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THat Tythes are meeret 1.1 almes, hee holdeth euerie where, it was his errour: but that they may be detai∣ned by the Parishioners, and bestowed where they wil at their pleasures, is ••o vnt••ue, as nothing in the worlde can be more. That Tythes are meere almes, I say, it was his errour. He trusted too much vnto the Commō Lawyers, whose iudgment hee seemes to follow in ma∣ny
things verie commendably, as namely in * 1.2 defense of the Kings Ecclesiastical and Temporal power & Re∣galty. They hold(u 1.3 if I be not deceiued)x 1.4 that Tythes were not due vnto any particular Church, before the Councel of Lateran; but that men might bestowe thē, where they would, & so VVickliffe following them, said that within few yeares before his time, men paide their Tythes & Offerings at their own free will, to good mē & able, to great worship of God, to profit & fairenes of Holy Church fighting on earth. but, (with reuerēce be it spo∣kē vnto that honorable Professiō, & vnder reformatiō, of my opinion, if J thinke a misse) I am of the same o∣pini••n, that Master z 1.5 Charlton a country man of ours and a 1.6 Hospinian a learned German doth out of Anti∣quitie maintaine, as most consonant vnto the Analo∣gie and proportion of Scripture; to wit••that•• Tithes, that is to saie the Tenth part, is, was, and euer more shalbe due, vnto the Priests and Ministers of the Gos∣pel, ante legem, in lege & post legem, before in, and since the law, as the fitest ordinarie meanes, for the mainte∣nance of the Clergie; else parishes being so vnequally diuided at the first, and Impropriation•• foūded in Po∣perie, and continued in Protestancie, growing so fast vppon vs, if the Minister should haue noe more, but a tenth part (which is his ordinarie maintenance) the b 1.7 minister maie reach vnto them, the bread of life, & meane while starue himselfe, for wāt of materialbread
But to returne vnto Iohn VVickliffe, & to examine his opinion more strictly about Tythes or Almes, call thē by what name you please, for my particular I account them duties, and liuelode, and as the Common Lawe cals them the Ministers free-hold; to the great confusi∣on of Parsons, and al that wrangling Sect, I doubt not, but to demonstrate this point very cleerely vnto you, that VVickliffe was as earnest, for the maintenance of the Cleargie, and as bitter an inveigher against al c 1.8 Si∣moniacal Lay-Patrons, or Temporall Lords detaining the right of the Church as anie of them: d 1.9 that hee tels thē in expresse wordes, that it is in Salutem anim••, it is as much as their soule is worth to paye their Tithes duly and truely, vnto the Parson; and that in case the people, standing, (as they doe to this day, in many pla∣ces, too ill affected vnto the Ministery) should either at their pleasure, or vpon displeasure••, with d••aw there e 1.10 temporal almes, he may with draw his spiritual alms from them. But perhaps you will replie & say, Tythes are indeede to be paide vnto good Ministers and prea∣chers, but what shal we pay them vnto one, that wee know to be a lewd companion, a verie varlet, an open drunkard, adulterer or Fornicator, or a murderer of mens soules, aswel as of their bodies? Yes verily, in VVickl••ffes iudgement, f 1.11 vnlesse the fact be very noto∣rious indeed, such g 1.12 as the people know per iudic••um ope∣rationis, by their liues and manners (h 1.13 for it is not for them otherwise to iudge their Minister) they haue not
iudicium Iurisdictionis; and although they may iudge their liues, yet they ma••e not in any sort take away the Tythes quite and clea••e from the Church; but i 1.14 seque∣ster thē, as it were for the next Incumbent in this wise. The partie delinquent is either so vitious a man of life or doctrine, as that there is no hope of his amendmēt; or els hee hath cōmitted some such fact, as wilful mur∣der, or Treason, whereby he is ip so facto depriuable in Law; or finallie he is one that seemes to bee corrigible: the two former are to be remoued or degraded the mi∣nisterie, the later sort of offenders, are thus to bee pro∣ceeded against: k 1.15 cōplaint must be made vnto the Or∣dinarie, (after he hath been l 1.16 three times charitably in∣formed, and admonished of his fault by the Parishio∣ners, and m 1.17 there followes no amendment) if the Ordi∣narie refuse to punish, or winke at his offences, so scan∣dalous vnto the Church of God, the n 1.18 Bishoppe of the Diocesse, must be informed thereof: or if he refuse to giue satisfactiō vnto the Parishioners, the Archbishop must be interested in the cause; and if o 1.19 neither Ordi∣narie, Bishop, nor Archbishop will right them, then maie the p 1.20 king by his royall auctoritie, either in per∣son, or by his Temporal Officers and Ministers, heare
q 1.21 & determine the offence (though the offence be of that nature, that it properly belong vnto their conu∣sance, by r 1.22 punishing the offender either in bodie or goods. But as VVickliffe saith, the s 1.23 mildest course is by taking awaie the tithes from him, not frō the Church, (for that were against his owne rule) becauset 1.24 Decimae praed••ales non debent subtrahi, cum ad Ecclesiam perti∣neant, in cuius damnum, factum praepositi nō redundat, lest many good Ministers should be punished for one lewd Clergie mans fault. And this the u 1.25 King may doe, ashe proueth very stronglie, out of all the uu 1.26 lawes that are, and by the example of the wisest king that euer rained. Now because there cā be no smoke, without some fire, I wil in a word or two informe you of the groūd of this their accusation, & how they were misled, or VVick∣liffe mistaken in this point, and so dismisse our aged Fa∣ther Parsons with his threefolde, or rather manifold peruersions. VVickliffe in all his bookes and treatises,
doth euerie where commend a kind of x 1.27 Evangelicall pouertie, perswading Cleargie men to renounce the vaine pompe, and glorie of the world, and to lead (if it were possible) an Apostolical or Evangelical life, to be cōtent or y 1.28 paide if we han lif elode & to be hiled with, that is, with food and raiment, this estate to Priest (in those daies vnmarried) he z 1.29 commēdeth as the better; yet he approued wel enough of vsing the things of this world, and he himselfe enioied Tythes, went a 1.30 well ap∣parelled, and kept a good table, of that which was his owne. For I read not of anie great gifts that he had gi∣uen him, of anie man Temporal, Lord, State or Poten∣tate. Perhaps being so wel acquainted with the Com∣mon Lawyers, he was the likelier to keepe his own. So that to conclude this point, he did not b 1.31 actually debar Ministers from hauing, but from ouer much affecting the things of this world, which were to be renounced per cogitationem & affectum, in minde and affection: and so forsooth for vrging this doctrine and taxing there a∣buses, he was c 1.32 thought to bee a sore enemie to all the Cleargie, and a sharpe inuaier against Tithes. And thus much shall suffice for an answere vnto all indiffe∣rent
Parsons, concerning Father Parsons lewd and fri∣volous obiections: it remaineth that we proceede to discusse and examine our Apologists reasons, vvhich may seeme to some men more forcible, because there proofes are fetched from our own writers for the most part: for that which is alleadged as out of VVickliffes works, I do shrewdly suspect to be verbatim taken out of VValdē, d 1.33 which is as true in his reports of VVickliffe as Niceph••rus Callistus is in his Ecclesiasticall stories, both of them professe great sinceritie in words, & yet in deed haue neither truth nor honestie in their words.
Tithes giu••n by Title of spiritual alms Lib. de 7. pec. Mort. pag. 25. De Verit. Scr p124, 196, 413
See before
See M. Car∣letons booke of Tithes.
These opini¦ons of theirs I finde in the booke de fūd legum Angliae That in the new law the paying of the tenth part is by a law, that is made by the Church•• That Tithes are due by the law of nature —that spiritu∣al men which minister vnto the people spiritual things ought for their mi∣nistration to haue by the law of reason a competent liuing of thē they minister vnto lb. p. 165
In Lib. de decimis.
Hospinianus in Lib. de origine bonorum Ecclesiasticorum. Cap. 3. pag 123. Etsi leuiticum Sacerdotium abolitum sit, & sacra legalia cessarint, manet tamen ministerium Euangelij, quod absq•• ministris ordinarijs non poterit consistere.
At Strat∣ford of the Auen the Minister (as I am informed) payeth wel nigh as much, if not more then he receaueth by reason of a Chauntrie annexed vnto the Church.
Scribit con∣tra auferen∣tes predia Ec∣clesijssiue Reges, siue a∣lios; excipiū∣tur tamen pie auferentes a malis. De Ver Scrip p. 445.
Ad Parochi∣anos pertinet in salu••em a∣nimae Deci∣mas ac oblati∣ones idoneo ministrare. De Vet. Scrip. pag 435.
Oportet Sa∣cerdot••s Chri sti subtrahere verbum Dei ab indisposi∣tis 2. si popu∣lus fuerit sic obstinatus & inobediens S. matriEccle siae quod pro∣hibeat vel nō ministret vitae necessaria suo Euangelistae. De. Ver. Scr. pag. 435.
Proposito qnod sit fornicator vel alio noto••io crimine irretitus. De Ver. Scrip. p. 413.
lb. pag. 420.
Laici non debent iudicare de vita vel opere praelatorum & hoc praelato∣rum est. lb. pag. 420.
It is lawful to parishioners to withhold their Tithes for open for. nication of their Curate and turne thē into better vse. In suppl. ad parl. p. 14. His meaning is this as hee in∣terprete••h him self in the same place; that if the Priest be reproued of God for his sinnes (that is for great and open sinnes) he should be put out of his office, & the Sacrifices shoulden not be youen to him, but taken fro him, as God commandeth fro the high Priests Hely, & a nother true man walking in Gods waies, as did Samuel, should be ordained to receaue••such Sacrifi∣ces. lb p. 12.
Laici—tenentur Praela••o prodere Clericum taliter criminosum De Verit. Scrip. pag. 428.
Rect••tes Ecclesiae non sunt statim iudicandi lb. pag. 430.
Deficiente correctione Praelati. ••b. pag. 430.
Mandentu•• Episcopo castig andi lb. pag. 453.
Nus∣quam foret necesse Laicos Clerum corripere, si praelati plenè corriperent se & suos secū∣dum regulam Scripturae De Verit. Scrip. pag. 456.
Ad sustinendum istam legem Eccle∣fiae ordinantur Reges & potentes in Sa••culo, vt deficiente Clero ab eius completione, suppleatur per-brachium saeculare. lb. p. 4••9.
Examinatiō of abilitie and not abilitie being not ta∣ken from the ordinarie.-It shalbe iudg∣ed by the Kings Lawe, when a bene¦fice shalbe said void and when not—The King is Patron Para∣mōt of al the benefices within the Realme, & he is bound to see his sub∣iects haue right in that behalfe within the Realme and that in that case from him lieth no appeale. De fundam Legum Angliae 1. c. 36.
Reges nedum habcnt capitale domi∣nium super bona Pseudocler. sed & super corpus quia aliter non foret talis eius ho∣mo ligeus lb. pag. 453. Debent punire tales notorios tanquam laicos, vel amplius-aliter non haberent Reges in Regnis suis plenae pacis custodiā lb. pag. 453. els the King should not be able to doe right to his subiects De fundam. leg pag 125.
Au••erre a Clerico bo na fortunae est paena mitissima—punire per charitatem, per ablationem temporalium, vel dignitatis officij est puni••e misericor diter citra dignum. De Ver. Scr. pag. 430.
••b pag. 415.
The Kings Regaltie askes by old statute, that the King may in many in case take Temporalties fro Clarkscontra Frat mend. pag. 49.
Patet in Sciptura quomodo Do∣mini Temporales habent potestatem ad rectifican dum Sacerdotium-quia sapiens Sa∣lomon cum Sacerdote a Deo constitu••o ad regni sui stabilimentum laudabili••er ita fe∣cit multo magis in Nouo Testamento de Sacerdotibus Caesareis Quo•• Reges & Principes ad cause Regnorum gubernacula ditauerūt—quia principum est curare v•• omnes Sacerdotes sua ••fficia exequantur-secundum Leges Regni, Iuris Ciuilis & Ca∣nonici alias rei De Ver Scrip. pag. 469.
Ad hoc va∣dit tota mea ••entētia quā impugnant, vt viz. Cle••ici sint pauperes in facto, v••lin animo, vel v∣trin{que}•• & om∣nino quod ca∣uea•• ab aua∣ritia, & fastu seculi, cum a∣lijs malitijs quae sequūtur De Ver. Scrip pag. 570. Qui perfecte lin∣quunt omnia iudicabunt mundum. lb. pag. 512. De. mundi contē∣ptu & pauper tate Euange∣lica lb. p 196.
Cōtra frat. mend. pag.
Status pauperiei ••st status perfectissimus viatori InExpos. Decal. pag•• 50. Creuit Eccle sia magis secundum pauperem statum De Verit. Script. pag. 465.
De Verit. Scrip. p 192. Inter alia peccata de quibus time••, hoc est vnum prae••puum, quod consumendo in ex∣cessiuo victu & vestitu bona pauperum, deficio, dandum exemplum alijs. lb. Quod aut cō munem vitam viuendo frequenter auide & lau••e manduco dolenter profiteor, cum si il∣lud hypoc••itice simulate volue••e, testarentur contra me socij commensales lb.
Amor temporalium remouendus De Ver Scr. p. 462. Omnia mala introduct•• in Ecclesiam per affectionem inordinatam temporalium. ••n Expos. Decal. pag. 150. Omnes homines, de∣bent praecise secundum mensuram illam vti bonis temporalibus secundum quam promo∣uent ad aeterna. De Ver Scrip. pag. 450.
Accusantes pseudo Sacerdotes statim censen∣••ur hostes EcclesiaeDe Verit. Scrip. pag. 460.
See both their Prefa∣ces and Pro∣testations, & you shal finde thē alike true