Against a Rank Papist, Part 1 · Opinion 7

Against a Rank Papist · Part 1 · Opinion 7

Censura.

¶ The vowes of Romysh monkes & prestes, whose ende is most fylthy sodometry, were neuer cōmaūded of Christ, neyther yet toke they ground of the Apostles doctryne. For they had wyuesApostles. in marryage, not women vnfaythfull, but systers, that is to saye, women of the same Christen beleue, that theyr selues were of. i. Cor. ix.

Obiectio.

☞ Romys… prestes we knowe none. For p. cviiiprestes be by Christes ordynaunce, stewardes of hys mysteryes and sacramentes, and preathers of hys word. That the vowes of such,Uowes. hauehave theyr ende most fylchy sodometry, is, me thinke, sum what to farre spoken. For I will not so vncharitably iudge, that eueryevery mā and womā, which professe chastite or widowhed, do it for that ende, to liue in such filthy abhomynacion. That the vowes of monkes and prestes were neuer commannded of Christe, I dooe assente. If ye take vowes, not forUowes. those whych be commen to euerye Christen man, which, as you said, be Gods commaū dementes, but for those whych be priuate and syngular after eueryevery mannys deuocion. For to make suche vowes, is not commaunded. But to breake thē whan they be made, is prohibyted by Gods word and commaundemēt. Yet they be commended by Christe, and men ethorted vntounto thē by Christ, Mat. xix. ThatThynke. these vowes ded take theyr ground of the Apostles doctryne, me thynke, I am able to proue. Ded not wydowes vowe chastyter l. Timo. v. Ded not Ananias and Saphira. Acto. l. vowe and promyse to brynge in the pryce of all theyr possessyōs? what vengeaūce came to thē for breakīg their vowe, ye know.

Responsio.

It is wondre to me, that ye knowe no Romyshe prestes, and are so greate a captayne,Prestes. counseller, and good ghostly father amonge them. Me thynke, ye shuld not be so neglygent as ye make your selfe, neither yet forgetful of a name so essencial to your sinered and shorne generacion. But do ye not knowe Romish prestes in dede? Knew ye neuer them whych were prestes by oylynges and shanynges, by syde gownes & by typpetes, by massinges and mōblinges, by creame boxes & confessyōs, by stooles, fāuonis, and superaltarees, by beckinges,Knowen. vowynges, breathinges, knockinges, knelynges, crossynges, calkynges, candell droppynges, stauerynges, slomberynges, gapynges, gaddynges, ydols sensynges, & watter cōiurynges, wyth many other fine toyes, whych all came from Rome? Were ye neuer acquaynted wyth byars and sellers in the temple, ydolmongers, bedemō gers, portasmōgers, & masmongers, wyth crownes pyepycked and dysguysed lyke daunsyng Apes, i…bberyng, whysperyng, and mutteryng in corners, false fyenge theApes. holy scriptures, and lyenge in wayte to betray pore christianes? Knowe ye none yet, whych goeth to olde wynes, and byd them beleue as they hauehave done, and as theyr fathers ded afore them, callynge the veryte sediciouse learnynge?

Are ye sure there are non in these daies, that of set purpose rebelleth agaynste the Gospell, contempneth therof the maynteners, pursueth the dylygent readers, spurnethEnemies. asyde the kynges ordinaūces, dysdaiueth his godly procedynges, callyng Dauids p. cixpsalmes good christmas carolles, and Christes holy communion, Robine Whodes banket, lyke stought sturdy sawcy syr Iohans? Dwell ye so nygh Deuenshyre & Cornewayle, and are not acquainted with those ragynge ruffyanes of Antichristes brode, whych of late dayes sturred vp the lew de people agaynste theyr liege kynge, for theyr olde Latine seruyce whych theyRebelles. neuer yet vnderstode, for ymages, masses, ceremonies, presthode, coufessions, funtehalowynges, holy water cōiurynges, and other dyrty dregges of the Romyshe monster? If ye knowe not those chaplaynes, your companyons, whych of late yeares not farre from Maluerne hylles brought wenches to theyr beddes to helpe theyr vowe of chastyte, by a charme called: HecAcharme. dona † Hecmunera † Hec sancta sacrificia † Belzebub et Berit † and so fourth, ye hauehave sūwhat lesse cōning thā I hauehave, for I both know y^t story & hauehave theyr inchauntmēt to shewe. They litle nede marriage, y^• hauehave so religiouse & holi spiritual prouisiōs

If ye knowe no Romish prestes, I dare boldely say it, that ye knowe no prestes at all. Forther is none other ordre of presthode, than is the Romyshe popets ordre.Presthode The churche that Christ sanctyfyed to the seruyce of hys eternall father, had neuer any massinga presthode. He only sēt fourth Apostles and dyscyples, faythfully to instruct the multitude in our christen beleue▪ The Apostles by authorite of hys cōmission, ordayned in eueryevery citye receyuyng hys worde, preachynge byshops, elders, pastours, deacons, and other godly ministers to vpholde and increase the christen religion, which he had perfightly planted without masses. No presthode was lefte here toRelygion. be occupyed in the christianyte, but clerely was it taken awaye to the ryght hande of the father, the great sacrifice once perfourmed, as I hauehave declared afore. This chaplayne sayth, that prestes by Christes ordynaunce are stewardes. We reade not in all the. iiii. Gospels, that Christ euer had anyGospels. other stewarde of housholde than Iudas, and he was a thefe. If ye take him into the ordre of your presthode, moche good do it yow with him. In some great mēnis howses (I hauehave herd say) full ill rule hath bene, where as prestes hauehave bene stewardes.

But the meanyng of thys chaplaine is, that prestes were stewardes of Christes misteries and sacramētes by his appoyntment, and preachers of hys worde, whych is a manyfest lye. For he neyther madeA fable. prest, nor yet appoynted hys Apostles to make them. Neither toke he prestes of any p. cxother making, for they were most vnfyt for that godly offyce. None coulde than be admytted to Christes relygyon, that had in those dayes bene a prest, vnlesse he fyrst of all renounced hys presthode vtterly. Hys preachers were men wythout ordres, vnlessepreachers. they were of the ordre of fayth and of the holy Ghostes inspyraciō, wherby they become mynisters admittted of the Apostles. Thys chaplayne accompteth it to farre spoken, that the ende of prestes vow…s shulde be fylthy sodometry. But surely the naughtye examples of them, extendethA plage. moche further. It is a sore plage (S. Paule sayth) lefte them of God, for theyr vngodly presumpcion, Roma. i. So charytable is thys chaplayne, that he reckeneth no spirituall sodomytes to be euyll liuers, whā he iudgeth the Gospellers (as he doth call them) fowle heretyques and men worthye of death.

He wyll not (he sayth) so vncharytably iudge (y^t mē bawdes of Rome hauehave y^t lyke in theyr mouthes) that eueryevery man and woman whych professeth chastyte or widowhed,Professiō. doth it to that ende, to lyue in such filthy abhominacion. If they ded (say I) hell were to good both for them, and for hym that so earnestly defendeth theyr execrable myschefes. That iudgement is not allowable, which dependeth on the naked cause, the effecte not folowynge. And therfore Christ taught vsus, not to iudge the frute by the tree, but the tree by hys frute. Of theirFrutes. frutes (saith he) are the false prophetes and hypocrites knowne, Mat. vii▪ What godly wyse man can thynke, that vyrginite is the better, because it is vowed, or chastyte the holiar because it is professed? Is it better in synnefull mānys bandes, than in the free hande of God whych is y^t gyuer? The shamefull successe therof, shuld seme to declare it otherwyse. But answer me to this,Answer. ye patrone of bawdry and fylthynesse vnspeakable. Were the prodygiouse occupienges of Sodome & Gomor in vse amonge the christianes, afore the profession of that counterfet vowe of yours? If ye say, yea, I can proue ye a depe lyar.

Eyther yet, were ther euer so many prodygyouse kyndes of that fylthye occupyenge, in practyse, as there hath bene sens the professynge of that most wicked vowe?Professiō. If ye saye, there were, I am able to confounde ye be a thousande examples, authorytees, and authours to the contrarye. Your obstinacye in thys myschefe, hath caused me moche more to trauayle in storyes and chronycles of tymes, thā I wold p. cxiels hauehave done. If I cōdēpned your wholeholy ghost generaciō for that wickednes of Sodome, I shulde do none other thā the holy Ghost hath done, whych neuer yet could erre. He hath proclamed it to the world by his elect Apostle S. Iohan, that your whole spirytua…te is a wycked Sodome. Apoca .xi. He hath also louyngly admonyshed hys seruauntes, by hys chosen vessell S. Paule, that your vowe is a folyshe presumpcyon of your owne blynde hartes, deseruynge most dāpnable plage, for your vnbeleues sake, Rom .i. Ye are not able to ouerthrowbulwerks▪ these .ii. bulwerkes wyth all Antichristes artyllery though ye be of nature most obstynate rebelles agaynst the truth of God. I saye therfore vntounto yow, that ther is nothynge so wycked vponupon the earthe, as are your relygyouse and prestyshe vowes, if the tree maye be iudged by hys frute.

Thys chaplayne assenteth, that the vowes of mōkes and prestes, were neuer cō maunded of Christe. What hath the christenNothyng▪ man or woman to do wyth them than, saye I? Are ther other lawe makers for the sowle besydes hym? Or are ther other cō maundementes to be obserued in conscyence than hys? Thys instrumente of the deuyll, holdeth hys peace at thys poynte, and dare not vtter what he thynketh. Notwythstandynge to coloure the matter, he bryngeth in hys olde dystincciō of vowes commen and priuate, if I so take them. No syr, I am not in these dayes so Iewish,Iewyshe. as to thynke that those vowes are to eueryevery christē man now commen, whose perfourmaunce God so earnestly in the olde lawe required. Bullock, Calfe, Shepe, & Gote offerynges, be now all past. My opynyon is therin, as S. Paules was, that no christen man ought to do them. For the lyghte beynge present, the shadowe muste gyue place, as is sayd afore. And as for pryuate promyses, or syngular vowes after eueryeDeuocion mannys deuocion, thys chaplayne affyrmeth, that no mā is commaunded to make them. Than is he a lewde fole (say I) that wylleyther make them or do thē. For they are but vaine worshippinges (Christ saith) whan they are at the best. Math. xv.

No man shall receyue any rewarde for them at the latter daye, vnlesse it be the rewarde of dampnacion, for leauyng GodsRewarde. commaundementes to do suche ydelnesse. God hath declared by the mouthe of hys prophete, that he estemeth them nomore, than he estemeth y^• vile dyrte of mē. Mala. ii. For when they are not of hys cōmaundement, they are none other than mannys ydell and wicked inuenciōs. But to breake p. cxiithese (sayth thys chaplayne) whan they are ones made after eueryevery mannys deuocion, is prohybyted by Gods wurde and commaundement. But he sheweth not whereForbidde. that wurd is placed, nor yet where that cō maundement is to be founde out. He is a prothonotary of Rome. Hys wurde standeth for an authoryte, if it maye be so takē. No, no, maistre papyst, that world is past. If ye thynk to be dyscharged by, vouete et reddite, ye ar fowly deceiued. For DauidDyrte. byd ye not there, to vowe your owne inuē cions, neyther yet to offer vp your owne dyrte. For suche high deuocions not ordained by hym, are but your owne styncking dyrte. If ye apere afore God wyth such an vncomely present, what maye he say to his Angels? Awaye wyth that fylthy knaue, that spyghtful mocker, that tordemonger, whych dysdaynynge my preciouse preceptes, presēteth me with his vile dirty donge.

God abhorreth hys owne lawfull ordynaunces, whan they passe after mennys deuises, Esay. i. Hiere. vii. Amos. v. Mich.Tradiciōs vi. Zacha. vii. moche more than the selfe ydell deuises. Are not they (thinke yow) plesaunt gentylmen, whych stande afore god, all trapped, dysguysed, and decked in their owne stynkynge dyrte, as are monkes in theyr cowles, fryres in theyr coates, and shauen prestes in theyr dysguysynges? I thynke he hath a more iust cause to call thē mockers, than theyr predecessours in the olde lawe, Psal. xxi. Bycause ye hauehave no scriptures to proue that Christ commēdedChrist. your popyshe vowes, it shall stande styll for a lye to your shame, & for a fowle blasphemy to your dampnacion, if ye recant it not. Though ye be a naturall mocker by kynd, yet we pray yow, not to make Christ your mockynge stocke, for your owne ease hereafter. Saye not that he exhorted men to your sodometrouse vowes, Math. xix. for if ye do, ye blasphemously bely hym. Qui potest capere, capiat, is not to profes your vngraciouse vowe, nor yet to becomeProfessiō. an ydell masmōger, but that they lay handes on the free gyft of God, whych maye obtayne it, and no longer to presume therupon, thā he doth geue it for the kingdome of heauēs sake, whych is the Gospel preachinge, whom yow detest and abhorre.

No man is there exhorted to gelde himselfe for that only kyngdomes sake. OnlyChastmen is it declared of Christ, that suche there be, by the speciall gyfte of God. I hauehave tolde yow thys afore. Ye thynke your selfe able (ye say) to proue y^t your wyuelesse vowes hauehave takē theyr groūde of y^t Apostles doctryne. But ye are lyke to come vengeably short. Ded not wydowes vowe chastyte? p. cxiiisay yow. i. Timo. v. If they ded, as y^t matter is doubtfull, what is thys to the purpose for prestes? Wydowes and prestes were sumtyme dyuers, both in kynde and offyce. Are they now become all one? This is truly a full mōstrouse ordre. Me thinkeAll ou…. wydowes should hauehave nothynge to do in thys matter, consyderyngo they want the ware that ye wote of, which are most chefly requyred in that holy ordre of presthode. Spadones, eunuchi, et castrati, non sunt in sacerdotes ordinandi, the Canō lawe saith, Neyther geldynges, eunukes, nor yet dysmēbred mē, may be receyued to presthode.Wydows Moch lesse the wydowes whych neuer yet had those members. The great priapus of rome, is alwaies proued by his culliōs, an able cocke & no hen, ere he be admitted to y^t seate of Antichrist. what shuld y^t religiouse widows thā medle in suche hygh matters. It is ynough for thē to beleue as holi churche doth teache thē, & to be obediēt in theyr vocaciō, whan y^t holy fathers hath nede ofObedient their help, & uot to come afore they are called The widows were not admytted off. Paule, tyll they were of. lx. yeares of age, and past all hope of chylde bearynge. If ye will hauehave prestes after theyr rule, admit none to vowe chastite in y^• presthode, till he be so old, y^t he is past gettynge of children. And than ye shall hauehave as chast prestes, as S. Paule lefte wydowes. Els wyll notAnanias. thys rule serue yow. Ye aske if Ananias and Saphira ded not vowe? but your allegacion is to farre out of square, for ye nō ber. l. for. v. as one muche sene in multiplicaciōs. Of a lykelyhode ye feared to come to short, that ye rāne so fast afore. Ye must come backe agayne. xlv. degrees, if ye will touche your matter a ryghte. For the story of Ananias and Saphira, is in the. v. chaptre of the Apostles actes, whych boke lacketh. xxii. chapters of your set nombre. Ye aske if they ded not vowe? No truly, vnlesNo vowe. ye call dyssymulacion a vowe. For the text sayth, that they dyssembled, lyed, and tēpted the sprete of God, whych is no honest kynde of vowe makynge. Lo, here hauehave yt as farre ouershote your wyttes in iudgement, as in nombre of your chapter afore.

Ye saye, they promysed to brynge in the pryce of all theyr possession. The text speaketh of no promyse, but it sayth, that they solde a possessyon, and kepte awaye parteProfessiō. of the pryce, Than this pertaineth nothing to a vowe. What vengeaunce came vponupon them, I knowe in dede, for the storye is playne in that matter. But it was not for the breakynge of a vowe, but for theyr colourable deceyt in a fayned christianite, as p. cxiiiiis your coūterfet chastite in a false and deceyuable presthode. If it had bene a vowe,No vowe yet was it no vowe for that presthode, for neyther he was a preste, neyther yet hys wyfe a prestesse. Neither was it a vowe agaynst marryage, for he had a wyfe, and she a husbande. But in dede it was lyke your vowes,, in as moche as it was a dissymulacion. Ye thought thys exāple, whā ye brought it in, very fyt for your purpose, and I thynke it also very fyt for your matter. For what other is your vowe, than an hypocrisy? What other is your presthode,Hipocrisy than a false relygyon? Yea, what other are they both, than a lienge to the holy Ghost? By thys storye coulde I wonderfully descrybe your dyssemblinge profession, were it not for makynge my boke here to longe.

Obiectio.

☞ Of thys matter speaketh Basilius Magnus de vita solitaria. What is mentiri spiritui sancto? but to promyse and vowe a thynge to God, and not to kepe hys vowe. Nonne manēs, tibi manebat, et venundatū inMentiri. tua potestate erat? If he had not put himselfe out of the propriete of hys goodes, whych he ded by hys promyse consecrate to God, hys facte had bene no synne, for eueryevery man doth not synne, that selleth not hys landes, and bryngeth not the pryce to the Apostles, except he had promised so before. That these vowes were grounded of the Apostles doctryne, and of the practyse of them in the Apostles tyme, Eusebius declareth in Ecclesiastica historia,Groūded. li. ii. ca xvi. et. xvii. Now your reason that for loweth, is very slendre and symple, whych is thys. …owes take no ground of the Apostles doct…yne, bycause they had wyues thēselues. As though a marryed man, might not erhorte an other to chastyte or virginite. A man that hath well dyned hymselfe, may yet teach andFylg…t. set fourth y^• vertue and goodnesse of fasting. Ye sayd without exception, that the Apostles had wyues. Of all the rest, excepte Peter, if it be a veryte, it is an vnwrytteu veryte. And yet S. Ambrose excepteth Iohan and Paule. ii. Cor. xi. whych were neuer marryed.

Responsio.

Basilius Magnus hath moche wronge here, to be brought in for a witnes against prestes marriage. For why his father Basilius y^• elder, was a prest, Gregorius NaziāzenusBasilius. saith, in his funerall sermō called Monodia, Wheras he reporteth his sober nes to be such, y^• marriage in him was neither an impedimēt to vertue, nor yet to the study of godly wisdō, though he had bi his wyfe Eumelia, a daughter &. iiii. sōnes. In statu (inquit) cōiugali vitā ac ritū seruauit sacerdotalē. Ex quo tria hec, castitas, matrimoniū et sacerdotiū, que diuersa solēt viiii. kindes. te genera cōstituere, nequaquā in eo pugnātia fuere, aut virtuti vllo modo offecerūt In the matrimonyall state (sayth he) thys mā obserued throughly, both y^• life & office p. cxvof a prest, wherby these. iii. thinges, chastite, matrimony, & presthode, which are wōt to cōstitute diuers kindes of lyfe, were neuer in him repugnaūt, y^t one to y^• other, nether yet any hindraunce to perfecciō. This one cōfusion hath our chaplaine by Basilius.Cōfusion. An other. Though y^• said Basilius wer a collect our of mōkes or solitary men, and made thē rules accordinge, yet maketh he no great mencion of vowes in thē, neyther yet hath he taught any soūd doctrine of vo wes priuate, in al hys writting, though he sumwhat doubtfully dallyed about them.

In his epistle, ad Gregoriū Naziāzenū de vita solitaria, no maner of mēcion maketh he of Auanias & Saphira, which is an other blot to thys chaplaine. But in y^• lastA blotte. chapter of his boke, called, Institutio illorum, qui vitā cupiūt ducere perfectā, thys sētence we find. He y^• hath kept himself vncorrupted (saith he) all his lyfe, haih surely obteined the perfight gift of virginite. And thys he applyeth as well to marryage as mōkery, as foloweth anon after. Thā goethGoeth on. he on. And y^• we may holde it (saith he) lete vscōtinually take hede, & wyth all endeuer possyble, labour to come agayne to the symylytude of God. Lete vsus also be ware, least we admit any thing vnwurthy that promyse and sure hope of ours. Ne in Ananie crimen incidamus, least we fall into the crime of Ananias, which was frawde and deceyte. Thys perteyneth asAll men. well to the marryed as vnmarryed. For it foloweth there. Hoc inire ac optare licet, sine in matrimonio, seu celibem agente. Thys ought to be vnderstande and loked for, as well in marryage as in them that lyue sole. What maye be spoken more playnely?

Here ment thys chaplayne some crafte (I beleue) in brynginge fourth an authour wythout hys authorite, and in sendyng vsusHe sēdeth. to a place, where no suche matter is. But sure he toke one doctoure for an other, as Basyle for Gregory. For in dede, Gregory hath thys clause, and it is alleged in the byshop of Romes decrees. xxvii. q. i. cap. Ananias. Ananias deo pecunias vouerat, quas postea victus persuasione diaboli, subtraxit. Sed qua morte mulctatus est, scis. Siergo ille mortis pericuso dignusgregorius fuit, qui eos quos dederat nummos Deo abstulit, cousidera quanto periculo in diuino iudicio dignus eris, qui non nummos, sed temetipsum Deo omnipotenti, cui te sub monachali habitu deuoueras, subtraxisti. Ananias vowed money to god, whych afterwarde he agayne wythdrewe by the deuyls persuasion. But howe he dyed, thu p. cxviknowest. If he than were worthye deathe,Worthye▪ that wythdrewe the moneye ones geuen, Considre thy parell in the lattre iudgemēt, whych hast geuen, not money, but thyselfe to the God almyghty, wythdrawynge the agayne from hym, to whom thu wert professed vnderunder a monkes cowle.

No gentill Gregori, no, Ananias neuer vowed that he toke awaye. Who taughte yow to call a lye, a vowe? Ye woulde byMonkery thys meanes, hauehave monkery a perfeccion in the christianite. But y^t shall be, whā a lye is all one with a vowe. It is a money matter ye go about. Ananias is most fytt, to be set in suche a foundacion. Take yow no thought for reckenynge of your monkery at the lattre daye. For it shall be plucked vp by the rootes afore, as that wythered plante which the eternall father neuer plā ted.A plante. Math. xv. Thys was the text that this chaplayne ment, but he feared the blacke blotte of treason for maynteynynge monkery, whych hys prince had condempned afore. Well, in dyssemblynge both the authour and the place, he hath workemanly played the false part of Ananias. Now asketh he what it is, Mentiri spiritui sancto? And answereth it as fondely. It is (saythMentiri. he) to vowe and to promise a thyng to god, and not to kepe hys vowe. As thoughe the scriptures pertayned only to monkes and prestes, and to no sortes of people els.

But I wyll tell yow, maistre persone. Mētiri spiritui sācto, is to face downe theDyffyned holy Ghoste wyth a lye, to seke to deceyue God by a falsehede, colourly and slyely to dyssemble, to deface a truth with hypocrisye, or to speake one thynge & thynke an other, as (the texte sayth) he ded, which kept away parte of the liue lode, and as yow do which professe a mōkery or false presthede, which the scripture knoweth not but to cō dempnacion. Sathan hath fylled the ydell hartes of all thē y^t eyther vowe or professe suche beggeryes, as he ded the false hartes of Ananias and Saphira. Now stampethAnanias. he like a Lyon, and steppeth fourth boldely lyke a gyaunt. Nōne manēs tibi manebat, et venundatum in tua potestate erat? Remayned it not wholy thyne owne, and beynge solde, was it not vndre thy power? Well sayd maystre persone, wyth whome do ye reson? wyth dead Ananias for lande sellynge? What is thys to the purpose of prestes vowes? If he had not (ye saye) put himselfe out of propriete of his goodes. YtPropryete smell here of a monke, maystre persone, whych he ded by hys promyse consecrate to God. Where hauehave he learned, that a mannys wycked promyse, coupled wyth p. cxviidyssymulacion, falsehede, and hypocrysye, coulde euer yet consecrate?

I se well, ye can finde out, more wayes cōsecracion thā one. A prodigiouse cōsecracion do that hart send fourth, wher Sathā hath take possessiō afore. I thynke y^t deuillSathan. hymselfe, had neuer yet a doctrine of more blasphemy. If he had not done this (ye sai) his fact had bene no sinne. O maistre person, Beatus qui intellegit, say I. Ye apere by thys doctryne, a moche better cellerer than scripturer. A more expert rent gatherer, than Gospell preacher. EueryEvery man (ye saye) doth not synne, that selleth his lande.Gyuyng. No syr, geuynge the moneye to yow, to be prayed for, thoughe he, lyke an vnthrifte, therby dysheryteth hys whole posteryte. There is no synne founde, where yow are fatted. And that is the cause, that ye solēpnised and sēsed so many dead confessours, both Kynges, Byshoppes, and Abbottes, whych had founded mynsters and monasteries. If the Apostles were here, they were lyke to hauehave no parte of that pryce.Heyres. For Ananias heyres are yet alyue, and it was not promysed them afore. Here is moche a doo, and lytle helpe to the furtheraunce of this matter, concerning prestes vowes. The text sayth, that hys onelyonly dyssymulaciō, w^tout all these other vayne bablynges, made hys facte wycked and blasphemouse.

I wyshe, that all men toke hede of thys false Apostle and messanger of Antichrist,cōutiaūce marking here hys deceytfull conueiaūces. He allegeth the. xvi. and. xvii. chapters of the seconde boke of Eusebius Cesariensis, in his ecclesiasticall history, to proue y^• prestes vowes were groūded vpō y^• Apostles doctryne, & vponupon y^• practyse of thē whych taught in y^t Apostles tyme. I assure yow, he is in this point as he is in al others, a ve ry false harlot & a liar. For in those. ii. cha. is no suche matter to be seene, neyther yet is ther any expresse doctryne of vowes in all the whole wurke containing. ix. bokes.Doctrine. The. xvi. chaptre is very short, shewynge of the fyrst commyng of S. Marke the Enange list into the land of Egipte, and how he declared Christes doctryne there. If he fatcheth the grounde of hys vowes from the sober lyfe, modestie, continence, temperaunce, and other vertues there mēcioned, he doth excedynge wronge to the christen fayth of that Godly multytude, whych was called to God by the said S. MarkesS. Marke preachynge. For they were no professed prestes and nūnes, but christien men and theyr wyues. Neyther were those vertues bred of vowes, but of fayth in the Gospell p. cxviiiof Iesus Christe. For there are they called Credentes, and not voue…tes, beleuers and not vowers.

Philo the Iewe, which there describeth the lyues of abstayners, dwellynge in solytary places, meaneth neyther chauntery nor college of prestes, neyther yet any couentColleges. of ydel cloysters, but companyes of them whych folowed Christes doctryne. Notwythstandynge Eusebius concludeth there. Quod hi qui sub Apostolis ex Israelitis credebant, Iudaicis adhuc institutionibus et legis obseruationibus inherebāt. Those of the Israelytes (sayth he) whych were by the Apostles conuerted, were as yet muche gyuen to Iewysh tradycyonsTradiciōs and obseruacions of Moyses lawe. Therfor some scrupulouse persones among thē, myght parauenture holde those abrogated vowes, thoughe it be not there expressed. But wyth them hath Christes true prufessour, nothyng at all to do. In the. xvii. cha. of the sayed Eusebius, doth Philo call the faithful beleuers, Cultores et Cultrices, y^• is to saye, tyllers or worshyppers, because they tylled with Gods holy worde, y^• rudeHartes. and barē hartes of the people, perseuering in hys true worshyppynges wyth a most pure conscience. Anon after were they called Christyanes, but not vowe makers. EueryEvery where appoynted they howses of prayer (not of vowes makinge) called conuentycles, or places of assembly for sober honestmen, and not for prestes and nūnes.

Upon a comely clennesse (sayth he) and an honest chaste behauer they plāted other vertues, but not vponupon any vowe of syngleWomen. lyfe. Women they had amonge them, of whom some were very auncient maydēs, integritatem casti corporis non necessitate aliqua, sed deuotione seruaūtes, obseruing a bodyly chastite, not of any necessyte but of a deuocion, not by constraynt but of fre conscience, for the only study of godly wisdome.

Thus hath vowes here no maner ofVowes. grounde of the Apostles doctryne, neyther yet toke the captyuyte and tyrauny of them, any holde vponupon the practyses of the preachers of theyr time. My reason is reckened, of thys chatteryng chaplayne, very slēdre and weake, that vowes shuld seme to take no grounde of the Apostles doctryne, bycause theyr selues had marryed wyues. Saynte Paule thought that reason not euyll, whan he argued wyth theMarry. croked Corinthianes about lyke matter. An non habemus potestatem, sororem mulierem circumducendi, quemadmodum et ceteri Apostoli, et fratres domini, et Cephas? p. cxixAut solus ego, et Barnabas non habemus potestatē hoc faciēdi? HaueHave not we power to leade about a syster to wyfe, asA syster. well as the other Apostles, and as the brethren of the Lorde, and as Cephas? Either hauehave I onli and Barnabas not power this to do. i. Corin. ix.

By that whych foloweth, he thynketh to confute both Saynte Paule and me. That were (saith he) as though a marryed man, myght not exhorte an other to chastiteExhort. or virginite. A foole (they say) is nothing worth wythout hys bable. Truth it is, that chastyte is a vertue to fylthynesse repugnaunt, whose offyce it is, chefely to dwell in marryage. For without chastyse, which is a refraynynge from whoredome, marryage is no marryage. And therfor one marryed man, maye conuenyently and brotherlye exhorte an other to chastyte. But if he ded so persuade hym to vowe thePersuade. syngle lyfe, than were he an vtter enemye vntounto Saynte Paules doctryne, whych wylleth the men to rendre to hys wife, due benyuolence, and in lyke case the wyfe to her husbande. But where hath thys chaplayne learned, that one marryed man, maye exhorte an other to vyrgynyte? they hauynge no power ouer theyr owne bodyes, but theyr wyues. i. Corin. vii.

In thys poynte here hath he shewedCalfam. hymselfe, a very wyse calfam. An other of hys clerkly reasons, to cōfute both me and S. Paule. A man (sayth he) that hath well dyned hymselfe, maye yet teache and set fourth the vertue and goodnes of fastyng. Is not here (thynke yow) a lompe of good wholsome learnynge?

A greate bellyed monke wyth a scarlet face, whose panche is well pampered and stuffed vp to the throte wyth all maner of delycates, and a platter faced preste, wythPreachars a payre of chekes as bygge as a boies buttockes, well vytayled also, maye conuenyently stande fourthe and preache of good abstinence. A wanton gyglot maye cal mē to sorowfull repentaunce, whils she is yet in her gawdes, and the maystre of the stewes maye persuade mē to chastyte. Wher are than the exāples, whych ought to preuentExamples the doctryne of a Christen preacher? Now forsoth ye are a good robine Swine. We had alreadye out of your generacion of vowers, to great a nombre of this sorte of teachers, that wolde say moche and neuer do the lyke. Ye reporte me to saye it wythout excepcion, that the Apostles had wyues. Here is a sore matter now agaynst me. Marry syr, I say it agayne, to cōfirmeConfyrme myne owne wurdes, and all wythout excepcion. p. cxxAnd I trowe, S. Paule wythout excepcion wyll do the same. For he sayth, that Cephas, otherwyse called Peter, had a syster to wyfe, whych was amonge the Apostles, chefe in estimacion.

He reporteth also, that the brethrē of the Lorde, had systers to wyues. i. Cor. ix. IA brother. knowe not one of them, that was not a bro ther to the Lorde, by hys owne admyssion. If thys chaplayue do, lete hym brynge thē fourth, and he shall be soonar hearde than beleued. Whan Christ sent the women to declare hys resurreccion and ascencion to hys Apostels, he called them all brethren, and not one was thā exempted out of that commyssyon, Math. xxviii. et Iohan. xx. It is a wrytten veryte, that I tell thys chaplayne, what though he of obstinacye, malyce, and wylfull blindenesse, do cōfesseMalyce. it a veryte vnwrytten. Yet hauehave we wōne sumwhat of hym, in that he confesseth it a verite. What though your Ambrose excep teth Iohan and Paule, yet shall not your Ambroses authoryte be able to confounde. S. Paules truthe in that matter, whych sayth, that the brethren of the Lord had fysters to wynes. We hold your AmbroseAmbrose. accursed, if he teache any other doctryne, thā S. Paule hath taught vsus. Gal. i. Ye do your Ambrose wronge, in reporting hym the authoure of the. ii. epistle and. xi. chaptre to the Corinthianes. I wyshe ye were sumwhat wyser, for your owne honesty, if it myght be.

To proue that S. Paule had a wyfe, I praye yow gyue me leaue, to allege out of y^• same authour, y^t ye toke sor your vowesSped not. whan ye sped not. For I can spede therein dede, for Paules marriage, and that stròg ly. Eusebins Cesariensis, in the thyrd boke and. xxx. chaptre of hys Ecclesiasticall storye, inueyghenge agaynst them that wyckedly impugne marryage (as our papistes do now) brought fourth a strong wysnesse from an auncient wryter, called Clemens Alexandrius, whych lyued afore AmbroseClemens. about. ii. hondred yeares. An et Apostolos improbant? Petrus etenim …c Philippus, vxores habuerunt, et filias etiā viris nuptum dederunt. Sed et Paulum non tedet Apostolum, in quadam epistola sua, mentionē vel salutationem facere cōparis sue, quam se ideo negat circūducere, vt ad predicationē Paulus.Euangelij expeditior fiat. Wyll those blasphemouse hypocrites (sayth Clement) condempne the Apostles also. It is out of question, that Peter and Philippe had wyues, and that they bestowed well theyr daughters to mē in marriage. Neyther dysdayned Paule in a serten epistle or p. cxxigentyll salutacion, to make mencion of hisA wyfe. yoke fellow or wyfe, whom he at that time minded not to leade about wyth hym, bycause he might alwayes be in a more spedy readynes, cōcerning y^t office of preaching.

Of S. Iohan the Euangelist, your olde quere seruyce reporteth, that he was marryed in Cana a citye of Galyle, Christe beingS. Iohan. ther present. And Guilhelmus Postillator saith, vponupon this Gospell, Nuptie facte sunt in Cana. Iohan. ii. that hys wyues name was Anachita. If thys be a lye, than hauehave ye in your solempnytees saluted god wyth lyes. For wyth thys hauehave I hearde yow at mattens, vponupon S. Iohannes daye wythin Christmas (as ye call it) biddē him good morrowe, the candels beynge lyghte and whyte rochettes on your backes. ButRochettes that Christ shuld plucke him away againe from hys wyfe, for example of virginite, it is a most manyfest lye, though it be so vttered of Isydorus, in hys boke de ortu et obitum sanctorum patrum, and of certeyne of your other olde doctours, and also in oure time of Baptista Mantuanus in libro. xii.mātuanus Fastorum. And thys can I proue, by S. Iohan the Euangelist, thoughe it now be nothynge to hys derogacion. That he many tymes lost the virgynyte of hys sowle, which only is accepted afore god. As thus.

He ambyciously sought, by the instaunt sute of his mother, equally to reygne wyth Christ, Mat. xx. He cōplained of hym that ded cures in Christes name, Marci. ix. HeS. Iohan. wolde in his fury, hauehave consumed the Samaritans wyth fyer, Luke. ix. He arrogātly contended wyth others, for the superiorite, Luke. xxii. Persuaded by Iudas, he murmured agaynst the costes of Maryes oyntment. Math. xxvi. Whan Christ wasHe fled. ones takē, he fled away from hym, Mark. xiiii. And amōg other he doubted of his resurreccion▪ Marci. xvi. In these and other lyke fa…tes, was faythes integrite broken, whych is the true maydenhede of y^e soule. The other maydenhede, wythout thys, is nothyng, as well apereth by the. v. folysue vyrgynes, Math. xxv. All thys hauehave I vttered,…yrgyns. bycause ye make of S. Iohans vyrgynite, an ydoll of defence, and a craftye coloured cloke, for your bawdy Sodometrouse vowes.

Obiectio.

☞But put case, they had all wyues, yet they were not marryed after they were ca… led to presthode, but before. Timotheus, Titus. Clemens, and such other, as Ignatius sa ieh, ep i…tola ad Philadelphienses, neuer hadLoclebes. wiues, bicause they were made prestes in virginitate. S. Hierom cō …ra Iou…anū teacheth playnly, how that in the necessite of the prymatyue p. cxxiichurche, married men being sober and learned, were exalted to presthode. But he saith, prestes beynge called in virginite, neuer descēded downe to marryage, nor no man after the seconde marryage, was euer called toSeconde. presthode. As for the authoryte of S. Paule. …. Cor. ix. it pertaineth in my iudgement to an other purpose. For althoughe the Englyshe Byble, be translated accordynge to your vnderstandyng of this place, Yet it is not in latyne, Ducere sororem v…orem, as yow saye, but circumducere sororē mullerem, which is, to suffe… rythe women to go about wyth thē in theyr progresse of preachynge, to bear their charges, as Peter and the other Apostles dedTo paye. For it is euydent by the place it selfe, whych speaketh of takynge hy… lyuyng for hys preachynge, where neuer one wurde is of a wyfe in that place, as the doctours also say.

Responsio.

In that takynge is this chaplaine here, that a mery felowe was in, on a time, whō I knewe. In remouynge from Boston to Eye in Sothfolke, he hyred. iii. cartes forExample. conueyenge of hys stuffe thydre. But whā it come to the poynte, it was nomore than he myght well beare awaye in a pyllowebere. Therfor he thanked them, and sayde, he wolde take the paynes to carry …t hymselfe. He chaūced in the iournay to be lodged at an ale howse, wher the drinke pleased hym so well, y^• ther he left behynde hym y^• whole carryage, except the pyllowe …ereThe case. whych he put in hys bosome, and went awaye moche lyghter than afore. So doth thys braggyng chaplaiue here, which hath at the latter, atter longe turmoile and allegynge of doctours, brought hys matter to a case. For now is he dryuen to hys vttermost shyfte (as the i…star was to hys pyllowbere) to playe Iacke sophystre altogether. He putteth me here a case, that all the Apostles had wyues, as he seyth nothyng agaynst them, but they might well all hauehaveApostles. had wyues. Yet were they not marryed (sayth he) after they were called to presthode, but afore. Here is a sore reason, if ye marke it, and as myghtely proued.

But where dwelleth that presthode, which they were called to? and whan were they called vntounto it? Thys wyll be learned ly answered, ad calendas Grecas, whanAnswer. mattockes are men. For they hauehave no such presthode to shewe, by the scriptures of the newe testamente. The Apostles were no prestes, but preachers, no masmōgers, but ministers of the Lordes communiō. They made no newe sacrifyces, but put the people in a perfyght remembraunce of one perfight sacrifice ones made for all. They stode not at aulters, wyth theyr backes to the multitude, but out of the pulpet theyApostles. turned theyr faces vntounto them, and syncerly p. cxxiiitaught them the doctrine of the Lord. The record which he taketh of Ignatius epistle to y^• Philadelphianes, is a most shamefull lye, as he doth handle it. As that Timotheus, Titus, Clemens, and such other (Euodius is lefte out) had neuer wyues, bicause they were made prestes in virginite. IgnatiusIgnatius. speaketh not one wurd ther of a presthode, but after the rehearsall of theyr names, thys is his conclusion, qui in castitate de vita exierunt, which departed this life in chastite. Wher is than y^e cause why they had no wyues? O beastly babler and prodigiouse lyar.

The clause whych foloweth next, consoundeth hys whole practyse in thys matter, and taketh clerely awaye the abatemēt of hys case. Non detraho autem ceterisThe texte. beatis, qui nuptiis copulati fuerunt, quorum nunc memini. I hyndre not herein (sayth he) the other blessed mē whych were marryed and had wyues, of whom I now …ade mencion. These were the Apostles, elders, & deacōs, alitle afore specified. Opto enim Deo dignus, ad vestigia eorum in regno ipsius inueniri, sicut Abraham, Isaac, et Iacob, sicut Ioseph et Esaias, et ceteri prophete, sicut Petrus et Paulus, et reliqui Apostoli, qui nuptiis fuerūt sociati.Marryed. Qui non libidinis causa, sed posteritatis subrogande gratia, coninges habuerunt. My despre is (sayth good Ignatius) that I also as the feruaunt of God, may be foūde in hys kyngdome, worthely to folow their fotesteppes, as ded Abraham, Isaac, and Iacob, as ded Iosephe, Esaias, and the other prophets, & as ded also Peter, Paule, and the residue of y^• Apostles, which were vndre yoke of marryage. Whych all had wyues, not for fleshly pleasure, but for the continuaunce of succession. Loo, here dothWyues. thys holy martyr Ignatius, beynge y^t bysshop of Antioche, nombre himselfe amōge them that had wyues, as a marryed man, and reporteth the blessed prophetes and Apostles to be marryed men.

This might not be touched of this proctour of Sodome, and chaplayne of the deuyll.Doctryne For though it were a true christē doctryne, and grounded vponupon both the testamētes of God, yet was it not for his gostly purpose. Though holy Hierusalem ded alwayes allowe it for her godly citiezens, yet coulde bawdy Babylon, that cage of vnclēnesse, & synke of all synnefulnesse, for her wycked shorlynges & sorcerouse souldyours, neuer abide it. The craftes are not small, nor the conueia…nces fewe, that thisEnemy. enemy on eueryevery side seketh out, to driue his p. cxxiiiigeneracion from it, and to make them abhorre it for the fylthy feates of Gomorra. Now resteth he all vponupon thys, whan nothynge els wyll serue hys crafty inggelinnes. That though the Apostles had wiues, and though the byshops and ministers after them had wyues also, yet married they not (sayth he) after they had receiued presthode. Thys is a buyldynge wythoutePresthode a grounde, and a very quarellynge of the temptyng serpent. Wherunto I answere, that thys is no good argument. They ded not marry, ergo they might not marri. For why, marryage was than fret for all kyndes of men, by S. Paules doctryne.

Pro vitanda (inquit) scortatione, suam quisque vxorem habeat. Et qui se non continent,Nubere. nubant. Melius est autem nubere, quam vri. For auoydynge fornicaciō (sayeth he) lete eueryevery man hauehave hys wyfe. And they that can not refrayne, lete thē marry. For better it is to marry, than to burne. i. Corin. vii. Thys freedome is generall, no kynde of men secluded. Oportet episcopū irreprehensibilem esse, vnius vxoris maritum. A byshop muste be vnrebukable, the husbande of one wyfe. i. Timo. iii. Honorabile est inter ōnes con…giū, ac torus immaculatus. Wedlocke is honorable amōgWedlock. all sortes of men, and the chambre vndefyled, Hebre. xiii. The worde of God hath sequestred noman from this lyberte, neither yet mannys ordynaunce, tyll the yeare of our Lorde a. M. lxxiiii. Wherin Gregory the. vii. otherwise called pope hyldebrand, a fylthy sodometrouse mōke of …lunyake, made a wycked constituciō in the generall synode at Rome, that none shuld frō thēceA Synode fourth be admytted to presthode, vnlesse he were sworue neuer after to marrye. And thus entred that execrable poysō and most dampnable mischefe, by layser, into all the christen nacions, to make of our christianite a very Sodome.

This witlesse chaplaine dwelleth not alone in this most folish opiniō, but he hath more fellowes. For the last tyme I was at Oxforde, it was tolde me of dyuerse learnedOxforde. men, that one doctour Cole warden of the newe college ther, shuld openly speake it, that he neuer yet could read, that ani mā after presthode, married. In thys he sheweth a great ignoraūce, or els y^t he hath bene vnwyllynge to fynde it. For he that seketh shall easely finde. I hauehave by my finall readynge, found of that matter, a great heape of examples, and of them that begate children after theyr presthode, an innumerableBegetters swarme, but y^t is not wayed of these gnatstraynynge and spyder weauing papistes. p. cxxvOnelyOnly is it marryage that troubleth theyr whorysh orders, for that maketh y^• blinde people, not to recken them so holy as they hauehave done. Lambertus Shafuaburgensis,Examples wryteth in his chronicle, that Burchardus the prouoste of Tryere in Germany, was marryed to the prince of the Russianes sister, after hys presthode, by dyspensacyon of pope helhounde, Hildebrande I shulde say, anon after prestes marriages were for bydden. Loo, se what moneye was able to do, whan Gods lawes were ones put a backe. Uolateranus in. iiii. libro Geographie, reporteth, y^t Nicolaus Iustinianus aNicolaus. monke, married Anne the daughter of Uitalis Duke of Uenys, after his presthode, by dispensaciō of Adrian the. iiii. An Englyshe man. The byshoppe of Siracusa had also a wyfe, Huttenus sayth.

Gaguinus in libro. iii. de gestis francorum sayth, that one Daniel a prest, was constitute kynge of fraunce, and marryedConstans. by dyspensacion, lyke as one Constans a monke of Wynchestre ded here in Englande amonge the Brytaynes, and Ethelnolphus amonge the Englyshe kynges, whych had bene byshoppe of Winchestre (Roger Houeden sayth) and had. iiii. sonnes by hys wyfe Osburga, whych all were kynges after hym. Iacobus Mayer in Chronicis flādrie, sheweth, that Petrus Elsatius the byshop of Cameryck, marryed Leonor the countesse of Niuerne, by dispensacion. Robertus de monte Michaelis in opere chronicorum, sayth, that Remelius a monke was made kynge of Arogone, and marryed a wyfe called Mawde after hys presthode by difpensacion. Achilles Gossarus wytnesseth in hys Epitome of Chronicles, that ColomānusAchilles. the byshop of Uaradyue was by dyspensacion made kynge of Hungary, of purpose to hauehave issue. Iacobus Guisianus testifieth in annalibus Hannome, that Bochardus Auenēsis, a great beneficed prest, marryed Margarete Baldwynes daughter, that emperour of Coustantinople. Polidoruspolidorus Uergilius, in libro. xx. Angliee historie, telleth that Iohan the bastarde sonne of kynge Ferdinandus, beynge a Cistrane monke, married Philip Iohan of Gaūtes daughter, that was than duke of Lancastre, after hys presthode, and was made kinge of Portingale. Albertus Crantus in sua Dania, sheweth that Canutus a mōke of the ordre of Clunyake, had by dispensacion a wyfe for moneye, so had the good abbot of Readyng here in England. AldewynAn abbot had a daughter, beynge byshoppe of Durham, whom Utred the Earle of Northumberlande p. cxxvidysdayned not afterwarde to marry. Ex chro. Dunelmēsis monachi.

Hieronymus Squarzaphicus reporteth in vita Petrarch, that Franciscus Petrarcha, a cannon of Padua & archedeacon of Parma, had one Laureta to wyfe, by theLaureta. graunte of Benedict the. xii. Henricus Agrippa in hys declamacion aduersus Louanienses, maketh menciō of a Cardinall, whom the byshop of Rome permitted to take a wyfe in marryage, that he myghte hauehave children to possesse his inherytaunce. Iohānes Bertandus in. iii. libro de cognatione S. Iohannis Baptiste declareth theWyues. ordre for Cardynalles and byshoppes wiues, by the rules of Pa…ormitanus, and of Iohannes Andreas, whych was a prestes sonne. I can not thynke that Alwynus the byshop of Wynchestre, had any dyspensacion, whan he laye wyth Emma S. Edwardes mother, bycause she ded penaunce. Lete these examples suffyse tyll more come. And as touchinge those which abhorred matrymony, & yetin theyr presthode had store of chyldren, besydes these ix. adulterouse byshoppes and abbotes,gregorius that Gregorius Turonensis maketh mencion of in the. x. bokes of hys storyes, and a greate nombre more in other authours. Our Englyshe chronicles telleth, that an abbot of S. Albo…s begate pope Adriane y^t fourth, Robert the abbot of Winchestre begate byshop Herbert of Norwyche, and Robert Peche the bishopp of Chestre and Lychefelde begate Rychard Peche archedeacon of Couentre, and afterwarde bysshop of the same dyocese. Bycause the nō breBegetters is vnreasonably greate of thys sorte of prestes begettyng chyldren in theyr presthode wythout marryage, therfor Iompt them for length, tyll suche tyme as the seconde and thyrde part of my Englysh votaries come foreward, which wyll be, god wyllynge, out of hande.

Neuer sawe I this chaplaine yet allege hys doctours without falsehede, craft, and lyes, as thoughe the name of the doctoureA doctour were able to authoryse a lye. Nowe bryngeth he fourth S. Hierome agaynst Iouynian and reporteth hym to say, that in the necessyte of the primatiue churche, marryed mē beyng sober & learned, were exalted (come downe I say) to presthode. But prestes (he sayth) beynge called in virginite, neuer descended downe to marriage, neyther any man after the seconde marryage,Seconde. was euer called to presthode. And all thys he reporteth hym to speake very playnely. The sayenge of Hierome is thys, in hys fyrst boke against Iouinyan. Eliguntur p. cxxviimariti in sacerdotium, non nego, quia nō sunt tanti virgines, quanti necessarij sunt sacerdotes. Num quid quia in exercitu fortissimus eligendus est, idcirco non assumē tur et infirmiores, cum omnes fortes esse non possint? Marryed men are chosen toMarryed. presthode, I deny it not, for ther are not so many maiden men, as nede requyreth prestes. Bicause that the stronger mē are to be chosen into an hoste, shall not the weaker therfor be taken, seynge all can not be of lyke strength? And thys is all pertainynge to that purpose.

Now conferre the one wyth the other and see the beastlynesse of thys bragger. Here is no exaltynge or prankynge vp aloftPrankyng named, neyther yet any seconde marryage condemned. I woulde that both he and hys Hierome shuld well know it, that the church was neuer stronger, better, nor perfyghter, than whā it had sober, discret, and learned marryed men, for mynysters. The primatiue churche was in moch lesse necessyte, hauynge them, than was the churche in Hieromes tyme wyth her prestesHierome. in vyrgynyte. For that church knewe neuer of so many superstycyons and lecheryes. These lofty vyrgines were neuer lyke Mary, whyche threwe her vyrgynite to the grounde. Luke. i. Christ wylled hys dyscyples to be lowly, and not hygh. Math. xi. to be seruauntes, and no lordes, to be ministers, and no maisters, Luke. xxii. Be not as lordes in the cō gregacion (sayth S. Peter) but shewe an example of lowlynes and meekenesse toMekenes the flocke. i. Pet. v. Thys hawty speaking of your Hierom and yow, sauereth of that Antichrist, which exalteth hym selfe aboue all that is called God ii. Thessa. ii. As for your presthode, ye maye both wype your tayles therwyth, for any good grounde it hath of the scryptures. Here is it praysed for so holy and hygh a degre, as maye not come downe and be dystayned wyth marryage, as thoughe marryage were but a vyle iakes in comparyson therof. Yet asA Iakes. touchynge the seconde and thyrde marryage, the said Hierome saith in y^t same boke. Duotiescunque vxor moritur, toties ducē da est alia, ne fornicemur. Dui secundas tertiasque nuptias cōcessit in domino, primas cum ethnico prohibet.

As often as one wyfe dyeth, so oft may an other be marryed, that we fall not to lechery. For he that graunteth the secondeMarriage and thyrde marryages in the Lorde, forbyddeth the fyrst wyth an vnfaythfull mā, for it is wythout the Lorde. Also in hys Apology to Panmachius, agaynst the sayed p. cxxviiiIouinian. Aperiant queso, aures obtrectatores mei, vt videant me secundas et tertias unptias concessisse in domino. Qui secundas et tertias nō damnaui, primū potui damnare matrimonium? Concedit Apostolus secundas nuptias, sed volentibus, etSeconde his que se continere non possunt. I desyre that my deprauers maye open theyr eares wyde, and that they maye well perceyue me to graunt the seconde and thyrd marriages in the Lorde. Coulde I than, whych hauehave admytted the seconde and thyrd, condempne the fyrst marryage? The Apostle frely graunteth thē to those that wyll, and that can not otherwyse refrayne. In an other place also. Erubescat calūniator meus,Can not. dicēs me prima damnare matrimonia, quādo legit. Non damno digamos, immo nec trigamos, ei si dici potest, octogamos. Habeat cui libet, octa…m maritum, et esse desinat prostituta. Lete him which wrongfully accuseth me be ashamed, in reporting me to condempne the fyrst marryages. IThe fyrst. condempne not them that hath bene twyse marryed, neyther yet thē whych hath bene thrise maried, nor if it might be said, y^• hath bene. viii. tymes marryed. Lete her that liketh it, hauehave the viii. husband hardely, and not make her selfe commen to eueryevery man.

Now wyll I saye my mynde and conscience, concerninge this Hierome. I hauehaveHierome. ouerloked hys. ii. bokes & answer agaynst thys Iouinian, a monke. For hys sore trauayle in translatyng y^• scriptures, I iudge hym worthy moche praise. But as concernynge his doctrine for marriage, of christē men he is rather to be abhorred thā lyked. Wyth so spyghtfull rebukes he taunteth marryage, as though it were a lyfe fyt for no christen man. Neuer red I Tacianyte, Encratyte, Phrygiane, Maniche, Mercianyst,Heretykes Montanyst, nor any other heretyke, that euer was more malycyouse against it. He calleth marryage a fleshe rebellinge agaynst the sprete, the sea that Pharao was drowned in, the cloke that Ioseph lefte behynde him, an vnclennesse, an excesse, a filthynesse, a whoredome, an euyll, an ydoll, a blasphemy, an Egypt, a seruitude, a syn, a darkenesse, a wounde vncurable, barly,Blasphemy. stubble, claye, a coinquynacion, a defeccyon from Christ, and an vtter perdycyon. He compareth also a marryed wyfe, to an vncleane beast in the arke of Noe, to a pot so…e broken, to a draffe sacke, bryngynge in at the last, the obprobryouse tauntesWomen. and raylynge reproches of the Paganes agaynst women. The kynde of women ought rather to hauehave had prayse, beynge the hyghe wurke of God, and marryage p. cxxixhys due commendacion, beyng the dyuine ordynaunce, than so abhomynably to hauehave bene rayled on. But what can not the deuyll do, whan he findeth an apt instrumēt.

He sheweth here, what he was able to do by hys rhetoryck, as some vayne gloryouse bablers hauehave done in our tyme wythGardiner theyr sophistry of the deuyll, whose pryde God hath well abated, blessed be hys holy name for it. Nowe wyll I shewe some of hys detorted scryptures, that men maye se how shamefully he hath wrasted thē from theyr ryght meanynge. Gene. iii. In the sweate of hys face, shall the marryed man eate hys breade. As though the vnmarryed shaulde not do the same. Luke. xvi. NoThe same▪ seruaunte can serue two maysters. As thoughe Matrymony were a seruyce of Mammon and not of God. i. Cor. vii. Ye are dearely boughte, become not the seruauntes of mē. As though marryage were an vnchristen seruitude. Roma. viii. If ye liue after the flesh, ye must dye. As though marriage wer so fleshly a lyfe, as deseruedRewarde. no lesse than death, Math. xix. The gelded shall receiue the rewarde of the kingdome of heauen. As though christen marryage had therin no maner of porciō. Who could more peruersly haut interpreted these scrip tures, than thys Hierome? whych is one of the great ydolles of the Romysh Synagoge, and a depe maintener of theyr fylthy sodometry. Thys kyngdome of heauen inAn offyce. thys lattre place, is no rewarde, but an offyce of preachynge the Euangelycall doctryne, whose rewarde is here persecucion, and in heauen a crowne of immortalyte. …e ware of these doctours.

Wyth. ii. thynges is thys chaplayne muche offended, concernynge S. Paules authoryte. i. Cor. ix. One is, the ryght vnderstandyngeOffences. whych by Gods mercyfull gyft, we hauehave therin An other is, the Englysh translacion of the Byble. Wyth these is he greatly accombred. That authoryte (he sayth) after hys feble vnderstandynge, pertaineth to an other purpose. What pur pose, can ye tell? Naye, that secrete he kepeth to hymselfe. It is some purpose that he wolde not hauehave knowne, or els that he is ashamed of. Why shoulde it not els be vttered? For although the Englysh BybleByble. (he sayth) be translated accordinge to my vnderstandinge of that place.

He calleth the truth, my vnderstanding. No syr, it was the latyne Byble, that was translated into Englysh, and not the Englysh Byble translated, vnlesse it were into Welche or Iryshe, whych I wolde wyshe p. cxxxwyth all my harte, if any good men woldeNo payne. take suche labours. Moch fault ye fynde, wyth that ye neuer toke paynes in, neither can ye any skyll of it, as apereth by your good Englysh, that is to say, with the Bybles translaciō. In dede that godly wurke is moche soner founde faulte wyth, than amended.

It myght well be sayd to yow, that Apelles sayd to y^• braggyng sowter, for passynge your lymytes so farre, but I lete it passe. Yet is it not in latyne (ye say) ducereLatyne. sororem vxorem, but circumducere sororē mulierem. I woulde ye shoulde not latyne my English, vnlesse ye ded it more workemanly. For I neuer hearde yet, that ducere was to hauehave, but to leade or to marry, as it is here takē. Though your Hierome, Erasmus, and Stunica the Spanyarde, hath sororem mulierem, or sororem mulierculā. Yet hath Laurentius …alla, FaberInterpreters. Stapulēsis, Zuinglius, Pellican, Pomeran, Luther, Erasmus annotacions, Biblia Tigurina, and other, whych are more faythfull, indyfferent, and pure interpretours, mulierem vxorem, Ignatius, Clemens Alexandrinus, Eusebius, and Isidorus, confyrmynge the same. For S. Paule commenly vseth thys Greke worde Gy…aica, for a wyfe, in his epystles. Thys testyfyeth your Hierome also, in hys afore allegedHierome. fyrst boke agaynst Iouinyane, in declaryng the sayd Greke wurde, though he were a most spyghtfull aduersary to marryage. …ndoubtedly S. Paule, speaketh here of hys wyfe, whome he by theyr mutuall agrement, left behinde him to the seruyce of the Gospell, least she shuld in hys so large a progresse, through out al Grecia and Asia, from Hierusalē to Illirium, bene partaker wyth him of all his daungerouseLabours. labours, parels, hungre, thyrste, nedes, strypes, stonynges, cheanes, imprisonmē tes, shypwrackes, and a greate sorte more, not possible to hauehave bene suffered of a tendre and weake woman.

In that he wylled all men to be as he was (if it be obiected) he wyshed them soAs he was fre a conscience wythout fleshly affecciōs, as chaunced to hym by the gyft of God, tamed, not by vowes, but by cōtynuall affliccions and labours for the Gospell. Circumducere mulierē sororē (yow say) is to suffre ryche womē to go about with them in theyr progresse of preachynge, to beare theyr charges. Truly this is a prodigiouse kynde of interpretynge or declarynge the scriptures. Wher finde yow, that circumducere is to suffer? Eyther yet where hauehavedeclaring. ye redde, that soror mulier doth sygnyfye p. cxxxiryche women, yea plurally? It is no maruayle though ye fynde faulte wyth y^• Bybles translacion, beyng so fonde, I shulde say, so fine an interpretour. That vaine cō iecture hauehave ye borowed of your holy doctour Hierome, whych in hys foreseid boke agaynst Iouinyan, sayth that the ApostleHierome. semeth to speake of those women, whych after the Iewes maner, ayded the preachers wyth theyr substaunce, They myght ayde the preachers (I graunte ye) and yet not go about wyth them. For if they were wyues, and had how sholdes, theyr offyce was to hauehave seane to theyr famylyes at home, and not to gadde about. Riches alsoWomen. myght sone hauehave bene chaunged to pouerte and penury, wythout dayly occupyeng, and by traualynge so farre. Where was also for y^• tyme, theyr husbandes obediēce?

If they were wydowes, yet was the sight vncomely and the example vngodly,Gadding. specially amonge the Gentyles, to gadde after men in so longe a iournaye, as is Corinthe from Hierusalem. Agayne, it was vncōuenient to vse the Iewyshe customes in the forennacyons, whych abhorred them. If ye seke to mayntayne your purpose, by the Sunamyte whych refreshed Eliseus the Prophet. iiii. Regum. iiii. …yther yet by the good women whyche folowed Christ, and mynystred to hym of theyr substaunce. Luke. viii. as your Hierome doth. I answere both yow and yourAnswer. Hierome, that it is nothyng to the purpose of that place. For the Sunamyte went not out of her howse, neyther Christ beyonde the lymites of Iewry, as the Apostles ded. Moreouer y^• Apostles had wy…es of their owne, so had neyther Eliseus nor Christ. Your Hierome sayth only, it apereth or semeth to be the Apostles meanynge, as one not all sure of the matter. Yow as bold as blynde Baiarde, saye, that it was his meanyngeBayarde. in dede. I am sory that Erasmus of Reterodame, so dependeth vponupon so vaine a fable, in hys learned paraphrase vponupon S. Paules epistles, and hath so well declared the other opynyon in hys annotaciōs. But that in folowynge mē (as he ded thys Hierom) we must nedes erre. Ye say, that Peter and the other Apostles suffered rycheApostles. women to go aboute wyth them to paye theyr charges. I saye, that example had bene to vncomely, as to hauehave led other mē …ys wy…es about wyth them, and to hauehave lefte theyr owne at home.

But I aske ye thys question by y^t waye. What shift they made whā all was spent? I knowe theyr progresse was great, as yeProgresse were wont to versycle it on theyr daies. In p. cxxxiiomnem terram exiuit sonus eorum. And I thynke theyr substa…ces were neither eternall nor yet omnypotent. How wyll ye answer this probleme than? Ye saye, it is euident by the place it selfe, whych speaketh of takynge hys lyuynge for his preaching. No by saynte Mary syr, that place doth rychely confounde your folyshnesse therin. It were no reason, that S. Paule preaching at Corinth or Philippos shuld hauehaveNo reason hys charges payed by women of Hierusalem. But I thynke, it was most conueniēt, that they shulde paye hys costes, to whom he preached y^t Gospell. I knowe this was hys meanynge whan he said. HaueHave we not power to eate and to drinke. i. Cor. ix. Thā was it surely for some other purpose, thatPurposse. they led women about wyth thē, and none other than theyr owne wiues, as is sayd afore. Though yow lyke an asse heade, hauehave wrytten it, that there is not one wurde of a wyfe, in that place of S. Paule. And as for your doctours, for the more part, so far as I se in them, they are lyke your selfe, as the adage goeth, suche cuppe suche couer, I lyttle ca…e for your doctours, so long asAdage. I hauehave Ignatius that holy m…rtyr whych was in the Apostles tyme, Clemens Aler…ndrinus which folowed immediately after. Eusebius Cesariensis, and Isidorus hispalensis, to fryndes in this matter.