Defense of Divorce and Remarriage, Title page – To the reader
A DEFENCE OF THE IVDGMENT OF THE REformed churches. That a man may lawfullie not onelie put awaie his wife for her adulterie, but also marrie another.
Wherin both Robert Bellarmin the Iesuites Latin treatise, and an English pamphlet of a namelesse author mainteyning the contrarie are cōfuted by Iohn Raynolds.
A taste of Bellarmins dealing in controversies of Religion: how he depraveth Scriptures, misalleag the fathers, and abuseth reasons to the perverting of the truth of God, and poisoning of his Churche with errour.
Printed ANNO 1609.
The Preface to the Reader.
GOod Reader, my love & reverēce to the author living, and to his memorie being dead: & my desire to serve the church of God by other mens woorks, who am not able to doe it by myne owne: have moved me to publishe this learned treatise, which Doctor Rainolds left (as many other exquisit travels of his) shutt vp in the closett of some private frends as in a fayre prison.
Because my testimonie (or any mans I know) is of much lesse waight then the onelyonly name of the author to cōmend the woorke, I will say nothing more in praise of it, then that it is an vndoupted woorke of that worthie & holy man, whose learning, dilligence, abilleties, meeknes, wisdō, & pietie made him eminent to vsus, & may perhaps yeeld him more admirable to posteretie, which without envie of his person shal view the marks of thies graces in his writings, or take them by storie.
Touching the argument I will onelyonly say, that it seemeth the more woorthy such a mans resolution, by how much it hath bene formerly, or presētly is controverted amongst the learned. And if anie man be cōtrarie minded to this, which is the common iudgement of the reformed churches, he (above others) shalbe my debttor, for helping him to so good a meanes of reforming himselfe: In matters of opinion (chiefly divine) he that conquer eth & he that is is cōquered devide both honor & proffit.
If any man take good by it, let him give praise to God, if he take none, let him blāe none but himselfe: The next page will shew the contents, & order of the booke,
The booke it selfe wil shew thee how good it is. fare-well.
THE CONTENTS OF THE CHAPTERS.
The first Chapter.
The state of the question betwene the church of Rome, & the reformed churches being first declared, the truth is proved by scripture: That a man having put away his wife for her adulterie may lawfully marrie another.
The second Chapter.
The places of scripture alleaged by our adversaries to disprove the lawful liberty of marriage after divorcemēt for adulterie, are proposed, exāined, & proved not to make against it.
The third Chapter.
The cōsent of Fathers, the second pretēded proofe for the Papistes doctrine in this point, is prtēded falsly: & if all be weighed in an even ballance, the Fathers checke it rather.
The fourth Chapter.
The conceits of reasōs urged last against vsus are oversights proceeding from darknesse, not from light: & reason it self, dispelling the mist of Popish probabilties, giveth cleare testimonie with the truth of Christe.
An admonition to the reader.
ALthough the Printer hath beene carefull, & supplied sometimes the defects of his coppie, yet hath he somtimes fayled, not only in mispoyntinge, or not poynting, or transposing, omitting, or adding, sometimes a letter (which the readers iudgment, & diligence must helpe) but in omission, or alteration of woords, obscuring, or perverting the sence; which the reader shal doe wel to corect, before he reade the booke, as they stand herevnder.
It is like enough there may bee more faults, especially in the quotations chiefly in the greeke woords written in a lattin letter, concerning which I onelyonly desire that the author whose skill, and dilligence were admirable, might take no damage by other mēs faults.
The faults are omissive, or coruptions of words. The woordes omitted are in the corrections following writtē in another letter,
Faults escaped in the Printinge.
Pag. 12. l. 1. reade some other cause. Pag. 19. l. 29, reade but incidētly touched. Pag. 21. l. 28. reade owne argumēt, 39. Marg. 1. Cor 17. 10. 34. Marg. in the end. Iudg: 5. 31. Pag. 59. l. 11. read yet hath he not the generall cōsent, Pag. 74. l. 32. read, submitteth him selfe expresly, Pag. 80. l. 6. reade If notwithstanding.
The corruptions of woords, correct thus,
Pag. 2. l. 18. reade, Canonists. for Canoists Pag. 7. l. 24. reade, exceptions, for excepsitions, 16. Marg. in the quotation, out of Ioh' 9. reade, verse 41. for 21. Pag. 31. l. 8. reade, Coumpts, in stead of Counsells of money. Pag. 53. l. 10. reade, the, for that papistes.
Pag. 57. l. 10. read, Calumniously, for Calmuniously.
59. Marg. at the letter C. reade not extra but tittulo, & so at the letter D. for those places are not in the extravagants, but in the 4. booke of the decretals vnderunder those titles. pag. 60. l. 27. reade yea, for yet setteth downe, Pag. 60. l. 28. reade specifie them, for then. Pag. 61. l. 8. reade through error thought, for though, & mende there the poynting. Pag. 73. l. 22. read of all, for by all the rest, Pag. 75. l. 2. reade any Bishop ror my Bishop, Pag. 77. l. 19. reade one of theirs, for, out, of theirs, Pag. 78. l. 28. reade, convicted, in stead of corrupted by the texte, Pag. 90. l. 13. reade, the weaknes, for of weaknes
The woords corrupted are written in another letter.