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¶ If the cyrcumstaunce of the place be marked, they shall know, they do iniuries to ye text here, as in othere places. For when the vyrgyn harde, there shoulde be a chyld borne of her, & she yet in ye grace & perfeccion of her vyrgynyte, as of a thyng impossible by nature to be done wondreth at the tydyngs, and requyreth the Angell of the meanes, how it maye be done. where vnto the Angell ma∣keth
answere, to satisfy the ad∣myration of the troubled vyr∣gyne thus. The holy ghost shal come vpon the, and he shall worke thys wonderfull worke in the, although aboue the con∣sent of thy reason, yet not with∣out thassystaunce of thy nature whych shalbe shadowed by the holye ghost. Thys interpreta∣tyon of S. Luke admitteth, S. Mathew in the fyrste Cha∣pter, where as Joseph was no lesse troubled to se hys affiaun∣ced, and promysed wyefe, to be wyth chylde, (thoughte it had bene by some synystre, and for∣bydden meanes,) as wel as the poure vyrgyne wyth reason, thought it could neuer be with∣out the knowledge of man. As from heauen her reason was confunded and made to geue
place vnto faith, and the power of GOD, so was Josephe by nyght admonyshed of hys ouer hasty iudgement, and lyght su∣spycyon, that hys promysed wyfe was not greate by anye man, but by the holye ghoste. Thus myndyth the Euange∣liste, to take oute of Joseph the suspycyon yt he had of the God∣lye virgine for her beyng wyth chylde, and not to proue, that the chyld wythin her, was not of her owne substaunce and na∣ture. Reade the place, & marke the state and argument there∣of, then shal the text interprete at it selfe. If it be so (as God forbyd, it shoulde) anye would wrest & constrayne thys worde (of the holy ghost) against ye cir¦cumstaunce & meanynge of the Euangelyste. We wyshe and
requyre it to be admitted of all men for the scryptures sake, all the Prophetyes that sayth Messyas shoulde be borne of a woman, and not by a woman, or passynge through a woman. If they wyll not thus be con∣tendyd, but forse the lettre that sayeth (of the holye ghost) that is to saye: Christe was borne of the substaunce of the holye ghoste, then should they proue ethere Christ to haue no fleshe, because the holye▪ ghoste hath none, nor neuer hadde: or else the God to be turned into ye nature of man. And so where as God before was and is euer immortal: should by there rea∣son be made mortall, whyche were a blasphemye to graunt.