Page:The Net of Faith.pdf/669



Here I shall list again a few other propositions of Master Aegidius.

For instance, among many other arguments, he says that law is given to people according to their various dispositions and characters. There are different laws for different kinds of people.

Thus adultery which is regarded as sin and is so punished if committed by honorable burghers is not punished in cities where it is tolerated for the common good of all. In order to strengthen his position he quoted old saints, such as Augustine and Jerome, who said, "Shall you empty the city of harlots and fill it with lustfulness?" "Aegidius posuit suam positionem, in qua inclusit, meretrices esse fovendas non in civitatibus, sed extra, secundum suum videre. Item non in ornatu auri et argenti, crinium aut vestium, sed in habitu ab aliis mulieribus honestis distincto. Item non in loco occulto propter alia peccata majora, sed publico, sed immundo. Pro confirmatione allegavit Augustinum qui dicit: 'Tolle meretrices de civitatibus, et omnia turbabis libidine'; et Hieronymum, qui dicit: 'Venter mero aestuans, cito spumat in libidinem. Item Judaeos asseruit in civitatibus esse permittendos, quia sunt testimonium figurarum, quarum nos tenemus veritatem." (Petri Zatecensis Liber diurnus, notes for the 13th of Feb. 1433, ., p.309.)

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