can foon deftroy the fympathy of mind to wedlock duties, much more will the annoyance and trouble of mind infuse itself into all the faculties and acts of the body, to render them invalid, unkindly, and even unholy against the fundamental law book of nature, which Mofes never thwarts, but reverences: therefore he commands us to force nothing against fympathy or natural order, no not upon the most abject creatures; to fhow that fuch an indignity cannot be offered to man without an impious crime. And certainly thofe divine meditating words of finding out a meet and like help to man, have in them a confideration of more than the indefinite likenefs of womanhood; nor are they to be made wafte paper on, for the dulness of canon divinity: no, nor thofe other allegoric precepts of beneficence fetched out of the clofet of nature, to teach us goodnefs and compaffion in not compelling together unmatchable focieties; or if they meet through mifchance, by all confequence to disjoin them, as God and nature fignifies, and lectures to us not only by thofe recited decrees, but even by the first and laft of all his vifible works; when by his divorcing command the world firft rofe out of chaos, nor can be renewed again out of confufion, but by the feparating of unmeet conforts.

CHAP. XI.

The feventh reafon, that fometimes continuance in marriage may be evidently the fhortening or endangering of life to either party; both law and divinity concluding, that life is to be preferred before marriage, the intended folace of life.

SEVENTHLY, the canon law and divines confent, that

if either party be found contriving against another's life, they may be fevered by divorce: for a fin against the life of marriage, is greater than a fin against the bed; the one deftroys, the other but defiles. The fame may be faid touching those perfons who being of a penfive nature and course of life, have fummed up all their folace in that free and lightfome converfation which God and man intends in marriage; whereof when they fee themfelves deprived by meeting an unfociable confort, they ofttimes refent one another's mistake fo deeply, that long B b 2

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it is not ere grief end one of them. When therefore this danger is foreseen, that the life is in peril by living together, what matter is it whether helpless grief or wilful practice be the caufe? This is certain, that the prefervation of life is more worth than the compulsory keeping of marriage; and it is no lefs than cruelty to force a man to remain in that ftate as the folace of his life, which he and his friends know will be either the undoing or the disheartening of his life. And what is life without the vigour and spiritual exercife of life? How can it be ufeful either to private or public employment? Shall it therefore be quite dejected, though never fo valuable, and left to moulder away in heavinefs, for the superftitious and impoffible performance of an ill driven bargain? Nothing more inviolable than vows made to God; yet we read in Numbers, that if a wife had made fuch a vow, the mere will and authority of her husband might break it how much more then may he break the errour of his own bonds with an unfit and miftaken wife, to the faving of his welfare, his life, yea his faith and virtue, from the hazard of overftrong temptations? For if man be lord of the fabbath, to the curing of a fever, can he be less than lord of marriage in fuch important causes as these?

CHAP. XII.

The eighth reafon, It is probable or rather certain, that every one who happens to marry, hath not the calling; and therefore upon unfitness found and confidered, force ought not to be used.

EIGHTHLY, It is most sure that some even of those who are not plainly defective in body, yet are deftitute of all other marriageable gifts, and confequently have not the calling to marry, unless nothing be requifite thereto but a mere inftrumental body; which to affirm, is to that unanimous covenant a reproach: yet it is as sure that many fuch, not of their own defire, but by the perfuafion of friends, or not knowing themselves, do often enter into wedlock; where finding the difference at length between the duties of a married life, and the gifts of a fingle life, what unfitness of mind, what wearisomeness, fcruples and doubts to an incredible offence and difpleasure are

like to follow between, may be foon imagined; whom thus to shut up, and immure, and fhut up together, the one with a mischofen mate, the other in a mistaken calling, is not a course that Chriftian wisdom and tendernefs ought to ufe. As for the ecuftom that fome parents and guardians have of forcing marriages, it will be better to say nothing of fuch a favage inhumanity, but only thus; that the law which gives not all freedom of divorce to any creature endued with reason so affaffinated, is next in cruelty.

CHA P. XIII.

The ninth reafon; because marriage is not a mere carnal coition, but a human fociety: where that cannot reasonably be had, there can be no true matrimony. Marriage compared with all other covenants and vows warrantably broken for the good of man. Marriage the Papifts facrament, and unfit marriage the Proteftants idol.

NINTHLY, I fuppofe it will be allowed us that marriage is a human fociety, and that all human fociety muft proceed from the mind rather than the body, elfe it would be but a kind of animal or beastish meeting: if the mind therefore cannot have that due company by marriage that it may reasonably and humanly defire, that marriage can be no human fociety, but a certain formality; or gilding over of little better than a brutish congrefs, and fo in very wisdom and pureness to be diffolved.

But marriage is more than human," the covenant of God," Prov. ii, 17, therefore man cannot diffolve it. I answer, if it be more than human, so much the more it argues the chief fociety thereof to be in the foul rather than in the body, and the greatest breach thereof to be unfitness of mind rather than defect of body: for the body can have least affinity in a covenant more than human, so that the reafon of diffolving holds good the rather. Again, I answer, that the fabbath is a higher inftitution, a command of the firft table, for the breach whereof God hath far more and oftener teftified his anger than for divorces, which from Mofes to Malachi he never took difpleasure at, nor then neither if we mark the text; and yet as oft as the good of man is concerned, he not only permits, but commands to break the sabbath. What covenant more contracted with God and lefs

in

in man's power, than the vow which hath once paffed his lips? yet if it be found rafh, if offenfive, if unfruitful either to God's glory or the good of man, our doctrine forces not errour and unwillingness irkfomely to keep it, but counfels wifdom and better thoughts boldly to break it; therefore to enjoin the indiffoluble keeping of a marriage found unfit against the good of man both foul and body, as hath been evidenced, is to make an idol of marriage, to advance it above the worfhip of God and the good of man, to make it a tranfcendent command, above both the fecond and firft table; which is a moft prodigious doctrine.

Next whereas they cite out of the Proverbs, that it is the covenant of God, and therefore more than human, that confequence is manifeftly falfe: for fo the covenant which Zedekiah made with the infidel king of Babel, is called the Covenant of God, Ezek. xvii, 19, which would be ftrange to hear counted more than a human covenant. So every covenant between man and man, bound by oath, may be called the covenant of God, because God therein is attefted. So of marriage he is the author and the witnefs; yet hence will not follow any divine aftriction more than what is fubordinate to the glory of God, and the main good of either party: for as the glory of God and their efteemed fitnefs one for the other, was the motive which led them both at first to think without other revelation that God had joined them together; fo when it fhall be found by their apparent unfitnefs, that their continuing to be man and wife is against the glory of God and their mutual happiness, it may affure them that God never joined them; who hath revealed his gracious will not to fet the ordinance above the man for whom it was ordained; not to canonize marriage either as a tyrannefs or a goddess over the enfranchised life and foul of man; for wherein can God delight, wherein be worfhipped, wherein be glorified by the forcible continuing of an improper and illyoking couple? He that loved not to fee the difparity of feveral cattle at the plough, cannot be pleafed with vaft unmeetnefs in marriage. Where can be the peace and love which muft invite God to fuch a house? May it not be feared that the not divorcing of fuch a helpless difagreement will be the divorcing of God

finally

finally from fuch a place? But it is a trial of our patience, fay they I grant it; but which of Job's afflictions were fent him with that law, that he might not ufe means to remove any of them if he could? And what if it subvert our patience and our faith too? Who fhall answer for the perifhing of all thofe fouls, perifhing by ftubborn expofitions of particular and inferior precepts againft the general and fupreme rule of charity? They dare not affirm that marriage is either a facrament or a mystery, though all those facred things give place to man; and yet they inveft it with fuch an awful fanctity, and give it fuch adamantine chains to bind with, as if it were to be worshipped like fome Indian deity, when it can confer no bleffing upon us, but works more and more to our mifery. To fuch teachers the faying of St. Peter at the council of Jerufalem will do well to be applied: "Why tempt ye God to put a yoke upon the necks of" chriftian men, which neither the Jews, God's ancient people, "nor we are able to bear ;" and nothing but unwary expounding hath brought upon us?

CHAP. XIV.

Confiderations concerning Familifm, Antinomianifm; and why it may be thought that fuch opinions may proceed from the undue restraint of fame juft liberty, than which no greater caufe to contemn difcipline. To these confiderations this also may be added as no improbable conjecture, feeing that fort of men who follow Anabaptifm, Familifin, Antinomianifm, and other fanatic dreams (if we understand them not amifs) be fuch most commonly as are by nature addicted to religion, of life alfo not debauched, and that their opinions. having full fwing, do end in fatisfaction of the flesh; it may be come with reafon into the thoughts of a wife man, whether all this proceed not partly, if not chiefly, from the restraint of fome lawful liberty, which ought to be given men, and is denied them? As by phyfick we learn in menftruous bodies, where nature's current hath been stopped, that the fuffocation and upward forcing of fome lower part affects the head and inward fense with dotage and idle fancies. And on the other hand, whether the reft of vulgar men not so religioufly profeffing, do not give themfelves much the more to whoredom and adulteries, loving the corrupt and venial difcipline of clergy