A Treatise of the Cohabitation Of the Faithful with the Unfaithful | Page 5

to lern such artes of an vnfaithfull
master is not of such necessitie as can not be auoided / therfor the man
that ys weake in faithe must not lern them of hym. Yt is a very
daungerus thinge / to vse them which ar vnbeleauers as Masters and
teachers: for often tymes in the myndes of the hearers ther arisith a gret
admiracion and estimacion of the teacher / and it maye easilye com to
pas at the lenghthe / that they shall thincke and Iudge that theise
teachers ar not deceyued in Religion / bicause they be of an exacte and
perfect knowledge in these liberall sciences / and philosophie. This (I

saye) may happen of it that men ar wont to attribute mutch vnto their
teachers. Yea that it may be so / I will proue by the contrarie. Origen by
teaching the Mathematicalls / and such sciences / did bring many men
to the knowledge of christe. For furst he dyd begyn to reade among
them such sciences with which they wer delighted / In which he being
expert / dyd shew vnto his hearers suche connynge / that he dyd
forthewith gett amonge them great estimacion / and so the more easili
drawe them vnto the doctrine of christe. Augustine likewise cam to
Millaine / to heere Ambrose / bicause he was counted an excellent
Rhetorician. And so whilst he desirusly herd hym / at the lenghth by
hearinge he was tourned form the sect of the Manichees / vnto the true
catholiques. As therfor by lerning of these sciences of godly teachers /
the vnbeleauers haue beene conuerted vnto the faithe of christe / euen
so / yea mutch more easilie it maye comme to pas / that they which ar
weake and vnlearned / may vnder vnbeleauinge masters / be drawn
from christe to vngodlynes.
Wherefor seing that this can not be doone without great perill and
daunger / that such a weakling shuld vse an vnfaithfull Master / I
thincke that he shuld abstayn alltogether from suche.
Sum do heere obiect and saye / that S. Paul to the Corinthians doth
appoint no such Rule condicion not exception / as I haue spoken of /
vnto the weake and vnlearned: but he playnly saith.
[[1 Cor. 10.]]
If ony of them which beleaue not / do bidd you to a feaste / and yf ye
will go / whatsoeuer ys sett before you that eate / &c. In which wordes
he teachith / that it is lefte vnto our own will as a fre thinge to go / or
not to go. I answer / that ye must marcke well thos wordes of Paule /
(and yf ye will go.)
[[Hovv theise vvordes, and if ye vvill go, ar to be vnderstonded.]]
He doth not grant vnto euery mans will thys libertie / and fredom / but
vnto a goode and a right will he gyuith libertie to go. For yf a man wold
go thether to drincke droncken / glotonusly to fill the belly / or to gyue

the tongue to filthie and vncomly talke / without doubt that man shuld
syn / euen for the wickednes of hys will / and for hys corrupt entent and
purpose. Euen so / yf a man dowbted hys own strenghth / and dyd
certaynly perceyue that he could not profite them that shuld be there /
and yet wold go thether / vndowbtedly with a safe conscience and with
a goode will he could not take that thing in hande / for he can not direct
hys doing to the glorie of godd / as he ys commaunded to do. Wherefor
though Paul expressely doth not adde that rule / yt folowith not therfor /
that yt is not to be added: yea that yt ys to be added I will proue by
other places of the Scripture. And to thend that we do not herin depart
from Paul / the same thing / and doctrine of will /
[[1. Cor. 7.]]
he teachith in the .7. chapter of the same epistle: wher he entreating of
gyuyng or not gyuinge a virgine to mariage saithe / That he doth well
which keapith his virgin / and that purposith it surely in his harte /
(addinge this condicion) hauing no neade / but that he poure ouer his
own will: for if he shuld do otherwise then his daughter either wolde /
or then her necessitie required / then shuld he neither will / nor do well.
Thus to do a goode worcke / or to make an acte prefect / yt sufficithe
not to take heede that it be not euell of nature / or repugnant vnto gods
worde / but vnto this ys also