A LETTER OF RESOLUTION TO A FRIEND, Concerning the MARRIAGE OF Cousin Germans; By JOHN TVRNERlate Fellow of Christs-Colledge in Cambridge.  Cùm opulenti loquuntur pariter atque ignobiles, eadem dicta, eademque or atio aequa non aequè valet. 
LONDON, Printed by H. H. for Walter Kettilby, at the Bishop's Head in St. Paul's Churchyard. 1682.   

To the Reader.  
I Am very sorry if the late Discourse which I have published concerning the Laws of Nature, and the Reasons of their Obligation have given offence to any good or learned Man; but that Sorrow is not a Sorrow of Repentance, but of real trouble and concern for them that suffer themselves to be so far carried away by prejudice and preconceived Opinion, that they will not give Entertainment to those Principles that are the Eternal Pillars upon which Nature stands, and the only true grounds of Duty and Obligation, to which all particular Instances being brought for trial, it will be impossible, that either Popery, Enthusiasm, or Atheism should obtain, but where those Principles are not believed, and he that substitutes any other crabbed, Scholastic, and unintelligible words, instead of things and notions, in their place, does but give a manifest Advantage to all three, let him pretend to never so great Learning, Piety, or Zeal.  
Yet notwithstanding the clearness and irrefragable Demonstration of what I have written, that I may give the World all possible satisfaction, I shall send another Discourse upon the same Subject, to the Press, by which the same thing will be still more fully, though I cannot say more evidently, made out, that Interest understood in that Latitude in which I have explained it, is the only true Principle, and the only intelligible ground of Obligation, and that all men may be satisfied, that I am no Changeling, and that these are not thoughts taken up of a sudden, or as may be suspected by some, designed only to serve a present turn, I must let them know, that the much greater part of this same second Discourse, for so it is in the Order of Publication, was written full two years ago, and as much as since August last, and it was then written with the same Design to prove the unlawfulness of the Marriage of Cousin Germans, as will appear by the Discourse itself, and as is well known to some of my Friends both in the College, and out of it.  
Neither indeed is this notion so new, as some may think it, it is as old as David's time; and he that was a Prophet, as well as a King, a man after Gods own heart, as he is called in Scripture, and a man that by great variety of Fortune and Events, could not choose but have a deep insight into humane affairs, he lays down this as a neverfailing Rule, Psal. 49. 18. Men will praise thee when thou dost well to thyself; which I think is only to say in other words as I do, that Self-Interest in its true latitude, and most Philosophical sense, is the root of Obligation. And we may add to what the Psalmist hath said, that men will not only praise him, but he shall have praise of God, as well as men, and that God will not only praise, but save him into the bargain; for Salvation is not annexed to intellectual Systems, and vain Imaginations of Platonic Haughtiness, and Metaphysical Pride, but to a judicious and prudent Conversation; for so the same Prince of Prophets and of Poets tells us in the very next Psalm, where it is God himself speaks by a Poetical 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 very frequently to be met with in that admirable Book, Psal. 50. 23. Whoso offereth me praise, glorifieth me, and to him that ordereth his Conversation aright, will I show the Salvation of God.  
And now having done so great a Service to Loyalty and Religion, to this Age, and to all that are hereafter to come, by settling the Principles of Human Life, and Practice upon their true Foundation, for the perpetual Encouragement and Support of Truth and Justice, and to the indelible Reproach and shame of Schism, and Heresy, and Hypocrisy, and Lewdness, and every evil Work; a Service which Envy cannot blast, nor Time destroy; I could be glad to die with all my heart, and to go the next way out of a troublesome and vexatious World; and I would sing as I was going, with Reverence be it spoken, though in another Sense then that in which old Simeon understood it; I say, I would sing as I was mounting to the milky way, where the Spirits of Just men have their Eternal Rest: Lord, 
Luke 2. 29, 30, 31, 32,  now lettest thou thy Servant departed in Peace, according to thy word, for mine Eyes have seen thy Salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all People, to be a Light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the Glory of thy People Israel.  
And as Peter Ramus, who by Popish Cruelty, had an unfortunate end, did in his Life time wish, that it might be written upon his Tomb, That there lay the Author of that Excellent Logic, that goes under his Name; so when I die, I make it my Request, if I be not in a Condition to be at the the Charge of a Monument for myself, that by the Kindness of some Friend or other, these following Lines may be graven upon the Tomb of an unfortunate man.  
Hic jacet Humani Divinique juris,  
Interpres, Vindex, Assertor, Propugnator,  
Vis nomen hominis? nomen illi quondam Joanni Turnero fuit,  
Nunc umbra vocatur & cinis,  
Et quicquid est uspiam recrementitiae rei.  
Valebis & molliter, molliter calcabis,  
Et humanae misertus, hoc est, tuae sortis,  
Arentem temperabis lachrymâ favillam.  
But enough of this Melancholy, this dying talk, but you will say, parturiunt Montes, nascitur Mus. You told us of a Book, and now you think to put us off with a Letter; but, pray good Reader, have a little Patience, and you shall have the Book too; but why a Letter? you will say: to which I answer, and plead the benefit of the Clergy, whose custom it hath been for these twenty years last passed, when ever they are big with notion, to disburden and deliver themselves of the Theological Minerva in a Letter to a Friend; besides, that being so small a thing, it would not have looked decently in any other shape, than that of an Epistle; and I designed only in this short Essay, to apply with all the clearness and brevity I could, my Notion of the Laws of Nature to the particular Case of Cousin Germans, and I hope I have done it so as to satisfy all scruples, and to leave no ground for any the least inconveniency by preventing such Marriages for the future, which does not at all affect or prejudice what is passed already; nay, I have stated the whole case with so much clearness, and by so uniform a Principle running through all the particular instances that concern it, that I desire no Favour or allowance from any, only let him ask himself the Question as he reads along, whether the Marriage of Cousin Germane in ordinary cases, and that is in all cases, but where there is a public Interest that it should be allowed, be not against the Interest of Mankind? Let him likewise demand of himself, whether it be not highly reasonable, nay, necessary to the public Peace, that all such Marriages already consummate by the Copula Carnalis, should be good and valid, nay, and looked upon with as favourable and kind an aspect as any other Marriages whatsoever. Lastly, let him seriously examine what his own Thoughts would answer, if the question were proposed, whether it were not highly for the Interest of the Public, that a Prince in either of the two Cases I have mentioned, should be allowed to Marry a Cousin German? I say, let every man ask himself these Questions, and I doubt not, but the Answer he will give himself, will be very propitious and favourable to me; and he will acknowledge of his own accord, that I have not strained my Principle further than it will go, he will see plainly, that it will go so far, whether I will or no; and that neither he, nor I can drive it any farther.  
If you still urge me further, to whom is this wonderful business of a Letter? Though I am not obliged to answer all the Questions that all the World shall ask me, yet, Reader, because I have heard a good Character of you for a civil Person, and you are said to go in the Country where you live, for a very Candid, Christian, Courteous and Gentle Thing; therefore I will tell you under the Seal of Confession, that it was for yourself the Letter was intended, but I did not know your Name; and they say, as honest as you are, you have a great many; therefore I was forced to Print my Letter, that it might be sure to come to your hands.  
But this is not the Dish itself which I intent you, it is at best no more than a Sop in the Pan, which hath the relish and savour of the Meat, and by which you may give no very uncertain guess, what sort of Entertainment you are hereafter to expect, for I have already lying by me a great many Sheets of Paper to which I shall add a great deal more, chief upon the Subject of the Levitical Degrees, which cannot be published soon enough to satisfy the Impatience of the public Expectation; and when it does come out, yet by reason of much Antiquity, and many laborious, though very clear Consequences that will be in it, it will not be fitted to the Capacity of ordinary Readers, and therefore I chose rather to say in short, as much as was sufficient to make out the point, (for one Demonstration is as good as a Thousand) and to do it with that plainness both of Expression and Thought, that every man might be his own Judge in a Case wherein almost every man may possibly be concerned.  
Besides that great alterations can no more be made of a sudden in the Minds of Men, than they can in the Customs or Manners of a Nation; and if it were so hard a matter to persuade the Irish not to draw the Plough by the tails of their Horses, much more will it be difficult to conquer the received Opinion of the Lawfulness of the Marriage of Cousin Germans, wherein so powerful an Interest is engaged, and which being once unsettled and overthrown, puts a new Bar to the Concupiscence of men, which of all other Passions is the hardest to be restrained.  
Therefore I intent to contrive the matter, so that the World may swallow it by degrees, and that it may make its Impressions by as gentle Motions as those by which the Prayers of the Devout are sometimes found to leave the Marks of their Knees upon the Stone or Marble, a sort of Impression, which, though it be made but slowly, yet it lasts for ever; and when it is once made, it improves and grows deeper every day than other, melted and entreated into softness by Devotion, but never decays, and much less fills up any more. However, though my chief Design in this Paper with which I now present you, was to remove the Prejudices that lie against my undertaking, and to apply the general Notion of the Laws of Nature to this Particular Case; yet because it will be expected, to show that such Marriages come within the Statute, that I should demonstrate their unlawfulness by the Levitical Measures; therefore this I have taken care very briefly to do, by considering the Case of the Daughters of Zelophehad, to which, though in my other Papers, I have spoken very largely, yet I have said enough in these to prove by unanswerable force of Scripture and of Reason, that all such Marriages were Levitically unlawful; and this, if it may be allowed to pass the Pikes of prejudice and private Interest that will be sure to oppose it, it will give me encouragement very speedily to publish what remains, but at present my Engagements are so deep, and of so many Kind's, there being another Piece now in the Press, which is very importunate with me to let it go abroad, that I must be forced for a fortnight or thereabouts to give my Attendance upon it, and I suppose in that time it will be as perfect as any thing can be expected from so imperfect an hand; and I do the rather divert myself to that, because it is upon an Argument very nighly related to this, the thorough understanding of which, will afford great strength, as well as light and clearness to it.  
I shall conclude with a repeated Profession of my acting in this whole affair, upon a Principle of Conscience, which, whatever personal failings I may have been guilty of, hath always been the measure of my Behaviour with respect to others, to the truth of which as my whole life which affords many great Examples, in a small Fortune, of no small Justice, Integrity and Honour, is one continual Witness, so the reflecting upon the constancy and steadiness of my Temper in the midst of dangers on the one side, and Temptations on the other, hath frequently afforded me no small matter of Comfort, and given me mighty encouragements from the Satisfaction which itself affords, to persevere to the end in a constant Adherence to Loyalty, Justice and Truth, let my Condition in the outward view of those that judge by appearances, be never so calamitous or unfortunate.  
For I always considered, that the seat of Happiness or Misery is in the mind, and therefore if that be well, all is right, let things appear how they will; and as I have honestly endeavoured many a time, when I have wounded my Conscience by transgressing the Rules of Virtue or good manners to lick myself whole by Repentance, and arm myself with greater Vigilance and Resolution for the Future, so I shall seriously and earnestly persuade you, my Reader, of whom, though I tell you I have heard a good Character, yet good News proves oftener to be false, than true, that if you are a bad man, you would reflect considerately and coolly with yourself upon the Folly and unreasonableness of sin, and set upon a speedy and effectual Reformation; but if you are that good man I take you to be, continue as you are, you will find the Comfort of it in all your concerns; God will bless, and men will praise you, your Affairs will be prosperous, and your Bones fat, and your Heart merry, you will not be afraid of the Terrors by night, nor of the Arrows that fly abroad by day; you will have a perpetual Calm of Joy and Peace attending upon your Person, and a Seeurity which no Fears can shake, will entrench and encamp itself round about your Habitation; it will be the best Comforter in your Sickness, the best Preparation for Death, and the best Advocate at the day of Judgement; therefore in the Name of God, and for the sake of ourselves, let us lay aside all Personal and all Political Vices, and let us hearty repent us of our sins, and be in perfect Charity with one another.  
Farewell.   

A Letter of Resolution to a Friend concerning the Marriage of Cousin Germane.  
SIR,  
I Have received so many Testimonies of Kindness from you, that I cannot believe otherwise, but the Advice you give me, not to trouble the World with the Discourse I have promised of the Marriage of Cousin Germans, with which you are pleased to say, I have threatened the Nation, and am like to make a Disturbance in it, proceeds from the same cause likewise, your continued Goodness and Affection to me; but I assure you, I am so far from having any turbulent or unquiet Projects in my Head, that a natural Inclination to all the greatest Instances of Peace and Friendship, is a thing so essential to my Constitution, that I cannot take so much as a just and necessary Revenge without a great deal of real Trouble and Affliction to myself, much less would I give any the least Occasion of Displeasure to those from whom I never received the least Disobligation; and you cannot but imagine, that I am a Cousin German myself to some body or other, and therefore have no reason to be angry with the Name, unless I have a mind to write Books against myself, as Mr. Baxter does; but yet after all, I see no Reason to desist from my undertaking, and that it may not be thought that what I do, is the effect only of an obstinate and wayward humour without Reason; therefore I hold myself obliged to give you all the Satisfaction which the narrow bounds of a Letter will allow.  
I am very sensible what a mighty torrent of prejudice I am to stem, and that not only from the Displeasure of those, who are themselves engaged in Marriages of this Nature, or are descended from such as have been so, but also from this, that all the Learned men that have written, do generally determine contrary to me, insomuch, that even the Lutheran Churches themselves, which to avoid scandal, do not allow the Practice of it, yet it is the received Opinion of all their Divines, that all such Marriages are lawful; but, Sir, if a man must never stand up in the defence of Truth, when there is an Interest engaged against it; and if this had always been the Practice of the World, than no vulgar Error could ever have been corrected, nor any fashionable or customary Vice reproved. If this were a Rule universally to be observed, than our Saviour should not have come into the World, whose whole life after he entered upon the Administration of his Prophetical Office, which he did about four Years before his Crucifixion, was a perpetual Combat with the Prejudices, and the Passions, and the false Notions of men. And, Sir, the Vindication of that Truth which I pretend to maintain, being, as I think, of so manifest and undeniable Consequence to the Peace of the World, which was the great Design of our Saviour's appearance upon Earth, and of all the Doctrines which he delivered, there is some Analogy, with all humble Reverence and Duty, be it spoken, betwixt the Case of my great Lord and Master (the Author and Finisher of our common Faith) and mine; for I am sent on his Errand by the Appointment of the Church, which hath thought fit to impress the Priestly Character upon me, as he was on the Fathers; and the same Message is common to us both, to exhort people to love and be helpful to one another, and to persuade to the constant Practice of those Duties, which make both for Temporal and Eternal Peace.  
If Prejudices, which will always be strong against every Undertaking that is but new and bold, were a sufficient Argument why men should not attempt them, than the Reformation should never have been begun, the Copernican Hypothesis, and the Cartesian Philosophy should never have been communicated to the World; the Antipodes to this day would have remained as great an Heresy, as it was in those times of Ignorance and Darkness, when a Bishop was removed from his Office and Dignity for asserting it; the Circulation of the Blood would have been as great a Secret now, as it was before Solomon's time, whom one Learned Author more Ingenious than Wise, would have to have been the Inventor of it; or as it hath been ever since till our late Famous Doctor Harvey discovered it; if this Principle were always to be followed, Columbus had left a new World undescryed; nay, if this Principle were the general measure of Action, that a man must never speak, but in the common Road, and as the Prejudices or the present Interests of particular persons would have him, than no man should dare to oppose a Faction, though in defence of his King, his Country, or the Church; and still the more dangerous that Faction is, the more pressing is this Argument which is drawn from the Prejudices or the Passions of men upon us, to let them alone. But, Sir, we are not to be pleasers of men, but of God; and we are to tread in the steps of the Captain of our Salvation, who through much Tribulation, and through Death itself, the most painful and ignominious Death that Human Nature was capable of enduring, led us the way to Heaven; and who hath commanded us to do our Duty with Cheerfulness and Courage, without either Fear or Favour, whatever the Event and Consequence of it be; The Disciple, said he, 
Matth. 10. 24, 25, 26, 27.  is not above his Master, nor the Servant above his Lord: It is enough for the Disciple that he be as his Master, and the Servant as his Lord: Fear them not therefore: but what I tell you in Darkness, that speak ye in Light: and what ye hear in the Ear, that preach ye upon the Housetops. And if this were our Saviour's Injunction to his Disciples, Twelve Poor and Inconsiderable men of no Interest or Reputation in the World, and against whom the Interest of the whole World was engaged, if they notwithstanding all the Discouragements, and all the Dangers they met with, did yet, for all that, persist in the defence of that Cause which they had undertaken; and did not only fight the good Fight of Faith, but after having received many heavy Strokes and grievous Wounds, died manfully upon the Spot, and in the Field, as became true Soldiers of that heavenly Warfare; how much more are we obliged, when we have not such Difficulties, or such Dangers to encounter with, to imitate so brave, and so blessed an Example? And what a shame would it be, when they have shown us the way through so many Tribulations into the Joys and Glories of the other World, if we should be afraid, when it is for the Public Good, and for the Peace of Mankind, that Cousin Germans should not Marry, to oppose so small an Interest as will be found upon Examination to be engaged for it?  
But yet after all, it is very strange, that there should be any Prejudices upon this account, because so many are engaged to one another in the Band of Matrimony, who stand related in the Degree of Cousin Germans, or at least, that they should be so prejudiced, as that this Prejudice of theirs should be incurable, when the Principles I have laid down are such, that they serve every whit as well to confirm the Marriages already consummate by bodily Knowledge, as to prevent those which are not yet entered into, or those which being solemnised in the face of the Church, have not yet received their final Consummation; the Reason is this. It is for the Interest of Mankind, that Friendships should be spread as far as may be, and that the Concerns and Interests of many men should be as much as may be, perplexed and entangled into one another, that so the same common Hopes, and Fears, and Ends, and Desires, may produce an Harmony in Affection, and a common Band of Unity and Peace; and I shall make it appear evidently to the World in a very little time, that the Amorites were not only destroyed by a Supernatural Judgement, but by this natural Cause and Reason also, that being so guilty as they were of incestuous Copulations, their Friendships and their Interests were consigned within so small a compass, and they were so divided among themselves, that they became an easy Prey to the Conqueror, and were divided into so many petty Principalities, each of which was no better than one pretty large Family; that what was said of the Britain's, when Caesar made a descent upon this Island with his victorious Legions, was true, of them; Dum singuli pugnant, universi vincuntur; and I desire it may be considered, if, as the Amorites were used always to Marry within so narrow a compass, which was the true reason of all those petty Principalities in ancient times, when Abraham with his one Family was not only called a Confederate of four Kings, but as appears by the event of the story, was in power and strength superior to Five, and yet could not muster above three hundred men; I say, if as the Amorites and other ancient Nations were used to Marry within these narrow limits, so now it should be the universal Practice for all men to Marry no farther of● than Cousin Germans, or second Cousins, it is very easy to perceive how this would untie the straitest Bands of Human Society, which begin in Generation, and are propagated first by Consanguinity, and then by Marriage; neither are there any Friendships so trusty, nor any Interests in the common Practice of the World that may so safely be relied upon, as those which depend by Consanguinity upon Obligations of Nature, or by Affinity upon the Matrimonial Contract; and if we should suppose all Families to marry within themselves, he must be blind that cannot see, that there would be almost so many divided and disagreeing Interests in the World, and that there would be no end of Eternal Feuds and Quarrels between one Clan or Head of a Family and his Dependants, and another; whereas, if you mix these Families together, so as suppose there be twenty Persons allied to one another in the Degree of Cousin Germane belonging to two several Families, Ten of each, they shall marry the Ten Males into Ten new Families with which they had no Consanguinity or Affinity before, and the Ten Females likewise into Ten others, and if you take in the external Dependences by Trade, or Friendship, or Obligation of all these two and twenty Families, it is manifest, that here must needs be a very great, nay, an almost incredible Advantage given to Friendship and Society among men, whereas on the contrary, if these Twenty persons shall intermarry with one another, being supposed to be Cousin Germane, they acquire no new Interest or Dependence by this Marriage; and as being Cousin Germans, being removed only by their immediate respective Parents from the common head of the Family, this is a joining the very first partings of Nature, and a return into the common Parent by those who are so nearly related by Consanguinity to him, that all that can be truly affirmed of their distance, is, that they are not immediately descended from his Loins.  
And this, instead of begetting Love in the World, does in reality produce Hatred; for when there is so good Reason why they should Marry farther off, and so plain a natural Demonstration, that it is exceedingly to the Prejudice of Mankind for them to intermarry with one another, if after this they shall yet notwithstanding do it, this looks exactly as if it were some Grudge or aversion which they have taken inwardly against all other Kindred's or Families, but their own; and whoever will give himself the leisure of revolving in his mind, not only the strength of this Demonstration, which is unanswerable, but also the Proportion in which the Marriage of Cousin Germane is prejudicial to Mankind, will manifestly discern, that it is naturally unlawful, if that be the true measure of the Laws of Nature, which I have assigned, that they are all founded in the Interest of Mankind; and at least thus much must of necessity be granted, that it hath the same Reason of being forbidden, for which all Human Laws do forbid any thing in the World; for these Laws in all their Prohibitions, as well as in whatsoever they command, do consider nothing but the Interest of Human Society, and the Welfare of those people that are to obey.  
Philo Judaeus in his Excellent Treatise de Legibus specialibus found'st all the Prohibitions of the Law of Moses upón the Interest of Human Society; and so does the Civil Law of Rome, as may be seen in the Institutes of Justinian, and in the Digests themselves under the Title de Ritu Nuptiarum, as I could prove more largely, if brevity were not the thing at which I now aim; and for this Reason, as well by the Jewish, as the Roman Law, the latter of which I can evidently prove, as to these Cases, was borrowed from the former, as hath already been taken notice by Mr. Selden and other Learned men, and as it might easily be proved by a particular induction; I say, as well by the Jewish, as the Roman Law, Affinities were forbidden to the same Degrees, that Consanguinities were, and the Roman Laws were so tender, which I believe was likewise borrowed from the Jews, for they had likewise such a thing as Adoption among them, that an adoptive Child was looked upon as a real one, and a man could no more Marry his adoptive Daughter than his own; the Reason was, because by Adoption and Affinity men were taken into that Family into which they were adopted, or to which they were allied by Marriage, and so they were all looked upon as Confederates one with another, and therefore for the Interest of Human Society, and for the enlarging of Friendships among men; it was more reasonable that they should seek abroad for new Dependences and new Relations, than that they should intermarry at home with one another; and by that means shut up their Interest in a more narrow compass, when it was capable of being farther spread to the great Benefit and Advantage of Human Life.  
It is likewise further to be observed in this case, that the Egyptians, though otherwise a people hated by God, or at least forsaken and abandoned by him, though the Divine Nature be in itself impassable, are not where charged with any incestuous Crime, no more are the Philistines or Moabites, or the Sons of Ammon, or of Amalek, the Tyrians, or the Sidonians; and it is well known, that all these were potent and formidable Nations, whereas the Amorites by confining their Interests within so small a compass, were a Prey to their Enemies, and to one another; and I can further make it unquestionably appear out of Aeschylus his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, That the Marriage of Cousin Germans was generally held to be unlawful and detestable all over the East.  
If you demand further of me, how far these Prohibitions extended? I answer, that as it was for the Interest of Mankind, that new Friendships should be made by Marriage, so likewise both Gratitude and Interest would require, that the old ones should not be forgotten, and that this was the Practice of the ancient Mortals, appears from a Passage of St Austin in his de Civitate Dei: 
L 15 c. 16  Fuit antiquis patribus religiosae curae, nè ipsa propinquitas se paulatim propaginum ordinibus dirimens, longiùs abiret, ac propinquitas esse desisteret, eam nondum longè positam rursus Matrimonii vinculo colligare & quodammodo revocare fugientem. And if you shall still further continue to demand, what the true Barrier and Boundary of these Prohibitions was? I answer, That it was Second Cousins, who were called by the ●…atines, Sobrini quasi Sororini or Sororum filii, to intimate, that so far they were looked upon as Brothers and Sisters, and were prohibited to Marry with one another, as I shall make it in due time undeniably to appear, by comparing the Capitulars of Charlemain which are now Eight Hundred years old, with the Laws of the Ancient Wisigoths, and with the Practice of the Jews and Romans.  
But though the Prohibition were extended generally thus far over all the East, yet it was more obligatory to the Jews than to any other Nations, because being forbidden Commerce with any of the idolatrous Nations, and being always at enmity with them they had the more need of a strict Friendship and good Understanding between themselves; and if the Obligation were so strict to the Jews, it is still more so to all Christian people, because the Design of the Gospel is Peace, and the Improvement of Charity and good Nature among men; but it is still of the greatest and most indispensable Obligation of all to this part of Christendom, and to these unhappy times into which we are fallen, wherein almost every man is at Enmity with his Neighbour; that for the composing men's minds, and for the allaying their Animosities by the Caresses of Love, men should Marry at a good Distance from themselves into a new Interest, and a new Dependence, and that the several Parties and Factions should intermarry with one another, which added to a vigorous Execution of the Laws with a constant and impartial Justice by the Civil Power, is probably the only way to allay our Heats and Divisions, and to bring us all to a more charitable Sense and Understanding of one another. And I am humbly of Opinion, that among all the wise Laws by which the Roman State was governed, and was by degrees brought to that height of Greatness and of Power, there was none that contributed so largely to that effect, as that Law which was passed by the great Wisdom and Policy of one of the Tribunes, de Maritandis Ordinibus, whereby the Patricii and the Plebeii, who were before at Mortal Jars, were made intermarriageable with one another, which was a very natural Expedient of calming and composing the Disturbances, which the Animosities and mutual Resentments of the two Factions had created. And I do further propose it to your most serious and impartial Consideration, that it would have been impossible the Roman Empire should ever have arrived at that greatness, that it should ever have been so strong, and so compacted at home, or so formidable abroad, had not these Matrimonial Prohibitions been established by their Laws and Customs, to make the Cement of Society more strong and lasting; so that since I have already laid it down as a certain Truth, that the Prohibitions among the Jews and Romans were the same, all the Question is, Whether Cousin Germans were included in the Roman Prohibition, which I will prove they were, out of a Passage in Plutarch in his Questiones Romanae, and out of a Fragment of Ulpian published by Pythaeus, in the Author of the Collations of the Mosaic and Roman Laws, and out of the Digests of Justinian, under the Title de Ritu Nuptiarum, and that this Prohibition extended still further to Second Cousins, I will make it very highly probable from a Passage in Athenaeus.  
There are other natural Reasons, which may be assigned why the Marriage of Cousin Germane is unlawful, and which I do now purposely omit, that I may not detain you too long from your Occasions; but yet however since the main Reason, and since all the Reasons that can be assigned, are founded in the Interest of Human Society, it is as much for that Interest, that all the Marriages of this Nature already consummate by carnal Knowledge, should stand good and indissoluble, as that all such Marriages should, de futuro, be hindered; nay, rather more, because the Inconveniency which the Dissolution of such Marriages would produce, would be so sudden and so present, as well as so great, by branding so many Families or their Descendants with ignominious Names, and by punishing them with other legal Inconveniences to the infinite Detriment and Confusion of the Civil State; whereas, as to the time to come, these Marriages having had their ultimate and final Consummation in the Bed, are valid upon the same Reasons for which they were naturally prohibited before, which natural Inconveniency not having been computed by the Parties concerned; nay more, they having been told by all the Lawyers and Divines, That it was Lawful, certainly men that have not leisure to make a particular enquiry themselves, may very well be excused; and they are so far from having any need to blush, that they have done nothing, but what any honest and good man in the same Circumstances would have done; neither do I so much blame the Divines, nor the Lawyers neither, who in such Cases are used to follow one another; and the opinion of one great man, as, humanum est errare, is usually the measure by which they all proceed; besides that, they are therefore also the more to be excused, because what they have determined in this Case, was out of Charity and good Will, that they might not create Disturbance (though that according to these Principles they need not have done) in the Commonwealth, and because they went upon that Principle, of 
(a) C. Tit. de Reg. jur. 56. t. & 122.  Gajus in the Civil Law, semper in dubiis benigniora praeferenda sunt, and of 
(b) Ib. 179.  Paulus l. 16. ad Plautium, Libertas omnibus rebus favorabilior est; and of 
(c) Ib. 192.  Marcellus l. 29. Digestorum. In re dubià benigniorem interpretationem sequi non minus justius est quam tutius; who likewise tells us in another place, in obscurâ voluntate manumittentis favendum est Libertati 
(d) Ib. 183. . The meaning of all which, is plainly this, That the Nature and Design of all Laws, being to put a restraint upon human Liberty, they are constantly to be expounded in the most favourable sense, because to do otherwise, would be to put a greater Restraint upon those, to whom the Law was given, then was perhaps intended by the Lawgiver himself; and if men from the plain and unavoidable Signification of Words, will have recourse to what they may possibly signify, or to the possible intention of the Lawmaker in them; this possibility of Intention or Interpretation, is a thing of so great Latitude, as makes the Signification of every Law uncertain, and consequently under pretence of laying a greater Obligation upon men, it leaves them under none at all.  
But I do humbly conceive, that in this case these Rules are not concerned: First, because it is by no means a doubtful Case, for I offer to demonstrate as plainly as Demonstration itself, That Cousin Germans were included within the Levitical Degrees; and only to mention that Case now, because I cannot stay to insist so long upon it, as I intent to do hereafter, I affirm that the Instance of the Daughters of Zelophehad does sufficiently prove it.  
For that being a Dispensation in a particular Case it is manifest, that no particular Dispensation ought in its Consequence to be extended further, than the reason for which it was procured, which being only for the better Preservation of the Mosaical Partition of Inheritances in the same Family and Line, it cannot be lawful in those places where the same sort of Partition, together with a Design to preserve it to Posterity, does not obtain; and this is a Rule of Ulpian, quae propter necessitatem recepta sunt, non debent in argumentum trahi; and it is likewise another common saying among the Lawyers, exceptio firmat regulam in non exceptis; so that this being a Dispensation in a particular Case, it is manifest, that it ought not to be extended further than that particular exigence for which it was procured.  
Besides that had it been Lawful before, being so expedient as it was for the Preservation of the Mosaical Partition, which was the Design of so many Laws, that against Usury especially, and that about the Return of the Land, in case of Mortgage, at the year of Jubilee, upon which Laws I cannot now stay to insist; and yet for all this, Moses and the Elders not daring to determine this Case without applying themselves immediately to God himself, nor presuming to act otherwise, than by Divine Inspiration, this is a Demonstration that it was a new case, and that it was not lawful before; for that which was not only lawful in itself, but also expedient, nay, necessary to the great end of so many of the Jewish Laws, which was to preserve the Inheritances in their proper House and Line, might certainly have been done either by the private choice of the Parties without consulting Moses, and much more by the Authority of Moses and the Elders themselves, without consulting the voice of God; which, since they did not do, this is the most Emphatical, and the most remarkable way that could have been contrived to show us the Unlawfulness of the Marriage of Cousin Germane in all ordinary Cases, but only in this which was peculiar to the Jewish State, unless you will except the Laws of Athens, which took their Copy from thence; and where the same Laws were observed, and for the same Reason, as I have proved more largely in some other Papers which are now in the Press.  
Further, the play of Aeschylus, which I have mentioned, I will prove to all the World to have taken its Plot from this Story of Zelophehad and his Daughters, and there the Poet making only a Fiction of the case, and supposing the Father to be alive, who in the Writings of Moses, and in the truth of the Story, was dead, hath contrived the Business so, that his whole Tragedy is but one continued Declamation against the Marriage of Cousin Germans, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, because the Father was not yet deceased, as the Scholiast upon that Author does expressly say.  
Lastly, when it is made lawful by the Law of Moses, for the Brother to raise up Seed unto the Brother, nay, not only lawful but a Duty, in case the elder Brother died without Issue, shall we from thence infer, that it was lawful in all other cases besides, notwithstanding it is expressly prohibited in the Eighteenth of Leviticus? And if a particular Dispensation must not be extended in one case beyond the reason for which it was procured, why should it in another? when, besides that such Marriages are forbidden in Leviticus, the general reason why it ought not to be extended to any other case, is this, that a particular Dispensation is in its own nature distinguished from a general Licence, and to extend any Grant further than the reason for which it was obtained, is to say, in effect, That it was obtained for such a reason, and it was not obtained for such a reason at the same time, which is a Contradiction. And this, besides the reason of the thing, and the Opinions of the greatest Lawyers among the Romans, which have been already produced, is still further confirmed by the Authority of St. Ambrose in his Epistle to Paternus, where speaking of Theodosius his Prohibition of the Marriage of Cousin Germans, who yet reserved to himself a Power of dispensing in particular Cases, as Theodoric did afterwards, as may be seen by the Form of the Imperial Dispensation in Cassiodorus, he hath these words: Sed dicis alicui relaxatum, verum hoc Legi non praejudicat, quod enim in common statuitur, ei tantum proficit cui relaxatum videtur.  
But I foresee you will object, that the Prohibition of Cousin Germane is not expressly set down in the Eighteenth of Leviticus, as that of the Brothers Marrying the Brother's Wife, in any but the case excepted, is; to which I answer,  
First, that whether this Prohibition were positively set down in Leviticus or no, yet this hinders not, but the Lawyer's Rule concerning Dispensations, quae propter necessitatem recepta sunt, non debent in Argumentum trahi, may, and aught to take place in this, as well as in any other Instance whatsoever. But secondly, I do humbly propose it as an undeniable Truth, That the Marriage of Cousin Germane is expressly prohibited in Leviticus itself; but if, when I say expressly, men will needs understand it of some one word that does, without a Periphrasis, signify a Cousin German; this is not to be expected, because there is no such word in Hebrew, neither does 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signify in its first notion properly a Cousin German, but in general, any, whom by reason of too near Consanguinity, it is not lawful to Marry, as I can, and will, in my larger Papers, prove; but to insist upon this matter now so fully as I ought to do, would spin out my Discourse to too great a length; therefore I pass on in the second place to observe, that this Rule of the Lawyers, that all doubtful things are to be interpreted in the most favourable sense, though it should be applied to the Case of Cousin Germans, yet it would do it no good; for where a private and a public Interest interfere with one another, that is always to be interpreted the most favourable Sense, which is most favourable to the Interest of the Public, it being very unreasonable, that any private Member of a Commonwealth should live upon the Spoils, and by the Damage of it, as it hath been demonstrated, that it would be in this Case, not only in its self, but likewise in its example.  
Again, because it may be objected, that the Damage accrueing to the public, not being much, discernible nor, from the Marriage of Cousin Germans, it would be unreasonable to call such Marriages in question, when the Damage is so little of letting them alone; and the Inconveniency that would happen from disturbing them, would be so great; to this I answer: First, that we cannot easily compute what Detriment hath already been sustained by the Marriages of Cousin Germans, unless we would tell where they would have Married, had they not Married one another, nor consequently what Friendships might have been made, nor what Quarrels prevented or reconciled; only of this in General, we are certain, that the odds is great as to point of public Interest, and for the Promoting of Friendship and Interest among men, between the Marriage of Cousin Germans, and those that are at a further distance from one another; and if you shall consider with yourself what a mighty influence the Discontent or Animosity of one single man may sometimes have upon the public Peace; certainly no means ought to be neglected, by which so many Quarrels may be prevented, so many Friendships made, and so many Piques and Enmities reconciled.  
Secondly, we are not so much to consider what real Inconveniency hath actually happened, as what would happen, if the Marriage of Cousin Germans were universally practised, by dividing Mankind into so many petty Societies and independent Cabals, as a man for robbing upon the Highway is apprehended and hanged, not because he himself hath done so great a Damage to the Public, but because if this were universally practised and permitted, we should be actually in a state of War, and there would be no face of a Commonwealth any longer; and the same reason holds in Proportion in Cousin Germans, if it be true, as I have said, that the universal practice of it would destroy the State; and therefore it ought not to be allowed in a particular instance, though it had not been forbidden by the Law of God, as it is manifest it is.  
But for those Marriages of this Nature that are already consummated by the Copula Carnalis, I am so far from disturbing them, that I wish them all much joy with all my heart, and I should never count it a Disparagement, but an Honour, if they were otherwise virtuous and good People, to be descended of such Parents; for they proceeded upon the best grounds they could, they did not understand the inconveniency that such Marriages bring to the Public; and they had the Concurrence of many great Lawyers and Divines for what they did, so that upon all accounts they are excused, they ought to persist in what they have done for the very same Reason for which, if they had been further informed, they should have avoided it before; and what they have done, is so far from having any thing of heinous in it, that it is not so much as an object of Repentance; and so as I have said already, I wish them all with all the Reason and Justice in the World, much Joy and Comfort in their Conjugal Embraces, neither ought it to derive any Envy upon me, that I have thus elaborately made it my Endeavour to hinder all such Matches for the Future; for if they be manifestly against the Interest of Mankind, no man ought to be displeased at me for doing that, which is of so manifest tendency to the Public Good, and indeed ought rather to thank me, that I have thus adventured at a Critical and dangerous time to stem the Torrent of Prejudice and received Opinion, of which there are but few men that would not have been afraid, and if besides its being prohibited by the Laws of Nature, it be likewise forbidden by the Scripture itself, certainly every man that hath not a mind to proclaim a Waragainst Heaven, must at the same time of necessity be at peace with me.  
But whatever the case of Private Persons may be, I do allow, that it is a part of the natural Prerogative of Princes and Persons nighly related to the Crown, to Marry a Cousin German, and this I speak without any Court Flattery or Parasitical Design, as a thing following evidently from the Principles I have laid down, and of the Naturalness and Easiness of the Consequence I will make my Adversaries themselves the Judges.  
For in the first place it is so much for the interest of the Public, that the mind of a Prince should not be discomposed, and his Counsels rendered by the disturbance of his mind, less judicious and steady, it is so great a Prejudice to the Civil State, that the Passions of a Prince should be inflamed beyond the Bounds of Discretion, that upon the same Principle of Public Interest, it is allowable to him to Marry a Cousin German, for which it is forbidden to others; and this seems to have been the case of Rehoboam, who Married a Cousin German.  
Another Reason which may make it not only lawful, but necessary for a Prince or any that have a probable Relation to the Crown, to be dispensed with, is for the peace and safety of Mankind, for the uniting of two great Interests together, which might otherwise be a mutual Nuisance and Detriment to each other; and this justifies the Marriage of his Highness the Prince of Orange, with the most Illustrious Princess the Lady Mary, a Daughter of England, neither is this only my Opinion, but it is allowed likewise by Hemingius in his Opuscula, and by Zepperus in his Excellent Treatise of the Mosaic Laws in the Case of Maximilian the Second, Emperor of Germany, who likewise took a Cousin German to Wife, at which, notwithstanding the Lutherans do acknowledge it to be lawful, yet many were offended at it, as a thing of bad Example, and such as afforded matter of Scandal to the Adversaries of Religion, and to the weak Religionists themselves, from which case of Maximilians, the Inference is easy, that if the Lutherans were offended at it, notwithstanding they did acknowledge it to be barely lawful; then much less ought it to be allowed in any private Person, where it can be proved so plainly to be prohibited and unlawful; and so much for this time. I desire you seriously to consider of what I have written, and to expect what remains with Patience, as well as to judge of this with Ingenuity and Candour.  
I am, Sir, Yours.  
FINIS.   

Books Printed for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's Head in St. Paul 's Church Yard.  
PRosecution no Persecution, or the Difference between Suffering for Disobedience and Faction, upon Phil. 1. 29. Preached a●…t St. Edmondsbury in Suffolk on the 29. of March 1681. by Nath. Bisby, D. D. 4to.  
A Sermon Preached before the Lord Mayor at Bow-Church, on the 29th of May 1682. by Benjamin Calamy, D. D. 4to.  
The Harmony of Natural and Positive Divine Laws: by Walter Charleton, M. D. 8vo.  
Two Discourses Introductory to a Disquisition, demonstrating the unlawfulness of Marriage of Cousin Germans, from Law, Reason, Scripture and Antiquity: by John Turner, late Fellow of Christs-Colledge in Cambridge. 8vo.  
Constantius the Apostate, being a short Account of his Life, and the Sense of the Primitive Church about his Succession, and their Behaviour toward him, wherein is shown the unlawfulness of excluding the next Heir upon the Account of Religion, and the necessity of Passive Obedience, as well to unlawful Oppressors, as legal Persecutors, being a full Answer to a late Pamphlet entitled Julian the Apostate.  
Mr. Richardson's Sermon before the Lord Mayor. 4to.  
— Evans his Sermon before the Lord Mayor. 4to.  
Wray's Sermons on the 2d of September, The Rebellious City destroyed. 4to.  
M. Amyraldus his Discourse of Divine Dreams, translated out of French by Mr. Loud, together with his Preface concerning the use of Reason in matters of Religion. 8vo.  
H. Mori Opera Theologica, & Philosophica. Fol. Three Vol.  
D. More's Reply to the Answer to his Antidote against Idolatry. With his Appendix. 8vo.  
— Remarks on Judge Hales, of fluid Bodies, etc. 8vo.  
— Exposition on the Apocalypse. 4to.  
— Exposition on Daniel. 4to.  
— Confutation of Astrology, against Butler.  
Dr. sherlock's Discourse of the Knowledge of Jesus Christ. With his Defence. 8vo.  
— Answer to Danson. 4to.  
— Account of Ferguson's Common-place Book. 4to.  
Dr. Falkener's Libertas Ecclesiastica. 8vo  
— Christian Loy●…ty. 8vo.  
— Vindication of Liturgies. 8vo.  
— Fowler's Libertas Evangelica. 8vo.  
Mr. Scot's Christian Life. 8vo. 2d. Edit.  
Dr. Worthington's great Duty of Self-Resignation. 8vo.  
Smith's Pourtract of Old Age. 8vo.  
Mr. Kidder's Discourse of Christian Fortitude. 8vo.  
Allen's Discourse of Divine Assistance 8vo.  
— Christian Justification stated. 8vo.  
— Against Ferguson, of Justification. 8v●  
— Persuasive to Peace and Unity. With ●… large Preface. 8vo.  
— Preface to the Persuasive. Alone. 8vo.  
— Against the Quakers. 8vo.  
— Mystery of Iniquity unfolded against th● Papists. 8vo.  
— Serious and Friendly Address to th● Nonconformists. 8vo.  
— Practical Discourse of Humility. 8vo.