yet all to one. For if it becometh the lower minister to be of a sad and discreet age, much more it becometh the higher. It is truth. But two things are without law, God and necessity. If God, to shew his power, shall shed out his grace more upon youth than upon age at a time, who shall let him? Women be no meet vessels to rule or to preach, (for both are forbidden them) yet hath God endowed them with his Spirit at sundry times, and shewed his power and goodness upon them, and wrought wonderful things by them, because he would not have them despised. We read that women have judged all Israel, and have been great prophetesses, and have done mighty deeds. Yea, and if stories be true, women have preached since the opening of the New Testament. Do not our women now christen and minister the sacrament of baptism in time of need? Might they not by as good reason preach also, if necessity required? If a woman were driven into some island, where Christ was never preached, might she there not preach him, if she had the gift thereto? Might she not also baptize? And why might she not, by the same reason, minister the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, and teach them how to choose officers and ministers? O, poor women, how despise ye them! The viler the better welcome unto you. An whore had ye lever than an honest wife. If only shaven and anointed may do these things, then Christ did them not, nor any of his apostles, nor any man in long time after. For they used no such ceremonies. Notwithstanding, though God be under no law, and necessity lawless; yet be we under a law, and ought to prefer the men before the women, and age before youth, as nigh as we can. For it is against the law of nature that young men should rule the elder, and as uncomely as that women should rule the men, but when need requireth. And, therefore, if Paul had had other shift, and a man of age as meet for the room, he would not have put Timothy in the office, he should no doubt have been kept The cause why young Timothy was preferred by Paul to be a bishop. Paul was a fatherly instructorto Timothy. St. Paul was a worthy and most reve back until a fuller age, and have learned in the meantime in silence. And whatsoever thou be that readest this, I exhort thee in our Lord, that thou read both the Epistles of Paul to Timothy, that thou mayest see how diligently (as a mother careth for her child, if it be in peril) Paul writeth unto Timothy, to instruct him, to teach him, to exhort, to courage him, to stir him up, to be wise, sober, diligent, circumspect, sad, humble and meek, saying: These I write that thou mayest know how to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church or congregation. Avoid lusts of youth, beware of ungodly fables and old wives' tales, and avoid the company of men of corrupt minds, which waste their brains about wrangling questions. Let no man despise thine youth. As who should say, Youth is a despised thing of itself, whereunto men give none obedience or reverence naturally. See, therefore, that thy virtue exceed, to recompense thy lack of age, and that thou so behave thyself that no fault be found with thee. And again, Rebuke not an elder sharply, but exhort him as thy father, and young men as thy bre- structor. thren, and the elder women as thy mothers, and the young women as thy sisters, and such like in every chapter. Admit none accusation against an elder under less than two witnesses. And Paul chargeth him in the sight of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of his elect angels, to do nothing rashly or of affection. And shortly, whereunto youth is most prone and ready to fall, thereof warneth he him with all diligence, even almost or altogether half a dozen times of some one thing. And finally, as a man difference would teach a child that had never before gone to school, so tenderly and so carefully doth Paul teach him. other thing to teach the people, and to teach the preacher. Here Paul teacheth the preacher, young Timothy. And when he affirmeth that I say, how that the oiling and shaving is no part of the priesthood, that improveth It is an And he not, nor can do. And therefore I say it yet. rend father A great teaching of the people, ing of a preacher. between and teach Oiling nor shaving is any thing or any part of priesthood. all that he can lay against me, that of an hundred there be not ten that have the properties which Paul requireth to to be in them. Wherefore, if oiling and shaving be no part of their priesthood, then evermore of a thousand, nine hundred at the least should be no priests at all. And quoth your friend, would confirm it with an oath, and swear deeply, that it would follow, and that it must needs so be. Which argument yet, if there were no other shift, I would solve after an Oxford fashion, with Concedo consequentiam et consequens. And I say moreover that their anointing is but a ceremony borrowed of the Jews, though they have somewhat altered the manner; and their shaving borrowed of the heathen priests; and that they be no more of their priesthood, than the oil, salt, spittle, taper and chrisom-cloth, of the substance of baptism. Which things, no doubt, because they be of their conjuring, they would have preached of necessity unto the salvation of the child, except necessity had driven them unto the contrary. And seeing that the oil is not of necessity, let M. More tell me what more virtue is in the oil of confirmation, inasmuch as the bishop sacreth the one as well as the other; yea, and let him tell the reason why there should be more virtue in the oil wherewith the bishop anointeth his priests. Let him tell you from whence the oil cometh, how it is made, and why he selleth it to the curates wherewith they anoint the sick, or whether this be of less virtue than the other. And finally, why used not the apostles this Greek word iepes, or the interpreter, this Latin word sacerdos, but alway this word presbyteros and senior, by which was at that time nothing signified but an elder? And it was no doubt taken of the custom of the Hebrews, where the officers were ever elderly men, as nature requireth. As it appeareth in the Old Testament, and also in the New. The scribes, pharisees, and the elders of the people, saith the text, which were the officers and rulers, so called by the reason of their age. WHY HE USETH LOVE RATHER THAN CHARITY. HE rebuketh me also that I translate this Greek word ȧyànŋ into love, and not rather into charity, so holy and so known a term. Verily, charity is no known English, in that sense which agape requireth. For when we say, Give your alms in the worship of God, and sweet saint charity; and when the father teacheth his son to say Blessing, father, for saint charity; what mean they? In good faith they wot not. Moreover, when we say, God help you, I have done my charity for this day, do we not take it for alms? and, The man is ever chiding and out of charity, and I beshrew him saving my charity: there we take it for patience. And when I say, A charitable man, it is taken for merciful. And though mercifulness be a good love, or rather spring of a good love, yet is not every good love mercifulness. As when a woman loveth her husband godly, or a man his wife or his friend that is in none adversity, it is not always mercifulness. Also we say not, This man hath a great charity to God, but a great love. Wherefore I must have used this general term love, in spite of mine heart oftentimes. And agape and charitas were words used among the heathen ere Christ came, and signifies therefore more than a godly love. And we may say well enough, and have heard it spoken, that the Turks be charitable one to another, among themselves, and some of them unto the Christians too. Besides all this agape is common unto all loves. is not cha And when M. More saith, Every love is not charity: no Every love more is every apostle Christ's apostle; nor every angel God's angel; nor every hope Christian hope; nor every faith or belief Christ's belief; and so by an hundred love. thousand words. So that if I should always use but a every charity is not word that were no more general than the word I interpret, I should interpret nothing at all. But the matter itself and the circumstances do declare what love, what hope, and what faith is spoken of. And, finally, I say not Charity God, or Charity your neighbour, but Love God, and Love your neighbour, yea, and though we say man ought to love his neighbour's wife and his daughter, a Christian man doth [not] understand that he is commanded to defile his neighbour's wife or his daughter. WHY FAVOUR AND NOT GRACE. dale saith favour, and not grace. Why Tyn- AND with like reasons rageth he because I turn xápe into favour, and not into grace, saying that Every favour is not grace, and that in some favour there is but little grace. I can say also in some grace there is little goodness. And when we say he standeth well in my lady's grace, we understand no great godly favour. And in universities many ungracious graces are gotten. WHY KNOWLEDGE AND NOT CONFESSION, and not confession, Knowledge AND that I use this word knowledge and not confession, and this word repentance and not penance. In which repentance all he cannot prove that I give not the right English unto and not the Greek word. But it is a far other thing that paineth penance. them and biteth them by the breasts. There be secret pangs that pinch the very hearts of them, whereof they dare not complain. The sickness that maketh them so impatient is, that they have lost their juggling terms. For the doctors and preachers were wont to make many di |