in their gifte, not despisyng others, who for conscience sake fledde to the institution of matrimonie, so charged by sainct Paule qui se non continet, nubat, & melius est nubere quā vri, he that can not liue chaste lette hym marie, for it is better to take a wife then for to burne in filthie lustes. When kept thei their vessels in honore & sanctificatione in honour and sanctification, B more safely, then when thei had the libertie of mariage for the perill of incontinencie? when was hospitalitie and residentie bet­ter kept, then when the Pastor had his familie in a place certain to moue hym homeward? when were their houses kept in better reparations, then when thei wéere resident? when had the people more relief by them, then when thei kept houses? But ye write that the libertie of mariage should induce a dissolute liuyng of y ^e Clergie, and ye saie, that mariage offered to an incontinent mi­nister, is but to offer present poyson to destroie the hoole bodie. Is this the spirite of holynes? that forceth you to write such im­pieties, C or the spirit of errour cleane contrarie to Paules spirite, Ad Heb. 13. who affirmeth Matrimonie to bee honourable in all persones, and the bedde vndefiled. But yet ye saie, that this forsed chastitie, was by the counsailes confirmed, by all thauncient writers ap­proued, and that this libertie of mariage, tendeth altogether to the contempt of the holy institution, and therby also to the ouer­throwe of Christes religion, and that this teaching of mariage began with Lecherie, continewed with couetise, and ended in treason, these be youre owne slaunderous wordes Master Mar­tin. Whiche howe true thei bee, the worlde maie sone Iudge. D But thus ye vtter the malice of your stomacke, so beyng gladed to hurie others. And suerlie if malice should take place, all wéere awrie. Actum esset, (vt inquit Erasmus) in rebus humanis, si ma­litiae par animo suppeteret nocendi facultas. It weere the ruine and ouerthrowe of all mens fortunes, if man had like power, to hurte in deede, as his malice were readie to wishe the same. And [Page 31] thus hauyng rehearsed the sentence of Erasmus, ye shall heare A moreouer his iudgemente in this matter, whiche wee haue in hande, whereby wee maie then consider, whether this learned Diuine, should speake more truely then your M. Martin, a poore selie Lawier, vtteryng your determination so arrogantly, thus he writeth, ex vita sacerdotum palàm dedecorosa, palàm cōtem­nitur eorum doctrina, & inde perit fructus verbi dei. Quòd si ijs qui non continent concederetur matrimonium, & ipsi viuerent quietius, & populo cum aucthoritate predicarēt verbum dei: Of the open filthie life of priestes, their doctrine is dispised, whereby the fruict of Gods worde is lost. But if Matrimonie were graū ­ted B to suche as liue not chastely, bothe should thei liue the more quiete (in conscience) and should thereby preache the woorde of God with more aucthoritie vnto the people. Loe, this is Erasmus iudgemente. What an impudent boldnes, is it then for a yonge poore Ciuilian, or to an olde indurate Canonist, to affirme the contrary of that, which so auncient and knowen learned diuine, after his longe deliberation in Ecclesiasticall causes, hath pro­nounced. And what a lewdnesse is it, to ascribe to the protestan­tes, that thei should commonly holde emongest themselues, that no wight can liue chaste, where in deede thei teache with saincte C Augustine, De virgini. cap. xl.xli. that, that man maie liue chaste, to whom God by his secrete iudgemente geueth his gifte, and that to some he geueth it not: But these lyes with suche other many, bee the flowers of your virginall preface, in letter wise presented to Queene Marie a virgine, as ye can flatter her, as your maner is to flat­ter Princes, to maintaine your owne partiall causes. Ye professe to dedicate your boke to her highnes, because ye haue taken vpō you the defence of virginitée, but your boke is rather, a bolsterer out of al vncleannes, a defacer of Gods holy institutiō of Matri­monie, a defence of vnpure liuyng, vnder the cloke of virginitée. D Ye make her beleue, that God hath sente her to trauaile for the reformation of the Churche of Englande, and for restitution of the Catholike faithe againe to the same. I will to this saie no more, but God graunte that, whiche is pretended to bee perfor­med, in opere & veritate, in deede and truthe.

[Page 32] A Yet one thyng had I almost passed awaie, whiche were wor­thy to be expended. This Ciuilian affirmeth manifestly, that the doctrine of Priestes mariage, was firste inuented by Archehere­tiques, and practised also of their disciples. In whiche saiyng, I would knowe how he can discharge saincte Paule, who in doc­trine prescribed to Timothe & Titus, reckoned mariage emong the ornamentes of a Bushop, Ad Oceanum. as Hierome nameth it. And Leo the first faieth, that emong the rules and Canons of the election of a Bushop, suche one is to be ordered, who is certainly knowē ( fuisse, Ad episco­pos Aphri­canos Epi­stola. xlix.ii. ad cor. 11. aut esse vnius vxoris virum) to haue been or that now is, B th [...] husbande of one wife. And where this doctor saieth, that the practise thereof, should bée in the Archeheretiques disciples, lette hym aunswere, whether he meaneth Peter, and almoste all the Apostles, or no? For all the Apostles, saieth sainct Ambrose, ex­cept Ihō, and Paule had wiues. Thus he writeth, Virgines vult eos esse in fide, hūc est, hij sunt qui cum mulieribus non sunt co­inquinati: In mulieribus, errorem significans, nā si mulieres, mu­lieres intelligas, vt ideò putes dictas virgines, quia corpora sua incontaminata seruauerunt excludes ab hac gloria sanctos, quia oēs Apostoli, exceptis Ioanne & Paulo vxores habuerunt: & C vide an conueniat accusare Petrum Apostolum qui primus in­ter Apostolos est. &c. That is, he willeth theim to bee virgines in faithe, therefore it is saied, these are thei whiche are not defiled with women: by women is signified errour, for if thou shouldest vnderstande by women, women in deede, to thinke that the A­postles therefore were called virgines, because thei kepte their bodies vndefiled, thou shalt then exclude holy men from this glo­rie, for all the Apostles, excepte Ihon and Paule had wiues, and see whether it be conuenient to accuse Peter, the chief emongest the Apostles. Thus farre sainct Ambrose.

D Saincte Augustine also writeth, In questio­nibus noui & veteris testamenti ex vtro (que) mixtis q. Natus ex Anna sanctissimus Samuel, filios genuit, non tamen iusticiae suae merita minuit: & Zacharias sacerdos vir iustus in senectute sua, dei nutu genuit fi­lium, quo nondum nato, meruit Prophetare. Qua ergo ratione accusatur, quod minimè obesse probat? Et quis neget bonum de­bere dici▪ quod neminem ledit? Et vt hoc loco aliquid de Aposto­lis [Page 33] dicatur, quod ad robur pertinet causae. Certè S. Ioannes ca­stimonae A suae erat custos, condiscipulus autem eius S. Petrus, vx­orem habuisse cognoscitur, & primatum vt acciperet inter Apo­stolos, non ei obstitit generatio filiorum. Quomodo ergo con­demnandum putatur quod non est impedimentum? Hinc Apo­stolus eum qui vxorem habeat, si in caeteris seruet mandata, sa­cerdotem fieri posse, debere ostendit. Quod si illicitum erat, non poterat vti (que) peccatorem dicere, debere fieri sacerdotem. The moste holy Samuell borne of Anne, did begette children, and for all that, did not lose thereby the worthy praise of his righteous­nesse. And Zacharie the Prieste a righteous man, by Goddes B biddyng in his olde age, did begette a sonne, who before he was borne, deserued to haue the gifte of Prophesie: by what reason then, is that thyng blamed, whiche is thus proued to bee no hin­deraunce? And who can deny, that ought to be called good, which hurteth no man? Furthermore, to speake now in this place, of the Apostles somewhat, whiche maie make to the confirmation of this cause, though sainct Ihon kept his chastitie, yet it is kno­wen, that his fellowe disciple, that is to saie, S. Peter had a wife, and that it was no impediment to hym, though he begatte chil­dren, to obtaine the chief place emongest the Apostles. How then C can that thyng bee thoughte worthie condemnation, whiche is no hinderaunce at all? And therevpon the Apostle proueth that he, whiche hath a wife (if besides forthe he kepeth Goddes com­maundementes) maie be and ought to bee a Prieste: whiche if it were vnlawfull, he could not saie, that a synner oughte to bee made a Priest. Hetherto sainct Augustine. So likewise Ignatius doeth testifie, that Peter and Paule, and other of the Apostles were maried men. Qui non libidinis causa, sed posteritatis su­brogandae causa, coniuges habuerunt: whiche had wiues, not for pleasures sake, but for encrease of the posteritie. Yea, sainct Cle­ment D to reproue suche (as Eusebius affirmeth) that defamed ma­riage, Lib. 3. ca. 30 saieth. An & Apostolos improbant? Petrus enim & Phi­lippus, & vxores habuerunt, & filias etiam viris nuptum dede­runt. Sed & Paulum non tedit Apostolum, in quadam Epistola sua, mētionem vel salutationem facere comparis suae, quam ideo [Page 34] A se negat circumducere, vt ad predicationem Euangelij expediti­or fiat. Doe thei disallowe the Apostles? Peter and Philip true­ly had wiues, and maried their daughters to husbandes. Yea, the Apostle Paule, was not ashamed to make a certain mention, or salutation of his mate and yokefellowe, in a certaine Epistle of his, and saieth, that he would not for this cause leade her about, that he might be the lighter to the preachyng of the Gospel. And this same Clement beyng with Peter, Lib. vii. a perpetuall companiō in his preachyng progresse, saieth that Peters wife was with him. And some stories saieth, that he caried his wife and his daugh­ter B Petronell with hym to Rome. And the saied Clement saieth: Beatum Petrum cum vidisset vxorem suam duci ad passionem, gauisum esse electionis gratia, ac regressionis ad propriam domū & exclamasse ad eam cum duceretur, ac proprio nomine com­pellantem dixisse, O coniunx, memento domini. &c. When S. Peter saw his wife ledde to martyrdome, he reioised for her elec­tions sake, and for her retourne againe to her owne home, and with a loude voice callyng her by her proper name, as she was ledde, saied to her, O wife, remember the Lorde. Suche were the mariages (saieth the storie) of holy persones, so perfecte was the C loue and affection of these blessed folkes. And Druthmarus an olde aucthour, writyng vpon saincte Matthewes Gospell, affir­meth of him thus. Cap. xix. Quod Christus beatum Petrum coniugatum, praeposuit omnibus ordinibus, ne virgines superbirent, aut con­iugati disperarent, non posse peruenire ad illum perfectionem, quas virgines essequebantur. That is. Christ made Peter in his mariage, head ouer all orders and degrees, leste that virgines should bee proude, and maried folkes should despaire, to attaine to that perfection, whiche the virgines had obtained.

Moreouer, if suche priestes as practise mariage, be heretiques D disciples, why did that holy confessor Paphnutius, in Nicene coū ­sail (which yet neither had hymself the experiēce of Matrimonie) pronounce with the assent of three hundred Bushops and more, (of whiche Bushops Nicephorus writeth, that some were Ma­ried, though at the firste, the moste parte were otherwise purpo­sed) that maried priestes ought not to be diuorsed, or yet separa­ted [Page 35] from their wiues, affirmyng that wedlocke was honoura­ble, A and that it was chastitie, the man to cōpanie with his wife, and so counsailed theim, not to make any suche Lawe, saiyng: that els there were greate cause geuen, whiche might be occasi­on of fornication, either to them selues, or to their wiues. And thus greuously reprouyng them, willed them to beware, lest by to sharpe a lawe, the Churche should bee muche oppressed, euery man not beyng able to bears suche austeritie of life, and to bee voide from all lustes and affections: wherevpon the whole coun­saile with one voice, did agree to this sentence. In confirmation of whiche sentence of Paphnutius, the Lawe of Honorius and B Theodosius was written. A A.L. eum qui. C. de episcopis & cle­ricis, whiche is at this daie in the East Churche yet obserued.

But here it wilbe obiected paraduenture of this writer, or of some other, that the Appostles lefte their wiues, after thei were called to be Apostles, as not meete to be with them in progresse when thei went in preaching into diuerse partes of the worlde: and farther, thei maie looke to haue it resolued, whether priestes alreadie consecrated without wiues, maie marrie after their orders or no, either by Goddes lawe, or by mannes dispensation: and whether there haue been anie examples in this realme of C Englande, that Priestes or Deacons had attempted to marrie, after their orders: and whether that the fruicte coming of suche mariages, were legittimate or no. Untill we come to aunswere suche obiections whether Priestes, consecrated vnmaried, maie marie after, let vs beare in minde, that it is affirmed and proued already by the testimonie of auncient Doctoures of the churche, that Peter and the moste part of the Appostles had wiues. Now whether thei left thē by mutuall consent after their apostleship, or whether thei ought so to do, by reason of their vocation, vntill this writer can iustlie proue that thei did so by scripture, storie, D or probable reason, able to conteruaile scripture, storie, and rea­son that maie be brought in to the contrarie: we shall geue hym leasure to séeke. In the meane time, we will further go on to pro­secute that wee haue begon, that is, to expende how proueablie and truely this Ciuilian hath written in this controuersie, how [Page 36] A boldlie so euer he set a good countenaunce on his matter and as though he had alreadie the victorie.

And here wée purpose to examine the substaunce of the firste Chapiter of his shameles booke. But to folowe on particularlie all his vntruthes, were to tedeous for the hearer. And therefore wee will deale the more briefly with some of his matter in this Chapiter, wherein he confidently affirmeth, that heresie and le­chery be commonly ioined together: and in the fourth leafe of his boke he saieth, that heresie misseth not to kepe lecherie cōpanie.

B ¶The examination of doctor Martins first Chapiter, and answere to the chief poinctes of the same.

IN this shameles liyng bookes first cha­piter, Martine confidently affirmeth, that heresie and lecherie bée commonly ioyned together, and farther saith, that heresie misseth not to kéepe lecherie cō ­panie: C whereto, maie be added this mi­nor, or meane proposition: but the Pa­pistes bee heretiques (as hath been at large otherwhere fullie proued, In Doctor Ponnettes Apologie and firste answer to Martines boke, and the rest of his cō ­plices. that thei haue taken parte in the moste principall partes, with al the heretiques that haue corrupted the true religiō of Christ) Ergo, the papistes be lechours. Lo it is often tymes séen, he that will be busie to cas [...]e stones vp into the aire, may haue them light again vpon his owne pate. For els to what purpose doeth he speake of Simon Magus, Basilides, Carpocrates, and such other heretiques, D if it were not to giue hym occasion that should confute his folish­nes, to searche how the opinions and lies of the Papistes & theirs agrée together? If it were to declare that because thei were here­tiques, thei must also be lechours: the same induction being now brought against hym and his felowes, muste bee no lesse able to proue him and all other Papistes lechours, seyng thei do so well [Page 37] agree with the maners of heretiques. If it were to proue that A priestes which be maried, are heretiques, because thei faine with their liyng tongues them to bee Lechers, then it should followe that all whores of the stewes and whoremōgers (as many of thē selues be) were heretiques: whiche I am sure, the Papistes dare not so saie, for feare of inquisitio hereticae prauitatis, that is now entred into Englande, and like with the Spaniardes to destroye the libertie of Thenglishe nation, wherby no doubt, shortlie the noses of the nobilitie shalbe holden to the grindestone, & the nec­kes of the commons tied vnder the priestes girdles, from whiche miserie, I beseche Iesus Christ, saue so many as fauor from the B botome of their harte, Christ, and the noble realme of England. Amen. But it maie be, that ye sought some occasion in the begin­ning of your boke, to deuise a quarel by colour of your Retorique called canina eloquentia .i. Dogges eloquence, Martines weake kinde of reasonyng. wherby to bring maried priestes into hatred, in alledging that y ^e first maried prie­stes in Spaine, in Rome, in France, in Italie, and so forth wher ye will, were heretiques. And yet if ye had minded that proofe, ye should haue named no heretiques, but suche as were maried priestes. But seyng al these heretiques whom ye name were vn­maried, as it is euident by their opinions condēpnyng mariage: C Your argumente is tourned against your self, for that thei were heretiques, and lechers as you holde, and vnmaried virgin prie­stes, as your papistes be. And what would ye conclude thereof, if it were true? Would ye by this define, that al maried priestes be heretiques? That kinde of reasonyng is not vnlike to this. The first borne childe that Adam had, Gene. iiii. Sam. xv. Titus Liuiꝰ dec. i. lib. 2. Albertus Grang. q. 3. cā. 18. Ostro gottorum. Poli. in the historie of Englande. The sowers of y ^e old here­sies in sunde­rie countries were vnma­ried priestes▪ that pretēded virginitie. 1. The firste heretike that euer was af­ter Christe▪ abhorred the Godly mar­riage of prie­stes, and kept a whore. 2. The firste heretike ī persia abhorred the marriage of Priestes. August. epis. 74. Deu [...]erio. 144. after Christ. 3. The firste Anabaptist was an vn­maried priest 4. The .i. heretike ī Spain abhorred the Marriage of priestes. August, de here. 5. The first no table heretike in Englande was an vn­maried mōke Anno do. 400. 6. The firste notable here­tike in Africa was an vn­maried priest. 7. And y ^e first in Paphlagonia & Aemenia wee vnmaried priests was a wicked man, Cain by name: the firste borne childe that Abraham had was wicked, namely Ismael. The firste borne childe that Isaac had was wic­ked, namely Esau. Ergo the firste borne and eldest children of all men be wicked. Or els this waie, Saule was the firste kyng D that was chosen to rule Israell, and he was a wicked man. Ro­mulus the firste kyng in Rome, who like a moste traiterous ty­rant, killed his owne brother Remus, wherefore, he also was an euill man. The firste kyng in Spaine was a tyraunte, that came out of Gothia. The firste kyng in Fraunce that obtained any [Page 38] A generall rule, was the tyraunt Clodoueus, whiche when he had ouercome the Persians, occupied the Kyngdome of Fraunce by tyrannie. The first Emperour was Iulius Caesar, who entred by ciuill warre, treason and tyrannie. The first kyng in Englande that raigned alone, draue out the other Kynges, and occupied their landes and possessions by tyrannie: will you now therefore conclude, that all kynges be naughtie men, and tyrantes? If this kinde of reasonyng seme so good in your sight, then I praie you harken to this other, like thereunto.

The firste heretique that euer was in all the worlde, after B Christes death, was Symon Magus of Samaria, who hauyng not the gifte of sole life, would not enter the holy estate of Ma­trimonie, but folowyng, or rather beginnyng the Popishe kinde of chastitie, kepte an harlotte named Selene or Helena, as some doe call her. The first heretique that was in Persia, was Manes, first roote of the heretiques called Maniches, who liued in suche chastitie, as the Popishe priestes do, not onely refusyng to marie hym self, but condemnyng Mariage in the ministers of his secte, whom thei called (as saincte Augustine Epist. 72. saieth) Electos. The firste Anabaptist in Rome was Nouatus the heretique, an C vnmaried prieste, whose secte allowed not mariage in their prie­stes, and denied repentaunce to offendours.

The firste heretiques that sprang in Spaine, were the Pri­scilianistes (as S. Augustine saieth) aboute the yere of our Lorde [...]. who so muche abhorred the mariage of priestes, and of other of their secte, that thei caused the same practise, whiche now most shamefully is practised in Englande, that is to saie, thei caused to be deuorsed, viros a nolentibus faeminis, & faeminas a nolenti­bus viris .i. Husbandes from their vnwillyng wiues, and wiues from their vnwillyng husbandes (as saincte Augustine saieth). D The aucthour of that secte was Priscillianus, an vnmaried Bus­shoppe of Abile in Spaine. The first notable heretiques of En­glande, was Pellagius a Monke, about .400. yeres after Christ, who liued suche a single life, as the Papistes do now. And about an hūdred yeres before hym, in Africa was Arrius an vnmaried prieste of Alexādria, as bothe Epiphanius, Eusebius and other doe [Page 39] witnesse. The firste heritiques in Paphlagonia, and Armenia A were, Eustachiani, whose chief heresie was the condemnyng of priestes mariage, so that thei refused to receiue the Communiō, at the handes of suche Priestes as were maried, for the whiche thyng thei were condemned, Anno do­mini .324. in the counsaile holden at Grangris about the tyme of Nicene Counsaile, whiche was confirmed by the sixte Sinode in Trullo, holden at Constantinople. And from whence came the doctrine of Machomet, whiche now is folowed of the Turkes and Sarcēs, and is muche largelier spred abrode then is the doctrine of Christe? Sergius an vnmaried Monke, was the firste be­ginner of the Turkes law. Came it not from Sergius an vn­maried Monke, and fledde for his naughtinesse from Byzans, of B whose lessons Mahomette made his Alcoran? And all the hereti­ques before the tyme of Heluidius (if it be true that you saie, that Heluidius was the firste maried prieste in Christendome) were vnmaried Priestes. Heresie and Lecherie met together in vnmaried Priestes. S. Ciprian lib. 1. Epis. 3. The Sophi­sticall reason of the Papi­stes, disclosed▪ and by y ^e like confuted. Yet were some of them Stupratores virgi­num, & depopulatores Matrimoniorū, Rauishers of Uirgines, and defilers of Matrimonie, as sainct Ciprian saieth, writyng of Nouatus. Some liued in luxuria & voluptatibus, as you testifie, as Carpocrates. &c. Now to conclude, all these of whom I haue spoken, were Priestes, and vnmaried Priestes and heretiques: Ergo, all your Popishe virgine Priestes (if your reason were C good) that marie not, bee heretiques. And now you see what ye haue wōne with reasonyng, ab indefinito, ad vniuersale. If now Marten can not deuise some pretie kinde of shift, he hath shamed hym self with this first chapiter, the somme wherof standeth vpō this poinct, that Heresie and Lecherie be commonly ioigned to­gether, whiche saiyng he proueth none otherwise true, then that the first maried priestes in some countries were heretiques, and by certaine notes. &c. And like as it is a shame for hym, in suche a weightie matter, to make suche a balde reason, though his groūdes were true: so his groundes beyng vntrue, his rebuke is D encreased. For who knoweth not, that S. Peter was a priest, and the Gospell testifieth that he had a wife. The Euangelistes saie that Christe healed Peters wiues mother of a Feuer. Math. viii. Luke. iiii. And Cle­mens Alexandrinus testifieth, that he did not putte her awaie, but continued with her, till she died in Martyrdome for Christes [Page 40] A sake, Stromaton Lib. 7. Cle­mens Alex. whiche Marten denieth. And the same Clement saieth, that Peter spake to her when she was in diyng, saiyng to her. Vxor memento domini, wife, remember the Lorde. And that this is true, saincte Hierome against Iouinian, can not deny. And I am sure that Martin will not deny, but that Peter dwelt .xxv. yeres at Rome (for so you Papistes hold). Now if it were true that the firste maried prieste in Italie (as Martine doeth alledge, for the proofe of his purpose) were an heretique, then by this meanes should Peter be an heretique, vnlesse the manne will saie, that Rome is not in Italie. For that it was not Heluidius, it shalbee B reasoned hereafter. Martine can not proue, y ^t the firste ma­ried prieste in France was an heretique, by Turonense consilium as he alledgeth. To. 2. pag. [...]. And for further profe of this purpose, he saith also that the firste maried prieste in Fraunce, was an heretique, whiche saiyng he proueth by the seconde Counsaile, holden at Towers (a worthy Counsaile) of eighte Frenche Bushops all a greate, gathered together without the Popes consente (whiche marreth all the matter, by the iudgemente of the Papistes) but let it bee graunted, that it had been a generall Counsaile (as it was none) & that the Bushops beyng all Papistes, had not been so, yet doeth not the .20. Canon by hym alledged proue his pur­pose, that the first maried prieste in Fraunce was an heretique. C But it saieth that this opinion (or heresie as this ioylie Coun­saile nameth it ( à quodam presbytero primum surrexit, sprang firste of a certaine Prieste, not namyng where he dwelte, nei­ther whether he were maried or vnmaried. But vppon this plac [...], [...] noteth in the margent of his booke. The firste maried prieste in Fraunce was an haeretique, where all menne maie see, of that place it maie aswell be gathered, that it was an vnmaried priest. The place serueth aswell for the one as for the other. Yea, and it is to be thought, that heresis presbyterorum, not to be of the mariage of priestes of Fraunce, but some other heresie begun by certaine D priestes. For if it had been an heresie, maried priestes should not haue been suffered to receiue the Communion. Looke backe in the booke of generall Counsailes, further one hundred yere, and ye shall finde an other Counsaile, holden in the very same place at Towers, in the tyme of Leo the firste, where the Counsaile founde faulte, with their forefathers, whiche had made Lawes, [Page 41] whereby to remoue maried priestes from the Communion, D. xxxiiij. cum in preterito, in glosa. and A tooke vpon them to moderate that wicked lawe, whiche was be­fore that tyme made by Pope Siritius (a man altogether vnlear­ned in the Scriptures) as by his reasonyng, hereafter shall ap­peare. By whiche moderation it is euidente, that thei did con­demne the extremitie, and vngodly iudgemente of Siritius, and other the enemies of priestes mariages. The wordes of the Ca­non be these. The straight law of Pope Siritius, a­gainst the mariage of prie­stes, condem­ned by Consi­lium Turonense [...] Canon 11.44 [...]. after Christ. Although it hath béen ordained by our forefathers, that whatsoeuer prieste or Deacon were conuicted, that he gaue hym self to the procreation of children, he should abstaine from the Communion of the Lorde. Nos tamen huic districtioni mo­derationem B adhibentes, & iusta constitutione mollientes, id do­creuimus. &c. We notwithstandyng that ordinaunce (saieth the decree) addyng a moderation to this rigour, and temperyng it with indifferencie, thus haue decreed. That a prieste or deacon, whiche remaineth in the desire of Matrimonie, or els abstaineth not from procreation of children, lette hym not ascende to any higher estate or promotion, neither offer Sacrifices vnto God, or minister to the people. This onely maie bee sufficiente for them, that thei bee not remoued from the Communion, Maried prie­stes be not re­moued from the Commu­nion. 442. after Christe, it was no here­ [...]e for a priest to haue a wife but that thei maie keepe these thynges, thei muste cutte of dronkennesse, the C mother of all vices. &c. By this Canon it is plaine (good reader) that 440. yere after Christe, it was no heresie in Fraunce, for a Prieste to haue a wife, nor whoredome, neither (as Martin vilie termeth it) was a filthie thyng. For then should the Counsaile haue doen amisse, to allowe hym to receiue the Communion, whiche was a more holy thyng, then euer was their Idoll the Masse. And although the superstition of these Frenche bushops, doe somewhat appeare, in deniyng hym to minister the Commu­nion to other, yet doeth their folishnesse appeare withall, in that thei allowe the maried prieste to receiue it hym self, if he were D (as Martin saieth) an heretique. The papistes seme to holde that the vn­cleanes of the minister h [...]r­ [...]eth the Sa­cramente mi­nistred, as do the Anabap­tistes & Eu­stachians. Gāgrens. Con­siliū. ca. 1. e [...]. 4. Who can iudge a matter of lesse weight, to receiue the Communion, then to minister it? Belike thei were of this opinion, that the vnclennesse of the minister did hurte the thyng ministred, whiche was the opinion of the here­tiques, named Eustachiani, as it appereth by the first and fourth [Page 42] A Canons of the Counsaile holden at Gangris, and is at this daie the opinion of the Anabaptistes. And Martin with all suche Pa­pistes as saie, that a Prieste maie not marrie, because of the vn­clennes that should be in the minister, after liyng with his wife, and therefore maie not minister the Sacrament, doe declare that it is the plain opiniō of the secte of the Papistes, as I haue partly before touched. I passe ouer, that euē in the same second Popishe Prouinciall Counsaile of Towers in Fraunce, the .xiij. Canon graunteth the Bushop to haue his wife, as his sister, and so rule the Ecclesiasticall, and his owne house, and also that the .xiij. ca­non B of the same Counsaile, maketh mention of the Busshoppes wife, Episcopa. callyng her Episcopa, that is to saie, the Bushoppes wife, or Busshoppe is, chargyng all Busshoppes that lacke wiues, that thei shall haue no cōpanie or traine of women folowyng thē. &c. vnlesse thei haue wiues. And to set one Papist against an other, and to beate you with your owne Doctors: Looke in the booke called Manipulus curatorum, Manipulus curatorum, where the Papiste Guido de Mō ­te Rocherij, confesseth, speakyng of the Sacramente of Orders, that in the primitiue Churche priestes had wiues, and thei were called Presbyterae. Presbyter [...]. And these be his very wordes. Presbytera au­tem C vocatur, quia secundum morē primitiuae Ecclesiae, erat vxor Presbyteri. That is to saie: The Priestes wife is called Presby­tera, because, that according to the fashiō of the primitiue churhe, she was the priestes wife. And thus ye see, that we doe not onely proue by your owne Doctors, that priestes ha [...] wiues in the pri­mitiue Churche, but we also shewe how thei were then named.

And I will also teache [...]artine, that this is written of saincte Hillarie, S. Hillarie Bushoppe of Potiers in Fraūce was maried .1200. yeres agoe. The wordes of Bushoppe Hillarie to his doughter Abram. Busshoppe of Posters in Fraunce (200. yeres before the seconde Counsaile at Tow [...]es, that he alledged) that he was bothe a Busshoppe, and a maried Busshoppe. And lest Martine D should saie, that he abstained from his wife, whiche he had before he was Bushop (as he falsly saith all Bushops did) I shall desire thee to call to remembraunce, the Epistle that he wrote beyng an old man (as he saieth hym self there) to his doughter Abram, who was so yonge, that he doubted whether she could vnder­stande his writyng, or not, and therefore saied vnto her. Tu vero [Page 43] siquid minus, per aetatem in hymno & Epistola intelligis, inter­roga A matrem tuam. If by reason of your tender age, you can not vnderstande the Hymne and the Epistle, aske your mother, and immediatly he calleth her his moste deare doughter. Whereby it maie appeare in saincte Hillaries daies, it was lawfull for a Bushop in Fraunce to haue a wife. For otherwise the holy man Hillarie, would not haue vsed it. And the age of him self, and the youth of his doughter, seme to proue that she was begotten af­ter he was made Bushop. But, Martine like hym self triūpheth saiyng: No Bushoppes had wiues, but heretiques, wherein his railyng tongue, Martin con­demneth S. Hillarie for an heretique. condemneth Hillarie for an heretique, if any mā B would beleue hym. But his tongue is no slaunder, to all suche as knowe hym, God be praised. Also for the further profe of his purpose, Martin be­lieth Saincte Hierome. he alledgeth out of saincte Hierome against Heluidius, that the firste maried prieste in Italie, yea, in the whole worlde was an heretique. Marke now good reader, and thou shalt heare a glorious lye of Martins. I call it glorious, because he hath set it forthe with suche a glory, not here onely, but hereafter in the 118. leafe also. Martines wordes in his firste place are these.

Fol. 3. Mar­tines owne woordes. In Italie the firste Prieste that maried: was he any better? (Meanyng than an heretique.) Sainct Hierome saieth it was Heluidius the C heretique, whiche denied our blessed Ladie to haue continued a virgine. These bee the woordes of the greate Clarke Master doctor Martine the Lawier (as of hym self he saieth) but I might better haue saied, of doctor Martine the lyer, for doubtlesse he is a thousande folde better seen in liyng, then in lawyng. Whiche appeareth not onely by the moste parte of the notes in the mar­gent, in his firste chapiter (poinctyng to the texte of like trouthe) that bée moste commonly lies: but also by this place, and an infi­nite number of other, where he belieth falsly the old writers, not onely in falsly tourning them, & writhyng their saiynges against D their meanynges: but also in moste falsly aduouchyng them to saie, that thei saie not, as in this place he maketh a moste shame­full lye vpon S. Hierome. For I assure thee, good reader, that S. Hierom saith not in all his boke against Heluidius, that he was (as Martine reporteth) the firste maried prieste in Italie. No, S. [Page 44] A Hierome saieth not that Heluidius was maried. And how maie it then be true, that sainct Hierome saieth, he was the firste ma­ried prieste in Italie? So now ye see, that Martine is not conten­ted, to make one lye vpon sainct Hierome, but he muste also laie one in an others necke, reportyng sainct Hierome to saie, that Heluidius was the firste prieste that maried in Italie, because it is a lye, that he was maried at all: and yet saieth Martine, sainct Hierome reporteth, that he was not onely maried, but also the firste maried prieste in Italie.

And in this poincte also Martine is not a litle to be blamed B that he doeth not onely belie S. Hierom, Martine as­cribeth a lye to S. Hierō. but also the thing it self is a lye whiche he faineth S. Hierom to saie. But you will aske me howe I can proue that sainct Hierom saieth not so? Forsoth, twoo waies. Firste I am contented to be iudged by the whoole booke whiche sainct Hierom hath written againste Heluidius. Secondarilie, Martines woordes. I am contented to let Marten hymself be iudge, for these bee his wordes whiche immediatly followe this lye be­fore written. And (saieth Marten) he saieth no. (meanyng by sainct Hierome) that he was the firste Maried Prieste in Italie. Loe good rea­der, what néede I any further condempnation for Martine in C this poinct, then his owne penne? Well, doeth S. Hierom saie so? No verely saieth Martin, why then for shame suffereth he those lines before in the texte, and that note in the Margent to stande in his booke without adding vnto it, some suche note as this is? Beleue not Martine in this place, A note to bee put in y ^t mer­gent of Mar­tines booke. Note that Martin tur­neth the word Sacerdos by the Englishe woorde spiri­tuall. for here he lyeth egregiosly. Why, but I praie you is it not enough for Martine to saie that S. Hierom saieth not so? Yes forsoth, enough to proue the other saiyng a lie. But to proceade if sainct Hierom saie not so, I praie you what saieth he? Marrie (saieth Martin) he saieth not that he was the firste maried Prieste in Italy: But the firste prieste that D became both spirituall and temporall in the whole worlde. Now belike Martin hath looked so narrowely to his matters, that he will not bee taken with his accustomed fashion of liyng. But what will you saie, Martine de­fēdeth one lye with another if this also bee alie? Thinke ye not then he were a meete man to lie for the whetstone? Uerelie good reader, this is no lesse lie then the other, for this is not in all S. Hierom [Page 45] neither. Wherby ye maie sée his tongue so accustomed to liyng, A that he can not when he would, saie the truthe. But I praie you what saith S. Hierom of Heluidius? forsoth that which foloweth in Latine in Martins owne booke, these be his wordes. Solus in vniuerso mundo laicus simul & sacerdos. Thenglishe where­of is this, he onely in the whole world was both at once a prieste and a laie man. In the which wordes thou maiest se good, reader, that there is no mention, neither that he was the firste maried prieste in Italy, neither that he was the firste maried prieste in the whole world, neither that he was maried, vnlesse ye will saie that all laie men be maried. Yea if it were true that al laie men, B were maried men, yet is there neuer a worde in sainct Hierome neither of (Italie) neither of (firste) nor of (laste) nor of mariage. Martins ma­nifest vn­trueth in al­ledgyng old aucthours. Nowe maie you see what credit is to be geuen to Martin when he alledgeth old authours. But it maie be, peraduenture he will saie the Printer deceaued hym, and put it in of his owne hedde. But Martin cā not escape so. For in .118. lefe .1. G. pag. 2. he ma­keth the self same lie againe, and saieth also there, that the Heri­tique Heluidius was the firste maried prieste that we reade of in al Christendom. It is the property of some liars, when thei haue told a lie once or twise, or oftner, that by often telling of their lies C to other, at last thei thincke them true themselues. And so it may [...]ee, that Martin by often tellyng this vaine fable, doeth nowe thincke it is a moste true story. But seyng it is plainly shewed, that Martin faileth in the profe of his groundes, where he inten­deth to proue by induction, the firste maried prieste in Italy, and in Fraunce, and so forth were Heretiques (though he were able to make some profe of other maried priestes in other countries) yet can not his reason holde, as I haue at large before declared, because some partes of the inductiō beyng improued, the reason runneth but frō an indefinite to an vniuersal. Whiche kinde of D reasonyng, young Sophisters in Cambridge be shent when thei vse. But Martin, fearyng lest all his brablyng will not serue his turne, hath picked out a peece of S. Hierom, where he semeth to note certaine properties and qualities, whiche he saieth be com­monly in heritiques, & striueth to applie the same to suche, as had [Page 46] A professed Christes gospell in Englande. The wordes be these as he doeth alledge them. Rarò haeretici diligunt castitatem, & qui­cū (que) amare puditiciā se simulāt vt Manichaeus, Notes piked out of sainct Hierom by Martin whereby to knowe an Heretique. Martiō, Arrius, Tatianus, & instauratores veteris haereseos, venenato ore mella promittūt, caeterum iuxta Apostolum quae secretè agunt, turpe est dicere. The englishe whereof (as you Martin haue handled it) doeth euidently proue that you vnderstande not the Latin, or els ment to blinde the reader: for this place dooeth plainly set forthe the properties of the Popishe virgine Priestes, and of the other papistes, that in all sainct Hierom there can not lightly bee B founde a better. Wherefore that the reader maie vnderstande the true sense of it, I will translate it truelie, that your falshode in translatinge may appeare, when my translation and youres shalbe laied together. Hierom. li. 2. in O [...]c. 9. Heretiques (saieth S. Hierom) and all such as pretende that thei loue chastitie, doe verie seldome loue it in déede, as Manichaeus, Martiō, Arrius, Tatianus, and the renuers of the olde heresie. Thei promise honie with a poisoned mouthe, but according to the saiyng of thappostle, it is a shame to speake, what thei doe in secrete. Now marke good reader, S. Hierome in this place inueigheth sharpely against the olde Heretikes, C whiche would not marrie themselues, nor allowe marriage in other, but pretended suche an holynes with a shewe of virgini­tie, and hatred of mariage, that with their holy lookes and swete wordes, thei deceiued the people. Wherby thou maiest well per­ceiue, that this place of saincte Hierome maketh fully againste suche Priestes as saie, thei haue the gift of chastitie, and haue it not, that liue in whoredome and marrie not, that pretende holy­nes in the sight of the people, but leade a filthie life in corners, and in secret. And for example, he nameth a number of heritikes that were vnmaried Priestes, as the Popishe Priestes bee, and D thought mariage to bee to vncleane a thing to be in a minister, as all the papistes do. Lette Martin hymself denie if he can that these were vnmaried, so that there is nothing here, that agreeth not fully with the papistes. Lo how ignorance blindeth Martins eyes. You maie see how he is felled with his owne weapon. All the witte he had, coulde not, or els of frowardnes he woulde not [Page 47] make a sence of this place. But note his impudencie in his A translation out of the laten into the englishe, he putteth in these wordes (against the Sacrament of matrimony) whiche is not in the latin, myndyng, as it seemeth, by a sleight for want of other proofe, to perswade the vnlearned reader, by this peece of sainct Hierom, that mariage is a Sacrament. Whiche if it so did, yet were it no more for his purpose in this place, then any vain talke of the Moone or other by matter. So in this place, we haue also an other testimony of Martins falshod, and sée plainlie that the notes, Martines owne mar­kes declare hym to be an Heretique. whereby he minded to haue (with the aucthoritie of sainct Hierome) described vs, doe painte hymself and his Popishe vir­gine B priestes euidently to our eyes. But Martine suspecting be­like that these notes also, either could not at all, or not sufficient­lie serue his purpose, he proceadeth to an other peece of sainct Hierome, deducyng as before his reason a posteriori. trusting that nowe he hath founde out suche notes, whereby to proue vs Heretiques, as we can not auoide, and his notes bee these. Thei geue them selues to gluttanie, to delicatenesse, to eatyng of fleshe (whom there­fore Martine calleth fleshmongers) to hauntyng of Ba [...]mes▪ thei smell of Muske and Perfumes, and with other sundrie oyntmentes, thei procure themselues to be beautifull of bodie. C

All men know right wel, that as abstainyng doth not proue a good Christian man, so doeth not eatyng of fleshe proue a man an Heretique. These old he­retikes were condemned e­mongst other opinions, be­cause thei dis­swaded men from eatyng of fleshe. Manichaei, Tatiani, Montani, Cataphriges, Aeri­ani, Priscilianistae, Saturninus, Basilidiam, and many other old [...] Archeheritiques abstained from flesh, and taught this doctrine, that the eatyng of fleshe did defile a Christian man, and yet not­withstandyng their doctrine and abstenance, thei were rancke Heretiques. Wherefore it seameth that sainct Hierome did not finde fault with them that eate fleshe, but with them that eate it not for the satisfiing of their hunger, but of their pleasure. And D in suche case the eatyng of fishe, or of breade either, is not com­mended. The Christian man abhorreth superfluous diete, The diet of a christian mā. and the vaine pleasure that is encreased of eating without necessitie, and without respecte of the kinde whether it bee fishe or fleshe: knowyng that all creatures of God bee good, if thei be taken [Page 48] A with thankes geuyng, 1. Timo. 4. for thei bee sanctified by the word of God and praier. And also that whiche entreth into the mouth defileth not the man, but that whiche commeth out of the mouth defileth the man, that is to saie euell thoughtes, murther, adultery, who­redome, theft, Math. 15. false witnes, and slaunder. And whereas Martine thincketh the other notes, as smelling of muske, and washing in hawmes, paintyng of faces, &c. be notes whereby to knowe He­retiques: Then it is an easie matter in Princes courtes, Martin with his notes ma­keth the P [...] ­pistes here­tiques. and Bushoppes houses, and many other mens houses also, to finde out Heritiques by the nose, without the Popes kinde of Inquisi­tio B haereticae prauitatis. If I saie the sauour of Ciuet, Muske, Perfumes, and Oyntementes bee sufficient notes to proue an Heretique (as Martins diuinitie out of sainct Hierome seemeth to infer) then muste it also followe, that the greatter and stron­ger sauoure, shall proue the greater and stronger Heretique. And then if a man would finde out the ranckest Heretique in a Company, his best waie is to gette hym to a Popishe procession (for sermons bee layde aside, whiche reproued the abuse of suche thinges) or to Masse, specially vppon an high daie, and he shall trie out by his nose, who is not only an Heretique, but also who C is the moste arrant and moste rancke Heretique, aboue the rest. And it is like, the faierer and greater nose shall doe in this case the better seruice, and therefore it might be thought good, that the Queene in bestoyng her Bushoprickes, should consider not so muche the learnyng of the partie, as whether he haue a faire nose or not, that is skilfull in sauoures: for the Bushops nose (by this doctrine of Martine) shall do hym as good seruise, as some handsome Somner, and in deede myght sumtyme smell out his master, for the most cankered heretique in the companie. Well, seyng it is so, that we be condempned for heretiques, because we D smell of perfumes, and whot sauoures and delicate fare &c (If it be true that Martine saieth) then take you hede you féel [...]e soulde Papistes, of youre nedeles breakefastes, of your stretch belly di­ners, of your gluttonouse suppers, reare suppers, blousing ban­kettes, and Epicurious fare. Take heede of youre hoote wines, of your hote spices, and continuall iuncketing cheere. Take hede [Page 49] héede howe you vse bawmes or strong sauoures. Take héede ye A painte not youre faces, to make you séeme more beautifull then you be in déede. Take héede ye cary not cloues or some like thing, in youre mouthes to saue youre breathes from stinckyng. Take héede ye dwell not in the North (whiche is an other of Martines notes) for in case you offēde in these thynges, your great learned procter master D. Thomas Martin the Lawier, by his diuinitie hath proued you all Heretiques. And as touchyng my self and o­ther whom it pleaseth Martin to call Heretiques, wée are contē ­ted, lette this be the issue: whether of the Papistes, or of vs, haue more of these notes, let theim bée called Heretiques with shame B enough. And let the other side be called Catholikes and Christi­ans, accordyng to his clarkely determination. Oh (saieth Mar­tine) if sainct Hierome had liued in our daies, trowe you that he would haue writtē lesse of our maried priestes? Uerely it might be thought if he were a liue at these daies, & sawe Martins wri­thyng of his writyng, he would not iudge Martin one of the wi­sest, appliyng that S. Hierome spake of the filthie vnmaried He­retiques, to the godlie maried Priestes of our daies. For besides all other profes, this one (where S. Hierom saieth he speaketh of them qui pudi [...]itiam amare se simulāt, as Martin also alledgeth, C that is, which pretend thei haue a loue to chastitie) shewed plain­ly, that his saiynges muste be applied to suche vnmaried, as the Popishe Priestes be, and can not bee applyed vnto them whiche without dissemblyng their infirmitie, for the auoidyng of forni­tion take them wiues, and liue the godly estate of Matrimonie. Also besides his plaine wordes qui pudicitiam amare se simulant i. whiche pretende that thei loue chastitie: the Heretiques which sainct Hierome rehearseth for profe and example were vnmaried priestes, & therefore (as thou séest) must néedes be applied to suche a wi [...]eles dissemblyng generation, as S. Hierome noteth Ante­christ D their holy father. Yea, and it is further to bee thought, that if he were these daies aliue, he would commende doctor Luther, Oecolampadius, Doctor Capito, Bucer, and Doctor Peter Mar­tyr for the sinceritie of their doctrine, and for that with writyng vpon the scriptures, thei haue geuen suche a light, as S. Hierom [Page 50] A his eyes would be ioyfull to see, though it were with the retrac­catiō of other things, beside those wherwith his frendes charged hym in his bookes against Iouinian, & suche like as I haue noted before. It is like that you fell into this wishe of S. Hieromes life in these daies, because ye would finde some waie to tel the world (that Oecolampadius, Capito, and Munster, were Monkes or Friers, and afterwardes maried men. No man can iudge other­wise that noteth your processe, and perceiueth the desire that your tōgue hath to liyng. Wel, seing Capito was no Mōke nor Friar (as you report hym you shall not chose but suffer me to saie, this B is an other of your lies. For it is true that of these al that you re­port, he was neither Monke nor Friar. And in case thei had been as doctor Luther, doctor Bucer, and the other were, it could nei­ther further your matter, nor hurte oures, vnlesse it bee to ease your tongue a little, when it is desirous to raile. And where you saie, their mariage was bothe against the Lawe of God, and the Lawe of man: and also where in the seconde Chapiter of your booke, you saie it is an olde heresie, newe scoured, I doubte not, before I haue doen with you, The mari­age of Prie­stes is an old truth newely made heresie by the Pa­pistes. and your fellowes, ye shall see it proued before your face, that it is an old truthe, taught by Christ C and his Apostles, newlie by you Papistes and Gods enemies, made heresie. In whiche discourse it shall also appeare, that D. Luther, doctor Martyr. &c. were not the first founders of this re­ligion (as you sclanderouslie reporte) but the Patriarches, the Prophetes, and Christe and his Apostles. But seyng Martine brought in this matter but for a railyng purpose, I will leaue it of for this present: And will tell thee, good reader, of an other so­lempne lye that Martine hath made, whiles his tongue runneth railyng after D. Luther. He saith there, that Luther hath written in his booke, de captiuitate Babilonica: Si vxor non possit, aut D non vult, ancilla venito. (That is to saie) If the good wife can not, or will not, the good man maie take his maide. Speake a­gaine Martine, where saieth Luther these woordes? Thou saiest in his booke, De captiuitate Babilonica. The self same lye, ma­keth Pighius of Luther. Take that booke in thy hande (good rea­der) and read it ouer, when thou findest there, as doctor Martine [Page 51] doeth report, I am content, let it be saied that I haue sclandered A Doctor Martine, if not, testifie with me, that he is a liyng wit­nesse, and one of those Doctors, whom the Apostle calleth Pseu­doprophetas in populo, i. Peter. ii. & falsos doctores, qui clam inducent sectas perniciosas. That is, false Prophetes emongst the people, and false liyng Doctors, whiche shall priuely bryng in pernici­ous sectes.

I assure thée (good reader) that is a foule lye, that Martine and Pighius his fellowe maketh of Luther: For that saiyng whiche thei all alledge in Latine, as though it had been so by Luther pē ­ned, is not in all that booke, where Martine moste shamefullie B aduoucheth the same to bee. Shame ye not you Papistes, that suche a loude liyng bablar, and so false and vaine a manne, hath taken vpon hym the defence of your cause? Whose owne mouth and penne condemneth hym for an open lyer? Tremble ye not to shedde any mannes bloud, vpon the report of suche an impu­dent man, as he is? I will not hide frō thee, good reader, Luthers iudgement in that booke, concernyng that matter. In one place there, speakyng of the impedimentes of Matrimonie, he saieth, that if the man bee suche a one by nature, that is impossible for hym to doe the duetie of a husbande, The papistes can not abide Luther whē he teacheth their awne doctrine. then his contracte with a C woman, shall not binde her to be his wife, and this is his reason. Quia error & ignorantia virilis impotentiae, hic impedit matri­monium. Because, saieth he, the errour and ignorauncie of the impotēcie of the man, in this case letteth the Matrimonie, which saiyng, if you papistes would condemne, ye cōdemne the doctrine of your owne father the Pope hym self. For Gregorie Busshop of Rome, writyng to the busshop of Rauenna, saith on this wise. Vir & mulier si [...]se coniunxerint, & dixerit postea mulier de viro quòd coire nō possit cū ea, si possit probare quod verum sit per iustum iudicium, accipiat alium. If a man and a woman be ma­ried D together (saieth the Pope) and the woman afterwarde saie, that the man can haue no carnall knowledge of her, & can bring forthe lawfull profe thereof, let her take an other. Moreouer be­fore in the same question, and afterward in the chapiter ( Si quis) these wordes bee plaine, and in maner the verie same that Lu­ther [Page 52] A hath spoken, Impossibilitas reddendi debitum, soluit vincu­lum cōiugij, The impossibilitie of doyng the matrimonicall due­ [...]ie, breaketh the bonde of matrimonie: Understandyng the same defecte to be naturall, as Luther by the plaine wordes there de­clareth that he doeth. And the self same doctrine is largelie sette forthe and allowed by the master of the Sentence. Lib. 4. d. 34.

Wherefore, like as for this saiyng Luther can not be charged with any newe doctrine, for that the same is taught by the Pope hymself and the master of the sentence, Magilier se [...]o­ne. lib. 4. D. [...]4 read the place and iudge. and Gratianus &c: So can not the same discharge Martine of his former euidente and B moste manifest slaunderouse lie. If the Papistes haue none of more credit then Martine the lewde Lawiar, is to defende their quarrell, their doctrine muste needes lie in the dust, for lacke of men of honestie and credite to defende it. If Martine were not shameles, I would not but maruaile why he should so report of Luther, concernyng his doctrine of Matrimonie in that boke, for he is there so ware of his wordes, and so circumspect with his pen in that poynt, that he will define nothyng, as by the verie last wordes there entreatyng vpon matrimonie, it is moste euident, whiche for breuitie I will omit. Many tymes it chaunceth, that C self will breadeth muche ill, and neuer more, then when it light­eth vpon a greate Personage. Whiche saiyng were proued very trewe by Martins story of Michael Paleologus, if it were true­lie reported. But his mouthe is so full of lyes, that a man canne not tell when he maye beleue hym. He saieth he hath read that historie of Michael Paleologus in a gréeke aucthor. And that may bee true, but it is verie vnlikely, because the histories do declare, that there were diuerse Emperours of the eas [...]e, whose names were Michael, but no more named as (I remember) Michael Paleologus, sauyng Michael the seuenth, and laste of that name D Michael, who was .1260. yeres after Christe, as Chronicles doe witnes, that is to say about 300 yeares ago. But the history that Martine ascribed to the Emperoure Michael Paleologus, was (as he hymself saieth) when Pope Nicholas, about the yeare of our Lorde .860. sent out an excommunication against Photius, Patriarche of Constantinople. And so it foloweth, that Michael [Page 53] Paleologus the Emperour was (if Martins tale could be trewe) A foure hundred yeares before he was borne. Whereby it should seme, that Martines talke in this place, is a notable faigned ly [...] and so muche the more like to be alye, because he is in all the rest of his booke so geuen to liyng. An other lye of Martins. But let it bee true that Michael the sixt (betwene whom and Pope Nicholas the first, the conten­tion was for Ignatius and Photius) were named Michael Pale­ologus, (whiche I saie Martine cannot proue) yet the history that Martine ioyneth to his matter (that is) that he hath redde the cause of the contention, betwene Pope Nicholas the firste and hym, was for a pleasure that the saied Emperoure should shewe B to his vnckle, for the puttyng awaie of his lawfull wife, and ma­riyng his daughter in lawe, I thincke bee not altogether true: but that sumwhat in this history is added of Martines owne for­ging, desiring to haue colour for his quarrell, whē he entendeth to sclaunder Kyng Henry the eight the Quéenes father, Kyng henry the viii. whiche entent of his appereth, whē he wisheth, that the like had not béen practised elswhere. And somwhat this my suspitiō is encreased, by that Martine refuseth to name the Greeke aucthour, whom he alledgeth. And againe, whereas in the bookes of generall Counsailes, the earnest Epistles written from Nicholas the C Pope, to the Emperor Michaell the sixte (for in those daies there were none named Paleologus, as Martine saieth) spake of the puttyng out of Ignatius, and the puttyng in of Photius, into the office of the Patriarche, no mention is made of any suche mat­ter, whiche is not like the Pope would haue left out, beyng (as Martine alledgeth) the chief cause of their fallyng out, and spea­kyng so stoutely to the Emperor, and touchyng hym so vilie, as his Antechristian boldnesse doeth. But how muche soeuer of the historie is true, this chief poincte that Martine alledgeth the hi­storie for, (that is, that the heresie against the holy ghost, and the D contention thereof, sprang vpon this occasion) this, I saie, is ma­nifestly false, An other lye of Martins. as by sundrie substanciall reasons, I will proue plaine, to suche as haue any knowledge of the doing in generall Counsailes, Martin falsi­fieth histories and bee not as Martine is, arrogantly wise, wise I saie, in their owne conceipt, and not in déede. For profe whereof, [Page 54] A firste and formoste, it appeareth in the first booke and tenth cha­piter, in the historie of Theodoret, Theodo [...]. li. 1. ca. 10. an old Greeke aucthour, by the confession of Pope Damasus (500. yeres before the tyme of that Emperour, whom Martine falsly nameth Michael Paleologus) whiche confession he sente to Paulinus Bushop of Thessalonica in Macedonia, that anon after the Nicene Counsaile, sprang cō ­tention, for doctrine against the holy ghost, and that suche a busi­nesse ensued thereof, that the Fathers were faine to punishe the offendours therein, by excommunication. Wherevpon it follo­wed, that bothe in Toletano consilio. Toletū cōc [...] ▪ 1. 1. aboute .400. yeres after B Christ, and also in the seconde Counsaile, whiche some name the seuenth Counsaile of Nice, the Busshoppes did putte into the Crede, the procedyng of the holy Ghost, from the Father and the Sonne, as ye maie reade in those Counsailes.

The Latine vij. Nicen concl. 7. Nicen Counsaile was holden in the tyme of Pope Hadrian the first, Hadrian was Anno D. 772. and the Empe­rour Michael. Anno D. 25 [...]. 100. yere before Michael had the conten­tion with Pope Nicholas the firste, in whose tyme, Martin saith, this error firste began: and .500. yere before Michel Paleologus was borne, of whom Martine falsly fathered this storie. Which saiyng of his, if it were true, how could Theodoretus wr [...]e of it, C beyng dead in the tyme of Leo the first Emperor (as Gennadius witnesseth) many hundred yeres before? Will Martine make men beleue, that the first Counsaile at Tolet in Spaine, and the 7. Counsaile of Nice, amended thynges so many hundred yeres before thei were amisse? And that Theodoret could talke of thinges, that were doen aboute .300. yere after he was dead? You fa­uourers of Martine, beholde your owne follie.

Furthermore, the decree of Eugenius the fourth, whereby the vnion of the Easte and Weste Churches were declared, doeth shewe (as the same Pope Eugenius doeth confesse) that this dis­sention D for the proceadyng of the holy ghoste, began, Nongen­tis & amplius annis (that is to saie) more then .900. yeres before his tyme. And Eugenius the .4. began his rule in the yere of our Lorde .1431. out of the whiche number, if ye take .900. and more, accordyng to Pope Eugenius accompt, it shall appere that Michael Paleologus (though he were in the tyme of Nicholas [Page 55] the firste as Martine fasly reporteth) was aboue 300. yeare after A this dissention began, whiche Martine for the mayntenaunce of his lyes saieth, began in his tyme. If I shoulde bring in the firste caunsaile holden at Constantinople against Eunomius for deni­yng of the procession of the holy Ghost from the Father and the Sonne, what can Martine saie? Againste this Eunomius, Basil and other haue written plentifullie. Thus ye see concerning the beginnyng of this heresie againste the holy Ghoste, Martine is founde a falsifier of histories, not onely by the supputation of ye­res, but also by the verie testimony of the Pope hymself his God. Now concernyng the cause of the disention betwene the Grekes B and the Latines wherwith Martin charged the Emperour Mi­chaell Paleologus: The learned man cardinall Bessarion Patri­arche of Constantinople and Archbushoppe of Nicea, writeth a whole Chapiter for declaration of the cause of this schisme and dissention, shewyng that the Bushoppe of Rome was the causer thereof, for that he, Suà vnius authoritate fretus, aduocata syno­do generali particulam illam communi symbolo fidei, non cum communi ascensu, ascripsit. that is, when he had called a generall counsaile, he tooke vpon hym of his owne priuate aucthority, to adde this parcell (of the proceadyng of the holy Ghoste from the C father and the sonne) to the common créede, without the consent of the rest of the other Bushoppes there assembled. The Pope was y ^e cause of the dissen­tion betwene the greke and the latine Church con­trarie to Martine. Behold good reader, a plaine profe, that it was the rashe and temerouse bold­nes of the Busshoppe of Rome that caused this dissention, who of his owne aucthoritie would doe that tumultuously, whiche he might haue doen with others consente quietly, and that was it, which caused first all that dissention that ensued, & also the latter ruine, mischief, distructiō, and Turkishe captiuitie, which Mar­tin saieth, is this daie lighted vpon the churche of God in Grecia. But Martin will saie, the thyng that he did was good. Yea, but D the maner of the doyng was suche, as I thinke Martine, if he throughly knowe it, as he would seme to doe, hym self (for al his follie) will not yet defende it. And the inconueniencies that fol­lowed the Popes braules and beastly audacitie, declare that the meanes whiche he vsed in compassyng his doynges, were wic­ked [Page 56] A and deuilishe. So that wheras Martin imputeth the breach and contention, betwene the Greke and the Latine churche, and the ouerthrowe, bothe of the Grecians Churche and kyngdome, to the lecherous life of the vncle to the Emperour Michael Pa­leologus: it is proued, that the Pope the aucthour of all mischief in the Churche of God, was the onely matche that kindeled this fire. A worthie matter doubtlesse, to depriue the Pope for euer after, from bearyng any rule, though there were nothyng els, wherwith to charge hym. And thus is Martin once again ouer­throwen with his owne reason, Two lies of Martines at a cast. and taken with a double lye, as­well B for the alledgyng of the heresie againste the holie ghoste, to begin so lately, whiche began so many hundred yeres before: As for aduouchyng the dissention, whiche rose betwene the Easte and the Weste Churche, to procede first of lecherie and ambitiō (as he termeth it in his note in the margente) of the Emperour Michael Paleologus and his vncle, whiche proceded firste (as ye sée by the testimonie of Bessarion) from Gods greate enemie the Pope, the Archeheretique in Christendome.

Now to make aunswere to that fewe lines, whiche remai­neth in Martines first Chapiter, I neede not to take farther pai­nes, C because thei be nothyng els but lies and railynges, groun­ded vpon false groundes, as I haue before declared, onely to this ende, that Henry the eight the Queenes father, might appere to the worlde bothe a Lechour, an Heretique, and a man full of all other wickednesse, out of whose naughtie life, Martine would haue all the preachyng in kyng Edwardes daies, whiche he cal­leth heresie, to haue his first originall.

And the procedynges of the late Parliament, in the seconde yere of the Queenes reigne, wherein all her fathers doynges in religion be condemned, seme to confirme the same. So that the D Quéenes Father (if he had been suche a man as the Papistes re­porte hym) were nowe condempned with vs. Wherefore it is to be thought, seyng that almighty God hath permitted, some of vs to suffer Martirdome by fire, by bloodie persecution, and the ti­rannie of the Popes Lawe, and tormentes for professyng the truthe of Gods woorde: that now the bodie of that noble Prince [Page 57] the Quéenes Father (because he was the beginner of all this, as A Martine reporteth, and the continuer of it .xxv. yeres, as the procedynges of the Parliamente seme to pronounce) shalbee ta­ken vp at Windsore, and burned as Wicklifes was. All men of wisedome and discretion maie iudge of thee (if thou were not as thou shewest thy self, a shamelesse railer, voide of all regarde, against whom thy tongue talketh) that it had been thy parte, to haue couered the faulte of the Queenes Father, if thou haddest any faulte wherewith to charge hym, leste the worlde perceiue some vnnaturalnesse in her, so to suffer her noble Father nowe beyng dead, to bee railed vpon, by one who shewed hym selfe a B traitour to hym, when he was a liue. All the worlde right well knoweth, that there is no sparke neither of Gods spirite, neither of good nature in those children, whiche are not greued to heare their deade parentes euill reported, and their faultes reuealed. Suche is the reuerence due to them that bee dead, vnto whom we ought obedience in the time of their life. And what good opi­nion maie any man euer hereafter conceiue of suche a Papiste, and of a great rable of the rest, who glory in nothyng more now, then that thei haue been rancke traitours these many yeres? And what thyng shall haue the name of vice, where treason is made C a vertue? Or what iustice can be ministered, where a traitour is the Iudge? Who knoweth not, in a Counsaile, where there bee but twelue, what a perilous thyng it was to haue one Iudas, though none of the reste loued hym? How muche more is it then perilous, where all the reste allowe his counsailes and doynges, and make as it were of an olde Iudas, a newe Christe. Here had I a greate fielde to walke in, describyng these dissemblers with princes, and with suche realmes where thei beare rule, but wee will ceasse, to vtter their deseruynges, and returne again to that matter, whiche doeth more properly appertaine to the argumēt D of our writyng, and therefore will resume that was begonne in the .32. leafe B. continued vnto .35. B. before, sm, that the Apostles had their wiues, as all writers aunciente confesse the same, and all reasonable men will agree thereto.

Now if it can be borne of mennes eares, to heare that the A­postles [Page 58] A had wiues: why should this aucthor by his tragical exag­gerations make it so odious for Bushoppes and Priestes (the a­postles successors) to haue their lawfull wiues? I thincke he will not saie that the beste of his chaste Priestes, be better then the Apostles.

Againe, to consider what Paphnutius saied and counsailed for the priestes of his tyme: not to be seperated, and that it is cha­stitie to company with their wiues, and that to seperate them, might be an occasion of great inconueniencie in them bothe. If in that holy tyme, whan God was truely honored, his worde and B Sacramentes moste holyly ministred, Priesthode was then in greate high estimation, and that in maried priestes and bushops, as by name shall be hereafter expressed: why doeth this aucthour so stifly crie for seperation in Priestes married, nowe sequestred by power, and not by right, from ministration, wher thei of Ni­cene, were suffered with them in ministratiō? If like perill may bee feared in y ^e parties now coupled together, why should thei be seperated more then the other? If their Sacramentes were none other, nor holier then oures, their worde none other then that we haue: why maie not oure order stand with mariage, as well as C thers? If lyke necessitie of Ministers in this realme, be as great as hath been in other places where maried Priestes did minister, and yet doeth in some places of the Occidentall Churche: Why shoulde this wryter exclame so vnlearnedly againste Englishe Priestes mariage, as though it were not decent, nor tollerable, but against Goddes lawe, and mannes law, liyng against them bothe, and saiyng: that order and Matrimonie: that a wife and a benefice, can not stand together. And in the bolsteryng out of this matter, is almoste all his booke emploied: againste antiquitie: against the practise of the primatiue Churche: against the worde D of God wrytten: againste the practise of tolerations in the lyke case of diuerse counsailes, and de [...]rees of the Busshops of Rome, as shall be proued, when it cometh to place.

I truste this Ciuilian is not yet so addicte to the Canonicall procedynges, that the matter lieth onely in this poincte, that if the Bushop of Rome allowed the matter, all were well: for me [Page 59] thinke so he can not meane. For if his assertions be true, he must A proue the Bushoppes of Rome, diuerse of them, to be very An­techristes, if thei haue dispensed against Goddes expresse woor­des: yea, he must condempne a great many of Canonistes, and of scholemen, and a greate many of Catholike writers, traueilyng in controuersies of this tyme, whiche peraduenture hath read as muche in Diuinitie and Canon lawe, as I thinke this Ciuilian hath doen in his Ciuill, whiche bee of cleane contrary assertion to this singular man.

But yet I heare this writer obiecte againe, suche an obiecti­on, as was once made by a Canonist, in the expending of this ve­rie B poincte: Distingue tempora (saieth he) & personas, & concor­dabis leges & Canones. Weye the difference of tyme and of per­sones, and so shall ye make the lawes and Canons agrée. Then was then, and now is now. For the case, saieth he, is farre vnlike betwixte the priestes of the Greke Churche, whiche were maried before thei were priestes, and the priestes of our Churche & time, whiche he maried after their order. And this he thinketh to be an high wittie inuention, and insoluble: and by this shifte, he pro­nounceth the victorie of the cause, before any stroke bee striken, standyng stoutely in the difference of the tyme, mariage to goe C before order, or to come after.

To answere: if it be true, as he can not deny, but that it was not lawfull by their saiynges of the Counsaile of Nice to bee se­parated, by Lawes and constrainte: and that it was chastitie for the busshoppes and priestes, to kepe company still with their wi­ues: yea, when thei were ministeryng busshoppes and priestes, in an other maner attendaunce and holinesse, then the best chast busshoppes and priestes of our tyme practise in their doynges: so that by their iudgement, the one state dishonored not thother, nor was impediment to the other, as hereafter shalbe proued by the D testimonie of their owne Canonistes and Doctors: what diffe­rence is there in the substaunce of the order, in them of the primi­tiue or Greke churche, and in the priestes of this Latine churche, and Occidentall churche, but that order and matrimonie, maie stand together in one figure, in them bothe? As for vowe, or pro­mise [Page 60] A shall bee hereafter considered: open protestation, or no pro­testation: chastitie of congruitie dependyng or included by the nature of order, or for the Churche constitution, shall be hereaf­ter answered and expended.

Now I saie, if the priestes of the Greke Churche, liued godly in ministration with their wiues, why maie not the priestes of the Occidentall churche, be iudged to liue as godly in Matrimo­nie, and as lawfully to in Englande, hauyng the highest Lawe in the realme on their side? But here this doctor will be offended to haue any thing brought in, for declaration of this cause out of B Grece, and maketh a greate matter that men should so doe, and repelleth al their doing thus: what is that, saith he, to y ^e matter, are not we of an other territorie and iurisdiction? If I should an­swere you so, master doctor, with your owne obiectiō, then might it bee a full sufficient answere by it self a lone, to all your whole booke, to saie when ye bryng Romishe Canons out of Spaine, out of Fraunce, out of Grece: I might so answere you, what bee all these to the matter, are not we of an other territorie and iuris­diction? When ye alledge from Prouinciall cōstitutions, Sino­des; nationall lawes of Emperours, Ciuile and Panim lawes, C what are all these to the matter of our Imperiall lawes, are not we of an other territorie and iurisdiction? And thus your booke is fully answered, and ye may now put vp your pipes, with al your choristers of forren Lawes and Canons. Moreouer, in the seuen Chapiter ye also saie, that it bewraieth the weakenesse of the cause, for priestes to wander into Grece, to bryng in their ma­ner of liuyng of mariyng, & orderyng. If that declareth the wea­kenesse of the cause, I praie you then, what is the strength of the cause ye haue taken in hande? For ye be not content to raile and wander ouer all the Realmes, and Churches of Europe: but ye D runne into Asia, and Affrica, and bryng in Panim priestes to set out the matter. There is nothyng in your booke, written or vn­written, deuised by your owne braine, or surmised by heare saie, but ye make strong argumentes, for your owne vaine and feble cause. But briefly to answere this wittie deuise, of the difference of the tyme, till a [...]uller debatemente of that poincte, I shall [Page 61] answere, as once sainct Hierom was answered, in a matter of A Priestes and Bisshoppes wiuyng and orderyng, by a certaine disputer, who defended the constitution of the churche, as it was then, and as it is at this daie, where S. Hierome is on the con­trary part, holdyng that to haue one wife before Baptisme, and a seconde wife after, was not therefore an impedimente to be ad­mitted to Priesthode, Epistola ad Oceanum. or to a Busshoppes office. Nonne legisti ab Apostolo, vnius vxoris virum, assumi in sacerdotium, & rem, nō tempora definiri? that ts. Doest thou not reade (saieth he) that by the Apostles aucthoritie, the husbande of one wife, is to bee chosen into Priesthode, and that the cause and matter is thereby B defined, and not the tyme? If this catholike disputer would haue the saiyng of S. Paule to bee weighed, in the nature of the order and mariage, rather then drawen to the circumstaunce of tyme, and that he must bée the husbande but of one wife, either before or after Baptisme, at the tyme of his orderyng, and therefore maie be eligible to be a priest or bushoppe: And as sainct Hierom hym self writeth afterward, that it is rather loked for in a priest or Busshop, what he is for the tyme presente, then what he hath been: why not as well maie sainct Paules text and aucthoritie, serue for a prieste and a busshoppe, to be lawfully qualefied, if he C be the husbande but of one wife, whether he had his wife in the tyme he was no prieste, or he take a wife in the tyme after he bée in his priesthode? So he be as it is said, the husbande of one wife, yea, successiuely. Wherewith ye maie quarell by aucthoritie of some expositours, though not with the manifest woorde of God. But to be the husbande onely of one wife before order, and after order, once for all, as ye saie the Greeke Churche vseth to doe, ye can not quarell rightly by Goddes worde, nor yet by reasonable aucthoritie of mannes Lawe, or Canon, in suche necessitie, as ye force and inferre of their saiynges. D

As for the other peece of Nicene Canon where it is saied: that accordyng to thauncient tradition of the Churche, suche as were not as yet maried, and were partakers of holy order, should from thence for the contracte no mariage: And as for the Canon of the Apostles, whiche ye stande so strongly to, or yet for the saiyng of [Page 62] A sainct Augustine, immediatly folowyng the place, whiche is here before alledged, leste ye should cauill as ye doe, that I lefte out the pithe of the matter, and would slide sleightly ouer the whole place of the aucthoritie, and bryng theim in by patche meales, with violent wrestyng, as ye vse to doe: I will heareafter bryng them, & put them all together, to the iudgement of the reader, to geue sentence betwixt vs, how farre thei weye in this cause.

Yet in the meane tyme, to make some insinuation to you of sainct Augustines question, note ye well his woordes, not as a subtile Lawier, but like a Diuine: and wreste not sainct Augu­stines B licet, Cap. 4. hā E. ii a. Vt notatur. ca. & [...]i Christus. de Iureturā [...]o. and, non licet, out of their nature as ye doe. Quae­dam illicita sunt in sui natura, quaedam ciuiliter .i. iure positiuo, vel consuetudinario: quaedam sunt simoniaca, quia prohibita, quaedam sunt prohibita, quia simoniaca. Quid autem liceat, aut quid non liceat, pleni sunt libri scripturarum. August. in Psa. 147 qui confirmat vectes portarum. &c. Some thynges are vnlaw­full of their owne nature, and some by Ciuile constitution, that is, by positiue lawe: Some thynges are Simonicall, because thei are forbiddē, and some are forbidden because thei are Simonical: but what is lawfull, and what not lawfull, is fully set out in the C bookes of scripture. And then againe note, if S. Augustine ope­neth not his mynde by the like, licet, and, non licet? Saiyng. An­tequā Ecclesiasticus quis sit, licet ei negotiari, facto iam, non licet. That is: Before one hath taken vpon hym the state of an Eccle­siasticall persone, he maie geue hym self to worldly affaires, but afterward he maie not. In like maner Consilium Aurelianense, saieth. Episcopum, presbyterum, aut diaconum, canes ad venan­dum, aut accipitres, Nō licet [...] negotiari, int [...] ­resse ludis. &c. Distinct. 88 per totum. aut huiusmodi res, habere non licet. It is not lawfull for a Busshop, Priest, or Deacon, to haue houndes, hau­kes, or suche like. Now call to your remembraunce, how your D Lawe qualifieth this licet, and non licet, till we tell you more in this matter. In your expendyng, if ye take not quid pro quo: ye shall doe the better.

But because the reader maie further heare what saith S. Hie­rome, in the defence of his opinion, as is spread in the processe of his saied Epistle: and that the prudent reader maie expēde, whe­ther [Page 63] his Rhetorike might not bee applied againste the aduersa­ries A of this cause, as well as he vsed it in the like cause: I will reporte his woordes, what he writeth further there, and leste ye should mistake the Epistle, I will shewe you how it beginneth. Thus therfore he writeth: Nunquam fili Oceane fore putabam, vt indulgentia principis, calumniam sustinerer reorum: & de car ceribus exeuntes, post sordes ac vestigia cathenarum dolerēt alios relaxatos. In Euāgelio, audit inuidus salutis alienae: Amice, si ego bonus, quare oculus tuus nequam est? Conclusit deus om­nia sub peccato, vt omnibus misereatur, vt vbi abundauit pecca­tum, superabundet & gratia. Caesa sunt Aegypti primogenita: & B ne iumentum quidem Israeliticum ī Aegypto derelictum est: & consurgit mihi Caina haeresis: at (que) olim emortua vipera, contri­tum caput leuat. Quae non ex parte, vt ante consueuerat, sed to­tum Christi subruit Sacramentum. &c. Dicit enim esse aliqua peccata, quae Christus non possit purgare sanguine suo: & tam profundas scelerum pristinorū inherere corporibus at (que) animis cicatrices, vt medicina illius attenuari nō queant: quid aliud agit nisi vt Christus frustrà mortuus sit. &c. A paraphrasis of y ^e same.

By swéete sainct Mary and good sainct Martine to, I would neuer haue thought (gentle master Martine) that it would euer C haue come to passe, that the graunte and concession of that moste Christian Prince kyng Edward, in his high Courte of Parlia­mente, grounded vpon Goddes almightie woorde, should euer haue been quarelled with, and drawen into suche accusation, that his louyng subiectes takyng the benefite thereof, should bee reputed as persones giltie: or that thei, whiche bee faultie theim selues, and nedeth the like pardon, that thei would bee greeue [...] and grudged therewith. I would neuer haue beleued, that ma­ster Martine, commyng so late out of the stinckyng dungion of Sorbō, after his miserable captiuitie, and Egyptiacal seruitude, D of the rustie and heauy chaines of Popishe diuinitie, and Romish lawes, would haue been angrie at his retourne againe into En­glande, that other were releassed and enfraunchised: the rather for that he, whiche is enuious of the wealthe and healthe of an other mā, maie to his shame and rebuke heare out of the Gospel, [Page 64] A by the mouthe of this good and Christian Father, and Prince of the housholde of Englande: frende, if almightie God, and I bee good, why is your eye and entente naught? Doe you not knowe how God hath so reuealed the old pretensed Clergies chastitee, that almoste it maie be saied: all hath synned, God hath searched them out, and hath charged theim, and hath founde them with­in the compasse of this synne, to the entente to shewe them mer­cie, that repenteth theim of their filthinesse: that where synne so fréely raigned, notwithstandyng Lawe after Lawe, Canon af­ter Canon, Constitution after Constitution, in this olde preten­sed B and forced chastitie: now should Goddes grace the more ap­peare, for the deliueraūce out of that intollerable burthen, suche a burthen, as neither the Clergie of our time, nor our old fathers before tyme could so clearly beare, but all men sawe how thei spilt in the cariage. And that now at the laste, the grace and gift of honest wedlocke should appeare in the Clergie, as once it was cōmendable in the fathers and priestes of the primatiue churche.

Surely and without doubt, the virginall chastitee is to high a tower for the most parte of them, and is not fitte, but onely to suche, as specially bee called thervnto, by the rare and singular C gift of God. The priestes déere babes, and the bushops neuewes, that in the old Babilonicall Captiuitie, were most made of, and promoted, be now by Gods worde vttered to be but adulterous ympes, Sap. iiij. and bastardly broodes, whiche doe but testifie of the wic­kednes of their progenitours and fathers, in the interrogation of their consciences, where the issue of chaste matrimony cou­pled with godly temperaunce, of them that feare God, shall bee spite of the Deuill, i. Timo. iiii. and all his Tatians, allowed of God, and so approued of menne that knowe the truthe. Where, I saie, in the worde of the Lorde it is testified, that God will so iudge fornica­tours D and adulterers, that the plenteous multiplication of ba­stardes, the frierly frie of Nunnes and Munckes vnlawfull generation, shalbe neuer voucheable. What though the blynde of the worlde, preferre these copulations, before the fruicte of ho­nourable wedlocke, in the Bushops and Priestes? Yet wyll God iudge fornicatours and adulterers. Though nowe Priestes ma­ried [Page 65] be preast downe, yet thei shall stand vpright in a good consci­ence A before God, and trust no lesse euen then so to appeare, when he shall come to iudge the secret of mens hartes. Where the ad­uiterous plantes shall take no rotyng, and there Parentes haue no permanent ioye, but with the winde of Gods mouthe, in this worlde shallbe tossed lyke the dust of the yearth in the vaine doc­trines of men, and at the last shallbe blowen with there ympes into the burnyng fiery lake of brymstone, the place appointed for Sodomites and Gomorreans: I saie, these first begotten hey­res of these Egiptiacall Locustes, be reuinced and slayne by Gods woord. And that ther be come forthe out of this Egypt I B trust in conscience infinite nombers, so that there is not one left, to beare this beastly and intollerable yoke, if thei haue not the gifte, and will yet come forthe, if any yet remaine still, to saue their soules in wedlocke, as is better for them, as holy Barnarde telleth them no lesse, De contemptu mund [...] saiyng: Esse sine dubio melius nubere quā vri, & saluari in humili gradu, quàm in cleri sublimitate, & dete­rius viuere, & distractius iudicari. Sūptuosa quidèm (loquitur de caelibatu) turris est, & verbum grande quod non omnes capere possunt. It is, (saieth he) without all doubt better to marry then (not onely, not to liue in fornication) but to burne. And better it C is to be saued in a lower degree and s [...]ate, then to bee in the hieromes of the Clergie, to liue there worse, and so to be the more sharpely condempned. Uirginitie and soole life, saieth he, is a ve­rie high tower to clyme to, and the worde is verie great whiche all men can not take. De cura pasto­ral [...]. Audiant (inquit Gregorius) peccatorum carnis ignari, (quam) per semetipsum de hac integritate veritas di­cit: Non omnes capiunt verbum hoc. Quod eo innotuit summū esse, quo denegauit omnium. Let them heare (saieth he) suche as be vne [...]perte of the sinne of the fleshe, that the trueth it self pro­nounceth, with his owne mouth, of this puritie: not all take this D worde. Whiche he notified to be a verie high thing, euen herein, in that he plainly affirmed it not to be euery mans gift. And yet these aduertisementes notwithstandyng, riseth me vp againe, a barkyng Heretike, a verie Cayn in dede, an enuious murtherer of his brother, and holdeth that all maie haue the gift for asking, [Page 66] A who that will, and that chastitie (as Pelagius affirmeth, whom sainct Augustine confuteth) is of our election.

Sée howe this dead viper, vnder the grene herbes and faire flowers of Catholike names, hath long lurked, and nowe be­gynneth to hysse out againe, and woulde lift vp his head so [...]at­tred and broken, as sainct Austen hath vanquished hym: where before tyme, yet this Papisticall Heresie denied matrimony but in part, to them that were votaries: and made no secular Prie­stes votaries. Nowe this hissyng Hydre cometh forthe with his monstruous heades, and doeth deny the whoole institution to B Priestes and other Ministers: neither lawfull before orders, nor after orders. Where yet the fathers of the primatiue Churche, would not disseuer the mariages, no of votaries: but firmely did decree, in doctrine, to bee verie mariages, and pronounced that thei do greuously offende, that separate suche.

Nowe this Goldsmith of S. Martins, setteth out his fine po­lished ware, with suche facing and staryng, that he destroieth the whole ordinaunce, as well in votaries, as no votaries, and defa­ceth these their mariages taken and entered by the strength and aucthoritie of a iust lawe, of the supreame heade of the Churche C of Englande, to whom belongeth of duetie of his office, to con­stitute lawes for redresse of sinne, and for good ordre of the Cler­gie: euen in spiritual matters (writeth my Lorde of Winchester in his learned booke de obedientia) so spirituall matters saieth he: that though thei be the whoredome of spirituall men, yet his power and aucthoritie hath incidently in his princely gouerne­ment, to make lawes therefore. Whiche matter he maie sée ther debated at large, beginnyng at my saied Lordes booke prynted by Thomas Barthelet the .xiiij. leafe: facie .2. and so forthe. Yet notwithstandyng, this Ciuilian saithe, the mariages be so great D offences, that thei cannot bee forgeuen by no maner of meanes, no not by Christes blood, but onely by seperation. And saieth furthermore, that bushops & Priestes haue so great deformities and skarres, yet remainyng in their bodies and soules, for their olde incestes (as he calleth them) that thei cannot be mitigated with any gentle medicine of mercie and christian clemencie: No [Page 67] not purged yet, nor sufficiently punished, with the depriuations A of all their liuinges, but must looke for much more yet, Cursis, Excommunications, Excoriations, Confiscations, open pen­naunce, yea the Deuill, Hell and all. Thus farre in the imitation of S. Hieromes inuections. What meaneth this lawier to for­get so many lawes, whiche I am sure he hath redde? Intelligun­tur legittimê contraxisse, qui authoritate legis contraxerunt. Qui peccat Legis authoritate, 26. di. deīde 23. q. 4. qui peccat. August. in questi. ex v­tro (que) mix­tim. ca 127. In regul. iuris. non peccat. Frustra accusatur, qui a iudice laudatur. Ipse sui accusator est, qui reū dicit, quem leges defendunt. Indultum a iure beneficium, non est alicui auferen­dum. Quod fit iuris authoritate, non habet calumniam. Quod B deus constituit, nephas est crimen appellare. Quod deus coniun­xit, homo ne separet. Thei maie bee saied to haue lawfully con­tracted, whiche haue contracted by the aucthoritie of Lawe. He that offendeth by aucthoritie of a Lawe, offendeth not. He is ac­cused to no purpose, whiche is allowed of the Iudge. Noe, he is rather an accusar of hym self, whiche calleth hym faultie, whom the lawe defendeth. A benefite graunted by the lawe, ought not to be taken from any man: It should not be quarelled with, that is doen by the aucthoritie of the lawe. That whiche GOD hath cōstituted, it is a wicked déede to call it a crime. That which God C hath coupled, let no man separate.

Yea, but these lawes must be now glosed, and we must now call into question againe (after so pregnaunte a determination, of my lorde of Winchesters obedience, attributyng to a Prince full gouernemente, spirituall, and corporall to be of his iurisdic­tiō) whether the supremacie maie meddle with these matters. &c. As this Lawier plainly sheweth his fansie, or rather frenesie in the ende of his .ix. Chapiter, where he maketh a Prince in his realme to bee luminare minus, and the Pope to be luminare ma­ius, whiche is a cloudie and darcke distinction, saieth my Lorde, D and worthie to be mocked out, for it maketh diuision. But I saie to this yonge Lawier, that hath not yet, nor neuer shall answere the reasons of my saied Lordes booke, in the debatement of this and other suche pointes: I would wishe rather, that he beyng yet but a yonge manne, and because he is one of the Masters of the [Page 68] A Chauncerie, and maie haue so good and ready accesse thereby to my Lorde Chauncelour, to goe and conferre with his Lordship: Whereby he maie as well by readyng of his booke, as further communication with hym, bee reformed in his vaine heade, to leaue suche childishe Sophistications, in suche weightie matters of almightie God: and matters alreadie at quiet in the realme. In the meane season, I will answere hym with his owne Ciuil, Qui rescriptum principis maliciosè vel astutè interpretatur, infa­mis est. C. de ligi [...] ▪ De [...]. signi. Ca. Olim. F. De const. Leg. vlt. He that will maliciously or craftely glose, and interprete the charter and graunt, or writte of a Prince, is made infamous B thereby. For the graunte of a Prince, saieth the Lawe, must bee moste liberally interpreted. And againe saieth the Lawe: The graunte and bountefulnesse of a Prince, should be rather enlar­ged by interpretation, then restrained.

But this Ciuilian wil obiect again, that it is not his minde a­lone: there be good diuines, bushops of the best, & other worship­full priestes of the Clergie, whiche thinke that maried priestes, are to easely dealte with, and shall neuer be content, till thei see them all out of the waie, that their possession maie bee quite out of quarell, what worlde so euer come. Then let suche Diuines, C heare as good a Diuine as them selues speake vnto them, Chri­sostome by name: or the aucthour writyng vpon the .xxiij. Cha­piter of sainct Matthew, 26 97. alligani. De opere imperfecto: and if thei be Ca­nonistes, let them see it in their Lawe, that thei bothe together, maie heare their part verse out of Christes mouthe: Alligant o­nera grauia & importabilia. &c. Tales sunt sacerdotes, etiā nūc, qui omnem iustitiam populo mandant, & ipsi nec modicam seruant. Videlicet non vt faciendo sint, sed vt in dicendo appareant iusti, and so forthe there more at large. Thei laye heauie burthēs and importable. &c. Suche bee the Priestes, saieth he, of these da­yes: D thei prescribe to the people all perfection, but thē selues k [...]pe but a little, whereby thei maie outwardly appeare in woordes to be holy, and not to be so in deede by doyng. Thei laye vndiscrete­ly (saieth he) suche penaunce, that muste needes compell the par­tie, either to caste it of from hym, and so geue hym occasion to synne the more, or els to bee pressed, and broken vnder the bur­then. [Page 69] Furthermore, saieth he, though wer goe out of the waie, A when we enioyne little penaunce, is it not better to make an ac­compte to God for mercie, then for crueltie? For where the ma­ster of the housholde is liberall, should his stuarde bee a pin [...]her? If God bee bountefull and mercifull, why, a Gods name, doeth his Prieste delite to bee soure and cruell? Wilt thou appeare ho­ly? Bee sharpe towarde thyne owne life, but towarde thy neigh­bours be gentle. Let men heare thée to charge easie thynges, and let them see thee doe greate thynges: Straunge priestes, that can fauour them selues, and of other exacte greate thynges. &c. Thus farre Chrysostome. But now to retourne againe, to reporte mo B saiynges of sainct Hierome, beatyng downe this Cains heresie, this irremissible faul [...]e, as he here and there sprinke [...]eth his E­pistle with, Si omnia, quae in ordinatione queruntur Episcopi, non praeiudicant▪ ordinando, licet ea ante baptisma non habuerit (queritur enimquid sit, & non quid fuerit:) quare solum nomen vxoris impediat, quod solum peccatum nō fuit? &c. Omnia scor­ra & publicae colluuionis sordes, impietas in deum, parricidium & incaestus in parentes. &c. Christi fonte purgantur: & vxoris inherebunt maculae? Et lupanaria, thalamis praeferentur? Audiāt Ethnici, audiant cathecumeni, ne vxores ducant ante baptisma, C ne honesta iungant matrimonia, sed promiscuas vxores, com­munes liberos habeant. Imò caueant qualecun (que) vocabulū con­iugis, ne postquam in Christo credederint, noceat eis, ꝙ aliquā ­do non concubinas, nec meretrices, sed vxores habuerunt. Re­colat vnusqui [...] (que) conscientiam fuam, & totius vulnera plangat aetatis. Audiat increpantem Iesum: hypocrita eijce primum tra­bem de oculo tuo, & tunc videbis eijcere festucam de oculo fra­tris tui. Verè Scribarum & Phariseorum similes, culicem liquan­res, & Camelum glutientes. Decimamus mentham & anetum, & dei iudicium praetermittimus. Quid simile, vxor & scortum? D Imputatur infoelicitas coniungis mortuae, & libido meritricia coronatur? Ille, si prior vxor viueret, aliam coniugem non habe­ret. Tu vt passim, caninas nuptias iungeres, quid potes excusare? Forsitan timuisse te dicas, ne si matrimoniū copulasses, non pos­ses aliquando clericus ordinari. Ille in vxore optauit liberos, tu [Page 70] A in meretrice, sobolem perdidisti. Illi scriptum est, honorabile [...] nuptiae: tibi legi [...]ur, fornicatores iudicabit deus. Ipse proijciet in profundum maris omnia peccata nostra. Quomodo in laua­chro omnia peccata merguntur, si vna vxor supernatat? Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates, & quorum tecta sunt peccata. Beatus vircui non imputabit dominus peccatū. Arbitror ꝙ pos­sumus & nos huic aliquid cantico iungere: Beatus vir cui nō im­putabit dominus vxorem. &c. Ab omnibus inquit mundabo vos sordibus, in omnibus nihil praetermittitur. Si sordes emun­dantur, quanto magis munditiae non coinquinantur?

B If all suche qualities (saieth he) whiche be required in the cō ­secration of a Bushoppe, be no preiudice to hym at his consecra­tion, though he had theim not before Baptisme, (for it is rather required what he is now for the tyme presente, and not what he hath been) why is onely the name of a wife a stop to him, whiche onely was no offence? All whoredome, all maner of wickednesse againste God, murtheryng of parentes and inceste. &c. bee pur­ged and wasshed awaie in Christes water and Baptisme: and shall the spottes of a wife remaine still? Shall whoredome bee preferred before mariage? And there in that place sainct Hierom C doeth vehemently inueye, against suche as rekoneth it a greate faulte to haue a wife, but to haue whores and concubines, thei are not so muche greued therewith, saiyng. Let them heare that are Gentiles: Let them harken that are yet scholers in Christes schoole: Lette them beware thei marie not wiues, before thei bee Baptised: Let them take heede thei ioyne not them selues in ma­riage: Let them rather take women at all aduenture, and haue children in common. Yea, let theim beware by any meanes the names of wiues, leste after thei come to beleue in Christe, it be hurtfull vnto them, that thei neauer had cōcubines and whores, D but had Lawfull wiues. Lette euery one examine his owne conscience, and bewaile the woundes of his whole age. And then heare the Lorde Iesus ratyng them, thus: O hypocrite cast out firste the beame out of thyne owne eye, and then shalte thou see to pull out the mote, from thy brothers eye: and woe bee to you Scribes and Pharisies, hypocrites: ye tithe Mint and Anise, [Page 71] and haue left the weightier matters of the law vndoen: ye blind A guides, whiche straine out a Gnatte, and swallowe a Camell, what similitude is there betwixte a whore and a wife? The ha­uyng of a wife (saith he) is muche charged for a miserable case, and the whores lecherie is aduaunced. &c. Let vs vnderstand the Apostle, not in the honourable testification onely, and qualitie of hauyng one wife, but in all other qualities, whiche he there rehearseth. I will saith God, clense you from all filthinesse. If fil­thinesse be clensed, how muche more is clennesse (meanyng ma­riage) not defiled? How be all offences drowned in the water of Baptisme, if a wife onely swimme a loft? It is saied (saieth he) in B the Psalme: Blessed are thei whose sinnes bee remitted. Happie is that man, to whō the lorde wil not lay his sinne to his charge. Belike nowe (saieth he) wee muste ioyne and adde some thyng more to this verse, and saie: Blessed and happie is the manne, to whom the lorde will not laie his wife to his charge, and so forth. A Busshop (saieth he) maie not bee a newe conuerse, a yonglyng in learnyng and life. &c. I can not (saith he) maruell enough to se how greate the blindnesse of men is, to brabble of wiues mar­ried before Baptisme, and to drawe that thyng, whiche is dead in Baptisme, or rather reuiued in Christe, to accusation, where C as so euidente a precepte is obserued of no man. Yesterdaie but a Nouice vnder instruction, to daie a Busshop. At night a iester in a gamplaie, at mornyng a Prieste at the aultere. Was the Apo­stle ignoraunt of our brabling cauillations, saieth he? Knewe he not the childishenesse of our argumentes and reasons? He that saied the husbande of one wife, euen very he also commaunded, that he should be without blame, sober, prudent, honestly appa­relled, harborous, a teacher, modeste, no dronkarde, no fightex, no quareller, not couetous, no yonglyng: at all these (saieth he) wee shutte our eyes, but at a wife wée sette them wide open. In D conclusion (saieth he) when thei obiecte againste vs a wife be­fore Baptisme, let vs require at their handes all suche thynges, whiche be charged them after Baptisme: thei passe awaie light­ly, thynges that bee vnlawfull, and laye to greate blame, that is graunted and lawfull.

[Page 72] A Thus and in many more suche wordes, doeth sainct Hierom spende his whole Epistle: whose wordes the rather I desire to be expended, because this Doctor and Ciuilian bryngeth hym so­lempnely in for a great aucthoritie, in the partes of his disputa­tion, whom I dare saie, this writer wil not allowe in this poinct, howe vehemently and earnestly soeuer he speake. And if he re­iected sainct Hierom in this opinion, as not to be holden, as their owne lawe doth so condempne hym in dede, we maie be as bold, to excepte againste hym in his other saiynges wrytten againste the woorde of God: Or at the least waie, when sainct Hierome is B drawen out of one place of his writyng, we may be bolde to an­swere him with himself or with some other of as good aucthoritie as hymself, if we wante Gods worde in the particularitie of any matter in our disputation. But certen it is, that S. Hierome in this poinct, cōdempneth all the late catholike churche, and calleth them Hypocrites and superstitious to their faces, with the words aforesaid. Ca. 1. And writyng furthermore vpon Titus, he saieth: ma­ny supposeth more superstitiously, then truelie, that thei whiche in their gentilitie, had one wife, and after her departure mari­ed an other, after thei were Christianed, may not bee chosen to C priesthode. Whiche if it were to be obserued, rather suche should be hold backe from beyng bushops: whiche before folowed their lecherous lustes abrode with harlottes, and after their regenera­tion toke one wife. And muche more detestable it is, to be a forni­cator with many, then to be twise maried. Montanus and suche as folowe the scisme of Nouatus, say that thei haue takē presum­ptuously vpon them the name of chastitie: whiche thinketh, that seconde mariages oughte to bee forbidden from the Churches Communion. Wher the Apostle charged this thing of Bushops and Priestes, and released it to other, not that he moueth to se­conde D mariage, but geueth pardon to the necessitie of the fleashe. And surely to be a Bushop of Priest without blame, and to haue one wife, is in our power, thus far S. Hierome. And here againe maie wee learne what it is to fight in controuersies with mans reasons & humaine aucthoritie, yea though thei bee not craftely couched together, & contorted, as the bragge of this mans booke [Page 73] standeth wholy vpon that poincte, and to exclude the scripture, A or els to bring in the sci [...]iptures for a countenaunce, but yet with violent gloses to drawe them against the heere, to applie them to that sentence that is satteled in his head alreadie before he cō ­meth to theim, as it is this mannes greate grace in his whole booke. And againe here wee maie expende howe circumspectly the Canonistes of Rome, affirme that the writynges of the doc­tors and holie menne of the Churche, muste bee holden to the vttermoste ynche. Yea, thei bee nowe, commaunded to bee hol­den (saie thei) in all that thei write to the vttermost title. Distinct. 9. Nol [...] For so thei speake in the booke of the decrées. If this bee true, then let B Hierome be holden in this pointe, or els, let them rather force no further mans saiynges and aucthority, then of right the authors themselues would be taken and red, and as thei themselues vsed to take other mennes writings, of what antiquitie & aucthoritie soeuer thei were. There is a great difference saith S. Augustine betwixt thaucthoritie of the Canonicall scriptures, and the wri­tynges of Bushops, whether it be of our owne, or of Hyllarius, or Ciprian, or any other. And therfore saith he to Vincentius the Donatiste: Epistola. 41. stirre vp no quarel of their writynges, for thei be not so to be redde, that in suche wise their testimonies be brought in, C as though it weere not lawfull, to iudge and thinke contrarie, if perhappes thei thought otherwise then the truthe required. These are his wordes. Noli ergò frater colligere velle calumnias ex episcoporum scriptis, siue nostrorum, siue Hillarij, siue Cipri­ani, quiá hoc genus literarum, ab authoritate Canonis distingu­endum est. Non enim sic leguntur, tànquam ex eis testimonium proferatur vt contrà sentire non liceat, si fortè alitèr sapuerint, quam veritas postulat. And in an other book of his, de peccato­rum meritis, Libro primo, Ca [...]itulo. 22. he saieth: cedamus & consentiamus authoritati scripturae sanctae, quae nescit falli néc fallere, hominum est labi, D hallucinari, falli, fallere, decipi, & decipere, Paulo dicente: Vi­dete nèquis vos decipiat, &c. diuinae aūt scripturae robur, nullum eiusmodi defectum admittit. Lette vs geue place, and geue our assente to the aucthoritie of holy Scripture, whiche can not bee deceaued nor deceiue. It is naturall to menne to slide, to bee [Page 74] A blynded, Collossians. 2. to be deceaued and to deceiue, to erre, and to induce to erroure, as sainct Paule saieth: take heede leste any man deceiue you by philosophie, and wittie reason, and by vaine subtilitie, ac­cordyng to mennes traditions, accordyng to the elementes and ordinaunces of the worlde, and not after Christ. As for the stabi­litie of the scripture, is not subiect to suche defaute. And there­fore saieth Cyrill: Ad Reginas de recta fide. Necessarium nobis est diuinas sequi literas, & in nullo, ab earum praescripto discedere. It is necessarie for vs, to folowe the holy scriptures, and in no point to shrincke from that thei do prescribe. Yea, let vs reade sainct Hierom and all other, B with that same rule as hymself redde other. For in his Epistle to Mynerius and Alexander he saieth: Non praeiudicata docto­ris opinio, sed doctrinae ratio ponderanda est, & sciat me illud a­postoli libentèr audire: omnia probate, quod bonum est tenete &c. Meum propositum est antiquos legere, probare singula, reti­nere quae bona sunt, & a fide Ecclesiae catholicae non recedere. It is not the opinion of a writer (in his iudgement so before decla­red) that must be weighed so muche as the reason of his doctrine For I am glad (saieth he) to followe sainct Paules precept: proue all thinges, and holde that is good. And also to giue heade to the C wordes of our sauioure saiyng: be ye wise and approued triars, that if any Coyne be fourged, and haue not the figure of Caesar, nor is not striken lyke the currant Mony, let it be reproued: and that whiche clearly beareth the face and Image of Christe, lette that bee laied vp in the purse of oure harte, for further saieth S. Hierom: I professe this as well in my youth as in my age, that Origen and Eusebius weere very great learned menne, but yet did erre in the trueth of doctrine. In the ende he saieth, it is my constant vse and purpose, to reade the olde wryters, to examine euery thyng, to holde fast that is good, and not to recede from the D saieth of the catholike Churche. But he [...]re, leste this wryter shoulde take aduauntage by these wordes (from the faieth of the catholike Curche it is not his minde to enclude the faieth of the Catholike Churche in suche notes, persons, and places, as now men forceth on vs the faieth of the Catholike Churche. For the aucthorities & writinges of the Clergie in his tyme, was not ta­ken [Page 75] of hym to be the catholike churche, for his saied opinion was A clearly against the constitutions of the Bushoppes in his tyme. And as he saieth in a certen place ad Heliodorum: [...].q. 7. Non omnes Episcopi sunt Episcopi, attende Petrum, sed Iudam considera &c. Non est facile stare in loco Petri & Pauli, scilicêt, tenere locum, iam cum Christo regnantium &c. Al be not Bushops that haue the name of Busshoppes, marke Peter, consider Iudas, it is no easie thyng to stande in the place of Peter and Paule, that is, to holde the cheare of them that reigneth with Christe. Thei be not the childrē of the sainctes, whiche occupieth the place of the sain­tes, but thei whiche perfourme their woorkes. Infatuatum sal ad B nihilum prodest, nisi vt proijciatur foràs, & a porcis conculcetur. The salt that is vnsauery, is good for nothyng, but to bee cast forth out of the doores, and to be troden vnder foote. And sainct Augustine saieth: Non omnis qui dicit pax vobis, quasi colum­ba audiendus est, Corui de morte pascuntur. Hoc Columba non habet &c. Not euerie one that saieth, pax vobis, must be hard as a Doue, for Rauens féede of carreine, the Doue vseth not this, she lyueth of the frute of the earth, her feedyng is without hurte. And that Churche (saieth sainct Hierome) is to be counted the catholyke Churche, whiche by the helpe of Gods grace, wande­reth C not from the path and trade of the Apostles traditions. A­gaine he saieth: [...]4. q. 3. Trāsferunt principes inde terminos, quos posue­runt patres eorum, quando immutant mendatio veritatem, & a­liud predicant quam ab Apostolis acceperunt. &c. The heade men and rulers doe remoue the markes and dooles, whiche their auncetours haue laied, when thei chaunge the truthe into lyes, and preache other thinges, then suche as thei haue receiued of the Apostles. Therefore, if the Churche of Englande, can de­clare her self to pr [...]ceade nigher the rules of the Apostles, then that Chur [...]he, whiche of duetie chalengeth the onely name: it D must bee preferred before that priuate Catholike congregation, as this aucthour bringeth in twoo aucthorities, Cap. [...]. lrā f. 1. Panorm. [...]ignifi. de elect. Dist. 31. [...]ena of Ireneus and Origen for his purpose, whiche subuerteth all his pretence. Yea, thei confesse the Lawes them selues, that one laye man hauyng scripture, or a reasonable cause, is more to bee receiued, then a [Page 76] A whole Uniuersitée together without the same. For the Churche is not so builded vpō Peters person, or yet vpon his See: but v­pon that sure confession, whiche came from hym, that article of the faithe, whiche he confessed (thou art Christe the soonne of the liuyng God) so that Christe builded his Churche, Distinc. 19. Ita dominus. vpon hym self, saieth the Canonistes them selues. This aucthour cometh all to late therefore, what poste haste so euer he make, or how so euer he vse to blinde this age, with Romishe articles of their faithe, sai­yng: The Churche of Rome can not erre, though thei remoue the mar­kes of the Apostles preceptes. And that it muste bee euer presu­med, B that the Pope is all holie, and maie not bee iudged, and can not erre: that his saiynges are of equall aucthoritie with Chri­stes doctrine: and his deedes must be interpreted, Distinc. 40. N [...] [...] as the murther of Samson, and the felonie of the Iewes, and as the adulterie of Iacob: For it were a kinde of Sacrilege, to call his facte into dis­putation: with infinite more suche articles, as be euery where in his decrees, and Canonistes writynges.

But yet I thinke this aucthour vrge still vpon me, for the diuersitie of Priestes mariyng before order, and after order, and will require, what Counsaile, what Canon, what example I C can alledge, that a priest euer maried? To make shorte answere, till we come to particular debatement of these causes, as thei bée sundrie in nature: so ought thei to bee sonderlie entreated, and not craftely mixte and chopte in together, to blinde the vnlear­ned reader. Firste I aunswere, with the woordes of a Catholike writer in a like cause. Quid si destituamur exemplo hominum, si habeamus praeceptum dei? What maketh matter, though wee had no example of man, if we haue a precepte of God, and a con­fession of his Apostle, lefte yet saffe vnto vs, as Alfonsus Episco­pus Canariensis saieth? yea, after our orders, and promise what­soeuer D it bee. Secondly I saie, that by dispensations of the Bus­shoppes of Roome, diuerse and many haue as well maried af­ter orders, as after priuate vowes, and solempne vowes to, as shall be aduouched good store of suche examples, out of authen­tike stories, & some examples of others, that maried after their order, without dispensation, and not thought to bee the lesse Ca­tholike [Page 77] for it. Thirdlie, I can alledge to this Englishe writer, A twoo Englishe actes of Parliament, so assented vnto by the sub­scription of the whole Clergie, by the whole body of the Impe­riall state of the realme, whiche I will here after proue, to bee of as good value and aucthoritie, for the defence of their mariages whiche were made by theim, as a greate sorte of his Synodes, and generall Counsailes to, that he reporteth in his Booke so thicke in euery leaffe, as though scripture were vtterly to bee layed a side, to geue them roume.

And I maruell muche, what this writer meaneth, beyng an Englishe man, and offereth his seruice so ready to the Queenes B maiestis, that can enuie the crowne of Englande, of that prero­gatiue, that is by Goddes woorde incident therevnto, beyng so ofte proued and confessed, yea, and sworne vnto, by the whole Realme, and so muche stablished by the learned assertions, ser­mons, orations, and other writynges of the aunciente Fathers, and moste catholike men, that be at this daie knowen, and had in reuerence and aucthoritie, for their greate wittes, learnyng, and grauitie of life, by the space of twentie yeres perpetually incul­ked, whiche now to call againe into question, maie entāgle ma­ny a good mannes conscience in the Realme, who were moste C chiefly induced by them, bothe to swere, yea, and to ieoperd their soules therein, and many be departed in the same belief already.

Moreouer, I would wishe this professour of Ciuill to con­sider, or at the least the (gentle reader) to note, with what charitée he could so slaunder his owne countrie men, the Queenes sub­iectes to her grace, in his Preface, with so odious accusations of inceste, heresie, coueteousnesse: and because he would leaue no­thyng behinde, to promote them to the Queenes graces credēce, with treason also and malice to her grace, and that without ex­ceptiō of any one man, entred into the said state of mariage: who D as thei bee many, so had thei diuerse respectes in their doynges, and haue at this daie diuerse cogitations in their hartes. And though he could charge some, or many with the saied crimes, as God be thanken, I thinke his owne conscience telleth hym, that his penne lied: and as I truste is not the suspition of a great ma­ny, [Page 78] A of as good hartes to the Queenes highnesse, as he Thrasoni­cally bloweth out in his Booke to beare her, yet he eccepteth none, but vniuersally and singularly, charge [...]h all in assertion, solempnely pronounced with no further proofe, but, ipse dixit. And where was his remembraunce, to ieoparde the fame of ma­ny other of the same coote, whom I am suer he fauoureth well enough, notyng Heresie and Lecherie, so ioyntly to bée knit to­gether, that wher the one is, their is the other, as sisters insepar­able. So that by this mans assertion, beyng one of the principall and first articles, wherevpon he growndeth all the buyldyng of B his booke: wee muste nedes beleue, that where vnchaste lyfe is, there is Heresie couertly couered. Lette hym consider if this principle bée resolued, whyther and howe farre, the worlde can soone iudge it goeth. In verie deede his assertion hath some grounde of aucthoritie, beside that he bryngeth in of Simon ma­gus out of Epiphanius. For Chrysostome writing vpon the first to Tymothe the .4. of suche as shall depart, (not from the Bus­hop I saie (but from the faieth: geuyng hede to the spirites of er­roure &c. Hic loquitur (saieth he) de Manichaeis, & Encratitis, & Marcionitis, omni (que) illorum officina. Per hypocrism loquentes C mendatium &c. Nempē ipsa quae mentiuntur, non per ignorāti­am nè (que) inscij, sed simulando loquuntur, cū certè veritatem non ignorent. verum, conteriata, id est, vita slagitiosa sunt. He spea­keth saieth Chrisostome of Manichees, Encratites, Marcioni­tes, yea and of al suche artificers and craftes men, that thei shall departe from the faithe, yea, he speaketh of the Manichees, saieth he, and also prosecuteth those thynges, of suche like heades and leaders of errour. But what is it, saieth he: speakyng lyes in hypocrisie? Mary saith he, the lyes whiche thei speake, thei speake them not for lacke of knowledge vnwittingly, but by simulatiō. D For certenly thei be not ignoraunt of this trueth, but their con­sciences be marked with a hotte iron, that is to saie, thei be of life moste shamfull, and abhominable. So that this foresaied asser­tion of this Ciuilian, may be more truely charged vpon suche of the Clergie, who liueth either in manifest, or secret lecherrie, by Goddes worde without all controuersie, so of all menne taken, [Page 79] & so of themselues infinitely, cōfessing it in their priuate confessi­ons A before thei go to their Masses, without any effectuous repē ­taunce or purpose to leaue it, in the most part of thē, then of suche copulations which yet be in cōtrouersie, whether thei be lecherie or chastitie, or rather out of al cōtrouersie amōg indifferent lear­ned men, to be wedlocke chastitie. So that your first chapiter M. Martine & all that you bring therin, maie be a sleue to wipe your owne noses with, how soeuer ye applie it: wherin I appeale to y ^e whole worlde: to iudge who be thei that counterfet chastitie, and in secret liue viciously: & then, who be those heritikes & fleshmon­gers. Iustinus the christian Philosopher & martyr, was neuer the B more defamed, though y ^e barkyng Philosopher Crescēs Cynicus reproued him, tā (que) gulosū & mortis timidū, luxuriae (que) & libidinū sectatorē. As Hierom writeth: that is, a gloton, fearfull of death, an haunter of riote & lecherie. But of this matter, is sufficiently before said. But now this Ciuilian will replie, and appeale to al the world, to iudge vpō whom, suche auctorities of Epiphanius & Chrysostomus & of others suche, are to be verified: whether vpon heretikes as the aucthors them selues termeth them, or vpō the catholikes, who will not be aknowen to departe from the faieth, but laie that fault altogether to other mens charges and burne C them in their pretence of departyng from the faieth. In deede I must confesse, that here the Catholikes (so taken) hath the better hand of the heretiques, so named. For thei haue so bewitched the people, yea, the greate part of the wise of the worlde, suche as be contented to haue bothe their eyes put out, and after to be led by them, that the common vnderstanding and hearyng of the word and name of heretique, is straight waie conueied to them that be sclandered therewith, and the name of the Catholike, is forth­with moste commonly ment vpon them, that haue that woorde moste in their mouthes, though in their liues, and in a greate D parte of their doctrine, thei be so farre repugnaunt from the Ca­tholike fathers in deede, as the Iewes whiche moste bradged of their father Abraham, were furthest from his faieth. But the world is somewhat wiser some where, then so lightly to bee led blindly by the nose, to bee deceiued with vaine names, by stowte [Page 80] A facyng, and bold bolsteryng. When the worlde sawe Christ and his Apostles bragged out among the Pharisies & Lawiers, who did repute theim to bée sedicious and erronious teachers in their new doctrine: the cōmon appellatiō so preuailed against them in deede, & thei themselues called themselues, and were so reputed to be the mainteiners of Gods glory, of Gods Sabboth daies, of Moises, of Abrahās faith & of the Prophetes doctrine: But Ihon the Baptiste who with his fanne could seuer the Corne from the chaffe, called them by their owne names in dede, progenies vipe­rarūt you adders broode, & badde them no more so bragge of their B father Abrahā, except thei had the faith and deedes of Abraham. Yea our sauiour Christ called them Hypocrites, blind leaders, and painted walles, dissemblers, and deluders of the people, vn­der pretence of fathers traditions and Lawes: vnder pretense of praiers and fastynges, and suche clookes of holines, the vertue of those dedes being far out of thestimatiō, as thei ought to be vsed.

Though some of suche writers as this Ciuilian is, laboureth with all shifte of witte, to shift of S. Paules sentence to Tymo­thie: of suche as in the latter daies departeth from the faieth, ge­uyng hede to deceiuing spirites, and to the doctrines of deuelles, C in Hipocrisie speakyng lies, hauyng their consciences marked with an hotte iron, forbiddyng (not condempnyng) to contracte Matrimonie, commaundyng to absteine from meates whiche God hath created to be receaued with thankes geuyng, for all that God hath made is good, and not to be reiected. &c, appliyng this place to the Tatianes and Martionistes, and suche other: yet thei can not so be discharged, Libr. 1. ca. 3 [...]. Nicephorus l [...]. 8. cap. 25. Con­staminu [...] vult Arianos vt suffragatores eius Porphyri­anos nominari, vt quorū imi­ta [...] sū [...] mores, eorum quoqite obimeant ap­pellationes. For as Ireneus saieth: Qui quo­quo modo adulterat veritatem, & praeconium ecclesiae ledunt, Simonis Samaritani Magi, discipuli, & successores sunt. Quāuis non confiteantur nomen magistri sui ad seductionem reliquorū, D attamén illius sententiam tenent. Whatsoeuer thei be that cor­rupteth the trueth, and dooth deface the commendation of the Churche of Christ, be the disciples & successors of Symon Magus of Samaria, although thei will not acknowledge y ^e name of their master, to the seducyng of other, yet thei teache his opinion: and though in one sorte thei be not founde, condemnyng Matri­monie [Page 81] as euill in all men, yet thei forbiddyng it to some men, A shewe what thei bee, for as Epiphanius saieth: Heresi. 67. lib. 2. to .2. of suche. Serpens enim alatus hic est, & Scorpius alas habēs secundum multos modos, & volans, & imitans quidem Ecclesiae virginitatem, non habens aūt puram cōscientiam. De hoc enim & similibus impletur illud, cauterio notatam habens conscientiā prohibentium contrahere matrimonium. &c. subsannantur au­tem perfectissimè propter eas, quas habent singuli, inductas mu­lieres. &c. This serpent is winged, and this Scorpion hath win­ges, and flieth after many fashions, and it counterfeteth in deede the virginitie of the Churche, but hath not a pure conscience: of B this truely and of suche like is that fulfilled: thei haue their con­sciences marked with an hotte Iron, forbiddyng to marie, but worthelie scorned thei bee for suche women, whiche euery one of them haue within their houses.

Sainct Augustine, de vnitate Eccesiae, in a like matter, wri­tyng againste the Donatistes, saieth: If thei can firste teache vs, saieth he, that we bee sepulchra dealbata, painted sepulchres, as thei call vs, and laie to our charge, wee can not refuse to bee re­proued, and beaten backe with suche woordes of the holie scrip­tures. So that the proofe and triall of all the matter, resteth not C in the abused name, and appellation, but in exteriour actes, and doynges, the fruites whereby do iudge the trees.

Moreouer it can not helpe them, to alledge sainct Augustine, and other suche olde aucthours, in the exposition of these wordes prohibentes nubere: where sainct Augustine saieth: Manichei abhorrebant nuptias tanquam malas, etiam propagationis cau­sa, & damnant creaturas ciborum, ꝙ natura malae, & immundae sint. Co [...]ra faustū M [...]niche. li. 3. Ideo ij dicuntur prohibere: non qui huic bono, aliud me­lius anteponit. The Manichees did abhorre Matrimonie as euil, euen in respecte of procreation, and that thei condempne the crea­tures D of meates, as euill and vncleane of their owne nature, and therefore, suche are to bee saied to forbidde mariages, not those whiche preferre to this good thyng, an other better.

Now I appeale to all the counterfete Catholikes, whereso­euer thei dwell. Doe thei so preferre single life, and virginitée in [Page 82] A priestes, that thei call not yet their mariages no mariages, that be so already paste and maried: or rather doe not thei pronounce suche mariages, to bee adulteries and inceste, cleane contrary to sainct Augustines doctrine. Li. 1. Ca. iii. Iraeneus aduersus hereses: A Saturni­no & Marcione, qui vocantur continentes, abstinentiam a nup­tijs annunciauerunt, frustrantes antiquam plasmationem dei, & obliquè accusantes eum, qui masculum & foeminam ad genera­tionem hominum fecit. The continentes, so called of Saturnine and Marcion, hath Preached the absteinyng from mariage, so makyng voide the creation of God, and by a subtile fetche, thei B accuse hym, whiche made man and woman, for the generation of menne. Where Ireneus hath obliquê, Eusebius hath subtiliter accusantes illum ▪ craftely, not with open condempnation, but by a craftie deuise, not apperyng to euery mānes eyes. Is it not all one to condempne Matrimonie as the Maniches do, & by lawes to forbidde it as Papistes doe? Sainct Paule speaketh of forbid­ders to Mary, and of suche as shall be in the latter daies. But i [...] this doctor will saie, that he followeth neither Martian, nor Tar­tian, but good S. Hierome, whose saiynges he bryngeth in verie ofte, without choise and discretion: in good faithe, I beleue hym C well, that he doeth so in deede, as the moste parte of all that sect. And how farre he and thei differ, in praisyng of virginitie, & con­dempnyng or forbiddyng Matrimonie, ye shall haue a little tast of his opinion, writyng against Iouinian, where in some places he writeth thus: Iubet Apostolus vt semper oremus: si semper orandum est, nunquam ergo coniugio seruiendum. Quomā quo­tiescun (que) vxori debitum reddo, orare non possum. Againe, puto ꝙ nuptiarū finis, mors sit, fructus cōtinentiae, vita aeterna. Again Nuptiae per se non sunt bonae, & comparantur incendio. Qui in carne sunt, deo placere non possunt. Againe. Nullum periculum D ne pereant nuptiae, etiam si multos cohortemur ad virginitatem, stultorum enim semper infinitus erit numerus. Againe. Ex quo ostenditur virginitatem non mori, nec [...]ordes nuptiarum ablui cruore martyrij. And contra Heluidium: Non negamus marita­tas sanctas mulieres inueniri, sed quae vxores esse desierunt. &c.

The Apostle geueth a precepte, that we should alwaie praie, [Page 83] if praier must alwaie bee had, ergo, wedlocke is not to bee vsed, A for so ofte as I render due beneuolence to my wife, I can not praie. Also I iudge, that thende of mariage is death, but the fruit of continencie is eternall life. Also, Wedlocke for it self is not good, and is compared to a fire. Againe, thei that be in the fleshe can not please GOD. Also, there is no daunger that Marriage should bee lefte, though wee exhorte many to continencie. For of fooles the number shall be euer infinite. Also comparyng Ihon a virgine, and Peter a maried manne, he saieth: whereby is de­clared, that virginitée shall neuer dye: but as for the filthinesse of mariage, can not bee wasshed awaie with the blood of martyr­dome. B Also writyng against Heluidius, thus he pronounceth: we doe not deny, saieth he, but that it is possible to finde maried wi­ues, holy women, but suche (saieth he) whiche ceasse to be wiues. Of whiche place, Erasmus could gather no other, but that he should meane, that mariage is not to be alowed, no not for frui­tes sake. And suche other saiynges innumerable hath S. Hie­rom, whom this manne reporteth with suche aucthoritie. But in the next parte of this treatise, all suche causes shall bée more ful­ly expended, to see whether the fained Catholiques of these da­yes, bee not farre fallen from the true Catholiques, of fiue hun­dreth C yeres next after Christ: and be not relapsed into the plaine heresies of the Tatianes, Manichees, and suche other: how soeuer thei couer theim selues close, as thei imagine. Sed omnia dum produntur in lucem, manifesta fient. But all thynges when thei are shewed at the light, be made manifest.

Furthermore, I woulde wishe to haue some considerations more, to be waied of this gentle and courteous Ciuilian, how he coulde be so rigorous and extreme, without any moderation, or indifferent equitie, so sore to charge Bushops and Priestes for mariyng in this realme: with suche ineuitable necessitie, and D with so vndispensable a bōde, to conteine vnder paine of eternall dampnation. And further, so highly to magnifie this late doyng against them: that thei bee gently depriued of all their whole li­uynges: and that, not for fiue, or tenne yeres, as the equitie of some Canons prescribeth, but for euer. And to saie that thei bee [Page 84] A driuen fauourably out of their ministrations. Specially where he maie reade what indifferencie and tolleration is graunted in some counsailes and decrées: yea, in other christian realmes and dominions: and standyng the assertion of so many learned Diui­nes, and Canonistes, & of the old auncient writers in the church, I saie, that he could so passe awaie in his readyng and collectyng: all their moderations: and onely waie, the most extreme rigoure he coulde finde in any of them all, against the saied mariage of Priestes here in Englande, so maried by lawe, as thei be.

Where, he readeth, I am sure, how tenderly and fauorably B his Canonistes expounde and glose the hard lawes and canons that be written against Priestes, liuyng in open aduoutrie, and manifest fornication: And yet could not sprinkle some droppes of suche holy water, to ease the heate of the hoote zeales and sto­makes of some certen of the Clergie, whiche for pure honesties sake, in respect of their faint liues, dare not once touche any of the poluted benefices, and promotions, that the vncleane maried Priestes haue so longe defiled with their wiues, vnworthie as thei be, once to be saied, aue, vnto in salutation. And furthermore moste vnworthie reputed to come to their Tables, to their pre­sence, C for disteinyng their holinesse and angelicall vowes of cha­stitie: but must nedes blowe so fast these fiery coales, not onely to enflame the stomakes, of some of the saied Clergie that be alrea­die incensed beyond witte, honestie, and learning, against them: but also to moue the Nobilitie, to incense the Comons rather to repute them for worse then Heathen or Turkes, if his entend­mente should haue like successe to proceade, as his stomacke pre­tendeth.

I am suer he cannot be ignoraunt of the soft gloses, that the Canonistes make for the excusyng of fornicatiōs and adulteries D in Priestes without wiues. Dist. [...] As for example. Presbiter, si sorni­cationem fecerit, quanquàm fecundum Canones Apostolorum debeat deponi, tamen iuxtà authoritatem beati Siluestri. &c. Decem annis poeniteat. Though a priest that committeth forni­tion ought to bee deposed, accordyng to the Canons of the Apo­stles: neuerthelesse, by thaucthoritie of blessed Syluester, let hym [Page 85] haue, tenne yeres, penaunce. &c. A

The glose thereupon saieth: for fornication sake, at these da­yes, no man ought to be deposed, as is commonly saied, excepte he continue therein. And this is the reason: because, saieth he, our bodies bee more fraile, then before tyme thei were. And here againe, saieth he, you maie see that the Counsaile dispenseth a­gainst the Apostle, in the paine.

And leste, tenne yeres penaunce, shall bée thought to hard for fastyng: the gloser telleth vs of twoo good remedies. The one is, that it maie be dispensed withall. The other is, that a man maie faste by an other, and so be deliuered, and for a great neede, maie B dispense with hym self to. Dist. 34 Fraternitatis Also. Quamuis multa sint, quae, in his & huiusmodi casibus obseruare canonice iubeat sublimitatis au­ctoritas: tamen quia defectus nostri temporis, quibus nō solum merita, sed corpora ipsa hominum, defecerunt, districtionis illi­us non patitur manere censuram. Ideo. &c.

Although, saith Pelagius (not that heretike, for whose condem­nation this Ciuilian impudently writeth, that the Englishe he­retikes, as he calleth them, be angrie with S. Augustine: but the holy father that was Pope of Rome) the hie excellent aucthoritie of the Canons, saith he, chargeth many thinges to be straitly ob­serued C in suche cases: neuertheles, because the decay of our time, cannot beare, that the cēsure of so muche sharpnesse should abide in strength: in as muche as both the very bodies of men, in them selues bée weakened, and for that also mēnes vertues be decaied: and in consideratiō of the age of the partie, of whom by likelihode of his age, there is no greate feare to be had of any incontinencie hereafter, we haue graunted hym license, to take thorder of dea­conship, and as for Micene his wenche: let her be put into some Monasterie, to professe Chastitée. Eccè casus (saieth the Glose) vbi plus iuris habet luxuria, quam castitas. Loe a case, where Leche­rie D hath more right and priuilege, then Chastitie. For the chaste should bée put a backe, if he had contracted with the seconde, but not so the fornicatour, as this Ciuilian writeth, that the churche for mercies sake putteth not Iouinians lawe the Emperor (ma­kyng it death to rauishe a professed virgine) in vre, yet hath the [Page 86] A Churche, saieth he, alwaies vsed greate greuous paines against vowe breakers. Cap. x. Litera. V. i.

Also out of the fourthe Tolet Counsaile in Spaine, Quidam clerici, legittimum non habentes coniugium, extranearum mu­lierum, vel ancillarum suarum (quae interdicta sunt) consortia ap­petunt. Ideo, quaecun (que) clericis taliter coniunctae sunt ab Epis­copo auferantur, & venundentur. &c. Some of the Clergie, for that thei haue not lawfull Matrimonie, couette the company of outward women, or of their maidens, whiche is vtterly forbid­den. Therefore, Glosa corrum­pe [...]s ipsū [...]x­tum non loqui­tur dè vxori­bus sed de mu­lieribus vt in concilio Tole­tano 3 ca. 5 Li­quet. whatsoeuer women thei be, that be so coupled to B the Clarkes, let them be plucked from them by the bishoppe, and let them be solde: and let suche clarkes, whom the foresaied wo­men haue infected with their lecherie, bee bounde in penaunce for a tyme.

The gloser there (to bee solde) saieth he, vnderstande it when thei make contract of Mariage with them, as with wiues, for els I will not graunt, that thei ought to be sold, or yet to be brought into any bondage for simple fornication. Dist. 81. Cap, Maximianus. For, saieth he ( Ca. Ma­ximianus) it is commonly holden, no man should be deposed, for simple fornication, seyng fewe can be found without that fault.

C Here vnto agréeth that greate Lawier Astexanus. lib. vi. ti­tulo. x. Li. 6. titulo 10. Fornication is a Canonicall crime, and a deadly sinne, the paine whereof is deposition: Dist. 25. ca. Si. & Dist. 83. Si quis & Ca. Romanus. But I answere (saieth he) that these Chapiters expresseth the rigour: But that Dist. 34. Fraternitatis,) contei­neth the equitie, whiche muste bee farre preferred before the ri­gour. And therefore the matter of fornication, muste bee muche more easely handeled, because fewe can bee founde cleare of it, and the multitude must be spared, saieth he.

Also out of an olde aunciente Counsaile of Neocesar, Dist, 28. Pre [...]biter: Ca [...]. 1 [...]. where D it is written. Ca. primo: Presbyter si vxorem duxerit, ab ordine illum deponi debere: quod si fornicatus fuerit, vel adulteriū comi­serit, amplius eū pelli. &c. A Priest if he Mary, let him be deposed from his order, but if he commit fornication or adultery, let hym be more charged & forsed, and put to penaunce [...]mong the laitie.

From his order (saieth the glose) that is from his office, not [Page 87] from his benefice. And by this (saieth he) folowyng sainct Augu­stines A aucthoritie, in sermone 37. ad fratres in heremo. The priest should bee more punished that committeth fornication, then he, whiche contracteth lawfully. And this is the reason: for that he ( sc the fornicator) doeth against the holy order, & also against the lawe: And he ( sc the maried priest) doeth lesse offēde that marieth a wife, because he beleueth that it is lawfull for hym so to doe.

In the .ix. Canon of the saied Counsaile, it is saied: he that committeth a corporall offēce, that is to saie, fornication, and yet after taketh vpō hym thorder of Priesthode, if he confesse it, that he hath so offended before his orders takyng, let hym no more of­fer B (that is, minister or officiate) yet let hym remaine in other of­fices, for the profite of his studie. Here saieth the glose: is a good argument, that there is lesse punis [...]emente for fornication, then for any other crime: the reason is, because so fewe bee founde without that crime.

Ex consilio Toletano nono. Cap x. anno. vij. Reccesinulli regis.

The law re­porteth it thus: xv. q. 8 Cū multae su­per innocentiā ordinis. whiche is all one with an easie glose. Cum multae, super incontinentiam ordinis clericorum, hacte­nus emanauerint sententiae patrum: & nullatenus ipsorum refor­mari C quiuerit correctio morum: vs (que) adeo sententiam iudican­tium protraxere commissa culparum, vt nō tantum ferretur vl­tio in authores scelerum, verum & in progenie damnatorū. &c. Where as there hath passed before time, many decrees of the fa­thers, vpon the incontinente life of the Clergie, and yet by no maner waies their correction of maners, could bee brought to staie: whereupon their incorrigible maners, hath so far prouoked the fathers, to geue sentence and iudgement, that not onely due punishement should be executed vpon the aucthours themselues for suche enormities: but also vpon the issue of these dampnable D persones: Therefore, what soeuer he be from a Bushoppe to the Subdeacon, that shall hereafter beget children on their maides, free or bonde, in suche detestable Wedlocke: the saied children shall not onely not inherite their fathers gooddes, but also shall bee in perpetuall bondage in that Churche, where their fathers [Page 88] A ministered. Beside that, the fathers themselues shall be condem­ned by the Canons. &c.

Understande, saieth the glose, that this rule serueth for Prie­stes whiche do lawfully marie wiues: for such be more greuous­ly punished. But what soeuer (saieth he) is here saied, seiyng the churche hath not vsed this law, she loseth her right in this point.

Ex Canone Apostolorum. 24.

Presbiter aut Diaconus qui in fornicatione, Dist. 8 [...]. Pres [...]t [...] aut periurio, aut furto, aut homicidio captus est, deponatur: nòn tamen commu­nione B priuetur: dicit enim scriptura: non iudicat deus bîs in idip­sum. A Prieste or a Deacon which is taken in fornication, or per­iurie, or felony, or murther, lette hym bée desposed. But let hym not bee excommunicated, for the scripture saieth: God iudgeth not twise vpon one thing.

Taken, Dist. 50 si qui. Ca. Dnō sanct. saieth the glose: nay by sainct Marie, not taken only must suffice. And in the same Distinction, he saieth, that though the Canon of the Apostles bee the better, because it is the more auncient then the other canons: According to the woordes of the law Clericis Laicos infestos opido, tradit antiqui­tas, Laici in accusationem vèl testimoni­um Clericorū nón sunt ad­n [...]t [...]na [...] exir, lib. 3. cap. 3. De immunita te E [...]le [...]iarū. Mary God forbid one to bewreye an other except it be in con­fession. D [...]st. 81. Cleri­c [...] In glosa. yet it is preiudiced and deroga­ted by the later. And there he teacheth that though the Canōs be C repugnant one against an other, yet thei be all made by the in­stinct of the holy ghost.

But to the glose again: Taken. But how shall the lay men proue that, saieth he, seyng thei can not bee witnesses against a Clerke? And when thei be so admitted for witnesses, yet thei are not to be credited, except thei haue seen the clerke euen from the beginning in his adulterie. Yea, beside all this, laie menne may not be beleued in this poinct. For the laitie, saieth he, is alwaie vtterly against vs. The verie wordes of the Canoniste.

But I put you a case, saieth this good lawier and fauorable D patrone of the Clergie, that .ij. clerkes doe witnesse against one, and aduouche that he hath committed fornication with suche a woman and suche a daie: and then in this case: ij. laye menne on the other side affirme that he was with them all the daie longe in an other place: I hold, saieth he, that then those .ij. laie menne ought to be better beleued, because thei stand on his side that is [Page 89] accused. And here ye maie see, saieth he, a good aucthoritie, [...]hat a A clerke may purge hymself some tyme with laye menne.

Furthermore, be it in case that a Prieste doe lie with an other mans wife in the churche, the woman confesseth the fault, the priest denieth it: in this case commaundeth Pope Alexander the iii. that she be put to penaunce for a foole, for bewreiyng confes­sion. The Churche must be clensed with holy water, the Prieste must be put to his purgation of priestes of his neighbours, more or fewer as please the Busshop. If thei will depose for hym, then let the prieste continue in his office notwithstandyng. But what if the matter be so apparant, that bothe the mother with her oth, B the childe with his face aduouch it, and at the last the prieste con­fesseth it? What remedie for suche a mischeife to saue the honour of the Churche?

Marie, after he be examined priuely in thordinaries chambre, he is inioyned penaunce, but secrette to, for the sclaunder of the Churche: For it is decreed by their Lawes. Dist. 28. Presbyter. solennem poenitentiā Clericus facere non debet. A Clerke may not doe open penaunce. As once I harde of a prieste, examined of a Bushoppe that was a liue within these twentie yeares, in his inner chamber: whiche, for suche kinde of blessyng his spirituall C daughters, was followed with earnest commendation of a gen­tleman in the parishe. The Prieste confessed the deede before the Bushop and certen other so chosen. Wherwith the Bushop was very angry, for that he denied it not, and blamed him much, that he toke a single woman. Ah nodie, saieth he, hadste thou no more witte but so: A mannes wife dawe, I tell thee, a mannes wife.

I trust that if this Bushoppe were aliue, he would bee more gentle then some Bushops be nowe, except he had suche consci­ence as some Bushops haue now.

Dist. 81. Si qui sunt.Now cometh in Gregorie in the same distinction, and thun­dereth D with wonderfull wordes, to all maner menne, through­out the dominions of Italy and Duchland: Si qui sunt presbyte­ri, Diaconi, vèl Subdiaconi, qui in crimine fornicationis iaceāt, interdicimus eis ex parte dei Patris omnipotentis, & sancti Petri authoritate, Ecclesiae introitū, vs (que) dùm paeniteāt & emendent &c

[Page 90] A If there be anie Priestes, Deacons, or Subdeacons, whiche doe lie in the crime of fornication: we forbidde them or interdicte them of the behalfe of God the father almightie, and by the auc­thoritie, of holy sainct Peter, once to entre the Churche, till thei be repentant, and haue amended it. But if any of them will ra­ther haue a desire, to perseuer in the offence, let none of you all once presume to heare their Masse or seruice. For their benedic­tions shall bee turned into maledictions: and their praier shalbe turned into sinne. For so the lorde testifieth by the prophet: I wil curse, saieth he, your blessynges.

B Now whatsoeuer thei be, saieth Gregorie, that will not obey this wholsome precept, thei shal incurre the sinne of Idolatrie &c The glose there, Dist. 81, si quis Understand this yet but vpon maried Priestes Saieth the Rubriche, as this learned Lawier co [...] ­torteth it in the Chapiter folowing, saieth, that thei which bee constitute in holy orders, maye not resorte or traine to their Concubines or wiues, for if thei doe it continually, thei must bée depriued of their ministerie, and benifice too.

I maruaile that where Ciuilians and Canonistes by suche iontly and commonly procedyng in degrée together, and therfore haue greate agréemente and affinitie together: and that of this Ciuilian it cannot be saied, that he, is ouer seen in the lawe Cannone: C But maie bee called Can all: And then againe hath suche a pleasure to bryng in his Tolet counsailes out of Spaine so oft, and so thicke, that thei beare the greateste rule, in his greate mustre of his strounge lawes, and great Canons: because he would not flater, as ye may be suer: that he would not yet bring some of these lawes, gloses, and deuine Canons, where by yet he mought haue declared howe throughly and vniuersally seene he is in the Canon lawe, and expositours of the same.

But peraduenture he meaneth the aduauncement again of the Church, to restore the old puritie and chastitie of the Clergie D as hath been practised: And therefore would haue all the world beleue, that maried priestes be the most vnlearned priestes in the world: most slouthfull and negligent in ministration: and that it is most impossible for them to bee oft in the pulpit, or visiting the sicke in the night, as he saith, not keping hospitalitie in the daie: nor be at home residēt: and that thei be moste couetous to gleane [Page 91] and scrape for their wiues and children, and therefore keepe no A howses at their benefices: and that thei bee most vncarefull, and vnnaturall for their neuewes, and that thei dooe nothyng els but sitte by their wiues side, and daunce them on ther lappes all the daie longe, and that thei cannot be well iudged in any thyng that thei do: but are to be suspected, in all the towne beside, for their experience: and are to bee iudged that thei can not bee con­tented with one woman alone.

Now on the other side, he would haue good catholike menne brought again to good belief, to thauncient faithe of the churche, to the good opiniō that thei haue had of the clergie before tyme, to B suppose well of all their doynges: not to suspect them in any case, because thei looke so sainctly, thei speake soe deuoutly, and carpe so catholikely: not to feare them, though their wiues cal for them o [...]te in their sickenesse, to be visited in the night, and to be confes­sed: and though thei knowe by Lente confession, for whom thei shall praie for al the yere folowyng: not to iudge their doynges, but to presume alwaie well of theim. And therefore, he would haue the worlde wonne againe, to the Articles that bee in their holy Canon lawe. Where it is written by thaucthoritie of Pope Antherius. [...]i. q. 3. Absit Absit, vt quic (quam) sinistrum de his arbitremur, qui A­postolico C gradui succedentes, Christi corpus sacro ore coficiūt, per quos Christiani sumus. Qui, claues regni coelorum habentes, ante iudicij diem iudicant. &c. God forbid, that we should thinke any thyng sinisterally of theim, whiche beyng the successours of the Apostles in degree, make the bodie of Christe with their ho­lie mouthe: By whose meanes, wée bee Christen people. For thei haue the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen, and doe iudge before the daie of iudgement. In the old lawe, saith he, who soeuer had not obeied the priestes, either he was cast out of the hoste, and sto­ned of the people, or els had his head strikē of with a sworde, and D so the contempte reuenged by his blood. But now (saieth he) the disobedient is cutte a sunder by spirituall execution, or els is he caste forthe of the Churche, and is rente in péeces with the raue­nous teethe of the deuill. The glose noteth therevpon.

Clericus amplectens mulierem, presumitur bene agere. Si er­go [Page 92] A clericus amplectitur mulierem, interpretabitur, ꝙ causa bene­dicendi eam, hoc faciat: vt Dist. 96. In scripturis. quamuis Canō, solam cōfabulationem interpretatur in deteriorem partem. &c.

A Clerke embrasyng a woman-muste bee presumed that he doeth well. Some old peuishe Canon of y ^e Apostles or of the pri­matiue Churche. If therefore a Clerke take a woman by the middle, it must be interpreted, ꝙ he, that he doeth it to geue her his bles­syng: as in the .96. Distinction. Ca. In scripturis: although, saith he, the Canon, will interprete the onely talkyng with her, into the worste parte.

Yea, S. Peter is brought in, in the same distinction to speake, B when he ordeined Clement to be his successor. Dist. 96. ca. quicunque. Quicun (que) contri­stauerit doctorem veritatis, peccat in Christum, & patrem omniū exacerbat deum: propter quod, & vita carebit aeterna. What so­euer he be that will molest, and make sadde a doctor of the truth, he offendeth against Christe, and doeth prouoke God the father of all, for whiche cause, he shall also want eternall life. Thus thei would haue the people brought againe, to their olde faithe and credulitie: and not to bee to suspitious, of them that professe virginitie. But of the maried Priestes, let theim thinke as euill as thei can deuise: for he so desir [...]th it, and to muche punishment, C is to little for theim. And yet theim selues stande in doubte some tyme, whether thei maie performe this common catholike faithe one of them to an other In so muche, that in respecte of their ho­ly chastitie, 24 q. [...] Quis vid [...] belike (wherof thei neuer haue hartie repentaunce) their owne Canonistes saie: Quis vidit dignè sacerdotem poe­nitentē? Who euer sawe a prieste worthely sory for his offence? And therefore sainct Hierom in that distinction searching the old stories, saith: I can not finde any other to haue rent the churche, and that haue deceiued the people, but onely those, whiche are set of God to be the Priestes and Prophetes: th [...]se be thei, which D be turned to craftie snares in all places, geuyng slaunder. Chry­sostome agreeth to hym, de poenitentia. Dist. i. Quis aliquando vidit clericum citò poenitentiam agentem, & si depraehensus hu­miliauerit se, non ideo dolet quòd peccauit, sed ideo cōfunditur, quia perdidit gloriam suam Who euer sawe the spirituall man tourning from his faute? For though he be taken and humbleth [Page 93] him self, yet he is not heauie, for that he hath offended, but for this A cause he his confounded, for that he hath lost his estimation. And in deede there bee some misteries in doctrine in this matter: that priestes committyng fornications with twentie women, and so liue all their life long, bee not yet halfe so euill, as Priestes that haue wiues. Whiche wholsome doctrine a man maie some tyme heare, not onely of meane learned men, but of some of the hiest learnyng, that holdeth so. Which secret mischief me thinke this man Marten should haue in his head, by the maner of his wri­tyng. For where he laboureth with greate trauaill of his witte, to proue secular Priestes votaries: that the Priestes vowe stan­deth B in this point, sc (neuer to marrie) that is to abiure mariage, and to conteine from mariyng: which vowe some Lawiers and Deuines to, do call, votum negatiuum. Now saie thei, the priest if he Marrie, he surely breaketh his vowe, and is in great daun­ger: but if he committe but adulterie or fornication, he breaketh no vowe, for he vowed but the abiuration of Mariage, and no refusall of fornication, though peraduenture Chastitee maie bee thought to be annexed to his order, by some scrupulous & Pope-holy obseruation: But yet in greate disputation emong theim, whether single fornication be sinne or no, and greate argumen­tes, C pro & contra, and long occupied in the Schooles: yet at the worste he breaketh no vowe, nor is any heretique, as the Prieste that taketh a wife. Suche conclusions beyng so openly expressed in summarie bookes, it is no maruaile though thei repente so sel­dome, and though thei them selues can not trust well one an o­ther of chaste liuyng. For Nicholas Panormitan beyng an head Lawier, and in chief aucthoritie emong them, sawe so little cause by his experience, to bee out of suspition towarde the Clergie, that he geueth a rule to spirituall iudges in this cause, saiyng: that an othe maie neuer be geuen to hym, of whom maie bee ta­ken D a vehement suspicion, that he will breake it: and there vpon geueth a greate charge to the Ordinarie, that he compell not the Clergie to sweare to forsake their Concubines: the Iudge syn­neth deadly, saieth he, to offer and exacte suche othes. And Ale­xander the third, Extra. de cohab. cleri. & mulie: prescribeth it, as [Page 94] A a Lawe, that the Clergie ought not to bee compelled, to abiure their concubines. Thei bothe sawe what presumptions might be taken, that thei would neuer forsake them: yea, there is nothyng more earnestly restrained in their Canons, then that any Prie­stes should haue any womē in their houses: where at the tyme of Nicene Counsaile, and in Ciprians da [...]es, thei were yet conten­ted, that priestes had in their houses, their mothers, their dough­ters, or sisters, or their wiues, but yet no maide beside. So in the latter daies it was decréed, in a Counsaile at Magunce, that thei should haue neither sister, aunte, nor mother in their companie. B For saieth the Counsaile: it is well knowen, that by the instiga­tion of the Deuill, abhomination hath been committed with theim. Thus, though theim selues, were neuer of that belief (for thei sawe by inuincible experience alwaie the contrary) so that thei could not truste thereto them selues: yet the laitie muste be­leue their chastitée, to be of the old auncient faithe of the churche, that thei maie not bee euill thought of: and so commaunded by Nicholas the first in his rescriptes, Tit. 14. de presbyteri. distinct. 28 consulendū. de presbyteris. Vobis qui lai­ci estis, nec iudicandum est, nec de vita eorum quicquam inuesti­gandum. Of the priestes, you that be laye people, maie not once C iudge of theim, nor yet to make any serche of their liues. And to proue that it was the common faithe many hundreth yeres ago, and so accepted by the examples of the higheste potentates of the worlde, as of one of the moste and firste Christian Emperours, that euer was, or euer shall bee, thus it is there written, what he would dooe if he sawe a Busshoppe lye in bedde with an other mannes wife, as Nicephorus telleth the storie. In scripturis nar­ratur, Constantinum Imperatorem dixisse: Vere si vidissem pro­prijs oculis sacerdotem dei. &c. peccantem, chlamidem meam expoliarem, & cooperirem eum, ne ab aliquo videretur. &c. It is D tolde in the scriptures that Constantine the Emperor said thus: Truely if I should see with myne owne eyes Goddes Prieste, or any of those that bee in the habite of Religion to sinne: I would doe of my clocke or purple Robe, and would couer hym, that no man should se him. Lo, this Constātine was our countrie man, the rather should Englishe menne, be good to Priestes Concu­bines. [Page 95] I thinke it would be a greate while, ere this holy Martin A of his Ciuilitée, would extende his charitee so farre, as to cast, to poore maried priestes, any parte of his cloke, to couer their law­full Matrimonie, from the eyes of enuious and ignoraunt peo­ple: as this Emperour of his charitée would couer the Priestes harlottes. But it maketh no matter, seyng that Elie the Prophet hath caste downe the cloke of Gods woorde, to defende the ma­ried Priestes from the colde frosen hartes of wicked ignoraunte Lawiers, and captious Sophisters: Thei neede care the lesse, to come vnder his patched beggars Cloke. But let vs heare what is more saied to the aduauncemente of the catholike faithe? The B self same Constantine beyng presidente in the holie Counsaile of Nice, when he heard that there should be brought to hym cō ­plaintes of certaine Bushoppes, saied openly: Vos a nemine di­iudicari potestis, quia ad dei solius iudiciū reseruamini. Ys maie not be iudged of any man, for ye bée reserued to the iudgemente of God a lone: which catholike saiyng, sainct Gregorie reporteth to Maurice the Emperoure, with some further circumstaunce, thus. The Ecclesiasticall storie, saieth he, witnesseth, that when there were presented certaine libelles of accusation againste cer­taine Busshoppes, to Constantine of Godlie memorie: he tooke C them in his handes, Not the Bu­shoppes, but the L [...]bels. and he called the self same bushoppes before hym, and castyng them into the fire, saied: goe ye and order your owne Counsailes emong your selues. Ego vos non iudicabo, a quibus debeam ipse iudicari, I will not geue iudgemente ouer you, of whom I ought in myne owne persone to be iudged. For it besemeth not our worthinesse, that we should iudge Gods. In whiche sentēce, saith Gregorie, he wrought hym self more honor by his humilitée, then he did to theim, to whom he shewed suche reuerence. Although yet my Lorde of Winchester write, quam vocem, presentis reuerentia virtutis, non potestatis aliquādo ex­presserat, D whiche saiyng declared more the humilitée of his presēt vertue, then expressed the truthe of his aucthoritie. The vtteryng of whiche his affection, ought not so to be forced (saieth my lorde) that ye should mocke out or defeate the charge committed by God to the Princes aucthoritie. Dioretus lib. i. cap. xx. reporteth [Page 96] A an other maner of saiyng, by hym spoken (whereof thei li [...]e to make no greate boste) to the Bushoppes of Nicomedia. Si habe­mus Episcopos castos, orthodoxos, humanos, gaudemus: & si quis audacter inconsulte (que) ad memoriam, ac laudem pestiū illa­rum exarserit, illius statim audatia, ministri dei, hoc est, mea exe­cutione coercebitur. If we finde the Bushops chaste, catholique, and curteous, we will be glad: but it any will boldly and rashe­ly reuiue again by his furiousnesse, the pernicious examples that be paste, his presumption shall bee restrained, by iuste execution of my self, that am Goddes minister. But these saiynges bee no­thyng B so pleasaunt, nor so often vttered of Emperours and kyn­ges, as that other, whiche Pope Paule the thirde, in his admoni­tion to Charles Emperour that now is, could repeate again as his predecessours hath alwaies been wonte: but the tymes bee chaunged, and Popes maners be knowen to wel in these daies.

Furthermore, saieth the saied Gregorie, seyng GOD in his scripture, geueth them suche honor, that he him self calleth them Goddes or Angelles: what maruaill though you honour them? And thus we constitute, saieth he, as well generally, as special­ly for all Priestes. For that excellente Preacher Paule biddeth, C Iudge not before the tyme. Yea, and that thei should not faile, of their full due honour in deede: it was decreed in a Synode, cal­led Consilium Matisconense secundum, about the tyme of Pope Pelagius the seconde, where ye maie reade a letter of kyng Gun­tran, (by whose licēce and aucthoritie, Guntranus rex [...] thei made that Counsaile) what primacie and aucthoritie he expressed ouer that Clergie, as muche as euer was vsed in this realme yet, as newe as menne would make it. The number of bushoppes gathered there, were aboue fourtie, whiche made a iolie Gaudeamus omnes in domi­no, betwene theim selues, that thei had wonne of the kyng, a li­bertie D in Counsaile to see one an other: thus thei decreed. ca. xv. If a laye man should meete in the waie some better man of the Clergie, the Laye manne should in the lowest maner of curtesie stoupe reuerently, and bowe downe to hym: if the Laye man be on horse backe, and the Priest also, then the Laye man to put of his hoode of his head, and doe his duetie of sa [...]utation. But if the [Page 97] prieste be on foote, and the laye man on horse backe, incontinen­tly A he muste light from his horse, and performe his due honour to the said Clarke. Now to binde this holy Canon the stronger, in the ende thereof it is knitte vp thus: Qui vero horum quae spirtu sctō dictante sancita sunt, transgredi voluerit: ab Ecclesia, quam in suis ministris dehonorat, quādiu Episcopus illius eccle­siae voluerit, suspendatur: Whatsoeuer he be that shall trāsgresse these Canons, whiche bee decreed by the inspiration of the holie ghost: This Kyng was long be­fore King Henry the 8. or King Ed­ward either, yet had their Iudgement. let hym bee suspended out of the Churche, whiche he will not honour in her ministers, euen so long as shall please the bu­shoppe of that See. But now in the ende of that Counsaile com­meth B in the kyng, and telleth, that how so euer thei haue proui­ded for their priestes, if thei couer their sinnes, or will cloke them with their Spirituall marchandise, if thei will not reforme them by the Canons, whiche he calleth his decrées: he would haue his temporall Iudges take theim in hande: And euen there inioy­neth bothe the Bushoppes and their Priestes too, that betwene theim thei should prouide, that his people bee taught the woorde of GOD, and that euery Sondaie, or els &c.

Thus good reader, though I maie bee tedious in recityng a fewe places out of the churche lawes, as ther be wonderfull ma­ny C of this vaine: yet to ease thine eares I will heare ceasse. But yet I desire thee to pardone my fault. For seeyng this Ciuilian hath taken so muche paine to bring in so many lawes and Ca­nons in his booke, meanyng therby be like to haue thee learned in the counselles and determinations of the Churche, to helpe somwhat his godly zeale in the furtheraunce of thy teachyng, I haue added some more to his, to make thine vnderstandyng the better: And to make thee see, that although this Ciuilian would haue thee thinke, that he is onely seen in the lawe Cā none, and woulde winne the name at thy hande that he can all, and that in D Paris he hath seen all: yet thou maist see that he hath not rehear­sed all, not be an infinite nombre, of as good stuffe as this is, or of his either, if a man would take paine in so gostly a matter. Yea, if the third man came in betwixt vs twaine, and would holde on neither sides, like a good indifferēt man, but would be a pacifier [Page 98] A betwixt vs, or a newtrall to vs bothe: ther is yet left matter in the textes and gloses inough to hold, pro & conta, to saie what ye will: So stable and constaunt bee their determinations and sai­ynges: So throughly maie a manne builde his conscience vpon Church lawes and Canons, for suer determination. In so much that it is saied by Petrus Cantor Parisiensis, De verbe ab­br [...]u [...]o. that Alexander the Pope, (not he that firste deuised the holye water for Spirites, but an other Alexander) should saie: that if he were moued with like reason and probabilitie, he would bee as readie to iudge for a negatiue, as he was before for the affirmatiue. For whiche B cause saieth he, because positiue iustice is so mutable and incon­stant, that ye can not be fully resolued therin, M. Iuo Carnoten­sis, of pure indignation and anger of hart, threwe the booke of Churche decrees at his feete, as vile and vnprofitable. And ther he saieth, that one Canon is derogated, by the contrarietie of an other: Some tyme by the silent consent of the Rome Churche, And some tyme by the vse of the contrarie.

Wherfore saieth he, the best waie is, to recourse, as Esai did­deth, to y ^e testimonie of God, & to his lawe: to alledge out of that, whose power cā no mans aucthoritie withstand or deny: Where C the decrées be very moueable, in that thei be written and grauen in the cheste of the breast of the lorde Pope, that he may interpret theim whiche waie he will, and that must be law to be sticken to, what soeuer it be. For Christ (pardie) will not permit his imme­diate vicare to erre, accordyng to the scripture: Ego pro te rogaui ne deficiat fides tua. I haue praied for thee, that thy faithe should not faile. Yet this lawier taketh away al authoritie frō scripture to be a iudge in matters of disputatiō, though S. Augustine euer more called vpon the Donatistes & such other, De vnitate Ecclesiae ca. [...]6. to stand to the iud­gemēt of the scriptures, and said plainly, as bewriteth. Quia nec D nos ꝓpterea dicimꝰ, nobis credere oportere, quia ī Ecclesia Chri­sti sumus, aut quia ipsam q̄ tenemus cōmendāt Mileuitanus Op­tatus, vel Mediolanēsis Ambrosius▪ [...]el alij innumerabiles nostre communionis Episcopi, aut quià nostrorum collegarum cōcilijs ipsa praedicata est &c. Non ideo ipsa manifestatur catholica. Sed ipse dominus Iesus cum resurrexisset a mortuis, & discipulorum [Page 99] oculis videndum, manibus tangendum Corpus suum offerret: A ne quid tamen fallaciae separati arbitrarentur, magis eos testimo­niis legis & Prophetarum, & Psalmorum, confirmandos esse iudicauit. For wée saie not our selues, that therefore of necessitie we muste bee beleued, because we are in the Churche of Christ, because we hold that churche whiche is commended and appro­ued by Optatus Bushop of Mileuitane, by Ambrosius bushop o [...] Millan, or by other innumerable Bushoppes of our owne Com­munione: or els for that it is so set forthe in the counsailes of our bretherne in office with vs. The Lorde Iesus hymself, after he was risen from the deade, and after he had offered his bodie to B his Disciples, both to their seing and to their fealyng: yet leste thei might fansie that thei were holden with some Fallax or de­ceipt, he thought it more conuenient, to haue them confirmed by the testimonies of the lawe, and of the prophetes and Psalmes.

Yet notwithstandyng this assertion of sainct Augustine, and o [...] many other suche in their writynges, this Lawier maketh it h [...]s cheife ground to stand on, and setteh it for one of his first prin­ciples: that the churche can not erre, and that the determination thereof, is a moste sufferaigne remedie against heresies. Now ye knowe out of what church he draweth his testimonies of lawes C and Canons. Cap. 4. [...]rā. D. iij. .i. Really pre­sent. The Counsails saieth he must nedes haue the holy Ghost: and that Christ is reallie present there: and therefore it is the readie meane to abolishe Heresies. And that as the Churche, so must we of necessitie be driuen to demaunde and stonde to the sentence of generall Counsails: and that the woorde of God can not be iudge, but is to beare witnes onely of the matter.

Now if ye will graunt hym suche groundes, in the begin­nyng of his tale, and to sticke to suche argumentes as he dedu­ceth out of the scriptures: full substancially bee ye sure, he may th [...]n [...]roue what hym listeth. D

Mary, if he happened of one that had aunswered hym as fro­wardly, as the boy answered one Cayus, a Poet once at Cam­bridge, reader of Terence, then might he seeke for other groun­des, or els those better chosen and applied, to buylde vp his strōg ga [...]e buylding, as it is gorgeously erected.

[Page 100] A Yf ye list to heare the tale, thus it was. Cayus for his plea­sure, plaiyng with a boye of his, beyng a yong sophister, saied that he woulde proue the boye an Asse. Whiche when the boye denied: well ꝙ Caius, thou wilt graunt me this first, that euery thyng that hath two eares, is an Asse. Naie mary maister will I not, ꝙ the boye. No wilt thou not ꝙ Caius: Ah wily boye, there thou wenst beyonde me, for if thou wouldest haue graunted me that, I would haue proued thee an Asse anone. Mary maister ꝙ the boye, ye might well, and so might euery foole doe. Well ꝙ Caius, I will go an other waie to woorke with thee. Thou wilt B graunt me that euerie Asse hath twoo eares. Nay marie will I not maister ꝙ the boye. Why so boye ꝙ he? Marie maister ꝙ the boye, for some Asse may hap to haue neuer one, for thei may bee cut of bothe. Naie ꝙ Caius I giue thee ouer, for thou art to fro­warde a boye for me.

And so if all be graunted that ye would, ye might soone then proue, the parciall reader of your boke, that liketh all that ye say, as wise a beast as Caius would haue proued his boye.

But yet I must beare with this Ciuilian. For he had it not of his owne inuention, but folowed a craftie Romaniste, who firste C deuised this porphiricall assertion, euen pestilente Pighius for so saiyng: that great diuine, the father of all the Sermons & bokes, that bée now a daies written of Papistes in matters of religion. For he pronounceth: That the scripture is of noe certen determination to define any thing. But is like a nose of waxe, whiche ye maye wreste to and fro flexibly to what side ye will, to what sense soeuer ye will haue it agree to, and there to set it. What though, Athanasius cōfesseth the contrarie, saiyng thus: Fateor ego quod ex scripturis, exactior est quam ex caeteris veritatis probatio? I dooe confesse, that there is more exacte proufe and triall of the trueth by the scriptures, In decretis Ni­cem sinodi con­tra Eusebium. then of any other D thinges whatsoeuer: but neither Pighius nor all his faction, care one halfpenie for Athanasius or any of them all, for all their loude criyng to haue them credited infallibly in al their writin­ges, but for their owne purposes. Is not this forsaied saiyng of Pighius an high commendation, thinke ye, to the scripture, thus to trifle a waie the weight and aucthoritie thereof? And yet if ye [Page 101] should aske hym, whether scriptures bée commendable: he could A not for shame saie naye. If ye asked whether it were an vnsuffi­ciente booke to teache all truthe, and to reuince all errour? He would without all shame saie yea.

Euen so, aske hym whether Mariage be honourable and cō ­mendable? He will not saie naye: because he would be seen to es­cape the name of a Tatian. But aske whether Mariage in an vn­aduised votarie, or in a priest no votarie, bee Mariage? He could not in his conscience saie yea, because he pretendeth to bee in so saiyng, a Catholike. But yet in so saiyng, he shall bee a Tatian, and a ranker heretike then Tatian, to prohibite it to theim that B haue not the gifte, but by violence of Lawe.

If he saie that he hath sainct Augustine for hym, De bono vi­duitatis: to whom he appealeth, and so dooeth this counterfeicte Pighius, moste vntruely and contortly: in so muche, that firste I wonder that Pighius pretendyng to be a deuine, for shame would so falsely corrupte the very text of sainct Augustine, as he doeth in his booke of controuersies: And secondely that this Ciuilian would craftily laye awaie the first part of S. Augustines text vn­answered: and trainyng the reader to the latter parte, falsely ex­poundyng it, contrary to the plaine wordes of sainct Augustine, C there and otherwhere ofte repeated, saiyng: That mariages of the ve­rie votaries be Mariages, and not adulteries. And then blow vp the trum­pette of an highe chalenge, Cap. 10. lrā t.r.a. whith saiyng: I demaunde of all the priestes in Englande, and aswell all vnmaried heretiques, as maried Priestes, whether thei will stande throughly vnto sainct Augustines place there cited. &c. Sir, seyng ye vse in your boke so ofte demaundyng therein, and prouoke so stoutely all maner of men to answere your booke, whereby if ye be detected, ye must blame your self: Ye shall heare a shorte an­swere, of a man neither heretique, prieste maried, nor vnmaried, but yet was like to haue been a prieste maried, if the worlde had D not altered: that if thei bee wise, thei will not shrinke from that place of sainct Augustine, for the mistie glose, whiche ye caste v­pon that place. For I praie you, take on your spectacles euen a­gaine: And yet looke more narrowly vpon that place, and exa­mine whether suche matrimonies, euē in them that he votaries, [Page 102] A bee worse then adulteries? Or rather that he saith: the slidynges and fallinges from the holier chastitie, be worse then adulteries. Sainct Augustine saieth these wordes there. Proinde qui dicunt talium nuptias, non esse nuptias, sed potius adulteria, non mihi videntur satis acutè considerare quid dicant: fallit enim eos si­militudo veritatis. &c. Thei that doe saie the mariages of suche, to be no mariages, but rather adulteries, thei appeare to me, not to consider wisely enough what thei saie: for thei bee deceiued with a similitude, and apparaunce of truthe. Chrysostomus ad Theodorum, epistola. Angelorum enim societati semel iunctum B illud relinquere, & vxoris laqueis implicari, adulterij crimen in­currere est. [...]uis frequenter hoc ipsum nuptias voces, ego tamen & illud adulterio, tanto pei [...]s affirmo, quanto maior ac melior est angelus. To forsake that state, whiche is so nearely knitte to the societie and felowship of Angels, and to bee wrapped in the snares of a wife, is, to incurre the faulte of adulterie: & although you neauer so ofte call it Mariage, yet doe I aduouche, that it is so muche worse then adulterie, by howe muche an Angell, is greater and better. Ergo by this aucthorie, thei bee adulterers: respondeo. The Bushoppe of Winchester in his third booke a­gainst C Bucer, noteth vpon this place brought in by Bucer, that he in these woordes consenteth with sainct Augustine de bono viduitatis, and so the manifeste forme of the woordes importeth. Then bee thei not by this aucthoritie affirmed adulterours, and no Mariage, what soeuer blame thei be worthie. Also the forme of suche wordes must be interpreted as Pope Euaristus teacheth. Aliter legitimum non sit coniugium, nisi petatur a parentibus, & sponsetur, legibus dotetur, cum precibus benedicatur & solem­niter accipiatur, biduo & triduo orationibus vacetur. &c. Aliter presumpta, non coniugia sed adulteria, non continentia, sed vel D stupra aut fornicationes potius, quam legitima coniugia esse, non dubitatur. Let it not otherwise be compted lawfull matrimonie, vnlesse it haue the parentes consent, and the parties be trouthed, and accordyng to the lawes endowed, and blessed with praiers, and solemnely receiued, and geue them selues [...]o praier twoo or three daies: for if thei come otherwise together, it is not to bee [Page 103] doubted, that suche are not mariages, but adulteries, not conti­nencie, A but either whoredome, or fornication, rather then lawe­full wedlocke. Astexanus lib. viii. tit. viii. sic interpretatur: Non sic intelligendum quod non sint legitima, sed quod non habent decorem & honestatem debitam, & fiunt cōtra prohibitionem, & sic habent culpam: & hic locum habet quod scribitur. 22. q. 4. Innocen. parag. vnde datur intelligi. &c. It is not so to bee vn­derstande, that thei are not lawfull Mariages, but that thei lack the comelinesse and honestie due vnto theim, and are made a­gainst the prohibition, and so are fautie.

And here now, doe I demaunde once, for your sixe tymes de­maundyng B in your booke, of all the Finers and Goldsmithes in sainct Martines lane in London, and all the counterfettes in Englande to, with all their gaye giltyng, and fine polishyng of a plain peece of Coper: Let me heare what glose thei can set vpō these foresaied wordes, that can so shine and glister to bewitche their eyes that haue halfe their sighte, yea, thoughe thei bee brought but to your halfe lightes, and can not spie what the met­tall is: How faire a peece of glasse soeuer ye sette out gorgiouslie with subtile foyles beneath, to make it appere a faire Diamond aboue, whereby ye deceiue sometyme a good ieweller: Lette me C heare, how ye can make these places before alledged, to teache your wicked, malicious, and slaunderous opinion.

Sir, there ye maie reade, expended so by Erasmus (as well séen in sainct Augustine and Chrysostome and others, Cap. 11. as ye be:) So­lutio voti mala, Cap. 10. coniugium tamen bonū: the breach of the vowe is euill, neuerthelesse the Wedlocke is good. And againe: Quae voto soluto nubunt, dirimi nō debent: suche as marrie after the breache of their vowe, ought not to bee separated. And againe: Quae post votum nubunt, verum contrahunt matrimonium, suche as Marrie after their vowe, contracte true Matrimonie. D

Nowe maister doctor, is ther any man in his right wittes, that will saie S. Augustine here defineth Priestes Mariages, yea, regulars, to bee adulteries? As ye vnlearnedly force sainct Au­gustine to speake? What daunger and blame soeuer it be, that votaries bee worthie for the breache of an holy vowe: yet their [Page 104] A mariages, bee mariages, and good. Maie not I now saie in your owne words, that ye declare your self farre destitute of the grace of God: Not onely vtterly banished from trueth, but also neither to haue conscience at the hart, nor shame in the forhed, whiche so shamefullie do interprete an authour, and to lye so impudentlie as ye do in your tenth Chapiter. T. ij. that sainct Augustine was demaunded whether suche virgins as came to Nunries with a full purpose to liue in perpetual chastitie, betwixt God and them, made a vowe: if suche married, whether their mariages might stand &c. Where haue ye learned that this question was so pro­pounded? B But to this shift ye be driuen, to peruert S. Augustine. But wee shall hereafter, put this, and suche other places, to the iudgement of the reader: And will discusse your Bāberie glose, and vaine distinction, of Votum simplex and Votum solenne. Whiche, though it maie haue his place sometyme: yet in this sai­yng of sainct Augustine simplie it can haue no place, howe so­lempnely soeuer ye sette a face on it. And then he shall iudge whether I refraine not iustly my stomacke, to contorte againe, some suche pretie names, as ye in youre hoote zeale sprinkle vpon poore menne. But it is not the name that chaungeth the C nature of persones, for we bee, as we bee, howsoeuer we list one to name an other.

But sirre, as ye folowe Pighius, or some Sorbonicall deuines iudgemente, and reporte his saiyng blindly, in the expendyng of sainct Augustine: So, belike ye stale awaie with you, when you came last out of Paris, some of their spectacles, and neuer sawe the places your self. So trulie doe ye report the bokes name of sainct Augustine, in this place. For where ye alledge in youre x. Chapiter. Litera. T. i. a. this place to bée in sainct Augustine: de bono coniugali ad Iulianam, a woman: Maister Martine, ye bee D foulie deceiued. For this booke whiche is written, de bono con­iugali, is in the 6 Tome, written contra Iulianum an obscure man and an heritike: and this place, whiche ye report to bee de bono cōiugali, is in the .4. Tome, de bono viduitatis, written as some thinke, by one Iulian a catholike man ad Iulianā a noble & catholike woman, and not as ye say de bono coniugali. But this [Page 105] is a Comon grace in you, vntruely to reporte authors, bookes, A and names, and then boldlie to glose them: Or els, youre vse is to sende vs to bokes that be no where, but in your owne studie: or els to some boke, that is of a dosen long leaues to reade ouer, and yet after our narrowe searche to trie your trueth, not to be founde there neither.

But now if ye can laie that fault to other mennes charges stoutly and lowdlie: then ye thinke no man will beleue, that you be fawtie therwith.

But here maie ye note good readers, how sincerely this man can write of this controuersie: ye maie haue greate trust to his B gloses vpon the text, when belike he neuer sawe the text it selfe, but with other mennes eyes.

I could saie some thing here, euen that same that he obiecteth to other, seyng he misconstrueth his aucthours, misreporteth his allegations, misnameth the persons, feignyng a woman to bee a man, a man a woman, an Heritike a Catholike, and a Catholike an Heritike: and all to this onely ende, that he might frame a probable argumēt, in an vnprobable matter. I trust good reader, thou canste iudge howe to credite his honestie. I would desire this Ciuilian (whom I hate not before God) to be better aduised C in the next booke he shall make of matters of deuinitie, and for conscience sake, not to abuse the eares of the realme, with vn­truthes in Gods causes. Det Dominus nobis omnibus intellec­tum, & illuminet nos, vt cognoscamus in terra viam eius, & sci­amus qùia omnis caro faenum, & omnis gloria eius, tanquam flos agri: Vbi verbum Domini manebit inaeternum. The Lorde graunt vnto vs all, vnderstandyng, and geue vs suche light, that we maie know his waie heere vpon yearth, and haue in minde continuallie, that all fleshe is grasse, and all the glorie therof, as the flowre of the fielde: whereas the worde of the Lorde, endu­reth D for euer.

But ye will saie, it is a small matter to misname one aucthor, or booke, for an other. In deede, the weight of the cause standeth not therin. But how then can ye excuse this by any glose? When ye alledge an aucthors testimonie, and then glose him, and make [Page 106] A hym to saie, that was neuer meante or spoken in the place. If ye long to heare it, Qui nititur mendatijs hic passit ventos prouerbio. 10. Lrā. [...]. i. a. Lrā. k. i. [...]. Lrā [...]. a. a. whereby ye maie beware of light credence here­after, thus it is.

Ye report in youre booke no lesse then thrise, in the seconde, sixt, and eighte Chapiters thereof, one place of Origine on the Numbers: By the whiche wordes ye note substantiallie diuerse worthie matters. First that Origen writeth, that Priestes ought to make vowes: how from the beginnyng Priestes could not be maried. How the Pri­stes standeth at the a [...]er, & therfore must be girded with chastitie. How Orignes place, is a plaine place, for the oblatiō and sacrifice of the Masse, whiche ye note B to be the endlesse sacrifice so ment by Origen.

Now you desire in the true report of this place, and such like to haue all youre credence hange in this cause.

Now good master D. Martin, for al your loude & bold vnsham­faste notyng and glosyng, your reporte is nothyng true, for the mind and purpose that Origen vttereth ther. For neither is your Masse sacrifice once ment, nor priest stāding at thaulter rehersed, neither priest vowyng, nor priestes mariages once dreamed on. If we should now verefie your owne law vpon your self, whiche ye charge vpon others in your booke, Cap. [...]4. saiyng: Semel malus, semper prae­sumitur C malus, in eodem genere mali. A man that is once euill, is euer to be presu­med to be euill, in the same kinde of euill: And then saie to youre self in your owne woordes, where ye haue so vnshamefastlie vttered youre owne vntrueth, thrise stumblyng at one stone. Can ye of reason require vs, to beleue you any more vpon youre owne bare report: that men saie so, that stories tell vs so, others did inuent these matters, and so forthe.

Now if ye yet liste to heare one or twoo more, till wee here­after detecte vnto your owne face a great heape: so many, that if thei were all taken out of your booke, with textes wrasted and craftely curtalde: I durste take in hande, to reade ouer the reste D of your booke deliberatly in an howres tyme, and renne not out of breathe neither.

In the .xiij. Chapiter of his booke, littera kk. ij. pag. ij. he rai­leth on Ponet, as ignoraunte in Lawe Canon, and saieth, he re­porteth and falsifieth the aucthour of his texte, ascribyng it to be of the Bushoppe of Romes saiyng, where it is, he saieth saincte [Page 107] Augustines owne woordes, in a booke written vpon the .xxx. A Psalme. If it be so greate a faulte for a deuine, to father a texte vpon a wronge aucthour, whiche thyng is yet ofte committed by Gratian in the Decrees: How muche more shame is it for a pro­fessed Lawier, to laye it vpon sainct Augustine, that is not found there in his place of the .xxx. Psalme alledged, and yet maie bee clearly perceiued by the text it self, where it is written, that it is not sainct Augustines saiyng, but Gratians verie woordes, as euery blind bussarde maie sone espie, that will see the text it self. And after a triumph made vpon Ponetes ignoraunce, and falsi­fiyng of the aucthoure, to bryng in a shamelesse glose, to saie that B sainct Augustine in that same place saieth, that priestes be boūd, by the Lawe of the Churche, neuer to marrie after Priesthoode: whiche wordes or sense is not meante of sainct Augustine of the Psalm .xxx. For he speaketh onely, but of lottes, how thei bée not euill. &c. and no more is vouched in the decrees, to bee sainct Au­gustines wordes, nor yet did Gratian speaking these wordes, Co­pula sacerdotalis. &c. inferre any suche matter, as doctor Martin would make the reader beleue he doeth. And againe, he belieth S Augustine to referre to hym these wordes. Antequam Euangeliū claresceret. &c. whiche be Gratians woordes, and he also belieth C the woordes, framyng a glose that is not borne of the woordes there. Lo, here ye see his common sinceritée, to finde fault where none is, and to fall in that ouersight, whiche he hymself blameth. Because I will go forward, & for that I haue promised to tel you of some more of his lies: you shall haue a couple shortely couched vp together in the cōpasse of v. or vj. lines at once, so vnlearned­ly, and so vntruely vttered, that I would wonder more at it, if he were not a professour of Lawe onely, and not of Diuinitée.

Lrā. [...]. 3.Looke in his eighte Chapiter, where he sweateth painfully, to shewe that seculare Englishe priestes bee votaries: and to D bryng in strong argumentes, inuincible reasons, of the beste and finest sorte, that it maie appeare to to manifeste, to suche as bee halfe blinde, whiche no man can gainsaie: He putteth the reader in mynde, not to looke in the glasse windowes, I warrant you, but on the priestes verie crounes in Englande, whiche is an in­fallible [Page 108] A euidence, saieth he, that priestes be votaries. For thus he writeth: Euery priest beareth in his croune, y ^e signe of his vowe, like as the Nazarees assone as euer thei had vowed, the shore of straight waie their heere. Now if ye will not beleue hym, except he aduouche aucthoritie for his saiyng, he sendeth you to S. Hie­romes woorkes, and to Isodore, and there finde it, if ye can, and telleth you, that many other olde writers so expound it. But yet, there is some misterie mente, that he nether reporteth any suche, nor yet referreth vs to the place, where specially S. Hierome so writeth. In deede if he had named the place, ye should haue per­ceiued B one inconuenience or twoo, xii. q. r. Duo sunt. whiche had been euidente at the eye: one that he belieth sainct Hierom in this matter, where­by ye should haue espied his truthe, sc, in aduouchyng his doctor: and that ye maie perceiue it, thus saieth sainct Hierom. Priestes be kynges for rulyng themselues, & others in vertue: and thus haue thei a rule and a kyngdome in God. This thyng, saieth he, is tokened by the crounes in their heads. This croune haue thei (affirmeth the saied Hierome) by the institution of the Rome Churche, in token of that kyngdome that is loked for in Christ. And by the shauyng of their heades, saieth he, is meante the de­position, C and laiyng awaie of all their temporalties, and so forth.

Loe good reader, if he had reported S. Hieromes woordes, or would but haue alledged his place where to haue seen it, ye should by and by haue espied his liyng, and beside that, haue séen an other inconuenience, whiche I thynke he would not wishe should bee learned of sainct Hierome, Intelligendum est a [...] Antoninus lib. 3. tr. 23. ca. 5. secundum illa tempora cū viuebant in cō muni Cleri [...], vel de religiosi [...] as eloquent a doctor as he is (nor in good faithe were reasonable for Christes Religion it should bee) that the priestes should forgoe all their temporalties, and stande at the curtesie of mennes deuotions, as it is now a­daies. But yet sainct Hierom maketh that to be the signification D of their crownes: whiche inconuenience, if it should the rather by the busie braine of this Ciuilian chaunce: I dare saie, that al the priestes in Englande, would in good sadnesse beshrewe his pen, and hymself should not muche winne by that neither. For if thei had no temporalties, how could he haue any greate rewardes of them, for writyng his painfull booke. For as for the spirituall [Page 109] blessynges of the head priestes: I thinke verely he is not so gost­ly, A to sette more by theim, then the begger did: whiche desired ra­ther out of the Busshoppes purse, Plati [...]a saith before that [...]aie all the Popes were Martirs and from y ^t daie neuer one since. one poore halfpeny, then twoo of his beste blessynges. Yea, I dare b [...]e bolde to saie, that bothe this Ciuilian, & all the Canonistes to in christendome, had rather suffer the maried priestes with their wiues still, with a very mis­chief, rather then vpon the occasion of rackyng and writhyng of suche textes of doctors, to proue them votaries, thei should bee so farre imperiled: and then if to this opiniō of sainct Hierom, some other newe fangled head should ioyne further matter, Durandus in quarto, dist. 24. q. 4. ton­dentur in signū depositionis su­perflu [...]e curae, quia verò pre­perunt ad mi­nisterium dei, [...]ui seruire re­g [...]are est, ideò [...]aduntur in modum coronae que est signum regale: Religiosi vero nō appli­ [...]antur ad mi­nisteriū diuinū. v [...]de walden [...]ira witcliffe, [...]itu. 7. ca. 64. de Ordinis Sa­ [...]amentalibus Fol. 139. to reporte what that heretike, either Platina or Valla writeth of good sainct B Catholike Constantines gifte of his patrimonie, for healyng of his corporall Leprosie: what dolorous voyce was hearde, when Pope Siluester accepted it: Surely, the more of suche matter, the worse. I truste though this Ciuilian affirmeth plainely, that all the slepyng Canons of the Churche, bee awake againe, to bite the married priestes, by the Queenes graces statute of repeale: yet he would not wishe suche slepyng saiynges of Doctors, to be raised vp, to barke so odiously as the wordes pretendeth. It is an olde saiyng: Malum, bene conditum, ne moueas, that is: Sturre not vp an old mischief, once well buried, muche like to this En­glishe C Prouerbe: It is ill to wake a bityng bandogge. Well, thus ye see that he hath wonne nothyng, either to hym self, or to the crowned priestes, by aduouchyng sainct Hierome, as crafte­ly as he reporteth his name, and suppresseth where to finde it. But what shall we saie to Isodore: peraduenture he saieth that priestes crounes, signifieth their vowe: here I doe saie, that Iso­dore saieth not so. But if our Englishe pōtificall had knowen it so, I thinke that where it bryngeth in thre or foure significatiōs of Priestes crownes, it would not haue ouerleaped that signi­fication, especially, for that it should seme, that be reporteth the D aucthoritie of his saiyng, either out of Hugo de sancto victore, or els out of Isodore. For there it is reported, that it is a signe in the priestes, that thei be elected into one portion of godly ministerie, and that their heere is shorne in maner of a rounde crowne, and their heade shauen a lofte, to expresse the regalitie in Christe, [Page 110] A and also to signifie, that there maie be no coueryng betwixt God and them: but that the prieste maie see the glory of his maiesties open face. For a clarke saieth he, maie not be ignoraunt of gods secretes, as the Laye man maie bee: for he is a messenger to the Laye people, and therefore this superfluous heere must bee tor­ced awaie, euen to the sight of his eyes and eares, that no world­ly businesse, nor yearthly ambition hinder hym from hearyng and vnderstandyng Goddes woorde. These be all the significa­tions that bee in the pontificall: and if ye tourne ouer bothe the gloses and the textes in the decrees, where priestes crownes bee B intreated of, ye shall finde no suche signification, as he reporteth here to be a strong argument, to proue Englishe priestes vota­ries. As for other writers what thei be. I can not tell, and sear­chyng emong many, I can not finde that signification. Yet after that, I went to other kynd of writers in suche matters, and came to one Petrus Bercharius, who wrote a greate Dictionarie of woordes in diuinitie, and there he writeth thus of crownes, sai­yng: Quod corona praelatorum est dignitas Ecclesiastica: vel etiā quorumlibet iuste praesidentium & magnorum. Isti enim ad lit­teram portant coronas, que sunt signa dignitatis & excellentiae C status sui: quod etiam ipsa natura videtur facere, quia Basiliscus qui est rex serpentum, dicitur esse quodam circulo candido coro­natus. &c. The crowne of prelates, and all other that beare rule and be greate men, is their Ecclesiasticall dignitie. For these af­ter the letter doe weare crownes, whiche are hadges and tokens of the dignitée and excellencie of their estate. The whiche thing, Nature also her self semes to shewe: for as the Basiliske, whiche is king of serpentes, is said to haue a crowne of a certaine round white circle. &c. But of that signification of vowes, he speaketh not a woorde. And furthermore, where Doctour Martine in the D same place of his Booke, telleth you that the Heretiques in Spaine, abhorred to weare crownes, and to go in priestes gow­nes: If ye will knowe the trueth of this matter, ye muste either stande to his credence, that he can not lye, and that all is aucthoritie that he speaketh: Or els, if ye be more froward, and will not bee aunswered: then ye maie goe into Spaine and looke [Page 111] ouer the Chronicles your self, or els peruse ouer the Counsails A that were kept at Tollet in Spaine, as there bee a good dosen, with the more that haue been kept there, and so reported in the volumes of the Counsailes, hauing some of them aboue three score Canons apeece, and some one of these Canons, as long al­most as the whole foure score and foure Canons that be ascribed to the Apostles.

But yet here is a prudence. While you that be soe slowe in credit, except ye see it proued in deede, truely thus stand in a ma­meryng of his doctrine: he winneth a good tyme in the hartes of other gentle readers of his booke. And so, when thei be grounded B in their opinion: then ye come to late to sta [...]e them, when it is so déepely suncke in their heades alreadie.

Well. First note how he saieth, that as soone as the Naza­reans made their vow, thei shore of streight waie their he [...]re. M. Martine, what deuine in Paris tolde you that? In scripture ye shall find, that all the tyme of their vowe, thei kept on their heere still, and did not shaue it of. As Sāpson▪ was a Nazarean, of whō it is writtē. Iud▪ 13. es. 16 O [...]igines in le­uiti. ca. 20. ho. 11 De naz [...]reis scripta sunt, vt comani [...]a [...]tis nutrirent nec ascenderet ser­ [...]uper caput [...], toto voti sui tempore. Ibid. nazareo­rum vota non perpetua. Ferrum nunquam ascendit super caput meum, quia Nazareus, id est, Domino consecratus sum. There neuer came Raser vpon my head, because I am consecrated to the Lorde. So C that this is an vntrue and an vnlearned surmise, to saie that thei shore of their heere, as sone as thei had vowed: and that thei wer shorne in the tyme of their vowe: Where it is plain, that thei did not shaue their heades, till their vowe was past and finished. As apeareth manifestlie in the sixt of the numbers.

Moreouer the name of Nazareans, was not giuen them, for shauyng of their heere: but for the contrarie. That is, for the norishyng of their heere. For, Epiphanius [...]ū ­tra [...] li. 3. to. 2, H [...]r [...]si. 80. pag. 317. ho [...] testatur de Nazar [...]is. Vbi seribit hi­storia Eccesia­stica Petri Co­mestoris, vnde sorte quidam pingant christīs & Aplōs cri­nitos. Idem cō ­firmat Breuilo­quus aegregius author ī verbo Nazareus. Ibid. idem Pe­trus ca. 8. dicit Leuitas rafisse omnes pilos carnis sue in [...] capill [...]. Nezer, signifieth in Hebrue, as some men deriueth the worde Comam, that is the heere or bushe of a mannes head. And, Nazareus, quasi dicas Comatus: A Na­zarean, D is, as if thou shuldest saie, one that kéepeth on his heere, and suffereth it to grow still. As Moyses saieth: Nume. 6. Omni tempore consecrationis suae, nouacula non ascendet super caput eius, &c. Sanctus erit crescente caesarie capitis eius. All the tyme of his consecration, there shall no raser passe vpon his heade, he [Page 112] A shall be holy, sufferyng the heere of his head to growe. [...] redire poter [...]t.

Then ye see how aptlie the Priestes of England foloweth the examples of the Nazareans in shauyng their littell crownes on their heades. It should be rather a token (if suche trisles should be aduouched for argumentes) that priestes be no votaries, and that it is well proued, by the shauyng of their heere in their crownes, folowyng the examples of the Nazareans, which after their vowe was doen and performed, did shaue their heades.

God commaunded the Priest in the Leuiticall lawe, as ap­peareth Leuit. xxi that thei should shaue neither head nor beard, B because suche shauyng was a signe of heathen, and Idolatrous Priestes: who vsed so to dooe, in the seruice of their false Gods. And for this cause, saie the expositors, was it so commaunded, to the detestation of their Idolatrie, and that Goddes Priestes should bee vnlike to them. And for this cause also (writeth some Interpretatours) did not the Nazareans shaue their heades in the tyme of their consecration. And that the pagane Priestes, did vse that rite, Chap. 6. it maie appeare both in the prophet Baruch, as also in the 55. Chapiter of the counsaile holden at Liberta. If ye now expende this matter, ye maie note, how muche learned diuini­tie C appeareth to bee in this Ciuilian, and how good a significa­tion he hath brought vs to, for englishe Priestes holy crownes. Ye see then, that thei can not bee like the Nazareans, except he referreth this maner of shauyng to the facte of Sampson a Na­zarean, who because he doted so muche vpon the strumpet Dali­la, and bewraied Gods counsaile to her: she thervpon shaued him in the crowne, as thei saie, and confounded hym, wherby his strength was abated, and the spirite of God departed from hym, and he was afterward one spirite with an harlot. And so he for­saking the institution of God (by sufferyng his heere of cōsecra­tion D to be shorne from hym, whiche should haue growen stil all the tyme of his vowe) God forsooke hym, & he was caste into the handes of the Philistines: who (throughe his owne folly) deluded hym most shamefully, and made a laughyng stocke of hym, and so by that meanes, he gaue the occasiō, that gods name was spit­fullie blasphemed. Whereof yet at the last he repented, and died [Page 113] constantly, in reuengyng Goddes enemies. But peraduenture A Martine ment of those Nazareans of whom sainct Augustine speaketh: De heresibus Heresi. 9. who though thei confessed Christe to bee the sonne of God: yet thei obserued the Iewishe constitutions of the law car­nallie, not spiritualy. Whose disciples yet to be, peraduenture would not muche mislike those crowned Priestes, forasmuche as that smalie Iewishe faulte maie bee seen in their holy father, of whom thei beare that marke. For Pope Gregorie the seconde, beyng asked of Boniface thapostle of the Germans, whether thei might eate Horses, yea, or naie: He aunswered, that it was vn­lawfull to a christen man, to eate any horse, either tame or wild, B for it was vncleane and accursed. And the same Boniface asking of Pope Zacarie, what foules and beastes thei should eate, and after what time Lard should be eaten: To the first he answered, that Pies, Choughes, and Storkes, ought vtterly to be eschued, of christen men, but muche more Graies, Hares, & Horses, of the wood, must be refused. And further, sēdeth hym in these doubtes to the scripture emong the Iewes constitutiōs. As for the Lard, he writeth to hym, although he haue no scripture for it, yet he doeth aduise him, that it be not eaten, before it be either dried by the smoke, or sodain by fier. And if he leste to eate it rawe, it must C be doen after Easter. Now, whether S. Augustine maie meane of suche constitutions, let M. Martine expende. But to returne, it maie chaunce that this Ciuilian, to aduouche his other saiyng, will outface the matter, with the Spanishe stories or counsailes in Spaine, to proue the maried Priestes in England, to bee like the Apostatas and Heretikes in Spaine. And then ye knowe, he hath soore charged theim with an hainous name, beside the note of dissolute contempt, of good and auncient orders in the church, and saie: that of verie like crafte and subtiltie belike, thei put awaie their crownes, as other Heretikes and Scismatiques, put D forthe laye mennes bokes out of churches, by whiche thei might haue read many a good Catholike lesson, if thei had remained still. And euen so might the Laye people, by beholdyng the prie­stes shauen crownes, haue had a faire letter thereof, to haue red there, that thei had vowed chastitee. For what els, might thei say [Page 114] A doeth that faire wéekely shorne marke, and circle declare, so well looked vpon, that at euery sacryng of the Masse, it is as sone, and as well espied, as the Sacramente, the whiche some poore simple purblynde people, doe some tyme mistake the one for the other, and in stede of their wheatē God, worship a baulde crowne. And if it were not a signe of the holy vowe of their chastitée, ye maie bee sure, that that holy Pope Anicetus .xiij. yea, full .xiiij. hun­dreth yere agoe, so nye Christes tyme, that he was the tenth, as sainct Hierome recordeth, or the eleuenth Bushoppe of Rome at the furthest, in succession to Peter: He I saie, would neuer haue B ordained, that a clarke should in no case suffer his héere to grow, contrary to the precept of the Apostle (as Platina writeth) and so to haue a crowne fashioned like a little circle, as Petrus de Na­talibus writeth, and Cronica Martini aduoucheth the same: If there had been no misterie in the matter. The priestes of the Ca­tholike Churche, would not so ofte in their Masses, haue crossed it and blessed it, with the self same parte of the paten of the Cha­lesse, where with a little before, thei had touched the Masse cake, whiche thei call the bodie of Christe: If it were not an holier to­ken, then master Polidore maketh of it, to bee but a signe of the C paryng awaie of the affection of worldely possessions, and that their affectiōs should be set on high vp to heauenward. And thus ye see, maie this Catholike Ciuilian saie, how craftely the here­tikes meant to blotte out suche letters of credence, whiche were signes of their vowe of Chaslitée: and so remoued the olde mar­kes and dooles, whiche the fathers before them did laye: whiche full many an holy man hath vsed, tyme out of minde, in al ages, and in all countries, euen from Anicetus daies, who died a glo­rious martyre, and not like to dye for trifles. Good reader, if I should make no answere, to this weightie conference, but stande D mute: or if I should stily slide, and steale awaie with a by matter, with a craftie figure, called lieger du Mayne, this aucthoure be­yng so well skilled in this trope and figure: I should bee espied. For it is hard haltyng before a crepell, thei saie, for then straight waie, should the victorie bee proclaimed againste the cause. And therefore I must saie somewhat.

[Page 115]First I answere, that this Ciuilian shamefully slaundereth A the maried priestes, to resemble them like to the hereticall prie­stes of Spaine, that will weare no crownes, nor put on gownes. And againe, it is as vntrue, that the Englishe crowned priestes, be like the Catholike priestes, that of olde tyme were in Spain. For what storie or Chronicle he followeth, I call not tell, nor it forceth not muche, though I neuer knewe. But I reade in a Counsaile of Spaine, euen at Tolet, the fourth Counsaile and fourtie Canon, thus. Omnes clerici, vel lectores, sicut Leuitae & sacerdotes, detonso superius capite toto, inferius solam circuli coronam relinquant: Catholike priestes in England bee like Heretike priestes in Spaine. Non sicut hucus (que) in Gallitiae partibus face­re B lectores videntur, qui prolixis vt laici comis, & solo capitis a­pice, modicum circulū tondent. Ritus enim iste, in Hispanijs huc­us (que) hereticorum fuit. Vndè oportet, vt pro amputando ab ec­clesiis scandalo, hoc signum dedecoris auferatur. Et sit vna ton­sura, vel habitus, sicut totius Hispaniae est vsus. Qui autem hoc non custodierit, fidei catholicae reus erit.

Let all Clarkes, or readers, aswell the Leuites as Priestes, shaue of the vpper parte of their whole heade, and leaue but one­ly a crowne of a little circle beneathe: not as the readers bee seen to doe, to this daie, in the partes of Gallitia, whiche doe but shaue C a little circle in the onely tippe of their heades, and haue beside longe heere, as Laye menne haue. For this rite and custome in Spaine, to this daie, is the heretikes guise and token. Where­fore it is necessary, for the abholishyng of this slaunder from the churche, that this signe or shame be taken awaie, and that there bee one rasure, and apparell, as is the guise of all Spaine. And whatsoeuer he bée, that will not obserue this, he shall bee guiltée against the catholike faith. Thus farre the Spanishe Counsaile.

Now reade the woordes of this Ciuilian, and compare his truthe, and remember againe his owne Lawe: Qui semel malus, D semper praesumitur malus, in eodem genere mali: He that once is euill, is supposed euer to be naught, in that kinde of naughtines. And then lette hym recken on the winnyng, to see what he hath wōne to him self, and what the maried priestes haue lost therby.

Ye maie also spie good catholike shorne priestes in England [Page 116] A in the high tippe of your heades what ye haue wonne, also how ye be honested by your marke. For this Spanishe Counsaile af­firmeth, by the instincte of the holy Ghost, whiche was president in the Counsaile, and therfore could not erre, that it is the marke of shame and dishonour: it is the token of Spanishe heretikes, it is a slaunderous signe, to bee abolished out of the Churche: it is the rite of suche Priestes as bee guiltie of the Catholike faithe. Hath not this youre Proctour and prolocutour thincke ye, dooen you muche pleasure, so sodenly to come out of Fraunce, to sette his penne, post hast, to the booke, to make you Spanishe Hereti­ques, B Scismatikes, and vncatholikes? Heere I would wishe the Commenter of the decrées and decretals, with al his distinctiōs, to take this matter to glose, to make it whole and sound.

But maruell not (good reader) though if he appere not much to care though he bee taken. Taken? Nay, taken onely will not suffice. Or els that he thinketh, that he can not bee reproued in that thing, whiche to searche for, in the triall of it, must cost you the reading and looking ouer all sainct Hieroms woorkes, and Isodore beside: and many other old writers also, yea the Spanish Libraries too, if we should seke whither he may seme to send vs.

C But here peraduenture, this graue Ciuilian will be offen­ded, with suche my woordes, and interprete my saiynges to bee scoffes, and not weightie argumentes: and that he will quarell, that it is talke, suche as menne spende for pastime, rather then deliberate debatement of so weightie a cause.

In deede to cōfesse a trueth: When I had considered the odi­ous and impudent countenaunce of his preface, the swingyng taile of his lamentable conclusion, the mōstrous bodie betwixt bothe: and then againe, meruelyng where and how he had got­ten so muche matter, and pregnauncie of witte, farre aboue that D which I loked would haue been in hym by this daie, by the gesse of the talke that I had last with him: & consideryng that he doeth somwhat more then scoffe or boorde, in diuerse partes of his boke, as if I should so beastly scoffe with the serious & reuerēt articles of our faith, drawyng them to such an obscéen and filthie sense, as he doth raile in his .ix. Chapiter, of Carnis resurrectionem, & vi­tam [Page 117] eternam. Uerely if he called me Pighius, or Pogius, or Por­phyrius, A or Iulianus, he might well doe it. And then consideryng hym to bee a yonge man and a Ciuilian: I could not refraine my penne, but thus sportyngly, to bee a Comentar of his booke.

And yet sir, to alledge a Poetes aucthoritie, to a Ciuilian, whose worde hath yet no greate aucthoritie: Ridentèm dicere verum quis vetat? & hae nugae seria ducunt. A wiser man then we bothe be, maie some tyme ride on a long réede, & yet keepe graui­tée of countenaunce, when he cometh where grauitée should bee shewed: as some haue doen here in Englande before now, in as serious matters as these bee, by open writinges, wherewith I B dare sweare, not all of the Clergie hath been muche offended he­therto. And if ye will learne how tollerable it is in writyng, ye maie resort to sir Thomas Moores first Chapiter of his Dialogue of ꝙ I, and ꝙ he, and he will proue it vnto you. I am sure, your selfe, as hye as ye now caste vp your head, will come lower some tyme, when ye be pleased, and that ye repent ye not of your own merie scoffyng, in many partes of your booke, whiche bee some­tyme not merie bourdes, but sharpe checkes, and daungerous tauntes to. Uerely M. Martin, the discoloured insolencie of your booke, put me in remembraunce of some Poetrie: Scribimus in­docti C doctique poemata passim. Semper ego auditor tantum, nunquam ne reponam. &c? Whiche drewe my penne, whether I would or no (as before this daie, it neuer was occupied for any printed ware) to bungle with you.

But yet for the truthe of all that I saie: if ye finde any thyng misreported, and not truly aduouchyng myne aucthorities: I de­sire you to tell it in your nexte booke, as sharpely as ye can. And if ye will beare with me, for my mirthe nowe, as I beare with yours, whiche I do interprete, that ye vsed it to solace your self, & to holde the reader of your booke from wearinesse, to medle some D softer musike, emong the dint and dinne of your terrible greate Canons, shotyng nothyng but haile shotte, all the tyme of your stoute debellation of this your wonne fortresse, where in no man was to resiste you: and that is a valiaunt conquest, who can saie nay: I will so rule my penne in my next booke (if almightie God [Page 118] A will so haue it) that ye shall, I truste, perceiue your self grauely answered. And not so muche you, but all others graue writers, and deuines in déede by profession, of whō in parte, you stole your booke: that this matter shall not so obscurely be strangeled vp, but that it shall shewe bothe life and light.

And yet (good reader) I desire thee, impute not this to any ar­rogancie, as though I would aduaunce my self so high, of myne owne poore readyng and vnderstandyng: but the graue and ve­rie Catholike writers, in the first beginnyng of the churche, shall be my warrant, not as aucthours and iudgers of the scriptures: B but as good faithfull witnesses, in their confessions of the same. So that, I trust, the harmony shall not mislike indifferent men, though I hit not all my purpose. But now againe, further to shewe your dexteritee (master Martin) in aduouching your alle­gations: ye tel vs very pretely, how in the Librarie of Magdalen College at Oxforde, there is an olde booke written of Ignatius: wherein is not expressed, that Paule is named for a maried mā, to haue had a wife, although the Heretikes of Germanie haue corrupted hym in the printed copies, ꝙ you.

If ye be asked who tolde you so? we maie knowe, that master C doctor Smithe in his wise booke, written against Priestes Ma­riages, hath reported so, and many good studentes and worship­full menne, that hath been felowes in that College, can tell (saie ye) that thei haue had a written copie of Ignatius. Sin this maie be true▪ and yet you may lye to say that Paules name is not there▪ But now, good reader, leste yet thou shouldest take vpon thee, to iourney so far thether, to seeke and finde hym how true he is in his tale: he dis­courageth thee of goyng thether, for he telleth thee euen there, that parhaps some brother of late yeres, hath stolen the booke a­waie out of the Librarie, and loe, thus thou mightest lose thy la­bour. And therefore searche no further, neither spende any la­bour D to trye hym, but simply trust all that he telleth thee. Is not this a proper allegation thinke ye, and well handled? But yet ye must beleue, that ye see not with your eyes: for Beati qui non vi­derunt & crediderunt: blessed are thei that haue beleued, though thei neuer sawe it. Yea, ye must thinke that he reporteth all thin­ges vprightly in all his allegations, specially in Lawe Ciuile [Page 119] and Canon, wherein he is moste skilled: in stories, wherein he is A so depely traueled: and in expoundyng of scriptures, wherein he is wonderfull, as he handeleth sainct Paules place to Timothe: te ipsum castum custodi, kepe thy self chast: so purely, with suche integritee, that Lyranus, & Hugo Cardinalis (as greate bunglers as thei be) thought to be of some (but yet be worthie the praise) be ashamed so to expoūde the places there. But yet he setteth suche an earnest glose of his owne head, that ye would thinke he must needes bée of hym self an incomparable deuine, and exactly seen in the Greke tongue, in the Greke commentaries and schoolies, as ye know by the exposition of Nazareus. He is throughly well B seen in the Hebrue tongue, vnderstandyng all the Rabines ri­tes and customes to the vttermoste. In Rhetorike he is incom­parable throughout all his booke. As if ye liste to haue the sight but of one proofe, looke in the beginnyng, where he confuteth doctor Ponettes boke, Cap. xi. littera [...]i [...]. b. whiche is but sixe shetes of paper, wher­of three leaues bee yet voide, and printed in octauo, in a verie greate letter, bothe the Latine texte, and Englishe.

Yet this Rhetorician saieth, by a colour of Rhetorike, that if he should make but a collection of the vntruthes of that booke onely, it might growe to a iuste volume, of no small quantitée. C Loe, now ye see how by Rhetorike he can make of a Gnatte a Camell. If he should but pike out the lyes in that booke, and leaue all the reste, it would amounte in bignes, all the Lawe Pandectes, and greate houge volumes he hath in his study. And yet I durste vndertake, to printe in sixe onely leaues of his owne booke, with some printe that is there, all the whole booke of D. Ponettes, from toppe to taile, bothe truthes, and those which he calleth vntruthes. But this is his Rhetorike whereof he is full, vp to the chynne. In Logique he is so well seen, specially in Ari­stotils Elenches, that no man can goe beyonde hym in Paralo­gismes D and Fallacies: for how sone espied he doctor Ponet, reaso­nyng a non causa ad causam, in suche a cause, causelesse quarel­lyng, that yet remedilesse it will appeare I feare, in moste of the Clergie, a cause in deede that was alledged for a cause. And for an other proofe, see how aptly (specially for the tracte of his pro­cesse) [Page 120] A he bryngeth in an argumente a forc [...]ori in his tenth Chapi­ter, Cap. x [...]. litera v [...]ij a. it is wonderfull if ye resolue it by it selfe, it be [...]yng to vn­reasonable strong. And as for Arithmetike, his witte passeth. If ye will see a triall of it, how connyngly by addition, and subtrac­tion, by diuision and multiplication, he sheweth a proofe: looke in the thirtene chapiter, Lrā. [...]. 4. a. littera L.i. where in the very ende of his booke, to make the matter quite out of doubte, that it were no­thyng expediente for this realme to haue priestes mariages suf­fered, though neither scriptures, Lawes, Counsailes, and De­crees, before brought in by hym, might fortune not to appeare B so inuincible, to disproue the saied mariages, to the iudgemente of them that be learned: Or for that thei could not bée comprised of suche simple soules, as bee not skilled in so high learnyng, to see that waight: yet for that he would so open the matter at the eye, to euery man, though he had no more witte, then hym self hath, that it were not at the leaste waie, meete for the policie of the Realme, for the perill of hunger that might ensue for wante of foode, for suche innumerable multiplication, as were like to growe thereof, if it should be suffered: so greate, that neither this Realme, nor any other, were able to nourishe them: no, to holde C them (he saieth.) He maketh marueilous demonstrations on his fingers, or with his counters, that it cā not be auoided. For ima­gine, saith he, that there be of suche maried persons in the realme twelue thousande, or sixtene thousande. Note firste the witte of this accomptor. If he had firste begon with sixtene, and then if it had been thought somewhat to muche, to haue been contente to come doune to twelue thousande, and vpon that to haue procea­ded, then had it been customable: but then had it not been halfe so subtill and wittie a poincte in suche accōptyng. For ye knowe, euery foole in the gesse of twoo nombers, vseth for concessions D sake, to take the lesse, and so goeth on. Againe, note that this ac­compter leapeth with one iumpe, from twelue, straight waie to xvi. For iii. or iiii. M. ye knowe, is but a small nōber to put out or in, in xii. or xvi, as afterwarde in the conclusion, he leapeth from tenne thousande, to twelue, from twelue to twentie thousande.

Furthermore, he put the case, that one with an other, hath had [Page 121] three children a peece: although, he saieth, many haue had foure A or fiue, in these fiue yeres laste paste. If ye aske hym how he kno­weth that? Marie sir, he was at the deliuery of them all. And to be yet more sure of his accompte to goe straite, he sent for all the midwiues in Englande, to helpe hym to make his rekonyng, without quarell or gainsaie. But putte the case (he biddeth) thei haue but twoo a peece: Loe here ye see, he vseth varietie and co­pie in maner of his accoumptyng. And here he dissenteth frō the fashion he vsed in the beginnyng of settyng his cases: For els he should haue here saied sixe or eight a peece. Now laie them toge­ther. Of sixtene thousande, spryngeth sixtene and sixtene. Make B the summe. Summe .xxxij. thousande: euen iuste. Then compte the father for one, and the mother for an other, and one and one maketh twoo, if thei bee well considered: though some tyme thei bee not odde betwixte them selues. Now of these twoo riseth six­tene, and sixtene, and then forget not, as ye were learned a little before, that twise sixtene maketh .xxxij. Then write summa sum­marum .lxiiij. thousande mouthes, that the Realme is charged withall to finde. Is not this a marueilous matter, thinke ye, and an importable burthen, to the little Isle of Englande?

Now, further consider what would growe thereof in processe C of yeres, of twentie or thirtie yeres, saieth he, if suche marriages were permitted: and then if thei beginne to marrie, for their part so sone as thei doe now a daies, whiche will not tary till thei bee thirtie yeres, I warrante you, neither maide nor man: Undoub­tedly, the marueilousnesse of this accoumpt, must nedes astonish any mannes witte in the realme, it is so incomprehensible. And yet, leste ye should haue but one experiment of his connyng and witte in this science (and euer ye knowe, the more examples in teachyng harde poinctes, maketh the matter more cleare) he tel­leth you of an other imaginatiue case, as wōderful as this other. D

Imagine, saieth he, foure generations of onely one mannes issue, & euery of them to be maried. And see what this will grow to in fewe yeres? As for example, saieth he, let there bee one man that hath fiue children. And let euery one of these fiue children, haue other fiue children. And leste you should mistake hym, that [Page 122] A he should meane, that these first fiue children, should beget their fiue children a peece, straight waie after thei were borne: he put­teth you in minde, that he meaneth of their begettyng, when thei bée mariable, and not before. Now he maketh there vpon his ac­coumpte thus. The seconde generation multiplied by fiue, shall yelde the increasse of fiue and twentie. Note this wittie poincte, that fiue tymes fiue, multiplied, maketh .xxv. iuste, neither more nor lesse. Now sir, their generation multiplied by fiue, must nee­des growe to the number of .Cxxv. And here by the waie, marke that he rekoneth but twentie to the score, and yet fiue score to the B hundreth. And then ye knowe, fiue tymes .xxv. is sixe score and fiue, that is, after the rate of fiue score to the hundred, a .Cxxv. iust as can be. Pythagoras hym self, the first aucthour of this science, could not more truely haue hit it.

Then goe now to the fourthe generation, still multiplied by v. it must increase to the number of hundrethes at the least, euen sixe hundreth .xxv persones. Ye see how precisely he goeth on, to bryng all with hym, leauyng neither out the odds score, nor yet the little fiue. All this number, he saieth, maie growe within the compasse of .lx. yeres. Whereby ye maie learne, that he geueth C them soner libertie to beginne to begette their children, then the olde Canons gaue to Priestes, to bee admitted to that order: that is, not before thirtie, how worthie so euer he were: and dea­cons not before .xxv. and virgines to be professed, not before xxv. no, some .xl. and widowes not before .xl. where sainct Paule is straighter to them, & appoincteth .lx. For ye knowe, if thei should goe to it so slolie, his rekonyng could not be so well made vp. And therefore ye muste dispense with his generations, for suche ages as the Canons appoincteth.

And againe, ye muste graunte hym an other case imagina­tiue: D that not one of all these generatiōs maie dye, before he haue begotten his fiue, for then he should come short of his rekonyng. And one missed in this accompt, ye knowe must make a square: for it is not in persons, as it is in ynches. And yet he must craue more phantasticall cases of you. You must graunt hym, that all these must be men children, that must beget these fiue multiplied [Page 123] nombers. And ye knowe, thei maie not be any suche neither, as A Christe telleth vs of in the .xix. of Matthewe, of three kindes of Eunuches, for thei cā not spede his purpose generatiue. Marie, if he mighte haue emong these his foure generations, some of those maried priestes, to whom he ascribeth suche faste multipli­cation, thei would make hym the soner a true man in his reko­nyng. But I dare saie, of his conscience he had rather bee false still in his rekon̄yng, then to graunt suche an absurditée.

But now at the laste, when he hath brought orderly his ac­coumpt, to suche plaine demonstration of sixe hundreth and fiue and twentie: he concludeth thus. If the first manne, saieth he (yet B he meaneth not Adam, but the first of his foure generatiōs) were tenne, or twelue, or twentie thousande: what Citée, yea, what Realme or countrée, could bee able to holde the generations of a fewe yeres, in so greate a libertée of mariage?

And here againe note good reader, he meaneth no other ge­nerations but of Priestes maried. For he accounteth not these, that be gotten of priestes vnmaried: for it would helpe his num­ber but little God wotte, though he so did. And again, ye knowe most commonly thei be not without their fathers, that must ad­uouche them, and can not spare them in the tale of his example, C of these foure generations. But if, after his greate laboure in busiyng his witte, He y ^• nedeth not to learne a poinct of a­rithmetike, or is to graue to come so lowe to such triflīg triuial s [...]en­ces, let hym loke ouer the leaf, & goe by. to make this matter plaine (as I warraunte you, he sweatte at the browes, and was in as colde a studie a­gaine, sudauit & alsit, before the conclusion was fullie spied) some rude and dull Asseheade would maruaile, howe his twoo principall summes in bothe his examples cometh to passe. Then for a more familier manner of handlyng the matter, he would haue him imagine: that he goeth so to woorke with hym, as if he would first make a rekenyng that euerie asse hath eight eares. And to proue that to him, he beareth him in hand that euery Asse D hath .iiii. heades: and there pricke the summe .iiij. heades. And at this he maye not stande, but must quickly goe on, and fall to the account, thus: ij. eares on a head, of .ij. heades, maketh .iiij. eares. For .ij. and .ii. maketh .iiij. Then the thirde head hath other .ii. (if none bee cut of) Now laye them together: put .ij. to .iiij. and then [Page 124] A ye knowe, their muste nedes result .vi. and so manie ye haue of thre heades. Now go wisely to the fourth head, and there ye find other .ij. eares: put these .ij. to your former vi. and so ye haue .iiij. heades, eight eares.

It is so euident to youre eye whiche he telleth you, that you can not be deceiued in this manifest rekening: that is that euery asse hath vndoubtedly iiii. heades, and eight eares.

But to make an ende, for this mans worthie rewarde, let vs put an other Imaginatiue case, that to this Ciuilian, (though he came of late from Paris, as poore as Iob when he satte on his B doung hill): yet for making of this excellent worke of his, should befall to him as many Asses in conclusion, as were geuen again to Iob at the laste. And imagine that all these Asses were bredde in Archadia, where thei be best, or in Antrothessaliae, where thei excell in greatnes, all other Asses: either in Paris, or Padua: and then he should come with euerie one of these Asses, into the citie of Samaria, whē it should be beseged by Benedab the king of the Syrians, where he might sell all his asse heades, euerie head for four score siluer peeces readelie, as the market was once so good there, and maie chaunce to bee here nere at home in Englande, C where his gaine should be the more, for sauing of his carriage, in vttering his asse heades to his speciall frendes, if there be not some spedie prouiso, to stoppe the forsaid multipliyng mariages.

Then if this man, to make an euen accōpt of his asses of .iiij. heades for euery asse, iiij. score siluerlynges for euery head, beside the bodies: and if, to be suer in his account, what it would amoūt to, he would counsell with Budeus de Asse, what euery one of these iewesse peeces drewe to in oure currant monie: what a no­table riche man, thinke ye, would this man be in suche multipli­cation, by geuing euery asse foure greate heades? To sell euerie D head for foure scoore siluerlynges, euery siluerlyng worth tenne of oure Englishe pence at the least. Let them be laied together, and nowe rule briefly the summe totall, and ye should see what an houge summe he should put vp in his purse, in cleare gaine, though he sold not his owne head neither. Yea though he kept vnsold, Balaams asse still, to serue for his owne ridyng, to cary [Page 125] and recary hym, the faster for his lucre to his Martes: where he A might curse G [...]ds people, whom he would haue blessed.

Wherof I doubt not one daie, his verie asse will tell hym, and reproue his blindnes and madnes: as true a prophet as he iud­geth hymself to be.

But because he is so good in casting, not the dice, but in coun­ters: I remit hym to them, to knowe his gaine, how it shall ar­rise at lenght to hym. For he can do it straight waie in his witte. Ye see how expediētly he dispatcheth his other two cases: wher­vpon you must needes thinke, that he is wonderfully seen in all sciences. B

But yet how well seen soeuer he would be taken to be, in all the seauen sciences, by his former writyng and accountyng, I w [...]ne, wise menne, will thinke he lacketh all his fiue wittes, for suche a reckoning. As for any shewe hereby, that he should bee endued with any of the three theologicall vertues, faieth, hope, and charetie: or yet with the fowre Cardinall vertues, to make vp an euen nomber, to matche his saied seuen artes, I beleue all the calculation that is in his head, will make but a course demō ­stration, if he were well searched.

For what remedie, thinke ye, doeth he pretelie insinuate, for C this his so greatly feared mischief, that might growe to the com­mon wealth, to declare either his faieth to God, or a charitie to the poore maried priestes children. Whiche if thei be so many as he maketh tale of: what charitie is it to driue so manie to begge­rie? Lette God iudge, cui cura est de omnibus, who hath care o­uer all.

If I should cōstrue that he meaneth to instil that pollicie into Christen Princes heades, whiche he saieth is the vse of the great Turke, or the Soldan: that is, to picke quarell of warres, to the destruction of their people, and not for conquest: I dare not iudge D hym so farre. For if he should so meane, if I were a souldier, I would not wishe hym my Captaine. And I praie God, we haue not manie warres fought, Now, that is in Queene Maries [...]a­res. vnder his banner.

Kyng Henrie the eight, (of whom now men preache a brode most dishonorable reportes openly in Pulpittes, and yet be re­puted [Page 126] A catholike fauorars of the Quéenes highnes procedynges, was wont to saie, that he would not lose a man, if he might bee saued, for winnyng any summe of mony. He had well considered the saiyng of Salomon the wise, In multitudine populi dignitas regis, & in paucitate plebis, ignominia prīcipis. In y ^e multitude of people, doeth the dignitie of a prince appere, & the fewnesse of the people, is the dishonor of the Prince. And that noble kyng of the Macedonians, Philip by name, hauyng a tender hart to his people, would saie, that he would not loose a man, for to winne a Citie, to whom when it was vpbreided at a tyme, because he B brought more thinges to passe by gift, then by fight, that not Philippe, but the gold of Philip, conquired Greece: He answe­red, that therfore he spent his monie, because he would spare his men, for he counted it more honorable to haue menne without monie, then monie without men. Well, I could saie somewhat more to this carpet lawier, if I had hym alone in confession.

But sir, for all youre great prudence and pollicie, in stopping vnmaried priestes generation, if ye could bryng it aboute, as ye neuer shall, ye might therby procure to the realme fewer then it hath, I feare, by a greate meanie in a fewe yeres. And so where C ye see ouer manie, ye might fortune to bring it to ouer fewe.

If many a sorie man in Englande, maister Martin, had not better helpe then at home: good maister Parsone could not haue so many Crisoms as he hath: Nor yet ye maister doctor, when ye shall be a greate man, haue so many followe your taile, as your stomacke would wishe to haue.

As for the victualles of this realme, D. Martine had the ouer­sight of De­nisons, at this time in office. if ye would not make so many Denizons for your owne lucre (although profitable and gentle straungers, ought to bee welcome, and not to be grudged at) and if ye would not sue out Placardes, for the immoderate D carriyng out of our Corne and victualles, to the singuler gaine of a fewe, but to the famishyng of them, who sweate for it. And moreouer, if ye would call on, vpon suche as hath aucthoritée, to searche how Takers in the Quéenes name behaueth theim sel­ues in the Countrees, vnder colour of her graces necessarie pro­uision. Againe, if suche victuall, as is out of Markettes, gotten [Page 127] for suche prouision, were so diligently looked to, that great num­bers A of Beiffes, were not caste awaie, for want of salte and pou­deryng: I doubte not, but that God blesseth this realme aboun­dantly enoughe with plentie of victualles, to fill mennes mou­thes. For though of late ye haue peraduenture felte many a hun­grie meale, and sawe no suche abundaunce at Paris, as ye maie see in Englande: & so for feare of hunger that might fall here in Englande, by your Caiphas profeciyng, ye might bée driuen a­gaine to your hostesses, with whom ye haue been at bourde. And if by your madde talke, any folie might bee prouoked (as God of his mercie euer defende the realme) ye bee sure againe of your B refuge. And when men at home trye out the reste of your begun tale and policie: in the meane tyme, ye be drinkyng your vinum Theologicum, Theologicall wine at Paris.

Yet M. Martin, how glorious so euer ye be now, in pelle Leo­nis, in your Lions skinne, and though ye bee coumpted of some folkes, to bee neuer so Catholike: yet beware you proue not at length Asinus apud Cumanos, to bée suche an Asse as was once at Cumae. In the meane season I tell you, that ye be not faithe­full to God in his prouidence. And for all your high offered ser­uice to the Quéenes maiestie, for reformation of the Realme: I C tell you, you want prudence, and circumspection to. But ye bee like to suche as of late, came out of their dungeons, and saw not of longe tyme the light abrode, nor the behauiour of the people, and so your eyes beyng daseled: yet ye muste needes haue all the worlde followe your contemplations: or els no peace offered, but euery manne to stande at his aduenture.

I truste your woordes yet meane not, as you purporte: God forbidde. But as for the fartilitie of your owne natiue countree, how so euer ye be degenerated into Frenche nature, to slaunder the Realme, what plentie and increase hath been before tyme D thought to haue been here, I will tell you a tale by the waie, whiche I heard of as wise a manne, as euer ye be like to be, for ought that ye haue yet vttered, and as naturall a manne to his countrée of Englande in deede (as ye bragge to be in woordes) whiche stoode not full twentie foote of, when the matter was [Page 128] A firste spoken and vttered.

It chaunced, that there came a Frenche Ambassadour to the kynges highnesse, kyng Henry the eight (I truste God hath his soule) with letters I trowe from the Frenche kyng, not long be­fore that, sente to hym from the holy father of Rome. This Am­bassadour sittyng at the Counsaile table, beganne to sette vp a stoute countenaunce, with a weake braine, and carped Frenche excedingly fast: which he thought should haue béen his onely suf­ficient commendation of them all, that were at the table, that he could speake so readily. The matter of his talke was vniuersall B euery where. But the substaunce was partly, muche noting the gluttonie of Englishmen, whiche deuoured so muche vitaile in the lande: partly, magnifiyng the greate vtilitée and necessitée of the Frenche tongue, whiche he noted to bee almoste throughout the worlde frequented. And in his conferēce, he marueiled of di­uerse noble men that were present, for that thei could not kéepe hym talke, or yet could not so muche as vnderstāde hym, to per­ceiue his gaie witte. Emong the number of the Lordes there, satte the old honourable Capitain, the Lorde Erle of Shrowes­burie, lookyng at his meate, and gaue neither eare, nor counte­naunce C to this iolie man, but gaue other leaue to talke, and sat, as he might, shakyng heade, and handes, in his Palsey, whiche was testimonie enough, whether he were not in his daies a war­riour, liyng abrode in the fielde, to take aire of the ground. This Frenche Ambassadour was offended with hym, and saied: what an honour were it for yonder olde noble man, if he could speake the Frenche tongue? Surely it is a greate lacke to his nobilitie. One of the Lordes that kepte hym talke, askyng firste leaue of this mon sire, to report part of their communication, to the lorde Shrewesburie: Made reporte thereof yet in moste courteous D maner, with easie & fauorable rehearsal, as might touch a truth.

When he heard it, where before his head by greate age, was almoste grouelyng on the table: he roused hym self vp in suche wise, that he appeared in length of bodie, as muche as he was thought euer in all his life before. And knittyng his browes, he laied his hande on his dagger, and set his countenaunce in suche [Page 129] sorte, that the Frenche hardie Ambassadour, tourned coloure A wonderfully. Saieth the Frenche whoreson so, saieth he? Marie tell the Frenche dogge againe, by sweete sainct Cuthbert, if I knewe that I had but one pestilente Frenche woorde in all my bodie, I would take my dagger and digge it out, before I rose from the table. And tell that tawnie whoreson againe: how soe­uer he haue been hungerstarued hym self, at home in Fraunce, that if we should not eate our beastes, and make vitaill of theim as faste as we doe, thei would so encrease beyonde measure, that thei would make vitaile of vs, and eate vs vp.

When these woordes were reported againe to this Frenche B gest, he spoiled no more vittaile at y ^e dinner after that, but dranke wonderous oft. Whiche, whether it was his countenaunce, be­cause he had lefte talkyng, or, whether for that he was inwardly drie: the reporter of this tale, could tell me no further: but saied, that his eye was neuer of hym, all that dinner while after.

Now maister studente of Paris, this verie noble manne in deede, and worthie to bee had in longe remembraunce, was of better experience in the fertilitée of this Realme, then ye would seme to knowledge: And had an other maner of faithe to God, for the continuaūce then ye haue, to feare suche a lacke and scarcitée. C

And as for the multitude of the people, that of old tyme hath been in the realme, in comparison that bee now, as it is yet at this daie, muche replenished, by the spare of Goddes hande from plagues, warres, and other mortalitees, he bee praised therefore: yet ye maie goe into three hundreth Parishe Churches, at this daie, and finde not on the Sundaies so muche people, that the Churches bee pestured with to many. But as for populositie of people that haue been in this Realme, I thinke some men could saie somwhat. I dare saie, for Linne, and Lincolne, not the third man now there, that haue dwelt there some tyme. D

I remember, that beyng once at a marchaunte mannes ta­ble in London, whiche was in the verie laste yere of Iubilee, so coumpted commonlie, I heard a man rehearse, how that Platina writeth, that Pope Boniface the eight, whiche did write hymself the Lorde of all the worlde, bothe of Spiritualtées and Tempo­raltées [Page 130] A to, and that therevpon, the possession whiche Constantine gaue to the Churche, was not a gifte, but rather a restitution to the right Lorde and owner, as the Canonistes saie: that, I saie, the saied Boniface did constitute, euery hundred yere, for the yere of Iubilee, and did priueledge those yeres of Iubilee, with great indulgence, and pardon of cleane remission. In respecte of which greate grace, to be gotten in those yeres, for suche as will dispose them selues thereto, Pope Clemente the sixte, brought it to fiftie yeres, and Pope Paule the seconde, chaunged that from .l. yere to .xxv. yere, and that as Fasciculus temporum noteth, in fauorē B animarum, vt quia abundauit iniquitas, superabūdaret & gratia, saieth he, that is: of greate zeale and fauour to mennes soules, that because wickednesse did redounde, so should grace also a­bounde the more. At whiche talke, there was an honeste plaine manne saied: that readyng sometyme in the Englishe Chroni­cles, he noted, that he read of twoo recourses of yeres of Iubilee, whiche were not very gracious to mennes bodies, within the Realme. The one he saied, was aboute the thirtene yere, in the daies of kyng Henry the seuenth, in whiche yere died in London aboue .xxx. thousande people: thother yere of Iubilee, was about C the .xxiiij. yere of kyng Edward the third, in whiche yere and a­boute the same, there was suche an vniuersall Pestilence, that neither the parties beyonde the sea was free, as in Paris died fiftie thousande, at sainct Denis fourtene thousande: As for I­talie ( Platina writeth in vita Clementis .vi.) that there was not left skant tenne, of euery thousande men. Whiche Pestilence he importeth to the great confluence of people, that came into Ita­lie this yere of Iubilee for pardon. But in Englāde euery where innumerable destroied, in so muche, that he tolde it out of Fabiā, that after thei had buried in euery Churche yarde within Lon­don, D and emong the Religious houses to, thei were faine to vse the greate Churche yarde of the Chartor house: in whiche onely were buried aboue fiftie thousande corses. And as it chaunsed there was a man, whiche semed to be a credible man, of the Citée of Norwich, whiche declared that thei had in their Citée, a record of those that died at that tyme in Norwiche, whiche he saied, a­mounted [Page 131] (as he was well remembred thereof) lvij. thousande A CCC.lxxiiij. beside Ecclesiasticall persones, and poore waifai­ring people, and beside .xxxix. which died of the Monkes. He sup­posed it to bee a greater number, then was in these daies in the whole Citée, and fiue miles about. He told further of so maruei­lous a plague, that was once at a towne thereby called Yar­mouthe, and there recorded, that he marueiled how the towne could holde so many. Notwithstandyng yet this greate mortali­tie, kyng Edwarde, that victorious kyng, who wanne Calice, (whiche almightie GOD long defende) wanted not people the very same yere, to encounter with a greate Nauie that came out B of Spaine, and had the victory: Nor yet wanted people in the ye­res next immediatly followyng, to pursue that he had begunne in Fraūce. At whiche tyme, he furnished his first begotten sonne, Prince Edwarde with an houge armie, wherewith he wente to Gascoyne, and so by Tholouse to Nerbon, brennyng and spoy­lyng all the Countrée as he wente, by his greate power that he had with hym, without resistaunce. And neuerthelesse, aboute that same very tyme, the kyng hymself in his owne persone, wēt into Fraunce, and there did what it liked him. In whiche passe­tyme, it was brought hym woorde, that the Scottishe kyng was C stollen into his Realme, and had wonne Barwicke, and that he made daiely assaulte to winne the Castle there. Wherevpon the saied kyng Edwarde, retourned againe, and recouered the saied towne of Barwicke, and went further into Scotlande, and pur­sued the Scottishe kyng so narrowlie, that he compelled hym to submitte hym self to the kynges grace as prisoner, and resigned his power into the kynges handes.

And whiles this was in doyng, the saied prince Edward his sonne, warred vpon the Frenche men, and lastly came to Bur­deaux, with many riche prisoners, and Pillagies to his great ho­nor. D In whiche said passage, although the earles of Armenacke, of Foyz, of Poyters, and Cleremount, with sir Iames de Bur­bon, and many other knightes were in the same countries, yet went he through without battaill. In whiche season (to declare that immediatlie after the saied greate mortalitie, the realme [Page 132] A wanted no people) the duke of Lancaster had an other armie, and entred the Countrie of Constantine. And if this master Martin, would looke in the Chronicles, he should espie, how prosperously this saied Duke did in that viage: and on the other side, how va­liantly the saied Prince Edwarde achiued his iourney, beyng in suche confidence of victorie and honoure that would ensue, that he would not bee induced or intreated to any peace, how oft and how diligently soeuer, that good Innocēt the .vi. then Bushop of Rome, sent his Cardinals to that same effect. I name hym good, for he decreed vnder paine of eternall curse, that euerie prelate B should bée resident vpon their benefices, and for that he brought his familie to a lesse number, & chosed them out of the best. But the saied Prince Edward I saie, notwithstandyng passed fourth to Poyters, where was a wonderfull battaill fought and wonne by hym. In whiche were slaine of the frenche part, diuerse Du­kes, and menne of warre, to the number of eight hundreth, and of Baronets, liiij. beside Knightes and other meaner menne of warre: And were there taken prisoners, Iohn the Kyng, Philip his fourth sonne, with other Archbushops, Bushops, and men of name to the numbre of xv. hundreth and aboue. If this accoū ­ter C would therefore take his counters, and laie the likelihoodes of these matters together, peraduenture he might be brought in doubt, whether that this smaller parte of the Clergie (whose multiplication, he so muche feareth) and therfore would so faine haue them stopped, and yet that greater part of the Clergie too, (whom by the collection of his writyng, he enfraunchiseth very liberallie to be rouers without daunger where thei will at there pleasure) how fast soeuer thei plied them selues: should yet come to shorte a greate deale, to make the realme comparable with that numbre, that God in those daies fedde and maintained, with D lesse succour of foren thinges brought into the realme, then is v­sed at this daie. Marie peraduenture not so much stolen then out of this realme by some suche priuate lurching Cormarantes, as now be spoken to be abrode. But as concernynge suche records of the plentie of the people, ouer that it is now, whiche hath been before tyme in England: notwithstāging, yet this faithfull cha­ritable [Page 125] manne is in suche wanhope, that if Priests mariages A should be suffered, the realme could not with all the increase that might growe therin, sustaine the multitude: Noe, not once able to comprehende them, and therfore should of force be compelled to practise Turkes deuices, and Souldiars policie for debating, and for foreseiyng of this high policie in tyme. I maruell, if he haue not some frendes, to aduaunce hym to bée of the counsaill, for ye maie be su [...]r he hath highlie deserued it.

I beseche almightie God, kéepe all suche clawbackes, suche hoote spurres, from Princes Counsailes. God sende vs slowe Iudges, & spedie Batliffes: Not so hastie maisters of the Chaun­cerie, B the Courte of Conscience. Againe to note youre sinceritie, how you handle that proposition of sainct Paule: propter forni­cationem vitandam, vnusquisquè vxorem suam habeat, & vna­que (que) suum virum. For auoidyng fornication, let euerie man haue his wife, and euery woman her husband: Ye saie that. D. Ponet falsely bringeth in, to proue thereby that all menne haue libertie to ma­rie, for the auoidyng of fornication: for ye saie, and that by thaucthoritie of sainct Hierome, Cap. xi.x.1. b. that all the question of sainct Paule, standeth in this poinct: whether the Corinthians, should now (after thei had receiued the faieth of Christe) put a way their wiues that thei had maried in thier paganisme? And further, C ye saie, if in this poinct and nothing els, was the summe of all the whole questiō, as Hierome affirmeth that it was: than hath. D. Ponet and all the sectes of Germa­nie, most shamefully alledged this place of. S. Paule for their purpose, to inferre and proue there, that al men and women without exception, either ought to marie, or may marie. Cap. xi.v.4. a And these be your owne wordes. And further ye say, that to disproue this, ye will cite thre or four of the most auncient writers, with this further assurance of credite and warrantise, that ther shall not be found any some of the olde fathers or auncient writers of the Churche, that dissenteth from them. And then ye recite Tertulian, Chrisostome, Ambrose, and Hie­rom. Now in this point of your warantise and credite: let vs trie D youre trueth. But firste, before we shall recite you some of the olde fathers, how thei haue vsed this place, in that sense, that ye deny sainct Paule ment therin, and that al the question was but in one poinct, & nothing els: we shall alledge to you one that is a diligent, although but a late expositour, whiche vpon deliberate [Page 126] A expendyng of the purpose there propoūded, perceiued more que­stions & answeres, then ye liste, for the hate of the cause ye haue in hande, to see and spie. Faber stapulensis expendeth, that there were xiiij. seueral answeres and doctrines set forth by S. Paule, orderly written to the questions of the Corinthians. Firste, if a man be not ioyned to a wife, it wer good if he did not couple hym self to a wife, and vtterly not to touche any woman at all. Se­condly, leste some occasion of fornication might steale in vpon a man, then it were lawfull to euery manne to haue his peculiar wife, and to euerie woman her proper and peculiar husbande. B For a proper and peculiar man is (saieth he) a lawfull husband. Thirdly, he that hath a wife, maie not without his wiues con­sent containe, but render to his wife due beneuolence, and so on the other side, the wife to the husbande: the cause is declared, for that the husbande hath not power of his owne body, nor the wife power of her owne bodie. The fourthe, whether it were lawfull to the husbande and wife, to liue a sunder and priuately, and so forth, doeth the saied Faber note the residue of the questions and answeres. But be it in case, that wee had no scripture to leade vs to iudge of that matter, yet the very context of sainct Paule she­weth C plainly, that by his aunsweres, he had more questions pro­pounded to hym, then that onely. Whiche thyng ye might haue learned, euen of your owne Hierome hymself, and in that place, if ye had not listed rather to quarell, and to confounde a truthe, then to searche a truthe. For somewhat before these woordes, whiche ye alledge so mangled: thus writeth sainct Hierome, of the diuersitées of the questions, that were propounded to hym by the Corinthians, beyng fiue in number, whereof he maketh mē ­tion. Inter caetera, Corinthij per literas quesierant, vtrum post fidem Christi, Contra Iulia­num Libr [...] primo. caelebes esse deberent: & continentiae causa quas D habebant vxores dimittere. An si virgines credidissent, inirent matrimonia? & cum e duobus Ethnicis vnus credidisset in Chri­stum, vtrum credens relinqueret non credentem? & si essent du­cendae vxores, Christianas tantum accepi iuberet, an & Ethni­cas? Videamus igitur, quid ad haec Paulus rescripserit. De his au­tem quae scripsistis. &c.

[Page 135]Emong other thynges, the Corinthians enquired by their A letters, whether after the faith of Christ, thei ought to liue a sole life? And whether for continencie sake, thei should forsake their wiues, whiche thei alreadie had? Whether if thei that were vir­gines, when thei receiued the faithe, might take Matrimonie v­pō them? And if bothe parties were Panims, and one should re­ceiue the faith, whether the beleuer ought to forsake the vnbele­uer? And if wiues were to bee maried, whether his mynde was, that thei should marrie Christians onely, or also Panims? Lette vs therefore expende, saieth Hierome, what Paule did write a­gaine to these matters, when he saith: Of those thynges where­of B ye did write to me. &c. Now sir, I praie you, is all & the whole question onely in this poincte, by your owne Hierome, whether maried men should leaue their wiues? Moreouer, sainct Hierom writing de virginibꝰ. 31. q. 1. Quādo saith thus. Quomodo virgi­nibus, fornicationis periculo cōcedit nuptias, & excusabile facit, quod per se non appetitur: ita eodem fornicationis periculo, cō ­cedit viduis, secūda matrimonia cōtrahere. Now expende wher­in the chapter is fornicationis periculum named, but in the first part. Ergo by S. Hierom hymself, it is spoken to virgenes, & not maried onely. Moreouer, S. Hierom as wel in that place against C Iouinian, as in his apologie to Pāmachius, inferryng this place of them that wer vnmaried & widowes: Bonum est eis, si manse­riut vt ego. Si autem se non continent, nubant: It were good for them, if thei taried, and were as I am, but if thei can not liue cō ­tinently, let them marrie, addeth these woordes, idipsum dicens quod supra, saiyng the same he did before, propter fornicationē autem, & ne tentet vos satanas propter incontinentiam vestrā, for fornication, and leaste Sathan should tempte you for your incontinencie. So that it maie appeare by sainct Hierome, that though the firste question were concernyng persones in Matri­monie, D yet here he applieth also to the vnmaried, and to the wi­dowes, this sentence propter fornicationem. &c. But ye will saie, that it is not like that he should dissent from hymself. I an­swere, that Pighius, whose pipe ye followe in all your maskyng and daunsyng, proueth in his Hierarchie lib. ii. cap. x. that in the [Page 136] A difference of a Bushoppe and Prieste, he varieth from hymself. And Erasmus noteth no lesse by him, for the diuersitee of wres [...]ing this texte of sainct Paule. Diuisa est mulier & virgo: and if these will not serue you, Hierome hymself, will not sticke to saie that he did it for the aduauntage of his cause: and writyng to Ruffine saith thus. If we haue slipt at any tyme, and maie appeare to bée friuolous to the wise reader, for that we haue written, lette hym laye the faulte vpon the aucthour. For we did write these thyn­ges, beyng sicke in bedde of a long sickenesse, and did indite them in haste, to be written by our Secretarie. And where ye bryng in B Tertuliā, Ambrose, and Chrysostome: thei saie that Paule was asked that question, but that not onely saieth sainct Hierome (as ye would make hym to speake.) So that sainct Hierome, either purgeth hymself of your slaūder, that ye make vpon hym: or els that he writeth variously for the commoditie of his cause: As he writeth daungerouslie in the whole cause, if he bee taken as his woordes sounde. But how so euer he agreeth with hymself, yet if he meane that sainct Paule should haue geuen full libertie to lecherous life, if he had graunted mariage to theim that can not C conteine, as he semeth to write: he should bothe disagree frō hym self other wheres, and from many others that vseth this first sai­yng of sainct Paule vniuersally, for that cause and entent. Fur­thermore, to goe to the clause of his warrantise and credite, that no doctor, or olde writer vseth that place of sainct Paule vniuer­sallie, and indifferently vpon all mē, sc: Propter fornicationem vitandam, vnusquis (que) suam vxorem habeat. &c. Looke vpon S. Augustine, who exhorteth men to virginitie, saiyng: Illud potius excellentis continētiae bonum, qui potest capere capiat. De nupt [...] & con [...]p. liber. [...] Capitulo. 16. Qui ve­ro id capere non potest, si acceperit vxorem, non peccat, & faemi­na, si se non continet, nubat. Bonum est enim homini, mulierem D non tangere. Verum quia non omnes capiunt verbum hoc, sed quibus datū est, restat, vt propter fornicationē, vnusquis (que) suam vxorem habeat, & vnaquae (que) suum virum habeat, ac sic infirmi­tas incontinētiae, ne cadat in ruinam flagitiorum, excipiatur ho­nestate nuptiarum. De bono vi­duitatis cap. [...].32 [...] sunt [...]i.

Thei that can receiue that better gift of excellente chastitée, [Page 129] let theim take it. But he that can not take it, if he doe marrie a A wife, he synneth not, and the woman if she conteine not, let her marrie. It is good for a man, not to touche a woman. Neuerthe­lesse, because that not all men take this worde, but thei to whom it is geuen, this remaineth, that for auoydyng of fornication, let euery man haue his wife, and euery woman haue her husbande: and so, leste the infirmitie of incontinencie, should fall into the ouerthrowe of enormities, let it bee borne vp, with the honestie of mariages. Thus farre saincte Augustine.

If now, maister Martin, I sought more the victorie at your hande, then that ye should see your owne fault, I could saie som­what B herevnto. Sainct Augustines woordes I thinke be plaine inough. And I trust ye wil not deny, but that he is an old father, and an auncient writer in the Churche: whiche if he be, then be you a yong, fonde, and a newe starte vp wrangeler. But because ye be a Lawier, I shall reporte you a Counsaile, and a Lawe to, that vseth this propositiō vniuersally, and not within suche nar­rowe limittes as ye driue it vp, euen a counsaile of Spaine, hol­den at Tollet, the seconde Counsaile, the firste Chapiter, in the v. yere of their kyng Amalrike, and aboute the tyme of Pope Ihon the seconde, whiche is a reasonable Canon, in respecte, bothe for C the age of him that is receiued to order, & also for the libertie that is geuē, either to abide, or to recede frō his purpose of subdeacō ­ship or deaconship. Hijs aūt, quibus voluntas propria, interroga­tionis tempore, desiderium nubēdi persuaserit, cōcessam ab Apo­stolo licentiam (i. Cor. vii.) auferre non possumus. But as from those, who by their owne proper will are perswaded, and haue a desire to marrie at the tyme of their examination, we cā not take awaie from theim that libertée that is graunted theim by the A­postle. I praie you what other sentence or license is concluded in the seuenth Chapiter in the section .a. but this: propter fornica­tionem D autem, vnusquis (que) vxorem suam habeat. &c. For the ad­uoydyng of fornication, let euery man haue his wife. And in the Lawe ye shal finde the self same againe reported, Dist. 28. de hijs where the glo­ser saieth thus vpon the verie place: Quod ergò de iure cōmuni competit, negandum non est. The benefite of the common lawe, [Page 130] A maie be taken awaie from no man. Moreouer Chrysostome vpō that place: Bonum est homini mulierem non tangere, it were good for a manne not to touche a woman: Where as he saieth, some would haue it applied perticularly vpon Priestes, he saith vpon the consideration of the circumstaunce of the place, that it is not so particularly to bee taken, but vniuersally: and conclu­deth, non ergo sacerdoti dum taxat hoc dicitur: this is not spokē to the priestes onely. Which discourse foloweth immediatly vpō that place, brought in by the saied maister Martin, vpon whiche wordes, Theophilact writeth thus. Bonum & eximia res est cu­iuis B mortalium, nec soli sacerdoti, promde ac nonnulli malè in­telligunt mulierem non attingere, sed virginem permanere. Tu­tior autem, nostram (que) plurimum imbecillitatē adiuuans, est ma­trimoninij res. Et postea, quia si se non continent nubant: vides sapientiam Pauli, quomodo meliorem mōstret esse continentiā, nec interim tamen cogat, si quis non possit, vt ne peius flagitium committatur. Si enim multam inquit, vim sustinet, & vstionem, (magna enim concupiscentiae tyrannis est) discede a laboribus istis, ne quando subuertaris. It is a good and an excellent thyng, to euery man in the worlde, not to touche a woman, but to con­tinue C a virgine, and that not onely to the Prieste, as many men doe euill vnderstande it. Notwithstandyng, the matter of Ma­trimonie is more sure: for it helpeth verie muche our weakenes. And vpon that place (if thei conteine not, lette them marrie) the said Theophilact noteth: thou seest the wisedome of Paule, how he sheweth that continencie is better, and yet notwithstanding, he compelleth not thereto, if any manne can not, and that, leaste worse inconuenience should bee committed. For if he suffereth muche violence (saiethe he) and brennyng (for surely the tyranny of concupiscence is greate) recede from those labours, least thou D beest ouerthrowen at any time. Then maister Martin, vpō these two old writers saiynges, I argue. If Paule did write this mat­ter, aswell to priestes as to Laie men, then either must ye graūt, that sainct Paule would priestes then maried, for feare of forni­cation, should retaine still their wiues, whiche thei had married already: or els that priestes vnmaried, muste for auoidyng forni­cation, [Page 139] get them wiues. Whiche, whether soeuer ye graunte, is A the subuersion of the moste parte of all your whole booke. In chroni. abb. vrspergensis. But will ye heare what Huldaricus Bushoppe of Augusta, writeth to Nicholas the firste, of whom ye maie here your name. He reci­teth the text: Propter fornicationem dixit. Vnusquis (que) suam v­xorem habeat, ꝙ specialiter ad laicos pertinere, mentiuntur hy­pocritae, qui licet in quouis sanctissimo ordine constituti, alienis reuerav xoribus non dubitant abuti, & ꝙ flentes cernimus, om­nes in supradictis saeuiunt sceleribus. Hi nimirum nō rectè scri­pturam intellexerunt, cuius maxillam, quia durius pressere, san­guinem pro lacte biberunt. B

For fornication he said, let euery man haue his wife. Which saiyng and confession, to perteine specialy and onely to the laye folke, is a plaine lye of the Hypocrites: which in what holy order soeuer thei be set, yet without boubt thei force not to abuse other mennes wiues. And these be thei, whiche doe rage in the forsaied crimes. sc, of abusing their fathers wiues, to vse the filthie oc­cupiyng of mankinde, and of brute bestes, which filthines we can not beholde saieth he, but with weeping teares. These bee thei, whiche doe not vnderstand the scriptures aright, whose breastes whiles thei presse so harde, thei sucke out cruell blood, in the stede C of sweete milke. And further in the ende of his Epistle, chargeth theim with the crime of heresie, that inioyne suche constrained Chastitée: where ye affirme Chap. ix.q.x. that thei were all he­retikes, that did continue with their wiues, whiche thei had ma­ried before their orders. And here to preuente your cauilation, where ye might saie, that I should haue gone a litle further with this bushops writyng, for sooth I answere, I would all the whole were written in Englishe, that laye menne might see, how it maketh for you, that would haue Priestes diuorsed. For the whole Epistle is an vtter confutation of youre booke. But sir, D till hereafter, stande vpon that whiche followeth, as strongly as ye can, and yet shal ye neuer be able to extende that saiyng vpon seculer priestes ordered in England, who haue made no profes­sion or vow of perpetuall chastitie. But ye will replie vpon occa­sion of Chrysostome, & Theoqhilact saiynges before rehearsed: [Page 140] A that this former text, Bonum est mulierem non tangere, it is good for a man not to touche a woman, to belong aswell to the laye man, as to the priest. But this saiyng (for avoidyng fornication, let euery man haue his wife) to pertaine to laie menne onely: whiche yet Huldarichus sheweth the contrarie. Sir, if ye bee so harde for nigardshippe, to holde the priestes to the straite of the first sentence, and not to giue them the libertie of the sentence fol­lowyng: I weene ye will be answered of the priestes maried and vnmaried, as seruanntes in the countrie will answere their ni­gard maisters that will ioygne them to fast on the vigils in haye B seile and haruest. That is, if we be compelled to fast in the vigill precedyng, we will suerly make holy daie and plaie, all the daie followyng. But sir, for the vniuersalitie of S. Paules sentence, if ye list after these olde aucthors, to heare a new writer or .ij. till here after we shall bring you more store of the olde: Looke vpon Bushop Alfonsus tractation, where he holdeth plainly, that the prieste hath yet that indulgence and sentence of S. Paule, to re­medie his infirmitie, yea, after his order and promise past, & the reguler also after his vowe. And again, resort ye to Ioannes Ge­nesius in his first leafe, and there shall ye learne, that he defineth, C that God did twise institute Matrimonie, whiche yet euery de­uine will not graunt hym. And that the second institution, was by these woordes of sainct Paule (it is good for a manne not to touche a woman) but yet for fornication, let euery man haue his wife, and euery woman haue her husbande: And that this insti­tution was purposely made of God, for the remedie of mannes infirmitie. Well, these notwithstandyng, bee it in case that he could winne, that the saied sentence of sainct Paule were so per­ticularly applied & restrained, either from all menne vnmaried, or from priestes to bee maried: What exception can he make in D this sentence of sainct Paule in the same Chapiter, spoken to widowes, & to them that be vnmaried. Quod si se non cōtinent, contrahant matrimoniū. If thei do not conteine, let them mary, for it is better to marrie then to burne. But ye will saie, it is bet­ter for the lay mā, but not for hym that is a priest, or a Regular. Whie, maie mans institution and vowe, defeate this second in­stitution [Page 141] of God of matrimonie for incontinentie, that any of his A creatures may be debarred from his remedy? Is it better for the priest to burne then to marie? Is it better for y ^e regular to burne, then to enioie Gods gentle liberalitee in his second institution of mariage? Shall the priest rather chose to go to the deuill, for the wante of the remedie of his infirmitie, then for the shame of the world for his mutabilitie, acknowledging his frailtie, go to god? were it not better to cast frō him his right eye, as déere as it wer, for his estimation & promotion of the worlde, if it be a let to hym to heauē, rather then with his deere eye of weltering promotiōs to haue all his bodie cast into hell fier? I speake it not to geue the B bridle of dissolute liuing to euery light head, but yet I would not haue man lay snares to ieoperd mennes soules. But ye wil saie, euery man can if he will. Christ saieth, thei onely can take it, to whō it is giuen. Paule saieth, that euery man hath his gift: some thus, and some thus. Christ denieth it not to be some mans gift, but not euery mannes gift. Some men, and many men, may by praier obtain it, as of his gift, and with gods further assistaunce, & by praier & fasting, & other suche helpes, kepe it: but it is not geuē to euery man. For to some he will aunswere, Sufficit tibi gratia mea, my grace sufficeth thée. And as Primasius writeth .i. Cor. 7. C non oēs capiunt verbū hoc, sed quibus datū est: Al doe not com­prehende this worde, but thei to whō it is geuen. Nam si generale esset, quòd potest vnus & oēs possunt. If it were generall, y ^e one might, al might. And where ye (M. Martin) pronounce in diuerse places of your boke, that virginitie is in our election, & in our frée will: If ye were vnderstanded as ye vnderstande D. Ponette, ye should be rather like to be angrie with sainct Augustine for wri­tyng against the Pelagiās, which did hold, that God had cōmitted the gift of continencie to our election, as ye may reade it Contra Iulianum: Lib. [...]. Cap. 7. then englishe preachers, whom ye call Heretikes, that D thei should be angrie with sainct Augustine for writyng against Pelagian, against whose opinion, no menne be more leanyng to S. Augustine, then thei be. Yea, some be thought to be to muche inclined, etiam cum imuria liberi arbitrij, in hijs, quos spiritus li­berauerit. But yet wee will take your meanyng by other places [Page 142] A of your booke, (if perhaps ye be of any other meanyng in deede) which courtesie yet ye shewe not to doctor Ponet. For where he saied, a Bushop must be the husband of one wife, and because in that verie place he did not circumscribe his saiyng, as he doeth after in his booke, writyng that if the Bushop be in perill of for­nication, or if he can not liue sole, and yet ye straine hym at these wordes, and slaunder the late Bushoppe of Lincolne too, with youre contorted violence of woordes, D. Taylior. bothe vntruely and disho­nestlie, as though thei should meane, that no Bushop could be a good Bushop without a wife. And when ye sawe his qualefica­tion B before youre face, as ye reporte it your self: yet ye saie, that it is but a craft of hym so to circumstaunce his saiyng. Is it a craft Master Martine, for a man to declare his owne meanyng, against captious readers? But for this, and for so muche as ye laie to his charge: aetatem habet, respondeat pro seipso, he is olde enough, let hym aunswere for hym self. Peraduenture ye will saie, whie doeth sainct Augustine and other doctors saie and affirme plainly in diuerse places: ꝙ non licet nubere ijs qui vo­uerunt continentiam. &c. that it is not lawfull for them to mar­rie, who haue vowed continencie. It is true, that by the Lawe C and Canon of mannes constitution so long as that standeth, and by reason of the vowe, it is not lawfull, for by penall Lawes it is forbidden, as ye saie your self. But yet to auoide perill of dānati­on, by Goddes Lawe, it is bothe lawfull and expediente. For to commit fornication or to burne, is alwaie bothe vnlawfull and vnexpedient. But to marrie, or not to marrie: is some tyme law­full, and some tyme vnlawfull. For els sainct Augustine, sainct Hierome, and other mo, would not saie and affirme in manifeste wordes, that to the votaries after their profession, if thei brenne, it were better euen for them to marrie. Sainct Hierom writeth. D Non expedit homini, 33. q. 5. qui [...]. ad coelorum regnū tendenti, accipere vxo­rem, sed difficilis res est, & non omnes capiunt verbum illud: v­bi Glosa: Non expedit: Verum est propter onera matrimonij, sed expedit propter fornicationem vitandam. It is not expedient for hym that trauaileth towardes the kyngdome of heauen, to take a wife: but that is an harde matter, and all can not comprehende [Page 143] that saiyng, where the Glose saieth: it is not expediente, that is A true, in respecte of the troubles of Mariage: but it is expedient, to aduoide fornication and vncleanely life. Againe saieth Hierom, Matrimonium, 32. q. 1. quomo. propter se, nō est appetendum. Verum est inquit glosa, quia non ducit ad vitam, sed tamen appetenda est, causa vitādae fornicationis & propter prolem. Matrimonie is not to be desired for it self: That is true saith the Glose, for that, it helpeth not to life: but yet it is to be desired, that fornication maie bee ad­uoided, and for issue sake. Thus vpon occasion of your woordes, we haue straied a little further then we purposed, and yet I trust not vnprofitably to the reader. B

But to you maister Martin, I write thus muche. Your self performed no maner of sinceritée, in reportyng either your ad­uersaries, or your frendes, for all your assured assuraunce of cre­dite, and your promised warrantise. As in reportyng sainct Hie­rome, ye doe violently racke hym, and leaue out that whiche he did write a little before, for the chief declaration of the matter: so ye doe euen the same, in reportyng the saiyng of Chrysostome, leauyng out that, Cap. 10. [...]. i whiche immediatly doeth followe to open the truthe. And yet ye write in your booke thus: that it is the nature euer of the heretikes, to take a peece of the aucthors wordes, and not the whole sentence. C If this be a true maior, and then to you the minor is so manifest­ly agreable: what will the indifferente man then knit vp, thinke you, in the conclusion? How faste soeuer ye call other men hereti­kes, and your self catholike, Math. 12. Ex operibus, saieth Christe, iudicate, of the fruites and deedes, geue iudgement: Ex verbis tuis iustifi­caberis, & ex verbis condemnaberis: Of thy wordes shalte thou be iustified, and of thy wordes shalt thou be cōdemned. And if ye would yet se this assertion proued an other waie & with an other reason, I would desire the reader to expende, an excellent poinct of his corrupt wrestyng & wranglyng, to iudge whether he in the D beginnyng of his writyng, putte not on his naturall visure and chaste forhead, quae nescit erubescere, whiche knoweth no sham­fastnesse: Euen to saie with the good Prelates, of whom Esaie writeth in his Prophesie: Cap. 28. Posuimus mendacium spem nostram, & mendatio protecti sumus: wee haue laied liyng for our hope [Page 144] A and foundacion, and with lyes bee wee armed. In his seuenth Chapiter, Litera. N. 1, Lib. 4. cap. 23. he reporteth a storie out of Eusebius, of an Epistle, whiche was written by Dennis Bushoppe of Corinth, to Pym­rus a Busshpppe in Creta, of whiche storie he marueileth verie muche, that none of our menne, nor the Germanes, euer alled­ged the place in their writynges. But yet he saieth, when he had throughly considered the storie, he lefte his marueilyng, because he saieth, it maketh quite againste them. Firste I might retorte his owne checke, that [...] [...]eueth to the lorde of Cauntorburie (in B that he saieth, Ca. 5. [...] that no auncient writer maketh sufficient proofe, that Clementes Epistles were al true, and not counterfete) For hath M. Martin so reade all the Germaines, that he can so saie, that it is not alledged of them in their writynges? If I would so spende paper, I could referre him to half a dosen, that do expresly alledge the storie for a strong place against him, & al such as will laie heauy burthens of compelled chastitie, as is there written, or as Nicephorus termeth it, Lib. 4. Cap. 8. onus caelebatus, the burthē of sole life, as of necessitie, in the neckes of their Disciples, by the whiche, their infirmitie might bee in greate daunger. Whiche sentence thus vttered by Dionisius, the saied Pynitus, did well accept, as C for the better counsail, and by his letters did desier the said Dio­nisius, to write to hym after that, some further matter of strōger meate, to feede his people withall. &c. Now sir, he leaueth quite out the first sentēce, written by Dionisius: and also how Pynitus allowed his counsaill for the better, whiche is the pithe and chief matter of the Epistle and storie: and then violently draweth the laste woordes of stronger meate, to sounde to that purpose, that to lyue in syngle lyfe, and menne to renounce theyr wyues Lawfully Maried, should bee that strong meate, wherewith he should feede his people.

Whiche is so impudentlye wreasted and falsified, that D a manne maie wonder what he meaneth thereby: Where sainct Hierome in catal. script. Ecclesi. makyng mention of Dionisius letter and Pynitus aunswere, draweth no suche sense out of thē. And he can not saie, that he followed some mannes reportyng the place, or had not seen the place hymself. For he saieth, that he had througly considered that storie, to see Eusebius conclusion, as [Page 145] he hath here vttered it. Is this youre through seeyng and consi­dering A matters of weight, thus to peruert euident stories, which be in euery mannes handes, and yet for shame be not a shamed? For verely youre throughly consideryng this cause, whiche ye haue in hande, is but througly falsifiyng the trueth thereof, with youre wilfull writing, & sleighty ouerseyng. And how soeuer ye would blinde the reader, yet Nicephorus storie, will sufficiently trie out the truthe of this matter, if ther were yet no other helpe, to maintaine the saied storie.

If the reader will now take youre maior again, wher ye saie that it is the nature of Heretikes to take a peece of the authors, wordes and not the B whòle sentence, how might he proceede in probleme againste you? And that ye maie better perceiue how throughly he hath consi­dered other of his aucthorities and doctors, Lrā. Ee. iiij. b. if ye do but only loke vpon one page in his xij. Chapiter, ye shall see how throughly he hath belied more of his aucthors, and how negligently he hath cōsidered what he there writeth. In the beginnyng of the page, he would make you beleue that S. Ambrose wrote that whole sentēce. Vri est desiderijs agi ac vinci. Ne vincamur aūt, in nostra potestate est, per dei gratiam. And then he Englisheth it thus. That is to saie. To burne, is to be vexed with concupiscence, and C to be ouercomed: But that we might not be ouercomed, is in our power through Goddes grace. Maister D. Martine, for all youre throughly aduised writyng, ye haue falsified sainct Ambrose in twoo pointes. For first sainct Ambrose saieth: vri est desiderijs, agi vel vinci. And not: agi ac vinci. To bee caried with desires, or to be ouercomed, and not: to bee caried with desiers, and to be o­uercomed. For as well agi desiderijs as vinci desideriis (as other interpretours expounde the place) is, vstionem pati. That is, to burne. And to auoide either of them, sainct Paule graunteth mariage. For either of them excedeth Volatiles & Lubricas co­gitationes D innatae concupiscentiae: the soden and transitorie co­gitations of luste that is in manne. But he, saieth S. Ambrose, that séeth hymself not able to perseuer by the violent motions of his fleshe, let hym marrie, rather then burne, and so peraduen­ture he maie afterwarde obtaine this thyng. So that he whiche [Page 146] A either lieth in the flame of perpetuall desier of the other kinde in hart, or in outward déede, or executeth further his iuste: is said to brenne. Mary to feale desiers, and to ouercome them in deede, is a poincte of a strong and a perfect manne. Secondly, that other part of the sentence is not Ambrose woordes there, though your text and your translation would so blanche it out. But so dothe youre blinde guide, whom ye followed in this allegation, and in others, that impudente Pelagian Pighius: who, in his bookes condemneth sainct Augustine in that verie Catholike doctrine, whiche he defendeth against Pelagius: the tast and sute of which B counter doctrine, like a good hound, ye folowe on a greate pace. And so in the next allegation ye misreport sainct Augustine, still followyng youre maister Pighius, whiche in his xv. controuersie reporteth this saiyng vpon sainct Augustine as ye doe, vntruely. Whiche part of your booke ye stale out there verbatim, because ye would be suer to treade in his steppes, like a learned man. Ye auouche, as liyng Pighius doeth, that vpon this place of the A­postle▪ eueri person hath his owne gift, one after one sort, and an other after a no­ther sort: that S. Augustine should say further in this maner, vnus­quis (que) iuxta votū suū &c. That is to saie: euery person according C to his vowe and desier, hath the gift of God. So that if the partie self wil, he maie conteine and haue possibilitie by the graunt and pleasure of God. In whiche sentence ye do vse muche violence in your translation, to make (votum) there to signifie a vowe, as ye speake of vowes. For (votū) there signifieth no more a vow, then it doeth in this place of S. Ambrose, writynges de virginibus Non enim imperari potest virginitas, sed optari. Nam quae supra nos sunt, in voto magis quā in magisterio sunt. Uirginitie maie not be commaunded, but it may be wished. For such thinges as bee aboue oure nature, bee rather in wishe then in will. Then D vpon this ye conclude an argument, Ergo. &c. where sainct Au­gustine writyng vpon this place: euery man hath his proper gift of God. &c. saieth thus. Who then geueth these thynges? Who doeth distribute to euery manne his proper gifte, as it pleaseth hym? Uerely God, in whom there is no wickednesse or parciali­tée. And therevpon by what equitée he maketh some thus, and [Page 147] some thus, it is to man either impossible to knowe, or els very A harde. Thus writeth sainct Augustine vpon that place, although that other sentence, so taken as it is ment, and written by the au­cthour thereof, is godly, but not as you and Pighius suspiciously would drawe it.

Also where ye define, that it is in our power and election to liue in virginitée, if ye will doe as sainct Paule did, ye saie, whē he saied, ter dominum rogaui. &c. that is: for the whiche I haue praied thrise to our lorde, that he would take it awaie frō me. &c. Uery well sir, but then in this request, because sainct Paule was not heard, for all his thrise askyng: what els maie wee learne by B that example, but that God will not geue all thynges that wee aske? Then this place, whereto ye bidde vs goe, beateth doune quite your assertion, that euery man maie haue virginitée at his pleasure for the askyng. De adulterinis comugijs. Lib. 2. cap. 18. Sainct Augustine saieth thus. Qui po­test capere capiat. Ergo, qui potest, capiat, quod nōomnes capi­unt. Possunt autem capere, quibus hoc praestat misericordia dei occulta, sed non iniusta. He that can take it, let him take it, ergo, he that can, lette hym take it, whiche all men take not: but thei be able to take it, to whom God graunted it by his secrete mer­cie, but yet righteous. And again he (of grace and free will) wri­teth C thus: Not all menne take this worde, but to whom it is ge­uen. Now to whom it is not geuen, either thei will not, or els thei fulfill not that whiche thei will. For to whom it is geuen, so thei will it, that thei maie performe that, whiche thei will. Wherevpon that this woorde (whiche is not taken of all) maie bee taken of some, it is bothe Goddes gifte, and free will. Thus farre sainct Augustine.

Capitulo 12. Latera E [...]. 1. Lib. de ca [...]itate dei. Cap. 4.Also ye saie, that the will, muste goe before in manne for this saied chastitée, and then God will surely followe with his gifte and grace. &c. Sainct Augustine saieth plainly, that God muste D first geue the gifte, and prepare the will, alioqui, saieth he: ex illis essent potentibus, quorū infirmatus est arcus, or els thei should be of those strong men, whose bowe is to weake. And further he saieth: it is he that geueth the vowe to the vower. For no manne can vowe rightly any thyng to our Lorde, excepte he doe receiue [Page 148] A that whiche he will vowe. And the Counsaile Aransican, kept a­bout the daies of Leo the first, Cap. xj. saieth thus of the bonde of vowes: No manne can rightly vowe to our Lorde any maner of thyng, except he receiueth it from hym, as it is written: Suche thynges as we haue receiued of thy hande, wee geue it vnto thee. &c. And Ciprian: De baptismo Christs. gratias ago tibi Clementissime deus, quia quod quaeris a me, prius ipse donasti. I geue thee thankes, O moste mercifull God, for thou doest firste geue me that, whiche thou requireste at my hande. And Prosper writeth in verse.

Those vowes be beste vowed to God, whiche he geueth hymself, and that is worthie to returne againe, from whence it came. Al­so ye affirme, Cap. 12. liter [...] Ee. 4 that it is bawdrie doctrine to teache, that the spirite of God muste geue testimonie to the conscience of man that hath so vowed, whether he perceiueth by the stirring of his flesh, that God hath so called him or no. Sainct Augustine himself then vttereth bawdrie doctrine. Cap. 44 For writyng of holy vir­ginitée, he saith thus. What then shall the virgine thinke (saieth he) the secrete iudgementes of God, that is to saie: the giftes of God, whiche doe not bewraie and declare theim selues to euery C man, but in the triall and interogation of temptation: and that ye maie the better trust that it is sainct Augustines doctrine, Pri­masius his owne very scholar, writeth not muche from him. For thus he saieth: 1. Cor. 7 Nam si vnusquis (que) hoc ad carnem suam reuocet, & videat se virginitatem seruare non posse, nubat, ne fornicādo turpis appareat. that is: for if a man will fall to a rekonyng with his fleshe, and perceiueth that he hath not the possibilitée to kepe virginitée, let hym marrie, leste by committyng fornication, he should appeare dishonest.

Also ye call it a beastly, Cap. 13. F [...]j. saiyng, to alledge sainct Iames cir­cumstaunce, D if GOD will, if wee liue, of suche menne as will make vowes, whiche doctrine ye write, to be reproued by the next texte of sainct Iames that foloweth. Whiche ye report thus: Nunc au­tem exultatis in labiis vestris, and ye doe Englishe it euen so: but now ye reioyce in your lippes. But how truely, let the very Co­bler iudge what lippes ye haue. And as for the conditions afore­saied, [Page 149] the blindest of all the Lawiers and Schoole men, whiche A doe entreate of vowes throughly, defineth plainly, that in euery made vowe, this generall condition is implied and annexed: If it please GOD, if I maye, if I liue. &c. In omni voto (saieth some) considerari debet, quid liceat, quid deceat, quid expediat. And againe: Sicut iuramētum factum in materia iuris, recipit omnes limitationes iuris, sic & votum, cum ambulent pari passu. that is to saie: In euery vowe muste bee considered, what ought to bee doen, what maie be doen, what becommeth to bee doen. And as an othe made in forme of Lawe, receiueth all the limitations of the Lawe: euen so doeth the vowe, for bothe of them walke after B one gate and fashion.

But because ye bee a lawier, ye maie peraduenture thinke, that your self is of as good aucthoritie as these Summaris [...]es be. I will for your learnyng, bryng you suche a writer, as I thinke ye will neuer bee so good a Ciuilian, as he is knowen to bee a Deuine. [...] 9. cap. 18. Cirill by name, who writyng vpon S. Iohn, and vpon Peters bold promise, confuteth your vnlearned writyng in that whole parte of your booke, whiche ye doe so boldly bolster out. Quoniam quae priscis acciderunt, ad doctrinam nostram scri­buntur: hoc loco moneri nos arbitror, non oportere quicquam C deo a nobis promitti, vt certum, quasi nos domini rerum esse­mus, partim quia quod posse a nobis fieri credimꝰ, vires nostras non nunquam excedit, partim, quia non sine arrogantiae crimine, hoc nos, aut illud facturos dicimus. Illud enim in omnibus, quae agere volúmus dicēdum est, quod discipulus Christi nos docuit: Si dominus voluerit. Voluntas enim, apparatus (que) animae, nobis bene agendi, semper messe debet. Viam autem, potestatemquè agendi, quam non habemus, temerarium est nobis attribuere. Sic & deo rerum omnium nostrarum gubernationem, vt decet, accomodabimus, & tutiûs faciemus non vouentes, qùam ea vo­uentes D quae reddere potestatis nostrae non est.

Forasmuche as suche thinges as chaunced to the old fathers, bee examples written to vs for our learnyng: In this place, I iudge, that we be put in mind, that nothyng, as certen, ought to bee promised of vs to God, as though wee were the Lordes of [Page 150] A thynges. Partly, because that it excedeth oure abilitie many times, whiche we beleue maye be doen of vs: partly, for that we can not say, that we shall doe this or that, without the crime of arrogancie. For this must be alwaie saied and spoken in al mat­ters that wee will doe, that same whiche Christes disciple hath taughte vs: If the Lorde will. For a will and an indeuoure of minde, must bee alwaie in vs to do well. But to attribute to vs, the waie and power to do that is not in vs, is a soolehardie bold­nesse. And so by this meanes, shal we, as it is mete for vs, referre to God the gouernance of all matters, and more safely shall we B doe if wee vowe not, then to vowe suche thynges as are not in [...]ure power to render and to perfourme.

Also ye affirme fiue or six tymes in youre booke, Ca. 12. P.M. that sainct Augustine called the mariages of votaries, worse then adulteries, and ye make hym to saie thus. Non dubitauerim dicere, tales nuptias esse peiores adulterio. I doubte not to affirme, that suche mariages are worse then adulteries. Where in verie dede sainct Augustine proueth them to be mariages. And saieth in that conference: Non possum dicere quidèm, a proposito meliore lapsas, si nupserint faeminae, adulteria esse, nō coniugia. Sed planè, nō dubitauerim dicere lapsus, & rui­nas C a castitate sanctiore, quae vouetur deo, adulterijs esse peiores. That is: I cannot (saieth he) call the mariages, of those women, which be fallen from the better purpose, if thei marie, adulteries and not mariages: but plainly I would not doubt, to call their slidynges and fallinges frō their holy chastitie, whiche is vowed to God, to bee worse then adulteries. S. Augustine confirmeth this to be his iudgement, writing vpon the 75. Psalme. Saiyng: Quae autem respexit ad nuptias, non quia uoluit nubere, dam­natur, sed quia iam ante recesserat, & fit vxor Loth, respici­endo retrorsum. She that hath looked backe to mariage, is not D dampned because she would marie, but because she went backe before, & is made like to Loth his wife, by lokyng behinde her,

Also ye teache, Ca. 12. E [...]. [...] Ca. 2. C. q that sainct Paule exhorted Tymothie not to marie, and make hym to saie these woordes: Oportet Episcopum puduum esse: A Bushoppe must bee chaste. Yet Chrisostome vpon the Epistle whiche he writeth to the saied Tymothie, saieth, that though he [Page 151] wished euery manne as himself was, that is to meane, cōtinent: A yet did he not require that perfection of Busshops, but was con­tent, to prescribe to them not so hie a charge: Lesse, saieth he, the Churche should want necessarie and honest ministers. Of whō ye maie learne, that S. Paule ment not to bind Bushops from liyng with their wiues, if thei weere not endued with the gift.

Cap. xi. y. ij.Also you teache that the old lawe is confounded by the newe lawe. Mea­nyng that this texte, crescite & multiplicamini, growe ye and mul­plie, is confounded by the writyng of sainct Paule: art thou free from a wife? Seeke not then to haue one. Where all Deuines holde, that that text standeth yet as strongly for the institution of B all mariages till the worldes ende, as this texte: He that striketh with swoorde, shall perishe by swoorde, standeth strongly to main­teine the lawe of the sworde to the worldes ende. De habitu virginum. But Ciprian writeth more learnedly and truely, and saieth, that this first sen­tence grow and multiplie, commaunded generation. The second sen­tence counsailed to continencie. Yet but to them, whiche be able to attaine to continencie, saieth he.

Cap. 3. D. 1.Also ye affirme statly without all doubt, that Pope Calixtus, whom ye alledge to be so nighe the Apstles daies, that he might haue knowen them (for ye saie that he was within one hundreth C yeare after that the longest liuyng apostle died. Where, if ye had saied within twentie yere of sainct Ihons death, Dist. 82. propo­suisti. ye had spoken more like, that he might haue knowen hym, as Pighius saieth, but yet so should ye both lye in so saiyng. But to go on) he should (as ye saie) decre, that priestes, Deacons, Subdeacons and Mō ­kes, should neither marrie wiues, nor haue concubines: and that their mariages should be disseuered, and committed to penance. And further ye write, that Pope Lucius, whiche was aboute the yere of our Lorde. CClxv. should decree that none should be re­ceiued to the ministerie of the aulter, but suche as would obserue D perpetuall continencie. I answere. Sir, ye haue a greate delight to make those your beste argumentes, where either the aucthors did write worste, or where thei lyed, or where the collectour of their saiynges, or the Printer might easely erre, in the recitall of their names. For first ye shall not finde these emong the Apo­stolicall [Page 152] A decrees of those twoo Bushoppes, written by them, ex­cepte ye haue any secrete written decrees your self alone. Fur­thermore, stories reporte commonly, that Siritius, whiche was Pope anno Domini. 388 did first inhibite Priestes and Deacons mariages: Gregoriu [...] [...] dixi [...]: Sul ata­com [...] semel factu, [...] non nubere. For so emong others testifieth Polidore. And so wri­teth the gloser of the Decrees Disti. 84. that Siritius brought in continencie to the Priestes and Deacons, as Gregorie did to the other ministers, that is, to Subdeacons. And Gratian himself af­firmeth. Dist. 28. De syracusane, that before the Counsaile of An­cyran, whiche was anno Domini. 308. the continencie of mini­sters B was not yet brought in. Moreouer the ninth Canon of the Counsaile Agatense, vnder Celestine the first, reporteth Siritius to bee aucthour of this prohibition. And Innocentius the firste, whiche was nyer those daies, in his Epistle to Exuperius, about the yere of our Lorde .CCCC. referreth the same to Siritius, sai­ing: si ad aliquos forma illa Ecclesiasticae vitae pariter & disciplinae quae ab ipso Siritio ad prouintias commeauit. &c. If the forme of Ecclesiastical life and discipline, which was deriued from bu­shoppe Siritius, be not yet come to their knowledge. &c. Where if it had been Calixtus or Lucius discipline, he would rather C haue referred it to theim, then alledged it vpon the latter Bus­shoppe, for the greater aucthoritée of antiquitée, as ye doe ( vt su­pra) And in other places, with wresting and violent contortyng, ye would make the Apostles to teache all that you saie, somtime vouchyng their Epistles, sometyme their Canons (so coumpted theirs) makyng the doctrine of them equall, with the aucthoritée of the Gospell immutable. But ye will aunswere, that ye finde theim in the booke of the Decrees, alledged vpon them. Sir, be­cause ye haue many obscure copies, looke in some written boke of the Decrees, whether one be not named for an other, as some D bookes referreth the Canon of Gossyprike, to Pascall the firste, and some to Pascall the seconde: whiche thynges maie be seen di­uerse tymes in the bookes of the Counsailes, so noted by hym that did set them out. And sometymes the Canons of the Coun­sailes were falsified by heretikes, as maie be seen in the sixt coū ­saile Constantinople. And sometyme corrupted by the Popes [Page 153] them self, as Pope Zozimus vntruely corrupted the Canons of A Nicene Counsaile, for the aduauncemente of his vsurped iuris­diction, but it was proued false, by the diligence of the Bushops of Affricke in their Counsaile, where at sainct Augustine was presente: As my Lorde of Durisme noteth his falshoode in this poincte, in his Sermon before kyng Henry. And sometyme the Romanistes of set purpose, will corrupte the aucthours for their purpose: as Gratian for the aduauncemente of the Rome See, and for the aucthoritée of the Decrees, falsifieth a place of sainct Augustine de doctrina Christiana lib. i. Cap. viii, and alledged Dist. xix. In canonicis: whiche is thus noted by Alphonsus de B castro aduersus hereses. Lib. i. ca. ii. And how truely the Epistles which be ascribed to Clement be his, for all your gorgious blaū ­chyng out of this matter, against the Lorde of Cauntorburie, he that hath but halfe an eye, maie sone iudge, as the Decretall E­pistles of Anacletus, Euaristus, Sixtus, Victor. &c. how conyn­gly thei be counterfeted, if the matters therein conteined would not bewraie the reporting of the scriptures in them, out of sainct Hieromes translation (whiche was a good while after them) maie shewe the falshode. And therefore it is no euil counsaile of sainct Paule: Omnia prabate, quod bonum est tenete: Proue all thyn­ges, C but keepe that whiche is good. Quia multi seductores exie­runt in mundum, & seducunt, si fieri possit, etiā electos: For ma­ny deceiuers are gone forthe into the worlde, and doe deceiue (if it were possible) euen the electe.

Also ye teache, that all the Priestes haue married against the Apostles doctrine: and that Greke priestes married, could not be suffered to be made Priestes, excepte thei promised conuersion, and no more to keepe with their wiues. Also ye affirme, that the prohibition of Priestes mariages, was the teachyng of the Apo­stles: where the Apostle saith plainly, that the prohibition of ma­riage, D is the Deuilles teachyng. And as for kepyng their wiues, ye your self can not deny, but Priestes might vse their wiues, ex­cepte onely at suche tymes, when their turne was to serue in the Churche, to saie Masse, as the Lawe prescribeth. Dist. 31. Quoni­am in. Moreouer it is plainly affirmed in the Lawe, and sainct [Page 154] A Augustine is aduouched for it, that the Churche hath constitu­ted many thynges, Dist. 84. cū in that the Apostles did neuer order. That is to saie: Of the continencie of ministers, and that thei made no in­stitution, of not vsing mariage alreadie contracted. For if the A­postles had so doen, the Priestes of the Easte Churche would haue acknowledged it, and receiued it. Yea, it is manifestly de­creed in the sixte generall Counsaile, holden at Constantinople: in these euident wordes: Dist. 3 [...]. Quonian. Quoniā in Romani ordine canonis. &c Whereas wee knowe that it is decreed, by the order of Rome Canons, that thei whiche take the order of Deacon or Priesthod: B doe confesse that from thenceforthe, thei will haue no Matrimo­nicall companie with their wiues: yet we, folowing the old aun­cient canon of the Apostles diligence, Pond [...]r these woordes, the Canons of y ^• Apostles, whiche [...] answere his w [...]ighty [...] in his vii Chap. A [...]. [...] ▪ Pondera h [...]c verba, quod Aposto [...] do [...]ue­run [...]. &c. and the ordinaunces of ho­ly men: will, that lawfull mariages from henceforthe to bee ad­uailable. Myndyng in no wise, either to separate their compani­yng of wedlocke with their wiues, or yet to depriue them of their familiaritée, betwixt them selues in tyme conuenient. And there further is it saied, that neither Subdeacon, Deacon, or Prieste, if thei be diligent in their office, ought to be repealed from suche order, though thei kéepe companie with their wiues, and that in C the tyme of their orders takyng, thei ought not to bee compelled to promes chastitée, or to abstaine from their lawfull wiues. And further this generall Counsaile saieth, that suche as of presump­tion will depriue any of the foresaied Priestes or Deacons, from their lawfull wiues, contrary to the rules of the Apostles, should bee deposed from their liuynges: and that suche Deacons and Priestes, as for holinesse or religion sake, will expell their wiues from them, ought to be excommunicated. And if thei persiste, to be deposed, whiche said Counsaile yet ye wreste, to make it sound that Priestes should bee bounde to promise a conuersion, and a D forsakyng of their wiues, in your seuenth Chapiter, when ye al­ledge the seconde Nationall Counsaile, Cap. 7. M. iij. holden at Carthage, wherein ye saie was decreed, that Deacons, Priestes, and Bus­shops should be continent, with these woordes: vt quod Aposto­li docuerunt, & ipsa seruauit antiquitas. &c. Where ye admonish the reader to ponder those wordes: quod Apostoli docuerūt. &c. [Page 155] that is: whiche thyng the Apostles taught, and the Elders haue A obserued. In whiche glosyng and notyng, maister Martin, ye make shamefull worke, as to hym that will compare these Coū ­sailes together, will appeare. For firste ye belye the Apostles, to saie on their heades, that thei taught suche cōuersion from their wiues, as ye maie see euidently here in the sixte Counsaile at Constantinople, the contrary. Also this seconde Counsaile at Carthage, did nothyng els but ratifie that decree, whiche was made in the firste Counsaile there. And that was no other, but that deacons, priestes, and bushoppes, beyng single at their ad­mission, should not marrie wiues a newe, after their orders: and B not to forsake those, whiche thei had married before hande. And where ye would haue these wordes pondered: quod Apostoli do­cuerunt. &c. I praie you maister Martin, where did the Apostles teache suche doctrine in all their Epistles? If ye alledge the .xxv. Canon ascribed to the Apostles: then is that a pleasaunt Canon for your purpose, to haue so many senses conteined therin, some­tyme to importe that Priestes maie not marrie after order: and now that Priestes married, maie not vse their wiues maried be­fore. I perceiue ye maie drawe what sense it pleaseth you of that Canon. Dist. cum inpraeterito. But when ye haue all doen, M. Martin, ye must come to C the glose, that is commonly made vpon those woordes: Apostoli docuerūt: id est, docuerunt exemplo, by exāple (as the text in the decree saieth) opere, & admonitione: non institutione vel consti­tutione, that is, by deede & doctrine, not by institution & decrée, as the glose saith. And this is the glosers minde on the Decretalles whom also I doe aduouche for this your confutation, and deter­tion of your craftie peruertyng the said Coūsailes. But yet how sounde this glose is, that the Apostles taught by their example, that after Apostleship thei forsoke their wiues, the storie wil im­pugne it. But thus I set an olde tried and aucthorised Canonist, D against a newe starte vp Ciuilian, or a self willed Lawier.

Also ye affirme that Clement, the seconde Pope (as ye con­tende) after Peter, made a decree, that Priestes and Deacons should not lye with their wiues. And vpon this aucthoritée, ye make a great a doe, and aske, how can this be auoyded with any [Page 156] A face or colour. &c. and ye saie, that it was sainct Peters doctrine, and that sainct Peter commaunded hym to write his bookes, to Iames. Cap. [...] &c. How truely ye saie it, let the Counsaile before spoken be iudge, and let Paphnutius also bee iudge, whom for shame ye can not but aduouche in your booke, who resisted that any suche Lawe should bee brought in, who was a good while after sainct Clement was dead, and rotten: And he called suche companiyng of priestes with their wiues, chastitée: where ye call the self same mariages, that Paphnutius ment of, licensious liuyng and liber­tie. And further ye call suche Priestes as continued with their B wiues, Cap 9. Q. [...]. that thei had married before their Priesthode, flat here­tikes. Also ye deny plainly, Ca. 13. GG. [...]. that Philippe the Apostle was mar­ried, or that he had any daughters, where Eusebius affirmeth it plainely, that bothe Philippe the Apostle had three daughters, and Philippe the Deacon and Euangeliste had foure.

Also ye doe aduouche it by Nicephorus storie, that Philippe the Apostle liued euer a virgines life, Cap. 13. GG. i and was neuer married. Where the self same Nicephorus euidētly writeth thus. Lib. 2. ca. 44 How stōo [...]th it with this that the A­postles for­soke their wiues, and caried other womē about with them. An isti tamen Apostolos quo (que) reijcient? Petrus sequidem & Philip­pus, liberis creandis operam dederunt. Et ꝙ idem Philippus A­postolus, C tres filias habuit. That is to saie, will these (a Goddes name) reiect the Apostles also? For truely Peter and Philip did geue theim selues to begette children, and that the saied Philip the Apostle had three daughters: and where ye saie, that Philip caried about with hym his sister Mariamna, and ye reporte these woordes vpon the saied Nicephorus: Cum ipse caelibem vitam duceret: when he on his parte liued a single life, and was vnma­ried, and neuer maried. The truthe of the story, euen by the same Nicephorus saieth. Cum ipsa vitam per virginitatem sibi exigē ­dam statuisset: when she on her partée, had purposed with her self, D to liue out her life in virginitée: whiche could not bee spoken of Philip, if he had three daughters, and gaue himself to get more.

Also ye laboure to proofe that all the Apostles, except Peter, were without wiues, Cap. 13. [...] Ca. 13. [...]. 1. Cor. 11. where sainct Ambrose, as ye alledge your self, affirmeth plainly, that all the Apostles had wiues, except Ihon and Paule. And Orygen saieth, that some of the Apostles [Page 157] were in wedlocke. And Ignatius testifieth in a booke printed be­fore A Luther was borne (whom, [...] Epistola ad philadelphien­ [...]. and the other Germanies ye de­fame to haue corrupted the bookes, suche is youre foule shift) writyng thus: Sicut Petrus & Paulus & caeteri Apostoli qui nuptijs fuerunt sociati. As Peter and Paule, and other the A­postles whiche were conioyned in matrimonie.

Ca. S.P. ij.And where ye number S. Luke the Euangelist among them that weere neuer maried: Platina saieth, that he liued in Pope Cletus daies, and liued fower score yere and thrée, and had a wife at Bithinia. And Platina his reporte maie bée true, though sainct Hierome saie that he liued fower score yere and fower, then ha­uing B no wife. For though he died without a wife, yet it foloweth not, that he neuer had one. And again, sainct Hierome was not verie indifferent to mariage, as appeareth in appliyng Salomōs text to maried folkes: stultorum infinitus est numerus: and fur­thermore in the ouermuche praise of virginitie, he would saie more then inough. As in his booke of Ecclesiasticall writers, rehearsyng Lucius Seneca among them, he writeth, that he was vitae continentissimae, that is, of a moste continent liuyng. Yet stories make mention what an excellent woman he had to wife, whiche would nedes die with hym, in the like death that he was C iudged vnto by Nero. Let Nauclerus be witnesse.

Ca. 13. hh. 4.Also ye affirme boldly that Peter earied not his wife about with hym, but might haue some other sober Matrone, to attend vpon hym, Ca. 12. CC. ij. z. ij. and that he forsoke his wife, and all by avowe. And where in your xi. Chapiter ye seme to doubt, whether Peter had a wife in his Apostleshippe or no: forgettyng your selfe in your xiii. Chapiter, [...]. h. iij. ye conclude, that she was dead, when Peter was called to bee an Apostle, though Tertulian tell you there the con­trarie. But ye saie, that probable reason induceth this truthe. And further ye saie, [...]. 13. GG. iij that all other the Apostles, had not their D wiues followyng theim, but other riche women that ministe­red to their necessities. Lib. 7. Reco­g [...]it. Sir, sainct Clement (whose Epistles ye labour so earnestly to make autentike) writeth plainly, that she was with hym in his peregrination when he preached, and saith thus: that Peter would haue no bodie with hym, but that could [Page 158] A without hurt of his Godlines follow hym. id est: that he should not forsake his faithfull wife or his Parentes &c. And saieth, that his mother was with Peters wife, and iorneied with them, and afterwarde aduoucheth her for a witnesse. In presence, saieth he, of the wife of my Lorde Peter. And Peters wife, saieth he, testi­fied, that it was true. Li▪ 7. stroma [...] And bothe Eusebius, Clemens Alexandri­nus, & Nicephorus telleth, that Peter did put her in minde of the Lorde, when she was goyng to her passion: and that he reioyced, that she was called vnto martyrdome, & spake to her by her own name, Mat. 19. and by the name of wife. And as for forsaking her, where B ye speake determinatly: yet Origen beyng nier his tyme, then ye be by half a score yeres, doubteth of that matter, & writeth thus. Petrus vxorem fortè reliquit. Peter peraduenture did leaue his wife. Dist. 31. [...] [...] ­fitemur. And Pope Leo the nineth, Panormitan, and the gloser of the decrees, bee of opinion with the scripture, that the Apostles caried their wiues aboute with them, saiyng thus. Quod Apo­stoli ducebant vxores secum, vt seruirēt eis in cibis parandis, & ab eis pascerētur, cum essent pauperes, de mercede praedicationis. That is: the Apostles led their wiues with them, that thei might serue them in dressyng their meate, and to be fed of them, beyng C as thei were, poore, of their stipend of their preachyng. Wher ye saie fondly that the Apostle speaketh of eatyng and drinking, Cap. 13. [...] and not of writyng.

Also ye saie, Cap. 13. [...]. that scripture t [...]acheth vs, that praier & fastyng, be the meanes for vs to liue in chastitée. As ye proue it by poetrie, and is ye saie, a better remedie to take a waie brennyng, then is mariage. For the companie of a woman, ye saie, encreaseth the appetite, rather then extinguisheth it. And for this ye bring in the exāple of laye mens outrage in this matter. And ye saie, before mariage a man had but onely the burnyng of the fleshe: where as after mariage, he D shall haue both the burnyng of the fleshe, & the burnyng of cōsci­ence for euer▪ Ca. 12 Ee. 4. O vain doctrine & ieopardous: wher S Paules wisedome was for this incōueniēce to appoinct mariage if thei cā not liue chaste, saiyng, let them marie. And Gods wise­dome then belike, both in his first institution, & second instituti­on, as Ioannes Genesius writeth, lacked your wit & counsaill in [Page 159] his ordinaunce. Maye not S. Paule worthely speake to you: O A homo tu quis es, qui exaduerso respondes deo? O thou blether-blowen wise man, Ro. [...]. what art thou, that thus frowardly and ouer-wharthly bawiest against God? Wher sainct Augustine and all other of the holy chaste fathers of the Churche, appointeth mari­age to be the remedie. Yea, thei saie to the votaries, that mariage is better for them, then to burne. And counsel [...]th them, and all o­thers to resorte to the hauen of Wedlocke, who doeth teache, leste the infirmitie of manne should fall into daunger of inconti­nencie, let it be holden vp and staied with the honestie of matri­mony. That mariage represseth the concupiscence of the fleshe, B heare what Damascene saieth. Damascenus Libr. 4. ca. 25. de or­thodoxa fide &c. Damascene after his praise of virginitie, in cō ­parison of Matrimony, saieth, Haec enim dicimus, non nuptijs de­rogantes. Absit enim. Nam scimus dominum, presentia sua, nup­tijs benedixisse, & eum qui dicit, honorabiles nuptiae. Sed bonis nuptiis meliorem virginitatem agnoscimus. In virtutibus enim & intensiones & remissiones sunt. That is. While we saie these thynges, wee doe not derogate mariages, for God forbide. For we knowe that the Lorde by his presence hath blessed mariage, and we knowe hym that said, honorable is mariage, but we cō ­fesse C virginitie to be better then the goodnes of mariage. For emongest vertues, there be degrées, more or lesse. Lo this diuine calleth mariages good, and numbreth it emongest vertues. And further saith cleane contrary to your corrupt assertiō, wherin y [...] saie that mariages rather doe excite cōcupiscence, then quēche it, for thus he saieth by and by after. Bona quidem liberorum pro­creatio, quam nuptiae constituunt. Et bonae nuptiae ob fornicati­ones quas prescindunt, rabiem concupiscentiae, per legitimam commixtionem, non sinentes ad iniquos furere actus. The pro­creation of children assuredly is good▪ whiche mariage doeth or­daine, D and mariage is good for fornication, whiche it doeth cut of, not sufferyng the furie of concupiscence (by reason of the lawful­nes of mariage company) to rage to wicked actes. And S. Gre­gorie saieth: In pasio [...] alibis Peritus medicinae caelestis Apostolus, non tam sa­nos instituit, quàm infirmis medicamenta monstrauit, dicens: [Page 160] A de quibus scripsistis. &c. Bonum est &c. Propter fornicationem autem vnusquis (que) suam habeat vxorem. &c. Qui enim fornicati­onis metum praemisit, profecto non stantibus preceptum con­tulit. Sed ne fortasse in terram ruerent, lectum cadentibus osten­dit. The Apostle beyng skilled in heauenly medicine, did not so muche ins [...]ruct suche as be whole, as he shewed medicines to the sicke, saiyng: of suche thynges as ye wrote vnto me. &c. It were good for a manne not to touche a woman: yet for fornication, let euery manne haue his wife. &c. In that he putteth before the pe­rill of fornication, vndoubtedly to suche as dooe not stande, he B made it a precept. But leste thei perchaunce should fall vpon the grounde, he graunted a bedde for their fallyng.

Also ye magnifie muche, Cap. 13 II. iij. Innocent the firste, for his slaunde­ryng of Mariage: and ye call hym that holy writer, as ye reporte Hildebrande, Cap. 12 Ee. 4. Cap. 13. KK Gregorie the seuenth, verie honourably, and call hym in one place, sainct Gregorie. And ye saie the Emperour Henry the fourth, was moste charitably and curteously rebuked of him. And ye saie, that Hildebrāde reformed the priestes, which were in the tyme of that Scisme newely stollen into Marriage. Where Nauclerus expressyng the storie, reporteth, that when the C Archebushoppe of Mogunce, sentiens non parua constare opera, vt tanto tempore inolitam consuetudinem reuelleret. &c. Un­derstandyng that it would coste hym no small labour, to vndoe and dissolue that custome (of Mariyng) by so long tyme rooted, and to reforme the whole worlde in her olde and weake age, a­greably to the rules of the primatiue Churche: determined to deale more moderatly with them. And Cardinall Benno, which was a Cardinall in his daies, declareth how cruelly the Empe­rour was handeled by hym, that when this foresaied sainct Gre­gories counsaile tooke no place, where he hired a desperate man D to waite the saied Emperour in his oratorie (where he vsed to say his praiers) to haue slaine hym, by lettyng a stone fall doune frō the roofe vpon hym: at the laste after the said Emperor had laine longe flatte at the feete of one of the Popes legates, askyng and crauyng the Churches mercie▪ whiche was vtterly denied hym: was finally deposed from his Emperiall dignitee, as the storie [Page 161] is lamentably written by the saied Benno. A

But as for this saied Innocent the firste, how holy soeuer he was, in suche holy decrees, so sone followyng his noble predeces­sour Siritius, in whose woordes and phrase, he treadeth in, as ho­lily and as nigh, as ye treade in Pighius steppes: yet I thinke, ye obey not all his decrées. For he decréed, that Saterdaie should be fasted: because, saieth he, Christe laye in his graue on the Sater­daie, and the Apostles fasted the Saterdaie. Which decree of his, for fastyng, is as well kepte, as his decree for chastitée emong the moste part of his shauē subiectes, or as Telesphorus statute is by foolishe gloses trifled awaie in the decrees. Dist. 4. statu­ [...]s. But how holy soeuer B he was in his vowe of chastitée, belike he vowed not wilfull po­uertie. For his infinite vesselles of plate, whiche he gaue to the churche of Rome, his wonderfull buildinges of churches, houses & common Bathes there, declareth that he died no great beggar. Neither in déede was he boūd to that vowe now, for it was after the gift of Constantine, after whose daies, the bushops of Rome neuer were made them selues Martyres or sainctes: but then be­came to Canonise sainctes, that were catholike like Cōstantine, and made Martyres of other menne, suche as were barkers a­gainst the libertees of the Churche. In deede, this holy Innocent C was from Peter, as Marianus Scotus writeth, the .xxxix. Pope, where Melciades was the laste Pope martyre, whiche was in or­der from Peter, the .xxxiij. whiche did shedde their bloude, saieth Fasciculus temporum, for the holy Testament of Christ. And as this Innocente was farre from Peter in succession of tyme, so was he further from hym in succession of life and conuersation. For Clement sheweth, that he was so farre vnable to aduaunce the Churche of Rome, as this Innocente did, that he reporteth these to be Peters woordes: Panis (inquit) mihi solus cum oliuis & raro etiam cum oleribus in vsu est. Indumentum hoc est mihi D quod vides: tunica cum pallio, & haec habens, nihil aliud requiro, hoc mihi sufficit. Onely bread is my vsuall foode, with Oliues, and seldome with wortes and herbes. As for my gramentes, be suche as ye see, a coote with a cloke: and hauyng these, I require no more, saieth Peter, for this sufficeth me. And Christianus [Page 162] A Druthmarus, an olde aucthour, about the yere of our Lorde. 800. writyng vpon Matthewe the tenth Chapiter, saieth, that Peter helde his Busshopricke in Rome .xxv. yeres, and yet had not for all that in his possession, so muche as fiue foote of grounde of his owne. It was greate pitee, that good Constantine was not in these daies of the Churches infancie. But yet perhappes Peter would haue taken no suche thynges at his handes, as Siluester was infected with, for his vowe sake. As this Ciuilian maketh it an article of doctrine, that Peter by a vowe lefte all thynges, house, lande, shippe, nettes, wife, and all. So that by that exam­ple B of his, his successours haue sworne a vowe, to drawe all thin­ges to them selues (wiues onely except) and yet in stede of them, some other thinges. It might be wondered at, what should make Peter so poore and beggarie, if this Ciuilian had not a readie answere to shewe this cause, as he doeth declare in his booke the like. Surely the charge of his wife, & his nise daughter Petronil, made poore Peter to goe in a thredbare coote, or els for scrapyng and purchasyng lande for his wife, & to set out his deare dough­ter, the better for her mariage, he spoyled the Churche patrimo­nie, and left but bare walles, Pag. [...]33. neither Cope nor Uestimente, nor C siluer Chalice neither, and yet kepte but bare hospitalitée, to the greate dishonour of the Churche. And these were like to bee the causes, that he could not leaue so muche by Testamente to his owne Churche, as this Innocent in the man age of the Churche was able to doe. But without doubte, Peter was in an vnluckie tyme, and so was his See as vnhappie, for .xxxiij. of his next suc­cessours loste their heades: some as charged with treason, and some with heresie, one after an other: whiche euill lucke, if it should returne againe to the Bushoppes in Rome at their See: I would bee suretie for them▪ that thei would not iudge the am­bition D for the place, so honourable as thei doe. Although yet S. Gregorie the firste writeth, De [...]ura pastor parte. [...] that it was then honourable to desire to bee a Busshoppe, when he was like to bee the firste, to goe to martyrdome for his flocke. But now the Churche is better con­firmed, and coumpteth it honourable for Bushoppes, to brenn [...] their owne brethren Bushoppes, if thei will take vpon them to [Page 163] stande for the holy Testament of Christe. But let vs here what A names this holy Innocent geueth to innocent matrimonie: No holy names, Cap. 13. II. iij I warrant you. For he calleth it in the same Cha­piter of that decrée, that maister Martin calleth him an holy wri­ter for, carnall concupiscence, filthinesse, infidelitée, and a life of the fleshe, that cā not please God. Whose veigne in holines, this holy Martin foloweth righte vp and doune, in his booke. For he calleth the seconde mariage of Laye menne, more lawfull then honest, and bryngeth in many aucthoritées of prophane auctors, that calleth their twise mariyng, but lawfull incontinencie, and nameth them adulterars by Lawe, Ca. 4. and concludeth, that Paule B thereby was moued, to forbidde Priestes to marrie twise. But here it is méete to note, what monition sainct Augustine gaue a­gainst suche bletherblowne wise men: writyng de bono vidui­tatis: Sicut bonum sanctae virginitatis, quod elegit filia tua, non damnat vnas nuptias tuas: sic nec viduitas tua, cuiusquam secun­das: hinc enim maximè Cataphrigum ac Nouatianorum haere­ses tumuerunt: quas buccinis sonantibus, non sapientibus, etiam Tertullianus inflauit, dū secundas nuptias tanquam illicitas den­te maledico confudit, quas omnino licitas Apostolus sobria mē ­te concedit. Ab hac sanitate doctrinae, nullius indocti, nullius C docti disputatione mouearis, nec ita extollas bonū tuum, vt quod malum non est, tanquam malum, crimineris alienum.

Like as the goodnes of holy virginitée, which thy doughter hath chosen, doeth not condemne once mariyng: so neither doeth thy widowhode, condemne seconde mariages. For from hence swel­led the heresies of the Cataphriges, and Nouatians: whiche here­sies Tertullian blowed vp with trumpettes, that sounded great­ly, although thei were not very wise, when as through his rai­lyng, he confoūded the seconde mariages, as vnlawfull, whiche notwithstandyng, the Apostle very descritly graunteth as law­full. D From this soundnesse of doctrine, see thou be not moued, by any mannes disputyng or reasonyng, whether he be learned, or vnlearned: neither so extoll thyne owne good thyng, that thou shouldest accuse as euell, and laye it to an other mannes charge, that whiche in deede is not euill.

[Page 164] A Marie in deede, Cap. [...]. whiche I had forgotten, his foresaied holy writer Innocent, in the same Epistle of Decrees, telleth vs, that yet it is written in scripture: Vnius vxoris virum, & iterū, sacer­dotes mei semel nubant. Et alibi, sacerdotes mei non nubant am­plius. That is: an husbande of one wife. And again: Let my prie­stes marrie once. And in an other place: Lette not my Priestes marrie often. Now, whether he wrote thus, that God ment it of his Priestes, or Paule ment it of his priestes, or Innocent ment it of his Priestes: I wotte not, but our Romishe Busshoppes and Priestes of these daies, meaneth it of no priestes now. Ther­fore B thei agree like Harpe and Harrowe: yet thei agree all with sainct Hierome, whose aucthoritée is of it self to bee had in cre­dite of euery good Christian man, Cap. xi. [...]. [...] saieth maister Martin: whiche Hierome geueth so many slaunderous names, to Laye mennes mariages: that Tatian neuer spake halfe so many. Whom this maister Martin foloweth so well, Cap. 13. HH [...] that he saieth, that mariage is the basest state of life in Christes churche, yet he saieth it is very honorable. Loe, ye see how he honoreth it, euen as the Iewes ho­nored Christ, when thei sette a croune of thorne on his head, and put a purple robe on hym, and saluted hym with the name of a C kyng. Euen so doeth this man kisse Mariage, with, Aue rabbi: Haile maister. Cap. 13. II. [...] Yet he saieth, that married folkes can not come to the feast, and the feast is no other but eternall life. And saieth, that vpon this place, sainct Paule grounded his saiyng: scz, he whiche hath a wife, is deuided. And saieth, that marriage is halfe dissuaded by sainct Paule, Cap. xi. BB. [...] and moreouer calleth Marriage, but distraction, bondage, a vexation of the fleshe, pentifulnesse, and knitteth vp the matter, and saieth: who can deny, but that Paule coumpteth hym that hath a wife, to bee tied, bounde, troubled, distracted, and in seruitude? Now when this doctor wringeth in D sainct Paule in suche contorted insinuations: yet the Laye men muste thinke, that he hath made a wittie booke, that thei laugh pretely at, & hath good sporte therewith, where I thinke if Paule were aliue, Lib. 2. Heresi. 6. [...]. he would saie that he were distracted of his witte, so to abuse his places and saiynges. Yea, if Epiphanius were aliue, he would saie no lesse by hym, then he did by a certaine heretike, [Page 165] called Hierax: who to like purpose, and after the same maner di­storted A these textes of sainct Paule: Innupta curat ea quae sunt domini: diuisa est vxor & virgo: propter fornicationem vnus­quis (que) vxorem suam habeat. &c. The vnmaried virgine careth for the Lordes matters: but a wife and a virgine are two: yet for the aduoidyng of fornication, lette euery manne haue his wife. Upon whiche places, he concluded (saith Epiphanius) that Paule praised not mariage, but bare with it, to auoide further mischief. Whiche saied heretike, with his adherentes, did so rei [...]cte Matri­monie, as also sainct Augustine testifieth the same of them, that thei would not haue any suche of their companie, that had wi­ues. B Thus (saith Epiphanius) thei pretende the pure virginitée of the churche, but yet had no pure consciēce, but a conscience mar­ked with an hotte yron, forbiddyng mariage. Neuerthelesse, thei were well and iustly scorned, saieth Epiphanius, for their dissi­mulation, seyng thei had, notwithstandyng, women emongeste them, whom thei coloured, vnder pretēce of doyng them seruice. Now compare D. Martin and his complices, with D. Hierax and his disciples, and then consider how farre thei disagree.

Marie as for Priestes mariages, doctor Martin calleth them incestuous, and detestable enormitées, sacrilege, synne and ad­ulterie, C worse then adulterie, preuarication, whoredome and beastly bitcherie, abhominable, vntollerable, and last of all, that ye maie see the whole botome of his bouget tourned vp, that he hath spent all his Rhetorike bagge, he resembleth it to the crime of a cutte purse. And I warrant you, he that will not allowe this geare, thus excellently written: if he maie come by hym, it shall go harde, but that he will procure to haue his eares nailed to the Pillorie. And here maister Martin, followyng you thus farre in one of your vnlearned lyes, I leaue you.

For if I should follow you to note your slaunderouse lies, as D I haue in part noted some of your lyes in learnyng: I feare I should make bothe my self wery to write them, & the reader an­grie with you to reade them. Although you peraduenture would not bee muche ashamed to see them vttered. For it may be well verified of you, that ye cōtort to another. He that is once ouer his [Page 166] A shoes, forceth not afterward how déepe he wade in the myer. He that once hath cast of the face of shame & honestie, taketh no great thought after that, who loketh in his taile. As for exāples of your slaūderous depraunges, ye belie the Germanes & others, whom ye call the newe preachers, to saie that thei call praier liplabour: fastyng, hypocrisie: cha [...]titie & abstinencie, the deuils doctrine: cō ­tempnyng the sacrament of thalter: callyng men from chastitée, to a life contrary to thesame. Thei call your patteryng praiour, which is at this daie vsed of your ministers without affection of hart, or sense of vnderstandyng, a very houling into thaire, with B S. Paule: a vain bablyng, with our sauior Christ. Thei cal your sāctification of your Sabboth daies, as ye kepe thē in your high feastes, suche as at Lyncolne was kept on Pentecost last, but ab­hominable to God, mockage, and very Bacchus feastes, & Sacri­fices of Venus in filthie tales and stories, Concil. Mog [...] ­tinum cap. 48. Anticio [...]or. concil. cap. 9. Contra Iudeos. condempned by your owne coūselles. Thei cal your maner of fastynges, but mere hy­pocrisie, yea, worse then hypocrisie, in such circumstaunces as ye haue many a daie vsed them, & dare pronoūce with Chrisostome inueiyng against the iewes fastyng: that your fastinges be worse then very dronkennesse. Thei call your filthie fained chastitie, a C bandie Sodomiticall carelesse liuing. As the practise declareth to manifest to stande in, to proue. Thei call al suche as haue not the gifte & by their yerely experience: séeth the impossibilitée not frō chastitée, but from filthines of brutishe buggery and boyly best­lynesse, to mariage chastitée. Ye neuer red, or hard, of any suche writers, suche as ye would slaunder to the worlde, I saie of the knowen, and comonly approued writers out of Germanie: But that dothe excite the readers, in their bookes, to Godly and oft prayour: to pure abstinence from all excesses: and to a christian mortification of all their vices and affections, to continencie and D soole liuyng, if God will so haue them to serue hym in that state. And if God by the experience of them selues, vnfainedly calleth them to wedlocke, as to a remedie of their infirmitie, or a dome­sticall comfort in their hospitalitée: thei counsel (with all the doc­tours of the Churche) to take the surest waie to saue their soules. Although the saied old authors, were the most part of them, very [Page 167] vntreatable to remitte that discipline, but when very necessitee A moued conscience, to remitte the rigour of their saied Canons. In dede, the old fathers and their Clergie, had a greate oportuni­tie by the maner of their liuyng, to bée further from daunger of temptatiōs, to haue the more professors, and kepers of their cha­stitée, then the state of this world, wil suffer. Yea, suche a Clergie as ye will frame here in the realme, and for all their diligent dis­cipline, and calling on: yet how oft do thei complaine of the nom­bers of them whiche liued to the slaunder of the rest? In deede it can not be denied, that thei had great zeale to liue in virginitee and soole life, when the fathers in Nicene Counsaill, and some B other councels after that, decreed, that all suche as should geld naturally themselues, should not be receiued into the Clergie. Belike Paphnutius was moued in conscience, vpon the know­ledge he had of them that came single to the state of order, whom the old traditions of the Churche charged so to liue: not to agree to suche lawe, where thei would haue constituted, that married priestes should absteine from their wiues, and so to ieopard a greater nomber in this fier of temptation: he was contēt to saue yet some parte of the house from daunger of the fier, though he could not saue the whoole. Affirmyng, that it was inough that C thei, whiche receiued orders before thei maried, accordyng to the old traditions of the Churche, should from thenceforth abstaine from mariage. I doe not saie that his mynde was, to moue the whole Clergie to mariage: but counsailyng then all, and singu­larly to soole life, as more free to serue God in that vocation. But yet not of suche straite mynde, to prescribe Lawes of neces­sitie, to force them to tarrie euen still, will thei nill thei: But left them to the rule of their owne conscience. For what other thing was ment, master Martine, in the first decree either of Lucius, if it be his, or Siricius, or vrban the second, but to leaue that liberty D yet to suche as was of the Clergie, if thei would not or could not conteine, to suffer them to liue in their Matrimony afterwarde taken, if thei would not relinquishe their Ecclesiastical degrées. And what ment the third Canon of the thirde Councell at Car­thage? the .v. Canon of the Councell at Tollet, or the sixt Coun­saile [Page 168] A holden there, when sainct Augustine was presente? Or the thrée and thirtée Canon of the Councell called Elibertinū about Pope Siluesters daies? Or the Councell holden in Grece, before Siluesters daies, called cōcilium Ancyranum, with many other more, where thei decreed, that such as beyng subdeacons, deacōs, or Priestes, that would chose to marry, should not enioye their Ecclesiasticall liuynges? But I doe not as yet reade, that in all of those Counsailles, thei were compelled from Matrimonie, whether thei would or no, or that thei were seperated from their wiues after thei were so depriued, or their Matrimony called B adulteries. As of that Councell wherat sainct Augustine was present, I thinke, I dare boldly saie, thei were not, seing his iud­gement is in his woorkes, to the contrarie. As for the sixt Coun­cell, holden at Constantinople, permitted bothe wiues and liuin­ges too. And in other Councelles, their wiues and liuynges, so thei would but in tyme of their ministration abstaine from their wiues. But to contend with hym in suche causes of Councels, Canons, and Stories, whiche he contorteth by all shift of wit, to make them to plie to his gostly purpose, were a long businesse. But maruaile not, gentle reader, though he take so muche vpon C hym, in suche infinite and intricate Churche Lawes, wherein he thinketh to leade thee in a mase, as not readie for euery man to see and expend: for thou maiest see his impudent boldnesse other­where. For if ye note hym well, ye maie finde hym hackyng at the Lawes of the Realme, clippyng the Queenes coyne, the best that her grace hath (nexte to the worde of God) for defence of her Princely estate: the Actes of Parliamente I meane: because he would be ready in seruice to her highnesse, to the beste of his wit and power. Note, howe he trauerseth and wreasteth with his gloses, an Acte of the very firste Parliament, that her grace hath D here caused to bee had, since her raigne and coronation, not so long since, that it can so sone bee out of remembraunce: nor the Actes so harde to come by, but that all the worlde maie expende them. I meane, how he forceth and draweth the Acte of repeale, in the cause of Priestes mariages, not onely to importe to take awaie the libertee that was therein graunted, for suche Priestes [Page 169] as vsed not the benefite thereof, as at that tyme (of whiche nūber, A though there wer a great sort more hasting a good pase thervnto, and were half agréed (as thei saie) by wordes of the present time, and present sute to: yet be now many of them as hot, against the state in open pretense, as can be) but also to inferre a plaine dissol­ution, and reuocation of suche Mariages, as were aucthorised by the saied Actes before. Wherin the very originall of the Acte, is plainly expressed in open wordes, that the said Kyng Edwardes actes be repealed, but for hereafter, as other more in the said acte.

Is not he, thinke you, a trustie gloser, to be so bolde in gloses, not onely in his owne Lawes, but thus to glose the Lawes of B the Realme, so lately made, cleane otherwise, then as wise men as he in the Realme doe construe them: and by the practise of di­uerse other thynges, of like nature and condition, in the like case appeareth? Seyng this writer aduaunceth hym self so highly, to expende, and to expound the lawes of the realme, in suche preiu­diciall maner, as he doth: I would faine knowe, how he can glose that Acte of Parliamente, made in the .xxxij. yere of that noble Kyng Henry the eighte, whiche is not as yet repealed, but con­firmed a newe for some parte thereof, concernyng the prohibi­tions of the Leuiticall Lawe, and standeth in sure force at this C very daie: wherein is plainly expressed, that no reseruation or prohibition (Goddes Lawe except) shall trouble or empeche any mariage, without the saied Leuiticall degrees. And that all suche bee lawfull persones to contracte, whiche bee not prohibited by Gods lawe to marrie. I thinke this man can not saye, that prie­stes mariages bee within suche degrees: Ergo, thei ought not to be troubled or impeched, as this Lawe commaundeth.

And where this doctor writeth, in thende of his .ix. Chapiter (full learnedly bee ye suer, R. ij. specially for a greate maister of the Chauncerie) that the two actes in Kyng Edwardes daies, auc­thorisyng D priestes mariages, doeth not take a waie the penalties of the Canon lawe, whiche assertion, for the like, how far it may be extended, let wise menne iudge. But if thei did (he saieth) yet could not the priestes take any aduauntage by them, longer then thei did continue. And he addeth his reason: because (saith he (the [Page 170] A auncient lawes of the churche, as sone as the saied two statutes were taken awaie, came straight in force againe. Further, saieth he, for that thei were neuer extinguished, but only for a time sha­dowed and brought a slepe: And this (he saieth) is the opinion of the chief Doctors of the Ciuill lawe. Now Master Ciuilian, if ye had alledged this opinion, as of suche as be learned, and beareth good hartes to their owne naturall lawe of the realme: your sai­yng had been better proued in my conceite. And I doubt muche, whether it bee true that ye saie, that the beste Ciuilians agréeth with you. I thinke, if it were searched, there might be found as B good Ciuilians comparable with those, whom ye note to bee the chief Doctors of the Ciuill, that bee not in your iudgemente, in this your gaye booke. And whether ye haue any manne, lear­ned in the temporall lawe, that will ioyne in this opinion with your chief doctors in the Ciuill Lawe: I would yet wishe eu [...]n those, though ye haue craftly trained them into suche opinion by the odiousnes of this cause of the poore priestes: yet to aduise thē well, for suche causes might arise to them selues, in compasse of seuen yeares, in the like cases, that peraduenture, thei would wishe not to haue it, so vniuersally concluded, as ye conclude it.

C But sir, yet let me aske you a question, by the occasion offred of that Lawe, of Kyng Henrie, Anno. xxcij. where it is deter­mined in lawe, wherof I thinke, ye cannot shewe the like in this realme, since Brute came first into England: and ye knowe, that it is a great wonder to your wit, for thinges to come in law, that fewe menne hath seen the like example before tymes: I meane I saie, for the nature of precontractes, whiche by that statute, bee vtterly voide, if a second contract followeth, and bee consumma­ted with bodely knowledge. Ye knowe that this acte for precon­tractes is repealed againe Anno secundo, Edwardi sexti, and re­stored D to that force, as once it was, and so long before continued many hundreth yeres. What do ye entend with such mariages, as at this daie be a great meiny in Englande, which began and were aduailable by force of that act, seyng this act is now repea­led? Whether maie ye dissolue suche marriages, and pronounce them nought, seyng ye saie the [...]orce of the olde Canons, yea, the [Page 171] force of a statute lawe too, is in strength againe, and debarryng A euery man to vse that kinde of second contractyng for hereafter? When ye haue well answered this one question, I thinke suche as bée learned in the law, could deuise more of suche kinde, to set your gaie witte on worke. And if ye list, ye maie read, that suche equitie was prouided for, in the first yere of Kyng Edwarde the sixte, in the .xj. Chapiter, concernyng the peaceable enioiyng of mennes interestes, geuen by acte before, though afterward fol­loweth a repeale, by the Kynges letters patentes of the saied actes, & the parties might pleade the said actes repealed for there grauntes, so enioyed by lawe. B

I praie you cōsider, whether these rules of the lawes folowing, might not haue place in this cause, where it is saied: Factum le­gitimum, retractari non debet, licét casus postea eueniat, quo nō potuit inchoari. A facte that was once lawfull, ought not to bee called into question againe, although afterwardes there happen somethyng, that myght hinder the beginnyng of it. Et multa prohibentur fieri, que facta tamen tenent. Many thynges are prohibited to be doen, whiche when thei once bée doone, must yet stand. Indultum a iure beneficium, non est alicui auferendum. A benefite graunted by law, must be taken from no man. If any C cause might be reduced to the equitie of these lawes, I thinke, the cause of Matrimonie, beyng Gods ordinaunce, ought to bée in­dissoluble, and not to be retracted.

Moreouer, if these mariages aforesaied, ought not to bee dis­solued, but muste enioye the benefite of that statute, when it so stode, though it be repealed for hereafterward: why should that act of repeale, made in the first yere of our soueraigne Ladie the Quéenes maiestie, Quéene Marie, takyng a waye only but the libertie for Priestes to marrie for hereafter, impeache or hinder those lawfull mariages of priestes before (aucthorised by as good D lawe and as often tymes before these daies seen) more then king Edwardes repeale, cā, or ought, molest these mariages, for their maner of contractyng? Furthermore, if vpon repeale of actes, as ye do saie, your slepyng Canons should therby be straight waie in force, watching and wakyng to shewe their face, to byte and barke, as the ordinaries in [Page 172] A some places, would haue them: I doubt whether al the Quéenes highnes subiectes, should haue so quiet reste in their beddes, as thei would wishe, and as their forefathers, before tyme prouided for them selues, by kepyng this slepyng tye dogge in his kenell, not to come to farre a broode for bityng.

And because this Ciuilian deliteth to skoure his wit in lawest I desire his resolution in one doubt, rising by occasion of his for­saied determination, whiche is that all Ecclesiasticall persons, lieth open to the old Canons of the Churche, by reason of this acte of repeale.

Kyng Edwarde in his first yere made a statute repealyng all B maner actes before his tyme made, for punishement of Heresies, as well the acte of King Richarde the seconde, made in his first yere: the act of Henrie the .v. made in his second yere: the actes of Kyng Henrie the eight, made in his xxv. yere: the act of .vj. articles, made in the .xxxj. yere, & one other act made in the .xxxv. yere concernyng qualification of the saied acte of six articles, and all other suche whatsoeuer: I aske of this Ciuilian, whether be­cause no great strong lawe is peraduenture in force at this daie in the realme, for punishement of Heresies, the whole realme, Nobilitée, Clergie, and Commons, lieth faier flatte wide open, C to all the Canons of the Churche or no, by reason of this forsaied act of Kyng Edwardes repeale? Whether his slepyng Canons, shadowed for a tyme, muste nowe a wake, and come to light, to shewe their faces, and to playe ther partes? If this Lawier saie, yea, as he doeth plainly in the case of Priestes mariage: I thinke all the realme that knoweth the tract of those Canons, and haue felt the breathe of them, will, I weene, as boldly saie naie, and swere it to, in their owne cases. And I thinke it should stand thē all in hande, to holde that opinion, as strongly as thei holde any Copie, or freée hold thei possesse. Thei might els peraduenture, D standyng suche ordinarie Iudges, and Commissaries, as some­where thei shew themselues, be driuen out of the best holds thei haue. Whiche matter, because it is weightier then I am able to discusse, I leaue it to be expended & noted among the Studentes of the temporall Lawes, for their owne gaine, and their frendes to: so it might hap vt ne pridie fortasse faciāt, quod pigeat postri­die▪ [Page 173] That thei doe not that one daie, whiche thei repent the nexte A daie. And if these studētes list to see but a little taste of the church lawes in cases of Heresie, how indifferent and easie thei bee: let them loke no further, 6. decrete. but on the lawes of that holy father Boni­facius the eight, of whom Platina writeth, that he entred into his papacie and Busshopricke, like a For, liued therin like a Lyon, and died out thereof like a dogge. Upon whose death the saied Platina writeth. Afther this sort (saieth he) dieth this Boniface, whose endeuour was rather to cast a terrour vpon Emperours, Kynges, Princes, Nations, and People, then true Religion. As for golde, he gathered of euery hande beyonde all measure. And B heere, therfore (saieth he) lette all Secular and Spirituall rulers learne by his example, to vse their aucthoritie ouer the Clergie and the people, not proudly, & contumeliously, as he did, but ver­tuously and courteously, as Christ our gouernour did, and as his disciples and true folowers vsed. And let them rather desier to be loued of the people, then feared, whence springeth iustly, the de­struction that is wont to fall on tirauntes. Thus farre Platina.

But to returne againe to this mans assertion, wherin he de­fineth, that the church Canons be ready, watchyng straightway to fall into mens neckes, vpon repeale of suche statutes as kept C them backe, whiche he doeth so boldly, that belike, the wise and well learned Commissaries, in diuerse places, without further aduisement, taketh vpon them wonderouse stoutly, to seperate not onlye Regulers, but Seculers too, against their willes and consentes. Upon which their daynges, I would aske them a que­stion: how thei can glose the wordes of Kyng Henries statute in his xxvij. yere, where it is plainly decréed in lawe, that all maner Licences, Dispensations, and Faculties, obtained of the Arche­bushop of Canterburie, in matters not repugnaunt or contrary to the holy scriptures, and lawes of God, shall stand in full auc­thoritie D and strength, without any reuocation, or repeale hereaf­ter to bee had of anye suche licence. And I knowe diuerse maried Priestes, whiche haue suche dispensations, some corroborated by the Kynges broade Seale, some by the saied Archebusshoppes seale. I would faine learne, how thei vnderstand these w [...]ightie [Page 174] A lawes of y ^e realme. Belike, as thei haue proceded in depriuatiōs of many men, neuer called or cited, neuer conuict nor confessed: & some called on thone daie, and flat depriued on the next daie, not examinyng whether he were seculer, or reguler, maried before orders, or after, without all maner inquisitiō: So, belike, thei de­sire to proceade in separations, against bothe Gods lawe, & their owne. And as for the lawes of the Realme, thei make but washe waie of them, so little comptyng of them, that if a lorde should see his tenauntes in his Court baron so little regard the bye lawes of his courtes, he would thinke them not vnworthie to lose their B Copies. And therefore me thinke, this Ciuilian doeth little good seruice, to the maiestie of the lawes of y ^e realme, nor yet any plea­sure to the learned in the lawes, whose professiō is, to sée y ^e lawes kept in strength indifferently, and as thei professe it in their Ser­geauntes rynges: Or els their occupatiō, will be s [...]ne out of esti­mation. Yea, if ye consider the drifte of his boke, ye shall perceiue that he laboureth by all meanes, Loke in his ix. Chapiter. Litera. R. vnto the ende of that Cha­piter and ex­pend it. to aduaunce all foraine lawes whatsoeuer, farre aboue themperial lawes of our countrée. For he saieth, that it is but a poore shifte for an Englishe manne, to stande to the statute lawe of the Realme, if the Churche Lawes C bee against hym. And in his conference, byndeth strongly vpon Ciuill constitutions of the Emperor. Yea, moreouer, bryngeth in a greate armie of Prouinciall constitutions, made of Clarkes of Conuocation onely in other foraine realmes, to counteruaile, yea, to deface and skorne out our statutes and temporall ordi­naunces, as he maketh but a lippe at them in effect. For he saith, that all statutes, made against the lawes of the Churche, be to be demed ipso iure, & ipso facto, vnlefull, voide, and of none effecte. And the Spirituall lawe must medle with Spirituall matters: where the kynges aucthoritée maie goe plaie hym, his Iudges D and Sergeauntes maie haue in hand their leauynges, and suche as thei will truste them with. Oh if kyng Henry were a liue a­gaine, thinke you this man would so write, to teache his subiec­tes? And hath kyng Henry, of all suche as he hath promoted with liuynges, and lordships, no frendes? Or rather the truthe it self? yea, the honour of the Realme, no patrones to monishe this Ci­uilian, [Page 175] what he goeth about? Shall this geare bee applauded to, A and magnified? Let gloses be gloses, and will, will: but let lawe be lawe, againste all captious Ciuilians. And as for the Com­missaries them selues, who aduentureth, belike, vpon his wri­tynges so boldely, maie one daie bee called before God, to shewe how well thei haue proceaded, euē in their owne lawes. Yea the Queenes maiestée, maie fortune call them to accoumpte: Whose grace willed them, in these very matters to proceade, agreably to learnyng and discretion. Articles of Commssion in print pu­blished. And in the very front of her graces articles, chargeth the Ecclesiasticall Ordinaries, to put in execu­tion the Canons and Ecclesiasticall Lawes, no other, but suche B as were vsed in the tyme of kyng Henry the eighte: And com­maundeth also moreouer, that those should no further be put in execution, but as thei maie stande with the Lawes and statutes of the Realme. I could here saie somewhat, but that I will not for length cumber your eares, with conuenient contemplatiōs. Well, I leaue them to this Ciuilian to muse on, for I knowe he hath suche a wit, that no lawe or statute can be laied before hym, but he can set his comment vpon it, if ye will accepte his gloses.

If a manne obiecte, that the states of the Realme, hath made Lawe, and taken order in this cause, or any other suche like, C and therefore muste stande againste all the Lawes and Canons of the Churche: then straightwaie he will beate you backe, with the aucthoritée of the Churche, and saie, as the moste parte of all his disciples and adherentes allege: that a particular Churche, a little member of the whole, can not derogate the vniuersall law of the churche. Whiche saiyng, how sounde it is, let that old lawe testifie, whiche was made in a Parliament, holden at Northam­pton, in the daies of kyng Henry the seconde, almoste. CCCC. yeres ago, whereat was presente a Legate called Hue, sent from Rome by Alexander, Pope then: and notwithstandyng his pre­sence, D and though Thomas Becket sporned at it before, yet was it enacted cleane derogatory to the Lawes and Canons of the Churche: that Priestes, if the hunted in the Kynges Parkes, or committed felonie, murther, or treason, thei should be iudged be­fore temporall Iudges, accordyng to the Lawes of the Realme: [Page 176] A whiche Lawe and others, is practised to this daie. And further­more, let this foresaied article of the Queenes maiestie testifie, whiche doeth plainly determine this question: wherin her grace commaundeth that her Lawes, the Lawes of her Croune, shall stande in strengthe, against all the vniuersall Lawes of our mo­ther holy churche. And I thinke, all her graces progenitours, frō tyme to tyme, hath foreseen that Romishe Canons, shall be but rules and Canons, taken and refused vpon consent, and as shall bee meete for the policie of the Realme. Whiche poincte of lear­nyng, is in suche absolute wise debated learnedly, in a Booke B written here in Englande, intituled: De potestate Regia & Ec­clesiastica: that neither this Ciuilian, nor all the Canonistes in Englande, shall euer be able to answere it. For it hath hetherto laine vnanswered these twentie yeres, of all the Romanistes in Christendome. And if this Ciuilian will reade it, and expende it ouer, and doubteth further of any poincte conteined therein: let hym consulte with certaine of the Bushoppes, that bee in moste aucthoritee at this daie, by whose learnyng and collection, the booke was written, and thei can further resolue him. And if that C booke will not satisfie hym, let hym resorte to an other, intituled the Institution of a Christian man, presented to kyng Henry the eight, by all the Bushoppes of the Realme, for stable doctrine to be vniuersally preached, and so assured by the subscriptions of all their names, as ye maie there reade their names. Looke ouer the exposition of the .ix. and .x. article of the Crede, and their doctrine written in the Sacramente of Order, and consider their iudge­mentes. If it be further obiected, that the king could doe no more in dispensation, then the Pope was able, whiche (as some saie) cā dispense with the singular case of one or twoo in a Realme, but not with a whole Realme, or with the whole state thereof, as D kyng Edwarde hath doen with the whole Clergie: if their opi­nion bee true, how could the Busshoppe of Rome, Innocent the viij. as Volateran writeth, dispense with the whole countree of Noruegia, to cōsecrate the Cuppe without wine, in Ale or Bere, contrary to the vsage of Christe and his Churche? How could he dispense with whole Bohemie, for receiuyng the Communion [Page 177] in bothe kindes? And how could Paule the thirde, offer the same A dispensation to all Germanie, as appeareth in his Bulle, for the reduction of the same nation, to Rome Churche againe? Howe could Gregorie the firste, dispense with all the Realme of En­glande, for their mariage within the degrees prohibited? Or yet how could he dispense and geue licence to Augustine our apostle, not to folowe Rome Churche so precisely in forme of Spirituall gouernaunce, but hadde hym deuise a forme hym self, of the v­sages of other countrées, and to take the best: and so instill it, and other suche thinges, as he could other where learne, into the ten­der myndes of the Englishe nation, as many of suche nature B might be alledged? If it bee obiected, that the Pope can not dis­pense with the generall Counsaile, that will not serue. For it is commonly holden of the Canonistes, that the Pope is aboue the Counsaile, and maie dispense with the Counsaile, as thei alledge Extra. de consang. & affi. non debet. of Innocent the third, which released the prohibitions of consanguinitée & affinitee, in Coun­sailes before restrained, yea, in suche degrees (as Gregorie saith) who that dissolue them, beleueth not that Goddes woorde will endure for euer. Can. 35. q. 10. Fraternitatis.

Now, if this Ciuilian would haue this poinct yet further de­bated, C by the learnyng of the Iudges of the realme, scilicet, how farre Ecclesiasticall Lawes are to be admitted: let hym go to the statute of the .xxvij. yere of kyng Henry the eighte, and see what thei reserue from the makers of Ecclesiasticall Lawes.

Prouided alwaie, saie thei, that no Canons, constitutions, or ordinaunces, shall bee made and putte in execution within this realme, by aucthoritée of the Conuocation of the Clergie, which shal be contrary or repugnaunt, to the kynges prerogatiue roy­all, or the customes, lawes, or statutes of this realme. And in the xxv. yere, in the like statute, fearyng belike, the dint of these dou­ble D strong Canōs, that might be made: thei speake more precise­ly in the like prouiso: and saie not onely, contrary or repugnant, but derogatorie to the Lawes of the realme. And if the Iudges and Sergeauntes of the realme, will now, for to doe this man pleasure, geue vp their holde in these and suche poinctes, whiche [Page 178] A their forefathers hath with tothe and naile alwaies maintained before tymes: I wene it would come to passe, before twentie ye­res should come to an ende, that men would rather retaine one poore Canonist for counsaile in their causes, then fixe of the best Iudges and Sergeauntes of theim all, whereby Westminster hal, might chaunce to be colder, bothe in Winter and Sommer to, for their gaine. I warrāt you, these whom he calleth the chief doctours of the Ciuil Lawe, whom he aduoucheth to bee of this [...]aithe and belief, would loose nothyng by that bargaine. If his chief doctors could but obtaine, that thold acte of prouiso, made in B king Edward the third his daies, in the .xlviij. yere of his raigne, wonderful derogatorie to the lawes of our mother holy churche, might in suche a good season as this is, be throwen vnder foote: (although yet it were better it were at a more certaintie) ye shall sone espie, that these Ciuiliās would not long tracte the tyme, to be then the chief doctors of bothe the common & Canon lawe to. Whiche lawe of Prouiso, although Pope Gregorie the leuenth did muche repine at, and saied, that to make suche a Lawe, was nothing els, but to diuide Christes churche, to destroie Christian religion, and that it was againste all Gods forbode: and though C Pope Martyn the v. of that name, wrote sharper letters to Hen­ry the .vi. to haue it reuoked: yet the kinges and the nobles afor­saied, would none of it, thei would stande to their Lawes whiche thei made in their policy, how cōtrary soeuer Rome lawes were against them, or how faine soeuer the Bushops of Rome would haue had their eyes still bent vpon vs, as my Lorde of Winche­ster writeth, in that their vniuersall carefulnesse of Prouiso.

Well, looke vpon kyng Henry the eightes Acte, in his .xxv. yere, and fourtene Chapiter, for the preamble: and then smell, if ye can, what this Ciuilian meaneth, by this gaie inuention of D his: to saie, that vpon a Statute of Repeale, the Canons succeadeth by and by, in full force and strength. And here, I muche maruell, that one thyng skapeth, not onely this farcastyng Ciuilian, but all his chief doctors of the Ciuill Lawe to. For if this deuice be so greate a warraunte, as he maketh it, to the Commissaries, in the maried Priestes case: how chaunceth it that (because kyng Ed­wardes [Page 179] statute, before rehearsed, of his firste yere, repealed al his A progenitours Actes, for punishemente of heresies): thei doe not tell the Spirituall Lordes, & others of the Conuocation, whiche would so faine haue newe mens heades, vnder their old girdels, by the Act whiche was so muche labored for, for heretikes at this laste Parliamente, that seyng now all the old statutes bee put a­waie, for this matter of heresie, and the realme hath no Lawe in strengthe, and necessary it were (as true it is) that heresie should be brideled, that therevpon tombleth me in, all the whole rable­ment of the Churche Canons, and Lawes by heapes, with all their force and paines. And therefore this Ciuilian might bidde B the Ordinaries, and all their Commissaries, how sore and ex­treme soeuer thei listed to bee, bee of good chere, and dispaire not to want their willes: for if thei looke well about them, thei haue now, by the benefite of kyng Edwardes statute (and in this re­spect, he might be called good king Edward, or king Edward the sainct) more in their handes, then euer thei had these. CC. yeres.

Now, how this wittie deuice would be receiued, and where it would be most thankefully taken, or whether it would turne to the wealth of the realme? Let other men expende, and make an­swere to this Ciuilian, and to other of his cheif doctors: whether C there were any misterie of mischief in it, or no.

I thinke, that as in all Kynges dayes sence the conquest, the wise and learned menne of the realme, from tyme to tyme, hath alwaie moderated the Canons & lawes of the vniuersall church, (as small a mēber of the same, as the Romanistes of these daies, in contemptuous comparison, would make their owne naturall countrée, to the aduauncement of a counterfette and vnnaturall congregation at Rome) whiche Churche thei (full aptly) call the temple of God and toke Canons but as rules of consente, and refused them againe as fréely by consent, and extinguished them D and their paynes with them: And yet were no princes of infideli­tie, as ye make a faier insinuation therof in your v. Chapiter. I. iiij. and euer preferred the Imperiall Lawes of the state of the realme, for their surest inheritances, as the Quéenes highnes at this daie, doeth euen the same, with good deliberation. And [Page 180] A yet the Queenes grace and her Nobles, nor her graces progeni­tours, nor their olde auncitours neither, not counted the lesse ca­tholike to God, and to the true churche of Christ for suche bride­lyng in of these sléepyng and dreamyng Canons: of whiche pro­genitours saieth my Lorde of Winchester, some of them bee saintes in heauen, and be so honoured and reputed at these daies. So I thinke, the wise and learned menne, at the makyng of the saied act of Kyng Edwarde in his first yere, ment not, that wher thei deuised it specially to resist extremities of lawes, thei should imprudently or wittyngly bryng in tenne tymes more extremi­ties, B then euer thei were vnder, before that act was made.

When wise menne, by the occasion of suche cases, haue pon­dered by them selues what signes and profers bee made by this Ciuilian by the case of Priestes mariages, whiche though the Deuill and all his members laboreth by all meanes to foile, yet standyng as thei do, vpon the rocke of Gods lawes (specially for seperation) and that separation beyng against the iudgement of the beste and eldest writers in Christes Churche, standyng the aucthoritée of the kynges Imperiall croune, and so many lawes knitte and combined in suche validitée, as thei be made, I doubt C not but some man at length will saie: Quòd non est talis casus in tota lege, & quod est valdè difficilis. That there is not suche a case in all the lawe, and that it is very harde, as easelye as this lawier passeth it ouer. And then againe, rauyng in this one case, of poore Priestes mariages, whom to ouercome in their priuate case, is no great maistery, nor no great care taken, although yet priestes, to suffer violence of priestes, will in thend litle aduaunce the whole Clergie: I saie what myre maie be raked vp, to make a shrewed perfume to their owne nooses, in their owne cases and states, I lette other menne consider. It was wonte to be saied: D Qui vni iniuriam facit, omnibus facit. He that dothe wrong to one, in effect doth wrong to all. But what forceth this Ciuilian, what lawes soeuer be against hym, so thei bée no better then sta­tute lawes of this poore outcaste Isle and perticuler Churche of England. And whatsoeuer be iudged of hym, so he may haue the victorie in this cause, what care taketh he, either what miserie [Page 181] and mischeife cometh to the priestes, whō he hateth so spitefully: A or what inconueniencies maye ensue to the whoole realme, by suche barbarousnes as is induced for want of ministers: or what inconueniencies of vnspeakeable whoredomes and filthines, pretily in some places alreadie begunne and practised, by reason of suche forced separations wil folowe, so he maie haue his pur­pose of this noble conquest. For if the glorie of victorie were not so vnreasonably sought for, in his glorious booke: and if he were not beyond al measure incensed with malice against them, as he appeareth: or if he were not the man, that belike hath so highlye aduaunced hymself in his own conceite, that he thinketh no man B dare or will dissent from hym: or els haue set his forehead impu­dently, so headstrong against all menne, that he careth not who loketh in his face: He could neuer be so farre past shame as he is, so openly, & in so many places of his booke to lye, in aduouchyng such aucthorities as he doth, in the perticulers of his probations.

I maruell, before God, that he is not a shamed so boldly, and irreuerently, to vtter his lyes to the Queenes highnes, to the ho­norable nobilitée, to all the learned and wise men in the realme, and is not a shamed in his owne conceipte, or at the least waye, stande not in doubt in hymself, that he can not so scape with his C vntruthes so clearly, but that some men will tell them at length to the nobilitie, & other graue personages of the realme, whiche hath not the leasure to peruse and compare his writynges, with the originalls them selues. But it is to true in hym, that is saied comonly: Malè examinat verum, omnis corruptus iudex. Full euill is a true cause examined and expended, by the iudge that is corrupt.

In his eight Chapiter, where he laboureth to proue that all priestes be votaries, whiche he shall neuer be able to proue, of se­culers Priestes ordered in this realme of England, do the best he D can: he hath diuerse fetches. Some tyme by argument of taciter­nitie out of scripture, & ther he glorieth highly y ^t he hath scripture for the purpose, to the wonder of all men, to se how suche Frēche Ciuilians wittes can contorte sciripture. In deede it may be cal­led an argument of Ta [...]iturnitie: for there is so muche scilence of [Page 182] A any vowe makyng, that neither the Bushop speaketh any suche matter, whiche the prieste might for his scilence bynde hymself: nor the Prieste professeth any suche vowe, whiche the Busshops scilence should ratifie. And then ye see how proper an argument it is out of the scripture, whiche he bringeth an example of: ye maie se how good a Logitian he is, how quicke and wittie. Then he cometh to the woordes that the Bushop speaketh to the Sub­deacons (as he saieth) and first putteth in the Latin, then Engli­sheth them, and after glose them, and biddeth the readed of good felowship, to expende the Bushops wordes, whiche he reciteth, B when he geueth orders.

Examine here with me good reader, Cap. 8. lrā O. ij. saieth he, this the Bushops proposition, and thou shalt anone see, whether our priestes be not votaries: and thou shalt espie also, what trueth is in oure newe preachers, that haue slaūdered the church. &c. Who would thinke that vpon suche protestation, he would euen straight waie for all this preamble, bléere the readers eye with a manifest lye?

Now good reader, as he desireth thee to examine this poynt, euen so do I beseche thee. And then espie by thy self, what truthe is in this new Ciuilian. And for the triall of his truthe and ho­nestie, C aske hym if euer he heard any Bushoppe or suffragane in Englande, speake that proposition to the Subdeacons? And if he haue, thei haue dreamed it of their owne heades: for their haue it not in their owne pontificals, by the whiche thei geue all their orders. Therfore it is a most shamefull boldnes to beare the rea­der in hand that it is so saied by the Busshoppe, when it is not by hym spoken. And therefore in this poincte, he is to impudent, to make his strong argumentes vpon suche groundes, as bee not aduoucheable.

But yet good reader, leste he should blynde thine eye, with a D sleightie craft, as is all his doynges in his boke, peraduenture he maie for the aduouchyng of his report, bryng thee to a pontificall booke, & shewe thee his wordes in deede. But yet before y ^u geuest firme credence, desier his good maistership of his worship to tell thee, whether it be a very Englishe pontificall booke in deede: by the which, Englishe seculer priestes, be cōsecrated in their orders [Page 183] And if he can proue that, then vpon this poincte, I am content A that my whole boke be taken for false and vntrue. If he can not proue his [...]aiyng true, where he saieth that our priestes bée vota­ries, by force of those wordes, beleue hym not in this lye, though ye haue some cause to mistrust him in his other probatiōs. Mary sir, if he bryng you to a pontificall booke of his holye father the Pope, wherby at Rome, and in Italie he geueth orders, to his Subdeacons and priestes there: what doeth that boke bind prie­stes in England, beyng of an other territorie & iurisdiction, ha­uyng an other seueral maner in their orderyng, and hath so vsed before this mannes great grandfather was borne or christened? B wherin the Busshop speaketh these onely woordes to the prieste, whē he laieth the stoale aboute his necke: Accipe iugum domini. Iugum enim eius suaue est, & onus eius leue. & stolam innocen­tiae induat te dominus. Take the yoke of the Lorde, for his yoke is swete, and his burthen light. And the lorde put vpon thee, the stole of innocency. In déede, where in thende of his xiij. Chapiter this Doctor bryngeth in like wordes as be in the Englishe pon­tificall for Bushoppes: L [...]rā. LL. [...]. but yet euen there he vseth a violent con­torted argument against doctor Ponet, alledgyng these wordes: Vis castitatem ac sobrietatē cum dei auxilio seruare? Wilt thou, C through the helpe of GOD, keepe chastitée and sobrietée? Yet in the Englishe pontificall, it is thus: Vis castitatem & sobrietatē, cum dei auxilio custodire & docere? Wilte thou, by the helpe of God, keepe and teache chastitee and sobrietee? I will not con­tende with hym in this saiyng for the bushops, but in his former wordes of his allegation for Subdeacons of Englishe makyng, he shall neuer make it good to his liues end, that those wordes be in the Englishe pontificall. Notwithstandyng, he thinketh that he hath made moste strong proofe of his purpose, where ye see, by that that is hitherto perceiued in his booke, he hath made foure D principall groundes, that Englishe Priestes be votaries: Firste by Origens aucthoritee, writyng vpon the Numbers. Secondly, by the maner of their Orderyng. Thirdly, by the Priestes crou­nes. Fourthly, by an argument of Taciturnitie. And that once dooen, he spendeth his eighth Chapiter, in prouyng that vowes [Page 184] A muste be kepte, whiche belike must be his fifte argumente. And thus these argumentes holde.

The first, the Priestes where Origen was borne, or where he did write, were votaries: Ergo Englishe Priestes be votaries. And yet Origen did not write so. But in that Homilie speakyng aswell to Laye menne, as to Priestes, saieth, that thei bee moste meete to offer vp the continuall Sacrifice, of Mornyng and E­uenyng praier, that will kepe continuall chastitie. And then his argument holdeth thus: Thei which can continually praie, kepe continuall chastitee: Ergo, Englishe Priestes bee votaries. But B thus I argue: Priestes maried, maie offer to God that continu­all Sacrifice of Mornyng and Euenyng praier: Ergo, thei neede not to vowe that chastitee, whiche ye speake of. Or thus, Origen writeth not there any woorde of Priestes vowes: Ergo, in that place he doeth not proue them votaries.

The seconde, for the maner of the Busshoppes proposition. The Busshop speaketh suche a proposition, to Priestes in Spain or Italie: Ergo Englishe priestes be votaries. Now the truth is, no suche proposition is spoken, to the Englishe Subdeacon at C all. Further, this Ciuilian writeth manifestly, euen there thus, that the vowe of chastitee, is no otherwise conceiued of our prie­stes, then as it is propounded to them, by the Busshoppe in suche proposition. Then I reason thus. The Busshoppe propoundeth not this propositiō to our priestes in Englande: Ergo there is no vowe in them conceiued, & so none begotten or brought to birth: Ergo, Englishe priestes be no votaries by your owne cōcession.

Your thirde argumente hangeth thus. Priestes crounes in their heades signifie a vowe: Ergo, Englishe Priestes bee vo­taries. Now I haue proued that matter to bee farre vnlike, that their crounes should bee signes of any vowe, but rather of other D thynges. And that ye bee fondly deceiued, as I trust ye doe per­ceiue by this tyme, and then I argue thus. The priestes crounes signifie no suche vowe. Ergo, by that signe Englishe Priestes be no votaries. Or thus. The Nazareās shaued of their heere, whē their vowe was doen and paste, the Priestes bee like the Nazare­ans, as ye saie: Ergo, by the shauyng of their crounes, thei bee [Page 185] paste their vowe, and not vnder their vowe. A

Your fourthe argument of Taciturnitie, holdeth thus. Prie­stes Ordered by the Romane pontificall, kepyng their silence at the Bushoppes proposicion, binde them selues by their Tacitur­nitie, to a vowe of continencie: Ergo, Englishe Priestes orde­red by their owne potificall, wherein no suche proposition is spo­ken, bee v [...]taries. Furthermore, your owne difinition is of a vowe, that it should bée a deliberate or aduised promise made to God, for a better entente and purpose. And further ye saie, that by reason of the Priestes profession and vowe annexed, he is a votarie, & can not Marrie. Then thus I argue. Englishe Prie­stes B make no suche promise or profession, nor the Busshoppe re­quireth any suche promise, nor any proposition doe include suche profession or promise: Ergo, by the maner of their orderyng, En­glishe Priestes be no votaries, and therefore without let of any vowe, maie Marrie. And Ioannes Genesius saith, that there is no greater impedimēt against their mariage, then their vowe, suche as it is. And then standyng, that no suche vowe is made by them, it foloweth, that the greatest impedimente, is by his aucthoritee well wiped awaie: And all these argumentes made for the ne­gatiue, holde as well as all those, whiche he bryngeth in for his C affirmatiue. Thus ye see what doctrine he hath vttered, to Ec­clesiasticall Iudges to leane to, for their hastie proceadynges of diuorsyng suche persones maried. And therefore, if either in his blindnesse, or malice, or yet ignoraūce, he geueth the occasion to vnlearned Ordinaries & their Commissaries, to attempt wilful­ly that thyng, whiche neither Gods worde nor mans worde, can approue or beare: I would not be in his coote for suche threates of Christ: Ve homini per quem offendiculū venit: & bonū erat illi, sinatus nō fuisset homo ille: Wo be to that man, by whom offēce commeth: and it were better for that manne, if he neuer had been D borne, for all the gaines he shal haue in the Chauncerie, as long as he liueth. He maie haue a zeale peraduenture, as other good menne maie haue: but let hym consider, etiam at (que) etiam, ne sit non secundum scientiam, leste it be not, accordyng to knowlege, leste cruelly crucified Christe, and poore stoned Stephen, bee not [Page 186] A without remedy compelled to saie, and crie once againe: Nesci­unt enim quid faciunt: for thei knowe not what thei dooe. Deus conterat satanam sub pedibus nostris breui, vt cognoscamus in terra viam suam? The Lorde treade Satan doune shortly vnder our féete, and graunt that we maie knowe his waie vpō yearth? O Anglia: si lumen quod est in te, tenebrae sint, ipsae tenebrae quā ­tae? Sed olim vobis, O patres, dicet dominus: Reddite rationem villicationis vestrae. Venite ad iudicium.

O Englande, if the light that is within thee, is become dar­kenesse, how greate then is the darkenesse it self? But the Lorde B in tyme to come, shall saie vnto you (O fathers) geue an accōpte of your Stewardshippe: Come ye vnto the iudgement. How can this doctor of the Ciuill Lawe, plaister vp these matters, to proue hym self either learned, wise or sincere, excepte he bee skilled in suche kinde of glosyng, to salue his [...]iles, as the Doctours of the Lawe Canon be, that can saue all that euer thei reade or speake, how contradictoriously so euer it be that thei saie, so ye will geue them leaue to expounde their owne saiynges, and admitte their owne gloses and distinctions?

Truely me thinke this mannes witte, should bee as fitte to C glose the Decrees, and Decretalles: as he was that is the com­mon approued groser. And so of many Lawiers an [...] Diuines, oft alledged for aucthoritée. Precipimus, saieth he, id est, permittimus Statuimus, id est abrogamus: Dist. 4. Statuimus. Vxores ducere, id est, retinere. In deede this Lawier, can in suche sorte glose S. Paules wordes, when he saieth: vnusquisquè p [...]opter fornicati­onem vitandam suam vxorem habeat. Habeat, gloseth he, id est retineat. But how truely: wee haue in parte before brought in bothe his Doctours and Counsailes, to trye this truthe. Praedi­care Euangelium (saieth the saied gloser) id est Legere: vir inuita D vxore, non debet orare: id est peregrinari, with infinite suche, wherein he wandereth so farre from the texte, that many tymes he destroieth the very texte it self. And therevpon the Deuines of Paris, in articulis condemnatis, after the maister of Sentence, detecteth this gloser, as a corruptor of the texte self, with his per­uerse gloses, and biddeth beware of him, and all suche Lawiers, [Page 187] and gloses, yet the pretense of this gloser is, to saue all the olde A Lawes, Ca. 9. R. ij. Canons, and Counsailes.

Marie, when thei be to good, to pure, and to plaine, to cauils awaie, then he runneth to this mannes shift, to saie that the first Canons be abrogated, by the later, that is: the better, by a great deale the worse. For he forceth all his witte and laboure (as this manne doeth euen the same) to frustrate the woorde of God, to make it of no effecte, that the traditions of manne, maie come in the place thereof. And doeth euacuate all olde good Lawes, and Decrees of the fathers, to stablishe the Lawes presente, to tem­per all our religion, in faithe and maners, to the present state of B the Churche, as it is now, and hath been so corrupte, this fiue or sixe hundreth yere: as a sorte of Cardinalles not long ago, moste manifestly did acknowledge diuerse corruptions in the churche, to Paule the thirde, in their supplication. But commonly it is seen, that the more parte euer ouercommeth the better, so that there came no profite therof. For the others would not haue the state or the honor of the churche, altered in any wise, or decaied. And this is the onely marke, I feare me, that this aucthour sho­teth at, in all his tragicall doynges: neither Goddes holy honour truely ment, neither the pure immaculate spouse of our sauiour C Christ, his true Churche, regarded: but an other Churche more glorious in outwarde shewes, more gainfull in goodes and pos­sessions: Not the true Priestly chastitee, and godly state of sober liuyng, sought for, to the like commendations in the Bushoppes and Priestes, as diuerse of the old holy Bushoppes and Priestes liued in, but an other maner Clergie and Churche, of other ma­ner notes and tokens, then to bee, vna sancta catholica, & Apo­stolica Ecclesia. That is, one holy, catholike & Apostolike church. God geue grace that the booke of Sapience, proue them not one daie Insipientes: Sapi. 12. saiyng, haec cogitauerunt & errauerunt: execa­uit D enim eos malitia eorum. Et nescierunt sacramenta dei, ne (que) mercedem sperauerunt iustitiae, nec iudicauerunt honorem ani­marum sanctarum. Suche thynges dooe the vngodly imagine, and wāder out of the waie, for their owne wickednesse hath blin­ded them. As for the misteries of God, thei vnderstand them not. [Page 188] A Thei neither hope for the rewarde of righteousnesse, nor regarde the worship and honour, that holy soules shall haue.

Alas, what shall it auaile to winne the stinkyng glorie of the worlde, and loose oure soules? Geue eare therefore ye that drawe the multitude after you, ye that haue Landes, Rentes, and Pos­sessions, ye that sitte in the place of aucthoritee and power, occu­piyng the Benches of right and iustice, your power is geuen you of God, who shall examine your hartes and actes. For when ye shoulde haue been Ministers of his Kyngdome, ye iudged not a­right, nor kept the law of righteousnes, nor worked not after the B will of God. &c. to late shall it be to say with y ^e forgetfull vnwise: we fooles thought their life verie madnes, Sap. [...]. and their ende to bee without honor. Therefore we haue erred from the waie of truth, the light of righteousnes hath not shined vnto vs, and the sunne of vnderstandyng rose not vpon vs. We haue weried our selues in the waie of wickednes and destruction. Tedious waies haue we gone, but as for the waie of the Lorde, we haue not knowen. What good hath our pride doen vnto vs? Or what profitte hath the pompe of riches brought vs? All these thynges are passed a­waie like a shadowe. &c. suche wordes (saieth the wise man) shall C thei that haue erred, speake in hell.

Good reader, iudge not that I vtter these thynges of stomake or euill wil, but of pure cōscience, before God, howsoeuer it shall be derided of carnall Epicures, belye worldlynges, seruyng the turne of the tyme. God forbid I should defame the true catholike churche, to be a mēbre wherof, is so my study, that els I looke not to be saued▪ I meane Peters ship, not Iudas Carricke: I meane not Peters person, but Peters confession, against which, not his coūterfetted successors, not al the gates of hell, shal euer preuaile. The stone is laied, the rocke is suer, ipse fundauit eam altissimus: D He that is the most higest, hathe founded her. Lyes may muster, and the trueth may bee put out of countinaunce: Sed Dominns custodit veritatem in saeculū seculi: The Lorde doeth maintaine the trueth for euer and euer. I enuie not, nor doe maligne, at the aucthoritee of Busshops and the spirituall fathers of the realme, but muche lament, that the true preachyng & fatherlie procedyng [Page 189] in their vocations, is no better emong some exersised and regar­ded. A Wisshyng them no lesse iurisdiction and estimation in dis­cipline and aucthoritie becomming them, then was in Ambrose towarde Theodocius. And wishyng for noe lesse obedient Prin­ces, Nobles, and Commons, and no lesse liberalitée in them nei­ther, then is reported by themselues to haue been in Cōstantine, Theodocius, Iustinus, or Iustinianus, and suche other. So that thei againe were Ambrosis in most thinges, and Siluester in ma­ny thynges reported to bee doone by them: for in all, God alone muste haue that promise reserued to hymself.

Furthermore I speake nothyng of grudge against this wri­ter, B but geue God thankes, for the excellent gift of witte and rea­dyng which he declareth to haue in him: offeryng him to God in my praiers, that his tallentes bee bestowed to Gods glorie, and not to his owne, and so inconclusion to his owne confusion: to the conseruation of this commō wealth, and not to the ruine therof: to the helpyng of his poore countree menne, and not so vnchari­tably to raise vp wonders and slaunders against them: and most vnmercifully to endaunger them to the Queenesse highnes, her Magistrates, Nobles, and Commons, in suche sorte as he doeth, with suche a glose of witte and circumstaunce, as is able to be­witch C the wise of the worlde, if he be not weighed and expended.

If he would haue shewed his learnyng in such a cause, could he not haue otherwise handeled it, but to vtter his owne corrupt stomacke so detestably? Could not he haue so entreated the que­stion, but that his aduersaries (peraduenture his best frendes to Godward) must be thus imperilled by his vnbridled language? It is pitie that witte and youth should be knit together, and that witte and learnyng, should take so euill a part. Marie if he had aucthoritie, how farre would he goe? God saue the realme from suche hotte spirites. But yet God is strong inough to aunswere D hym. 1. Cor. 1. He can make foolishe, the witte of the wise of the worlde, he threateneth to destroy the wisedome of the wise, and reproue the vnderstandyng of the learned, that no fleshe shoulde glorie in his sight.

As for the entent of this man, I iudge by his handlyng of the [Page 190] A cause, by the trade of his doing, that he could haue made an other maner of booke, euen in the contrarie part specially, if he would haue armed hymself, with suche stuffe and weapons, as he dothe in his booke for the maintenaunce of this opinion. Or if he had been therto hyred: or if he had loked to haue had so greate thanke of that beggerly sort, as he trusteth he hath deserued and wonne otherwhere by this his labour: he could haue saied somewhat. Prauum, prauum est cor hominis saieth Hierome: & quis scru­tabitur illud? Wicked, wicked, I say, is the hart of man: and who shall searche it to the bottome? Well, there is a God that can B searche.

Furthermore good reader, my labour tendeth not to this end, that I would expresse onely a grieffe and doloure in compassion of the straunge handlyng of the busshops and priestes so ordered as thei be, although I thinke, that offendyng in mercie, is soner pardoned and amended, and more borne with to, then offendyng in extremitée and rigour, in al reasonable comon wealthes. Nor yet I meane not to iustifie the vniuersal sort of the maried Bus­shoppes and Priestes in all their light and dissolute behauyour, whatsoeuer it hath been in any of them, from the hiest to the lo­west. C But I would, that spirituall fathers put on suche affection toward the people of England, be thei lay fee, be thei of the cler­gie, that God bee not angrie with them: If thei forgette what he laieth to their charge, speaking to Spirituall Pastours, by the Prophete Ezechiell: Ezechel. 34. The weake haue ye not holden vppe, the sicke haue ye not healed, the broken haue ye not bounde together, the outcastes haue ye not broughte agayne, the loste haue ye not soughte, but churlishely and cruellye haue ye ruled theim. Thus are they scattered heare and there without a Shephearde. &c. my Shepe wandereth abroade in Mountaines and Fieldes, and no manne there is that careth for theim, or seeketh after theim. And so forth, D moste terribly to theim that hath eares to heare, and hartes to vnderstande.

I would wishe, that suche as be strong, should beare the infir­mities of the weake, and not to please theim selues. For Christe the head Shepheard, sought not his owne will, power, and glo­ry. He came not into the worlde to destroie, but to saue. I would [Page 189] wishe, that if any one in the whole body, be entangled or accom­bred, A with any default of ignorauncie, frailtie, or lightnesse, that Spirituall fathers should restore hym vp againe, spiritu humili­tatis, consideryng that thei maie be tempted. As if he should saie, writeth sainct Gregorie: Cū displicet ex aliena infirmitate quod conspicis, pensa quod es, vt increpationis zelo se spiritus tempe­ret, dum sibi quo (que) quod increpat timet. Cum enim increpatio immoderatè accenditur, corda delinquentium in desperatio­ne deprimuntur. When the infirmitée of other men displeaseth thee, for that thou seest at thyne eye, ponder what thou art thy self, whereby thy inwarde spirite maie temper it self, in the zeale B of correction, by the feare thou maieste bee in, for thy self, in the thing which thou doest rebuke. For when correction is to muche kindeled the hartes of the offendours, bée driuen do [...]ne to despe­ration. Thus muche Gregorie in his Pastorals. Yea, let them all indifferently expende as well one as an other, that thei haue been, or bee, or maie bee, out of the waie, and in daunger of Ca­nons, if any man had his vtter righte, and extreme deseruyng. I thinke that I maie speake it, of the conscience of some married Busshoppes and Priestes in Englande, that thei doe as muche lament the light behauior, shewed and escaped by some of them, C in the libertee that was graunted theim of Lawe and Parlia­mente, and by Goddes woorde shall euer bee lawfull for them, whiche haue not the gifte: as thei whiche bee moste angrie, and out of pacience with them. And that thei doe more lamente, or as muche, the decaie of estimation in the Clergie, and of the true ministerie thereof: as any of theim dooe, whiche now beare the swaie, whiche neuer care to be resident, where thei should feede. And besideforthe, bewaileth the dissolute behauiour of a greate meany of their beste beloued, and wisheth as hartely all offendi­cles and slaunders rooted out, of bothe sortes of the clergie, that D once one vniforme religion in doctrine and life, might bee con­curraunte together, to the pacification of all partees, as a good sort of their chief kircke menne doe, whiche setteth all the whole Realme at sixe or seuen, rather then thei should not recouer the olde honour of the Churche againe, as thei doe meane it, and as [Page 190] A thei doe wonderously glory of the successe already wonne.

When thei haue dooen all the crueltee, and dispite thei can, thei shall be as able to kepe doune the light, that is now by Gods greate benefite set vpon the Candelsticke to shine to all menne that will haue the light thereof: as the blynde dreamyng knigh­tes of the sepulchre, were able to keepe Christe from risyng and walkyng abrode, as costly as thei were hired, and as warely as thei watched. Thei bee not wordes and stoute affirmations, not exclamations in the Palpit applauded to, by the higher powers of the worlde, that can make wise menne so blinde, not to see a B difference betwixte plaine truthe, and craftee falshode: betwixte counterfetted religion, and sincere worship of God: betwixt boi­sterous crueltee, and pastorall discipline: betwixte open oppressi­on, and coloured reformation: betwixte exercise of Iustice, and craftee deuisyng to gette money: betwixte hotte and hastee brai­des, and prudente colde aduised proceadynges: finally, betwixte God, and the Deuill: betwixte Christe, and Antichriste. It shall neuer be well in the realme, saieth this pacifier, till the heretikes bée quite rooted out thereof, and not one lefte therein. God geue C grace he bee no [...] blowen with suche a spirite, as once a glorious and ambitious learned manne was puffed vp, of whom Cassio­dorus telleth in his Ecclesiasticall storie tripartite, Li. [...]2. Ca. 4. Li. 14. ca. [...]1. and Nicepho­rus in his storie: where it is registred, that when one Sisinnius Busshoppe of Constantinople was dead, the Emperor thought it not good to chose any of their owne to the roume, because thei were commonly so full of vainglorie, and so arrogant and hau­tee. And therefore sent to Antioche for one there, to come to thē to enioye this Patriarches dignitee. At laste he came, Nestorius by name: whiche had bothe a good voyce, and was also therwith eloquente, and was reputed to be one of the chiefest of them that D kepte chastitee. Marie, saieth the storie, what his maners were beside, the wise menne tooke a greate gesse, by the first woordes he spake in open oration and sermon: wherein after he had tour­ned hym self to the Emperour, there present, saied boldly, or ra­ther arrogantly to hym: Da mihi O Imperator terram ab hereti­cis, liberam & puram: & ego tibi coelos reddam. Tu mihi haereti­cos [Page 193] extirpa, & ego tibi Persis delendis adero. O Caesar, graunt to A me thy lande pure and cleare from heresies, and I will graunte thee heauen therefore. Beate do [...]ne with me the heretikes, and I will with thee beate doune the Parsians. When he had spoken these woordes, saieth the storie, though in deede many hated the heretikes, yet the lightnesse of his braine, the hautinesse of his en­trie, and vnworthinesse of his beginnyng, the pride of his vaine­glorie, did very muche dislike them, for that he could not abide a little conuenient tyme, to vtter his opinion, takyng vpon him to speake so high woordes, yea, before he had skant tasted of the wa­ter of the Citee, so to preferre hym self, to be so feruent a persecu­tour. B Notwithstanding, yet he proceaded in his oportunitee, and for the satisfiyng of his stoutnesse, in destroiyng a little oratorie that the heretiques vsed, gaue their furie occasion to burne the same them selues, and therewith a greate number of other buil­dynges nexte adioynyng, likewise perished by the same fire. And therevpon rose a greate commotion in the saied Citee: for which rashenesse, he was charged with this fire, aswell of his frendes, as of the heretikes. But yet he could not thus bee quiette, but euer importunately labouryng and deuisyng, against heretikes, in suche sorte, that he did as muche as laie in hym (saieth the sto­rie) C to haue vtterly destroied the Citee. And further, for the grief and dispite he bare, to one Paule a Busshop of the Nouatians (for whose worthinesse, he heard, thei gaue hym muche commenda­tion) he went about to haue spoiled them, for his sake: but the no­bilitee restrained his hastie and vnruly violence and attemptes. Of whose doynges, in diuerse countrees, what hurte came vnto them by his hotte spirite, how many thousandes were destroyed in seditions for his sake, and what furie he shewed, euen to some simple folkes, that erred of simplicitee, in a mattter of no greate importaunce, for the precise daie of keepyng the Easter (whiche D menne were called quarto decimani) it were to long to write of. But in the ende, this Nestorius for his vnworthie behauiour, in pride and insolent extremitee, woorkyng altogether contrary to the custome of the Churche, saieth the historie, againste suche he­retikes: God forsooke hym with his grace, so that hym self was [Page 194] A entangled with a certaine heresie, whereof his Chaplen Anasta­sius (who was in greate estimation with hym) was the first deui­ser. Whiche he held strongly, because he sawe his glory and esti­mation hange thereon. But yet afterward at an other tyme, per­ceiuyng daunger to bee at hande, if he had not tourned Catte in the panne, euen, in an hower space, as earnestly with it, and as earnestly againste it, in pretense and in woorde onely reuolted: whereupon God, I saie, for so daliyng and foltryng in his consci­ence, did reuenge it at the laste, moste worthely in hym. But first it was the occasion of a greate scisme, that could not be pacified, B but by the Ephesine Counsaile, whiche was specially for the con­dempnation of his erroure, gathered together vnder Celestine. And finally, after his tongue was eaten with wormes, died most miserably by Goddes hande, as Nicephorus telleth. Where he began in the catholike faithe, but subtelly, and not simplye wei­yng the principles of the faithe, proceadyng not fatherly, but ti­rannically in his doyng, died in heresie: and is now regestred for an Arche heretike, & shalbe so taken to the worldes ende. Whiche storie, yet I dooe not rehearse, as though I would insinuate an immunitée to heretikes, that troubleth the quiet of the common C wealthe, or as I were in that opinion, wherein once yet S. Au­gustine was (but by experience recanted his opinion) that here­tikes should bee suffered to doe and saie what thei lusted: 48. Epistola ad vincentuo [...], and so by a little and little, kendle the fire of intestine sedition, to perill the whole body: But I reporte it, partly to note that extremi­tées of proceadynges doeth hurt, and that sodaine alterations in Realmes, maketh perturbations. And yet my opinion is, as the opinion of diuerse olde and newe learned menne be, that it maie be borne with suche a manne, whiche quietly liuyng in his state, and in his owne conscience, tariyng vpon Goddes workyng in D his harte, by hearyng and expendyng Goddes woorde, to holde that whiche maie be to his soules saluation, if he doe no outward déede and example, to disturbe the Ciuile societée of the common wealthe where he dwelleth. And this storie maie also serue for al kyndes of men, to be a very fearfull example, if we will in Gods causes daily at our pleasure; for such, I saie, as out of one mouth [Page 195] breathe out bothe hotte and cold, allowe and condempne the self A same thyng, with the tourne of their hande, praiseth and disprai­seth, as the daie tourneth: very successours of Lybanius, that in­constant Sophist, or rather Sophister, whiche with his eloquēce, praised the Emperour Constantius by his life tyme, and when he was once dead, dispraised hym againe as faste. Inconstaunte flatterers, tournyng like Weathercockes, not of conscience, from the worse, to the better, but as the windes blowe, so set vp the saile. Whiche maner of menne, muste néedes stande in feare, that the vengeaunce of God hangeth nigh ouer their heades, if thei repent not of their saiyng, and vnsaiyng. He can not but be B spued out of Goddes mouthe, that is neither hotte nor colde, but will haite on bothe legges, for the gaine of his peny. Noughtee and deceiptfull menne, saieth sainct Paule, that will not be con­tente to erre theim selues, but muste induce other into the same with them. Menne that haue delight, to be aucthours of sectes, to haue the traine in pompe, to followe theim whither soeuer thei goe, vtterly tourned vpsidoune, bearyng in them selues the iud­gemente of their owne damnation. Yea, in conclusion, pronoun­cyng the sentence of iust condempnation vpon them selues, with their owne mouthes, reproued, and conuinced by their owne cō ­science. C For as the wise man saieth: Sapi. 17. Formidolosa res est malitia, proprio teste conuicta, & in conscientia delitescens, mala semper praesagit. It is an heauy thyng, when a mannes owne consciēce beareth recorde of his owne wickednesse, and condemneth hym. For a vexed and a wounded conscience, taketh euer cruell thyn­ges in hande, and driueth hymself to an ende: As we reade in the Ecclesiasticall storie, Tripert. Lib. Cap. 38. reported by Socrates, who telleth of a cer­tain Sophister, called Hecebolus, emong diuerse others, whiche, he saieth, bearyng in pretence onely the Christian name, of a cor­rupte mynde, for that thei preferre their treasure, and presente D wealthe and honour, before the dignitée of true faithe, and there­vpon fall to the wickednesse of Sacrifices. The same Hecebolus saieth he, folowyng and attemperyng hym self to the maners of the Emperours, fained hym self in the daies of Constantius, to be a most feruent Christian. But when Iulian the Apostata, was [Page 196] A ruler, by and by he was a Panime, and by his orations, made Iulian a God. And when Iulian was dead, in Iouinians tyme he would haue béen a Christian againe. Whereupon, for the muta­bilitée and lightnesse of his religion, his conscience draue hym to the Churche gates, and there caste hym self flatte doune, and cried out with a loude voice: Conculcate me sal infatuatū: come (saieth he) and treade me vnder your feete, vnsauery Salt that I am. From whiche tournsicke spirite, God preserue vs all.

Now to finishe that was promised, to declare what modera­tions and tollerations hath been vsed before tyme, and be at this B daie to be séen in some other dominiōs of Christendome, to shew the opinions of certen learned menne, that bee knowen to haue had some iudgement in suche causes, as well old as new, that be of a farre other determination, then this singuler Ciuilian is of: I shall beginne with that noble Prince Charles the .v. Em­perour that now is, a Prince of some experience, I thinke this aucthour will not deny me. He vpon debatement of matters in religion, wherewith his realmes and dominions were sore dis­quieted and disordred, set out his booke of Interim, written and published, I thinke, with the allowaunce of more heades then C one: expresseth a toleration in the Clergie for their wiues, which were then maried. And permitteth them in the Ministerie, and yet not maried by any Lawe that was passed by his aucthoritée, whiche he would neuer haue deferred to a generall Coūsaill, but would haue flatly condēpned thē therin, if it had béen of such na­ture, as this writer would make this realme beleue. And where as he wisheth (as all wise men doe the same) that there could bée founde many in the Clergie, whiche while thei liue in soole life, might perfourme a true chastitie in deede, yet bearyng at the least with other, he leaueth it as he founde it. Now to inferre of D this his acte, what might bee more iustly saied, for the priestes of Englande alreadie so maried in so greate scarsitee of Ministers, so many Chresten menne and women forced to liue without all maner religion throughout the whole realme: I leaue it to the Magistrates to expende: And to the christianly harted readers oc­cation, to praie to God, for whatsoeuer Gods good spirite within [Page 197] them shall moue them therto. And because this man is a Ciuili­an, A let hym loke in the Code, whether he reade not, that some of this noble Emperors progenitors did priuelege spirituall men, their Wiues, their Children, and Seruauntes, both menne and women, to be free from the homage called Perangaria. Wherby he may fortune espie that their mariages, were not only thought tollerable, but also iudged honorable, beyng so priuileged with suche prerogatiue. And if he will looke further, lette hym searche whether Iustinian the Emperour, commended not a certen Bu­shop, specially in respect that he had priestes and Busshops to his auncestours. In nouellis constitut. iii. That prudente and Chri­stian B Prince of noble memorie, Kyng Henrie the eight, vnder­standyng that certen in his realme were maried, as well Regu­lers, as seculers, without aucthoritee and common Lawe, made an open proclamatiō in the .xxx. yere of his reigne, wherin he did but for afterwarde charge, that no man should attempt the same again. And did not dissolue the saied mariages being so priuatly contracted. The wordes of whiche proclamation be these.

The kynges maiestie vnderstandyng that a fewe in numbre of this his Realme, beyng Priestes, as well religious as other, haue taken wiues and maried themselues &c. his highnes in no C wise mindyng, y ^t the generalitée of the clergie of this his realme should with the example of suche a few number of light persōs, proceade to mariage without a comon consent of his highnes & his realme: doeth therfore straightly charge & cōmaunde, as well all & singuler the said priestes, as haue attempted mariages that be openly knowen, as all suche as wil presumptuously proceade to the same, that thei, ne any of thē shal minister any Sacrament or other ministerie misticall: Ne haue any office, dignitée, cure, priuilege, profit, or commoditée, heretofore accustomed & belong­yng to the Clergie of this realme, but shall be vtterly after suche D mariages, expelled and depriued from the same, and be had and reputed as laye persones to all intentes and purposes. And that suche as shall, after this proclamation, contrary to his commaū ­dement, of their presumptuous mind, take wiues and be maried, shall runne in his graces indignation, and suffer further punish­ment [Page 198] A and imprisonment at his graces will and pleasure. Datū xvi. Nouembris, anno regni sui. xxx.

Here it maie be considered what moderation this wise Prince thought mete to be vsed, in suche mariages as wer passed with­out comon consent: of whiche he knewe by information, a good number from tyme to tyme, and yet did bothe tolerate the same whiche were vsed secretly, and such as were openly knowen did not seperate them, but commaunded them to bee reputed, as lay persones. And his highnes was not ignorant, how necessary it had beene to haue graunted the libertée in his daies, whiche but B for some certane zelous Counsailers, pretendyng how euill the people would take it, had been doone by his aucthoritee. As was not vnknowen to diuerse, whiche heard hym oft speake of that matter.

If suche moderation as kynges and Emperours haue made in this matter, will not serue to moue this maister of Chauncery to temper his extremitie: wee will laie before hym some suche potentates, whiche paraduenture he accoumpteth to bee of hier aucthoritée in suche matters, and will soner bee perswaded by them: as Popes, Coūsailes, and Bushops decrées. To satisfie his C expectation somewhat, wee reade in Platina: that Pius, Pope of Rome, the second of that name, was wont to speake these woor­des: Quòd magna ratione sublatae sunt nuptiae a sacerdotibus, sed tamen sibi videri, maiori ratione restituendas. He affirmed that the cause was great, whiche toke a waie mariage from priestes, but yet there was greater cause, why thei should bee restored to them againe. This was this Popes opinion and iudgement. And further he writeth: Epistola. 130. contra Bohemos, that in the primatiue churche, the Clergie had wiues, and that the com­munion was distributed in bothe kyndes. This Pope, called be­fore, D Aeneas Siluius, a mā of learnyng as his bokes doth testifie, could vpon his owne experience (to be fidelis Pontifex, that is, a faithfull Busshop) beare better with the infirmities of others, then our holie virgins, maiden priestes, can now at these daies. For in the tyme that he was Cardinall, he was not without his remedie. For he had one hymself, and whether he was werye of [Page 199] her, and would haue a newe, or that for age he listed now to bee A holier, it is testified in the .361. Epistle, that he gaue her, for her dowrie to set her out with, thre score florence. I doubt not, but that he dispensed fauorablie inough, when he came to be Pope, with suche as hymself was, & was not so froward as our holy hy­pocrites be, that lay heauie burthens vpon other mens backes, & will not ease the burthen with the least finger of their handes.

These head fathers at Rome, haue been before now, and be at this daie, I doubt not, more gentle, then we be in this particuler Churche. For we reade, in the life of Franciscus Petrarcha, who was a prebendarie at Padua, and Archedeacon of Parma, that B holy Pope Benette, the twelft of that name, he that would not knowe his kynsfolkes when thei came to hym, and saied, that a Pope hath no kyndred in yearth. This holy father, perceauyng how this Poet Lawreate was in such amorous loue with a certē wenche called Laureta, peraduenture his sisters brothers daugh­ter, that he could neuer dreame and speake to muche of her wor­thines, in his sonettes and sounges of poetrie. And leste the saied Archedeacon should be ouercome with to much heauie loue, and lose the full fruition of her, saieth the storie: he graunted hym of his gratious pardon, to take her to his wife: and ex vberiore gratia, C graunted further, that he should not lose thereby any one of his promotions, but should haue more benifices added to those he had alreadie, so that of gentle curtesie, againe he would graunte to the saied holy Pope, the vse of his sister, which he brought also with hym to Rome, in whose beautie, the holy father was taken, whose companie and fauoure, should do hym more pleasure for his conscience, then his owne kinsfolkes. Reade the storie and se whether I lye, Platina, Fasciculus temporum: and the said life of Petrarcha.

Yet, good reader, here treade warely in the iudgyng of this D Popes mynde and intent, whether he would haue knowen her as a wife, or as a spiritual kinswoman: for the Canonistes make doubtes in the like matter. Dist. 79. [...]i quis Glose. For some saie, if a man bee chosen Pope, whose wife is thought to be dead, and yet she afterwarde returne againe and aske of hym due beneuolence, if it be certen [Page 200] A that she is his wife in deede, that then is the Popes holines boūd to render vnto her due beneuolence, how hye a state of perfection soeuer it be: the vowe made at the receite of his papacie, notwith­standyng. But some hold, that she must be induced, to liue chaste, as he shall doe. But if he will not, then saieth the harde gloser of the decrees, he should renounce his papacie, and satisfie his wife. Well, it is not vnlike, but that the fathers at Rome haue beene gentle inough, though wee, liuyng farre from them, haue not so soone espied their proceadynges: And that thei haue had more spedie remedies, then we know of hers in Englande, although B our Englishe Chronicles, yet spied out some practises of these good fathers, as thei tell of one holie father, Busshop of Rome, called Sergius hogsnowte, who was accused for begettyng of a child: and because he could not bee purged by his neighbours at home, for that thei would not, or els could not: was purged by the holy praier of a countree man of ours, named Aldelme, firste Monke, and then Abbotte of Malmesburie, where lastly he was Busshop. Whiche Aldelme for that he was soore stirred to the vice of the fleshe, the Chronicle saieth, to do the more torment to C hymself and to his bodie, and belike to spite the deuill the more, vsed to hold within his bedde by him, a faire quicke virgine, by so longe tyme as he might saie ouer the whole Psalter. Whose ho­lines and perfection was so much bruted abrode, saieth Fabian, that it gaue occasion to the saied Sergius Busshoppe of Rome, to send for hym. In whiche season of his there beyng, the said accu­sation was in handlyng: what time the child, being but .ix. daies old, was brought to the holy Bushop Aldelme to bee christened, by vertue of whose praiours, the saied childe answered vnto cer­ten questions, and cleared the Busshop of Rome of that crime, Deo gratias.

D We reade to, that Pope Gregorie the great, the same Gre­gorie that writeth thus: 29. [...]. Sunt qui dicunt religionis gratia, Con­iugia deberi dissolui. Verum sciendum est, si hoc lex humana cō ­cessit, lex tamen diuina prohibuit, per se enim veritas dicit, quos deus coniunxit homo ne separet. Qui etiam ait, non licet dimit­tere vxorem excepta causa fornicationis. Quis ergò huius latori [Page 201] legis contradicat? Ther be, saith he, whiche hold that wedlocke is A to be dissolued for religion sake: how be it, that must be knowen, that though mans lawe haue graunted this, yet Gods law hath forbidden it. For the trueth speaketh it out of his owne mouthe: whom God hath coupled, lette no man seperate. And he the same saieth againe: that it is not lawfull for a manne to forsake his wife, but for the cause of fornication. Who then dare gainsaie the maker of this lawe, asketh he? Mary Gregorie, a docter of the Ciuil in England, spurneth against this law maker, and would néedes haue suche seperated. Tell hym again, then saieth Gre­gorie, of my aucthoritée, Dist. 31. Cap. ante trienniū. Quod mihi durum, atque incompetens B videtur, vt qui vsum continentiae non inuenit, neque castitatem promisit, compellatur a sua vxore separari: atque per hoc[quod absit] in deterius cadat. Tell hym, that it is thought to me to be to sore, and nothyng agreable, that such Ministers as haue not had the vse of continencie, nor haue made promise of chastitée, should bee compelled to bee seperated from their wiues, whereby thei might fall to worse, as God forbid. Shewe hym what Innocent the third in his Lateran Counsaile (Cap. 52) writeth. Tolerabilius est enim aliquos contra statuta hominum copulatos dimittere, quam coniugatos legitimè, contra statuta domini separare. It is C more tollerable to permit some to remaine, so coupled as thei be, against mans Lawe, then suche as be coupled by Lawe, to be se­parated against Gods lawe. And tel him further of my aucthori­tee, saieth Gregorie, De cura past. parte. 3. ca. 28. & 29. that suche as liue in sole life, should be ofte warned by the good & godly shepherdes of the churche, that if thei beare the stormes of temptation, with perill and difficultée of their soules health, that thei resorte to the porte of Matrimonie. And lette them heare whiche bee ignoraunt of the frailtée of the fleshe (saie I there) that Christ hymself whiche is the truthe, spea­keth of this perfectiō, affirmyng, that not all taketh this worde. D Whereby he would haue vs vnderstande, saie I, that it is a verie hye gift, not geuē to euery man. And shewe hym further, biddeth Gregorie, Hieldaricus Epis [...]opus Augustae▪ what heauie repentaunce I tooke once my self, for de­creyng suche a Lawe of separation. Upon the experience wher­of, were founde in a Mote of myne at Rome, sixe thousande in­fantes [Page 202] A heades, murdered by occasion of suche Lawe: and there­vpon reuoked my decree againe, and said with an heauy harte, S Paules wordes: Melius est nubere quam vri: It is better to mar­rie, then to burne in luste: and further added of myne owne, sai­yng: Melius est nubere, quam mortis occasionem prebere: Bet­ter it is to marrie, then to geue occasion of murther. But if this doubtyng and dreamyng Thomas Martin (beleuyng nothyng, but that he gropeth with his handes) will staye at the number of so many, that might perishe at Rome: Shewe him, to ease his in­crudelitée, that Rome is no grange: that is resembled to greate B Babilō, populous of people. And further shew him, that he maie reade in the life of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Capi. xxxvi.) at what tyme Pope Anicetus was father there, whiche was in the yere after Christes incarnation .Clxiiij. which was full. CC yere before Pope Siritius replenished Rome with curtisans, by his Sodomiticall Lawe: that the saied Emperour caused an ac­coumpt of the people in the Citee, at a plague tyme, to be brought hym, wherevpon he founde therein of good women; the number of .Cxl.M. whereof died of the plague .lxxx.M. and of euill wo­men openly knowen noughte, the number of tenne thousande, C whiche in maner scaped all saieth the storie. And further, tell this Ciuiliā, This Grego­ry was CC. yeres and od after S [...]rici­us in whiche tyme the nō ­ber might be well increa­sed ouer that it was CCC yere before his daies. that Huldarichus Busshop of Augusta, reportyng this my facte, to Nicholas the first, whiche was about to make the like Lawe, did call this decree of myne, worthely, Haeresis decretum, a decree of heresie: and therefore bidde hym reade, that same free Epistle of that Huldarichus, and let hym reforme his iudgemēt. And furthermore, seyng he is an Englishe Doctor, tell hym that he is to scrupulose, and to sore an exacter in that his owne coun­trey. Lette hym reade, what I saied in my Epistle, to Augustine their Apostle, that it was a nation, where rather temperate mo­deration, D should be better to be vsed, Inter decreta euisdem. then sharpnesse of Ecclesia­sticall Censures. And let hym further read in that same Epistle, how I tempered the matter in causes of matrimony, and degrées of consanguinitée, how muche I thought it by Apostolicall pru­dence, to graunte vnto them to contracte mariage at the fourthe degrée, if thei listed: euen so remittyng the rigour of the Churche [Page 203] Lawes then in strengthe: And moreouer shewe hym, what was A my resolution vpon that question, Inter decret. Gregorij primi & Gregorij Iumoris. whiche Augustine propoun­ded vnto me, sc: when the wife is striken with some infirmitee, and can not render due beneuolence to her husbande. He asked me, what shall her mate doe in this case? Let hym heare my an­swere, which I made for the consideration of that tyme. But first tell hym by the waie, a poinct of his hypocrisie. For where in his iiij. Chapiter, he would seme to aduaunce my estimation emong the Englishe nation, for that I sent them certaine learned men, to retourne them to the faithe: and pretendeth in his sixt Chapi­ter, to be displeased with the proceadyng Preachers, as thoughe B thei condemned me for a Papiste, and all my writynges to be su­perstitiō and Idolatrie: yet belike for all his enuious flatterie, he sheweth but bread in the one hand, and hath in the other a stone ready to caste at me, to beate doune my estimation. For he in his seuenth Chapiter, impertinently bryngyng in this fact with­out any witte, taketh vpon him to condempne this myne indul­gencie, for sinfull humanitee, as contrary to the Canons, and re­pugnaunt to the Euangelistes and Apostles. But shewe hym, he is to malaparte so to iudge, and is to muche without huma­nitée towarde his owne people, to repine at my fauour towar­des C them. And tel hym, that he shall finde this my moderation in the bookes of the Counsailes emong my Decrees, written to Augustine the Englishe Apostle, althoughe he referreth it to an other Gregorie, writyng to Busshoppe Boniface, a countrey man of ours, who was sent by Gregorie the seconde, Anno do­mini .720. into Germanie, to winne them to the faithe, and was their Apostle. Who followyng my example of dispensation, to the nation of Englande, graunted the like to the nation of Ger­manie, so that in deprauyng this moderatiō, he condemneth vs bothe: and therefore he taketh to muche vpon hym, though Gra­tian D bee on his side, so to saie, although he mighte haue learned that Leo the 4 ( Disti. xx. Cap. i.) alloweth the decrees of the said Gregorie without exception: where the gloser yet vsyng more reuerence to the See Apostolike, maketh it good by his interpre­tation, and not to be against either Canon or scripture. But ma­keth [Page 204] A it a meer case Papall, belongyng onely to his holinesse, as ye maie reade in Summa Antonim. parte .iii. titulo primo. Cap. xii. parag. prima: and there good reader, if thy chaste eares can beare that catholike doctrine, expende what it is. But what sub­teltée was in his head, so to condempne this dispensation, where he had condempned Luther before, for the like doctrine, ascribing to him to saie: Si vxor nolit, aut nō possit, ancilla venito. Which pretée storie, he learned of his master Pighius, let his owne head iudge. But this was his resolution: Bonum esset, si sic permane­ret, vt abstinentiae vacaret. Sed quia hoc magnorum est, ille qui se B non poterit continere, nubat magis: non tamen subsidij opem subtrahat ab illa, cui infirmitas prepedit, & nō detestabilis culpa excludit. That is: Good it were if he would remaine so, & to geue hym self to abstainyng. But because this is for theim that bee greate, and strong in deede, he that can not kepe hymself in con­tinencie, lette hym rather marrie, yet let hym not withdrawe his helpe of relief from her, beyng rather excluded from hym for her impedimente of infirmitée, then for any detestable crime. And if this Ciuilian will more diligently searche, he shall finde that the saied Gregorie the thirde, named the younger, gaue dispensation C to a manne, to marrie his vncles widowe, so farre within the de­grees of consanguinitée: whiche woman was once also professed in religion, and had made bothe vowe, and also receiued the vaile of her profession. And that also he gaue license to certaine Bus­shops and Priestes to minister, notwithstandyng the retainyng still of their wiues, or womē in their company: and though Pope Zacharias (who next succeded him) did not muche allowe the said former dispēsation (as it is cōmonly vsed in the Papacie, for one to annull and repell the decrees and pardons of the other) yet he did not dissolue the saied mariage, but wrote to Bonifacius, to D perswade the partie to relinquishe his mariage, as he did hym self write a commonitorie onely to the said partie dispensed with, by Gregorie aforsaid. But what, O father Gregorie, if this En­glishe Doctor, alledgeth in the same place, where you counsaile suche as be molested with the stormes of temptation, to resort to the port of mariage: that you declare your minde further there, & [Page 205] saie: Sine culpa quippe ad coniugium venitur, si tamen nec dum A meliora vouerūt▪ that without blame doe suche come to mariage at the least wise, if thei haue not afore made a vowe of some bet­ter thyng. If he straineth these my woordes, saieth Gregorie, whiche were for the tyme spoken, or if he will bee still displeased with my former indulgentie, tell hym againe that I saie: Quòd regulae sanctorum patrum, pro tempore, loco, & persona, & ne­gotio, instante necessitate traditae sunt: That the rules of the ho­ly fathers, bee made for the consideration of the tyme, place, per­sone, and matter, and for the necessitee present. Yea, let hym well expende Pope Innocent the third his saiyng: Non debet repre­hensibile B iudicari, si secundum veritatem temporum statuta quā ­do (que) varientur humana. &c. in concilio Lateranensi. Capi. 50. It ought not to bee iudged blame worthie, if accordyng to the di­uersitee of the tymes, mannes decrees be diuerse, specially whē vrgent necessitée, or euident vtilitée require the same: for GOD hym self hath chaunged many thynges in the newe Testament, whiche he decreed in the olde. &c. And what equitée is it to force these tymes, when votaries be so young made, to beare the rigor of the Canons, whiche were made for theim, whiche were not professed before thirtée yere of age, and not without greate deli­beration C and examination. And tell hym againe, that my mea­nyng is (as he might haue gathered of the maner of my speaking in my saied pastoralles) that if the votarie hath vowed that thing that is better to hym in deede and also hath the gifte of God to performe it: then he can not come afterwarde, without blame to mariage, whiche is not so good for hym, as the other state, wher­of he hath the gifte, and vpon experience of Goddes gifte in hym, hath decreed aduisedly, to liue therein. For as sainct Thomas writeth: In. 4. contra Gentile [...]. Quamuis vniuersaliter dicatur, homini melius esse con­tinentiam seruare, quam matrimonio vti: tamē alicui hoc melius D est. Vnde & dominus, facta de continentia mentione, dicit: Non omnes capiunt hoc verbum, sed qui potest capere capiat. Al­though it be saied vniuersally, that it is better to a manne to liue in single chastitee, then in mariage: yet, to some manne, mariage is better. Whervpon the Lorde hym self, vpon mention made of [Page 206] A continencie, saieth: Not all men taketh this woorde, but he that can take it, let hym take it. And because we haue made mention of Thomas de Aquino, tell hym that he counsaileth the A colyt whiche is in feare to leese his benefice for his wiuyng, secretly to kepe his wife, and to deceiue the eyes of the Busshop, though he call hym farther to higher holy orders. For we thinke (saieth he) that that mans ghostly father (if he bee discrete) doeth not muche offend, if he geue that clarke libertée in secrete confession, to liue with one in secrete Matrimonie: for we iudge (saieth he) it to bee lesse offence to retain his benefice, and to liue in Matrimonie vn­knowen, B then to haue a concubine, against the precepte of God, Capi. xxiii. and rather to haue a wife, then to commit fornicati­on with any other.

Furthermore, Thomas in sūm [...]. Ca. 165. if it should so chaunce, that after this delibe­rate vowe and promise, the votarie perceiueth, that he is in perill of brennyng, or fornication: tell this Ciuilian, by aucthoritee of sainct Paule, or if he would captiously glose his wordes, by auc­thoritee of sainct Augustine, whom he can not without shame wreaste, that it were better, euen for suche, to marrie, then to brenne: writyng De virginitate. Multas earum reuocat a nuben­do, C non amor praeclari propositi, sed aperti dedecoris timor, ve­niens & ipse a superbia, qua, formidatur magis hominibus des­plicere quàm deo. Hae igitur quae nubere volunt, & ideo non nu­bunt quia impune non possunt (quae melius nuberent quam vrerentur) id est, quam occulta flamma concupiscentiae in ipsa concupiscentia vastarentur, quas poenitet professionis, & piget confessionis, nisi correctum cor dirigant, & dei timore rur [...]us li­bidinem, vincant, in mortuis deputandae sunt: siue in delitijs a­gant, siue in laboribus & ieiunijs, & magis ostentationi quam D emendationi seruientibus. That is: Many of these professed vir­gines, be holden backe from mariage, not by the loue of so excel­lent a purpose, but for the feare of open shame, whiche cometh of very pride, wherein thei bee more afraied to displease manne, then GOD. These women therefore that haue a will to Mar­rie, and Marrie not, because thei can not doe it without blame, [Page 207] ( whiche women should doe better, saieth he, to Marrie A then to brenne) that is: Then that thei should with the secrete flame of concupiscence, be consumed in the saied concupiscence: who, for that thei repent them of their profession, and bee weary of that thei haue confessed: excepte thei reforme their harte, and better directe it, and in Goddes feare againe, ouercome this le­cherous affection of theirs, thei are to be coumpted as dead, whe­ther thei liue in pleasures, or yet in labors and fastynges, doyng all that thei doe, for ostentation and outward pretēse, rather then for amendemente of life in deede. Thus bryng this Ciuilian to B expende these wordes of sainct Augustine: whiche should doe better to Marrie, then to brenne: and see what he can saie. And shewe hym an other place of sainct Augustine de bono viduitatis. Capi. viii. Where he saith the same in these wordes: Melius esset illis posse continere quam nubere. Sed melius nubere quā retro post satha­nam ire. id est, ab illo excellenti virginalis vel vidualis castitatis proposito in posteriora respiciēdo cadere & interire. It wer bet­ter for them thei could conteine, then to marrie, but yet better to marrie, then to goe backe after the deuill, that is to say, to fall frō that excellent purpose and vowe of virgines, and widowes con­tinencie, C to looke backe behinde her, and to perishe. Although S. Augustine saieth there, that suche as doe not performe their pro­mise, be iustly condempned. And if S. Augustine will not cōtente hym, bring in Cyprian, writing of virgines professed in chastitée, whiche afterwarde, neuerthelesse were founde to liue vnchastly with certain deacons, not as with husbandes openly, as Pighius writeth the woordes, but as with lecherous Deacons secretely: Si aūt perseuerare nolunt aut non possunt, [...] Epistola­ [...]on .x [...]. melius est vt nubant, quam vt in ignem delitijs suis cadant. If thei will not abide, or can not perseuer, better it is, saieth he, that thei did marrie, then D that thei should fall into the fire of lustes and concupiscences, by their deintee behauiour. Now if sainct Cyprian can not contente this manne, who of all writers in the Churche, could not abide this Iackanapes pretensed and coloured chastitée in the Clergie, against the whiche he did write an whole boke, De singularitate [Page 208] A clericorum: And saith thus. Peius est quam moechari, continen­tiam ducere criminosam, & infamem ferre sanctimoniam. It is worse then adultery, to liue in chastitee that is faultee, and to pre­tende holinesse, that is defamed in it self. And in the processe of that booke, against suche as refuseth wiues, and receiue women into their houses, vt quid sibi adhibuit mulierem, qui ducere cō ­tempsit vxorem? Why a Deuill dooeth he take a woman in to him, saieth he, that disdained to marrie a wife? And saieth more­ouer, that suche: Here might as good an argument be made that the Clergies sus­spected chasti­tie is worse then adultery and incest, as D. Martine maketh, in saiyng that votaries ma­riages be worse then adulteries & incestes for breakyng their vowe. Ad demetria­dem virgin [...]. Ingerunt blasphemiam religioni: Et ꝙ huiusmo­di coniunctio suspecta, etiam si adulteros non possit facere, facit B tamen peiores adulteris & incestis. Suche, saieth he, that refuse wiues, and yet will haue women, thei bespot our religion with blasphemie: and how soeuer thei pretende, that honestee is not hurte by suche familiaritee, saieth he, and that thei can liue in their company, without committyng any adulterie: yet, saieth he, thei be worse then adulterers, and incest persons, in so doing.

But if S. Ciprian can not stop his mouth: then saieth sainct Gregorie, bryng hym in his owne very doctor, so oft alledged by hym: S. Hierome, to whose aucthoritée he recourseth so ernest­ly for his defence, writyng that for hymself he must bee beleued C of euery good christian man. Sanctum virginis propositum, & caelestis angelorumquè familiae gloriam, quarundam non bene agentium, nomen infamat, quibus aperté dicendum est: vt aut nubant, si se non possunt continere, aut contineant si nolunt nubere. The report of some certen virgins, whiche vseth them selues not well, diffameth the holy purpose and vowe of virgines, and the glorie of this hea­uenly and angelike companie, to whom it muste bee plainly and openly saied, that either lette them marrie, if thei can not keepe them selues in chastitée: or els let them keepe themselues in cha­stitèe, if thei will not marrie.

D Let this Ciuilian expende these woordes, and if he staieth at them, as doubtyng whether S. Hierom meaneth of holy virgine▪ tell hym that Erasmus noteth vpō this place, that Hierom is like to meane so. But if he will not yet be reformed, adhibe adhuc v­num, aut duos, vt in ore duorum vel trium testiū, stet omne ver­bum. Take one or twoo witnesses mo, that in the mouth of twoo [Page 209] or thre, the truth may stande. Bryng hym to one of our predeces­sors, A Gelasius the first, whiche liued about the yere of our lord 184 speakyng of widowes that had made their vowes of Chastitée. Si propria voluntate professam, In decretis Gelatij. Ca. 23 pristini coniugij castitatem, mu­tabili mente calcauerint, periculi eorum intererit, quali deum sa­tisfactione placare voluerint: quia iuxta Apostolum, primam fidē irritam fecerunt. Sicut enim si se forsitan continere non poterāt, secundum Apostolum nullatenus nubere vetabantur: sic habita secum deliberatione, promissam deo pudicitiae fidem, debent cu­stodire. Nos autèm talibus, nullum laqueum debemus inijcere, sed solum adhortationes premij sempiterni, paenas (que) proponere B diuini iudicij, vt & nostra sit absoluta conscientia, & illarum prose, rationem Deo reddat intentio.

If after thei haue professed voluntarily of themselues, cha­stitée, after their former matrimonie, and yet by mutabilitie of mynde treade it vnder their feete againe, at their owne perill be it, by what amendes thei shall pacifie God againe, in as muche as thei haue, as the Apostle saieth, made their firste faieth voide. For as if peraduenture thei could not liue chaste, thei were not forbidden any maner of waies by the Apostle to marie: euen so, after so good deliberation taken with themselues, thei ought to C haue kept their faieth and promise of chastitée, so betrouthed to God. How be it, we ought not to cast any snare to suche, but only lay before them the promises of euerlasting reward, & the paines of Gods iudgement, wherby, bothe our conscience maie bee dis­charged, and that their entent maye make answere to God for themselues. Thus farre Gelasius. And yet further to satisfie him, [...]idde hym expende that decree, In decretis Leonis. 1. Ca. 12. of an other predecessour of ours, Leo the first, who intreatyng of suche votaries as do relinquishe their profession, and betake them to warfare, or to mariage, whom though he commende not, yet he chargeth them not with D separation (no more then sainct Augustine chargeth Bonifacius the Captaine, Epistol [...]. 70 after his vowe, to bee separate from his wife) but onely inioyneth them penaunce, for breakyng suche vowe and profession so deliberatly taken in good age, on their owne free will vnconstrained. Now, saieth sainct Gregorie, if this will [Page 210] A not yet suffise to put witte into this writers head, to admit rea­sonable moderation, as pertinacitée maie bee frowarde and sel­dome satisfied: then bryng him to the churche, to the Counsailes representyng the whole vniuersall Churche. Where the holy ghoste is resident, Ca. 4. D. iij. and Christe is really (as he hymself defineth) present. And if he will be yet obstinate, & will not heare that, then spend no more labour about hym, but count hym as an Heathen and Publican. And then followe sainct Paules precept of hym for his pertinacie, as neuer thinkyng to haue good of hym: sciens quia euersus est, qui est huiusmodi, & peccet per se damnatus. B Knowyng that he that is suche, is peruerted, and sinneth euen dampned by hymself. Shewe hym the second Counsaill Arela­tēse, holden vnder Siluestre about the yere of our lord .326. where it is written: Cap. 33. De puellis quae se vouerunt deo, & preclari nomi­nis decore floruerunt, si post viginti & quinque annos aetatis, ad terrenas nuptias sponte transierunt, id custodiendum esse, decre­uimus, vt cum hijs cum quibus se obligarunt, communione pri­uentur, ita vt eis postulantibus, paenitentia non negetur. &c. Of suche virgins whiche haue vowed themselues to God, and haue been verie notable by the worship of so excellent a name: If thei C once come to the age of .xxv. yeres, and then shall translate them selues of their owne head, to earthly mariage, we decree this to be obserued. That with suche with whom thei be coupled, thei be denied the Communion: yet in suche wise, that if thei doe require it with penaunce, it be not denied them. Also in the Chalcedon Counsail. Ca. 16. it was decréed. Si qua virgo se dedicauerit deo: fimiliter & Monachus, non licere eis iungi nuptijs. Si verò inuē ­ti fuerunt &c. If any virgin hath consecrated her self to God, as also the Monke, it is not lawfull to them to cōtract matrimonie: but if thei be found so to do, let them remaine excommunicated. D Notwithstādyng, we decrée that thei maie haue humanitée she­wed them, if the Busshoppe of that place shall thinke it so good. Furthermore, in the Counsaill of Tyre, about the tyme of Leo the first, or els vnder Hillarius, about the yere of our Lorde .444 whereat was a Busshoppe of our nation: Mansuetus by name, Licet a patribus nostris è commissa authoritate, id fuerit consti­tutem, [Page 211] vt quicunque Sacerdos vel Leuita filiorum procreationi A operam dare fuisset conuictus, a Communione Dominica absti­neret: Nos tamen huic districtioni moderationem adhibentes, & iusta constitutione mollientes &c. Although it hath been de­creed of our fathers, by aucthoritée committed vnto them, that what soeuer Prieste or Leuite, beyng conuict, to geue hym self to generation of childrē, should absteine from the Lordes Com­munion: Neuerthelesse, to attempre some moderation of this Lawe, and easyng it with some more reasonable constitution: we haue decreed that a Prieste or a Leuite that will hold hym to matrimoniall desire, or yet will not cease from generation of B children: that he be promoted to no hier degrée: And that he take not vpon hym to offer Sacrifice to God, or yet to minister to the people. Lette it onely suffice suche, that thei bee not withdrawen from the Communion. And in the firste Spanishe Counsaill at Tollet, kept vnder Anastatius, ye maye reade, that Deacons, if thei will conteine, though thei haue wiues, yet maye bee in the Ministerie. If thei wil vse their wiues, thē thei shal go no higher. And if thei be priestes & beget children, then thei shall not for that cause be promoted to any Bushopricke. And in the fourth coun­saile at Tollet the 43. Chap. it is saied, ꝙ Clerici qui sine consul­tu C Episcopi sui, vxores duxerint. &c. separari eos oportet. Suche clerkes as without license of their Bushop haue maried wiues, muste bee separated. Suche then as haue maried, with consent & assent, of not onely their owne Diocessantes, but of all the Bus­shops in England, should be extremely dealt with, if thei should be separated. But if I should here report all suche Counsailes, as maketh this the onely and most paine for maried priestes, if thei will so continue, to bee sequestered from their Ministrations or Benefices, Epistola ad O­ceanum. I might saie with S. Hierom: quod tantus numerus congregabitur, vt Ariminensis synodi multitudo superetur. So D great a number should bee brought togeather, that would passe the multitude of the Counsaile holden at Ariminum. And here if ye bee desirous, Master Martine, for some suspicion that is in your head, to knowe in what conference sainct Hierom speaketh this foresaied comparison: Well, it will bee little to your aduan­tage [Page 212] A to heare it. Therfore this is the confedence ( Carterius Hispa­niae Episcopus, homo & etate vetus & Sacerdotio, vnā antequā baptizaretur, alterā, post lauachrum, priore mortua duxit vxo­remt & arbitraris eum contra Apostoli fecisse sententiam, qui in Catalogo virtutum, Episcopum vnius vxoris virum precepe­rit ordinandum. Miror autem te vnum protraxisse in medium, cum omnis mundus, his ordinationibus plenus sit, non dico de Presbyteris, non de inferiore gradu, ad Episcopos venio, quos si figillatim voluero nominare, tantus numerus congregabitur, vt Ariminensis Synodi multitudo superetur. Carterius, a Busshop B of Spayne, a man as well auncient of age, as of Priesthode, ma­ried one wife before he receiued baptisme, and after her death, when he was baptised, maried a seconde wife, and thy iudgemēt geueth thee that he did contrarie to the mynde of the Apostle, whiche in the bedroll of suche vertues as belong to a Busshop, commaunded hym to be admitted to that ordre, which should be the husband of one wife. I maruaile, saith S. Hierome, that thou hast brought forthe for example, but one onely man ( Carterius) seyng all the worlde is full of suche, as be in this wise ordered. I meane not of Priestes onely, or of ministers of the lower degree: C but I will come to Busshops, whom, if I would perticulerly re­hearse by name, there would arise suche a number, that it would excede the multitude whiche were at the Counsell at Arymyne. What hath the recityng of this saiyng of sainct Hierome holpen your whole cause, if ye sticke to his aucthoritée? For he saith, that all the world is full of priestes, and Busshops whiche were ma­ried menne, of two wiues, one after an others death. Secondly, that he vnderstandeth sainct Paule, a Busshoppe, to be the hus­bande of one wife, not as ye expounde it, of hym that had neuer but one in all his life, but so he haue but one at the tyme of his D consecration. Thirdly, he calleth the beyng the husbande of one wife, on of the vertues that belongeth to a Busshoppe.

If ye will, maister Martin, indifferently expende the mode­rations afore rehearsed, ye shall perceiue that ye be to sore and ri­gorous, to pronounce that Englishe Priestes, already maried by lawe of the realme, beside the depriuations of their liuynges, [Page 213] and sequestration from ministryng, should not be able to satisfie, A excepte thei remedie their no fault at all with separation. And for further reforming of your iudgement herein, you should do well to consider, what prudence and moderation, that noble and wise politike Prince Charles the v. vsed in his Interim, for Germany where he found the whole estate of the Clergie geuing them sel­ues to mariage, without any publike or common consent of the law Imperiall. For though in that order of doctrine he expressed his desier, wisshyng that there could be found many in the Cler­gie whiche would liue a sole life, and performe a true chastitie in deede: yet bearyng with thē that had doen to the cōtrarie: nether B proceaded he against them by law to depriuation, nor yet to sepa­ration: but permitted them to continue stil in their ministratiōs and liuinges, vpon what priuate authoritie soeuer thei tooke vpō them to marrie. And might not the like tolleration haue béen in our realme after suche opē lawes passed, in suche scarsitee of mi­nisters in the realme, where now, through such extreme dealing as is vsed, diuerse of the Queenes subiectes, are driuen to great miserie, and the state of the minesterie is left bare. The like pru­dence & equitee vsed Leo the first, whē he went about to reforme certain abuses crepte into the churches of Afrike concernyng the C disorderly orderyng of Busshops and Priestes. Where he was enforced for that tyme, to beare with some inconueniences, char­gyng neuerthelesse, that the like should no more bee committed afterwarde. And there he speaketh after this sorte. Quia circum­stant nos hinc mansuetudo clementiae, In operibus Clementis Epi­stola 49. & in Libris concilio­ [...]um Capi. 85. hinc censura iustitiae. &c. Because that on the one side standeth fauour and clemencie: on the other side execution of iustice, and because all the waies of the Lorde, be mercie and truthe: we be compelled (agreablie to pitie, that is in the Apostolike Sée) so to temper our sentence by expē ­dyng the difference of offēces, that some thinges we must tolle­rate, D & some thynges vtterly dissolue. Thus maie we sée of what meke spirite these fathers were in their gouernement, to beare with inconueniences, accordyng as the vrgent occasions of ty­mes did require, in so muche that thei suffered mariages to stand that were contracted alreadie, though contrarie to positiue lawe [Page 214] A and were content for necessitee, to forbidde them onely for after­ward: where one hotte Ciuilians harte should brast in his bodie, if those Mariages should not be distracted, that be made by open Lawe of the Croune, and not against any one Lawe of Nature, or God, excepte it be against the Lawe of his God, euen his, that sitteth in the Temple of God, shewyng hym self as God, for the whiche presumption, my Lorde of Duresme calleth hym bothe Lucifer, and Antechriste to, and my lorde of London and others, calleth hym somewhat. Ca. 13. [...]atera KK. 1. B. But I praie you, what came into your head, maister Martin, so shamefully to slaunder Doctor Ponet, B for writyng, that Mariage of Priestes were not forbidden, before kyng Henry the firste, where his wordes maie bée aduouched, to bee moste true, by witnesse of diuerse aunciente writers, as well Diuines, as Lawiers, and Historiographers. Henry Huntyng­ton, saieth plainly these woordes. Anselmus archiepiscopus, ad festum sancti Michaelis concilium tenuit apud Londoniā, in quo prohibuit vxores sacerdotibus Anglorum (antea non prohi­bitas) quod quibusdam mundissimum visum est, Li. 7. Chro. Iorenalli Nicho. Trucet. quibusdā peri­culosum, nè dum munditias viribus maiores appeterent, in im­munditias C horribiles, ad Christiani nominis summum dedecus inciderent. That is: Anselmus Archbusshoppe, at the feast of S. Michael, helde a Counsaile at London, in the whiche he forbade priestes to haue wiues ( which were neuer before forbidden) the whiche thyng semed to some, to be moste pure, to some others daungerous, leaste that whiles thei seeke puritee, more then strength is able to beare, thei fall into horrible impuritee, to the greate dishonor of their Christian name. Loe, thus writeth Huntyngton of Anselmus Counsaile, a Busshop more seuere & D superstitious in this poincte, then became his learnyng, and per­aduenture in some other poinctes also, Anno domini 1502. Colātes culi [...] & Cameli [...]n de glutien: if it be true that Willyā of Malmesburie writeth of hym: sc, that he neuer vttered any woorde, the remembraunce whereof did greue his conscience, where yet he remembryng that aboute supper tyme, he did eate a rawe Herryng, he knocked hymself on the breast, and bewailed [Page 215] his synne, for that he had taken rawe meate against the Lawe. A Well, this good father, in his hotte zeale against mariage cha­stitee, gaue great aduenture, to induce libertee of Sodomiticall vice, for whiche he was compelled in the self same very Coun­saile, to prouide by Canon, chargyng that crime with excom­munication, vntill the offenders and continuers therein, by cō ­fessiō and penaunce, should deserue absolution, where the Cler­gie for mariyng, & continuyng in the same, should neuer bee ab­solued by confession or penaunce. In deede Dunstane before the Conqueste, with Ethelwolde of Winchester, and Oswolde of Worcester, all three Monkishe Busshoppes, expelled Secular B maried Priestes out of Cathedrall Churches, but condempned not their mariages, nor separated them. Yea, the stories reporte, that thei expelled secular priestes, bothe maried & vnmaried, ex­cept suche as would by cōuersion, be made Monkes. Of whiche three Ranulph saieth of Ethelwolde (beyng commonly called the father of Monkes) that he was a good manne in other deedes, though he were badde in that dooyng, Li. 7. and broughte thereto, by counsaile of whisperers and titifilles. And certainly, it could bee no greate good deede of charitee, so muche to iniurie the Secular priestes, and to aduaunce the Monkes, suche as thei wer in those C daies, de Pontificibus as Willyam of Malmesburie writeth, De pontificibus: whose woordes be these. Monachi Cantuarienses (sicut oēs tunc temporis in Anglia, secularibus haud absimiles erant, nisi quod pudicitiam nō facile proderent) canum cursibus auocari: auium praedam raptu aliorum (que) volucrum per mane sequi: Spumanti [...] equi tergum promere: tesseras quatere: potibus indulgere: deli­catiori victu & accuratiori cultu, frugalitatem nescire, parsi­moniam abnuere: & caetera id genus: vt magis illos Cōsules, quā Monachos frequentia famulantium diceres. That is: The Mō ­kes of Canterburie, as also at that tyme, all the rest in England, D were not vnlike to the Secular menne, sauyng that thei would not lightly lose their Chastitee, thei were sone called from their religious contemplations, to see the runnyng of their houndes, thei followed earely in the Mornyng their praie, in haukyng of birdes, and other wilde foule, thei ride abrode on their fomyng [Page 216] A Palfraies, thei plaie at the dice, thei geue them selues vp to drin­kyng and quaffyng, and by their more delicate fedyng, and their more nise apparellyng, thei had no knowledge of frugalitee, and contemned temperancie, and suche other of that kynde, that a man might haue called them rather Consulles, then Monkes, by the greate traine of their waityng men. Whiche thyng, saith the storie, Lanfrancke the Archbusshoppe beholdyng, held his pa­cience for a tyme, and would not vtterly discharge their daintée myndes, with any sharpe discipline. For he knewe, as he was moste skilfull in the arte of artes, that is, in gouernyng of soule, B that long custome, is halfe an other Nature, and that by sodaine tourne of maners, the tender myndes might sone bee exaspera­ted. Wherfore with gentle monitiōs, as occasion of tyme would serue, abatyng sometyme one vice, sometyme an other, he did whette their myndes to goodnesse, with the Whetstone of ver­tues, and so forthe in the storie. Thus, maister Martin, ye maye not onely see prudente moderation of this auncient father in his gouernaunce, cleane contrary to your disposition: but also ye maie note, how truely Polidore writeth in this greate matter, of expeliyng Secular Priestes out of their churches. That is (as it C is afore rehearsed) expellyng euill priestes, and brought in worse Monkes. But to retourne againe to our former matter. To al­ledge more writers in so manifest a matter, were to tedious, and therefore in this allegation, your owne reproofe may be well re­torted against your self, Mendacē memorem esse oportet. A liar had neede to haue a good remembraunce. Now sir, because you would hold your penne still in slaunderyng, immediately after, you fall to an other slaunderous lye: where you bee not ashamed to saie, that the tale written of Ioannes Cremensis Presbyter Cardinalis, is forged of some heretike: and that it is like to be one D of Bales counterfette stories in his booke of votaries, whiche ye call a filthie and scouldyng booke, Litera. KK. a. hauyng more lyes then liues. Wherein ye saie, is neither honestie of woordes, nor truthe in matter. O maister Martin, if your self, and those whiche framed your boke, had seen so muche in historie, as Ihon Bale had doen, ye would neither haue slaundered his writyng, neither belyed [Page 217] historicall antiquitée. Ye would rather haue inwardly lamented, A for suche monstrous filthines to be charged by storie, vpon suche as ought to bee lightes and Lanthornes vnto all other in godli­nes and puritee of life, and would rather haue remedied that vn­speakable vnclennesse, by them to openly vsed, with Goddes ho­ly institution of Matrimonie. But sir, where you attribute this storie of Ihon Cremensis, to some heretike, ye make many fatte heretikes: and where you saie, it is but a tale forged, and one of Bales counterfette stories, Lib. 7. ye shall heare what Henry Hunting­ton recordeth thereof. Ad Pascha, Cremensis, Cardinalis Roma­nus, descendit in Angliam, peregrinatus (que) per episcopatus & ab­batias, B non sine magnis muneribus, ad natiuitatē sanctae Mariae, celebrauit concilium solenne apud Londoniā. &c. Sed quià Mo­ses, dei secretarius in historia sancta, parentum etiam suorum, vt virtutes, ità & vitia, scilicet, facinus Loth, scelus Ruben, proditio­nem Symeō & Leui, inhumanitatem fratrum Ioseph: nos quo (que) veram historiae legem de bonis & malis sequi dignum est. Quòd si alicui Romano, vel praelato displicuerit, taceat tamen, ne Ioan­nem Cremensem sequi velle videatur. Cum igitur in concilio seuerissimè de vxoribus sacerdotum tractasset, dicens summum scelus esse, à latere meretricis, ad corpus Christi conficiendum sur­gere, C cum eodem die corpus Christi confecisset, cū meretrice post vesperam interceptus est. Res apertissima negari non potuit, ce­lari non debuit. Summus honor vbi (que) habitus, in summum de­decus versus est. Repedauit igitur in sua, dei iudicio confusus, & inglorius.

At Easter Ihon Cremensis, Cardinall of Rome, came doune into Englande, and makyng his progresses through Busshop­rickes, and Abbatées, not without greate rewardes, aboute the Natiuitée of our Ladie, helde a solemne Counsaile at London. But because Moises, Goddes secretarie, in the holie storie, as he D wrote the vertues, so did he also the vices, yea, of his owne pa­rentes, that is to saie, the outrage of Lothe, the abhomination of Ruben, the treason of Symeon and Leuy, the vnnaturalnesse of the brethren of Ioseph: euen so it becometh vs to followe the true Lawe of storie, bothe of good and euill. But if it shall displease [Page 218] A any Romaniste or Prelate, saieth he, I reade hym to holde his peace, and be still, leste it will be demed, that he desired to folowe Ihon Cremensis in woordes and deedes. He therefore, when he had made greuous processe, in that Counsaile, against Priestes wiues, saiyng, that it was a foule synne and a greate, to rise frō a strumpettes side, to make Christes body: when he hym self, the same very daie had saied Masse, was taken with a strumpet af­ter Euensong: the facte beyng moste open, could not bee denied, nor ought to bee hidden. That high honour had euery where to hym before, was tourned to high shame and rebuke. Whereup­pon B he trudged home againe, by Goddes iuste iudgemente con­founded, to his greate dishonestee. Thus farre Henry Hun­tyngton, a manne liuyng at that age.

Here you se, master Martin, an auncient writer, no heretike, Archdeacon of Huntyngton, foure hundred yeres paste and an halfe, to haue tolde this storie of this good holy ympe of Rome Church, beyng warned yet afore by Pope Honorius, whose let­ters to hym and others, Symon of Duresme, doeth recite in his booke, wherin he nameth hym Praesbiterum Cardinalem, prieste Cardinall, and praieth hym, as beyng sent before into England C by his next predecessor Calixtus, that he would behaue hymself in his Legation, as a wise & a discrete childe of the Rome church, and as may appartaine to the honour of God and the honestie of the Apostolike See. The same Honorius, writyng to the Arche­busshops, & Busshops, Abbattes and nobles (suppressyng yet the kynges name) charged thus: we praie you, admonishe you, and commaūde you, that you would reuerently receaue hym, as the vicar of holy S. Peter, humblie to heare hym, and at his call to hold solemnely, with hym, conuocations, so that by his and your diligence, all thinges may bee reformed in your realme, whiche D are to be amended, and those thinges whiche are to be stablished, may (by the inspiration of the holy ghost) be confirmed, emongest the Canons of which holy Counsaill, priestes be plaine separated from their wiues, vnder paine of losse of their Order: and Ma­riages, either of consanguinitée or affinitée, contracted within the seuenth generation, be commaunded to bee seperated.

[Page 219]Now if neitheir Secular Prieste, nor religious Monkes te­stimonie, A will serue Maister Martin, Roger Houeden a secular man, in courte with the kyng Henry seconde, in greate estima­tion and credit, writyng in his storie, saieth: that there fell a mar­ueilous misfortune to this Cardinall, beyng so hotte in his Coū ­sell against priestes mariage, and agreeth fully with the forsaied testimonie of the saied Henry in the same. If yet, you will haue more testimonies, Polydore in his stories the tenthe booke (how craftely soeuer for the honour of Rome Churche he suppresseth his name, as belike you would haue the laye people to take it for a lye, to saue the honor of your wiueles church, how leude soeuer B it be notoriously knowen) reporteth of the same cardinall, y ^t after his solempne sermon, inueighyng against lawfull mariages, he was so priuely waited, that within a while after, he was taken with an harlotte in companie vnlawfull. Furthermore Sir, this matter semeth so little counterfeited, that other writers af­firme the same, as Fabian, somtime Citezen and Sheriffe of Lō ­don, in his Chronicle, saieth, that this dissimuled doctor tooke so great feruencie in the correction of the priestes of England, that in the euenyng folowing, after that he had so lewdly blowne his borne, saiyng that it was a detestable sinne to ryse from the side C of a strumpet, to sacre the bodie of Christe: he was taken with a strumpette, Lib. 7. Cap. 16 Anno. 1125. to his open shame and rebuke. From whose testi­mony differeth not Ranulph of Chichester in his Polichronicō. Further Matheus westmonasteriensis, otherwise named Flori­legus writyng of the saied Ihon Cardinall, thus saieth. Dictus Ioannes qui in concilio, omnes concubinarios Sacerdotes ma­ximè damnauerat, in eodem vitio deprehensus est: The saied Ihon, whiche in his counsell, had verie greatly blamed Priestes that vsed concubines, was taken hymself in the same crime. Also Mathew Parise, in his Chronicle in that verie yere, recordeth the D same storie, of this holy and chaste Cardinal of Rome, who came into England with great honour, but packe home againe with worthie shame. Loe, suche commonlye are the slaunderers of true matrimonie in others, most shamefully abusing themselues with harlottes, pretendyng and exaltyng their Churche chasti­tie [Page 220] A in hypocrisie, but hate it in their whole practise of their life, as stories fullie make mention of suche, beyng the very successors of Hierax an heretike, of whom Epiphanius writeth in his story, of whom some mention is made before. And if yet none of all these will serue to discharge Ihon Bale, to make hym the firste aucthor therof, or to disproue it to be a forged or counterfet story, ye maie looke further in other histories, bothe in Frenche and Latine, and finde, almoste all that write of those daies, to speake of the same Cardinall to like effecte. And therfore M. Martine, is it reason that ye write, that it was some heretike, that forged B this tale, as ye would make the world beleue? Is it not a shame for you, to boste of so muche vniuersal and absolute knowledge, in al stories, both Ecclesiasticall and prophane, of al countries in Christendome, and out of Christēdome, and to be blind and bare at home in the stories of your owne countrey, beyng so many, written by mē bothe of great credite, and of notable learnyng & life? And dare you pronounce all these, in your bolde arrogante spirite, to bee heretikes? none of them all woorthie credite with you, of so diuers vocations as thei are? Some Seculer Priestes of worship, some reguler Monkes in profession, some seculer lay C menne, in place of credit and estimation, some liuyng at that ve­ry tyme, and members of that holy Synode? I do but meruaile, what confidence you had in other mens credites, to write so im­pudently, not castyng with your self, to what commendable ende your gaye bolstered booke would come vnto, when it were once examined, by any mā of meane learning or reading. But ye put me in mynde by your owne woordes, wherewith you charge o­ther menne, that ye bee like to be blowen vp spiritu impostoris, with a spirite of error, that ye can within so few lines, write two so notable lies and errors. It is to true that the wise man saieth D of suche men. Quod frequentur prae occupent pessima, Sap. 17. redargu­ente conscientia: Thei oft take vpon them matters of the worste, to the condemnation of their owne conscience. For where wic­kednesse is alwaies doubtfull in it self, it geueth testimonie to his owne shame. For euer doth a spiced cōscience, take vpō hym to attempte matters of crueltée. Wherevppon, I may conclude [Page 221] with your owne wordes in the self same place, that he maye well A be called a poore soule, that will put you and suche as you bee in truste, with the information of his soule, that is so little trustie or true in his wordes. Shall a man credite such a doctor or teacher? that within (not twoo leaues as ye write) but within twelue lines compace, wil vtter suche slaunderous lies vpon other men? And deface the creditte of open stories, beyng in many mennes handes. Uerily if we should consider how vniuersallie this man sheweth hymself vniforme & constant, in wrestyng, contortyng, and false reportyng of Scriptures, of doctors, of Busshoppes de­crées, of Counsailes, Canons, and of stories, throughout all his B booke, in suche fashion, so impudently, that I can not imagine, that Lucian hym self, when he wrote his booke, De veris narra­tionibus, had halfe so good a bouget, to the vtteraunce of his ve­ritees: as this manne hath broughte awaie, belike out of Paris, from emong the Sorbonistes. So that I maie sair: Totus quan­tus, quantus est, a vertice ad vltimum vs (que) calcaneum, ex menda­cijs meris, & dolis confictus est & conflatus: In like maner, to note a poincte or twoo, how he handeleth hym self in his Coun­sailes, alledgyng and wreastyng, in the x. Chapiter of his booke, prouyng that Priestes maried in Englande, [...]orā. R. iiij. are not onely to be C depriued, but also to bee separated: he alledgeth a fragmente of a Canon, Gan. 30. out of Concilium Epaunense: Incestis coniunctionibus nihil prorsus venie reseruamus, nisi cum adulterium separatione sanauerint. Incaestus vero nec vllo cōiugij nomine pallietur. We doe reserue no pardon at all (saieth the holy Counsaile) for Ince­stuous copulations, excepte thei amende their aduoutrie and fil­thy life, by separatyng them selues a sunder. Neither let Incests be coloured or couered, with the cloked pretense of Matrimonie. Here, maister doctor, ye doe moste impudently, bothe curtall the Canon, and also as vntruely wreste it. For, that it might be kno­wen, D what be these incestuous mariages against Nature, which ye saie can not be otherwise healed, but by separation: The Ca­non further reciteth them by name, orderly. Emong whiche In­cestuous mariages, Priestes mariages bee not numbred, and thoughe thei were, yet there is expressed a greate moderation, [Page 222] A whiche ye will not make mention of. For after the Canon had named fower of suche vnlawfull copulations, it saieth thus of them. Quos vt a presenti tempore prohibemus, ita ea quae sunt anterius instituta, nō soluimus. Which mariages, as for hereaf­ter we doe forbidde: so those which be already made, we will not disseuer. After whiche woordes, the Canon rehearseth the reste, and defineth of them thus. Sanc quibus coniunctio illicita inter­dicitur, habebunt ineundi melioris coniugij libertatem. That is: To whom suche vnlawfull copulations bee forbidden, shall bee graunted libertee, to get theim better mariages. Whiche latter B parte of the Canon, in the Print of Peter Quintell. Anno. 1538. though it hath, Non habebunt: yet the texte is purged in the se­conde Counsaile at Towers, in the twoo and twentie Chapiter, where it is at large set out.

Furthermore, the selfe same degrees of blood, whereof these incestuous mariages be made, are also recited in the Counsaile Agatensi, holden vnder Pope Celestine the first. Anno domini. 428. and there the Counsaile, after dissolution, geueth them li­bertee to marrie a newe. Here, maister Martin, ye maie see, that in none of these three Counsailes, Priestes copulations be either C spoken of, or meante, as ye vntruely inferre of a peece of the Ca­non. Secondly, if thei were, yet, if ye folow this Counsaile, either ye should suffer them still to remaine: or els after ye haue disse­uered them, ye should graunt them to marrie a newe. But here maie be considered, how muche moderation these Counsailes v­sed to beare, with an inconuenience once passed, to tollerate suche vnnaturall mariages, as thei were: and were contented, onely for necessitee, to forbidde them for afterward. Lette wise menne iudge of this moderation, as thei see cause: where wise menne, maie sone espie, how Doctor Martin abuseth the Counsaile. In D the same page also, it is wonder to note, howe he vntruely re­porteth the second Counsaile of Macon: and as he writeth in the fourtene Canon, as, forbiddyng Priestes, Deacons, and Sub­deacons former wiues euer to marrie againe, after their hus­bandes decease: where in deede no suche matter is in the foure­tene Canon. In the sixtene Canon there is mention made, that [Page 223] the wife of a Subdeacon, Exorciste, or Acolite, should no more A marrie: But not a woorde of Prieste or Deacon, as he vntruely reporteth in that Counsaile. Seekyng for this your Counsaile and Canon, and none suche to be found: I reade in that same se­conde Counsaile, Canon. 4. where it is decreed, Vt omnibus dominicis diebus altaris oblatio ab omnibus viris & mulieribus offeratur, tam panis, quam vini: vt per has immolationes pecca­torum suorum fastibus careant. &c. Whiche Canon, M. Mar­tin may English at his leasure. And because he forceth so muche separation, he maie reade, that in the firste Counsaile of Macon, Canon .xj. Bushoppes and Priestes, and all the better of the B Clergie, are bounde, aswell to renounce all the secular actes, as the companie of their former wiues, not vnder paine of separa­tion (as you would make menne to beleue you) but vnder paine of losse of their dignitees. Whiche Canon, is woorde for woorde none otherwise recited in Concilio Aruermesi. Cap. xii.

In like maner, he doeth violently wrest in the self same leafe a decree of Calixtus, if it be his, as there bee greate reasons and aucthoritees, to proue that it is but feined vpon hym: But so muche the more apte for Doctour Martin, to aduouche it emong his other suche stuffe: the woordes bee these. Presbiteris, Diaco­nis, C Subdiaconis, & Monachis concubinas habere, seu matrimo­nium contrahere penitus interdicimus, contracta (que) matrimonia ab huiusmodi personis disiungi. Upon whiche woordes, beside that he vntruely auoucheth, in slaunderyng the Apostles & pri­matiue Churche, that it was their doctrine, that thei should bee separated: He noteth three notable poinctes. Firste, that he putteth no difference betwixt them that bee bounde by their consecration, and them that bee bounde by their solempne profession: betwixt an inclusiue, and an open vowe: betwixte Prie­stes, and Monkes: Thus farre doctor Martin. I report this note, good reader, but to thyne owne iudgemente, whether thou maiest not D marke a notable poincte of folie, ignoraunce, or wilfulnesse, in this fonde Ciuilian, thus to wrest and drawe the woordes of his aucthoritees, [...]xtra de voto quod voti re­ [...]emptione. so farre against the heere: as though bothe al men­nes reasons were not against his note, and as though the Lawe it self saied not: ꝙ alia est causa monachi alia clerici ▪ And further [Page 224] A there is written: ꝙ plura profitendo promittit Monachus, quā recipiendo sacrum ordinem clericus. And for diffrence, it is writ­ten in the Extrau. of Ihon, the .xxij. Chapiter. Antiquae. Coniu­gatus ante copulam, sacrum ordinē suscipiens, cogitur ne ad cō ­iugem: sed habitum monachi suscipiens, Ex [...]t. de cōuers. comugas Cap. verum [...]vobas qui transgredimi mandatum Dei. propter traditione [...] vestram Math. potest inuita vxore, ire ad religionem, & cogendus ibi manere & vinculum coniugii in­efficax redditur: The maried manne, that vndertaketh holy or­ders, before carnal knowledge of his wife, is inforced to go to his wife: but he that becometh a Monke, maie against his wiues wil goe forwarde to his Religious profession, and ought to bee com­pelled B therein to remain, and so the band of mariage to be with­out force or strength. Cardinall Caietane writeth, whiche Tho­mas also .2.2. affirmeth. Quòd votum per se solemne, est indes­pensabile (per illud decretale cum ad Monaste.) Quod est regula­rium: sed votum per accidens, quod est annexum ordini sacro, quod est secularium, est dispensabile .4 ^o. sententiarum. Ergo alia est causa Monachi & alia Presbyteri. That a vowe, whiche of it self is solempne, is not to bee dispensed with, if it bee of Regu­lers. But a vowe of a secular, not annexed to his holy order (cal­led a vowe per accidens) maie bee dispensed with well inough, C and therefore the condition of the Monke, and of the Prieste bee diuerse. Whervnto bothe Antonine in Summa, part .iii. and Bo­nau [...]nture .iiii. sententiarum Distin .xxxvii. doe agrée. Wherv­pō your thrée notable poinctes beyng well waied, are not worthe three agglettes. It is a true lawe to bee verified of hym self, that he reporteth in his fifth Chapiter: L [...]ā G .iiij. Semel malus semper presumi­tur malus, in eodem genere mali. If it be true that your self pro­nounce in your tenth Chapiter, that it is the nature of hereti­kes, euer to take a peece of the aucthours woordes, and not the whole sentence: I would desire the indifferent reader, by expen­dyng D your reporting of your Doctors and Counsailes, after this maner, to iudge of what complexion ye be of: Seing therefore (to borowe some of his owne woordes) this Doctor Martin coyneth suche notes and argumentes, whereof some of them be false in forme, and some false in matter: saiyng in his obiections, he de­praueth scripture, misconstrueth his aucthours, misreporteth sto­ries, [Page 225] misnameth his doctors, seinyng Ambrose to be Augustine, A and Cirill, Origen: and yet corrupteth them all, & all to this ende, that he mighte frame a probable argumente, in an vnprobable matter. I truste good reader, thou wilte credite no further his stoute bolde assertions, and glorious processes, then the truthe of the matter will beare his cause. But because I will not be ouer tedious, I lette diuerse other suche foule shamelesse lyes and de­prauynges, vntouched.

But as for the aucthoritée of sainct Augustine de bono vi­duitatis, where he proueth the mariages good, euen of votaries, though their promise breaking be condempned: he toke the next B waie to corrupt y ^e text. For he saw plainly, it could not be other­wise shifted of, with all the gloses he can deuise, it is so manifest. And though it hath béen wonderfully drawen & racked of diuerse suche wittes, 17. q. 1. Nup­tiarum bonum In glosa. as doctor Martin hath: yet to the indifferent reader that will expend the very text in S▪ Augustine, and the processe he goeth about, it must nedes purge it self of al the drosse thei can cast vpon it, though Pighius falsifieth the text, and Petrus Lom­bardus leaueth out the woordes of the moste pithe, to blinde the reader. And some there be, that to plaie it a waie, expound all the whole treatise of sainct Augustine, in that poynct, to be ment of a C simple vowe, and not of a solempne vowe. Some glosers, affirme the first part of the processe, to be ment of simple vowers, and the latter parte, sc, plane non dubitauerim dicere &c. to bee ment of solempne vowers. And these two shiftes hath this doctor Martin of those glosers, beside his owne peculiar deuise, of mangling and manifest corruptyng the texte. Some glosers, affirme it to bee wholly ment of solempne vowers: and some glosers are so bolde to deny sainct Augustine, and affirme that here he slept, and that he did not well reason in this matter: As the common gloser of the decrées. Gardine [...]us contra Bucerū Lib, 3. And some shifteth of the matter after a newe sort, and D saie that sainct Augustine did write this his opinion, before the churche had otherwise defined this cause, vz. that mariages after the vowe, should be no mariages: wherby he meaneth that sainct Augustine speaketh of solempne vowes. For the church at these daies, doeth not yet decree, that mariages after simple vowes be [Page 226] A no mariages, or that thei ought to bee dissolued. Whiche saiyng if it bee true: then I put it to the indifferent reader, to expends whether the mariages of votaries after their vowes, beyng thought good, and not to be dissolued, from the Apostles daies, [...]l sainct Augustines age, and so in his tyme thought good (how nought soeuer thei were to breake their aduised vowes) whether we may not better sticke to sainct Augustines aucthoritée, and to the common faith that was before his tyme: rather then to that definition whiche hath been made since, contrarie to the faithe of those writers: Specially seyng the Busshops of England, many B of them yet liuyng at this daie, in their booke of institution of a christian man, teache plainly that it apperteineth to christen kin­ges, and Princes, in the discharge of their duetie to God, to re­forme and to reduce againe the lawes to their old Limittes and pristine state, of their power and iurisdiction, whiche was giuen theim by Christe, and vsed in the primatiue Churche. For it is (saie thei) out of all doubt, that Christes faithe was then moste firme and pure, and the scriptures of God were then best vnder­stand, and vertue did then most abound and excell. And therfore the customes and ordinaunces then vsed and made, must nedes C be more conforme and agreable vnto the true doctrine of Christ, and more conducyng to the edifiyng and benefite of the Churche of Christ, then any Custome or Lawes vsed or made since that tyme. And so forth, in their exposition of the Sacrament of order. So that Master Doctor Martin may plainly perceiue, that he hath the most parte of the Busshops in England, and of greatest lear­nyng and aucthoritee, against hym. And that their assertions, and confessions, ouerthrowe all his strong buyldynges of Lawes and Canons, though there were no more learnyng to alledge in the cause.

D Where it is alledged that the Churche hath constituted, that order should haue chastitée annexed: it may bée answered, that is but only of mannes constitution, & of the churche tradition, as al writers, bothe Deuines and Canonistes, do cōfesse the same. And where I might alledge bothe Thomas, Albertus, Stotus, Orbel­lensis, Bonauenture, Durande, Abbas Panormitanus, Petrus d [...] [Page 227] Palude, Astexanus, Prepositus, Gratian, and the comon gloser, A yet for them all, I shall report one, whiche was bothe learned in diuinitée and law, Cardinalis Caietanus: whose wordes be these. Nec ratione, nec authoritate probatur, ꝙ absolute loquendo, Sa­cerdos peccet contrahendo matrimonium. Nec ordo, in quantū ordo, nec ordo, in quātum sacer, est impeditiuus matrimonij. & ꝙ Sacerdotium non dirimit matrimonium cōtractum, siue ante, siue post, seclusis omnibus legibus Ecclesiasticis, stando tantum in hijs quae a Christo & ab Apostolis habemus. It can not bee proued neither by reason or auctoritée, that (to speake precisely) a prieste should offende in contractyng matrimonye. For neither B order, in that it is order, nor order, in that it is holy, is any lette to Matrimonie, and that priesthode doeth not dissolue Matrimonye contracted, either before or after, settyng a parte all Ecclesiasti­call Lawes, standing onely to that whiche we haue of Christ and his Apostles.

If then, by the doctrine of the Clergie of England, the kyn­kes aucthoritée maie do as muche in positiue Lawes, as euer the Busshoppe of Rome was able to doe: And it is the consent of all diuines and Canonistes vniuersally holden, that the Busshop of Rome hath full aucthoritée to make and to vnmake, to dispense C in all Churche Lawes, of what name and nature soeuer thei be: yea, vniuersally with al maner lawes, except the Articles of our faieth, which yet he may interprete: why shall not then the kyng, with consent of his Parliament, be thought to haue done right­fully, in the late dispensing with that positiue lawe, whiche was onely thought to bee againste priestes? If as sainct Paule saieth, Christe by abrogatyng the commaundement, Ephe. 2. Coll. 2. whiche was con­teined in the lawes of the decrees written, hath put out the hand writyng that was against vs, and so discharged vs, of all maner condempnation, vnder whiche we were holden thereby: why in D lyke maner maie it not be saied, that priestes be discharged of all maner condempnation bothe of depriuation and diuorsyng? sei­yng that all Lawes were by the kynges iust aucthoritée abroga­ted, whiche conteined any maner condempnation? For what o­ther thyng do restreine priestes from that libertée that God hath [Page 228] A graunted frelye to all menne, but either Lawe, or els vowe and promise made by them selues? If it be lawe, then seyng it is but mannes Lawe, mannes Lawe againe hath taken it a waie, and therefore on that side there is no daunger. And as for vowe and promise, there was none passed by Secular Englishe Priestes, nor none required at their orderyng: And though there were, yet writeth Alfonsus plainely Philippica .xix. that yet after their promise, this libertée of the Apostle is still wholy remainyng to them, sc, propter fornicationem vitandam, vnusquis (que) vxo­rem suam habeat. &c. For auoydyng of fornication, lette euery B manne haue his wife. &c. And moreouer saieth, that he can not see, how any manne can depriue hymself of this libertée, vnlesse therewith he depriue hymself also of eternall saluation. And af­firmeth further, that when the libertée of any lawe of restraint, is graunted by aucthoritée, his conscience maie bee in suertée, to whom suche concession is graunted. And as concerning the case of votaries, how strong so euer the bonde of a vowe is: yet it fol­loweth the nature of an oth. For thei bothe walke after one sort, votum & iuramentum pari passu ambulant, saieth the Lawiers, and an othe maie not bee a bonde of wickednesse. Furthermore, C how muche offence so euer the votaries doe runne in, before God or the worlde, to breake their well aduised vowes, constituted by man: yet after mariage bée so attempted by them, it maie not bee dissolued: Seyng mariage is of Gods ordinaunce, the vowe but of mannes constitution. Dist. 27. Dia­conus. For it is written in the Decrées by Gratiā. Si diaconus a ministerio cessare voluerit, contracto ma­trimonio licitè potest vti. Nam, & si in ordinatione sua castita­tis votum obtulerit: tamen tanta est vis in sacramento coniugij, ꝙ, nec ex violatione voti, potest dissolui ipsum cōiugium. If the deacon will cease from his ministerie, he maie lawfully vse ma­trimonie D contracted. For although whē he was ordered, he offe­red vp the vowe of chastitée, yet there is so greate strength in the Sacramente of Wedlocke, that the self same mariage maie not bee dissolued, no not after the breache o [...] the vowe. Whiche was also further affirmed by Gratian, grounded vpon sainct Augu­stines aucthoritée. Cum quispiam post votum castitatis ducit [Page 229] vxorem, iuramento firmans, nunquam ab ea discessurum quod A quamuis illicitum sit, quià iustitia sibi probatur deesse, tamen au­thoritate Augustini seruari precipitur. 22. q. 4. [...]unocens. When any manne, after the vowe of Chastitee, marieth a wife, bindyng it faste with his othe, that he will neuer departe from her, whiche although it bée vnlawfull, for as muche as it is euident, that righteousnes and iustice wanted in the acte: yet neuerthelesse, by the aucthoritée of sainct Augustine, it is cōmaunded to be conserued still. And there Gratian proueth, that this thyng standeth vpon the strength of the othe: where he saieth, other mennes opinions bee, that it is by the prerogatiue of Matrimonie. And whether Gratian mente B that aucthoritée of sainct Augustine, De bono viduitatis, or whe­ther, that whiche he reporteth in the Lawe, in these wordes, to be sainct Augustine: Dist. 17. quidam. Let the reader iudge. Quidam, nubentes post votum, asserunt, adulteros esse: Ego autem dico, quòd grauiter peccant, qui tales diuidunt. Some affirme, saith he, that suche as doe marri [...] after their vowe, bee adulterers: but I saie, that theé offende greuously, whiche doe separate suche. Whiche forme of wordes, in suche as [...]eueration, maie sone make vs vnderstande, how earnestly sainct Augustine was in this opinion. And lest it should be taken, that sainct Augustine did write this his sentēce, C vpon sodaine consideration, he expresseth the same againe vpon the .lxxv. Psalme: Quae autem respexit ad nuptias, non quia vo­luit nubere dānatur, sed quia iam ante recesserat, & fit vxor Loth respiciendo retrorsum. She that hath looked backe to mariage, is not dampned because she would marrie, but because she had gone backe before, and is made like to Lothes wife, by her loo­kyng behinde her. But if ye yet desire to knowe a reason of this strong assertion of sainct Augustine, so reported in the Decrees, the Lawe sheweth it plainly: Voti solemnitas ex sola constitu­tione ecclesiae est inuenta: matrimonij vero vinculum, ab ipso ec­clesiae D capite, rerum omni conditore, ipsum in paradiso, & statu innocentiae instituēte, vnionem & indissolubilitatem accepe [...]it. The solempnitée of the vowe, was deuised onely by the Chur­ches constitution: but the bonde of Matrimonie, toke his insepa­rable vnitée and knotte, of hym that is creatour of all thynges, [Page 230] A who did institute it in Paradise, and in the state of innocencie.

And here I would aske this Lawier a question, by occasion of the woordes that there further followeth, of that extrauagant: whether Englishe secular priestes, haue made a simple vowe, or a solempne vowe, in the takyng of their orders? If it be a simple vowe: then though it be neuer so seriously made, before neuer so many witnesses, neuer so aduisedly made, earnestly promised, yea, sworne in the face of the Churche: yet it dissolueth not ma­trimonie once made, saith the lawe. Ergo, in this vowe, if it were that Priestes were ordered, yet their mariages be not to be bro­ken. B But let it be graunted, that the priest hath made a solempne vowe: then teacheth this Lawe, that the solemnitée is deuised but onely of the positiue Lawe of the Churche. Ergo, it standeth but vpon mannes constitution, Ergo, dispensable by manne: and manne hath dispensed with them, by open constitution of Lawe, here in England. What bindeth them then in their order? Yea, why be thei not free of all handes? And their mariages good, and indissoluble from all lawes of man? For this bonde, whiche this Lawier vrgeth so importunatly, muste stande either of the na­ture and substance of order, either of the nature and bonde of the C vowe either of the promise and profession of the Prieste at recei­uyng of his orders: or els of the constitution and positiue Lawe of the Churche. Of the nature and substaunce of order, it stan­deth not, for then should the Gretians offende, saieth Panormi­tane, in whose Priestes, standeth Order and Matrimonie ioint­ly together: betwixte whiche Priestes and their owne wiues, is Chastitée of Mariage, saieth the saied Panormitan. And further, he saieth, Ex [...]ra [...]. that it is not long of their custome, that thei bee excu­sed: for that is nought worthe againste the Lawe God. And fur­ther, it can not stande of the nature of order, seyng that in the A­postolique D Churche, and a greate while after, till Pope Siricius daies, thei might contracte, as the gloser of the decrees auou­cheth plainely the opinion of certaine aucthoures in the Lawe: whose opinion he doeth not disproue, saiyng: ꝙ olim sacerdotes poterant contrahere ante Siricium, Dist. 84. cum in pretenio vnde & Moyses contraxit. In tymes paste Priestes might marrie before Siricius, wherev­pon [Page 231] Moyses did contracte. And there he reporteth, that the Apo­stles A made no constitution, for not vsyng Matrimonie once con­tracted. Moyses pres­byter apud Ci­prianum Li. 2. Epistola. 4. I [...]st 82. propo­s [...]. For if the Apostles had made any suche Canons: The Orientall churche would haue admitted it. And further he wri­teth, that by Gratians opinion, the Churche hath constituted cer­taine thynges, whiche were not so decreed of the Apostles. And there nameth in his examples, the continencie of the ministers: and aduoucheth S. Augustine for hym, Can. 35. q. 2. Cum igitur. De ciuitate dei. li. xv. Cap. xvi. whiche saied Gratian also writeth, that before the Counsaile of Ancirane, whiche was about the yere of our Lorde. 308. con­tinencie was not yet cōstituted vpon the ministers of the aultar. B And further it is writtē: 2.6. q. 2. Ca. Sors. Copula sacerdotalis, nec legali, nec Euā ­gelica, vel Apostolica authoritate prohibetur: tamen lege peni­tus interdicitur. The mariage of Priestes, is neither forbidden by the aucthoritée of the olde Lawe, neither of the Euangelistes nor of the Apostles: but by the Lawe it is vtterly forbidden.

Secōdly, it standeth not of the nature and bonde of the vowe: for the said expositour of the Lawe saieth. 27. q. 1. S [...] quis. ꝙ votum, de sui natura non obligat, sed cōstitutio circa votūemissa. A vowe of his owne nature bindeth not, but the constitution, whiche is made and di­uulged about the vow. And further he writeth in the same cause C and question, that a simple vowe doeth not dissolue Matrimonie of his owne nature: and so no more doeth a solempne vowe, for thei be all one, he saieth, in that respecte. For if it were of the na­ture of the vowe, saieth he, why should not one vowe, as well as an other, dissolue Matrimonie, for so muche as the solempnitées bee not of the substaunce, but deuised by the churche? And there­fore by his opinion, it is but the méere ordinaunce of the churche, that dissolueth, and not the vowe. For if a manne should openly saie in the Churche: Voueo continentian, I vowe chastitée. Yet by this, is no solempne vow made. And Pope Celestine the third D affirmeth: [...] ꝙ simplex votum, apud deum non minus obliget, quā solennis. That is: A simple vowe byndeth no lesse before God, then a solēne vowe. And in these poinctes doeth the schole Diui­nes agrée with the Canonistes. Antoninus. Saiyng: ꝙ vinculū vito solennis & solutio eius, est ex statuto ecclesiae. The bonde of a solempne [Page 232] A vow & the breach therof, is by the churches cōstitutiō. Whervpō he writeth, that the obligation, whiche dependeth vpon order, nō essētialiter sed accidētaliter, is annexed therto but by the churche cōstitutiō. Thirdly, as for the promise or vowe made by the priest at his orders, it is manifest that the priestes ordered in England make none, as is before saied: and though thei did, yet write the saied Diuines and Canonistes, that howsoeuer a man byndeth hym self, either by othe or by vowe: yet alwaie is vnderstanded the exception of the aucthoritée of the superiour. And the bande of the vowe dothe ceasse, either by dispensation, commutation, B or irritation: and the obseruing of a vowe is then of the Lawe of nature, or of Godes Lawe, so longe as the Obligation continu­eth. And in this case writeth Antoninus: he that is so dispensed with, is not to bee charged as a lyer to God, Parte. 2. Titulo. xi. Ca. 2. for not performyng his vowe. For a man must haue of thinges to come, Godly con­ditions, whiche bee alwaie annexed, either implied or expressed. S. Thomas defineth, that to the essentialnesse of a vowe, 2.2. q. 88. Extrauag. de regularib. Ca. ad nostrāglosa. Pag. 11 [...]. muste thre thynges concurre. An aduised deliberation of mynde, a fast purpose of the will, and a promise made to God. And if there bee not, saieth he, a full intention of the professour to bynde hymself, C he is not boūd for all the solēpnitée outward. And my lord chaū ­celour in his laste booke against Bucere, supposeth not, that any man pleaseth God in his vowyng, if he be not brought thervnto by a godly inclination. And further, the saied scole diuines, hold, that he, who is so dispensed with, either for respecte of the cōmon wealth, or yet in respecte of his owne saluation: in his obedience he meriteth more, then if he kept his vowe. For in this case, saye thei, this obedience is a more worthie vertue, and more merito­riouse, then is chastitée: Quantum ad premium substantiale. And the saied Antonine, holdeth, y ^t if the Pope should dispense, with­out D a iuste cause, in the solempne vowe of chastitée, either of the man or of the woman, yet were that true Matrimony: Quantum ad vtrun (que) quia claudicare non potest. That is, on bothe sides, for it may not halt on the one legge. But seyng, as I haue saied, that the saied seculer Priestes make no suche profession, nor the Busshop speaketh the saied proposition, to the Englishe priestes [Page 233] vnder suche condition: then it standeth onely but of the decrees A and Canons of the churche, whiche can not, nor ought not, nor the Queenes Maiestie will not (as by the firste Article in her Commission appeareth) haue executed, to the preiudice or dero­gation of any Lawes of the realme.

Furthermore, vpon that deuise that is alledge to defeat sainct Augustines sentence and iudgement, affirming that the church, as then, had not defined votaries mariages to bee adulteries, or to be dissolued. If the matter standeth but vpō the definitiō of the Churche: then thus I reason. The Churche hath defined of olde, precontractes to make Matrimonie, and the second contractes to B be voide. The churche of Englād of late defined the second con­tract with carnall copulation, to be Matrimony, the first contract to be none. In the time of this definition, diuerse persones vpon the seconde contract were maried, and so continue together still at this daie: I aske of you, Master Martin, whether the definitiō of the Churche of England wil not be warrant inough for their mariages? I truste ye will not dissolue them nowe, though that definitiō be now repealed again, and restored by an other defini­tion. Euen in like maner, the church afore tyme, defined priestes mariages to be no mariages, but to be dissolued▪ duryng the vi­gor C of which definition, priestes wer not suffred to marrie. Now of late, the Church of Englande, whiche, as was shewed before, is as well a catholike, and Apostolike church, as Rome churche, or any other, and of lyke and equall aucthoritée, iurisdiction, and power. This churche I saie, not stelyngly, but aduisedly, in two sondrie cessions, not of the Laytie onely, but of the Clergie, did define Priestes mariages to bee good, and auailable against all Lawes positiue. Then standyng this definition, whye were not their mariages good? and this definition beyng repealed but for hereafter, whie shall it not serue for those that were then made, D and now standyng in strength by Goddes Lawe, and not as yet dissolued by mannes Lawe? But ye will obiect, that the Church definition maketh not the thinge to be, but sheweth it to bee. So that ye maye saie, suche mariages were euer vnlawfull: But then declared vnlawfull, when the church definition was publi­shed. [Page 234] A Though this cauillatiō might be otherwise, by good reasō, example and aucthoritée, sufficiently answered: yet take ye this answere for this tyme. If I were of the nombre of those priestes, who (beyng hindered by no other impediment of Goddes Lawe) had maried vpon the definition of the Princes Law: I would as gladly erre with sainct Augustine, and with that age wherin he was, in this matter: as to be a catholike with doctor Martin, and suche other of his affinitee. Who by pleasure and displeasure, by gaine of promotiōs, and lucres fallen to them, by their opinion, holde the contrarie.

B But here ye will doubt, whether the kinge or yet the Pope haue so muche aucthoritée to dispense with an vniuersall Lawe, of the Churche. Sir, if for enuy ye beare to the kynges power, ye beginne to doubt of the Popes power: so, ye maye shewe your self a stout catholique to the one, as ye shewe your self a double subiect to thother. And if ye doubt of the Popes power: aske coū ­saile of Ioannes Genesius, deritu nuptiarū, how vniuersall it is. And if ye miscredit hym, aske the whole number of the Canoni­stes: who some of them, stand in more doubt, whether the Pope can dispense with Regulers, to haue proprietie and seculer pro­motion C vnder the perfection of a Busshoppe: then▪ whether he can dispense with Priestes seculer, to marye after their order. If thei should be iudged by their factes, there be examples innume­rable, of suche dispensations of decrees, and the Canons made in generall councels, whiche is more, that the Busshoppe of Rome hath largely delt out in his aucthoritée. If ye doubt that y ^e kinges aucthoritée can do so much, I can no more but [...]end you to all the learned resolutions, of the beste of the Clergie at this daie. If ye beleue them, ye must beleue me. For I come but out of their boo­kes & assertions. If ye bryng in a great heape of councels of later D daies: I answere to them al, as many as were made for the poli­cies of Spaine, Fraunce, & Italy, thei belong not to vs. Ye maye laie these councels to the charge of those prieste [...] that be ordered ther. If ye saie that a particuler realme, can not dispense with the whole Lawe of the Churche: we answere, we force no dispensa­tion of the whole churche, but of this particular churche of En­gland, [Page 235] for the perticular state of the Clergie of the same. And as A this particular Churche by their assent receiued that Lawe: so by dissent againe, hath refused that lawe. And therfore is no further bound. If ye yet againe will saie, that the king may not dispense so vniuersally with the whole realme: I answere, if the king may do as much as the Pope: why maie not he dispēse with his whole realme and Clergie, for them that will, aswell (as was saied be­fore) As Paule the thirde to offer to the whole state of the Regu­lers in Germany, to be temperally beneficed, against the Canons of the Churche? Extrae de con­siguinitate & affinit. Can. 35. q. 10. Fraternitatis. or as could Innocent the thirde release to al real­mes of christendome, the prohibitions of consanguynitée, and af­finitée, B in Councels before restrained. If ye obiect, that a greate many of Counsailes haue defined, not onely depriuations, but also separations: I answere, that as good Counsailes in the pri­matiue Churche, as there bee many of this later Churche, haue not so decreed, but made this to bee the worste, to be sequestered from their ministration. Concilium Constant. vi. And some not separating the ministers from their wiues, but in tyme of their ministration: And de­priuyng the ordinaries, whiche would separate theim, contrary to the Canons of the Apostles. Cōcil. gāgrense. And some accursyng all suche, as would abstaine from the Priestes praiers and oblation, for their C mariages sake. And some of them, pronounsyng it Chastitée, for the Prieste, while that he is Prieste (how so euer doctor Martin cauilleth vainly in that aucthoritée) to keepe companie with his owne wife. But it maie be yet replied, that Chrysostome wri­tyng in his Epistle to Theodore, a relapsed Monke, doeth gre­uously reprehende theim, whiche after their vowe, resorted to mariage. Basilius de vera virginitate, doeth the same. Sainct Au­gustine de gratia & libero arbitrio, agreeth with them. Shortly to make answere. There is a greate difference betwixte the vo­wes, and the maner: and the causes of vowyng that was vsed in D those good daies, and the maner of vowyng, at these corrupte daies vsed. So that neither Chrysostomus vehement declamyng in that kynde of speakyng, ought to bee brought against all ma­ner of breakyng vowes: nor Basilius austeritée, is not to bee ap­plied, but to suche vowes, as he vsed to make, and for his tymes. [Page 236] A For as there is greate difference of tymes: so there is greate dif­ference of persones, ages, and purposes. If vowes were made, Distingu [...] temp. & cau­sas: & Cōcor­dabis Leges & Canones. questi. 15. with suche deliberation and examination, as Basill requireth in his questions: where he writeth, that if any man be entered into a profession of cōtinencie, and feeleth that he can not be [...]re it, to attende whollie vpon God, and heauēly thynges: he would haue suche released again, before those witn [...]sses, with which he came in: & further saith these wordes. Caeterū qui professionē facturus est▪ post multam deliberationem & considerationem, q per plures dies ipsi ad seipsum permittere cōuenit, vt ne videatur aliquid se­cundum B rapinam a nobis fieri, sic tandem suscipere oportet. &c. He that will make his profession, after muche deliberation and consideration, whiche muste needes be graunted to hym many daies, leste it might appeare, that we did it by stealthe that we do: and so therevpon lette hym take on his purpose. &c. So likewise sainct Augustine De fide ad petrum, Ca. q, vseth these circumstances: Qui statuit in corde suo firmus, non habens necessitatem, pote­statem habens suae voluntatis, & vouerit continentiam deo: de­bet eam vs (que) ad finem tota mentis solicitudine custodire, ne dā ­nationem habeat, si primam fidem irritam fecerit. He that hath C vowed continencie to GOD, and hath decreed it firmely in his harte, not hauyng any neede, but hauyng power ouer his owne will: the same ought with all carefulnesse of mynde, keepe that purpose vnto the ende, leaste he incurre [...]ampnation, because he brake his first faithe. If that diligent examination & moderation were vsed, that is prescribed by some of the Counsailes: as in the seconde Counsaile at Tolet cap. primo, the case were farre other, then D. Martin handeleth it, and otherwise to bee expended, and answered. And yet, al be it suche votaries wer so aduisedly made by the circumstaunces aforesaied: though thei deserued muche D shame & penaunce of their owne head to starte backe, or of lighte causes to recede: Yet sainct Augustines iudgement is plainly, v­pon those, that their mariages be not to bee dissolued. Let theim that feare God, and bee addicte to a truthe, iudge this matter. Beside all this, there is a greate difference betwixte a consulta­tion, what is lawfull and expedient to be doen, before it bee doen [Page 237] and what is to be tollerated, after it is so doen. Multa prohiben­tur A fieri quae tamen facta tenent, saieth the Lawe. If it bee fur­ther obiected, though it were graunted to bee lawfull, that the Clergie might haue that libertée, yet it maie bee thought of some menne, that it were not expediente. To answere this obiection, there haue been afore tymes right wise and prudent menne (As be at these daies.) Whiche vpon their experience, thought it not onely to bee lawfull, but also expedient and profitable in diuerse respectes. Of whiche iudgemente, beside Pius the seconde, and Panormitane the greate Lawier (whose opinions and testimo­nies I haue shewed before) Erasmus also, a manne of some witte B and experience, in diuerse places of his woorkes, maie very ma­nifestly seme to bee. Who in his Epistle ad Episcopum Basilien­sem, wondereth what it meaneth, where that as neither Christ, nor his Apostles, haue prescribed any suche Lawe: And where that the Churche dispenseth with diuerse causes, as occasion ri­seth, why menne should vrge this humaine constitution so ob­stinately, seyng there bee so many causes, that might perswade the alteration. But after all this, when cauillyng wittes are by good and sufficient proofes, ouerthrowen and vanquished: then because thei will euer seeme to haue somewhat for them selues, C thei will flie to their phantasticall obiections, saiyng: If mariage bee a remedy for incontinencie, how should men doe, when thei iourney farre from their countrees? How, if their wiues be sicke or runne awaie▪ and suche like carnall reasons, and triflyng hel­pes, will thei seeke. As though God is not an helper to all men, that call vpon him in necessitées, and walke vprightly and faith­fully in their vocations. As though GOD hath not promised to relieue them with his aide, to be nighe them, and to be founde of them that doe not tempt hym: Sapien. 1. In [...]th. 13. And to appeare to them, that haue their faith staied in him. As though we be not taught thus much D euen of a poore woman, Iudith by name, who saieth, ꝙ non de­s [...]rit sperantes in se, & non permisit me dominus ancillam suam coinquinari. That God forsaketh not them, whiche trust in him, as he hath not suffered me his handmaiden to be defiled. So it is before in the sixt Chapiter confessed in praier, saiyng: Non dere­linquis [Page 238] A presumentes de te ô domine, & presumentes de se & de sua virtute gloriantes humilias. Thou doest not, O Lorde, saieth Iudith, forsake them that presume of thee, where suche as pre­sume of them selues, gloriyng of their owne power, thou bryn­gest them lowe. And further, as though there were no difference betwixte hym that in the feare of God, vseth his remedie, and if that, by Goddes will and pleasure be taken from hym, then ma­keth his refuge to God: And suche a one as refuseth Goddes re­medie, that is needefull for hym, and will woorke maisteries in suche temptation. Psal. 9. For God will helpe in necessitees, saieth a cer­taine B writer, when wee worthely craue his grace: then doe wee worthely praie for his helpe, when with praiyng we despise not the necessarie remedies for our chastitee. For if we caste them frō vs, in vaine doo we looke for his helpe, and maie be also coump­ted worthely the tempters of God.

But now to staie this Doctor from any further wonderyng why priestes mariages, especially Seculars, and of the Churche of England, yea, or yet the mariages of votaries in Englande ought not to be dissolued, as of cōpulsion. The answere is, first and formost, because thei be mariages, if no other impediment of C Gods owne prohibitiōs be against them. For as for mans con­stitutions or prohibitions, maye not so bee aduaunced to repell Gods ordinaunces. Christ saieth it plainly: Vae vobis qui trans­gredimini precepta Dei, propter traditiones vestras, ideo, Quod deus coniunxit, homo non separet. When he saieth homo: he meaneth all the Artilarie and Canons that manne can by his wittie braine forge with all the power he hath. But how proue you (he will obiect) that suche copulations bee mariages? De bon [...] vtdicitatis. Ca. 10.11. Sainct Augustine saieth so, and standeth in disputation to proue it with instant reasons. And professeth in the ende of his xv, Chapiter, D that it is his plaine doctrine, whiche he will so haue taken, & af­firmeth that thei bee mariages, and not adulteries. And that the fidyng of some to mariage, is no discōmendatiō to hym or others in the performaunce of their vowes and purposes. Yea, but S. Hierome, Chrisostome and Basyll, saie, that thei be incestes and adulteries, suche as bee made of votaries. Sir, yet that Seculer [Page] [...] [Page] [Page] Priestes mariages be not so reputed of them, for thei be not vo­ [...]aries. And wher thei say, that votaries mariages be adulteries: sainct Augustine standeth strongly againste them all, and saieth A plainly, that thei, and all suche bee deceiued. But this Ciuilian wil say, thei proue [...]eby a faire similitude gotten out of scripture, thus. As that woman is an adulteresse, which marieth an other man, as long as her husband liueth: so y ^e votarie, man or womā, beyng maried in their vowe to Christe their husband, for that he can neuer dye, if thei marie to a mortall spouse or spowses, thei breake their first mariage, and so is spirituall adulterie commit­ted. Mary, Expende S. Augustines very wordes. saieth sainct Augustine, thei that so reason, and ther­vpon conclude thei be adulteries and no mariages: I say and af­firme it, thei doe not consider neitheir wisely nor diligentlye, as B were sufficient in so weightie a matter, what thei saie. For I saie plainly, that thei be deceiued by their similitude, whiche hath a pretense and shew of a truthe. And again I saie, against all suche as so rashely can coyne argumentes, & similitudes of their owne braynes vnaduisedly, y ^t thei doe not well waye what absurdities riseth of their saiynges. For by this vnaduised opiniō, to thinke that votaries copulations be not mariages, but adulteries, this mischeife cometh of it: that the menne whiche haue maried suche professed women, by leauyng them as adulteresses, thei marye them selues with other women, & thei be for that doyng certenly C adulterers to forsake their first, whiche bee their wiues in deede.

When ye haue well aunswered the conference of these rea­sons, master Martin, then shall we geue you leaue, with your di­stinctiō of votum simplex, and votum solenne, to doe as Pighius your guide doeth: that is, to steale secretely awaie, inuisibly as ye truste, couered vnder that captious nette, and so childishely and vnlearnedly to plaie awaie the manifeste and euidente places of S. Cyprian, and sainct Augustine, with your fonde gloses, ima­ginyng that thei bothe should haue twoo sundrie and diuerse re­spectes, in the prosecution and debatemente of one and the self same sentence: by whiche craftée and shamelesse shift, your craft D and other suche Papistes, are detected, to see how learnedly and sincerely, ye handle suche causes of consciences, in the eares of Christian learned wise menne.

Sir, in the meane season, what call you a solempne vowe, that you would haue of suche a force? Can there be any more so­lempne [Page 242] A vowe, then that, wherevnto sainct Augustine, Cyprian, Basile, ascribeth that dampnation, whiche sainct Paule ascribeth to the breache thereof, whiche if it bee suche dampnation, as ye meane, is not that dampnation solempne enough, and daunge­rous to? Is there any more solempne vowe, or aduised vowes to bynde before God, in foro conscientiae, where the true Canons in deede be so grauen, that thei can not be derogated, or antiqua­ted, but will be still firmely fixed: in cogitationibus, inter se accu­santibus, aut etiam excusantibus, in eo die cum iudicabit domi­nus occulta hominum. &c. That is, in the thoughtes and hartes B of menne, either accusyng, or excusyng them, in that daie when the Lorde shall iudge the secretes of mennes consciences: Then suche as Bonifacius the capitaine, made of good age, a growen manne, after his wiues death, before twoo notable Bushoppes ( omni exceptione maiores) Augustine and Alipius, which vowe as Gratian saieth Causa. 17. q. 2. Nos nouimus. he conceiued in his harte, and pronounced it with his mouth, and yet was not compelled to performe it. And doeth not yet S. Augustine per­mitte this his seconde mariage contracted after his vowe, to re­maine C still, excepte he could induce his wife to agree to bee sepe­rated? I praie you doth not Pope Celestine the third, Extra: Qui clerici, &c. saie ꝙ simplex votum apud deum non minus obliget quam solenne: that a simple vowe byndeth no lesse before God, then a solempne vowe. Sir, ye shall haue prooffes enough, of the Canonistes themselues, partly in the same lawe late rehearsed, that the solempnitées addeth no further strength to the vowes, but that the note is greater, and the condempnation is more ap­paraunt to open sight, to the shewe of his faithe breakyng, when more circumstaunces concurreth together with his promises. And yet for all this, his promise and faithe, so called, maie not be D a bonde of wickednesse. For it is not to be called either faithe, or a good promise, if it serueth as seruaunte and minister to sinne. And therefore saieth sainct Augustine: the case is then the worse, De bono cōug (que). Nisi cum propterea mala fides deseritur, vt ad fidem veram le­gitimam (que) redeatur. Excepte it be therefore, that an euill saithe being forsaken, there maie be a returne againe, to true and law­full [Page 243] full faithe, that is to saie, that the offence bee amended, by refor­myng A the disorder of the will. Of whiche poincte of learnyng, maister Martin, if ye will vnderstande a reason, ye maie resorte to my Lorde Chauncellour his booke De obedientia, in the last [...] leafe, and somwhat shall ye there learne. But if ye wil se it more largely, and piththily expēded at the full, to sati [...]fie any wise and indifferent learned manne: Recourse ye to the eight Counsaile that was kepte at Tolette, beyng then presente .52. Bushoppes, vnder that good Bushoppe of Rome, Martin the firste, in whose faithe, master Martin, if ye had been Christened, ye would haue been of an other maner of iudgement, in your rigorous opinion, B for vndescrete vowes once made. And moreouer, would haue been more grauely sharpe, in deposition for priestes fornicatiōs, as ye maie reade he was in his Epistle, writtē ad Amandū. But surely, master doctor Martin, when ye haue doen all that ye can, yet it shall be iustified, that Secular Priestes be not so bound as ye dreame, and that with suche testimonies of aucthors (because ye doe so muche delite in number of aucthoritées) that ye shall be founde emong them and others, in that opinion, a very singular at length. Yet be not angrie, though I put no substantiue to this adiectiue, for though I did, yet should it not bee pernicious to C your substance: as with suche epithetes, in your nexte booke, if ye shall be able to charge me, I am content to be rewarded. Ma­rie, your holy water, that ye cast and sprinkle to faste & thicke, is more bitterly salted, & exercised, with other coniuratiue termes: Spiritus immside, Apostata, Heretike, Scismatike, Incest, Trai­tour. &c. Iwis, M. Martin, your mouthe hath vttered the good­nes of your harte, what treasure lieth there. Your boke hath de­clared what you bee. He that brent Dianas temple, to get hym a name, shall not be more famously registered in the booke of fame, then you for your so excellent endeuour, in fieryng the poore tem­ples D of so many of your poore countrée folkes, labouryng by all meanes ye can, now after ye haue caste theim into the fire of po­ [...]ertée: to haue them caste also into the fire of other temptations. And lastly, peraduenture in your burnyng Charitée, into the fire of Smithfield, that ye should haue the more vitailes at your [Page 244] A table. Which boke of youres, because ye would haue your fame spred the more abrode, ye haue labored very diligently, to haue it in euery mannes hande, to se the wonderfulnesse of your wit, the miracle of your learnyng, the infinite measure of your charitée. I therevpon haue taken a little paine, and haue vouchsaued, to honeste it with a fewe Scholies, till better leisure maie serue, to make some iuste Commentaries. And I doubte not, but ye shall haue more of your frēdes, some otherwhere hereafter, of a quic­ker vaine, and of more eloquence, that will handle your booke farre otherwise, then I doe. For in deede, I keepe in many wor­thie B commendations, that ye deserue, but that I would not flat­ter you to your face, to putte you in perill, to bee beside your self. And here in earneste faithe, I would wishe all studentes in lear­nyng, for the zeale thei beare to learnyng and truthe, to bestowe their talentes, to the worthie commendation of so worthie a mā, beyng so yong as he is, so pain [...]ull yet in studiyng for the truth, that he hath so wasted his braine, that he hath almoste spente all his witte and learnyng at Paris, and brought but a very little from thence, and came full poorely ouer. And yet, that little that he hath, so friendly letteth vs haue parte of it, emong his other C greate affaires of the Common wealthe, whiche bee now laied on his small shulders▪ full euill against his will: but for pure ne­cessitée that the realme hath of suche Frenche studentes.

But here, good reader, I perceiue that I forget my self, and I am (I can not tell how) vneuenly caried and tossed, in the ship I rowe in, thus in my skape ouersea: I would faine soberly goe on as the grauitée of the cause requireth. And whē I purpose so, and then again haue this ridiculum caput in mine eye & minde, to resort to any of his saied handeled matters: I forgette my self againe, and abase my penne, almoste to the lenitie of his wri­tyng D to be like hym. Of what secrete inspiration, I can not tell, excepte Salomons precepte so vp and doune, written in his pro­uerbes, carieth me secretly vp & doune in my writynges, where he saith. Ne respondeas stulto iuxta stultitiam suam, Prouerb. [...] [...]. ne efficiaris ei similis. And euen there againe: Responde stulto iuxta stultiti­am suam, ne sibi sapiens esse videatur. Aunswere not a foole, ac­cordyng [Page 245] to his foolishenesse, leste thou bee made like vnto hym. A And yet answere a foole agreably to his foolishenesse, lesse he be thought to be wise to hymself.

To bryng in Lawes and Canos, and mannes aucthorities, in like sorte as he reporteth theim for his strongest holdes, I was therto caried by secret instinct so to answere hym again, ne sibi sa­piens esse videatur, lest he should seme to hym self, he were wise. And yet not to answere hym so agreably with these, as stickyng more to them, then to the scriptures (as he doeth) for so is not my mynde to answere hym, ne videar illi similis, leste I might seeme lyke to him. For when all mannes aucthoritée in his word is in­constant B & changeable as it is: Gods eternall worde, the precept of Christes gospell, is that whiche muste bee onely, and soundly sticken vnto, as iudge infallible, though this man teacheth the contrarie. For as those .ij. notable Priestes & Martyrs: Moyses and Maximus (of whom Cyprian maketh metion, Li. 2. Epistola 4. praising them for their constancie in their long imprisonment) perceiued in their cogitations, wherwith thei were diuersly tos­sed to and fro in prison: that ther was no suer staie and refuge for conscience, but Gods worde onely: In like maner vpon their ex­perience, thei did aduertise other therof, as the same Cyprian re­porteth C the saiyng and writyng of the saied priestes Moyses and Maximus, Lib. 4. Episto­larum Epistola. 3. saiyng. Solicita admonitione insistitis, vt euangelij sācta precepta, & tradita nobis semel mandata vitalia, forti & sta­bili obseruatione teneantur: hoc est esse confessorem domini, hoc est esse Martyrem Christi, seruare vocis suae inuiolatam, circa omnia & solidam firmitatem. Ye haue sent instantly to vs by moste carefull aduertisement, that the holye preceptes of the Gospell, and those cōmaundementes of life, once deliuered vnto vs, should be holden of vs, with stronge and stable obseruation. While ye doe this, saieth Ciprian: Oh this it is to bee a Martyr D and witnesse of Christe. This it is to be a confessor of the Lorde, to obserue the stable foundation of his voyce inuiolably in euery poinct.

If we were at this poinct, that we would reuerence the scrip­ture, as saieth sainct Augustine, as placed in the supreme and [Page 246] A heauenly height of aucthoritée: Epistola. 1 [...]. Velut in summo & caelesti autho­ritatis culmine collocatam. (For how muche soeuer a man shall excell in knowledge, yet shall he finde hymself farre vnder the aucthoritée of scripture, which almightie God hath appointed to bee a stable piller farre passyng all mennes inuentions: Quantū enim quis (que) sciendo profecerit, infrà illas literas se inueniet, Ad Orosium Cap. 11. quas Deus tanquam firmamentum supra omnia humana corda con­stituit.) If in our cōtrouersies, we would appeale as he doeth, to the scriptures, where he writeth against an heritike: this contro­uersie asketh a iudge, Ergo let Christe bee iudge, and lette hym B speake the worde, to what effect his death hath auailed: De nuptijs & con. li. 2. ca. 33 Cōtra preseri. heretie. Ista con­trouersia iudicem querit, iudicet ergo christus: & cui rei mors e­ius profecerit ipse dicat. If with Tertulian: whatsoeuer is y ^e first that is right, whatsoeuer is latter, that is counterfette: Rectum est quodcunque primum est, adulterinum quodcūq, posterius. And therupō we would as gods priestes, recourse with Cyprian to the Lordes orriginall, to the Gospell, and Apostles tradition: ad originem Dominicam & Euangelicam & Apostolicam tra­ditionem. Ad pompeium If we would suffer that to sincke in our hartes▪ which Leo the first chargeth, where he saieth: this do we forfend to you, Dist. xi. hoc. vestris. C that from henceforth ye recede not from the Apostles institutiōs by any ouersight, for it cā not be vnpunished for hereafter, if any man will thinke that the rules of the Apostles are to be dispised: hoc vestrae indicimus charitati, vt ab apostolicis institutis nullo vlterius recedatis excessu, quia inultū post hoc esse nō poterit, si quisquā Apostolicas regulas, in aliquo crediderit esse negligēdas: then surely would these & suche like controuersies, be sone at an ende. Where now saith Cyprian: while mē wil sticke stubburne­ly rather to that whiche thei haue first taken vp in opinion, it co­meth to passe, that thei will defende their owne deuises, though D thei bee false and out of the waie, rather then to consent to other mennes dedes and saiynges: Fit studio presumptionis & contu­maciae, vt quis magis sua praua & falsa defendat, quam ad alterius facta & verba consentiat. Herevpon all thinges be now so full of mannes presumptions and opinions, Augus. Epistola. 119. that the christian religion is more burdened with seruile bondage and harder yokes, then [Page 247] euer the Iewes religion was with the obseruācis and preceptes A of the Lawe. Lette vs therefore now heare the moderation and iudgemente of that notable Lawier, Abbas Panormitane, able I doubt not in all the vniuersities of Christendome, to counter­peise the weight of this Ciuilians witte and learnyng. Clerici nō tenentur cōtinere iure diuino, ne (que) continentia est in clericis secularibus de substantia ordinis, De clericis con­ [...]ugatis. Cap. [...]. quia aliàs graeci pecca­rent, nec excusat consuetudo, quia illa non valet contra legē dei. Item, meliùs foret, & pro bono ac salute animarum salubrius, fi & vniuscuius (que) voluntati relinqueretur, ita vt non valentes, aut non volentes continere, possint contrahere. Quia experiētia do­cente B experimus, contrarium effectum sequi ex illa lege conti­nentiae, cum hodie pleri (que) non viuant spiritualitèr, nec sint mun­di, sed ēmacultur illicito coitu, cum ipsorum grauissimo peccato vbi cum propria vxore esset castitas.

Clerkes bee not bound to liue in continencie by the Lawe of God, and continencie is not in the secular Priestes of the sub­staunce of the ordre, for then the Grecians should offende, and it maye not bee saied that the custome excuseth them: for custome is of no value againste the Lawe of GOD. Furthermore, it were better, he saith, and more holsome for the profette and sal­uation C of mennes soules, if it were lefte to euery mannes owne will, in such wise that thei whiche be not able, or be not willyng to liue in continēcie, might contract matrimonie. For we sée this proued and taught by experience, that a contrary effect foloweth of that lawe of continencie, for asmuche as at this daie, the moste part liueth not spiritually, nor bee not chaste, but be defiled with vnlawful lustes & copulations, with other most greuous offēces: where, Priestes of the Latine churche: li­uyng with their wiues liue in chasti­tie w ^c their owne wiues, it should be chastitée. Note here good reader, that chastitée of single state is not chargeable vpon secu­ler priestes by gods law, nor is included in the substaūce of priest­hode. D Note that he iudgeth that it were better, that the lawe were remitted, and that it were at libertée. Then by this mannes sen­tence, it is out of libertie, and driuen to necessitie, by law. Wher­vpon expend what S. Ambrose writeth de virginitate: O myste­ria, O mores, Lib. primo. vbi necessitas imponitur castitati, authoritas datur [Page 248] A libidini. Ita (que) nec casta est quae metu cogitur, nec honesta, quae mercede conducitur, nec illa pudica quae lege tenetur. Oh what meaneth this misterie? Oh what be these maners? where neces­sitie is laied to chaste, there is aucthoritée graunted to lecherie. And therfore she is not chastitee, that is constrained by dread, nor honest, whiche for méede will bee hired thereto, nor chaste is she that is so reteined by Law. It was not without good cause that Dionisius busshop of Corinth, Li. 4. tripert. hist. cap. 23 writte in his letter to Busshoppe Pynitus: Ne grauia onera discipulorum ceruicibus superponat, B neue fratribus necessitatem compulsae castitatis indicat, in quo nonnullorū periclitetur infirmitas. Ad quae rescribens Pynitus Dionisio, sententiam quidem melioris concilij amplectitur. &c.

That he should not laie heauie burthens vpon the backes of the disciples, & that he should not inioyne his brethren necessitée of forced and compelled chastitee, wherby the infirmitee of verie manye might stand in ieoperdie. Wherunto Pynitus writyng his answere, assenteth to his opinion, as to the better Counsaill. Furthermore note, that the saied Abbas wisheth suche Priestes as could not, or would not, liue sole, to marie. Loe, here no greate C wonder taken of this Lawier, for a Prieste to marrie after his priesthode, and to call that mariage, chastitée also. For where he would haue the lawe reformed, he could not meane to haue them onely relieued that should folow, & suffer al those whom he sawe by experience to liue so sinfully, not relieued for their saluation. Moreouer note, good reader, the gentle indifferencie of this no­table lawier Abbot, how he wisheth to haue these seuere & sharp lawes mittigated, so that Ministers should not bee compelled to professe so high a perfection of life angelicall in mortall bodie, to liue aboue the reache of the bodie, and so by climyng to hie aboue that is geuen them, to fal as Lucifer did, into Diabolicall filthi­nesse. D Surely he expended that whiche Origen writeth, saiyng: Incorruptionis & virginitatis gratia, in Exod. Hom. 13. apud rarum quemque i [...]ueniri potest, sicut & dominus dicit: non oēs capiunt verbum hoc, sed quibus datū est: the grace of puritie and virginitie, can be found but with verie fewe, as the Lorde hymself saied: not all menne taketh this worde, but to whom it is geuen. And as saint [Page 249] Hierom confirmeth the same: difficilis est virginitas, & ideo rara, A quia difficilis. Contra Ioui­nianum. Incipere plurimorum, perseuerare paucorum. Uir­ginitee is a verie hard thyng, and therfore it is rare, because it is hard. To beginne, may be in many mennes power, but to perse­uer, is but in a fewe. Upon whiche considerations, I doubt not this Panormitane moued, and by experience of his daies thought good, De bono vi­duitatis De nupiijs & concupiscentijs. Li. 1 Ca. 16. to conclude with sainct Augustine: Ne infirmitas inconti­nentiae cadat in ruinam flagitiorum, excipiatur honestate nupti­arum. Leste the infirmitee of vnchaste liuyng, should fal into the ouerthrowe of enormitées: let it bee holden vp with the honestie of mariage. Whiche, as it was some tyme graunted to man in B his state of innocencie, for felowship of life: now it is graunted to man for a remedie of his infirmitée. And Chrisostome biddeth: Qui potest, Super. 1. ad Timothi. 4. habeat secum aurum hoc virginitatis. Qui minus, nuptiarum argentum excipiat: He that can, lette hym haue this gold of virginitee, and he that can not, let hym take vp the siluer of matrimonie. And againe S. Hierom: Si quis in statu virginita­tis viderit lasciuiētem, & ebullientē carnem suam in libidinē, ita vt refrenare non possit, ideò (que) se agnoscat in duplici necessitate constitutum, vt aut scortetur, aut vxorē ducat: tunc faciat quod vult, si vxorem duxerit non peccauit. If a man feleth his wantō C fleshe boylyng in carnall lustes, so that he be not able to refraine it: and thervpon perceiueth hymself strained with double neces­sitee: either to committe fornication, or els to marry a wife: then lette hym do as it lyketh hym. If he mary a wife, he sinneth not. Wherupon may be concluded, that S. Hierom sending the fraile man to the succour of mariage, is not of Doctor Martins opiniō, who saieth that the companie of women, rather encreaseth, then extinguisheth the appetite. Litera EE. 3. or that, as he saieth. Li­tera ee. 4. that a man shall by mariage, haue bothe the burnyng of the fleshe and the burnyng of the conscience for euer. Whiche D wordes, if we should expend by sainct Augustines iudgement, we should doubt whether Martine bee a catholike or no. For sainct Augustine writeth this ( Lib. 2. cōtra secundam Epistolā, Pelagij. Cap. 8) Concupiscentiam pudendam carnis inuonerunt in homi­nibus nuptiae, non fecerunt. Et iterum. Nuptijs, quas laudamus a [Page 250] A Dn̄o constitutas, concupiscentiam carnis imput [...]ndam esse non dicimus (catholice) mariage did finde in mans nature the shame­full luste of the fleshe, it caused it not. And againe. Wee doe not say (and y ^e catholikely) that the concupiscence of the fleshe, should be imputed vnto mariage, which we commende as ordained and instituted of the Lorde. Chrisostome thus writeth, in opere im­perfecto. Ca. 19. Quod in matrimonio mox castitas delectat, li­bido autem, quasi vinculo coniugii colligata, torquetur. That in Matrimonie, forthwith chastitee dooeth delite, but luste of the fleshe is vexed as tied in, with the bound of mariage. Sic & ibidē. B Secundus gradus virginitatis, est matrimonij casta dilectio. The second degre of virginitee, is the chaste loue of matrimonie. And the deuines holde, as Antoninus parte. 3. titulo. 1. Cap. 14. Quod matrimoniū ordinatur ad repressionem concupiscentie. Quia est frenū concupiscentiae, & hec est gratia (saieth he) quae cōfertur in matrimonio, quod munit & refrenat concupiscentiā. That ma­trimonie is ordained to represse concupiscence, because it is the bridle of concupiscence. And this is the grace that is conferred in matrimonie, that it shildeth vs from lust, and bridleth concupis­cence. Now you maie sée, master Martin, what good diuinitée you C haue vttered by these your wordes, to slaunder Goddes grace in matrimony, to satisfie your owne stomake in deprauyng of Gods institution. And therefore ye bryng in, the aucthoritie [...] of the old fathers, to sound far otherwise, then thei ment, rigorously to haue their woordes expended, in their oratorie declamations, for i [...] so thei should bee expended, the self same fathers, whiche vrge so muche single state in Priestes and Busshoppes, almoste to the derogation of Gods institution: the same doeth as vehementlye vrge the laie men and women, to abstaine from second m [...]riyng, and seme in a maner to disproue them, as vnworthie to bee bles­sed D of the minister, who is enioyned vnderpaine of excommu­nication, not to honour their feastes with his presence, so that it standeth the laye persons in hand, for the lawfulnes of their ma­riages, to haue this cō [...]rouersie expended, aswel as to the ecclesi­astical persons for their interest. For though the custome for one state beareth with them, yet the late custome brought in a good [Page 251] while since the conquest, maketh to the contrary against priestes A mariages. But now to retourne againe. Suche indifferencie as here before S. Hierom wrote of, was sometyme in the fathers: as Epiphanius sheweth what was in his tyme, writyng against thē that would not permitte seconde mariages. Lib. 2. tom. 1. Nos vero non ne­cessitatem imponimus, verum cum bono concilio admonemus, exhortantes eum qui potest, non autem necessitatē imponimus non potenti. As for vs, saieth he, we doe not force on them anye necessitée, but with good counsaile we admonishe them, exhor­tyng hym that can, but yet not charging any man with necessitée that can not. Suche indifferencie speaketh Chrisostomus of, B euen concernyng Ministers of the church, to whom it is lawfull and honest, saieth he, to take mariage vpō them, if thei will. For as riches doeth hardly bryng men in to the kyngdom of heauen, yet for all that, verie many that riche men, haue entred in there: euen so mariage also, saieth he, although it hath in it self muche difficultie, yet notwitstandyng, in suche wise it maie bee taken, that it shall bee no hinderaunce, to the more perfect state of life, although yet surelye with some difficultée, and is seldome seen. And again writeth Chrisostome vpon the same place of Paule, where a Busshoppes qualities bee described. Cur non ait (Apo­stolus] C oportet autem Episcopum angelum esse, nullae humanae perturbationi, vitio ve subiectum? Cur non dixit, oportet ipsum ex terra migrare, humanisque rebus euadere celsiorem? &c. Quia perpaucos huiusmodi inuenire fas erat, episcopis aūt plurimis tūc opus fuit, qui per singulas ciuitates magistri constituerētur. Nei­gitur Ecclesiae negotia, fructus (que) perirent, idcirco moderatā vir­tutē proposuit inquirendam, non supremam illam atque celestē? Why doeth not he saie, that a bushop must be an angell, subiect to no affection or infirmitée of man? Why doeth he not saie, he must get him out of the world? And must climbe hie, farre aboue D earthly mennes matters? Because saieth he, he could finde but a few suche, and of Busshops there was great neede to haue ma­ny, seyng he would haue appoincted many teachers in euery ci­tie, lest therefore the causes and profettes of the Churche should decaie: for this cause prescribed he, to require of them moderate, [Page 252] A or as Theophilacte saieth, competent vertue, not that hie excel­lent and heauēly vertue. And because he would haue hym with­out rebuke of any bodye, therefore he saieth, the husbande of one wife. Where yet in an other place he saied, I would haue al men, as I my self am, that is to saie, for continencie. Therfore leste he should driue the state into a narrow strayght, if he had prescribed most exact vertue, therfore he chose rather to moderate his coun­sell, lest els, vpon mistrust that menne might haue, to reache to so hie vertue, the churche should be without Busshops. Thus farre Chrysostome. If suche fathers as were head and moste excellent B pastours of the churche, were expended (M. Martin) in their wri­tinges, & in their moderations: and if true chastitee of the clergie in deede were sought, as is pretended: yea, if it were left to euery mannes libertée freely, as Epiphanius saieth, that in Thessalia no man was compelled, but of their owne will thei performed that chastitee: ye should haue an other maner Clergie in Englande shortly, to Goddes glory and honour, and wealth of the realme, then ye be like this waie, do the best you can, with all the straint ye can vse. I tel you M. Martin, the world is to farre past the cal­ling of your pipe. If ye feare that insolencie and dissolute behaui­our C should deface the Clergie, if this were suffered: why, Master Martin, wherefore serue your Synodes, your Busshoppes and archdeacons visitations, onely but to gather vp their mony? why might not the old Godly Canons be reduced again to expell thē out of the Clergie that are incorrigible? To depose Haukers, Hunters, Dycers, Cardars, Dronkerds, Byers and Sellers, Horehunters, Usurers, and Symoniackes? Let these Canons be reuiued, if euer ye will haue your Clergie of good fame before God, and of good name before man. Yea, with lesse lawe of com­pelled chastitée, peraduenture ye might haue the more numbre of D true chaste Priestes in deede: But be as bée maye. But now, M. doctor, wher ye make it a great matter, for priestes to mary after their order, because ye haue seen no example, nor yet can not reade it written in any record or Chronicle: I shall answere you with the wordes of a very new writer. Genesius de ritu nuptia­rum: Hic enim non quid factum sit fiat ve querimus, sed omnino [Page 253] quid fieri possit in tam varia tam (que) inconstante rerum humana­rum A natura. And with the like wordes of an other newe writer. Non est scriptum, Ergo, non est factum? Non est factū, Ergo, non licet facere? Vt factum sit, vel non factum, hominum facta non debent praeiudicare verbo dei▪ & quid si destitueremur exemplo hominum, cum habeamus verbum dei. That is to saie. Our que­stion is not in this poinct, what hath been doen, but determinat­lie, what maie bee doen, specially standyng the variable and in­constant nature of thinges that parteine to man. For what ar­gumente is it? It was neuer written, Ergo, it was neuer doen? It was neuer doen, Ergo it is not lawfull to bee doen? Howsoe­uer B it hath been doen, or vndoen, mennes doyngs maie not pre­iudice Gods saiynges. And what if we lacke mannes example, so we haue for vs the word of God? And if we could bring no exam­ple, is it therefore intollerable? I praie you Master doctor of the Chauncerie, answere your learnyng. Is the lacke of a president, a preiudice to the law and right? Were he not a wise lawier, that would brable on this fashion, against y ^e Queenes maiesties title, for beyng supreme gouernour of this realme, because we haue not had many examples of the lyke before tyme? And saie, when was it euer seen in the realme, since Christes faithe toke place C here, since Christe was knowen in deed, that a ladie woman, in her owne title, should be the ruler, and head of the land? Yes, how many yeres before Christes birth was there seen suche an exam­ple? And will ye see? He might saie: The very auncient Lawes themselues, of the realme renneth all in the name of the kinge, neuer of a Queene. The prerogatiue roiall, all inuestured in the persons of a kynge, as forseeyng suche example should or could neuer followe in vre. &c. Were not this mannes reasonyng, yea foolishe cauillation, thinke you, a substaunciall processe to dis­proue a title, for lacke of an example? When God, nature, lawe, D testament, publike consent, all concurreth together, of the law­fulnesse thereof.

And yet, if this Ciuilian would so faine knowe, where to see or read some examples, of suche as maried after their orders and vowe: I will tell hym at this tyme (leste he should lose his calfe) [Page 254] A of fower, in good storie: till an other time, that we shall be able to shewe hym .xxiiij. and that written. I will shewe hym of twoo of my saied fower, in Ecclesiasticall storie. And the other, in other credible Historiographers. And at these laste twoo I will begin. Master Martin, if ye list to resorte to Volateranus, Lib. 4. Geograph. because I wil sende you no further, there ye maie reade that one Nicholaus Iu­stinianus, a Mōke, maried Anne to wife, whiche was the daugh­ter of Vitalis, Duke of the Uenetians. And Munster in his Cos­mographie writeth: that Ramirus Monke and Priest, was taken out of his Monkrie and Priesthode, and for lacke of issue of his B twoo brethren, Peter, and Alfonsus, was made kyng of Aragon and Spaine, and called Ramirus the fourthe of that name. And because wee haue made mention of Spaine, ye maie resorte to a late Spanishe writer, Ioannes Genesius: and he will be my wit­nesse, for one of these twoo that I haue rehearsed. And for that ye shall thinke your labour well bestowed, to searche it out of hym, he will tell you of a third votarie: called Constantia, daughter of Rogerus kyng of Naples, or Cicile, as some writers saie, whiche was taken out of her Monasterie, to be maried to Henry Empe­rour, the firste of that name, and that after she had made a solēne C vowe. And yet her constauncie not flaundered by this facte at al. For it was doen by the dispensation of Pope Celestine the .iij. & highly blessed: and it was as highly rewarded. And if we should iudge the facte by Platina his storie, the dispēsation was not ge­uen, neither in respecte of soule health, nor common wealth, but euen with as couert wordes, bought and solde: as any was said, Quid vultis mihi dare &c. but because we haue named you a no­ble woman, that was taken out of her Abbeye, after her vowe, and that a kynges daughter: we shall name, emong our nation a kynges sonne to matche her, and was heire apparant, to kyng D Constantine the seconde, about the yere of our Lorde. 444 who was in like maner no more charged with inconstancie, for forsa­kyng his vowe, as she forsoke hers, then he differeth from her in name. For he was called Constantius, and was Monke in the Monasterie of sainct Amphibolus at Winchester, which of late was called sainct Swithunes: and hath now the holy Trinitee [Page 255] for patron, whiche I trust shall kepe still his possession, doubting A nothyng, that either Amphibolus or Swithune, will take vpon them, to intrude thē selues againe. As for this Constantius that was taken out of his Abbeye, and made kyng of the lande, our owne Chronicles will tell you: as for Constantia and Ramirus, I doe auouche the aucthour aforesaied, de ritu nuptiarum: where ye maie moste redily see it testified. And here master Martin, I wonder, that where I thinke ye haue seen that booke (for it is printed with you of late in Englande) ye consider not the tracte of that writyng: wherby ye might learne, many necessary poin­tes of learnyng. As in his seconde booke of the vtilitée and ne­cessitée B of dispensation, to tempre the rigour of lawes, and in the beginnyng of readyng that seconde booke, to tell you plainly my contemplation therein: ye came by and by into my remembrance by the occasion of a sentence written therein, in the beginnyng, reported out of Plato: whēce peraduenture Terence fetched out his saiyng: Homine imperito nihil quicquam iniustius: qui nisi ꝙ ipse facit, nihil rectum esse putat. that is: There cā be nothyng worse, then an vnskilfull man, who thinketh nothyng well doen but that whiche he doeth hym self. But the saiyng is this: Legem (Plato) similē esse ait homini pertinaci & imperito, praeter (que) suū C praescriptū nihil fieri permittēti, qui ne interpellari quidē se pati­tur, etiam si qua incidat extra ordinē causa, in qua cōmodissimū sit aliter fieri (quam) pro ratione, quam ipse semelīstituerit. Plato saith that lawe is like vnto a froward & ignoraunt man, that will suf­fer nothyng to be doen, but as he appoincteth it, and will not let his deuise to be altered: although some bycause should happen, in respect wherof it were berter to be doen otherwise, then as he in his reason had once determined it. I [...] this sentence had béen wel pondered of you, master Martin, before ye beganne your booke, either would you haue holden your hande frō the booke, to haue D auoided the checke of this notable sentēce; or els if that notwith­standyng, ye would haue yet written, as ye haue doen: you must needes shewe your self to bee of suche a nature, as I would praie to GOD, none the like should euer come to bee a counsailour in the Chauncerie, so long as I should haue ought to doe there.

[Page 256] A Well, master Martin, looke to the same sentence yet once a­gaine: Et dic te stultū & intus dic, & sapiens eris. Ye might haue furthermore there learned, that it is affirmed: ꝙ condere leges munus sit regiae facultatis: So to dispence with them in necessitée of tyme and place, is so belongyng to the prudēce of a kyng, that els his subiectes should by extreme right, bee oppressed with ex­treme wrong. And this is an other sentence, whiche would doe well to be expended in the defence of the cause, that ye haue takē in hande, where ye saie, that this matter of mariages, perteined B not to the kyng. And if that forein ruler at Rome, hath so ample aucthorite, as to dispence, not with one man onely to haue .ij. wi­ues for a nede, but with al the lawes that euer God or mā made, exceptyng no more but tharticles of the faithe: & yet some Cano­nistes write, that he maie interprete them also: why then, can ye not be contente, that your late naturall leige Lorde and maister with the assent of his Parliament, should doe so little a thyng in despensation, that is one of the leaste crummes, that fall from the Popes table? I dare saie, so small, that the worste tourne broche in his ketchin, could gette it of his holinesse, by an easie entrea­tée, C for all his kinsfolkes, if thei were all Priestes, and Uotaries to. Master Martin, I will not here vrge a contemplation, that is now in my mynde, vpon you, but praie you once againe, looke if you can sée your face in Platos glasse, before spoken, and aduise you in tyme, or els all the worlde will wonder master Martin, stones will speake, and blockes will write: yea, God will be an­grie, and that is worste of all. Happie is he that hath a trustie friende, to tell hym good counsaile: yet happier is he, that hath it of hym self, if he should want hym. happie is he that hath a good nature, but yet more happie is he, whose nature, grace hath re­formed, to haue GOD alone alwaies in his eye. Also ye might D further haue learned of hym in his thirde booke, that it is but Popes lawe, that orders should withstand matrimonie: And that the Greke Priestes at this daie, liue in Matrimonie. And more­ouer, that he writeth, that in his Spanishe priestes, whiche be or­dered by the Popes very pontificall, nothyng doeth so muche let them from mariage, as their vowe, whiche is vowed, vtcun (que), [Page 257] after a certain maner, saieth he of them in their orderyng. I dare A saie, so indifferent a manne as he semeth to be, if he had knowen the maner of our priestes orderyng by the Englishe pontificall, speaking in suche maner timidè, vtcū (que), of the priestes of Spain: he would haue saied that our priestes maketh no maner of vowe, in no maner of maner.

But to go forwarde and discharge my promise of that other two priestes, maried after thei were priestes, if ye loke in the sto­rie Tripartite: Lib. 5. Ca. 44. consider whether Socrates reporteth not of one there, named Apollinaris, a Prieste, that maried after his priest­hode, and begatte a child, called by his owne name Apollinaris. B Consider the place indifferently, the rather for that. S. Hierome doeth affirme that he was a Priestes sonne in Catalogo script. Ecclesiastic. If that will not serue you, yet I will be suer to make vp my .iiij. promised, by one that is written of, in the saied booke, Eupsichius a Busshop. Lib. 6. cap. 14. Who alitle before his martirdome, ma­ried his wife, wher he was reputed tyll that tyme but hādfasted. As I was writyng this, in came, Genius quidam: and sittyng at myne elbow, tolde me plainly that these placis were like to bee bulted, and sifted to the branne. And that now the greke bookes should be sent for, to vnderstand some startyng hole, to crepe out C at. For that can not be borne, that in suche autentike stories, spe­cially of the Churche, we should find any suche one: and then a­gaine no mention made, that thei did it by dispensation of the fa­ther at Rome. For rather then that should appeare in storie o­penly, thei would haue plaied the partes, that is like thei haue doen in the Apostles Canons, in Clementes workes of recogni­tiō, of the recordes of the Counsails, yea in al antiquities, to chop in and out at their pleasure for their purposes. Blessed bee God, that he yet preserued his holy Testamentes cleane from their sophistications, for the text self, whiche shalbe able euermore in D al ages to purge it self, what drosse soeuer thei haue cast vpon it, to blemishe the cleare light therof.

Well it will be meruaill if Magdalen College in Oxford be not brought forthe, or some other text other where searched out. And here, I am sure, their heads must be set a worke, that cā saie [Page 258] A any thing to this matter, that poore Cassiodorus plain writyng may be defaced, and made [...]o speake and strike what houre plea­seth my Ladye. For he that will so violentlye contort so euident places, as he doeth, throughout all his boke, he maie haue a great aduantage in an olde greke author, whiche as is thought, and is lyke to be iustified, hath been paraduenture corruptly set forth in diuerse places.

But yet, Maister Martin, I admonishe you, that ye bee not to impudent in glosing or vouchyng your obscure greke copies in your studies, for ye shall not bryng a more sufficient Greke auc­thor, B to wrest these places out of their right time, but that we shal auouche you one or two as good, to tell you wher ye wrest to hie or to low in these forsaied two mennes states. I hard once how this last place was racked before kyng Henrie the eight: & what was answered. And to that whiche was answered, some more light hath been opened since. But leaue your glosyng, Maister Martin, and remember your olde pars verse, that Plato pinned on your sleue of late: and rather for our instruction, fal to the glo­sing of some suche lawes and gloses, as bee within the compasse of your studie. As where the gloser of the decrees, saieth by the C aucthoritée of other: Dist. 84. cum Inpreterito. Quod olim sacerdotes poterant contrahere ante Syricium, vnde & Moyses contraxit. & quod Apostoli non instituerint de non vtendo iam contracto, quia si Apostoli hoc instituissent, Orientales hoc admisissent. Et quod Gregorius in­troduxit continentiam subdiaconis, Dist. 82. pro­posiusti. sed presbyteris & diaconis Siricius introduxit. Et ꝙ Apostoli nihil constituerunt de con­tinentia. Et quod Ecclesia, quedam constituit, quae non fuerunt statuta ab Apostolis, vt de continentia ministrorum.

Some tyme, saieth he, Priestes might contract matrimonie, before Syricius daies, wherevpon, saieth he, Moyses did contract. D And the Apostles made no constitution of: not vsyng mariage alreadie contracted. For if thapostles had so doen, the Orientall churches would haue receiued it. How stand these saiyngs with the .25. Canon of the Apostles, as it is forced. And that Gregorie brought in continencie to the su [...]deacons, as Siricius brought it in for prie­stes and deacons. And that the Apostles made nothing in consti­tution for continencie. And that the Churche hath decreed some [Page 259] thinges, whiche were so decreed by the Apostles, as of the conti­nencie A of the ministers. For this saiyng he aduoucheth. S. Au­gustine de ciuitate dei, who holdeth the same. Furthermore, we would gladly heare how ye could discharge yourself, with al your gloses from the heresie of Eustachius, who as Nicephorus wri­teth, by the reason of his ouermuche exact and nice obseruing of virginitée, impelled his disciples into many greate absurdities, in despisyng the praiers of all theim that were maried, though thei were of the Priestes, saieth he, that were maried. Further, thei saied, that suche Priestes ought to be despised, that had con­tracted Matrimonie, and that menne ought not to receiue those B Sacramentes, whiche maried Priestes had consecrated: where­vpon the Fathers in Gangrense Counsaile, gathered together to suppresse this heresie, about the yere of our Lorde. 324: decréed in these woordes folowyng. Cap. 4. Si quis discernit presbyterū coniugatum tanquam occasione nuptiarum, ꝙ offerre non de­beat, & ab eius oblatione ideo se abstinet: anathema sit. If any man maketh difference in a maried Prieste, as though by occa­sion of his mariage, that he ought not to offer, or to minister, and in this respect will forbeare to take the Communion that he mi­nistreth: accursed bee he. Now maister Martin, if ye can assoyle C your self of this curse, that is here pronounced vpō you, ye should doe well with your gloses to declare the same, for the comforte of others, whom ye haue induced into your blind and barbarous superstitiō. Moreouer, it is saied in that Counsaile: that all suche as shall refuse these constitutions, that thei ought to bee reiected as heretiques, accursed and condempned. But as concernyng your forced gloses, that ye haue already fained in your booke, to wipe awaie these Canons, or the others in the same Counsale, or yet the fifth Canon of the Apostles: thei be to muche skowred to serue you: where ye imagine the matter vpon the mariages, D cōtracted before priesthod, contrary to the wordes that be expres­sed in the preamble of that Counsaile of Gangrense. And where it is saied there, that no man should put awaie his wife, for reli­gions sake: that is to vnderstande, of force, saie ye. Then it follo­weth, that bothe the husbande, whiche sundreth hym self from [Page 260] A his wife by force, or the ordinary (whiche followeth Montanus) that of force diuorseth theim, as thei dooe now adaies offende a­gainst those Canons, be heretiques accursed.

Thus maister doctour, if your Clientes will geue you respite and leisure in their matters, to take these Gloses, Textes, and Counsailes in hande, ye haue here to exercise your witte & lear­nyng. And by your gloses we shall sée, how ye can frame al these matters to ioyne with your assertions, and conclusions in your booke. In the meane season, I praie you, while ye ruffle in your textes, Canons and gloses, geue the poore reader licence, to be­leue B you at leasure: and to sticke to Goddes holy stable woorde, for more sure grounde, to ieoparde either soule or body.

And where this doctour of Lawe, semeth to commaunde his iudgemente and sentence, to bee admitted of so high aucthoritée, as neither any learned man were of other opinion: or els if thei were, yet that thei should not bee comparable to his witte and learnyng: I will saie no more in answere for comparison in this matter, but put it to your sentence (good readers) what ye shall thinke meete in this comparison. Beside all suche menne, as we haue recited bothe of aucthoritée for their roumes, and estimatiō C for their learnyng, we can matche this manne with some other: as Erasmus Roterodamus, Polidorus Virgilius, Alfonsus, episco­pus Canariensis, Michael Vehe: and diuerse other, not vnlear­ned, nor I trust, greatly behynd this Ciuilian, for all the bragge he maketh: whiche menne be writers of these daies.

Erasmus, whom ye aduouche your self, master Martin, for his aucthoritée: Cap. v. lit. I. 3. writyng of this cause in diuerse partes of his workes, Ad Episcopa [...] Bafiliense [...]. vttereth his opinion in suche words: Ad episcopū Basiliēsem. De caelibatu, ne (que) christus, ne (que) Apostoli legē aliquā in sacris literis prefixerunt. Cum ecclesia, nocturnas vigilias, ie­iunium D in vesperum prorogari solitum, alia (que) permulta, pro cau­sis emergentibus variarit: cur hic humanam constitutionem vr­gemus tam obstinatè, presertim cum tot causae suadeāt mutatio­nem? Primum enim magna sacerdotum pars viuit cum malafa­ma, parum (que) requieta conscientia tractat illa sacrosancta myste­ria. Deinde perit magna ex parte fructus illorum, propterea ꝙ [Page 261] ob vitam palam dedecorosam, a populo contemnitur illorū do­ctrina. A Quod si hijs qui non continent, concederetur matrimo­nium, & ipsi viuerent quietius, & populo cum authoritate prae­dicarent verbum dei, & liberos suos liberaliter educandos cura­rent, nec alter alteris vicissim essent probro. &c. As for the state of single life, neither Christe, neither yet his Apostles haue pre­scribed any Lawe in holy Scripture. And where as the Churche hath altered Uigills vsed to bee kepte in the night, the maner of fastyng, vsed to bee continued till the Euenyng: and suche other thynges many, as occasion hath risen from tyme to tyme: why force we mennes constitution so stifly here in this poincte, seyng B so many special causes might aduise vs to make alteration? For firste of all, a greate number of the Priestes liueth in infamie, and with an vnquiet conscience ministereth those moste holy mi­steries. Furthermore, the profit that might arise by them, is lost, for as muche as their teachyng is not regarded of the people, by reason of their open filthie life. Where if mariage were graun­ted, to suche as dode not containe: bothe them selues should liue the more quietly, and their preachyng of Goddes woorde, should bee had of more aucthoritée emong the people. Beside that, thei should se their childrē honestly brought vp, so that the one should C not be a shame or rebuke to the other.

[...]Thus ye see, how that Erasmus wondereth, what men meane to be stiffe, in this constitution of the Churche, seyng there bée so many reasons, that might moue them to graunte to Priestes to marrie. This Ciuilian saieth, that it would tourne to the decaie of the estimation of the Clergie, and so to the contempt of the re­ligion of Christe. Erasmus saieth, that if thei liued in Matrimonie suche as could not containe, thei should haue a better name, then thei haue, and therefore a better estimation. Thei should with more aucthoritée preache Gods worde, and the people would be­leue D them the better: where now for their standerous liuing, thei be despised, saieth he. Moreouer, the Priestes them selues should haue a more quiette conscience, to sende vp the better and ofter praiers to almightie God, the soner to be harde: Where now by their filthie handelyng of so holy misteries, in so vncleane a life, [Page 262] A their benedictions bée tourned into maledictions, saieth Grego­rie: and the mummyng of their Masses, saieth I. Pecham in his constitutions, bee rather worthie to bee called execrations, then celebrations. Lette not this Ciuilian thinke, that suspected and euident euill life in corruptiō, defilyng mennes wiues and their daughters, will winne a credence to the Clergie, as muche as honest and chaste matrimonie should, if it were by lawe permit­ted. And if it were lefte at libertée, there would bee in the Cler­gie, that willyngly would liue chaste, to winne this estimation, that this man speaketh of. And better to haue a fewe suche, that B might liue without suspition, then vpon the common experiēce of many faultée, the people should suspecte all. For, that whiche is true in deede, will so abide, when that whiche is counterfet, can neuer but shame it self at lengthe. In comparison of whiche counterfette chastitée, Lib. 5. Cap. [...]. and wedlocke chastitée, speaketh Polidore in his boke de inuentoribus rerum. Illud dixerim, tantum abfu­isse, vt ista coacta castitas illum coniugalem vicerit, vt etiam nul­lius delecti crimen, maius ordini dedecus, plus mali religioni, plus doloris omnibus bonis impresserit, īusserit, attulerit, quā sacer­dotum libidinis labes. Proinde fortassis tam è repub. Christiana C quam ex ordinis vsu esset, vt tandē aliquando ius publici matri­monij sacerdotibus concederetur, quod illi sine infamia sanctè potius colerent, quam se spurcissimè eiusmodi naturali vitio tur­pificarent. But this I will saie, that it is so farre of, that this cō ­pelled chastitée, hath excelled that Wedlocke chastitée, that no crime or enormitée hath imprinted, either more hatered to the state of Priesthode, or hath more defaced Christes holy religion, or yet hath stirred vp more griefe in all good mennes hartes, then the slaunder of the vnchaste life of priestes: wherevpon per­happes it should be as honourable to Christendome, as commen­dable D to the Clergie, that once at the last, the libertée of mariage were graunted to the Priestes by publike aucthoritée, wherein thei might vertuously liue, without rebuke of their estimation, rather then thei should distaine them selues so filthily, by suche vice of nature.

Here ye sée that this Clerke is of the same iudgement with [Page 263] Erasmus, to thinke that it should be as well for the profette of the A comon wealth, as for the honour and estimation of the Clergie, for priestes to haue libertie to mary. And that it should be no slaū ­der nor infamie to them to be maried, if it were doen by open au­thoritée. So that the priestes of these daies, maried by open auc­thoritee, néede no more to bee a shamed of their mariage: then M. Martin nedeth to bee a shamed to bee borne of that matrimonie, wherin he was borne. And shall bee as good in euery condition, how soeuer he would shame it. To liue in manifeste or secrette whordom, is a shame before God, and also to the world. And this it is saieth Polidore, that shameth the order, destroieth the esti­mation B of your religion. This it is that good menne lament so beauilye in all ages, from tyme to tyme, and yet could neuer haue it remedied by all the Lawes thei could make. Howsoeuer thei coloured it, how easily, or how extremely soeuer thei procea­ded againste it, yet was it worse and worse. Lette the Townes speake where Monkes dwelt. Let the Cities be examined, wher cathedrall Churches are: let open Nonnes and close Nonnes be asked of their consciences, what rule there was kept: let the cun­trie tell the truthe of Limitours sent among them, or els Friers in cities and boroughes, drawyng the latche of the doore without C warnyng, to saie there sainct Ihons Gospell And lette this Ci­uilian consider what matter he goeth about. I wis he doeth no great pleasure to the Clergie, as he would haue them thinke, yea and if thei were wise, thei would thinke the same. For let not them hope that thei can escape, as thei haue doen. The laye men will not beare it at their handes.

Before tymes, when the laye man saw his wife abused before his face, or his daughter rauished, or mayde defloured: he was faine to make the best of it, for feare of accusation, in some other respecte, that should aswell pynche hym, as the parishe prieste. I D doubt not, but seeyng that the Priestes themselues be so earnest to beate doune this late graunted libertée: thei make but a rodde for their owne tayles. Lette experience trye the matter. Well, I haue not red of any one learned man in these daies, speakyng in this cause of conscience and of learning, but euer thei haue made [Page 264] A moderation in the expendyng of it. And haue shewed their desi­ers for the remedies of the inconuenience. As for Eckius, Cocle­us, Murnerus, and suche other filthie draffe sackes, I make noe tale of them, whose liues were knowen well inough to bee to beastly. Yea Pighius hymself the God of this Ciuilian, vseth yet a moderation, suche as it is, where this man for curste hart will vse none at al. Alfonsus a catholike busshop doeth so learnedly & christianly handle the matter, that although he wissheth, Philippica. 19. as it is to bee wished, that all the Clergie could liue in perpetuall conti­nencie: yet he wisheth for them that can not so liue, that mariage B were graunted, and that to priestes after their orders: and mer­ueileth at suche mennes conscienses, that will so pinche vpon the aucthoritee that is in the Churche, that thei should haue power onely but to curse and to excōmunicate, and not to saue and de­liuer. Whiche thing he prosecuteth in a great spirite, and saieth by those wordes of sainct Paule: vnusquis (que) propter fornicatio­nem vitandam suam vxorem habeat. &c. That is, to auoide for­nication, let euery man haue his wife, maie euery man clayme his interest and right to marye, if he can not otherwise liue. And C affirmeth further, that he can not see how any man can depriue hymself, o [...] that his interest of that concession of mariage, gaun­ted by sainct Paule: except he will euen so depriue hymself of e­ternall life. And moreouer saieth plainly, that euery man cannot conteine, and that therfore no man can be so holden by lawes or vowes, but that he ought to prouide for his saluation. And that howsoeuer a Prieste hath by his owne voluntarie consent depri­ued hymself of his libertée, to marie after that: yet in this case when he hath proued all remedies, and none will serue, then yet to hym is reserued still whole and found, his right and interest of that same concession of sainct Paule: propter fornicationem vi­tandam D vnusquis (que) vxorem suam habeat, & vnaque (que) suum vi­rum. Whiche generall proposition, this Ciuilian would needes straine to a particuler, contrarie to the circumstaunce of the con­text it self, yea, contrarie to the vsyng of diuerse Doctors of the church, as we haue proued before. And further, we there brought in. S. Hieromes manifest woordes to proue it, against his owne [Page 265] manifest wordes, wherein he denieth it. And here I require this A Ciuiliā, with his gloses to proue those two contradictories, or .ij. contraries, if he can. Or to make S. Hierom agre with others, to see what it is to brabble with mennes woordes, and not to sticke to the woordes of the holy ghost euident in them selues, to them that of mere frowardnes listed not to wrangle and to be conten­tious, to make vprores in comon wealthes, to nosell the vnlear­ned still in palpable blindnes, to recouer their olde honour of the churche, to do as thei lusted in al matters bothe of God and man, and then we should haue a merie world again, and all should be plentious: neither warres nor commotions, but suche as thei B themselues would stirre for their owne turnes. And because I named vnto you a diuine of these daies, Michael vehe: whom the rather, among many of that sort I do alledge, for that I se in him a quiet spirite, soberlye and Godly with learnyng, debatyng his controuersies of conscience, vtteryng his iudgement not as Pig­hius, Eckius, and this Ciuilian doeth, of a set purpose onely, and of a froward and proud nature, that will in no respect giue ouer, or will condition indifferently of that which is once beaten and setteled in his stubborne head, but muste winne all, or lose all, come of it whatsoeuer will: I will shewe you what moderation C he vseth in this cause of priestes matrimonies, wherin he decla­reth his contētation, that it could stand with his iudgement and conscience for priestes, yea, after order once consecrated, to mary, so that thei were not suffered still in their ministration. And moreouer, against them that might be of that opinion, to thinke that for a greate cause in respect of a realme, or of a comon peace, dispensation might be had, as it was so dispensed with, he saieth, with the kyng of Arragon: But peraduenture not alludyng to this storie in this matter, he saieth these wordes. At omniā preg­nantissima causa est animarum periculū, cui nec vna totius mun­di D precio estimari possit. &c. What cause soeuer maie appeare to dispence in positiue Lawes, for the weale of a whole Realme: surely, saieth he, there can be no greater or more pregnant cause, then the perill of mennes soules, wherein the losse but of, one is not estimable, by the price and value of all the world. This man [Page 266] A was in cōscience moued to saie his learnyng, he would not dally in so weightie a cause. He knewe he muste come once before the tribunal seate of Christ and his Apostles, to make answere of his wordes and writynges. And therfore as in the sight of God, not as pleasyng man, or keping the world in a comon traded errour, for glory or lucre: thought it very meete for suche Canons and Lawes to be dispensed with, for the saluation of mennes soules, for the whiche, as for his owne, he knewe Christ spent his preci­ous blood: he was not ignorant, as I thinke this Ciuilian is not, or els ought not to bee, of the trade and practise of the holy Fa­thers B of the Churche in their daies. It is not vnknowen to hym, how soeuer Epiphanius was affected, to the continencie of the Clergie, and for the defence thereof, vnaduisedly did write, that it was the institution of the Apostles, for them to conteine, that yet hym self was compelled for necessitée of ministers, to permit theim in mariage, as otherwhere he telleth, that thei did so, al­though not altogether agreable to the prescripte of the Canons. Yea, Epiphaniuis Lib. 2. To. 1. Hero. 61. he confesseth plainly of those, and also of votaries to, that it were better for them, fallen from their race of their runnyng in virginitée, openly to marrie a wife by the Lawe, rather then to C be daiely wounded with the secrete dartes of Cupido, by the im­portune temptation of the Deuill. And better for them to runne into iudgemente of penaunce, sufferable for a tyme, then by coū ­terfettyng chastitée, to fall into condempnation, to bee excluded from the kyngdome of heauen. For he condempneth euen there suche of the Clergie, because thei would not abide the shame of the worlde, belike for mariage, yet secretly committed whore­dome, and that vnder the pretence of solitary liuyng, and conti­nencie, practised vncleannesse with them selues: to aduoyde whiche inconuenience, he is faine to remitte of his Canons, how D Apostolike so euer thei were. Tract. 7. in mas.

This diuine afore saied, I saie Michael Vehe, was not igno­raunte, how that in Origens tyme, the Busshoppes in those da­yes, for the releuyng of a woman in her frailtée were conten [...]ed to despence with her to marrie againe, though her husband was a liue. Peraduenture saieth he, thei did suffer it, for the infirmi­tee [Page 267] of suche incontinente persones, and in comparison of worse, A permitted that whiche was euill. If Origen disalowed not their prudence in dispensation, not to tollerate it ones dooen, but to geue licence before it was begunne, euen in that matter, which be iudged to be againste the Lawe of God: If Pope Martin the v. as the aucthour of Summa Angelica, reporteth, did after great deliberation and consultation, with diuerse learned in Diuinitée and Lawe, despence with hym that had taken his sister germain to wife, to kepe her still: and if the Pope, despensyng with a man to marrie her to wife, whose mother or sister, he had defiled before by corporall fornication, be not to bee blamed, nor this mariage B to be disalowed, as Antonine saieth, part. 3. tit. I. cap. II. para. chri­stiana infine. And if Antoninus, auditor generalis causarū Pala­tij dn̄i Pape testifieth, that he sawe very many despensed with, in this matter. in Summa lib. 3. tit. 6. ca. 3. li. 2. ca. 2. tit. xi. If Martin Peresius thus writeth: Si sacerdotes non matura deliberatione se astrinxerunt, videat Romanus pōtifex, qui circa haec solet dispē ­sare, quid sit agendum in particularibus. If the Priest haue boūd hym self, not by due deliberation, let the Romane busshop, who is wont to dispense in suche cases, take hede what he ought to do in suche particularitées. Yea, Erasmus in clementiam Alberti Pij C artic. 40. saieth, that the Pope doeth wel to dispense in solempne vowes, and alledgeth Cardinall Caietanes aucthoritée for hym. What reasonablenesse then, cā there be thought in this Ciuiliā, not to suffer these mariages, that be doen and made already: not by stealth, or of priuate head: but by aucthoritee of his Souerai­gnes lawe, with the assent of all the body of the realme, not one woorde of Goddes Lawe against it, but many woordes of Gods Lawe bearyng with it, and approuyng it. I maruaile what this Lawier meaneth. Hath he neuer reade what Pope Nicholas did answere to Busshoppe Osbalde vpon his question, Dist. 50. studeas what should D be doen with that beneficed Prieste, that had striken a Deacon, and after his death his sculle was founde broken: Searche saieth he, whether he died of the stroke, or whether the Deacō fell of his horse, and so brake his sculle and died. If the Deacon died of the fall, suspende the Prieste a little tyme, for saiyng Masse, and af­terwarde, [Page 268] A let hym returne to his seruice againe. But if case the deacon be dead by occasion of his strype, then in no case let hym any more minister. Lo here the [...] of the churche so prouided for by the canons Nothwithstandyng (saith he) yf he be very necessarie for your purpose, let hym haue out of his benefice, for the comfort of his sustenaunce. Lo sir, the canons & the lawe playnly depriue him of his benefice, which is sequestred frō his ministration. And yet saith the lawyers vpon this place, He was reasonablie dispensed with, to kepe his benefice styl, lest els for necessitie of his lyuyng, he should turne hym selfe to fylthy and vnlawfull occupying.

B Compare this matter maister Martin: An open pretenced murtherer, If ye say true maister Mar­tin, your cleargie should not haue all the benefices they haue. But ye must vnder­stand his rule against maried priestes onlye. As for others do they neuer so litle a no­thyng, yet be they worth [...] to haue all, as they haue a [...]. Cau 1. q. 7. Requiritis. shall for the necessitie of his lyuyng, & to auoyde further inconuenience, be aduaunced to lyuing out of his be­nefice against the canons, though he ministreth not: and yet as ye write, The benefice is geuen for the office sake And shall mariage be thus dealt with, in your very fine charitie? Dyd ye neuer reade what is written vpon that epistle that Leo the fourth dyd write to the bishoppes here in Englande, settyng out what great auctoritie bishops only haue, not re­strayned, nor in case reserued to the bishop of Rome, howe C they may dispence with sacrilege, with heresie, with adulterie, with simonie, with a scismaticke, in orders and dignities, for necessities sake, and for auoydyng sclaunder and further in­conueniences? And can not all the bishops in Englande be able to dispence with mariage of priestes, to auoyde y ^e sclaun­der that els myght rise aswell to them selues as to some of them by whom they were alowed, to auoyde the sclaunder & suspition of suche faigned heartes as were in them to the kynges auctoritie, to auoyde the sclaunder that myght ryse to the priestes, to their wyues, to their chyldren, &c.

D But ye wyll say, such as be sory for their fault and wyll re­turne, the church mercifully openeth her lappe to receaue thē againe into new benefices & lyuynges, though they haue lost their olde, where they had done cost. Why maister Martin, had the churche so spent all her mercie vpon her Iacobs, that she had nothyng for poore Esau? She myght haue blessed sufficiently her supplantyng Iacobs with the fattest benefi­ces [Page 269] and superfluous dignities of the best of the cleargie, and A yet some litle benediction myght haue ben reserued and be­stowed vpon the poore Esaus that nowe haue nothing at all left thē, neither rent nor mouables to relieue their necessitie.

Is this the churches mercyfull lappe in receauyng her owne begotten chyldren to ministration againe, that yet first they muste speake their owne shame in bylles of their pe­naunce, lying against them selues, moste vylely and moste shamefully disablyng their credite and estimation for euer? As they fynde such fytte malt horses in diuers places of the realme, whiche for a litle prouender sake, and for curryng B them with their combes, wyll take whatsoeuer byt is put in their mouthes. As one man of Winsor made a goodly con­fession of his heartie and earnest repentaunce there, the .29. day of Iune last, to the great comfort of al the good catholike people that hearde hym. Whiche proposition was so finely penned, and so catholikely tracted, that I warraunt you it was none of the smallest fooles that forged it. Whiche for the excellencie that it hath, shall one day haue an interlinial glose, tyll some man shall take payne to make a large com­mentarie. Be ashamed O hypocrites, be ashamed, iuggle C not in suche foolyshe sort, to make all the worlde to wonder at you. What a gods name, wyll ye daunce starcke naked in your wyde masked nettes, in this so cleare lyght at hye noone dayes in open market, and yet promise your selues that no man can see you? But to returne to the churches great mercie agayne. Surely in some places the churches mercie was so sore extended, that whose wyues were two or three yeres past before departed, yet they coulde not be admitted againe to ministratiō, but must do open penaunce, and go before the crosse, without any redemptiō or entreatie D that coulde be made, and the parties suche as by whom the very commissaries them selues coulde aleage not one poynt of dishonestie, or euyl opinion in al their conuersation besides foorth. Shall laye men hereafter truste well of the churches mercie if they come within your clawes, when your owne be thus dealt with? Of whom, some dissenteth in no poynt at al frō you, but only in this fact, which the law made them bolde [Page 270] A to aduenture on? Shal I call this a Churche, or a Sinagoge? A mother, or a steppe dame? M. Martin, verely if God had not som­what of his goodnes holpen me, to mortifie somwhat myne affec­tions, I could els in this contemplation, write somewhat that should be but litle honestée to that your holye mother Churche. Notwithstāding, how lightly soeuer I passe it ouer, yet I thinke some other will resume that I lette passe. Though now it bee so heinous a matter in your sighte, for suche priestes to keepe either their liuynges or wiues, whom ye founde when ye came ouer (a Gods name) into the realme, in as good and lawful possession of B them bothe, as euer ye shall haue of any thyng that ye shall here­after come to: yet I thinke ye will your self, as faste resort to the defence of the lawe of the realme, for that ye haue already in pos­ssession, & also for that increase which ye gape wide for euery daie you rise, if perchaunce either any wicked Iudge, or els some pre­uie theif would take it from you: how fast soeuer now ye cast the Lawes of the realme at your heales, for these iuste possessions of your bretherne. And I praie you, if it bee so intollerable a mat­ter to your wisdome, to suffer an inconuenience once passed a­gainst Canons, so to remaine, rather then to bring in a greater▪ C why did that learned Busshop of Rome, Leo the first, writyng to the Busshops of Aphrica, hearyng tell that there were diuerse amōg them, which were admitted to the dignities of the church, not only laye maried men, but also men of .ij. wiues at once, yea and that laie men that had maried laie widowes (for concernyng priestes widows: it is plainly spoken by the Prophet Ezechiel in his .44. Chapiter, in the new trāslation, that a prieste may: in the old translation that a prieste must, take that widowe to wife, that was a Priestes wife before) why I praie you, though he would not dispence with some of these forsaied persons so promoted, yet D of the other writeth he thus? Caeteros vero quorū prouectio hoc tantum reprehensionis incurrit, ꝙ ex laicis ad officium Episco­pale delecti sunt (ne (que) ex hoc quod vxores habeant, possunt esse culpabiles) susceptum sacerdotium tenere permittimus. &c. As for others in whose promotion this blame is onelye espied, that thei were chosen forthe of the laye menne, to that dignitée and [Page 271] office of a Busshppe (for thei can not bee blame worthie of this A respect, for that thei haue wiues) we permitte them to reteine stil their benefice so receiued.

Doubte not maister Martin, but his wisedome thought it no inconueniēce to suffer them so still, nor was not so angrie in his daies with maried Busshops and priestes, as ye be. For Prosper Aquitanicus hymself (who peraduēture did bothe write and en­dite this Epistle in his name, as many other thynges he did, te­stifieth Gennadius, for he was his Secretarie, and afterwarde was episcopus Reginensis, about the yere of our Lorde .460. in a very euill tyme, a very good Busshoppe, as the stories make B mention) he lookyng euery daie, when he should goe to the potte, made a goodly aduertisemente in verses, a good hundreth in number, to his wife, armyng her to take suche parte, as he should take, and to sticke in good hope, and faithe in Christ, com­fortyng and helpyng one the other, what soeuer should befall. And if ye liste to looke vpon it, and see what matter there is, it beginneth thus. Carmine Iambico.

Where yet ye maie espie peraduenture, a subteltée in that good Father, that set out his woorkes in printe. For where all other of his Epigrames haue titles, to shewe the contente, that hath none at all: Leste ye should smell, to readily at the eye, that Pro­sper beyng in so good estimation, and so ofte alledged, bothe of Diuines and Lawiers, should bee knowen to haue a wife. But yet good brethren, though ye knowe that he had a wife in deede, D be not of that fansie, that onces a good catholike woman was of, towardes our Ladie, to whom she had a very greate deuotion, and could not heare to muche of her. At a tyme one tolde her that she was a Iewe. A Iewe ꝙ she, GOD defende that blasphemie that shall neuer come in my Cred [...], lieue it who will. Yet be­cause [Page 272] A she would bee sure in this scrupulose doubte, she made a iourney to a maister Doctour, dwellyng there by, to knowe the truthe. He could saie no lesse, but as the truthe was. And when she heard hym affirmyng it to, she was cast into a greate dumpe: and at the laste, swore the beste othe in her bodie, that she would set the lesse by her, yea, and would loue her the worse, as long as she liued. How wise a woman this was, M. Martin, I maye not be iudge of catholike folkes. But I wene your self, & suche as ye be, be not farre behinde her in your iudgement, towardes them, in whō ye knowe none other fault, but onely that thei be maried B Priestes: whiche iudgement, when it hath once preuailed in the realme, the rather for your impregnable booke, then shall it bee beste forthese Priestes, when thei saie the penitentiall Psalme, of Beati quorum, Ad oceanum. in their Mattens, to followe sainct Hieromes woordes and counsaile, and in steede of Beatus vir cui non im­putauit dominus peccatum: to tourne it and saie: Beatus vir cui dominus non imputauit vxorem: as a greater offence then any can be committed, in the iudgemente of suche Romishe peniten­ciaries, as ye be. And then shall the Lawiers solempne case come C in place, when he writeth: Ecce casus vbi plus iuris habet luxuria quam castitas. Dist. 54. fra­ternitatis. Beholde a case, where faire Lecherie, hath more right and lawe, then soule Chastitée.

Thus drawyng to a conclusion, I will report vnto you, what an other Leo, the fourthe of that name, hath written, cōcernyng this prudente necessitee of moderation, and dispensation in mat­ters as thei arise: euen that Leo whiche, as some saye, preceaded next to that holie Popesse our countrey womā (worship may she be) Pope Iohan: who was so in deede, affirmeth cōstantly, Maria­nus Scotus, and diuerse other of good credite in writyng▪ beyng about the yere of our Lorde .848. what tyme Adeulphus other­wise D called Etheluolphus, reigned here in one part of the realme Whiche manne had a loue in his youthe to be a Priest, and was entered the order of Subdeacon, and by some writers was bus­shoppe of Winchester (whereof maie bee reasonably doubted) but after dispensed with, by the Bushoppe of Rome, of his order, and maried a wife. Whiche kyng was by some mennes opinion [Page 273] the firste founder of the Uniuersitée at Oxforde. Whiche should A bee more to their glory for antiquitée, to haue hym so reputed, then Aluredus who succeded well nigh .lx. yeres after hym. For whose sake, yet I truste master Martin, will bee better to orders that be vowed: Whiche saied Leo is noted in storie, to be of suche wisedome and vertue, that he had accordyng to the Gospell, both the prudence of the Serpente, and the simplicitée of the Doue: of so modeste a nature and clemencie, that where in thende of a vic­torie, against the cruell Sarazens, some would haue had diuerse of them hanged vp at Rome gates, for the terrour of others, he would not suffer it. And yet againe, in preseruyng the discipline B of the churche, in punishment of idle and not resident Cardinal­les so seuere, that he gathered a Synode of .xlvij. Busshoppes, and condempned and depriued one Anastasius, Cardinall of S. Marcelles, Not specially because he had been absent frō his cure and parishe, 1. Q. 7. Rigor. fiue yere space together. Thus yet the saied Leo writeth to the Bisshoppes of Englande. Nisi rigor disciplinae quando (que) relaxetur ex dispensatione misericordiae: (multorum enim cri­mina sunt damnabilia) quae tamen ecclesia tolerat pro tempore, pro persona, intuitu pietatis vel necessitatis siue vtilitatis, & pro euentu rei: pro tempore, sicut Gelasius qui cum necessitate tem­poris C videret Italicam ecclesiam propter belli famis (que) incursio­nem fere omnium clericorū officio destitutam, adeo vt pleris (que) populis subsidia regendarum deessent animarum, concessit de Monachis vel de Laicis clericos assumi. Except the rigour of the Churches discipline, were some tyme released by dispensation of mercie. For many mennes crimes be dampnable, whiche yet be tolerated by the Churche, for consideration of the tyme and per­sone, in respect of mercie, of necessitée, or of commoditée, and vpon the chaunce of the matter as maie fall. As for example in respect of the tyme: we reade that Gelasius, when he sawe by the necessi­tée D of the tyme, the Churches of Italie to bée destitute and voide, almoste of all their spirituall ministers, by occasion of the rage of warre and famine, so greatly, that muche people wanted their comforte, for pastours of their soules: he did permitte that Cura­tes might be chosen, either emonges the religious, or yet emong [Page 274] A the lay men. And that in the primatiue churche, vppon the necessitie of the tymes, or for some other good and profitable purposes, they haue boldly dispensed with the canons of the churche, and such orders as haue ben straytly obserued and rigorously exacted before their dayes, it may most euidently appeare by sundry ecclesiasticall stories & examples. As that the church of Millane, Nicephorus Lib. 11. ca. 32. with y ^e approbatiō of Valentinian the emperour, did chose Ambrose to be their archbishop, beyng a mere lay man, in lay office, and that before he was bapti­sed. So was Nectarius a lay senator, occupied al his lyfe long B in prophane office, Lib. 12. ca 12. sodainly elected to be bishop of Constan­tinople, Theodosius the emperour beyng there present, and assentyng therto: and yet the said Nectarius was not as thē a christian man, by receauyng the sacrament of baptisme. And Synesius a platonicall philosopher, brought vp in the studie of prophane learnyng, Li. 14. ca. 55. addict to the decrees and princi­ples therof, not as yet won & conuerted to Christes religion, was preferred by that learned bishop Theophilus Alexan­drinus to priesthood, and by the holy handes of Theophilus to a bishopricke, immediatly after his baptisme. And before C he made open protestation to the knowledge of the churche of Ptolemais where he shoulde be bishoppe, that except they would freely permit him to reteyne his philosophicall opini­ons (of not beleuyng the resurrection of mens bodies, or that the worlde shoulde haue an ende) he woulde not accept their offer. Yea, he further conditioned with them, that where God & the lawes had geuen hym a wyfe, he woulde not for­sake her in any wise, and that he woulde nowe haue secrete familiaritie with her as a fornicator. For thone he said was not godly, & thother nothing lawful: but rather (saith he) I D wyll and wyshe more chyldren to be borne vnto me by her. I thynke veryly it would be harde to fynde lawes or exam­ples of former tymes past, to approue these doynges: wher­vpon I iudge euery indifferent man may se how the canons should be expounded, and howe the churche rules shoulde be ruled: Not so straytly laced as ye make them, or as ye force them, nor so ment of the greatest canon makers them selues. As ye may reade among the decrees of y ^e said pope Gelasius, [Page 275] in the first, second, & thirde: howe he (as I haue written a­fore) A would not with all his auctoritie diuorce such votaries as were maried after their vowes, but left them to God and to their consciences: that in suche necessitie of ministers as chaunced in Italy, he was content that thei should take both munckes out of their abbeys contrary to their profession, and lay men frō their lay offices, contrary to the prescriptiō of the canons. And moreouer confesseth in his first chapter of hym selfe thus. Nos magno reatu innecteremur, si tanto coartāte periculo, nō aliquatenus consulamus. We should (saith he) be worthyly charged as much giltie, if in so great perilous con­straint B we should not prouide some remedie. What necessitie the realme is in for want of ministers at this day, & how fast men wyl ren to orders hereafter, being destitute of the hope for such protection & couerynges of their skapes, I weene, it wyll be spyed hereafter. God geue grace that wyser men of the realme, howe wylfull soeuer ye be, may foresee this mat­ter in tyme, for the honor of god, y ^e saluation of mens soules, & the wealth of the realme. Amen. And here maister Mar­tin, I wyl take occasion to rest in a suspence of further com­mentyng your booke, tyll at my next leysure, when by gods C grace I wyll redresse the vaine of my wrytyng, yf I maye heare that it should offende any indifferent reader. But as for your selfe or any suche, as of set purpose wyll erre your selues, & bryng other into the same, that for good felowship wyll blyndly fall into the ditche with the blynde guide, howe angry soeuer ye all be, yet I wyll speake to you with the ve­ry wordes of Ioannes Genesius, for the noueltie of the mat­ter, thus printed with good lucke in Englande. Si quis non quod optimū factu sit quaerat, sed studiose captet occasiones errandi, cuius erit aequitatis non potius eius pernitiosam ma­litiam D insectari, quā nobis succensere, si quod verū credimus, non dissimulanter explicamus. If any man wyl set his minde to ensue, not that which were best to be done, but wyl more gladly & captiously seke occasions to lye & to erre: of what e­quitie & indifferencie should it proceede, not to defie his perni­cious malice, rather then to be displeased with vs, for that we simplie declare without colour the trueth of our beliefe?

[Page 276] A But yf any man woulde aske, what it should meane, that before these dayes long ago, and from tyme to tyme, certain fathers, more learned then prudent in gouernement, but of Munkyshe affection in their zeales dyd so muche call on in their wrytynges, vppon the state of the Cleargie to lyue in single lyfe? And what it meant that certaine kynges before the conquest, no doubt so induced by their Munkyshe confes­sours, in their Saxons lawes, & certaine religious ordinaries in their canon bookes, dyd moue & exhort the byshoppes and priestes to lyue in single chastitie out of matrimonie? To B this I must aunswere, that diuers of them hauyng an enuie at the laye Cleargie in their libertie, which they them selues had by vowes renounced, were extremely hotte in this mat­ter: though some of the better sort perceauyng the cumber that is in maryage, and carefull worldlynes whiche is com­monly seene to be ensued of maryed persons: woulde haue the Cleargie (whose office is to execute so heauenly and di­uine misteries) not to be auocated or called backe by any worldly lettes, eyther frō continual studie, or earnest prayer, whereby they myght attende the more wholely to the wyn­nyng C of mens soules: who yet dispraysed not nor condemp­ned matrimonie, no not in those priestes which were founde in it, in this their commendyng of virginitie, though for causes aforesayd, preferryng single state before matrimonie: nor compellyng all sortes of men to lyue in that single state to the daunger of their soules, but rather dyd beare with their infirmitie, grauntyng them full libertie of maryage, so to turne this necessitie into vertue: then by ouermuch auste­ritie to dryue them to leade a sole lyfe, to the hynderaunce both of godly studies, and to the vtter suppressing of true and D godly prayer in a pure and vndefyled conscience. For they thought with saint Hierome, Aduersus Iouimanū. lib. 1. Chrisost, in Paul. 1. T [...]. 3. Sup. pa. 251. Quod non sunt tanti virgines, quanti necessari [...] sunt sacerdotes, There is not so great ne­cessitie of hauyng virgins, as hauyng priestes and ministers to the buyldyng and repayryng of Christes Churche. And therefore saith Chrisostome: Thapostie wrytyng that the Byshop shoulde be the husbande of one wyfe: in that his [Page 277] canon ecclesiasticall exhorted men to that office, and vsed to A graunt a more moderate vertue to them, then required the perfection: lest els the church (saith he) shoulde be without ministers (which must needes haue many) yf the exact per­fection were exacted of them agaynst their power & strength, and agaynst their gyft that is geuen them of God, beyng a gyft so rare, and not obteyned of many.

Nowe as these fathers were ledde with a good and godly spirite to moue men to this state, to take it who can take it, and vsed no further force or violence of compulsed chastitie: So agayne there were other fathers and wryters mouyng B to this perfection, which are to be feared to be ledde with an other maner of spirite, suche as Paul prophesied of before should come in the later dayes, 1. Tim 4. Spiritus manifeste dicit, quod in nouissimis temporibus discedent quidam a fide, attenden­tes spiritibus erroris & doctrinis demoniorum, in hypochrisi loquentium mendatium, et cauteriatam habentes suam con­scientiam, prohibentium nubere, et iubentium abstinere a cibis, quos deus creauit ad percipiendum cum gratiarum acti­one, fidelibus & iis qui cognouerunt veritatem. Quia omnis creatura dei bona est, & nihil reiiciendū quod cum gratiarū C actione percipitur, sanctificatur enim per verbum dei & ora­tionem. The spirite speaketh euidently, that in the latter tymes some shall depart from the fayth, and shall geue heede vnto spirites of errour and doctrines of deuyls, which speake lyes through hypocrisie, and haue their consciences burned with an hotte iron, forbyddyng to marry, and commaun­dynge to abstayne from meates whiche God hath crea­ted to be receaued with geuyng thankes, of them that be faythfull and knowe the trueth. For euery creature of God is good, and nothyng ought to be refused, yf it be receaued D with thankes geuyng: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. And this dyd saint Paul speake very shortlye after he had made rules for Byshops: emonges whiche, he wylled that the Byshop should be the husbande of one wife. For of what spirite may it spryng, that pope H [...]ldibrande dyd so rage in his boysterous lawes and preceptes for this [Page 278] A forced state of single lyfe in his tyme, neuer before forbydden as testifie diuers recordes, as is before touched? What com­motions, what calamities, pag 214. what mischiefes rose and folow­ed of such his spirite and conscience marked with an hotte iron? let the common recordes of stories be searched, and then shall it appeare what good came to the christian religion by this his doctrine demonycall, forbyddyng maryage, and dis­soluing matrimonies that were perfected, and in good quiet. Let Sigebertus storie be expended, and one other wryter of our owne countrey Radulphus de diceto, for all other be B hearde what they wryte. Gregorius papa 7. Hildibrandus. Celebrato synodo symoniacos anathematizauit, vxoratos sacerdotes a diuino remouit officio, De anno. 1017. & laicis missam eorum audire interdixit, nouo exemplo, & vt multis visum est in­consideratò preiudicio, contra sanctorum patrum sententi­am. &c. Gregorie pope the seuenth of that name, called Hil­dibrand, in a councell kept dyd accurse suche as committed symony, and remoued maryed priestes from diuine seruice, and dyd forbyd the laye people to heare their masses, which was done in example altogether newe, Supra pag. 2.15. and as it appeared to C many, in an vnconsiderate preiudice agaynst the iudgement of the holy fathers. &c. Of whiche matter (saith he) r [...]se so great a sclaunder, that the holy churche was in no tyme of herisie, rent a sunder with a more daungerous diuision and scisme, whyle some stoode for iustice, some agaynst iustice, some not holdyng them selues from symonie, some preten­dyng an honest name in the vice of couetousnes, whyle they dyd beast freely to geue that thing, which vnder the name of charitie they dyd sell, and as Eusebius speaketh of the Mon­tane heritiques, vnder the name of oblations, they can craf­tyly D get rewardes. Furthermore, fewe there were that kept their chastitie: some of them counterfaytyng only a chastitie for lucres sake and for glorie, many encreasing their vnchast lyuing by the committing of periurie, with the more mul­tiplication of adulteries: whervpon the laye people takyng this oportunitie, dyd ryse vp agaynst suche as were in holye orders, and withdrewe them selues from all ecclesiasticall o­bedience, [Page 279] the laye people dyd foully entreate the holy miste­ries, A of them they disputed, they dyd baptize infantes, vsyng the fylthy humour of their eares in steade of holye oyle and creame, refusing to receaue at their last departure the lordes supper, and dyd abhorre to receaue the vsed obsequies of the churche in their sepulture of maryed priestes, the tythes ap­poynted to the priestes they consumed with fire, and to gesse the rest by this one (saith he) the laye people dyd take the bo­dye of the Lorde consecrated of the maried priestes, and often trode it vnder their feete, and of wylfulnes dyd shed abrode the blood of our Lorde, and many other thynges agaynste B ryght and lawe were done in the Churche, and of this occasion many false prophetes dyd ryse in the Churche, and by their prophane nouelties, dyd withdraw them selues from ecclesiasticall discipline. Thus farre wryteth the sayde Sigebertus and Radulphus: Loe the tragidie of that tyme. This holy father Hildibrand litle belyke considered the ca­non of the councell at Gangrense, the whiche inuolued hym in the sentence of excommunication for his doyng. Si quis discernit presbiterū coniugatum tanquam occasione nupti­arum, Celeb. an. 324. sup. pag. 259. quod offerre non debeat, & ab eius oblatione ideo se C abstinet, anathema sit. If any man maketh such difference that he thynketh a maryed priest by reason of his mariage ought not to say masse, and therfore doth abstayne from his oblation, accursed be he. This vehement spirite of pope Hil­dibrand (speakyng lyes in hypocrysie) so vniuersally flowed ouer, not onlye other christian Realmes to their great dis­quiet, but also began somewhat sharply to be executed short­ly after the conquest time by Archbyshop Lanfranc, at whose first commyng for good lucke he founde the Church of Can­terburie most miserably brent. Whiche Lanfranc laboured D to bryng into thraldome the libertie of priestes maryage: where in his councell holden at Winchester, An. 1076. in­dictione. 14. though he for­bad Prebendaries in their cathedrall Churches to haue wyues, yet dyd constitute freely, that priestes dwellyng in vyllages and townes, hauyng wyues, shoulde not be com­pelled to forsake them, and they which had none, shoulde be [Page 280] A forbydden to haue. And further constituted thus: Let By­shops hereafter foresee that they presume not to geue orders to priestes or deacons, except they first make a profession to haue no wyues. Thus farre the canon of the synode. Here began this prohibition in some part, of wyues to priestes (before that tyme neuer forbidden) But yet he moderated so the matter, that he made a decree that such priestes as dwelt in townes and vyllages, beyng maryed, shoulde not be se­perated, but continue with their wyues in their ministrati­on ecclesiasticall, that is, to bury and to christen, to shryue & B to housell, to say masse and mattens, with all such offices be­longing to that state: So that he did not thinke but that ma­ryage & massyng might stande together wel enough, though pope Hildibrande woulde none of it. And surely Lanfranc was more modest in this matter, howe rudely soeuer fryer Dominik Stubbes in his Catologe of Yorke Archbushops calleth hym the minister of the deuyll, in contryuyng the subiection of the Archbyshop of Yorke, to the Archbyshop of Canterburie, & so to make deuision betwixt those two sees. For peraduenture Lanfranc esteemed other by his owne in­firmitie: C who whether he had a wyfe or no, is not reported in common storie. Yet in storie it is tolde that many men iudged Paulus, whom he so glad made Abbot of S. Albons, to be very nye hym in kynrede, as Matthew Paris writeth, Paulus monachus Cadomensis Archiepiscopi Lanfranci ne­pos, De anno. 1077. imo aliquorum relationibus consanguinitate propin­quior, Paule a muncke, and nephewe of Archbyshop Lan­franc, howebeit by the report of some others he was more nye to hym in blood. And no maruell of suche a matter in Lanfranc, sometyme beyng a muncke: For it is playnelye D aleaged in that solempe treatise written by Anselme against the lawfulnesse of priestes maryages, in an olde hande to be shewed, intituled, Contra offendiculum sacerdotum, that munckes professed, vnderstanding those reasons which were made agaynst the maryage of church men to be so slender, were maried and forsoke their professed votarie state a great many of them, to lyue in honest matrimonie, as it is decla­red [Page 281] in their London councell, against whom they had a con­stitution A to bryng them in agayne, anno. 1102. whiche cause Anselme doth labour by reasons much to condemne. Whervpon be­yng blowen with Hildibrandes spirite, he dyd in an open Synode decree the abrogation of maryage from all priestes, deacons, and subdeacons, and wylled them also vnder great paynes to be separated, which were conioyned in matrimo­nie before, anno. 1102. 3. Henr. 1. and decreed yet by Lanfranc not to be compelled to leaue their wyues. He was the more bolde (saith the storie of Rochester) and confident to gouerne the Church so rigo­rously, for the fauour and loue he thought he hadde both of B kyng Henry, and of Malcolyne kyng of Scotlande, for the maryage of his daughter Mawde to the sayde kyng: And therevpon bare hym so bolde, not only agaynst the kyng for inuestitures to force the popes determination therin, but al­so to depose diuers from their dignities. In whiche pastyme, where the kyng commaunded Wyllyam Gifforde Arch­byshop of Yorke to consecrate certaine Byshoppes whiche were by hym inuested: He fearyng the rigour of the sayde Anselme (saith the storie) refused to do the kinges commaun­dement, though he alleaged it to appertayne to his crowne. C But howesoeuer Anselme laboured the matter in his bron­ded conscience: yet contrarye to all his extreme thundryng, the priestes regarded not that his constitution, nor kept it: for the priestes kept styll their wyues 200. yeres after. And though in certaine of his successours dayes, there was con­stitution vpon constitution, lawe vpon lawe, and decree vp­pon decree: yet were they no more holden and kepte, then Calixtus canon long before that was kept: whiche as Poli­dore wryteth, De rerum inuent. was by a common consent abrogated, as was also (saith he) Gregories decree: and as Hugo wryteth, that D the Apostles 29. canon was of no force, vntyll Siritius dayes, who dyd renue it, Dist. 84. Quod olim. and were by non vse abrogated and defea­ted. And although that both Lanfranc first began, & Anselme more seuerely folowed, for he seperated priestes which were alredy maryed, and included subdeacons also, and made constitution that no prieste, deacon, or subdeacon, should be [Page 282] A receaued to order without profession: yet could that synode, nor any other decree euer after obtayne their purpose, but was alwayes gaynesayde, for the priestes denied to make such profession: which also was yet neuer vnto these dayes receaued or vsed, nor in the Pontificals both of Saxons and late of Englyshe since the conquest, such professions were ex­pressed. Although in the Romishe Pontificall there is men­tion made of suche profession for the priestes of Italy and Spayne. &c. But the priestes of Englande dyd euer resiste that seruitude, to kepe their libertie from vowyng, professi­on, B and promysyng. And although many Byshops dyd at­tempt to exacte suche profession, yet they preuayled not, as may appeare in an epistle written to Anselme, from Girar­dus seconde Archbyshop of Yorke after the conquest. Sitio clericorum meorum integritatē, sed praeter in paucis ad­modum, vel aspidis surditatem, vel fabulosi cuiusdam Pro­thei mutabilitatem inuenio: Variis linguarum aculeis modo minas, modo conuitia infligunt: sed hoc facilius in iis qui re­motiores sunt tolero. Illud omnino graue genus mali est, quod hii qui quasi in sinu meo sunt, qui canonicorum nomi­ne C gaudent, canones aspernant, aduersus consilii nostri sta­tuta quasi Sophistici disputatores argumentantur, professi­ones vero mihi paenitus abnegant canonici illi qui sine pro­fessione ad sacros ordines inordinabiliter sūt prouecti, & qui in presbiteratu vel diaconatu constituti vxores siue concu­binas in publico hactenus habuerunt, ab altari nulla se reue­rentia continuerunt. Cum vero ad ordines aliquos inuito, dura ceruice renituntur, ne in ordinando castitatē profitean­tur. I do muche desire the puritie of my clarkes (saith Gi­rarde) howebeit, except in very fewe, I fynde to raigne ey­ther D the deafnesse of the aspe, or the inconstancie as it were of Protheus, of whom the poetes speake: with their manyfolde styngyng tongues they do ouerlade me sometyme with threates, sometyme with tauntes: but it is more easye to beare this in them whiche be farther of. But this is a more harde griefe, for that they (which as it were) be in my very bosome who glory in the name of canons, do despise canons, [Page 283] and agaynst the decrees of our councell (as Sophistes vse) A in their disputation, make argumentes. As for professions, they vtterly denie me these canons, & Prebendaries whiche are promoted inordinately to holy orders: and when I call any to orders, they resist me very obstinately, that they wyl make no profession of chastitie in their orderyng. Thus Gi­rarde the Archbyshop, in whiche epistle the good father wri­teth, howe that the sonne of a certaine prieste and archdea­con, obteyned of hym by meanes of the brybe of a summe of money geuen hym, the gyft of his fathers prebende, and of the tythes whiche his father had in possession (his father be­yng B alyue) and as yet he is (saith he) and so foorth. And wryteth, that he can not abyde to see the byer of his Churche to remayne in his stall dayly in his eye. Which fact yet this Girarde seemeth to repent of, and prayeth for pardon and remedie at Anselmes handes. To the which epistle Anselme doth aunswere, epistol. 78. centuria 2. that he wyl release no­thyng of his decree, Fabian. as he wryteth the same to Herebert, byshop of Thetford, he beyng the begotten sonne of Robert, intruded into the abbacie of Winchester, who bought the abbacie for money, and he the byshopricke of Thetforde for C one thousande poundes. Suche a monstruous symoniack, that his spurious progenie and his symonie is noblie set out in vearse in W. Malmesbury, emongest which vearses, this is one: Filius est praesull, pater abba, Symon vter (que), beyng a very hotte enemie in all his tyme agaynst priestes marya­ges, as commonly personages of such honestie sheweth them selues. It is much to be marueyled, that this man with other of his suite woulde haue their decrees and constitutions so rigorously obserued, and they them selues no folowers of them, howe seriously soeuer they were made of late by Hil­dibrand, D then by this councell holden in the west part of S. Peters Church in London: whereof the first canon is this. Primum ex auctoritate sanctorum patrum, symoniacae heresis surreptio in eodem concilio damnata est. First by the auctoritie of the holy fathers, the cryme of the symoniack he­resie, in that same councell is condempned. In which cryme [Page 284] A(saith the councell) were certaine Abbottes founde, and de­posed, & there they be named. For which Abbottes, yet be­ing thus depriued for symonie, & certaine Bishoppes faultie in such crymes as were worthy [...]eposition, the sayd Anselme was a great suter to pope Pascall, to whom he made his vi­age at Rome, as offended with the kyng in the third yere of his raigne, and caryed with hym those Abbottes degraded. And Anselme was receaued of pope Pascal very reuerently, at what tyme wryteth Matthew Paris, Anselmus archi­episcopus pro episcopis et abbatibus degradatis, multa precū B instantia Papā rogare caepit, vt cum illis misericorditer di­spensaret, vt possent amissas recipere dignitates. Tum sedes clementissima, quae nulli deesse consueuit (dummodo albi aliquid vel rubei intercedat) prescriptos pōtifices & abbates ad prestinas dignitates reuocauit. &c. Anselme the archby­shop began to entreate the pope with much instaunce of supplication for the byshoppes and the abbottes so degraded, that he woulde mercyfully dispence with them, that they shoulde receaue agayne the dignities that they had loste. Then the most mercyfull sea, whiche is not wont to denie C any mans request (so that some red thyng or some whyte thyng may make intercession) he reuoked agayne the fore­sayde byshops and abbots to their olde dignities, and sent them home to their owne proper seas. Is not this a consci­ence bronded with an hot iron, vtteryng falsehood in hypo­crisie, so earnestly to entreate for them that offended against the holy ghost? where their money shoulde rather haue ben reiected, act. viii. as it was once sayde, Pecunia tua tecum sit in per­ditionem, rather then vnrepentauntly doublyng symonie vpon symonie to haue lyght pardon, and Anselme so wyl­fully D rigorous agaynst the maryed priestes, whiche by Gods lawes they myght do, and without all mercie to seperate them, where pope Pascall wylled hym to shewe mercie, and referde it to his owne libertie and discretion, yea to seperate a number of such whom he founde maryed, lawfully in a sy­node by Lanfranc stablyshed, wherein was also constituted that they shoulde not be seperated? Besydes these (saith the [Page 285] councell) were remoued from their Abbacie others, euery A man for his owne cause. If ye aske what other causes those were lyke to be? Some wryters affirme, that it was the cause of infamous Sodomie, a peculier vice then moste vsed emonges the religious. Against which enormitie, in the selfe same councell they made constitutions to suppresse that hor­rible cryme, founde chiefly in the persons of the religious or­der, partly of the laitie.

Good reader, yf a man shoulde expende the great heate of this father Anselme and his brethren ( in hypocrisi loquenti­um mendacium prohibentium nubere) may not a man mar­uayle B to heare, why they forbad matrimonie, Gods very re­medie and institution appoynted agaynst all fylthynesse and vncleanenesse, when that horrible vice, not muche to be na­med, so franckly raigned, that they were compelled to make constitutions agaynst it? Was this prohibition of maryage thinke you fytte to extynguyshe this enormitie? Or rather flowed it not out, ex doctrina demoniorum in hypochrisi loquentium mendacium, & cauteriatam habentium con­scientiam? O consciences marked and scarred with an hotte iron of Antichristes stampe, Dani. xi. whose notes be, Quod C erit in concupiscentiis feminarum, O blyndnes of hypocri­sie, which would leade vs out of the ryght way walkyng in the holynes of angels, Coloss. ii. counterfaytyng thynges which he ne­uer sawe him selfe, causelesse puft vp in the iudgement of his fleshe. Mercifull God what meant this rigorous Anselme as at this tyme to vrge so importunely this doctrine of Satan, when he knewe and confessed in his epistle written to Wyl­liam his Archdeacon thus. Considerandum etiam est, quia hactenus ita fuit publicum hoc peccatum sodomiticum, Epistol. 78. cent. 2. vt vix aliquis pro eo erubesceret, et ideo multi magnitudinem D eius nescientes in illud se praecipitabant. It is to be conside­red that hytherto this sinne hath ben so publique, that scant any man was ashamed therof, and therefore many ignorant of the greatnes therof, fell headlong thereto. Wherevpon the sayde Anselme on a tyme when kyng Wylliam was go­ing ouer sea to Normandie, Edmer. he made earnest suite to hym [Page 286] A that he woulde geue commaundement (yf it so pleased hym) that the olde auncient synodes myght be renued agayne, to refourme that which is amysse, that christianitie, whiche in this realme is in many almost wholly lost (saith he) may be restored to his olde state: for the most horrible outrage of the Sodomiticall vice (saith he) is to much spread abrode, besides the vnlawfull copulations of consanguinitie, and other such detestable crymes, that they haue defyled very many by their excesse▪ &c. If Anselme knewe this vice so foully to raigne in the realme, Edmer. li.i. yea among the laitie who had libertie of mary­age: B what myght he gather shoulde folowe, where this li­bertie should be by his decree restrayned, euen frō them who had presently their wyues in house with them, and in posses­sion? What other thyng was lyke to folowe of this prohibi­tion, then such fylthynes as before rehearsed? For as saint Barnarde doth inuey agaynst such. Sup. Cant. serm. 66. Tolle de ecclesia hono­rabile connubium, & thorum immaculatum, nonne reples eam concubinariis, incestuosis, seminisluis, mollibus, mascu­lorum concubitoribus, & omni deni (que) genere immundorum? Take away from the Churche honorable maryage and the C bed vndefiled, shalt thou not replenish it with concubinaries, with incestuous copulations, with sodomiticall vices, and finally with all kynde of beastly persons? This good religi­ous man, belyke perceauyng about that tyme the extremitie of these rigorous hypocrites, inueyed sharpely agaynst them in the selfe same sermon, with these wordes here and there. They be sheepe (saith he) in outwarde habite, but foxes in lyfe, and woolfes in subtiltie and crueltie: these be they that woulde be seene good, but not so to be: they woulde not be seene euyll, but yet wyll so be: these be they whiche to the D cloke of their fylthynesse, haue adournde them selues with the vowe of continencie, and do iudge fylthynes to be repu­ted in wyues only: where that only cause of hauing a wyfe, is it which doth excuse al vncleanenes in companie: these be they of whom saint Paul dyd speake, Men attendyng to spi­rites of error and doctrines of deuyls, not by the reuelation of Iesu Christe, but rather and that without doubt as the [Page 287] holy ghost dyd prophesie before, by illusion and fraude of de­uyls A peakyng lyes in hypocrisie, forbyddyng to marrye. Plainely they speake this (saith he) in hypocrisie and in foxes subtiltie, pretendyng that they speake so for the loue of cha­stitie, which they haue inuented rather to noryshe and mul­tiplie the cause of fylthynes: Yet (saith he) the matter is most euident, that I do maruayle howe euer it coulde be perswa­ded at any tyme to any christian man, Note this contemplatiue Barnardes spirite in these so sharpe wordes. except that they be ey­ther so beastly that they do not perceaue how they geue ouer the brydle to all vncleanenes in condempnyng maryages, or els be so full of wickednes and swallowed vp in deuyllyshe B malice, that though they do consider it, yet they wyll not see it, and so delyght in the dampnation of men. For (saith he) take away mariage out of the Churche, and by and by folo­weth all fylthynesse, as it is sayde afore. Surely (saith he) continencie is very rare vpon the earth, and thervppon the same Barnarde doth insult agaynst such, Quid manum dei abbreuias? quid largam benedictionem nuptiarū restringis? &c. Why doest thou abridge the hande of God? why doest thou restraine the large and liberal benediction of mariages? why doest thou chalenge that to be only appertayning to the C virgin, that is graunted to the whole kynde? Ueryly Paul woulde not permit this, except it were lawfull: and yet I say not enough that he doth graunt it, but he wylleth it also. &c. What is more manifest? Ergo he graunteth it because it is lawfull, and he wylleth it also, because it is expedient. And doth the heretique (saith he) forbyd that which is both lawfull and expedient? He shall proue nothyng by this his prohibition but that he is an heretique. And thus farre Bar­narde agaynst these hypocrites and condempners of mary­agies in diuers persons, wrytyng euen about the very same D tim when these prohibitions and seperations were a doing. So hat Epiphanius (as is afore rehearsed) wryteth of such. Pag. 81. a. Serpens alatus hic est, & scorpius alas habens secundum mul­tos modos, & volans & imitans quidem ecclesiae virginitatē, non habens autem puram conscientiam. This serpent fleeth abrode, this scorpion hath wynges after diuers fashyons, [Page 288] A fleyng here and there, and counterfaytyng virginitie of the Churche, but yet without a pure and sincere conscience. Iudge reader, whether of these two mens spirites were most lyke to be of God or of Satan? Anselmes, who diuorced in this wretched and slyppery tyme them which were maryed, agaynst the spirite of Pathnutius, and other of the fathers in the Nicene councell, and Lanfranckes spirite in his prohibi­tyng maryed priestes to be seperated? Or the spirite of Gre­gorie the great, Sup pag. 201 who dyd write agaynst a lyke decree of Pe­lagius his predecessour, and dissolued it, saying: Quod mihi B durum atque incompetens videtur, Dist. 31. ca. ante trien vt qui vsum continenciae non inuenit neque castitatē promisit, compellatur a sua vxo­re separari, at (que) per hoc (quod absit) in deterius cadat. That is thought to me to be very harde and also importable, that they which haue not the vse of continence nor haue promi­sed chastitie, shoulde be compelled to be separated from their wyues, whervpon they may (as God forbyd) fall into worse. It is not without good cause, that the Byshoppes in kyng Henries tyme the first, after the departure of Radulph arch­byshop of Canterbury, next successour to Anselme, of a fur­ther C experience, agayne made suite to the kyng that they might chose a seculer clarke to be their primate, and no more of the munckes coate: for they sayde, they dyd not lyke nor loue the gouernement of the munckyshe archbyshoppes. Which thyng the kyng graunted, and they therevppon pre­sented one Wyllyam Curboyl, Chro. saxo. Petriburgē. in anno. 1123 Canon of the minster of Chichester. And though the Prior of Canterbury and other munckes there, with the helpe of Henry an Abbot of Amely & legate of Rome, tolde the kyng that it was agaynst ryght to set a clarke ouer the munckes: yet these munckes at this D tyme preuayled not (though before they dyd) immediatly af­ter Anselmes death, yea after by their trauayle to Rome, the munckes laboured to the pope to denie the sayde Wyllyam his pall, & the aduersaries hoped well to haue their purpose. Yet saith the storie [...]. That which ouercame [Page 289] Rome, that ouercame the whole worlde, that is, golde and A syluer: and so the pope alowed hym, and sent hym home, with his pall, and with his blessyng.

It is a wonder to see howe the order of munckes in those dayes were sterne and stoute, yea checkmate with the kyng and nobles of the Realme, and howe they laboured to deface all others, to the settyng vp of their owne estimation, howe holy they aduaunced their owne order, their religion, and the estimation of their holy vowes: which to blase out to the sim­ple credite of the people, they cared not what lyes they made of the greatest personages, no what lyes they made openlye B in stories, wherof they were for the moste part the greatest wryters (their wealth so abled them.) If ye aske an example, ye shal reade in the storie of the muncke of saint Albons, and out of Thomas Rudborne, muncke of Winchester, of no lesse personage then of king Henry the first his wyfe Mawd, daughter to Malcolyne kyng of Scottes, and to that moste holy woman margaret, sister to Edgare Adelyng, and mari­ed to the same Henrie by the sayde Anselme Archbyshop, who after due processe, for that she was once for her safegard kepte in an Abbey at Winchester, to put by vnworthy C woers, hauing on the vayle only without professing or vow­yng, and so proued to be free, to consent to kyng Henries re­quest in spousage, as she her selfe dyd much stande in allega­tion to proue her selfe free, and desirous to accept the kynges beneuolence. Whiche storie and processe, is tolde fullye by Edmere, Anno. 1101. sometyme muncke of Canterburie, who was a continuall associate to Anselme in all his doynges and iour­neyes, and auoucheth vpon his credence this to be true. Yet commeth in the sayde muncke (in magnifiyng the vertue of their monasticall vowes) and wryteth, that she vtterlye ab­horred D to be maryed to a mortall kyng, seyng she had alredy Christe for her husbande, insomuch that she was fayne to be long laboured of her father and all her frendes she hadde, to geue her assent, and with pure force and compulsion, was compelled to geue her assent agaynst her wyll to marry with kyng Henry: But with these wordes (as is falsely fayned of [Page 290] A her) spoken in great bytternesse of heart, Forasmuch as thus it must be, after a fashion as I may I geue my consent, but as for the fruite of my wombe that shall folowe this matri­monie I commende it to the deuyll, for I haue vowed my selfe to God as to my spouse, whose spouses ye haue attemp­ted thus wickedly to defyle. Thus farre that storie, with more sclaunderous matter, both to the kyng and his lawfull wyfe, in respect of settyng out the vertue of their monastical vowes. And leste ye shoulde thynke that he wryteth thus alone, nowe foloweth the sayd Thomas Rudborne, muncke B of Winchester, and telleth the same sclaunder of her, and wryteth, that she dyd curse the fruite that shoulde spryng of her body. Wherevpon (he saith further) that Christe her spouse toke such vengeaunce in his ielousie for his spouses thus temporally maryed to a mortall kyng, that so it folow­ed, that the chylder of them both, Wylliam his eldest sonne duke of Normandie, and heyre apparaunt, to whom the Realme was sworne and dyd their homage, and Richarde his other sonne, and his daughter, with his neece, and ma­ny other noble personages of the cleargie and laitie, were C drowned in the sea, to the number of an hundred and fourtie persons, and this miserable fortune dyd they ascribe to the mothers cursyng: anno. 1201. where Henry Huntyngton and others do ascribe it to the iust wrath of God, for the sinne of Sodomie, wherwith all or almost all were infected. Whiche extreme plague of God so was sent for that vice of whiche Anselme gaue the occasion by his Sodomitical decree. But thus was their estimation in munckery laboured for by them: As it is also wonder to consider howe Munckes were conspired to­gethers to aduaunce them selues, their houses and landes, D their vowes & dignities, insomuch that they had obteyned of Iohn 13. pope of Rome his letters, to Edgare then kyng, so councelled by Duustane archbyshop, and other his sworne companions, Ethelwolde byshop of Winchester, and Os­wolde byshop of Worcester, to wryte to him, requiryng him to see in his cathedrall Churches none to be chosen byshops, but suche as shoulde be of the monasticall religion, and wyl­led [Page 291] hym to exclude the seculer prebendaries at Winchester, A and in their place to put in munckes. In whiche his letters, the same pope Iohn wylled that neuer any of the seculer clarkes shoulde be promoted to the dignitie of the byshoppe there, but first to be chosen out of the very same Churche, or els of any other abbay whatsoeuer (so he be a muncke) or els he doth accurse both the geuer and the receauer, & iudge­eth him to be perpetually dampned at the day of iudgement. Yea so superstitious they were in their phansies concernyng this monasticall vowe, that archbyshop Oddo, whose sur­name was Seuerus, called to the Archbyshop sea anno 934. B woulde not take vpon hym after his election to be consecra­ted, before he had taken vpon hym (for the more holynes of his dignitie) the habite of a muncke, at the abbay of Flo­rence in Fraunce: because saith he (whiche yet he saith vn­truely) all the Archbyshoppes of Canterburie before hym were munckes. And Baldwine Archbyshop anno 1184. after he had taken his pall and intronizated, by and by he toke vp­pon hym the habite of profession at Mereton, and declared (saith Nubergensis) the purpose of his religious mynde in outwarde habite: Lib. 4. ca. 33. and so dyd his next successour Reginalde C before his consecration, dying by the way to Canterburie, yet first takyng vpon hym the habite of a priuate muncke. Wherevpon saith Treuisa of Oddo, that he was lewdelye moued therefore to make him a muncke, for Christe ne none of his apostles was neuer muncke ne fryer.

Loe, after this sort dyd diuers of them magnifie the vertue of their vowes and habites, to blynde the worlde with pre­tendyng holynesse outwardly, but inwardly (I feare) were euen such as Wylliam Malmesburie before doth testifie of them, Pag. 215. and recited agayne by Wylliam Thorne, a muncke D hym selfe at Saint Austines ( de anno 1005.) saying further his olde schole vearse. Qnia, quod noua testa capit, inuetera­ta sapit. Addyng moreouer, Proh dolor, iste modus viuendi inter religiosos pessimus, ita a primaeuis temporibus mona­chis inoleuit, quod vsque ad hoc tempus succidi non possit. Vtinam faeditatis exemplo, vicinos non inficiant. Alas, this [Page 292] A most euyll trade of lyuyng emongest the religious, hath so since the begynnyng continued in the munckes, that vnto this day it cannot be cut of: woulde to God by their fylthy example they infected not their next neyghbours. This is no newe complaynt of any late muncke: For Abbot Tri­tenhem, wrytyng of a very auncient and learned muncke Rabanus Maurus, such a one as he saith, Quod nec Italita si­milem, nec Germania peperit aequalem, That neither Italie had his lyke, nor Germanie brought foorth his matche. And he lyuyng in perpetuall studiyng of scriptures, gouernyng B his munckes by the space of xxiiij. yeres accordyngly, they were so leude towardes hym in displeasure, that they sayde he was to much addicted to the scriptures, and neglected the worlde: The deuyll thus workyng in them (saith he) to be sclaundered in that thyng, wherein they ought to haue ben edified. Wherevpon he beyng offended, gaue place to their anger, woulde dwell no longer with them, but forsoke his monasterie for euer after, and went to the emperour Lewes, who dyd frendly entertayne hym, and in conclusion was made Archbyshop of Mense. And yet these munckes helde C them selues in most estimation of the worlde, to the intolle­rable iniurie of all other of the cleargie, more honest in lyfe, though they made not so much of their paynted sheathe, and better learned then them selues, vntyll such time as almigh­tie God had reuealed their detestable hypocrisie at the full, and their beastly sodomiticall life, in most of them founde by inquisition in kyng Henrie the eyght his dayes, and therfore were by the iust iudgement of God iustly suppressed, & some of their houses restored to them from whom they had so long agaynst all iustice deteyned them.

D Thus somewhat out of the principall purpose haue ben strayed, to note the sequele of their foresayde professions, which in hypocrisie they do so much aboue all reason extoll. Nowe as this Anselme aforesaid was tyl his lyues ende ear­nest to force his decree, yet he preuayled but a litle, for Hen­rie the kyng hym selfe was agaynst hym, and wylled that the priestes shoulde kepe both their wyues & their churches, [Page 293] as they dyd in Lanfranckes dayes: for hym selfe testifieth in A his epistle to the Prior & his brethren at Canterburie, Epist. 77. cent. 3. though yet in his rigour he contempned the kynges commaunde­mentes, as he euer vsed ouermuche seueritie agaynste the kynges of his time in other matters the most part of his life: not onlye standyng ouerthwartlye in the matter of inuesti­tures, Edm. lib. 4. and for the Bishoppes homage making for their tem­poralties, as alwayes frowardly resistyng the kynges reaso­nable requestes. As where he desired to consecrate one Ri­charde electe of London, at Chichester nye at hande where they were, and for more speede in the considerations of the B wayghtynesse of his seruice presently to be put vpon hym: he denyed hym, but woulde needes consecrate hym at his owne chappell at Pagham. And also when he desired hym to consecrate the electe Abbot of saint Austines, eyther in his owne monasterie, eyther in the kynges chapell, at the re­quest of the kyng and diuers of his brethren the byshoppes, that were then, Lib. 4. woulde for none of them all be moued from his seuere determination, but woulde needes consecrate him at Lamhith where he was at hostage. So wylfull a man in all his doynges (sauyng the reuerence of his learnyng) that C though he sawe that it was nothyng expedient for the moste part of the cleargie of Englande, to be thus depriued from their ministerie (beyng so many in number) insomuche that pope Pascall wrytyng to hym, sayth: that in England there is so great a multitude of priestes sonnes, that welnygh the greater part and the better part of the cleargie is of this sort and condition: Epist. 31. cent. 4. Edm. lib. 4. whereby the Churche myght haue ben bet­ter serued, and the more soules saued by an infinite number. In which epistle, Pascall the pope wylled yet to consider the necessitie of the tyme, and commoditie of the Churche: and D so referred the matter to his wysedome, and religious care­fulnesse which he thought to be in hym, but all in vayne: for he proceeded without all entreatie to all rigour and seue­ritie, with barbarous extremitie, was yet by Gods proui­dence somewhat restrayned by Anselmes second absence out of the Realme for three yeres togethers and more, so that his [Page 294] A decree was much contempned, for that many priestes resu­med agayne their wyues. And though Anselmes austeritie in lawe, gaue the prince in those dayes to vse his corrections, and mulctes of money in his necessitie, for maynteynyng his warres in Normandie, aswell imposed vppon them whiche were not chargeable, as chargeable, for breaking that lawe: And their churches miserablie charged by such exactions vp­on the priestes by the kinges officers: and for that they were not able or woulde not pay, they were drawen to pryson, & there tormented. Whiche extremitie caused two hundred B priestes at once, wearyng their albes and other priestlye vestmentes, on barefoote to resort to the kynges palace, cry­ing with one voyce vpon the kyng for mercie, & afterwarde sued to the Queene for her pitie, who wept at their miserie, but durst not vse any intercession for them. Whervpon An­selme from beyonde the seas wrytyng to the kyng Henrie, dyd much blame hym, as saying: that all maner of correcti­ons, and forfaytures of all suche, shoulde appertayne to the Byshoppes, and in their default to the Archbyshoppes, but no tyme belonged to the kyng. He than beyng vnder the C popes wynges thus wrote: as euer vpon the pope, Anselme bare hym selfe bolde, and euer redy to make his vages to his succour. As he dyd in Wylliams dayes rayse then a great trouble, as Wylliam Malmesbury writeth. Magnis vtrin (que) motibus, magnis consultationibus actum, erat (que) ratiocinatio regis huiusmodi. Consuetudo regni mei est, a patre meo in­stituta, vt nullus preter licentiam regis appelletur papa. Qui consuetudines regni tollit, potestatem quoque, & coronam regni violat: qui coronam mihi aufert, inimicitias & infide­litatē in me agit. This matter was done with great sturres D on both sydes, and with great consultations. And this was the kynges reason. It is a custome in my realme, and so con­stituted from my father, that none shoulde be appealed vnto, or called pope besydes the kynges licence. He that destroyeth the customes of the Realme, doth also dishonor and dissolue the auctoritie and crowne of the Realme. He that taketh the crowne from me, intendeth enmitie and infidelitie agaynst [Page 295] me. Wherevpon Anselme reasoned to the contrary, with A ( tu es Petrus. &c.) concludyng that he woulde so shewe his duetie to the kyng, as he myght perfourme his obedience to the pope, In his exequendis (saith the storie) omnes episcopi Angliae, primati suo suffragium negarunt. But in perfour­myng these thynges attempted by Anselme, all the byshops of Englande dyd denye to ioyne with their primate. Which sturryng nature of Anselme, no maruayle though it displea­sed both the byshoppes and the nobilitie, whose desire & suite was after Anselmes death, that the kyng shoulde chose any byshop of the seculer state, or any clarke of the kynges chap­pell B to this office, rather then of this order. And howesoeuer it be interpreted, it is not vnlyke but that both Wylliam Rufus kyng, and Henrie the first, kept the office voyde so many yeres, the rather for suche wylfull abusyng of their place, to the disquiet of the kyng, and agaynst the liberties of the Realme. For so irritable was Anselme and so soone prouoked without any iust cause, to go to Rome to his holy father. If any thyng went agaynst his mynde, then straygh-way he woulde appeale to Rome to displease the prince: As this lyghtnes of his, is vttered by a frende of his, wrytyng C vnto hym, beyng at the seconde tyme (as he calleth it) in his exile, Edm. fo 187. that he went away, sponte, nullo paenitus cogente, neither feared with imprisonment, nor otherwyse tormen­ted, nor that his sea was denyed vnto hym: but only for one poore worde, VVilli. warewaste. spoken by one certaine man, named William, he determined to flee, and so by his fleeyng gaue the aduen­ture, that there folowed (saith his frende) hereof innumera­ble inconueniences, the vnmerciful tirannie of the prince, the spoylyng of the poore, the damages of the Churches, the la­mentation of wydowes, the bewaylynges of old men for lo­syng D their lyuynges, the rauyshyng of virgins, and inceste in their vnlawfull companies, and that (saith he) that is the chiefest mischiefe to the shame of our honestie, priestes to ma­ry wyues. Oh conscience brent with an hot iron, makyng lawfull maryage worse then all vices rehearsed. But a very litle cause myght geue any Byshop, Abbot, or Muncke, or [Page 296] A any of the cleargie to go to Rome at those dayes, to accuse the prince, and to procure the interdiction of their lande, as all suche as wyll searche stories, shall soone perceaue this vsuall trade. In conclusion, after the sayde Anselme retur­ned agayne into Englande, he dyd besturre hym selfe to re­store the religious to their loste quietnes, and forced on his extreme decree vpon the priestes returned to their wyues, ta­kyng the oportunitie of the kynges absence in Normandie, warryng there agaynst his enemies, and had the victorie of them. Which Anselme, thought it not only enough to re­moue B them from their office: but also to depriue them from their benefices, and drawe them quite out of the cleargie, not once permittyng them to be in the quyers amongste the clarkes: and suche as were not conformable, pronounced them infamous, and decreed farther, that whosoeuer would not relinquishe his lawfull wyfe, the moueable goodes of suche priestes, deacons, subdeacons, and preben­daries, that should haue any familiaritie with their wyues, or shoulde haue any other women in their houses but such as were of consanguinitie nye vnto them, shoulde be forfayted, C and delyuered vnto the Byshoppes, and that their wyues with their goodes, shoulde be vsed as adultresses. Surely a man to much addict to his owne wyll, Edm. lib. 5. without any huma­nitie, not not shewyng his loyall affection vnto his prince in his requestes howe reasonable soeuer they were, not to his owne brothers requestes. For when he had decreed de­terminatly to go to Rome to complayne, his brothers reque­sting him that the kinges ambassadour, who should likewise go to Rome, prayed that he might go in cōpanie with hym, he vtterly denied the same, and was vnremouable, saying, D Quod dixi, dixi, which yet pretended holynes, constancie, & discipline of the Churche, for his defence. In whiche extre­mitie yet he continued vnto his lyues ende. About whiche tyme, when the kyng dyd requeste hym for Thomas the younger, newe elected Archbyshop of Yorke, to respyte his profession, wherat the sayde Thomas dyd stande doubtfull: he seuerely aunswered the kinges messengers, that he would [Page 298] the kyng to vnderstande, that he woulde rather suffer hym A selfe to be torne into small peeces, then that he would remit any of the olde antique constitutions of the fathers, or that he would remoue one houre from this his purpose. Where­vpon, a litle before his death, he wrote his letters vnto the sayde Thomas, to discharge hym of his priestlye orders, whiche he had of late receaued at the handes of one of his Suffragans, nor no more to presume to meddle with anye pastorall cure, tyll he had made his subiection & profession: and that yf he woulde perseuere, he forbad vnder perpetuall curse all the Byshops of whole. Britanie, that none of them B shoulde laye handes vpon hym, to the promotion of his By­shopricke. And therevpon he writes, Tibi quo (que) Thoma, sub eodem anathemate ex parte dei interdico, vt nunquam be­nedictionē episcopatus Eboracensis suscipias, nisi prius pro­fessionē facias. &c. And to thee Thomas also I forbyd vnder the same curse on gods behalf, that thou neuer take vpō thee to be consecrated into the Byshopricke of Yorke, before thou makest first thy profession. &c. The copie of which sayd epistle sealed with his seale, he sent to euery byshop of his prouince, chargyng & commaundyng, that they vpon their obedience C shoulde demeane them selues towardes the same Thomas, accordyng to the tenor of the letter aforesayde. Immediatly after this, he departed this life, the eleuenth kalends of May. Loe, thus ye see that he coulde sooner make an ende of his lyfe, then make an ende of his rigour. If the reader wyll far­ther heare the storie to the ende of this controuersie concer­nyng the ryght of his profession, as it is written by Edmer, it foloweth. At the feast of Pentecost ensuyng, where the kyng kept his court at London in great glory and honour, after the feastfull dayes past, he began to enter communica­tion D with the Byshoppes and the noble men of the Realme, what were to be done concernyng the consecration of the elect of Yorke, and wylled the Byshoppes to go apart to dis­cusse this cause, which were in number xi. They determined to call vnto them Sampson the byshop of Worcester, to knowe his opinion. The which byshop beyng father to the [Page 298] A sayde elect, Edmer. thus aunswered. Licet hunc qui in pontificatum Eboracensē electus est, olim ex coniuge silium susceperim, ei (que) iuxta seculum et carnis naturam, honoris ac dignitatis prouectu ius aequissime debeam, multo maxime tamen id matri meae ecclesiae Cantuar. debeo. &c. Although this elect of Yorke be my sonne, in tyme past had by my wyfe, & ther­fore owe vnto hym accordyng to the course of the world and coniunction of blood, to wyshe the preferment of his honour and dignitie: yet I owe that thyng most chiefely to my mo­ther Churche of Canterbury: and therevpon I iudge that B he ought to make his canonicall profession to the Church of Canterburie: for I was present when that my brother Thomas the elder, his vncle (xxxvij. yeres past) Archbishop of Yorke, was dryuen by inuincible argumentes to make his profession to Lanfranc then archbyshop of Canterburie, and his successours. Whiche sentence yet of his father, though the kyng and the byshoppes dyd well alowe, and with ex­pendyng the recordes of the same: yet the sayd Thomas the younger elect, woulde not so submit hym selfe. Thomas stobues in cato­logo Ebor. ca. 52. Wherevpon the kyng beyng moued, pronounced, that eyther he shoulde C do it, or els he woulde discharge him of the Byshopricke: and not only lose his fauour, but also he woulde expell all his kinrede out of the Realme. Wherevpon Sampson byshop of Worcester his naturall father, and Richarde Baiocense his brother, so nye of kinrede, were instaunt vppon hym. And though that Ranulph byshop of Durham promysed the kyng a thousand marke in money, and to the Queene a hun­dred, yet it auayled nothyng saith the storie, for the kyng would not be corrupted with money: and so at the laste, the sayde Thomas made his profession, and lyued but v. yeres D in his dignitie, and dyed a young man, as the storie saith, be­yng a very corpulent man. If the reader wyll nowe vnder­stande what successe this foresayde decree of Anselme had af­ter his death, thus wryteth the storie: That though the de­cree was somewhat calde on after hym, by the kynges com­maundement, yet he relented, and so it folowed (saith he) that the priestes toke their wyues agayne which they had, or [Page 299] els renouncyng their former, toke others, and freely maried A harlottes, so saith the muncke. In which discourse he maketh insinuation, that standing the tyme of the prohibition, thers were both fornicatours and adulterers, and such as commit­ted incest with their nygh kynsefolke, not onlye with their sisters, but also with their owne daughters: so that (saith he) though this good father, after the example of the feast maker called many to the feast, yet in no respect was there any ef­fectuous obedience geuen vnto his wordes. For (saith he) let hym reade that wyll the text of this councell at London, and well consider the statutes therof, and let hym then iudge B who it is that obeyeth them, who it is that fulfylleth them, or what he is that accompteth them not vayne. So that the priestes and the prebendaries obteyned so muche with their Byshops and Archdeacons, that suche priestes as dyd re­linquishe, dyd returne againe to their wyues, as is sayde be­fore. Whiche sayde matter is here brought in, not as alow­yng any thyng that was committed agaynst the precepte of God: but to shewe what speede hadde this his decree in his lyfe tyme, and what successe this vnreasonable traditi­on hadde after his lyfe. If you woulde knowe the cause C or grounde that might moue this father Anselme, otherwise learned and of austere conuersation, although in this to be feared, rather to be of the number of them of whom Saint Paul saith, In hypocrisi loquencium mendatium, & cau­teriatam habentium suam conscientiam prohibentium nu­bere. &c. Forsooth his redy good wyll and accesse to the ho­ly father of Rome, the supportation that he founde there, the spiced conscience he had in his wrong obedience vnto that sea, esteemyng hym so hyghly ( supra id quod colitur) made hym to esteeme his prince the lesse, ii. Thess. ii. and from tyme to tyme D troubled and endaungered his Realme in his office, to the disquiet of the people, & enducyng in his bronded conscience fedities and enormities innumerable. Whiche his blynde zeale not accordyng to knowledge, Henrie Beuclarke well vnderstandyng, dyd not only staye his importunitie, but al­so resisted the popes auctoritie to his owne face, doing in his [Page 300] A princely estate, as appertayned to his kyngly ryght. Though that Anselme the popes proctor dyd aunswere, that he would not for the price of his head consent to the kyng agaynst the popes prohibitions, except it were dispensed withal agayne by the sayde pope, vpon the kynges wordes, Quid mihi de meis cum papa? quae antecessores mei, hoc in regno posside­runt, mea sunt, hec si quis auferre mihi voluerit, quod inimi­cus meus sit, omnis qui me diligit, certissime nouerit. What haue I to do with the pope concernyng myne owne? That which myne auncestours haue possessed in this Realme be B myne, whosoeuer woulde take these from me, let all that loue me, certaynely knowe that he is myne enemie. Which stout wordes of his so spoken, might declare what he knewe. Surely he was like for his knowledge to haue done as much in expellyng his vsurped aucthoritie, yf oportunitie of tyme had serued hym, as his successour long after hym kyng Henrie the eyght brought about and finished. Whiche thyng is well signified by the wordes of his owne letters written to kyng Henrie, Edmer. wherein Pascall the pope com­playneth, that he dyd in his Realme all as pleased hym, C and that he restrayned the messengers and letters of the sea apostolyke, that they coulde haue no passage, or be permitted to enter into the Realme without his suffraunce: and fur­ther Pascall chargeth hym, that without the knowledge of the popes holynes he doth kepe synodall councels, where he insinuate that all the wayghtie causes of the Churches throughout his whole prouince, should be determined by the vicars and the deputies of his holy sea. And further he char­geth hym, that besyde his auctoritie he presumed to make translation of Bishoprickes at his pleasure, which (sayth he) D can not be done without the licence of the sacred holy sea of Rome. And farther to set out howe the knowledge of this kyng, made him well to vnderstannde his vsurped auctoritie in his Realme, and well perceauyng howe the Realme was wont to be abused by shamefull exactions and expilations which his legates vsed to do within the same, was weery of the sayde abused aucthoritie. Wherevpon pope Calixtus af­ter [Page 301] his councell holden at Remis, anno dn̄i. 1119. came vnto A Gisortiū, Edmer. to speake with the king, & had conference with him. When the kyng had obteyned of that pope to haue all such customes which his father had in England & in Normandie, and especially of all other, that he should not suffer any man to vse the office of a legate at any tyme in Englande, except him selfe did require the same for such matters which coulde not be ended by the byshop of Canterburie and the other byshoppes of the Realme. All which thynges (sayth the sto­rie) beyng thus determined, the pope doth make request to y ^e kyng for his loue, to be frendly vnto Thurstone Archbyshop B of Yorke, to restore hym to his Byshopricke. Wherevnto the kyng aunswered: that he woulde neuer do it whyle he lyued, for (he saith) he hadde so promised vppon his fayth. Whervpon Calixtus dyd aunswere. Ego apostolicus sum, & si feceris quod postulo, ab hac te fidei sponsione absoluam. I am in the apostles sea, and yf thou wylt do that which I request, I wyl absolue thee from this promise of thy fidelitie. Well sayth the kyng, I wyll entreate of this hereafter: and shortly sent vnto hym his messengers, to signifie that it is not for the kynges honour to consent to such absolutions a­gaynst C a mans fayth. And farther sayde, that except Thur­stone woulde make his profession to the sea of Canterburie, he shoulde neuer sit in the Churche at Yorke whyles he was kyng of Englande, by compulsion of any edict from the pope whatsoeuer: this haue I promised, and this (sayth he) wyll I obserue. But it may be thought peraduenture vnlike to be true, that the pope would come so farre as to Gisors aforesaid his owne person to speake with the kyng, it may so be obiec­ted by some Romanistes, who labour so hye to aduaunce his deitie: but to such as be indifferently read in storie, it is not D incredible. For Matthewe Paris reporteth, howe that pope Innocent vsed his craftie deuice by his Cardinals, towardes kyng Henrie the third, in the .xxix. yere of his raigne: Which Cardinals, only louers of money, craftyly sent to the kyng (vnder the colour of great frendshyp) their counsell, which they auouched to be both holsome, honorable, glorious to the [Page 302] A Realme, and very profitable: that was, that he shoulde sue by his messengers to the popes holynes to come perso­nally into his Realme, which say they shoulde be honor most excellent to Englande and immortall glorie, that in your dayes the lorde pope, whiche is knowen to be the father of all fathers, shoulde appeare personallye within the coast of the Englyshe nation. For say they, we remember well that hym selfe hath sayde (whereof we reioyce) that he would ve­ry gladly see the daintie sightes of Westmonasterie, and the riches of London. When this was knowen to the kyng, he B was very glad, and woulde easelye haue bowed to this sub­tyll councell, except he hadde ben holden vp by the contrary counsayles of his subiectes learned, to gaynesay it, or dissent to satisfie this his desire. Qui dicebant, quòd satis, imo nimiū iam suorum caursinorum vsuris, & Romanorum ac Italico­rum rapinis, & simoniis Angliae puritas maculatur, quamuis non presentialiter bona ecclesiae, & regni dissipet & prede­tur. Which sayde, that the puritie of the Realme of Eng­lande was alredy enough, yea to much defyled by the vsuries of his cormorantes, and by the extortions and simonies of C the Romanistes and Italians, though that he do not by his presence waste and robbe the goodes of the Churche and of the Realme. And farther they sayde, for that the sayde pope was denyed any entrie into the Realme of Fraunce, though that he required the same by his solempne ambassadours, & so his entrie was denyed to enter into the realme of Aragon. For, saith the writer, Infamia enim curiae papalis id prome­ruerat, cuius fetor vs (que) ad nubes fumā teterrimā exhalabat. The infamie of the papall court had deserued this repulse, the stinche whereof dyd breathe out euen vp to the cloudes D a most detestable fume. Edm. lib. 6. And as concernyng any commyng of any legate into the Realme, he woulde neuer admit one as long as he lyued. And though that pope Calixt sent into the Realme afterwarde his moste solempne legate Petrus Romanus, monachus Cluniacensis, commyng in a more portly glorie then euer any dyd before, the kyng so disposed the matter, that after he was come into Englande, wylled [Page 303] that he shoulde neither visite churche nor monasterie, & com­maunded A that he shoulde be brought to be at hoast with him: for he sayde, his Realme of Englande was free from the iu­risdiction of any legate, and so shoulde be duryng his lyfe, for so had Calixtus promised hym. Wherevpon, after some liberalitie bestowed vpō him on the kynges behalfe, the king sēt him ouer againe y ^e way he came, out of England, though his cōmyng was to haue exercised his office of legatship tho­rough the hole Realme. If the reader wyl know y ^e cause why that Thurstone fell into the kinges displeasure, was for that he askyng licence of the kyng to go to this councell of the bi­shop B of Rome, and coulde not possiblie obteyne the same, be­fore he made his promise vpon his allegiance, that hè would do nothyng with the pope in preiudice of Canterb. churche, nor woulde by any mans perswasion receaue his episcopall consecration at his handes, which so faythfull a promise to the kyng, he contemptuously brake notwithstandyng, wher­at both the kyng and the nobilitie dyd much maruell for such infidelitie. But suche was the obedience in those dayes to their princes: for the more fauour they bare to this forrayne vsurper (that is in playner tearmes, falsely forsworne to the C kyng their liege lorde, and enemie to the Realme) so farre as it myght stande to the aduauncement of the popes iurisdicti­on, whose creatures they were, and so reioyced in common speache to call them selues, and as it myght with the satisfi­yng of their owne gaynes, dignities, and pleasures.

Thus farre out of the common written stories haue ben alleaged, the rather by the occasion of entreatyng of byshop Anselmes tumultuous doynges, who was the firste that e­uer in England toke vpon hym to diuorce lawfull matrimo­nies in all priestes, so many hundred yeres vsed in quiet pos­session D in the Realme, and many of them stablyshed by Lan­franckes constitution: and as he the first, so the most extreme agaynst all ryght and conscience, vntyll the raigne of Quene Marie, in whose dayes Hildibrandes spirite was raysed vp agayne, and Anselmes whot Munckyshe zeale in lyke sorte prosecuted, as it was in his tyme.

[Page 304] A If any man be offended with so much in particularitie vt­tered, let hym vnderstande these matters to be fetcht out of the bokes of such stories most written by munckes, who both in wordes, deede, and wrytyng, professed the state of perfec­tion, expressyng all charitie, & therfore can not be thought to rayle in the writing of their stories, which (saith both Matth. Paris and Henrie huntyngton) muste be perfourmed in all trueth, without any parcialitie eyther of personages for ho­nour and holynes, nor maye not be transgressed for loue of kyn or frendes whatsoeuer. After Anselme archbyshop, fo­lowed B Rodulph a seuere muncke in profession also, Rodulph. first an Abbot in Normandie, after that, byshop of Rochester, and in conclusion archbyshop of Canterburie, of whose dayes no great recorde is extant, of makyng or forcyng any decrees or constitutions agaynst maryed priestes, although it is repor­ted of Edmer that he was very seuere agaynst the said Hen­rie the first, Ioannes Ha­gustaldensis beyng a prince of such godlynes, that one Cro­nicle writeth so much to his cōmendation, that he saith. Post quem princeps non surrexit alius, qui sic iniustas regni exac­tiones interdiceret, subditos in pacae & modestia sapientius C disponeret. &c. After whose death, there folowed no prince lyke hym, in repressyng the wronge exactions vsed in the Realme, and that gouerned his subiectes more wyselye in peace and quietnes, none that dyd more reuerence ecclesiasti­call persons, and that better maynteyned the poore or the re­ligious by his expences, and that after his death (he saith) by and by sprong vp all wicked men, disturbers of peace, murderers and robbers, with al kynd of mischiefes. Which princely qualities, saith Wylliam of Malmesburie, he gote by his education, brought vp and instructed in all the seuen D liberall sciences. Which education was in the vniuersitie of Cambridge, saith Thomas Rudborne, so that his learnyng was a great cause of the wyse gouernyng of the Realme. He hadde worthyly the name of Beuclarke, whom his father Wylliam the conquerour purposed to haue preferred to a Byshopricke, Scala chron. and therefore caused hym to be instruc­ted in learnyng, whiche turned as muche to the commen­dation [Page 305] of the father, for that he iudged a Byshop ought to A be learned, and that not only blood and other corporall or­namentes commended so muche the partie a man to be of that vocation, as prudence gotten by learnyng and knowe­ledge. In whiche his knowledge, the sayde Henrie toke so much delectation, VVil. Mal. and founde the fruite therof so necessarie in gouernement, that he was wont to saye, Rex illiteratus, Asinus coronatus, a Kyng vnlearned, is an Asse crowned. This man so wel vsyng his gouernement to Gods pleasure, that Henrie Huntyngton who lyued in his dayes testified, that God caused his fame to be spread through the whole B worlde, and that he gaue hym three special gyftes, wisdome, ryches, and victorie, in such aboundaunce, that he excelled (saith he) all his predecessours. Edm. lib. 6. Some proofe of his graces & good qualities may be considered, partly occasioned to be re­membred by this foresayde archbishop Rodulph, who at a certaine coronation of the kynges newe wyfe Atheleida, daughter to Godefride duke of Lorayne, in the xxi. yere of his rayne, the sayde Rodulphus beyng thexecutor of the so­lempnitie at masse, and at the alter in his pontificalibus, ca­styng his eyes behynde hym, and seyng the sayde kyng syt­tyng C on an hye throne with the crowne on his head, he went in a great haste from the alter vp to the kyng (whom he knewe was not crowned by hym or his predecessour) At whiche sodayne commyng, the kyng reuerentlye rose vp to hym: and the byshop asked who had put on that crowne on his head? The kyng with a sad countenaunce aunswered, that he had no great care therof: and therfore he sayde with a modest voyce, that it was out of his remembraunce. Ue­ryly saith the byshop, whosoeuer put it on, dyd it not by any ryght, and as long as it standeth vpon thyne head, I wyll D not go any farther in ministration. To whom the kyng did aunswere: If not ryghtly as you saye it be put on, do you that which you knowe most to be done with iustice, ye shall haue me no gaynesayer in any thyng. Wherevpon the by­shop lyfted vp his handes to take of the crowne frō his head, the kyng as redy to vnlose the lase vnder his chynne where­with [Page 306] A his crowne was stayed on his head: the lordes percea­uyng that attempt, they all with a loude voyce cryed vppon the byshop to spare the kyng, and to suffer the kyng styll to weare it on his head in that solempnitie. Which thyng the byshop at length permitted: and standyng there neare the kyng crowned, he began the Gloria in excelsis, the quyer fo­lowyng, he afterwardes retyryng to the aulter agayne. Fur­ther to amplifie the quiet spirite, wisedome, and modestie of this kyng in this fact, I shall not neede, but leaue it to the reader to iudge what benefite this king had by his learnyng. B To note the vntimely importunitie of this Rodulphus, what his wisdome or wylfulnes was, I also leaue it to the readers iudgement: but I woulde the reader speciallye to beare in re­membraunce, whether (as it is sayde before) after Anselmes death, the byshoppes after Rodulphes death were not iustly moued to be suiters to the kyng, to haue their Archbyshop otherwyse chosen then out of the munckes coate: whose wor­des be these, as the Saxon chronicle doth report them. C [...]: Anno. 1123. Then spake the byshoppes betweene them selues, and sayd: that they neuer more would haue any man of munkes or­der to be Archbyshop ouer them, for they neuer alowed nor loued munckes rulyng: and the kyng graunted that to them. Nowe to ende the storie of this tyme, to set out before your eyes the marueylous wisedome that this kyng gathered by D his learnyng in his youth: It is written in common histo­rie, that the kyng came from Normandie into Englande, which was a great cause of mirth and ioy, that the people made for his prosperous returne. But the next day after, certayne of his sonnes, daughter, and neece, with other very many of the nobilitie, men, women, and chyldren, and some of the cleargie, folowing hym in the seas, by misfortune were all drowned (as before is sayde) except one poore base man [Page 307] which escaped to tell the misfortune. Which heauy casualtie A many men dyd much maruayle at, and were very sorowfull: But yet were they sooner pacified vpon the kynges exam­ple, when they sawe hym (whom it dyd moste respecte) to beare it with so manly a mynde, referryng it with a quiet gesture and voyce to the equitie of gods iudgementes, which no man can resist. For as comfortyng hym selfe (sayth the storie) he sayde with a lowly spirite: As the Lorde pleased, so was it done, be the name of the Lorde therefore blessed for euermore. Amen.

Thus farre haue we enlarged the matter vpon reheasyng B the tyme of Rodulph when this kyng dyd raigne, whose godly qualities ought to be had in memorie for the notabili­tie thereof for euer, to the settyng out of Gods glorie, to the commendation of learnyng, the fruite whereof this prince shewed so maruelously. VVilliam. Chro. Ceno Mart. an. 1132 After this Rodulph, folowed Willi­am aforesayde, in whose dayes almost all London was brent by the fire of Gilbert Becket. This William renewed the same lyke constitution of Anselme in his tyme, Pag. 217. by the helpe of the popes legate Ioannes Cremensis a priest Cardinall, who after he had ben very costly and chargeably entertey­ned C with gyftes and rewardes, and after that brought hono­rably to Canterburie, and there on Easter day sang the hye masse at Christes aulter, and after his great progresse goyng from byshop to byshop, Chro. Saxo. Pet Burgēs. from abbey to abbey, and commyng after that about the natiuitie of our Ladye to London, kept his councell there: in which the legate dyd commaunde that Anselmes decree should be obserued better then it was: but all preuayled not (sayth the Saxonicall storie) and he af­terwarde departed home to Rome with shame enough. In this mans dayes, Chro. Ioren. in anno. 1135. Robert Bloet muncke of Euesham, by­shop D of Lincolne, had a sonne named Simon, whom he made deane of Lincolne, a young striplyng deyntyly brought vp, he begat him saith Huntington when he was Chauncellour to William the great kyng. Hen. Hunt. li. 8 ca. 2.

Nowe though the sayde William Archbishop attempted the matter agayne at Michaelmas tyde, and woulde geue the [Page 308] A priestes no longer respite to put their wyues a daye but to saint Andre [...]es daye: Yet sayth the storie, [...]; Chr Saxon. anno 1129. This dyd byd the archbyshop of Canterburie, and the by­shoppes which were in Englande. And yet all these decrees and byddynges stoode not, al held their wyues by the kinges B leaue euen so as they before dyd. In whiche tyme the stirre was so great, and the cause so harde to be wonne, that Wil­liam the archbyshop gaue ouer, and referred the controuer­sie wholly to kyng Henrie. a [...]. 25. Henrie. Wherevpon he decreed that the priestes shoulde continue with their wyues styll: Of whom for that the kynges officers toke pencions, the byshoppes be­gan to repent them of their committyng so the cause, wher­of they woulde haue had the orderyng them selues to some other purpose. For which pentionarie matter, Anselme had certaine yeres before by his epistle well chydden the kyng: C wherof yet belyke the kyng as beyng well learned in the lawes, as Matthewe Paris testifieth, made not so great [...] conscience as certaine of the votarie bishoppes dyd, as o [...]fen­ded that fayth shoulde be inuiolablie preserued betwixt such as were in matrimonie, seyng hym selfe had such conscience of breakyng his fayth that he made, and as he iudged it not dispensable by the popes auctoritie, as he not long before had declared to pope Calixtus hym selfe. For yf he had thought it to haue ben agaynst the precept of God, he woulde neuer haue suff [...]ed so many yeres the continuaunce of the same by D his auctoritie. anno. 11 [...]8. [...] Chro. Aug. Chro. [...]. After William, folowed Theobaldus, in whose dayes the house of saint Gregories in Canterburie was brent anno 1145. the churche and almost the whole citie of Rochester was first brent, the chathedrall church of Yorke was brent, and without that citie the church of saint Marie, where was an Abbey, with the goodly Hospitall founded by the archbyshop Thurstone, brent for good rule ye maye be [Page 309] sure, their chastitie deserued no lesse. That Thurstone arch­byshop A was he that builded the monasterie of Fountaynes, and repented hym therof by open worde, and sayde he neuer repented hym more of any thyng: and when certaine laye men present hearde him so say, and were offended at his say­ing: he sayde, ye be laye men, and knowe not the pith of my wordes, and therfore he afterwarde alwayes sayde, that he woulde rather geue to lecherous men, then to munckes. But as concernyng the plague of God in the burnyng of so many Abbeys, professing such holynes as is to be marueyled, what may be read in storie, Chro. Peter 1070. annal. eiusd. 1113.1114. VValterus weekes. 1116.1121.1112. Houenden. 1184. Houenden. 1188. Gualter Couent. 1212. Fabian. 1261.1370. besydes these that are alredy spo­ken B of, and those that do folowe in other mens dayes. As,

Howe the abbey of Peterborowe was once brent,

Howe the monasterie of Worceter was brent,

Howe the abbey of Chichester was brent,

Howe the abbey of Peterborowe was brent once agayne,

Howe the churche of Powles with many other cathedrall churches were brent,

Howe the abbey of Glocester was brent,

Howe the abbey of Glastenburie was brent,

Howe the churche of Beuerlay was brent, C

Howe saint Maries churche of the Chanons in Southwark was brent,

Howe the steeple of Euesham was set on fire by lyghtnyng,

Howe the Abbacie of saint Edmundes was brent, with di­uers more, as hereafter partly doth folow. The rather may these examples thus so generally & vniuersally and so thicke executed vppon these munckes houses, be a more proofe of gods plague agaynst their munckyshe lyfe and order, as no­thyng pleased with the most of them, then the aduersaries can iustly charge the vniuersall religion of the Gospel recea­ued, D by the particuler burnyng of one steeple in the Realme, so seldome seene in these dayes. To note what intemperate weather, what immoderate wyndes, what lightning, what thunder, what earthquakes fell vpon these houses: besydes, to note howe vniuersally before the conquest all these mona­steries, howe much soeuer they were multiplied and increa­sed, [Page 310] A God dyd euer bryng them downe agayne, and compla­ned them euen with the grounde, that fewe or none remay­ned vnbrent, or vndestroyed by the inuasion of infidels and other nations, from tyme to tyme commyng vppon them, shall not be nedefull, to cumber the reader at this tyme with tediousnes. Neuber. lib. 3. cap. 5. Well, these houses were not brent for other mens faultes: Where the cronicle of Peterborow ascribeth this plague of God in burnyng their churche and all that was therein, to their retchlesse lyfe, and wretchednes and dronkennes they vsed. And William Thorne muncke of S. B Augustines, anno. 1168. ascribeth the burnyng of their churche & abbey, to the foule abuse of takyng infantes (scant weaned from their nurses) to be munckes professed among them. A pretie age for a perpetuall vowe, and a worthy cause to make such subiect to the austeritie of archbyshop Pecchams constituti­on: Apud Lam­hith anno. 1281. ca. Item mo­niales. where he ordereth, that yf the Nunne tarry one yere in the habite, before she haue taken the bishoppes benediction, must yet be reputed for professed, and may not returne to the world again: for if she do, she must be accompted & vsed as an apostata. Although (saith he) the religious haue not receaued C the byshops benediction with the solempnitie of a vowe, they may not yet iudge themselues to be free, if they be once come to the yeres of discretion and reason, and be able to perceaue fraude and deceyte. Where there be many examples lefte in writers, what wretchednes hath folowed of these young pro­fessions, I wyll report but one, the tragidie wherof is suche, that it shoulde hurt chaste eares to heare the fylthynes that therin is tolde, of a certaine young chylde of foure yeres of age, brought into the Nunrie of Wattune in Yorkeshire in the dayes of Henrie Murdack, an ambitious munke of Ci­stercense D as Polidore writeth, who gate his Bishopricke of pope Eugenius by suite and craft, by the disprouyng of Wil­liam, elected thervnto: Which Abbey was founded, or ra­ther restored by Gilbert, a priest of Semplingam. Whiche storie is expressed at large by Ethelrede, a Cister muncke in Rhieuall in the dioces of Yorke abbote, a man eloquent in his tyme. Which young girle when she came to age, he [Page 311] wryteth howe maruelouslye she was delyuered, her chylde A conueyed awaye by the sayde Henrie Murdack then dead, who brought her first into the Abbey. Whiche byshop, in a Palmers weede appeared in a vision, hauyng with hym al­so in the vision two auncient celestial women, they three on­ly at the birth, and no man knewe where the chylde became, no not the mother, who was so sodenly restored to her health againe, that there was no signe or token left in her that euer she was in that takyng, and the infamie which myght haue rysen to the couent quite abolyshed, whiche was the greatest inconuenience that the Nunnes dyd feare, in the close hand­lyng B of this matter as the storie bewrayeth: whiche processe begynneth in these wordes▪ Miracula domini & manifesta diuinae pietatis indicia scire, & tegere, portio sacrilegii est. To knowe the miracles of God, and the manifest examples of his diuine mercie, and to suppresse them, is a spice of sacri­lege. &c. Further the sayde auctour doth auouche the matter to be very true, who comming from his owne monasterie at the request of the father of the house, dyd see with his owne eyes this young mayden in the strawe where she lay newely and miraculously delyuered, hearyng all the rest of this tra­gidie C of such persons (saith he) which neither the sobernes of their age, neither their approued holynesse, woulde suffer them any maner wayes to lye. If it be replied, why shoulde these hystories be renewed agayne, to the defamation as it may be iudged of these holy professers of chastitie? Aunswer may be made. Why dyd these contemplatiue fathers leaue in wrytyng to the p [...]steritie these practises so shamefull, ex­cept that eyther they woulde blynde the eyes of the worlde, in excusyng their fedities, coueryng the outrages of their lyues as wrought by the miracles of God, so abusyng the D peoples ignoraunce, to make them beleue what they listed to set out and magnifie, or els whether God by his secrete iudg­ment vsed these munckyshe parciall wryters as instruments to detect their hypocrisie, to the shame of their counterfayte lyuyng, who dyd all that they coulde by wrytyng & reporte, to shame gods holy institution, deuised by his gracious and [Page 312] A diuine foresyght, to preuent all such fylthines which he knew must nedes folow when his ordinaunce should be put out of the waye. But suche was the endeuour of all these profes­sed persons, to kepe secrete their foule misteries, or els when they must needes come abrode to knowledge, then to turne their practises to be as gods miracles: for neuer woulde they suffer any but them selues to be priuie of their misteries, they coulde not abyde the lyght. No not Thurstone archbyshop aforesayde hym selfe coulde be receaued of the religious of Saint Maries house in Yorke, when they were in B chapter together, where he commyng vnto the Abbey, accompanied besydes his owne familie with other notable learned men, the whole couent made open excla­mation agaynst hym, yet their archbyshop, and so threatned hym, that (as he saith himselfe in his epistle written to Wil­liam archbishop of Canterburie) he was afrayde of their vi­olence: and whereas the archbishop woulde haue pacified them, saying that he came but for their peace and commodi­tie, they rose vp agaynst hym, and were redye to laye their handes vpon hym, and tolde hym playnely, that neither he C nor Richarde their Prior with his complices, shoulde bryng in any newe reformation amongst them agaynst their olde customes, though the sayde Richarde and other of his good brethren woulde fayne haue enduced them better to obserue saint Benets rule, which (the Byshop testifieth in his epistle) was almost through the whole world, of Munckes common­ly despised and troden vnder foote. And in further talke with them, the archbyshop sayd to them: that, yf ye despyse my episcopall auctoritie, takyng that from me which belongeth to my office, to visite you: then (saith he) your Church must D soone decaye. Wherevnto was aunswered hym: that we had rather haue our Churche for an hundred yeres shut vp, then thus to haue any new reformatiōs amongst vs against our olde wont. And they all cryed out, Voce frenatica, capi­te inquiunt, capite rebelles, apprehendite proditores. &c. as they had ben mad: Lay handes (saye they) vpon them, lay handes vpon them, attach these rebelles, and apprehend these traytours. So with much a do, to the great wonder of [Page 313] the people abrode, the Archbyshop was fayne to returne A home againe to his palace, and leaue them as he founde them. Lo here is the state of perfection, which they so much boast of, and this was their rule. But nowe to returne a­gayne to the foresayde Theobalde. This sayde Archbyshop belyke had no great conscience for byshoppes and priestes to haue wyues, and their chyldren to be preferred to ecclesiasti­call lyuyng. For as Iuo Carnotensis dyd iudge by the report of Radulphus de diceto, anno. 1161. in anno 1161: This Theobalde dyd consecrate Richarde Archdeacon of Couentree, and sonne of Robert Pech Byshop of the sea of Chester, to be Byshop of B the same sea after his father. Wherevppon saith he these wordes. Non igitur vel a sacris ordinibus, vel a parochiali­bus curis, vel ab ecclesiis cathedralibus, vel etiam ab ipso pa­patu silii sacerdotum (si probalilis vitae fuerint) sunt arcen­di &c Priestes sonnes are not therefore to be kept backe, ey­ther from holy orders, or from the cures of paryshes, or from cathedral churches, no not from the papacie it selfe, yf they be of good conuersation. And by and by in the storie he re­porteth: that Felix the thirde beyng a priestes sonne, was after made pope, and Agapitus the sonne of Gordian a priest C was made pope, Gelasius the sonne of Valerius a byshop, was made pope, Siluerius the sonne of Hormisda a Romane byshop was made pope, Deusdedit the sonne of Stephen a Subdeacon was made pope, Theodorus a greke borne sonne to Theodorus a byshop was made pope, VVylliam Neuber. lib. 2. cap. 6. Nicholaus an Eng­lyshe man, sonne of a priest, was made pope, after called Adrianus quartus. Thus farre the sayde Radulph in storie. Which sayde byshoppes of Rome, so written in number by pope Damasus to Hierom, Distinc. 56. Osius. are not to be vnderstande to be borne in fornication, as Gratian doth auouch there, but were D borne in priestly lawfull matrimonies, whiche were lawfull euerywhere to priestes before the prohibition, and in the Ori­ental churche be proued euen vnto this day lawfull vnto them. His wordes therin be these. Cum ergo ex sacerdoti­bus nati in summos pontifices dicuntur esse promoti, non sunt intelligendi de fornicatione, sed de legittimis coniugiis [Page 314] A nati, que sacerdotibus ante prohibitionem vbi (que) licita erant, & in oriental [...] ecclesia vs (que) hodie eis licere probantur. And pope Vrbane saith there, Ca. Leno­mansem. that priestes chyldren are not to be kept from a Byshopricke, yf other vertues be found in them, as a priestes sonne was elected byshop of Cenomannia, and so admitted by hym. And but for tediousnes, I myght re­hearse many more, as Adrian the seconde, Iohn the eleuenth, Iohn the fourtenth, Iohn the sixtenth, sonnes of popes and byshoppes. So honorable saith Paul is wedlocke amongste all, Hebre. 11. and the bed vndefiled: Whereas adulterers God shall B condempne. Such a grace (saith saint Augustine) is in ma­riages, De bono coniugal. cap. 24. through all nations and all sortes of men, for cause of procreation, and in the fayth of chastitie. And here I do ap­peale to the consciences of such as name them selues catho­lyke men, whether that it hadde not ben more honorable to God, more agreable to his worde, and more commendable to the Churche, for that spirituall blynded byshop Hugh, some­tyme byshop of Dunelme in this Theobaldus tyme, and with more honestie, haue folowed the example of this Ri­charde of Chichester in his matrimonie: VVylliam Nubri. lib. 5. cap. 9. then to be a noto­rious C concubinarie & fornicatour, or rather adulterer, when he was treasorer in Yorke Churche, hauyng belyke without shame three diuers concubines, of which he had three diuers sonnes (as witnesses of their fathers iniquitie) of whiche he was so little ashamed, that he ioyed in them, and had suche blynde loue towardes them, that he preferred one of them Henrie deputiaco to be one of his hostagies, for delyueryng vp the castle of Wyndsor to the kinges chauncelour, to ryd [...]e hym selfe out of prison at Southwell, who by his fylthy lyfe deserued to be destitute of Gods grace, Houenden anno 2. Ric. primi. and so to spende his D whole lyfe after he was byshop in sumptuous wastfull buyl­dyng of his castles, couetous gatheryng to feede his ambiti­ous desire in bying of his Earldome of Northumberlande, and heapyng and hoordyng treasures togethers: so he was made a common pray to the prince, and a mocke to the peo­ple, after xlii. yeres beyng in his Byshopricke, and beyng de­luded by a prophesie, loked styll in his dotyng age for x. yeres [Page 315] lenger: but God cut hym vp, as he was huntyng for more A dignities, choked (in his iorney vp to London) with glutto­nous ingurgitations toke a surfet as the storie telleth, ma­kyng his ende impenitently, and after his death al his good [...] (notwithstandyng his testament makyng) confiscated to the kynges coffers, and his especiall frendes and seruauntes stretched vpon the racke to confesse and declare the whole of his goods, vpon whō nothing was bestowed to priest, clarke, his churche, or the poore. And here it might be asked, howe Anselmes so rigorous constitution not long before decreed, or Williams constitution against concubinaries, were so much B forgotten, of such as dyd elect this infamous man to the dig­nitie of a byshop, or continued hym in the same so notorious as he was? Belyke the canons were voyde, and decrees ser­ued but to suppresse true and lawful matrimonies, not much caryng for the reformation of notorious and monstruous concubinaries. If they had not had a conscience marked with an hot iron, yf they had not ben men speakyng lyes in hypocrisie, they coulde not haue dissembled this state of lyfe to be so aduaunced, and their eyes so wyde open to rebuke and deface gods holy institution, so separatyng them a sun­der C whom god had coupled togethers, transgressyng the pre­cept of god, for the stablyshyng of their owne traditions: the matter so horrible, so apparaunt, cannot be coloured, howe­soeuer it be gorgeously set out to the eye, by the vaine ende­uour of the aduersaries. And say what they can, yet shall matrimonies be honorable before God, and adulterers con­dempnable in the iudgement of godly learned persons. I say not only honorable in the laitie, but also in the cleargie, to the which state whomsoeuer almyghtie god calleth vnto, as that noble emperour Iustinian auoucheth his iudgement in D the same, In nouellis const. 3. Saucimus. esteemyng Epiphanius the archbishop of Constan­tinople so muche the more, Quod ex sacerdotibus genus & originem duxerit. And if y ^e the testimonie of Reymund in his sonne may be taken, he wryteth agreablie to this: and sayth farther, that the priestes of Grece regarde not any vowe of chastitie in their holy orders, and celebrate diuine seruice ha­uyng [Page 316] A their lawfull wyues. Finallie, in the laste yere of this mans Bishopricke, Fol. 85. in Glosa. Floriger. anno. 1160. Mat. Par. 1161. Marie the Abbesse of Ramesey, of some infamie noted in her Abbey, daughter to kyng Ste­phen, was maried to Matthue, Earle of Bollon, with the kynges fauour and the nobilitie, and had two daughters by hym: at which mariage Thomas Becket, then the kynges chauncelour, hadde great indignation at the vnlawfulnes therof. Wherewith the kyng was offended, and for his ear­nestnesse in the matter saith the storie, suffred many great displeasures and persecutions of the earle. Belyke he was B blowen with a peece of Hildibrandes spirite, & of Anselmes austeritie, for tolleratyng thynges agaynst his deuotion. What woulde he haue ben towarde the same kyng Henrie, yf he had liued in the yere of his raigne xxiij. when the kyng caused Barthelmew Bishop of Exeter and Roger of Wor­ceter, to repayre to the Abbey of Almesburie, to depose the Abbesse there, for the imfamie of her lyfe. Whiche Abbesse after her profession in religion, Chro. Roff. anno. 1155. VVylliam Thorne. anno. 1168. was proued to haue ben deli­uered of three chyldren. And the lyke systers in her house were lykewyse dispearsed and dryuen out of their cloysters C and houses, and fylled vp the Abbey agayne with Nunnes sent out of Founte Euerarde. And further, the kyng hauyng pitie yet on that good Abbesse beyng thus degraded, & there­by myght perishe by hunger and neede, promised her yerely twentie nobles, and dyd suffer her to go whyther she would at her owne libertie. This permission and discharge of their vowes and profession, belyke woulde haue much displeased the sayd Thomas, Thomas Becket. being so angry with the Abbesse of Ram­sey for her lawfull matrimonie. Nowe this man aforesayde was elect archbishop of Canterburie, next the sayde Theo­baldus, D whose chaplen he was, by whom he obteyned the Archdeconrie of Canterburie, in whose time almost al Can­terburie was brent by the punyshment of God, M Pa 1161. M. VVest. 1161. Lib. Roff. with the Abbey of saint Augustine, as their storie doth declare. He made no great a do by any constitution agaynst priestes ma­ryages, because he was otherwise fully occupyed. Then af­ter hym came into the sea the Prior of Douer, sometyme [Page 317] munke & supprior of Canterburie, Richarde, in whose firste A or seconde yere the church of Canterburie was consumed by fire: Richarde. 1184. Chron S. Augustine. Geruasius. anno. 1177. Chro. Roff. and within foure yeres after that, was brent with fire the churche of Rochester the seconde tyme, with all the offices of the whole citie, aswell without the walles as within. To whiche Richarde was come from heauen a voyce in these words. Tu quis es? tu es qui dissipasti bona ecclesiae tibi com­missa, & ego dissipabo to de terra. Thou what art? thou art he whichh hast wasted y ^e goodes of the church cōmitted vnto thee, Gualte. Couent. therefore wyll I waste thee out from the earth. And so at the towne of Halynges, saith Rochester storie, he was so­denly B stryken with a colicke, and dyed. Yet dyd this man in this day kepe a synode at Northampton, where Hugh the popes legate was present, and an other at Westminster anno 1175. v. kl. Iulii, where he a freshe renewed the old pro­hibitions and decrees agaynst priestes concubines, Roger Ho­uenden & Geruasius. anno 1174. Chro. Iero­uallensis. who yet of his fatherly pitie dyd consecrate one Galfride Ridel arch­deacon of Canterburie, to be bishop of Elye, who was the thirde in order of the first erection, as the catologes of the bi­shoppes of Elye doth recorde. Which sayde Galfride shoulde haue gone to Rome with the sayde Richard elect of Canter­burie, C and with Reginald elect of Bathe, for the confirmati­on of their elections. Whereas Alexander then pope dyd much blame the absence of the others elect bishops of Eng­lande, vidz. elect of Winchester, Herforde, Chichester, and of Elye. Whiche pope dyd more earnestly aske why the elect of Elye came not with them? The bishop of Orleans aun­swered. Forsooth sayde he, Habet excusationem Euangeli­cam, He hath the excuse of the Gospell. What is that saith the pope? Sir saith he, he hath maryed a wyfe, and therfore can not come. And though there was then much altercation D brought before the pope and cardinalles, yet the pope dyd foorthwith consecrate the elect of Canterburie: And he after he was returned home to Englande, dyd consecrate the said Richarde anno 1174. pridie nonas Octob. anno regni Hen. 2 xxi. who lyued bishop there, vntyll he dyed, though he en­ded his lyfe at Winchester intestate anno 1189. the firste yere [Page 318] A of kyng Richarde. In which sayde catologe is also recorded, that the sayde Richarde before his election, dyd openly purge his innocentie by oth, that he procured not the death of Tho­mas Becket, neither by worde nor deede, nor wrytyng, which was also required of Roger archbishop of Yorke, and of Gilbert bishop of London: and so in the Assention day in his owne churche he was intronizate, whereto he gaue very great giftes saith the storie. Thus hytherto this holsome de­cree of Anselme, belyke, howesoeuer (saith the storie) it had fauour of some at the first, and what earnestie soeuer he she­wed B therin, was not kept nor yet receaued vniuersally, se­yng that this Richarde wyttyngly dyd consecrate the sayde Galfride hauyng a wyfe, and so aduouched before the popes holynes and the whole consistorie of cardinalles. In this Ri­charde his dayes, was a synode holden by hym and some of his brethren at Wodstocke, anno 1175. Hen. 2.21. to chose a bishop for the bishop­ricke of Norwich, and for chosyng of abbottes whiche were many vacant: Amongst which their election, they dyd elect Galfride the kynges sonne, to the bishopricke of Lyn­colne, after that it was voyde xvij. yeres almost, by reason C of the morgagyng therof into the kynges handes. But king Henrie his father would not haue hym then consecrated, for that he was within yeres, and knewe not whether he was necessarie to the gouernement of suche a dignitie: VVil. Neu. lib. 2. cap. 22. and ther­fore the kyng sent hym to Towres to haue some exercise in the scholes there, vntyll he was thought worthy that he might take the dignitie of such honor. Though yet his sonne aunswered not his expectation, and thervpon for his vnwor­thynesse compelled hym to resigne it agayne, Nubrigen. lib. 4. cap. 2. whom not­withstandyng kyng Stephen his brother next succeedyng D hym, preferred to the archbishopricke of Yorke. See here this good kynges zeale whiche he had in the election of a bi­shop. Belyke it may appeare that the kyng had more regard then all the bishoppes had besides. Which acte is worthy to be had in remembraunce, to shewe to all princes, to cleargie men, and noble men, specially patrones of benefices to haue a conscience with them, in preferring men to such heauenly, [Page 319] chargeable and worthy office of the cure of mans soule. And A in the dayes of this bishop, the kyng was counsayled to build an Abbey to the honor of God and S. Thomas of Canter­burie, Rog. Houe­den. anno. 1177. Rex. Hen. 2 23. for the remission of his sinnes (as the storie saith) And so was the churche of seculer prebendaries in Waltham tur­ned out: they expulsed for their wyues belyke, and reguler chanons brought in. That is, vi. chanons from the abbey of Circester, and vi. of Osney, and iiij. of S. Oses, and of some of them made officers, and replenyshed the house with cha­nons, about the number of an hundred, or fourscore at the least, besydes their externe officers of the house. Thus B was religion the decaye of seculer learned men, a cause of their expulsions: so much had they blynded the eyes of prin­ces at that tyme, to multiplie dumbe munckes, and to hyn­der preachyng prebendaries. VValter Couentri­ensis. Neuerthelesse, the kyng gaue to the Deane in recompence, a manour of his, duryng his lyfe, and gaue the prebendaries accordyng to the value of their prebendes: and suche prebendaries as woulde not re­ceaue such recompence, that they shoulde holde their preben­des duryng their lyues, at the discretion and estimation yet of archbishop Richard, who was present, with other bishops, C as were also the deane and the prebendaries, when the kyng in his owne person put the reguler chanons in possession. In deede the Romishe sleyght wrought in this kynges facte, Fabian. ann. Henr. 2.28. for such alteryng the house of Waltham abbey is to be con­sidered, the grounde wherof was, as it is tolde by storie, that the kyng had vowed and sworne before two cardinalles, to go in his owne proper person to warre agaynst Christes ene­mies in the holy lande, they so deuising to bereue the realme of their prince, and to ieoperde his person, to the reuenge of Thomas Beckets death, whiche was layde to his charge. D But the wyle was perceaued, and he promised for dispensa­tion of his oth, to buylde three Abbeys in Englande. Which sleyghtie iniunction of the cardinalles, the kyng was coun­celled as prudently to fulfyll: For he turned as is sayde, the seculer chanons of Waltham into reguler chanons for one foundation: and for buyldyng of the seconde Abbey, he tur­ned [Page 320] A the Munkes out of the Abbey of Almesbury, and set in their steede Nunnes: and for the thirde foundation, he re­newed sparyngly the charterhouse of Witham besides Sa­lisburie: and thus perfourmed the condition of his dispensa­tion of buyldyng of three Abbeys. But thus was not the Romyshe quarrell quieted towardes the kyng: For the pope Lucius the thirde, was well contented when one Heracleus patriarch of Ierusalem came into the Realme, to moue hym to trauayle agaynst the Sarasens, and was very instant vp­pon hym to take that iorney, puttyng hym in mynde of the B oth that he once made before the two cardinalles aforesayde. But the kyng perceauyng the craftie dryft, aunswered, that he would liberally bestowe of his owne to the charge of such vyage: but he myght not depart from his owne lande, and leaue it as a pray to the aduersarie. This aunswere the Pa­triarch toke very displeasauntly and angerly. The kyng yet somewhat to pacifie hym, accompanyed hym vnto the sea syde: but the more the kyng laboured to satisfie hym, the more was the Patriarch offended, speaking spytefull wordes agaynst the kyng, chargyng hym that he was vntrue to the C Frenche kyng (but the more true to his owne lande) & that he slewe Thomas Becket, and lastlye, that he had forsaken the protection of Christes fayth, and in his rage charged the kyng that he was worse then a Sarasen, and sayde of his chyldren, that they came of the deuyll, and to the deuyll they shoulde. But the kyng (saith the storie) kept his paci­ence, and sayde that he woulde not in any wise depart out of his owne lande. Wherevpon the Patriarche departed from the kyng in great ire, for that his Foxie deuice toke no bet­ter place. Lo here was a worthy Patriarch, a creature of the D pope, thus to deale with so noble a prince. Maye it not here be timely brought in, Psal. 2. Et nunc reges intelligite, erudimini qui iudicatis terram. &c. If kynges and princes wyll suffer them selues quietlye to be thus shamefully abused, in their owne realmes, to their owne faces, by suche externe commers, whose vocation ought of moste congruence to haue dryuen them to the reuerence of kynges and princes: who maye [Page 321] haue pitie of them yf they be deluded? Although this noble A prince for his most notable pacience ought to haue immortal commendation: so is he more worthy to be aduaunced for his wisedome and prudence (for that he coulde not be moued to leaue his Realme for a pray) then his seconde sonne Ri­charde the first, folowyng hym, who was so soone induced by Romishe perswasion to seke aduentures abrode, first im­poueryshyng his Realme, and by sellyng of the castles of Barwicke and Rothisborowe for a great summe of money, for some part of the exployte of his viage: and made other such sales, neither princely to his honour, nor profitable to B his Realme. And so he passyng on, more valiauntlye then prudently, was at the last dryuen by force, and taken of the armie of the duke of Ostriche, and thereof suffred harde im­prisonment for the terme of a yere and fyue monethes: but at the last was raunsomed for suche a huge summe of money as pinched the whole state of his crowne, collectyng both of the laitie and cleargie, aswell churche as chappell within the whole Realme. Which extremitie he myght haue well esca­ped, yf he had folowed the example of his father Henrie. Let this suffise for this tyme for one example of Romishe C practises, to learne princes to be wyse. After this Richarde, folowed Baldwinus archbishop, Baldwine. of whom we reade of no con­stitution that he made, nor of his next successours, tyll the yere of our Lorde 1222. when Stephen Langton kepte his councell at Oxforde, whiche Stephen was the cause of all the broyle betwene the pope and kyng Iohn, for his admissi­on to the Archbishopricke, agaynst the kynges wyl and plea­sure, to the intollerable iniurie of the crowne, and sclaunder of the Realme, besydes the innumerable hurtes that came therof. He made in his constitutions a decree against priestes concubines, of whom the world swarmed full after the open D forced restraynt from maryage: yet then many of the clear­gie as they myght kept in secrete wise their wyues for con­science sake, and hadde belyke suche successe as other of his predecessors decrees had. Edmund. For his seconde successour from hym Edmunde, in his constitutions tempered the matter [Page 322] A more easely: Who dyd decree, that yf these concubines would not turne them selues into religion, after monitions geuen vnto them, they shoulde lose the priuilege to kysse the paxe at masse, and also be put from the holy bread: and yf they woulde stubbernlye persist, they shoulde be excommu­nicate (when it pleased the Ordinarie) so long tyme as the concubinaries shoulde deteyne them in their owne houses, Mat. Par. anno. 1226. or publiquely out of their houses, and then should afterward be deliuered to the seculer power. After whiche Edmundes departure, Boniface. came into the sea Bonifacius of Sauoye, vncle to B Queene Alienour, wyfe to kyng Henrie the thirde. The same archbishop, who was wont to say that his three nexte predecessours, Stephen Langton, Richarde, and Edmunde (in whiche three mens dayes was made the great haule at Canterburie, with other the buyldynges there) had let hym a haule to hire & to buylde vp: For they left the bishopricke indetted, Mat. Par. 1245. partly for that buyldyng, more then xv. thousande markes (though some recordes speake of a more summe) which he was fayne to pay to redeeme the bishopricke cleare: although some wryters referre a greater part of that debt to C the great prodigalitie of the sayde Stephen Langton, anno. 1120. in the translation of Thomas Becket from vnder the shrowdes, to a more glorious shrine aboue. At which trans­lation, he procured the presence of the kyng, and of the most part of the nobles of the Realme, with an infinite concourse of people to be present, and gaue to all that woulde aske it both hay and prouender, all the way from London to Can­terburie. At which tyme he made such cheare, that the storie saith, he made the wine to runne plenteouslye out of diuers places in the citie in conduites all the whole day, to glad the D people withall. Wherevpon saith Ranulphus, he spent so much, that his fourth successour Bonifacius was scant able to pay the expences. It may be that they were very mery that day: for the wryter of that translation, almoste spent his whole matter in setting forth the ioy that was made amōgst them, and how the people were inebriated wonderfully, and muche he speaketh of inebriations: but leste the posteritie [Page 323] should grosly take these inebriations, he turneth it vp and A downe in his storie, and translateth it to the inebriation of the holy ghost, with whose grace (saith he) they were deepely inebriated, and as it were spiritually dronken with ghostlye aboundaunce of ioye. In deede some men otherwhere were ouermuch inebriated: for the kepers of Westminsters nota­ble palace, suffred it to be brent about that yere very negli­gentlye. But as concernyng this archbishop Bonifacius, though he made certaine constitutions, yet he suffred that matter of priestes maryages alone. Yea Othobone kepyng a synode in his time, decreed nothing against priestes wiues, B though against concubines he renewed Othos constitution, but not so his constitution de clericis coniugatis, and yet had priestes after wyues. For Iohn Peccham in his constituti­ons, folowyng the next successour of Bonifacius, made his lawe De filiis sacerdotum. And this sparyng of lawes ma­kyng agaynst maryages in Bonifacius tyme, not vnlyke to be done of fauour he bare to the state: For in the yere of our Lorde .1250. he purposyng to make his visitation in diuers places of his prouince, Mat. Paris in hist. ma­ioai. as by his legantine ryght he well myght do, & beyng at London, came to the cathedrall church C of Powles for that matter, but was there repelled: and af­ter that commyng to Saint Barthelmewe, though there he was solemly receaued of the couent in procession, the cha­nons being in their copes, yet would they not that he should make any inquirie of their liues and conuersation, alleaging that they had an Ordinarie, to whom they woulde be sub­iect, and to none other: whiche caused a great tumult to be made in the Churche, betwixte the chanons and the Archbishoppes seruauntes. In whiche stirre, as the storie of Abindon telleth, in anno 1252. one of the chanons D was slayne, and diuers sore hurt. Wherevpon the citezins which were there cried out, and were purposed to haue rong the common bell: & in their speaches they defamed first hym, that the kyng had intruded hym into his dignitie without election canonicall, chargyng hym with ignoraunce, & that he had no learnyng, and last of all say they, he hath a wyfe. [Page 324] A Whereby may appeare that this state was then so odiously traduced, that the Munckyshe wryters some of them, speake very sclaunderouslye of hym, as beyng in a state that they coulde not abyde. Howebeit, though some speake their plea­sure, yet wryters of as good credite as some of those munkes do commende hym for his large and decent familie, descry­byng hym to be Procerae staturae, eleganti corpore, auuncu­lum dominae Alienorae Reginae, qui de nobilissimo sanguine natus, & regnorum vtrorum (que) principibus, ipse procerus & fatis sufficiens fuerit. &c. Of a comely stature, and a decent B personage, beyng the vncle of Queene Alienour, who was borne of a very noble blood, descending of the princes of both Realmes, beyng personable and sufficient enough, hauyng testimonie therof of certaine prelates of the Realme. And though the Munkes of Canterburie his electors, be sayde to haue repented thē of their electiō, either for the state of lyfe he might be of, as he was charged, or for that he began to bryng them to some order of religion, which they called oppression: Yet the preferment which he procured to his church, seemed not to shew hym so vnworthy as some of their pennes would C note hym, or that he was not elected canonically, but intru­ded, as than the fonde people sayde of hym. For both his election, consecration, and intronization, be orderly set out in the yeres as they chaunced, as certainly as of any other. And for some profe hereof, that he was lawfully consecrated, he came therefore with other his brethren electe, to the pope beyng at Lions, when this popes chamber was set on fire & brent, with diuers of his iewels & recordes: emongst whiche (saith the storie) was brent that vnluckie and miserable char­ter of kyng Iohn, concernyng his submission to the papacie, D and for paying of his tribute, so assured by that charter. But thus (as is aforesayde) Bonifacius euyll entreated and expel­led in his iurisdiction metropoliticall, made his repaire to the kyng at Westminster, and so dyd certaine of the chanons that were hurt, to complayne: but the kyng woulde geue them neither syght nor audience. After that tyme, the pre­bendaries of Powles, with diuers other of their learned [Page 325] councell, with certaine of the chanons and their interloquu­ters, A went in great hast to Rome, to complayne to the pope. After them dyd folowe Bonifacius, and made his aunswere, in such wise, that both the prebendaries with their lawyers, and the chanons with their councel (after some money spent) returned home agayne without any profite or glorie in their attemptes. Nowe this Bonifacius hauyng a wyfe himselfe, no maruell though he made no constitution for prohibition of maryages, except he had folowed some mens examples, who to cloke their owne incontinencie, be very rigorous to make lawes agaynst others, so to set out a countenaunce to B the world, that they be not faultie in that which they chastise others for. Wherof may be gathered, that the former insti­tutions of his predecessours in this matter, were not greatly regarded or kept, no not Othos constitution legantine, who departed but three yeres before that Bonifacius came to the sea, Chro. Cant. was sent from Gregorie the ninth, and receaued as a le­gate: And for that the same was (saith some stories) that he decreed certaine constitutions not very grateful to the clear­gie, Fabian. which he dyd vtter in a synode at London in the octaues of saint Martin, in saint Powles churche, he was not much C welcome: which synode dyd endure three dayes continually (and no more.) For by some apparaunce, and so it was saith Matthew Paris, he brought with hym in his bosome these decrees from Rome, before any councell began, assented, or disputed to. Much lyke as the report goeth, that of late in the great generall councell holden at Trent, though they made gaye pretences, by the inuocation of the holy ghost at masse, to assist their spirites to decree nothyng but for the wealth of christendome: yet the president of the councell brought all the articles in his bosome alredy framed at home, whiche D they must that day conclude on. In whiche sayde councell holden at London by Otho (saith Florigerus) left he shoulde be thought to haue done nothyng, or not to haue come into Englande for any reformation, he commaunded vnder a dreadfull paine, that the churches vnhalowed shoulde be ha­lowed. After which councell, the legate wandryng about the [Page 326] A Realme, as the maner was, for the speedy collection of his money, and commyng from Lincolne about Easter tyde by Oxforde, he toke his In at Osney, where the schollers of the vniuersitie and those his Romanes, fell at suche square in wordes together, that they toke them to blowes, and that by the prouocation of the Romanes: but such a conflicte was betwixt them, that the Romanes went by the worse. Wher­vpon was slayne (saith Florigerus) the whole familie and re­tinue of the legate, anno. 1238. and many mortally wounded, and in con­clusion the legate hym selfe besieged, and dryuen for his suc­cour B into the belfrey of Osney, who sent to the kyng then at Abyndon to delyuer hym: and so he restored to his libertie, suspended the whole vniuersitie for one yere, and brought the schollers and studentes of the same vniuersitie vnder ex­communication and subiection, and draue them to open pe­naunce, as is farther sayde in the sayde storie. But that mat­ter ended, and his procurations and other gyftes (whiche he had māny) well bestowed: the next yere the legate went in­to Scotlande, and dyd exact of all the prelates and beneficed clarkes the thirteenth part of their reuenues, and transmit­ted C it ouer to the pope. Though Fa­bian nameth Othobone, yet in this yere it must nedes be of Otho. The cause of all this broyle at Ox­forde (saith Fabian) rose of suche his constitutions as he de­creed agaynst the liberties of the cleargie, in his articles v. in number: emong which, other writers affirme for one, scilz. the prohibition of mariage from the priestes. As for the ma­ner of the entertainment of Otho the legate had of Englishe men, it shall not neede to declare what he had in the whole: For of one only, byshop of Winchester, when he knewe he woulde kepe house at London the wynter folowyng, he sent hym fiftie fat oxen, Math. Paris 1237. an hundred quarters of wheate of the fi­nest, D and eyght tunnes of the sweetest wines. As for scarlet, furres, golde, syluer, horse, plate, sent hym before he came into the Realme, and after he was once come, & how he vsed himselfe, let Matthew Paris be read, and see the pompe and pryde of that prelate, whom the king himselfe (a gods name) must meete on the waye. Rex autem ei vs (que) ad confinium maris occurrit, et inclinato ad genua eius capite, vs (que) ad in­teriora [Page 327] regni deduxit officiose. The kyng dyd meete hym at A the borders of the sea, and at his first syght bowed his head downe to the legates knees, and brought hym very seruisa­blie into the inwarde partes of the Realme. If ye aske, who was lyke to be the cause he came into the Realme? For he was sent for by the kynges commaundement, where all the lordes sore complayned of it, yea good Edmunde arch­bishop of Canterburie dyd much blame the kyng for his sen­dyng for, he knowyng (saith the storie) that to the great pre­iudice of his dignitie, dyd hange ouer his Realme much losse and daunger thereby. In deede the bishoppes his brethren, B belyke not lykyng the colde and easy proceedyng of the sayde Edmunde, in his constitution in the defence of the cleargies liberties, and agaynst the priestes concubines agaynst which he proceeded no more sharply then he did, his brethrē thought that it was to litle, and therfore gaue councell to sende for a legate, as is to be gathered by the gorgeous meetyng him at Paris, and by sendyng hym suche great rewardes & gyftes by the bishoppes and famous clarkes, receauyng hym with such processions most honorable, with belles ryngyng, with all reuerence as was belongyng, yea (saith Matthew) vt de­cuit, C & plus quam decuit, more then was meete and conueni­ent: and therfore may be soone iudged who were lyke to be councellers to the kyng, who in their dryftes then doubtyng nothyng but by the meanes of a legate sent from Rome by the pope hymselfe, that what he woulde constitute, should be terrible, and set out for a good countenaunce to the worlde, and kept notwithstandyng some of his constitutions at ley­sure. For these zelous men concernyng this pretensed holy­nesse of the cleargie, rather meant to make a shewe to the worlde of a perfect chastitie (in refourmyng the state thereof, as it was then thought, decayed muche their estimation a­mong D the people) then meant it in deede, or that they euer thought these decrees and lawes shoulde be obserued. For the practise declared, howe after the great shewes of terrible decrees agaynst concubinaries the matter was handeled: be­yng lyke that by such restraynt, seyng the inuinciblenes of [Page 328] A conteynyng in their priestes, to be seene that their tollerati­ons and qualifications shoulde turne partlye to their owne better obedience, hauyng the concubinarie priestes euer in their daunger, and shoulde turne the more to the commodi­tie of their officers which dyd serue them. And it is not vn­lyke, but they learned of their holy father the pope, by tolle­rations to seke their gaynes. For saith the lawyer vppon Othos constitution (ca. licet ad profligandum) that by some lawyers iudgementes, as Iohn Andrew, though Hostiensis and hym selfe holdeth the contrarie, Quod crimen meretricii B debet ecclesia sub dissimulatione transire, nam & marescal­lus pape, de facto exigit tributum a meritricibus, & hoc forte ad maius malum euitandum. 32. q. 1. non est culpandus. That the churche onght to passe ouer by dissimulation the cryme of open harlottes, because the popes marshall in deede at this present (saith he) exacteth tribute of harlottes, and that peraduenture for auoydyng a greater mischiefe, wryteth the glose. If ye aske, what shoulde sounde to suche a gesse that most of them meant to make many decrees from tyme to tyme, but neuer meant or thought to haue them C kept? Consider good reader howe their expositors & glosers, the lawyers wipe away with their gloses, the pith & strength euen of this strayte lawe of Otho the legate nowe constitu­ted, so that they make it but a shypmans hose, and so traue­sable that it can neuer be executed, meanyng in dede to shew rather outwardly a chastitie to bleare the eyes of the worlde, then hopyng to haue it so in deede. For euen in that very chapiter is recorded, and well brought to remembraunce the watchword they had among them (si non caste, tamen caute) for that was their principall care, to go closely away, to cary D cleane, and to lyue in secrete as they lust, and then all very well. With which banbery gloses, they hadde at the laste brought the open cleargie to renounce open auouchyng of their wyues, and lyued yet diuers of them secretelye with wyues of late dayes. For euen of late in archbishop Pec­chams dayes, Pecham. anno. 1281. they (after Othos decree of the same) styll pro­uided agaynst priestes chyldren, that they shoulde not nexte [Page 329] and immediatly succede their fathers in their benefices with­out A the popes dispensation, for feare (as the glosers shewe the cause) to make spirituall lyuynges, temporall inheri­taunce. The reason of whiche their decrees do playnely de­clare, that they toke priestes maryages for lawfull: for els a bastarde in deede is not inheritable, nor can clayme by inhe­ritaunce his fathers possessions and lyuyng. No more doth the cōmon lawe of the Realme, count them bastardes borne in priestes matrimonie, so long as the ordinarie doth not ex­ecute the canon of the churche against them whyle they liue, whose mariages though they be voydable, yet not voyded, B make their chyldren heritable. Nowe this misterie (si non caste, tamen caute) was secretelye delyuered from hande to hand, to them which were the wyser and of more experience, and so lyued secretelye with their frendes, not openly vou­ched for wiues. But in affectu sororio, amore vxorio, & fide coniugali, as they vse the tearmes. In which kynde of lyfe, there be no small argumentes, that some bishoppes and the best of the cleargie, lyuyng within the memorie of man, dyd continue. &c. Where the poore simple priestes and ignoraunt idiotes, hauyng litle skyll of such misteries, and hauyng as C feruent prouocation, the most part of them, in the fleshe, as the better sort had, knowe no other remedies, but eyther to lyue in single fornication, or secretly in adulteries with other men wyues, euer hauyng before their eyes (si non caste, ta­men caute) But yf it chaunced that they were taken to ma­nifestlye in the cryme, that there coulde be no excuse for them, then were they (be ye sure) extremely punyshed, but yet seldome with open punyshement, for it is agaynst the lawe. Quia clerici solennem paenitentiam agere non debent. And further for to comfort the concubinarie priestes Guiler­mus D Lynwood vpon the title de constitutionibus ca. Distinct. 28. Presbiter. Quod incontinencie, moueth a question. An contraueniens consti­tutioni peccet mortaliter, he saith. Qui voluntarie, siue con­temptabiliter sine rationabili causa transgrediuntur praecep­tum legis, siue constitutionis aut canonis peccant, nam tales impediunt finem, quem legislator intendit. Vbi tamen non [Page 330] A voluntarie, non contemptibiliter, fed ex causa rationabili aliquis transgreditur canonem, non peccat mortaliter, secū ­dum Thomam & recitatur per Arch. 76. dist. vtinam. &c. And to helpe foorth the matter, De habitu clericorum const. Otho. ca. Quoniā de habitu. Iohn Aton the gloser of Othos constitutions, mouyng the question, whether a con­stitution or councell whiche the subiectes neuer accepted or obeyed, do constrayne or bynde to the obseruation thereof? After many constitutions and alegations of lawes, and con­trarie determinations of lawyers and glosers of the popes lawes (in tanta Papalardia) as he doth vse the tearme: he B byddeth the reader to holde that whiche he doth determine. Which tearme of a Papalard Gaulfride Chauser doth vse, for a dis­semblyng hy­pocrite, pre­tendyng one thyng, & mea­nyng another. Fol. 154. Howebeit, in the discusment of this question he saith, that yf of the behalfe of the lawe, there myght folowe eyther sclaunder or more harme, then shoulde the common custome obserued preuayle, concernyng the excusation from tempo­rall punyshment. Yet saith he, in facte this is very seldome obserued, when by the obseruyng of the constitution, the purses of the prelates shoulde be made emptie thereby. But (saith he) all other constitutions which be (Bursales prelatis) auaylable to the prelates purses, such be well commended to C memorie, and be also executed to the vttermost inche. And lest the lawe of Otho shoulde be to sharpe for the concubina­rie priestes, or they to soone condempned, the gloser thus handeleth the matter vpon those terrible wordes of Otho. Statuimus et statuendo precipimus, vt clerici et maxime in sacris ordinibus constituti, De concub. clericorū ca. licz, at pro- qui in domibus suis vel alienis DETINENT PVBLICE CONCVBINAS, eas prorsus a se remoueant infra mensem, et ipsas vel ahas de cetero nul­latenus detenturi alioqui ab officio & beneficio sint suspensi &c. vs (que) digne satis fecerint, & de beneficiis se nullatenus in­tromittant, D alioqui ipso iure ipsos decernimus fore priuatos, & volumus & districte precipimus, vt archiepiscopi et epis­copi diligenter faciant inquisitionem. &c. We decree, and by decreeing do commaunde, that clarkes, specially such as be in holy orders, which in their owne houses or other mens do deteyne openly concubines, that they remoue those frō them vtterly within a moneth, and that they in no wyse deteyne [Page 331] them or other from hencefoorth, or els be they suspended frō A the office and benefice. &c. vntyll they shal make condigne sa­tisfaction, & that they intermedle in no wise with their bene­fices, or els we decree them to be depriued ipso iure. And we wyll & straytely commaunde, that the archbishops & bishops make diligent search hereof. &c. Nowe commeth in this fa­uourable gloser to temper all the matter more gently, in fa­uour of the concubinarie priestes, and saith that these three wordes detinent publice concubinas, that do deteyne openly concubines, muste concurre ioyntly together, so that this tearme openly must aswell determine this detention, as this B tearme concubine, that is to say, that this detention be pu­lique, and this concubine kepyng, be publique, for els it ta­keth no place. As for example, when a woman is commonly beleued to be the persons sister: though this deteynyng be publique, yet she is not knowen to be a concubine. But what (saith he) yf he be founde to lye with a woman? I aun­swere: A fauourable glose vpon an harde texte. yet it is to be taken secrete, and for this maye not he be compelled to voyde publiquely, excepte it can be proued otherwise. Againe, this worde deteynyng, is to be taken when these concubines be deteyned by the priestes proper C costes: for els, yf the woman lyue of her owne, though the priest haue to her publique accesse, it maketh no matter: for the entent of this constitution, is to restrayne vnhonest dila­pidation of the priestes. And agayne (saith he) this consti­tution was made more easie by pope Alexander the seconde, whiche nowe may not be preiudiced by a legate only, & ther­fore in that poynt doubtfull whether it byndeth. And where it is sayde openly, or publiquely, vnderstande that (saith he) when the priest is not afearde to appeare so before the whole multitude, for els it forceth not: as yf he deteyne her secrete­lye D within his owne house, or any of his frendes, for then he shall not incurre into the penaltie of this statute, seyng that an house declareth a thyng secrete, and not pu [...]lique. And further he saith, it is not enough to be taken for publique, because it is knowen only of some certaine: therefore holde thou (saith he) these wordes, publiquely, to signifie cōmonly [Page 332] A and before many, and yet is not the prieste to be charged to deteyne a concubine, though openly and commonly once or twyse he be seene to resort to her, which maketh not this fact of his notorious as is here decreed. And hereto agreeth VVilhelmus Lynwood, that though these thynges ought not to be done publiquely, yet belyke they maye do them se­cretely as the doctors say. Yet saith he, this is true to theffect of escapyng the payne: which though it be inflicted to them that do these forbydden thynges publiquely, yet it is not ex­tended to them that do them secretely, and so be they excused B concernyng the payne, but not concernyng the fact. Lo here is a fauourable glose of their watchworde, si non caste, ta­men caute. And againe to note the deuotion of these good men, to worke an immunitie to their concubinarie priestes, De habitati. clericorum. li. 3. ca. vt cle­ricalis. where as Stephen in his constitution in the auncient writ­ten copies and bookes, forbyddeth them to kepe their concu­bines both publice & occulte, and that they haue no accesse vnto them either publicum or occultum: They haue put out these two wordes occulte and occultum out of their bookes of constitutions prouinciall, as also in their common printed C bookes of councelles generall, late printed at Paris 1555 per Franciscum Iouerium, wherein the same councell holden at Oxforde by Steuen is inserted. Agayne, to minse this mat­ter, to make the pillowe more softe to put vnder the elbowes of these concubinarie priestes, he wryteth, y ^e it must be consi­dered what perseueraunce he vseth in this crime, for it must be taken for a continuall perseueraunce proued, yf it shoulde charge hym. And furthermore it must be a full mo­neth, and this moneth must stande of no fewer dayes then xxxi. saith he. And where it is decreed that within a moneth D she must be put away, that is saith he, though some rigorous­ly do expounde these wordes within a moneth, from the pu­blication of this decree, or from a month after warnyng ge­uen: yet holde thou (councelleth he) from a moneth of suche publique detention begun and proued. And yf all these wyll not help the matter, then he saith vpon the word deteynyng, that it must be continuall and long vsed. For yf vppon any [Page 333] sodayne deteynyng of his possession of her, he shoulde fall in­to A this greeuous payne, then it were to to rigorous a lawe, consideryng the frailtie of our tyme, and for that this frailtie of the fleshe doth moue to pitie, and not to rigour. And thus throughout, this gentle gloser wypeth awaye the wordes of this decree, in such wise, that nether this lawe nor any lyke shoulde euer take such place eyther to hynder the ordinaries commodities, or charge the prieste except he wyll hym selfe. Thus here ye see the practise of the chaste churche, to what poynt they haue brought all their harde constitutions, either to abiure mariages, or els to learne the priestes an immuni­tie B to lyue in fornications and adulteries without checke or coste, except the charge of a litle tribute yerely, to pacifie the officiall or commissarie. &c. with their returne after iniquisi­tion, non est inuentus. May it here haue place that VV. Nubergensis writeth. li. 2. ca 16. Episcopi dum defendendis magis clericorum libertatibus vel dignitatibus quam eorum vitus corigendis resecandis (que) inuigilant, arbitrantur obsequiū se prestare deo & ecclesiae, si facinorosos clericos quos pro officii debito canonicae vigore censure coercere, vel nolunt, vel negligunt, contra publicā tueantur disciplinam, et epis­copalis C circa eos sollicitudo sit languida. Whyle the bishops be more busie to defende the liberties or dignities of the priestes, then to correct & cut of their vices, then they thynke they do good seruice to God and to the churche, yf they may maintaine the wicked priestes agaynste the churches disci­pline, which priestes they eyther wyll not or neglecte to re­strayne, as their duetie is, by the sharpe censures of the churche: so that the bishoppes care is nowe become verye colde and dead. As this lawyer aforesayde vseth fauourable expositions in priestes concubines: so in the chapter before D he hath one fauourable glose for priestes whiche do mary af­ter their order. For he saith, though by the rigour of the lawe he must needes lose his benefice: yet yf by this mariage he incurre not Bigamie, then may they dispence with them in his ministration and in his benefice. For if he were made Bigamus by his maryage, then it cannot be dispenced with [Page 334] A but by the pope only. Finally, to plaister vp the matter to the priestes commodities in this cause, besydes lawes they haue no bad councell of some diuines to, of great name. For it is written, yf the clarke beyng in lesse orders, as Benet or Colit, haue a benefice, and can lyue chaste by no meanes, and therfore is in ieopardie to lose his benefice (not for being vnchaste, but for hauyng a benefice and mariage together) then let him (saith he) by the aduice of his ghostly father liue secretely with a wyfe, and so secretely deceaue the eyes of his ordinarie: yea and though he come after to holy orders, yet B thynketh he to be lesse sinne to lyue with a wife, then against Gods precept to lyue in fornication. Thus you see, that all the matter was handeled to lyue openly cleane and chaste, but secretelye to lyue as they woulde. For as many of the cleargie lyued in adulteries. &c. and some in vices sodomiti­call: so dyd diuers, whose consciences were better, and in knowledge more wise, lyued secretly with wyues, and pro­uided for their chyldren vnder the names of nephewes and other mens chyldren, chosyng rather so to do in obeying S. Paules precept, Rom. 14. Tu fidem habes, penes temetipsum sit, habe C coram deo. And folowyng agayne his councell, Videte ne bonum vestrum hominum malidicenciae sit obnoxium, & vnusquis (que) in suo sensu abundet. Qui sapit diem dn̄o sapit. Thou hast fayth, haue it to thy selfe before God, and take heede that your libertie be not subiect to the euyll tongues of men, and let euery man abounde in his owne sense. He that is wise, and can discerne the day, let hym discerne it to God. In whiche contemplation, not vnlyke that not onlye this archbishop Bonifacius, and other bishops of olde dayes, but some of late dayes dyd lyue, though all the worlde dyd D not barke at the matter. Nowe yf Boniface archbishop of Canterburie had a wyfe, Richarde bishop of Chichester had a wyfe, yf Galfride bishop of Ely was auouched before the pope hym selfe to haue maryed a wife, yf Robert of Lincolne had his sonne, besydes others that stories make mention of sence the conquest, as of Archdeacons and Priestes, Munkes and Nunnes, by the popes dispensations, innumerable: [Page 335] howe vnaduised be they which write checkyngly, that of all A the bishoppes that euer were in Englande, none were mary­ed before Crammer? Is nothyng to be proued by storie true, but such as they lyst to agree vnto, or haue read? If the bi­shoppes of Salisburie of olde tyme, and all other bishoppes of the Realme, dyd holde for trueth in the sacrament of the Lordes supper, before the conquest as doctrine common, the which doctrine is nowe more openly set out by Caluine, and most learnedly proued by witnesse of the auncient auctours, by the bishop of Sarum that nowe is, and others: If it be eui­dently testified by hystorie, that the pope had no such clayme B of auctoritie amongst the christian Britanes, nor were at any tyme so receaued, as Austen when he came in, sent as cardinall (saith one wryter) from pope Gregorie, to haue had the christian bishoppes and other of the cleargie whiche he founde in the realme at his commyng, to be subiect vnto his legacie and trade of his religion, which they denyed him, wherevpon folowed that shamefull murder of the Britanes both ecclesiasticall and laitie, amountyng to a very great summe, as Bede and other manie do testifie: What vanitie is it to affirme the contrarie so openly, so confidentlye, as C though these outlandyshe wryters had read all recordes con­cernyng these causes? or quia faenum habent in cornu, they may haue such boldnes and trust in their slypper pennes, to dryue all men vnder the hatch, to discredite all men whom they dislyke, yea to ouerthrowe and to turne ouer the impe­riall state of their naturall countrey, to the shamyng of the prince, to the chargyng of all the nobilitie with scisme and error, to the defacyng and disablyng (yf they coulde) the ho­nestie, learnyng, and estimation of the better sorte of the cleargie, so declaryng what spirite they styll shewe them D selues to be of: That where almyghtie God (who be pray­sed therefore) haue restrayned their olde furious wonted cru­eltie, that they can nowe hang and bren no more, stocke or imprison any more their aduersaries: yet can not ceasse by their vnruly natures to persecute the whole Realme with their pennes and styles, to daunger the state to the peryll of [Page 336] A sedition, to shame such men as so modestly aunswere them, with their vyle wordes and tauntes, more meete for Ruffi­ans then graue deuines, who of reuerent conscience shoulde debate the wayghtie matters of their soules, the honorable groundes of our fayth, the maiestie of Christe, of God hym selfe. Is it lyke that God wyll powre there his spirite of trueth, of puritie, where suche lyes, such fyltynes is kept in store, where mere malice wryteth, and slaunder so doth ad­uaunce her selfe? Surely the longer suche men write in this sort, the farther of they dryue indifferent conscionable men B from them, and the more earnestlye prouoke the weake men to reuenge their spyte in them selfe and in their frendes, the more prouoke they some men to vse some bitternesse againe, and to put abrode in syght, that whiche otherwyse myght haue ben kept in scilence. Which for that stories be cōmon, though some yet in fewe mens handes, so farre as the reue­lation may make to extoll gods glorie, his trueth and veritie, to make the blynde worlde to see somewhat, except they be altogether blynde, is some mens intendement, rather per­aduenture prouoked then sought of purpose, so to weare out C the vaine tyme of this pilgrimage, tyll the sonne of man shal come: Vt auferat omnia scandala, & omnes iniquitates, qui reddet vnicu [...] (que) secundum opera sua, iustus iudex. But a gods name, why shoulde they make this their doctrine of transubstantiation and grosse presence, to be so newe that Berengarius must be the first auctour, most vntruely so faced out? Where auncient recordes proue so farre the contrarie, and setteth out suche the true doctrine, so to be vrged and ap­poynted, both for priestes in their synodes, for religious in their collations, for the common people in their orderlye ex­hortations, D expressed in Homylees, of a great number extant in Saxon speache for all the festiuall dayes in the yere, which written, were so vsed many a yere before Beringarius was borne or hearde of. So that the bishoppes of olde may aswell be charged to be Caluanistes, yf the assertion be so conside­red, aswell as the bishoppe of Sarum, or any bishoppe at these dayes. And aswell maye that learned archbishop Rabanus [Page 337] Maurus, be charged to be a Caluanist, beyng in the yere of A our Lorde 808. because his opinion was agaynst the scolasti­call transubstantiation, affirmyng that the materiall parte of the sacrament is turned to the noryshment of our bodies, and therfore (saith he) is the bread called the body of Christe: because as the bread doth noryshe the body, so Christes body norysheth the soule: and because the wine worketh blood in the fleshe, therfore it is to be referred to the blood of Christ. This to be Rabanus iudgement, is so aduouched by the auc­tour who dyd abridge Amalarius booke, wrytyng de ordine Romanae ecclesiae. Whiche Amalarius in the begynnyng of B his seconde booke, doth shewe the cause why of olde tyme emonges the Romanes the lessons were read in Greke and also in Latine, as it is at this day vsed (saith he) at Constan­tinople for two causes: One for that there were present Grecians, to whom was vnknowen the Latine tongue, and also for that the Romanes were present, to whom was vn­knowen the Greke tongue: an other cause to expresse the vnitie of both nations. So that the sayde Amalarius may be witnesse, that in the olde tyme the lessons of the scriptures were so read in the Churche, as by the readyng the people C myght vnderstande to their edification. But as concernyng the sayde Rabanus, it is not vnlyke that he had receaued his iudgement from his maister Alcquine, an olde Englyshe wryter, whose auditor he was, and Alcquine agayne some­tyme auditor of Bede, as Tritemius testifieth. Wherevpon to consider the iust computation of yeres, it is not vncredible but that such faith towardes the sacrament which we nowe professe, was in the Realme before the conquest, and so con­tinued tyl Lanfranckes dayes. And for all the examinations and executions which were done in the Englyshe Churche D afterwarde, by diuers Ordinaries in the Realme: yet from age to age it was reteyned, and men founde for holdyng that auncient fayth by their inquisitions, though cruelly brente, in such mercie as of late was shewed to poore christian men, women, and chyldren, wherein the order of their doyng ouer that article was alwayes vrged and charged vpon them, [Page 338] A whiche they woulde condempne for heretiques, though their greatest greefe was to heare of those contemned persons, o­ther practises of their lyues and religion so dispised and re­proued: but thinking by laying that cause of the sacrament to their charge, it would compel al other men to beleue them to be heretiques and worthyly brent. But God doth open men eyes better to iudge, then before was knowen. God graunt for such knowledge men may be thankfull to God in their lyues and conuersations. But to returne agayne to the matter purposed, and to walke in the wyde discourse of B testimonies and examples whiche myght be brought in, to proue both bishoppes and priestes as haue ben in matrimo­nie in this Realme before the conquest (the recordes whereof howe enuiously so euer haue ben suppressed, rased, & defaced: yet remaine enough of that sort to proue the fact, though the scriptures fayled to be brought forth for triall of this trueth.) And to aleage the stories of other countreys, what bishoppes and priestes of great fame and learning haue ben of this state openly aduouched and commended, were a matter of greate largenesse, the numbers be so many, and therfore the matter C to be but needelesse to such as haue any meane syght in sto­ries. So that to rude and vnlearned persons, who esteeme al thinges newe which they haue no remembraunce of, or haue not ben of late dayes in vre, were not worthy any more to be written: And yet to the learned, or suche as make moste bragge of learnyng, all this to muche, especiallye yf they be suche as haue eyes to see and wyll not see, and eares & wyll not heare, heartes and wyll not vnderstande: and therefore let it suffise them whose consciences be fearefull, and woulde gladly be enfourmed of the trueth, at the least waye to serue D their turne, whose cause it is, to serue God in a pure consci­ence, in the lawfull vsage of his institution, not vnlawfull for them, and geue their humble thankes to God, and let enuious men barke what they can against it. For whyle the Gospell shall haue any credite or estimation, they shal neuer preuayle (after so much lyght of gods worde shewed) to beate downe this institution of God, free for all maner of persons [Page 339] by the libertie of the Gospell, as all other creatures of tyme A and place be made for mans necessitie and comfort. And yf men crye out agaynst the vnhonest or vnlawfull abuse of Gods institution in any person, I wyshe with them that the abuse were by lawe and decree refourmed. But good men wyshe the libertie therof no more worthy to be taken awaye in it selfe, then they thynke reasonable to be plucked from them any other such benefite of God, erected and instituted by his diuine ordinaunce, to the represse of fylthynes & other abhomination, not to be commonly rehearsed, though to commonly they haue ben vsed of some persons, who be now B the more vnexcusable, hauyng the libertie graunted, yf they defyle them selues as haue ben accustomed. So that by this libertie is no bridle geuen ouer to lewdnes as some do talke, or that they be lyke to haue the fewer to be chaste: but the more to be wyllyngly chaste in deede, the restraynt thus re­uoked, as in examples of these dayes who lyst well to consi­der, may heare of graue men, vifiting in diuers dioces of the Realme abrode, howe fewe concubinaries, howe fewe for­nicators, howe fewe adulterers of the ecclesiasticall state be detected and proued, in suche comparason, as of xij. or xiij. C hundred diuers paryshes, of one dioces not foure accused: Who yf any be resident at home, kepyng vp their houses in due reparations, vsyng such hospitalitie as they be able, tea­chyng their flockes as they may, be most of that sort & condi­tion. And if this serue not to the godly policie of the Realme, for such outrages to be extynguyshed, and suche as can not lyue chas [...]e to haue their libertie, and suche as can by the se­crete gyft of God lyue chaste, in the same quietly to folowe the state of their vocation, and haue thereby their iuste com­mendation for the same: I leaue it to be considered of men D of godly consciences, of wyse men in experience, and of true policie in deede. And here is to be aunswered that obiection which is commonly made of diuers persons, whiche both feare God, and wyshe all offendicles to be taken out of the Churche, that the Gospell myght haue his full credite. They vse to obiecte the saying of S. Paule, 1. Cor. 7. He that is syngle, [Page 340] A careth for the thynges of the Lorde, hovve he may please the Lorde, But he that hath maryed a vvyfe, careth for the thynges of the vvorld hovve he may please his vvyfe. To aunswere such, it is good to heare the saying of one godly deuine, where he saith: they must vnderstande that S. Paules wordes must be taken in such sort as he meant them. For he meant not vtterly to se­quester from all maryed persons a care and desire of heauen­ly thynges, and to discharge them by all maner meanes to please the Lorde, and to attribute to them the onlye care of B worldly busines, howe they shoulde please their wyues, as peculierly to them: But he spake only of that which is com­mōly wont to be done, specially in such matrimonies which be contracted and spent out in worldlynes, that be ledde and entangled with the desire and loue of worldly thynges. For an infidell woman which is geuen to the worlde, is wont to withdraw the man frō godly matters, to worldly & carnal busines: of which sort of persōs S. Paul speaketh this sentence. For els no christian man can denie, but that a godly wyfe is an helper to honest and godly lyfe in this worlde, to all such C as haue not the gyft of single lyuyng geuen them of the lord. For the wordes whiche almyghtie God spake, Gen. 2. must needes stande in strength, where he sayde: It is not good for a man to be alone, let vs make an helper which may be with hym, lyke vnto hym selfe. Whiche wordes, the Lorde vnderstode not but of such an helper as myght serue a man towardes a godly and heauenly life: for whatsoeuer doth not helpe ther­to, can not be called of the Lorde an helper of man, but an impediment or hynderaunce. It is manifest and euident to all men, that as S. Paule dyd not pronounce this sentence D generally of all them which lyue in single state, that they all care only for the thinges of God, and are nothyng ledde with the desire and care of worldly thynges: Euen by lyke reason he meant not his saying of all maner persons, that they care only for such thynges whiche be worldlye, and despise those thynges which be heauenly and godly: for wedlocke is holy and the bedde vndefyled. These be the wordes of the holye [Page] ghost, Ad Heb. 13. which is only the spirite of trueth, only holy and pure, A and therfore must needes be verified of all such wedlocke that is contracted and vsed accordyng to his institution, whether it be of priest or of lay man, whether it be the first mariage, the seconde, or the thirde, for the worde of God maketh no difference either of person either of number. Wherefore, yf an honest wyfe that feareth God, be maryed in the Lorde, she can not be but an helper to perfourme a godly lyfe, and that to priestes, specially such as haue not the gyft of chasti­tie, or to suche as wyll passe ouer the sowre pylgrymage of this passyng lyfe, to haue a trustie and faythfull frende to B beare the burden of all greefes and heauynesse in comforta­ble moderation, and therby to auoyde the daungerous temp­tations that otherwise myght encomber his lyfe. As Eliza­beth was an helpe to her husbande in the seruice of god, Luk. 1. in the ministerie of the priesthood. And the mother of Gregorie Naziazene dyd also helpe her husband in the episcopal office, of whom Naziazene in the funerall sermon of his sayde fa­ther, wryteth, that she was not only a notable and excellent helpe of his father in godlynes, but also a teacher and defen­der of his cure, with many other wordes of hye commenda­tions C of both their vertues: so that their mariage was aswel a copulation of vertue as of body. Which thyng haue many other godly women perfourmed to their husbandes, and do the same at this day. And the said Gregorie Naziazene doth tell that Basil a priest, was father of three bishoppes: of Basil the great of Cesaria, of Peter of Sebastia, and of Gregorie of Nize. Which Basil (saith he) though he bounde hym selfe in matrimonie, yet he lyued so therein, that he had no impe­diment therby to attayne both perfecte vertue and perfecte knowledge: So that in his coniugall state he kept his lyfe & D priestly order, wherof these three, chastitie, matrimonie, and priesthood (whiche be wont to make diuers kyndes of lyfe) were nothing repugnaunt in hym, or dyd any wayes hynder his vertue. Wherefore, it cannot be sayde that holye wed­locke, yf it be begun in the Lorde, shoulde be by it selfe an impediment to the office of a priest, specially forasmuche as [Page 342] A the holy ghost hath ordeyned it, and hath enioyned it in the first place among the ornamentes of a minister of the church. Whervpon further it foloweth, that saint Paule wrote not these wordes (He that hath maryed a wyfe, careth for the thynges of the worlde, howe he may please his wyfe) of all maryed persons: but of those only which be ioyned in matri­monie after the worldly maner, and with such persons as be geuen to the worlde, and therfore he addeth strayghtway af­ter these wordes: this I speake to your profite, not to entan­gle you in a snare. By which saying, he doth acknowledge B a wyfe to some men to be so necessarie for a godly lyfe, that single state to such men must needes be a snare & most gree­uous inconuenience. And let not the scrupulous consciences of men be blynded in them selues, as to iudge any impuritie in the bodyes of them which honestly vse gods institution of matrimonie. De virg. cap. 33. No Saint Austen doubteth not to say: Quia fancta sunt etiam corpora coniugatorū fidem sibi & domino seruientium, that the bodyes euen of the maried folke be ho­lye, of such as preserue their fayth to them selues one to the other, and their fayth to god. And there in that discourse C saint Austen proueth, that the graces of continencie was not vnlyke in Iohn, Cap. 21. who neuer had a do with maryage, and in Abraham who had chyldren: so that the chastitie of the one, & the matrimonie of the other, came to one ende to serue the Lorde. Agayne, it may not be thought, that for the worldly cares which may be in matrimonie priestes be more charged, than for other cares and turmoyle of the worlde. For suche carefulnes may assone defyle the puritie of the mynde, as the cares which be in matrimonie. Aswell be these carefull tra­uayles of the worlde forbydden to the priestes, as cares which D be in wedlocke. De bono viduitatis. cap. 23. God forbyd (saith S. Austen to the wydows) that ye shoulde be entangled with the desire of riches, in steede of the cares of matrimonie, that in your heartes mo­ney should beare the chiefe rule, and so loue of money should be your husbandes. Wherevppon Chrisostome wryteth. Audiant hoc virgines, Hom 19. 1. Cor 7. quòd non in hoc definita est virgini­tas, corpore solum virgines esse. &c. Let virgins heare, that [Page 343] virginitie is not in this poynt so concluded, for the bodyes A only to be in virginitie. For she which hath the cares of secu­ler matters, she is neither virgin nor honest. And Theophi­lact saith: 1. Cor. 7. When thou shalt beholde any virgin which hath vowed, carefully inclined to worldly matters, knowe thou certainly that she differs nothyng from a maryed wo­man. And saint Hierome saith: It wyll profite nothyng to haue the body of a virgin, yf the mynde haue inwardlye maryed. This affirme I (saith Athanasius) that euery vir­gin, wydowe, or woman continent, yf she haue the cares of this worlde, De virg. those very cares be her husbande. Whervppon B I must conclude with saint Austen to these. Desinant isti contra scripturas loqui. Epist. 89. quest 4. Let these ceasse to speake against the scriptures. And let them in their exhortations excite mens myndes to the more perfect state, that yet they do not con­dempne the inferiour gyftes. For some (saith he) in their ex­hortations, can not otherwyse perswade virginitie, but that therwith they condempne the matrimonial estate, forasmuch as S. Paule saith plainely, euery man hath his gyft of God, one after this maner, and another after that. Thus farre S. Austen. Better (saith he) is meke matrimonie, then vaun­tyng C virginitie. In Psal. 99. And therfore the sayde saint Austen exhor­teth virgins, that they conioyne other agreable vertues, as handmaydes which in deede do moste beautifie the true vir­ginitie, In Psal. 75. without which (saith he) the virginall lyfe either is dead in it selfe, or els defourmed in it selfe, and let the state be holy both in body and spirite, seruyng God without se­peration at all. Of such myndes were the fathers in olde tyme, so exhortyng to the single state of lyfe, as mens frayle­ties myght beare the perfection, and vsed no condempnati­on or compulsion, but left it indifferent to the conscience of D euery man. So dyd that learned abbot Aelfricus (afterwarde as some affirme archbishop of Canterburie) prescrybyng a synodal sermon to be spoken by the bishoppes to the priestes, after his reasons and swasions to the sole lyfe, vsed these wordes. Non cogimus violenter vos dimittere vxores ve­stras, sed dicimus vobis quales esse debetis, & si non vultis, [Page 344] A nos [...]rimus securi, & liberi a vestris peccatis, quia dicimus vo­bis canones sanctorum patrum. We do not compell you by violence to forsake your wyues, but we declare to you what ye shoulde be: and yf ye wyll not, we shalbe cleare and free from your offences, for we haue shewed vnto you the canons of holy fathers. This writer in all his whole sermon, neuer chargeth the Englishe priestes with any vowe, but only standeth vpon the constraynt of canons ecclesiasticall. For before the conquest was neuer matrimonie once forbydden, nor vowes of seculer priestes once receaued. Nor Gildas that B auncient Britaine, in his sharpe inuection against all estates of his tyme, after he had reproued the greatest personages and the regulers of their abuses, he proceedyng to speake a­gaynst the seculer priestes: yet in his processe he neuer char­geth them for breakyng any vowe, but chiefely for that they were not contented with saint Paules graunt, to be the hus­bandes of one only wyfe, but contemned that his precepte, and were the husbands of more wyues at once, in such lewd libertie as he charged before the laitie to haue vsed them selues, in renouncyng their former wyues to take newe, and C to haue many wyues at once, without all regarde of Gods lawes and cōmaundement, after such lyke sort as the Irishe men vsed tyll Henrie the seconde his dayes, what tyme the kyng dyd write to pope Adrian of his purpose, to reduce the Irishe nation to better religion. Girardus Cambrensis The pope in his rescripte dyd well commende his good zeale, and councelled hym to go forwarde: but with this prouiso, that (because saith he) all Ilandes that be turned to the fayth, belong to the ryght of S. Peter, and the moste holy churche of Rome, the lande shoulde pay yerely to S. Peter for euery house a penye, as D pope Alexander folowyng ratified y ^e same, with the reserua­tion of the sayde payment for Irelande, and bryngyng to memorie also his pencion for euery house of Englande. So that whosoeuer toke payne and coste to set any nation in order, or to bryng them to better beliefe, the pope would lose nothyng thereby: where yet tyll that tyme, his fatherhood dyd most strangely suffer that people so outragiously to liue, [Page 345] tyll the kyng toke the reformation. Upon which letters sent A by the kyng▪ the sayde Adrian dyd confirme to hym and to his heyres of that kyngdome, VValter Couent. and did constitute them kinges therof for euer. And further, in the letters of y ^e said king Hen­rie sent to the pope, he professed to refourme their abuses, & to put Christes religion better amongst thē. Shortly after, the kyng sent his learned men to the archbishops & bishops there, who kepte a great councell at the citie of Cassalense, wherein they dyd constitute, that where before the Iryshe vsed to baptise the children of the greater men in mylke, and of the poorer sort in water, and that where the Irishe laitie B had as many wyues as they woulde: nowe they decreed, that water only should be the element indifferently for all their chyldren, and that they shoulde mary in Iure ecclesia­stico, accordyng to the ecclesiasticall lawe. If ye wyll nowe knowe in what state the priestes were in that lande: it may be vnderstande of a canon of the councell kepte there by cer­taine bishoppes, Lib. Sino­dal. Ecclesie VVigorū. vnder the names of Patricius, Auxilius, Iserninus, and this dyd they constitute. Quicun (que) clericus, ab hostiario vs (que) ad sacerdotem, sine tunica visus fuerit, atque turpitudinem ventris & nuditatem non tegat, & si non mo­re C romano, capilli eius tonsi sint, & vxor eius sine velato capite ambulauerit: pariter a laicis contemnantur, et ab ec­clesia separentur. What clarke soeuer, from the dore keper to the prieste, be seene without a coate, and doth not couer the vnseemly partes and nakednes of his body: and againe, yf his heares be not shorne after the romane fashion, and yf his wyfe shall walke abrode without any couer vppon her head: let them be both contempned of the laitie, and seque­stred from the churche. Lo thus (as Iohn Auentine saith) priestes had at that tyme wyues publiquely, Lib. 5. as other christi­an D men had, and dyd procreate chyldren, as I do fynde (saith he) in certaine deedes of gyftes which they made to temples and to professed munckes, in which instrument their wyues be rehearsed by name as witnesses with their husbandes, & be called by an honest appellation in latine Presbyterissae. Thus priestes were not forbydden, so they had but one wife [Page 346] A at once, and not many, no yf they had diuers one after ano­ther, and free to them by saint Paules graunt, so they mary in the Lorde. Vnius vxoris vir. Tim. iii. Nor saint Ambrose hym selfe doth denie this trueth: but playnely affirmeth, that it is lawfull and not prohibited, no not for bishoppes to haue a seconde wyfe, af­ter the death of the first. Although (saith he) that he may be woorthy to be a bishop, he must refuse those thynges whiche be lawfull for the dignitie of his order. Which holy Ambrose bishop of Millane, dyd permit in his churche priestes freely to be maryed, and so testified by Barnardinus Corius, in his B chronicle sub anno 1387. and so aduouched by Iohannes Neuisanus professor of lawe, in his booke entituled Silua nuptialis. Thus was mariages free at al seasons, for a priest to haue one only wyfe at once, & was neither then woorthy blame, nor was a great whyle after in the Saxons time for­bydden, as in bookes of rules and canons set out for the go­uernyng of y ^e seculer priestes it may appeare: De regulis clericorum. which be testi­fied in these olde English wordes. [...]; Be [...]. C Let them also do their endeu [...]u [...] that they holde with perpe­tuall diligence their chastitie in an vnspotted body, or els ve­rely be they coupled with the bonde of one matrimonie.

But to stande in rehearsall of suche recordes, what haue ben vsed by the auncient good fathers of the churche, to set out their iudgementes so practised in diuers olde churches, who consideryng the infirmitie of man, would not kepe that libertie in bondage, which God had made free: wherby they D had the more continent persons a great number. If there­fore suche compulsions of constrayned chastitie were abo­lished, and the estimation of Goddes institution more reue­renced then it is commonlye, it is not vnlyke but that we shoulde haue lesse cause to make lawes vpon lawes agaynst concubinaries: whiche before the prohibition of maryage was seldome hearde of in the churche, though agaynst So­domiticall [Page 347] vices raignyng amongst the religious, there hath A ben from tyme to tyme lawes and decrees multiplied one vpon another, and yet coulde the rage be neuer refourmed, as they that be of age and haue any experience can well testifie of their doynges. And such auster lawe makers, do not only impel men and women to vnspeakable fedities, but also do receede muche from the auncient fathers that haue ben in the churche before, as Socrates saith. Cuncti qui ab­stinent a coniugibus spontanea voluntate, Tripart. li. 3. cap. 38. & non aliqua ne­cessitate, etiam episcopi seipsos abstinent, & plurimi eorum etiam episcopatus tempore, ex legittima vxore filios habue­runt. B All ecclesiasticall persons in the east church do absteine from wiues by free consent, & not by any constraint or neces­sitie, yea bishoppes do so forbeare: yet very many of them (saith he) in the tyme of their bishoppricke haue chyldren by their lawfull wyues. Thus farre Socrates. Which libertie yf it shoulde be restrayned vnder pretence of religious holy­nesse, myght not a man iustly crye out agaynst suche forced chastitie, De virg. li. 1. as once Ambrose dyd crye out against the painims religion, for their vestall virgins and Pallas priestes. O mi­steria, o mores, vbi necessitas imponitur castitate, authoritas C datur libidini. O maruelous misteries, O straunge maners, where necessitie (by vowes) is imposed vpon chastitie, autho­ritie (by lawes immunities) is geuen to lecherie. Therefore (saith he) she is not chaste which is compelled by feare, nor honest whiche is induced by hyre and rewarde.

Which kynde of constrained professed chastitie (to satisfie the eyes of the worlde) many tymes proueth not aunswerablie, as it well was seene in that bishop Genebaldus, he maryed the neece of Remigius, who made hym byshop of Laudune. This Remigius was chosen archbishop when he was but D xxij. yeres olde. But this saide bishop and his wyfe professed outwardly a conuersion ( religionis causa, Remigius monach [...]s claruit. 880. saith the booke, and therfore contrarie to the Apostles vi. canon) yea though they discharged one another from mutuall companie ad nolens volens, so that this man myght well saye, that he coulde nei­ther lyue with her nor without her: yet they had suche mu­tuall [Page 348] A resort together vnder pretence of her instruction, that secretely she was with chylde by hym. Whervpon she detec­tyng the matter to hym, Antoninus. lib. 2. tit. 11. cap. 18. In Chron. Vincentius in speculo hist. he wylled that the chylde shoulde be named Latro, because (saith he) he was begotten in stealth. Which Latro afterwarde proued an holy man, and succee­ded his father in his bishopricke, saith the archbishop Anto­nine. Nowe he dyd permit his wyfe to resorte to hym as be­fore, lest els thereby myght rise abrode some suspection. And therafter folowed that she was againe with childe, & brought foorth a gyrle, whom he cōmaunded to be called Vulpecula, B belike for the craftie and slye handelyng of the matter. Then Genebaldus remembryng hym selfe, went to archbishop Re­migius her vncle, and fell at his feete, and woulde haue re­signed vp his habite and profession, but Remigius would not permit hym so to do: and hearyng the case, he dyd comforte hym very amiablie saith the storie, but kept hym in a cell for vij. yeres together, and in the meane tyme dyd gouerne his bishopricke, tyll an angell from heauen appeared to fetche him out, commaundyng hym to come foorth: who told him that his offence was forgeuen hym, and that heauen was C open vnto hym, the trueth wherof the angell proued to hym then by a miracle. And so Remigius by the commaundement of the sayde angell restored hym to his bishopricke agayne, and there he continued tyll he dyed. And yf we shoulde cre­dite stories that be written: Some doth write saith Anto­nine, that because S. Iohn was called from his maryage (that same that was in Cana Galileae, In summa part. 3. tit. 1. cap. 21. whereat Christe and his mother were present by some mens opinion) vnto the Apostleship, against his wyues wyll Marie Magdalen, yf it be true that some affirme: she vpon indignation hereof, fell D to her incontinent lyfe, and was a publique euyl lyuer in the citie. But this holy father Genebaldus with his wife lyuyng in forced professed chastitie, by stealth dyd as their kynde dyd leade them, but yet kepte all thynges close from the eyes of the world, and then all was well. Had it not haue ben more honorable for this bishoppe to haue folowed the example of RESTITVTVS sometyme bishoppe of London, Restitutus. who to [Page 349] the eyes of the world manifestlye lyued with his wyfe: or to A haue folowed that notable learned martir Phileas bishop of Thmuis, whom Eusebius so hyghly doth commende for his eloquence, testifiyng that he dyd write a notable martiriloge a booke of martirs, of the number of such christian folke whi­che suffred at Alexandria, whō Ensebius also prayseth much for his constancie, who hauyng a wyfe and chyldren to the knowledge of all the worlde, Eccle. hist. Euseb. lib. 8. cap. 8. woulde not forsake his fayth, when he was ledde before the president, and towarde his martirdome for his fayth to Christe, though his kynsfolkes moued hym to saue hym selfe, Hillarius floruit. anno Dom 350 and to haue respect of his wife B and chyldren: yet vertue preuayled in hym agaynst such per­swasions, and would not so redeeme hym selfe. Or had it not haue ben more commendable to haue folowed the example of HYLARIVS bishop of Poyters, who in his bishopricke auouched both wyfe and chyldren openly, whiche the sayde archbishop of Florens affirmeth was not agaynst his order. Quia (saith he) episcopatus ex sui natura, non habet opponi ad matrimonium. Lib. 3 tit. 1. cap. 21. in summa. A bishopricke of his owne nature, hath no contradiction to wedlocke. This Hylarie in his dayes dyd sore lament the order of discipline of the churche to be then C much decayed. To which complaynt agreeth that religious father Baptist Mantuan, who wrytyng of the sayde byshop Hylarius, testifieth thus: and there improueth the lawe of forced chastitie more at large.

Thy progenie was no shame to thee, thy wyfe coupled in D lawfull matrimonie, was no impediment to thee, God at that tyme dyd not abborre eyther the maryage chamber, or the cradle, or the publique lyghtes vsed to be caryed afore maryed persons. Vertue only was then in price, which now is not knowen, and therfore is vylely esteemed, and lyueth only with the common people, where the cowle is therein worne and slytten. But as concernyng S. Paules canon, [Page 350] A for a bishop to be the husband of one wyfe, he had great cause so to order it, for that saith S. Ambrose, he shoulde shewe a more perfection then was commonly vsed of others. For but xvij. yere before Christe, euen emongst our nigh neighbours in Scotlande, it was lawful to haue as many wyues as they listed. Polidorus. Lanquet. anno. 17. ante Christ. Insomuch that their king Ewinus (hauing an hundred concubines at once) made it lawfull by lawe that a man myght haue a pluralitie of wyues: and further prouided by lawe, that the wyues of the poore commoners, shoulde be common to the nobilitie, and that the Lorde of the soyle B might clayme the virginitie of all his tenauntes daughters, except they woulde redeeme them selues by some pension. The first two saith Polidore dyd Christes religion abolyshe, Lib. 10. hist. the last was long continued amongst them, tyll kyng Mal­colyne (at the request of that vertuous Queene Margarete, mother to Mawde the first wyfe of kyng Henrie the firste) dyd abrogate that foule pencion. Which kyng then dyd de­cree, that the virgin after her maryage shoulde paye to the lorde of the fee but one peece of golde for her redemption: Which statute saith Polidore is at this day kept. In deede C S. Hierom writeth thus. Aduersus Iouin. lib 2. Quod Scotorum natio vxores pro­prias non habet, that the nation of the Scottes had no wiues peculiar. De prepa. euangelica. lib 6 cap. 8. Ab vrsper. De antiqui. Iudaica. lib. 17. ca. 2. & lib 4. cad 6. De bello iud. lib 1. cap. 18. Aduer. iud. Tripartit. lib. 8. cap. 11. Of some suche disorder wryteth Eusebius. Multi apud Britannos. &c. In Britanie many men haue one wo­man to wyfe. Among the Parthians, and in Thrasia contra­rie, many women haue but one husband, and lyue all chaste in obeying the lawes. Iosephus recordeth, that it was an auncient vsage among them to haue many wyues at once. For Herode (saith he) had nine wyues. As the Iewes had by permission two wyues at once, as he testifieth, where D Iustinus martir inueyeth against the Iewes, that their inso­lence grewe so great, that their teachers dyd permit euery one of them to haue foure or fyue wyues accordyng to their desires, though Valentinian brought it by lawe to onlye a couple, a good emperour yf he had had good counsayle, and nothyng saith the storie he wanted to the perfection of all ho­nour, but godly counsayle of his faythfull seruauntes. This [Page 351] was it not without good grounde, in so much corruption of A the worlde, In catalogo. Cesareum. 6 when all nations dyd what they lysted. If Paul required of a bishop in his perfection, to be content with one wyfe: Which prudence saith Hierom, Paule dyd iustly vse, for that he knewe it graunted by lawe, and so practised by the examples of the patriarches and of Moyses, Ad Ocean. lib 2. to this effect that the people might haue large issue by their many wiues. And for that the electiō of this libertie was open to priestes also, he gaue commaundement that priestes should not cha­lenge such licence in the churche, to haue two or three ma­trimonies at once: but that they myght haue euery one of B them one only wyfe at one time. And there in that discourse S. Hierom doth much blame the harde and contorted expo­sition of vnius vxoris virum, to be the husbande of one wyfe, that is of one churche only: and there he doth reiecte that ex­position for to much violent. In conclusion, these matters aforesayde, with many others, well and aduisedly pondered by that noble prince king Edwarde, his nobles and cleargie, somewhat to staye the foule abuse so long tyme without re­medie vsed in that state of the Realme, which should by due­tie expresse (for example) most puritie of lyfe: thought it good C to remoue the force of such forrayne lawes which compelled to this daungerous state of lyfe, his cleargie meetyng in sy­node together, and after debatement concluded.

If ye lyst to vnderstande what was done and subscribed vn­to, ye shall heare what the lower house dyd affirme in this case of continencie, Iohn Taylor doctor of diuinitie beyng then prolocutor, and VVilliam Say beyng register, to accept the voyces and subscriptions of them that were present, to whose consciences was this proposition propounded, eyther to be freely affirmed, or to be freely denyed by them. vidz. D

That all such Canons, Lawes, Statutes, De­crees, Vsages, and customes heretofore made, had or vsed, that forbyd any person to contract matrimonie, or condempne matrimonie by any person alredie contracted for any vowe of priest­hood, [Page 352] A chastitie or widohood, shal from henceforth be vtterly voyde and of none effect.

The affirmantes of this proposition, were almost treble so many as were the negantes. Amongst whiche affirmantes, diuers were then vnmaryed, and neuer dyd afterwarde take the libertie of maryage, as doctor Tailor the bishop, doctor Benson, doctor Redman, doctor Hugh Weston, maister Wotton. &c. Of them that denyed it (notwithstandyng their superscriptions to the contrary) as fewe as they were, yet some of them toke vpon them the libertie of mariage not B long after, as doctor Oken, maister Rayner, maister Wilsō. Nowe yf any man may fortune doubt of the iudgement of that notable learned man, and commonly reputed of graue iudgement, I meane doctor Redmayn doctor of diuinitie, he shall heare his very iudgement, which he vttered in the selfe same conuocation, written in a paper seuerally by his owne hande, yet extant to be shewed, & subscribed with his owne name: and thus he saith.

I thynke, that although the worde of God, do exhort and counsell priestes to lyue in chastitie, C out of the cumber of the fleshe, & the world, that thereby they may more wholly attende to their callyng: Yet the bande of conteynyng from ma­riage, doth only lye vpō priestes of this Realme, by reasons of Canons and constitutions of the Churche, and not by any precept of Gods worde: as in that they should be bound by reason of any vowe, which (in as farre as my conscience is) priestes in this Churche of Englande do not D make. I thynke that it standeth well with Gods worde, that a man which hath ben & is but once maryed, beyng otherwise accordingly qualified, may be made a prieste.

And I thynke, that forasmuch as Canons and [Page 353] Rules made in this behalfe, be neither vniuer­sall, A nor euerlastyng, but vpon considerations may be altered & chaunged: therefore the kinges maiestie and the hygher powers of the Churche, may vpon such reasons as shall moue them, take away the clogge of perpetuall continencie from priestes, and graunt that it may be lawfull to such as can not, or wyll not containe, to mary one wyfe. And yf she dye, then the sayde priest to mary no more, remaynyng styll in his ministra­tion. B Iohn Redmayn.

Thus this learned man, in such credite vniuersally in decidyng questions of conscience, doth in a great sort of re­spectes, condempne the vniuersal tract of the bolde assertions inspersed through D. Martins whole booke: and therfore yf any man wyll not be resolued by his iudgement to recante such his opinion, yet shall he neuer be able with all the gly­stryng floryshe of that booke to discredite hym, or to wynne credite therto. Nowe further to enlarge his conclusions or C notes with more sounde testimonie & doctrine, should be but superfluous, to such specially of whom Solomon speaketh. Non recipit (quidam) verba prudentiae, nisi ea dixeris, quae versantur in corde eius. Prouer. 18. Some men be of such nature, that they wyll neuer receaue any wisedome or perswasion, except ye tell hym suche thynges which be tost in his owne brayne, and soncken into his owne heart. It is not therfore without good cause, Tit. 3. that S. Paule geueth precept not to haue longe ado with such as be sectaries, thus saying. Foolyshe questi­ons, genealogies, contentions, and braulynges rysyng of the D lawes, refrayne them, for they be vnprofitable and vayne. And therefore such a one as is a man of deuision, after once or twyse admonyshyng hym, renounce hym, knowyng this, that he that is such, is peruerted and synneth, as one con­dempned in his owne iudgement.

And nowe finally to make an ende, yf Chryste, whom the [Page 354] A father of heauen commaunded all the worlde to heare, Math. 17. in his doctrine made no prohibition or restraynt in his fathers or­dinaunce of matrimonie, Iohn. 2. Math. 19. but honored it with his presence, and commaunded it to be indissoluble, forbyddyng all men to seperate whom God hath coopled, wyllyng but for the cause of fornication no seperations to be made: yf the apo­stles all, Ambrosius. except Iohn and Paule, were in the maryed state, and did not forsake their wiues after their apostleship, which the xij. canon of the vi. generall counsell at Constantinople doth playnely affirme. Where also besyde is the vi. canon of the Apostles, by what boldnes I can not tell abolyshed .vz. B Quod episcopus aut presbiter vxorem propriam, nequaquā sub obtectu religionis abiiciat. &c. The bishop or prieste ought not to put from hym his owne wife vnder pre­tence of religion, which yf he do, let hym be excommunicate, and yf he so continue, let hym be deposed. Which is so noted in the summe of counsels. If the fathers in the primatiue churche at libertie vsed the same, the cleargie in Grece, in Antioche, and in Alexandria, reteyned the libertie styll in their orderyng: Paule being very feareful to cast any snares C to the congregation, counsellyng and commaundyng them that can not conteyne, to mary, pronouncyng that it is bet­ter to marry then to burne: the interpretours of the scrip­tures applying the same grauntes and concessions vpon thē that are votaries: Saint Austen in doctrine holdyng & deter­mining in professed disputation, their copulations to be very maryages, & not to be disseuered: If before the conquest ma­riage was always free, not forbydden to priestes in England tyl after the cōquest, sence which time both bishops & priestes were maried, some openly, many secretly, notwithstandyng D Ancelmes statutes to the contrary, which hardly preuayled, and gaue great occasion of suche scisme and heresie, Richarde wykes. as was neuer greater in the churche: If for all the multiplication of decrees agaynst concubinaries, the sore coulde neuer be hea­led, but that the notorietie of such lewde lyfe was vniuersal­ly abhorred as it well deserued: If the kynges auctoritie, by the consent of his parliament, with the subscription of the [Page 355] whole cleargie, enacted the thyng to be lawfull, abrogated A all penall lawes to the contrary, as it was declared in doc­trine inuincible, set out by the learned part of the cleargie, in their booke wherein they instructe a christian man to lyue godlye, that it was lawfull for hym by gods worde to abro­gate canon lawes repugnaunt to the lawes of the Realme, and affirmyng further by testimonie of olde wryters, that whatsoeuer was so enacted in this Englyshe churche, had sufficient strength, aucthoritie, and power, beyng a catho­like and an apostolyke churche in it selfe, the rather for doing their endeuour to returne all the order of y ^e primatiue church B agayne, and therfore beyng more agreeable to Christes doc­trine, makyng more to edifiyng and benefite of Christes church: What learned men, standyng only to learnyng and reason, can iustly eyther impugne the late state and order in this behalfe taken in the raigne of the noble prince king Ed­warde the sixt, or yet can reasonably suggill the doctrine and assertions published and set out in the dayes of that famous prince kyng Henrie the eyght by al his best learned cleargie, as makyng way and preparation by their wrytynges and preachynges, to put in execution that which was of late so C vsed and practised.

If the fathers of Rome Churche, diuers of the best learned, by their prudence thought it meet to release the rigour of ca­nons and rules of the churche, whervpon they sometyme did dispence in diuers cases of great importaunce, geuyng theyr assent before they were done, sometyme bearyng and tolle­ratyng many thynges passed without auctoritie after they were done: If their scribes and registers, expositors of their lawe, leaned alwayes to the equitie of the lawes, fauoura­blie expoundyng them to the moste benefite and sauegarde of suche as were offenders agaynst Goddes morall lawes: D If the head fathers and pastors of other churches in their pa­storall prudence vsed their tollerations in such cases, as Ori­gen doth testifie, that the bishoppe in Alexandria permitted without & agaynst the scripture, a maryage to be made with a certaine woman in respect of her infirmitie, & as Millane [Page 356] A churche and Constantinople churche vsed in the election of their bishoppes Ambrose & Nectarius (contrarie to the rule of the apostle) as not yet christened, as is before rehearsed. And if that sayde holy bishop Ambrose dyd in his churche permit priestes to be maryed, as Barnardinus Corius in his chronicle maketh report, & saith further that one Henribal­dus Cotta, a lawyer by profession, beyng one of the first that woulde forbyd priestes to marry wyues, was slayne of them for his importune extremitie. Whiche thyng is reported of Ioannes Neuisanus doctor of lawe, in his booke entituled B Silua nuptialis, where he aleageth howe the canonistes and schole men racke violently the lawes, scriptures and gospels in this cause agaynst the true sense of the wordes: and ad­uoucheth further, that these canonistes make large thonges of other mens leather: euen lyke (saith he) as the strumpet dyd of an other bodies chylde, and that because they haue no wyues them selues: Who when they haue any, be aboue al other men burnyng in the fire of gelosie, as he bryngeth his auctoritie therfore. But nowe thus they speake (saith he) be­cause them selues hauyng not only one paramour, but haue C many wyues and paramours, and otherwhyles concubines also at one tyme together. Whervpon he wysheth the lawe of continencie to be remitted, and bryngeth in to ioyne with hym in this his iudgement, not only the famous lawyer Pa­normitan, but that notable man Felinus also, with others. And furthermore he affirmeth, that the reasons of the cano­nistes of these dayes, do proue that priestes after they be or­dered may not marry, be to no purpose: because (saith he) they be grounded in couetousnes, whiche is not conuenient to the true folowers of Christe. And there in that his dispu­tation D he citeth diuers doctors, who do disclose the corrupte intention of the canonistes, in deprauyng and falsyfying the letter & textes of Ambrose & other doctors in the same cause. If the churche of Ptolomais attempted so muche agaynste Christes religion and his apostles, consentyng to elect [...] a platonicall philosopher, miscredityng the principall articles of our fayth, and that after his open protestation, that he [Page 357] woulde not as then either relinquishe his opinion or yet his A wyfe, and was accepted with them both: What wyse man indued with any consideration of christian pollicie, can iustly quarrel with the head pastor of our churche of Englande, to tollerate thynges standing against no scripture at all, so pas­sed as they be? Yea though they should vse more mercie and clemencie towarde the miserie of those ministers, then some euyll and vncharitable instigatours woulde wishe they dyd.

If the vniforme assent and consent of wryters, haue attri­buted so large auctoritie to counselles and bishoppes decrees, to dispence so vniuersally, that they say a bishop a mere dio­cesan B may dispence with heretickes, that other may the soo­ner returne agayne, with scismatickes, with simoniackes, with suspended and excommunicates, with adulterers, with murtherers, in theft, in sacrilege, in deacons matrimonie for afterwardes to be contracted with their protestation, in priestes matrimonies alredy contracted, so it be with a vir­gin, and that he may dispence in orders and dignities vnder the state of a bishop. If he ought (saith the lawe) as bounde by necessarie constraint of spiritual gouernaunce, to dispence either in such cases where either some greater commoditie to C folowe may be hoped, or where the peryll of some greater in­conuenience may be feared, and sometyme in respecte of the multitude, and to auoyde sclaunder of offence that els might be taken: What may be gathered hereof by the wise reader, and what auctoritie is and may be iustly thought to be resi­aunt in the whole order and seignorie knit and conioyned al wholly togethers in one, yf so muche be graunted to euery one of them seuerally alone?

If the Canons of one councell be drawen commonly to expounde an other, as one lawe to declare an other: then where it is decreed in the fourth councell at Tollet, Quod D Clerici qui sine consultu Episcopi sui, vxores duxerint. &c. seperari eos a proprio Episcopo oportebit: That clarkes that without councell or consent of their byshops haue ma­ryed wyues. &c. must be seperated by their owne byshop agayne: Howe reasonably then do these men crie for sepera­tion [Page 358] A of such of the Cleargie, who dyd not vpon their owne heades attempt the state they be in, and diuers of them ney­ther without the counsell nor yet instigation of their onely proper Diosesant: but with the consent and aucthoritie of the whole order of all the Metropolitanes and Diocesantes in Englande, in their deliberat consultation, first among them selues, and after so exhibited to the state of the Parlia­ment: afterwarde in their priuate diocesses commendyng the statutes passed, and sendyng their Chaplaynes abrode in their diocesses to declare the commendations and necessitie of the same: as be yet at this day auncient Bishoppes styll B alyue remaynyng, that can beare witnesse of this whiche is here affirmed, yf they were therto required.

Last of all, where that noble prince of famous memori [...] kyng Henrie the eyght, vsed so much prudencie in reducyng and reposyng his Realme in such godlye knowledge and christian peace, as the measure of Gods giftes graunted vnto hym, dyd moue hym to the same, where in this case what clemencie he vsed, it is not vnknowen, and yet vnder sharp lawes so tempred the rigor of them, that of his owne dispo­sition, a verie few felt the extremite of the execution, though C many were drawen into feare by them: His onely example myght reasonably stande agaynst all detractours, for the de­fence of all such his naturall subiectes left behynde hym: of whom he promoted many so much, that they can not forget hym so soone after his departure, which deserued so much at their handes, when he was here lyuyng: Wherby all estates as be aliue, may by prudent comparison, gladly assure them selues to see the lyke after their departure, of those whom they fauour and preferre in the tyme of their lyues. These D thynges (I say) considered, may I trust be thought of indif­ferent and learned christian men, not out of tyme spoken, nor out of due order of obediēce or charitie vttered: at the lest way, no otherwyse then charitably meant and intended by the writer of the same. Who as charitably desireth y ^e christiā quiet reader to peruse, as benyngly to interprete that which is written: which yet be it alway subiect to reformation of all [Page 359] such, as of conscience and godly zeale, wisheth the aduaunce­ment of Gods glorie, the trueth of his worde, the honour of the Churche, and quiet of this our naturall countrey. Amen.

Aug▪. de nup et concupis.Ista controuersia iudicem querit, iudicet ergo Christus.

Iudicet cū eo et apostolus, quia et in apostolo ipse loqui­tur Christus.

This controuersie requireth a iudge, let Christ therfore be iudge.

And let thapostle iudge with hym, for in thapostle also Christe speaketh.

Non afferamus stateras dolosas, vbi appendamus quod volu­mus, et quomodo volumus pro arbitrio nostro dicentes, Aug. contra donatist. li 2 ca 6. Hieronim. 24. q. 1. cap. non affera­mus. hoc graue est, hoc leue est: sed afferamus diuinam stateram de scripturis sacris tanquam de thesauris dominicis, et in illa quid sit grauius appendamus, immo non appendamus, sed a domino appensa recognoscamus.

Let vs not bryng foorth deceytfull balaunces, wherein we may waygh what we wyll, and howe we wyll, saying after our owne opinion this is heauy, this is lyght: But let vs bryng foorth Gods balaunces out of the holy scriptures, as out of the treasures of the Lorde, and in that let vs waygh what is more wayghtie: nay I say not let vs not waygh, but let vs acknowledge the thynges alredy wayghed of the Lorde.