The Bee Hive of the Romish Church, Part 2 · Preface · Chapter 15
The xv. Chapter. VVhichWhich is touching the difference of meates.
Forbidding of meates.NOwe, as touching the forbidding to eate some kinde of meates, in some certeine times, that is likewise founded vpō plain textes of the scripturs.In the decrees. Cap. Sexto dist. …5. And first whereas God said to Adam, Thou shalt not eate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, &c. Out of that hath holie Church concluded, That men may eate no fleshe vponupon the fasting dayes. Item, after that Adam had sinned, then did God curse the earth. And now we doe knowe verie well, that all fleshe which is to be eaten, commeth of the earth. Therefore hath our deare mother the holie Church streightlie defended and forbidden all men, which on the moste principall and holie-fasting dayes, must doe penance for their sinnes, that in no wise, they doe eate anie flesh, on those dayes,Fleshe forbiddē to be eaten, and wherefore. least they shoulde be partakers of the cursing of the earth, like as the holie Bishop Durandus hath verie well set it forth. Whereby it is apparant,Durandus in the booke called Rationale Diuin. officiorum. li. 6. Rubr. de aliis i…iuniis Nu. 22. that the Cor…e whereof bread is made, and the grapes whereof the wine is made, are no fruites of the earth, but of the Sea, as the fishe is: for otherwise they were likewise accursed, and so must …e forbidden on the fasting dayes. Or else it may be alledged, that the holie Church hath dispensed with them, because the fishe woulde not hauehave had any good last without bread and wine. And for this cause hath our mother the holie Ch…r…h forbidden the eating of fleshe, as a thing vncleane and accursed: in somuche that those whiche doe eate fleshe, or …gges, vponupon a fish day, are to be banished and rooted out as shamelesse Heretikes, and to be burnt… at a stake, because (notwithstanding whatsoeuer may be alledged out of Paule, or out of the holie scriptures, that flesh and egges are vncleane, vnholie, yea, and accursed: and that is apparant by the great miracle that happened in Italie, vponupon the mountaine called Il monte de la virgine, that is, Our Ladies mountaine. For whosoeuer doeth bring vntounto that mountaine, This is to bee found in the booke of a Monke called …eander Albertus of B…lloigne, named the discourse of Italie, in fol. 242.flesh or egges, yea, or milke, by and by it will be full of wormes, because our Ladie will not suffer, that anie man shall eate (vponupon her mountaine) flesh nor anie vncleane meates, but only fish, or hearbes and fruites.
But what needes all this? And though the flesh were not cursed, nor vncleane: yet notwithstanding our deere mother the holy Church hath great reason to forbid the eating of it: for that shee (at the least) may hauehave a difference in the eating of meates, and in that point shewe her selfe something like vntounto the figures and shadowes of the olde Testament, wherein the children of Israel▪ were forbidden certaine kindes of flesh, as a thing vncleane. Although that our deare mother is of such discretion and vnderstanding, that she doth not esteeme flesh to be altogether vncleane in it selfe. For otherwise our holie Father the Pope, with his Bishops, and Cardinals, woulde not so well digest it, that they woulde as well in the Lent, as on good Friday it selfe, licke their fingers after it. But shee doth not meane to vse her Prelates straitely in that matter:…kius in his pamphlet. Leuit. 11. Deut. 14. but to proue lightly the obedience of her subiectes, like as GOD (in the olde Testament) did forbid his people certaine meates, rather for the keeping of them in subiection, than that the meates of them selues were vncleane: for whatsoeuer GOD hath created, is from the beginning of it selfe good and cleane, but the holie Church of Rome,Gene. 1.25. 1. Tim. 4.4. hath had another respect in this matter: as that shee did esteeme the fleshe for vncleane, but not in it selfe, but vntounto suche as hauehave not bought Bulles of licence of the Pope, to the ende they might digest the same with a cleare conscience. For like as in the time of Paule,1. Tim. … …. all meates were made holie by prayer and by thankesgiuing: so is the meate nowe made holie with the Popes Bulles: for whosoeuer hath those, may boldely eate of all meates without anie scruple, and say with a good conscience, Omnia munda mundis: that is to say, To a man that is cleane, all things are cleane. But he that hath no Bull, although he had ten times prayed, and giuen God thankes for his good giftes, yet that can not helpe him at all: hee must bee cursed, excommunicated, and cleane rooted out of the number of the good Catholikes and faithfull subiectes of our deare mother the holie Church of Rome: yea, and bee burnt at a stake, like an arrant and gracelesse Heretike.
And therefore it is that the holie Prelates, Cardinals, Bishops, and all other loyall subiects of the sea of Rome, doe so often forget to say grace and prayers at their meate: and when as sometime (by ill hap) they do say grace (which happens verie seldome) they say it commonly in a tongue or language, which neither they themselues, nor but a verie fewe of those which sit at the table with them, do vnderstand: not es…eming that, that can much profit to the clensing of the meat, nor much hinder nor further the matter, so that they hauehave good daintie fare. But they in place of this will eat flesh on a fasting day, and for that purpose, in stead of grace, they must hauehave their Bulles well sealed, & hanging downe with silken tassels: yea, and such as they themselues can well both read and vnderstand, otherwise it were all not worth a strawe.
So now then, flesh (on fish dayes) is vncleane, to them that hauehave no Bulles: which you may conceiue by this, That in Spaine, where the holie inquisition doeth beare the swinge: yet he, whosoeuer that can get a Bull for a royall of plate, may eate (all the Lent through) puddings, tripes, and all the entrails, with head, neck, and purtenaunce, without anie daunger or scruple of conscience. And therefore it is, that the worthie Doctour Eckius, In his En…h… ridion.taking vpō him to defend this forbidding of meats by scripture, doth bring in this text out of the Acts of the Apostles: Take heede that you refraine your selues from meates offred vntounto idols, For as Paule saith, That which was offred vntounto idols, was offred to the diuel: and therefore he did curse all such as should eate of it with such a conscience▪ So likewise (saith he) it falleth out alwayes with flesh on fasting dayes, when as the vncleannesse and malediction thereof is not taken away, and made cleane by the Popes Buls: but otherwise, it is all well inough, as here before is sufficientlie proued.