Touchstone to Determine the True Catholic Faith, Part 22
Of Monkes and Friers.
Epist ad Diognetum.OF the first christians we may read thus in Iustine the martyr: Christians (saieth hee) are not distinct from other men, neither in countrie nor speech, nor in politique or ciuill orders of their liues. For they neither dwell in cities by themselues; neither do they vse a language, which differs from the language of other men; neither hauehave they a kind of lyfe, which is notable, or to be wondered at, by reason of some strange thing in it: neither do they endeuour themselues to learne any thing, that curious men deuise. Neither do they maintaine the opinion of any man, as some do. But dwelling partly in the cities of the Grecians, and partly of the Barbarians as eueryevery mans lot befals:*Indigenaerū instituta sequentes, in vestitu, victuque et caeteris quae ad vitam pertinem. following the lawes of the inhabitants, in their apparell and liuing, and such like thinges which concerne lyfe. But for all this, they sette before our eyes, a wonderfull state of their common wealth. They dwell in their owne countries; but as it were strangers: They hauehave al things common with other men, as it were Citizens; and yet they patiently suffer all thinges, as though they were strangers. EueryEvery strange region is their countrie, and eueryevery country is as it were a strange region to them. They marry wiues, as all other men do, and beget children, but they cast not forth their children: They hauehave a common table, but not defiled: They are in the flesh, but they liue not after the flesh: They liue on earth; but they hauehave their common wealth in heauen: They obey lawes which are enacted of princes; but in the manner of their lyfe, they far exceede all lawes: They louelove all men, and all men persecute them: They are not known, and yet they are condemned: They are killed, and yet they are reuiued: They are poore, & yet they make many rich: They lacke al things, & yet they abound in all things. And after: that I may comprehend all things in a word, that which the soule is in the body, christians are in the world. The soule is dispersed through al the members of the body; and christians through all the cities in the world. The soule dwels in the body; but it is not of the body: so christians dwell in the world, but they are not of the world. The soule which is inuisible, is placed in the bod…e, as in a garrison; so christians are knowen while they liue in the world, but their diuine worshipping of God, is inuisible. The flesh hateth the soule, and makes warre against it, because it cannot enioy her pleasures; and the worlde hates christians, because they resist their pleasures. The soule loues the flesh which hates her, and she loues all the members: so christians louelove them that hates them. The soule is included in the body, but it preserueth the body; so the christians are kept in the world as in a prison, but they preserue the world. The immortall soule dwelles in a mortall tabernacle: so the christians inhabite those thinges which are corruptible, as strangers, looking for heauenly incorruptibility. The soule, when as it fareth worse, with meat & drink is better: so christians daily also, they are punished and their number encreaseth: for God hath put them in such a place, which they may not forsake &c. So yt it should séeme, 1 Cor. 7.29.in Iustine the martyr…s daies, all christians were monkes; and as S. Paul teacheth them, vsed this world as though they vsed it not;1 Pet. 2.11. and were here as pilgrimes & strangers, as also S. Peter counselleth: and not any one sort of men, as after began to be practised in the church. Neither in his daies, was there any such kind of men; differing from others in apparell and manner of liuing, as nowe our monkes and friers are. And after, when the first monkes began, we maie reade thus in Eusebius, as he cites out of Philo.Euseb. lib 2. ca. 17. First of all they forsooke all their goods, which giuegive themselues to this Philosophie, and they go out of cities, and liue in small gardens and fieldes: forsaking the company of vnlike liuing, or trades, knowing that these are a hinderance to those, that wil walke the hard and stiepe way of vertue. They hauehave in eueryevery place an house appointed for their praier, which they call foreign or monasterium, which in our language signifieth an assembly of grauity or comlinesse. Into the which they going aside, they celebrate the mysteries of a vertuous and chast life: bringing in thither, neither meate nor drinke, but the bookes of the law and the prophets, and psalmes and such like. They spend all the whole day in study of the holy scriptures, and vnfolding the allegories of the lawes, giuen to the fathers. For they thinke those things which are written in ye letter of the law, to be formes & images, and vnderunder them to lie hid some secret mysterie. Abstinence (as a foundation) first they lay in their mind, and on this they go forward to build, the rest of the vertues. None of them eates any meat till the sun be set; ioyning the time of light, with their studies of philosophie: and the time of darkenesse, with the care and prouision of their bodies. And with the men whome wee hauehave spoken of, are women; among whome, many are olde virgins, keeping the perfection of a chast body, not through any necessitie: but through deuotion, while they desire to consecrate themselues to the study of wisdome, not onelyonly in minde, but in body; counting it an vnworthie thing, to make a vessell prepared to containe wisdome, a bond-slaue of iust. And of their holy exercises thus hee wryteth: As we do especially on the day wherein the Lord suffered, when as we are content to watch all night, in praier & fasting, and to heare the word of God: so do they. One among them in a plaine tune beginneth a psalme, and as he singeth one verse; all the multitude … sweateth another, &c. Here we may see the originall of the …r…t monkes and Nuns: They forsooke the company of the world, that they might more earnestlie studie the scriptures: they kept …ta… tie, not for necessitie; but for deuotion. In those daies there was us vow. And lastlie, they vnderstood the psalmes they song. … vnlike these in all points to… our Monkes and Nuns?
Lib. 3. T…. 2. haeres. 86.Epiphanius telleth of certaine heretiks called Massilian, and they were like our friers, which forsooke all that they had, and liued by begging, and did not labour, and he saith they tooke occasion of the their sect, of certaine of our brethren, which knewe not the meane of christian conuersation, which biddes vsus forsake the world. But the scripture (saith he) saith; he that laboureth not, should not eat. And these abuse that place of scripture, Labour for that meate which perisheth not: but endureth to euerlasting life. Here we maie sée; the root of begging frieris, & idle monkerie, springing in Epiph…nius daies. But Epiphanius affirmeth, that in all the monasteries … Egypt, and in all other places, they all laboured for righteousnes, as the Bée doth, in their handes hauing the waxe of their wor…s, and in their mouthes, drops of honie; that is, the praises of God, and (as he expoundes it after) the declaration of all the scripture. And they labour (saith he) least they should stand in need, and so be glad to flattermen. And after he proueth that all the saintes … laboured: Moses, Iacob, Paul. And he addeth, That many priests of God, following the Apostle Paul, hauehave found out some are, agreeing to their ecclesiasticall function, by the which, with the preaching of the worde, they might liue themselues, besides the oblation and first fruites: and also through christian charitie, might impart somewhat to others. Although they are not compelled to this, nor appointed to it: but that they hauehave to liue on the labours of their preaching, and they are sustained according to the doctrine of righteousnesse: but yet they doe this themselues, of a most franke and free will. This place sheweth of what kinde all the monasteries were in his daies, what were the monkes: studentes of the scriptures, prai…ers of God, and labourers with their own hands, least they should become flatterers of men, for their liuing. Secondly, that many thinges were done then voluntarily, and not of necessitie: as that manie pastors laboured for their liuings with their owne hands, And manie also were virgines voluntarily: For so it maie bee gathered, out of another place of the same Epiphanius.Lib. 3. To 2. compend. fidei. Whatsoeuer (saith he) naturally the heathen obserued & kept, the same things are obserued in the church: partly by precept and commandement, partly by the taking vp or embracing of a most ready will, euen now God himselfe reioycing, at the force of his doctrine. And first of all, the corner stone (as I may saie) the foundation in it, is virginity, which i… practised and exercised of many, and highly commended. After this followeth the solitary life, of both sorts; both men and women, liuing solitary. So that virginitie in his daies was voluntarie: and also the solitarie life, which he before had spoken of. Exod. 25.2.There was is …owe laide vponupon the backe of anie. God will hauehave all the iewels and ornaments brought to beautifie & adorne his tabernacle, come voluntarily: as in the lawe, so in the gospell, As appeares, Psal. 110.3. Act. 5.4. 2. Cor. 8.12.whether it be the purple, or read scarlet of martyrdome, or the blewe silke of humility, or the fine linnen of virginitie, or the rough goates haire of abstinence or fasting. And these voluntarie offerings were vsed in the fathers daies. Afterward sathan the deprauer of all thinges, addeth vowes to these, addeth merits, addeth necessitie: 2. Iohn 8.to make Christians as S. Iohn saith, to loose these excellent workes.
Of such kinde of monkes, Chrysostome writeth: Hom. 59. ad Pop. Ant.Shal we walke beloued (saith he) to the citty of vertue, to the tentes of the saintes? meane the woods and mountaines? there we shall see the highnes of humility: for men, who before were excellent in honours, or abounding in riches, now punish themselues. These in all thinges nowe, as it were with letters, write humility in their garments, houses, seruices. To be cloathed finely, to build stately, to hauehave many to wait on them (which are as it were the very touchwood of pride, and doe drawe men to it against their willes) among these, are quite banished. These kindle the fire themselues, these cleaue wood, these plaie the cookes themselues, and waite vponupon strangers. And a little after: what man elles thou, that these hauehave one coat, and diet or able; when as they hauehave all one heart, not in substance onelyonly (for all men hauehave so) but in charity? Such humble, such painfull, such learned, such voluntarie monkes; were the first monkes: Our statelie, idle, ignorant, and forced and vowed monkes; crept craftilie in after. Bed. lib 2. eccles. hist. cap. 2.And …se forme… were the monkes, which Chrysostome praiseth. Of such monkes we reade here in England, in the Monasterie of Bangor, wherein there was said to be such a number of monkes (as Bede reporteth in Gregories time) before the Pope had obtained his supremacie of Phocas: that when the monastery was deuided by gouernors into seauen pages, no part had lesse then 300. men vnderunder it, which all laied of the …bou… of their hands. And that these monks in time, Aug in lib. de oper. Monac. c. 2….began to degenerat, we may plainlie learne out of S. Augustin: who writ a booke, of purpose against such monks as in his daies would not labour, as the former monkes did. And in the ende thereof he complaineth thus: O seruants of God, O soldiers of Christ! we ye ignorant of the sleightes of your crafty enemy? who going about by all meanes, with his filthy sauours to obserue your good name, that sweete sauour of Christ, that godly soules may not say: we will runne after the sweete sauour of thy garmentes, and so may escape his snares: he hath dispersed so many hypocrites … the habit of monks in eueryevery place, wandring vp and down coun… neuer sent, neuer standing, neuer abiding any where. Some make va… shewes of the members of*Si tamen martyrum. Martyres, some make large the hemanes and philacteries of their garments, some say that they heare saye that their parentes, or kinssolke liued in such a country, and that they go to see them. They all begge, they all demaund either the maintenance of their gainful pouerty, or the price of their counterfeit holines, &c. And hauehave not Friers of late done thus? What hath beene so gainfull, as their pouertie? What hath béene so common? as to aske money or wages, for their counterfeit holinesse? This co… tous superstition sprouted in Augustines daies, as maie séeme, but at last had spread it selfe ouer the whole world.