It is good for a man not tō tou­che a woman. Neverthelesse to a­voyde fornicacyon. Let every mā have his wife. And let every wo­man have her husbande.

¶Consider well the wordes / and beholde howe shortly he breaketh of / making digres­sion from his firste sentence. Yt is sayeth he good / yf a man do not touche a woman. But in this he doth nother bydde / ne for­bidde eny man so for to do / but incontinent [Page] he hyeth hym vnto matrimony. As yf he dyd feare soche a good thinge to be rare ād vnwonte / and that in tyme cominge wol­de turne and be chaunged into fornicacyon. Afferminge that for love of avoydinge for­nicacyon every man ought to have his wife Therfore this is his firste sentence or con­clusion. That whosoever in him silfe doth not fele this godly ād good thinge I mea­ne chastite: but doth fele and perceave in­continency / Vnto him (I saye) is here com­maundemente gyven / that he be maryed. And this commaundemēte oughteste thou to rec [...]ave as the commaundement of God and not of man. Then here of doth folowe that no parsone may make a vowe or pro­myse to lyve chaste and single. And that no parson is bounde to kepe and performe eny suche vowe once made / but rather to fordo vnkepe and breake them. When in him silfe he doth not fynde nor fele this precyous and goodly gyfte of chastite / but knoweth him sil [...]e prone to luste and incontinencye. For suche a vowe is playnly made againste this commaundemente. But againste the com­maundemente of God may no vowe be ma­de therfore yf eny suche vowe be made / he that shall observe and k [...]pe [...]t ys dam­nabyll / yee and by the lawe of god all redye condemned.

[Page]This thouchynge of women have some parsones diffined ād compased moche stra­ytly. So y^t they dare not touche a womans hande nor skynne. Moreover they have fo­unde and imagined many both statutes ād ceremonyes / by whiche they might kepe thē selves from the company of women. So y^t they shulde nother s [...]e nor heare them / sup­posinge that by suche meanys they have made royall provision to lyve chaste / ād vnma­ryed. And thus they that fyrste dydde byld [...] monasteryes and abbyes thought that yon­ge men myght be kepte pure & chaste / yf they ware absente from yonge women / and lyke­wyse yonge womē from mē. But vnto what prefe and how fortunatly that thynge hath come to passe / and what place th [...]rby hath bene geven to Sathan / it were horrible both to be spoken / and also to be hearde of.

Suche parsones be as men are wonte to saye comonly more blinde then a betle. They wene that chastyte maye be dryvē in to a mā by outwarde meanes. When not whithstā ­ding / this hygh and hevenly gifte muste springe out from the inner partes of the harte. For all yf yt be manifestly knowne that lu­ste is inflammed when man and woman do come to gether / Yet have they therfore not made all gates so royall a provision a­gaynste luste / as they pretende / in that they are kepte separate from women / ād the wo­men [Page] from men / for what avayleth me to see no woman / ne heare / nother yet touche hyr? yf my herte swymme fulle of them? yf in th­ought it cleveth vn to them both daye and nyght? Yf it ymagine and purpose more fyl­thines / then eny man is bolde to do? And what doth it profite to sperre and close in a yonge woman / that she can have no liberte nother to see ne heare a yonge man / when hyr harte with out ceasinge doth morne and sygh after suche one both dayes and nygh­tes?

The harte muste be geven vnto chastite. Elles all our enforsemente labour and dili­gence shall be vnto vs grevous and payn­full as helle and other like tormētes. Wher­fore this saying of Paule muste nedes be vn­derstande in sorete and in harte / on this wi­se. That he shall be sayed not to touche a woman / which with desyre of his harte / and with his awne p [...]oper wille doth outwardly kepe his body from women. And not he that is compelled outwardly to abstaine or kepe from women / inwardly in harte being fulle of luste and love towardes them. But suche are dissembl [...]rs ād hypocrites / who­se clennes and chastite glistereth before the worlde / but afore god it is loste and damna­ble / yee it is doble lecherye / for saynte pau­les saynge is frely spretuall. Wherfore it re­quireth a fre sprete / ād in a fre sprete it mu­ste [Page] be takē & receaved. But hypocrytes recea­ve yt grudginly / making therof a dedde let­ter / & a grevous lawe / that d [...]yveth ād cōpe­lleth thē. And so they make dānable & fay­ned chastite by outwarde shunnīge & avoidī ­ge frō womē dolorous & paynfulle. Marke now whatkyn soulesleers they be wh [...]ch so entise and provoke folisshe youth to vowe outwarde chasti [...]e causinge and compellin­ge them to norisshe with in them inwardly hydden malyce and evyll / takinge no cōsy­deraciō with them selves / whether the par­sones whom they thus do entyse and move be lyke wise with harte and desyer sturred vnto the same / that ys to wytt vnto chastite or single livinge. But the more harde and paynfull yt ys to man / the more noble and precious do they wene that yt ys before god lyke wyse as yt ys wonte to be in other exterio: hurtes / dāmages / and vexaciōs of y^e bo­dy. And they do not see y^t this evill of stray­ned and vnwill full cōtinēcy / & exterior pay­ne or grefe of the body be no lesse differente then heven and erthe. For as touchinge other evilles / and gresis they may be endured and suffered wyth a meri conscience wyth out synne / and they do payne the body only But this evill and troble ys subiecte and in dawnger of sinne. Be cause yt can in no wyse be endured with a mery conscience. For yt ys synne and vnright wisnes in yt selfe [...] [Page] Wherfore this evill of vnwilfull chastite can by no medicine be holpen and healed / onles when a man ys ridde from dawnger ofsinne. Whiche can be by no nother waies then by the healpe and remedy of mariage. But other exterior grefes or trobles concerninge mānes body maye be holpen by pa­cience / allthough a man be never ridde from them.

And in this maner willeth sainte Pau­le that saieng to be vnderstande. Yt ys good for a man not to touche a woman &c. So that this worde / good / be not vnderstande ne spoken of merite and deservinge before god. As though an vnmaried bodye were better a fore hym thā one y^t ys maried lyke as before time sainte Hierome hath this texte expowned. For yt concerneth only faith / and no dede or worke. And yt ys spoken of temporalle tranquillite / and quietnesse of this life. Whiche a single or vnmaried par­sone hath before one that ys wedded and maried [...] For one that ys single shall be quite and free from all miseries / vexacion / and drud­gery / that befalle in wedloke or mariage. And for to telle yow shortly yt ys a ioyful­le lovely precious and goodly gifte (yf so a man hath yt verily given him) to [...]yve wyth a gladde harte and mynde [Page] syngle and chaste. But Paule hym sylfe shall here after excellētly descrybe vnto yow what he entendeth by suche goodnesse. For yt was not syttyng for him that so dyd com­mende virginite and syngle livynge / to lea­ve them with out consolacyon / whych there vnto were geven with their very mynde ād wyll. Neverthelesse thys muste yow gravnte me / that a wyfe and maryed woman maye be better afore god thean a vyrgyn. All be yt she in hyr state do suffer many [...] paynes to­bles and adversytes / and the virgyn or mayde hath moche ioye and tranquillyte / passynge hyr age in reste and quyetnes.

Therfore thys ys the sentēce or meanin­ge of Paule / Yt ys good for a man not to touche a woman. Nother ys yt [...]ny offense now in the tyme of the newe testamente to lyve with out a wyfe and chyldre / as yt was in the tyme of the olde testamente / but yt is good as here wytnesseth Paule for a mā not to touche a woman. That ys to saye. A man vnto whom ys gevē of god / that he cā glad­ly with hys very harte and wylle abyde syn­gle / the same man may leade a quyet lyfe. Thys doth reporte the comō proverbes / that mē vse to speake. Suche as be thes / Be thou maryed o fole (doth on saye vnto an other) and thy ioye shall shortly have an ende. Al­so / maryage ys a shorte ioye and a longe so­rowe / and suche other lyke. Whyche all do [Page] well agree with this place of Paule / Yt is good for a man not to touche a woman. Therfore dyd Moses also commawnde in the lawe that a man newly maryed shulde be quyte and fre from all publike charges by the space of an whole yeare / y^t he myght have ioye and make mery with hys wyfe / nother shulde he be called to goo in warfare / nother to beare eny charge or office. As though Moses shuld saye / he shall lyve a yeare in gladnesse / and after he shall suffer troble sorowe and angwysshe.

But yf yt be not gevē a man to lyve with his very harte and mynde chaste or vnmaryed. Yt is better for hym to take a wyfe to be hys cōpanyon. Ye there is no thynge elles at all lefte or remayninge / that maye ease ād healpe the / excepte honest ād chaste matri­mony. Wherfore where it ys not geven a mā to enioye and vse the cōmodytes of syngle livinge and chastite. It is necessarye to geve him silf vnto the troble / pay [...]es / and vexa­tions of mariage. For it ys alwaye better to leade a miserable or sory lyfe with out sinne in mariage / then to lyve ioyfully in the fou­le sinne of lecherye vnmaryed. But there is no body that wille gladly put them selves into suche paynes and sorinesse. And ther­fore doth well nygh every man for his par­te abhorre wedlocke. Wherfore it is a co­mon vsed by worde. He muste be hardye [Page] that shall mary a wyfe. And with out fayle he had nede to be very hardye Nother ys the­re / eny parsone that leveth more blessydly or quietly then a pure christian / whiche beyng ledde and gyded by faith can so fassion him sylfe agayne trobles and stormy seasons of aduersyte / that he doth no whit complayne / nother crye / ne blaspheme god and his wor­de: Lyke as do the mad and blindewise men of this worlde.

Thus doth saynte Paule here meane in this place / when he so sodenly after the cō ­mendacion and prayse of chastite returneth vnto mariage sayeng / but to avoyde fornica­tion / lett every man haue hys wife / and lett every woman haue hyr husbāde. What doth he entende in that he sayeth / but to avoyde fornicaciō? No thinge verily elles / but whe­re as suche maner quietnes ys not / that a man can willingly lyve chaste / that then he shulde wayte after no thinge more surely to folowe or to come / then fornicacion and le­cherye. Wherfore yf the gyfte of chastite do lacke / yt ys better to be with out the pleasure and profytes of chastyte / ād to gyve hym sel­fe vnto the miseryes / trobles / and paynes of matrimony / for avoydīge of synne. For yt ys allwayes more profitable to have payne gre­fe / and yrkesumnes / w [...]th out synne / then to have synne with out pa [...]ne / greve and y [...]ke­sumnes. [Page] Yee thē to have synne ioyntly to ge­ther with thes thre.

Take heade here vn to the wordes of Pau­le / whiche doth not hope [...]that moche casti­te shulde be in the Corinthians. Chastite tru­ly ys a right good thinge / yf so luste and incontinency maketh not chastite so vul­gare and commone a thinge for all parso­nis as we have hetherto vsed to do / and as yet we do / but all amisse. But he will that vniuersally all men be coniugate in matri­mony. And yet not with standinge he being indued and inspired with te sprete of good did wythout dowte knowe more parfitely the natu [...]e / disposition / powre and inclina­cion of man then all the Bishopes that hath bene sith his time whiche hath stro­yed fordone and lett this godly institucion and ordinance. So that this saieng of sain­te Paule with them doth bere no place. But in this do they now raile and B [...]ble in pulpites. Yt ys lawfulle for some men to have wifes / and for some yt ys not lawful­le. Thus do they chawnge the latin worde. Quisqzin to quidam / that ys to saye every man in to some man. But as concerninge this thinge you shall see more plenteously here vnder. Saynt Paule now procedeth forthe [...]

Let the man geve vnto the wi­fe due benevolence / lykewise also the wyfe vnto the man. The wy­fe hath not power over her awne body: but the husbande. And lyke wise the mā hath not power over his awne body / but the wyfe.

¶ Paule in this place doth instructe them that are coupled in matrimony how and in what maner they on both par [...]yes shulde be ordred / ād demeane themselves in their sta­te of wedlocke / which he doth here calle due beneuolence. It is truly a thinge due / but not with standinge it ought to be willingly do­ne and performed. In that he sayeth it is due / he telleth the cause why God doth per­mitte vnto matrimony / and pardone that / which elles from with out it / he doth pu­nisshe and condemne.

For in this pointe is matrimony closed in the lawes of love / that nother the māne the wife hath power of their awne body / but the one ys bownde to serve y^e other by y^e lawe of love. Wh [...]ch thinge in fornication and ad­voutry hath no place / where as nother par­tye hath power apō y^e other / nother ys y^e one bownde ne oweth ony thinge vnto y^e other but bothe of thē do seke their awne pleasures. Wherfore also soch vnclene & dishone­ste love ys contrary vnto god. Yt is verily [Page] [...] greate sayeng / that nother partye hath power ouer their awne body. So that yf at any tyme luste and concupiscence doth tēp­te them the one ys then bownde to assent [...] and folowe the desyer of the other / ād not to geve them sylves vnto eny other. In thys dothe manifestly appeare howe that advou­trye ys the greateste thefte and robberye of all that ys in the worlde. For who so ever doth commit [...]e yt / geveth hys lively body / where apō he hath no power vnto an other: and taketh also a waye a lively bodye wher apon he lyke wyse hath no power.

More over Paules wordes be here ma­nyfeste / and do not nede moche exposicion. Nother dare I now here serche y^e pryvetyes of maryage / to wryte of thē [...]ny vnhonest or vnclene thynge. A ryght Christian shall he­re knowe by him sylfe / how yt shall become hym to ordre behaue hym sylfe measurably. Nother maketh it eny matter how so ever a wicked & vng [...]dly body be enflamed & rage Some olde men have vsed this Paganes by worde. He that burneth overmoche in love / is made an adoutrer in his awne wy­fe. But by cawse it is a paganes sayenge / carnall and lecherous parsones careth not moche therfore. And I saye verely that it is contrary vn to the truthe / for no man doth committe advoutry in his awne wyfe / ex­cepte he other refuse to have hyr / or elles to [Page] vse hir as his wife.

And I thinke that this matter can not be better discussed ād entrated of / then it is here of Paule / whiche affirmeth that mari­age is only savegarde and remedy againe lecherye. Wherfore that parsone which v­seth it / to avoyde and do awaye fornication I dare suerly saye that he hath Paule for his advocate and defender. Her [...]of may I iust­ly gather that it standeth not well to gehter nother is it Christes learninge that the mā and the wife (lyke as we see vsed in some places) shulde abide separate ne come to gether after the example of Toby vntill the thirde night.

I do admitte that every man maye vse [...]e same maner / if so he please with the assent of his wife: but to thinke that he is bounde therto So that yf he do folowe it / he doth a meritorious dede: or elles if he leave it vn­done / or do contrary wyse / that ys to saye / if he do vse his wyfe before that thyrde ni­ght / he shulde therfore synne / and do amis­se. Then I saye this man in very dede thin­keth evyll and doth amisse. Not bycause he dyd vse hys wyfe contrary to suche a folishe gyse as ys before shewed: but for that he hath a wronge enformed conscience. And finally soche thoughtes / and opinions or y [...]ginacyons or scrupulous and voyde of [Page] ryght beleve / and coming of a conscience evyll encombred / or as Paule sayeth in the first pistle to Timothe .uij. Marked with an hote yeron.

For yf the example of Thoby be of suche greate authorite and power / why shall not the example of Iacob the Patriarke be of more / whyche did touche / and knowe Lya his wife in y^e firste nyght? This ought ther­fore to be fre / and in mannys lyberty. They dote and playe the foles / that in these mat­ters do laye snarys and make lawes or bon­des. The wyfe hath power over the husban­de / but over hyr awne body she hath none. And lyke wyse ys yt of the husbande. Here ought men therfore to stinte of their statutes & ordināces makīge: for a better ordināce thē this can none be brought / y^e mē with out eny respecte of soche time shall vse ther wifes (lyke as god permitteth) accordīge as they like and have necessite / forthermore they have exempte certen dayes as those whiche we do calle vygilles ād holy evyns / also women conceaved with childe.

I grawnte well that yt were moche profitable and necessary that in all thinges were none excesse / or eny thinge done vn­mesurably: Yet nevertelesse ought he [...] [Page] not to be made eny vrgente lawe that shul­de binde men of necessyte to refrayne. And these wordes of Paule ought to be lefte true which doth afferme that nother partye hath power over their awne bodye / other in this / or yet in eny other daye how so ever god sen­deth it. And by this waye hath sainte Paule entēded to oppresse & put downe fornicatiō / and to cut awaye all occasions of the same. O what a multitude of lawes doth this lit­le sayenge of Paule fordo and anulle / when he sayeth that nother party hath power over their awne bodyes? Yee I saye to you more over that it can not suffer nor abyde any la­we. For how shall eny man by eny lawe for­bidde me from that body that is geven me both by the lawe / ād also by power divine? The graunte of god is more than the com­maundementes or lawes of all men. That whiche he hath geven & graunted me / ought not sainte Peter pulle fro me / ād moche les­se oure holy father / which (I put it to youre iudgemēt) how rightewesly he reioyseth ād clepeth him selfe Peters successor / ād vicar / and how directly he foloweth his steppes or learninge.

With drawe not your selves o­ne from an other / excepte it be by cōsente for a time / for to geve your selves vnto fastinge and prayer / [Page] and afterwarde come a gayne vn­to the same thinge / leste Sathan tempte yow for your incontinēcy

¶That Paule had [...]ut lytell truste at all in the Corinthians / that they shulde lyve chaste the cause was this / he did knowe the devill / his snaris / and sculkewatche / and also the weakenesse or frailte of the flesshe. Here you se that maryed folkes are so mightely knit­te and coniugate to gether that one ought not to absente or wythdrawe thē selves frō the other with out they both consente. No not for cause of fastinge nor of prayer. So y^t he had rather prayer and fastinge to be lette passe and vndone / then one of then shulde absente their bodyes from the other. Prayer vndowetedly is an hygh and a precyous dede. Neverthelesse it muste of dutye geve pla­ce vnto this / which (as it doth seame) is so [...]le a dede. And al this doth cause y^e lawe of love in whiche they be coupled and ioyned: fastinge and prayer owght to be here vnder­stande of fastinge and prayer that are taken ordrely and distinctely after dutye requyred in maryage / as when the husbande and the wyfe after they have ben conversante the o­ne with the other and have had to do to ge­ther accordinge after the covrse of nature / then do ordeyne with agreabille consente to geve them selves .iij.iiij.vj. or .xiiij. dayes vnto prayer and abstihence. Like as also e [...]very [Page] parsone maye for himselve take apō thē suche fastinge for to chastyse y^• body Ellys [...]hey that ar maryed / as well as other chri­ [...]tian people be bounde by the tenor of the E­uangely vnto fastinge & to prayer / for Chri­ste spake indifferently vnto all people. That they shulde praye continually with out ces­singe. This fastinge is mesurabyll vsage of meates ād drinkes. And prayer is a criyng sigh / desyer / and morninge.

That in our englisshe texte we do here rede / withdrawe not yowe selves one from an other / it sowndeth rather after the Greke and laten examples / if it shulde be translate worde for worde: defraude you not or decea­ve you not one an other. Neverthelesse our englisshe texte doth right well and expres­sely shewe the sense and meaninge of this place / lyke as it doth excellently well of all other poyntes. For a man or a woman that is maryed for avoyding of fornicacyon hath no power over their awne bodyes. But the wife hath power over the body of hyr husbā de / and like wise hath the man the same po­wer over his wife. So that yf the one shulde withdrawe them selves from the other / de­niyng them their bodyes to vse accordinge to naturall vsage / permitted vnto mariage / it is vndouted that they shulde so defraude them / and do them wronge.

Also this naturall vsage of my body is [Page] before called due benevolence that Paule [...] litell before biddeth every man to geve vnto his wife. Yf I therfore shulde wythdrawe me or denie it. I shulde wythdrawe that is my dutye to geve. And that were no thinge elles but fraude ād deceate. So that you ha­ve here clerely shewed before youre eyes that suche wythdrawing is very fraude / and no thinge elles. This have I shewed you / that you shulde not lacke eny knowledge other of this place or yet of eny other / y^t I by the gra­ce of god can helpe you vnto. And moreover to blanke and confownde oure pharisees & enimies of the trueth. Whiche yf they ones heare that I do interprete this place other wyse then it standeth writtē in the englisshe translacyon of the testamente / shulde paravē ­ture beginne to rayle / sklaunder / and speake evyll (as it is not vnlyke but they will / for suche both is and ever hath bene their natu­re and demeaner) of me / and of the good mā which did it translate saiynge. Loe they contrary themselves on an other / how mad therfore ar ye to beleve them? Therfore lesse y^t you shulde be trobled by suche deceavable reasons and argumētes I have shewed you by reasons manyfeste / & authorite sufficient that we do not vary / ne contrary one an other. But that he vsing this worde wyth­drawe / doth both well interprete or trans­late / and by so translatynge also notably [Page] and playnly doth expounde what is natural­ly signified by the greke and laten examples which if they were translate in to englisshe / worde for worde shulde be as I haue tolde you before thus moche to saye: [...]efraude you not on an other. And this fraude is whē a mā withdraweth hī frō his wife / or the wi­fe from hir husbande.

What the causes of this fraude or with­drawing might be / can I not shewe you so well / as they that have had experience. Ne­verthelesse I can lightly beleve that there be diverse causes / as is sitting for that state / which is ordeyned for the time of troble ād adversite / and not only for time of pleasure / and prosperite. In this state doth ofte times aryse anger / variance and debate. And other whil [...]s doth here in raigne chosen or ange­licast holinesse (as sainte Paule calleth it) & devocion. But Paule doth here shewe only one cause / why y^e one partie maye [...] withdra­we them from the other for a seasone. And other more like as I ought not to put / so al­so ought none other man.

The cause which sainte Paule sheweth / is that two maryed persones maye consente to abide severalle a fewe dayes the one from the other to tame and chastise their flesshe by speciall or singular ceremonies as fastin­ge and fervente prayer / specially if so at eny time neade doth require / for stronge and [Page] mighty prayer requireth stronge and migh­ty abstinence or fastynge. Not wi [...]h stan­dinge Paule leaveth this free and put­teth it vnto mannes wille and liberte. No­ther doth he therof ordeyne or make eny la­we / but dimitteth [...] it vnto the consente of thē both. Wherfor no man ought to enforse and compelle mē vnto this fastinge and prayer by lawes / as they have afore time hether to bene wont to do / he doth nowe take for hī. ii [...] states of chastite. The state of widowes / the state of wedded persones / and the state of maydes or virgines. And so consequently doth shewe / what is necessary in them [...]to be knowen saien [...]e.

This I saye of favour / not of cōmaundemēte / for I wolde that all mē were as I my silfe am. But every man hath his proper gifte of god / one after this maner / an o­ther after that.

¶Before he speaketh after the maner of a cōmaundemente savenge / for to advoyde fornicacyon lett every mā have his wife. &c And let a man geve vnto the wife due benevolence. Howe therfor doth he in this place saye that he speaketh thes thinges not of commaundemente / but of fauour? With out doute he willeth mariage to be a free thinge so that no man shulde be compelled to binde [Page] himselfe there vnto / lyke as they dyd in the tyme of the olde testamēte. Wherfore he cō ­mawndeth no man to be maried / but graun­teth yt / vnto every man that lusteth to be ma­ried. But when [...]hey be onys coupled in ma­riage / he geveth commawndemēte that they do thē geve the one vnto y^e other due beneuo­lēce. Moreover where as ys not the gyf [...]e of grace that thou mayste frely geve the vnto matrimony / or not gyve the / that ys to saye when thou canste not leve purely vnmaryed and that both in mynde and body / then ys matrimony vnto the cōmawnded / yee and more then commawnded.

But what meaneth he in that he sayeth I wolde that all mē were as I my sylfe am. Ys not thys spoken agaynste matrimony / as though he wolde have no body coniuga­te in the bōde of matrimony? [...] He wyssheth verely y^t the precyous gyfte of chastite were geven vnto every body / that they might be voyde of the t [...]oblesome and sory [...]ares an­gvysshe & vexaciōs of maryage / and intēde gladly with their free mynde / and all stu­dy vnto god only and vnto hys worde: whyche gyfte was gevē vnto hym. Ys there any parsone that wolde not wysshe vnto eve­ry man thys gyfte? For christyan charite wyssheth vnto all mē all good thinges both of this worlde presente / and good thynges of the worlde to come And yt hath none as­sygned [Page] or certē me [...]e & bownde of well do­yng ād of well wysshīge. All be yt the thī ­ge whiche yt wyssheth do seme vnpossyble. Wherfore in y^e .ix. chapyter of the pystle vn­to the Romanes he wissheth to be cursyd from Christe for hys b [...]etherne. But every man (sayeth he) hath hys proper gyfte of god / one after thys maner / an other after that. Here he knowledgeth that hys wysshe and desyer can not be fulfylled / ād that god wylle not geve vnto every man thys gyfte. And thys texte wolde I that thou shul­deste put & laye vp for store in the inner par­ [...]yes of thyne harte. Yt comprehendeth many thinges / and commendeth matrimony no lesse then chastyte. For yf a man compare maryage with chastyte. Chastyte veryly ys a more excellen [...]e gifte. Neverthelesse matri­mony (as in this passage sheweth saynte Paule (ys the gyf [...]e of god lyke as ys chasti­te. The man also ys more excellēte then the woman / neverthelesse she ys the worke and creature of god / as well as he ys. Before god all thinges be lyke and equalle / whiche notwith standyng yf they be cōpared to ge­ther the one with the other / they be differen­te and vnlyke. What so ever thinge god dyd make / y^e same doth calle him their maker lorde & creator. Nother doth one thīge calle & name hym so more excellētly then an other / be yt lytle thinge / or ellys greate. Evē so ar ly­ke in value before hī matrimony & virgini [...] / [Page] for eyther other of them / ys the gifte ād creature of god / all though the on excelleth ād surmounteth the other / yf so a man doth la­ye them to gether and conferre thē betwyx­te them selves.

By this doth clearly appere howe abho­minably they do sinne / whiche make nonnes swelle in pryde / when they babble that ther holy religyon is more precious before god than matrimony / and they faine that every Nonne shall have a croune / or a garlende of golde and precious stones / and soch like o­ther I can not telle what prerogatives and dignites do they dreame that nonnes shall have above other parsones. Thorow whiche lyes do they make suche folke proude / arro­gante / wicked and vnfaythfulle / and to put mor truste in their dedes and ceremonies / then they put faith in Christe and in goddes grace / so dispisyng matrimony as a thinge many miles before the sight of god more base / and lesse in valewe then chastite. And they do calle thē selves the faithfull spōses of oure savioure Iesu Christ / ye they be the sponses of Satan / In that they do vse cha­stite not vnto the entente / vnto the whiche only yt was orden [...]d / that is to witte / not that a man shulde be the mor excellent or bet­ter before god: but that it maketh thē y^e mo­re redy & more apte to the study & love of the worde of god / & learninge [...]her of thē doth [Page] matrimonie.

Forasmoche therfore as both of them is the gifte of god. And matrimony is as a cō ­mone gifte geven vnto many. But chastite is a singular and an vnwonte gifte graunted vnto very fewe. Yt is here in shewed that every mā ought to examine him s [...]lfe / whe­ther he fyndeth whith in him / this cōmone and vulgare or ellis this selde and singu­lare giste. But bicause sainte Paule doth he­re manifes [...]ly conclude that chastite is a gif­te of god / yt shall be necessary [...]for vs to kno­wledge that it ys not our power. And ther­fore cā no man nother promise ner vowe it / ne kepe it. For I cā not promise the goodes and giftes of god / onles he before hath ge­ven them vnto me: or elles I be certen of his promesse / that he wylle geve them vnto me / lyke as Hieremy was certen and assured. Therfore we rede none exāple at all / of eny vowe in the scripture / excepte in these thīges whiche were geven vs afore or ellis sone af­ter shulde be geven / as it is shewed Nume­ri .xxx. of howses / lādes / money / catelle / ab­stinence / and other chastisinges or discipli­nes of our bodyes?

Therfore seyng y^t we be end [...]tyn [...]e this place / wher Paule doth so largely prayse & cō ­mende matrimony / and calleth it the gifte of god / we wyll entreate of it the more am­ply and tary the longer in yt / entendinge to [Page] declare yow howe that matrimony ys of all other the moste hyghest relygion and moste spretuall estate / And more over to prove vnto yow suerly and clerely that the sectes of all them / whom men vse to calle relygious / and of all manner shavelynges are falsely called spretuall ordres. But ma­trimony ys (as they saye) a secul [...]re and an vnholy estate. How be yt that sayeng or cal­lynge ought to be ch [...]unged and turned So that matrimony ought to be called (lyke as in very dede it ys) a ryght spretuall esta­te / And other ordres shulde (even as veryly they ar) be called wordly and seculare estates They have brought vp nothynge elles in the worlde then perverse abusyons of names and wordes / wherwyth they have anoynted mennes mouthes / and begyled all the worl­de: in suche wyse that yt / whyche ys secular shall be called spretuall / & a spretuall thin­ge muste be called secular.

Fyrste yow shall knowe that yt were profy­table and nedefull that nothynge were cal­led after the name of the sprete / excepte on­ly the inner lyfe of fayth / whiche ys in the harte / where as the sprete h [...]th rule and do­minyon. Neverthelesse for bycause that thin­ge ys also called spretuall / whiche ys out­wardly wrought / & done by y^e sprete of fayth [Page] in y^e mēbres of y^e body / we shall here not only see / but also (as a mā wolde saye) manifestly feale with our hādes / y^t matrimony ought moste rightwisly of all other be called a spretuall estate. And y^e other ordres shulde be called secular wordly laye (as they vse to sa­ye) ād vnholy estates. I speake of these ordres and religious parsones / which have suffered thēselves to be called ād magnifyed by thys name spretuall vn tylle thys daye. But they whyche walke in the ryght waye by fayth ā [...] ar truly spretuall / these have the very state of contynencye. Moreover thys can no mā de­nye that the workes / dedes / goodes / & pos­sessions of them whiche ar called spre [...]ua [...]l be lyke wyse exteryo [...] / temporalle / transito­ry and corporalle / as be the workes / & other thynges of the maryed persones. For they be done in lyke wyse by the body and membres or instrumētes of the same / as be the thyn­ges afore sayde whyche belonge vnto them that ar maryed. For what so ever thynge ys done by the body / and lymmes / or instrumē ­tes of yt / muste nedes be corporall [...] and exte­rior / yee ād the cou [...]selles or thoughtes of y^• harte ought by reasō of these soche ou [...]war­de & corporalle dedes both be in very dede & also be called corporalle. But yf yt be cō ­venyēt y^t eny state shuld be called spretualle some other gretter thīge ys there vnto requisyte / thē soche exteri [...]r dedes & ceremonies [Page] That is to wit faith in harte whiche doth come of the sprete / and maketh all thinge that is in man / as welle with out as with in spretualle.

Consyder also now our holy religions / whiche before time vntill now have ben fa­mous and magnifyed / and thou shalt fin­de / firste that they be in the b [...]ste wise s [...]o­red ād provided for / as cōcerninge thinges necessary vnto their levīge Beside forth they ar assured of their rentes / and revenues of meate / drinke / clothes / beddinge / houses / ād of all other thinges / and that moste plente­ously / goten vnto their handes by other mē ­nes swete & labore / ye broughte home vnto them / and put afore their nose. So that they nother be / ne wylle be in eny doute or perille / as concerninge for these thinges. No parso­ne is thus spretualle ne mindeth for to be / except he knowe before that he shulde have abū dantly / of all these thinges / and all his lyfe lōge. O lorde god what an vnnumerable multitude / and thronge is ther in cloysters / and also amonges prystes that seke and appete this / that is to saye to lyve welthyly [...]asely / without labor in ydelnes (and as they calle it) to live like a gentilman / ye to live fylb [...]ly­es and bely beste [...] / farcinge their hyde and stuffinge their paunches.

What other thinge elles is this / then to seke that state / wherin is no labore / and not [Page] t [...] have nede to lifte ones their yes vp in to heven / to loke after their daily bredde / ne to truste in god that he shulde norisshe ād fea­de them? I wille telle yow at one worde / faith in [...]hese estates and condicions of men hath no place ne space / ne tyme / ne worke / ne vse or exercise. For they be drouned in plē te and abundance of poss [...]ssions and worl­dely goodes. Nother ys there eny confidē ­ce of thinges whiche ar hoped for / but a certen holding faste and assurance of thin­ges presente.

But if thou shal [...]e mary a wife / and be coniugate in matrimony. The fyrste tenta­tion (wher with thou are incontinente assayled) ys how thow shalte nowe maintene thy wife and bringe vp thy childre? this assau­te of tentation endureth all thy life longe. So that mariage of the awne nature is so­che a thinge / that doth both teache and also driveth the to have respecte / and loke vnto the grace of god / and in manner enforseth the vnto faith. And thus in matri­mony we do see / that if fayth be wantinge that it is an harde paynfulle / and a misera­ble state / fulle of care angwisshe and labore. And cōtrary wise how moche the lesse faith the noble estates spretualle (as they vse to calle them) hath / the more ioyfulle ād bles­sed dayes do they leade or live. For they ha­ [...]e royally provided for their belly / & have no [Page] nede to loke vnto the hande of god nor aby­de his goodnesse.

Shewe me therfore whether of these states ought of right to be called spretualle. Thin­ke you no [...] that this in which men have ne­de of faith / and in whiche faith knoweth hir workes / & hath hir dayly exercise & hath cause to truste in god / accordinge to the sentence of y^t .ciij. psalme / where is sayde in this wise The eyes of all do truste in y^e lorde / ād thou doest geve them meate in time convenient. Thou openeste thy hande ād fyllest every ly­vinge creature with thy blessinge?

Therfore only matrimony hath these cau­ses / occasions / & ex [...]rcises to truste vnto god Nother can oure spretualle estates be knowē by eny of thē / for they be so stablisshed fo­unded / & fensed / y^t they cā vtterly fele none of these occasions. And thus have they dri­ven out fayth / & stopped vp all holes / or cre­ues / y^t [...]t maye in no wise come in vnto thē. Is it not therfore a wicked presumpciō to boste thē selves to be spretualle / & to avaunce their states to be in likewise sp [...]etualle / in whiche no [...] with standing of their [...]wne na­ture cā verely not [...]e y^t leste droppe of faith? So that the sprete add suche spretuall states hath no more agremente / then Christe and Beliall / the daye and the night / the sprete ād the flesshe / faith and our senses or reason / for where faith is not / ne place nor [...]ccasyon [Page] of the same / there can the sprete not be / but all muste nedes be carnalle / worldely and corporalle / lyke as by experience is manifest­ly sh [...]wed in oure religious folke. Agayne­warde they defame matrimony as a worl­dely secular and carnalle thinge. And they do not marke / that it was so ordened of god that it shulde as who wolde saye in maner bringe one halfe by compulsion / and vio­lence vnto the sprete and faith. So that co­monly there muste nedes be a pure sprete / where as is a good / and p [...]osperous marya­ge. For that whiche is the worke or creature of god is so ordeyned / that it muste procede in faith and exercise or inu [...]nge the same. which is in s [...]ff [...]āce of troble & adv [...]rsitees But that which is founde / or made by man hath alwaye pros [...]erous fortune and suc­cession by cause yt is wyth out faith. For suche appeteth alwaye to be certen & in assu­rance of thinges there vnto belonginge.

Firste doest thou thus here in see y^t matri­mony is of soche nature / and properte y^t it in maner straineth / enforseth / & driveth one vnto the inwarde and moste spretuall worke / that is to wit faith / for no worke is hygher / more inwarde / ād more spretualle then faith. It resteth and hangeth apon the pure and bare worde of God / and is delivered quyte from all thinge / that is not the levinge wor­de of Christ Iesu. But ther can be no thynge [Page] higher or more inner nother in heven / ne inerth then the worde of God / whiche is ve­rely even God him silfe.

Contrary wise these spretuall estates of their awne nature be soche that they allure a man vnto welthe and pleasures / and cau­se him to spende him silfe all to gether aboute the getinge of temporalle and exteri­or thinges / y^t as partaininge for his body he maye lacke nothinge. And thus he re­fuseth plainly to be spretuall / excepte he mi­ght have abundance of outwarde thinges / and be of them assured / lesse he shulde at [...]nytime misture / and have nede of faith or tru­ste in god. So that thou muste plainly con­fesse that this spretuall estate of the awne kinde / and nature doth belonge vnto erthly / seculare / and worldely thinges / and that i [...] ought to be reckened amonges them. Yee ād that therto it is verely an heten thinge / if it be conferred wyth matrimony. And againe warde that matrimony is verely an hevenly sp [...]etuall / and godly estate compared vnto this whiche men ar wonte to calle spretu­alle.

But I speake precysely that matrimony is soche a thinge of his awne kinde & natu­re / for many persones do not vs [...] it right & accordingly in faith / ād for bicause of vnbilefe they do turne that / whiche is good to be vnto them selves evill. Contrary wise it is not [Page] [...]npossible that a man thorow the benefite and goodnesse of faith maye rightly / & wel­le vse an estate that is called spretualle. And by their faith to chaunge that whiche is e­vill to be vnto them good. But yet for this better or worse vsage can not matrimony be called e [...]ille / nor the spretualle estate be cal­led good / for faith maketh all thinges good yee evē verydeth & all misse happes [...] But vn­belefe or vngodlines causeth all thīges to be evyll yee both the lyfe and also god him sel­fe. Of the vsage and mysusage of estates do I now nothinge speake / but of naturalle kinde and proparte that are in estates [...] / conclu­dinge and afferminge. That matrimony is as golde. But the spretu [...]lle estates as do­unge: by cause that the firste promoteth / & bringeth one to faith / & the other vnto vnbe­lefe or wickednesse / furthermore matrimony doth not only governe the herte / or inwarde partes of man before god by faith / but also the body outwardly by dedes. So that it requireth both faith and also workes / making p [...]ovisiō both for y^e body & for y^e soule orderī ­ge thē both well and vertuously / matrimony (I saye) is of soche an inclinacyō / that of the awne nature i [...] requireth labore and sweate / and to be maintened by hande warke / and is there vnto properly ledde or inclined by the wo [...]de of God / written in the .iij. chapte [...] of Genesis / in this forme. In the sweat [...] of [Page] thy vysage shalte thou eate thy brede. That they which in it ar coupled muste nedes put them selves in perilles and daungers / and abide lokinge whether their labour come wel to passe or no. They muste also many times take hurte and losse / suffering many thinges in their wife childre and householde or fa­milye. But who is he that can reckene vp all the paines / laboures and sweate of their face? So that truly as the body in wedloc­ke is occupied and exercised with labore / ca­re / study / paynes / travayle and misery: In ly­ke wise muste the harte be occupied and ex­ercysed with faith / knoweng alwayes that these thinges be godly cominge of God / ād are to him ioyfulle & pleasante. But our spretualty (which they so calle) is more sle [...]th­fulle / then Asses of Archadye and do not live by their awne laboure / nor do eny whitte exercyse their body / sufferinge other mennys laboure to be turned in to their profite fedin­ge & pamperinge their gutte of other men­nys sweate and laboure / not willinge to take ony losse or disprofite in their awne goodes. So that here doth appere no sweate of their face. But it fareth by them / accordin­ge as yt ys wrytten in the Psalme .lxxij. They be not in the laboure of men / ād shall not be scurged or suffer payne wyth men. And therfore ar they cloyed wyth pryde / and overwhelmed with iniquite and wic­kednesse &c. And allthough they be ofte in [Page] their prayers and syngynge / doyng their spretuall workes (so verely wyll they h [...]ve them called) yet do no suche workes help [...] or profite vnto the exercyse of the body. And all be it these thynges all were done so well as is possible: yet were it vncerten whe­there they [...]hulde be plesante vnto God / or no. But contrary wyse for somoche as they have not the worde of God to confi [...]me thē / god can not be pleased in them.

Thou wilte here obiecte againste me: No parsone shall then by this sentence abyde single or chaste: but every man shall con­tracte matrimony whyche thynge shulde be contrary vnto this texte of Paule. I wolde that all men were / as I my silfe am? To this I make answere / that I dyd now speake of the spretualle estates compared vnto matrimony / and not of syngle lyvin­ge or chastite. A spretualle (as they calle yt) estate is profitable vnto no thinge at all: but very nawgh [...] and moste damnable. And yt were better that no body shulde be so spretuall / but every man to be maryed. More over syngle and chaste lyvynge be an other maner thynge then a spretualle estate. Of spretuall estates doth Paule here speake no thinge at all: But he speaketh of true chastite / for no estate (I reporte me vnto yow) ys more vnchaste ne more pro­ne vnto wantonnes lecherye / or fornyca­cyon / [Page] then is this whiche we calle ecclesi­astike or spretualle / as experience doth now a dayes over moche shewe. But if so be that some of them do lyve chaste / yet not wyth standinge they do not vse chastite accordī ­ge vnto the ordinaūce ād rule of Paule. So that it can not be that chastite / wherof sain­te Paule doth here make mencyon / for they of chastite do make avaunsemente of merite / excellencye / and dignite or worthynesse be­fore god and man. But saint Paule maketh it an easinesse / & quietnesse / wherby one may the morceasely / lightly and quietly / serve in the worde of God / gevinge more hede or at­tendance vnto y^e same. So that finally in le­arninge therof he maye growe / and be mo [...]ested faste in faithe.

I saye vnto the vnmaried men ād wyddowes / it is good for thē yf they do abyde / even as I do.

¶Of this maye you well gather / that Paule was ones maryed and had a wife / for in this passage when he sayeth: I saye vnto the vnmaried and widdowes / he speaketh only of widdowhode / differringe to treate of vir­gines vntylle a litle here vnder / where as he entreateth only and distinctly both of them / and of their estate / life as here he doth spe­ake only of widdowers widdowes & of their estate / amonges whō he reckeneth him silfe.

[Page]But in the treatise of virginite he maketh of him silfe no mencyon / ne count [...]th hym silfe amonge thē. How be it many do we­ne that ge did continue a virgen / accordin­ge as is writtē in the .ix. chapter of his fir­ste pisile vnto the Corinthiās. Have not we (sayth Paule) power to leade aboute a sister to wife as wele as other apostles / and as the bretherne of the lorde and Cephas? Other only I and Barnabas have not power this to do? But this doth not prove that Paule did alwaye lyve single / but moche more do­th it rather shewe that he had a wife / yet for all that wolde not he leade hir aboute with him as the other apostles did leade aboute their wyfes. So that by this texte only / he shewed plainly vnto our vnderstandinge / y^t he now was as an other widdower with out a wife / and yet neverthelesse he had po­wer la [...]fully to take one.

Moreover it is rygh [...] credible that he had a wife. For the Iewes (amōges whō Pau­le did lyve / & was brought vp frō his birth) dyd abhorre and recounte no thinge worse thē chastite or single lyving / with out a spe­ciall priviled [...]e or exemp [...]yon And yet as it is testified Philippens .ii. he did continue lyving amōge them with out any faute / that man coude countrolle him for or fynd [...] in him.

For this purpose doth that also well serv [...] [Page] whiche ys writen in the .iiii. to the Philip­pyans / where he sayeth / [...]e and I beseche y^e faythfulle yoocke fell [...]we helpe the women / whiche laboure with me in the gospelle. This yoocke felowe hath many vnderstan­de to be Paules wyfe / and that not with out iuste causes. S [...]yng that he maketh no men­cion of hy: name / And also no man ell [...]ys wonte so to speake / callynge a woman his naturalle and faithfulle maried mate or fellow / that in greke ys called syzyge gnesie which ys to saye naturalle / o [...] very wyfe y^e beareth the same yoocke / & hath made with hym a specyall covenaunte or cōtracte abo­ve other / lyke as they do y^t ar knytte i [...] ma­trimony / onles she were his lawfull wiffe ād spouse / ād here vnto hyr he committeth & betaketh the [...]ure to helpe other womē. Ac­cordinge therfore vnto this [...]igure or maner of speakinge muste we saye. Other that Pau­les wyfe was decessed? Or elles that by cō sente of them bothe he dyd leve and departe from hyr for a season / lesse [...]e shulde leade hyr aboute with him (as is shewed .j. Corin. ix) & that in matrimony he dyd so lyve cha­ste. But howe so ever this was / whether his wife was dedde / or elles by hyr minde and wylle she lefte him for a seasone for y^e gospel­les sake / yet is this vndoutedly true / y^t he dyd live like a wyddower / whiche a fore tyme had bene maryed. But vnto what conclusion this mater shall now bringe vs / I bese­che [Page] yow lett vs diligently see.

Some be so farforth brought / that they ar enfo [...]ced [...]o knowledge. That prystes and bisshoppes maye be sacred in matrimony / & they whiche are maried maye be pristes ād lefully use the office of them / Bycause [...]y te­stimony of scripture they see that for y^e most parte all the apostles and all the bysshopes whiche were their successores were maryed But then they seke howe they shall save [...] ād defende themselves / saying: We reade that before they were chosē aparte and segrega­te vnto the office of Apostles / bisshoppes / & pristes / that they were maried But yf any of thē were their vnto called afore they we­re maried. Of thē do we not reade that af­terwarde they dyd mary / And therfore is it not lefulle fo [...] prystes now a dayes to mary Vnto suche disputers shall this place gyve sufficient knowledge.

Fyrste. Seyng that vow do confesse and graunte that maryed [...]olke be made bishop­pes and prystes / and that they so not only be but also may be: Because the example of the apostles doth so both teache and requyre. What maner men then are yow / that wyll now a dayes no maried body admitte vnto the office of a pryste? Yow do not only de­bar from prystehode thē that wylle marie / & there vnto be disposed / but thē also whiche allredy have wifes and be maried. Whiche [Page] thynge notwithstādyng doth clerely repug­ne agaynest Christe ād his Apostles / And mo [...]eover agaynste saynte Paule: all be yt he hī sylfe had lyved syngle & vnmaryed. For he sayeth that he ought to be chosen for to be a bysshoppe / that ys the husbande of one wy­fe / & that hath hys chyldre buxum & obediēt. I beseche yow / telle me. whome shall we be­leve to have more wysdome and holynesse / yow? or elles Chryste? Chryste dyd chose vn­to hym prystes and apostles that were ma­ryed / and them doth he afterwarde also cō ­ferme by the teachinge of hys apostles. But soche do yow refuse and disprove. Wherfo­re other Chryste muste be both a fole ād vn­ryghtewes. Or you youre selves muste be Antychristes and deceavers. Furthemore [...] welbeloved yf so you had lefte [...]hys parte vn­to vs free. That accordy [...]ge vnto the exam­ple of the Apostles / maryed men myght ha­ve ben made prystes / and had not besyde­forth ordeyned or decreed / That it ys not le­fulle for prystes to marye. Men shulde not so moche have s [...]ryvē in the matter ne so grette peryll shulde therof have folowed. For then shulde many y^t be coupled in maryage ha­ve taken and receaved prystehode / and a gre­te sorte shulde have fyrste tryed and knowen matrimony. So that there shulde not have bene so many whoremēgers ād lecherours. But nowe you make thys pretense and co­loure: [Page] That yow dyd never rede / that pry­stes dyd marye wyfes / and also do remove and put awaye vniuersally all maryage frō p [...]stes. Contrary vnto god / vnto nature / vn­to reason / and vnto ryght / only of presump­tion with out all maner of cause. So that yow do fylle and replenisshe all [...]he worlde with whordome / & fo [...]nicacyon. Why th [...]r­fore have not yow duly nother redde ne cō ­sydered thys texte afore rehersed / taken out of the .ix. cha [...]yter of y^e fyrste pystle vnto the Corynthyane? Ys not in yt playnly noted ād shewed. That a pryste may laufully be take hym sylfe vn [...]o matrimony? Fo [...] be yt in case that Paule was then other a vyrgē or elles a wyddower. Yet notwythstandyng he sayeth that yt was la [...]f [...]ll and [...]yght fo [...] him to lea­de a b [...]ute a wyfe. But saye vnto me I bese­che yow / was not Paule then an Apostle / a bysshoppe / and a pryste? I am suer t [...]at yow can not shewe [...] ne saye the cōtrary. W [...]y thē ys he so bolde to saye that he hath power / & authoryte to marye. Y [...] thē the hygheste sta­te / that ys to wi [...] of Apostles do permitte / and suffer a maryed man so stylle to abyde / or elles afterwarde (yf so he hath no wyfe be­fore) to mary and ta [...]e one. W [...]y do not also the lower degre or estate of prystes permit­te / and alowe the same?

Moreover seyng that saynte Paule doth li­ [...] a widdower / and yet wyll not be forfēded [Page] from power to marye a wife / ne have yt ta­ken a waye from hym / he is verely after the popes lawe digamus. All be it he recketh not therfore: And to be digamus by the Po­pes lawe is a thinge so hydeous and dete­stable / that all though a man so beyng were with out a wife / yet shulde he not be admitted for to be a pryste. Finally diga­mus betokeneth hī / that hath had two wi­fes. Suche in the olde testamente were those called / that had two wyfes at ones / or to ge­ther. But the canon lawe / whiche is made by the pope / and his clyentes hath transla­te this worde in to an other significacyon. And hath made thre maner of digamus. The fyrste ys yf a man by processe of tyme be twise maried / all be yt other eche of the women / whom he did mary were maydens or vergyns. Secondly yf a man doth mary but ones / yf so she whome he maried were a widdowe. Thyrdely yf a man do mary one / that hath ben defloured in stedde of a mayde.

And these be all of the pope called diga­mi / Nother may any man after the deth of suche wifes be promoted (as they are wonte to calle y [...]) vnto the ordres of prystehode. But yf one had corrupte / ād defyled an hū ­dreth other men [...]ys wifes / and had depry­ved an hundreth maydes of their vergini­te / and besyde that shulde also kepe with him or mayntene an hundreth harlottes [Page] or concubines / he moughte yet in the beste wise both be made / and ther to well abyde or continue a priste. Soche an holy thynge is their pristehode. There is no sinne / ne no myschefe in all the worlde so greate ne so di­verse and manifolde that can let a mā from pristhode / excepte only divine ād godly ma­trimony. Whiche not withstandynge they both do calle and confesse to be a sacramē ­te / and worke / or creature of god. And thus maye not that only / whiche is the worke or creature of god stande with their pristehode.

Therfore shewe me now / yf so thou cāsie / how soche abhominable presumpcyon of makynge soche wicked tradicyōs and lawes can agree with the doctrine or learninge of Paule [...] Whiche is a widdower / and yet by lawfulle authoryte and power wylle ma­ry a wyfe. And not only beynge so con­tente / he geveth therto power by this texte (whiche we do now ītreate of) vnto all both widdowers & widdowes / to do the same no man excepte nother priste / ne laye mā. what other answere may we here make / then that soche folke by these vngracyous constitucy­ons (whiche so apertly ād shame fully do rage agaynste y^e worde of god) wolde make vs in vnderstandinge lyke a stocke or a blocke? And make vs beleve that whordome / ad­ [...]outry / and fornicacion were better then [Page] wedlocke or matrimony? O gracyous lorde onles thy mercy were so greate / as scriptu­re therof doth make reporte / that is to saye / infinite / & vnmesurable / how couldeste thou that art so mighty rightwys / & pure of iud­gement abyde or suffer this / ād suche other like wicked presumpsyon and boldenes / so­che stinking whoredome / and vnclennes? What other thinge is here sought / thē that the creature / ordināce / ād worke of god shulde be discommended and reproved. And y^t vnto whordome shulde be made an opē cā ­pe / free passage / and space to over runne all the worlde? Like as now a dayes (a lacke for pyte) we do see with oure yes And as Daniel did prophecy of the kingdome of Antichriste Yt shall not be touched with regarde or ca­re of women / as who shulde saye: the regar­de of whores shall only in it bere rometh.

For asmoche therfore as they be compel­led to knowledge that the apostles even af­ter their apostlesshippe did abyde styll and continue in matrimony I wolde faine kno­we why that prystes do not mary? Or elles wherfore they maye not mary? Is maryage suche a devillysshe thinge / if so yt be begon­ne after pristehode / and so godly if it go b [...] ­ore the same? Muste it suffer suche altera­cyon for goyng before / and cominge after? Verely all reason muste knowledge / ād every man (as is sayde comonly) muste nedes fele [Page] at hys fyngers endes / y^t what so ever thin­ge may be godly with pryste hode and after it / y^e very same maye be well begūne in pri­stehode / and before it. Moreover this maye right well be called a shamefull iuggkynge and a sore deceavable colour / that matrimo­ny shulde be called ād preached to be a godly thinge (as in very dede it is) and graunted of them to be an holy sacramente / and yet may not be admitted that a godly thinge & sacramente shulde have place with our pry­stes O miserable ād blynde blyndenes / that men not only can not be made beleve that suche thinges be very tryfles / and delusyons but also y^t they be broughte in mynde to iud­ge that maner of lyvynge to be of all other moste excellente and beste / howe myghtever this thinge have come to passe / onles y^e wra­the of god had thus punisshed the worlde / and plaged it with blindenesse?

Let vs therfore abyde here by Paule / whi­che in no wise shall deceave vs. He doth or­deyne that widdowers maye lefully marye wifes whether they be prystes / or no: besyde forthe that all maner widdowers or vnma­ryed men may mary wifes. So that it shul­de nother hurte ne hynder vnto pristehode yf one maryed a widdowe. Nor any whit hel­pe and further / yf he marye a mayde / and vyrgen. For there ought to be no suche res­pecte of parsons concerninge this purpose. [Page] But all soche thinges amonges christē mē ought to be free / and in their electyon to take whether they luste / other mayde / or widdo­we to be their laufu [...]le wifes / with out any domage or preiudice in any thinge / ād this thinge (that is to witte y^t pristes have authorite to mary wifes / like as have all other mē ād y^t with out any respecte of parsones / whether they be maydēs or elles widdowes) doth sainte Paule sufficiently cōfirme / & approve in this / y^• he writeth this pistle not vnto layemen only (as they are wonte to calle thē) but vnto y^t bisshopes also / & prestes & generally vnto the all christē mē of Corinthe. And by­cause he doth separate none estate / ne parso­ne: yt shall not be lefulle for vs to applye and appointe his worde vnto laye mē only / nor yet vnto any other certen estate or parsone.

Sainte Paule truly did knowe fulle well both by the doctrine / & also by y^e ordinaūce of Christe / y^t nother y^e worke of god might be letted / or forbiddē / ne his creature fordone & destroyed. Now is mā verely the creature / & worke of god / made or create to begette childre / ād to multiplye his seade / as appereth Gene. i. For asmoche therfore as god which is alway cōstante / like minded / & with out a­ny altera [...]yō made man at the beginnīge in this wise / ād so wolde him cōtinually for to be. Thinke you surely y^t it pleaseth hī not now nother for love of pristehode / no nor for love [Page] of his euāgely (which is of all other thin­ges moste precyous) to make of a mā a stocke or a stone. Nother to lette the worke or o­peracyō of mānes nature whiche of god ar naturally in thē implanted. But what other thinge is it to saye / when a priste is forbiddē to mary / then that a mā shulde not be a mā And y^t the creature or worke of god shulde [...]esse / bycause of humayne presumpcyon ād lawes. Only God whiche did thus create man / maye these thinges in him altere and chaunge thorow his giftes and grace. But free wille with all his powers & enforsemē ­tes be here very nothinge ne can any thinge do. Therfor sayeth Paule.

I saye vnto the vnmaryed mē / ād widdowes: It is good for thē yf they abyde even as I do: But and yf they can not abstayne / let them mary. For it is better to ma­rye / then to burne.

¶It is good verely to abide as Paule did / but in continente he addeth wherfore it is not good ād y^t it is better to cōtracte matri­mony / then to abyde in widdowhode or vn­maryed. And Paule doth here shewe forth all at ones all the causes of matrimony / and se [...]teth abounde to mesure or enclose all the glory of castite / when he sayeth: But and yf they can not abstayne / lette [Page] them marye. This is as moche to saye. Ne­cessite compelleth the to mary againe. How excellently so ever therfore chastyte be pray­sed / and how noble so ever the gifte therof be / yet necessite causeth that very fewe do there vnto attaine / for they can not abstaine and abyde chaste / for all be it y^t we are chri­sten / havinge the sprete of god by faith: yet is not the worke and creature of god in vs stroyed and taken awaye from vs / that thou muste cesse to be a woman / and I a mā. Nother doth the sorete bereve from the body his inclinacyon and naturalle workes / but that it may eate / drinke / slepe / disgeste / and dis­geftyon avoyde / like as the body of an other man.

In lyke wise doth not the sprete take awaye from man ne frome woman their shappes / their lymmes / or membres / their seade / ne their frute and operacyon / for a christen mā ­nes body muste aswelle norisshe seade / be­gette childre / and multiplye / as the body of other men of byrdes and of all bestes / and lyvely thinges. Vnto the whiche purpose it also was create. As ys shewed Genesis .i. So that man of necessite muste appete na­turally a woman / and the woman a mā / on­les god wonderfully by a singular & excel­lent gyfte do holde them therfro and dely­ver them. And thus meaneth Paule here in this place / when he sayeth: But yf he cā not [Page] abstaine / let him mary. As though he shulde saye. Vnto whom god hath not geven a sin­gular grace / but leaveth in his body the na­ture and disposicion of the same: It is good for him / ye it is necessary that he do mary / forsakinge both verginite and also wyddo­whede / furthermore it is not the mynde of god to make a principalle and singular gifte comon vnto many / but wolde that maryage shulde be comon to eche body: like as he dyd ones ordene and create yt / he wille not take awaye his creature from every man / ne lette the operacyon of the same.

Moreover a Christen man is sprete and flesshe. By reason of the sprete he neadeth not of matrimony. But bycause his flesshe hath communion & felishippe with the cor­rupte flesshe in Adam and Eve / & so is ful­le of luste and concupiscence / for this disea­se and malady hath he truly neade of matri­mony: and by his awne strenght / or power can he not be with out them / for his flesshe rageth / burneth / ād breadeth seade / as we­le as doth the flesshe of eny other parsone. Where as by matrimony / as by a medicine there vnto moche necessary and behovable he doth not ease / helpe / quenche / and repres­se yt / for in the .iij. chapter of Genesi. he she­weth clerely before oure face / what thinge he wolde suffer in man / when he did not on­ly not take away the blessinge of multipli­cacion [Page] /but rather dyd alowe and confer­me yt. When notwithstādinge he dyd kno­we full well / that suche blessynge coulde not be fulfylled and performed of nature (that was corrupte and fulle of concupiscence) whith out synne.

But that matrimony is comenly had in disdayne as a thinge that is cause of many myseries / paynes / troble / and hevynes / and so yōge people are thereby persuaded to de­cline there fro vnto vnwylfull chastite: yt ys a reason vnprofitable ād of no value / but pe­visshe ād moche synfulle. Nother have they so made good the cause of their chastite. For necessite doth alwaye prevēte and stoppe out this forechaste or provisiō. Whiche sa­yeth that yt nother is / ne yet cā so be. For no mā cā grounde or set him selfe faste in heven: Accordinge as here doth affirme saynte Paule: he that can not abstayne (sayeth he) / lett him mary. Agayne warde that matrimony is hyghly commended as a thinge that is hevynly and godly & moste fulle of all goodnes. This is lyke wysse a reasone of smalle effecte / ād prevayleth not. Forthere is no mā o [...] elles very fewe that wolde be moved with these good thinges that come of yt / to geve their selves there vnto. Nature alwaye abhorreth labore & sweate / inseparable cōpaniōs of honeste mariage.

There be also very many other causes of m [...] ryage. [Page] Some do mary for love of mony ād worldly goodes. A greate sorte doth falle there to for curiosyte to satisfye their appe­tite and pleasure that they have to attempte all thinges. Some do be take thē there vnto for to gette thē h [...]yres. Sainte Paule she­weth only on cause / and that is necessite. It is therfore called necessite / for nature muste nedes have an yssue / and go forthe / that it maye encrease and be multiplyed. But thys wille not god admitte with out matrimony Therfore hath every man neade to go there vnto / necessite so requiringe ād constreyni­ge him to do / yf so he wille here before God passe his lyve with a good conscience. And were it not that this necessyte did thus byn­de / wreste / and dryve me / I wote not truly what matrimony the other causes shulde make & stablisshe. Namely curiosite / whiche at y^• firste moveth these foles with lightenese to begine soche an erneste sobre godly ād ne­cessary estate / wherin doth sone come vnto them the thinge / whiche they sought.

But what meaneth he by this y^t he sayeth it is better to mary thē to burne? Every mā no faile that with out mariage & a specialle grace at tēpteth to lyve single or chaste kno­weth right well what this sayeng is & what it doth meane. Nother doth he here touche [...]ny secrete or prevy thīges: but he speketh of y^t comō & manifeste experiēce & felīge y^t al mē hath / which with out matrimony or [...] [Page] singular grace do labore to lyve chaste or vn­maryed / for he doth attribute burninge vn­to all parsones / that with out the hygh and singular gifte of chastite do lyve vnmaryed and chaste. Nother doth he teache any re­medy therfore excepte only the copulacyon of matrimony. All beyt they vse to calle so­che burninge prevy troble and affliction. Whiche proverbe shulde not have bene so vulgare or comone / yf so it had ben a uery secrete or prevy evill. Nother is it ony doute but these also vnto whom is geven the gifte of chastite / do some time feale luste or pric­kinge / & be there with tempted: but by cau­se yt passeth / and shortely perisfheth / therfor ys not soche a thinge in them called a bur­ninge / Generally burninge ys a fervore he­ate / tikillinge / preckinge / and yt chenge of the flesshe / whiche restith not / ne blinne [...]h of boilinge or raginge / and ys a daily inclinacion or dispocision other to a woman or to a man whiche ys in every body / where ys not desi­er and love vnto chastite. So that ther be founde so veri fewe that lacketh this boilin­ge and burninge in the flesshe / as there be fewe that hath this soveraine gifte of chastite geven them of god. But wyth this burnin­ge ar some pained hardly / some more softe­ly or easely / Some be so sore tormented / that they are faine to poure out and shede their nature / Whiche all do belonge vn to [Page] matrimony. In so moche that I dare be bol­de to saye / Where as ys nowe one chaste / there ought more then an hondred thousan­de to live maried.

Thou canste here in have no better coun­celle geven the / then that thou shuldeste fo­lowe and laye before the / the example of saint Hierome / whiche extollinge chastite with moste high / but moste perillous laudes ād comendacion: Neverthelesshe he confes­sheth that he coulde not tame his flessh no­ther by any fastinge / ne yet praiers. So that chastite was vn to him more than any man can saie harde and painfulle. O how moche blessed time did he lose in flesshely thougtes He was of that opinion that he thought chastite might be goten by oure power and strength / & indged yt to be comone vn to all mē. Beholde this holy man being thus infi­red wi [...]h heate & burnī [...]e of y^e flesshe / ought to have maryed a wife. Here now seist thou what a thinge it is to burne. He was in y^e nombre of them that belonged vnto matri­mony / and he did iniury vnto him silfe / whiche attempted many thinges / that he shulde not be maryed. Many of thes examples shalt thou fynde in a [...]oke called de Vitis Patrum.

Therfor this is the conclusion of sainte Paule. Where as is not this surmoun­tinge / principalle / rare / ād singular gifte of [Page] god / there of necessite muste be other bur­ninge / or elles matrimony: Now is it mo­che better to be ioyned in maryag [...] / then to burne. Bycause that burninge a [...] though non evill dede shulde therof ensue / yet not with standinge it is frustrate & vaine chasti­te / for so moche as it is not kepte with delite ād love / but with greate yrkesomnes / wery­nesse / grudginly / by enforsemēt / ād vnwil­lingly. So that before god it is estemed evē as incontinencye and vnchastite Where y^e herte is vncleane / whē the body by violēce so cā not be. What availeth it therfore tho­ught thou keptiste by greate painfulle & vn­pleasante laboure vaine & vncleane clēnes? Yt were moche better for the / yf thou were clerely maryed / ād so to be voide or with out this ioye or pleasure as they take it for to be and wene that it is / but all amisse / for all be / it that in matrimony also is both a [...]fliction / paine / troble ād angwisshe / yet not withstā ­dinge maye a man geve him vnto all these / and sometyme have pleasure and quietenesse But where as lacketh a soveraine grace wi­th out matrimony / yt can not be that thou maiste geve thy minde vnto chastite / ād ly­ve therin merely or in quietenesse.

Consider also now I beseche the / how madde teachers and rulers they be / whiche [...]ōpelle youth every where in all cloyster [...] [Page] vnto chastite / teachinge y^e chastite the more harde & painfulle it is for them / & the more that it standeth againe there minde / y^e mo­re excellente and better it is for them.

All be it y^t with other thinges thou maiste thus playe and daly / here notwithstandinge thou muste do otherwise with chastite / for it can not be wylfulle / where as ys not redy p [...]esente a singulare grace. Any other thin­ge may be wilfulle thorow faith. These mā ­ner of men do after the fassyon of the Ie­wes / whiche offeringe there childre vnto Moloch dyd burne them in the fyer. So that me seameth that Paule for this cause dyd vse thys worde burnynge / that he wol­de touche and signifye this abhominacyon. For what is it elles to close and shute vp a yonge parsone all hys lyve longe with su­che a burninge other in cloys [...]res / or yet el­les where / then to offer [...] or consecrate them vnto the devylle for honor / that he shall be constrayned so to kepe miserable and dam­nable cha [...]tite?

I am here compelled for cause of suche teachers and rulers to shewe yow of a thinge / whyche I hearde ones tolde of an ho­neste and a sadde man / to thentente that suche rude and blynde hedes / yf so they wylle / maye feale evē with their hande how [...]nwisyly they governe and rule One of thei [...] [Page] faculte whiche was a preacher did at a time declare and telle in an open audience / that a man whiche wolde please god / muste begin­ne to chastise himsilfe suerl [...] And for an ex­ample he brought forth out of the boke cal­led de Vitis patrum one Simeon whiche did stande an whole yere apon an high pil­ler on his one fote continually praying with out interrupcion / vntille that wormes did brede in his fote / whiche all when they felle downe were chaunged in to precious stones Likewise (saide he) muste thou also punisshe and chastise thy silfe / yf so thou luste to serve god. Soche manner of folisshe trifles & toies becometh well soche a folisshe prea­cher. Whiche with out doute Satan did then ymagine for to moke and begile Chri­sten people / To thentente that he myght for do and destroye the miracles of holy men / whiche in y^t time were wrought. As though they all did saver of soche pevisshe mochage and triflinge.

Beside forthe this mocker or trifeler toke also for his purpose a yonge childe that wen­te to grammer scole (for so ys yt comonly sene that as men are wonte to saie / one foole ma­keth ten other) whiche after a singulare wi­se studing to serve god kepte in his vrine that he might so paine and punisshe him silf. In the fourte daie by cause he had made no wa­ter / he began to falle sicke / And whan he coulde [Page] of no body be persuaded to pisse and ma­ke water / he minded so to die / vn tille god by inspiracion did put in the minde of a c [...]rten persone / that he shulde praise him in his en­tente or interprise and comforte h [...]m as one that hadde done well and ver [...]uo [...]sly. (For as saieth Solomon so muste men speake with fooles in their matter [...]) How beit quod he men saie that thou doest yt for a vaine glory / But yf ye doe so / then y [...] yt nothinge worthe. Whan he had ones hear­de this / he forsoke & gave over his purpose sayeng / Seyng they do thus saye and interprete the matter in thys wyse / I wille ra­ther do any thinge / thē performe that / whi­che I have begunne. This ys truly a rud [...] & grosse foly / But yet ought we not to set ly­ght their by / or vtterly despyse yt. For in yt hath god shewed as I sayde before what le­arninge soche preachers and rulers do tea­che. Therfore wyll I entreate of yt in thys place somewhat the more largely. Yt fareth veryly thus (lyke as the script [...]re and all ex­perience do shewe) that this lyfe / whyche man leadeth here in the erthe ys miserable / wretched / and wofulle. What so ever [...]state thou shall [...]hoese / or take the vnto / ye though yt seame never so bl [...]ssyd and godly. And yet ys ther none so wretched or wofulle [...] but yf a mā by precepte shulde be compelled to kepe in his vrine or his disgestiō / he wolde doute­lesse [Page] rather [...]hoese to do any other thinge / then to take vpon hym to do eny soche impossibilite. But bycause no body y [...] cōpel­led vnto this I meane to kepe in his vrine or disgestiō. No man verely doth consyder and esteme how profitable and precious a thinge yt is to avoyde them from hym. And yet in the meane season they marke and bewayle the misery of their estates / whiche not with standinge is ten tymes lesse / then the wo [...] and misery afore sayde / yf so they shulde be compared to gether.

In lyke condicion standeth yt with this burninge. For they that are knitte in maryage be at libertye. They maye quenche that whi­che burneth them / nother take they thought or care for that payne and misery (lyke as a woman whiche after that she is delyuered / thinketh moche other wise then when she was in travelinge). Nother do they af­terwarde note or regarde any thinge savinge the troble and sorynesse of their condicion. For lyke as a good thinge when yt is pre­sente is not regarded / evē so an evylle wh [...] yt is paste is no more remembrede. But they whiche yet do abide in soche heate or burninge / and do never hope from yt to be ridde & delevered / what other thinge elles can they do / then skorne and counte for fooles them / that are wedded? And yet neverthelesse they groone and complayne of this whiche doth so vexe them. They are thus compelled to ke­pe [Page] that / whiche ought not to be kepte / & that also in vayne / and to lose all their harde and paynfulle laboures. Whiche thinge of all other ys moste miserable & soroufulle. How moche soner shulde they suffer and bere all the burdones and vexaciōs of mariage / thē soche burninge? And to telle yow shortly. Sory mariage is better then sory chastite. And an harde or paynfulle mariage is bet­ter then harde or paynfulle chastite. The reason hereof ys not far to be sought / for so­che chastite perissheth & i [...] of non effecte: but soche mariage doth profite helpe & is moche frutefulle [...] And this do I speake of y^e burnī ­ge of thē / y^t cōtinue chaste / of which be very fewe. The greate multitude do not suffer this heate / ne cōtinue chaste / but laboure by all meanes to be delivered frō it. Of whiche thinge I wille now no thinge write. But so sone as they y^t lyve vnmaried be here of ridde / doth their cōsciēce tormēte & cōdēne thē / whiche amōges all other paines is moste intolle­rabl [...] / & wretchidfull [...] And thus doth y^e matter in cōclusion come to passe: y^t they whiche without a singular grace / do lyve single & vn­maried / for y^e more parte be so pained & tro­bled y^t evē with their body they falle vnto ri­baudry & sinne of lechery. But the other fewe do lyve outwardly chaste / and inwarde berybaudes or lechers. So that y^e firste are in­daunger of damnacyon / & the other muste nedes live a sory miserable & vnprofitable life

[Page]And where be nowe both seculare ād al­so ecclesiasticalle rulers and o [...]ficers / that shulde consider in their hartes and loke apō thes tormentes of wofulle ād wretched soules? But they them selves by there dayly cō ­pulsion and requestes do promote and helpe forth the liynge spr [...]te of erroure to multiplye dayly thes evilles.

¶ The seconde parte. Unto the maryed commaunde no [...] I / but the lorde. That the wife separate not hyr silfe fro the mā If she separate hir silfe / let hir re­maine vnmaryed / or be reconciled vnto hir husbande agayne. And let not the husbande put a waye his wife.

¶ Hetherto hath he spoken of widdowers and widdowes. In whom of both partyes the one may l [...]fully be with out the other / y^e man with out a womā / ād contrary wise / ye it is profitable that they so be / yf they cā ly­ [...]e severalle a lone. But this can not be per­mitted in maryed folkes / for the worde of god byndeth them to lyve in company to ge­ther. But that they that ar vnmaryed and widdowes shulde continue vnwedded / it is nother commaunded of God / ne forbidden: but is a pure and holsome councelle of the [Page] apostle. And it is graunted them frelye afo­re god other to mary agayne / or elles to a­byde in widdowhode.

The aposile permitteth divorsemente vn­to the man / and vnto the wyfe / but vpon this condicyon / that they both afterwarde do abyde sole and vnmaryed. In whiche thī [...]e he doth both disanulle y^• lawe of Moses / by the whiche a man might put a waye his wife / wh [...]n he was wery of her / or dyd hate her / and mary an other.

And when she was separate might ma­ry with an o [...]her / in the .xxiii [...]. chapyter of Deuteronomy. Wherfore allthough Mo­ses gave soche a lawe vnto the Iewes which were stubb [...]rne / frowarde / styffe minded / & of h [...]thē cōdiciōs / yet ys yt not lefulle so for ch [...]istē people to do And therfore doth Chri­ste also him silfe dis [...]nulle the same lawe in the .xix. chapter of Mathew. For in the olde testamente were lawes that did not only c [...] ̄ ­cerne the sprete / but y^• also regarded world­ly policye and civile o [...]deringe of the comōs In somoche as god did governe and gyde that same people both spretually and also bodyly. In like maner as many thinges be ordened in the Emper [...]res lawe / which not with standinge be not lefulle / for a christen man to vse / soche as these are to withstande or put awaye violence violently / to sue or ke­pe plee / and other like.

[Page]Lawes wherby male factores are chaste­ned ād let from there purpose be moche dif­ferente from those by whiche the good peo­ple be instructe and ruled. In lyke manner was this lawe institute to punysshe e [...]yll doer [...] / ād to stoppe their pur [...]oses / lesse they haply shulde kylle their wifes / [...] do that were elles worse. But Christen people mu­ste be hartely good (so that soche lawe is not necessary for them) and kepe stylle their wi­fes / so longe as they shall lyve. But where right Christen folke are not / there at this houre is yet this lawe nedefull to be vsed / that shulde pardone and permitte vnto them [...]or to departe fram their wyfes / after the gyse of paynemes / and to mary other / lesse by dissencyon in levinge to gether / they shul­de twyse purchase selle / that is to wyt both in this lyfe presente / and in the other folo­wing. But yet ought soche parsones makīg so divorse knowe / y^t they in so lyvynge wea [...]e no l [...]nger christē people / but paynemys in a damnable estate.

The Apostle doth speake here of one cau­se of dyvorsemente / that ys to wytte anger. When the husbande and wyfe can not cō ­pany to gether and lyve in agremēte or v­nite / but are letted and / pulled awaye both from prayer and all other good dede [...] thorow meanes of hate and anger. This [Page] doth the texte manifestly shewe / when he sa­yeth / Lett them be recōcyled / ād lett thē aby­de to gether vnseparate. But yf they wylle not be reconcyled / but wyll be separate / lett them abyde vnmaryed. Where now reconcy­lynge ys commaundded / there dow [...]elesse ys anger and debate shewed to be. But soche dyvorsement truly doth the Apostle dissem­blinge or twinkelinge / at mennes infirmite permitte / when .ij. parsones can not to ge­ther agree with in them selves. Elles truly one hadde neade to have borne an others burden / and not to departe a sondre in any wyse. And this certes ys the cause why he denieth vnto them that are [...]yvorsed and separate / after that to mary with [...]ny other parsone / to thentente that they shulde so ha­ [...]e occasyon to be reconcyled againe the one vnto the other and come agayne to gether. Yee in y^t he bindeth & cōpelleth thē to love [...] newe eche other and kepe company agayne [...] For asmoche as parhappes the gifte of cha­stite is not gyven them.

But what yf the one will not love agai­ne / or have [...]tonement with the other / and will algate be separate / and the other [...]ar­tye not havynge power to abstayne or abyde chaste shulde [...]e enforced to chose hym [...] wyfe for his mate / what shall thy [...] parso­ne do / may not [...]e lefully mary with an other wyfe? To that I make answere thu [...] s [...]yng [Page] yes doutlesse may he / for seynge that he is not cōmaūded to abyde chaste / nother hath the gifte of chasti [...]e gyven him / and beside fo [...]the his mate vnto whom he was before maryed will no [...] voytsave to be a [...]one with him / and love him againe / but taketh awaye from him hir body / whiche he can not be with out. Thes thinges thus layde to gether and well estemed / you shall knowe that god wille not binde him to that thinge / whiche excedeth his [...]ower / for the presump [...]yon o [...] le [...]denesse of the other partye. And he m [...] ­ste do in like wise as his maryed fellow were decessed. Specially s [...]ynge that he did not [...]fuse to be reconciled and brought to ato­nemente. Againe the whiche whether so e­ver [...]ar [...]ye do withstande / the same ought to abyde vnwedde / all be it the other do after mary againe. As here doth afferme Paule saiy [...].

To the remnaunte speake I ād not the lorde. If eny brother have a wife that beleveth not. If she be cōtente to dwelle with him / let him not put hyr a waye. And the womā which hath vnto hyr hus­bande and infidele / yf he consente to dwelle with hir let hir not put hem a waye.

[Page]¶Whē sainte paule recordeth that this parte is not his saiyng / but y^• saiyng of y^• lorde / he sheweth y^t it is not cōmaūded of god to do other this or elles that / for he divideth his sayenge from the worde or sayeng of God. So that the sayinge of god is a precepte and cōmavndemente / but his / is a counsell. More over his entente is to saye thus. To the remnaunte / that is to wit / where raigneth no debate and brawlinge betwyxte maryed mates. As whē two ar coupled in matrimo­ny. Of whiche the one is a christian / & the other havinge no knowlege of christe (like as it was comonly sene when fayth was at the firste tyme preached amonges the gentilles that one shulde turne him vnto Christe / and an other turne frō him) All be it that in this case a Christen parsone may departe from one that is not Christen. Yet neverthelesse the councelle of the apostle is that soche shulde not departe. Inasmoche as his ma­ryed mate whyche ys not Christen doth accepte hym and ys contente wyth hym And doth not let him to coūterfette and ex­presse Christe in maner of lyvinge / nother cō strayneth hym to lyve wyckedly or to abiure Christe.

This doth Paule signifye in this worde yf she consente or be contente to dwelle with him &c. That is to saye if an infidele or vn­belever be contente / ād will dwelle with him [Page] that ha [...]h maryed her / and wille suffer hyr to do all that pertayneth vnto a christen bo­dy / for matrimony is but a corporalle and an outwarde thinge whiche doth nother hurte ne helpe / nother doth hinder ne further fa­ith: And in whiche the one may be a christi­an / and the other an infidele. As well as o­ne that is sworne vnto Christe maye eate / drī ke / bye / selle / ād occupye with a payneme / a Iewe or a Turke in all manner exterior thī ­ges. Like as [...]vyn now a dayes one maye be a [...]erfecte and devoute Christian and the o­ther a wicked and famed or false Christyan. So that matrimony for cause of byleve or vn byleve ought not to be broken & fordone.

But yf an infidele wolde not suffer hys maryed mate to abyde Christian / or to lyve a Christian lyfe / but wolde persecute and lett her. There were it conveniente tyme y^• a christen body shulde vse the sentence of Christe / whiche saith in the .x chapter of Mathew: He that loveth his wife or childre more thē me / is not worthy of me. Here beginneth di­ [...]orsemēte. Yf so divorsemente be / other mu­ste reconcylynge / ād attonemente be made / or elles the parsone which refuseth reconci­linge muste abyde vnmaried and sole. So y^• yet vnto the parsone which disyreth to have peace & atonemente shall not be denied au­thorite afterwarde to mary an other / as ys specifyed before / for Christe whiche ys the [Page] spouse of the soule muste be greater / and be­re more rome then the corporalle spouse. Yf therfore the one wille not suffer y^• other to a­byde & lyv [...] to gether with y^• eter [...]alle spou­se of the soule / Here may a Christen parsone forsake hir firste corporalle spouse / and take an other whiche will suffer Christe the eter­nalle spouse abyde to gether with him.

So is it likewise cōveniēt & necessary to be vsed now in these dayes. If y^• husbande will teache and enforse his wife to do thefte / ad­ [...]outry / or any other vngracyousnes againste god. In these is y^• same cause ād reasone of divorsemēte / that is spoken of before. So y^• excepte they be reconciled and come to an [...]onemente / she maye lefully mary an other husbande. And in like case might also the man do / yf so his wife dyd instance him to [...]vill / and wolde not elles [...]e contente to vse him quietly for hir husbande. Of this groun­de and principle cometh / that advoutry ma­keth divorse / and geveth power vnto y^• other parsone that lyveth truly accordinge to the ordinaunce of wedlocke to be maryed a new to an other / for it was cōmaūded in y^• lawe / Deuterono .xiij. That every mā shulde accuse his wife / brother / and moste assured frynde (that moved him to synne agaynste God) afore the iudge / that they myght be slayne. But in the new testamente (where corporalledeth and slaughter bereth no rome) it is suffi­cient [Page] to forsake them and departe awaye frō them. Of this is gathered. That those be wicked examples. In whiche we do fynde that certen maryed womē by consente of the­ir husbandes (whiche had bene imp [...]isoned) were defloured ād viciate / to thentente that they I meane the husbandes tho [...]ow soche a vyle dede shulde be delyvered. The precep­te and worde of god ought to have bene observed and kepte / all though the husbande or wife / body ād goodes / shulde have peris­shed. Nother hath eny man authoryte to geve hys wyfe leave to cōmy [...]te advoutry.

¶ The Apostle proce­deth forthe. For the vnbelevinge husbande is sanctified by the wyfe: And the vnbelevinge wife is sanctified by the husbande. Or elles were your chyldre vnclene: but now ar they pure.

¶This is spoken after the propertye of the hebrew speche / and accordinge after Paules manner of speakinge. That vnto the pure a­re all thinges pure / as he saieth Titi. i. And Roma. viij. All thinge worketh for y^e beste to to christen people and to thē that love God So that this is his sentēce. A christiā ma­ryed shall have no nede to make divorsemē ­te. [Page] For there is no thinge to let thē / but that they maye abide with infideles / that are as­sociate to them in maryage / and also beget­te ād bringe vp vnbelevinge child [...]e. The re­asō why is / where his maryed fellow doth not compelle him to forsake and renounce christian lyvinge / fayth is so mighty a thin­ge that no hurte can be to it / ne to the pos­sessioners therof by lyvinge or company ke­ping with infideles and vnbelevers. And it is all one vnto them whether the thinge be holy or vnholy / pure or elles vnpure / y^t they do vse / for even very deth whiche is of all thinges moste hydeous and terrible is vnto them thorow faith an holy & a precyons thī ­ge faith doth vse all thinges well and ac­cordingly / whether they be good or elles e­vill / excepte only vnbileve ād the frutes ther of / for they as strayte as a lyne be contrary vnto faith / and thruste it out of place. Elles what so ever doth not expelle faith ād put it out of place / is by reason of the same fayth harmelesse / pure / clene / holy / profitable ād holsome: So that faith may company with them / vse them / and finally continue with them with out any hurte or ieoperde / that maye vnto it thorow them befalle for onles it were thus: No parsone might ever lyve christiā / for he muste nedes abide & passe the covrse of his lyfe in y^e middes of vnbelevīge evill & wicked people, But whē he foloweth [Page] not their manners / but doth ryghtly vse thē / he may well lyve by them / and amōges thē / that by his good behavore and diligēce they finally maye be striken with remorse & com­puncciō of minde & become godly & christiā

In this ys all the worlde vnto a true chri­stian nothinge but holynesse / purenesse / pro­fite / and goodnesse. Contrary wyse / All the whole worlde ys vnto an vnbelever or an in fydele vnholynesse / vnclennesse / hurte & de­structiō / yee evē god hī silfe with all his vniuersalle goodnesse. As Davyd writeth in y^e xvij. psalme sayng: Thou shalte with holy be holy / and thou with the good and innocen­te shalte be innocēte and good. And with the chosen shalte thou be chosen / and with the perverse and weywarde shalte thou be wey­warde. And whyr for holy folkes and saintes / that is to saye belevinge persones do holyly and blessydly vse all thinges. But the vnholy and vnbelevinge or infideles do dis­merite or deserve the contrary / that ys to saye they misuse / make vnclene / and defyle them selves in all thinges vniuersally / ād that al­waye. For they can vse no thinge well or holyly / that yt shall profite them vnto blysse. Thus be also infātes holy & clene / allthough they have not yet receaved baptisme Not bi­cause they be in their awne persone clene ād holy. Of whiche holinesse or clēnesse ys he­re of Paule made no mencion: But bycause [Page] they be clene ād holy to the. For thy holyne [...] ­se and clēnesse may lyve to gether with the and bringe them vp / with out defylinge thē as though both soche childre and yow tha [...] are their parentes were / holy or clene. For in this wise entendeth here Paule to saye / yf a chrysten body shulde happly have childre with an infidele / whiche chyldre were gro­wen vnto yeres of discrecion (as in that ty­me was often sene) ād they wolde not assen­te to be yet baptised ne become the servantes of Chryste. Then for so moche as no persone ought to be cōstrayned vnto fayth / but there vnto to be drawen of god thorow preachin­ge of the evāgely. Nother of y^e fryndes shul­de therfore purpose in their minde to forsake their childre / ne denye ād take from thē fat­therly or motherly love and kyndenesse / whi­che they also do owe vnto them / as though they dyd synne and defyle thē sylves by aby­dinge with their vnbelevinge childre. But bodyly they owe to be presente with them / overseyng / rulyng / and nurtringe them as well as they were moste holy christianes / fo [...] they are not vnclene (sayth Paule) but holy & pure. That is to saye / Thy fayth maye so be well occupied & exercised aboute thē / that yt shall yet abyde both holy & pur [...]. Lyke wyse shulde mē also do nowe a dayes / & at all ti­mes Yf their childrē wolde not receave y^e euā gely / they ought not therfor to be refused & caste awaie / but thou shulde take diligēte kepe & [Page] make provision for them / as well as yf they were moste faythfulle or Christian. Their faith commended vnto god / so longe as in other pointes they were buxum / and behaved thē honestly in worldly and outwar / de thinges. For the outwarde dedes like as the parētes may evē so are they also bounde to let and inh [...]bite with punisshinētes: But vnbeleve & inwarde evilles. Nother can ony parsone let / ne by chastysemente refraine ex­cepte god onley. So that this texte of sainte Paule remayneth stylle a mighty and valy­ant defense for vs / teachinge that all thin­ges be holy and pure to thē that beleve / and have faith.

But ād yf the vnbelevinge depar­te / let him departe. A brother or a sister is not in subiection to soche. God hath called vs in peace.

¶In this place Paule delyvereth ād setteth quyte a christian maryed parsone gevinge sentence for him / that when his maried mate being an infidele or an vnbelevīge body will departe or elles will not graunte y^e he shall folowe Christe. Then doth he geve him liber­tye to mary againe with an other. And that Paule doth here speake of maryed mate / be­ing an infidele or payneme / the same ought to be vnderstande also of fayned or false christian. That yf one maryed mate wolde [Page] e [...]force the other to wickednesse and misbe­l [...]ve / ne suffer him in lyvinge to folowe christe: Thē the parsone thus eville enforced shulde stande lose / and at libertye to mary with whome he liked. Whiche thinge onles chri­stes lawe did allowe to belefulle. A christi­an shulde be faine to folowe his maried cō ­panyon being an infidele or misbelever: Or elles againste his minde to abyde chaste vnto greate perille of his soule / his nature the­re againste repininge / and all the powers of the same.

But this doth Paule here denie sayenge. That vnto soche is not a brother or a sister in subiectiō / ne thraulde. as though he shul­de saye: Vnto other parsones o [...] in othere causes / where as man and wife do abyde to gether with rendringe one an other due bene­volence of matrimony and soche other thin­ges lyke is the one bounde vnto the other / & nother hath power of them selves. But where as the one wille straine the other vnto wicked and vngodly lyvinge / or elles they wille departe a sondre / In soche poyntes is not a christen body bounde ne compelled to aby­de with soche mates eny longer. If then he standeth not bounde / then is he ridde & dis­patched. And if he be ridde and dispatched he maye thē lefully mary with an other. As though the parsone whiche is coupled vnto him in mariage were decessed.

[Page]But what yf the secōde mariage dyd not by chaunce hym well / so that the one wol­de compelle the other / the husbande his wife or contrary wyse / to lyve vngodly / ād after the fassyon of paynemis / vntylle that he shulde come vnto .iij. or .iiij. maryages / shulde yt be lefulle then for a manne so ofte to marye a new wyfe as his olde were soche one as I have spoke of before? so y^t he had stylle lyvinge ten wives or elles more that had lefte and forsaken hym? And agayne warde shall yt be lefulle for a woman so to have ten or elles more husbandes livinge / which are departed and gone frome her? I make answere / We maye not stoppe saynte Paules mouthe / ne stryve againste thē y^• lu­ste to vse (so ofte as nede requyreth) his tea­chinge. His wordes are manifeste: That a brother or a syster ys free from the [...]onde or lawe of mariage / yf the other partye whi­che with them ys maried wylle nedes de­parte / or consente no lenger to tary with thē And he doth not saye that this thinge ma­ye be ones done: but he putteth vnto [...] oure libertye y^e thīge / other to departe or elles to abide so ofte as soche a thinge befalleth. For he wylle have no persone put in ieoperde of incontinencie or fornicacion / that he shulde be therin intretayned and intrapped tho­row an other bodyes / presumpcyō and lew­ [...]enesse? What is that? Ought not a Christē [Page] body to tary for other y^e cominge agayne of his maried fellowe / or elles hyr discesse / ly­ke [...] as vnto this daye hath bene observed in comone vsage / & also cōmaunded by y^e Po­pes lawes? I answere [...] vnto that / yf soche one please to tary / yt resteth in his good wil­le: for seyng y^t y^e apostle doth here sette him quite & at liberte / he hath no nede to abyde for his fyrste mate ony lenger: but he maye chaunge his estate & take an other / yf so he lyke / & y^t by y^e authorite & power of god And wolde to god y^t y^e cominalte of christē peo­ple had vsed this teachinge of Paule / or el­les y^t they wolde yet cause yt to be brought in vsage / when so ever yt chaunseth y^t y^e mā or y^e wife rūneth awaye / & doth for [...]ake the one an other: wherof doth afterwarde ary­se excedīge moche fornicaciō & synne This thīge hath y^e wrecchedde lawes of the pope moche holpē forth / & promoted / whiche bi [...] deth one maried persone vtterly to abyde o­ther y^• cominge againe / or elles y^e decesse of y^e other y^t was his mate / & now departed ād gone from him And y^t vnder y^e payne (o p [...]e­sū [...]cion / o shamelesse boldenes) of everla­stinge dānacion / whiche (yf y^t after he do mary) he shall rūne in to. And thus by meanes of these vngracious lawes hath y^• pope kepte thraulde & put in subiectiō chrystē bretherne & systers for y^e presumpcion & trespasse of o­ther / y^t were / their maried cōpaniōs / & with out all maner of causes hath caste thē in to [Page] of fornicacyon.

But what yf the partye that wēte awaye alledgeth that afterwarde he wille amende his lyfe / shall they then be receaved ād ta­ken in to cōpanye againe? I saye vnto that yf so the partye whiche did abyde and dyd / not beginne fyrste to departe doth continue in the estate [...] that he was in before / ād hath not in the meane seasone maryed with an o­ther / he maye then receave his firste mate / whiche he was ioyned vnto afore / but dyd departe from him / & not only he maye thus do / but also he ought to be coūcelled so for to do / that they maye love eche other againe and companie to gether / lyke as they did at the firste. But if in the meane space he shall parhappes be maried vnto an other / then y^e partye whiche did forsake hyr maryed cō ­panion muste vtterly with out excepcyon be put awaye / ne ever after be receaved a­gayne. And vnto this purpose serveth well that is writē of Moses Deuteronom ii. xxiiij If a man be maryed or take a wiffe / to whō he casteth no favoure be cause she hathe some deformite / he shall write a libell of divorse­ment and geve it her in here awne handes / and so shall let here departe from his house And when she is departed and hath mary­ed an other husbande / yf he also hate here and will geve her a lybell of dyvorsemente / and so demysse her from his house / or els [Page] dye: Yet may not her first husbande receave her agayne for his wife lyke wyse ought al­so a man to do in this case / to the ende that suche runnynge a waye or departinge maye be reproved and condempned. For doutlesse yf yt were so done all soche dy­vorse and departinge of maryed couples / shulde consequētly be a bated / dymynisshed / and lefte.

But now when the Pope hath opened awaye for soche runners / ād defendeth their runninge and lewdenesse / gevynge them le­ave and au [...]horite to come agayne and clai­me their fyrste maryed mate / what mervai­le ys yt / yf the worlde be fulle of broken forlorne and desolate maryages / yee and reple­te wyth fornycacyon? Which Sathan hath sought and studyed to bringe a boute tho­row these lawes. But yf both partyes be fo­unde culpable in soche [...] runnynge a waye or departinge: Then yt ys right / that eche of them do forgyve other their offenses / and be reconcyled / and dwelle agayne to gether And this doctrine of Paule extendeth so farre / that yt comprehendeth all manner of dyvorsemente. As when the husbande and his wife departeth a so [...]dre the one frō the other not only bycause of Christian fa­ith / but also for what soever other cause / be yt other for anger or elles for any other dis­pleasure. So that in all soche thinges the [Page] causer of dyvorse ought other to reconcyle hym vnto his maryed mate / or elles abyde vnmaryed: and then the partye whiche is in­nocente and fautlesse beyng dysmyssed and sette free / shall have power / yf so his mate wille not be pacifyed and come to agre­mente to chaunge his estate / and ma­ry with an other. For this is vtterly a wyc­ked / vngodly / and hethen maner that mari­ed folkes shuld [...] be separate / and goo awaye the one from the other / for cause of anger or elles of any other fylthy & vncleane thin­ge / and wylle not rather suffer and take parte to gether of good and evylle / of swete & of sower / lyke as they are boūde to do. Wherfore soche maried people be verely hethen ād infideles.

God (sayth he) hath called vs in peace / that is to saye / that we shulde spende oure lyfe in reaste and peace. So that a Christyan husbande / or a Christian wife ought not to stryve for cause of faith or vnbyleve / nor yet departe / or go awaye: Yf that the vnbele [...]er wille not violently pulle the awaye frō god­lynesse. But every parsone ought to be suffe­red to abyde in their awne beleve. The cau­se therof referryd vnto God. For vnto fayth no man nother can / ne ought to enforce and straine an other. Only god muste drawe mē ther vnto by his grace. And it is requisyte that we do teache / exhorte / ād praye forthe [Page] same / but cōpelle any parsone we maye not Wherfor a Christian & belevinge body ought to lyve peasably with his maryed compani­on beynge an infidele / or of misbeleve as touchinge the exteriordedes of matrimony and not to dystroble him nother with thre­tennniges / departinge / ne persecucyon. For God is not causer of stryfe / but of peace As is testifyed Roma .xv. and also in y^e .xiiij chapter of this pistle. Therfore doth he not teache stryfe and discorde / but kepeth & pre­serveth vs all vnto peace. Now sainte Pau­le procedeth forthe.

For howe knowest thou o wō ­man whether thou shalte save thy husbāde or not? Other howe knoweste thou o man whether thou shalte save thy wyfe or not? But even as god hath distributed vn­to every man.

¶ That is to saye / ye ought therfore to kepe mutuall peace one with an other in matrimony / ād y^t also with your wives or husbandes being infideles (whē they withstāde not / ne let you to byleve and folowe christe) & not to manace / thretne / drive & enforse thē vnto fa­ith. For it is not in your power / ne your dede y^t one may come or turne to y^e faith of christe [...]ut yt cometh of god only. Seynge therfore you do not knowe whether god will save thē [Page] thorow meanes of yow / or elles not / yow shall nourisshe peace betwyxte your selves / nother shall the husbande at eny tyme com­pell his wife beynge an infidele or misbele­ver vnto the right fayth of christe / or elles stryve with hyr for cause of the same: Nea christian wife shall for it contende or braule with hyr husbande beynge an infidele. But yf it shall please god thorow yow to save thē / he there vnto shall hel [...]e and ayde yow dea­linge his grace ād giftes vnto to yow / whi­che are to soche an effecte belonginge. This seameth vnto me the very minde and mea­ninge of Paule in this place: That he wolde have no parsone enforced other to y^e faith or godlines / but one maryed mate to ly [...]e qui­etly and in [...]eace with an other / vntille the tyme God shall chaunge and converte vnto him by vs / whome he shall please. Whiche thinge teacheth well sainte Peter in the .ij. chapter of his firste pistle.

Thus muste we do with a maryed mate that is an infidele or misbelever / his evyll li­vynge of vs muste peaseably be sufferyd / no­ther ought we to constraine him vnto fayth and godlynes / but cur [...]eously bringe him there vnto with softe entreatinge and tranquil­lite / for paraventure thou art vnworthy that any parsone thorow the shulde come vnto goodnes / or waxe better: But yf thou be worthy god of hys good wille shall gravnte [Page] gyve the to do it. In the maene season thou ar [...] suer that thou mayste lefully lyve with a maryed mate / yee and that though he be an infidele so longe as thou doest not folowe his vnbylefe or infidelyte / and evyll lyvin­ge / ne doest there vnto consente / and suffe­reste not thy silfe to be compelled of him to any vngodlines. But doest endure soche wickednesse and iniury of thy maryed per­tyner (even as we muste suffer them of all y^• worlde / and of Satan him silfe) en [...]reatinge him with mylde wordes and peaseable ly­vinge / vntille that god shall lende him gra­ce to repente him s [...]lfe and so be converted.

As the lorde hath called every parsone / so let him walke. And so ordeyne I in all congregacyons.

¶This is the conclusion & summe of this parte of matrimony. In which he entendeth to saye thus: Faith and christianite is so free a thinge that it is bounde to none estate / but is preferred / ruleth / and reygneth in thē all and over them all. Wherfor a man neadeth to chose none estate for to come vnto blysse. But in what so ever estate / and condicyon / the evangly or fayth shall fynde the in / be thou no [...] adouted but that thou maiste be saved in the same. Therfore that thou shul­deste forsake wedlocke and kepe separate thy silfe from a maryed mate / for cause of faith [Page] or salvacyon / it is not nedefulle.

And contrary wise that thou shuldeste be coupled in matrimony other with a christiā / or elles with an infidele for cause of faith or salvacyon / is also not nedefulle. And to tel­le yow at ones in fewe wordes. Yf thou be weddid other with a christiā / or elles with an infidele / thou art therfore nother saved ne condempned. Or yf thou be vnmaryed / thou art lyke wise therfore nother saved ne condempned. For all these thinges are he­re free and indifferent. But when thou shalte be a Christian / and so lyve / then shalte thou be saved / and yf thou be not a chri­stian / but an vnbelever or an infidele / thou shalte then be damned.

So do I ordeyne in all congregacyons / that is to saye amonges all Christen parso­nes / where I do preache the Evangely. For I do not teache y^t they shulde forsake the­ir estates / and make troble or debate / but y^t they shulde in them continue / and passe the course of their lyfe in peace. Marke here well / & [...]hou maiste now see that Paule doth leve here none estate blessed / excepte the esta­te only of christianite or of a christen body. All other doth he make free. That of them selves they nother make for salvacion ne [...]et fordānaciō: but all they thorow faith be holsome / and thorow vnbylefe hurtefulle or no­ysome / ād that even when they be beste kep­te. [Page] What cā now oure monkes / nōnes / fre­res / & suche other cloysterers here saye? whiche do magnifye / boste / & coūte their estates as y^e gretteste estates of s [...]lvaciō above this moste singulare estate of faith and Christia­nite? They be all vndouted vtterly damna­ble / excepte they be lefte free and in mennys eleccyon. So that folkes cōsciences vnto thē be not bounde / & that they be observed / not to thentente that thorow thē mē shulde pur­chase blysse: but inconvenient age to inv [...] or exercyse the body. As in tyme comynge yf so god please I shall shew more largely.

If any mā be called beyng circū cised / let him not take vncircumcision. If any be called beyng vncircumcised / let him not be circumci­sed. Circumcisiō is no thinge / vn­cirdumcisiō is no thinge: but the kepinge of the cōmaundemētes of god is all to gether.

¶ Here doth he gather to gether certen ex­amples of his conclusion aforesayde / that is to witte y^e every māne walke acordinge after his callinge. The [...]irste exāple is of a Iewe / & of a Gētille. And this is y^e meanīge therof If so thou be circūcided & art vnder y^e lawe / thou shuldeste not deme that to be tres [...]sse & sinne / so that thou therfore woldeste go frō [Page] yt / for fayth doth as well excelle circuncisiō as it doth all other lawes. So that thou maiste lawfully be other circuncided / or el­les vncircuncided. Nother doest thou nede other of them vnto salvacyon / but eche of thē is lyke wyse free forthe to lyve in. And to mary or elles to lyve vnmaryed nother is necessaryly vnto the requisyte: but both esta­tes are vnto the free / and in thy choyse to take wheth er of thē thoulykeste. In lyke ma­ner yf thou art a Gentylle vncircuncided / and with out the lawe of Moses / thou shuldeste not thynke / that it is wronge and vn­law [...]ulle for the so to abyde stylle / or elles that thou oughteste to be circum [...]yded: but it is free for the to lyve as thou doest con­cerninge these estates / and soche other / and to vse whether of them both shall please the Only faith maketh the ryghtewes / whiche also only doth fulfylle the lawes of god.

These .ij. sayinges let not a man take vn­circuncision / and let him not be circuncised / ought not to be so vnderstande as though Paule dyd forbydde both circuncysion and vncircuncision. For who can observe or ke­pe both to gether. He shulde then do con­traryate to be circuncysed / and also vncircū ­cised. And he him silfe doth heresaye y^t cir­cuncision is no thinge. Which sentēce shulde be contrary vnto this that he sayeth / let him not chose to be vncircūcided / for yf he [Page] ought not to take vncircucision or be vncircuncided / he ought then to be circuncided. How may then circuncision be no thinge? And by this meanes / this saiyng vncircun­cision is no thinge shulde repugne with that he sayeth. Let him not be circuncided / for yf he ought not to be circuncided / he muste thē chose vncircuncision / how therfore shall vn­circuncision be no thinge? But yow muste vnderstande that he doth not here inhibite / and forfende the estate of circuncision o [...] el­les of vncircuncision whiche be corporalle and exterior thinges: but he forbideth in thē necessyte / cōpulsiō / & cōsciēce making / & wil­leth thē to be free & īdiff [...]rēte / & nother good ne badde / lefulle ne vnlefulle in them sel [...]es: but that they be according after they ar vsed and lyke as the parsones which have thē & do lyve in them. So then shulde not a man chose to be vncircuncided as though of ne­cessite he [...]ste not lyve circuncised. Nother cōtrary wise so to take circuncision / as thou­gh by necessite he were so bounde to do No­ther of these is worthy of blisse And yet both of them may be suffered with out any charge and grefe of conscience. So that to be bor­ne a Iewe or elles a Gentille that is to saye circūcided or elles vncircūcided doth nother helpe a man to god ne lette him from God. But this cometh only of fayth and vnby­leve.

[Page]Accordinge vnto this ought also be sa­yed vnto owr people. To be wedded is no­thinge / and to be vnwedded ys nothinge / To be maried with an infidele or mis belever is no thige / Also to be maried with a chri­stiā is no thīge. He y^t is maried / let hī aby­de maried / he y^t ys vnmaried let hī not desy­er mariage. That is to saye / let hym not suf­fre his consciēce to be greved / as thowgh he ought other to lyve maried / or elles that he ought to abyde vnmaried. Moreover to be a monke or a frere ys no thinge / Also to be a laye man ys nothynge: To be a pry­ste ys nothinge. And to be a monke ys lyke wyse nothīge. He therfore that ys a laye mā let hym not be a mōke / And he that is a mō ­ke let hym not be a laye man: That is to saye let him not thinke that he hath necessite to be the one / or elles the other er make ony stic­kinge or gradge in conscience by cause he ys this or that: but let him abyde the mā / that he ys / and in the same estate. So that yet [...]ys fayth do remayne pure & sure. For whe­re as fayth cā not persever there necessite bī ­deth as well a monke to departe as an o­ther man / whiche is called awaye and with drawen from Chryste by his wicked maried fellow.

But here may the Iewes make obiection and laye agaynste Paule. Sayest thou that circumcision is nothinge worthe / but that [Page] the commaundemente of god is all to ge­ther. Circumcysion ys straytly commaunded vnto vs of god: how then doest thou saye y^t yt ys no thinge? This ys a longer matter / then y^t I cā nowe (accordyng as yt is wor­thy) speake of. but I have of yt sufficient­ly wrytten in other places. Notwithstandin­ge have ye yet now agayne my minde in fe­we wordes. All the lawes of Moses were wryttē ād gevē vntylle the comīge of chri­ste / he at hys comynge ought both to tea­che and also to geve or deale vnto his servantes fayth and love. Where as they be / all the commaundementes and la­wes are fulfylled abrogate and made free. So that after the cominge of Chryste no cō ­maundemente ys any lenger necessary / on­les yt concerne fayth and love. Therfore where love shall requyre / I shall suffer to be circūcyded / elles I shall let yt passe. Where charite shall requyre anger / there am I b [...]ū ­de to be angry / elles I shall forbere and ex­chue yt. Where charyte shall demaunde to sweare / there muste one sweare / elles shall I abstayne from swea [...]y [...]ge. And so muste be done in all preceptes / lawes / and com­maundementes / both goddes and mannes. What charyte ys / and howe that yt seketh the profyte & pleasure of oure neyghbore ād also what fayth ys / hath ben many tymes shewed in other places.

Let every man abyde in the sa­me state wherin he wascalled Art thou called beyng a servante? Care not for yt. Neverthelesse yf thou mayste be free / vse yt rather.

¶ He doth here repete agayne his conclu­syon / puttyng an other example concernin­ge the same of a servante and a free man. In that tyme many were as one wolde saye not their awne men / lyke as nowe a dayes in cer­ten places besome that hath no power over their awne body / and are comonly called bō ­de men or flaves / Thes Paule doth here calle servantes: Therfore as in matrimony the one partie ought to vse them sylfes vnto the other / wher as also ys power taken a waye from them over their awne body / evyn so ought also thrawldes and bonde men v­se them to warde their lorde or master / in whose power they are as concerninge their bodyes / and are as yt is vsually sayde their lordes very good and possession. But yet he that is called in this state sayeth the Apostle let thym not care for yt: That ys to saye / It hyndereth hym not from god­linesse / ne letteth in him Christian fayth. No­ther he therfore neade to runne from his lor­de or master: but ys bounde to dwelle stille with him / whether he be a Christiā or elles [...]n infidele / godly or elles vngodly / onles he [Page] wylle drawe him a waye from Christe ād cō ­pelle him to folow nawghty livinge. For thē is yt not vnlefulle for him to departe ād py­ke him a waie to thērēt he maye the better li­ve and wo [...]ke tha [...] shall be for his salvacion And all that ys spoken a litylle before of a Christian or faythfulle persone / how that he shulde bere hym in wedlocke to warde his mate beyng a misbelever or an infydele / the same ought to be repetyd / and sayde agayne here in this place / for the behavore of a chri­stian servante to warde his lorde beyng an infidele. And what soever he doth speake here of him / that hath no power over hys aw­ne body: The same ought also to be vnder­stande of all prentyses / iournymen / hande­maydes / women servātes / hyerd men / attor­nayes / labourers / and generally of all ser­ [...]ant [...]e / touchinge the accomplisshemente of their masters commaundemente. Ye and of all promyses / covenantes / bargenys / ād of all manner wayes / by whiche any persone maye in any wise be boūde vnto an other For in these all / and soche other muste they per­forme their office / service / dutye / and pro­mise / whether the other partye be Chrystian or [...]ethen good or evyll / godly or elles vn­godly / so lōge as they go not aboute to pul­le vs from the faith of Christe / ne spoile vs of Christian livinge. For al soche states are free / ne ony whitte wyth standing christia­nite. [Page] As yf the kynge of Pole or Hungary had made a leage with the Turke / they were vndouted bounde to performe yt / and saye as Paule doth here teache: god hath called vs in peace.

Neverthelesse yf thou mayest be free sayth Paule) vse yt rather

¶Not so that thou shalte pyke the from thy master or lorde prively / and runne awaye. But that thou shuldeste not vnderstande the saying of Paule / in whiche he byddeth that every persone do abyde in the same sta­te / wherin he is called / as though thou my­ghtest not have power over thyne awne bo­dy / yf so thy master or lorde dyd wittyngly and willingly make the free ād gyve the ma­numission. Saynte Paule wille here instru­cte thy conscience / that thou mayste knowe how both estates are free / whether thou be a servāte / and thraulde in body vnto an other persone / or elles a free man and vnthraulde. And thys purposeth he / to thentē [...]e he shul­de not stoppe the from libertye and fredo­me / yf so thou mayste come ther by with fa­vore of thy lorde and master. So that yt shulde be all one / as touchinge vnto thy cō ­science / whether thou be a servante & thraulde / or elles at libertye and free. Yf god and [Page] hys honor do so suffer and allowe yt. For Chrystiā fayth doth not invade and violēt­ly take awaye other mennys goodes / but cau [...]eth vs to performe all covenantes and dutyes / ye rather then fayle to do all that we can or maye / even for them that we be not bounde ne beholdyng vnto (excepte by the lawe of love) and to them that have no po­wer over vs.

For he that ys called in the lorde beyng a servāte ys the lordes fre mā. Lyke wyse he that ys cal­led beyng free / ys Chrystes ser­vante.

¶Thys ys no more to saye / but that yt y [...] all one thīge afore god whether thou be bō ­de or elles a freman: Lyke as circumcysyon and vncyrcumcysion are all one thynge. Nother of them doth let thy fayth and sal­vacyon: As though I shulde saye / In fayth yt ys all one mater whether thou be poore / or elles ryche / a yonge man or an olde / fay­er or foule / lettred or vnlettred / a laye man or elles a spretuall (as ys wonte to be sayde) whyte or elles blacke For he y^t is called being poore is a fore god ryche. And he y^t ys called [Page] [...] ionge man is aunciēt in the syght of god. And he that, is called beyng foule and mis­se favored / is a fore god fayer ād beautyful­le. And he that is called beyng vnlerned / is afore God right coninge and well lerned. And be that is called beyng a laye man / ys before god a pryste. All this is bycause that fayth doth make vs all afore god egalle and lyke. Ne doth yt suffere division of states or persones to be of any value. In lyke wyse al­so here when he sayeth: he that is called in the lorde beyng a seruante is the lordes free­man. This is asmoche to saye / that he is no lesse recounted a fore god / then yf be were free / and no servante. Contrary wise / he that ys called beyng free / is Ch [...]istes servante / y^t is to saye / he is no better then a servante. Here cometh well in place that Paule saieth Gala [...]. iij. Here is nother Iewe / ne Greke / nother bonde / no fre / ther ys nother man ne womā for all are one thinge in Chryste Ie­su / ye Chryste ys all and the whole in all thīges. We have all one fayth / one god / one inherytance / and all thinges are egalle ād lyke. Thus mayeste thou cōclude / he that is called beyng a mā / is afore god as a wo­man / and she that is called beyng a woman is before god as a man. Wherfore this wor­de Christes servante in this place can not be spoken of service that is done to chryste / but yt signifieth a servante that is here set vnder [Page] mē in this worlde. Whiche for so moche as he also belongeth vnto Christe and lyveth [...]nder hym ys of like reputacion vnto god as yf he were free. Ye he ys even chrystes propre servante / in that he serveth hys ma­ster diligently / and faythfully for Christes sake and acordynge vnto his commaunde­mente.

ye are dearly bough [...]ee ther­fore ye be not the servātes of men.

¶What meaneth he b [...] this? he hath shewed before / that servātes ought to abyde in their states / wherin they are called. And yet doth he here forfende / that we shulde be ser­vantes. But ye shall knowe that he doth he­re some what breke of / and make a litle d [...] ­gression from his fyrste mater / gevinge as yt were a generalle proverbe or feate sentē ­ce agaynste all humayne lawes and tradici­ons. So that not with stādinge this digres­sion ys so pety / that yt is in manner no di­gression. For he taketh occasion vnto the sa­me of that which is spoken immediatly be­fore [...] He sheweth before what libertye is gra­unted bi the doctrine of Chryste vnto Chry­stianes as concerninge for matrimony / ād howe that fayth maketh all states ād thin­ges egalle. Whiche libertye & egalnesse cau­sed by faith / mennys tradicions do destro­ye / and avoydinge libertie do combre men­nes [Page] consciences bryngynge them in to a strayte. For he that teacheth that a Chri­sten body maye not mary with an vnchri­styan and so dwelle to gether (whiche thin­ge the Popes lawes are not adouted to do) the same letteth and fordoeth thys lybertye that is here ordeyned and spoken of by Pau­le / and causeth that people do rather obeye them / then God or elles his worde. And thys doth Paule in thys place calle servyce of men / when he sayeth / be not the servan­tes of men. In so doyng thynke the people / that they be the servantes of God / and do obeye serve and honore him. When not with standynge they attendinge and folowyn­ge the doctryne of men are made only the servantes of men.

The same wyse did they that preached / that Christen men ought to be circumcyded / wherby they dyd infrynge / and spoyle ex­cedynge many men of spretuall liberty / whi­che false teachers he doth myghtely impro­ve and blame in all his Epistles / for the more parte: but specyally in that whyche he wri­teth vnto the Galatyans / and in that he wri­teth vnto the Romayns. Thus dyd thys blyssed Apostle alwaye dylygently and fy­ersly fyght for the mayntenance of Chri­styan lybertye agaynste the snares / trap­pes / bondage / and imprysonmente that [Page] Iesus is Christ and beleve in thy harte that god hath reysed bī frō deth thou shalt be saved. Where by confession is mean­te witnessinge in wordes ād dedes outwar­dely / lyke as in harte we do truly byleve of god / and his wordes inwardly. Besyde for­th in all other thinges he geveth the liber­tie that after thine awne wille thou mayste do all thinges with out all ieoparde of cō ­science. In so moche that he careth no thinge at all / as concerninge for him silfe / all though thou diddest forsake thy wyfe / run­ne fro they lorde or master / and shuldest br [...] ake all manner covenantes that thou maki­ste with all men. For what avayleth it hym yf thou doest this thinge or y^t / or elles do­est omitte and leave them vndone?

But for so moche as thou art he­rein boūde vnto thy neghbore / vnder who­se power / and dominyon thou art put / God wille not that by his lybertye thou shuldeste invade and spoyle an other mannys goodes But he wille that thou shalte kepe covenā ­tes / and promyses that are made with thy neghbore / for all be it that as belonginge vn­to him silfe he taketh smalle regarde for so­che thinges / not withstandinge he doth yet care for thy neghbores sake. And that is his meaninge when he sayeth. Before god. As though he shulde saye / Afore man or afore thy neghbore I do not make or sette the free [...] [Page] For I will not spoyle him and takethe a­waye frō him whiche art hys proper goodes & possession / v [...]till [...] y^e time that evē he hī silfe shall make the free. But before me art thou dymissed and made free. So y^t thou canste not perisshe or be dāned / what so ever thin­ge thou shalt outwardly other do / or elles le­ave vn [...] one. Marke therfore this liberte wel & divide it accordingly So that thou vnder­stādeste ȳ [...] matter to go otherwise be twixte god / & the then it goeth betwixte y^• / & thy ne­ghbore / for in the firste parte y^• is to saye bet­wixte god & the is libertye: but in the secōde that is betwixte y^• and thy neghbore is none. God gyveth the this libertye in thyne awne goodes / but not in y^e goodes of thy neghbor There is it necessary for the to make division be twixte thy goodes and thy neghbore. For this cause maye not a mā forsake his wife / for his awne body is not his awne / but it be longeth vnto his wife / & is hers. And con­trary wise as cōcerninge of y^e womā. In like māner also a bonde mā / or a servāte hath no power over his awne body / but is vnder the power & authorite of his sovereine or master God as cōcernīge for to his awne silfe wol­de not great ly care / if a mā did forsake his wife / for y^e body is not bounde vnto god / but is gevē of hī to mā frely vnto y^e vse of all exterior thinges. But inwardely in y^e harte is mā bounde to God Bargaynes and promyses [Page] made vnto men ought to be vniversally ac­complisshed. The very conclusion herof is [...] That we owe nothinge vnto any man / sa­ving love only / and thorow love to be ser­visable vnto oure neghbore. Where lo [...]e is / it ruleth / ād claymeth by authorite (with out all ieoparde of conscience or of synne befo­re god) to eate to d [...]inke to be clothed with all manner of garmentes / to vse this / or elles that manner of lyvinge indifferently / savin­ge [...] where they shulde hurte my neghbore and be againste his profyte. Againste god in so­che manner of thinges can not one offende / but thou maiste againste thy neghbore / on­les thou do [...]st vse them ryght. Moreover y^t by this worde / callynge / is not here signifi­ed the state in whyche every man ys call [...]d / And as yt ys vsually sayde. Matrymony ys thy callynge / Thy callynge ys prysteho­de / and forth in rewe of other. Every man hath hys proper callynge of God. Of soche callynge doth not Paule speake here / but he noteth the Evangelike cally [...]ge / that is by the Evangely. So that thys sentence / Abyde in y^e callinge [...]rin thou art called is thus moche to saye. In what so ever state y^e evāgely shall take y^e & what so ever māner mā y^t it shall finde the. Se y^t in y^e same thou doest abide. Yf it calle y^• being maried / cōti­nue so stille / abidinge in y^e same callynge or state / wherin yt dyd fynde the. If it called [Page] the being a servante / abyde in the servyce in whiche thou warte called.

What? Yf then yt shall take me in a syn­fulle state / shall I so stille abyde ād remay­ne? I answeare: yf thou be in faith and charite / that is to saye yf thou be in the callin­ge of the Evangely. Do what shalle please the. Do thou then synne hardely: But by what wayes shalte thou can sinne / yf thou have faith ād charite? For by faith we mu­ste please and serve God / and by charite ou­re neghbore. Therfore it cā not be / that thou shalte be called in a synfulle state / and the­re in remayne / for yf thou doest so remayne / other thou art not yet called / or elles thou haste not rec [...]aved thy callinge / for this cal­linge dout [...]lesse causeth that thou muste de­parte from out of a synfulle state in to an o­ther / that is synles and doth altre the in so­che wyse that thou canste after do no more synne / all though thou shuldeste abyde in th [...] firste state. And all be it that thou be then clerely on all parties free a fore god / yet a fo­re men muste thou by charite be every bodyes servante.

Here doest thou see thē agayne / that cloy­sters and monasteryes which are now a da­yes do fight agayne right and equyte / for they binde them selves vnto god in exterior thinges / in whiche they be clerely free / and so do they strive againste god / faith / libertye / [Page] and goddes ordinaunce. And agayne war­de wherin they ought to be bounde / and be s [...]rviable vnto every man by charite / there do they make them selves free / and wille vse libertye. So that they will not be servyable ne profite any mā / but them selves. In whi­che manner of doing they resiste / and with stande the truthe. O what weywarde / and disordered ordres be these / whiche wil­le perverte / and destroye all the ordinances and lawes of god / desyringe to be f [...]ee in y^• they stande bounde and to be bounde where they stande free. And yet not withstanding they clayme of presump [...]yon to have thrones or seates of excellente honoure in hevē / dys­dayninge the places ordeyned for other co­mone Christen people. Ye they shalle occu­pye seates that are apointed for them in the deppe dongone of helle which so doth ma­ke of hevenly libertye develisshe bonda­ge / & of corporalle servitute cursed lybertye.

¶The thirde parte which en­treateth of vyrginite. As concerninge vyrgins I ha­ve no cammaundemēte of the lor­de / yet I do geve councelle as one that hath obteyned of the lorde to be faithfulle. I suppose that it is good for the presente necessyte / for it is good for a man so to be.

[Page]¶We have hether to harde matrimony plē teously magnifyed and praysed / let vs nowe heare the paynes and trobles therof / & of the dignite and honor of virginite. This wil­le I here note vnto yow fyrste / onles yt had bene saynte Paule that here doth entreate the [...]of / yt myght greve men that he ys so­che a spare prayser therof / and that he doth so slenderly commende yt. Fyrste he sayeth that yt ys not commaunded of god / no mo­re than ys matrimony / that ys to saye / yt ys lefte of god free for every persone. And in that ys taken awaye the honor / whiche oure greate preachers have ther vnto a fore thys tyme attributed. For where ys no comma­undemente / there ys lefte before god nother meryte ne mede / but a sole libertye. Yt ys of lyke estymacion afore god / and all on mat­ter whether thou be a virgyne or no virgi­ne. And as he shewed before: He that ys called beyng a servante ys the lo [...]des freman. Lyke wise maye be sayde here: She y^t is cal­led beyng a mayde is before god a wife And she that is called beyng a wyfe / ys before god a mayde. For all these thinges before god are all one nother ys there any differen­ce of persones / ne meryte of dedes / but only fayth whiche ys egalle and lyke in all / and by all thinges.

Paule bycause that virginite is a dere ād a precious thinge and of greate authorite in [Page] the erthe spake thys by the holy goost / to thē tent that no man for y^e preeminence and so­veraynte of the state shulde iudge hym sylfe better and more excellente before god then an other symple ch [...]ysten body: but [...]hat he shulde cōtinue pure in fayth which doth ma­ke vs all egalle in the syght of god. For [...]he corrupte [...]ature of man can not abyde / as a man wolde saye to be vntwynded ād to be counted nothinge in value a fore god / and therfore the more excellente that hyr worke shall be / the more excellente reioyseth she to appeare. Wherfore she is so blynded with the goodly glysteringe of virginite. Seyng that there ys no thinge more of pryce / n [...] more glorified apon erth. That she demeth no state to be so soverayne as yt. And so proce­ding she thynketh in hyrmide suerly that ly­ke as in the worlde a virgyne doth exc [...]lle a maryed body / even so shall yt be in heven.

Here in have yow both vttered / and al­so overthrowen the dyvelyshe doctrine of the braynles and dotynge doctores or prea­chers of the devyll whyche do forge syn­gular coronettes for nonnes and all vir­ginnes in heven / callinge them the spou­ses of Chryste. As though other Chrystyan people were not the spouses of Chryste. myserable and folysshe youth hearynge [Page] thys lewde preachinge runneth who maye fasteste covetyng to fylle and replenisshe he­ven with vyrgines and the spouses of Chri­ste. In the meane season Christian faith ys forgotten and not cared for / but suppressed and quenchidde. Whiche notwithstandin­ge all only doth finally obtayne this crow­ne / and maketh the spouses of Christe. But knowe thou well this / and be thou suer that of soche crowned vyrgines (that truste in these doctrines / and by reason of soche opi­nions do shewe and pretende virginite / dys­pysinge / or slenderly regardinge this doctrine of Paule) is not so moche as one founde pure or remayninge a virgine / and fynally that ys a vyrgyne or elles the spouse of Christe.

Furthermore he sayeth accordinge after his faythfulle and trusty advysemente that virginite is good for this presente necessite. This is the firste cōmendacyon that Paule bringeth of virginite. And here mayste thou see what goodnesse Paule did meane of before in the beginnīge of this chapter / whē he sayede / yt is good for a man not to tou­che a woman. For he wrytteth not here one worde of merite / mede / or rewarde that we shall have in heven.

But he spake of transitory goodnes ād cō ­modites of this lyfe / as here after we shalle see more often. This is then a good cause to [Page] continue in virginite and to eschue mariage whiche is fulle of troble and miseries. That alwaye over the shulders of a Christian bo­dy hangeth redy for love of the Evangely persecucyon / and he is every houre as men are wonte to saye sette as it were betwixte y^e hāmer & y^e stethy so y^t he must put in ieoparde hys goodes / his fryndes / & his lyfe other to be dryven & taken awaye / or elles to be slay­ne. And this doth Paule here calle presente necessite.

But now where I beseche yow shall one canne finde so moche as one virgine in all the cloysteres of the Popes kingdome (for in soche doth he principallye reygne) y^t lyveth a virgine for soche a cause? For then posses­sions / lyfe / and companye be made so sure / and safe by so many and so grete pryvyled­ges / and authoritees both of kinges / Em­peroures / and of Popes that never a fore vnto this daye was any people in the worlde more safe / or more sure. So that every man muste nedes knowledge & graunte that these do not lyve virgynes for cause of necessite / or of any ieoparde / but only for love of sy­kernesse / assurance / and savetye / and that no necessite shulde ever touche ne assayle them. Whiche thinge is cleane cōtrarye vnto the cause alledged here of Paule / for yf every­where in cloysteres & monasteries necessite / and persecuciō shulde be loked for / ye shulde [Page] se expressely that where as now are redy byl­ded a thousande and a thousande cloysters / shulde vnnethes be one stocke or studde But what shall I nede tarye any longer aboute to declare yow this. It is playnly set a fore the eyes of all mē / what necessyte and perylle cloysteres / their god the pope / with all his officers / mynisters / clyentes / and accessari­es do suffer / other in body / or in goodes. They be all in a grosse sume swyne and so­wes that are masted / pampered / and fedde delicately.

But thou wylte here obiecte agaynste me Maried people ought to be in perylle and necessite for the euangely / as well as virgi­nes or vnmaried persones. For as the euan­gely ys vnto all people comone / so muste al­so the crosse and persecucion be. For Abrahā was in necessite ād to gether also with [...]him his wife Sara / whiche when he had forsa­ken hys father and hys goodes or substance was caused to be alwaye put in ieoparde of deth? I make answere. Yet for all that doth not Paule commaunde that any persone fo [...] cause of that necessite shulde te bounde to abyde syngle and vnmaried. But he sayeth y^e yt is good and profitable so to abyde. Thys necessite that Paule doth here speake of is a comone thynge. But virgyns be in better ca­se to abyde ād endure yt then are maryed fol­kes. For yf Abrahā had ben without hys wife [Page] Sara / he shulde have had lesse / troble la­bore / and care / and shulde in cōclusyon have escapyd with more ease the perylles and ieo­perdes y^t he was in. A virgyne is onl [...] one body / & hath no nede to care for ony other. But maried folkes do abyde to gether & are ioyned the one vnto the other. Here in ys moche troble care thought & studye lyke as / experience doth abundantly shewe. But at this thynge I thynke many wylle be displeased / frowne / and waxe angry s [...]yng that they so longe tyme have causelesse kepte chastite / & yet before god shall be no better then all other. But in so doyng you shalle see y^t they be y^• [...]olisshe virgines whiche dyd spylle their oyle / by cause y^t they dyd lyve & cōtinue vir­gines not of pure Christian minde / but for love of mede / rewarde / excellēcy / honor / and glorye And they do not reckē that yt is good so to abyde virgines as Paule doth here saye & meane y^t ys good / but they d [...]eame y^t they shall obtayne therby some good t [...]inge in the lyfe cominge. And thus have they made of their virgīite marchādise / y^t they shall there by have lucre & winninge before god / & wyl­le not be cōtēte with y^e trāsitory goodes that do come of chastite & eternalle inheritance purchased by fayth. Wherfore soche muste here with be neades offended ād displeased For besyde y^t they shalbe disapoynted of the preeminence that they loked to have had in heven / yt was also very [...]revous / payn [Page] fulle / ād laborous for them to kepe this cha­stite vaine and damnable.

Art thou bounde vnto a wyfe? seke not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wyfe? seke not a wyfe: But ād yf thou take a wyfe / thou haste not sinned / like wise yf a virgine marye / she hath not synned: Neverthelesse soche shall have troble in theyr flesshe: but I faver yow.

¶ Here haste thou both that it is no synne to mary / ne yet to lyve vnmaried. The Apo / +stle entendeth principally to informe mēnes consciences / and afterwarde to shewe what is moste expedient & beste for people in this worlde. And wherfore to lyve vnmaried ys good / he doth here describe with wordes of greate gravite sayng: Maried folke muste have troble in the flesshe. And this is the crye / & noyse / that all the worlde doth make / spea­ke / and wryte of / touchinge matrimony / that no man whiche loveth to lyve at ease & ple­sure maye gyve him silfe to be maried / for in it is moche troble vexacyon / miserye / evyll dayes / ād adversite Which all they that are virgines & vnmaried do not feale / & be with out. But I that am as yet vnexperte. And that have had none experiēce of matrimony [...] [Page] not her wille / ne yet can / here reherse ād rec­ken y^e paynes / grefe / and laboures / that therof come.

Neverthelesse I gyve here credence vnto Paule. And of scripture I have lerned .ij. tri­bulacions of mariage. The firste is whē god spake vnto Adam. Genesis .iij. say [...]ge. In the sweate of thy vysage shal [...]e thou [...]ate thy brede / and with the penury or barennes of the erthe shalte thou no [...]isshe the in the dayes of thy life. There was misery put apō mankīde to mayntene & norisshe both him silfe & his wife. Here is faith assayled sharpely / & put vnto no lytill plūge For what a grevous bur­don do they bere when they be pinched and wrōge with penury? Beside what a vexaciō is it for thē to beholde the misfortunes that be falle both vnto thēselves / & also vnto the­ir householde & family / with the iopardye y^t they do dayly stande in / of losinge both go­des & cattelle? Finally what angwisshe do they suffer / seing & feling the wilenesse / and falsshede of mē amonges whō they are cō ­pelled to lyve & company with? Thus muste he humble hīsilfe moste louly / keping hī quiet & stille / & brouke or disgeste doune many evill vexacions / and that principally because he is bounde in wedlocke with a wife / whi­che thinges all he shulde lytelle or nothin­ge nede to regarde / yf so he were loose & sto­de free. Forthermore the womānes myserye [Page] and affliction is to bere childer / to be dely­vered of them in paine / and to bringe them vp in laboure and travayle / to reste or slepe litelle in the night / to be strayte and harde vnto hir silfe / and to forsake all hir felicite or pleasure. Whiche thinge she shulde have no nede to do / yf she hadde lyved a mayde. And this beside all experience dyd God him silfe shewe vnto Eve in the .iij. chapter of Genesis sayng: In payne shalte thou be­re and bringe forth children. The other tri­bulacyon of maryage is / that sainte Peter touched sayng: That a woman is weacke & a bryttelle vesselle. So that the h [...]sbande muste fuffer / and forbere many thinges in hyr: yf so they wille lyve in reste and concor­de. For faute of this we see that ioyfull / ma­trimony (in whiche peace doth reygne and love) is a seldome founde thinge. Agayne warde the woman ought to be subiecte and obedient vnto hir husbande / as thou seys [...]e Genesis .iij. to go forth after him / to abyde and be with him whersoever it shall please o [...] like him. So that she muste nedes many tymes brydelle and breake hir awne wille. If beside forthe thou desireste to knowe of other incōmodites / & troble y^t is in mat [...]i­mony / thou maiste yf so thou [...] wilte axe of thē y^t have assayed it / or elles assaye it thy sil­fe. I suppose verely y^t these .ij. be wond'fulle greate tribulaciōs. And the more greate / by [Page] people be chaste in by mennys tradycy­ons.

That thys ys here the mynde of Paule / confermeth well the other parte of hys pro­verbe / whē he sayeth yow be dearly bought. In whych he sygnyfyeth Christe / that with hys precyous blode hath redemyd and de­lyvered vs from all synnes and lawes / as is clerely shewed in hys Epistle [...]o the Gala­thyans .v. chapter. Now was thys byeng ād redempcyon done not after the worldely fassyon. Nother be here made leages and covenantes / soche as are betwyxte men: soche as be betwyxte the servante and the master / the wyfe and hyr husbande. All so­che bargeynes doth he let stande stille / wil­linge that they shulde be kepte / and obser­ved. But this redempcyon ys done in­wardlye by the sp [...]ete in mennys conscy­ences: So that no lawe can eny longer bin­de vs or kepe vs bounde: But here are we all in all wyse franke ād free. Afore we were kepte bounde and locked in sinne: but now are all sinnes fordone / broken / & destroyed. But yet all bondage or lybertye exterior doth stille abyde and remayne / and is nother sin­ne ne goodnes or merite: but a certē exteryor ordre of thinges in due frame and proporciō of troble and solace / payne ād ioye / lyke a [...] all other exterior and outwarde thinges be. [Page] In whiche on both sydes we maye lefully passe thorow oure lyfe wyth out sinne.

Bretherne let every man whe­rin he is called / therī abyde with God.

here doth he now the thirde tyme repete his conclusion of christian lybertye. That all ex­terior thinges before god are free / and that a Christen body maye vse them accordinge af­ter his appetite or pleasure / other levinge thē or elles takinge them. And he addeth expressely / before god. That is to saye as concernī ­ge vnto thy silfe and vnto God. For thou doest not honor vnto god in this that thou art coupled in matrimony / or elles that thou abydeste vnmaryed / that thou art a servant / or elles that thou art a freman. In that thou art made this thinge or that / or elles doest eate this meate or y^t. On the other syde thou doest not displease him / nother doest thou sinne yf any of these thinges thou shalte do awaye and leave dndone. And to telle yow shortly. Thou oweste nothinge vnto god / but fayth and confession / when I bere / saye confession. I meane not that whysperinge of synnes in to y^e prystes eare / whiche is cal­led auricular confession / ne yet the confessiō of thy sinnes vnto god / but I meane as sain­te Paule doth Roma. x. sayēge: Yf thou shalt knowledge or confesse with thy mouth / that [Page] cause they cōprehēde in thē many other. But yet is all this nother sinne ne offense before god / but only a tēporalle incōmodite / vexa­cion / & misery the which he muste nedes fe­le / y^e other lusteth or elles by necessite is en­forsed to be ioyned in matrimony. And wi­th out doute y^e apostle hath therfore here touched these greves / & vexacions of matrimony / lesse ony parsone shulde for cause of thē dispise y^e state / as though it pleased not god or in which god could not be served. Like as vnto this daye oure false prophetes have bē wont to do. Whiche have in maner put all worshuppinge of god / & good dedes / out of this state / callynge maryed people / secularlaye / worldely / yee and the very worlde yt silse / and other that lyve vnmaryed / but yet not all chaste spretuall ecclesiasticalle / and the churche. As though they only were spre­tualle & the churche. And the maryed were not so / but the cōtrary / yee they calle the vn­maried the knightes of god / god dys servan­tes / the spouse of god & soche other names which it is pitye to se howe farre they be di­sagreyng frō their dedes & cōdicions. What elles is this then in so avauncinge thēselves in y^t they be vnmaried to teache that in ma­riage mē can not be lyke? Ne do the same that they do beyng vnmaried.

Therfore Paule lesse the virgines & vnma­ried shulde by his saing take occasion so to [Page] rouse & magnifye thē silfes vnto the disho­nor of mariage / doth here mervelously tēper & modifie his wordes saing. S [...]che shall have troble in their flesshe. Marke how expre­sly he speaketh saieng troble in flesshe / not in sprete. For troble of y^e sprete is sinne & evyll conscience. But troble of flesshe is exterior paine / grefe / woo / & vexacion: And y^t Paule after the māner of the hebrew speache doth here calle the flesshe / we do calle the body. So that troble of the flesshe is as moche to sa [...]e as troble of y^e bodye. I meane not that it is in the body as a disease / or malady ys in the body. But that troble is in these / thinges whiche we daily occupye / vse / ād be cō ­versante with / and in all that belongeth vn­to the body / as are our wife / chyldre / house­holde / house / lande / cattelle / and other mo­vable goodes / and all māner matters or bu­synes that we have to do with men in this vngracyo [...]s worlde.

A man therfore vnto whom is geven the gifte of chastite hath nede to kepe in and re­fraine his curiosite / ād beware of matrimo­ny / and not to put him silfe in soche troble / and miserye. Onles necessite doth compelle him / like wise as Sainte Paule doth faith­fully here geve councell and alwayes ought the same to be stille geven. For it is a very greate and excellente fredom and libertye to be vnmaried / exempte from moche ād many [Page] cares / troble / miserie / and vexacyons. Whi­che libertye Paule doth forbydde or envye no parsone sayng. But I gladly do favore you. Beholde y^t this is to preache virginite truly / not to bringe forthe and alledge the excellentcy therof / and mede or deservinge before god: but to cōmende the tranquillite & quiete / that therby doth come in this worl­de. For a man shall fynde some that of curi­osyte only and rasshenes are copuled in ma­trimony with out all necessyte / that elles myght well have bene with out maryage. Whiche being vncompelled do stryve / wre­styll / and l [...]boure to gette and obtayne my­sery. When they have yt thus once purchased and obtayned / they be then truly not vnrigh­te we [...]y dealte with all / but served acordīgly

This saye I bretherne the ty­me ys shorte / yt remayneth that they whiche have wifes be as th­ough they had none: and that they that wepe be as though they we­pt not: and that they that reioyce be as though they reioysed not: And that bye / as though they po­ssessed not: And they that vse this worlde / as though they vsed yt not / for the fassion of this worlde goth away.

[Page]¶This is a comone rule for all christē p [...]o­p [...] that they shulde kepe and observe there everlastinge goodes and treasure / which they do possesse in faith: and that they might de­spise and take light regarde of this life. So that they be not drouned over depe in love or pleasures / care / or fylthynes therof / & that they shulde here lyve / and order thē silfe as palmers or pilgrymes of the worlde vsinge all thinges while they be in this shorte pas­sege of lyfe presente / not for voluptuousnes and pleasure / but as is required of necessi­te. And this is to have a wife as though I had hir not yf with desyer of mīde I had rather wante and be with out hir. Neverthelesse by cause of avoydynge synne / she is vn­to me necessary / & I have nede of hir. But he that seketh in hir not only necessite / but also pleasure and volupte this man shall ri­ghtewesly be sayde not to have a a wife: but to be possessed and had of a wife. The same wise ought a christē man to do in all other thinges: that is to wyt only case supporte / and succurr [...] with them his necessite / & not to folow his appetite / pleasure / and volup­te or & pā [...]re / & fede in thē his olde adame

I wolde have you with out care. The single mā careth for thin­ges of the lorde / how he maye ple­ase the lorde: but he that hath maried careth for thīges of the wor­lde / howe he maye please his wife [Page] There is difference betwene a virgyn ād a wife. The single womā careth for the thinges of the lorde that she may be pure both in body and also in sprete: but she that ys maried careth for thinges of the worlde / howe she maye please hir husbande.

¶Here is shewed an other cōmodite & profite y^t cometh of chastite in this worlde. That they maye y^e more intētively care & study to do godly thinges & goddes service I meane not in reding / soundīge of organes / & singī ­ge / like as now a dayes supersticious / religi­ous & cloisterers are wōte to do amōges whō is al y^• very service & honor of god suppressed & quēchidde: But that by a blisshed quietnesse a mā may sticke harde & geve diligēte at­tēdāce dayly vnto y^e worde of god in redinge prayng / & alwayes talkinge therof / & finally in preachīge it: accordinge as paule doth ex­horte .i. Timo. iiii. for a parsone y^t is maried cā not geve hī silfe therevnto wholy: but ys distracte therfore & divided / y^t is to saye: he hath nede to spēde a grete parte of his lyfe so to order hī silfe y^t he may acordīgly live with his wife: and is like as Martha was / com­bred & intāgled with many charges / & moche bussynesse. A maide or an vnmaried body is not distracte & so divided in to diverse char­ges [Page] or cares / but she may wholy geve hir sil­fe vnto godly and divine thinges:

Yet doth not the apostle intende to dam­ne matrimony / though here he saye y^t a ma­ried parsone doth not only take care for the worlde: but also that he ys in a maner divi­ded from god / and endureth moche care: So that he can not continually praye / study / or speake the worde of god. For all though truly soche a parsones care & laboure be not evill Neverthelesse it had ben more profitable for him yf he had abydden loose and free both as concerning for prayer / and also for trea­tinge and speakinge the worde of god / fur­thermore in vtteringe the worde of God he maye do pro [...]ite / and conforte many mē / yee all christendome. So this ought to be even a very mighty ād an excellente cause to pluc­ke backe every parsone that hath the gifte of chastite from maryynge. But oure spretualle people whiche nother knoweth the wayes to praye [...]e yet teacheth y^e worde of god / but on­ly do tormēte thēselves after the forme of mē nis statutes & tradiciōs shulde do better / thē they have done before time ye / & that not a litle better / yf they were maried. And whiles they do now mūbylle / houle & singe in chir­ches / they did diligētly enforme / nurtre / or­dre / & rule their wife & their childre that they shulde live according to the instituciō of god declared in y^e scriptures / & so provide y^t they [Page] might have meate / drinke / ād clotinge aco [...] ­dinge for the necessite of their body.

This speake I for your profite and not to tangle yow in a snare: but for that which is honeste and comly vnto you. And that you maye quietly cleave vnto God with out distraction or separacion.

¶That is to saye I do not cōmaūde chasti­te / but I leave it vnto your libertie: nother do I s [...] councelle it to be receaved / y^t you [...]ught to be ashamed / if you do chose to [...]e maried rather then to lyve chaste and vnmaried. For I wille have no parsone ītangled there wi­th / or bounde ther to. I do only saye & affer­me y^e virginite is a free / a good / ād a pro­fitable thinge. Be that wille & can take yt maye take it / & lyve therin. Here do yow see that in this mater ought to be layed no trappe ne snare: ne no mā ought to be vnto cha­stite strayned & enforced nother by cōmaū ­demētes or lawes / ne yet by vowes & promi­ses. Now is this a suer mater / y^• these wor­des ar w [...]it [...]ē of Paule vnto [...]ll Christē peo­ple of Corinthe vniversally / & not only to the vnlet [...]red or laye. And yet he alledgeth no mede nor merite of virginite before god / but only y^t it is good & profitable for people livī ­ge in y^e worlde / & this only doth he prayse ād commende in it / as you have largely hearde [Page] shewed before.

yf enyman thynke that yt ys vncomly for his virgyne yf she passe the tyme of mariage / and yf so nede requyre / let hym do what he listeth: let them be coupled in matrimony.

¶This is a moche wonderfulle texte / that a man may gyve his virgyne or his mayde to be maryed only for avoydinge shame or skornīge wich do therof growe / y^t in some co­untrees yt hath be thought vncomly / yf a man shulde kepe hys virgyne vnmaried over longe / or beyonde tyme of mariage. Behol­de here as saynte Paule wolde have every persone in thys poynte free / and to do that shulde be good and profitable for them. He sayeth therfore yf so nede requyre / That is to saye / yf it cā be none other wyse / and the manner of yowr cowntry be so / and the cu­stome doth with yow so requyre that yt be shame for a man to reteyne and kepe hys vyrgine vntylle she waxe aged / let hym then do what he lyketh. Let hym bestowe hyr in mariage / or elles let hī dyspice & set nawgh­te by shame. And thus to teache ys verely not to esteme excedingly of virginite / ne to recounteyt over gretly deare and precious. For the Apostle doth here [...]yve leave vnto a mā to bestowe and put forth his vyrgine to be maried for love of avoydinge a lytle shame or skornīge. I wene he was ygnorāt of gol­den dya [...]mes and crownes / whiche god is boūde to gyve vnto y^• merite of virginite / lyke [Page] as oure masteres do faine / & have ymagīed

Neverthelesse he that purposeth surely in his harte havinge no ne­de / but hath power over his aw­ne wyll: ād hath so decreed in his herte / that he wyll kepe hys vyr­gen / doth well.

¶A lytelle before whē he sayde: yf any mā thinke y^t yt is vncomly for his virgē. &c. And also in this place whē he sayeth. Neverthe­lesse he y^t purposeth & hath decreed in his harte y^• he wylle kepe his virgē / yow muste vnderstāde y^t h [...] speaketh of parētes / fryndes & of tutores in whose warde and custody the vyrgēs be. In whiche thinge is signify­ed y^t mēnys chyldre ought not of their aw­ne rasshe mīdes to binde thē other vnto ma­riage / or yet vnto syngle lyving ād chastite. But y^t these persones vnder whose tuicion & authorite they be put ought to bestowe thē in mariage / or elles to reteyne & kepe thē ther­fro. But yf so be y^• soche do lacke / or elles ta­ke no kepe or regarde of thē / then maye they do as they lyke. And that he doth here speake & bringe in / of the power of his aw­ne wyll / yt ought to be so vnderstāde / that no mā hath power to reteyne & kepe his vir­gine frō mariage against hyr wylle. For whē she will not / thē hath he no power over his awne wylle. In lyke māner yf any other cause were that he shulde of other men be enfo [...] ced to put hyr forth and bestowe hyr in mariage / as in example yf he shulde be [Page] ashamede that his virgen were over mo­che growen in age / or elles that he shulde be constrayned of his frendes / or of some ru­lers to cause hyr to be m [...]ryed. In all soche causes ought he not to attempte any thynge agaynste hyr wylle.

So then he that ioyneth hys vyrgen in mariage / doth well And he that ioyneth not hys virgen in mariage / doth better.

¶Here agayne is expressely shewed au­thoryte and power geven vnto fathers / and mothers / tutors / & fryndes over their chyl­dre / and over them / whiche are committed vnto ther protection / and custody. That the chyldre with out the wylle or consente of their parētes / and of other whyche have cu­re over them / maye nether marye or elles abyde vnmaryed / furthermore yt / hath bene sufficiently expounded vnto yow before that this welle / and better / whiche he doth h [...]re speake of / and that ys also spoken of before in this pr [...]sente chapiter ought to be vnder­stonde of goodnesse in t [...]is worlde. So that yow shall knowe matrimony to be good / y^t ys to saye with out synne / acceptable v [...]to god and free for every persone / But yet cha­styte / and syngle lyvīge is more quyet / & hath more liberty.

The wyfe ys bounde vnto the la­we [Page] so longe as her husbande ly­veth. yf her husbande slepe she ys at liber [...]ye to mary with whome she wyll / only in the lorde but she ys happyar yf she so abyde in my indgemente. And I thinke vere­ly that I have the sprete of god.

¶Thys place doth he also reherse Rom. vij [...] and therof he maketh a spretualle allegory / whyche he doth here omitte / and leave out / but there he declareth yt largely. The ende & conclusyon of this chapiter ys: That ma­trimony in the syght of the worlde ys a bō ­de and thraulde thynge: but befo [...]e god yt ys ryght franke and free. Lyke as he sayde befo­re of a servante / that h [...] ys free a fore god / all be yt that before the worlde he hath no power over his awne body. But syngle and vnmaryed folke be free both before god / and also the worlde / and holden captyue of no man. Therfore he calleth the state of so [...]he letter / or more blessyd / then ys the state of thē whiche are maried: Not bycause of co­myng to eternalle salvacion and blysse / whe­re vnto fayth only ys good ād precious / bet­ter and more precyous acordīge vnto y^• me­sure therof / but touchinge vnto this presente lyfe and cause of yt / for so moche as in cha­stite and syngle lyving ys lesse / busynesse / care / charge / ieoparde / & laboure. Therfore [Page] grosse and contente of this chapter is: It is good not to mary / excepte necessite constra­neth and causeth the contrary. And there is necessite where as god hath not gevē the no­ble gifte of chastite / for no man ne womā is create vnto chastite: but all ar create / & made to engrendre and begette yssue / and to suffer the troble / and myseries of wedlocke / as ys shewed Genesis .ij. & .iij. But yf any parsone maye be reckened / and nombrede from out of this necessite / that all mankinde is create vnto him hath not nother lawe ne vowe nor yet any purpose of minde exempte therfroe / but the grace of God only / and his marve­lous hande / or power. By whiche yf man be not made continent and chaste. I do not denye / but they maye begynne to live cha­ste: but it shall never come to a good ef­fecte and ende. Wherfor they playe the cru­elle tyrannes and soule murderers / that do barre in and shutte youth vp in cloysters / the­re keping them in by vyolence / As though chastite did consiste in oure power / when not withstandinge they both thinke and also in themselves fele the cōtrary. And so they b [...]ī ­ge other to that / whiche they did never tou­che so moche as with one of their fingers / nor yet cā though they wolde never so fame [...] It is shortely sayde / Be chaste. But why thē art thou o fornicator? It is a gaye mater you may be suer. Thou shalte farse / and stuffe thy body with delicate meates & drinkes / in soch [...] [Page] a manner that yt shalbe a mayne draffe sac­ke or swylle belly / and then put or enioyne me to faste all the dayes of my life / and to kepe abstinencye. Finally vnto them that be a [...]entyfe and wylling to heare / have I in thys treatyse sayde / and written sufficient: But as concerninge them that haue no luste but disdayne to heare / what cā or elles maye men saye? I beseche god to illumine them / and lende vnto them his lyght / or elles to lette and forbydde them that (as a fore thys they have done) here after they maye no len­ger slee and murdre mennys soules.