Works of Joseph Hall, Book 2

Works of Joseph Hall · Book 2

p. 753THE HONOVR OF THE MARIED CLERGIE maintained, &c. The ſecond Booke.

SECT. I.

AND now, ſince in this point wee hauehave happily won the day; leſſe labour needs in the other.Refut. p. 130. It is ſafe erring with Moſes and the Prophets, with Chriſt and his Apoſtles; Soone after (according to Saint Pauls Propheſie) Spirits of Errors were abroad; and whether out of the neceſſary exigence of thoſe proſecuted times, or out of an affectation to win fauour and admiration in the eyes of Gentiliſme, Virginity began to raiſe vp it ſelfe in ſome priuate conceits, vponupon the ruines of honeſt Wedlocke; neither is it hard to diſcerne by what degrees; yet, neuer with ſuch abſolute ſucceſſe, as to proceed to any Law of reſtraint. I doe not therefore faine to my ſelfe (as mine idle Refuter) golden ages of mirth, and kkThough Amram the Leuite, father to Moſes maried in the heat of Pharaohs perſeſecution: and Dauid did the like in Sauls. Refut. p. 131. Refut. p. 131, 132, 133,marying, vnderunder thoſe tyrannous perſecutions, but in thoſe bloody ages, I doe auouch to him, and the World, an immunity from the tyrannous yoke of forced continency. This if hee could hauehave diſproued by any iuſt inſtances, he had not giuen vsus words.

If he be angry that I ſaid, ſome of the pretended Epiſtles of his ancient Popes to this purpoſe are palpably foyſted; Let him faſten where he liſts, if he hauehave not an anſwer, let me hauehave the ſhame; in the meane time, it is enough to ſnarle where he dares not bite.

That which I cited from Origen, aduiſing the ſons of Clergie men nor to be proud of their parentage, he cannot deny, he can cauill at. The ſame perſwaſion (ſaith he) might be made to Saint Peters daughter (as many are of opinion that he had one) yet will it not follow that he knew his wife, after he was an Apoſtle. So he. But what needs this Parentheſis, if the man be true to his owne Authors? Did wee deuiſe the Storie of Petronilla? Did we inuent the paſſage of her Sutor Flaccus; Of her Feuer, the cure whereof her father denyed? Of her Epitaph ingrauen in Marble, by her fathers owne hand; Aureae Petronillae, dilectiſsimae filiae, To my deare and precious Petronilla,llEſp. 1. c. 8. Volat. 1.18. Pet. Nat. l. 5. c. 69. Plat. vis. Paul. 1. Sigeb. 757. my moſt beloued daughter, found by Paul the Firſt? Are not theſe things reported by their owne Volateranus Petr. Natalis, Beda, Vſſuradus, Sigebertus, Platina? Still where is the man that cryes out of reiecting authorities in other caſes allowed? either then let him giuegive the lye to his p. 754Hiſtories; or elſe let him compute the Time when Flaccus, the Roman Count, was a Sutor to her, and ſee if he be not forced to grant that ſhe was begotten of S. Peter after his Apoſtleſhip: And ſo for ought he knowes) might thoſe ſonnes be whom Origen thus dehoureth, This man was not their Midwife. The place of Origen which heemmOrig. Homil. 13. in Numer. cites to the contrary, he tooke vp ſomewhat on truſt: let him goe and inquire better of his Creditor; by the ſame token, that in the Homily of Origen, whither he ſends vsus, he ſhall find nothing but Balaeams Aſſe, an obiect fit for his meditation. As for that parcell of the teſtimony,Refut. p. 133. which hee ſaith my chi… cough c…uſed mee to ſuppreſſe ſin ipſa Chriſtianitate) it is as Herbe Iohn in the Pot; to the purpoſe of my allegation. Origen ſpeakes of that Text, Many that are firſt, ſhall be laſt, &c. Which he applies as a cooling-card to the children of Chriſtian Parents, eſpecially, Si fuerint ex patribus Sacerdotali ſede dignificatis, If they be the ſons of them which are dignified with Sacerdotall honour; The change of the Preproſition is remarkeable, ex Patribus, arg…ing that hee ſpeakes not of their education, but their deſcent, and therefore implying no leſſe then I affirmed, that their parentage giues them a ſuppoſed cauſe of exaltation.

SECT. II.

HOlynnAthanaſ. Epiſt. ad Dracent. Many Biſhops, &c. Refut. p. 134. Athanaſius was brought by me in ſtead of a thouſand Hiſtories: Who tels vsus that it was no rare thing to find maried Biſhops in his time. My wiſe Refuter, after he hath idlely gone about the buſh a little, comes out with this dry verdict, What will Maſter Hall hence infer? That Biſhops and Prieſts may lawfully marrie? Saint Athanaſius ſaith it not, but onelyonly recounteth the fact, that ſome maried of both ſorts, but whether they did well or ill, or whether himſelfe did approue or condemne the ſame, there is no word in this ſentence. Thus he. We take what he giues, and ſeeke for no more; We cited Athanaſius in ſtead of many Hiſtories, not of many Arguments; Hiſtories de facto, not diſcourſes de iure; The lawfulneſſe was diſcuſſed before; the practice and vſe is now inquired of. This Athanaſius witneſſes, and C. E. yeelds; Wherein yet I may not forget to put my Refuter in minde, how brittle his memorie is; who in the ſame leafe contradicts himſelfe; For when he had before confeſſed that Athanaſius doth neither approue nor condemne the practice, Refut. p. 136.either as good or euill, now he plainly tels vsus, that the words were not ſpoken by way of ſimple narration, but of miſlike and reprehenſion. He would be a good lyer, if he could agree with himſelfe. Why of diſlike? For (ſaith he) it was neuer lawfull for Monks or Biſhops to beget children. Ipſe dixit, wee muſt beleeue him; Not to tell him thatooChryſ. ad Hebr. foreign. Chryſostome teaches vsus (foreign) it is poſsible with Mariage to doe the acts of Monkes: not to conuince him with counter teſtimonies, let him tell me what fault it is, to doe or not to doe miracles. Theſe in this ſentence of**Athanaſ. ibid. We hauehave knowne Biſhops working miracles, and Monkes working none; Many Biſhops not to hauehave maried, &c. As likewiſe you may finde Biſhops to hauehave beene fathers of Children, and Monkes not to hauehave ſought for mariage. Athanaſius goe in the ſame ranke with Mariage. But, to cleare Athanaſius, he brings Hierom againſt Vigilantius, (impudently called by him, The father of the Proteſtāts, who would hauehave all Clergie men to marry; when his very Rhemiſts hauehave checkt him for this ſlander) pleading againſt that neceſſity, from which we hauehave oft waſht our hands; when as the ſame Author againſt Iouinian affirmes de facto, the ſame with Athanaſius, and vsus.

To ſay then that Athanaſius ſpoke this onelyonly of lewd licentious Monkes or Biſhops, is but the lewd liberty of a licentious tongue that hath ouer-runne both Truth and it ſelfe.

From hence this Orator, this parcell of wit, flyes out into a pleaſant frumpe, as hee thinks, but indeed an vgly, inhumane, lothſome ribaudry, ill-beſeeming the mouth of any that was borne of a woman, I will not ſay whether ill or well beſeeming the pen of a Virgin-Prieſt, forſooth ſo pure and angelicall, that mariage would vn Saint him. His vnmanly vnnaturall Stile belcheth thus: Thus Luther, of Katherine Bore his Sow, had ſixe Pigs. Pag. 137.Away naſty C. E. transformed by Circe! Hoy! backe to her Styes, yea thine, where thou maiſt freely p. 755Gruunire in ſeptis cum foedo hoc agmine clauſus.

Then proceeds he, enuying the matrimoniall fruitfulneſſe of Bucer: who ſurely, had hee vnderunder the vaile of maydenly Prieſthood beene farre more fruitfull in a whole ſwarm of Baſtards, ſhould neuer hauehave heard of it, vnleſſe perhaps he had denied to pay Taxam Camerae. As for Ochius, allowing Polygamie, and perhaps other worſe obliquities in his opinions, what are they to vsus? For the mariage of P. Martyr Oecolampadius, Pellican, &c. Let him take for an acquittance that which hath beene payed them thus, Nobis noſtrae ſunt Iunones, vobis veſtrae Veneres. And then I aske, Vinat vter noſtrum cruce dignior. If this will not ſerue for repayment, I muſt eeke it out with a ſmal, yet currant, commodity of two poore verſes, which I learned of his Mantuan at the Grammar Schoole:

Sanctus ager ſcurris, venerabilis ara Cynaedis,

Seruit, honorandae Diuûm Ganymedibus aedes.

Let him take this ſpoonfull of Holy-water to digeſt his Hogges fleſh.

SECT. III.

HItherto my RefutersppIob 41.27. Refut. p. 138, 139.Job 41:27 Yron hath beene as Straw, his Braſſe as rotten Wood, his Sling-ſtones as ſtubble, but now he hath found that will kill me dead; and ſayes no leſſe then Hoc habet. qqCypr. l. 4. Epiſt. 10.Cyprian is by me alledged for the Hiſtory of Numidicus; whom I auouched a maried Presbyter, by the ſame token that hee ſaw his wife burning (beſides him) with the flames of Martyrdome. And Lord, what out-cryes are here of fraud and corruption! and how could this Maſſe-Prieſt wiſh himſelfe neere me when I ſhould be vrged with this impoſture, to ſee what face I would make thereon? Euen ſuch a one (good ſir Shorne) as is framed by the confidence of honeſt innocency. God deale ſo with my ſoule, as it meanes nothing but ingenuous ſincerity; neither hath my pen ſwarued one letter from the Text: My margine ſaid, Numidicus Presbyter; ſo doth Cyprian himſelfe, two or three lines before this report of his wife;Numidicus Prieſt. ſo (beſides the Text) doth the margine of Eraſmus. And what trechery could it bee to adde the word of Cyprians owne explication? But Numidicus was not then Prieſt, when his wife was martyred; rather vponupon that conſtancie was honoured with holy Orders. How appeares that, when Cyprian only ſayes, Numidicus Presbyter aſcribatur Presbyterorum Carthaginenſium numero & nobiſcum ſedeat in clero. He was before a Prieſt,Let Numid. the Prieſt be receiued into the number of the Prieſts of Carthage, &c. for ought this Libeller, or any mortall man knowes, and now was aſcribed into the honoured Clergie of Carthage, ſoone after to be promoted to Epiſcopall dignitie. Before the report therefore of his wiues martyrdome, he is named a Prieſt. What hauehave I offended in ſeconding Saint Cyprian? Let this peremptory babler proue this ordination to be after that noble proofe of his faith; I ſhall confeſſe my ſelfe miſtaken in the time, neuer falſe in mine intentions.

Till then, he ſhall giuegive me leaue to ſtile the man as I find him, Numidicus Presbyter.

If Cyprian had ſaid, Numidicus Praesbyterorum numero aſcribatur, the caſe had beene cleare; but now doubling the word, he implyes him a Prieſt before;Numid. Presbyter Presbytererum Carth. numero aſer. and how long before, and whether not before his Confeſſion, it will trouble my learned Aduerſary to determine. How faine would this man crow, if he could but get the coulour of an aduantage?

In the meane while, this impotent inſultation bewrayes nothing but malice and ignorance.

SECT. IIII.

MY Refuter may tranſpoſe the Hiſtorie of Paphnutius, but hee ſhall neuer anſwer it. After his old guiſe therefore he falls to his Hatchet,Refut. p. 140. and when he hath tryed p. 756to bow it a little and finds it ſtiffe, he cuts it vp by the roots. What one word can he controll in the relation ofrrSecr. l. 1. c. 8. Sozon. l. 1. c. 22. Socrates, or mine Illation? The Biſhops went about to bring in a new law of Continency to be impoſed vponupon their Clergie, ſaith Socrates and Sozomen, therefore before it was not. Paphnutius reclaimed and called that yoake heauy and vnſupportable, the vſe of the Mariage-bed, Chaſtity. The iſſue was, Poteſtas permiſſa cuique pro arbitratu; EueryEvery man left to his owne libertie: the ſtory is plaine, there is no place for cauills.Refut. p. 143. The onelyonly comfort that my Detector and his Tutors finde in the Hiſtorie, is, that Paphnutius is not all ours: Hee cals for the vſe of Mariage to the wedded Clergie, not for wedlocke of the vn-maried. True; therein I muſt retort the anſwer of Sotus, that the good Martyr gaue way to the corruption of the Times; wherein the wicked myſtery had begun with St. Pauls (foreign.) But in the meane time, let him know; that if Paphnutius pleade but by halues for vsus, hee pleades againſt them altogether; yea, this he knowes already, elſe he would neuer bee ſo audacious as to condemne the authors for vnſincere, and fabulous, yea hereticall; and to bring the clamours of his Bellarmine, to diſcredit Socrates in three groſſe vntruths, and Sozomen with Multa mentitur. Refut. p. 146.O impudency without meaſure, without example! Caſsiodorus, and Epiphanius, Socrates, Sozomen, Nicephorus, graue and approued Authors of our Eccleſiaſticall Story, for but reporting one piece of an Hiſtory, in fauour of Clergiemens mariages, are ſpit vponupon, and diſcarded with diſgrace. This is no new Song; my Refuter hath learned it of Copus, Torrenſis, Bellarmine, Baronius, and others. All whoſe mouthes together with his, in theſe particular exceptions, let mee ſtop with that ingenuous anſwer of**Eſpen. l. 1. de Contin. B. Eſpencaeus, there needs no other Aduocate, Excipit Torrenſis, &c. But Torrenſis excepts againſt Socrates and Sozomen, as though they had lewdly, and ſhamefully belyed this ſtory of Paphnutius; and ſayes, the one was a friend of the Nouatians, the other an abettor of Theodorus the Heretike; that both their Histories are in this void of credit, authoritie, probability. As if they could not at once be bad Men, and yet good Hiſtorians; or if they lie in any other place, they muſt needs lie in this; For Sozomen, Tritemius commends him for a worthy furtherer of ſecular learning, and well verſed in the Scriptures, And for Socrates, he extols him for a learned and eloquent man, for a very excellent, and greatly experienced Hiſtorian. Thus he, and much more; to which (for breuity) I refer my peremptory Refuter; who ſhall there finde ſatisfaction to his Obiections of the ſilence of other Authors,Refut. p. 144, 145. That Wiues cannot be comprehended vnderunder the name of Strange Women. and the Canon alledged againſt the ſub-introduction of (Mulieres extrancae) ſtrange women into the houſes of Clergie-men: His Clictouaeus telling him, vxores dici non poſſe extraneas, and the Law made afterwards by Honorius and Theodoſius, plainly commenting vponupon this Conſtitution.

SECT. V.

AS for his Teſtimonie of Leo the Great, liuing in the time of Socrates, I anſwer it by the teſtimony of**Socra. l. 4. c. 22. Refut. p. 148. Socrates, liuing in the time of Leo the Great, Multi enim, &c. For many (ſaith he) in this Epiſcopall dignity, in their Epiſcopall houſes, in the time of their being Biſhops, doe beget children of their Wiues, whom they had before lawfully maried. Thus he. A place that anſwers for it ſelfe, and many others. Wherein yet my Refuter finds ſome of my faulty concealments. Firſt, that the more, and more famous Biſhops and Prieſts did the contrarie. True, they did ſo, but voluntarily, as with vsus ſome of the Heads of our Clergy, and others of the Body, doe containe, not forced;ccSocr. vbi ſupr. They containe of their owne accord, and at their owne choice. Continent ſponte ac pro arbitrio; This I think is not the Roman faſhion. Secondly, They conuerſed with the Wiues which they maried before their Ordination, they did not marry after. Let his wiſdome ſhew mee vponupon what reaſon the act of marying ſhould be vnlawfull, where the act of Mariage is lawfull, and we will yeeld him iuſtly to ſticke at this difference. And when hee hath done, let him bite vponupon their oldddDiſt. 84. c…m in praterno. They ſay that of old, before Siricius, Prieſts might contract Matrimony. Et quod Gregorius introduxit continentiam Subdiaconis, ſed Presbyteris & Di…conis, S…ricius, Diſt. 82. Gloſſe (though now by them defaced.) Dicunt quod olim, ante Siricium ſacerdotes poteram contrahere.

p. 757SECT. VI.

IN the reſt, he fals not vponupon me, but the receiued Hiſtorians, Socrates and Nicephorus, They hauehave done him a ſpight, and he will reuenge it.Refut. p. 150. Theſe hee will conuince of a double lye. The one, that Heliodorus was the firſt Author of the Law of Continencie in Theſſalia; the other, that this Continencie was arbitrarie. His reaſon for the former is weighty; It is not likely (ſaith he) that Heliodorus which would rather loſe his Biſhoprick then recall his laſciuious Booke, would bee ſo eager aboue the reſt for the Continencie of his Clergie. As if euer any men had been more luxurious then the greateſt enemies to mariage; as if it were impoſſible for Pope Iohn the thirteenth (from vvhom Dunſtan receiued his rigorous Commiſsion) to be vnnaturally inceſtuous; as if it were impoſſible for his great Prelate of Crema, when he came to oppoſe the Mariage of our Engliſh Clergie, to beeeVid. Poſ. … found that night in bed with an Harlot?

And here my childiſh Aduerſarie will needs make ſport for Boyes; I cited in my Margin Heliodorus, the Author of the Aethiopick Hiſtory; As if (ſaith hee) Heliodorus had written ſome Hiſtory of Aethiopia, whereas he onelyonly intituled his worke, Aethiopia. Ridiculous head! What Schoole-boy, what apprentice knowes not Heliodorus? Noſque menum ferulae, &c. If this learned Critick had but euer opened the Book, he had found foreign; Neither doth any Engliſhman know it by any other name, then, as it is tranſlated (ere I was borne) The Aethiopicke Hiſtory; yea, if a man were not reſolute to ſhut his eyes in the very place of Socrates, which hee cites; the Booke is called Aethiopica, whereto what conſtruction can be giuen, but this of mine? Such folly is for the rod of Ferule; This is (I confeſſe) a Trifle; yet ſuch as may giuegive my Reader a taſte of the bold blindneſſe of my impudent Detector.

SECT. VII.

THe other ſtings yet more,Refut. p. 151. that this Epiſcopall and Prieſtly Continency was vponupon no other termes, thenffSocrat. l. 5, c. 21. If themſelues will; Forced by no Law. The cuſtome hath beene. Modo ipſi voluerint, and, Nulla lege coacti; and conſuetudo inualuit. And now all in a rage my Refuter will proue againſt Socrates that there was a Law for this; and to this purpoſe he brings in two Canons of the Conſtantinopolitane Councell in Trullo: Marke, Reader, with what iudgement. The Trullan Councell vvas aboue two hundred yeares after: Socrates ended his Hiſtory in the yeareggHiſtor. Socr. ad finum. 443. The Trullan Councell was held (as their Binius computes it) in the yeare 692, and yet the Canon of the Trullan Councell, in a matter of fact, diſproues Socrates. The other Councels of Ancyra, Caeſarea, and Nice, are either Prouinciall, or againſt him. As for the plea of Syneſius, that he might not be a Biſhop, becauſe he would not leaue his wife, it is anſwered by the fact of Syneſius, that he was made a Biſhop, and left not his Wife. But what an idle and inſolent boldneſſe is this, for an obſcure Libeller, to goe about now almoſt 1200 yeares after, to controll a graue approued Hiſtorian of the Church, in a matter of ordinarie practice, which his owne eyes and the Worlds did dayly witneſſe; As if hee durſt hauehave publiſhed ſuch a report of the common vſe of his time, wherein all the Age he liued in, could hauehave conuinced him?Refut. p. 153.

The witleſſely-malicious Proſopopey, wherein my Refuter brings in the Reuerend and Peereleſſe Biſhop of London, pleading for his wife to his Metropolitan, becomes well the mouth of a ſcurrile Maſſe-Prieſt, and is worthy of nothing but a ſcorne. Thoſe two incomparable Prelates are the chiefe obiects of theſe euill eyes; whom God hath raiſed happily aboue the reach of their enuie. It galls this Romiſh Rabble, that theſe two Ring-leaders of the Engliſh Clergie (beſides their buſie imployments in their carefull, prudent, and zealous gouernment) preach more Sermons in a yeare, then, perhaps, all the Biſhops vnderunder the Papacie. Rumpantur & ilia.

p. 758SECT. VIII.

IT pleaſeth his diſcretion to marſhall my Epiſtle as he liſts, and then to complaine of diſorder, and my leaping ouer hundreds of yeares from the Nicen Councell to Gratian the Canoniſt; My Readers eyes can confute him, which cannot but witneſſe that I name diuers in all ages recorded for maried Biſhops, and Presbyters. This Breadrole (he ſaith) is idle, becauſe I ſhew not that they then vſed their Wiues when they were Biſhops. An hard condition;Refut. 254. That I muſt bring witneſſes from their Bed-ſides. Is it not enough that we ſhew they had wiues, that they had children? No (ſaith my Refuter) It muſt be proued that they had theſe children by theſe wiues after Ordination. Wee were neither their Midwiues nor their Goſsips, to keepe ſo ſtrict an account. But what meanes,**They ſleepe with their wiues, and in the time of being Biſhops, beget children of their owne wiues, Socr. Vbi ſupr. Cum vxoribus dormiunt? and, Tempore Epiſcopatus filios gignunt ex propriis vxoribus. This we hauehave ſhewed out of Socrates. What was that which Dionyſius, the ancient B. of Corinth, (before euer Paphnutius was) wrote to Pinytus, charging him, Ne graue ſeruanda caſtitatis onus neceſſariò fratribus imponat.xxThat hee doe not neceſſarily impoſe the heauy burden of continencie vponupon his Brethren, Euſeb. l. 4. hiſt. c. 22.

What was that, for which Euſtathius, B. of Sebaſtia, the vnworthy ſonne of Eulanius B. of Caeſarea was cenſured? was not this one of the Articles,yySocrat. l. 2. c. 33. Refut. p. 155. Benedictionem, &c? That he taught men to decline the bleſsing and communion of maried Prieſts? Away then with this either ignorant, or impudent facing of ſo euident a falſhood.

The teſtimony of Hierom, the example of Vrbicus B. of Claramont, and of Genebaldus B. of Laudune, ſhew what was the conceit & practice of thoſe particular places wherin they liued. And yet Hierome in the ſame Booke can ſay;zzHier. l. 1. aduerſ. Jouin. As if now adayes many Prieſts alſo were not maried. Quaſi non hodie quoque plurimi ſacerdotes habeant matrimonia. In that ſtory of Vrbicus, related by Greg. Turonenſis, I can but wonder how far men may be tranſported by ſuperſtition; ſo as to make the Apoſtles charge giuegive way to an humane opinion. The vvife ofaaGreg. Tur. l. 1. c. 44. Cur coniugem ſperuis, cur obturatis auribus Pauli praeceptae non audis? Scripſit enim, Reuertimini ad alterutrum, &c. Ecce ego ad te reuertor, nec ad extraneum, ſed ad proprium vas recurro, &c. Why deſpiſeſt thou thy Wife? why doſt thou ſhut thine eares againſt the precept of S. Paul? For he hath written, Meet together againe, leſt, &c. Vrbicus comes to his doore, and alledges S. Pauls charge; (Meet together againe, leſt Satan tempt you, &c.) Cur coniugem ſpernis, &c? he yeelds to do the duty of an Husband, and now in remorſe inioynes himſelfe a perpetuall penance. What penance do we think S. Paul was worthy of, for giuing this charge which ſhe alledged? Let my Reader iudge, whether of the two was t…e better Diuine. How inſolent is tradition, thus to trample vponupon Scripture? But ſince it pleaſed my Refuter to lend me this one example of Greg. Turonenſis, I am ready to giuegive him vſe for it. In the 2. booke of Turonenſis he ſhall findbbGreg. Turon. l. 2 c. 21. Nat. Theodoſ. Iun. & Valent. 3. Imperat. vxor Papianilla, cum qua concorditer vixit, liberoſ que ex ea ſuſcepit v. triuſ que ſexus, 4d Apoll. epiſt. 16. l. 5 Sidonius a maried Biſhop and his Wife, a Noble Matron, in all likelihood liuing with him, for (neſciente coniuge) without his wiues knowledge he gaue ſiluer plate to the Poore.ccTuron. 4. c. 12. In the fourth Booke he ſhall find Anaſtaſius a maried Presbyter, feoffed in ſome Temporalties which he would rather die then not leaue to his iſſue.ddTur. l. 8 c. 39. In the eight Booke he ſhall find Badegiſilus, the cruel Biſhop of the Cenomans, matched with an ill wife; who yet liued with him (as it ſeemes) all his time, and had altercations with Bertram Archdeacon of Paris, for his goods, deceaſed. In theſe there is ſtrength of legall preſumption, though no neceſsity of inference. But what doe I inſtance in theſe, or any other, when Balſamon tels vsus clearely that before the ſixt SynodeeAfter their Epiſcopall dignitie, Balſam. in Can. Apoſt. 5. Are ioyned in Mariage. vid. ſupr. Vſe Mariage contracted. it was lawfull for Biſhops to hauehave wiues, Etiam poſt dignitatem Epiſcopalem? And his own Canon law can tell him, that in the Eaſt Church, their Prieſts, Matrimonio copulantur; which his warieſt Maſters expounding, would interpret by copulato vtuntur. Iudge then, Reader, what to think of the metall of this mans forehead, who would beare vsus downe, that no one Biſhop or Prieſt was allowed, after Orders, to hauehave any wife. Yea, euen for the very contraction of mariage it ſelfe, after Orders,ffIſpen l. 1. c. 11. honeſt Eſpencaeus can cite oneggIo. Maior, & comptuar. Concil. Refut. p. 159. Ioannes Marius, a Dutch-man by birth, but a French Hiſtorian, to whom hee allowes the title of (non indiligeris) who writes, that he knowes that in the times of Pope Formeſus, & Ludonicus Balbus, Prieſts were maried, Et iis licuiſſe ſponſam legitimam ducere modò Virginem, non verò Viduam; and that it was lawfull for them to marry a Wife, ſo ſhe were a Virgin, not a Widow.

As for that baſe ſlander wherewith this venemous Pen beſprinkles the now glorious p. 759face of our renowned Archbiſhop and Martyr Doctor Cranmer, whom hee moſt lewdly charges with laſciuiouſneſſe and incontinent liuing with I know not what Dutch Fraw, it is worthy of no other anſwer then, Increpet te dominus. It is true that the holy man wiſely declining the danger and malignitie of the times, made not at the firſt any publike profeſſion of his Mariage; as, what needed to inuite miſchiefe? But that hee euer had any diſhoneſt conuerſation with her or any other, it is no other then the accent of the mouth of Blaſphemy. And if any one of our Clergie, after a legall and iuſt Diuorce long ſince, hauehave taken to him ſelfe that liberty which other Reformed Churches publikely allow (as granting in ſome caſe a full releaſe, both à thoro and à ivinculo) what ground is this for an impure wretch to caſt dirt in the eyes of our Clergie, and in the teeth of our Church? Malicious Maſſe-Prieſt, caſt backe thoſe emiſſitious eyes to your owne infamous Chaire of Rome; and if euen in that thou canſt diſcerne no ſpectacles of abominable vncleanneſſe, ſpend thy ſpightfull cenſures vponupon ours. I reckoned diuers examples of maried Biſhops and Prieſts out of Euſebius, Refut. p. 160.Ruffinus, others; amongſt the reſt Domnus Biſhop of Antioch, which ſucceeded Samoſatenus, for which my Margent cited Euſebius, in his 7 Booke, and 29. Chap. My Detector taxes me for citing Authors at random; as Euſeb. lib. 7. cap. 29. when as there are (he ſaith) but 26. Chapters; and for things which are not found in him; As if the man had deſperately ſworne to write nothing but falſe. Truſt not me, Reader; Truſt thine …e eyes; Thou ſhalt finde that Booke ofhhƲid. Et. ſch. Eai…. Baſil. Anno 1587. Euſebius, to hauehave one and thirty Chapters; and in the cited place thou ſhalt duly finde the Hiſtory of Domnus. Whoſe patience would not this impudency moue?

If I reckoned not examples enow, or ſuch as he likes not, (as vniuſtly ſeeming litigious, there is choice enough of more; Tertullian, Proſper, Hilary, Eupſychus, Polycrates, and his ſeuen Anceſtors; to which let him adde 24 Dioceſſes at once in Germanie, France, Spaine, Anno 1057 of maried Clergie-men, recorded by their owniiFor Act. & Mon. in bu… quaeſt. Gebuilerus, and make vp his mouth, with that honeſt confeſsion of Auentine, kkAuent. hiſt. Boior. l. 5. Their Wiues called, praesbyteriſſa, ibid. &c. honeſto vocabulo, as he there ſpeakes.Sacerdotes illa tempeſtate publicè vxores, ſicut caeteri Chriſtiani habebant, filios procreabant; Prieſts in thoſe dayes publikely had wiues as other Chriſtians had, and begat children; which the old Verſe (if he had rather) expreſſes in almoſt the ſame termes. Quodam Praesbyteri poterant vxoribus vti: which his Mantuan hath yet ſpun in a finer thred, as we ſhall ſhew in this Section.

WhatllHodie apud Graecos Sacerdotes poſt ſuſceptum ordinem ducere vxorem, ſed vnicam ac virginem, à Graecis didici. Propoſit. Er aſmicorum, cenſur cum declaratione c. de ca…ibaetu. danger is there now therefore either of the breach of my promiſe to my worthy friend Maſter Doctor Whiting, or of my diuorce, or of his victory? If the man and his modeſty had not been long ſince parted, theſe idle crackes had neuer beene.

But whereas this mighty Champion challeges mee with great inſultation in many paſſages of his brauing diſcourſe, to name but one Biſhop or Prieſt of note, which after holy Orders conuerſed coniugally with his Wife; without the ſcandall of the Church branding ſuch (if any were) for infamous; and daring to pawne his cauſe vponupon this tryall; I doe here accept his offer, and am ready to produce him ſuch an Example, as if all the Ieſuites heads in the world ſtood vponupon his ſhoulders,Tu vero ſi quid minus per aetatem in hymn…, & Epiſtola intelligis. His children hurt him not, not his Wife lawfully conioyned in Wedlocke: in thoſe dayes God miſ…d … the Mariage bed, nor the cradle, …. they could not tell how to wrangle againſt. I doe not vrge to him that Proſper of Aquitane, a Biſhop and a Saint, whoſe Verſes to his Wife are famous, and imply their inſeparable conuerſation.

Age iam precor mearum,

Cornes irremot a rerum, &c.

Nor yet the fore-named Hilary, Biſhop of Poitlers, who in his old age (if that Epiſtle be worthy of any credit) writing to his Daughter, confeſſes her yeares ſo few, that through the incapacitie of her age, ſhee might perhaps not vnderſtand the Hymne or Epiſtle; of whom the honeſt Carmelite Mantuanus could ingenouſly confeſſe:

Non nocuit tibi progenies, non obſtitit vxor

Legitimo coniunct a thoro▪ Non horruit illa

Tempeſtate Deus thalamos, cunabula, taed….

Nor Biſhop Simplictus, of whommmSidon. Apol. Conc. ad…unct. Cp. 9. l. 7. Sidonius giues this praiſe, that his Parents were eminent p. 760either in Cathedris, or Tribunalibus, and that his Pedigree was famous either Epiſcopis, or Praefectis: and for his wife, that ſhe was of the Stock of the Palludii, qui aut literarum, aut altarium cathedras cum ſui ordinis laude tenuerunt; of whom alſo Sidonius can ſay, ſhe did reſpondere Sacerdotiis vtriuſ que familiae, anſwer the Prieſthood… of either Family.

Nor Alcimus nnAlcim. Auit. Ʋien. Gal. Arch. l. ad ſororem, circa. An. 492.Auitus the French Archbiſhop, who writing to his Siſter, of her Parentage, hath thus,

— Stemma Parentum,

I will not, deare Siſter, make report of the Pedegree of thy great Grandſ…e…, &c. … renow…ed life of Prieſts made famous to the World.Quos licet antiquo mundus donârit honore,

Et titulis à primaeuo inſigniuerit ortu,

Plus tamen ornantur ſacris inſignibus illi, &c.

Nec jam atauos ſoror alma tibi proanoſ que retexam;

Vita Sacerdotum quos reddidit inclyta claros.

Nor Paulinus Biſhop of Nola in Campania; to whom Auſonius writes, Tanequil tua neſciat iſtud; And Formidatam que iugatam objicis, &c.

Theſe and ſuch like might ſuffice reaſonable men; but ſince wee hauehave to doe vvith thoſe Aduerſaries, whom S. Paul cals foreign; who, if we vrge hundreds of ſuch euident examples, turne vsus off with bold ſhifts; and will needs put vsus to proue thoſe acts which ſeeke ſecrecie; Let him and all his complices whet their wits vponupon that cleare and irrefragable place of Gregory Nazianzen, a man beyond all exception; who brings in his Father Gregory, whom the world knowes to hauehave beene Biſhop of the ſame See, ſpeaking thus of him,

Greg. Naz. Car. de vita ſua, Edit. Marel. Par…. To. 2. p. 9.foreign

foreign

foreign, &c.

Nondum tot anni ſunt tui, quot jam in ſacris mihi ſunt peracti victimis, &c. That is, The yeares of thy age are not ſo many as of my Prieſthood.

Words that will conuince the moſt importunate gain-ſayer, that Greg. Nazianzen was borne to his worthy father, after the time of his holy Orders. And leſt any man ſhould ſuſpect that this (foreign nondum) may reach onelyonly to the birth, not to the begetting of Gregory Nazianzen; ſo as perhaps he might be borne after his Fathers Orders, begotten before them: Let him know (to make all ſure and plaine) that Gorgonia and Caeſarius the ſiſter and brother of this Gregory, were by the ſame father begotten afterwards; as is euident both by that Verſe of Nazianzen; who ſpeaking of his mother, as then childleſſe when ſhe begged him of God, ſayes,

Ibid. de vita ſua, &c. Iam….Cupiebat illa maſculum foetum domi

Spectare, magna vt pars cupit mortalium.

Elias Cretenſ. In Orat. Greg. Naz. 19.And the cleare Teſtimonie of Elias Cretenſis; Quamvis enim ſi natiuitatem ſpectes, &c. Although (ſaith he) if you regard his birth, he was not the onelyonly child of his Parents, foraſmuch as after him both Gorgonia and Caeſarius were borne. Thus he.

O infamous Gregories, the ſcum of the Clergie! O irregular Father, that durſt defile his ſacred function with ſo carnall an act! O ſhameleſſe ſonne, that bluſhes not to proclaime his owne ſinfull generation! Goe now petulant Refuter, and ſee whether you can either yeeld, or anſwer.

As for that glorious ſhew of Antiquity, where with C. E. hopes to bleare his Readers eyes, gracing himſelfe herein with the aſtipulation of our Reuerend Iewel, I neede not returne any other anſwer then of his Beatus Rhenanus: Quanquam veteres omnes, &c. Although all the Ancient, Aug. lib. Tert. Exhort. caſ…. matrimonio p… rum aequi fuerint, &c. The time is ſhort.and Hierome himſelfe were no whit equall or indifferent to Mariage; eſteeming Virginity and Chaſtitie very high; both becauſe they thought the Laſt-day was neere at hand, as remembring that ſentence of S. Paul, Tempus incollecto eſt; and becauſe they ſaw many impediments grow from Mariage, which marred the puritie of Chriſtianitie, in thoſe dayes, eſpecially when Chriſtians liued amongst Heathens, and matched in mariage with them: Surely it is euident, that for this cauſe Hierome was in an ill p. 761name at Rome, &c. Thus he. We durſt not hauehave ſaid ſo much, for our ſelues. The higheſt Antiquitie is ours, the later had beene ours, if it had not beene vponupon theſe grounds which were then their owne, proper to the time, place, occaſion.

SECT. IX.

I Deſcend to the Teſtimonie of Gratian; Champion E. cals this, Picking of Strawes. If picking of Strawes be boyes play, and argue that they which vſe it are foyled, and hauehave loſt all, as our Refuter merily pipeth, let him acknowledge how beggerly the proofes are growne of the martyrdome of their Saintly Ieſuites and Prieſts amongſt vsus, did they not ſtoope to picke ſtrawes, to threſh out a miracle (when it was) for tranſlating Father Garnet from a Traitor to a Martyr; yea, and that Chaffe, the gullerie whereof themſelues ſmile at here, is deuoutly tranſported beyond the Seas, and enſhrined for a ſacred relique, and proclaimed by their Kornmannus for one of the great Wonders of the Dead; Ridet aruſpex vbi aruſpicem viderit.

It is well that the great Compiler of the Canon Law of Rome is grown ſo baſe with Catholique Prieſts. He witneſſes plainely, that ſome Biſhops of Rome were the ſons of Prieſts not ſpurious, but begot in lawfull Wedlocke;mmDiſt. 56. Ceno manens em. &c. Which was (according to Gratian) eueryevery where lawfull to the Clergie, before the prohibition. C.E. bites the lip at this authoritie, and firſt he tels vsus, it is the Palea, not Gratian. Refut. p. 161.But if this bee the Chaffe, there is no Corne. Reader, try by this the egregious impudence of this fellow. Turne to the place, thou ſhalt finde the words to be none but Gratians; and the notes allowed by publique authoritie, openly to confirme it: Hîc apertè oſtendit Gratianus ſe in ea fuiſſe opinione, &c. Here Gratian openly ſhewes that he was in that opinion, that heretofore the Prieſts of the Latine Church might be maried.

Secondly, my Parentheſis diſpleaſes him (As now adayes: Refut. p. 162.) But what needs this quarrell? He muſt grant, if the Romiſh Prieſts hauehave ſonnes, they can be no other then ſpurious. It is his beſt not to preſſe this point too farre. This idle iealouſie of his can argue no good. I touched not the continencie of his Paulus Quintus, ſo much as in any thought, I onelyonly wiſh that his Holineſſe would beſtow ſome of the offals of his Nephewes great Benefices, vponupon this Maſſe-Prieſt for the reward of his ſuperfluous Oleum peccatorum.

My third vntruth, (and that a groſſe one) is,Refut. p. 163. 164, 165. that I ſay many Biſhops of Rome followed their Fathers in the Pontificall Chaire: whereas in this Chaffe of Gratian, he findes but one Syluerius Pope, ſonne of Syluerius Biſhop of Rome. And what if in his Chaffe hee finde but one, whiles I in my Corne-heape can finde more? Did I tye my ſelfe in this clauſe onelyonly to Gratian? Was not Pope Iohn the Eleuenth, or, in ſome accounts, the tenth, ſonne to Pope Sergius? And is there no Chaire Pontificall but the Romane? Was not Theodorus Pope, ſonne to Theodorus Biſhop of Ieruſalem? Foelix the Third, ſonne to Biſhop Valerius? Pope Adrian the Second, ſonne to Biſhop Taralus? His Platina can ſupply his Gratian in theſe.

What hauehave I to doe with his quarrels about Hoſius, Foelix, Agapetus, Steuen? Refut. p. 166.They are their owne; Let him wring Gratian by the eare, till I feele: And ſurely, the poore Canoniſt bleeds on all hands. Bellarmine, Baronius, Poſſeuine, and this ſtout Beagle, hauehave eueryevery one a ſnatch at him; and he muſt be content to goe away with this gaſh; (We are not bound to follow him as an infallible Writer, but may with free libertie reiect him.) Yea, how merry doth my Refuter make himſelfe with his deſpiſed Gratian? Like a Philiſtim he hath pulled out the eyes of this Samſon, and now makes ſport with him; If Doway like it well, it ſhall not be diſpleaſing to vsus. The man (as ill as hee loues mariage) will needs make a match betwixt his Gratians Pope Steuen, and his Pope Ioane. Iô Hymen! Was euer man ſo mad, to make himſelfe paſtime with his owne ſhame? Was the Hiſtory of that their monſtrous Papeſſe of our making? Doe notnnSigebert. Martin. Polen. Platin. Mart. Minorit. Oth. Friſ. Flores. Temp. Petrareba, &c. the whole ſtreame of their Writers of Chronicles, their owne Biſhops, Monkes, Recluſes, p. 762Regiſters, record it openly to all poſterity, without the contradiction of the next ages, yea of any, till this laſt? Let them take to themſelues therefore, this fruitfull Succeſſor in the infallible Chayre; ſhee is their owne, they may diſpoſe of her, where they liſt; and ſince my Refuter will finde out a match for her out of the Chaire of exploration, why ſhould not we dance at the wedding? Why doe not wee helpe him to a piece of an Epithamium?

Papa pater patrum,

Papiſſae pandito partum.

ooFlor. temp. Impr. vlt. 1486.A floure that neuer came out of Luthers Poeſie.

SECT. X.

I See, that whiles I follow this Wrangler by the foot, I am become inſenſibly tedious, the reſidue of his long-ſome Treatiſe is ſpent vponupon the Councell of Conſtantinople. Gregories charge, Iſidores rule, Hulderick, Hildebrand, Dunſtan, and Anſelme, and the eſtate of our fore-fathers in the Engliſh Clergie. The diſcuſsion of all which, as not being eſſentiall to our buſineſſe, (except onelyonly the laſt) will admit more breuity of diſpatch. The vitall parts of our cauſe being ſecured, there will bee leſſe danger in the remoter lims; which yet, if our Target gard not, our ſword ſhall. In all theſe, it ſhall be beſt to reduce his Cauils vntounto heads, that wee may crop them with more ſpeed and eaſe; OnelyOnly I muſt craue leaue to dwell ſome while in the laſt.

Concil. 6. Conſt. in Trullo.Concerning the councell of Conſtantinople (after ſome idle miſ-taken diſcourſe of the occaſion thereof) he inſiſts vponupon theſe foure points.

Refut. p. 168. vſque ad 174.Firſt, That it was not generall: Secondly, Not the ſixt: Thirdly, Not peremptorily ours: Fourthly, Not by them defaced, or torne out.

Firſt, it is no truſting what a Romane Prieſt ſayes in choller of a Grecian Councell. The Greeke Church is equally in their Bookes with ours; and this Councell, with the Synod of Dort. It is an eternall quarrell, which all the vaſſals of Rome hauehave againſt this Councell, that it equalled the Biſhop of Conſtantinople, with the Romane: A crime that cannot be forgiuen.

The inuectiues of our Popiſh Diuines, eſpecially Pighius, ppƲid. Bell. de Rom. l'ont. l. 2. cap 18.Bellarmine, Baronius, hauehave made good that note ofqqBalſam. in Phot. Nomoc. Balſamon, Occidentales Epiſcopi, &c. The Weſterne Biſhops (ſaith he) that is, the Italian or Latine (Ab huius Synodi Canonibus oportunè icti) finding themſelues galled with the Canons of this Synod, hauehave giuen it out not to bee Generall: Thus he. And why was it not generall? It had no forme of a Councell (ſaith my Refuter) No Legates of the Pope, Refut. p. 174.no inuitation of the Latine Biſhops, neither were any of the other Patriarkes preſent or conſenting. EueryEvery word, a ſhameleſſe vntruth. Baſilius Biſhop of Gortyna the Metropolis of Crete, (which was then vnderunder the Archbiſhop of Rome) and the Biſhop of Rauenna (ſaith Balſamon) were there to repreſent the Romane Church;Balſam. ibid. The Biſhops of Theſſalonica, Sardinea, Heracles, Corinth, were there and then the Popes Legates. And for the Patriarkes; Baſilius (ſaith the ſame Balſamon) Biſhop of Gortyna, which was preſent in the name of the Romane Church, is found to hauehave ſubſcribed after the foure Patriarks, and certaine other Metropolitans. What can be more plaine?Refut. p. 171. But S. Beda (ſaith C.E.) tels vsus that Iuſtinian the Yonger, commanded Sergius Biſhop of Rome, to be caried to Conſtantinople, becauſe he would not ſubſcribe huic erraticae Synodo. Still miſtaking and ignorance. His Surius and Turrian could hauehave taught him out of Theophanes, this was another a Pſeudo-Synode, which the ſame Iuſtinian had in his firſt gouernment called in fauour of the Monothelites; which was ſome yeares after the true Synode vnderunder Conſtantine the Bearded.Conſtantinus Pogonatus. This mans wit wanders with his erraticall Synode.

p. 763SECT. XI.

FOr the number of Sixt, wee neede not be ſcrupulous; whether it were the fift, or ſixt, or both (as Balſamon cals it, foreign) or neither. It is enough for me,Quini. ſextam. that Gratian, Caranza, Eſpencaeus, and other his owne great Maſters call it familiarly both Sixt, and Generall; In this I cannot but be ſafe enough. I grant, that (to ſpeake preciſely) the ſixt Synode vnderunder Conſtantine publiſhed no Canons, but afterwards many of the ſame Fathers, which had formerly met in the ſixt Synode, and others, to the number of 227, being called together by the then penitent & reſtored Iuſtinian, Slit-…oſe.(foreign) gathered vp, and ſet forth with vniuerſall conſent, the Canons formerly made, and by them re-enforced. But what need I trouble my ſelfe with any other anſwer to all theſe windie cauils of my Aduerſarie, then that which Tharaſius himſelfe, the Patriarke of Conſtantinople, hath moſt fully giuen;rrGratian diſt. 16. Habeo librum. Quae eſt haec ignorantia, &c. What ignorance (ſaith he) is this, wherewith many men are tainted, about theſe Canons? For it is a ſcandall to doubt whether they were the Canons of the ſixt Synod. Let theſe men therefore know, that the ſixt Synod was gathered in the time of Conſtantine, againſt thoſe which aſcribe one onelyonly action and will to Chriſt; The Fathers then condemning thoſe Heretikes, and confirming the Orthodoxe Faith about the fourteenth yeere of Conſtantine, returned home: After foure or fiue yeares, the ſame Fathers (being met vnderunder Iuſtinian the ſonne of Conſtantine) ſet forth the foreſaid Canons; Neither let any man doubt of this; For thoſe very ſame Fathers, which in the time of Conſtantine ſubſcribed, did alſo vnderunder Iuſtinian ſubſigne this preſent Paper; which thing is euident enough by the vnchangeable likeneſſe of their owne hands. So he. Whether therefore the computation of Tharaſius or Theophanes, be followed, we hauehave what we deſired; The ſame acts are ſet forth, if not by altogether the ſame perſons, andſſDiſt. 16. vbi ſupr. Gratians iudgement is herein ours.

SECT. XII.

FOR the third point. To proue that this Synode is not peremptorily for vsus;Refut. p. 175. vſus… ad 182. Hee vrgeth diuers other Canons of it, which in other things ſound againſt vsus. Then he ſhewes the inſtanced thirteenth Canon, not to bee ſo abſolutely and fully ours, as is pretended.

Firſt, where findes he this Law, that no man may alledge one teſtimony of a Father, or a Councell, but he muſt be tyed to iuſtifie all the reſt? Himſelfe would bee the firſt that would ſhrinke at this condition. This challenge is vnreaſonable, and might turne off all allegation. For example, If a man ſhould alledge the Nicene Councell, Canon 1. againſt any ſuperſtitious Foole that hath made himſelfe a corporall Eunuch, might he ſtraight for his iuſtification fly vponupon the laſt Canon of that Councell, vnneceſſarily inioyning vsus to ſtand at our Sundayes Prayers.Synod. Laodic. Can 20. Can. 35. Can 60. Can. 37. Or if a man ſhould cite the Synode of Laodicea againſt a Deacon (though a Cardinall) ſitting before a Prieſt, or againſt the worſhipping of Angels; were it meet to choke him with a returne of the laſt Canon of that Councell, forbidding the Apocryphall bookes; or the 37 Canon, forbidding his Holineſſe to take ſo much as a Bible in his ſolemnitie, from the hands of Iewes: If a man ſhall alledge a Teſtimonie of Cyprian, were it fit to vpbraid him with the errour of re-baptization? Or if of Auguſtine, with the errour of the neceſſitie of Infants communicating? This is clauum clauo. For mee, I hauehave vndertaken no ſuch taske to warrant them that once ſaid true, from euer erring: I doe therefore herein ſcorne my ſilly Refuters compaſsion, who is ſo farre from cruſhing me in this,Refut. p. 181. that he hurts none but his owne fiſts, in beating them about his owne hard head. For, if the preſſing vsus with the authoritie of ſome of theſe Canons, be to iuſtifie the reſt, then the 36 Canon of that Councell beares him and his Rome down before it, whiles it ſets Conſtantinople cheeke by jole with it, maugre. A point, which rather then they will yeeld, p. 764they will be glad to abate vsus all the reſt:Refut. p. 182. vſus que ad 192. This we are ſure of, that the alledged Canon is peremptorily, fully, cautelouſly ours: For this, my credit is at the ſtake, which my Refuſer pleaſes himſelfe with the hope to impaire, inſulting in the idle fancy of a iuſt aduantage, whiles he ſhewes the Canon to come ſhort in ſome points of our requiſition and practice; For there, Biſhops are excepted, and the freedome of Mariage after Ordination.

Reader, compare the Canon with the words of my ingagement, I vndertooke thou ſhouldeſt find no decree could be made more peremptory, more cautelous, more full and abſolute, for the lawfulneſſe of the Mariage of Eccleſiaſticall perſons.

For firſt; The Fathers profeſſe herein to croſſe the practice and Decree of the Romane Church. Secondly, they profeſſe the coniugall cohabitations of ſacred perſons to ſtand by the Apoſtolike Canons, and to be a ſincere, exquiſite, and orderly conſtitution. What could be ſaid more? They (thirdly) ratifie this libertie for euer. They (fourthly) giuegive charge that no man by the cohabitation with his lawfull wife, bee hindred from aſcending to the higheſt degree of holy Orders. (Fiftly) That in the time of their Ordination, it be not ſo much as required of them, to abſtaine from the lawfull companying with their Wiues; which were (ſay they) to offer iniury to mariage ordained by God, and bleſſed by his preſence; and to croſſe him that ſaid, Thoſe whom God hath ioyned together, let no man ſeparate: and, Mariage is honourable amongſt all, &c. (Sixtly) That if any man ſhall preſume ſo farre, as to offer to debarre any Prieſt, Deacon, or Subdeacon, from the coniunction and ſocietie with his lawfull Wife, he ſhall be depoſed; Or if any Prieſt, or Deacon ſhall voluntarily caſt off his Wife, vponupon pretence of Religion, that he ſhall be ſuſpended, and (if he goe on) depoſed. Iudge now whether herein my proteſtation hauehave erred; Not that there can bee no circumſtance deuiſed, as of the extent of the perſons, or time, or manner, wherein curioſitie might inlarge the ſcope of this libertie (ſo I neuer meant:) but if this one point (That the mariage of perſons Eccleſiaſticall is lawfull) can be more fully and warily ſet downe, let me lye open to cenſure; if not, hate the vanitie of this idle Mounte-banke, and confeſſe with Ariſtophanes, There is no ſalue for the ſting of a Sycophant. Refut. p. 192. 193, 194.Aduerſus ictum Sycophantae non ineſſe pharmacum.

The Parliamentall Law in the time of King Edward, was (I grant) more full in extending the libertie, could not be more full in auouching the lawfulneſſe of our Mariages. Where I muſt take leaue to tell my Refuter, that the compariſon hee preſumes to make of King Edwards Parliament, with the proceedings of Iacke Straw, Wat Tiler, &c. is, like himſelfe, ſeditious and traiterous. And vvhat maruell if ſuch repiners blow out the foggie vaporous blaſt of ſeditious words, againſt our higheſt Court of Parliament, which ſome of their Companions hauehave attempted to blow vp with a blaſt of fire? This Conſtitution vvas not ciuill onelyonly, but Synodicall: And may not a lawfull Synode or Conuocation, with the concurrence of the three States, and the ſway of Royall authoritie, make or re-eſtabliſh a Law agreeable to the Word of God, and the receiued practice of their Progenitors, but eueryevery Iacke-ſawce of Rome ſhall thus odiouſly dare to controll and diſgrace it?Etiam Aſinus meus recalcitrat? One of his Capitoline gods of Rome called England his Aſſe; So it was whiles it might beare nothing but his Trumperie, and goe but vvhere his Groomes would either leade, or driue it: now that it hath taken heart, and (with Cardinall Campegius his Sumpter) caſt off this baſe loade; and hath haply ouer-runne this ſeruitude; they are ready, with the Keeper of metamorphoſed Apulcius, to ſeeke a deſperate remedie from the next Tree.

p. 765SECT. XIII.

SVch then is the Canon of Conſtantinople, Refut. p. 195. vſus que ad 198.which therefore (I ſaid) becauſe they cannot blemiſh enough, they hauehave indignely torne out of the Councels: and here is much vehement and brauing Rhetoricke ſpent vponupon mee as a ſhameleſſe Writer; and this paſſage as the groſeſt lye, that euer was publiſhed by Proteſtant, and now I am coniured, how blemiſhed? how torne? what? where? how? when? Becauſe innocence is bold, the man will be bold, that he may ſeeme innocent; but we ſhall well find that facing will not ſerue his turne. Is hee ſo ignorant as not to know that all his greatttBaron. An. 58. …u 18. & Bell. l. 1. de ve…o Dei, c …. & 2. de Rom. Pont. c 17. l. 1. de Conc. c 7. l. 1. de Cl…ric. c. 21. Bin. Tom. 1. p. 14. &c. Maſters diſcard this whole Councell as ſpurious? Doth hee not know that it is (if not torne) yet left out in diuers of their Editions of the Councels? Let him learne, if hee know not, that their ancient collection of Canons, which was called Codex, or Corpus Canonum, which was in vſe in Leo the fourths time, mentioned by Gratian, diſt. 20. c. de libellis, and printed Anno 1526 at MentZ, and re-printed at Paris, in octauo, Anno 1609. omits it. The other Collection of Councels by Iſidorus Mercator, which began to bee receiued about Charles the Great his Time, wherein, beſides the forged Decretall Epiſtles of diuers Popes, are the Canons of many Prouincial Councels of Africke, France, Spaine, &c. ſet forth by Iac. Merlin at Coleine 1530, and which hath been vſually receiued in the Weſterne Church, in the times of the Schoolemen, who vſually (as do alſo Ino and Burchardus) alledge them, likewiſe omits it. The two Editions of the Councels by P. Crabbe, likewiſe omit it; and if it had not been for ſtarke ſhame, ſo would the reſt alſo. Doth he not know what his Anaſtatius and Numbertus proteſt of ſome particular Canons, and this for one,uuDiſt. 16. In Notis. Theſe Chapters we do altogether reiect. Let them by no meanes be rece…ued. That they are ioy ed with Wiue not their owne. Haec capitula omnino refutamus, and, nullatenùs recipiantur. And for this very particular Canon; If he know not, There is firſt an attempt of a double blemiſh to be caſt vponupon it: The one, in that they read it ſo, as if the Romane Clergie profeſſed quòd copulentur vxoribus non ſuis, as by way of ſcorne; whereas the words runne, ſe deinceps cum vxoribus ſuis non congreſſuros.

The other, in that ſome of their Authors would refer Sacrorum virorum to Conſtitutiones, not to Nuptias; marring quite the ſenſe of the Canon. This for the blemiſh. For the wiping out of this very Canon, and denying it place with the reſt; Let him heare his ownexxEſp. lib. 1. de Conim. Vt totum ſcilicet profanum, erroris, inſolentiae, impudicitia plenum, manifeſtae falſitatis Apocryphum, & corruptiſſimum. Eſpencaeus, telling him, that euen they which allowed this Synod reiected by Pighius, and others, yet hunc Canonem duriter tractant, &c. Vſe this Canon ſomewhat hardly, as altogether prophane, full of errour, inſolence, immodeſtie, manifeſt falſhood, Apocryphall, and moſt corrupted; and his ingenuitie is faine to plead, in concluſion, Canonem hunc legitimum eſſe non gratis, ſed neceſſariò donemus; That they muſt (not vponupon courteſie, but of neceſsitie) yeeld this Canon for legitimate, not ſuppoſiticious. And what is this in my Detectors conſtruction, but a caſhiering of this Canon out of the Councels againſt the authoritie of Gratian, and the Greeke Copies? Laſtly, the eyes of learned Chemnitius, are vndoubted witneſſes to vsus, what credit ſo euer they finde with this Italianate generation; In Tomis Conciliorum prorſus expunxerunt, & omiſerunt hunc Canonem: yyChemnit. hiſt. de Coelib. Sacerd. p. 65.In the Tomes of the Councels they hauehave altogether wip't out, and omitted this Canon. So as if wee had thoſe blurred Copies which he ſaw bleeding from the hand of the Inquiſitors, there could be no fence for this charge, but that which ſerues for all, impudent denyals.

Neither needed my Refuter to take it ſo highly,Refut. p. 196. that I obiected to them the tearing; blemiſhing, and defacing of this, and other Records againſt them; Ere long the World ſhall ſee, to the foule ſhame of theſe ſelfe-condemned Impoſtors,Eraſm. Lang. in Niceph. Io Neuizan D. Venatorius P. Crinitus. I de ſolas, Polyd. Virg. …olewinch Thuavus. Ignat. Sigebert, &c. that in the Writings both of ancient and later Authors, they hauehave blotted out more then an hundred places (ſome of them containing aboue two ſheetes apiece) concerning this very point, which we hauehave in hand.

This is no newes therefore; neither needed my Detector to make it ſo dainty.

p. 766SECT. XIV.

Refut. p. 198. vſus que ad 203.I Cited from Gratian the free confeſſion of Pope Steuen the Second, acknowledging the open liberty of Mariage to the Clergie of the Eaſterne Church, Matrimonio copulantur. They are ioyned in Mariage.A place truely irrefragable; My Refuter firſt excepts againſt the number, telling vsus that Steuen the Second liued but three or foure dayes at the moſt, and therefore he could not be the man; what ſpirit of Cauillation poſſeſſes this Maſſe-Prieſt? Hee cannot but know that his own Sigebertus aſcribes fiue yeares to this Steuen, & Hermannus, Se alſo Funccius in his Chronol.ſix: But fiue is the leaſt: And his Binius tels him that the Steuen he ſpeakes of (fitting but two dayes excluſiuely)zzBin. Steph. 2. A pluribus è Serie Rom. Pontificum dimittitur. is by the moſt omitted in the Catalogue of the Romane Biſhops: whence it is that the Chronicle names not two Steuens betwixt the firſt & the fourth. But this man (he ſaith) called no Councell; what is that to me? Gratian affirmes it, I do not. Let him fal out, for this, with his friends. And now according to the old wont, (after he hath tryed to ſhift off, Matrimonio copulantur, with the ſleeueleſſe euaſion of a falſe gloſſe (i. vtuntur) which Cajetan hath ſufficiently confuted for vsus) hee fals to a flat reiection of Gratian, Caiet. Opuſ. Caſtit.and tels vsus, out of Bellarmine, That Canon to bee perhaps of no authoritie, but an errour of the Collectors. Good God! what face hauehave theſe men? That none of their receiued Authors can be produced againſt them,Refut. p. 203. but they are ſtraight counterfeit; and yet the very ſame, where they ſpeake for them, canonicall? Their Clyents, if they might but know theſe tricks, would be aſhamed of their Patrons.

Refut. p. 204.That the Clergie not onelyonly of the Eaſt might Matrimonio copulari, but of the Weſt alſo might Matrimonium contrahere (which are the words they are vnwilling to know in their owne Canon Law) ſhew ſufficiently that they not onelyonly were maried of old, but might marry; But for the Eaſterne Clergie, it is freely granted, by all ingenuous ſpirits; inſomuch as Eſpencaeus tels vsus, that neuer Author, either old or new imputed this for a fault vntounto the Greeke Church, that their Clergie was maried.

Refut. p. 206, 207.What ſhall we ſay then to this bold Bayard, that compares this toleration of Mariage in the Greeke Church with Moſeſſes permiſsion of the Bill of Diuorce vntounto the Iewes? As if Mariage had been onelyonly tolerated, not allowed; as if vniuſt Diuorce were a fit match for lawfull Wedlocke; whiles he here talkes of Duritia cordis, well may we talke of his Duritia frontis. It is true, eueryevery Church, eueryevery Country, hath their Cuſtomes and Faſhions; which Ioannes Maior pleads againſt Beda's Cenſure of the Engliſh and Scottiſh and Brittiſh obſeruation of Eaſter, and may bee as iuſtly in this caſe pleaded for vsus, This was of old no leſſe ours, then the Greekes; And if any Church will be preſcribing againſt God, we hauehave no ſuch Cuſtom, nor the Church of God; But what a ridiculous inſinuation is i…, that the Greeke Prieſts are diſpenſed with by ſupreme authoritie Eccleſiaſticall?Refut. p. 207, 208. Forſooth, by the Pope of Rome. Faine would I learne when, vponupon what termes, at what rate the Graecians purchaſed in the Court of Rome Diſpenſation for their Mariages.

I would my Refuter had the Office appointed him to ſhuffle ouer all the Records of the Apoſtolike Chamber, till he find ſuch a grant made propter duritiem cordis; then ſhould a great deale of good Paper eſcape the miſery of being beſmeared by his Pen.

What ſtrange fantaſtike Dreames are put vponupon the World? Where the Papacy cannot preuaile, there forſooth his Holineſſe diſpenſeth. The Greeke Church admitteth maried Prieſts, the Pope diſpenſeth with them; They deny and defie the Popes Supremacie; I trow he diſpenſeth with them for that too: and why not with the Church of England? We pay no Peter-pence, wee runne not to Rome-market to buy traſh, I hope his Holineſſe diſpenſeth with vsus for theſe Peccadillo's; wee take libertie here to marry rather then to burne, why ſhould wee not hope to receiue that Diſpenſation whereof we heard the newes of late from a poore Bankrupt Carier? Ad populum phaleras.

p. 767SECT. XV.

AS for the contradiction, which his ſagacitie findes (not without much ſcorne) in the two Parliamentall Lawes of the Father, and the Sonne,Refut. p. 209. uſ que ad 214. King Henry the Eight, and King Edward the Sixt; whereof the one forbids, the other allowes the Mariage of Eccleſiaſtiques, it needed not hauehave beene any wonder to a learned Prieſt, which might hauehave knowne Councels enow, diametrally oppoſite to each other; what fault was it in the recouer'd blind man, that he firſt ſaw men vvalk like Trees, and after like men? Euen the beſt man may correct himſelfe. Neither was there here any contradiction. King Henry ſpake with the Romane Church, (whoſe one halfe of him then was) King Edward ſpake vvith the Scriptures, and purer antiquitie: King Henry neuer ſaid, God diſallowed theſe Mariages; King Edward neuer ſaid, they were allowed by the Romiſh Church.

And vvhy may not vvee draw out the like abſurditie out of Queene Maries Parliaments; vvherein ſhee reuerſed many things eſtabliſhed by King Edward, as in this very caſe concerning Mariage of Prieſts? May nor vvee herevpon aske, What vvill you ſay to ſuch Parliaments vvherein the Brother is thwarted by the Siſter, and that vvith the conſent of the moſt of the ſame Parliament-men enacting in a few yeares contrarily?

Or as if it were any newes with Popes reſcindere acta praedeceſſorum; euen of thoſe vvhichwhich immediately preceded them. Who knowes not the Story of Pope Formoſus, and Stephanus, and the many and ſtrong contradictions of decrees in the frequent long and deſperate Schiſmes of the Romiſh Church.

This laſh is indifferently fit for all backs; let him that hath no cauſe to ſmart, complaine.

What needed this foule mouth then to breake forth into ſo palpable ſlanders of that holy Archbiſhop and Martyr Doctor Cranmer, Refut. p. 212.charging him vvith deepe diſsimulation, in ſoothing vp both theſe Kings in their contrary Decrees? When it is moſt manifeſt, that this Worthy Metropolitan was the onelyonly man, which durſt for three dayes together openly in Parliament oppoſe thoſe vvickedly proiected Articles of King Henry; and this in ſpeciall. Inſomuch, as he vvas vvilled out of the houſe, till the act might paſſe; which (notwithſtanding he well knew King Henry) hee ſtoutly refuſed. Would this man (thinke we) care to bely all the Saints in Heauen for an aduantage? What will not hee dare to ſay, that vvill obiect inconſtancie to him who ſealed Gods truth with his blood?

The contradictions and weakneſſes that he findes in this Synode of Conſtantinople, Refut. p. 1… ▪ …doe no whit moue vsus; If he can allow and commend, and cite againſt vsus the ſeuen and thirtieth Canon of the councell, for the worſhip of the Croſſe, or the foureſcore and fifteenth for the holy Chriſme, and yet diſallow the thirteenth; why, may not we by the ſame Law cite and approue the thirteenth Canon againſt them, and yet diſauow thoſe other?

SECT. XVI.

NEither was it for vvant that I mentioned onelyonly this Councell of Conſtantinople; Refut. p. 220.The more ancient Conſtitutions of Ancyra, and Gangra; and the firſt and fourth of Toledo, beſides the Apoſtolicall and Nicene, might hauehave beene vrged by mee. It vvas not mine intent (vvith this blabber) to ſay more then all; but onelyonly to take an handfull out of the Sacks mouth for a taſte to the buyer; That faire flouriſh therefore of Councels which hee muſters vp againſt me herein, will be but,Refut. p. 225. Arma armis contraria: Wherein ſince my Refuter will needs make himſelfe ſo buſie, let mee intreat him by the way to compare the Councell ofaaAbo… Ann. 324. C…ngra, with the Decree of his p. 768Pope Hildebrand; The Councell ſayes flatly, Si quis diſcernit Presbyterium coniugatum, &c. If any man make difference of a maried Prieſt, ſo as that by occaſion of his mariage hee ought not to offer, and doth therefore abſtaine from his oblation, let him bee accurſed: But, his Hildebrand vxoratos Sacerdotes à diuino remonit officio, & laicis miſſam eorum audire interdixit; nouo exemplo, &c. That is, remoued maried Prieſts from their diuine office, and forbade Lay-men to heare their Maſſes, ſaith bbSigeb. de Gregor. Pap. an. 1074 Idem. & Math. Paris.Sigebert; Therefore by the ſentence of the Councell, Pope Hildebrand is accurſed; And accurſed for that very point which made him a Romiſh Saint: When my Refuter hath gnawed awhile vponupon this bone, he may hope to be rewarded with a cruſt.

Refut. p. 225. vſus que ad 234.And now for his Councels, to make vp the number hee names for the foreman of the Queſt, the Councell of Ancyra (ſomewhat before the Nicene) one who hath paſſed a direct verdict againſt him, allowing Deacons, vponupon their profeſsion, to marry. The miſerable euaſions of hisccVid. Bin. ibid. Binius, and Baronius, in this point, argue both a minde and a cauſe deſperate; vvhiles (without all colour of vvarrant) they imperiouſly turne downe theſe maried Deacons to a lay-communion, and faine this libertie onelyonly in a forced Ordination, not in a voluntarie.

Refut. p. 226.As for that firſt Canon which hee citeth of the Councell of Arles, That a man cannot be made Prieſt in the band of Wedlocke, vnleſſe hee promiſe conuerſion: It is a groſſe counterfeit: And that the world may ſee wee vſe not to paſſe theſe cenſures vvithout euident reaſon; It mentions the Arrians vvhichwhich were not yet hatched; It mentions Bonoſus, which liued long after in the time of Innocent 1. It mentions the Concilium Vaſenſe, which was yet later, in the time of Leo the firſt. When his authors can agree of the time, and make good the Synode, hee ſhall receiue an anſwer to it: In the meane time, it was either before the Councell of Nice, or after it; if before, it was corrected by the Nicene; a Prouinciall muſt yeeld to a Generall; if after, it was preſumptuous, in decreeing that peremptorily which the Generall determinately left free.

Refut. pp. 227. Carthaginen. 5. African. Can. 3. ſub Coeleſt. Can. 37. Secundum proprios terminos, vel propria ſtatuta. Where they read it, Secund… priora ſtatuta.The Councell of Arauſica is cited by him in direct termes oppoſite to the Ancyran. He muſt make them friends, ere hee can bring it forth againſt an enemie. As for the maine ſtay of this cauſe of his, which is the two Councels of Africke, lent him by his Bellarmine, it is grounded (as our learned Iunius hath probably anſwered) vponupon meere corruption, and miſ-taking; the Latine Copies taking propria, for priora: The charge of the Councell being onelyonly, that Deacons, Prieſts, Biſhops (foreign) according to their turnes of miniſtration, ſhould abſtaine from their Wiues, which no modeſt Diuine will not willingly ſubſcribe vntounto. Moreouer, I am ſure, if the one word be not corrupted, the other is ambiguous, and may as well ſignifie Balſamons foreign. And if theſe Canons were firſt Latine, and after tranſlated into the Greeke; yet the Greeke ſhewes what was the firſt Latine, and may well correct the miſtaken Originall. But to diſcuſſe the ſeuerall Councels, which he onelyonly thinkes fit to name, and vtter by whole-ſale againſt vsus, were a worke for a volume a part. The old word is Doloſus verſatur in generalibus; There is deceit in generalities; It were eaſie to ſhew that ſome of theſe are impertinent, others plainly againſt them; others corrupted to ſpeake againſt vsus, as that of Mentz, and Wormes, whereof in the ſequell; others partiall to the faction of Rome. So then, here, Obruimur numero; He thinkes to cary it by number, not by weight; where with vsus, one piece of Gold is worth a whole bagge of Counters. But, if after the Tyrannicall impoſitions of his Siritius and Innocentius tooke place in the Church, he could name for eueryevery one of his Prouinciall Synods, an hundred, it were all one to vsus; wee are not the worſe, his cauſe no whit the better. This Tradition, after that in an emulation of the Montaniſticall vaunt of Virginitie, it had gotten head in the Church, ranne like fire in a traine; Thoſe Prouinces that held correſpondence at Rome, according to the charge ofddAd ſimilitudinem ſedu Apoſtolicae, eos cuncta obſeruare conſtituat, Greg. Epiſt. lib. 3. 34. Gregory, ſpake as ſhee did prompt them; What ſhould they doe but follow their Miſtreſſe? The Greeke Church, and thoſe that p. 769either had dependance vponupon it, or which had continued in the ſucceſsion of this cuſtome of mariage, ſtill maintaining the lawfulneſſe and vſe of it inuiolable. So then, in ſumme. This he hath gained, which I am ready euer to auow; The ancienteſt Councels are againſt him; The later are againſt vsus; and God with vsus againſt them; of which we hauehave learnedeeGnapheut Orat. in defenſ. Io Piſtorii. Woe to you rebellious Children, that you ſhould hold your Councel, and not of me. Priuata decreta: to ſay, Va vobis filii deſertores, vt faceretis Concilium & non ex me. And if his Miſtris of Rome hauehave elſewhere found vaſſals, it followes not, that we may not be free. Yea, it is more then manifeſt, by thoſe euidences we hauehave already produced from their own records, that notwithſtanding this cogged number of his prouinciall Synods, and Priuate decrees (as Voluſian termes them) all the time of the firſt ſeuen hundred yeares, the freedome of this practice continued in many parts of the Chriſtian world; Inſomuch as amongſt the reſt, the Church of Armenia, for the time of the yeares mentioned, vpheld a Tradition,ffConcil. Conſtant. 6 Can. 33. Quoniam Cognouimus in Armenionum regiore eos ſolum in Cleri Ordinem referri, qui ſunt ex genere Sacerdota…i. not to admit of any Clergy-man, but thoſe which deſcended ex genere Sacerdotali, deſcended from Prieſts; Witneſſe the Fathers of Conſtantinople, in their three and thirtieth Canon. Where my Detector ſhould doe well to inquire what Balſamons Clerici Chryſo-bullati meanes; Sure I am, that this example ſufficiently proues the practicall libertie of thoſe Churches in the queſtioned limits of the ſeuen firſt Centuries. To which wee may adde the Church of Bulgaria, out of hisggDiſt. 28. Gratian; The Church of Germany out ofhhAnnal. …oyorum, ſupra. Auentine; The Church of Ireland out ofiiVita S. Malach. Lib. Synod. Wigo…n. Eccleſ. Canon. Con…il. Hybern. ſub Patricio, Auxilio Iſernino. Quicunque Clericus ab oſtiario vſque ad Sacerdotem ſine tunica viſ… fuerit, &c. & vxor eius ſine velato capite … bulauerit, pariter à laicis contemnantur, &c. Matth. Park Def. of Pr. Mar. Refut. p. 235. Bernard, who confeſſes the Epiſcopall See of Armach to hauehave been furniſhed with a lineall deſcent of Biſhops, for eight generations, before the time of his Malachias; which vvere ſtill both vxorati and literati. How thoſe men were Biſhops, and yet ſine ordinibus, is a Riddle which (I confeſſe) I cannot a read. Perhaps, they were without Romane Orders, but if they were not Clerkes after the then Iriſh faſhion, what needed they be Literati, that they might be Biſhops? The Church of our Britaine (as we ſhall ſee in the Proceſſe) and others. Theſe are more then enough to let the World ſee this reſtraint, for all this pretence of Prouinciall and partiall Councels neuer vniuerſally obtained.

SECT. XVII.

YEt the man hauing vnmercifully cruſht mee in pieces with this empty bladder of windie and worthleſſe authoritie, crowes ouer me, thus, in concluſion: And truely to me he ſeemeth not to be more mad, then blind; for otherwiſe hee would neuer hauehave proclaimed this freedome of ſeuen hundred yeares, ſeeing the very forme of words vſed by his c…ne ſacred Councell, doth ſo ſtrongly withſtand his fond collection; For there it is decreed, Qui ſunt in ſacris, &c. We will that the mariages of ſuch as be in holy Orders, from this time forward be firme and valid, For in caſe this freedome had beene common before: why did they ſay, Deinceps, from this time forward? Thus he. Wherein I would his ſuperiours did but ſee how kindly he buffets himſelfe. For if this be the force of Deinceps or A modo, I thus argue againſt him; He hath pleaded before,From this time forward. that neither this nor any other Church euer allowed, nor euer practiſed the celebration of mariage after Ordination; Now, if he turne to the ſixth Canon of this councell of Conſtantinople, hee ſhall finde Decernimus vt nulli deinceps hypodiacono, &c. We decree that from hence forward no Sub-Deacon, Deacon, or Priest may marry after his Ordination; Therefore by the force of his inference before this time (for almoſt ſeuen hundred yeares) this was commonly practiſed. And now to anſwer my Refuters Deinceps: If his wit had been any way matchable with his malice, he might hauehave ſeene that this Deinceps had relation to the Roman Church, not to the Greeke; For, (if he know not) this Synod meant to preſcribe Lawes to his Miſtreſſe, and to correct that their iniurious Tradition of reſtraint, and to inlarge this libertie through all the Territories of the Vniuerſal Church; For this purpoſe is the Deinceps, of the Conſtantinopolitane Fathers, who well knew, how much it needed in the Weſterne Church, which had inthralled their Clergie in the bondage of that vnlawfull prohibition. So as the Refuter, whiles hee playes vponupon p. 770vponupon my want of Logicke, in not deſcrying the dangerous neceſſitie of this inference vponupon me, plainely bewrayes his owne want of braines, in not deſcrying the folly of his obiection;Refut. p. 236. and where he tels me (like a dull Ieſter) That all the Wals and Windowes, from the Hall to the Kitchin, may mourne to ſee an Vniuerſitie-man hauehave ſo little wit, I muſt tell him that all the Doores of Doway may leape off their hindges, to ſee their Champion ſo childiſhly abſurd.

Refut. p. 237.Now then to anſwer his idle Epilogue; if it appeare that his owne Pope and Canoniſt, and the receiued Hiſtories of the Church, and the examples of ſeuerall Nations and perſons acknowledge this ancient liberty both in the Eaſterne and (ſome) Weſterne Churches de facto; And Moſes and the Prophets, Chriſt and his Apoſtles, the ancient Councels, with this fixt of Conſtantinople, approue it de iure; it followes that the neceſſarie impoſition of profeſſed continency, is but a part of that ſowre milke wherewith the Shee Wolfe of the Seuen-hils feeds the faction of her Romuliſts and Rhemiſts, and none of that wholeſome ſuſtenance which God and his purer Church hauehave prouided for their Children.