which do agree with the worde of God / ãd forbid those which are cõtrarie to yt. I do not saie that they must be to curius in ceremonies / as many are / which wolde that ĩ any wise all rites ãd ceremonies sholde be throughli ãd in all places of oone sorte / ãd manier: But this theis princes shold prouide / that the ceremonies vsed in ther churches sholde not be contrarie to godds worde / yea and that they sholde most neerely agre therwith / ãd shuld make for godly edyfyinge and decẽt and comelye ordre in the churche: But of their liknes / ãd that ĩ all places the rites / ãd ceremonies shold be of one forme / I do not thinke it a thing worthie the labor. For what matter maketh it if some men do receyue the sacramẽt stõding / other sittinge / other kneling. And if in some places whilest the bretherẽ do cõmunicat / a place of the scripture be redd / or some psalmes be sõg of the people / or other songes of thankes geuing. Nether is it any great matter / when a corps is caried to the buriall / whether that mẽ do followe the hearce holdĩg their peace / or singing of psalmes / or suche other thinges as maye edifie them that do stãde by. These thinges are to be lefte so free that in the churches suche maie be vsed / as shall seme most meete for the edyfyinge of the people. Yea I suppose that this varietye and chaunge in rytes / and ceremonies / dothe not a lytell profyte ãd helpe to bring in a true opiniõ of ceremonies / and to haue it kepte also: that is / that mẽ shuld beleue that all those ceremonies which the holie scripure doth not apoint / are not necessarie vnto saluaciõ / but maye be chaũged accordinge to the estate of tyme / ãd as shall serue for edifyĩg / as they shall thĩk
Godd which haue in their hand the orderinge the churche. That moste worthie commen wealthe of the venetians / which haue vnder their dominions / many Cities and places in Grece / they do in eche of them permit and suffer the rytes / and ceremonies / bothe of the Greke churche / and of the Latin churche / for those wise men do thincke / that the dyuersytie in outward ceremonies which are not taught in Godds worde is not hurtefull. I do not alledg this to allowe all such ceremonies as they do permitt in thos places / but only to shew that they thincke it not a matter of necessite to haue all one forme of ceremonies: The verie same thinge before thẽ did Augustine iudge as in his epistles to Ianuarius / and Cassulanus it dothe apeare.
The thirde thinge is / that the princes and rulers which do suffer these vnfaithfull mẽ to dwell ĩ their dominions sholde prouide that they mighte be taughte the truithe: and in this behalfe they muste not neglect them: for as the princes do declare their gẽtilnes in suffering thẽ to dwell in their dominions so this their pacience muste be directed to the glorie of God: And howe can that be soughte in theis vnbeleauers / if they be suffered to abyde in their noughtie opinion without teachinge: Surely by thys meanes in processe of tyme they be made no whit the better / but a greate deale worse then they were before.
The fourth is / that these princes take Godd hede / that by this dwellinge and cõuersation which they
do graunte vnto the vnfaithfull / they do not infecte the poeple cõmitted to their cure and chardge with their scabbe of vnbelefe ãd errour. Charytie is to be shewed vnto straungiers indede / but yet not so that they muste hurte the poeple amõg whom they lyue. And this shal the princes remedie very wel / if that they do not always beare with the corrupt blindnes of the [vnbeleauers] / but after sufficient teachinge do compell them to embrace true religion. I say that when they haue prouided that these vnfaithfull haue bene taught a good whyle and truly instructed / they must then enforce and compell them vnto those holye and pure rytes and worshippinges of Godd which are commaunded in the scriptures: for princes and rulers must not alwayes / nor yet to longe suffer theyr cytyzens and subiectes / to lyue without exercise of godlynes and vertue. The ende of policall gouernemente is / that the subiecte both sholde lyue in felycytie / ãd also in the practyse of godlynes / because that godlines and the true worshipp of God is the chefest of all vertues.
But some man will obiecte against me / and say / yf so be that the vnfaithfull be not yet persuaded / they shall then embrace truthe against theyr conscience / which thinge yf the prince compell them to do / then he compelleth them to synne. Here must we make a difference betwene the thinge that of it selfe is synne / and that which is so by chaunce / by some fortune / or some other thinge that happeneth / per accidens, as the Logicians do saye: for whẽ the
Magistrate / in the matter which now we haue in hãd / dothe propounde vnto these his subiectes / the thing that is right / goode / iuste / and cõmaunded of God / prouidinge to haue them taughte therin / and they will not be taughte / yf then he enforceth them owtwardlye to vse none other order in religion then is commaunded of Godd / and to forsake all other / he doth that which is iuste and appertayninge to his office. But that synne is entermingled in this matter / truly it is not throughe the faulte of the prince / but it is of the vnbeleif of these men / of whiche the prince can not be iustly accused / when he hath diligẽtly done his part / that they shold be well instructed. Morouer them which do obiecte this consider / that by the same reason that they accuse these princes we may accuse God: for he doth propounde his lawe / which is moste perfyte to be obserued of all men. Shuld men saye? we are weake / our nature is corrupte and infected / neither can we do these thinges as thou dost commaunde them / And why dost thou then enforce this lawe vpon vs? If we do cõtrarie to that which thou doest commaunde / verely we synne / and yf we go not about to do it we synne / we shall synne also yf we go aboute to do that which thou commaundest / for we want of perfection / neyther do we obey as we sholde do: wherfore do what we will / we shall not auoyde synne: vnto this the Lorde wolde aunswer. The thinges that I do propounde to be obserued of you are iuste and perfect / no man can accuse them of wickednes / But in that
ye are weake and do fall / and faile in fulfilling of my lawe / the faulte muste not be layed vnto me / for it is of your own malice and corruptiõ / and not through my faulte / for the which I maye not withdrawe my holy commaũdements / Yet thus I haue prouided helpe for you / Beleue in my only dearly beloued sonne / and loke what so euer ye wante / wherin soeuer ye do fayle / and not fulfyll my commaundementes / it shall not be imputed / nor laid to your chardge vnto euerlasyinge deathe: yea your endeuoyrs and your doinges / although they be not fully perfect ãd absolute / yet will I accepte thẽ well / they shall please me / and I will allowe thẽ. Euen so shall the good prince and Magistrate saye: The thinges which are conteyned in Goddes worde / suche thinges as are comlye and do edifie / do I require of you / yf your mynde and conscience do go agaynst them / ye can not impute it vnto me / I haue laboured and done my parte that ye sholde not be ignoraunt / and miserablie perish in ignoraũce. I haue caused you to be sufficiently instructed / and nowe will I procede exhorting / admonishinge / and demaundinge of you obedience in these thinges: do you reade the holye scriptures / heare the teachers and pastours / ãd pray the Lorde to open the eyes of your harte and mynde. Thus in aunswering to this obiectiõ I shew what a goode prince in this case may and must do. That thinge also is not to be passed ouer of which Augustyne maketh mencion / that he hymselfe was somtyme of this opinion / that nothing sholde be violẽtlye
done agaynst heretiques / but that they shold only be taughte / But his mynde altered after that he was admonished by some wyse Bishoppes / howe certeyn cities / which somtyme were altogether corrupted with the errour of the Donatistes / were cõpelled by the violence of the lawes of good Emperours to receyue the catholike faith / ãd these at lẽgth were so syncerelie tourned vnto the truthe / that they dyd gyue to God moste hartye thãckes for that violent enforcement / sayinge that nowe thoughe they might safelye / yet by no meanes wolde they retorne any more to suche pernicious and hurtfull opiniõs. The prince therfore / after that he hath gyuen them sufficient instruction / yf he shall enforce these men vnto the embracing of such rites and ceremonies as are good and godlye indede / he shall do no hurte at all but muche good. I do meane that this sholde be practysed only vpon suche as be cityzens / and naturall borne subiectes / or suche as beinge straungers borne / do as denizens dwell in theyr domininiõs / ãd so by priuiledge haue the benefite of theyr coũtrithe: Otherwyse yf they be but straũgiers which do passe through their countrithe / or such as do come either to bye or to sell marchaundize / there is no suche violẽce to be shewed towardes thẽ. And yet this thing they must take heade of euen in thẽ / that they do not seduce their people ãd subiectes which are of a good iudgement / that they do not infect them with vice and errour. The Israelites / as I thincke / ar in this pointe to be folowed. They did admitt no straunger
to be as a Iue / or proselyte / neyther did they gyue vnto any the libertie of their countrith / except he did fyrst circũcise himself / admitt Moses lawe / did cõmunicate / and became partaker with them in theyr Sacrifices / submitting himself to their discipline: Which thinge / seing it was well and diligently obserued of them / why shuld not our princes do euen the same? That they shuld suffer no Citezen / nor subiect / eyther naturall / or straũger born / but that they shuld compell and enforce hym / to receyue such religion / and obserue such rites and ceremonies / agreing with Godds worde / as they by common autoritie haue establyshed. Now will I speake of those princes and Rulers / which ar vnder these chief Rulers. Whome I do deuide into two sortes. Eyther they are such as haue Iurisdiction / poure / and auctoritie / which commeth to them by discent frõ theyr Auncetours / or els committed vnto them of Emperours / Kinges / and common welthes: Eyther els they haue no Iurisdiction nor Rule ouer others / neyther by discent from theyr auncetours / nor by commission from other higher princes / but only are taken and estemed as men of worshipp / for the auncientnes of their house and blud / or for their riches. This last sorte do not differ at all in a maner from priuate men / of whom I haue spoken before / for these are mere subiectes as they are. Therfor (I do suppose) that the former Rules / appointed vnto priuate men and subiectes are to be committed vnto thẽ / to be obserued of thẽ / in such maner as I haue