Sermon Preached 14 February 1607, Part 17
The seuenteenth Wound.
THe next wo…nd is neere a-kin to this,35The 17. wound. Priests in popery may not marry, but are permitted to keepe their whores, vnderunder a yeerelie rent. namely, that their Chuch hauing alwaies forbidden mariage to their Clergy, hath notwithstanding either tolerated and permitted them concubines, or at least not punished it to reformation.
Thus was it complained of almost an hundred yeeres agoe, by the Germane nation, then being papists. qVide Centum grauamina Germanicae nationis: grauamen 75. & 91.In most places (say they) Bishops and their Officials do tolerate and suffer the Priests to hauehave concubines, vnderunder paiment of a certain annual rent of money, and further doe euen permit them to keepe their whores openly, and hauehave them in their houses, and to beget children of them &c.
Of these and certaine other grieuances (one hundred in all) the Germane nation complained to their Bishops and Clergie, in their owne Diets or Parliaments held at home. But hauing no redresse they went further, and about the yeere 1522. complained to the Popes Legats and Nuntios at Noremberg, who gaue them good wordes, and promised they would make report thereof to his Holinesse, and procure them a gratious answere. But hauing long waited to no ende, they published their grieuances and sent them to the Pope, crauing with much humility, audience, redresse and reformation; promising vponupon that condition, they would still and euer shew themselues dutifull and obedient children to the Pope, and all whom he set ouer them: but if they had no redresse, they assured him they could not, nor would endure them longer. Heereupon the Pope, not willing to venture the losse of so faire a childe as Germanie, pacified them for a time with goodly promises. But what re…ormation followed in whole or in any part, the stories of those ages make it apparant. But for the particular I hauehave in hand,36The 17. woūd not healed: for still in poperie to this day, their Clergie are forbidden mariage, but whores and co…cubines are not taken from them. what notable reformation was wrought herein, let a Bishop of their owne… Espencaeus, as wise and learned as that age did yeeld, let him, I say, deliuer for mee; who fortie yeeres after, writing of this matter saith: rEspencaeus de Continentia lib. 2. cap. 7 pag 17….In stead of pure and honest single life, succeeded impure fornication, and filthy keeping of concubines, in such sort as neither can they be concealed for multitude, nor seek they to be, they are so shamelesse. Nay of later times this tolerancie hath spread further, insomuch as in some places, both Clergy & laity hauehave their whores permitted thē, vnderunder a yeerly rent: whereof (saith he) the Germane nation complained long agoe too truely and vponupon too great cause.
But was not this wound healed, and this abuse reformed vponupon this complaint of Espencaeus? A man might hauehave thought it would, and the rather seeing he was a man of so great esteem in those daies, not in France onelyonly; but euen in the Court of Rome. sEspencaeus was in speciall fauor with Pope Paul the 4. insomuch as after much consultation had with him, he found him so wise and learned a mā, as hee had made him Cardinall if he had liued: this is apparent in his bookes de Continent. lib. 3. cap. 4. and in his cō mentary on Titus. cap. 1. pag. 91.But what amendment insued, let himself tel vsus in his Commentary vponupon Titus, which he wrote many yeeres after his former booke. Our Bishops and Archdeacons, &c. (in Poperie) when they ride their visitations, doe not so much punish the euil doers, (for which end the visitations were first ordained) as rake vp siluer, & suck it both from laitie and Clergy, vnderunder false & fained pretēces of iurisdiction: but it is most filthy of all that they suffer them to keepe their whores in their houses, and hauehave children of them, at a certain annual and yeerlie rent, &c.
This is the healing and reformation wrought in those daies. Oh but (wil some say) that is 40. yeares agoe, sure it is better in these latter daies. Indeed this enormitie was so generall and so scandalous, that euen the Councell of Trent it selfe was ashamed, and made great adoe for reformation of it.tVide Cōcil Tr…d …es… 24. cap. 8. But what effect it tooke, how they executed it, and what is done in the matter, let another Bishop of theirs tell vsus, who in these late daies, scarce seuen yeeres agoe,uHenricus Cuickius: Rutemundensis Episcopus scripsit speculum concubinariorum, Sacerdotum, Monachorum & Clericorū: Colon. 8599. found it to bee so common and shameless a sin al ouer all the low countries, (where Poperie reigned) not onelyonly in secular, but euen in Monkes, Friers and regular priests, that hee writes a book against the sinne, bitterly but iustly inueighing against it, and shewing how dangerous and damnable a sinne it is: and so much the more (saith hee) because it is so common and little regarded, and so far are they from shaming with it, that (marke how it is healed) they wil take their concubines and whores, and carrie them vp and downe the countrie (as men doe their wiues) to feasts and meetings, and challenge place and precedence for them as for honest Matrones) And further freelie confesseth (but with great griefe and shame) that there bee very few in their Clergie, free from this crime.xIdem Cuickius, in prae fatione eiusdem libri.