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M. Hardinge.
They be the Popes Canonistes (saie they) that haue taught the people,* 1.1 that simple fornication is no sinne. A greuous offence, and woorthy to be punished. And verily if any Pope euer knewe, that his learned men in the Canon lawe haue taught the people sutche heathenish, and deuilishe Doctrine, * 1.2 though no man in Earthe be his iudge, yet he maie be thought vn woorthy the roome of so greate charge. But if the Pope neuer knewe sutche Doctrine preached by the Canonistes, and if at no time there haue ben any sutche, then is he cleare, and ye are proued slaunderers, and false backebyters. VVe denie it vtterly. How proue ye it? Mary Sir, saie ye, looke in the margent of our Apologie, and there shal ye finde one Iohn de Magistris, noted for an offender in that behalfe. VVel, if it were so, he was but one man. Ye speake of Canonistes, whiche worde signifieth a number. And howe proue ye that he the saide Iohn de Magistris (for nowe I wil spare you, and wil not saie they) taught the people that simple fornication was no sinne? &c.
Nowe we tel you,* 1.3 that we cannot finde, where euer Iohannes de Magistris wrote so impiously, as ye reporte. Is it not Martinus de Magistris, that ye meane? It is a greate rashenesse, if ye haue not reade it your selues, to beliue sutche‡ 1.4 pelting writers, that be of your sectes, as ye do, by whom ye seme to be mooste shamefully and moste dangerously deceiued. &c. VVhat wil be thought and saide of you, if we shewe plainely, that ye haue forged a fowle lie, and a moste false slaunder vpon Martinus de Magistris? For so wil we cal him, vntil ye proue it of Iohannes.
This Martinus de Magistris was no Canoniste,* 1.5 as ye saye, but a Doctour of diuinitie, wel learned for his time and order of studie, as a schooleman. In a treatise, that he made, De temperantia & de luxuria, he disputeth after sutche manner, as the scholastical doctours commonly vse. VVherefore he that saieth that he taught the people, sought by vntruthe, how to make the matter more detestable. * 1.6 For disputinge in Schooles, and teachinge the people, be farre asunder. Saithe this doctour Mar∣tin after the guise of Schooles, Quaeritur vtrum simplex fornicatio sit Peccatum mortale, that to saie, It is a question, whether simple fornication be mortal Sinne.‡ 1.7 This Defender knewe, what he did, when he lefte out the woorde mortal. For beinge disposed to lie, he thought beste, to lye for a vantage.* 1.8 Nowe this is to be vnderstanded, howe the manner of the scholastical Doctours is, firste to propounde a question: Nexte to argue, obiecte, and reason againste the Truthe of the question: Then to auouche and proue the Truthe: After that to soile the obiections brought a∣gainste the Truthe: Lastly to bringe conclusions for confirmation of the Truthe. Then in prosecu∣tinge his question, arguitur quòd non, I reason againste it, saithe he, and argue it is not so. And there after the Schoole manner, he maketh an argumente againste the Truthe. VVhiche argumente who so euer taketh for his purpose, and alloweth it, admitteth that the Doctor goeth againste and di∣sproueth. After this he commeth to proue the Truthe.* 1.9 And there it foloweth. In oppositum. simplex fornicatio excludit, &c. To the contrary (saith he) Simple fornication excludeth from the Kingdome of God, Ergo, it is mortal sinne. Then he saithe further. It is to be noted, that the * 1.10 opinion of Thomas is, that simple fornication vndoubtedly is mortal sinne. VVho so euer readeth fur∣ther in Martinus, he shal find, after he hath wel disputed pro and con, as they terme it in Scholes, that is to saie, for, and againste the Truthe, that he putteth six conclusions, of whiche the fourthe beginneth thus, ideo, &c. Therefore Simple fornication is mortal sinne, bicause it is forbidden by Gods Lawe, &c. And in the ende of the sixthe, he saithe: Hereof the falsehed of theire opinion is made euident, who saie that simple fornication is not mortal sinne. VVhiche opinion is condemned in the articles of them of Paris, errore. CLXXXVI. Then he saith further. Guido the Carmelite saithe in a Cha∣pter contra Errores Graecorum, that the Errour of the Grekes, saieing simple fornication betwene a single man and a single woman not to be mortal sinne, openly conteineth Heresie againste the Holy Scripture, and that he proueth by foure reasons, &c.
By this, and mutche more there expressed, it is sufficiently proued, that Martinus de Magistris in his scholastical disputations in the saide treatise,* 1.11 saithe not that simple fornication is no sinne: mutche lesse cā it be reasonably, or with any coloure of honestie saide, that so he taught the people. And there∣fore it is falsely and slaunderously imputed vnto him.