maryed lyfe whiche is to them lawfully permitted, and in whiche they might be saued, and striue with a presūptuous desire to lead a single life, both they lose that health and safety, whiche they might haue had in the one, and incurre great daūger in the other: so that, wherby they suppose most to gayne, by the same they lose and fall into the pitte of greater ruine. Which thing S. Paul the Doctour of the Gentles well considering, and tenderly prouiding for þe infirmitie of the weake Corinthians writyng to hym for counsaile touchyng this matter, did write to them agayne in this wise, saying
1 Cor. 7: 1-3.
2 Rom. 9: 16.
Eph. 4: 17.
And that euery one of vs ought to kepe & not to trāsgresse thys measure, he teacheth anone after, saying
1 Cor. 7: 7.
And that we are to bee kept within our compasse and measure, and ought therewith to bee content, he teacheth moreouer as foloweth: Let euery man abyde in that vocation vvherein he is called. And shortlye after, for confirmation therof, he repeateth the same agayne and sayth: Let euery man vvherein he is called, therin abyde vvith the Lord. And because he perceyued that þe infirmitie of man was not able to susteyne the burnyng motions and heates of nature styrring in man, but onely by the grace of God, neither to bee hable to conquer the fleshe fyghtyng agaynst the spirite, accordyng to that which he sayth of hym self in an other place: For I see an other lavve in my members rebellyng agaynst the lavv of my mynde, he therefore of mercy and compassion, as condescending vnto their weakenes: and not by rigour of lawe and force of commaundement, thus sayd. As also in an other place in hys Epistles hee speaketh in lyke wordes saying
Rom. 6: 19.
1 Cor. 7: 6.
1 Cor. 7: 25.
And for as much as both are good: to witte to haue a wife or not to haue: to haue a husbād or not to haue: neyther is there any sinne in hauyng wife or husband: shortly after he inferreth, saying: I suppose therefore this to be good for the present neceßity: I meane, that it is good for a man so to be: What meaneth this, for present necessitie? MarginaliaFor presēt necessitie to marye, what it meaneth.What is this necessity present, but present infirmity? or els instant necessitie, compellyng to doe, as the order of necessitye requireth. Or els hee meaneth by this present necessitye, the distresse of that time which then was instant, & cōpelled hym so to write and so to beare with thē, whiche was for the auoydyng of fornication, whiche was amongest them, and many other kyndes of filthynes aboue touched whiche might haue happened. For the whiche fornication hee tooke occasion to write vnto the Corinthians and to aunswere to their letters: and therfore he vehemently agaynst the sayd Corinthians in the former parte of the sayd Epistle vttereth these wordes
1 Cor. 4: 21-5: 1.
1 Cor. 7: 8-9.
1 Cor. &: 35
This hee sayth to them whom before hee exhorted to continencie, and whom hee would not to be let or troubled by matrimoniall coniunction. But to other he sayth thus: If any man thincke that it is vncomely for his virgine to remayne ouer long vnmaryed, and if nede so require, let hym do vvhat he thynketh good, he sinneth not: let them marye. And agayne both be good, he saith, but yet the one to be better he concludeth, saying: Therfore he that ioyneth in matrimony hys virgine, doth vvell: but he that doth not, doth better. Which agreeth well with þe text aboue, speaking of both kyndes, as well the man as the woman, where he sayth: If thou take a vvife thou sinnest not, and if the virgine take a husband she sinneth not.
[Back to Top]If therfore it be no synne for þe mā to take a wife, nor for the virgine to take a husband, after þe Apostles mynd, neither doth diminishe theyr felicitie, but rather encrease it, and for as much as both do wel, and so both be blessed: we then whiche take wiues for our infirmitie, what do we sinne in hauyng them? Or if the Apostle do suffer and permitte to euery man for the auoydyng of fornication, to haue hys wife, we then which come of the same lumpe or masse & takyng our sinfull fleshe of the sinfull fleshe of Adam are not able otherwise to conteyne, why are we not permitted for the same cause and by the same permission, to haue likewise our wyues, but are enforced to forsake them beyng maryed?
[Back to Top]MarginaliaMariage is permitted to the infirmitie o all men: Priestes are infirme as other men be. Ergo, mariage ought to bee permitted to Priestes also.Wherfore either do you permitte vs, folowing the Apostle, to haue our wyues, or els teach vs þt we come not of the same masse, either els shewe vs that the same sufferance and permission is not graunted to vs by the Apostle whiche is graunted to other. Whiche cause peraduenture you will thus pretende: that thys sufferāce was graūted of the Apostle not to the Clergy or to any of our order, but onely to lay men. Which can not well be defended, neither by the wordes of the Apostle, nor by any circumstance of hys Epistle, for as much as there is no certeyne distinction or denomination either of persons, or degrees, or professions there mencioned, neither doth he make any difference either in names or offices of men, either of them which wrote vnto him, either of those persons of whom he wrote, or els, of those to whom he aunswereth, but onely in generall to the whole Churche of the Corinthians, as he hym selfe int he begynnyng of hys Epistle purporteth in these wordes
1 Cor. 1: 1-2.
Foxe is omitting pasages here which say that clerics should be celibate but that this ideal is impossible to maintain because of man's sinful nature (Epistolae duae D. Volusiani…[London, 1569], STC 24872, pp. 10-11).
These premisses beyng then well considered, we beseche you to haue regarde & compassion of our infirmity, most humbly desyryng you, not to oppresse vs with this violence. MarginaliaForced continencie, is no vertue.For as we haue sufficiently before proued, no mā ought to be cōstrayned vnto continency agaynst hys wyll, neither is this kynd of vertue commaūded of God to any man, of necessitie but onely of voluntary deuotion to be offered to the Lord, as he hym selfe speaketh in the Gospell
Matt. 19: 11.
Wherfore for distinctions sake Moyses is not him selfe commaunded to cloth Aaron & hys sonnes with breches, as in these woordes goyng before
The verses below are from Exodus 29: 4-9.