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THE Scripture by many commaun∣dements, bindes children to honour and obey their fathers and mothers: And by all right of nature, and lawes humaine, Ciuill, and barbarous, they are enioyned to disobey them in no∣thing
I meane, concerning humane honestie, naturall dutie, and diuine ordenance: For if the commaunde∣ments of Fathers and mothers stretch to other things they abuse their authoritie, séeing (as I haue sayd) they represent God in earth in the procreation and noriture of their children as the ministers of his prouidence and will, and therefore their commaundements ought to agrée with the prescript rule of Gods will. And tou∣ching the disobedience of the child to the Father & mo∣ther, it is well expressed in the lawe of GOD giuen to Moyses, how grieuous that disobedience was béeing commaunded to stoning, euen a like punishment as if the disobedience had ben don against God, as in déede the transgression and faulte retorned against the same Lord, who, being the great & soueraigne Father, hath ordeined this father fleshly in nature, as his Liefete∣nant and executor of his will: he cursed likewise the child that was guiltie in disobedience: as in the lawe naturall Noe punished his sonne Cham with curses for that he mocked him, which God ratefied: Jacob depri∣ued his sonne Ruben of his discent, bycause he did out∣rage against him: The Scripture afordes many cur∣ses to the child that either in act or word disobeyeth his Father and Mother, and the Sonne that scorneth or disdaineth either of them, is iudged worthy that the Rauens and crowes picke out his eyes, meaning, that in no sort such one deserues the vse of common light, nor the prosperitie of life but to suffer all miseries, since he is offensiue to these by whome hee liues in the worlde: yea he is worthy to be throwne in a hollowe ditche, without burial, where carion vermine may de∣••ower his carcase as they do other dead beastes: For which consideration, the child is bound to this dutie to his parentes, and not to refuse death to sustayne them in what so euer concerneth them in honour, health, and life: For hauing receiued all his wealth and benefites
of them, what more worthy or iust recompense can he retorne then a frank and thankfull prostitution of all that he hath to their vses: if he take pleasure to liue, & doubts not that of all other things of the world life is most excellent: if he thinke that the pleasure of life, is one of the moste singuler benefites that maye bee de∣maunded: if lastly, commodities, riches, or common goods, and honours do please him: What reuerence, loue, honour, and obedience, is hee bound to beare to his Father and mother, by whom, or at the least, with∣out whom, he had not enioyed them: but if he make no recompence to his power and lesse thankefull at all to his parents, is not his ingratitude intollerable, and by iust right him selfe deserue to be depriued of all ye same goods? The same also being the cause why God by his law takes away without appeale ye life of him that of∣fendes his father and mother. But if the vnthankfull and disobedient child be flattered with some prosperitie let him thinke it hath no long continuaunce, no more then the itch of an olde man is pleasaunt longer then it is clawed, but being scratched, it falles of smarting: For it is written, that who curseth or doth euill to his Fa∣ther and mother, his light shalbe put out in the middest of darknes, that is, hée shall loose his prosperitie & good hap in the middest of aduersities and darke miseries, which shall fall vppon him euen when hee thinkes to sléepe most soundly in the delites, pleasures, and eases of this world. Besides, the better to drawe children to obedience, God promiseth them long life: honour (saith he) thy father and Mother, so shalt thou liue long vpon the earth: to which promise aboue all other Saint Paule sayth, is added suretie of recompence: as in the promise of long life, is ment commoditie, rest, and necessary fur¦nitures of life, as plentie of wealth and humane felici∣ties: For which cause it is sayd in another place that ye blessing of fathers and mothers giuē to their children,
confirmeth and continueth in happy succession the hou∣ses and families of their children: as of the contrary) their curse helpeth much to the ruine & subuersion of ye same. Touching the honour they get by obeying their father and mother, it is written: listen my sonne to the discipline of thy father, and let not the law of thy mo∣ther be forgotten of thée, to the end grace might be ioy∣ned to thy head, and collers about thy necke: if thou do thy dutie of a good sonne to them, God wil giue thée this fauour and credite to be honored of all men, & raise thée into that estate where thou shalt beare the honorable enseignes of thy high dignitie, euen as wée sée kynges beare their diademes vppon their heads, and Knights of the order, their precious collers of golde about their neckes, in signe of their dignitie, honour and authority due to them for their vertues by which they haue wor∣thely aspired to such estates. Seing then God reserueth for childrē such ample promises of long life: such world∣ly prosperities, and such high honours, which thrée bée∣ing the very effect of all that may bee desired to make this life happye in earth, comprehend also what else may be attributed to worldly felicitie: How much are they bound (besids the reasons earst rehearsed) to beare humilitie, obedience, & reuerent dutie to their parents, whom if they disobey, they haue their condemnation to miseries, dishononours, and to death, yea and by their sinne of disobedience, they stand in hazerd of the eter∣nall curse. The oblation of this duty of children to their parents, is indispensible to all purposes, but in cases of infidelitie: as if the father being an Idolater, séekes to seduce his sonne to that impietie, in which this straite bond of dutie ceaseth: For God is to be preferred, and man abuseth his authoritie, according to the vnderstan¦ding of the gospell: Who hateth not father, mother, bro∣ther, sister, and leaueth them with all that he hath, can not haue the kyngdome of God: yea they must leaue ye
dead to bury the dead to follow the Euangelicall voca∣tion: For touching the Apostolicall profession (which may be alledged for that they forsooke father & mother to follow Iesus Christ, and to preach the Gospel) it is a vocation perticuler & priuileged, as when Helizeus a∣bādoned father & mother to go with Helias, & as, for this purpose may be disputed touching the life monasticall.
But that vocation ought not to bée alleadged to the execution of this commaundement: for hée that calles such as he pleaseth, reserueth such prouidence ouer the necessities of their parentes, that they stande no néed of the peculiar seruice of their children whom their pa∣rentes of their proper will ought to exempt from that office of personall and temporal seruice, since God cal∣leth them to him selfe to doe to him a seruice spirituall and of more greater perfection and fruite, then any function wherein they could employe them: yet tou∣ching the vocation Monasticall, Saint Augustin holdes good, that in necessitie of the parentes the child being a Monke, is bound to leaue his Monasterie, to succoure them: for as the law of God derogates not the right of nature, but rather confirmes then restraines it: so by greater reason in the humane and positiue statutes, & specially such as be in Monasteries, there cā be no pre∣iudice. Therefore did the Scribes and Phariseis vn∣der colour of religion, ordeyne, that the childe, giuinge all his goods to the temple, was not bound to ayde hys father and mother: yea by that meane, he held him self no more bound to serue them, according to that consti∣tution by the which they expressed, that such honour to God, grounded vpon that deuotion, abrogated all honor and naturall dutie which the childe ought to showe to his father. But Iesus Christe gyueth them to vnder∣stand, that by such tradicions they commit great impie∣tie, resisting the first ordinance of God, natural, and di∣uine also, and inuiolable by his Scripture. We sée that
euen the most perfect and Apostolike life was not ex∣empted from this subiection, as Christe him selfe was subiect to Joseph and the virgin Marie: and exercisinge xxx. yeares after his diuine vocation, he reiected not frō his trayne his mother, his Auntes, and cousines, but called them and entertayned them with him (I meane the poore) of the reuenues which men presented him withall: no lesse did the Apostles to their parentes and kinred, of whom, the greatest part which were maried (according to Jgnatius) caried with them their wyues, and nourished them togyther with their parentes and poore, of the Apostolicall reuenue. For, as who holdes no accompte of his houshold and domestical familiars, is as an apostate, and more wicked then if he were an infidell: so, wee ought not wickedly and wrongfully thinke, that the Gospell takes away any humanitie & naturall pietie, but rather nourisheth, susteyneth, and confirmes it, making it spirituall in true loue and due∣tie, and so much ye more perfect, as the doctrine is more excellent, then the doctrine of nature and Moyses.
It is a question of many, whether a man is more boūd to nourishe and succour his father & mother, or his pro∣per wife: whereunto may bée aunswered, that in the case of obedience and subuention, there is more bounde of dutie to parents, but not touching cohabitation. And to proue the bonde of dutie to parentes, it is certayn, by treble right, naturall, diuine, and humane, which inclu∣ding an immutable and inuiolable bonde, can not bée weakened or abolished by mariage, aswell for that it is the first, most autentike, and hath a t••eble bonde (for euery law hath his proper obligacion and subiection, where this hath but one, touching corporall cohabitaci∣on), as also for that it bindes mariage with a new sub∣iectiō, that the wife with her husband, ought to straine all their power and meanes to reléeue suche as by ma∣riage are made their father and mother, and to helpe
their grand parentes, by whom both they and their fa∣thers haue being in the worlde. There bée yet these causes consequent, and (as it were) accidentes to ye for∣mer reasons, which ought greatly to stirre vp children to honor their parentes: that is to saye, the inexplicable loue of fathers and mothers to their children, their care in their first nouriture or nurssage, their continual tra∣uelles and perplexities to preserue and prefer them, & lastly, this iust consideration, that as they behaue them selues to their parentes, so to expecte the lyke recom∣pence of disposition and experience in their children to∣wardes them. The loue of parents is so great to their children, that they sticke not to take to them selues the greeues and displeasures of their children, not refusing sometyme the hazard of death to preserue their little∣ones from perill. And the scripture neuer commaūdes them to loue their children, to nourish, nor prefer them, because, by nature parentes haue that forward inclina∣tion: but they are enioyned in many places of the scri∣pture, to discipline & instructe them in the loue of God, as therein prescribing to them the manner how to rule and moderate their affections, not louing their childrē otherwaies then God loueth them: neyther to let their zeale be so vehement, fleshly and partiall, as (with the shée Apes) to destroye their children: nor yet with ex∣tremitie of affection to holde them in seueritie & feare, and so make them at vnwares, towards or weake spri∣ted, wherein albeit thei are forbidden, for that they are alwayes restrayned to moderation in discipline, yet in holding ouer a hard hand vpō thē, thei expresse the best and truest affectiō, and leade them in the readiest waye to the estate and reputacion of honest men. Great then is the bond of dutie, obedience, and affection of the child to his father and mother, if, with his vnthankfulnes, he be not altogither out of the sense and iudgement of na∣ture, yea, he shall aunswere to that so perfect loue, for
God (in this case) challengeth that he ought to bée belo∣ued of vs by reason. If I be a father (sayeth he) where is the zeale wherwith you loue me as children do their Fathers? Here, if any will obiect certain mothers pro∣curing vntimely birth to their children, or others that kill them after their deliuerie to auoyde dishonoure: I aunswer that to such mordering mothers expressing worse nature then the most fell or fierce beastes, who cherish & lick their litle ones & oftē times fight for their safetie, ther can not be deuised lawes seuere inough for their punishmēt: yea Moyses (as after him Licurgus & Solon) erected no prescript lawe for such morders, nor againste children, likewise yt killed their fathers, as estéeming it an offēce to which man coulde not ascribe sufficient, seuere, & worthy punishment: Touching the cares, labor, and industrie in bringing them vp, ther is no estate subiect to so many perplexities, the mother specially, bearing the infant in hir belly, what care hath she to preserue so precious a frute: and in hir tra∣uell, is there greater panges, or more perill of present death? how long remaines she in weake estat and sick∣nes? what paines takes she to norish it: what be hir so∣rowes, if it wéepe, if it miscarie, if it falle sicke? she fasteth to féede it, and being hongrie, restraines foode from hir selfe, to appease the vnruely appetite of hir childe: she with hir husband, offer their bodies to pasion of colde and heat, yea somtimes go naked, to cloath, wrap, and entertaine their children: What re∣compence of affection and dutie do these cares and perplexities of parents deserue of the children? where in if they be necligent how can they a voyde the crime of ingratitude, or be innocent in the vices proper to the reprobate? yea let them assuredly trust, that the dis∣pleasures, wronges, and disobedience which they do to their parents, by the iust measure of Gods iudgment shalbe retorned in more heauie & greuous qualitie vp¦pon
themselues, by their proper children: for so we finde hapened to a contemtuous and disobedient childe who trailing his father by the haire of his head out of his owne house: This is but a iust recompence my sonne (sayth the father) seing that euen ye like behauior I shewed to thy grandfather in this house, which now thou vsest to me: But of the contrarie, we read that many weare the benifites and graces doubled vppon the obedient children of the patriarkes as is expressed in the example of Joseph, to whom his father Jacob gaue double blessing aboue his other brethern, because he honored him with more seruice then they: for ende, let children in all thinges discharge the right and law of pietie to their parents, with this consideration, that because Fathers represent God on earth, he will take the disobedience done to them, as an iniurie ment to him selfe, moreouer in the consideration of their dutie and ayde to their parents, let them remember that in succouring their necessities, they offer acceptable ser∣uice to God, for the which (as we haue said) their re∣compence is layd vp both in earthe & in heauen, which with suertye to finde at the hands of their owne chil∣dren the like measure of relife in their necessities to∣gether with the same rate of comfort if they fall into impotencie of age: But if they fayle of this dutie, they stande in hazard of treble condemnation of death, as they are bound to that office by treble lawes: hauing interest in all such acts of humanitie euen towardes all olde straungers according to ye reuerent obseruatiō amongst the Lacedemonians, who vsed not only the lawe of perfect pietie to their proper and fleshly pa∣rents, but also euen to all old people, whome they honored as their fathers, and gaue succor to all their affaiers, as if they had bene their naturall children: They estemed them happie if they were called to do seruice to olde men tacking it for the greatest prayse
that coulde be ascribed to the actions of their life, to pushe forward the affires of auncient men, wherby it was sayde in comon prouerbe that happie was he that became olde in Lacedemonia as hauing so many childrē readily disposed to honor, serue, and support him as there was young people in the towne.
Deu 21
Pro 2••
Exod ••
Pro. 1.
Matt. 25.
Luc. 2.
••. Tim. 5.
Ephes. 5. Mala. ••.
Rom. 1.