MAtters beyng yet in doubt, maie with questions and reasons, bee brought out of doubt: but thinges beyng without doubt, ought not with the subteltie of wordes, bee broughte into doubte. As without all doubte Edmonde Boner, late vsurped bishop of Lon­don, was a bastarde, and also the soonne of a Bastarde: that is a Bastarde in grosse, and a Bastarde can not, neither maie not bee a bis­shop. Boner was a Bastarde, ergo no bishop, and this is a true conclusion. This is not true said an old Dunsticall felowe, sittyng at the ta­ble with a graue learned Lawier of the com­mon Lawe, and an eloquente Ciuilian, that were all three together: the one frouned, the seconde did bite his lippe, the third in a greate rage saied: men maie saie what thei will now a daies, & belye the truthe as you haue doen, he was a blessed confessor, although a bastard, and a true bishop, bothe by Gods Lawes, the Canonicall lawes, & the lawes of this realme of Englande. To this thei saied all Amen, Proue you the cōtrary saied thei, and we wil yelde vnto you: will you q he, then will I proue hym no bishop, when he liued, whiche you graunt to bée bastarde by these thrée La­wes. [Page] Make proffe saied these three, I will by Gods grace quod he, proue that neither [...], nor Boner, were any bishoppes of Lon­don, but vsurped, bicause thei twoo were ba­stardes: and all bastardes bee vnder the same predicament. For the booke of Wisedome in the. iiii. Chapit. makyng a difference betwene twoo generations of the lawfull, and vnlaw­full. Of the lawfull it is saied: O quam pulcra, & casta generatio. &c. O how faire is a chaste generation with vertue: the memoriall ther­of is immortall, for it is knowen with God, and with men: when it is presente, men take example thereat, and if it goe awaie, yet thei desire it: it is alwaies crouned, and holden in honor, and winneth the rewarde of the vnde­filed battaill. But the other generation, that is vnknowen emong men, that are called the children of the people: thus muche is spoken of in the same booke. Multigena autem impiorū multitudo non erit vtilis, & spuria vitulamina non dabunt radices altas, nec stabile fundamentum con­stituit. That is. The multitude of the vngod­ly children, are vnprofitable children, and the thynges that are planted with whoredome, shall take no depe roote, nor laie any fast foun­dation, though grene for a tyme in the braun­ches, yet thei shalbe shaken with the winde, [Page] for thei stande not fast, and through the vehe­mencie of the windes, that is Gods vengance thei shalbe rooted out, for the vnperfite braū ­ches shalbe broken, the fruicte shalbe vnprofi­table and sower, mete for nothyng. For why [...] demaunded of their parentes, that is, who were their fathers, or mothers, doe wit­nesse against them, and declare their abhomi­nation, and dooe disclose their synnes, as did that wicked Cham, the sonne of Noe, whiche vncouered his fathers secretes, for whiche cause, Noe asked vengeaunce vpon the offen­ders sonne, that therby the offender might [...] more greued, then with his owne mishappe. Therfore the lawe that punisheth thoffēders issue, [...] more prohibite synne, then that whiche plageth the offender alone: by this it maie be cōsidered, with what zeale the law of Englande abhorreth vnlawfull coniunctions, depriuyng them not onely of lawfull paren­tes, but also of Ecclesiasticall dignitie, and tē ­porall inheritaunce. The Ciuill Lawe, spea­kyng of the birth of children, saieth: Quod non potest arbor mala fructus bonos facere. &c. An euil tree, saie thei, can not bring forth good fruite: nor a good tree beare euill fruites, and by the consente of the lawes it is agreed, that euery plante yeldeth to the nature of the grounde, [Page] wherein it is planted. The childe also hathLeges Ci­uiles dicūt filium na­turalē tuū esse fil. um populi. muche more certaine, and sure knowledge of the mother, then of the father. Therfore saith the Ciuill Lawe, your naturall or bastarde soonne, is the soonne of the people: and when suche a bastarde is, hauing no certain, or kno­wen assured father at the birthe, as it is daily seen, and so iudged by lawe. How can he come by a father after: as example. If one woman should beare twoo children, of twoo fornica­tours, and one of these fornicatours, after doe marie with this woman, whiche of these chil­dren should this mariage make legitimate? This would partly help Tunstall by the Ci­uilTunstall­was a Ba­starde. lawe, bicause his father reconsiled his mo­ther into mariage, but lōg after his birth: this is not Boners case (whose father was neuer maried to his mother) fātasy would som what perswade: but reason can not finde, seyng the tyme was ones, when bothe these children were bastardes, and the sonnes of the people, and did not knowe their fathers: it wer ther­fore against all reason, that a child afterward borne in the same Matrimonie, being lawful­lyGenes. 16. borne, should lose the inheritaūce, and placeGalla. 4. the bastardie in the same, as lawfull heire. The lawes of Englande agreeth with the scriptures. Ismael did not inherit with Isaac: [Page] So no bastardes doe inherite lawfully, by the lawes of Englande, neither is equall to the lawfull begotten in the inheritaunce, whiche by the Ciuill lawes can be deuided, but onely emong the male children. Saincte Augustine in lib. xvi. de Ciuitate dei, saieth, Abraham gaue all his substaunce vnto Isaac his soonne, but vnto the soonnes of the Concubines, he gaue giftes, and sente them awaie from Isaac his soonne. Wherevpon he ment that to bastar­des, there is no inheritaunce due, but onely necessary liuyng, and vnder the name of a ba­starde. Sainct Augustine vnderstande all vn­lawfull issues, and so doeth holie scripture al­so, and thinketh no small difference betwene the succession of the lawfull begotten, and the bastarde in tēporall thynges, or worldly inhe­ritance, muche lesse in the churche of Christ, in that, that it admitteth them not into holie Orders: and that is proued in the Popes La­wes, againste the bastardly Papistes: and if the Pope dispēce with suche a one, yet he per­mitted not hym to haue a dignitie, or prehe­minence in the Churche, as to bee a bishoppe.Et ecclesia que eos a sacris re­pellit ordi­nibus. &c. Et si tale dispensauerit non enī tum per­mittit di­gnitate ha­bere in ecclesiae dei. Therefore it is conuenient, that mannes la­wes should cutte them shorte, in the benefite of worldly succession. When the Churche doe iudge thē vnworthy of orders, of ministerie, [Page] of pontificall dignitie: yea, whom the holie scripture do thrust doune, and greatly embace for though some, that is, one, emong a thou­sande is good, yet most are not onely giuen to wickednesse, and persecution. &c. Example of Ismael, some to murder. Example of Abime­lech,Iudicū. ix. the bastarde soonne of Gedion, whiche Gedion had lawfull begotten sonnes. lxx. and but one bastarde, whiche bastarde Abimelech with one stone, traiterously killed al his bre­thren, one excepted. So there is more abomi­natiō in one bastard, then in. lxix. lawfull son­nes. Many examples I can bryng forthe of hi­stories, repugnant to bastards, of their filthi­nesse of life, whoredome, idolatrie, extortion, treasō, murder, glottonie. &c. For it is thought that thei doe drawe a certain staine from the volupteous lust, mutuall of bothe their filthie parētes, whiche in lawfull chaste mariage ta­keth no place:Note this. and then knowing them selues to be bastardes, hateth all them that are law­fully borne, inuentyng mischief against them as traitors would haue all men traitors: this base borne Bocher Boner, like Abimeleche, hath slain a great nōber of the legitimate children of God: whose blood asketh the same cre­well vengeaunce, that holie Abels doe still in the presēce of God, against his brother Cain. [Page] So you shall not doubte, but by Gods lawes, the lawes of Englande, and also the Canoni­call lawes, that bastardes are all [...] of lawfull parentes, therefore of inheritaunce Temporall: also not lawfull to take Orders, therefore no ministers of Spiritnall dignitie,Ergo. therfore no bishops. Iudge of this your selues,Ergo. and then make answere, when it shall please you. Sir, we will depart, quod thei, referryng this matter till an other tyme. Here is one, quod he, with plaine Musicke Dirge like, in the next chamber, singeth to a dull base Lute I praie you let vs heare him, it will not hurt vs, my thinke he singeth of D. Boner, some merie vanitie, of that vain man, whiche spēt his daies in vain Papistrie: we are cōtent said thei, to heare this matter, and then to depart hence, when he hath doen: we praie God it be mery, for we haue talked of sad matters, peace a little, silence my maisters, quod he, agreed saied thei. Then the fellowe on the other side of the walle, reade in the Bible to hymself a­lone, and that beyng dooen, he songe in rude rime, against rude Boner, the Papist bastard.

The fellowe doe read.

[...] Boner speaketh.

Boner ende.