they will suffer what God suffer'd. Although they can know when they please, that Christ spake only to the conscience, did not judge on the civil bench, but alwaies disavow'd it. What can be more contrary to the waies of God then these their doings. If they bee such enemies to hardnes of heart, although this groundlesse rigor proclaims it to be in themselves, they may yet learne, or consider that hardnesse of heart hath a twofould acceptation in the Gospel. One, when it is in a good man taken for infirmity, and imperfection, which was in all the Apostles, whose weaknesse only, not utter want of beleef is call'd hardnes of heart, Marke 16. partly for this hardnesse of heart, the imperfection and decay of man from original righteousnesse, it was that God suffer'd not divorce onely, but all that which by Civilians is term'd the secondary law of nature and of nations. He suffer'd his owne people to wast and spoyle and slay by warre, to lead captives, to be som maisters, som servants, som to be princes, others to be subjects, he suffer'd propriety to divide all things by severall possession trade and commerce, not with out usury; in his comon wealth some to bee undeservedly rich, others to bee undeservingly poore. All which till hardnesse of heart came in, was most unjust; whenas prime Nature made us all equall, made us equall coheirs by common right and dominion over all creatures. In the same manner, and for the same cause he suffer'd divorce as well as mariage, our imperfet and degenerat condition of necessity requiring this law among the rest, as a remedy against intolerable wrong and servitude above the patience of man to beare. Nor was it giv'n only because our infirmity, or if it must be so call'd, hardnesse of heart could not endure all things, but because the hardnes of anothers heart might not inflict all things upon an innocent person, whom far other ends brought into a league of love and not of bondage and indignity. If therefore we abolish divorce as only suffer'd for hardnes of heart, we may as well abolish the whole law of nations, as only sufferd for the same cause; it being shewn us by Saint Paul I Cor. 6. that the very seeking of a mans right by law, and at the hands of a worldly magistrat, is not without the hardnesse of our hearts. For why doe ye not rather take wrong, saith he, why suffer ye not rather your selves to be defrauded? If nothing now must be suffer'd for hardnes of heart, I say the very prosecution of our right by way of civil justice can no more bee suffer'd among Christians, for the hardnes of heart wherwith most men persue it. And that would next remove all our judiciall lawes, and this restraint of divorce also in the number; which would more then halfe
