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ROSICRUCIAN APOLOGISTS: JOHN HEYDON. 371
tyed to one wife. To this he said :
" You have reason to
commend that excellent institution of the Feast of the
Family. Those families -that are partakers of its blessing
flourish ever after in an extraordinary manner. You shall
understand that there is not under the Heavens so chast a
nation as this of Apamia. It is the virgin of the world. I
have read in one of your books of an holy hermit that de-
sired to see the spirit of fornication, and there appeared to
him a little foule ugly sethiope. But if he had desired to
see the spirit of chastitie of the Holy Island, it would have
appeared in the likenesse of a faire beautiful cherubin, for
there is nothing amongst mortall men more admirable than
the chaste mindes of this people.
There are no stewes, no
dissolute houses, no curtisans. They wonder with detesta-
tion at you in Europe which permit such things ; they say
ye have put marriage out of office, for marriage is a remedy
for unlawfull concupiscence, and naturall concupiscence
seemeth as a spur to marriage; but when men have at
hand a remedy more agreeable to their corrupt will, mar-
riage is almost expulsed. And therefore there are seen with
you infinite men that marry not, but choose a libertine and
impure single life ; and many that do marry, marry late,
when the prime and strength of their years is past. When
they do marry, what is marriage to them but a very bargain,
wherein is sought alliance, or portion, or reputation, with
some indifferent desire of issue, and not the faithfull nuptial
union of man and wife that was first instituted 1 Neither
is it possible that those who have cast away so basely so
much of their strength should greatly esteeme children
(being of the same matter)
as chaste men doe. So likewise
during marriage is the case much amended, as it ought to
be, if those things were tolerated only for necessity
? The