RElygion com­prehendyth .ij. thynges Relygi­on. the fere of God, and the truste of mercy promysed for Christe wherof holly letters dothe copynsly teache, and Philosophy nothynge, but reason amonge all persons doth iuge, there is a wy­se god, a good, a rightwise maker and conseruator of thynges, and that paynes be to be fearyd, wherby flagicious and synfull dedes be ponysshed frō aboue. This knowledge of the Lawe bryngeth forth and engenderyth feare, and ther­fore feare is called a Relygious thynge. Forasmoche therfore I do entende spedefully to speake ef those vertues, wherof the Philo­sophers chifely do dispute and whiche [Page] we vse towarde men, I muste therfore begynne at the Quene of Iustice. vertues whose name is Iustyce, of whom truely Aristotile wryterh on this maner. Nother Hesperus nor Lucifier is more beautefull then Iustyce, for she gouernyth al other vertues, and she is the chefe bonde of Ciuille society and generally she signyfieth obedyence to­warde all lawes, and conteyneth in her all vertue, and when holye csripture speaketh of Iustyce, obedyence towarde all lawes oughte to be vnderstande. Secondely Iustyce signyfieth onely that vertue whiche in Iudgementes & cōtractes geuyth to euery mā his owne Thyrdly Iustyce in Paules disputacions signyfieth imputacion of Iustice, or a diuine acceptaciō, as whan it is sayde, it is imputed to hym for Iustyce. But of this sig­nyficacion [Page] the Philosophers doo speake nothynge, because dyuers signyficacions conteyne dyuerse kyndes, and that there be no more signyficacions thenne those thre, there diuysion therfore in the be­gynnynge is to be declared.

THe fyrst is vneuersall Vniuersalis Iusticis Iustyce, whiche Ari­stotile describeth bre­uely sayeng vnyuer­sall Iustyce is obedy­ence towarde all Lawes, and complectyth in her all vertues, therfore the name of Iustyce is transfe­ryd generally to the whole quere of vertues, because dewe obedy­ence is rendred, eyther be Law­es, or els be magestrates Par­tyculer Iustyce is a vertue that Perticularis. Iusticis gyueth to euery man his owne of [Page] whiche vertue, there be .ij. kyndes distributyne and cōmunatine whiche kyndes because we may rightfully vnderstande that the whole cōmonwele and vnyuersall sociate of men ought to be lokyd on in our mynde in the vnyuer [...]all soc [...]ate of mannes lyfe, there be onely .ij. kyndes or maners of cōmuny­cacyon For eyther we doo cōmu­nycate, or els we doo commute thynges, or els we ordre persons, as that empyres, Magistrates, degrees incyties in companyes & in famyles maye be constytuted & ordenyd here [...]o man dothe not s [...] that al the sociate of lyfe, be the s [...] .ij. membres be to be gouernyd thynges be cōmuted & chaunged be contractes, and when this cō ­municacion, whiche is made for cause of lyuyng wandreth infinitlye, it is necessarye that there be [Page] therin an equalite, that is there be rendred or gyuen equal for equall, for yf any men shulde gyue theyr thynges without price, they shoulde peryshe by hunger, then there should be nodayly cōmunicacion. for yf ther were not one thyng gyuen for another ther coud be no cō municatiō, Iustice. distributyne. Iustice distributine is an ordenaunce of persons in euery lyfe publike & priuate according to a geometrical proporcion, as who sayth wherby degres of offices & persons be ordayned and made, & to apre and mete persons functi­ons of thynges be gyuen as in the churche the chife degre is the Iudgement and explycacion of doctrine. The second degre is thad mi­nistracion Degrs i the churche. of Iudgementes. The thyrde is thad ministracion of ce­remonies. The last and lowest is [Page] the procuracion of rentes, bil [...]dinges, elemosynes, and suche other to euery whiche maner of degres, apte & mete persōs must be soughte for, for the iudgemēt os lernyng the best lerned, most wysest, & best men ought to be electe & chosē. In thother, there is not somoch lernige to be required. In y ^• procurator of rentes & such other no doctrine is to be required▪ whē this proporcion is obserued the ordenaūce is iust & ryghtous & tharmony of the church salutarius & holsome, but when the chife auctorite to iudge doctrine is at tributid to an vulerned Vnlearned bysshop. & a wicked bysshop, that contē pneth the iugemēt of god, & because he may establyshe his tyranny he defendeth wycked opynyons, & so the lerned and the Godlye man worthy the fyrst rome is detrudet [Page] and put to the lowest office, That is to the procuraciō of the rentes, marius. wherto he is nothynge apte, then is all tharmony of the churche cō founded. Catu­lus. Thus yf Marious dothe gouerne at holme the comenwele and Catulus be sent to warre a­gaynst the cymbrokes, the cōmen wele in both places shall be in io­berdy, for Marius was a luckye warriar, but at holme he dyd tro­ble the cōmen wele, cōtrary wyse, Catulus was apte and mete to retayne & kepe the tranquilite & peace of the cytie. In feates of warre he was nothynge so happy, So a prynce, therome and the office of a chaunseler, wyll cōmit rather to a wise man then to a yong & imperite A fame­ly. & a folishe persō or such other, so in a famyly is to be sene? what is cōueniēt for euery persō finally [Page] in euery priuate & publyce lyfe we ought to vnderstōd y ^e degres of be synes & wittes, & in euery thing to animaduert & take hede their peculyar vertue to consyder the mery­tes, the wyttes, the maners of other, that we may set euery man in his degre and place and moche to be lamēted that men vnworthy wolde accepte offices or romes of the cōmen wele. This Iustice is the chife conseruatrix of commen weles & priuate customes. Ther­fore Plato ryght wysely saych, the Plato▪ best state of the cōmen welle to be yf it be constytute & ordayned be a proporcion geometricall, and truely he addity this proporcion in publyce thinges to be the benefyt of god. Easely therfore may it be iudged wher iustice distributine hath vse, as who sayth euery where. In [Page] ordeynynge degres of persons, in chosynge magestrates, in empie­ris, in exercitutis famelis (as it is sayd) in euery cōuersacion. Those knowleges be called lawes, wher­fore it is to be sought what the la­we is The lawe is deuyded, in the law of nature, & the lawe posityue. The la­we of nature. The lawe of nature doth properly signify natural knolege, y ^e first law of nature shall be, y ^e men ought to knowe god & obey hym, then according to nature is procreaciō & edu­cacion Mary­age. of children. Therfore matrimony or mariages be to be cōtracted by certayne lawes, & vnlaufull companyng with womē, be forbidden, no man ought to be hurt, they must be punished that do parturbe and trouble the cōmen tranquilite Magestrates must be ordeined to defend the cōmen tranquilite, it is [Page] therfore necessary to obey the magestratꝭ, Mage­strates. to obey. also y ^t tranquilite be kept, thingꝭ must be deuided, euery man must haue his own, truth must be Mage­strates. worshypped and moche made of, & bargens & couenauntes must be kept. This must be added, these natural knowleges be gods lawe, bycause they be diuinly indicted & gyuē to mēs mindes, therfore Paule calleth these lawes Rom .i. y ^e law of God, herby easely maye by iud­ged what is the lawe of nature. The posityue lawe is the sentence of the magestrate, that addeth to Posytyue lawe the lawe of nature some circum­staunce with a probable reason, as the law of nature doth teache theft to be punyshed, thē the ma­gestrate addeth a spice or a, kynde as who saith y ^e maner of payne in ordeynyng wherof he doth felow [Page] a probable reasō, fearce and cruell wyttes must be coersyd with hard bondes. Therfore the lawe positiue is properly a certayne determynacion Posytyue lawe of the lawe of nature to a suer and sertayne meane or ma­ner for some circumstaunces.

FYrst of all therfore, it is a dedly synne to vyolate the Cyuyll lawes, or the edictꝭ of ciuill Magestrates / though it be without the case of slaūder, for Paule clearly sayth it is necessarye to obey, not onelye for wrath but also for conscience, that is we ought not to fere onely [Page] the ciuill peyne but also we ought to knowe our conscience to be gylty, yf we do not obey. Now it is y ^e parte of a good mynde to consydre howe moche this kynde of obedy­ence and publice trāquiliteis, whiche To o­bey the lawes, god also doth require that we obey the lawes & Magestrates, & he sayth y ^t he wilbe auēgeser if we do not obey, & truely for the same, god doth punishe aswel in this life as after this lyfe, as the fourth precept of peyns doth also speake. &c. For that precept of obedience doth Obedy­ence. cōmaunde that not onely our pa­rentes, but all those whō our Fa­thers or parentes do gyue aucto­rite to, that is to the magestrates we do obey. Therfore also many other sentenses in scryptures do cō stionate of giuing peynys in this lyfe, as. Prouer [...]iorū, xxiiij. Fere [Page] god and the kyng, & with sedicius persons kepe no cōpany, for short­ly shall come theyr perishement, & Christ sayth he that wyll take the sworde, shal perishe be the sworde.

TO take the sworde do the sygnyfy to take y ^e sworde not geuyn of the lawes and magestrates, that is to be sedicius and not to obey to the present magestrates, & not only examples proponed in holyleters, but also thystores of altymes do wytnes that frō aboue be retarcted ī this lyfe to peynys for the most part homycides, thefes, periured persons vniust iudges sedycius, and tyrannes, I speke this because God re­requireth that with the fere of peynes, [Page] mē shuld be coercid, & this fere Fere of paynes. doth norishe reuerence to lawes & maketh in our mindes a vertue, & makith it accustomed to obediēce, gods law doth not deceiue, which saith honor thy father & mother if y ^• wilt be long liuing vpō y ^e earth. This sētence of the dictes of magestratꝭ Edictes of Ma­gestra­tes. ought wiseli to be vnderstōd as who sayth of those edictes y ^e cō maūdth not to do against gods cō maūdemētes, it is therfore profytable both to discipline & to y ^• tranquilite of y ^e cōmēwele, so to a custome our myndes y ^t also in smal thī ges we make moch of y ^e auctorite of lawes, furdre also we must knowe that we do not liue to our selfes but to y ^e cōmēwele, we ought therfore take hede & beware y ^t our exā ples do not hurt in cōmyn, y ^• same The best ci­tesme. very thing doth plato speke ryght [Page] grauely of, in y ^e first delegibꝰ, he to be y ^• best & chifest citesen y ^t taketh the chife glori to be in the citie, not trifiphes, not any victories, but to ouercome other by deligēce in obeyng the lawes. A ciuil magestrate be deuine au [...]torite hath auctorite A ciuill Mage­strate. to make honest & profitable lawes for those thynges that to & for the defēce of corporally [...]e, & ciuill societe, do pertaine, as of iudgementꝭ, of paynes, of fautes, of cōtractes, of sucessions, & of lyke thinges. As Salamō saith by me kinges doth reigne & do make laufull thinges. The second reasō, y ^e lawes ciuil be bōdes of cōmyn societe, wherfore Cōmen traquil­lite. in vi [...]latīg of thē alway charite is hu [...]t, harmed or brokē, because y ^t euery mā ought to cōfer there obediēce, ther tributes, there workīgꝭ to y ^e defēce of cōmen tranquil [...]te.

THE power of mage­strates is not infinite but inclused with su­er and perfyt lymyt­tes for Magestrates haue not auctorytie to byde or cō ­maund anythyng contrary to the lawe of nature cōtrary to the cō ­maundement of god, & cōtrary to the lawes of his realme. The ma­gestrate susteyneth his procura­cion of an other as who sayth cō ­maūded of god, he ought not therfore depart or go fro gods cōmaū dement. As also the ryghte good king Iosaphat the preacher saith ye exersice not y ^e iudgemēt of mā Kynge Iosa­phat. but of god what so euer you shall iuge, shal redound to your self, let the fere of god be w ^t you, seconda­relye [Page] syens the magestrate is the The fe­are of God to be with Iudges keper of the first table which doth pertayne to extreme discipline, he ought to prohybytte and ponyshe blasphemes, ydollytryes, & false dogamtes or learnynges, & to prouyde & se that Godlye doctryne be propaged & extended, & to defende them that teache ryghtly. All magestrates also ought to obtemperate & obey the seconde precept of the decaloge and to be the kepers therof. The secōd precept doth for byd & ponyshe blasphemes & fal­se doctrynes, then al magestrates ought to prohybyt & ponyshe blasphemes. The second reasō is sūpt of the chyfe fyne of Magestrates. The chyfe fyne of mans societe is that of men some may teache the The chife fyne of mans societe. other of god, that y ^e notice of God may be propaged. The magestrate [Page] is the chife custos & keper of societe, thē he ought also to be custos os this fine, y ^t is y ^t gods knowlege may ryghtly be ꝓpaged & shewid abrode, y ^• conseqent doth folow of the rule y ^• is euery thing for y ^• whiche it is such y ^• is more sich, the magestrate dothe kepe societe for the knowlege of god thē y ^e magestrat ought to kepe the knolege of God somo [...]h as pertayneth to his offi­ce. Yf to this ymage we do confer kynges & princes, we shal fynde very fewe that loketh for this fyne, & that wyll contend for it, many w ^t great vehemensy haue don the cō trary, who be al maner of mischif haue cōtaminated & decayed re­ligion, as though for ther so doyng thei shuld haue kingdomes, because they dyd kepe battell w ^t god as the gian̄ces did in fables. The holy [Page] kynges of Iury dyd abolishe vngodly Vngod­ly wor­shyppd [...] ge. & wycked worshippynges, & therfore they be praysed & garnysshid w ^t great rewardes & giftes, & god sayth I wyll gloryfy thē that glorify me. And the law in deuthoromy cōmaūdeth that kynges do hold & kepe in theyr hād a boke of the lawe of god. These exāples because thei do ꝑtaine to y ^e decaloge our magestrates also according to their calling ought to imitate & folowe thē. Nabygodonisor, & da­rius also do propone edictes, y ^t is, Naby­godonisor and darius. let nomā sp [...]ke blasphemis against God of y ^e Israellites, but here many thingꝭ, many men, wyll obiecte, first fayth in y ^e mind, a magestrate cannot touche his mind, therfor y ^• magestrat ought not to punishe y ^• errours of y ^• mind, an answer, the magestratꝭ doth punishe errours, [Page] onely of the mynde but to the ex­treme & vtter profession & blasphemes, for the magestrate ought to defende extreme discipline and pedagogie, Secondarely it is obiectyd. The magestrate cannot Iudge but those thinges of the which he hath lawes, and he hath lawes onely of prophane busynes therfore he cannot iudge the contrauersys of relygion, the minor is to be denyed, for the magestrate hath a lawe to ponyshe blasphemes as the lawes of all maner of people do punyshe periuries, but because it is not alwayes knowen what opynyons be blasphemous or im­pius, therfore there ought to go before another Iudgement, as who sayth a cong [...]icion of doctryne.

¶ This doth not onelye pertayne Cogni­cion of doctrine to a magestrate but to the church [Page] that is not onely to Priestes, but also to lay persons apte and mete to iugde▪ as Paule sayth, yf it shal b [...] reueled [...] him that sitteth, let y ^e former holde [...] peace. And christ wyll that the chife Iudgement b [...] the iudgement of the church whē he sayth, say or tel it to the church.

THey call that the ry­gore Rygore of the lawe. of the lawe, whē the lawes be discret­ly / and sencerlye vsed / Equite. withoute mitigacion of any circūstaunce / cōmonly they call it in laten, strictumius, equite of the lawe is a mittigacion of the lawe in some circūstaunce, nor yet doth approue and alowe. the tres­pas [Page] or offēce, but mekly somtime, because of some circūstaūce, it doth ponish, as whē a iuge mekly doth ponish a man, y ^t hath offēded, whiche semeth to be of an holsome & a good wyt, equire doth apere at large in euery place or in terpretaciō of lawes, for ther is no law, which in al cases may be obs [...]rued & kept by equal seuerite w ^tout e [...]te, ther­fore equite ought to be y ^• interpre­tor of al lawes, that wher nede is, they may be bowed & turned to y ^• gētler sētēce, & therfore a rule is to be holden & kept, as oftē as diuers Lawes so [...] together, y ^• they cānot be kept together, y ^• supirior law is to be preferred, as christ did touche the lipors on y ^• saboth day, he therby did violat y ^• saboth day, because dyuers lawes dyd runne together, he did both prefarre and [Page] also teache the superior law to be prefarred for the superior lawe is that the testimonies of Doctryne shuld be shewed, & that loue shuld be prefarred before ceremonies, accordyng to that sayeng, I wyll rather marry then sacrifice. Therfore he do [...]teth not to touche the le­pors, ye he helith thē in the saboth day. Thus the law doth wisely forbid seruile workes, y ^• is assiduus labor taken or done for cause of lucre and not for cause of office, then it forbiddeth not [...]odē offices necessary to saue men, moch les it forbid­deth the testimonies of gods worde, & the miracles which be y ^e workes of god, there be iudgementes sufficient of examples of al times.

¶ Maulius Torquatus dyd exer­cyse Manlyus tor­quatus. in his so [...]e the rygore and ex­tremite of the lawe because he did [Page] fyght contrary to the emperours cōmaundement, he dyd hed hym.

¶ [...]ontrarywyse is equite or epiceia / papirius dictatour, who when Papiri­us. he had accused Fabius, Marcus, Equitus, of treason. Yet the people entretynge & makyng peticion for hym, was forgyuen. In the digestꝭ at pompius lawe of parricides.

¶ The Emperoure Adryan, hym, Pe [...]aci­ [...]es. who had kylled his Sone, because he had adulterated his Stepmo­the, commaunded so to be broughte forthe, that with the extremyte of the Lawe the preuye murther myght the more hardely be auen­ged, but he did adhibit to the counseyll a circūstaunce, as who sayth the very dolour and sorowe of his father. At Gellius the .xiiij. Boke and the .vii. Chapter, the Areopa­gytes Aropa­gites. delyuered a woman Smyrneam [Page] that had kylled her Sone, and her Husbande be poysonyng, who had fyrst kylled the womans Sone that was borne in the for­mer Maryage, gaue sentence be­cause the cause should be knowen agayne an hundreth yeares after, that thus they neyther do alowe the creuell myschyfes dyd, and yet they forgyue the payne, because of the very dolour and sorowe of the Mother, lyke Equite, the Goddes be fayned to vse in remyttynge. Mars and Orestes, for they forgaue the payne, for the very iust and ryght dolour because Mars had vēged the stupre of his doughter, &, Orestes his fathers death. These Mitegacion of payne. thynges wyse men dyd fayne, because it should be sygnyfyed, miti­gacion dothe please God, done for aprobable cause. Thus somtyme [Page] ges do lose and rewyt them that defend them selfes by violence a­gaynst violence, although a lytell they exced y ^• measure of thrre bla­meles tutele & defence, And thus Cato dyd lose milo by his sentēce because clodius did begyn y ^• fygh tyng, hetherto of the extremite of the law that begynneth noc of calumpnius interpretacion, but is the very sentence of the law, as in the cause of Manlius or Milo, yet that very law where circūstaunce requireth mitigatiō, nor for cause of example hath no nede of seuerite is made iniury. Therfore it is sayd. Sūmum iussūma iniuria. The extremite of the law is an extreme iniurye. There is an other certeyne maner of mo [...]king or exacerbatyng Extre [...] iniury. the lawe, as who sayth calūnia, i. calūny whiche properly [Page] is not called the rigore or extremite [...]. of the Lawe, but rather dothe fyght with the lawe, it is interpretated a lawe with some sopistitall cauillation, they call it a begilyng ordereyuyng of the Lawe, as yf a man taketh peace for .xxx. dayes, and in the nyght distroyeth his e­nemyes fyldes. Also the legate of come that compacted with antio Anteo­ [...]hius. thus, that the therde parte of his naues shulde be left vnto hym, he did cut al his ships in y ^e middest because he wold spoyle him of y ^• whole nany, whē the tirans had domi­nion of .xxx. Athens, the lawe was Athens▪ that none of them that were written in the cataloge shuld be kylled, there was in this nombre written Ihera­menes. Collega Critias Iheramenes Collega, when that critias hadde constytuted to kylle hym, he commaunded his name [Page] to be put, of this maner of kindes not onelye hystoryes gyueth to vs examples but also dayly lyfe.

¶ But in a maner ther is more cal [...]mpniacion Calup­niacion in the lernyng of religion in the lernyng of religion then in other busynes, dictes and and sayenges of the Lawe be craftly wrested, and some be exaggerated without measure, and be paynted with a certtayne colour, Some be abiected and deformed, and all these be taken for the law [...]e and prayse ofwyt.

FYrste of all therfore playne truth is to be loued, and thē Equite. equite is to be added to pu­blike iustice, & that priuatly, wher [Page] as probable & honest reason doth swade moderacion, and this mo­deracion dothe moste preuayle in wycked and noughty persons.

¶ As the equite of trasibulus dyd restore the Athens, who when he Trasi­bulus. perceyued that without newe besines, the possession that was taken away coud not be restored to ther olde masters, he made a law, that euery man shulde retayne that he had and they which had sustained iniu [...]ye for the publyke [...]ecyssake shuld depart frotheyr owne right. This equite also is maruelous necessarye Deso [...] mer cederacte. to retayne concorde in a priuate lyfe.

¶ Yea equite also doth mitigate diuine lawes, so that it maye be Dauid. not harishly done Dauid did eate holy loues, he knewe an epiceye to be adhibite and gyuen to ceremonies, [Page] because he knewe the polity­cal Ceremonyalles. maners to be institutid, not because thei shuld iustify before god, but because y ^• people shuld be coersed by that discpline, & therfore he iuged those customes to geue pla­ce to loue in necessite, where, with­out slaunder & parell of disciplyne, thei cannot be violated, according to the sentence I wyl rather, and more desyre mercy then sacrifice.

There is a verye apte example of Ezachias. Epiceys in the story of Ezachias, when that in the celebracion of e­sterne many were not fyrst purged of there vsual ceremonies, Ezech [...] as for all that dyd not cōmaunde them to abstayne from Esterne, but he prayeth for them lettyng, a lone the ceremonis of purgacion, he vnderstandeth prayer to be the Pray­ers. chyfe purgacion and better then [Page] the ceremonyall.

¶ The Machabeiis dyd fyght on The Machae [...]iis. The sabothe day [...]. the saboth day, when theyr enemyes made a sawt on them, they kne we be the lawe of the saboth day that boluntary besines where forbidden, but defence, for the cōseruacion of the cōmen wele, of religion maried persons, chyldren and such other, was not to be forbidden, for this is the chyfe office of Loue.

Thus often tymes Epiceye is necessarye to Christian people in the vse of ceremonyalles.

¶ Pule saith that he kept among the Iues the customes and fasshi­ons of the Iues, among the gentiles he vsed no Iues fasshions, and yet he addeth a Super your Lawe wherby he measure these offyces, as who sayth, because he woulde wyne them all.

[Page] ¶ The superiour lawe, is to gyue The su­piriour Lawe. our diligence, that the glory of the Euangelyst may be made gaye & garuyshed, fynally the Euangelist is y ^• maruelus epicey of gods law, when he approueth obedience (al­though vnperfit) because of christ.

IT is better, be the opi­nion of Aristotle in the thirde of the polytykes to iuge thynges or causes by the posytyue lawe, because that vncertayne opinions lyghtly bryngeth forth, & engēdreth discordes of cityzens, where as no writ­ten The Lawe writen. Lawe is, there be vncertayne [Page] opynyons or elles contrarye, for it maye often times fortune, that to other iudges another thyng may besemed & thought, also the wrytten lawe doth good, because it coercyth the affeccions of Iudges, he that cōmaundeth the Lawe to be aboue God, he geuyth also to the lawes an empyer, he y ^t cōmaun­deth a mā to be prefarred, prefar­reth best for couetousnes & anger, or dy [...] leasure depraueth also the best mē ▪ The law is amynd with out coeutousnes, what nedeth in so manyfolde a thyng, many argumentes. There is no lawe prynci­pally made of this case, if a mā in great necessite taketh away met­tes, or elles be course of age dothe offend, sience, this case is by some meanes not lyke that maner of kinde, wherof principally the law [Page] doth s [...]eke / here now equite hath place, so the law to put homicides Homicides. to deth, is made principalli of murther, constituted & petulantly don.

¶ Patroclus be chaūce in play killed Patr [...] ­clus. his felow, here the dissimilitud of cases requireth some mitigaciō of payne. The constitucion of the The saboth daye. saboth day doth principally forbid workynges, that plucketh fro pu­blike ceremonies. Then yf labors be done, which do not abduce fro ceremonies, do neither let nor hurte the example, the case is vnlyke therfore euqite iudgeth suche do­ynges not to be forbiddē. Thecle­siasticall tradicions were fyrst or­deyned & Tradi­cius. made, principally that thingꝭ shuld be don in order, since that puplically it is couenient for the Churche, therfore equite dyd Iudge tradicions without fawte [Page] or blame to be violated, where as Tradi­cius. the publyke order was not dissipated. This distinciton dothe shewe where equite hath place / as who Equitie hath place. saythe in a case wherof the Lawe wrytten do not principally speake,

¶ Therfore Arestotle sayth, that the auctoryte of Iudges ought to Lawes written be gyuen to lawes that they may moderate them, as Physycions do moderate Pharmacum. And pharmacum. in the fyrste of Etheces, he saythe that Lawes be to be constitude of that whiche most often chaunseth or happeneth, but yf any any cyr­cumstaunce letteth or chaungeth wherof Lawes oughte to b [...] mad [...] ▪ the cause, there is commaunded Equite to be Counseylled with.

¶ Therfore he saythe the Lawe is as lesbia, That is to Saye, a leady or a heauye Rule / which [...] is to be Moderated / and apply [...] [Page] felowes one or equal. and the principall fyne or cōclusiō of the magestrat to be the consernuacion and keping of the lawe. &c. The magestrat The magestrat do pu­nyshe heretykes. which bereth y ^• sword ought to prohibit also hereses .i. wyeked & vngodly techinges & punishe heretykes, that is auctors of euyll & wycked tecahinges, but in obscure thynges the cognicion of the churche goeth before, & thus properly the magestrat seruith the glory of god, & his fūction is y ^• worshyppinge of god whē he studieth to defēd to propage & ornate true lernyng & cōtrary wese to prohibit wicked teachynges, who that doth thus dothe his principall office whiche properly perteineth to the glory of God / whiche properly deserueth that title wherwith magestrates be to garnysshed in the salme. I [Page] sayd ye be Gods, as who sayth because they haue their office deuinly constituted & ordenid. And they ought to gyue to men deuine thinges, relygyon, Iustice, dyscyplyne peace and suche other.

¶ And for this cause they be cal­led of Mage­strat be Nurses to the church [...]. Esaias? Nurses of the churche because they ought to noryshe and to defende Godly teachers.

¶ And they ought not to exercyse cruelnes on Christan men nor la­wes contrary to deuine or natur­al ought not to be obserued.

¶ The Ecclesiasticall power / is The ec­clesiasticall po­wer▪ the deuine commaundement? in teachyng the Gospell administra the Sacramentes / ordaynynge the mynysters of the Gospell an­nuncyatynge remyssyon of Syn­nes to Euerye bodye / or to many Constytutynge Iudgemedtes of doctrines [Page] here is my wel beloued sōe, here hī. therfor crist, although he ꝓponith diuersite betwene thē y ^e kno & do not kno y ^t he doth not vtterly deliuer thē y ^t kno not, whē he saith, he y ^• knoweth y ^e wyll of his master & doth it not, shalbe y ^e mor punished, yet he y ^t knoweth not, doing thīgꝭ wordy pa [...]e shalbe les punished it is cōmēly said, sāctarusticitas .i. holi rusticite as who saith aplanemā of y ^• coūtre, he thīketh no hurt, be this māer of saying many excuseth their folly or folishnꝭ, as who saith it is a pity or a godlines not to knoth auēgelist, but erasmꝰ truly & grauely rephēdeth y ^t saiīg, & saith y ^t nomā Euangetyst. cā be a christē mā but y ^• he kno mani thingꝭ for y ^• euāgelist is a certē excellēt wisdō which no mā w ^t out gret cure meditaciō, colaciō of lernīg & cōmunicaciō w ^t lerned mē, [Page] doth optaine, & peter doth cōmaūd and byd vs to be redy to render our accōpte, secōdarly, nether y ^e affectated ignoraūce of mās positiue law, nor y ^• ignoraūce of y ^• dede doth excuse, Affectated ignoraūce, is of y ^t th [...]g Affecta­ted ignoraunce. which eueri mā as wel of y ^e law as of y ^• dede is boūd to, know this Ygnorasice doth aristotle elegātly speke, of saying, ignoraūce which any mā willingly doth accerse do not excuse, but is a puersite, & so is vniuersall Ygno­raunce. ignoraūce y ^t is whē we kno nothīg at al of thos thingꝭ which we ought to do & alitil after headdith y ^t a iug ought to punish y ^e ignoraūce, if a mā be to hīself cause of ignoraū ce, & thꝰ ignoraūce of law doth not excuse a iuge which is boūd to kno be vertue of his office, nor affectatid ignoraūce ī a mās own, ꝓpper dede, as if a mā beīg īpossessiō of any [Page] thyng do not know, whether that thynge be leyde to pledge to hym, or gyuen Alitigator or asutor in the lawe, Ygnoraunce of lawe dono [...] excuse, as s [...]enola sayde, it is a stenola. fowle thynge for anoble man and cōmyng to his causes or to suyte, not to knowe the lawe wherin he is tossed or suyde, but from this degre be wont to be except, women and sogeris to whom the error of the lawe is pardoned. The thyrde is a probable Ygnoraunce of dede eyther of his owen, or of an other mans which hath an excusacion.

¶ As the syster of Iacobes wyfe, was gyuen to hym, and he knewe Syster of Ia­cobes. Wyfe. it not, suche is the Ygnoraunce, wherof Paule doth speke, he is forgotten that knoweth not for he erreth excusably, because it is a curiosyte to interrogate or aske those [Page] thynges that pertayne not to our purpose / it is therfore excusable / where only ygnoraunce of the faute is the cause, but wher not ygnoraunce, but our couetousnesis the cause of the fawte there ygnoraunce doth not excuse, as dronken persons to offende. &c.

VOluntarye offences be tho, in the which both counseill is gyuen and fre wyll, not voluntary Not voluntary. offences be tho, when counseyll is not adhybyt or wyll by violence is forbydden, or els is ouer throwen, and synneth in a thing vnpossible.

¶ Not Voluntarye and vyolent, ought to be vnderstond one thyng [Page] which as are stotle saith hath th [...] beginnīg extrinsecally or outwardely, wyll may cohybyt affections and many hurtes purposed, wyll may prefar one before another for as true vertue is then, when iud­gement & fre wil be adhibit, so the chife degre is of delictes or fautes when a man doth offend both consultly & with fre wyll. Thother de­gres be somtyme more lyghte, as when eyther wyll is impydited or iugement is not giuen, & frō hence doth spring .v. deg [...]ꝭ, which ī fautꝭ & iniuries we must cōsyder, the iuge, deceyt, open, faut lyght offence, lyghtest & soden chaunce. Dole or Dole or dec [...]yte. deceit hath no excuse open, faut or blame is neibour to deceit as whē affecrated ygnoraunce is delicted, for this is not vnwyllynge, but it is very malis, as aristotle sayth a [Page] light faut & lightest hath the more excuse, for here will doth not come to do a mysse & although deligence is desired, yet ther is none affectated neclygence in such fautes. Soden Soden chaunce Adra­stus. chaunce hath an excuse for nether the mynde neyther the wyll, doth truly offend, as adrastus goyng to kyll a wylde bore, kylled cresessone, or yf a man casteth doune fro the top of an house, a tile into a place where as no body is wont to be ocupied or to walke, & by chaunce hurteth or kylleth one. That is therfore to be obseruyd, y ^t all these degres do spryng & come, ether of the error of iugement or by some impediment of the wyll, voluntarys be properly called those, in the Volun­tarys. whiche do concure Counseyll, and fre wyll / many Questyons be her to be sturted and moued whether [Page] a Christian mā may laufully repel vyolence be vyolence, and how he maye do it / whether dyuysyon of thynges be laufull for Christian men, whether it be laufull to ma­ke warre or kepe battell. The E­uangelyst do not abholitte, econo­myor polacy, but doth greatly approue them, wherfore the vse of al thynges polyticall is graunted to Christian men, with the vse of de­uisyon of thynges, Iudgementes, battelles, and suche other.

YF a tyrane be a priuate man inuadyng the Empyre by sedycion and rather, then the Em­pyre shuld be destroyed they whi­the [Page] with laufull Magestrates do agre may pryuatly kyll hym, as a thefe, yf he be taken in the faute ordede, that is doyng or workyng any thyng, sturrynge the people or makyng assaute on any persons. Thus any priuate parson lauful­ly myght kyll Catylyne, sedycyon Ca [...] ­ne fu­luiꝰ ones sturred, euen also as Fuluiꝰ dyd kyll his sone taken agayne after he fled away, and the lawes do agre, that a man may kyll his fa­ther, that hath cōmitted agaynst the cōmen wele. Secondarely if a tyrane be in a magestracy aucto­rite or office, and Cruelly and no­toriusly doth iniury to the subiec­tes, defence is graunted to them / incontinently as well in priuat perell, as in a besynes towchynge or pertayning to the cōmen wele, as Helue [...] ons. in the hystorye of the Heluetions, [Page] magstrates cōmaūded the citesyn to producke his sone, and a darte to be directed to him of his father castyng it, also the tribune of sogiers in the hoste of Caius Marius was killed of a yong man, to whō the tribune was doynge hurt and violence, and the lawes in the pandictes do agre to kyll the consulle that was taken in adultery. And in lyke case yf any be made enemyes, they be laufully excused althoughe incōtiuētly, thei aueuge their notorius iniuries, as harpagꝰ accersed Cirius agaynst Astiagen / Harpa­gus Ci­rius. who gaue to hym his Sone to beeaten.

¶ Also when the Tyrane dyd commaunde Vnicencias a Certayne Cytyzen, that he shoulde sende to Vnicencias. hym his Doughter / whiche to do after y ^e Citizen had refused, the tyrane [Page] sendeth his Seruaunt, who be violence brought here away in the mornyng beyng rauished and deflowryd, he sendeth here agayn and cut in .ij.

¶ The father after he had delyberate the matter with his frendes sendeth the deade body beynge so cut, to the senate venecius / and to hym promiseth dedicion of the cy­te, Dedici­on. thus the Tyrane is opressed, to this, Cytyzsen, in a natorius iniu­ry and so cruell at all tymes is laufull for a man to be made an ene­my to a tiraunt be the lawe of the people. Thyrdly, yf y ^e iniury be not notorius ryghtly do the lerned mē Not notorius. in the lawe say, that the not doynge of iustice of y ^• magestratꝭ ought to be tollerated & suffred, because the auctorite of thynges Iudged may remayne, for priuat persons [Page] ought not to dyssolue the state of the cōmenwele, nor to inuade empiers, according to that sayeng, he that resisteth a magestrat resisteth Gods ordenaūce, wherfore Caius Cesar is not laufully kylled, who Caius Cesa [...] because I wyll not speake of the cause of battell, yet he occupied a magestracie & that gyuen to hym be the lawes and cōsent of the people, neyther he toke awaye fro the cōmen wele lawes nor iudgementes, he made no slaughter in the citie as other conquerours of Cy­uill wars dyd, neyther he dyd any notoryus or cruell iniuries to the Cytizins preuely or openly, but he restored the enemys reuocated to there olde & pristin dygnyte, wherfore it was vnlaufull for him to be kylled, for as I haue sayde before, iniuries not notorius ought to be [Page] forgyuen to magestrates, as Ia­son Iason Phere▪ Phereus sayth, that he which in a sume doth loke to Iustice, do admit in the meane whyle many vnlaufull thynges in lyghter matters, which oughte to be forgyuen to hym, that defendeth the cheffest and chife parte of the Empiere & conserueth the forme and shape of the commen wele, Iudgementes and Lawes.

FOr a magestrat is as the very lawe for the lawe doth not cō maunde The magestrate and the lawe be felowes onely of defencion of the body or thinges, but it cōmaūdeth fyrst of the glory of god and dyscy­plyne, as Paule sayth the lawe is ordeined to coa [...]cte a ponyshe vn­iust persons and blasphemors.

¶ Therfore we oughte to thynke the magestrat and the lawe to be [Page] felowes one or equal. and the principall fyne or cōclusiō of the magestrat to be the consernuacion and keping of the lawe. &c. The magestrat The magestrat do pu­nyshe he retykes. which bereth y ^• sword ought to prohibit also hereses .i. wycked & vngodly techinges & punishe he retykes, that is auctors of euyll & wycked tecahinges, but in obscure thynges the cognicion of the churche goeth before, & thus properly the magestrat seruith the glory of god, & his fūction is y ^• worshyppinge of god whē he studieth to defēd to propage & ornate true lernyng & cōtrary wese to prohibit wicked teachynges, who that doth thus dothe his principall office whiche properly perteineth to the glory of God / whiche properly deserueth that title wherwith magestrates be to garnysshed in the salme. I [Page] sayd ye be Gods, as who sayth because they haue their office deuinly constituted & ordenid. And they ought to gyue to men deuine thinges, relygyon, Iustice, dyscyplyne peace and suche other.

¶ And for this cause they be cal­led Mage­strat be Nurses to the church [...]. of Esaias? Nurses of the churche because they ought to noryshe and to defende Godly teachers.

¶ And they ought not to exercyse cruelnes on Christan men nor la­wes contrary to deuine or natur­al ought not to be obserued.

¶ The Ecclesiasticall power / is The ec­clesiasticall po­wer. the deuine commaundement? in teachyng the Gospell administra the Sacramentes / ordaynynge the mynysters of the Gospell an­nuncyatynge remyssyon of Syn­nes to Euerye bodye / or to many Constytutynge Iudgemedtes of [Page] doctrynes. And those that be con­uersaunt in manyfest delictes: to excomunicate by the worde with out corporall strength, here therfore briuely I do answere of Bonifacis constitucion that be the diuine The cō ­stituciō of bone­facis. lawe the Apostels or theyr succes­sors haue not the sworde, that is a right to coract by corporal strēgth for they neyther haue ryght to oc­cupy nor to cōfarre kyngdomes of the world, many testimonies may be gathered heare of the Euange­lyst. Christ sayth my kyngdome is not of this world, also the kynges of the gentyles haue dominion of them, but you haue not so, he diserneth heare .ij. powers. He graun­teth to kynges that they bere the rule and dominion, he graunteth not to the apostles that they haue dominiō or bere rule, that is that [Page] they haue dominion, or bece rule / The w [...] pone o [...] the ecclesiastiall power. that is / that they vse corporall strength because of theyr Myny­stery. And Paule saythe the wea­pons of our warrynge be nor car­nall. Chrisostome in the seconde Oracion of the dygnyties of pri­stes dyscerneth Magestrates to be Prophane and Epystopall.

¶ To the Prophane Magestra­tes he Prophane magestrates and epystopall. gyueth ryght to coarcte by corporall strengthe. But he deny­eth Bysshoppes to haue that po­wer. But as to other Christians so also to Bysshoppes or Pastors of the Churche, is lefull to holde and kepe theyr owne ryches, and other gyftes, because these thyn­ges be polytycallye graunted to Christians, so it is laufull to Bys­shoppes to holde & kepe theyr iu­risdiccion geuen in suer gooddes, [Page] whiche is a Ciuill thynge, nothynge partaynyng to the proper offy­ce of a Bysshoppe. As the arte of weuyng in Paule dyd nothynge pertayne to the gyfte or offyce of a Postle, and yet Paule myghte be both a Postle and a wener.

¶ But let Bysshoppes take hede The churche to kepe there ry­ches. and se les because of theyr ryches they be abduced from the office of teachynge and gouernynge the Churche, and lokyng on the Doc­trine of theym one whome they haue Rule.

¶ The Emperoure dyd cōmaun­de Ambro­se. Ambrose that he shoulde gyue his Temple to the Arrians, but Ambrose dyd not obey, for it was not lefull to obey a commaunde­ment of wicked and vngodly thinges, and the Emperoure oughte not to take awaye a laufull orde­naunce [Page] from the Churche, nor to make a wycked teacher to beare the rule of the Churche. Ambrose was laufully ordayned / and dyd Laufull ordayn­naunce. teache well.

¶ For a laufull ordenaunte dothe contayne a vocacion or eleccion whiche is made of the people or of then to whom the people dothe cōmit that thynge and the appro­bacion of come Bysshoppes. Fur­ther to Bysshoppes dothe par­tayne to constitute Iudgementes of learnynges, and to conuocate synodes as the olde constitucion was, that euery Bysshoppe, shoulde twyse Bisshoppes to haue twy [...]e e­uery yea­re theyr synodes euery yere, haue synodes of theyr Churches, and the Apo­stles had theyr synodes, and when Paule Samosathen dyd sow wicked and vngodly teachynges the Bysshops next adioynynge came [Page] together to Antioche, and the churche of Antioche adhybytyd they damned the Bysshop.

¶ But as it is sayde before in contrauersis of lernyng Bysshoppes ought not onely to Iudge but mete The iu­gemente oughte to be of the churche. and apte men ought to be elec­te and chosen of the whole bodye of the Churche, because the chyfe Iudgement oughte to be of the Churche, that is, not onely of Bysshoppes. Therfore for this verye cause that the auethoryte of the Churche is the bygger, when Bisshoppes do not theyr office, ought Emperoures and Kynges conu [...] ­cate synodes, euen also as constantyne Empe­rours & kynges ought to conuacate syno­des. dyd cōmaunde certayne synodes, and cōmaundeth that those whiche would not come to the sy­nodes, shoulde haue taken from them theyr Bysshoppryckes.

[Page] ¶ Thus farre I haue spoken of the deuersite of eyther power.

¶ And although we haue dystyn­quid the powers yet it may be animaduerted y ^• y ^• ciuill power oughte Euerye master of an house in a myny­ster of y ^• churchs. to serue the churche because of discipline, euē as euery magestrate of an house is a minister & anexecuture of the church in his fame­ly, we ought all obey the mynyster of the worde, so the magestrate is the mynyster and executure of the Churche in the cōmen wele, and he also oughte to obey the mynistery of the worde and that to worshyp as a deuyne thynge, accordynge to that sayeng open you your gates you prin­ces. &c.