Sermons upon Deuteronomy

Now after this commandment, Moses addeth that we must not seeth a Kid in his dams Milk: but word for word, it is but in Milk. It hath been commonly understood, that a man should not seeth a Kid in his dams §50milk, or make sauce with Goats milk to eat Kids flesh withal. And thereupon, the Jews (who will needs be always adding of somewhat to the pure word of God) have made a Law that it should not be lawful for a man to eat cheese made of Goats milk after he had eaten kids flesh, until he had first well scoured and washed his teeth, for to their seeming, that would have bin a defiling of the man. But when all things are well considered, the §60meaning of this text is that men should not roast a kid as soon as he were new yeaned, but that they should let it suck for a time, that it might be flesh meet to be eaten. And this was done to the end that folk should not inure themselves so much to the following of their own appetites, as to fall into any beastly cruelty: for from the one, men come to the other. Let us always bear in mind how it was declared yesterday, that GOD was well willing to give his people leave to eat of all manner of good & convenient meats, saving that he meant to hold them in awe for the trial of their obedience, and yet notwithstanding meant not only to set them down some order of diet or fare like a Physician. For it were too gross an imagination to think that God provided but only for the diseases of his people, as though all his Ceremonies had tended but to the feeding of their bodies. For the putting hereof among the old figures and shadows was not for nought. Then let us conclude that God had a further regard when he forbade the eating of a kid in his dams milk. And in deed we see how in another place he forbiddeth men to catch an old bird sitting upon her young ones,¹ for it is a kind of cruelty. If a man find a nest of Partridges or other birds, and catch the dam sitting upon the young; God condemneth it, that is to say, he condemned it in old time in the Law among the Ceremonies. And why so? Because it is against nature. For we see how the silly birds are so careful for their young, that the dam will rather starve than forsake them. Whereby we be put in mind to do the like.

Now after this commaundement, Moses addeth that wee must not seeth a Kidde in his dammes Milke: but woorde for woorde, it is but in Milke. It hath beene commonly vnderstoode, that a man shoulde not seeth a Kid in his dāmes