The determinations of the moste famous and mooste excellent vniuersities of Italy and Fraunce, that it is so vnlefull for a man to marie his brothers wyfe / that the pope hath no power to dispence therwith. 2 The determinacion of the vniuersite of Orleaunce.NOt longe syns there were put forth vnto vs the college of doctours regent{is} of the vniuersitie of Orlea~ce, these .ij. questions, that folowe. The fyrste, whether it be leful by the lawe of god for the brother to take to wyfe that woma~ / whom his brother hath lefte. The seco~de, and if this be forbydden by the lawe of god / whether this prohibition of the lawe of god maye be remytted by the pope his dispensation· we the forsaid college of doctours regent{is} accordyng to our custome and vsage / came many tymes to gether, and dyd sit diuerse tymes vpon the discussinge of these forsaid doubtes and questiones, and dyd examine and wey, as moche as we myght, dyuerse and many places both of the olde testame~t and the new, and also the interpreters and declarers bothe of the lawe of god and of the canon lawe. And when we had weyed and co~sidered all thinges exactly and with good leyser and deliberation, we haue determined and concluded / that these forsaid mariages can not be atte~pted nor enterprised / except a man do wronge and playne co~trary to the lawe of god: yea and that all though it be done by the pardon and sufferaunce of the pope. And in witnes of this co~clusion and determination / we haue caused this present publike writynge to be sygned by our scribe of our sayde vniuersite / and to be strengthed and fortified with the seale of the same. Inacted in the chapell of our blessed lady of the annuntiation / or of the good tidinges / that she had of Christis comynge / in Orleance, the yere of our lorde .1529. the .5. day of Aprill. The determinacio~ of the faculte of the decrees of the vniuersite of Paris.IN the name of our lord. so be it. There was put forth before vs, the Deane and college of the ryght counseilfull faculte of decrees of the vniuersite of Paris this question, whether the Pope myght dyspense, that the brother myght 3 mary the wyfe / that his brother had lefte, if maryage betwen his brother nowe deed and his wyfe were ones consummate. we, the dean and College of the forsaide facultie, after many disputacions and reasons made of bothe sides vpon this matter, and after great and longe tournynge and serchynge of bokes bothe of the lawe of god and of the popes lawe / and of the lawe Ciuill: we cou~sel and sey / that the pope hath no power to dispense in this forsayd case. In wytnesse whereof we haue caused this present wrytinge to be strengthed with the seale of our facultie / and with the signe of our scribe our chefe bydell. Gyuen in our co~gregation or assemble at saynt Iohn~ Lateranense in Parys / the .25. day of May / the yere of our lorde .1530. The determinatio~ of these .ii. facultes / that is / of the Popes lawe / and the Ciuill lawe / of the vniuersite of Angewe.NOt longe tyme sins ther were proposed vnto vs, the Rector and doctours regentes in lawe Canon and Ciuile of the vniuersite of Angewe, these two questions here folowynge. That is to witte, whether it is vnleful by the lawe of god, and the lawe of nature, for a man to mary the wyfe / that is lefte of his brother and that departed without childerne, but so that the mariage was co~summate. And ageyne / whether it is leful for the Pope to dispense in suche mariage. we the fore said Rector and doctours haue, accordynge to our custome and vsage, many tymes commen to gether / and sytten to dispute these questions, and to fynde out certaynly the treuth of them. And after that we had discussed and examyned many and dyuerse places, as wel of the lawe of god, as of the lawe of man / whiche seme to perteyne to the same purpose: and after that we had brought many reasons for bothe parties / and examined them: all thynges feythfully, and after good conscience consydered, and vpon sufficient deliberation and auisement taken: we define and determine / that nother by the lawe of god / nor of nature / it is permitted for any Christen man / no nat euin with the auctorite of the seate apostolyke, or with any dyspensation graunted by the pope / to mary the wyfe / that his 4 brother had lefte / all though his brother be departed without chyldren, after that mariage is ones fynisshed and consu~mate. And for witnesse of all these forsaide thynges / we haue co~maunded our scribe of our fore sayd vniuersyte to sygne this present publike instrume~t / and it to be fortified by the greatte seale of our sayde vniuersite. Inacted in the churche of seynt Peter in Angewe by our college / the yere of our lorde .1530. the .7. day of May. The determination of the facultie of diuinitie of the vniuersitie of Paris.THe Deane and the facultie of the holye diuinitie of the vniuersitie of Paris to all them / vnto whom this p~sent wryti~g shal come / wyssheth safetie in our sauiour Christe / whiche is the verye trewe safetie. where of late there is rysen a controuersie of great difficultie vpon the mariage betwene the mooste noble Henry the .viij. kynge of Englande / defendour of the faythe / and lorde of Irelande. &c. and the moste noble lady Catharine / quene of Englande / doughter of the Catholike king Ferdinande, which mariage was nat onelye contracte betwene her and her former husbande / but also consummate and finysshed by carnall intermedlynge, this question also was proposed vs to discusse and examine accordynge to Iustice and treuth / that is to say / whether that to marie her / that our brother deade without chyldren hadde lefte / be so prohibite by the lawe of god and of Nature / that hit can nat be made lefull by the popes dispensations / that any christian man shulde marye the wyfe, that his brother hath lefte. we, the foresayde deane and facultie callynge vnto our remembraunce howe vertuous and howe holy a thynge and howe agreable vnto our profession, vnto our duetie of loue and charitie / hit is for vs to shewe the waye of Iustyce and ryght, of vertue and honestie to them / whiche desyre to leade and passe ouer their lyfe in the lawe of our lorde with sicker and quiet conscience: wolde nat but be redy to satisfie so iuste and honest requestes. whervpon after our olde wonte, we came to gether vpon our othe in the churche of saynt Maturin 5 / and there for the same thynge had a solempne masse with deuout prayer to the holy goste / and also we toke an othe euery man to delyuer and to study vpon the foresayde question, as shulde be to the pleasure of god / and accorgynge to conscience. And after diuerse and many sessions or syttynges, whiche were had and continued in the churche of seynt Maturin, and also in the college called Sorbone, fro~ the viii. day of Iune to the seconde day of Iuly / when we hadde serched and examined throwe and throwe, with as moche dilygence as we coulde, and with suche reuerence and religion or co~science as becometh in suche a matter, bothe the bokes of holy scripture, and also the moste approued interpreters of the same, finally the generall and synodall councelles, decrees / and constitucions of the sacre holy churche / which by longe vsage and custome haue ben resseyued and approbate: we the foresayde Dean and faculte, disputinge vpon the fore sayde question, and makynge answere to the same: and that after the iugement and full consent of the moste parte of the facultie, haue concluded and determined, that the foresayde mariage with brothers wyues, departynge without chyldren, be so forbydden, bothe by the lawe of god / and of nature, that the pope hath no power to dyspense with suche maryages, whether they be co~tracte, or to be co~tracte. And for credence and beleue and witnes of this our assertion and determination, we haue caused the seale of our facultie, with our notaris signe to be put vnto this present writinge. Dated in our general congregation, that we kepte by an othe at saynt Maturins, the yere of our lorde .1530. the seconde day of Iuly The determinacion of the vniuersite of Biturs.VVe the Dean and facultie of diuinite in the vniuersyte of Biturs / bycause we wyll accordynge to the ensample of Paule the doctour of the ge~tiles / whiche dothe lyke wise in many places / wyl begyn our writynge with prayer / vnto al the beloued of god / amonge whom you most dere reders / vnto who~ we write, 6 be called / grace and peace and quietnesse of conscience come vnto you from god the father / and fro~ our lorde Iesu Christe. with in the octaues of whytsontyde / whyle we were gethered to gether all into one place both in body and mynde, and were sytting in the house of the foresayde Dean, there was a question put vnto vs ageyne, which had ben proposed vnto vs often tymes before, beinge no small question, which was this: whether the brother takyng the wife of his brother now deed, and the mariage ones consummate and perfecte, dothe a thynge, that is vnlefull, or no. At the laste when we had sought for the treuth of the thynge, and had perceiued and founde it out by moche labour and studye of euery one of vs by hym selfe, and by moche and often turninge of holy bokes / euery one of vs not corrupt, wherby we might the lesse haue obeyed the treuth, began as the holy goste dyd put in his minde, to gyue euery man one arbiterment and sentence, whiche was this: I haue wel perceyued in very trouthe with out regarde or respecte of any person, that those persones / whiche be rehersed in the .xviii. chaptre of the Leuiticall / be forbydden by the very lawe of nature to contracte matrimony to gether, and that this lawe can in no wyse be released by any auctorite of any man: by the whiche ther is made an abhomynable discouering of the brothers foulnes. And this is the signe of our comen bedyl & notary, & the seale of our foresayd facultie put vnto this present writynge the .x. day of Iune, the yere from the byrthe of Christe .1530. And by cause the foote of our wrytynge shal be of one forme or fasshion with the heed, as we began with prayer / so let vs ende, after the example of Paule that we spake of before, and sey: The grace and fauour of our lorde Iesus Christe / the charite and loue of god, and the communication of the holy gost be with you al. Amen. 7 The determination of the facultie of diuinitie of the vniuersitie of Bononye.GOd best, & myghtiest, taught fyrste the olde lawe or testament with his owne mouth / to forme and fasshyon accordyng to loue and charitie the maners and lyfe of men. And seconde the same selfe god dyd take afterwardes manhode vpon hym, for to be the redemer of man: and so made the newe lawe or newe testament, nat onely to forme and fasshion accordynge to loue & charitie, the lyfe and the maners of men / but also to take away and to declare doubtes / the whiche dyd aryse in many cases: whiche whan they be ones clerely determined / shall helpe greatly to pfecte vertue and goodnes / that is to say / to perfecte loue and charite. wherfore we thought it euermore / that it shulde be our parte / to folowe these moost holy doctrines & lawes of our father of heuen / and that we lyghtned by the lyghte of god aboue / & of the holy gooste, shulde gyue our sentence and iudgement in hyghe and doutfull matters / after that we haue ones leyserly and sufficiently taken aduisement vpon the cause, and haue clerely serched out & opened the thyng by many reasons and writinges of holy fathers / as well for the one parte as for the tother / doynge nothing as nighe as we can rasshely or without deliberation. Therfore where as certaine great & noble men dyd insta~tly desyre vs / that we wolde with al dilige~ce possible loke for this case / that hereafter insueth: and afterwardes to gyue our iugeme~t vpo~ the same / accordynge to most equite ryght and conscience / sticking onely to the truth / all the doctours of diuinite of this vniuersitie / whan we had euery one by hym selfe examined the matter before at home in our houses, came all to gether in to one place / and there treated vpon hit many dayes / with as moche counnynge and lernynge as we coulde: we anon loked vpon the case to gether / we examyned hit to gether / we compared all thynge to gether: we handlynge throughly euery thynge by it selfe / dydde trie them euen as you wolde saye / by lyne and rule: we brought forthe all maner of reasons / whiche we thought 8 coulde be brought for the contrary parte / & afterwardes solued them. ye euen the resones of the mooste reuerende father Cardinal Caietaine, yea more ouer the Deuteronomi dispensation of styrring vp the brothers sede, and shortly all other maner of reasons and opinions of the contrarie partie, as many as semed to belonge to this pourpose. And this question / that was asked of vs was this / whether hit was forbydden onely by the ordynaunce of the churche / or els by the lawe of god / that a man myghte nat marye the wyfe lefte of his brother: departed without children. And if it were co~maunded by both the .ij. lawes nat to be done, whether the pope may dispence with any man to make suche mariage? the whiche question nowe that we haue examined it bothe by our selfe secretely, and also openly as dyligently and exactly as we coulde possible, and discussed it after the best maner that our witte wold serue, we determine / we gyue iudgement, we sey, and as stifly as we can we witnes / and without any doute / do stedfastly hold / that this mariage shulde be horrible / accursed / to be cryed out vpon / and vtterlye abhominable, not onely for a christen man / but also for any infidell / vnfeythful, or hethen. And that it is prohibite vnder greuous peynes and punysshementes by the lawe of god of nature and of man / and that the pope / though that he almost maye do all thynges / vnto whom Christe dyd gyue the keyes of the kyngdome of heuen / hath no power to gyue a dispensation to any man for to contracte suche a mariage for any maner of cause consideration or suggestion. And all we be redye at all tymes and in al places to deende and maynteine the treuth of this our conclusion. In wytnesse wherof we haue made this present writing, and haue fortified the same bothe with the seale of our vniuersitie, and also with the seale of the college of the doctours of diuinitie, and haue subscribed & signed it with our general and accustomed subscription. In the cathedrall churche of Bonony the .10. daye of Iune / the yere of our lorde 1530. vnder the popeshyppe of Clemente the· eyght. 9 The determination of the faculte of diuinitie of the vniuersitie of Padway in Italy.THey / that haue written for the mayntenaunce of the catholike feyth / affirme that god best and mightiest dyd gyue the preceptes and co~mandementes of the olde lawe with his owne mouthe, to be an exampler for vs / wherin we might se bowe we shuld order our life & our maners / and this god had done before he became ma~. And after that he had put vpon hym our manhode / and was become redemer or byer of mankinde / he made the newe lawe or testame~t / and of his mere liberalitie dyd gyue it vs nat only for the cause beforesayd, but also to take away and declare al maner of doutes and questions / that myghte arise / the whiche ones opened and declared what their very true meanynge is / to the intent that therby we myght be made perfectly good / be greatly frutefull vnto vs and holsome / and seinge that this was the mynde of god in makyng these lawes / it hath ben our intent / and euermore shal be, as it becometh christen men / to folowe these most solempne ordinaunces of the moste hygh worke mayster god / and by the helpe of light, that is aboue the capacite of nature, to vtter our iudgement in al maner of doutes and harde questions. After that we had ones consydered the thynge after the best maner, and had by suffycient leyser made it clere by many euident reasons of bothe parties, and by many auctorites of fathers of the churche, determinynge no thinge, as nere as we can, rasshely or with out conuenient deliberation: seynge therfore that certeyne great orators or ambassadours dyd humbly praye vs / that we wolde wytsaue to serche out / with all the diligence that we coulde / this case folowynge: and afterwardes to gyue our sentence vpon the same, playnely & symply loking vpo~ the only treuth / all the doctours of diuinite of this vniuersite came to geder after that we had euery ma~ examined the thynge particularly at home in our owne houses, and haue beate~ it out with all lernynge and counnyng that we were able / anon, whan we were to gether, we cosydered, examyned, and weyed all thynges by 10 them selfe, and brought in all maner of reasons / whiche we thoughte myghte in any meanes be made to the contrarye / and without all colour or cloke dyd holly and clerely dissolue them, & take them awaye: and amongest al, euyn the dispensation by the lawe of the deuteronomi of styrrynge vp the brothers sede, and all maner other reasons and determinations to the contrary, that semed to vs to perteyne any thing to the purpose / we vtterly confuted and dispatched them. And the question, that was put vnto vs is this. whether that to marye the wyfe of our brother departed without children, is forbidde~ only by the lawe of the churche, or by the lawe of god also: and if it be forbydden by both the .ij. lawis / wheder the pope may dispe~ce with any man for suche matrimonie or no. whiche question nowe that we haue discussed it / and as farre as we coulde, haue made it clere / bothe priuately euerye man by hym selfe / & all to gethers openly / we say / iuge, decree / wytnesse, and for a treuth affirme / that such mariage is no mariage: yea that hit is to be abhorred and cursed of euerye christen man / and to be abhomynate as a greuous synne / and that it is as clerely as can be forbydden vnder moost crudell penalties by the lawe of nature, of god, and of man. And that the Pope, vnto whom the keyes of the kyngdome of heuen be commytted by Christe, the sonne of god, hath no power to dispense by ryghte and lawe for any cause or suggestion, or excuse / that any suche matrimonie shulde be contracte. for tho thynges / whiche be forbidden by the lawe of god / be nat vnderneth his power / but aboue hit / nor he is nat the vicar of god / as concernynge tho thynges / but only in suche thinges / as god hath nat determined him selfe in his lawe / but hath lefte them to the determination and ordinance of man. And to mainteine the truth of this our sentence and co~clusion / and for most certaine / & vndoubted defence of the same, we all of one mynde and accorde, shall at all tymes and in euerye place be redye. In wytnesse wherof we haue made this writinge, and haue auctorised it with the accustomed seale of our vnyuersitie, and also of our college of diuines. Dated at Padway in the church of the hermites of seynt Austen the .1. day of Iuly an. 1530. 11 The determination of the vniuersitie of Tolose.THer was treated in our vniuersite of Tolose a very harde question, whether it is leful for the brother to mary her, whiche had ben wyfe vnto his brother now departed, and that without childerne. There was be syde this, a nother thynge / that troubleth vs very sore, whether, if the Pope, which hath cure of Christes flocke, wolde by his dispe~satio~, as men cal it, suffer this: that tha~ at the leest wise it myght be lefull. The Rector of the vniuersite called to cou~sell all the doctours regentes, that were that tyme at Tolose, for to shewe theyr myndes vpon this questio~ / and that not ones but twyse: for he iuged / that counsell gyuynge ought not to be hasted / nor done vpon heed, and that we had nede of tyme and space to do any thynge conueniently, and as it ought. At the last there came to gether in to one place all the best lerned and counningest doctours / both of holy dyuinite, and also doctours, that were most best lerned in bothe lawes, yea and finally as many as had any experie~ce in any matter, & were able to do any thing other by iudgement and discretion / or by eloquence, or by their excelle~t wyttes: and did swere, that they wolde obey the sacre holy cou~sels, and wold folowe the decrees of the fathers, whiche no man, that hath any good conscience / will violate or breke / and so euery man sayd his mynde / and the matter was debated and resoned diffusely and at large for both parties. In co~clusion we fell so faste vnto this poynt, that this was the sentence and determination, that our vniuersite / with one voyce of all / dyd determine and conclude, with moste pure and clere conscience, and defyled with no maner of leuen or corruption: that it is lefull for no man, nother by the lawe of god nor yet by the lawe of nature, to take her to wyfe, that his brother hath lefte. And seinge that it may not be done by the lawe of god, nor of nature, we answered al / that the Pope can not lose no ma~ fro that lawe / nor dispense with hym. And as for that thynge can not be contrary to our sentence & verdicte, that the brother in olde tyme was compelled by the lawe of the Deuteronomi to mary the brothers wyfe departed 12 without issue. For this lawe was but a figure and a shadowe of thinges to come, whiche vanisshed a wey, as soone as euer the lyght and treuthe of the gosspell apered. And bycause these thynges be thus, we haue giuen our sente~ce after this forme aboue, and haue commaunded that same to be signed by our notarie, whiche is our secretarie, and to be fortified and auctorised by the puttynge to of our autenticall seale of our vniuersite aforesayde. At Tolose the calendes or fyrst day of Octobre / the yere from the birthe of Christe .1530. [leaf motif] The preface to the reder.GEntyll indifferent reder thou hast here before the determinations and decrees / whiche the moost famous and moste noble vniuersities of al christendome haue with great consente, great iugement, and discretion, with great faith fulnes / and without any corruption, with great regarde / clerenes / and discharge of conscience made / and by theyr auctoritie confirmed vpon those leuitical lawes: by the whiche it is forbydden / that any man shulde marie the wyfe of his brother departed without chyldren / and we doubte nat / but these decrees and determinations ought of right and good reason to be beleued / both of the and also of all other / that be men of wysedome and discretion: and that be nothynge affectionate / but indifferent. For suche men wyll be well contente and satisfied alonely with the very truth it selfe / all though it be nat fortified with any wytnesse, nor sette forthe with pompe and plentie of reasons: so that suche men wolde nothinge doute / but that thynge oughte to be iudged as certayne and trewe / as possible may be / the whiche so many of the moost absolute / and moost wyse, and moost best sene men in all kynde of lernynge haue serched / beaten out / trased out, and in conclusion decreed and determined, with so great grauitie and sobre maner / with so great studie and diligence / and with suche leysour and deliberation. But parauenture there be some / the whiche wyll lyttell be moued from their opinion / that they haue ones taken / for all 13 those decrees and verdites of so great lerned and wysemen / and for al the agrement and auctoritie of so many and so excellent vniuersities / but wyll thynke / that hit is necessarie to entre hygher and deper yet into the knowlege of the treuth / and wyll nat grounde and stablysshe theyr beleue but euen vpon the foundacions and groundes of very truth selfe / whiche they them selfe haue spyed and clerely perceyued / and nat vpon other mennes sentences and iudgementes. Therfore we haue iudged / that we shulde do a thynge worthe our labour / if we dyd gather in to one smalle boke certayne reasons and auctorities / by the whiche it might be plainly and openly declared / that ther were very weighty and ryghtfull reasons / whiche were able to brynge so many lerned men into this true opinion. And in doing our diligence in this matter / hit semed to vs conuenient to folowe, as a certayne rule and lyne / nat only the auctorities of holy scripture / of holy cou~sailes and canons, and also of the most approued and resceyued doctours of the churche: but also the wytnesse of reason and nature / and to set before mens eies / as farre as scripture or reason, or fynallye nature semed vs to helpe, for the declaration and confirmation of the iudgement and mynde of these foresayde lerned men. And if so be it gentil reder / these thynges, that we shall sey, shall not fully satisfye thy marueilous exact iudgement, and shal be sene not to be greatly necessarye, and to proue but smally this matter, that we go aboute: there shalbe no cause for all that, why thou shuldest esteme the most weightie determination, and moste hyghe wisdome and lernynge of these vniuersyties, by our power and smalle lernynge: but shalte for thy naturall gentilnes pardon our weaknesse and sklendernesse of wytte and lernynge, the whiche was not able to do no better / & shalte loke for more weightye and piththie reasons of the vnyuersyties selues / whiche reasons as these vniuersities haue them in a redynes and at ha~de, so we doubte not, but of their humanitie and gentilnes they will gladly shew them to euery man, that will desyre them / and also shortly put them out openly to all the worlde. In the meane season, gentill indefferente reder, take in good worthe 14 our studie / and faythful diligence, and this our labour and enterprise, and loke ouer these wrytinges (suche as they be) gladly and indyfferently. And let it not be paynfull vnto the good reder / yf we tary in any place in this worke somewhat longe: for bothe the diffycultie and hardnesse of this thynge, and the maner of our intent and pourpose dothe necessarely require, that we shulde touche eche one thynge somwhat depely euen from the hede and very fountayne and begynnynge of hit. And farthermore, that we shulde declare and open all thynges some what at large and plentyfully, and that specyally in the fyfte chaptre of thys boke, wherby bothe the treuthe, playnely shewed, maye the more clerely be seen, and the errour, and false opynion of them, that be of the contrarie syde, maye be the more easely perceyued. And seinge, that this verdyte and iudgement of the Vnyuersytyes conteyneth chieffely two thynges / the whiche, as ye wolde saye / be the hyghe poyntes and heedes or issues of this determynation: The fyrste, that hit is forbydden, bothe by the lawe of god / and also by the law of nature / that any christen ma~ shulde marie the wyfe of his brother dyeng with out children. The seconde / that the Pope hath nat power to dispence vpo~ any suche mariages / whether they be contracte allredy / orels yet to be contracte. It lyked vs here fyrste and formoste to loke vpon the lawe of god / that we might clerely se the glorious bryghtnes of the treuthe of our lorde. For trewly who so euer wyll diligently loke with suche eies / as he oughte vpon the lawe of god / puttyng of clene the coueryng of his flesshe and bloudde / with the desyres, affections, and lustes of the same / by the whiche a manne is blynded, that he can nat se the trewthe of god / he shall without doubte vnderstande / what thynges be of god, what thynges be of Christe, & what thinges be of the spirite or goste. For truely the same lawe doth perfectely teache / what thynges so euer belonge to the feare and drede of god, what to the euermore enduring treuth / what to the euerlasting iustice of god / what to the power and vertue of god / what to the grace and fauour and to the free benefites of god / what to feyth, beleue, and truste / 15 what to knowlegynge of synne / what to holynesse / what to perfection / to rightnes / to equitie and conscience / to loue and charitie / breuely / what thinges before god are taken for cleane or vncleane / fyled or vnfiled / comely and acceptable / abhominable and cursed / holy and vnholy. All these thynges teacheth the sayde lawe of god. And the historie of Moses (concernynge the sacrament of matrimony) is after this maner and forme folowynge. [leaf motif] The fyrste chaptre.GOd that is best and almightie / after that he by his power / whiche can in no wise be expressed / had made heuen & erthe, and all thynges, that be conteyned within the compasse of the same, and at the laste had made Adam also / he sawe accordynge to his incredible knowlege and wysedome / that it was nat conuenie~t, nor yet good, that Adam shuld leade his lyfe in Paradyse solitary and all alone without company / and destitute of all helpe and comforte. for god made hym naturally to lyue in amitie and frendship / in loue and good wyll / and hadde grauen nowe alredy in his soule / with his fynger of the holy goste / certayne generall vnder standynges / perceyuynges / and knowleges / the whiche shulde nat onely moue and sturre hym to the loue of god and man / to amitie and frendeshyppe / and to other dueties / dedes / and offices of vertue: but also shulde greatly helpe and strength hym / make hym able and of power to performe and fulfyll those same offices of vertue / after suche maner as they ought to be done. Therfore god / soone after he hadde made Adam / cast hym in a deed slepe / and toke out one of his rybbes of his side / and made it a woma~. And wha~ he had broght her vnto Ada~ / & had coupled them straitly to gethers, by the bo~de & knot of mariage / by and by he made the lawes of mariage / sayenge by the mouth of Ada~, Nowe this bone of my bones and flesshe of my flesshe. For the which cause a man shal leaue his father and mother / and shall stycke vnto his wyfe: and they shall be two in one flesshe or body / or two shall be made one flesshe or bodye. But the deuyll hauynge 16 enuy at their felicitie / by and by came vpo~ them by subtiltie and suche crafte / as can nat be tolde / and dyd nat ceasse tyl he had allured them into the snare of synne. And therfore they were owtlawed and dreuen forthe of Paradyse / and were co~pelled to till and labour the erth. There when they had applyed them selfe to brynge forthe children, and nowe by proces of tyme the multitude of men was increased vnto an infinite noumbre: god seynge / that moche was the malyce and vyce of men in the erth, and that all the thought and mynde of the herte of manne was sette and bent euermore and at all tymes to noughtynesse and synne, in so moche that they toke them wyues at aduentures, whome so euer they hadde chosen / sparynge or forbearynge no maner degree of affinitie or kynred: oure lorde repentynge hym selfe / that he hadde made man, brought in the waters and Noes fludde vppon the erthe / and slewe all the flesshe / in the whiche was the spirite of lyfe vnder heuen / excepte those fewe, whome he commaunded to go in to the arke or shyppe of Noe, the whiche fewe whanne after the drownynge of the worlde / they were called out of the shyppe abrode, that is to witte, whan that our lord was atone ageyne with mankinde, he gyuyng his blessing to Noe & his children / whan he was about to publisshe vnto them agayne the lawes of maryage: Fyrste and before all thynges he commanded them to do their dutie in mariage, and to encrease and multiplie / and fyl ful the erthe. But after this whan certayne hundredes of yeres were paste, and nowe the children of Israel, after theyr departyng out of Egypte (where they hadde dwelled of a longe tyme) had ben in the wyldernesse .lx. dayes more or lesse / and had pyght their tentes ageynste the mounte of Oreb, and there our lorde had shewed vnto Moses, with wonderfull religion and fearefulnes, nat onely the commaundementes and iudgementes / the whiche he wolde to be gyuen to his people: but also had instructe hym at large of the buyldynge of the tabernacle / and of the ornamentes of the same, of sacrifice doinge, and of bole bourned sacrifice / and of the place and tyme of the same / of the prestes of the kynred of Leui / of the difference 17 of meates / of the clensynges of leprijs / and of other mistycal thinges: in the whiche outwardly appered a shadowe of feythe / and of good maners / not the very thynge in dede: our lorde called Moses vnto hym agayne out of the tabernacle of witnesse or promyse / and by cause that the tyme was euen at hande, for the people of Israhell to entre into the londe, that god hadde promysed them, he commaunded Moses ageyn / that by his worde and co~maundement he shulde admonysshe the people of newe / of kepynge the moralle preceptes / and that perteyne to good maners / and to the orderyng and wel rulinge of theyr lyfe / and that he shulde make them playn and open vnto them / after the moost largest and playnest maner that he coulde. Therfore by cause, that god dyd study / and dyd care before al thinges / that his people / whom he had chosen for his owne propre flocke / shuld with suche chastitie and pure holynes / as becometh / kepe their matrimony / the whiche is in honour and reuerence amongest al folkes: And bicause they shulde kepe their beddes vnspotted and vndefiled / nor shulde nat pollute them selfe with suche maner of mariages, as he had abhorred and had in abhominacion nowe of longe tyme amongest the hethens / & had ryghtfully be reue~ged vpon them by mooste greuous punysshementes, bycause they were vncharytable / incest / and a cursed / our lorde co~maunded Moses, that he shulde prescribe vnto his people / lawes of matrimoni, that shuld be co~formable and agreing with honestie and shamefastnes naturall / and that he shulde vtterly forbydde suche maryages / whiche had foulenes and dishonestie in them. And therfore our lorde vsed these wordes vnto Moses / in the .xviij. chaptre of the Leuiticall / sayenge: O Moses / speake vnto the children of Israhell / speke and tell them / nat thy worde / nor thy commaundement / but myne. For I my selfe / their very lorde and god / do teche them this / and this commaunde them / that they lyue nother after the abhomynable custome of the Egiptiens / from whose miserable bo~dage I haue delyuered them into perfecte and full libertie, by my valiaunt arme and myghtie power: nor yet after the vngracious vsages, and maners of the Cananees / whose lande 18 I wyll gyue vnto them / and wyll brynge them into it· but that they from hensforth obserue and kepe my commaundementes / my iudgementes / and my lawes, and that they folowe them, and lyue after them. For besyde other myscheuous vices / this thyng also is leful and customable amonge those hethens / to myngle or marye them selfe by moost shamefull luste and plesure of their bodyes with women / that be most nyest of their bloud / and of their affinitie / puttynge no difference betwene them and other women. Therfore I wyll haue my people to be very farre from their maners and conditions. And therfore I myn owne selfe, theyr verye lorde and god, saye vnto them, & co~mande them / that no ma~ so hardy to come nye any woman / that is nere of his bloud / for to discouer her foulenes or shame, as to his owne mother, to his step mother, to his syster, to his nece / to his aunte or fathers syster / to his mothers syster, to the daughter of his son in lawe, to the daughter of his daughter in lawe, or to his wyues syster. Also no man shall take the wyfe of his brother, and no man shal discouer the foulenes of his brothers wyfe, bycause it is the foulenes of his brother. For who so marieth his brothers wyfe / dothe a thynge / that is vnlefull, he shall be without sonnes or heyres male. Therfore lette nat my people be polluted with none of these thynges, with whiche all the hethyns be defyled / whome I shall cast out before their faces, and with whom that lande is polluted / and I shall visite & loke on the mischeuous sins of that lande / that it shall vomette and spewe forth the inhabitantes of hit. Lette them kepe my lawes, and my iugementes / and se they do none of all these abhominacions, whether he be of the countrey borne, or a tyll man / that is a straunger amonge them. For the dwellers of this lande / whiche were in hit before them / and haue polluted hit / haue done all those cursed thynges. Therfore let them beware / lest that whan they haue done like thingis, the lande vomet & spewe them out / likewyse as it hath vomet and spewed out the nacion / that was there before them. For euery soule, that shall do any of these abhominations / shal perisshe from the myddes of my people, nor shall nat be rekened amongest my holy people. 19 ¶And trewly hytherto we haue shewed you / by a certain breue exposition / and that only vpo~ the feythe & credence of the most approued doctours, that be / and also as shortely as we coulde / almost all that euer is prescribed and commaunded in the olde testament, by the mouth of god hym selfe, vpon the begynninge and fyrst ordyna~ce of maryages / and of the lawes thereof / and more ouer vpon the impedymentes or lettes of maryage / by the meane of kynrede and affinitie / the which haue place at this day. wherby it may easely be perceyued, that suche an impedyment of mariage is expressely fou~de in the holy scripture / wher by persones be made vnlefull to contracte matrimonie / that is to say / the impedime~t by nerenesse of bloudde, as Moses called hit: by the whiche we vnderstande bothe them / that be of kynred, and them that be of affinitie also, and that nat generally in al kynsfolke / but specially in those degrees and persons, whiche bothe we haue rehersed / and they be expressely rekned vp in the foresayde .xviij. chaptre of the Leuiticall. And by the same foresayde thynges a man may also well se, that no man can pretende any colour or cloke / or fynde any maner of cauillation, wherby that man, which hath maried his brothers wyfe, shulde nat be iuged of all the holle people, nat onely to haue contemned and dispised god, the whiche hath with so great maiestie co~maunded the contrary, but also to haue offe~ded by infectynge and corruptinge the maners of the people, by suche a mischiuous example, to haue done agaynst the lawes of nature, and also to haue broken fouly and vngodly, the ryghtes and holy kepynge of shamefastnes and mariage, finally to haue hyndred vniuersally the propagacion and increasynge of loue and charitie betwene christen people. For who so euer wyll consyder aryghte, and accordynge to reason, the order, the strength, and vertue of these lawes / and also the wyse intent and reason of the makinge of them: he shal sone perceiue, howe true it is, that we haue seyde. And first of al consider / howe greatly these lawes of matrimoni do helpe for the maynteininge & exercise of vertue, of chastite, of clennes, of holynes, & puritie of mariage, of natural demurenes, shamefacidnes, & reuerence, that ought to be betwene kynsfolke, 20 specially in mariage, of propagacion or increasement of loue and charite, and finally of diuers other dueties, offices, and dedes of vertue, whiche both of them selfe be honest & good / and besydes forth be necessary also to the purchasing & obteining of euerlastinge felicitie. Ageyn ponder, how god, most of power, and most best, doth exhorte in a maner by certaine obtestations or affectuous / & harty desiringes & prayeng{is}, nat only the Iues / but also the strangers / that lyue after Moses lawe / to perfourme and fulfyll these foresayde lawes, nat onely for his benefites and goodnes, that they haue had, & shulde haue of him, but also for his owne auctorite and maieste, which is most great, and in no wise to be disobeyed. Ouer & beside al this consider, with howe great strengthe & weyghte of wordes, and with howe great care and thought god, in decreenge these lawes / doth often reherse / sayeng· It is nat for a man, it is foulenes, it is mischeuousnes, it is cursidnes / it is abhomination, it is nat to be spoken, it is nat lefull / it is agaynst the very lawes of god / breuely hit is fylthye and sklaunderous / that any man shulde do any suche thyng· Last of all & for a conclusion consider, what and howe greuous punysshementes god dothe threten them with, whan he dothe require of them the kepyng of this lawes: ye and more ouer, how sore he hath taken vengeaunce, and hath punysshed the hethens, by cause they had contracte cursed mariages within these degres, and that before this lawe was made. And he dothe threten also lyke, and not a whitte lesse punisshementes, vnto the Iues / and hethins / that professe the Iues lawe / if at any tyme they dyd co~mitte like enormities. Forsoth if any man will wey well / and examin these foresayde thynges / religiously / and with good conscience / so as they oughte to be / howe shal he nat streight approue and allowe the conclusions and determinations of those Vniuersities / and to thynke certaynely, that it is forbydden bothe by the lawe of god / and the lawe of Nature / that any christen man shulde take to wyfe his brothers wydowe. For seynge that these prohibitions (as we shall here after more largely declare) were hallowed & founded by god hym selfe vpon the feare of god / vpon the treuthe, vpon iustice / vpon holynesse, 21 and equite, and conscience, on feyth, apon perfetnesse and ryghtnes, and on charite / and for to declare and open the knowlege of our synne / for to declare the knowlege of the grace and fre goodnes of god, for clennes / for comelinesse / finally for good reasonable and holy obedience / or seruice of god / and suche as shuld be to our lorde god pleasaunt and acceptable / what man, hauynge pure conscience in his soule, doth not iudge suche forbidden mariages to be incestuous, foule, vncleane, abhominable, and a cursed before god and manne? And what man, ye though he were gouernour of all the holle worlde, if his conscience pricked hym for suche incest, wyll not feare the terrible iudgement of god? Fyrst / leest he shulde prouoke and brynge vpon hym selfe the vengeance of god / as dyd the sonnes of Cain, the whiche were drowned in Noes floudde, by cause they did fouly abuse their systers and their brothers wyues, as approued doctours do saye. Seconde, lest he shulde be constrayned to flee his countrey, and his children / either to be distroyed or disherited, lyke as the kynges of Canaan were serued / and as it came in tyme paste to the kynge Iechonias. Finally / leest that after this lyfe, he fall also into the tourmentes of euerlastynge punisshement. For here you se before your eies the sacre holy lawes of god / here you se the lyuely prophecyes, and wordes of excedynge vertue and strengthe, the whiche be more persynge, as Paule sayth / than any double edged sworde / whiche ronnethe through, til they haue diuided the life and the soule / and haue deuided the ioyntes & the mary. whiche wordes, seing they be so playne and open, that if any man will adde and put any thinge vnto them / it shulde be ieopardie, leest he shulde be reproued, and founde false, and a lyer / accordynge to Salomons sayenge: Forsothe it becometh a christen harte more to regarde the wordes and auctoritie of god / whiche so doth forbydde / so hath in abhominacion, so dothe punysshe and reuenge suche matrymonie, that is contracte with the brothers wyfe / than any maner auctoritie of men, or any felicitie of this worlde, that shulde brynge a man to so great vice and vngodlynesse, to so great dedly remorse, and tearinge a sondre of a mans mynde and conscience. For 22 who doth nat vnderstande, that we ought rather to obeye god than man / and that hit shall be smalle proffyte to a man, if he wynne all the worlde / and lose his soule. For if he lose his soule, he leseth his body also. And truely it is a heuy wynnynge / for the whiche a man leseth hym selfe: that is to saye / his bodye and his soule / into euerlastynge damnacion. [leaf motif]The seconde Chaptre.THerfore all thoughe a good and a christen reder / after that he hath ones sene these sayenges of god / can not resonably desire any thyng more to moue his co~scie~ce / that he shud surely beleue, that he can nat breake this Leuiticall forbyddynges, that a man shulde nat marie his brothers wyfe, without greuous sinne / and transgression both of the lawe of god, and of the lawe of nature also: we neuerthe lesse wyll brynge forthe also wytnesse of the lawe of the gospell, suche as shall be thought to helpe for the clerynge of this matter, and also we shall shewe / what the sacre holy counsayles / and the best lerned and moost approued doctours of the churche haue iuged in this matter. And first of al the auctoritie of saynt Iohn~ and saynt Paule doth maynteine and confyrme the sentence of these vniuersities. The auctorite of saynt Paule, where as he gyueth his iudgement, that christen men, euen at this tyme / are bounde to kepe that other Leuiticall lawe / that a man shulde nat mary his stepmother / whiche law was made and publisshed in the same place / the same text / by the same sprite / and the same selfe tyme, that this other law was / that a man shulde nat marye his brothers wyfe. And Paule calleth that vnclenlines or fornication, vtterly agaynst Nature, and beastly / that a man shulde marie his fathers wife. Ageyn the auctoritie of saint Iohn~ is playn / where as he openly rebuketh Herode the kynge / sayenge: It is not leful for the to haue thy brothers wyfe. For what so euer the interpretatio~ or vnderstandyng of those wordes is / whether they be vnderstande of his brother beyng a lyue or deed: yet this thynge is sure / as it is also sene to great lerned men, that saynt Iohn~ dydde take those wordes out of the Leuiticall 23 boke. And by cause that those thynges, whiche he did saye, shulde haue the more auctorytie, strengthe, and vertue, he pourposely did rebuke and reproue the shamelesse & incest life of Herode, not bi his owne wordes, but by the wordes of god. For it shulde haue bene to no pourpose, to haue layde any crime to kynge Herodes charge for this thynge, vpon any other cause / seinge that Herode was an alien and an heathen: and therfore was not forbydden by none other lawe, wherby he myghte not marye his brothers wyfe / ye and thoughe his brother had lefte .x. childerne by her. for as the prohibitions of the lawe Canon they were nat that tyme made / & the lawe Deuteronomi dyd bynde the Iues onely. wherfore seinge that this (no doute) most rightfull sentence of saint Iohn~ was giuen agaynst kynge Herode an hethen man, generally and without any exception / lymitation / or distinction / nor hit is nat restreined vnto the wyfe of his brother lyuyng / or of his brother leauyng children, what other thynge shulde we thinke that saynt Ihon~ did meane? then that this Leuiticall lawe / that a man shulde not marie his brothers wyfe, dothe indefferently belonge vnto all men / as well hethens as Iues / by cause it is merueilous agreable with naturall reason, and that all christe~ men are necessarely bounde vnto the obseruatyon or kepynge of the same, as well as they be to the kepynge of the co~mandement of god and of nature? For though we graunte / that Moses lawe was not taken a wey, specially amonge them / vnto whom the gospell was not yet shewed, vntyll suche tyme as the gospell / and this happy tidinges of Christ was published and openly declared vnto them / yet all that euer is conteined in Moses lawe, as many as belonge either to iudgement / or to cerimonies, they were deed by and by and of no strength vnto them, which all redy did knowe, and did preache and teache, that Christe / grace / or fauour of god / and the gospel was come. And truly it is not reasonable to beleue / that Iohn~ wolde haue vsed suche witnesse, or that he wold haue shedde his bloudde, and haue died in the quarell, to maintaine the truth of those lawes / whose credence & auctorite he knewe well before, that they were allredy vaneshed a wey, & of nomore effecte, 24 or at leste, that they shulde ceasse and be take~ awey sone after. Furthermore Paule dothe greuously rebuke the hedes and rulers, and the comunalte of the Corynthes / by cause they suffered one of the citye of Corinthe to be conuersante amonge them vnpunyshed, whiche beynge blynded, I wot not by what errour, parauenture by pretence of lybertie of the gospell, hadde take~ his stepmother to wyfe. Ye and more ouer he dothe condempne the same selfe felowe vnto the most greuous punisheme~t of exco~munication, not so moche by cause he had done agaynst the lawe / as bycause he hadde done ageinst nature, saynge / that is suche fornication, as is not euin amonge the hethens, whiche be led or ruled by the lawe of nature: menynge (no doubte) that nature dothe abhorre / that one & the same selfe flesshe / that is to sey the fader and the son / shuld haue to do with one woma~ / & by this it can not but be euide~t & clere to euery man / that seing Paule doth iudge / that this lawe of Moses / that no ma~ shuld mari his stepmoder, ought to be kept eue~ now amo~ge christe~ men. And seing that he doth openly sey / that such fornication is vtterly vnnaturall and beastly / where a man hath a do with his fathers wyfe, that is to say / with her that is nyghe vnto hym / he semeth playnely to meane thus / that surely moche lesse it is lefull for christen folkes to marye women / that be more nere of theyr bloudde / and that al those thinges / which be rekened vp in the same Leuiticall lawe / be (doubtles) in lyke maner forbydden / for as moche as al those prohibitions be grou~ded vpon one reason / that is to saye / bycause the man & the woman be one flesshe / and therfore be agaynste the honestie and shamefacednes or demurenes naturall. And this same thynge is proued also manifestly by this / that the apostel in the same place also, doth vse this worde of fornicacion, by the whiche worde not only he / but also all the other apostelles / all moste euer more in their writynges / are wonte to comprehende all those vnlefull maryages / and foule couplynges, that be forbydden in the boke Leuitical. For vnder the same maner also Paule priuely and couertly dothe (no doubte) condempne all those / which breke these prohibitions of matrymonye / and foule / vncleane / vnlefule / and to god abhomynable 25 commixtio~s / where he exhorteth the Ephesyens / that no fornication / or vnclennesse, or fylthynes shulde be ones named or spoken of amonge them / and wheras / he writinge vnto the Galates / techeth them / that fornication / vnclennesse / and lechery / be carnall workes. For saynt Hierome, declaring the same selfe place / saith: The first worke of the flesshe is fornicatio~ / the whiche amonge the other .vij. vices is the mooste greattest synne / bicause that by the vncleanes of the flesshe the temple or church of god / that is to say / the soule and the body of man, is polluted and defiled. The seconde worke of the flesshe is called vnclenes / whom foloweth her companion lechery. For as in the olde lawe, where it is written of crimes and sinnes / that be nat to be spoken / whiche are done secretly / and it is a very foule thing euen to name them / lest the mouthe of the speaker / and the eares of the herers shuld be defiled / all suche vyces the scripture hath comprehended them generally / sayenge: Make you the children of Israhell to be shamefacid and aferde of al vnclenes. Euen after the same maner the apostel, in this place also / doth name and call all other extraordinary and vnlefull pleasures / and also the actes that be done in mariage selfe vnclennesse and lecherye / if they be nat done with shamefacidnes and honestie / and as vnder the eies and in the syght of god / and onely bicause they wil take peyne, and do their duetie to bringe forthe childerne. For saynt Augustyne writeth, that lyke wise as vnder the name of thefte in the .x. commaundementes is vnderstande all maner of vnlefull vsurpynge or medlinge with an other mans good: and vnder the name of adulterye must be vnderstande forbidden al maner of vnleful medlinge to gether, and all maner of vnleful vse of those membres: So pleinly all maner of vnlefull couplynge or maryeng to gether of man and woman is called in scripture foulenes / and all adulterie and foulenesse or foule, and vncleane marienge also, in scripture is called fornicacion. For al though, as Isodore saithe, al men / that do leudely abuse theyr bodyes / haue nat one wyll of theyr foule dealynge: yet howe some euer a man dothe pollute hym selfe by pleasure of the bodye, all is called fornicacion. For of delyte and pleasure of 26 doing fornicatio~, there come many & diuers foule lustes and vices: ageyne whiche the kingdome of heuen is shutte / and man deuided & departed fro~ god. Furthermore the apostels in the cou~cell / that they called & kept through the holy gost in Hierusale~, went about to p~scribe & shew what poynt{is} of Moses law they / that had {pro}fessed Christes religion / & were become Christes men, shuld be bou~d to kepe or to forbere, & they made a decre worde for word as here foloweth. It is thought co~uenient vnto the holy goste, & to vs, that there shuld be no further burdon laide vpon you, than these necessary thynges / that is to saye / that ye abstein from contaminations of idols, & from fornicacio~, from eatinge of beastes / that be strangled to dethe / & from eatinge of bloud of beastes. In the whiche place doubtles they couertly / vnder the generall name of fornicacion, dyd forbyd all maner of couplinge and mariage vnlefull and prohibite by the lawe / and dyd prohibyte the selfe same thynge, whiche was vnderstande vnder the name of fornicacion / after the meanyng and entent of the olde law. For seing that they do forbid fornicacio~, euen so as it is forbid by the rules and co~mandementes of the law / it can nat be / but we must nedes thinke / that here in this decre of the apostels / mariages vnlefull / contrary to the disposition of the lawe / be also forbydden. For of those mariages there was no nede for the apostels to haue made further constitutions / or newe prouisions for them. for that thinge that is nat changed, wherfore is it forbydden to stande? And seinge that these Leuitical lawes of god were nat cha~ged: it foloweth, that they dyd stande styl in their olde strengthe and auctortie: and by this reason the apostels had no nede to make a newe lawe / but forbyddynge fornication generallly / dyd forbyd all those vnlefull mariages / that god had forbydden before in the .18. chaptre of the Leuitical. ¶And therfore lette no man flatter and glose hym selfe / as though these co~mandmentes were light / or these reasons of litle weight or regarde / whan that you se euidently / that they be great fou~dacions and groundes of our feythe / layde by the holy counsaile of the apostels / and as ye wolde saye the stronge pyllers and vpholders of the churche / to dryue out fornicacion and 27 idolatrie: vnto the whiche thynge these fornicacions came verye nere. For euerye christian man doth perteyne vnto the churche or companye / for the whiche Christe / willingly gaue hym selfe to sanctifie it, and make it sacre and holy / and to purge and clense hit with the wasshynge of water through the worde of lyfe. And ageyne al we be membres & partes of Christes owne bodye, and we be of his bones. Therfore we had nede to take sure kepe / that no man with foule and vngodly mariages do defyle and pollute the temple or churche of our lordes body / wherin dwelleth the spirite of our lorde. For who so defileth the temple or churche of god / our lorde shall distroye hym. Wherfore me semeth / that it is declared manifestly inough by these forsayde reasons / that these prohybicions of mariage haue auctoritie and strength euen at this day / nat onely by Moses lawe / but also by the gospell / and by the ordynaunce of thapostels / and they be both of goddis lawe / & of the lawe of nature most hollely made / and euermore to be obserued and kepte / and at no tyme to be broken. ¶Nowe to come to the doctours of the churche. Tertulian / the most oldest writer of all that were sins the tyme of the apostels, is author and dothe wryte / that this Leuitical forbyddynge / that a man shulde not mary his brothers wyfe / was brought in / taught / and ordeyned specially and by name euen of Christe him selfe and his apostels / bycause that all the holle churche and company of Christes faith shulde obserue and kepe it with all deuocion and reuere~ce. For the same Tertulian disputeth agaynst Marcion vpon this poynt / that Christ in the gospel dyd excuse rather then distroye Moses constitution of the lawe of diuorse / or departynge of man and wyfe. This matter / saythe he / of diuorse is nat here brought in sodeinly of Christe / but it taketh his rote and grou~de of that thinge / that Iohn~ maketh mencion of. For Iohn~ did sore rebuke Herode the kyng / by cause he had, contrarye to the Leuiticall lawe / maryed the wyfe of his brother / whiche was deed, and leste a doughter / that he had of her. And therfore Iohn~ was caste into prison by kynge Herode, and afterwarde by hym slayne. Therfore saythe Tertulian / that after there was mencion 28 made of Iohn~ / and what ende folowed of hym / our lorde for an example of vnlefull maryages and adulterie dyd vehemently crie out vpon kinge Herode / sayeng openly and playnely, that euery man also was an adulter, who so euer dyd marye her / that was departed fro~ her husbande / that ther by he might make the vngodlines and abhominacion of Herode the more greuous and heinous / whiche had maried her / that was departed from her husbande / as well by his deth as if she had ben diuorsed fro~ him / specially seing that his brother had a daughter by her / so that she was maryed vnto hym vnlaufully / and hit were but for this thinge / bicause he dyd it by instinction and mocion of foule luste of the body / and nat by instinction and mocion of the lawe / and therfore slewe the prophet, which was the meynteyner of the Leuiticall lawe. And the same Tertulian also writeth in an other place: Bycause, saythe he, that certayne persones some tyme do saye, that they haue no thing to do with Moses law / whiche Christe doutles did nat take away / but fulfylled and made hit perfecte, do some tyme take those thinges of the lawe / that lyketh them, and make for their purpose: playnly we also say this / that the law is departed and gone, as touchynge this poynte / that accordinge to the mynde and sayenge of the apostels / the burdens of the lawe / whiche our fathers were nat able to beare / be vtterly ceassed and taken aweye. But as for those thynges that perteyne to Iustyce and vertue / do remayne holle / nat onely reserued / but also amplified and increassed / so that our instyce and goodnes / whiche be christian people / shulde be moche greatter and perfecter than the iustice of the scribes and phariseis / and be suche iustyce / as a very iuste man ought to haue. And our chastite likewise shulde excel and passe theyrs / and in no poynt be lasse than theyrs. Nowe bicause it is co~manded in Moses lawe / that a man shuld take to mariage his brothers wyfe / that is departed without children / bicause he shulde stir vp sede / or gette issue to his brother: And bycause this thyng may happen often tymes to one persone / as that one woman may be maried to .vi. or .vij. bretherne / one after an other / for lacke of issue by the former brother / accordinge to the subtile question of 29 the Sadduces in the gospell: therfore some do thynke / that the oftennes of mariage is permysed also in other cases. But these men shulde haue vnderstanden first of all the reason and consideration of this precept / & so they shulde haue well knowen / that this reason is nowe ceassed and one of the thinges / whiche be nowe voide and of no strengthe nor auctoritie. For a man was bounde of necessite to marie the wife of his brother / whiche was departed without chyldren: Fyrste bycause that as yet that olde blessyng of god: Increse you and multiply, ought to run forth and continue. Seconde by cause the children were punisshed for the fathers fautes. Thirdly bycause that the drye and baren persones were had for defamed persons: therfore an ordynaunce was made / that they shulde haue issue by other of theyr kynne / as ye wold say by a proctour / and bigotten after the dethe of the father / bycause that they / whiche were departed without issue / nat by the faute of nature & by preuencion of deth shulde not therfore be iudged accursed and vnhappy. But nowe the blessynge of encresynge and multiplyeng bodily and carnally is ceassed / bicause the worlde is at an ende. For the apostle induceth & counsayleth vs / sayenge. There is no more, but that they also, whiche haue wyues, shuld be, as if they had none, bicause the tyme is shorte. And agayn, The soure grape that our fathers dyd eate / that is the sinne that they dyd / doth no more stonysshe, or set on edge, the tethe of the childerne. For euery man shall dye for his owne synne. And more ouer the baren nowe be nat all onely without infamy and rebuke, but also haue deserued thanke & fauour of god / being inuited and admitted into the kingedome of heuen. And therfore nowe this lawe, that a man shuld succede into his brothers mariage, or that he shuld marie his brothers wyfe, is nowe vtterly deed and buryed: & the contrary of this lawe hath place, that a man shuld nat succede into his brothers mariage, nor marie his brothers wife: And by this (as we said before) that lawe whiche is ceassed / and is no more of strength / by cause the reason of it is taken away or ceassed / can nat be a co~uenient prosse for an other thinge. ¶Therfore seinge that these thing{is} before said were writen of Tertulia~ / 30 at that tyme, whan the church had made very fewe lawes, or truly none at all, beside tho thi~g{is}, which Christ him selfe & his apostels had taught / it is plainly to be beleued that this law, that a man shuld nat marie his broders wife / came by the ordinance of Christ & his apostels / & that it was renued / co~firmed / & declared / as ye wolde say, by a new conuena~t & agreme~t & by a latre testame~t, as a law very worthy to be obserued of al christian men for euer more, and that ought to be kept with al reuere~ce & religio~. ¶And that holy ma~ saint Gregory, whiche for his great lernynge and vertue was named Great / dothe greatly confirme the same thinge / whiche whan saint Augustine the bysshop of the Englysshe men, had in tyme past writen to him for counsell / whether two brothers germayn myght marie ij. sisters / which were descended of a stocke farre from them, he answereth, that this thinge in all cases was lefull to be done, by cause there is nothinge fou~de in holy scripture / that is thought to speke ageynst this poynte. And agayne / whan he was asked of the same bysshoppe / vnto what degree Christis faithfuls might marye with their kynsewomen / and whether it was lefull for them to marie with their stepmothers / & with their brothers wiues / whom at that tyme they called cosyns / he answered in order to both two questions in this maner. There is a certayne erthly and worldly law within the dominio~ of Rome / that the sonne and daughter of brother and syster / or of two brothers germayns / or of two sisters / may be maried to gether. but we haue lerned by experie~ce / that ther coulde neuer issue come of suche mariage / and the holy lawe of god forbyddeth vs to discouer the foulenes of our cousyns. wherfore it muste nedes be amongest faith full or Christian people, that if they, that be of kynne, will laufully mary / that they be in the thirde or fourth degre of kynred. For they, that be in the seco~de degre / whiche we spake of before, maye in no case be maryed to gether. And as for a man to be maried with his stepmoder / it is a greuous synnne. why so? bicause it is written in the lawes of god, thou shalte nat discouer the foulenes of thy father. For although the sonne can nat discouer the foulenes of the father: yet bicause it is written / The man 31 and wife shalbe two in one flesshe or body: doutles who so shall presume to discouer the foulenesse of his stepmother / whiche hath ben one flesshe and body with his father / he in dede doth discouer the foulenes of his father. Ageyn, it is forbidden by the Leuiticall lawe, that a man shulde myngle or marye with his cosyn, that is to sey his brothers wyfe, bycause that she / being ones ioyned with the former brother, is made his flesshe: and for the same thynge saint Ihon~ Baptist loste his heed, and by an holy martyrdome was brought to his ende. Vnto whom it was not seyde / that he shulde deny Christe / yet he was slayne for confessynge Christe. But bycause our lorde Iesus Christe had sayde: I am the treuth / saynt Iohn~ truely shed his bloud for Christe / by cause he was slayne for the treuth. But bycause there be some amo~ge the Englysshe people / whiche whyle they were yet infidels or vnfaythfuls / as hit is sayde / haue myngled them selfe by suche abhomination, and not to be spoken mariages / they muste be warned / whan they come to the faith / that they absteyne and forbere their carnal pleasure betwene man and wife, and that they beleue and grau~t / that it is a greuous sinne to vse it. let them feare the terrible iudgement of god / lest for a lyttell carnall pleasure they falle into the tormentes of euerlastinge paynes. ¶Nowe reder marke diligently with me these wordes of saint Gregory, & consider me here in his writinge .iii. or .iiii. thinges. Fyrst that the most holy & most excelle~t lerned doctor, both in the law of god, & of ma~ vtterly & plainly affirmeth, these Leuitical lawes, that a ma~ shulde not mary his brothers wyfe, with the other / to be of suche auctorite, that he saythe openly, that they be the very lawe of god. Seco~de, that the same lawes be nowe at this tyme of suche auctoritie & strengthe / that it is not leful in any case to contracte matrimony contrary to that is forbidden in the same. Thirdly, that the occasion of saynt Iohn~s martyrdome was this / bicause he wold meinteyn & vphold the truth & auctorite of the same lawes ageinst Herode the king / which had maried his brothers wyfe. Fourthe, that the mariages / which certain englisshe men had co~tract with their broders wiues / and that euen before they had taken the fayth 32 vpon them / to be so vnleful / & not to be spoke~, that they could not without dedly sinne rendre their duetie of maria |
