by the law of GOD. The enacting part "of 31 Henry VIII. c. 14. goes on and fays-If any perfon fhall preach "teach-or obftinately affirm and defend, that any man, after the order of priesthood received, may marry or "contract matrimony, he fhall be adjudged to fuffer death, and forfeit "lands and goods as a felon; and if

any

prieft do actually marry or contract "marriage with another, or any man that "is or hath been a prieft do carnally use

any woman to whom he is or hath "been married, or with whom he hath "contracted matrimony, or openly be "converfant or familiar with any fuch "woman, both the man and the woman "fhall be * adjudged felons."

That

"it, and found at the bottom 6000 infants heads, "which were brought to him. Upon this he did "greatly repent in himfelf his decree touching the "fingle life of the priests, which he confeffed to be "the caufe of that fo lamentable murder." The --letter in Fox, as above cited, is in Latin; the tranflation is referred to p. 393, as having been before inferted; which the reader may turn to. Whether the above letter was written by the bishop of Augfburg, according to Crit. Hift. of England, p. 83. or by Volufianus bifhop of Carthage, as Fox feems to think, is very immaterial.

* How ought the clergy of the church of England, fome of whom are not only married men, but, having loft a firft, are now living in comfort, ho

nour,

That all this was contrary to the law of GOD is apparent; for the priests and Levites under the Old Teftament, and the apostles and other minifters under the New Teftament, who were respectively the clergy of the time, might marry, and

nour, and reputation with a second wife, (fee before, p. 197. n.) to blefs the day when men dared to attack the reigning fuperftition of the times, and in the face of all manner of reproach, and even of the danger of death itself, boldly vindicate those rights of mankind, with which the LAW OF GOD had invested them, but of which they had been deprived by the infolent tyranny of men like themselves?

It little concerned Luther, and his fellow champions for the honour of the DIVINE LAW-that they were called antichrifts-fcandals to religionrevivers and propagators of the laws of Mahomet-or that the Popish Cerberus, with his three heads of IGNORANCE, SUPERSTITION, and BLIND ZEAL, threatened to tear them to pieces. They perfevered -they were fuccessful-and what they fowed in times of darkness and perfecution, we are reaping in days of light and liberty.

Thank GOD the aforefaid Cerberus is chained up. He now will bark, and bark he may 'till he be boarfe; the man who minds him can have but little

elfe to do.

The author of this book pretends not to be a prophet-but judging from what has been to what may be, he entertains not the leaft doubt, that, a century hence, the world may either wonder at the man who had WILDNESS enough to attack the prefent fyftem of things with regard to marriage, or that there were found people who were ABSURD enough to abuse him for it.-This to THOSE WHOM IT MAY CONCERN-VERBUM SAT.

VOL. I.

Р

many

many of them were actually married men. I therefore mention these things, to fhew how we may be led into error, even to putting men to death, thinking we do GoD fervice (John xvi. 2.) when once the word of GOD is left for the inventions and traditions of men; and how far men may believe things which are contrary to fcripture are right and good, and things agreeable to fcripture are wrong and abominable. -that this may become the creed of a whole nation, nay of a whole church including many nations, fo as to gain the fanction of public ftatutes, the folemn opinions of lawyers, the moft awful determinations of courts of justice. The condemnation of polygamy is equally an human device, and has no more authority from scripture for making a man a felon and to fuffer death (see 1 Jac. c. 11.) for having two wives, than the ftat. 31 Henry VIII. above mentioned had for hanging a priest and the woman he had married. All these things are equally the inventions of men, or rather of * SATAN

* Luther faith well-" Satanæ commentum est, peccatum fingere ubi nullum eft, & juftitiam ne66 gare, ubi vera eft."-" It is an invention of Sa"tan to feign fin where there is none, and to deny "righteousness where it truly is."

transformed

transformed into an angel of light; but the fcriptures are the true Ithuriel's fpear, the touch of which alone can make him appear in his own fhape, of a lyar and a murderer from the beginning.

*

The first public law in the empire against polygamy was at the latter end of the fourth century, about the year 393, by the emperor Theodofius; this was repealed by the emperor Valentinian about Jixty years afterwards, and the fubjects of the empire were permitted to marry as many wives as they pleased; nor does "it appear (fays Chambers tit. Polygamy)

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*In the year 324, Chriftianity was by law eftablifhed, when Conftantine, after the death of Licinius, reigned, without a colleague, fole lord of the Roman empire. However favourable the protection of the civil magiftrate was at that time, as well as in after times, to the Chriftian religion, yet from hence we muft date the misfortunes which have attended the interference of human power, in the establishment of human fyftems of faith and ceremony; the former of which have often been contrary to God's word, the latter utterly fubverfive of it. The advancement of the clergy in dignities, riches, and honour, under this emperor and his fucceffors, proved so many pernicious baits to facerdotal ambi bition, avarice, and pride; and introduced those fcenes of vice and profligacy among the clergy, which occafioned it to be faid-Mundus per oftium, pietas per feneftram-The world entered in at the door-piety flew out at the window. P 2

"that

that the bishops made any oppofition to "this introduction". (he should have faid refloration; for if it had not existed before, no law would have been made against it by Theodofius)" of polygamy "into the empire." After all, no* human authority can decide upon the matter, as this has evidently given its fuffrage both ways upon the fame questions. But can the determinations of the all-wife GOD be thus precarious and contradictory? Can the Old Testament and New Teftament be at as great a variance as the 31 Henry VIII. c. 14.-which makes it death for both the man and woman, in the cafe of a priest, to marry, or even to contract matrimony, or to affirm it lawful fo to do-and the 5 and 6 + Edw. VI. c. 12. which

For which reafon, I forbear to lay any stress on the decifions of our chief reformers, Luther Melanthon-Bucer-Zuinglius, &c. who, after a folemn confultation at Wittemberg, on the question "whether for a man to have two wives at once,

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was contrary to the divine law?" anfwered unanimoufly, "That it was not"-and, on this authority, Philip the Landgrave of Hesse actually married a fecond wife-his first being alive. This proves what they thought, but, by no means, that they thought right.

+ The preamble to this law affords a most striking proof of the power of fuperftition and error over the