Marriage by the morall law of God vindicated against all ceremonial laws of popes and bishops destructive to filiation aliment and succession and the government of familyes and kingdoms

That unlawful Marriages of Parents ought not to illegitimate the Children.

First, This is contrary to the Law of God, to punish the sins of the Parents on the Children.

Secondly, This incourages Fathers to deflour Virgins, and when got with Child, to desert both the Mother and the Child, as a far cheaper way, then by carrying her first to a Priest and Temple to draw a charge on himself of her and her Child as long as he lives; this incourages likewise such Fathers to get Children by Incest, and Adultery, and For∣nication, and any other way which is not lawful, rather then according to the lawful Ordinance of God; because he can cast off all these Wo∣men and Children by only saying, they are illegitimate, and take an hun∣dred more, and serve them the like, and they shall thereby be defraud∣ed of Succession to his Goods, and so much as Aliment from the same: whereas if according to the Law of God, and the excellent Law of

Anastasius derived from the same, all natural Children were to be ad∣judged Legitimate, the Children would be provided for, by being by Law made Successors to their Fathers Estate, as far as the same will reach, and Fathers would be discouraged to get Children unlawfully, when they saw they could not thereby wickedly desert and make them illegiti∣mate, or evade the Obligation laid on them by the Law of God and Nature, to provide for their own.

Thirdly, 'Tis very unjust, That a wicked Father should have greater privilege then a good; and he who doth his Child injury, then he who is his Benefactor; for a Father who gets a Child unlawfully, doth a double injury to the Child, and rather ought to make double satisfacti∣on to him, then if he got him lawfully; for he dishonors the Child; and it is a rule in Law, None shall take advantage of his own wrong; if the Child is unlawfully begot, who did the wrong but the Father, who is therefore, if proved, to be punished for the wrong, and not to take ad∣vantage of it against his injured Child to illegitimate and disinherit him: nor much less ought the Law to do it, for no other reason, but because the Father hath done him one wrong to do him another, but in justice to be the readier to make the Father who injured him to make satisfacti∣on, by adjudging him right of Aliment and Succession to his Estate, for as it is inconsistent with Mercy, and the highest Cruelty, Afflictionem addere afflicto; so is it with Justice, because the Coat is taken from an innocent to take his Cloak also, or to make one injury done, the warrant to do another.

Fourthly, Because there is no foundation for this unnatural Cruelty of illegitimation, or indeed worse then beastly exposing Children to be destroyed, in the whole Scripture, neither is there such a word as Bastard in the whole Original, Old Testament or New, Hebrew Text, or Sep∣tuagint, but the same is falsely Translated by Papists and Bishops, to de∣ceive the World, as shall be more fully shewn when I after come to the point of false-translation of all words concerning Marriage.

Fifthly, All the examples of Scripture of unlawful Marriages yet Le∣gitimate, and make the Children Successors to their Fathers in such un∣lawful Marriages; as Lot begot Moab and Ammon by Incest on his own Daughters, yet were Moab and Ammon Legitimate Successors to their incestuous Father. Judah begot Pharez by Incest on his Daughter in Law, yet was he Legitimate Successor to his incestuous Father; David got Solomon on an Adulteress, with whom he had committed Adultery in her Husband's life time, and kill'd her Husband to obtain, yet did not this illegitimate Solomon, but he Succeeded to his Father. And ac∣cording to the Law of Anastasius, and the Law of God and Nature, whether the marriage were lawful or unlawful, yet the Law was amongst the whole Nation of the Israelites and Jews, That all natural Children

were Legitimate, and Succeeded to their Fathers; and the same Law was amongst the Aegyptians, Athenians, Phoenicians, Persians, Turks, Tartars, and Mahometans, who though Infidels have been better then such counterfeit Christians, who make Laws to illegitimate, and not pro∣vide for their own Children. O ye Jews, Turks, Heathens, Pagans, Infidels! O ye wild Beasts in your Dens! O you Serpents in the De∣sarts! Oh ye Monsters in the Sea, arise and witness against Popes and Bishops, that your Dens, Desarts, and raging Seas, are not such Hells as the Limbus puerorum of illegitimation; Did you ever illegitimate your little Ones? did ye not labour to provide for your own? will you not with invincible Piety hazard your own lives in defence of your young? Rise up in Judgment against these Romish wild Beasts, Serpents, and Monsters, far more Cruel, Poisonous, and Monstrous then your selves, who for gain teach to illegitimate, starve and Murther their own self-begotten Babes before they can speak, deploring their miserable Fate with weeping and wailing, to be the Issue of so unnatural and cruel Pa∣rents.

Sixthly, I shall only add a word concerning the Original cause which produced this wicked effect of illegitimation of Children, which the cursed invention of Intails by the Priest, of the Lands of the Husband, to the Heirs of the Body of whatsoever Woman he married, or certi∣fied married to the man; whereby as is before mention'd, the Priest by Certificate, and the Woman by Secrecy, had power to make Successors what Adulterous Heirs they pleased, and most commonly begotten by the Priest himself to the Husbands Inheritance, to cut off these Adulterous Intails, the most ancient whereof we read, were set up by Cecrops for the Owls of Athens; and King Aegeus the natural Father of the fa∣mous Theseus, was the first who invented Adoption to cut them off, and accordingly Adopted his natural Son Theseus, who thereby became his Successor to his Kingdom of Athens, whereby the Certificate of the Bishop was abolish'd, and the Supremacy of the Kingdom taken from the Priest to the King, and the free disposing left to Fathers of their Estates, to such Children as they acknowledged, according to the de∣serving or undeserving of the Children. After this Solon who is thought, though not as wise, yet to have been as great a lover of women as Solomon, and to have been drawn by them into as great Idolatry; for Solon as a principal peice of his Government, intended to be set up by his Laws (as shall be after further touched) Consecrated and Founded Priests, and a Temple to the Goddess Venus, and endowed the same with great Revenues and Privileges, and Consecrated a multitude of Curtesans to exercise their Trade, and pray for the prosperity of Greece in the same. And did what he could to restrain the free liberty of Adoption by Hus∣bands, whereby the Ladies were prejudiced in their power of insti∣tuting

Heirs to their Husbands Estates, in as free a manner as their God∣dess Venus gave them leave. But the more Masculine Princes both of Greece and Rome, vindicated their own Power of Adoption both against the Priests and the Ladies. And Anastasius without any Formality of Adoption, cut off at a stroke all Feminine Intails, by making all natu∣ral Children as they ought to be, Legitimate, which continued till (as before mention'd) the Strumpet Theodora and her Bishops got the Law of Anastasius repealed, and Adulterous Intails again set up. And the like Law was in England, Fathers gave what they were bound by the Law of Nature to give to their natural Children, for provision for them, and they Succeeded to the same, 'till the Bishops for the same ends as the Pagan and Theodoran Bishops did set up. Here likewise by the Statute of Westmin. 2. Cap. 2. those Feminine and Adulterous Intails have been since endeavour'd to be cut off by Fines and Recoveries. But the many Inconveniences of those ways make the Remedy almost as bad as the Disease.

To conclude therefore, there is no way to prevent the exposing and desertion of Children by Fathers, the Adulteries of Mothers, and the murders of so many Infants, occasion'd by this Diabolical Pontifical in∣vention of Illegitimation, as the abolishing all Intails to more Bodies then one; and the restoring of that most excellent Law of Anastasius, That all natural Children shall be Legitimate, and the Innocent Babes be no longer punished and destroyed for the sins of the Parents.

Notes

• Child not to be pu∣nish'd for the Fa∣ther's sin. Desertion of Virgins after de∣flouring caused by Illegitima∣tion,
• A wicked Father ought not to have a greater privilege then a good. A Father not to take ad∣vantage of his own wrong.
• No such word as illegitima∣tion, nor no such deed in the whole Scripture.
• Illegitima∣tion of Children shews Fa∣thers worse then Pagans Insidels, wild-beasts, Monsters, Serpents.
• No remedy but aboli∣shing In∣tails, and restoring the Law of Anastasius.