Examination of those Plausible Appearances in the Romish Church, Chapter 41 – Conclusion
CHAP. XLI. That the profession of Monkes is contrary to true pietie.
BEhold now what that so much admired pouerty of Monkes is come to, their humilitie, their so highly esteemed imitation of Angells. But if we will but take the paines to acquaint our selues a little better with the mysteries of this profession, we shall perceiue it to be quite contrary to true pietie, that it dishonoureth & turneth it vpside downe: and lastly, that the issue of it is to make a man a theefe, a whoremonger, a proud Pharisee.
First of all, theft is manifest and notorious in it. For the profession of Monkes bindeth them not to giuegive any thing to another, it hindreth the sonne from succouring the father, the daughter from relieuing the necessities of the mother, the rich from possessing that with which they might comfort the poore, the wiseman from taking care of the weale-publike; the valiant man from defending his countrie, the lawes, and religion by his valour, yea it hindereth the Divine frō preaching: for if some amongst them doe preach, it is not as they are Monkes; That license was anciently granted them in the forme of a dispensation. In St Hieromes time the office of Monks was not to preach, but to weepe. To imploy ones selfe in preaching is to bid the Monkish life farewell, & to renounce it in this respect. And if every Monke should imploy his gift and talent, as doe the small number of those amongst them which preach, the Monasteries would remaine emptie, and these Monks would be no longer Monks, but secular men conversing in the world and busying themselues for the common good of it, every one according to his abilitie, every man in his ranke & station, one in pleading the cause of the Orphane: another in applying convenient remedies for the prevention, or expulsion of diseases: another in distributing almes out of his abundance: one in the exercise of one calling, another in another. But the Monkes by their vowes quite disenable themselues for the performance of these offices. Some ancient lawes punished certaine cowards, which that they might not be pressed for the warre, got their thumbs cut off, not only for hauing vsed an inhumane cruelty towards them selues, but also for hauing cosened the Commonwealth of its due. They then make themselues culpable after the same manner, who wittingly depriue thē selues of those meanes, by which they might giuegive a helping hand for the reliefe of the common necessities of mans life. We are not placed in this life, neither abide we in this world for our selues only, but for others also, every man for his neighbour. It is the law of nature, it's the law of God, it's the precept of the Gospell, that we should doe good to all, and especially to those of the houshold of faith. He then who purposely maketh himselfe vnprofitable, willingly violateth this law, shewing himselfe vnnaturall, rebellious against God, full of selfe-louelove, seeking that which is his owne, and not the Lord Iesus, any farther then the lips and outward profession.
But which is yet more intolerable, they make themselues not only vnprofitable, but also burdensome; they liue vponupon other mens labours, they depriue those who are poore indeed of their reliefe, intercepting that which might and ought to be giuen them. They think it a more blessed thing to receiue, then to giuegive quite contrary to the iudgement of our Saviour. They labour not, and yet they thinke themselues worthie to liue and be maintained, notwithstanding the speech of the Apostle, he which worketh not, let him not eat.
They say that their prayers are their taskes, & their oraisons their businesse. But St Austin in his booke de opere Monach: where he hath taken vponupon him to proue that every Monke which liues vponupon almes and gifts is guiltie of theft, hath amply refuted these flim-flamms: shewing that the spirituall service of God, doth not hinder vsus from, but incourage vsus to labour. The Grecians account him not a true Monke, who is chargeable to others. The Abyssin Monkes follow the same law. And indeed though the Monkish profession be ancient enough in the Church, yet the idlenesse of Monks, and their begging is but new. In St Austens time some beganne in fauour of them to alleage the example of the birds of the fields, of whom the Lord saith that they neither sow nor reap.Aug. de oper. Monach. c. 26. But that good father answereth them as they deserued, telling them that hee was of opinion that they might goe as the birds doe, to feed themselues in the fields, without bringing any thing home with them, and that it would bee good if they had wings, that they might be affrighted away like stares [birds] & not be apprehended as theeues.
Concerning the second point, the Monkish life doth not quench, but nourish, doth not cast water but oyle vponupon the fire of concupiscence. An honest liberty of marrying, when one will, if a man be not altogether gracelesse, easily spends and exhales this passion, and suffereth it not to breake out into flames; whereas the constraint by vow, taketh away all hopes of vent, and shutteth it vp within vsus. There is no man lesse troubled with hunger, then he who hopes that he may eat whē he pleaseth, he who despaireth of it, betaketh himselfe to his owne flesh, and as the Prophet speaketh, eateth even his owne arme. Now this is not spoken with a purpose to discouer the secrets of the Couent, but only to giuegive a secret glaunce at that which all the world knoweth of it.
But what? Can their fastings, and scourgings afford them no remedy? Yes if they would in due proportion fast continually, if they would fast simply and absolutely; otherwise for him which hath not the gift of continence to fast by starts, and lash himselfe by fits, this is but to stirre his disease insteed of remouing it, and to anger his sore, insteed of healing it? There are diseases which are nourished by gentle, lenitiue remedies. The anodins (such medicines as cast the sicke into a sleep) take away the paine for a time: but they either kill the persō out right, or else the paine returneth with the greater violence, as if it had gone backward for a time, that it might come forward with a doubled furie. Witnesse St Hierome himselfe,Hieron. ad Eust. de custod. Virg. tom. 2. my countenance (saith he) was wan by reason of my fasting, and my flesh, was dead before my selfe, and yet my spirit boyled within me with the heat of my desires. Did so holy and devout a man out of I knowe not what humilitie publikely divulge so base and scandalous a lye of himselfe? No, no. He spake the truth, and thereby (how highly soever he hath extolled virginitie) vnwittingly confesseth, that for concupiscence which is not moderated by the gift and particular grace of continence, there remaineth only that remedy set downe by the Apostle, that for avoiding fornication, every man should hauehave his owne wife, and every woman her owne husband.
True virginitie is r…dically in the soule, if it bee not …ere principally, it cannot be in the body, and if it be there, it will transfuse it selfe thence into the body, whether it be in wedlocke, or in a single life. Imagine we that St Peter married (as the most ancient testifie of him) was lesse acceptable to God,…gnat. in epist. ad Philadelph. …id exerc. 3. V…del. cap. 12. then St Paul vnmarried? God measureth not men but by piety, where he findeth that equall, he is equally pleased with it, be it in married, or vnmarried persons.
What then? shall the single life hauehave no prerogatiue? Yes questionlesse, if it conduce more to pietie, then marriage; but if it faile in this point it's much inferiour to marriage. Now it alwaies fayleth of that in them who hauehave not the gift of it. There are some (saith our Saviour) which make themselues Eunuches for the kingdome of heaven; but all men cannot receiue this saying, Mar. 19.10.11.12. …. Cor. 7.7.saue they to whom it is given. Which is clearely expounded vntounto vsus by St Paul, telling vsus that he could wish indeed, that all had the gift of continence as well as he, but that every man hath his proper gift, one in one kinde, another in another· To him then, who hath receiued this gift after the same maner as St Paul had receiued it, his single life doubtlesse will be farre more advantagious then marriage, because that to him who is thus qualified, virginitie is a helpe for piety, marriage would bee but an incumbrance. But to him who hath not receiued that gift in that manner, his single life would be but a snare and a trap: for by reason of his single life he would burne, & the Apostle tells vsus that it is better to marry, then to burne. As then marriage serues but for an hindrance and disturbance to him, who hath the gift that St. Paul had, to wit, the gift of continence: so the single life serueth but for an encumbrance and temptation, the danger of which is vnavoidable, and deadly, to him who hath not receiued the gift of containing himselfe. Wee worthily esteeme of the single life of those whome God calleth to it, but wee say that no man is called vntounto it, who is forced to burne in it.
Wherefore then (say they) see wee not this single life more common amongst you? Heere wee could tell them, that they should dispute against our doctrine, not against our manners; that faults in manners ought not to be thrust vponupon the doctrine, if the doctrine condemneth thē; that our doctrine approueth not their doeings, who being able to containe themselues are married, vnlesse they are driuen vntounto it by some other vrgent necessity. But wee will answere directly, that the gift continence being rare wee are not to wonder if the single life which presupposeth this gift be lesse frequent, but rather to admire the wisdome of the Apostle, who hauing set before vsus the conueniences of a single life and the inconueniences of mariage, professeth that it is not to ensnare vsus. Now if wee are not fitly qualified for a single life, it is vndoubtedly to ensnare our selues, if wee chuse rather to burne in a single life, then to quench the fire by marriage. The thousands, and wee dare say millions of Martyrs both in the Primitiue Church, and in our owne times, giuegive a sufficient testimonie that wee entertaine and embrace not marriage, but so farre as it fitteth vsus for our calling. In how base and dispitefull a mann… soeuer men calumniate it, which of our Martyrs was ever held back by the consideration of the sweetnesse of his marriage, by the naturall affection towards hi… children, by the cares of the world, from sealing the Gospell with his blood? They might all hauehave liued, and many of them might hauehave liued in all outward content, either for honours or pleasures, yet notwithstanding all this, they preferred death before life, torments before pleasures, the ignominy & shame, before the honour and applause of the world. Let our enemies be our Iudges, is not such a kind of death more admirable then the single life of Monkes? is it not a sure token of a more magnanimous spirit, of a more feruent zeale, of a more fixed hope, of a more vehement louelove, of a more liuely faith, thē the single life of these Votaries; vnchast for the most part, and chast onelyonly by constraint. But let us returne to our purpose. As the Monkish life tends to make him who addicteth himselfe to it, a theefe and a whoremonger, vnlesse he hath receiued the gift requisite for a single life: so in the third place, it is a thing which puffeth a man vp with a wonderfull presumption of himselfe. I know the Monkes make great profession of humility, but how can he be humble who thinketh himselfe able, who vndertaketh to merite, and beleeueth that he doth merite? True humility is for a man to thinke himsel…e vnworthy, to somuch as looke vp vntounto heauen: these Votaries presume to merite it.
Moreouer true humility is for vsus to thinke that when wee hauehave done all, wee are but vnprofitable seruants; these Monkish Saints, beleeue that they doe workes of supererogation, and that they merit for others also. What pride is this, or what blasphemie? God himselfe commandeth vsus to louelove him with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our strength: They make profession of doing a great deale more then he commandeth vsus.
In what mood soeuer God speaketh, it is imperatiue, after what fashion soever he speaketh, he cannot but command: see in the meane time the monstrous pride of these Monkes: There are (say they) some counsells which God giueth, to obey which man is not bound vnlesse himselfe please, his owne vow alone bindeth him to obedience. Who can in conscience thinke thus of the Counsells of God without a proud exaltation of himselfe against him? was this the ayme of the Lord? is this the fruit of his familiar mildnesse? when he commands in counselling, and counsells in commanding, deales he so courteously with vsus to the end that man should mistake him for his companion? that he should misconstrue his commandements, and allow them onelyonly the faint emphasis of counsells which a friend giues to a friend without any strongertie of obseruing thē. The entreaties of our superiours are commandes, if wee either speake, or thinke of them otherwise, wee cease in effect to acknowledge them for our Superiours, we proudly exalt our selues against them. And what may wee then thinke of these professors of humility, who allow not God that in matter of religion, which they owe to men in matter of ciuility. Questionlesse this proueth them not onelyonly proud, but also both sacrilegious and blasphemous persons.
These things being so, how commeth it to passe, that such grosse impiety should serue for a pretence to iustify that religion, of the which it maketh professiō? Yea seing that it is so farre frō being what it seemed to be at the first view, that it is indeede the quite contrary, as wee suppose wee hauehave proued, let it serue rather to accuse, yea to condemne that religion, of which it's said to be the excellency and perfection.
The Conclusion.
WE hauehave at length examined in order, all …hose preiudices and pretences which they of the Romish Church hauehave inuented, to hinder our cause from being throughly & exactly examined. It was the onelyonly scope of this treatise to shew that all those allegations 1 of the Magnificence 2 Vnity, 3 Antiquity, 4 Stability, 5 Continuatiō 6 Succession, 7 the substance of truth, 8 the holinesse pretended to be in the Church of Rome, are but friuolous pretences, devised to hinder an exquisite and solide enquirie of the truth. If wee hauehave attained to this scope, its all wee could desire: the indifferent Reader shall iudge of it. For my owne part, it sufficeth me that my consc…ence beareth me witnesse, that I hauehave proceeded in it without vainglory, without stomack, in all sincerity, as speaking rather before God, then before men. This maketh me hope for his blessing vponupon my paines so much the more, as he is iealous of his truth, at the clearing of which I hauehave wholy aimed. Wherefore I humbly entreat him, by his spirit, to supply all my defects, and notwithstanding my infirmities, not to faile to accomplish his power by weake meanes, whether it be in confirming those, whome he hath already called to the communion of his grace, or whether it be in awaking others out of their security, to the end that they may seeke his truth, and in seeking it may find it, and in it euerlasting life through Iesus Christ our Lord, to whom with the Father, & the Holie Spirit be honour and glory eternally, Amen.
FINIS
Faults escaped in some copies.
PAg. 5. lin. 18. for braue, read, some braue. Pag. 8. line 21. for superstition, superstition florished. P· 11. lin. 29. for accompany, for the most part accompany. 28.17. for won, wondred. 31.27. for liberally, literally. 132.1. for being true, being no true Pag. 108. referre the citation out of Cyzicenus to that which followeth about Hosius. and at u read Athanas. 2. Apol. Diuers other petty faults there are, such as cannot wrong a… intelligent Reader.
End of the text · John Cameron, Examination of those Plausible Appearances in the Romish Church (1626)