The Golden Book of Christian Matrimony, Chapter 20
¶ The. xx, Chapter
LEt not your yōg daughters be to proudly yong wem… apparell.& costly appareld, but modestly & honestly for thys gorgyouse apparel is not els but a minstrelsy, pypyng vp a daūce vntounto al lechery i. Pet iii.Remēbre that Peter saithr That the apparel of wemen maye not be vtwarde inbroydred, oute layd hear which is an whorishe fashyon, nor in hangyng on of golde, or puttynge on of costelye gorgious flaryng clothes, &c. The vtward light apparell declareth a corrupt proude and sinfull inward hert. Let shamefastnes chastite, modesty, mekenes few wordes sadnes and sobryete be the yong womans aparell to sette forthe hyr bewtye. For after thys maner, in the olde tyme sayth Peter were holy yonge wemen decked of theyr matrōs, & were obedient to theyr housbandes, As was Sara vntounto Abrahā, callynge hym Lorde, whose doughters ye are as longe as ye do well: Let the examples of Rebecca and Rachell be at youre eyes, whyche godlye and fayer women desyryng and sekynge the louelove of theyre husbondes were glad to please them, Learne also i. Tim. ii.of Paul howe to tyer your selues: Bewar… ye wound not your pouerty and proud hert and to precious and sumptuouse apparell, yf ye wyl go forthe in your prowde araye, so neglecte you the doctrine of god and procure youre selues dāp nacion.
But yf ye saye, ye decke your selues to be the more clenely, & so to please youre husbandes, I tell you agayne, that ther is a meane & measure in eueryevery thynge, & accordynge to euerye state & degree theris a comlye apparell, whych comelynes and measure no honest husbond nor honest wyfe wylbe glad to trāsgresse & exceade. Such eccesse & pryde maye procure the dyshonestye & harme to thy husbonde.
As for ientle wemen & suche, as are of noble Whether gē tle, wemenne …ay go so …y …ly appa…eled.byrthe, whether they maye excede in lyght & wā ton apparell, or in apparell to costly. I wyl first as… them whether they be Christen & faythfull wemen or vnfaythfull? If they be vnbeleuers then let them walke as they liste. And the more gorgyouse tenderlynges they be, the better shall they please theyr head the dyuyll. And seynge th y hauehave wantō proude sprytes, they muste nedes hauehave lyke garmentes to declare what they b… within in herte and mynde, wyth these wemen I wyll not wrestle. But yf they be Chrysten faythfull wemen, they maye well knowe that the holy Apostles Peter and Paule hauehave wrytē theyr erhortaciōs for sober apparell, vntounto them which hauehave such ryche Iewels, stones, gold & syluer, & not to poore women, that hauehave them not. Seyng then that the word of God is pryncypally spoken to you that be ientle womē of noble parentel whych hauehave these ryches and Iewels to laye thē awaye wyth all youre pōpe and pryde, & wylbe taken for Chrysten folkes, then folowe you the exhortations of the mynysters of Iesu Christ.What … y• true nobil… te.
Moreouer ye shulde remember what is the very nobilite, & what maketh gentle men and wemē, that it is not apparell, but m…kenes, gen tle behauyour, discrete conuersacyon, prudence, wysdome, lernynge & vertue. And they that in Chryst Iesu are baptysed, are baptysed into one body of Chryst, where we are all one & no difference betwixte noble nor bloude, poore nor ritch Galat. iii. And therfore in thys respecte there is no boast to be made of bloude, but remember y• …oble quene Hester, whych sayde: Thou knowest my state o Lorde, & that I hate the sygne of preemynence & worshyp whych I beare vponupon my head, what tyme I must go forth to be sene & that I abhorre it as an vncleane clothe, and that I weare it not whan I am quyet alone by Why ritche… be gyuen to menne of no bilite.my self. GOD therfore hath geuen you ryches to dystrybute them to the poore, & not to mayn tayne your pryde therwyth. So were Iewelles bestowed euen amonge the Heathē, for at Rome was a lawe called Lex Oppia, wherby all pompe & excesse of rayment was forbodden all honeste wemen, & they were commaunded that none (how myghty or rytche soeuer they were) shulde not weare aboue an vnce of golde vponupon theyr bodies.
Cypriane sayeth that wemen, albe it they …yprian.be ryche, yet therfore ought they not to vse the more pompe & pryde, but to knowe those onelye to be riche, which are ernest in godlye workes, & helpyng the poore. A shamefull and blasphemous thynge it is, to weare syluer, golde, veluets Mark thys well o ye gē …il womenand sylkes, and to suffer the poore to want clothes & foode. yee she that proudlye decketh her selfe, destroyeth hyr owne soule, & geuethe other folkes occasyon of destruccyon. For she stereth vp euell affeccyons and lustes in them that beholde hyr, yee such one is poyson and swearde to thē that se her. Nether may suche gorgyouse fla rynge prowde wemen be iudged godlye nor honest. i▪ Cor. xi.And therfore sayde Paul, That euerye woman comming into the church to pray or to heare the worde preached must be honestly coue red, and especially hyr heade, for yf she come in bare headed or shewyng any parte of her heare Marke Mala. ii.(as some saye it out, and manye hauehave borowed heare) she dishonest hyr head whych is hyr housband: let them therfore be decked and koueredde wyth comely veales for the angelles whyche are thē ministers and messāgers of God And what madnes were it to come into the church vnderunder a pretence of humblenes to pray to God for gra ce, wher by such proude fashyons thou prouokest hys heuy wrath vpō the? It were better for such people to be thrust into a sacke, with a myl stone hanged aboute theyr neckes (as Christ sai eth) drowned, then thus to offende anye one of the least in the congregacyon.
What shame God threateneth vntounto suche prowde personnes, ye maye reade Esa. iii. sayynge: That for theyr chaynes of golde the shall hauehave halters of hempe and fetters and colers of yerne for theyr muske and pomaunders, they shal hauehave stynke for theyr brodred heare euerye man shall se them balde, and for theyr stomachers of golde they shall weare sack, whyche all wythe a myserable destruccion of Israhell and Iuda by theAssiryans and Babylonites came iustlye to passe in the dayes of these kynges Ioa chas Ioakim and Zedechias, Wherfore let xxii. cha. iiii. Lib. Reg. …. …o forth.eueryevery honest woman accordyng to hyr state & abilite be comely clenly and honestely apparelled auoydynge all sluttishnes and vnclennelyenes, and so teche theyre chyldren and refrayne from all excesse and super fluite, that God may be praysed & noman offēded at your apparel, ra ther garnished with vertue & vtward honestye thē wt pryde whych procureth you euuye, and it wyll in conclusion hauehave a shamefull fall.