The Disabled Debtor Discharged, Part 23 – Part 24
This woman.]
Doct. Hence thus much let be obſerved. It is lawfull to ſee a woeman, and to obſerve their Carriage and behaviour.
Otherwiſe how comes it to paſſe that they are adviſed concerning their Carriage, that it be ſuch as becommeth Holineſſe, Tit. 2.3. And ſo winning, that thoſe who obey not the Word may thereby be wone, 1 Pet. 3.2.
Object. That Objection which may be made from Iobs practiſe;Job 31.1. (Hee made a Covenant with his eyes, why then ſhould he thinke after a woman) is ſoone anſwered.
Reſp. Iob is not ſo to be underſtood, as if he would not at all caſt his Eye upon a woman; but his meaning is, that he would not look on her in any unchaſt way, ſo as to be enſnared by them.
Object. But Salomon tels us, That the heart of a woman is ſnares and nets and her hands are bands, &c.
Reſp. True, Illa Foemina, the laſcivious woman, that ſhame of women, of ſuch doth Salomon ſpeake onelyonly: And therefore S. Hierome adviſeth us not to bee too raſh in taking that ſentence to be pronounced of all kind of women.Non putemus temere hanc Solomonem de omni genere mulierum protuliſſe ſententiam. Hier. in loc. The Wicked woman indeed is not to be looked on, Pro. 5.8, 9. But as for virtuous and good women they have the Image of God ſhining on them (as well as men) which attracts the Eyes of all.
Object. But who can find a virtuous woman (ſaith the mother of Salomon ſpeaking of her own ſex) her price is farre above Rubies.Pro. 31.10.
Reſp. S. Ambroſe ſpeaking of theſe words, ſaith thus. Quis? Amb. in Pro. c. 3.Quia unus, non quia nec unus: Who? becauſe one hath found her, not becauſe not one hath found her: there is difficulty in finding of her, that is very true: And it cannot be denied, but that the Holy Ghoſt hath ſome ſpeciall intent, in that deſcribing of a vertuous woman (which beginneth at the 10. v. of the Chapter) he follows (in the Originall) the order of the letters of the Alphabet; the firſt word in every verſe beginning with a ſeverall letter as in the Alphabet they are placed; but to conceive that the Holy Ghoſt would thereby give us to underſtand, that all the letters in the Alphabet are not able to ſpell the womans name, which is there deſcribed, or that none virtuous is to be found may be thought to be a meere conceit.
Vſe. If the godly converſion of women be to be obſerved (as well as mens) they are too blame that will give them neither good words nor looks: There are who eſteem over meanly of them, and ſpeak too contemptibly of womenkind.
Origen upon theſe words of the Evangeliſt, Mat. 12.21, 22.Orig. in Math. (And Ieſus departing into the Coaſts of Tyre and Sidon, behold a woman of Canaan) hath theſe words, Mira res Evangelista, &c. A ſtrange thing O Evangeliſt, Behold a woman: She who was the Author of tranſgreſſion, the mother of ſin, the weapon of the Divell, &c. And yet, Behold a woman.
S. Chryſoſtome likewiſe is very bitter in ſpeaking of women.Chryſ. Homil. 6. ex imperfect. in Math. Quid eſt aliud mulier (ſaith he) niſi ineffugabilis poena, neceſſarium malum, &c. What is a woman, but a puniſhment that cannot be driven away, a neceſſary evill, a naturall temptation, a deſirable calamity, a domeſtike danger, one beloved for a colour of good?Homil. 15. ex varijs in Math But he tells us elſe where, Sermo eſt de muliere mala, Homil. 15. ex varijs in Mathnon de bona: Novi enim multas ad omne opus bonum promptas. My speech is of a bad woman, not of a good, for I have knowne many readie to every good Worke.
It may not be denied, but Satan (who blaſted Paradiſe) hath much blemiſhed the honour of that ſex; he made choice of a woman to be his firſt engine, and he ſped ſo well then that ever ſince he is well pleaſed to make uſe of ſuch inſtruments. Dalilah is a ſnare for Sampſon, Ieſabell for Ahab, Pharaohs daughter for Salomon; and all Hereſies (in a manner) though fathered by men, yet they have bin furthered and nurſed by womens wit: Montanus had his Priſca, Donatus his Lucilla, Priſcillinus his Galla, Simon Magus his Hellena, Arius ſhall have Conſtantines ſiſter to aſſiſt him.Eccl. 7.26. In which reſpect the hearts of ſuch women are ſaid to be the ſnares of hunters (as the Septuagint and S. Hierom do read) and theſe Hunters are the Divells, ſaith Lyra.
Notwithſtanding this, God hath highly honoured that Sex, not onelyonly in that he lay in the wombe of one of them, but in every paſſage of his life, he hath had ſome women to attend him: Elizabeth propheſieth of him in the houſe; Anna in the Temple; Martha entertaines him; Ioanna and Suſanna (with others doe) miniſter unto him: the Daughters of Hieruſalem weepe for him, and at the Croſſe, ſtand by him, and after his death came to embalme him.
To women Chriſt firſt appeared after his Reſurrection, Bern. in Cant. Ser. 75.and ſo farre honoured them as to make them (as S. Bernard ſpeakes) to be Apoſtolos Apoſtolorum, Apoſtles to preach his Reſurrection to the Apoſtles.
In all ages (eſpecially under the Goſpell) there have bin women of ſpeciall note, both in their owne lives (which have like lamps given great light to others) as likewiſe in Governing of their Families, inſtructing of their Children, &c. (as was Bathſheba, Loys, Eunice, Monicha the mother of S. Auſtin, Helena the mother of Conſtantine with others.) S. Paul writes to his beloved Apphiah, S. Iohn to an Elect Lady: Time would faile to ſpeake of all their excellencies: To be ſhort, and come home unto my Text, as in the daies of Iabin, a woman named Iaell had renowne above Barak by ſlaying Siſera the Captaine of the Hoaſt of the Alients:Judg. 4.21. So we have here a woman, who by her penitent life and unfained love hath obtained not onelyonly to be compared in Scriptures with the beſt followers of Chriſt,Hec breviter perſtrinxi, ut nee te paeniteat ſexas, nec virii nomen ſuum erigeret, in quorum condemnationē ſa minarum in Scripturis ſanctis vita laudatur. Hier. Epiſt. ad Principiam, Ʋirg. but to be commended above them all, as having done more honour to CHRIST, them all the twelve Diſciples did.
S Hierom, having reckoned up divers good women, in an Epiſtle which he wrote to a Virgin, concludeth thus; Theſe I have briefly paſſe… over, that neither thou mighteſt repent of thy ſex; Neither might men be lifted up in regard of their ſex, to whoſe condemnation the life of women is commended in ſacred Scripture; and this is our ſcope and drift in this Obſervation. We paſſe on to ſome other.
Woman]
Her Sex is onelyonly mentioned (you ſee) her Name is not here annexed by our Saviour. And hereof a double Reaſon is rendered: Firſt, for her honour: Chriſt would have her name concealed as her ſins were by him covered.
2. For her diſhonour: As if a ſinner were not worth the naming. So we find in that reall Parable of the condemned Churle, his title is but, Homo quidam Dives, Luk. 16.19.A certaine rich man; but what his name was is not ſaid: God will not fowle his leaves with ſinners names; they ſhall not ſtand in his bookes, as I have on that Parable ſhewed; and therefore it ſhall be enough in this place to ſay it.
Theſe are the Reaſons rendered why ſhe is not named: I conceive the firſt the beſt. Sure I am our Saviour makes mention of her very favourably and tenderly: It may eaſily be gathered both who the woman was and what was her ſin, from that which before was ſaid by the Evangeliſt, ver. 36. She was a degenerate woman, unwomaned, & pudore & pudicitia, both of Modesty and Chaſtity, but now upon her Repentance, her woman-hood is reſtored to her again, ſhe hath recovered her credit, and is called by our Saviour,