Against a Rank Papist, Part 1 · Opinion 2
Censura.
☞Uowes in the .xxx. chaptre of Numeri, are giftes with prayses vntounto God, or offeringes with thankes geuyng. And they pertayn to a feast of the Iewes, calledClangor Clangor, or the day of trompett blow ynge, whyche feaste came but ones in the yeare, and contynued but .vii. dayes after. And therfore those vowes were not perpetuall.
Obiectio.
¶ In thys sentēce, ye seme to change the sygnyfycacyon of vowes, and also to restrayne thē to one feast called Clangor. For vows (ye say) are gyftes, with prayses vntounto god, or offeryngeDowes. with thankes geuynge. And before ye sayd generally, that a vowe in the olde law, was a pro myse etc. How can it be both the promyse of a thynge, and the thynge promysed? And by the chaptre it selfe, it maye seme to be taken for the promysyng of a thynge to God, and not for a gyfte or offerynge promysed. For the laste sentence sayth thus. Si vouerit, et iuramento se constrinrerit, vt per ieiunium vel ceterarum rerum abstinentiam, affligat animam suam et…. By whyche wordes it apereth, that a vowe isPromyse. not taken for a gyfte or an offeryng, but for the promyse of some lawfull thynge, as fastynge, abstynence, or suche lyke. Whyche promyse the wyfe or daughter is not bounde to perfourme, if the husbande or the father by and by gayne …aye. Than yf a vowe here be not taken for a gyfte or an offerynge, but for a promyse of anye lawfull thynge, whyche promyse in someA gyfte persones, at some tymes, in this chaptre is declared not to bynde, It foloweth that those vowes do not pertayne only to the feast of trū pettes, but to eueryevery tyme and age, whan so euer any suche vowe shall be lawfully made.
Responsio.
Where as I hauehave in that sentence changed the sygnyfycacyon of a vowe, ye coulde not therwyth be moche offended, wer ye not of a frowarde, croked, and quarellynge nature.Peuyshe. For ye best of your doctours in expownynge the scriptures, doth so, so wele as I, & are dryuen therunto by the dyuersyte of the places and circūstaunce of sentences. For restraynt of those vowes in the. xxx. chaptre of Numeri, to a feast called Clangor, I shal answere yow here after. I spake it in dede, that a vowe is a promyse, and the scriptures afore alleged, out of Gen. xxviii. & Psal. lxv.Scripturs hath born me good witnes, yt I spake ye truth in it, whyche to rehearce agayne were but superfluouse. But where as ye saye, I spake it generallye for all vowes of the Byble, ye shall take it to ye agayne, as a lye of youre own forging. For I neuer meane al vowes, whan I speake of a vowe, no more than I meane all men, whan I say, a man. And as I called it there a promyse, so call I it here aMeaning gyfte, a prayse, an offerynge, and a thankes gyuynge to God, and in all these wyll the scriptures honestly beare with me.
It is wrytten Leuit. xxvii. Homo qui eximium aliquod votum nuncupauerit, iuxtaA gyfte estimationem dabit. A man that wyll geue a syngular vowe to the Lorde, shall gyue it accordynge to the value or wayght. Lo sir, here is votum a gyfte, requyrynge value or waight. Whā Iacob vowed a vow to God, Genes. xxviii. in the daye of paymente, that vowe was an offerynge of the tythes of all that he had geuen hym. Wha… Dauid entered into the howse of the Lorde, Psal. ixv. the vowes that he payed were fatt brente saOfferynges. cryfyces with the smoke of rammes, and offerynges of bullockes and gotes. Uota pinguium vestrorum non respiciam, sayeth God, Amos. v. I wyll not ones loke vponupon your fatte offerynges, Moreouer it is wrytten Psalm. lxiiii. Te decet hymnus Deus in Syon, et tibi reddetur votum in Hierusalem, exaudi orationem meā, etc. It besemeth the (Lorde God) to hauehave prayse in Syon, a vowe shall be perfourmed to the in Hierusalem, heare thou my prayer. Lo, here is a vowe called a prayse, a prayer, and a thankes geuynge. In the. lv. Psalme are vowesA vowe. named laudationes, that is to saye, prayses or commendacyons. And where as Salomon sayeth, Prouerbio. xv. Uota iustorum placabilia, all good exposytours calleth vota there, prayers. An hundred lyke testimonies are in the scriptures of the olde lawe.
Now lete vsus returne to the. xxx. chaptreA gyfte of Numeri. There is it wrytten. Si quis virorum votum domino vouerit. If any man vowe to the Lorde, etc. I am sure yt to vowe a vowe, is not to vowe the wurdes al ready spoken, but the thyng promysed in that vow ynge. It foloweth after in the texte. Si congnouerit pater votum quod policita est. If the father shall knowe the vowe that hys daughter hath promysed et cet. Thys vowe was not the promyse of a promyse, for than had it bene lyke the vowe that Dauy theDauy Walshe man made vponupon the sea whan he was in daunger of drownyng, to offre a candell as muche as the shyppe maste, whan he come ones to lande, whyche ended in the promyse and wente no farther. But it was the thynge promysed, whyche is in some places of the scrypture, a gyfte wyth prayses to God, & some where an offeryng with thākes geuing, as I hauehave proued here afore. Ye axe me thys question, how a vowe cā be both ye promyse of a thynge, and the thynge promysed? Wherof I greatly wondre, consyderyng that for your pleasure, ye graunteQuestion a moche more maruele, that is to saye.
In your massynges, after your breathinges vponupon the breade and wyne, ye confesse the accydentes therof to be Christes bodye and bloud. For ye saye, that the former substaunces of bread and wyne are taken away by a newe creacyō, whych ye prodygyously name a transubstāciacyon. By thys ye shuldMyracles seme to be in doubte also, whether Christe whyche was promysed, was the same very Christe whyche came at the tyme appoynted, Gala. iiii. or nay. If it wer lawful to axe suche questyons, I myghte also axe of yow, how Sara myghte be both wyfe and systre to Abraham? bycause I fynde it so wrytten,Sara. Genes. xii. &. xx. Suche fryuolouse and vnlearned questyons, bryngynge nothyng els but contencyon, S. Paule forbyddeth vsus to moue. ii. Tim. ii. & Tit. iii. ye ar a great wise prelate & wel ouersean in matters, if ye iudge votum in all partes of the Byble to importe one meanynge. Ye fare lyke a symple surgeon or dogge leche, whō I sumtime knew, whych had but one drynke for all dyseases, and one salue for all sores. Uotum in yt scrip tures hath not one only sygnyfycacyon, butA surgeon many. Some where it is a knowledgyng of Gods benefyghtes, some where a faythe in hys promyses, some wher an adoracyon, a worshypp, a dedycacyon, a fre gyfte, a promyse, an offerynge, atythynge, a prayse, a prayer, an abstynence, an ordinaunce, a ceremonye, a sacryfyce, a thankes geuynge,Uotum. and in certen places, a deuocyon, a desyre, a daunger, a destruccyon, an Anathema or separacyon by death, and such lyke, but neuer any forswearynge of marryage.
Afore ye were muche offended bycause I called a vowe a promyse. And nowe to proue it to be no gyfte, ye admytt it for a promyse (suche are youre mockes andA promise toyes) and ye proue it to be so, by thys sentence of the same. xxx. chaptre. Si vouerit et iuramento se constrinxerit, vt per ieiuniū vel ceterarum virtutum abstinentiam, affligat animam suain. If a wyfe hath vowed & boūde her selfe by othe, to humble her sowle by fastynge or other kynd of abstynence etc. And I graunt it yow, that by thys it is a pro myse. But if ye had gone on a lytle farther with the texte, ye had founde it a gyfte. ForGone on. anon after it foloweth. Quicquid vouerat atque promiserat, reddet. All that she hath vowed & promysed, she shall paye. Though it were but a promyse at the bargayne or couenaunt makynge, yet is it a thynge promy sed in the perfourmaunce or at the paymēt daye. Tyme and place hath changed manye thynges. That was in the howse a promise, becometh in the temple a payment. HaueHave ye forgotten your olde sophystycall dystruccyon potentie et actus, wherwith ye were wōt to bynde b…ares at your pleasur? what remē bre youreselfe. Ye fare lyke them in thysPharisees poynt, whych reckened a swearynge by the temple or aultre, for no byndynge othe, but the swearynge by the golde of the temple & offerynge of the aultre. Mathe. xxiii. Christe sayth there, he that sweareth by heauē, swea reth by the trone of God. Lo sir, how maye heauen be heauen, and the trone of God?
Eyther ye were in doubte of your allegaPlesaunt cyon, Si vouerit, by these staggerynge sayenges (It maye seme, It apereth) afore and after, or els ye wer …yrily dysposed in your toyenge dalyaunce, but ye hauehave worke manly mocked your selfe in the ende with a manyfeste lye, callynge Si vouerit, the last sen tence of that chaptre. By lyke ye were in suche poste haste, that ye toke no hede what folowed. Loke better vponupon it an other time, for youre owne honestyes sake. Ye call abstynence and fastynge thynges lawfull, andFastynge so do I also in the kynde God lefte them in by hys appoynted rules. But youre monkerye and massynge presthode, for whome ye presentlye contende, are nothynge so, wā tyng allowaunce of the scriptures, but they are wycked offices and abhomynacyons in the blasphemouse kyngedome of Antichrist. Wher as ye say, yt the wyfe or daughter, areNot ho… not bounde to perfourme suche vowes, if the husbande and father sayeth naye to it, ye speake it trulye, for the scripture there affirmeth the same. Why than compell yow prestes, monkes, and nonnes to an indyspensable kepynge of their vowes, of whom a greate nombre had neuer the full consente of father and mother? O deceytfull mockers.Scorners. Yea, why so tyrannouslye bynde ye them, to that fylthye Sodome, withoute redempcyon? O illuders of ryghteousnesse. God oure eternall father, Hierem. li. God hys eternall sonne, Mathe. xi. and God hys eternall sprete, Apocalip. xviii. hath myghtely called vsus from thens.
Oure mother also, whyche is Christes immaculate spowse, by the voyce of Saynt Paule, hath geuen thys charge, to her chyldren. Nolite iugum ducere cum infidelibus, ii. Corinthio. vi. Beare not that yoke (meanyngeWarning youre vowe) with the infydeles. Ne commisceamini fornicariis. i. Corinth. v. Accumpauye not with those fylthye fornicatours. Than conclude ye with as folyshe an ende, as ye had pryncyples afore. If a vowe (saye yow) be not here a gyfte but a promyse therof, for certen tymes and persones, then pertayne not those vowes to the feast of trumpettes. Wele sayd maistre per sone, and reasoned full lyke a polityque pultar. If a nette be not a nette, but yt shaddow of a nette than are we not lyke with our net tes to ca…che anye wod…cockes this yeare. Ser, it is so wele taken there for a gyfte as for a promyse, as is declared afore, and ther for youre v…discrete argumēt is discharged.Clangor But where as ye plucke those vowes from the feast of trumpet blowynge, ye do them great wronge. Better had ye done for them, to hauehave lefte them there styll, or els in some other place fitt for them, than to hauehave lefte them here so desolate, not knowynge where to become. For there is now neyther age nor tyme fytt for thē among christianes, though yow, not onlyke a Iewysh Rabi, appoynte thē al tymes & ages. Neither hauehave they bene…ibamina sens Christes ascension lawfull. S. Paule setteth so lytle by them, that he calleth them feble tradycyōs and beggarly ceremonyes, threttenyng the Galathianes dampnacion, forturnynge to them agayne. Gala. iiii.
Obiectio.
I se no cause why ye shulde saye, they pertayne only to that feast, seynge that fastynge, abstynence and suche lyke paynefull workes be not gyftes and offerynges appoynted by God to be offered in that feast only. I thynke, yowWylye thynke it no good reason to saye so, because in the chaptre before, menciō is made of that feast and of suche thynges as God. wyll hauehave offered vntounto hym, than I can not se why thys chaptre shuld more …e restrayned to pertayne to the chaptre before, thā the nexte to thys, entreating all thre of cleane dyuerse matters. Therfore IBernard. wolde knowe what reason … grounde ye take so to say. For as yet I thynke (and hauehave good cause why I shulde so do) that vowes here be neyther gyftes nor offeryngs, neyther they pertayne to that feast only, and that the feast contynued longar than. vii. dayes, as it apereth by the texte it selfe. And therfor by the conclusyō, that these vowes were not perpetuall, I vnderunder stande not what ye meane, except it be that theBlynde feast nor the offerynges of the feast, were not perpetuall, beynge but shadowes, whyche sayinge foloweth not of that before.
Responsio.
Repetynge youre matter, ye se no cause why, I shuld report vowes in the. xxx. chap. of Numer. to pertayne only to that feast &c. A gnatte ye strayne oute verye sore here, to swellowe in a camell, but it wyll not proue to your mynde. I se good cause why I shuldA gnatte saye it, and I speake it (I thynke) as a frynd. For if they remayne not there, they are lyke to hauehave but a symple dwellynge in this age, except some superstycpouse grandame, or some olde dottynge sir Dauy, wyl harbour them for a tyme. Who wyll nowe vowe, to offre vp a yonge kydde in sacryfyce? What, thynke yow that we knowe not in what takyngeSacrifyce the darke ceremonies of Moyses are now? Moyses is dead and buryed, we hauehave Christ alyue in the mountayne for him. The Gospell succedeth the lawe, wherin the preceptes are spirytuall, and must be of vsus fulfylled in sprete and veryte, and not in olde…n sprete worne out shaddowes. Remyssyō of synnes cometh onelyonly now by Christes offeryng vponupon the crosse, & not by the olde leuytycall expyacyons. Christ hath wholly & perfyghtly supplyed in hys most innocent fleshe, yt was prefygured in the serpēt of brasse in the wyldernesse, that no man frō hens fourth shuld go backe agayne therunto, for recouer of y• Recouervenemouse bytynges of any other serpente, Numer. xxi. for no man can peryshe that beleueth in hym, but is sure to hauehave the lyfe euerlastynge, Ioan. iii.
That feast of trompet blowynge, I trom ped ye in as a toy to help ye forward in your Iewysh creacyōs, bycause ye sought so earnestly to establish the chastyte of your presthode by that. xxx. chaptre of Nume. I gaue ye it by the waye to make yow mery wyth,Fylthines and not to ground any christen doctryn vponupon it. How thys worde only leaped into it, I can not tell. For whan I conferred youre coppy with myne, I foūd it not therin. Yow yt can so cōnyngly dymynysh & adde, cut of & set on, pull out & put in, as ye hauehave done afore in your Augustynes allegacyons, are able ynough to shewe your conueyauncesLonnyng. here. As wele coulde yow here pull in thys worde only, as ye ther cloughted in a quādo. I am not so far ouerseane in the scriptures, but I knowe that more Iewysh feastes are cōtayned in the. xxix. cha. than festum tuba…um in the first daye of the seuenth monethmonth. For in y• tenth day of the same monethmonth, wasFastes. the feast of propycyacyon, & in the. xv. daye was the feaste of tabernacles. I gaue yow therfor the feast of trōpettes, as an ende like to your pryncyples. For I tolde yow after that, of S. Georges gyld at Norwych, wher I wylled yow to bestowe those vowes.
If ye bestowe the fastynges and abstaynynges of the scriptures now, vponupon such Ie wyshe feastes, ye do as ded your pay pay,Pay, pay. your papa I shuld saye, whyche appoynted thē to hys ydolatrouse dayes of ydelnesse. Those payne full wurkes (as ye call them) which are for a humyliaciō of y• sowle, may now be appointed to no such feastynges. In dede I know no good reasō why they shuld. But wher as ye say, ye cā not se why y• chap tre afor shuld be restrained to pertain to this chaptre, more than y• chaptre folowynge, I must saye to yow again, yt I can wele see it. For in yt scriptures is no cōfuse ordre, but a cōforme & cōsonāt ordre, one chaptre alwaisSyghte approuyng & declarynge an other. These. ii. cha. treate not of cleane diuerse matters (as you vnclenly report thē) but thei both cōclud to one ende of ceremonials. The. xxix. chap. maketh mencyon of. iii. of their pryncypall feastes, sheweth what sacryfyces shuld be done in them, and on what daye of the monethmonth they shuld be celebrated. The. xxx. cha. declareth the perfourmaunce of vowes andFeastes offeringes, both of the fre and of that which is vndre subieccion, as of the father and the daughter, of the husbande and the wyfe, besydes the wydowe and deuorsed to the profyght of the mynysters and leuites.
Ye wold knowe what reason and groūd I take thus to say, or to ioyne y•. ii. chapters. I hauehave for my ground thys laste sentence ofGrounde. the. xxix. chaptre. Hec offeretis Domino in solennitatibus vestris, preter vota et oblationes spontaneas, in holocausto, in sacrificio, in libamine, & in hostiis pacificis vestris These thynges shall ye offre to the Lorde in youre solempnytees, besydes youre vowes and deuocyon offerynges, in youre brentofferynges, meate offerynges, drinke offerynges, & peace offerynges. This is my groūd, put yow the reason to it hardely. Ye say, yeUowes. thynke that those vowes be neyther gyftes nor offerynges. Of that thynkynge, ye are suffycientlye dyscharged afore. Yea saye, ye hauehave also good cause so to thynke. And I thynke y• goodnesse of your cause not wurth the leape of a lowse. Ye saye, they pertayne not to y• feast of trōpet blowing only. That only, as it standeth, is yours and not myne. And if it were myne, I wold ye ded byqueth it to S. Georges gyld at. N. as I hauehave doneIewysh your feaste with the Iewysh vowes and all. But wher as ye conclude, that the feast cōtinued longar than. vii. dayes after, it shal styl rest there tyl yow be able to proue it. Ye say, it so apeareth by the texte it selfe, but ye are lyke to fynde it contrary as ye come ones to the tryall.
Bycause I sayde, that vowes in the olde lawe, or vowes in those feastes wer not perpetuall, ye vnderstande me not. In thys ye fare lyke the back or owle, whyche seeth allAn owle. in the darke, and nothyng in the clere lyght. Where as Dauid speaketh of the mercye, wurkes, wysdom, and veryte of God, Psa. xci. he concludeth with thys sentence. Uir insipiens nō cognoscet, et stultus non intelligit hec. An vnwyse man wyll not knowe these thynges, neyther wyl a fole vnderstādA fole. them. The Babylonyanes (sayth Micheas) knoweth not the thoughtes of the lord, neyther vnderstād they hys counsels, Mich. iiii. All they beleued not in Christ, whyche sawe hym do myracles, Ioan. xii. In your excepcyon, ye admytt the feast and offeringes for mere shaddowes, and why iudge ye not the same also of the vowes there? I praye yow lete the cause go fourth wyth his effecte, andThe cause be not more parcyall to the one than to the other. The vowes were for the offerynges, and neuer were they perfourmed, tyll the other were done in effecte. And as those offerynges were fynyshed, the vowes had alwayes their ende. Howe wyll ye then make these vowes perpetuall? Me thynke, I offreAnswere yow a good honest answere, and to the pur pose of that wente afore. And it semeth moche confirmed, in that Christe neuer taught thys doctryne of perpetuall vowes, by thys nor yet by anye other olde scripture or example.
Obiectio.
☞ For the perpetuyte of vowes in dede, me thynke that no vowe is perpetuall to all then, but only to hym that maketh it, whyche voweMaker. he is bounde to perfourme, durynge all the tyme he entended to bynde hymselfe, and no longar▪ Moreouer that vowes maye lawefully be made, is a perpetuall true doctryne. That we be bounde vponupon payne of deadly synne to perfourme our lawfull vowes, is a perpetuall true doctryne, and yet we maye vowe to do a thyngDoctryne but for one tyme, and vponupon a condycyon also. As Anna dyd. …. Reg. i. And also the chyldren of Israel dyd, as apeteth. Numeri. xxi.
Responsio.
Se how thys papyste toyeth and tryfleth here, how inconstaunt, vnagreable, and contraryouseUowes▪ he is also to hym selfe. Afore he sayth, that there are some vowes perpetual, whyche are by commaundemente requyred of all men▪ And for example he bryngeth fourth yt vowe made in baptysme. Contrary wyse he affirmeth, that no vowe is perpetuall to all men, but onelyonly to hym that maketh it. What thynke yow of thys same fellowe, is he a philosopher or a fole? Here confesseth he playnely, that a perpetual vowe is a crea ture or ymage of synnefull mannys creaciō. And what is it than? Is it any other thā wycSynne. kednesse? HaueHave we any other than synne of our selues? It is wrytten by Moyses, Gen. vi. Uidit Deus quod cuncta cogitatio cordis hominum intenta esset ad malum omni▪ tēpore. God behelde it, that all the ymagyna cyons & thoughtes of mennys hartes, were at all tymes euyll. Sensus enim et cogitatio humani cordis in malum prona sunt ab adolescentia sua, Gen. viii. The vnderstandynges (sayth God) and coniectures of mannisMa…. harte, are nought euē from hys very youth. All are become vnprofytable. All men are corrupte (sayeth Dauid) and becometh abhomynable, there is not one that doth good, Psalm. xiii.
All men are synners, Psa. l. Al men are ly …rs psa. cxv. Alienati sūt peccatores a vulua errauerunt ab vtero, locuti sunt falsa, Psal.All men. lvii. Men are vntowarde frō their mothers wombe, they erre from their byrth, & speake lyes. Consydre thys waighty saynge of Esdras. Iniqui omnes filii hominum, et iniqua illorum omnia opera, et non est in ipsis veritas. Hi in sua iniquitate peribunt, et veritas manet. iii. Esdre. iiii. All the chyldren of men are vnryghteouse, and all their wurkes are wycked, and there is no truthe in them. In their vnryghteousnesse shall they also pe ryshe, but the truth endureth euer. Se now what the vowes be, whych are made by mē,Peryshe. as thys enemy here openly confesseth. They are frutes of menys inuencyons, coniectures, & thoughtes without Christes appoyntment. They are thynges vnprofytable, corrupcion, errour, falshede, lyes, presumpciō, naughtynesse, abhominacyon, and synne. If they be reckened a ryghteousnesse afore mē, they are suche a one as the prophete Esaias speaketh of. Quasi pannus mēstruate, vniuerse iusticie nostre. Esa. lxiiii. Our vniuersall ryghteousnesses, are afore God, as clothesIll frute. stayned with meustrue. Is not here ple saunt gere (thinke yow) to make a perpetual bonde of? Yea, and it were to make a perpetuall sacryfyce of your dyrte.
O so domytycall beastes & hypocrytes. Whan wyll ye leaue boastynge of that ye were neuer yet able to perfourme? NeuerNot one. was there one of your oyled and shauen generacyon yet chast, for all your stoute bragges and crackes. No, not one. I am able to proue it before God and man. Yea, I hauehave declared it in the first parte of my votaries, and wyll by Gods grace, declare it in the other. ii. partes, by the styukynge actes of the holyest hypocrytes amonge yow, because I fynde yow past all shame and withoute repentaunce. I wondre where thys hypocryte fyndeth it, that men are bound to perfourmHypocrite suche ydell vowes withoute Christes commaundement. We hauehave of hym many fryuolouse bablynges, but nothynge proued by the scriptures. He sayeth, it is a perpetuall true doctryne, that vowes maye lawfullye be made, but he sheweth not what vowes. If he meaneth y• vowe of syngle lyfe, I say, he lyeth falsly, to the face of hym. For by theDoctryne space of more than thre thousande yeares was no such doctryne, therfor it is not a per petuall doctryne. Neyther is it a true doctryne Sayucte Paule sayeth, but a doctryne of deuyls, pronounced by deceytfull hypocrytes. i. Timoth. iiii.
Thys monkysh pratler sheweth yet ones agayne, from whens he cometh. A perpetuall true doctryne is it (sayth he) that we beBounde bounde in payne of deadlye synne, to perfourm our lawful vows. Marke this same, we▪ hardely, and ye shall fynde hym an olde cytiezen of Sodome and Egypte, Apoca. xi. It wer mete first of al, to proue his vow law full, whiche he hath not done yet, ere he wēt about to adde deadly synne to the breakyng therof. Dauid brake suche a vowe, S. BedeDauid. sayth, and yet had he no conscience therin of any deadlye synne. And although it were a perpetuall doctryne that men myghte make vowes, and that they oughte to perfourme them in peyne of Gods hyghe dyspleasure. Yet were not your popyshe purpose therby moche furthered, consyderyng your vowesName. are not of that kynde. For all that beareth name of a thynge, is not the same thyng. All that is called an apple or a foxe, is not a naturall apple or a foxe. In the ende he cometh with a legerde mayne of tyme and condycyon, for hym and hys monkysh bretherne. For there is an other we. And yet we maye vowe (sayeth he) to do a thynge but for one tyme, and vponupon a condycyon also. Here he tymeth and condycyoneth with God, whyche approueth nothyng, hys owne doctours sayth. Is not thys (thynke yow) a straungeTyme. prouynge of a perpetuyte in vowes, by a howe for one tyme, and by a vowe vponupon cō dycyon?
So wele may thys folysh reason stande, as that. Abraham one tyme begate Isaac. Ergo he was begettyng Isaac for the terme of hys lyfe, and all begetters after hym. If Robyne whode shote ones in Barnes dale,Folyshe. he was shotynge at Barnes dale all ye daies of hys lyfe, and all shoters after hym, are boūd to shote at Barnes dale. These vowes for one tyme and vponupon a condicyon, he craftelye bryngeth in, confirmynge them by examples of scripture, to shaddowe hys perpetuall vowes of Gomorra with. O crafty face of the serpent, how longe wylte thu deceyneDeceyte the symple with that frute of falshed? Thu canuyste saye, scriptum est, as ded the Deuyll in the wyldernesse, Mathe. iiii. for thy vowes for a tyme and vponupon a condycyon. But where are thy scriptures, to proue a perpetuyte in thy Gomorreall vowes, thu fylthye Gomorreane? I tell the, that neither the vowe of Anna. i. Reg. i. nor yet the voweUowes. of the Israelytes, Numeri. xxi. is nowe vntounto vsus christianes a perpetuall true doctryne to be folowed in effecte. For than we shulde dedycate oure chyldren afore they were borne, to the seruyce of the olde Iewysh synagoge, & off…e vp calues or yong bullockes with thē. So shuld we also, as we had the ouerhand of our enemyes, destroy hoth them & their cyties. For that was the vowe of theIsraelites Israelytes. If we shulde folowe thys vowe in effecte, as a perpetuall true doctryne for vsus christianes, we shulde not leaue one blasphemouse papyste, nor one false prophete of Balahams marke alyue.