Against a Rank Papist, Part 1 · Opinion 4

Against a Rank Papist · Part 1 · Opinion 4

p. lxxviiCensura.

Uouete.☞Uowe (sayth Dauid) and perfourme your promise. But who shal do it? Al yow (sayth he) that be rounde aboute, bryng…yng presentes vntounto the Lord. Psa. lxxv.

Obiectio.

¶ Dauid sayeth, vowe, and yow seme to say,Buggery. vowe not. Dauid sayth, perfourme your promyses, and yow saye, a man nede not kepe hys vowe of chastite, but may breake it for eueryevery temptacion, and calleth it here after, a way to fylthy Sodometry and a profession to fylthynes vnspeakable. Thys terrsemeth to subuert al your purpose. If ye wyl restrayne Dauids Psalter, and say, it pertayneth only to the feast of trompettes in the .xxix. Chapter of Nume.Doctours Than yow saye your owne mynde alone, for I neuer redde any auncient doctours that sayd so. What dothe Dauid teache vsus here? But that it is good to vowe, and synne to breake a vowe once lawfully made. Uouete et reddite. Thus doeth Saynete Augustyne expounde it. Nescio que castimonialis nubere voluit. Quid voluit? Quod et virgo quelibet. Quid voluit? Quod et mater ipsiue. Aliquid mali voluit? Mal… plane. Quare? Quia iam voueratFacete. domino Deosuo. Quid enim dirit de talibus Apostolus Paulus, cum dicat viduas adulescentulas nubere si velint? S…d tamen art quodam loto. Beatior autem erit si sic permanserit secundum meum consihum. Ostendit beatiorem si sic permanserit, non tamen dampnand… sinubere voluerit.

Responsio.

I wil herin folow your former request, y^t is to saye, vse a dyffynycyon of vowes. Not for that I seke any helpe therby in thys mat ter, but rather more clerely to manifest yourDistinctio madnesse. There is votum legale et votum monachicum, a vowe of the ceremonyall lawe, and a voluntarye vowe of monkes. Where as Dauid sayth, vowe, meanynge after the rule of the vowes ceremonyall, as foloweth in the texte, qui afertis munera, yow that bringe offerynges. I wyl say also, vowe, but it shal be after a farte other sorte. For where as he biddeth yow in that place,Souete. to vowe the offeryng of calues, gootes, bullockes, and other kynde of beastes. I wyll bydde ye vowe your owne sowles and bodyes to God, in hys perfyght feare and obe dyence. I wyll exhorte yow with Paule, not to receyue the grace of God in vayne. ii. Lorinth.Abstayne. vi. to encreace in vertu, to abstayn frō p. lxxviiifornycaciō. i. Thes. iiii. and to walke in louelove, as Christ hath loued vsus, and to leaue youre couetouse pyllage, Ephesi. v. Dauid wolde also in an other place, that youre sacryfyce were a contrycyon of the harte, Psal. l. All these vowes pleaseth me wele.

But whan ye come to the vowes of monkes and prestes, whyche are monastycall & So we notvoluntary, and abhorred of the holye scriptures. Than wyll I saye, vowe not, concludynge with that voyce whyche S. Iohan hearde from heauen. Exite de illa populus meus, ne participes sitis delictorum cius, ne be plagis eius accipiatis, Apoc. xviii. Come awaye (my people) from that wycked Babylon, y^t ye be not par…takers of her sinnes, that ye receyue not of her plages, I graunt yow with Dauid, that promyses are to bePromyses obserued, so longe as they are godly and in our power. But as for your vow of chastite, we knowe non suche, vnlesse it be that whiche stādeth in promyse and goth no further, whyche was yet neuer perfourmed. The vowes of the olde lawe were not promyses only, but substancyall offerynges also, your vowes are but mockynge promyses, bryngynge fourth nothynge but the styukynge offeryngesOfferynges. of Sodome. I can name ye a thousande of them that hath broken that vowe, but not one that throughlye fulfylled it, no, not the holyest of your canonised rabyes, as Dunstane, Boniface, Bregwyne, Becket, Anselme, and a great sorte more.

I hauehave spokē it in dede, and speake it now agayne, y^• chastite spedeth not wel, whā it is vowed in that kynde, but hath a most fylthy procedyng: for the professours thereof, both prestes and monkes, are geuen ouer of godIllfrute. into most prodigyouse lustes of their fleshe, for contempt of hys heauenly verite, Rom. …. Tushe, dyssēble the matter no longer with youre fyue, smothe, counterfet lookes, and youre hypocrites bragges, for we knowe what ye are wel ynough, al fryre Bongaies mystes are not able to shadowe yow, to deceyueSongay. vsus in these dayes. I saye not, ye maye breake it for eueryevery temptacion, for ye neuer kept it in your temptacions. But I saye, ye oughte of necessyte, if ye wyll be saued by Christes merytes, vtterly to forsake and go frō it, for the holy Ghost calleth your spiritualte, a Sodome, Apocalyps. xi… ▪ for thatSodome. myschefe only. Fugite de medio Babilonis, et saluet vnusquisque animam suam, Hieremie. li. Flee awaye from that Babylon (sayth the good Prophet Hieremie) and euerye man saue his sowle. Blame me not therfore though I call it a fylthye Sodometry, and a profession to myscheues vnspeakable, neyther wyl Dauids text subuerte my trueDauid. p. lxxixpurpose in that poynte, for he neuer had ye offen suche dyrtye presentes to God, as are the promiscuouse occupyinges of whoredō and buggery.

I neuer in my lyfe restrayned Dauids Psalter to the feaste of troumpettes in the xxix. Chaptre of Numery. For than had I bene as madde as ye were, whan ye calledFranti… the nexte Chaptre folowynge, an absolute peace pertaynyng to the lawe. I gaue ye in a maner, y^t feast of mockage, to illude youre tragycal foly therewyth. In youre auncient doctours ye are so hyghlye ouerseane, that no wyse man is able to compare wyth yow. Lete all men marke your good handelynge of S. Augustyne here, to proue by hys sayinges that it is good to vowe papystry, and great synne to breake a vowe of that kynde.Papysme. S. Augustyne in hys lecture vponupon the. lxxv. Psalme, beynge frankly disposed, told a mery tale of a nune whych would be marryed, like as I hauehave heard good Catimer do, with the best preachers of our time, to refresh the spirites of theyr audience. Thys bryngeth fourth here thys great gyaunte of oure papystes, as a myghty buttrasse to vphold his maungy matter. But. ii. wayes he is lyke to hauehave dishonour therof, one is, bicause it is a light fable, an other bicause it is but a matter of a sylly sorysister, yet wyl I not altogitherDyshono: dyssallowe her, bycause she so honestly setketh, rather to be a marryed woman, than a wycked prestes whore.

The hombly tale of S. Augustyne is thus to be Englyshed. Anune (sayeth he) whomeAnune. I hauehave forgoten, or whose name I hauehave not now in remembraunce, wolde on a tyme nedes marry. What wholde she? That all wa… ton wenches wolde. In good earneste what wolde she? Euen that her mother wolde, ye know what I meane. Wold she yll in that? yea marry. And why? For she had vowed afore to her lorde God. If she myghte not so do, what mente the Apostle Paule, whychePaulus. said, y^e the yonger widowes myght mary if they wold? I graūt, but yet he saith in a certen place, the happer shall she be in my opynyon, if she contynue syngle. For she shal hauehave y^t lesse to do. Well sir, though he saith, that she is more happy if she so remayne, yet doth he not condempne her, if she be wyllynge to marry. Thus endeth the firste fytte of the tale. A verye syngle shyfte hath thys captayne of the papystes, whan he is drpuē to seke thys for hys bucklar of defence. ForThe nūne thys nune is not here condempned yet for marryage. He setteth no greate pryce on hys matter, that begynneth hys processe with Nescio, I knowe not, I am ignoraunt, or I can not tell, as S. Augustyne doth here.

p. lxxxIf it had bene a storye of credite, as it is a matter of daliaunce and pastyme, y^t party had bene named, and also the place of her dwellyng. As S. Luke describinge the hystory of Christes concepcion, shewethNameles. the condicion and name of the messenger, from wh…ns and from whom he came, to whom he was sent, what waa the name of that virgine, the name of her husband, and the names of the contraye and cytye wher she dwelt, and fynally what was hys messsage. Luke. i. wythout these or other lykeHistoria. circumstaunces, is no story of authoryte. No suche groūded matter finde we in this tryflyng fable, whych thys foly she papyst bringeth in here, to fortifye his cause with. Youre matter is of a nūne, and ye knowe not where she dwelleth, nor yet what her name is, forsoth it is a firl prati matter. ByFabula. lyke it was some nūne of waxe. Well, ye shall hauehave lycens to offer her vp to saynte fole, whan ye wyll.

Mocke not youre brethren thus, ye obstyuate and indurate ranke papyst, to hold them styl captyue in these wycked snaresSnares. of the deuyl. What articles of false faythe wyl …e buylde vponupon these beggeries? fyrst ye had widowes ware to approue your po posh vowes, thā brought ye fourth the offyce of a deacon, and now are ye driuen to …elpe of a nūne and to fatche youre … at her tayle, and yet ye can not tell, … she euer lyued or no. Scryptures … none, of Gods holye Testament, … we it welynoghe, they wyll not … execrable purpose. O abhomy…le papystes and minysters of Sathan, whych thus seke to demente, the symple hartes of the people. Lete all them whych louelove God, marke yow in these kyndes of conuepaunce, that they be no longer seduced by your sorceryes and wytchecraftes. By the name of S. Augustyne, ye thinke toAugustine terrifie vsus, and to driue vsus from the wraste lyng place compellinge mē to beleue what yow lyste, but ye shall not so fynde it in the ende.

Obiectio.

☞ Quid autem ait de quibusdam, que vouerunt et non reddiderunt? habentes, inquit, damnacionem, quia primam fidem irritā fecerunt. Quid est, primam fidem irritam feceruut?Prima sides. Uouerunt et nō reddiderūt. Nemo erg… positus in monasterio frater dicat, recedo de monasterio. Neque enim soli qui sun… in monasterio, peruēturi sunt ad regnum celorum. Et illi qui non sunt, ad Deum non pertinēt… Respondetur ei: Sed illi non vouerunt, …u vouisti, tu retro respexisti, et cet. Et Paule post. I am quia ista tractauimus, forte volebas vouere, et modo non vis vouere. Sed quid dixerit psalmus, attende. Non dixit, no… …ouere.lite vouere, sed dixit, vouere et reddite. Quid p. lxxxiaudisti, red dite, non vis vouere? Ergo vouere volebas et non reddere? Immo vtrumque far. Unum sit exprofessione tua, aliud ex adiutoaio Dei perficietur. Aspice eum qui te ducit, et non respiries retro vnde te educit et cet. Also he sayth, de bouo viduitatis. La. xi. planeano…imus nō dub it auerim ditere, lapsus et tuinas a castitate sanctiore que vouetur Deo, adulteriis esse peiores.

Responsio.

Here goeth S. Augustyne forwarde w^t his dialogical proces, cōcerning this nūneNameles. wythout name and monastery. Whan he hath shewed on the one syde, that he dothe not condempnt her for marryage, though he thinketh y^t single lyfe more cōmodiouse, being without charge. He foloweth wyth hys matter after thys sorte. What sayed S. Paule (sayth he) of some whych promised, and yet brake couenaūt? Dampnacion is theyrs, bycause they hauehave broken theyr fyrst faythe. What meane ye by that, they hauehave broken theyr fyrst fayth? Marry they hauehave vowed, and not perfourmed it. ByHe lyeth. that meanes may no professed brother say, I wyll departe from the mouastery. And yet shal not they which are in the monastery, come alone to y^• kingdō of heauē. Partayne not they whych are w^tout it, as well to God as they? To thys wyll I answer. They neuer vowed, but y^u haste vowed, y^u hast loked backe or behind the, & so fourth. Than leapeth he ouer. xxvi. clauses, contaynyngFalshede. more than▪ ccc. wurdes, thynking to be dyscharged by et cetera. But sure he escapeth me not so. Breuely wyll I tell ye the contentes thereof, that ye maye se the mānys conueyaunce.

S. Augustyne bringeth fourth the saing of Christ conceruyng Lothes wyfe. which beyng in the waye of delyueraunce fromLothes wyfe. Sodome, loked behynde her agayne, and was turned into a pyller of salt. This putteth he not onelyonly to relygyouse monastery brethren, but to al christen men, for an high example of wysdome, that none shuld go backe wyth his lauful promise to God, for he sayth: Illa vxor Loth, ad omnes pertinet. That wyfe of Loth (sayth he) toucheth al mē. Wher is now our namelesse nūne, eyther yet the vnwyuyng vowe of pfestes. I wold fayne ones we myght hauehave prestes matters, and not womēs matters, to prouePrestes. our presthode by, least in the ende we therby make it a womanly presthode. We pretende by vowe, not to meddle with womē, and yet we can not proue a chastite in oure presthode wythout women. This is a prodigyous ordre of prouyng. It foloweth in the text of Augustine, which this chaplaine of purpose left out. Maritata mulier voluit facere adulterium, de loco suo quo per p. lxxxiiuenerat retro respexit. A marryed womanA wyfe. wolde do aduoutry, she hath loked backe frō the place she was come to. A professed wydowe woulde marry (for pleasure, and of no necessyte) a mayde that is a nūne, wil be dronke, proude, and busy tongued, both they hauehave loked behynde them.

O tu virgo Dei, nubere voluisti, quod licet, extollis te, quod non licet. Melior vir go humilis, quam maritata humilis, sedBetter. melior maritata humilis, quam virgo superba. Que autem respexit ad nuptias, nō quia voluit nubere damnatur, sed quia iā ante recesserat, et fit vxor Loth respiciendo retrorsum. Non sitis pigri qui potestis, quibus aspirat Deus, apprehendite gradus meliores. O thu professed virgin of God, thu wylt not marry, whych is leful, but thu wylt be proude, whych is vnleful. I confesse it, that better is a meke spreted mayde, than a meke marryed woman, and yet is a meke maryed woman, better than a proude virgiu. She that loketh towardesMekenes marryage, is not therfor condempned bycause she wold marri, but bicause she hath refused it afore by an vngodly promyse, or a vowe of y^t whych neuer was in her power, so becommynge the wyfe of Loth lokynge backewardes from God towarde Sodome. Be not yow stowe in vowynge, that hauehave power to perfourme it, lay yowof power. fyrste handes vponupon it, to whom God hath geuē that gyft for a better purpose, that is, for the true ministraciō of his wurd, & neither for idle mōkery nor ydolatrouse presthode. I wold we wel marked this doctrine of S. Augustine, whō this chaplayne hath theuishli left out here, for it is worthi note.

Et Paulo post, is an addicion of hys owne, next cosyne to et cet. & is geuē vsus in stede of al thys hydden processe of S. Augustyne.Augustine Is it not (thynke yow) a propre & profitable change? But nowe he foloweth wyth hys lattre patch. I am quia ista tractauimus. now bicause we hauehave spokē these thinges, haply wher thu wert wel minded afore to hauehave vowed, thu wi…te from hens fourth not vow at al. But first attēd what the psalme hath vttered. It sayeth not. Se thu vowe not. But it sayth, vowe and perfourme or kepe promyse. Bicause thu hearest,Kepe it. kepe promyse, y^u wylt not vowe. This is as much to sai, as thu woldest promyse, and not pay. Yes, do both. Let the one pertayne to thy professyon, & the other wyl be perfourmed by the helpe of God. Behold him wel y^t leadeth the, & loke not behind, to that from whēs he hath brought the, et cet. And what is all thys to the purpose, y^t prestesPrestes. should hauehave no wiues? Not ones hath p. lxxxiiihe named a preste in all this rehersal or declaraciō of vowes. The offyce of christen ministers, whō this chaplaine w^tout autho rite calleth prestes, was not in those dayes to make vowes, but to receyue the vowes of professed widows, after pauls doctrin, for thei wer cōmēli y^• husbāds of one wife.

As in the olde lawe (if ye wyl so take it) though y^t prestes receiued the vowes & oblaciōsNo vowers. of y^e people, yet they thēselues were no cōmen vowers, for it was not their office to vowe nor yet to offee, as y^• commen sort ded. S. Augustyne wylleth vsus here, to perfourme our vowe made in baptisme, & to folow Gods cōmaundemētes. And not to turne backe frō Christes appoynted rules, to our owne dreames & inuēciōs, oure vowes & blind deuociōs, for y^t is to return to Sodome, as y^t end therof hath declared, by many a most filthy exāple. If these vowesExāples. must of necessite be perfourmed, than must our vowes also to Romr, to Hierusalē, to s. Iames, & to walsinghā be perfourmed, specially the old vowes of the. ii. vniuersities to be alwayes obediēte to the malyguaunte seate of Antichriste. Yea, if all thynges muste be persolued, that hathe bene promysed in papisme, than must kingKynge Iohan. Iohās most in iuriouse & hurtful vowe, be also fulfilled in al his successours, kings of thys realme, to the vtter destruccion of the same both wayes which the eternall God forbyd. For al these were false promises to God, made w^t a solēpne deliberacion, as ye say by diffyniciō, your vnchast vowes are.

Styl ye bryng in your womēs matters, lyke a womanly captayne, to prou… a chastite in your Romish presthode, wherby ye shew your selfe to be muche better learnedWomen. in womens affayres, than in mēnys. O…te of y^e. xi. chaptre de bono viduitatis, whych ye falsely father vponupon S. Augustyne, hauehave ye torne out a text wythout either toppe or taile, Plane non dubitauerim et ce. I wold not doubte playnely to aff yrme it, the slydinge… & ruynouse fallinges frōholi chastite,Chastite. whych is vowed to god, to be wurse thā aduowtryes. And thys ye alledge of purpose, to condempne the lauful marryages of them, whych at the voyce of God hath of late yeares forsakē your papistical prest hode and monkery. But your armour is to weake, beynge but womens ware, and soA thefe. theuishly stolne. Ones againe hauehave I here deprehēded yow in your falshede, ye purse pyker, and fynde ye more fytte for the pyl▪ …ery than the pulpet. Thus doth your doctour handle it, in the lettre ende of y^t. x. ch…

Fit autem per hanc minus consideratā opinionem, qua putant lapsarum a sancto p. lxxxiiiiproposito feminarum, si nupserint, nō esseIulianus. coni…gia, nō paruum malum vt a maritis separentur quasi adultere sint, non vxores. Et cum volunt eas separatas reddere continentie, faciunt maritos earum adulteros veros, cum suis vxoribus viu…s, alteras duxerint. Ca. xi. Quapropter non possum quidem dicere a proposito meliore lapsas, si nupserint feminas, adulteria esse, non cō ingia (now foloweth hys fragmēt) sed plane non dubitauerim dicere, lapsus et ruinas a castitate sanctiore, que vouetur deo, adulteriis esse peiores. Si enim, quod nulloImpostor. modo dubitandum est, ad offensionem Christi pertinet, cum membrum eius fidē non seruat marito, quanto grauius offenditur, cum illi ipsi non seruatur fides et ce.

Great myschefe foloweth of that incō uenient, whan men, by thys not wysely digested opynion, do thynke the mariages of professed nūnes▪ to be no marryages, and therupon compel them to be separated frō Marryed nunes.their husbandes, as aduowtrouse women and no wyues, for whan they by such dyuorcementes attempte▪ to driue thē againe to the nūnery, they make theyr poore husbande aduowterers in dede, in takynge other women, theyr owne wynes beynge alyue. Ca. xi. Wherfore I can not iustly report, the marriages of women fallen from relygyon, if they chaunce to marry, to be…ot vows. aduowtryes and no marryages. But I wold not much doubt, to cal the flydinges awaye from holy chastite, thynges wur…e than aduowtries, for if Christ be offended, by al mēnys opinion, whan his membre is vnfaythfull to her husbande, howe muche more than maye he be offended whan promyse is not kepte wyth hym selfe? et cet.

Here is a great difference betwene yow and your namelesse doctour, for your opinion is, that the maryages of vowers areOpinions playne aduowtryes and no marryages. Hys opinion is all contrary, that they are so lawful marryages as maye be. For he calleth the professed nūne so marryed, a lawful and perfight wife, and iudgeth her separacion from marryage, a most daungerouse & dāpnable incōueniēt. The scrupul or spyced conscience that he hath in the matter, is concerning y^• breake of her promyse made to God, and that putteth he in here, vngroundedly, doubtfully, hypocritically, and vtterly agaynst hymselfe, as to note her in one Godly office both a lawfulImpostor. wyfe and an whore. This is, as though he wold seme to allowe it for Gods institucions sake, & at pleasure agayne to disalowe it in an other ydle respect. He wolde fayne giuegive the mastry to monkishnes, but he trē bleth p. lxxxvat the matter, as he may wel inough. I vtterly deny S. Augustyne to be the authourAugustine of thys superstyciouse, vnsure, and doubtful doctryne. For I neuer yet coulde se hym so farre ouersene, as to preferre our voluntary workes to the sett ordynaunces of God. He was not so forgetfull of thys olde saynge of Esay, that al our righteousnesses, appeare they neuer so holy, are as y^• clothes stained with menstr…e. Es. lxiiii.

Thys nameles authour of yours, doth S. Paule much wrōge, to call the state of a syngle lyfe, an holy or Angelicall state, bycause he hath called it a state happy or cō modiouse, being without charge. i. cor. vii.More …re. for he neuer ment it so. The spowsage of Christ standeth not in the deuyses of mannys ydle heade, as are your voluntary vowes of monkery, but in a syncere faith not passing y^• rules of his vncorrupted wurde. Thys authour of yours, called Iuliane, aIulianus. Moore borne, and byshoppe of Tolete in Spayne, semeth wōderfully much against hymselfe, for treating in the. viii. Chaptre, why marryage oughte to be permitted to relygyouse wydowes, he hath thys cleare sentence. Si non continent, nubant. Malo enim eas …bere quam vri.

Hoc enim dixit, vt effrenate li…idinis malum non precipitaretur in turpitudinem slagitiorum, cum exciperetur honestate nuptiarum et cet. Uolo igitur iuniores nubere. If they can not abstayne, lete them marry, for I had muche rather that they marryed, than brent. Thys spake the Apostle,Marry. least the vnbrideled affeccion shoulde throwe them into all kyndes of fylthynes, whyls it myght wel be restrayned by the honesty of godly marryage. I wyl therfor that the yonger wydowes marry. He hath also thys clause in the. ix. Chapter of the same boke. In coniugali quippe: vniculo, si pudicicia cōseruatur, damnatio nō timetur.Feare not In the yoke of maryage, is no dampnacion to be feared, if clennesse therein be obserued. So how thys sentence of youre owne doctryne, cōfoūdeth your allegaciō.

Obiectio.

☞And also, Cha. viii Proinde quise non continent, nubant antequam continentiam profiteantur, antequam Deo voueant, quodInfamātur nisi reddant, iure damnantur. Alio quippe loto de talibus dicit. Cumenim in delitus egerint in Christo nubere volunt, habentes damnationem, quoniam primam fidem irretā fecerunt, id est, voluntatem ad nuptias a proposito continentie destererūt. Irritam quippe facerunt fidem qua prius vouerant, quod perseuerantia implete voluerunt. Further ye aske who should do it? and answere by the verse that foloweth: Al you that be round about,Offerings bryngyng presētes to the Lord. If yow p. lxxxvirestrayne perfourming of vowes, only to the bryngyng of outward presentes, thā ye make a sence of thys verse after your owne mynde alone, and expound it other wyse thā the doctours do. For both the sentēces after S. Augustynes mynde, and all other doctours that I hauehave redde, be general, and pertayne to allA question good mē. Who be they that be round about the Lorde? They amongest whom God is, they that be iuste and gathered in hys name, they that be humble and feare God, and offer to hym to do hym seruyce, theyr bodyes, sowles, and al the other gaftes of God. All suche be about hym, and al such be exhorted to vowe and perfourme theyr vowes.

Responsio.

More mangled testymonyes bryngeth this chaplaine fourth here, but both is his doctour Iuliane of doubtful authoritie, & Women.also they pertayne to women and no men. And therfore thys presthode, for whose vnknowen chastite he contendeth, is lyke in the eude to appeare a doubtful womanlye presthode. Thus are hys borowed sentences out of the. viii. Chaptre de bouo viduitatis, to be Fuglyshed. Wherfor the wydowes which can not abstaine (ye may se, sum what went afore, that he woulde not gladly touche.) Lete them marry husbandes afore they professe a chastite, and afore they make vowes to God: for if they perfourmeProfessiō. not theyr promise▪ they are lawfully dāpned. And in an other place, the Apostle sayth of such women, whan they hauehave begōne to were wanton, than wyll they marry in Christ (your doctour Iuliane b… lyeth the texte) hauynge dampnacion, bycause they hauehave broken theyr fyrste faythe,First faith that is to say, they hauehave turned theyr wyll frō a purposed chastite to marriage. Thus hauehave they made their first faith void, wher by they promised afore that they neuer entended to perfourme by perseueraunce.

It is deuylyshly done both of yow and your doctoure Iuliane, thus to depraue or to vyciate the holy scriptures. Neyther is S. Paule a condempner of marryage, norS. Paule. yet a persuader of vowes makynge, but calleth thē in that kynde, a plaine doctrine of deuyls. He neuer taught any other professiō, thā that which is cōmen to al christē men & women. In al the newe testament is no doctrine of your vowes, why than impute yow dāpuacion to the breakyuge of thē? If dāpnacion be due to thē that breakeDāpnaciō your cōmaundemētes, thā are ye in authorite equal wyth God. From whens commeth thys vsurpacion & pryde of yours? Euen frō that aduersary and sonne of perdicion, whych exalteth hymselfe aboue all that is called God. ii. Thessa. ii. The wydowes y^• S. Paule speaketh of. i. Tim. v. p. lxxxviiwere no professed nūnes, but nomē destitute of fryndeshyp, whom he wylled to beNomines prouided for of y^t cōmen almesse. And none other admitted he therunto, but aunciente matrones of. lx. yeares of age and vpwardes, such as were knowne to be of a moste honest and Godly cōuersacion. The yongar wydowes were none of that nombre. Neyther was wantonnesse imputed vntountoWātōnes thē bicause they wold marry, for marriage is there appoynted them, but bycause they wolde marry vngodly wyth the vnfaythful for pleasures of this world, abhorringe pouerte in the christen profession.

For this wātōnes is not a marryage in Christ, as your dottyng doctour IulyaneAgaynst Christe. and yow here do take it, for so myght eueryevery marriage in Christ, be noted a wantonnesse to dāpnaciō, but agaynst Christ, or to Christes dishonoure, for it foloweth in the text, y^• many of thē turned backe, & wēt after Sathā, in renoūcinge the christrn faith. Thus is not the dāpnacion due to thē that breake youre vowes, but to them that forsakeDānacion theyr Christen professyon. Neyther is dampnation here taken, for the hateful indygnacion of God or depryuacion of the lyfe euerlastyng, but for a fowle blotte of infamye, or a notable staundre to the christen profession, for it foloweth in the texte, that occasion was gynen by such wantonnesse to the aduersaryes to speake euyll of the Christen relygyon. Thus was it the mynde of the Apostle, that prouision were alwayes made for the yōger wydowes, to marrye wythin the congregacion least by extreme pouerte they were compelled toPouerte. forsake theyr Christen beleue, and to gyue an occasion of dampnable slaūdre against the Gos…el. He that wil say with yow and youre Doctoure Iultane, that prima fi… des is a vowe voluntary, or a purpose frō marryage to an vncommaunded chastite: I saye, he is a lyar and a …euyl.

Prima fides is a fayth in Iesu Christ, to folowe the rules of his Gospel in y^t cōmonPrima fide…. christen relygyon, and not a professyon of monkery nor yet such a bastarde presthode as hath of the scryptures no maner of authorite. But I praye yow, lete me aske ye a question, yow deceytful sonldyour of Sodome. Why cutte ye of thys conclusion from the lattre allegacion of yonre doctour? Muptiarum igitur bonum, semper quidem est bonum, sed in populo Dei fuit aliquando legis obsequsum, nunc est infirmitatis remedium, in quibusdam vero humanitatis est solatium. Filiorum quippe procreationi operādare, non canino moreLouingi…. per vsum promiscuum foeminarum, sed p. lxxxviiihonesto ordine coniugali, nō est in homine improbandus affectus, etiam ipsum tamen laudabilius transcēdit et vincit celestia cogitans animus Christianus. Therefore is y^t cōmodite of marryage, alwayes a good and a godly commodite. But wher it sumtyme was amonge Gods people, an obedientMarriage seruice of the lawe, it is now a remedy of y^t fleshes infirmite, and also in some meu, an humayne consolacion or naturall comfort. To be geuen to begetting of children, so that it be not by a confuse occupyinge wyth women …yke dogge and bytche, but in an honestor decēt ordre of marriage, that affecte or natural incliuacion in man is not to be reproued, yet is that ChristenMyndes. mynde muche more to be praysed, whych ouer commeth that affecte, by the medytacion of thynges heauenly. All thys coulde we hauehave thankefully receiued of your doctour Iuliane, but it was not to your deuilyshe purpose.

I do aske in dede, who shuld vowe and perfourme it, after Dauids meanynge. I knowe certainely, that they were not your popysh monkes and massemongers. ForMonkes. they were not wonte to brynge offerynges of theyr owne from round about, but their gapyng was to receiue the offeringes and giftes from al quarters about, and to giuegive nothyng agayne, onles they gaue theyr bastardes to the disheretinge of the true and right heires. None otherwise do I restrain the vowes of the olde lawe, then they restrayneRestraine them selues here in the ende of this verse, by bringyng of presentes to the lord. As for your interpretatiue and scolasticall doctoures, I neuer regarde them nor yet theyr exposicions, when they thus varye from the truthe of the scriptures, but accompt them bothe blasphemouse babelers and lyers. Ye saye, that vouete et reddite, after the mynde of S. Augustine and al theGeneralli other doctours that you hauehave redde extendeth generally, & perteineth to al good mē. Whye do you then restrayne it to youre monkes and massemongers, whyche are men neyther good nor godlye? Yea whye hauehave yow al thys longe tyme bene hatcheynge of that cockatrices egge?

Ye aske, who they be that are rounde about the Lord, for south it is a proper wise question, and as wysely afterward of yowLōpassed. auswered. I neuer heard it afore, that god was euer compassed of thē y^t brought presentes to the temple. How can he that contayneth al thynges, hauing heauen for hys seate and the earth for hys fote stole. Acto▪ vii. be compassed of men mortal? Though p. lxxxixGod do much regarde them, whych are of a lowly troubled sprete, and that standeth in awe of hys holy wordes. Esay. lxvi. yetLōpassed. suffereth he not hym selfe to be compassed of them. In answerynge your owne questyon, ye saye, that they be rounde aboute god, amongest whō he is, ouer, undre, and on eueryevery syde. Thys muste I nedes denye yow, bycause hys beyuge among them, is not all one wyth theyr being round about. God is a sprete, how can ye thā proue him circumscriptyble or locall? How can he beOuer all. closed wythin limytes, that ouerspreadeth the heauens and contayneth all thynges? Thys dyuinite of yours is but dougyshe daubry. We knowe that God is wyth thē y^t ar ryghteouse of his ryghteousenes, but not with them that are of theyr own ryghteousnesse righteouse, for them he leaueth alwayes to themselues. Rom. i.

He is at all seasons assystent in dede, to them that assemble to gyther in his name,Names. but not to them that are gathered togyther in the names of Benedict, Domynycke, and Frances, nor yet to them that are colledged and mynsterde in the names of Dunstane, Swythune, Becket, Erkenwalde, Paule, Wylliam, & Hugh, with a great sort more of y^t like, nether yet to thē y^t hath mustered together & flocked in their feastes of ydelnesse, to call vponupon them for help. I deny it not but that he hath shewed hys good fauer to them whō he hath foūd meke and lowly of hart, and to them that…owlye. hath feared hym and folowed y^e right rule of hys wurde. But as concernynge them whych hath offered bodyes and sowles to do hym seruyce, not after hys appoynted ordre, but after theyr owne deuyses, they may wel be about him and compasse him, as the greate fatte bulles hauehave done hys sonne Christ and hys faythfull members, Psal. xxi. yet am I sure, they shal not catch him. The seruice y^t god alloweth in mā, cō methSeruyce. ueuer of mās voluntary offerynge, but of Gods owne free callinge and eleccion. If your professed and neuer fulfilled chastite and obedience, be the boasted gyftes that ye offer, ye shal hauehave good leaue to take them home to ye agayne, for he neuer yet had pleasure in them. Al these, ye saye, be exhorted to vowe, and perfourme theyr vowes. If that exhortacion were giuen by Dauid to thys lattre sorte, it was of lateDauid. yeares in some secrete vysyon, for in hys tyme were no such dysgysed shauelynges and shorlynges, and I maruele why they are so slacke in perfourmaunce.