Against a Rank Papist, Part 1 · Opinion 3

Against a Rank Papist · Part 1 · Opinion 3

Censura.

☞ In thys solempnyte (& other lyke)Offerynges. their vowes stode not in renouncing mar ryage, but in offerynge of yonge bullockes, rammes, shepe, and gootes, in brent offerynges, smoke offerynges, drynke offerynges, and peace offerynges, as is spe cifyed in the chaptre afore. Aaron, Eleazar, Phinees, Samuel, Sirach, zorobabel, Mathatvias, & zachary, Iohan Bap tystes father, whych all were prestes, obseruedPrestes. these vowes, yet they neuer renoū ced marryage.

Obiectio.

¶ Ye perceyue what moued me to thynke, that the vowes in thys feaste stode not in offerynge of yonge bullockes etc. For in thys chaptre God doth gyue lawes betwene the man & the wyfe, the father and the daughter, and for eueryevery other persone concernynge makynge and byndyng of vowes in all tymes. Nor we readeLawes. not that anye man ded vowe to offer in that feaste or anye other: But the offerynges for eueryevery daye, were appoynted by God, what they shulde be, and ded no hange vponupon eueryevery priuate mannys vowe. For so the seruyce of God in y^• feaste myghte (ye knowe well) hauehave bene lefte & defrauded, seynge it laye in the husbande to stoppe the vowe of the wyfe. But thys chaptreDeuocyō of vowes, is an absolute peace, and pertayneth p. lxto the lawe. And therfor is not restrayned to take place only in that feaste, but at al tymesLawes is to be obserued, excepte yow can shewe the contrary.

Responsio.

It is no matter what yow do meane, so long as your purpose tendeth to so naughty an ende. I hauehave good witnesse of the scriptures,Hebrues y^t the Hebrues in their priuate vows▪ wer they in their great feastes or out of thē, offered beastes in dyuerse kyndes. Abraham offered a ramme. Gen. xxii. Anna offered. iii. yonge bullockes. i. Regū. i. Samuel offered a suckynge lambe. i. Reg. vii. Dauid sayd al so. Holocausta medullata offeram tibi cum incenso arietum, offeram tibi boues cū hircis, Psalm. lxv. I wyll offre vntounto the, fatt brent sacryfyces with the smoke of the rammes, I wil offre bullockes & gootes. Lawes betwene the man and the wyfe, are matrymonyalOfferynges. lawes, and no laws for offerynges. The lawes also betwene the father and the daughter, are lawes of Christen educacyon and obedyence, and not of Iewyshe deuocyons, as both Peter and Paule hath descrybed them. In the. xxx. chaptre of Numeri, is no suche matter contayned. If ye meane it for makynge and byndynge of vowes, as foloweth in your processe, put out, at all tymes.Put out. For that is youre owne pharysaycall lenen, wherwith the deuyll and yow wolde corrupt the whole batche, Gal. v. I tell yow ones agayne, as I hauehave told ye ofte afore, y^t those Iewish shaddowes ar not for al times, though your Iewish heade so appoint them.

Christ wyll not hauehave hys pure Gospell, myngled with Iewyshnesse. Peter, Iohan, and Paule, hath tolde ye ofte that tale, and yet ye beleue it not. What ye reade, I canneApostles not wele tel, for I am neither of your popish professyon, study, nor yet counsell. But for pryuate offerynges in thys feaste and other, ye are answered afore. Nothwithstandyng, I adde thys muche more vntounto it, that they made not buttons nor shoe buckles at those solempnytees. Some occasyon (I am sure) they had of resort to the temple thā, besydesA clause. their commaunded sacryfyces. And the lattre clause of the. xxix. chaptre, calleth them fre wyll offerynges, or offerynges of deuocyon. God wylled not the prestes and leuites, to hauehave any possessyon amonge the chyl dren of Israel, but only to lyue vponupon the tythes, firste frutes, and ob…acyons. For he sayd vntounto Aaron, Numer. xviii. In terra eorum nihil possidebitis, nec habebitis partē inter eos. Ego pars et hereditss tua in medio filiorum Israel. Yow shall in their landNo possessyon. hauehave non enheritaunce, neyther yet any porcyon amonge them. For I am onelye thy p. lxiporcyon and enherytaunce amonge the chyl drē of Israel. And in the same chaptre a lyttle afore. Omne quod ex voto reddiderint filii Israel, tuum erit. All that is geuen by vowes of the children of Israell, shall be thyne.

And Deuter. xviii. Sacrificia Domini et oblationes eius comedent, et nihil aliud acci pient de possessione fratrum suorum. TheOfferings sacryfyces and offerynges of the lorde shall they eate, and shall hauehave none other enherytaunce amonge their bretherne. By thys ye maye see, that the offerynges in those feastes, ded as wele hange vponupon euerye pryuate mannys vowe, as vponupon the solempne sacryfyces for euerye daye appoynted. Els had a greate nombre of the prestes and Leuytes, gone to bedde a hungred. Neyther was Gods seruyce therby lefte nor defrauded,Folyshly. as yow insipyently wryte, but rather set forewarde and furthered therby, beynge a great porcyō therof, as the text declareth. What though it laye in the father to stoppe their daughter, and the husbande the wyfe, vponupon impedimentes laufull? Yet ded not all fathers stoppe their daughters, nor yet all husbandes their wyues. But all these darke shaddowes are paste, and wyll not nowe serue to mey…tayne the buggeryshe vowesFrutes. of youre massynge presthode. Ye saye, thys chaptre of vowes is an absolute peace, and pertayneth to the lawe. Who euer heard of a more vnlearned, blasphemouse, and folish sentence? For more than. ii. thousande and. v hondred yeares, had the Iewes thys. xxx. chaptre of Numeri, ere they had an absolute peace.

If thys chaptre had bene to them an absolute peace, what neded they to hauehave lokedA peace. for Christ, by whome onlye they hoped for that absolute peace? If that absolute peace had pertayned to y^• lawe, lytle nede had we to hauehave had the Gospell, whyche broughte that peace. But perauenture ye meane, that the chaptre pertayneth to the lawe. Than ar ye a very fole, to cal it an absolute peace. Ye thynke youre foly to be excused, bycause ye hauehave vponupon your owne absolute authoryte, exempted it from the ceremony all lawe. O absolute asse heade, ydolatrouse monstre, & Absolutewitlesse ydyote, y^• thus wylte depryue Christ of y^t whych is only hys? Christ is our peace, Saynt Paule sayth, and not the. xxx. chap. of Numeri. Ipse est enim pax nostra, qui fecit ex vtrisque vnum, et interstitium macerie diruit, simultatem per carnem suam, legem mādatorum in decretis sitam, abrogans, vt duos conderet in semetipso in vnum nouumAbrogate. hominem, faciens pacem, vt reconciliaret ambos in vno corpore Deo per crucē, perempta p. lxiiinimicitia per eam, &c. Ephe. ii. He is oure peace (sayeth he) whyche hath made of both, one, and hath broken downe the walleHatred. that was a stoppe betwene vsus, and hath also put awaye, throw hys fleshe, the cause of ha tred, euen the lawe of commaundementes contayned in the lawe wrytten, for to make of twayne one newe man in hymselfe, s… ma kynge peace, & to reconcyle both vntounto God in one body throwe the crosse, and slewe hatred therby.

Thus are both your. xxx. chaptre, & lawe dyscharged of that absolute peace, yea, the morall lawe also, if ye so mente it. After that Christ had gyuen to hys dyscyples most souerayneChriste. consolacions agaynst all troubles, he thus concluded, Iohan. xvi. Hec locutus sum vobis, vt in me pacem habeatis. These wnrdes hauehave I spoken to yow, that in me ye myght hauehave peace. Thys peace was neuer manyfested to the worlde, tyll the Angels w^t ioye proclamed it at Christes natyuyte on this wise. Gloria in altissimis Deo, & in terra pax, hominibus bona voluntas, Luce. ii. Glorye to God on hyghe, and peace on the earth, and vntounto men a good wyll in receyuynge it. Thus in the ende ye conclude. Bycause that chaptre of vowes is an absolutePeace. peace, and pertayneth to the lawe, therfor is it not restrayned to take place in that feaste. Moyses in the reade sea is Christe that was crucyfied on Lal…ary, & belongeth to gods malyson, therfor may he not banket at mydsomer bone fyre. Here is a wele slauered reason,All tymes is it not? And as for your, at all tymes to be obserued, ye maye now kepe it to ye, for youre owne occupyenge, to playe therwith the Iewysh papyste. For it is lyke in these dayes, to do non other seruyce. I hauehave suffycyently shewed yow all thys afore.

Obiectio.

¶ Moreouer your owne wurdes maketh the matter to be more darke than it was. Firste yeA vowe. … all a vowe in the old lawe, an earnest promyse to fulfyll Gods commaundement. Then ye call a vowe a gyft or an offeryng with thankes ge uynge. Now ye say, a vowe standeth in the offe ryng of a gyfte. I wold gladly learne of yow, by what reason it maye be taken all these. iii. wayes in one place? Ye say, their vowes stode not in renouncyng of marryage. Wherfor this is broughte in, I canne not see, excepte it be toBuggery. dyscommend… the vowe of chastyte, whych… Christe and Saynt Paule doth commende so moche, and exhorte all persones vntounto it, that can take it. No man sayth, they renounced mar ryage. For eyther they were marryed and so coulde not renounce, or els they wer syngle and desyred it because in Moyses lawe, that persone was taken to be vndre a maledyccyon, that had no seede in Israel. But in the newe lawe it is not so▪ but Qui habent vxores, sintNew law p. lxiiitanquam non habentes. i. Corinthio. vii. Et sunt enuchi qui se castrauetūt propter regnum Dei, Math. xi…. whyche dyffynycyon Sayncte Augustyne doth declare playnelye, in the. vii. … viii. chaptre de bone viduitatis.

Responsio.

More darke can no man make the matter, y^t yow seke to defend here, than it is of it self. The truth truly told, is euer (I se wele)A blott. a blott in your waye. Ye go about to proue the whoredom of an whore, to be y^• hyghest kynd of chastyte that euer was in the world. And for the precysenesse therof, ye onlye appoynt it to your newe God makers or masmongers. For in dede those transubstanciated Goddes, were knowne for no Goddes afore that prodigiouse kynd of chastyte wasAntichrist. canonysed for thē, of your great Antichriste the holy hygh Idol of y^• Romanes. And this chastyte ye wyll approue by the offerynges of maydens and wyues in the. xxx. chaptre of Numeri, for that is y^t scope of our whole contēcion, or the pryck that we al thys tyme shote at. Thys is a prodygyouse enterpryse of yow, & wyll hauehave but slendre successe, beynge womens matter, as I tolde ye afore.Women For they myghte in no case fulfyll their vowes, were they neuer so strōgely made, but by licēs of father & husband. If ye take that chaptre for your grounde, ye can do no lesse than graunte the same to all them that hath father and mother tyll tyme they obtayne their full consente. Ye saye, by that I hauehave called a vowe in the olde lawe, a promyse, a gyfte, and an offerynge, I hauehave darkened all your matter. Then hath the lyghte soreThe lyght darkened youre matter, and the scriptures of God moche blemyshed the same, for they hauehave myghtely borne me out therin.

I hauehave declared afore of thē, that a vowe in the olde lawe hath a greate meany more than these. I shall not nowe neade agayneA mocke to repete thē. It is but a slye mocke of yow, to say y^• ye wil learne of me. For (I knowe) ye mynde nothynge lesse than to be taughte of me, eyther yet of anye of my professyon. Neuerthelesse, for so muche as ye desyre to knowe by what reason, a vowe in one place maye be taken for all these. iii. that is to say, for a promyse, a gyfte, & an offeryng, I wyll bring ye in a scriptur for your reasō, ye mayScripture take it for a reasō, if ye lyste. It is writtē Le. xxvii. Animal quod immolari potest domino si quis vouerit, sanctū erit, et mutari nō pote rit. If any mā vow a beast to y^• Lord, whych may be lawfully offered, it shall be an holye gyfte, and maye not be altered. Also Deute. xii. Omnia que voueris, et sponte offerre voA vowe. lueris, et primitias manuum tua…um, corā domino Deo tuo comedes, in loco quē elegerit. p. lxiiiiAll thynges that thu shalt vowe, and frely determyne to offre, and the first frutes also of thy handes, thu shalt eate before the Lorde, in place of hym appoynted. Lo sir, here is your vowe, a promyse, a gyfte, and an offerynge, and in the lattre texte, comprehendediii. in one vndre one relatyue. A gyfte is it, that is in a vowe promysed, and an offerynge is y^t gyfte, whā y^e promise is ones perfourmed.

If I sayde, that their vowes stode not in abiurynge of marryage, as do the vowes of our smered massemongers, I vttered suche a truthe, as all the vowe scriptures of theA truth. olde testamēt affirmeth. Neither hauehave I ther in dyscommended true chastyte. For marryage in my opynyō, is an ordre of chastyte, what your adulted conscyence thynketh of it, I can not tell. I recken alwayes that mar rpage vnperfyght, whych hath not chastyte and clennesse resident. Had not Mary ChristesMaria. mother holden marriage for an ordre of chastyte, she wolde neuer hauehave had Ioseph to husband. I was neuer dyscontented with your former allegacyon out of Saynte Augustyne, concernyng vowes syngular, quod alius vouit castitatem cōiugalem, that some man voweth coniugall chastyte, or faythfull clennesse in marryage. Why than report ye of me, that I here dyscommende the vowe of chastyte? Ye are very yll aduysed thus to do. If ye meane that vowe in your oyled cō panyons, trulye it maye wele stande in promyse, but I dare boldely saye, it came neuerInpromis yet to perfourmaunce, no, not in the holyest of all youre smered rable. And that is y^• chefe cause (I thinke) that yow determyne all your vowes here, to extende no further than promyse.

Ye saye, that both Christe and S. Paule doth moche commende the vowe of prestes chastyte. What a shamefull slaundre is thisA slaūdre. to them both, and how blasphemouse a lye? How shulde Christe and Saynte Paule cō mende, that they neuer ones named in all their doctrynes? Proue me that thys wurde …otum, eyther yet vouere, is ones expressed in all their teachynges, and wynne the maistry. O brockyshe Gomorreane, how darest thu presume to father thy fylthynesse vponupon the authour of all puryte, and vponupon hys cho sen vessell of eleccyon? Thu sayste also, theyPaulus. exhorted all persones vntounto it, that coulde take it. It is thy vtter shame so to reporte them. For whan Christe sayde, Math. xix. Qui potest capere, capiat. He that can obtayne it, lete hym holde it. He ment nothyng lesse than a vowe. For chastyte there, is a gift of God, in fredō & not in bondage, for preachynge the Gospell in the kyngdome of God, and not for loyterynge massynges in p. lxvthe kyngedome of Sathan. Whan ChristeChastyte cured Peters wyues mother of a feruente feuer, Math. viii, He …ad hym not breake vp how sholde and professe a newe founde chastyte.

Sayncte Paule sayeth, Romano. i. that the wrathe of God hath lyted vponupon yow frō heauen, for changynge hys truthe to a lye.A change. And hath gyuen ye cleane ouer with youre vnchaste vowes, into moste shamefull lustes of vnclennesse, one burnynge in abhomynable lustes to an other, and defylynge your bodyes amonge your selues for wante of the naturall vse of women. It is the plain texte that I tell yow, declarynge the holye consecrate frutes of your wyuelesse vowes. Boast no longar, but repente and be ashamedRepent. of them, ye beastlye boryshe buggerers. If ye denye it not, but all they in the olde lawe fauoured marryage, the marryed for the bondes sake, and the v…marryed for feare of the maledyccyon for barrennesse. Why grounde ye therupon, a relygyon that than was not thoughte vponupon, and iudge it a state more perfyghte? Ye saye, the newe lawe is not so. What not so? That whan they are marryed, they maye renounce marryage? Or whan they are syngle, they oughte not for anye nede despre it?Deuylysh Though Saynt Paule sayth. i. Corinth. vii. Qui habent vxores, sint tanquam non habentes. Lete them that hauehave wyues, be as though they had nō. Yet teacheth he no such doctryne. For he sayth afore, aboute the begynnyngS. Paule. of that chaptre. Propter stupravi tanda, suam quisque vxorem habeat, et suum queque virum. For auoydynge fornycacyō, lete eueryevery man hauehave hys wyfe, & euerye woman her husbande.

Saynte Paules meanynge is not in the texte afore, that the man shuld abst ayne frō hys wyfe, nor the wyfe frō her husbande. For he sayeth in the same chaptre, that theMarke it. husbād hath no power ouer hys own body, but the wyfe. And in like case, the wyfe hath no power ouer her owne body, but the husbande. Therfor he vnderstandeth it not that waye. But thys is hys meanynge, that men beynge marryed, shulde not be ouer vexed with the cares, troubles, & sorowes of marryage,Troubles but so quyetously content themselues therwith, as though they were clerely with out them. For therin must the man eate hys breade with double sweate, hauynge more to prouyde for than hymselfe, and the womā muste suffre the sharpe shoures of her trauaylynge in delyueraunce of chylde, Gent. iii. Neyther wyll Christes wurdes, Math.Christe. xix. serue your most fryuolouse purpose. Et sunt eunuchi, qui seipsos castrauerunt propter p. lxviregnum celorum. Also there be gelded men, whiche hauehave gelded themselues for the kyngdome of heauen. Though thys wer by an abstynence from marryage for a moste godlye purpose, as is the mynystracyon of Gods wurde, yet can it not be proued to beNo vowe. by vowe, nor yet by y^t offyce of ydolatrouse massynge in Antichristes kyngedome. For your Augustyne, de bono viduitatis, ye are answered afore, I wyl spende nomore tyme about it.

Obiectio.

¶ Ye recken vponupon certayn of the old fathers that were prestes, & yet ded not renounce marryage. Whych thyng made me to muse, bycauseMusynge I neuer redde y^• all those wer prestes, although some of thē wer. I wyl doubte of come of thē a whyle, by your leaue. As of Samuel, seyng neyther hys father nor sonne were prestes, nor he borne of the stocke of Aaron, & by hys mothers vowe, offered to serue in the temple. Whyche she neded not to hauehave done, if he had bene a preste borne. And also of zorobabel, which was de tribu Iuda. But in suche smal tryfles is nozorobabel great matter. Put the cause they were all prestes, as ye maye recken a great sort more, seyng they had wyues, as yow saye, why shulde yow affirme that they neuer renounced marryage? excepte ye saye so, to mollify the matter, and to vse men to beare that prestes had wyues in the scripture. But why do yow not put here youre dystinccyon betwene prestes of the olde lawe, whyche muste nedes be marryed, bycause theirDiffiniciō ordre was mayntayned by successyon onlye of the stocke of Aaron, And prestes of the newe lawe, whyche for their vertu are chosen vntounto that ordre, as S. Ambrose sayth, et …et.

Responsio.

Upon▪ ii. thynges here ye muse, by youre owne confessyon, one is, that in reportyngeii. thynges certē of … ^• olde fathers to be prestes, I shuld say withal, that they neuer renounced marryage. Here is no small matter to muse at. If ye be not oute of this musynge tyll I ryd ye of it, ye are lyke to dwell in it a greate whyle, I knowe my matter so good. An other thynge that ye muse at is thys, and it concerneth your owne propre persone. It is euen your selfe that ye muse at. For ye neuer redde (ye say) y^t al those men, whom I hauehavePrestes. rehearced, were prestes, though some of thē by your owne concēt, were prestes in dede. Ye are contented wele, to allowe Aaron, Eleazar, Phinees. Sirach, Mathathias, & Zachary, Iohan Baptistes father, for prestes. But Samuel and Zorobabell ye wyll not admytt, but doubte of them a whyle ye saye. And full manerly ye axe me leaue so to do, whyche I graunte with good wyll. Thā fall ye to a nughty strayning of this gnatte. Your doubte firste of all, is of Samuel (ye saye) consyderynge that neyther hys father nor soune were prestes. Thys reason is toSamuel slendre to hold ye styl in that doubte, vnlesse p. lxviiiye wyll doubte of purpose. For Melchisedech was the preste of the hyghest, Gen. xiiii and yet we fynde not that hys father was a preste, neyther yet hys sonne after hym.

But thys dare I boldelye affirme, that both Samuel was a prest, and Helchana hisA preste. father after hym. And after y^• death of Heli, not onlye he succeded in the seignourye or pryncypalyte ouer the Israelytes, but also in the hyghe presthode. Marke hys authoryte. i. Reg. iii. hys intercessyon & sacryfyce for the people. i. Reg. vii. whyche all pertayned to hys presthode. Thys confirmeth Da uid. Psal. xcviii. Moses et Aaron in sacerdo tibus eius, et Samuel inter eos qui i…nuocant nomen eius. I…uocabant dominum et ipse exaudiebat eos. Moyses and Aaron amonge hys prestes, & Samuel among sucheMoyses. as call vponupon hys name. They called vponupon y^e lorde, and he hearde them. The lyke is written also, Hier. xv. Si steterint Moses et Samuel coram me, non est anima mea ad popu lum istū. Though y^t great prestes Moyses & Samuel stode afore me to make intercessyō, yet hauehave I no harte to this people. For the prestes were they which ded that office, Iohel. ii. S. Augustyne writeth thus, in. xii. lib. cōtra faustū. ca. xxxiii. Nōne ab ipso regū exSamuel. ordio cōmutatū est sacerdo tiū in Samuelē, reprobato Heli, et regnū in dauid, reprobato Saule. Is not the presthode, from the verye begynnyng of kynges, changed to Samuel, Heli beyng reiected? and the kyngedom gyuē Heli prest.to Dauid, Saul beyng dysalowed? Bede hath also the iyke, super primo Regum, et Roman. vii. Moreouer Iohā Carion sayth, in the seconde boke of hys Chronycles. Incertitudinem imperii indigne ferens populus, postulauit a Samuele summo sacerdote, regem certum designari, qui preessetA kynge. regno. The people grudgyng at the incer taynte of their empyre, requyred of Samuel the hygh preste, that a kynge myghte be certaynly appoynted to gouerne them. Petrus Equilimus in sanctorū Catalogo, sheweth the same.

And for hys father, Conradus Pellicanus sayth vponupon the first chaptre of the firste boke of kynges, Pater Samuelis sacerdos erat, mater prophetissa. The father of SamuelHelcana. was a preste, and hys mother a prophe tysse. It is also in the Byble texte. i. Reg. i. quod Helcana immolauit. I pray you, what call ye that? Lo sir, thys is ynough to proue Samuel a preste, and to dyscharge youre great doubte. Yet for so muche as ye reason further, ye shall hauehave further answere. Ye saye, Samuel can not be proued a preste, bycause he came not out of the stocke of Aarō.Aaron. Thys declareth in yow a blocky she ignoraunce, p. lxviiiand as though ye had sene nothyng. Iosephus in the first boke and the. xv. chaptre of his Antiquytees, sayth, that Helcana Samuels father was vir Leuita, a man of the stocke of Leui. Althamerus writeth also in sylua Byblicorum nominū, that the seyd Helcana was genere Leuites, a Leuyte by hys byrthe. Pellicanus cometh after, and hePellican. confirmeth it with this sentence vpō the. xcix Psalme, as he nombreth thē. Erat sane Samuelex genere Leui per Cahat, ex quo & Aaron et Moyses nati sunt. Certaynely (sayeth he) or without questyon, Samuel was of the stocke of Leui by Cahat, of whome spronge fourth Aaron and Moyses. And he sendeth vsus ther to the pedigrew of the Leuites. i. Pa ralip. vi. where as it is regestred at large.

Yet are ye not contented, but Samuel must styll be no preste, bycause hys motherTemple. offered hym vp to serue in the temple. Whiche she neded not to hauehave done (ye saye) if he had bene a preste borue, O brutysh bussarde ac stolidū caput. Thys is a reasō, as though Gods fauer and syngular grace had bene bounde vndre lawe, as in that age synnefull men were. Thys phantasy of yours. S Hierome with youre other olde doctours hauehave dyscharged, Pellicanus comprehendynge their myndes in thys only sentence, Preter legem erat, infantem Leuiticum offerre doceretur mino. Sed quia myraculose promissus et geMyracle nitus diceretur, susceptus est ab Hely, et velut peculiare Deo munus oblatum, diligentius curandū. It was aboue the law to offer the lorde a chylde of Leuyes stocke. But bycause that Samuel shulde be famed abroad to hauehave bene promysed and borne by myracle,Heli sacer dos. he was receyued of Heli the hygh preste, and offered as a peculyar gyfte to God, to be more dylygently loked to. The Byble ma keth mencyon of Leuytes & Aaronytes, but not of prestes borne, as ye do call them. For prestes borne are no babes, but great lubber knaues, as I hauehave both heard and seane.

I remembre ones at Cambridge, a good fellowe complayned to doctor Edmondes thā vycechaūceller, y^t his wyfe was delyuered y^t night afore of a great gray frier. And at Londō in an inne within Smithfeld IonePrestes borne. Swepestake was deliuered of the limitour of Ware. Whiche swepte cleane away his clocke, cowle, purse, petycote, botes, hatte, horse & all, leauynge hym in bedde al naked. I heard it also at Thornedō in Southfolke, by them that founde oute the game, that the sextēs wyfe there was delyuered of the parrysh preste, at eleuen a clocke in the nyght. I hauehave redde of Paulus tertius y^e last bishoppPaulus. of Rome, y^t his owne dere daughter at dynerse tymes delyuered hym, besydes manye p. lxixother wonders▪ Some tyme these mysteryes were hyddē by the terrour of walkyng spretes, but now they are knowne wale ynough.Whored… I coulde nōbre ye out a great sort of your vn chast masse mongers, y^t hauehave thus bene delyuered of late yeares, & yet they wyl hauehave no wyues of their own, so holy a thing is whoredome in youre whoryshe churche. Now come we to Zorobabel, whyche coulde be no preste (say yow) bycause he was de tribu Iuda. If that rule shulde stande, than must ye also deny Christes presthode, whych was de tribu Iuda both by Mathew and Lukes Gospell, and by all the other scriptures.

I am the boldar to confesse Zorobabel a preste, bycause the prophete Aggeus, by theAggeus. expresse mouth of god, vseth him as a fygur or former exāple of Christ. Agge. ii. the same is cōfirmed, Eccl. xlix. For y^t whych zorobabel ded in reparing y^e tēple & aultre made by handes, ii. Esd. iii. Iesus Christ perfourmed in y^e tēple & aultre without handes, Heb. ix. Et zach. iiii. Manus zorobabel fundauerūt domū istā, et manus eius perficient eā. The handes of zorobabel hauehave layde the foundacyon of thys house, and hys handes (that is to saye, Christes) shall fynyshe it. Thys also augmenteth my opyuyō in this behalfe, thatChrist. after the captyuyte of Babylon, the Iewes were ruled most of all by the prestes, whych brought in sectes, as Pharisees, Saducees, & Esseanes, and were the fynall decay of that empyre, as were the papystes of our christia nyte. An other maner of presthode was prefygured in Zorobabel, than was the Leuytycall presthode, for that contynued, and theChriste. other peryshed. For Christe beynge of the trybe of Iuda, and a preste after the ordre of Melchisedech, turned ouer the Leuytycall presthode, euen from the verye foundacyon, and lefte nothynge remaynynge therof, lete the Iewes boast of it neuer so much, and the papystes occupye the spoyle by thefte and robory in their aulters, copes, miters, oyles, belles, and hablynges.

If there be no great matter in suche small tryfles, why sturred yow the coles, & madeA case. so great matter of them? Now put yow the case, they had beue all prestes, as we maye recken (yow say) a great sort moo (& I know it to be true) why shulde I affirme that they neuer renounced marryage, seynge they had wiues? That why, in dede hath a what. For it were no good reason, that they whyche hauehave wyues shuld abhorre marryage. That were against the doctryne of the holy GhostA cause through all the scriptures. But thys I vttered, that no man shulde thynke vowes an impedyment to marriage. For whan y^• doctryne of vowes was in most force, as in the olde lawe, marryage was neuer hyudred by p. lxxtheym. Moche lesse than in the newe lawe, whyche sheweth no manyfeste doctryne of them, beynge but ceremonyall shaddowes and no morall preceptes. If we now mollyfye that yow hauehave made harde, we do not amys, nor yet to your dyscommodyte. Yow hauehave made it death, a prest to marry a wyfe,Make f…t lyke horryble tyraūtes, to your owne damp nacyon. Ye hauehave also by y^t meanes, brought into the worlde an exec…able arte, whyche had els neuer bene so largely knowne, that is, the prodygyouse occupyeng of Sodome & Gomorre, to double the same dāpnacion.

If we hauehave mollifyed these harde extremitees, we hauehave not deserued hate at youre hādes, but louelove. For we hauehave therby sought your saluacyon by repentaunce, if it mayeTo saue. frutefully come forewarde. To thys ende in dede, we vse mē (as yow tearme it) to hear that prestes had wyues in y^t scriptures, yea, we earnestly beate it into their heades, as a necessary truthe to be knowne, in spyght of Antichristes wicked hypocrysy. Why I put not here a dystynccyon betwene prestes of the old lawe and the newe, is thys. That dystynccyon is yours and not myne. Marry thys I reade in the scriptures, that in the oldPr…es. lawe were prestes of the ordre of Aaron, but in the newe lawe is non other presthode, thā after the ordre of Melchisedech, and I fynd nomore but one of that ordre, euen Iesus Christ the sonne of the lyuynge God. He is contented to admytt mynysters vndre hym, as byshoppes, superintendentes, or watchmen,Offycers. preachers, eldars, and deacons, but all presthode he reserueth to hymself only. And S. Paule sayeth, that he hath made but one peace offerynge, or full sacryfyce of hymselfe for all, Hebr. vii. though he holdeth styl a perpetuall presthode.

Sanctificati sumus (inquit) per oblationem corporis Iesu Christi semel peractā, He bre. x. We are (sayth he) sanctified by the offeringeOfferyng of y^t body of Iesu Christ ones for al. Though the Lenytycall prestes, the pagane prestes, and the ydolatrouse popysh prestes, hauehave innumerable tymes offered, yet were they neuer able with all their dead sacryfyces, to take away one synne. Hic vero (sayth Saincte Paule) vna pro peccatis oblata victima, perpetuo sedet ad dexteram Dei, id quod superest expectans, donec redd…ntur inimici ipsius scabellum pedum eius, Hebreo. x. But thys preste, after he had offered one sacryfyce for synnes, sate hym downeScabellū. for euer on the ryghte hande of God, and from hence fourth tarryeth, tyll hys enemyes be made hys fote stole. Ye hauehave nothyng in all the newe testamēt, y^t ye can iustly ground vponupon, for a presthode, no, nomore p. lxxithan ye hauehave to be kynges of the earth. Unlesse ye take thys, whych is commen to all y^• faythfull. Erunt sacerdotes Dei et Christi,Cōmen Apo. xx. They shal be y^• prestes of God & of Christ. And y^t can not be. For ther shal be no such kynd of presthode, tyl y^e general rysyng of y^t dead be past. Lete not this word presbyter any lōgar deceyue yow, for it is an elder & no prest. Ye say the prestes of the olde lawe muste nedes hauehave bene marryed, bycause their ordre was mayntayned by successyon.Deceiue… Here are ye deceyued for wante of an other dystynccyon, for it was not their ordre, but their stocke, that was mayntayned by succes syon. Their ordre was mainteyned by sacry fyces, firste, frutes, tythes, vowes, deuocyons, and offerynges. Herin hauehave ye fowlye ouer shoten your wyttes. But I maruele, ye put not in, Gods ordynan̄ce. Leu. xxi. & Eze.Forgoten. xliiii. For a cause why they marryed. That was fowly forgotten of yow also. As concernyng prestes of the newe lawe, surely we can find nō such, neither in y^• Gospel nor yet in epistle. Only behold we there, Melchisedeckes presthod, & y^t neuer was ther any mo re of y^t ordre thā Christ gods son, as I told ye afore. Ye say, y^t by their vertu, they are chosenNo prests. to y^t ordre. Truly we neither know them nor yet their ordre, for a state allowed by y^t scriptur, besydes y^t we fynde them of al men furthest from vertu. Therfor lete them seke vp some other name, if they wyl be reckened men godly. For thys wyll not be allowed of them that know chese frō chalke, no, thoughDeceyuers. they brynge with them thre Ambroses for their witnesse. Christe tolde vsus ones that a certen kynd of men, shuld in the lattre daies be amonge vsus, whyche shulde saye, vntounto vsus, here is Christ & there is Christ, but he tolde vsus withall, that we shulde fynde them false prophetes, false Christes, deceyuers, and no prestes, and earnestlye he bad vsus to be ware of them. Math. xxiiii.

Obiectio.

Saynt Ambrose sayth. i. Tim, iii. Ue… ribus idcirco concessum est Leuitis aut sacerdo tibus, vxores ad vsum habere, quia multum tē pus…xores. otio vacabāt a ministerio aut sacerdotio …. Ita vt tempore quo non illos cōtingebat desit uire altari, domorum suarum agerēt curam. It vbi tempus imminebat ministerit, purificati aliquantis diebus acc…derent ad tēplum offer… Deo. Nunc autem septem diaconos esse oportet, aliquantos presbyteros, vt bini sint pet ecclesias, et vnus in ciuitate episcopus, ac pet hoc omnes a conuētu femine abstinere debert, quia necesse est eos quotidie presto esse in ecclesia, nec habere dilationem vt post conuenium legitime purificētur, sicut veteres. Omni enimAbstinere. hebdomada offerendum est et ce. Si plebeis hominibus orationis causa, ad tempus abstinere se precipit, vt vacent orationi, quanto magi… Leuitis aut sacerdotibus, quos die nectuque pro plebe sibi commissa oporteret orare. Mundiores p. lxxiiergo esse debēt ceteris quia actoree DeiArgumēt. sunt. Therfor your argumēt is of smal strēgth in my mynde, whan ye reason that prestes now maye take wyues, bycause prestes in the olde lawe had wyues. For the cause is gone, and the presthode is not al one. And their my …ystracyō is as much dyfferēt, as betwene brute beastes and Christes body.

Responsio.

Who euer heard it, that Saynt Ambrose wrote to Timothe S. Paules discyple, whiche was not borne almost thre hundred yeares after hym. If ye wyll hauehave here youreMeanyng meanynge taken for your writyuge, as that Ambrose wrote vponupon S. Paules first epistle to Timothe, ye must shewe some fygure for it, els wyll it not so be receyued▪ Youre place of Ambrose, is nothynge to the purpose of that we hauehave reasoned here. Oure whole dysputacyon is of prestes, and not of deacons, nomore thā it was afore of womē, It is a mattre muche to be wondred at, that ye are so earnest therin, & neyther can fynde scriptures in the newe testamente to serueA wondre. your purpose, nor yet expresse places in your doctours, but ye must be cōpelled thus beggerly to borowe of deacons and women. It is a playne token that youre matter is verye weake, whan ye seke to proue it by so slendre authorytees. Well, ye loke to be answered, and ye shall be no lesse than honestlye and truly answered. Fyrst we must waye, whatAnswer. S. Paule hath done in that fyrst epistle and thyrde Chaptre to Timothe, ere we meddle wyth your Ambrose whych wrote therupon at hys pleasure.

S. Paule declareth there, what maner of man a byshop ought to be, and what condicions, he, hys wyfe, and his chyldren, shuld or oughte to hauehave. He sheweth also the propertiesMinisters required in a deacon or minister, and in hys wyfe and famyly. It behoueth a byshop (sayth he) to be fautlesse, the husband of one wyfe, sober, discrete, and so fourth. Like wyse muste Deacons be honest, not double tounged, nor geuen to muche drynke. et cet.Wyues. Euen so must theyr wyues be honest, not euyl speakers, but sober and faythfull in all thynges, that is to say, both the bishops wines and the deacons wyues. What can this further your purpose, that prests of the new Testament maye hauehave no wyues, whan S. Paule appoynteth none other to be bishops and deacons, than be the husbandes of one wyfe, by thys wurde oportet, it be houeth orAmbrose is necessarye. If youre Ambrose bryngeth fourth any other doctryne vponupon that chapter than thys is, he falsyfyeth the text…. But I wold fayne know. ii. thyngs of yow. One is, whi ye ded not here as wel alledge Paul, p. lxxiiiwhych wrote the texte, as ye hauehave done Ambrose,The glose whych made but y^e glose? for alwayes is the text of more authorite thā is the glose. An other, why ye hauehave not as wel takē matters belongynge to byshops, as ye hauehave taken matters belongynge to deacons.

For more force wolde it hauehave geuē to theStrength. thynge, to hauehave bene taken from the superiour, than frō the inferyour, and much more wolde it hauehave fortifyed your cause. But ye are a wyly watte in the kyngdome of crafte and generacion of falsehede. Now wyll we go to youre Ambrose, by hym to declare yet your falshede more depely. Answer me this firste of al. Why toke ye not his glose vponupon thys text of the same chapter. Oportet episcopumTextes. irreprehen sibilem esse, vnius vxoris maritum. It behoueth a byshop to be vnrebukeable, and the husbande of one wyfe. As wel as vponupon this text for your pleasure. Diaconi sint vnius vxoris mariti, qui liberis recte presint, et proprijs familijs. Lete y^e deacons be the husbandes of one wife, and such as rule theyr chyldren wel, and theyr familyes vprightly. I could in declaring the causes,A Deuyl. of thys subtyle conueyaunce of yours, payn…e ye out lyke a dyuel in your colours, were it not for making this boke to lōg. To shorte. Youre Ambrose wold not serue yow in that poynte, and is lyke to do yow as lyttle good seruyce in this. Now wil I English your Ambrose, yea, rather your ragged god bettes taken out of Ambroses glose, the best partes lefte alwayes behynde yow.

For thys purpose (sayeth your Ambrose) was it graunted to the Leuites or prestes, to hauehave wyues for their vse, bycause they had moche vacaunt tyme from their mynystracyonNo cause. or offyces of their presthode, &c. Than leape ye ouer. ii. longe sentences & an halfe, to the nombre of. xliii. wurdes, and there ye begynne agayne after this sort. So that they myghte se to their howses (sayeth he) for the tyme that their course was not to serue the aultre. But as the tyme of their mynystracyonClense. approched, preparynge themselues certen dayes afore, they drewe towardes the tēple, to do their accustomed seruyce to god. Now must we hauehave seuen deacons, & some auncyentes or eldars, that there maye be in eueryevery parysh a couple, and also one byshop in a cytie. And therby all they to abstayne from womannys cumpany, for so muche as of necessyte they ought to be always at hāde in the church, without excuse or delaye, that after they hauehave cumpanyed with their wyues, they myghte lawfullye be puryfyed,Iewysh. as were the olde Leuytes. For euerye weke p. lxxiiiimust they offre etc. Thā ouerleape ye again, the resydue of that longe clause and an other whole sentence besydes, comprehendynge xxxiiii. wurdes, and thus ye conclude.

If he hath commaunded men of the com men sorte, for prayers sake, to withdraweNo leuites themselues for a tyme, how muche more the Leuytes or prestes, whyche oughte to praye daye and nyght for the people to them committed. Therfor muste they be more cleane than the other, for they are the factours, or bayliffes of God. These are the fragmentes of your Ambrose. If ye were godly wyse, as ye are not, ye shulde wele perceyue them no thynge to the purpose, eyther of the text that he taketh in hande, or yet of any syncere chriFrinolouse. stē ordre. S. Paule speaketh nothyng ther of y^• Leuytes, whose offyce was to serue in the tabernacle of wytnesse, Numeri. iiii. but of deacons, whose offyce was to mynystre to the poore, Acto. vi. The offyces are as lyke, the one to the other, as a table is lyke a temple. Therfor your Ambrose was as great a wyse gentyll man, to proue the one by the other, if it were hys dede, as I doubt it moch, as your selfe were whan ye proued prestes chastyte, by the chastyte of women, whyche holdeth no longar in a great nomber of thē,Floyshe. than it is in promysynge.

And your owne dere Ambrose is agaynst your selfe here, for yow sayde afore, that the cause of theyr maryage, was successyon inNo causes that lyue, and he applyeth it to theyr vaca… tyme. I woulde yow both had applyed it to Gods ordynaunce, and than had ye done it more rightly. But that ye clerely forgote. In that your Ambrose appoynteth to your prestes the Iudaycal expiaciōs, for compani… wyth theyr wyues, and chargeth them s… earnestly wyth an ydel watchyng in the t… ple vponupon ceremonyes, wyth an abstynen… from theyr wyues, and wyth an vncōmaū ded offering eueryevery weke, the study of God… Baggage.scryptures not once remembred, and in th… ende iudgeth maryage an vncleane state … liuyng, forsoth it is a praty Ambrose. Wh… pure christianite can we reckē in him, whi… appoynteth our mynysters to the offyce o… Leuytes, to pray and not to preach, to syng… and not to feede the flocke, to clense by outwarde ceremonyes, and not by the inward… fayth? I boldely affyrme it, nothynge at a… Boldely.fearyng the holynesse of your Ambrose, th… thys is no Christen learning, but a doctri… of hypocrisye, ydolatry, Iewyshnesse, yd… nesse, and deuilishnes, a forsaking of Chr… a curse, and dampnacion, as S. Paule … clareth through all his epistles.

If any man teache yow (sayth he) any … ther Gospell, or kynde of doctryne, that p. lxxvhauehave taught yow, holde hym accursed, Galathians.Accursed. i. If any man (saith S. Iohan) wyl adde to Gods booke, God shall adde vntounto hym the plages therin contayned, and wipe away hys parte out of the booke of lyfe, A…ōcalyps. xxii. Amonge so muche baggage, …s ye gathered of your Ambrose, why lefte … thys clause behynde yow, vponupon the same …xt? Ostendit istos vnius vxoris viros esse …ere, vt hi ad ministerium Dei eligantur,Mariti. …i non sunt egressi constitutum Dei. Ho…ni enim vnam vxorem decreuit Deus, …m qua benedicatur. The Apostle sheweth …t these deacons (sayth he) ought to be the …ādes of one wife, that those only might …chosen to that Godly offyce, whych had …ouerleaped the instytucion of God. For …onelyonly wyfe ded God gyue to man, to be …wyth blessynge. If ye had taken thys inOne wyse …re waye, ye shoulde thereby hauehave bene …syoued, to hauehave remoued from youre …hode all whoremongers and Sodomy…. Ye shoulde also hauehave thereby knowne, …t marryage of wyues hathe Goddes …ssnge.

But perauenture ye lefte it oute, for the …xte clause folowynge, whyche smelleth of …anyfest lye. Nemo enim cum secunda …edicitur. No man hath Gods blessyngeii. vxo…. …the second wyfe▪ O gentil Ambrose, wher learned yow thys doctryne? Was Mary Christes mother not blessed, bicause she was Iosephs seconde wyfe? I thynke Bethsabe Dauids fourth wyfe besydes concubynes, was as blessed in her frute, as was Michol hys first wyfe in her barrennesse. Your AmAmbrose brose vponupon the .xi. chaptre of S. Paules seconde epistle to the Corinthi anes, semeth to be of an other opynyō, than he apereth here. For there he sayth, Omnes Apostoli, exceptis Ioanne et Paulo, vxores habuerunt. Et vide, an conueniat accusare Petrum Apostolum, qui primus inter Apostolos est. All the apostles, excepte Iohan and Paule, had wyues. See therfor if it be fitt to accuse or speake yll by the Apostle Peter, whyche isPeter. the chefe among the Apostles? But I thynk, thys Ambrose is not the same Ambrose, but some other. And whether he be or no, it is no matter, so longe as he is so dyscordaunte to hymselfe.

Upon this broken, broused, battered, and broyled authoryte of your Ambrose, ye conclude that my argumēt is of small strength. But ye do wele to adde vntounto it, after youre opynyon, which is most popysh and folysh.Wysely. It was neuer my argumente, neyther yet my reason, that prestes now may take wyues because prestes in the old lawe had wyues. For than I shulde graunte as moche p. lxxviauthoryte to your prestygyouse presthode in the new lawe, as I dyd to that selected prest hode in the olde lawe. Whych I can not do,Presthode that beyng of God, and yours of Antichrist and the deuyll. I tolde yow afore, that the scriptures of the newe lawe, hauehave non other presthode, but only Melchysedeckes presthode, whyche Christe lefte not here in earth styll behynde hym, but toke it clerely awaye with hym to the ryght hande of hys father, therin to make contynuall interpellacyon for vsus. Hebre .vii. et Roman .viii. In hym as we are a kyngedome, so are we a presthodeChriste. to our Lorde God, Apoca .i. et. v. not by oylynges and shauynges, but by an vncorrupted faythe in hys sufferynges.

Hys prestes maye hauehave wyues by his ap poyntment, and neuer the lesse be cytiezens with y^t saintes. Your prestes are vtterly forbydden to hauehave wyues by Antichristes com maundement, how shulde they els becomeNo wiues the cytiezens of your great spirytuall cytie, called Sodoma and Egyptus, Apoca .xi. If I shulde hauehave made the reason, I wolde not hauehave sayde, take wyues bycause the prestes of the olde lawe had wyues. But I wolde hauehave sayd with Paule, throwe from ye that abhomynable yoke of the infydeles. ii. Cor. vi. repent of that fylthy snare of the deuyll.Asuare. ii. Timothe. ii. and take ye christen wyues, bycause it is Gods holy institucion, and bycause it is better to marry than to burnt. All thys could I hauehave sayed. Ye saye, the cause is goue, whych is a meruel to me, the effecte remayuynge and Gods ordinaunce beynge the cause, for auoydynge fornicacion. Ye say also, the presthode is not al one. And that I graunte you in dede, for they had not botheNot al one one father. As great dyfference and more is betwyxt them, as is betwene Israel and Aegypte. But of thys I hauehave tolde ye ynough afore.

Ye say, theyr ministracions are as much dyfferent, as betwene brute beastes, & Christes body. O blasphemouse speaker, and deuylA Sathan. of al deuyls, ful wicked is thy wretched body, to hauehave so vngodly vtteraūce. O lord, how vncomely is this fylthy talke of thyne? how darest thu take vponupon the, so hyghlye to preferre the Gomorreall presthoode of thy Belphegor of Rome, aboue a presthode peculyarly ordayned of our eternall God, hauynge no authoritye of hys wurde so to do? Come downe (I say once agayne) thu filthyDowne. fynde and arrogant Sathan, that thus exaltest thy chayre of pestilēce, and seate of wicked scorners, aboue that almighty God and his Christ, for the table of the Lord, is not al one wyth the table of deuyls, neyther yet is the cuppe of the Lord al one wyth the cuppe p. lxxviiof deuyls .i. Cor. x. Though in the LeuiticallLeuites. presthoode they offered beastes, yet ded not Christ leaue it to thy massynge presthode to offer vp hys holy body and bloude, thu traiterouse massemonger. For he was able ynoughe of hym selfe, to offer vp one effectuall and perfyght sacrifice for al, hebre .ix.